Betty’s Week
By Betty Shearer
Curtis Berry was in Monday and shared that one of us misspelled Billie Green Winters’ name—I’m sure it was me—and I certainly know how it is spelled. We apologize. It was so much fun to see the picture of the Class of 1950, made at the reunion and printed in last week’s paper.
I was surprised at the number of class members I knew. Had a note from two members of the class this week and they mentioned more of this class. It comes from Mary House Inman and Ray “Sonny” Milstead of Picayune.
They write, “We were sorry we didn’t get to see you while we were there for our 60th year class reunion and I must say considering our age, we were a really good looking group of people. However, we missed the ones who didn’t get to come: Mary Lee Edwards Lee, Winifred McCain, James Raley, Ann Cook Deacus, Billy Fayne Brooks Terrell, Nell Stone Mills, and Catherine Foster Tyler, and of course those who have gone on to be with the Lord.
“We enjoy our paper and for the past few weeks we have been getting it on Thursday of the same week it is published. Keep up the good work.”
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I’m on my soapbox again. Last week, as I traveled across the Pope/Water Valley Road, I met a car which had drifted well into my lane. I pulled farther and farther on to the shoulder and it kept coming at me. I was about to take out a couple of mailboxes and then came gullies. However, I’ll run over mailboxes and even go in a gully before I collide with an oncoming vehicle going 50 or 60 miles an hour. Just about the time I thought I was going to wreck yet another van, the driver of the vehicle looked up and pulled her car back into the proper lane. She was probably texting on a phone – a phone was clearly visible in her hand as we met. I’m strongly in favor of outlawing hand held cells of any kind and certainly outlawing texting while driving. The stats say that drivers using cell phones cause more accidents than drug or alcohol abuse drivers.
If you need to use that phone, find a safe place, pull over and do so. If it rings, just wait until you can safely leave the road and then return the call. We lived for many years without the use of a phone in a vehicle and businesses and friends and family function did fine. My phone is in the van, but it will never be answered while I am behind the wheel. If I have to make an emergency call (which is why I have a phone) it will certainly be when I am stopped.
New Mexico has just enacted a hands-free cell phone law. Jim is having trouble getting used to it, but it is happening. Now if a phone addict, like him, can do it, so can everyone. His latest phone lets him ask it to call Mom and it does. We talked last Wednesday night and it was very clear. I know this is not as good as I’d like it to be—but it is better. Sharing brain function still causes distraction, but just sharing the brain is better than sharing the brain and eyes while driving.
As I was expounding on this issue this morning, a friend suggested that they might make cell phones that when used in a vehicle would not accept any call except an emergency number. Would be great if this technology were available.
However, for right now let’s just use them when necessary—keeping the lives of other motorist, as well as your own, safer.
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I was at Mom’s on Thursday, some of Friday, Saturday, and Sunday afternoon. Cooked in the morning and then watched golf in the afternoon.
Kept an eye on the gallery when the cameras were on it—Mark Larson and his son, Alan, were there. Never saw them. However, most of the camera time was on the scenery at Pebble Beach and not on the stands. There was some beautiful scenes—often looked more like paintings than reality.
I know this is a tough course, but some of the shots were unbelievably bad considering the quality of the players in the U.S. Open. Phil Mickelson had one good round out of the four I saw and Tiger Woods played good golf for a few holes—others were just the same. The winner, in my estimation, was the golfer who played the least bad. He was McDowell from North Ireland. It was his first win in a major U.S. tournament. Usually Americans win this tournament, but this year they all had disappointing finishes. There were a few spectacular shots, but for the most part it was bunker and hazard play and the players got pretty good at these.
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Friday morning Jimmie and I made a quick trip to Memphis. We skipped breakfast, so when we got to the Desoto Center, we turned left and found a pancake house. Food was very good, but our waitress was even better. She took our order and chatted a bit—Jimmie and I have very different taste in food. When she finished she looked at us and remarked, “You are sisters?” Then we watched her cook our breakfast and when we checked out she was at the register. She’d told us up front that they were operating short handed—do believe she was taking up all the slack. Even with all this extra work, though, she never stopped smiling, greeting everyone who came in, making sure that we all had everything we wanted, and then wishing us all a good day as we left. It’s a joy to see someone who loves people, enjoying their work and is always congenial.
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At Woodland Hills Friday night there was a visitation for the family of Edna Ramzy Leon. Both sisters and their families were present, as were many nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends. Her sister Margie Pilcher is a member of the church, and Carolyn Easley lives near Water Valley.
This gathering brought together many present and former Camp Ground Church members. We may be members of different churches now, but we’re still family. It was so much good to visit with the Ramzy family members, their spouses and children. The former CG choir members had fun reminiscing. It was great to visit with the Mathis girls (Gerlene Harris, Clemmie Callahand, and Shirley Jones). Clemmie’s husband, Mike, was also present. They are so much fun and we did miss the fourth member of this family, Dean Callahan, and her husband, Bobby. Also visited with three of the Dennis children, Curtis, Charles and Paulette, and Joyce and her husband, Robbie Bishop. Annette Goodwin was there, as were many others.
Sympathy is extended to Edna’s family.
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Sympathy is also extended to the family of Barbara Johnson Burgess. Lamar was in Monday and told us that she had fought lung cancer for almost three years and was upbeat until the very end. I really did not know Barbara (my loss, because I always heard wonderful things about her) but have known Lamar for many years.
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VBS will be held at Woodland Hills next week—join us if you can.
