Greenpastures313’s Weblog

A short week makes for long hours. I’ve yet to complete the December church bulletin due out Sunday, but am working on it. I’ve yet to write my weekly column for the paper, deadline thursday AM, but with the holiday, need to write it tonight. I’ve yet to finalize thoughts for Sunday’s sermon, also, but can do that wednesday after Bible class. We’re about to head to visitation at the Funeral home for a dear church family member, the funeral is set for tomorrow afternoon and I and another preacher will conduct the service. Thanksgiving day we’ll spend at my mother’s in Albany, then Friday we’ll travel to Montgomery to meet up with Vickey’s niece, spend the night and come home Saturday. Vickey has been running today, coordinating food for the bereaved family, making candy for Salt Lick and for another out of state customer who always places a huge order and keeping up with our two year old and the other child she provides day care for. It’s the holidays, and this may be it for blogging until Sunday night or Monday, so have a good one all and thanks for reading.

Zoe’ and I spent the morning together. Vickey and friend April are shopping in Macon all day. They’ll eat supper tonight at Olive Gardens, then shop some more, then come home about 10:30 pm. They do this every year about this time. So, Zozo and I started out by going to town to pick up a couple of Angel Food Ministries food boxes at the Church of God in Cordele. These are  really quite good and they make excellent benevolent boxes to give to families or elderly people that might need a little help. Next we went to clean the church building (vickey usually does this every week). Zoe played in the nursery and was in a very good humor considering she’s been sick with an ear infection for several days. The antibiotic is helping so she is feeling much better today. After leaving the church, we rode out to the river to visit with Bobby and Linda Willis. Bobby and Linda are from Moultrie GA, but they own a weekend house on the Flint which is awesome. The water is down now, which DNR does every two years to allow dock and sea wall construction. Nice boat dock and view of the water. What’s better than having a boat? Having friends that have a boat, as told about in the poem “Boat People” by your’s truly:

               Boat People

     We went to the lake today and pretended

     to be “boat people” as we cruised south

     to the power dam and

     north again to the state park and the slip

     in which the hull resides suspended

     eleven and three quarter months out of the year.

     The other seven days it plows through other

     wakes at the behest of friends of the owner

     who pretend to be “boat people” too because it’s cheaper

     and there’s no pressure to use the boat any more than they do

     since it’s not theirs in the first place.

     Glenn Jarrett

     July 3, 2004

Some of Bobby and Linda’s grandchildren and Zoe’

Zoe’ checking out the new boat dock at Bobby and Linda’s place on the Flint River

Hope all readers are having a good weekend. Thanks for stopping by!

Glenn

Gas in Cordele is $1.80/gallon (but just the other day one station here sold for 1.70 but only for a day or two and then they went up 10 cents). It’s been four years since it was that cheap here. Could there be such a thing as too cheap? I think yes. Opec is going to pinch the hose which will stifle some of the fall, but it could very well be that gas gets so cheap because no one, or very few, will have any money left to buy it. That’s what you call depression. “Hey, 40 cents a gallon! But I’ve spent all my savings and I lost my job my home my sanity, who can afford 40 cents?”  Anything’s possible, but everything’s possible with God. Uncertainty pushes us toward Him. “Give us this day our daily bread.” “Consider the lillies of the field.”

Vickey and Emma and friend Amy and Amy’s daughter Kaylee are in the kitchen making candy. This is Vickey’s busy time of year. For over ten years she has operated a home based candy business, catering to friends and family and word of mouth referrals. She also provides candy for Salt Lick Sausage Company, a local specialty store. Last Saturday Salt Lick hosted a tasting party. The place was packed with people sampling all kinds of food and dips and soups and meats and candy (and buying it too). I’m very proud of her, she does a great job with it and has built a reputation for divine confections. My Mama’s Divinity and Peanut Brittle recipes have been getting rave reviews for years. Contrary to popular opinion, Divinity can be made in any weather at any time of the year. The “Perfect Divinity Everytime” recipe which mom gave to Vickey never fails. It takes two to make it, however, so that has been mine and Vickey’s thing for many years now. For years, Divinity was made in our home with the soundtrack of Forest Gump playing in the background. First thing I would do is hit play on the CD player in the kitchen and we’d work to the tunes of Jefferson Airplane, Three Dog Night, and other oldie but goodys.

Zoe’ loves her bubba Zack!

It’s getting cold here! Overnight lows are expected in the twenties. I know that’s not considered cold by some, but for south GA in November, it’s not right. I can’t say how many Christmas days I’ve enjoyed in short sleeves, just another balmy fall day. Mississippi was different. Christmas day, 1989 or 1990 temp at my house was 3 below and the wind chill was 54 below, yet no snow that year. Yet I also remember when I was about 15 snow fell in south GA in early April. Weird.

We’ve done some light decorating for the holidays here at greenpastures. Garland and red bows and rope lighting. Expect picures soon.

Emma’s horse is progressing in her ground training. Emma worked persistently for a couple weeks and finally got a halter on her. Patience, I tell her. Small steps. She (the horse) picked up on leading pretty quick, but she still has some work to do there. Emma has to be creative in devising ways to communicate what she wants her to do in non-threatening, non-traumatic fashion. A sense of safety and trust is what she is developing.

Tonight we feast on homemade fajitas. Speaking of which, Vickey should be home soon. Last night I cooked a supper of Jalepeno sausage, fried eggs, with bell pepper and onion and biscuits. It was way good.

Thanks for reading. Have a warm and restful night.

I found these while plowing in my garden earlier this year. Corroded iron spikes (possibly a very old railroad spike) or perhaps just a large nail. Either way, they’re very old, I would guess a century at least. How long they lay buried. The smaller one I found back in May. I took it to church and presented it in the children’s sermon as a type of nail used to crucify Christ.

Somebody forged this fastener long ago, and then used it for its intended purpose somewhere. Who? Who swung the hammer? What was his name. What was his wife’s name and the names of his children? Was he a farmer, a construction worker?

The points have been worn blunt through the decades, but they retain their strength. They persist. They fight to keep their identity as nails, even as the elements chip away at the exterior. The outer layer flakes, but just below that derma the metal retains its fortitude. Time and moisture and earth would in time grind them to nothing, but not easily. Now here they find a place of salvage, where the corrosion subsides. For how long who knows? 

Welcome to the Jarrett house. We’re delighted that you stopped by. Tonight we enjoyed a wonderful supper cooked by my most industrious and loving wife, Vickey. The menu consisted of fresh stew beef in gravy cooked all day in the slow cooker, rice, and real biscuits with fresh honey produced locally and maple syrup. YUMMM!!  Join me on a quick tour, if you care to (if not, just page down to the bottom). This is the house that became our permanent home March 1, 2008.

Notice the walls. My sister Barb and brother Dan, sister-in-law Vickie Dee, and several others  rolled a lot of the paint (what a great job they did). I built the kitchen cabinets and installed the solid surface countertops. Zack and Emma painted their rooms and chose the colors. They too did a great job and worked on many other projects throughout the house. Vickey painted, laid the tile around the fireplace, painted some more, scrubbed, cleaned, hauled, did all the decorating.

The mess would never have been cleaned up were it not for my mother. She worked tirelessly, sweeping, gathering debris to haul away, and cleaning the windows. And of course my father – he devoted the last two years of his life to this and without him I fear I would have thrown my hands up in despair and walked off the job. Thank you again (I can’t say it enough) to everyone that helped us. Hope you enjoy the walk through.

The view from the kitchen table

The view from the kitchen

The view from Emma’s room

The view from Zack’s room

The view from the master bedroom

The view from the formal living room

The view from the recliner

The view from the dining room, where Zoe’ likes to hang out during candy bagging.

The view from my desk/Zoe’s room.

Thank you for this virtual visit. You are welcome to drop by any time for a cup of coffee, a meal, and if there’s homemade candy in the house, feel free.

This is out front of the Home Depot in Macon GA. I’m the guy sitting under the white tent in the shadows, talking about solid surface countertops with anyone willing to listen. I handed out a lot of business cards and enjoyed meeting new people.  One of the kitchen designers at this store is a member of the Thomaston Road Church of Christ. Tim is his name.  I field rep this store so I’m in and out on a regular basis. Several months ago, Tim and I were talking and I learned that he had attended Freed Hardeman College 25 or 30 years ago and used to preach in TN. Now he’s not preaching, and due to his work schedule he’s not able to be at church very often. I got the impression that something had worked against him to cause him to leave fulltime ministry. I could empathize with him and we had a real good rapport going. Tim attends worship when he can, and occassionally leads the singing, but perhaps he needs some extra encouragement. Your prayers might provide that for him.

This morning I preached from 1Timothy 2.1-6 – Pray for all men (kings and all those in positions of power), Because God wants all men to be saved, and the proof of that is that Jesus gave himself as a ransom for all.

Today was peaceful. The weather was nice, and we enjoyed just resting this afternoon. Hope everyone had a good weekend.

The reactions of some of the radical,  liberal media sources to the outcome of Tuesday’s election should not surpise anyone. Let me say that for the most part, people are exhibiting a forward minded attitude. Americans want serious attention given to problems here at home and abroad and they are ready to rally behind the ideas and ideals of our democracy. For the most part, there has been none of the whiney, spiteful nonsense among republicans in defeat that a great many democrats displayed in defeat four and eight years ago. This says something, does it not? There are some, however, who must get with the program. MSNBC in particular is a cable station that may find itself without a purpose and an audience if it keeps it up. I say that because it seems to be only game in town that doesn’t realize it’s hero won. (Here comes that tingly feeling again). Also In particular, Keith Olberman, who cannot host his way out of a wet tissue paper. He is the most cynical, caustic, unintelligible non-personality on television. How he landed that job, I will never guess. He dosn’t anger me so much as . . . not exactly true. He does anger me sometimes, but that’s what he wants, so I change the channel.  His idea of credible journalism seems to be “I’ll explain to you what I think is important for you to know, and which you are too stupid to figure out on your own.” He then enjoys kicking the defeated McCain/Palin ticket a little more, now that they’re down. The man’s sadistic. He think’s he’s so smart, so intellectual, so discerning and thoughtful. Here’s a prime example of his intellectual prowess. “Those who like that kind of thing will find it to be the kind of thing they like.” Spoken like a true imbecile immediately following Governor Palins speech at the Republican convention. Way to go, oh brilliant one, oh elite one, oh smart one! Keep ‘em coming. All your viewers will surely benefit from your expert take on matters. The other 349,999,997 people in the country will just have to make do.

Happy birthday, Mother. You were the first person that ever mattered to me,  when I was too young and too newborn to know it. Your’s was my first kiss, on the cheek, the fingers. Did you kiss my little toes? Did you coo in a soft voice and coaxe a smile or a fluttering of my eyes? Did you dream about me? Did you utter soft lullabys in the days and months awaiting my arrival? Did I hear you while in your womb? Yes, I must have. You imprinted me with your soft hands and gentle hugs. Who devised my name? Was it you alone or by committee?  Thank you for that. You worked hard allyour life, and still you work, taking care of your children and grandchildren in ways we often take for granted. Thank you. I spoke with you today on the phone. You sound just like you always have. I hear only hope and faith in your voice. I’m sorry that year I forgot, no not really forgot, but just didn’t say “happy birthday.” When I tell you I love you I mean it. It’s just that those words aren’t enough. There is not language for what I really want to say. Can the son love his mother so much that his heart bursts? His eyes leak affection and longing? Happy birthday, Mother. Happy birthday, giver of life.

Why do toddlers put things in their noses? This is no biggie. We’re veterans, having a 16 year old and a 15 year old, “this aint my first rodeo.” Zack went to the hospital with his mother when he was 10 mo’s old. They had been in an accident. Everything turned out ok, thank you Lord.

Emma spent the night in Baptist Memorial in Jackson, MS when she was less than a year old. She swallowed a dime that became lodged in her esophagus. We still have the dime.

Zoe, the 21 month old, did something neither of them did, however. She couldn’t help herself. The little mini M&Ms were just the right size, so why not? “Three M&Ms all in a row, into the nose they must go.” Vickey was able to extract them with the snot sucker, but took her to the clinic anyway for a closer look to make sure no pieces remained. Just another day in paradise.

I can’t stop the idiocy, and I don’t want to write about it either, all I can do is vote, which I did at 8:00 this morning for Senator mcCain and Governor Palin. No lines in the small rural voting house in our community, and I got to visit with several of my neighbors. Oh the blessings of small town life!

Speaking of small town life, I’m reminded of the years I lived in French Camp, MS. Our home was out in the country, but the little town just seven or eight miles down the road was (still is) the quintessential small town. Two or three churches, a fillin station, school, grocery store, hardware/auto parts store, cafe and that’s about it. This was the kind of place where you did business on the strength of your word. My wife grew up in this little part of the world. Strange to think of the times, as a teenager, when our church youth group traveled from Georgia to Arkansas we passed within fifty or sixty miles of this place, me never imagining in my wild, young mind that Vickey was there and there one day I would live and start a family, that I would become so familiar with so many Mississippi backroads and towns.

I remember Bobby, who owned the auto parts store at French Camp. Not long after Vickey and I were married. I went to look at chain saws.  My old hand me down had finally given up the ghost and I needed a new one to finish cutting brush and trees out of the pasture.  Bobby knew me only by name. He knew that I married Vickey though and her family was an established fixture in the community. He showed me a Stihl Woodboss for $280.00 (this was in 1987).

“I’ll take it” I said, but I’ll have to come back.  I’m expecting a check in the mail for some extra work I did. It’ll be a month before I get it.”

“Go on and take it, I know you’re good for it. Pay me next month.”

No credit check. No application for credit. Not even an invoice, just a reminder note to himself on a piece of note paper. I walked out of there, you’d thought I’d just bought a Cadillac. A month later I took him a check. ( I may have told this story before, but I’m too old to remember and too lazy to fact check in my archives).

And it was that way with everyone in French Camp. People operated their businesses on the basis that other people would do what they said they would do and it worked. I miss those days. I miss that little town. I miss that sprawling acreage out behind and across the road from our house where I could  just walk a little ways into the woods and hunt and fish without asking permission, just go. I miss the old falling down barn, the one where Vickey said she and her friends used to hide in the old hay loft and smoke cigarettes when they were kids, which was really stupid, the place could have gone up like a roman candle. Besides, everyone knows when you steal the cigs from your old man you high-tail it for the woods.

I’m not sure how I got here. Zoe’ is fine and that’s what I intended to tell you about, but rambling, once begun, is difficult to stop. so, ramble on, dear reader, ramble on.