Betty’s Week

Betty’s Week
By Betty Shearer

Delivering to Sprint Mart last Wednesday morning I had a great visit with a long-time friend, the former Paige Scroggins. Paige was one of my early Junior Class Sunday School pupils at Camp Ground Baptist Church. I also taught her brother, Tommy, in training union. They were two of my favorite youngsters and it was good to catch up on the family. Rest of delivery was routine, but as always I enjoyed visiting with folks at all stops.
It was still dark when I finished my deliveries that morning and if it was there, I did not notice the envelope under my windshield wiper. When I got in the van, going to Larson’s at noon, I spied it as I was driving away.
I just thought, “I’ll see what that is when I get to the grocery store.” Got out and immediately began visiting with a customer who was leaving. Back at the office I still forgot to check the envelope. Going home about three o’clock to get ready for a church supper Wednesday night I again saw the correspondence and was going to check it when I arrived home.
Again I forgot. Noticed it again as I headed down the driveway, got to the bottom of the hill, stopped and retrieved the note. This is the contents of the correspondence. “Hope you liked your Mailbox Decorations. Enjoy! Much love to you Ms. Betty. The Fall Fairy.”
I have enjoyed the decorations very much and appreciate your thinking of me. Unfortunately, it’s not my mailbox – I’ve never had a mailbox. We’ve always just used the Herald post office box. I know my across-the-highway neighbors, the Dickey family, have also enjoyed their mailbox fall decorations, but I’m sure they wonder where they came from. Almost every time I leave the house I have to stop and wait for several vehicles to pass and have thoroughly enjoyed the beautifully decorated mailbox as I’ve waited.
Thank you so much, Fall Fairy, and I know that the Dickeys join me in appreciation. We’d like to know who  you are.
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We had a great time of food and fellowship at church, prior to  prayer meeting and Bible study last week. We’re continuing the study in Daniel and it’s most interesting. Payer meeting begins at 6:30 and everyone is invited to attend. Bro. Rob is a very knowledgeable teacher.
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For many of you who may have used Dr. Deck Stone in Batesville as your doctors though the years, or who have just known him, it’s with sadness that we report that he passed away last week and his funeral was on Thursday. Sister Jimmie was his lab tech, bookkeeper, receptionist (whatever was needed) for over 50 years and was a very close friend and employee.
For the years Mom was in the nursing home, I got to visit with Dr. Stone a couple times a month when he checked on her. We were close enough to the same age that we could share our down-on-the farm stories.
He grew up on a farm near Lambert and I grew  up on a farm near Crowder. We shared lots of amusing antics. He usually came early in the morning and sometimes our visits would run too long and he would jump up and state, “I’d better see the rest of these folks I have to take care of before I have to go to work.”
He was so active – don’t think he knew how to walk, he was always in a trot, and all his life  he worked long, hard hours. If you needed a doctor you could usually get Dr. Stone. He will be missed and my sympathy is extended to the family.
With Jimmie attending Dr. Stone’s funeral, I made my weekly visit to the Cole farm on Friday. Called early Friday morning to see if they were up and to tell them I was on my way. With the weather so unpredictable, I wanted to scoot over and get back home before heavy rains arrived. It was already raining at my house at 8 a.m. The rivers in the Pope/Water Valley Road were already filled, so when I got to the Eureka Road I decided it would  provide better driving as I headed to Hwy. 51.  It didn’t add many miles to the trip to detour through Batesville and it sure was a nicer drive. Had not traveled that road since Mom died and was surprised that it had changed very little.
There is an Airstream Travel Trailer that had been moved (guess the family took a trip) and an old late 1930s car has been parked at the edge of a yard – I enjoyed seeing it. I like antique car shows and it’s always fun to find one just displayed in a yard. It was facing toward Batesville, so I could  not tell the make, but think it was a Plymouth or Dodge.
I had planned to come back via the same route so I could determine the model of this car, but forgot to turn onto Hwy. 51 in Pope, and just ran Pope/Water Valley Road all the way to 315. The foliage was beginning to turn on both these roads and in a couple of weeks they will provide a beautiful fall drive.
Arrived at the Cole house and Jimmie had put in an extra biscuit and sausage. I almost stopped at one of the country stores for breakfast, but knowing my sis so well figured she’d have one ready and she did not let me down. She needed ground beef, which I’d bought, and with my limited freezer space I needed to deliver it. Also took a leftover cheese cake for her and a lemon pie for Bill.
Bill is a dessert lover, but does not care for cheese cake (neither do I). Also, while making a little space in a freezer, I found four packages of pecans Jim sent last year, so I shared two of them with Jimmie (I’m a good sister). Jimmie was washing clothes because she was afraid the weather predicted might cause a power outage. Got back home and decided that I’d better wash a few loads.
Even worse, I needed to wash a ton of dishes. I’d cleaned up many of the pots and pans used to cook during the week, but had all the dishes left from the Wednesday night feed  at the church that I’d not even brought in from the van. Got all this done and then just watched TV movies until the wee hours, waiting for the storm. Got up early Saturday morning and turned on the news and found a tennis tournament – not even a crawl telling the weather. The sky was dark and the wind was blowing the trees, but it was not terrible. I sat most of Saturday morning watching out my east and north windows – the wind would  pick up then settle down, would darken and then get very light again.
All I got was many leaves on the driveway and lawn. Am so glad we missed it. I still have not seen an account of the damage done by the hurricane, nor what  path it took. Didn’t turn the TV on Sunday or this morning,  However, I got no news on Saturday—it was all sports or programing as usual.
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Sunday our attendance at Woodland Hill was down a bit. Sorry, those unable to attend missed a great message on the full armor of God. Very different from what we usually hear when this passage of scripture is used. Bro. Rob urged us to think about what that armor is used to defend against—the wiles of the devil. When we battle the devil we’re not fighting against human evils but against spiritual evils. The devil was an angel and so were his minions and they’re very devious, so be very careful of them.
Sunday night services are now a study of Galatians. This is another book that we need to heed the lessons from. Everyone is invited to join us at 6:15 each Sunday night for evening worship. After worship, choir practice gets going, and it’s so much fun to just make a joyful noise. Anyone is invited to join the choir.
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Monday morning several callers asked if we were open. Then one came in to inquire why the banks were closed. I asked Mel if we had a holiday. She didn’t know, but looked it up and found that it’s Columbus Day.
Well, we miss most of the holidays, because they’ve changed all but a few to Monday. Hope all you who got to celebrate Columbus Day had a wonderful holiday.