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City Personals
Mary Clay Brooks

Locals camp out to attend pottery sale

Get well wishes go out to sweet Beverly Woods, who is in the hospital in Memphis, Tenn. As strong as she is and with such a wonderful support system in family and friends, it will not be long before she reaches a full recovery!

The Marshall Academy Patriot boys basketball team carried its fans on a wild ride all season long. Sadly Friday night, the team was matched up against the #1 team from the AAA side, Jackson Prep. That was the match-up last year at the overall tournament, held at Mississippi College in Clinton, in the championship round. This being the semi-finals, two #1 teams being pitted against one another seemed a bit off. The Patriots came out strong, striking first and held their momentum for a while. The amount of fouls was astounding - called on the Patriots and overlooked for Prep. The Patriots played hard, every single one of them, but came up on the short end of the stick.

Congratulations to the senior boys - Randy and Antonio Love, Vince Hoyt, Brad Bennett, Peyton Lewis and Tristan Person. They helped lead the team as far as they could go in post-season play. They each brought their own special flavor to the team and were truly fun to watch!

McCarty Pottery Sale - Merigold. It is what one called “organized chaos.” We (Kay Wheeler, Melinda Skelton, Grady and I) stopped through Merigold on our way home Saturday from the basketball game in Clinton, thinking it would be neat to see all the people lined up on the barren streets, never knowing we would be roped into staying! Holly Johnson came up to the car and told us to get out chairs, put them in line and sit down. She brought over a notebook, pen and duct tape. Yes, you write down your name and phone number on the paper and then tape it to your chair. That is how the McCarty pottery people tell who was there first. Mind you, we were there in the middle of the afternoon Saturday. People had actually been there since Wednesday night. Some hauled campers and RVs, others spent the nights in their cars! We put out chairs in the freezing cold and sat there until there was “roll call” around 6 p.m. We had to make a quick run to Walmart to get something to put the pottery in from the sale.

Collectively, after talking to everyone in line who had been prior, we settled on garbage cans with wheels. We also scavenged the store for knit beanies, gloves, scarves and warm things - it was cold on that street! We attempted to eat a nice meal at Airport Grocery in Cleveland. After standing there for 30 minutes, the wait staff finally told us the entire restaurant was reserved for a benefit! They seriously could have told us that when we asked the wait time, I thought anyway. We left there and headed to the Lost Pizza Company.

It, too, was packed, but did have an empty table. We placed our orders and took a seat. Melinda and Momma got their food rather promptly. Grady and I just sat there, patiently waiting on ours. Finally after about 20 minutes of no food showing up, I asked if there was a problem. I was told they were backed up in the kitchen - well, why would two people at our table have their food and we didn’t, especially when the orders were taken at the same time?

After Momma and Melinda finished their dinner, Momma got up and asked what I presumed was the manager what happened to our food. He checked in the kitchen and came back with the cockamamie tale that our pizzas had fallen on the floor and they were having to remake them. Had no one told us that? Seriously? Feeling the Delta had absolutely defeated us, Grady started grumbling about our bad luck and we must be jinxed or something. After waiting, they messed up Grady’s pizza order! It was unreal.

Momma and I caught a ride back to Merigold the next morning at 6:30, leaving Melinda and Grady snuggled in the beds. Someone, who shall remain nameless, started receiving calls at 2 a.m. telling her she better get down to McCarty or her chair was going to be moved! She also received text messages (had gotten her number from the piece of paper taped to her chair). She fretted over the calls and texts because she is a sweet person - chose not to answer or reply!

Someone unplugged the Patterson’s generator from their camper. Two hours later, after he had plugged back up, they turned off the gas to the camper, leaving them without heat. It made me wonder if the crazies had been set free for a three-day free-for-all!

By the time we got back, there were hundreds more in line. There were two ladies who put their chairs at the front of the line at 5:30 that morning. Everyone was in a flurry, mad as wet hens.

One of the McCarty representatives had a nice long chat with the mother-daughter duo, explaining to them that there were others in front of them. The women sat there, stone faced and not moving. Who does that?

Those of us standing there gawking all agreed that we would be so ashamed and mortified, that we would have gotten our happy tails up and moved our chairs to the end of the line. They went on to tell the man that they’d been there since 5:30, to which he explained the ones at the front of the line had been there for days on end! They looked back at the video they had taken the night before at roll call and moved the duos’ chairs to the end of that line. Mind you, there were scads of people who had arrived that morning and lined up their chairs.

The girls in front of us in the line were from Southaven; the ones behind us were from Water Valley. The sale started at 1 Sunday afternoon. We got in at 3.

I have never seen so much pottery in my life - shelf after shelf, both sides and down the middle. The girl in front of me (Dee) was helping find her friend, who was on the other side, some pieces and also finding treasures for herself.

Momma and I decided to conquer and divide. She went down the left and I the right. The line was poking at a snail’s pace. There was some ruckus from in front of Dee. There stood a woman as old as Methuselah trying to rearrange her things because one of her three containers had fallen, spilling her wares all over the already crowded floor. Unasked, she offered up she was getting all of the pottery for nieces and nephews, “it makes wonderful happy gifts and birthday gifts.” No way she has that many kinfolk! Finally she got her stuff together and gave Dee and I “permission” to peruse the pottery ahead of her, but not to move our containers. I can see now how people snap in a moment of anger!

Two hours later, we emerged from the sale, victorious in our spur-of-the moment decision to stay and shop. I believe it was a one-time thing for Momma, but I may have to return, only next time with a solid game plan! As much sitting as was done, the time certainly flew by quickly. It was interesting to see all of the people and watch as they emerged from the sale, excited with their purchases!

David Johnson drove an RV down for his wife Holly to sleep in, as well as Ali and Hunter Crawford. Todd Patterson hauled a camper for his wife, Heather. The three couples cooked fresh crawfish Saturday night and had a wonderful time visiting with everyone. Leroy Carver hauled his camper/horse trailer down for his wife Tommye, daughter Diane Greer and granddaughter, Anna Giachelli. Pam and Laura Bray joined their camp. Helen Power and her sister-in-law Rita Shaffer were also part of the madness.

(To put your news in City Personals, please e-mail maryclayb@yahoo.com; mail to City Personals, The South Reporter, P.O. Box 278, Holly Springs, MS 38635 or call 662-252-4261. You may also e-mail your City Personal news to southreporter@dixie-net.com).

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