My brother, Darrell, lives in Alabama so we don’t get to visit as often as we’d like. Last night was one of those too rare occasions when we got to sit down and talk for a while. After dinner at MomaG’s the conversation turned to memories of the past.

Like me, Darrell doesn’t have a lot of childhood memories, but some things are imprinted on our brains. He was one year old when we moved from New Chapel to Nettleton, so that’s when his recollections start. I do have some memories of New Chapel, including getting a whoopin’ for throwing rocks at my aunt who is only a few years older than me.

MomaG was surprised at the stories we related, and she told one I’d never heard. They owned the Western Auto & a doctor’s wife asked DaddyG to order her one of the first dishwashers. It was much like the portable ones you can still get today that you manually hook up to the sink faucet. MomaG decided she needed one, too, but it wasn’t money well spent. She said it wouldn’t wash dishes worth a hoot. DaddyG would buy and sell almost anything & one day he loaded up the mattress & box springs off their bed and sold it to someone who’d bought a bedroom suit from him.

Like most towns, Nettleton has a large ditch that runs through it. Darrell & friend Steve decided to try to dam up a section and fill it with water so we could swim. No telling how much water was wasted before they were caught & stopped. And one day I was filling up the plastic pool and didn’t stop at the parent-designated level, so Darrell got a hoe and chopped the water hose in two.

More memories surfaced as we talked and it turned out to be a wonderful evening. I hope we’ll do it more often.

Being #1 is nothing to brag about. A foxnews.com headline reads, “Mississippi Ranked as Fattest State in U.S.”. Well, gee, who’d-a-thought. A full 30% of Mississippians are obese. (Check out your Body Mass Index here and get more information about weight/health.) The article made me more conscious than ever about my weight loss. It’s a slow go, but I’ve been able to drop a pound or two every month. It doesn’t sound like much, but at least the numbers are going down & not up.

A friend of mine works in the lunchroom at a county school. She says that no matter how appetizing they try to make the healthy foods, kids won’t eat them. So they offer lasagna, spaghetti and other high-carb, high-calorie foods that the kids will eat and offer very little in the way of physical activity. According to the article, schools will have to change their ways this year and next. Let’s hope it works.

Yesterday was a really good “church” day. At BBC we’ve gone back to the tradition of Sunday school promotion. We all met in the sanctuary and classes were dismissed by age. Quaint, you might think, but it was very effective; just what we needed to stir the spirit of Sunday school. Of all the programs of the church, Sunday school is surely the most critical to the life of a church. This particular program provides for small groups of people who get to know each other (fellowship), study together (discipleship) and meet each others’ needs (service). Most people who are saved have been involved in Sunday school where Christians have witnessed by testifying to what Jesus has done for them. How great is that!?!?

Sometimes the Holy Spirit so fills the sanctuary during worship service that mere words can’t describe the moment. I can tell you what happened in sequence yesterday – we prayed, we welcomed, we sang Days of Elijah and Glorify Thy Name – but if you weren’t there you can’t know the true sense of worship that permeated the room. Every song, every prayer, all the preacher’s points brought us closer to our Father.

And there’s the matter of naps. Huh? Here I was talking about high and holy things, then I switched to naps. Well, that is an important part of my Sabbath experience. After working hard all week, I need to recuperate and rejuvenate. A nap usually does it for me.

Last night I visited Parkway Baptist to hear their choir present a summer musical – Sanctuary. There was a very good balance of praise songs, old Southern gospel and traditional songs. There’s a thread you’ve probably picked up on: music leads my spirit to worship.

And I got to see some of the kids and all the kidlettes this weekend. See pictures here.

Yesterday ended better than it started. Maybe it has something to do with expectations. It was just another day at work, but after work I had a treat. MomaG and my cousin, Susan, from Atlanta picked me up at 4:00 and we took the grand tour of the Nettleton/New Chapel area. We spent a lot of time revisiting the past by going to sites where our parents/grandparents/great grandparents lived years ago. MomaG remembers a lot of our family history. We made a brief stop at New Chapel cemetery where many of our relatives are buried, including my dad, Susan’s mom and our grandparents. Susan commented that we’re probably kin to most of the folks buried there.

Our meandering led us to Applebee’s for supper (Southern for dinner). Calories don’t count on your birthday, do they? Then we backtracked to see the progress being made on Katey & Andy’s house. I hated to leave the good company, but this chick goes to bed with the chickens in order to be up at 4:15.

There were phone calls from my girls and my brother, a very sweet post from Carolyn, cards in the mail and emails – all sending birthday wishes. (And a Terry rendition of “Happy Birthday”) All in all it was a very good day.

It’s almost intolerable, and I’m inside. How on earth do people work outside in this heat?? The air conditioner in our office hasn’t cycled off all day and it’s still over 80*. Do you know how hard it is to cool a metal building?!? Tempers aren’t faring very well in this extreme heat, either, and we’re moving about as fast as molasses in winter. Ah, for winter. Laurie expresses my sentiments when she says, “I don’t do HOT.”

For those of you who believe it has to do with global warming, I remind you that in the 1930’s the South experienced these same kinds of consistently HOT days. And, no, I wasn’t alive then, but I’ve seen some of the data. Most seniors I've heard talk about the weather say it goes in cycles and this just happens to be one of the hot ones.

Stay cool. Stay hydrated.

It's been a Mamaw kind of weekend. Marlee Kupcake kept me company Friday night for a few hours while her mom & dad had some much-needed alone time. Then she stayed with me a few more hours yesterday afternoon. We ate, we slept, we talked. She told me all sorts of secrets that I'll never tell. { 1. because I can keep a secret, and 2. because she was speaking another language. :-) } And her brothers visited for a while, too. Lest I forget, Laurie & Dewayne were here. Now I understand how my mom & dad felt when we took the girls to visit them; they hardly knew we were there for all the attention they were giving the little ones.

The Sunday school lesson this morning came from Malachi 1, about how worthy God is of our love and how that love should manifest itself in our daily lives and our corporate worship. Lots to digest and evaluate. The entire worship service was very powerful. Anyone who knows me, knows that music is, to me, the purest form of worship. The Offertory, How Great Thou Art, lifted us up to glimpse God's Glory. The special music, a very different genre, got us pumped up and ready to hear God's Word. Bro. Jim preached a powerful sermon about keeping the lighthouse clean. First Corinthians 5 is a very difficult scripture and much shunned by today's church, but Bro. Jim's teaching showed that scripture is very clear about church discipline. Lots more to digest and more examination needed in my own life first. I do love God's Word.

It's back to work tomorrow with triple digit temps and even higher heat indices. Everyone should remember to stay hydrated - water or power drinks, not carbonated or alcoholic drinks. Have a great week and remember Whose you are.

A much needed day off. YEA! The down side is that our work has slowed some, but we're hoping we'll have only a few short weeks. The up side is a break from the daily grind. And we conserve energy by turning off the air conditioners and lights and all the equipment for an extra day. Thursday the air conditioner in the office area never cycled off and at 3:30 it was still 80* in there.

Hey, the Tupelo plant won the LC Industries Safety Award for the second year in a row. Our percentage of workers' comp related injuries/illnesses per employee was the lowest of any other site - 2.2%. We had a pizza party and extended lunch break yesterday to celebrate. Our Health, Safety & Environment Manager is working on an incentive program (more than a pizza party) that will reward locations throughout the year for staying safe. One reason competitive industry hesitates to hire people who are handicapped, especially those who are blind, is a fear that the person will pose a safety hazard. Actually, the opposite is true: we have a much better safety record than other like industries.

Here's a look at "my folks".

I promise it's not laziness; there's just no time for two posts today. Click here for news about my kids & kidlettes. Cathy, you can share my secret now & thanks for keeping the confidence. You're a friend, indeed.