Outlook

So, how do I begin this week’s version of the Outlook column? I had considered two or three possibilities; but, when I took a closer look at my trusty Cardui calendar which always hangs in place near my dining table, I knew I had to write on a different subject.

The day I noted especially was July 15 - my son, Kirby’s birthday. This brought me up to a reality check in a hurry. So, I will tell you a bit about how I came to live in the lovely state of Colorado where Kirby was born.

When my youngest brother, seven years my senior, had gotten out of service after WWII, he took a notion that he wanted to be a big cattleman and goes off to Colorado and purchases this ranch up in the edge of the mountains. The house sat at 7100 ft. elevation and it was a truly beautiful place.

Well, it wasn’t long before they had their first child on the way and my brother wanted Mom and Dad to move out there and join him in his new role as a cattle rancher. Also, my brother and his wife were expecting their child and he wanted Mom out there to help with the baby. (She was an experienced midwife - delivered all the babies for miles around our farm in southeast Arkansas.) Of course, this wasn’t a home delivery of the child, but my brother wanted Mom there to help out with their first child, who was about five months old at the time when my parents went out there to live

So, my folks left me behind to finish high school. You have to understand that I was generally “on my own” for I had been boarding out and working at a part-time office job with the school’s approval during my last year of high school. (Schools no longer have this work program for senior stidents who qualify; but, it was a good thing back then.)

And, to continue this saga - Mom kept on writing and telling me about the “little house on the prairie” type of school they had in rural Colorado at that time. All the children from the surrounding territory came together out there in a small building and any high school graduate was eligible to teach in such a school.

However, I was a bit late in the fall getting to Colorado, so the local area school had already hired a teacher.

So, to shorten the story, I went on down in the valley to the town of Grand Junction where I found work as secretary in a wholesale lumber company with 14 branch offices over the state. And, I rented an apartment and sent word for my husband, “Doc” to come on right away and he arrived shortly. On his first day, he met a fellow, Troy Fletcher, who worked in a bakery and Doc was soon working there.

And, it wasn’t long until we were expecting our first (and only) child, Kirby. The day that Ruth Fletcher went home with their second child, I entered the same hospital to have Kirby. I won’t bore you with any more details of that experience - but, that is how we came to live in Colorado and I still have many fond memories of that sojourn. I still keep on touch with Ruth Fletcher who later moved to a small town several miles from Grand Jct.

Her husband died a few years ago; but they had three children in all.

My mom came down to the “Junction” and helped with the new baby (KIrby). The second year we were in Colorado, the higher altitude (even down in the valley) began to take its toll on Doc’s heart condition which had become fairly stable after he was born as a “blue baby.” So, we took the doctors’ advice to return to a lower climate and never again try to live at a higher altitude. And, thank the Lord, we found Rayville and settled here and this has become “home, sweet home” to our family. It’s also where Kirby grew up. He tried college at what is now ULM; but, he had worked on the pipeline in various states and that good money enticed him to return to that kind of work. That’s also how he met his future wife, Linda, when he was on a job near Grand Rapids, Minnesota. To shorten the story, Kirby had to go back “on the road” as a welder while they were living in Tuscaloosa, Alabama where their two children were born. So, wanting his family to be close to his parents, he purchased a home here and several acres of land a few miles to the north. And, he was grounded by a terrific snowstorm here in either1982 or 1983. So, that’s when he went to work locally at Glover Hardware where he stayed until a few years ago when the pipeline beckoned again and he returned to that kind of work. (I recall that he said he didn’t sell anything the first several days at Glovers that water couldn’t flow through. (And, can you recall some of the terrific winters we used to have here? It’s been many years since we had more than just a light snowfall. Enough! Enough! No more remembering when on this day.

As usual, this week began for me at Woodlawn Baptist Church where I attended Sunday School and the worship services. After Sunday morning at WBC, I joined my good friends, Gloria Traxler and Laura Pierce and we drove down to Popeye’s and enjoyed our fill of that tasty good chicken. And, then it was home for me on Sunday afternoon and a thorough perusal of the Sunday comics. That’s another memory from Colorado. The Denver Post printed a huge newspaper which came out on Friday and I would purchase one on the way home from my office job after the Saturday noon closing. The three of us piled up on the bed on Saturday afternoon and Sunday with the newspaper and lots of comic strips. (Of course, at about a year old, Kirby wasn’t reading; but, he would take a nap with us. We didn’t attend church at all - no Southern Baptist Churches out there at that time. I seem to recall that a Baptist Mission was formed late in our second year in Colorado and we went to that during our last few weeks there.

I suppose I should add that we eventually came to Rayville to live in the spring of 1949 and it’s been such a pleasure to live here and get to know so many wonderful friends and neighbors and to become members of a loving and caring church - Woodlawn Baptist. So, Happy Birthday, Kirby, as you are probably reading this on your birthday, Thursday, July 15th.

CHUCKLE #1 - On the first day of the marriage retreat, the instructor talked to several couples about the importance of their knowing what matters to each other.

“For example,” he began, pointing to one of the husbands, “Barry, do you know your wife’s favorite flower?”

“Sure do.” came Barry’s answer. “It’s Pillsbury All Purpose.”

And, speaking a little more about my son, Kirby - that boy came one day last week and cleaned up my back yard, front yard and piled a small mountain of debris out on the edge of the street for the garbage truck to pick up on their regular run. The truck left a lot of the junky stuff on the scene, so I have to get out now and dispose of the remainder. But, I can take care of that little chore o.k. Kirby even got up on the roof of my house, trimming the overhanging branchs of the huge live oak tree in the front yard and blowing trash from the roof. In fact, he is doing so well that I have decided to keep him as my son. Ha.ha! No need making any changes at this late date in my life or his.

The older folks at Woodlawn Baptist Church (The Triple-L Club or the Live Longer & Love-it bunch) are looking forward to this month’s meeting on July 14 (Wed.) at 11:30 p.m. in the Family Life Center. Our pastor, Bro. Roger Johnson and his wife have promised to do some grilling (hamburger patties) for that occasion. Members attending will provide salads, desserts, etc. to go along with the burgers. Don’t know what the entertainment will be; but, I’ll report on that next week. I am sure it will all be very good.

Also, for a little more on Kirby, he and his wife, Linda, produced two grandchilden, Kristi and Kevin, for their grandparents to enjoy. Kristi has one daughter, Abby and they live out in the country from Mangham. Kevin is out west and still working at Ace Hardware. He called me on my birthday to wish me many happy returns. That made me feel pretty special. I also saw Kristi and her familly near the time of my recent birthday. Good chaps - all of them.

CHUCKLE#2 - On his parents’ 50th wedding anniversary, Charles remarked to his father that he and Mom never seemed to fight.

“Oh, we battled some,” his dad replied. “But, it never amounted to much. After a while, one of us always realizes that I was wrong.”

Just a word on the overhaul of our water system here in our fair town of Rayville. I sincerely hope that someone has a “master plan” of all the work that needed to be done. A lot of it has been completed if I am corrrectly assessing what I see going on all over town. I am assuming that each fellow knows what he’s doing and when and where it’s being done. All I’m waiting for is the word “completed” or “finished” or maybe, “Well done, thou good and faithful workers.” Something like that. Then, we can add, “Adios, hasta-la’vista” to all the torn up sidewalks, piles of dirt, etc. Or maybe, we’ll say “Carbolic Acid” - that’s goodbye in any language.

Birthdays are fast approaching for: Kirby Hendrix, Tod Barfield, Kim Dupont and Katherine Greer on7/15; for Beth Ann Dear and Camille Linder on 7/16; Brenda Malone and Jan Ross on 7/17; Kelly Coleman and Danny Roberts on 7/18; Becky Arnold, Steve Kelly, Kristy LaCroix, Charlotte Whitten, Pauline Watson and Johnny Hoychick on 7/19; Hannah Goodman, Jonah Sharbono, Balfour Pipes and Hudson Brakefield on 7/20 and for Gene Stewart, Ross Dana and Brandy Ann Parker on 7/21. May all of these good folks celebrate their special natal day in a wise, warm and wonderful way. And, we wish them many more......

And, that will just about close out another Outlook edition. Thanks for your taking the time and trouble to read it. Let me know anytime you have news which you’d like to have printed in the weekly Outlook column.

PARTING THOUGHT: We need to learn from the mistakes of others. Life is too short for us to make all of them ourselves.