Sugar Grove
By Paula Mitchell
There is a generation that will never come back from time. A friend passed this on to the writer, and she wishes to share with the reader.
“They were the generation who:
Went to school and walked back, did their homework alone to get out as soon as possible to play, spent all their free time outside, played hide and seek in the dark, made mud cakes, collected sports cards, found, washed and sold empty coke bottles and sold them to the grocery store for 5 cents each, made paper toys with their hands, bought vinyl albums to play on record players, had parents who were there, laughed louder under the covers in bed so parents didn’t know they were still awake, collected photos and albums of clippings, played board games and cards on rainy days, helped to clear the table after dinner and wash the dishes, sat with their family around the dinner table and engaged in conversation, memorized their lines for the Christmas play, made dams in the river, caught ‘fire flies’ in a jar and let them go, swam in the river, built snow forts and made snowballs, learned to sew and fish, played kick the can, wrote thank you letters, had chores, showed respect to older persons and each other, went on family picnics, left house and car unlocked, helped neighbors, had three TV channels and had an outside antenna, had a bedtime, recorded songs from the radio using cassette tapes, school started with ‘The Pledge,’ said ‘sir and ma’am’, and got spanked for discipline.”
Was this the good old days? This generation thought so, and they obviously turned out OK.
Life’s little instructions include the following:
- Hold the door open for the person behind one.
- Take a person’s shopping cart and put it where it belongs.
- Help the person who is trying to reach the item on the top shelf.
- Assist the person who has a walker, trying to get inside.
- Allow the person behind one in the checkout line, go ahead of one.
Winter has surely set in! Earlier in the week, temperatures were -5 degrees…snow came and the wind blew. Temperatures have risen a little, at least in the higher digit numbers, Sunday morning. It was good to see the sun shining Sunday morning. Churches cancelled their services Sunday morning due to the weather. Monday morning found temperatures at Brandywine to be 0 degrees, -1 on Lower Thorn, and 3 degrees in Brushy Fork. Needless to say, school being on a three- hour delay was a good call.
This week’s quotes are as follows:
“A kind gesture can reach a wound that only compassion can heal.” — Steve Maraboli
“Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon, or not at all.” — Julia Child
“There is no winter without snow, no spring without sunshine, and no happiness without companions.” — Korean Proverb
‘No matter how flat the pancake, there are still two sides.” — Dr. Phil
“The greatest quality a friend can have is discretion.” — Prince Rainier
Sitting by the fireside is the best place to be to hear the “Talk of the Grove.”
Apparently, everyone in the neighborhood has hunkered down to keep warm. Some have ventured out to take in some sled riding. A nice hot chocolate drink certainly warmed the spirit.
Concerns for this week are many. They are as follows: Bob Adamson, Charles and “Pidge” Anderson, Roger and Joan Ashley, Mercedes Aumann, Lynn Beatty, “Bo” Boggs, Dewayne Borror, Jane Conrad, Marie Cole, Norma Propst Cunningham, Christian Dasher, Isaac Eye, Marie Eye, Mary Eye, Neal Eye, Loralee Gordon, Lola Graham, Jordan Greathouse, Patsy Green, Rosalee Grogg, Marlene Harman, Marvin Hartman, Steve and Armanda Heavner, Grace Hedrick, George Hevener, Jackie Hill, Edsel and Mary Ann Hogan, Virgil Homan, Jr., Adelbert Hoover, Myrtle Hoover, Debbie and Enos Horst, Mike Jamison, Jessica Janney, Alice Johnson, Richard Judy, Marsha Keller, the Herbert Paul Ketterman, Jr. family, Danny Kimble, the Linda Weaver Kimble family, Dennis Kincaid, Kim Kline, Tracie Knight, Melissa Lambert, Robert Lambert, Rex Landis, Roger and Skip Mallow, Yvonne Marsh, Anna Mauzy, Neil McLaughlin, Rose Miller, Bruce Minor, Tom Mitchell, Barbara Moats, Aaron Nelson, Ruth Nelson, Cheryl Paine, Alda Propst, John O. Propst, Kathy Propst, Sheldon Propst, Charles Rexrode, Jason Rexrode, Pam Rexrode, Donna Ruddle, Annie Simmons, Phyllis Simmons, Erin Simmons, Eva Simmons, Kent Simmons, Robbie Sites, Donnie Smith, the Michael Steele family, Steve Stump, Rosa Tichenor, Sandra Vandevander, Evelyn Varner, Raymond Varner, Amy Vaus, Judy Williams and Margaret Wimer.
