THOUGHTS OF THE PAST

August 31, 2015

By Olivene Godfrey

I am writing this blog on Sunday afternoon.  I am home alone and my mind is filled with thoughts I am compelled to put on paper.

Yesterday, I listened to music that I enjoyed and which brought back memories.  A bit of background.  Last week Barry had removed the large television in the den as we seldom watched it.  Barry has a large flat screen TV in his media room and had bought the new large one for my sitting room in my master bedroom.

Barry set up his super stereo system in the den.  Last night Barry helped me to the den where I listened to music until bedtime.  While I listened to the stereo, my thoughts turned to the den which is a pretty dramatic room and is the perfect room for a stereo.  The room has a sunken floor and a high cathedral ceiling and a large creek rock fireplace.  One wall is covered with California redwood paneling from the floor to the ceiling.  The large picture window and glass french doors give the feeling of being outside on the patio.

As I listened to the music, I particularly enjoyed a CD that features our friend, Kym and her sister, Denise.  Both ladies have beautiful voices and the recording lifted my spirit as I listened to them sing.

Then, for a while I listened to music from the internet.  The final song was the late George Jones singing, "He stopped loving her today."  Unexpectedly, I remembered a young man who attended the Dalton's Creative Arts Writer's group for a while.  I had a key to the Guild and when everyone had left except the young man, he started telling me that his ex-wife had left him and he was heart broken.  He said when he was in his bed at night and a car came by, he would think she was returning.  I didn't know what to tell him.  But, I listened to him and then he left the Guild.

A few months later, I read his obituary in the local paper.  Later, when I heard the George Jones plaintive song, I thought, yes, he stopped loving her at last.

During the years when I wrote a daily column in Dalton's Daily Citizen, I would receive mail and phone calls from people who were suffering and wanted to tell me about it.  I'm no Dear Abby and all I could do was listen to the troubled people.

See you next time.  Comments welcome.  (As told to Tam.)

AUGUST FOGS

August 25, 2015

By Olivene Godfrey

We old timers in North Georgia believe that the number of August fogs we have means that we'll have an equal number of snowfalls this upcoming winter.  Folks here are already preparing for fall and winter.  I'm not ever happy to see summer end.

My arthritis in the back of my knees hurt year round.  Barry recently bought me a neck wrap and knee wraps that bring deep penetrating pain relief with their moist heat.  They are naturally hydrating and a minute in the microwave eases the pain.

As I've told y'all before, I have become addicted to Starbucks coffee and look forward to Friday, Saturday and Sunday when I savor and drink a large cup.  I drink my coffee in a pretty cup my niece, Charlene Norton gave me for Christmas one year.  The cup has a matching sugar bowl and ceramic spoon.

This morning (Monday) Tam drove me to my dentist office for a check up and cleaning.  Since I still have my teeth, I have been seeing the dentist twice a year.  In recent years it has become an ordeal for me.  The hygienist is very nice and told me today I can start coming once a year instead of every six months.  Later, the dentist checked my teeth.  She and the hygienist commented on how well I keep my teeth.

Barry bought me a new, 39 inch flat screen television this past weekend.  I'm enjoying watching it when I'm here alone.  We gave Tam the one I'd been using in my room.  She was very thankful.

See you next time.  Comments welcome.  (As told to Tam.)

ANOTHER BOOK IN THE WORKS

August 17, 2015

By Olivene Godfrey

I recently had an appointment with my blood doctor in Calhoun, Georgia.  My primary care doctor sent me to him several years ago as I was anemic.  This time, my blood was tested and the result was very good.  I didn't need a booster shot.  The doctor's assistant saw me and was pleased with my progress.  She and I believe the large dosage of vitamin B12 I take every day was the reason for the good report.  I take several supplements daily which seem to improve my general health.

Another day, Tam drove me to her daughter, Carrie's beauty salon in Dalton for a much needed haircut and set.  Carrie's magical fingers gave me a pretty hair-do and I am enjoying the ease of caring for my hair now.

Tam has started preparing my new novel which should be published this fall.  The title is, "The Bend In The Road."  The story is told against the backdrop of the North Georgia carpet industry in the 1980's.  The theme is divorce and how it affects the leading characters.  I'll let you know the published date later.

If you haven't read my recent book, "Princess Mooneyes'" it can still be purchased at Amazon.  And my World War II love story, "Catch The Brass Ring," can also still be purchased at Amazon.

See you next time.  Comments welcome.  (As told to Tam.)

A MEMORABLE DAY

August 10, 2015

By Olivene Godfrey
At the age of 87, my short term memory could be better.  But, I have no problem with remembering incidents that occurred when I was a small child.  So, when I started hearing and reading about the 70th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki which ended World War II, my mind went back to that first V-J day.

I had graduated from high school in the spring of that year and lived with my parents and sisters in a small north Georgia town, Calhoun.  I was working in Dalton, Georgia, about 25 miles from Calhoun.  Since the war began, no new cars had been made and our old car finally died.  So, I rode a shuttle bus between the two towns.

On that August day in 1945, I was a passenger on the bus returning home after working all day.  That day on the bus, we began seeing groups of people along side of the road and in yards dancing and jumping.  Finally, the bus driver stopped and asked some of the people what had happened.  They were laughing and crying as they chanted, "The war is over."  Instantly, the bus passengers began laughing and shouting.  Some began to pray.  As you can imagine, it was a day to remember.  When we arrived in Calhoun, the people were dancing in the street.  Some chanted, "Our boys will be coming home soon."

We lived several blocks from downtown and as I walked home, more people were on the road.  That night, we all gathered downtown.  A huge bonfire burned and Japan's prime minister Tojo was burned in effigy while people shouted.

The next day we started hearing on the radio and reading in the newspapers about the incredible atomic bomb.  A few days later, I saw a news reel in the local movie theatre of the told devastation of the cities that were bombed.  When I hear foolish politicians talk of wanting to start a nuclear war, that we could survive one, I want to scream in rage.

See you next time.  Comments welcome.  (As told to Tam.)

NEW NOVEL FINISHED!!

August 3, 2015

By Olivene Godfrey

This past weekend was eventful for Barry, Tam and myself.  Following lots of work, my new novel, "Princess Mooneyes" was published.  I expect my blog readers to order a copy right away.  And, I would also like for you to tell others about it.  The novel can be ordered at Amazon, Kindle.

Princess Mooneyes is a romance novel and is set in the 1980's.  The story centers around a woman character, Dina Yardley, the only child of a Cherokee Indian woman and a wealthy, Southern Anglo Saxon newspaper publisher, a descendant of British nobility.

The novel is set in a small city located in the Georgia mountain country that was once a part of the Cherokee nation.  Interwoven in the story are incidents that give an insight into the newspaper and photography professions of the time, the history and culture of the Cherokee Indians and the Southern mountain people.

Reared in her father's culture, Dina privately embraces many of the philosophies of traditional Indians.  She's a member of the editorial staff of the family owned newspaper but her first love is photography.  Her Indian heritage is evident in the hue of her skin, her black hair and the cast of her features.  From her father, she inherited brilliant blue eyes.

The romantic conflict focuses on Dina's ambivalent feelings for a charismatic, internationally known journalist, Tracy Warner.  When the novel begins, Tracy is a quintessential bachelor, an intelligent man who truly likes women but who finds his real fulfillment in his work with little room in his life for an intimate relationship.

Dina believes that Tracy threatens her legacy when her father, Clay, hires him as the paper's managing editor.  Dina has been pampered by her widowed father and her aunt, Cara, and is a bit spoiled and willful.  In reality, Dina is a shy, insecure person

.

When Dina meets Tracy, sparks fly.  As the story progresses, Dina and Tracy come close emotionally and back away, tormenting themselves and each other.  Almost without realizing it, they learn and grow and fall in love.

With Tracy, Dina discovers the risks, the pain and the rapture that comes with love.  And then her pride is shattered and she retreats to her mountain haven where she has found peace in the past.

While Dina prepares to return to the city, a tornado strikes the mountain lake area.  Seriously injured, Dina's secret is revealed to her family and to Tracy....

See you next time.  Comments welcome.  (As told to Tam.)

My new novel PRINCESS MOONEYES is available at the following link on amazon kindle.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0134ZLZ56?*Version*=1&*entries*=0