Smoke Signals and other news
Another week of the new year has come and gone. It seems that every year passes more quickly as we age. What are your goals and wishes for this year? Sometimes, daily life gets in the way of those goals. With work and caring for home and family, juggling it all is quite a task. There may be sports or hobbies, church, doctor appointments, shopping, and maybe older or disabled family members or neighbors to see after.
Recently, many may have dealt with snow, ice, and maybe frozen/broken pipes. Things break down. It is all part of life.
During the snow and ice, I had to reschedule one doctor’s appointment. He is usually booked several weeks in advance and is generally closed on Fridays. He and his staff chose to open on Fridays until they could see the patients who missed their appointments during the snow/ice. I, for one, was grateful as I was concerned I could not get in until after my knee replacement. It is nice to go to a doctor and end up having conversations about life in general and, through that, discover he is friends with another one of your doctors. That can happen when you have trusted doctors you (and your spouse) have been seeing for many years. As a side note, I received handwritten sympathy notes from my late husband, Doug, two doctors, and a personal phone call from another doctor he was a patient of. Another doctor and nurse gave me a hug and expressed their sympathy when I went in for an appointment. It is nice to know that some doctors care about what their patients are going through in life.
For some small local businesses, the recent severe weather has put quite a strain on their livelihood. Show your support and shop locally. You can make a difference and help make up for their losses during this difficult time. Remember, behind every small business is a family. Fill up your gas tank at a local station. Shop for groceries at your neighborhood store. Buy a gift at a local shop. Eat at your favorite locally-owned restaurant. Buy that loaded tea you enjoy and many may need to get through your day
The Ruth B. French Library has many books for sale for 50 cents for
hardcovers and 25 cents for softcovers. Some authors include James Patterson, Danielle Steele, Stuart Woods, and many children’s books. Stop by and browse.
“What’s All the Buzz About?” at the Ruth B. French Library has been rescheduled to February 1 at 4 p.m. Everyone is invited to learn about bees and how important bees are in our lives. Baseball, softball, and t-ball will start in Holly Springs, Byhalia, and Potts Camp very soon. The weather put everyone behind, but rest assured, work is going on behind the scenes to get your little ones registered for a ton of fun on the fields. Plan to register them as soon as applications are issued. Each community will have a shortened enrollment period, so don’t delay. These sports, along with others, teach so much more than the rules of the game. There are many life lessons that go along with it. A child must learn teamwork, dependability, how to take instructions, citizenship skills, and respect for other players along with coaches and umpires. My late husband and I have been active in these sports since the early 1980s for me and the 1940s for Doug. While this sport is what we were involved in, I encourage parents to expose their children to various sports – soccer, dance, karate, tennis, golf, football, and basketball, until they find their passion. Even try art or theater and many other opportunities.
I continue to “declutter” this house. I have found men who could wear the largest portion of Doug’s clothes, many new with tags or barely worn. I gave his son one Chicago Bears jacket and had another ready to ship to his brother. I know they both will treasure them, and I know that is where he would want them to go. I find it easier for me to give them to someone who can use them rather than donate to Goodwill or such. I did take a few clothes to Goodwill this week and found that difficult on my part. I have a couple of boxes of clothes for the family to go through as they have expressed wanting some of them, and another box of “things” I will let them go through. Some things are mine to keep as long as I am on this earth. There are notes he wrote me and things we bought together.
Grab a friend and come shop downtown Byhalia’s Chocolate Walk on Saturday, Feb. 10, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Enjoy complimentary chocolate from participating vendors while you shop. Spend $35 at any participating location to be entered into a raffle for a chance to win a gift card from The Yellow Rose Florist for a dozen roses and gift cards from Downtown Byhalia Merchants. Some merchants will have additional promos going on that day.
Watch your bank account carefully. My debit card is rarely out of my possession, yet this week, I have had nine transactions charged at Walmart online totaling more than $1,600 that I did not make. They do not show up in my order history, meaning someone else is ordering but using my debit card to pay. Three Walmart employees were ZERO help. The fourth one seems to be trying to help and has promised detailed information will be coming forth. My bank is working to clear it up and has canceled my card, but in the meantime, my account is short a great deal of money, and I have to wait for a new card to arrive.
Please share your news with me at jchwagg@gmail.com or text or call 901- 246-8843. You can message me on Facebook as Clair Wagg.