Welcome Home Heroes

Boots are hitting American soil at last! Yes, the 39th is returning home this week. Transports will be bringing soldiers to Camp Shelby all week and in a few days we will get to welcome our heroes back to Rector. It's an early Christmas present for us all. Let's all get out there and cheer them in.

Welcome home, all of you! You really are our heroes. Job well done. Now relax and enjoy the holidays.

And speaking of Christmas, the festivities here have begun. I heard that the Christmas parade had more floats than the Labor Day parade this year. Just beautiful! And what an after party. It is always one of my favorite things. I look forward to it every year.

Saturday night was the annual "Night of Chocolate". That also is one of my favorite things. (I have lots of favorite things, you know) Alas, I cannot report from first-hand experience as I was home sick. But I sent my spies out and around and by all accounts the night of Chocolate was a success. Thank you Clay County Council of Arts.

Georgia Sallee, Jessie Malin, and Lane Wozniak traveled to Pocahontas Sunday to see a salute to Rogers and Hammerstein. It was Lane's first visit to the Imperial Dinner Theater and she was impressed by the lovely surroundings and the talent of the performers. All the ladies said the show was great.

Last week was a week for good-bys. Rita (Ray) Frenkel passed away Thursday morning with her daughter Carol Stone, at her side. Rita and my mother were lifelong friends. Lady Frances Nichols and I did some reminescensing about the two of them. We will miss you, Rita. God bless. Carol and Jim Stone will be in Rector all this week.

Don't forget the most important thing about this holiday season. We are celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ and Jesus celebrated the humanity of us all. Us all. Not just some of us or a few of us or certain people. Christmas calls on us to touch one another, not just with gifts, but with thoughts and deeds and kind words. Be kind to yourself and kind to each other.

Give me a call or send me an email to let me know what is going on. 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.