City Personals

Kate Russell (Tootie) Shaw celebrated her 6th birthday with a bootastic party Saturday. The cabin on the Tippah was decorated in spooktacular perfection inside and out with hints of pink for Tootie’s big birthday. Party goers enjoyed a bootiful time with traditional games and of course, cake and ice cream. Here’s to many more fun filled birthdays celebrating the caboose of the Shaw family!

Thursday afternoon, the Apothecary was jam packed with grateful customers of Marty “The FedEx Fella”. Everyone showed up to celebrate Marty’s retirement. Being a lifelong resident here, I have seen many a people come and go. The constant for the past 30 years? Marty. He has been out here delivering not only packages but smiles galore. If he left your place of business and you were not grinning ear to ear, then something had to be wrong with you.

Marty kept up with everyone in town and on the fringes. He would know when someone was sickly or down and out. More times than not, he knew things I had no clue about but was glad he had shared information.

I have known Marty so long that every time he would see me, he’d call my name “Mary Clay Wheeler Brooks”. He has outlasted many marriages out here and was always quick to call friends by maiden, married, married and maiden names. He never ever forgot a name, a face or facts about each person including “their Momma and ‘em.”

Marty has left big shoes to fill out here. I made it a point to flag down his replacement last week. I have to report that he is a super, super nice man albeit soft spoken. I told Marty a few weeks ago that we would all be sure to break the new fella in with true Holly Springs fashion.

Here is to Marty spending his retirement days on sandy beaches and gorgeous mountainsides with his beautiful wife, Terry. I hope he knows how much he will be missed here as a friend, not just a FedEx delivery man. Cheers.