CARRYING ON A FAMILY TRADITION ON JULY 4th

By OLIVENE GODFREY

July 4th is a bitter-sweet holiday for son Barry and me now.
Recently, we have used our electric indoor grill more than
we have the outside Weber charcoal grill. But, Barry said
this week that he will cook our steaks on the charcoal
grill on the 4th as, "it is a family tradition for us."

The family tradition started in Florida before Barry was
born and my late husband, Ralph, did the 4th cooking on a grill down there. We continued the outside grill tradition during
the years when Barry was growing up and we were living in
northwest Georgia. When Barry was a teenager he took over
the grill cooking.

For about fifteen years, we hosted a birthday cook-out party on the Fourth with cake
and gifts for my late mother who looked forward to the event all year. And then six years ago, she became ill shortly
after the cookout-party and passed away. Then, four years
ago Ralph lost his battle with Parkingsons and died on
a hot day in August. My late sister, Joan, lived in
West Palm Beach, FL and wasn't able to come to the 4th
parties but she always sent a gift and usually called
on the phone and she passed away nearly two years ago.

Last year on the 4th Barry did some repair work on the
house and pulled a muscle in his groin, causing intense
pain and hasn't been able to lift as much as he used to.

But, Barry and I will be grateful this year that we are
able to carry on the family tradition on the 4th. And, we will remember all the happy times we had before our family
circle was broken.

Have a happy July 4th!

See you next time.

THE RAINS CAME, REFRESHING THE EARTH

By OLIVENE GODFREY

Officials declared drought conditions for Georgia
last week and imposed outdoor water restrictions.
On the first day of summer, the temp on our patio in
the shade hit 95 degrees. The grass had turned brown
and the foliage, including our huge forsythia bushes
were looking wilted. And all around us, communities
were having scattered showers and thunderstorms but
we didn't get a drop of rain.

And then last Saturday night, the rains came down in
torrents here and there was little lightning or wind ,
just beautiful rain.  On Sunday morning, a light rain
fell for several hours and at intervals in the afternoon.
Our rain guage showed that we got about two inches
of rain, with more rain forecast for today (Monday)
and tomorrow.  Already the grass and foliage look
refreshed and pretty. We hope the rains will continue
to come.

I read in the paper this morning that our county isn't
in a drought, says a weather expert, and that if we
get occasional rain we won't need any water restrictions.
I hope that is a true prediction.

         -----------------------------------

I've written before of the catnaps I take in my recliner
I have suffered from insomnia for many years and sometimes
when I wake up in the wee hours of the morning, I am tempted
to get up and stretch out in my recliner and see if sleep
will come.

I don't know the reason for my insomnia as my bed is
comfortable and only a few feet away from my adjoining
bathroom.  Since most of my catnapping in the recliner
is done after supper, often with the television on,
I am sleepy when I retire for the night and usually
fall asleep quickly then. But, most mornings I wake
up real early and toss and turn until I finally get
up like I did this morning and go around for several
hours half-asleep.

          -----------------------------

My sister, Jeanette, who lives in nearby Dalton, told
me last week in a phone conversation that her great-
grandson, Brandon, went with her to the grocery store
that day.  He had picked up a box of those delectable
Krispy Kreme doughnuts and put them in her shopping
buggy. She knows the doughnuts are a no-no to dieters like
most of us are these days. But, I guess the temptation
that day was too strong .  Jeanette said that as
soon as she and Brandon were seated in the car, they binged
on the doughnuts. And she added that she was paying for it
with a spell of indigestion.

See you next time.

NEWS STORY EVOKES PAINFUL CHILDHOOD MEMORY & MORE

By OLIVENE GODFREY

I read in the paper last week that the local school board
had decided to stop the sale of carbonated drinks in our
county schools and to improve the nutrition of the lunch
meals. As I read the story, a childhood memory rushed
back into my mind.

In the 1930s, I attended a Chattanooga elementary school.
Several close friends who lived in our neighborhood were
my classmates. I was a tiny, shy child and a well-behaved
student at school and I had a loving family. So, my life
was good.

There were no carbonated drinks at our schools and only milk was served in the cafeteria. Being a finicky eater, I did enjoy the school lunches. Talking in the cafeteria line was not
allowed and a teacher monitored the students. Then, on The
Awful Day, when I was seven or eight, the girl standing in
line behind me asked a question in a soft voice. I turned around
and answered her and in the next instant I felt strong hands
grasp my tiny shoulders. The teacher shook me while reading
the riot act about talking in line. When she left me, I felt
my lips tremble as I fought back the tears. I had never been
scolded at school and not very often at home. I realized
the teacher didn't love me as everyone else did in my world.
After that, I was still innocent and vulnerable but a crack
had been made in my rosy world. And, I was never again so trusting as I had been before The Awful Day.

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Feeling rested and better than usual, son, Barry , and I decided
to drive over to Dalton this past Sunday and eat lunch at the
Western Sizzling. The food was delectable and I ate more
than I should have despite my good intentions. I will have
to watch my diet this week. I wore my new coral top of crinkle
fabric and lime green pants and felt stylish wearing the
"IN" colors.

-----------------------------------

We haven't had much rain this summer and the air quality
isn't very good some days with hazy conditions. We may get some rain today and we need it as the lawn has turned from the
early spring green to brown and there seems to be dust
in the air here. We are praying and hoping for some rain
today. Some of the weather experts are predicting a drought
here this year and I hope they are wrong. The sunshine and hot temps and Barry's watering has the patio plants thriving.
And inside, by the picture window in the den. the Christmas
poinsettia still has red leaves with new green leaves just
exploding with growth. Barry has transplanted it into a
larger pot and is determined to keep it alive until this
coming Christmas. I think the plant's location is ideal
for it plus Barry's watering of one five ounce Dixie cup
of water daily.

See you next time.

A SLICE OF LIFE---THE GOOD AND THE SAD

By OLIVENE GODFREY

Last week, I wrote about my good friend and neighbor,
Dorothy Parker. And, it is with great sorrow that I tell you now that she passed away a few days ago. She fell and
broke her hip and died from surgery complications. I
will miss her very much and feel blessed that she was
a friend of mine for 28 years.

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This past weekend, I read the family history written
by my good friend and former newspaper colleague, Ruth
Cox. The book, Echoes from Weaver Hill, was recently
published and is fascinating reading. I am impressed
by the extensive research that Ruth did for the book.

Enclosed in the book is a beautifully decorated bookmark
with the following words printed on it in Ruth's
exquisite script--Light overcomes darkness...May we be
the light for someone who is walking in the darkness....
Each historical period that Ruth has recorded is introduced
by a light of the era that Ruth pretends she is holding
as she searches for information about her ancestors.

The setting for the book is in Murray County which is located in northwest Georgia where Cherokee Indians once lived.
I am not a native of the county but have lived here for
43 years. And, the communities and names of people in
the book are familiar to me. So, I found the book
of interest and enjoyed reading it and looking at the
pictures printed throughout the history.

I wish Ruth much success with the book.

--------------------------------------------

My sister, Jeanette, who lives in nearby Dalton, has had
so many tragedies and illnesses in her life that my late
husband often remarked that she must feel like the biblical
Job. After having two serious surgeries during the past
year plus being a caregiver for her husband for 22
years, Jeanette came down with a case of the shingles
a few days ago. She went to the doctor and has been
taking prescription medicine. Since some of the rash
is near one of her eyes, she has an appointment today
with her eye doctor. I hope that she will feel better
soon.

On a lighter side, during a phone conversation, I told
Jeanette that son Barry had come home that day with a
box of freshly baked doughnuts but I wouldn't eat
any of them. We spoke briefly of our love for Krispy
Kreme chocolate fudge doughnuts and that we could binge on them
if we weren't careful. I just don't go near them as I
don't trust myself around those goodies.

See you next time.

TOPICS ON MY MIND

By OLIVENE GODFREY

I enjoyed the musical tribute to Ray Charles on the
Grand Old Opry televised show which aired on the
Great American Country network this past weekend.

Since I was a teenager, I have liked "soul music"
or the blues. As a young adult, I spent a lot of time in a record store that had stacks of obscure blues records.
I carried those 78 records all over the country and only left them in the garage of a Florida rental house, because
my late husband, Ralph, refused to move them again.

I remember vividly the day back in the 1950s when I was driving
home from work with the radio playing as always.
Suddenly, a sound from the radio caught my attention.
A singer was singing the blues in a sultry voice, to
say the least. I knew that I would go to the record store
the following day and buy that record. And I did and
I bought the record, "Heartbreak Hotel", by an unknown singer
with the odd name of Elvis and the rest is history.

-------------------------------

I had a nice chat last week with my good friend and neighbor
of 28 years, Dorothy. She is in her late 80s now and she
was always healthy and strong until a few years ago.
She's a truly good person and often helped others over the years. Now she is confined to her home with several serious
health problems, including diabetes. She says that the
condition that frustrates her the most is not being able to see well now. She was always an avid reader but can't
read at all now. Her six loving children take turns staying with her
at night and prepare and get take out dinners for her.
She was a superb cook and misses being able to cook her meals and those of others which she used to do. She is still mentally alert and a joy to talk to and she is so cheerful that
I feel better after one of our chats.

I assured her that I am grateful that I can see and the last eye exam I had the doctor said my cataracts will
need surgery soon. Other than that, my eyes are healthy and
he told me that my diabetes hasn't affected my eyes yet.

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When I recently went to the doctor's office for a
mini-checkup, I had gained a few pounds the past year. I
didn't think that I was eating too many sweets as my
blood sugar tests are still normal. But, I have tried to cut down on fatty foods. I have read that dieters who eat
yogurt lose more weight. I used to eat yogurt but
hadn't in a while. Now I am stocked up on yogurt and
I'll report later if it helps me.

See you next time.