Wednesday, June 03, 2009

Great Day

My wife had a wedding shower at our house last Saturday so I got out of the house and headed to Reynolds to do some visiting.


My first stop was at Jamestown Assisted Living Residence in Fort Valley. Mrs. Ruth Jones, my former middle school teacher and long time family friend, was out gallivanting so all I could do was leave her a note to tell her I would be back. For someone who just celebrated her 90th birthday, gallivanting ain’t a bad way to spend a Saturday. While most residents of that facility do their socializing sitting quietly in the front room, Mrs. Ruth spends at least some of her time at her computer in her room socializing on the internet through Facebook. I’m not sure how many 90 year olds are socializing on Facebook but I would think the list is fairly short. She sure does keep the rest of us young.


My first stop in Reynolds was at the home of another special friend, Mrs. Mollie Childree. It has been a while since I have visited Mrs. Mollie. I was struck by the fact that nothing had changed since the last time I visited. And I was thinking about how many places and miles I have been since I had been there. Mollie and her late husband, Elmer, were positive forces and influencers in my life. I sat with the two of them in that same den many times over the years. I never called to tell them I was coming. I would just show up and begin wherever we left off last time. And that is exactly what we did Saturday. Mrs. Mollie got me all caught up on Reynolds and when I left I kissed her and hugged her a little tighter and longer than usual. And when I drove away I was promising myself that I would visit her more often.

As I was making my way to Julian and Sue’s house, I saw another long time friend sitting on his front porch. I pulled in the driveway and joined him on the porch. I first met Jim and Sheryl Cameron when they came to our church years ago as missionaries. We spent a ton of time with them. When they would come home from Honduras on furlough, Jim and Sheryl and their two children would stay with us sometimes for months at a time. I have some great memories staying up late at night with them solving the world’s problems drinking that strong Honduran coffee. When they left the mission field, they made Reynolds their home. And as you might imagine, Jim and I had no trouble striking up a conversation.


While I was rocking with him, I got a call from Julian. He and Sue were eating lunch at the hamburger place and heard I was in town. They knew I would be looking for them so they wanted to let me know where they were. So I headed up and joined them for lunch and then followed them back to their house. I stayed there until my wife called to tell me her party was over and to remind me that Taylor was spending the night.

I got back home in plenty of time to eat a few cheese straws left over from the shower with my little grandbaby girl and to spend the rest of the afternoon with her.

Just in case you are wondering, I had a great day.

4 comments:

Judy S said...

Mrs Mollie looks great. I haven't been over to see her in awhile myself. That is something I need to do. Thanks for the update.

Judy said...

What FUN! And they all had as much FUN as you! Hug a little bit tighter and visit a little more often...Words of wisdom!

Anonymous said...

I'll bet Mrs. Whatley still makes the best buttermilk pie in the world--I'll never forget spending the night with Debbie and eating her Mom's good buttermilk pie.

Anonymous said...

Bruce, you absolutely made Mama's day (maybe year) by writing about her !!! She really enjoys your visits. Thanks for loving her ! PCH