OLE' SUMMERTIME IS HERE IN NORTHWEST GEORGIA

By OLIVENE GODFREY

On Sunday, son Barry and I ate an early lunch in town and did some shopping in our new Walgreen drugstore. I bought makeup I had been looking for and a few other items I needed. The weather was already hot and oppressive and although I was in air-conditioning most of the time, I was feeling hot and sleepy when we arrived home.

Our central AC had the house wonderfully cool and I started changing into more comfortable clothes as soon as I entered my bedroom. Next, I went through the house closing draperies and blinds to shut out the blinding sunshine.

Then,I splashed water on my face and kicked off my moccasins
and stretched out in my recliner. A few minutes later, Barry brought my phone to the end table and left to do some shopping in Dalton. My gut was acting up and I felt thirsty so I drank some water and a sip of Diet Coke. (I am a Diet Coke sipper. Throughout the day, I sip Diet Coke.)

As I reflected on my day, I felt a deep empathy for people like Barry who have to work in the hot weather with no AC. I have a large pitcher of iced tea waiting for Barry when he comes home from work and he says it, "hits the spot." After I rested a while, I called my sister, Jeanette, in Dalton, and we solved the world's problems in our long conversation.

I had talked to my late husband's sister, Agnes, a while on Saturday and we had a nice chat. And, that night, my cousin, Laura Anne, in Middle TN called and it was good to hear from her.

The weather people have forecast possible thunderstorms for the next few days. We will welcome the rain as we are still in a drought but I am afraid of the lightning.

QUOTES--"The best job to have is one you'd like to do even if you weren't paid for it."- Herm Albright.

"Gossips talk to you about others, bores talk to you about themselves, and good conversationalists talk to you about you."
Earl Wilson's column.

"The man who tries to please everybody shows little respect for his own way of thinking." -- Sunshine Magazine.

See you next time.

STUNNED BY MEDICAL TEST REPORT

By OLIVENE GODFREY

The call came about 10 A. M. while I was reading the morning newspaper. I had a rare (for me) premonition that the call was from my GI doctor's office. A few days earlier, I had sent them a hermoccult card which check for blood in the stool. Gingerly,
I answered the phone and a nice woman told me that my card samples had tested positive. My mind was reeling and I didn't hear half of what she told me.

The next day, I had another call from the doctor's office and was told by a woman that a colonscopy and endoscopy had been scheduled for me in about six weeks. I will go to the doctor's Dalton office in about three weeks to get the details and instructions. The diagnostic tests will be at Dalton's huge, modern hospital.

A couple of days later, I had an appointment with my family doctor. She gave Barry and me a video about the colonscopy and endoscopy which was helpful. It had been nearly a year since I had lab work so I will do that in a few days. I dread the tests but Barry and I both want to know if something is wrong and if so, hope it can be fixed. The fear of the unknown scares us and we ask for your prayers.

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We had two nice rain showers last week that measured an inch in our rain gage in the yard. The plants on the patio are thriving in the summer heat and with a little watering by Barry. The asparagus fern that looked so pitiful in the spring is now looking good. Also, the pink geranium is large and blooming its heart out. Inside by the big window, the Incredible Poinsettia is huge and beautiful now.

I've written in the past about the variety of animals we see in our yard from time to time. And, last week, in the late afternoon, we saw a black bear cub pass through our yard. Barry speculated that due to the drought, the bear cub had come down from the mountain looking for food and water. Or, he thought, it might have got separated from its mother. And quite often we see deer in the yard. I remember one Sunday morning, I looked out of my office windows and saw several baby deer prancing and dancing in the yard which was quite a sight.

QUOTES--"Not until we fall victim to a real tragedy do we realize how much energy we have spent worrying about trivialities."Dear Abby

"Some people who say they believe in freedom of speech think that anybody who believes otherwise should be made to shut up."
Earl Wilson column.

See you next week.

TIME - FRIEND OR ENEMY?

By OLIVENE GODFREY

(While cleaning out a filing cabinet drawer recently, I found this essay which was originally published in Dalton's The Daily Citizen in the 1970s. As I read the essay I thought of how bad I have felt lately but I felt a spark of hope within me.
The words took on new meaning for me. I hope you will find the essay to be meaningful, too.)

Time.... friend or enemy? For the child anticipating a special event time seems to be dragging its feet. And the adolescent eager to become an adult may feel that time is his enemy. He dreams of the day when he will be "grown up". But, the older person often feels that time's tempo is much too fast. The years seem to fly by and there is so much yet to be done.

Then, the wise ones tell us that time is the greatest healer.
When we are experiencing despair and heartache such words of wisdom may fall on deaf ears. "NO!" our heart cries, " All hope is gone. This ache inside will never go away." No hope?" the wise one asked,"How foolish, for as long as there is a breath of life there is hope. Think of all of the people who have sprung to their spiritual feet at the challenge of no hope and proved there is always hope."

To lie down and be discouraged is our temptation. But to hope and have faith is our wisdom. You say, life's cruel blows have left you black and blue, that no one knows how deeply you hurt.
The wise one answers, "You are not alone. There is no despair, heartache, that has not been experienced by many human beings even before you were born. Still, I know your agony is unique because you are experiencing it. And no one can promise you an instant cure for your pain or problems." But if you muster up courage, and if you remember there is a season for all things, time can be the best friend you will ever have.

Most of us have no trouble accepting the fact that it takes time for our bodies to heal following serious illness. Yet, we can't seem to accept that time is also needed to recover from traumatic emotional experiences. We don't forget such experiences but time does soften the pain. And the time will come when the memory will not evoke intense pain within us. But, we cannot, no matter how efficient we may be, set a time limit for the different seasons that come to us in life. It is folly to presume that we can allot a certain period of our lives to be happy, to laugh, to weep, to recover from life's blows.

The day when life is again beautiful and worth living comes at different times for different people after a period of darkness. Theodore Tilton wrote in The King's Ring, "Once
in Persia reigned a king..Who upon is signet ring..Graved a maxim true and wise--Which if held before the eyes..Gave him counsel at a glance...Fit for every change and chance. Solenm words, and these are they, 'Even this shall pass away.'"

See you next time

THE RAINS CAME & NEW MEDICINE & ENERGY SAVING LIGHT BULBS

By OLIVENE GODFREY

After a long period of drought, the downpour last Friday
brought an inch of rain for us. The rain was beautiful to our eyes. Son Barry and I had been busy all morning with household chores. Barry also took a large load of junk in his pickup truck to the landfill. We ate a large lunch and rested awhile before the rain came.

I wrote last week about the new drug I was taking for my Irritable Bowel Syndrome. My insurance doesn't cover the drug and it is very expensive. Thanks to my GI doctor and his nurse in Dalton, I have stopped taking the expensive drug and instead am taking a more effective medicine that costs very little.

You may have heard of the compact(CFL) energy saving light bulb which is designed to fit into roughly the same space as a standard light with the advantages of a fluorescent bulb.
According to some Internet information, the new bulbs have a longer rated life and use less energy. A CFL can save over US $30 in electricity over the bulbs lifetime compared to the standard bulb.

Barry has replaced some of our standard bulbs with the new CFL and we like the the new ones. They are brighter and we can save energy using them.

During a recent phone conversation with my cousin, Ernestine, we spoke of the pictures Barry had printed of our late maternal grandparents and recalled our childhoods when we called them Big Mama and Big Daddy. Barry said that reminded him of Tennessee William's "Cat on a Hot Tin roof, as the playwright had a character named Big Daddy in it. Actually, Williams wasn't born in Tennessee but in Columbus, Mississippi. The Tennessee name was given to him by his fraternity brothers at the University of Missouri because of his southern drawl.

QUOTES: "The worst-tempered people I've ever met were people who knew they were wrong." --Wilson Mizner

"Everybody should try to get at least a high school education, even if they already know everything."Earl Wilson column

"A speaker who does not strike oil in 10 minutes should stop boring." -Louis Nizer