Gleaning Facebook: Dawgs come back.

Great day so far. All the good guys are leading. Noles have a win recorded against the Swamp Lizards. The Jackets are whuppin' the Dawgs. And the Team-Opposing-Alabama is leading in the second quarter.

Wendy Ramsey

And Ohio State pulled out a win against Michigan!

Ruth Pinson

Don't count my Dawgs out yet....17 unanswered points...20-17....there's still hope for those of us who are true UGA alums!!!!

Terrell Shaw

27-24 now -- fun game.

Ruth Pinson

Not Fun!!

Overtime, yuk!

Terrell Shaw

I may need an extra blood pressure pill.

Congrats, Ruth and the Dawgs.

Ruth Pinson

Yea!!!! Dawgs win!!!!! Whew!!!!

Terrell Shaw

Where IS that dislike button?!  As one of my friends said, don't you wish we could have heard Munson call this one?

Ruth Pinson

Yes, we do. 

Hal Massie

Ruth, I don't know you, but I like you! Never, ever count the Dogs out! GO DAWGS!!!

Terrell Shaw

Hal, you and Ruth would share some viewpoints beyond your affection for stinky ol' Dawgs- you as a botanist and she as a wonderful 4th grade teacher with an environmental approach to education -- and the best classroom garden around.

Hal Massie

Sounds like my kind of person. My wife is a third grade teacher. We tried once to put in a garden at her school, but it failed due to lack of support from the school and extreme droughts.

By the way, Terrell, I've been meaning to ask you something. In 1993 I attended the state Master Gardener conference, which was held in Rome that year. I stayed in a Berry College dorm, where I fell out of bed and broke my arm on the second day of the conference. Despite the pain (and I really didn't think it was broken), I went on several garden tours in the area, including one of the finest private gardens I've ever seen. I'm pretty sure the lady that built that garden was named Ruth Shaw. Is she a relative of yours? The only thing I can tell you about the location is that the home and garden were high on a ridge and most of the garden was terraced.

 Terrell Shaw

My wonderful mother is Ruth Shaw but not that Ruth Shaw. My Mama didn't live in Rome in 1993 and though she raises a few tomatoes and assorted flowers she has no terraces and has never been a hostess of a garden tour to my knowledge. 

Gleaning Facebook: Small Business

 My granddaddy was a small town barber, so in his honor I'll pass this along on Small Business Saturday. Check out a few small shops of any kind today. Let's skip the big boxes and franchises for a day. For me it'll probably be an antique mall or two.

Gleaning Facebook: A Non-Commercial Christmas

 Putting up the Christmas tree as we prepare for a non-commercial Christmas season again this year. We are going to visit, do, share, donate, entertain and be entertained, but we are not going to spend much time in stores. Sorry business folk. But don't worry, we spend way more than we should year-round.

By the way, our tree will stay up and lit till Epiphany.

Comments

Tersi Bendiburg Mine stays up and lit 'till Epiphany too.

Karen Smith Garland I agree 100%!!! Thank you for remembering the reason for the season.... 

Terrell Shaw If we ever become grandparents we'll probably go back to crass commercialism as we spoil grandkids! But maybe even then we can put a little more emphasis on experience than stuff. 

Karen Smith Garland This is what we try to do with our son. However, I do admit that it sometimes difficult not to spoil. We're lucky though, in that he enjoys experiences too!!

John Paul Schulz commie liberal

Holly Kastanias Cothran I try to only buy handmade/vintage or "experience" presents. It's so wonderful to hear Landon say he wants to make a gift for someone rather than go shopping 

Laurie Craw It's a good time to support your local artists too. Back in the day when I was one, the Christmas shoppers sure helped me finance my stay-at-home mother work.
Howard Smith Terrrell, like you, we are pretty much done with the shopping experience and spend far more time just enjoying the holiday season.
George Barton So you went out and cut the tree, you didn't buy it commercially did you?

-------

This post will answer George's question above. :-)

-------

"Bah-humbug" has already escaped my grumpy ol' lips! Plugged in this &^%$#&^# tree and not one Sure-Lit™ light came on. You can be sure, alright, about Westinghouse, sure that it won't work the second season. I will NEVER again buy a pre-lit fake tree. They never work more than one season. GGrrrrr... (OK, that's off my chest, now back to a good attitude. You can do it, Terrell.)

Comments 

Brian Barcomb Same here brother....same here

John McClellan We must be lucky. The prelit Christmas tree we bought six years ago worked again this afternoon the first time we plugged it in. That was after being bagged up outside under the carport since June.

Terrell Shaw John, are you rubbing it in here? 

What brand do you have?

John McClellan Not rubbing it in. We bought a Martha Stewart Living tree on sale at Kmart.

Chris Goodwin Lmbo. My son and I spent three hours cutting the prelit lights off our tree from last year because I couldn't make myself buy a new one when ours looked fine.....except for the lights that didn't work. I now have carpal tunnel from cutting over a thousand lights off.
Terri Morgan Not sure what brand ours is...we got it at Lowe's about 4 years ago. Knock on wood; it's worked OK every year.

Neal Brackett Terrell, just because it is not working now does not mean that it won't eventually work. You have to give this time. You have to have hope. Why are you giving up so soon? You cannot expect these things to work without gliches.

Terrell Shaw Ours came from Lowe's too.

Terrell Shaw Chris, Sheila cut the old lights off our 7 ft tree last year.

Gola Burton just add more lights. then more and more
Terrell Shaw Very funny Neal. BTW the ACA website did not work well at first and has been slowly getting better. This blamed tree worked perfectly till the guarantee expired. 

John McClellan Meanwhile, a third of the lights on a deer we put next to a spiral tree outside aren't working.

Neal Brackett I didn't say anything about ACA.... but I do note the irony.

Tersi Bendiburg Mine has worked for several years now. I haven't tried it this year.
Barbara Jean Smith Bob has said the very same thing! He ended up cutting all the pre-lite duds off and we just put light on each year

Jenifer Beaver Ahem...okay. This is what has kept me from buying one of these. My first thought was, "one day those lights won't work."
Ruth Baird Shaw Terry and Sheila...Get my nephew Ricky. over to help you!!!! My pre-lit tree is up and lit up as i write. (5 or 6 years old... He fiddled with the lights and got them working and his family have my tree decorated and lighted. Looks better than it ever has before!
Chandler Gray Ours lit, but two BIG boxes of ornaments are gone!

Lynne Crothers Williams Possibly some kind of karma for going with a fake tree.
Laurie Craw It's that conflicted time of year again. Better for the earth to cut a live tree or buy and reuse a plastic one? Forget the live trees with roots. Cost too much

Lynne Crothers Williams The live trees are a renewable resource, planted specifically to be sold for Christmas trees, at least where we buy ours. At least as many are planted as are sold. Live trees with roots are too expensive and I had no luck with keeping it alive, even thru the first summer.

Gleaning Facebook: Just Hang Up

 So some fella calls my cell, while I am sitting around Mama's big room with a couple dozen relatives, and wants to interview me about my satisfaction with AT&T. He also calls Sheila. My response, of course, was "On Thanksgiving afternoon?! You've got to be kidding me." And I hung up. Actually I knew the guy was dead serious. He would have eventually tried to get some info from me that would allow him to access my accounts. I guarantee you he succeeded a few times during the day. As a result some folks will lose some money and a lot of time getting their phone accounts straightened out.

Friends: Legit businesses do not operate that way. The idiots at Walmart may be open on Thanksgiving but even they know better than to call customers' homes on Thanksgiving day. And no legit business or government office is going to cold call and ask for personal info. The IRS doesn't do that. AT&T doesn't do that. etc. etc.

THEREFORE if some jerk you don't know calls you and asks for account numbers, or passwords, or ANY personal or financial info, hang up. Just hang up.

Comments

Christie Hufstedler Boyd Not only did they call you, they called me first, then Freddy, then Nicole. None of us talked to him. Our same reaction was AT&T on Thanksgiving? We don't think so!
Terrell Shaw Our cell service is with Verizon, but we have reg phone with AT&T, so that also made it suspicious.
Jackson Williamson They called us. Did they offer you a bill credit for completing a survey?
Terrell Shaw I didn't let the guy get a word in edgewise, Jackson. He got about half a sentence out before I made my exclamation and hung up.
Jackson Williamson We have him the same treatment after determining there was no emergency.
Juli Oswalt Johnson They got several people yesterday unfortunately.
Erskine Thompson I was called as I was being driven home from my hospital stay. Obviously, I had no patience for this clown. I made my determination quick also since I have Verizon too.
Bill Pelfrey Jr he called me and i did not understand him and i said who are you with and he hung up.....

Gleaning Facebook: Where it begins

If I started naming my blessings at midnight and continued without break for all 24 hours of this special day I could only give the flimsiest outline of the things for which I am thankful. I am a very fortunate man. But there is no question of where the list would begin: my dearest, truest friend who knows my faults in embarrassing detail, who has seen me at my most petty and petulant, who has held me in my deepest dispair, has gloried with me in my wildest happiness, who has shared my life for better and worse since August 8, 1971, Sheila Matthews Shaw.

Gleaning Facebook: Retirement?

Hello Terrell! Is'nt retirement nice?? The only bad thing is that it takes wonderful teachers like you out of the classroom!!! I have enjoyed your posts even though we differ in opinion sometimes. But, it would be a boring world if everyone was like me! However, what really counts is our basic love for one another. I'm so glad you are my friend!

 Terrell Shaw

Thanks, Terry. I agonized over retirement the last three years. Was not sure I wanted it at all. That last few months, especially, was so strange -- after every lesson the automatic "How will I make this better next year?" then, "Oh, yeah, no next year." It was Twain, I think, who said no one ever does anything for the last time without a twinge of regret.
Then I stumbled into the perfect retirement job for me. Could not have been better timing.

Terry Lewis
What are you doing?

Terrell Shaw
Working part-time at Arrowhead Environmental Education Center telling stories, leading nature walks, showing off the animals to K-5 (mostly) and, of course, cleaning up snake and alligator poo.

Terry Lewis
Sounds like a great job if you could call it that. lol The Center is fortunate to have you!!

Terrell Shaw
I ahve all the stuff I love about teaching -- kids, nature, stories -- none of the rotten stuff -- hovering-administrators, paper grading, other paperwork, etc.

Terrell Shaw
Yeah. With Sheila still working this house is lonesome territory. I prefer my "work" days to my "at home" days, truly.

Terrell Shaw
Bring a line and pole and a grandkid or two, and come out to see us one day.

Terry Lewis
Thanks Terrell, I will do that! But right now I'm laid-up from hernia surgery Thursday. My wife's honey-do lists are killing me! lol

Gleaning Facebook: 50 Years Ago

Fifty years ago today I was a junior at West Rome High School. Best I can remember we were in the hallway between classes when the school intercom system came on. I was on my way into Mrs. Howell's (a Facebook friend now) English class I think. I remember being very frightened that the assassination was part of some kind of coup or international attack. There was speculation about the safety of Vice President, now President, Johnson.

It seemed we spent days in front of the TV. On Sunday, after church, we drove to Hardee's on Second Ave. (Shrimpboat today) for hamburgers to take home and eat in front of the TV. We were about down to the Washington Apartments when the radio blasted the news of Ozwald's murder. Another horrifying twist. All the reports, recordings, film-clips, and memories related today have brought back the unbelievable uncertainty, sadness, and confusion of those days.

The relatively new universality of TV made this a uniquely shared experience for the grieving nation. America grieved in unison, from the early reports, to the new president's solemn oath, to the late night return to Andrews, to the Oswald murder, to the funeral and John John's salute, to the carriage to Arlington.

Gleaning Facebook: The Democrats Get Tough

Senator Harry Reid, 2009

Finally. The Republicans have tried to rule the country from the minority for years now. Filibustering routinely. Stopping nominations of folks they had previously praised simply to gum up the works. These extremists have forced this move through absolute and unabashed obstructionism. How dare a strongarm politician like McConnell call this a "power grab." The Senate will work better. Our government can function.

From Robert Reich --

Turns out Harry Reid knows the only way to deal with bullies is to fight back. Not only did he refuse to compromise with Republicans who threatened to default on the nation’s debt if they didn’t get their way. He’s now led the Democrats to eliminate filibusters for most presidential nominations. The rule change (accomplished by a 51-vote majority vote today) means that federal judge nominees and executive-office appointments can now be confirmed by a simple majority of senators, rather than the 60-vote super-majority that has been required for more than two centuries. (The rule change doesn't apply to Supreme Court nominees.) Republicans brought on this rule change by abusing the process – refusing to confirm almost every judge Obama has nominated, including his last four nominees to the all-important District of Columbia Circuit, on pure political grounds rather than on merit. Republican extremism can not be allowed to destroy our democracy. Today, Reid and the Democrats struck back.

Wow. I got comments on this one (one commenter removed his comments)---

Dawn N Luke Andrews
What goes around comes around. Reid squawked about this option a few years ago, but, in true hypocrite fashion, he employs the tactic in his own favor. If the American people ever wake up to the blatant deception and dishonesty of the current power structure in Washington, they will throw all these bastards out who are destroying our once great nation.

Terrell Shaw
Reid was given no choice by the extremist senators on your side of the aisle Luke.

Dawn N Luke Andrews
BS...plain and simple. Reid is having a psuedoorgasm right now I'm sure....he's been looking for an excuse to do this...he is pathetic and makes me sick quite frankly

Terrell Shaw
Take a breath Luke. Please keep it civil here.

Dawn N Luke Andrews
Someone else thought it was a bad idea a few years ago....my my....the hypocrisy is damning....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GhSKywjnqc...

Terrell Shaw
It is a terrible idea, but when the extremists on the right use the filibuster routinely, breaking with two hundred years of precedent to paralyze the government, there is no alternative.

Actually I should rephrase. As a small-r republican, I have always been troubled by the extreme power the filibuster gives a single person, who could be one of those elected from one of several states with populations smaller than Cobb County Georgia. But IF it is a real "stand-on-the-floor-till-you-drop-Mr-Smith" filibuster, I have a certain respect for it. But the recent filibuster rules make it a blatantly anti-small-r-republican tactic.

Dawn N Luke Andrews
This move is a usurpation, plain and simple

Terrell Shaw
If so, this "usurpation" has my full support. 

Neal Brackett
So this has been done since 1789, and suddenly it is bad... kind of on the same level as public prayer...

Terrell Shaw
The filibuster in the Senate became possible in 1806. It was never actually used till 1837. It was used only rarely until recent years. I remember some long filibusters in the fifties and sixties, sometimes over very hot issues like civil rights. Wayne Morse and Strom Thurmand are the champs at the tactic that I vaguely remember. Of course in those days it required the guy with the wad in his panties to actually stand in the well and keep talking to postpone action. Then, in recent years, both Democrats and Republicans have escalated the problem by making it much easier to filibuster a bill. But McConnell and the GOP have set all kinds of new records the last five years, virtually bringing the government to a standstill. Refusing to approve even nominees they themselves admit are qualified, simply as a way of stymying their political opponents.

As I understand it, the filibuster still stands in the Senate for everything except nominations.

Chandler Gray
(Biting my tongue, Oh Revered One)

Terrell Shaw
You may speak, young wet-behind-the-ears-kid! 

Chandler Gray
I shan't Sir, I shan't.

Terrell Shaw
Approximately half of the filibusters of my lifetime have occured in the last five years. That is the extent of the abuse of the filibuster power under McConnell's obstructionist leadership of the minority. I ain't ten.

Neal Brackett
What are the Democrats getting ready to ram through that they are afraid of the Fillibuster?. The Republican's have confirmed 99% of his appointees...

Laurie Craw
A majority is half-plus-one. But wait until Republicans get through spinning this. They'll have us all thinking Democrats have violated the Constitution and "taken away our rights." I expect to hear, "They rammed this down our throats like they did Obamacare." They will call for the impeachment of Harry Reid. The words "dictatorship" and "government takeover" will be thrown around. And sadly, a lot of voters will remember their deceitful rhetoric at election time. Democrats need to be ready today to counteract that rhetoric tomorrow.

Terrell Shaw
Oh, the right is already apoplectic, Laurie, if not downright apocalyptic. I've read several responses from folks on the right who now have further evidence that America is no more. Nevermind that filibuster was rare until the 1900s, unusual then until it was expanded to the easy "silent" filibuster, and NEVER used in the unrestrained way it has crippled government during the last five years -- basically giving an extra-constitutional veto to the senate minority. I feel safe in asserting: though the founders were glad to impede "mob rule," crippling government is not what the founders intended. The GOP filibuster abuse had crippled our government.

Terrell Shaw
No one is silenced by this, Wayne. And the voice of the voters is strengthened. Mr. Cruz can have his equal time to squawk as he likes, but he won't be able to, alone, stymie the will of the majority. We are more of a Republic than we were on Wednesday. The Senate has gained more deliberation rather than losing it in this change.

Raymond Atkins
Let the apopolexy begin. Karma can be a real bear, sometimes.

Jackson Williamson
I think you accidentally a word there, Wayne.

Laurie Craw
Another part of the former "silent filibuster" that concerned me was the fact that no Senator had to go on record "Yea" or "Nay" in a floor vote. Just the threat of the filibuster was enough to keep the vote from being taken and we had no way of knowing who was blocking the nominee. The same is happening in the House when the Speaker refuses to allow a floor vote until he lines up enough supporters of the bill to pass the bill. "How did my representative vote?" is always vital information to voters in subsequent elections but without a vote, we don't have that record to go on.

Terrell Shaw
Wayne, "belligerant bullies"? What do you call those who refuse to allow the president his appointees, not because they think them unqualified, but simply to obstruct his programs. !68 filibusters of appointees, 62 during the last five years. The real bullies, McConnell & Co, gave us no choice. We left in place legislative filibusters and Supreme Court filibusters but IF the GOP continues to be unreasonable I hope the Senate will do away with those filibusters too.

Terrell Shaw
Beg pardon? "Voting down" is rarely done, instead good folks are held up for months on end and our courts and executive offices are crippled by way of uncertain staffing. Taranto, for example, was held up for something like 17 months, then passed unanimously. The whole thing was only an effort to hinder this president.

Terrell Shaw
Wayne, seriously, do you not agree that out government cannot function in a reasonable manner if we give an extra-constitutional veto to the Senate minority leader? With split government, the house already operates as a serious brake on any wild ideas we Democrats come up with. If the GOP had been willing to use the filibuster in a semi-reasonable fashion it would have lasted a lot longer. Though I suspect it was doomed in the long-run anyway.

Gleaning Facebook: Loss of Innocence

We've all that moment growing up haven't we? 

From our neighbor Bill Cox, whose parents were our across-the-street neighbors from 1976 till the 1990s:

Reading Raymond Atkins article in the RNT the other day made me reflect on the summer I was 10 years old.

My mother always worked very hard to provide the best of everything she possibly could for me. My father was a hardworking man also, but had a very different idea of what a 10 year old boy needed and wanted. Well, my mother decided I needed to go the 1965 World’s Fair in New York City, as well as see other thing included in the tours itinerary.

My mother could not possibly save enough money in a few years to send us, and my father did not see this as a need. So my mother started saving her S & H Green Stamps for this trip, and early one June morning in 1965 we left the Greyhound bus station on 4th Ave. bound for NYC and a side trip to see my aunt, uncle and cousins in New Jersey. (Cousin Larry still says that Uncle Jimmy was in the Mafia.)

When We arrived at our Hotel the Sheraton in downtown NYC, this 10 year old Georgia boy, who had never been west of Forney, AL or north of Summerville, GA, was awe struck. The huge buildings that blocked the sun, the fancy dressed people, cars everywhere. It was more than I could take in. But in the hotel room there was a card with the best surprise of all…. It promised the next morning we would have in our room a CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST. Well at 10 years old that meant something special to me. See, states are large, countries are huge, so CONTENTAL had to be double humongous! I could not wait for the slab of bacon, fried and scrambled eggs, sausage patties, biscuits and gravy, grits, waffles and pancakes, home fried potatoes, muscadine jelly, the list of different foods just went on and on. Then a big ole Double Cola to wash it all down.

The next morning, as excited as I had ever been waiting on Santa Claus, a knock came at the door and our breakfast cart was pushed in. I flung the stainless steel covers and white liens off the plates only to find an orange, an apple, and a few red grapes; a doughnut or two and some sweet, flat looking things I now know are Danish Pastry; a small pot of coffee (as of today I still do not drink) and some apple juice.

This was the single biggest disappointment in my young life. To be promised a continent of food only to be given islet.

So Raymond, when I read about your continental breakfast experience, it really took me back and the bad thing was there was no raccoon or armadillo to fight over the scraps.

The lesson I learned has served me well over the years; especially in 1966 when I didn’t get my pony for my 11th birthday. 

Gleaning Facebook: Yep. Strep.

 

Yep. Strep.

A pretty nurse pumped about a gallon of penicillin, laced with a bit of yellow-jacket venom for good measure, into one cheek, and a smaller amount of steroids into the other.

I've slept awhile now, and seem to be sweating off the fever.

We are all out of the honey/lemon concoction that is such a wonderful soother of flaming throat, but Sheila found a small carton of lemon sorbet in the freezer. It will do in a pinch.

Comments:

Jann Heaton Skeen
You should be on the mend now!
David Marlin Rains Strep is bad news but those ABs work quickly. Tell you what, Terrell, take a break and play on FB all day - works for me 

Terrell Shaw Hey, David, I just remembered, I'm retired. I can do that if I like anyway. But I did want to finish re-staining/polishing the wooden parts a a chair so I can get it to the upholsterer. Maybe tomorrow.
Jann Heaton Skeen I did not realize you had retired!! Enjoy!

Tersi Bendiburg Dislike very much, Terrell. Hope you'll feel much better soon.
Terrell Shaw Yep. I have a wonderful part-time retirement job at Arrowhead, but I'm retired as of last June 1.
Anita Stewart Hope the penicillin, venon, steroid concoction helps your sore throat.

Pamela Held Ergle Sorry to hear you have strep i wouldn't wish that on anyone. At least you went to the doctor and got the good medicine. Hope you get to feeling better real soon.
Jackson Williamson I learned of this stuff from one of my voice teachers a long time ago. It's great for any sore throat situation:

CVS.COM Angela Flannigan McRee Hope you feel better soon. Yuck!!!!
Wanda Mulkey Dagraedt That nasty little bug seems to be zipping around. Hope you feel better.
Madelyn Collette Feel better soon.
Nancy Johal Singh Oh no, hope you feel well soon, let me know if you need a doctor, I happen to know a great one:)
Ruth Baird Shaw Terry, so sorry you are sick. Missed you this week-end. You should have spoken up sooner! Carol made lemon-ginger tea for folks here all weekend!

Ruth Pinson I'm sorry you're down, but hope you 're feeling great soon!!
Terrell Shaw I'm much better already, thanks to those miracle shots to my hiney. Throat's still sore but less so. Now to see if I can make positive use of this jump start on a renewed weight-loss regimen. Thanks everyone for all the good wishes!
John Countryman Sorry...what a drag! Speedy recovery.

Jann Heaton Skeen Hey "Mr. Terrell Shaw". This will make you feel better. I told Katelyn (Shuler) you were retired and she said "He's not that old”.

Terrell Shaw Give Katelyn an extra hug for me!

Dawn Lambert feel better
Marsha Yancey Atkins Hope you feel better soon.
Deborah Shaw Lewis I have half a jar of that lemon-ginger-honey mix in my refrig. Should i bring it over? It is the best for a sore throat.
Terrell Shaw We have loaded another jar with it, Debi, but thanks. I like that stuff, sore throat or not. I've lost my voice in the aftermath of this so I'm continuing to drink it. I'm scheduled to tell stories this week, of course, and to sing for the RahRahs next week so I need to fix that. I may need to try Jackson Williamson's cure above as well.

Gleaning Facebook: Kind Words

 Thanks to Beth Gibbons for these kind words. I hated to miss.

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

Beth Gibbons: 

We were blessed this morning in our worship service to have a beautiful and inspiring message delivered by Rev. Ruth Shaw on 23 Psalm. Missed having Terrell Shaw there due to illness, but happy that his wife and sisters were in attendance. What an amazing family.

The Red Light's On

Now we could have followed the advice of MapQuest and taken the perimeter highway around to Decatur and the Friend’s School and our rendezvous with the 2013 Tellebration. It may have been faster. But as a fellow who wheeled around East Atlanta and Decatur a fair amount in my youth and early adulthood I preferred to drive through town. Knowing how traffic can clot unexpectedly we gave ourselves a huge cushion of time.

Despite a wreck at Mt. Paran that blocked three lanes we found ourselves at the North Avenue exit in no time. Across Peachtree, then over a block to Ponce and we were practically home free.

We had just turned on to Ponce de Leon when Sheila said (I’m approximating here) “Isn’t the Mother Ship nearby?”

“Matter of fact it is!” I shouted with glee. “Shall we dock for a few minutes and refuel?”

The words had barely escaped my lips when there it was.

 

Gleaming neon, and yes, the “Red Light Was On!”

We pulled the red Camry into the very first spot by the airlock. (It was meant-to-be.) Floated past the giant red neon proclaiming Heaven-On-Earth, and entered.
Ahhhhh.....

The olfactory senses were flooded with a delectable blend of hot coffee, sticky sweetness, and hot doughy deliciousness.

An angelic face behind the counter asked for particulars. Though John McCutcheon proclaims four too many, and two, one to few, we settled on three and a medium cup o'Joe to share.

We watched as the conveyor attendant carefully lifted them, with a chopstick through the hole fresh from the hot grease and glazing , -- one,--two, --three into a crisp box. 

We waited a couple of minutes for the fresh brew to make, then found our seat and, taking time to snap a selfie of anticipation, were transported to another sphere.

As you can see from the photos we were as glazed as the dough-nuts.

Gleaning Facebook: Stories, Sermons, and Folk Music

Really looking forward to our special weekend. Tonight we will be in Decatur for Tellebration. One of the tellers this year will be our friend Tersi Bendiburg. If you are in the vicinity check it out!

Tomorrow morning we'll sing with the Trinity choir at 9:45 and 11, then sneak out after the anthem to 2nd Avenue Methodist to hear my wonderful mother preach. 

In the afternoon we'll head back to Decatur, this time with our friends Steve and Laurie Craw to hear a favorite singer/songwriter/storyteller, John McCutcheon, at Eddie's Attic. Fun!

An interesting coincidence: Tersi is John's sister-in-law. Sheila and I are fans of both from before John and Tersi's sister Carmen were married.

We heard Tersi first at the Georgia Writers Conference here in Rome, five or six years ago. We bought John's vinyl record, The Wind That Shakes the Barley, back in the seventies. We've heard him several times at the National Storytelling Festival, and heard him and Carmen at the Southern Order of Storytellers festival, and then a couple of years ago heard that he was doing a joint concert with

Pete Seeger

in New Jersey, made reservations for us and the girls and headed up to Rutherford. Great concert.

Gleaning Facebook: Tellabration Tonight!

Really looking forward to our special weekend. Tonight we will be in Decatur for Tellebration. One of the tellers this year will be our friend Tersi Bendiburg. (If you are in the vicinity check it out!) Tomorrow morning we'll sing with the Trinity choir at 9:45 and 11, then sneak out after the anthem to 2nd Avenue Methodist to hear my wonderful mother preach. In the afternoon we'll head back to Decatur, this time with our friends Steve and Laurie Craw to hear a favorite singer/songwriter/storyteller, John McCutcheon, at Eddie's Attic. Fun!

An interesting coincidence: Tersi is John's sister-in-law. Sheila and I are fans of both from before John and Tersi's sister Carmen were married.

We heard Tersi first at the Georgia Writers Conference here in Rome, five or six years ago. We bought John's vinyl record, The Wind That Shakes the Barley, back in the seventies. We've heard him several times at the National Storytelling Festival, and heard him and Carmen at the Southern Order of Storytellers festival, and then a couple of years ago heard that he was doing a joint concert with Pete Seeger in New Jersey, made reservations for us and the girls and headed up to Rutherford. Great concert.

Gleaning Facebook: Virginia is Blue!

 They finally called the Virginia Attorney General race for the Democratic Party. We now hold all the statewide offices in the commonwealth. Way to go, Virginia. Now with Michelle Nunn and Jason Carter the Democratic Party in Georgia will be competitive again. We cannot get Georgia public schools back on their feet without a competitive Democratic Party.

Gleaning Facebook: Congratulations, Marty!

Some of my family and friends will want to congratulate Marty Teem (Martin Penland Teem IV) on this award, a culminating event for his 44 year career with the Georgia Department of Public safety. Marty was my very best friend during our years in Ellijay, our 6th -9th grades.

Congratulations Marty!