"Under dressed"

I’m not sure how long her white hair was -  she had it piled (I assume) atop her head under the “spiffy” little beige beret type hat, that had a short little bill. On the back, she had placed a rather large white silk flower that was edged in pink. I’m assuming it was to help keep her hat and hair, in place.

She wore some fancy black “jeggings” (she really needed a longer top to cover her fanny), but the jeggings had pockets that were adorned with jewels. I think she wanted those pockets to show and she was tiny so it really didn’t seem to matter.

Sticking out from under the jeggings, on her feet, were sheer black panty hose which she had encased in beige high heeled shoes. On top, covering her black top, she wore a short beige sweater that was trimmed in fur. Was it real fur? I'm no expert!

Her cheeks were deeply rouged in pink blush and when I got closer I noticed that when she painted her lips (with the same pink color) she didn’t quite stay within her lip lines. Her eyes were covered with huge black-rimmed sunglasses that had an amber tint.

The “writer” in me knew this was a story, so I had to speak to her! I commented on how pretty she looked (I was really stretching it a bit), and I asked if she was on her way to a party. She replied….”No, I had a coffee party this morning.” I realized that either her husband hadn’t gone…..or he wasn’t as “clothes conscious” as she was. In fact, in my mind, they were sort of a “mis-match.” However, she did tell me they’d “been together” 45 years!

Later, as we sat there waiting for our clothes to finish (we had gone to a Laundromat) the young man who owned the place stopped and said….”Isn’t this a great place to people watch?” I responded with….”You mean like that couple?” (as I motioned toward the older couple). He replied…….”She always dresses like she’s in a pageant.”

It was the first time I’d had someone make me feel “underdressed” at a Laundromat!
#jeggings #laundromat #peoplewatching 

It was more than just a tree.......

By the old house – the house that we call “Granny’s House” – even though my parents also lived there after Granny passed away, stood an old Water Oak Tree.  Several years ago, on a very stormy and windy night lightning struck the old tree and several of the huge limbs fell across our driveway.

Joey Robinson, sweet neighbor that he was, came with his chain saw in the middle of the raging storm and cut the big limbs, and daughter Gale and I helped get the driveway cleared. Normally, the branches could have stayed until daylight but husband Bob had recently been diagnosed with cancer and we never knew if, or when, we’d be making a trip to the ER.

Later, Bob wanted to cut the rest of the tree down, but I begged (on behalf of the tree) to “let’s see if it will continue living.”  And continue living, it did!

We all know that everything is “in God’s time”….and I think God must have decided that the old Water Oak had lived long enough.

                                                                                                                                                             

During a recent storm, I’m not sure if lightning struck again or if the heavy winds took their toll, but most of the rest of the old tree fell. Once again, it was across the driveway. This time, there was no saving what was left. My son-in-law, Dan, cleared the driveway and cut down most of the remainder of the old tree.  

I’m sorry I wasn’t there to say goodbye, to a memory. Once, when the Southern Pine “Today” newspaper published instructions on how to measure a tree to find the age – granddaughter Olivia and I went through the steps. The old tree was at least 110 years old. I knew it HAD to be old – I’m over ¾ of a century and it had been standing there for as long as I could remember.

If the old tree could have talked, the stories I’m sure it would have told! Many children – grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews and friends had played under that old tree. We dug in the dirt with spoons and made pies in dishes (that Granny let us have). We used it as a hiding place while cousins searched for us. We sat under it in the heat of summer. 

Mistletoe grew in the top of the old tree and squirrels chased up and down the trunk .into the holes they had begun to call home. The acorns that fell from the limbs were tiny but plentiful and covered the ground, like fine carpet, that crunched under one’s feet.

It was more than just a tree – it was a part of my childhood and of my adult memories and when I sit, on my Front Porch, I’ll miss that old tree with its big roots. I’ll miss the sight of the mistletoe, in the winter. It was the only tree, in my yard, with that parasite.

I’ll remember, so many years ago, little cousins digging in the dirt under that old tree. I’ll remember that cousins shared secrets, under the old tree. I’ll remember that pictures were taken under the old tree. I’ll remember that the old tree with it’s branches and leaves shaded so many family members over the years. I’ll wonder how many stories it had stored in its limbs and branches.

It was more than just a tree.....and I'm sorry I never took a photograph of the tree that was a part of my family history.

It's a Freebie!!!

Ever so often.....we (Mary Cooke and I) get in a "giving" mood.

Mary - who writes as Mary Lou Cheatham called and asked me....."how do you feel about giving something away?" She caught me on a day when I was in a Benevolent Mood! I asked, "what do you have in mind?"  And she said....."let's create some interest in our book.....let's give away some Kindle downloads of Travelers in Painted Wagons on Cohay Creek!"

"We really need to get people to write reviews," said Mary Lou "and .....well.....they have to read it first!"

So, it was said and so it was decided.....

We'd do a giveaway.....

People like to get "something for nothing"  ....and when that "something" is a good book,,,,,like Travelers in Painted Wagons on Cohay Creek........it brings a smile to so many faces.

So, from today through Thursday (3/20 - 3/23)....download to your Kindle. Did you know you can also download a FREE Kindle app to your laptop ....or your iPad.

Download Free Book to your Kindle.....or the App on your Laptop or iPad.

We ask that you leave a review, on Amazon, after reading our book.
You don't have to write much....just "I liked it"...."I didn't like it"  ....or more if you have more to say.

We are judged by the NUMBER of reviews...so please, please, please....after you've read it....write something!!