CLAY AND WATTLES

Better

I wasn't crazy about going to the clinic at 8:00 this morning, a Saturday of all days. There are no appointments on Saturdays, I have no sick leave accumulated yet, and Dr. Beaton was going to be there today. I was second in line to sign up and got called pretty quickly. I worked on Saturday's crossword puzzle and almost finished it.

My bp was still a little high, although it had come down some. Dr. B. said even with more time he knew it wasn't going to be strong enough, so he doubled the dosage. I'm not sure I can take anything for fluid because I'm allergic to sulfa and he said the diuretics are cousins to sulfa or something like that. So we'll try the double dose first, which would be tonight. I have to go back for re-check in a month.

Old Friends

I was home by 9:30 and got quite a bit done today: bathed Oscar, cleaned the bathroom, Swiffered most of the furniture, cooked a Crock Pot of pinto beans, took an hour and a half nap.

One really neat thing I got to do today was type out the Christmas program notes that a former co-worker presented about 1972 at Woodruff's Christmas banquet. Ida Drury called me last week and asked if I'd do that for her. I did, printed a copy and also put it on CD for her son to make more copies if they wanted. It was hand-written on light green steno paper and she said some of the grandchildren had drawn and written on the backs of some of the pages. Ida was Ida Whittle and lived at Palestine for years before her first husband died; then she married John Drury and lived west of Colt. When he passed away, she moved into Colt. She has a hospice nurse now and I told her I was so sorry. She said, "Well, Pat, we're none of us promised even tomorrow. I'm blessed. I don't hurt. I get up and get dressed..." What a wonderful attitude and testimony she has. She was the billing office supervisor for many years. We talked about so many good friends whom we had worked with and who are no longer with us: Nancy Speer Pflug, Jimmie Null, Ida Smith, Cheryl Neeley, Kenny Johnson. So many who blessed our lives with their friendships.

One of my jobs since I've gone back to work has been to sort through personnel files and get them ready to scan and then scan them. I've categorized like-material and the different types will be coded when they're scanned. Sitting with those files in front of me, most of the time in my lap, I handle the yellowing paper (the old NCR paper still smells like it did 30 years ago) and the new bond paper, acid-free, and think, I've built probably 95% of these files. All this paperwork pertaining to personnel matters. Generated from supervisors or different events, but I've typed or keyed in and printed most of these documents. There are "thank you" cards from employees for memorials for their loved ones, newspaper clippings of family members' accomplishments, weddings, births, postcards from vacations. On my original application from 1969 I had put Bren's dad Cecil as a reference. (She said he'd be tickled to know that.) So many memories, like a huge album spilled out in front of me. And I thought, I've been blessed to be able to do this, to see all this, revisit, remember. So many lives that have touched mine. Such a big family we are - older members and younger. When I went back to work, even so many of the young men - linemen and apprentices - said how they missed me, gave me a hug. Blessed.

Ballgames

MS State beat Middle Tennessee 27-6!!
Florida beat Arkansas 23-20 in the last few seconds...

Paul will be watching MS State and Florida about this time next week...