Always a hand when you need it

Good day everyone! It seems we have pretty much cleaned up after Ike. I want to say thank you to Perry Morrisett and his crew who came by and helped me and others get rid of some of the larger branches. I know there were many more of you who stepped up and helped out a neighbor or two. Just another reason I am glad to be here. Someone is always ready to give me a hand when I need it. Thanks!

We were fortunate too, that Entergy was so responsive to our needs. I am often up late at night and I know for a fact they were still working at 1:30 am at least one night. Most of us were not without power for more that 12 hours. Thank you to the Entergy crew that worked so long and hard for our benefit.

I recently found out that Leland Blackshare had a surprise visitor over Labor Day weekend. His cousin, Lee Ann Gray just swooped in from Warner Robins, GA. Leland was thrilled, of course and so glad to get to spend some time with her.

Didn't he and Mark Manchester do a wonderful job providing the commentary for the Rector Labor Day parade for YHC? It was so very nice to have our attention brought to the reason for Labor Day and also to be reminded of Rector's history of the Labor Day Picnic. I hope we can look forward to the same attention next year.

Did you notice the new sign for Earl's Air Conditioning down town? Quite spiffy, don't you think? They have also been immortalized in a KAIT8 commercial. Look for it during the View.

I have been made aware of a group of Bichon Frisee dogs who need to be rescued. Apparently a puppy mill breeder on the Arkansas, Oklahoma border has decided it is no longer profitable to breed and sell the cute little fluffy dogs and will put them down if they cannot be removed. Small Paws, a puppy rescue agency in Oklahoma is trying to take them. If you would be interested in adopting one of these doggies or in fostering one, let me know and I will put you in touch with the right people.

I hope you all survived last week's economic melt down. It is certainly a frightening thing to see our financial security threatened in such a big way. Let's all get involved. Let your representatives know what your needs are and what your expectations are. We have the right to hold our elected officials accountable for making the laws and regulations work for all of us. But we need to let them know what we want.

I guess that's all for today. Thank you to everyone who provides me with news for this column. I love hearing from all of you and I always want to hear more. And no, it is not too late to share Labor Day goings on. If you haven't been able to get around to telling me about your visitors, just give me a call or send me an email. My phone number is 595-3173 or you can drop me a note at 514 West 3rd St. My email address is: porchswing@newwavecomm.net.