Happy New Year - January 2, 2014

As published in the White River Current - Thursday January 2, 2014

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!  Welcome, 2014; we are expecting great things from you.  Hope you don’t disappoint us.  After almost two years of sharing these Rambling columns, I’m finding it a little more difficult to get motivated to sit down at the old computer and hammer out some of my thoughts and memories.  I don’t believe it is “writer’s block” but more old age and laziness.  However, I still have a few things to say so I will continue visiting with you every two weeks, at least for a while.  This is intended to be an opinion-editorial (op-ed) column but it is rare that I really offer my opinion on a particular issue, probably because I’m afraid to stray into those deep waters and also because my opinion wouldn’t amount to much.  But, who knows?  That may change if I can stir up enough courage.  We’ll just have to wait and see.  Anyway, goodbye to 2013.  You brought us some good and, as usual, some bad.  The good first.  We have a new great-granddaughter, Ruby Erin Ward, born December 17^th in Tulsa; parents are Ross and Leah.  We haven’t met her in person yet, but we have Face-timed her a few times with Anita’s I-Pad and enjoyed the boo-coos of photos that have been posted on Facebook.  Thanks for the miracle of cyber-technology.  Now for the bad.  Our group of oldies that we call the OFC lost two of its members last year.  Darrell was a charter member.  Annabell only attended the March meetings when we all celebrate our birthdays (everyone except Dean who was born in June but we let him celebrate anyway).  We are down to five members.  Also, a Calico Rock landmark disappeared on Sunday night, December 22,  when a disastrous fire removed the historic two story building that was the first home for the congregation of the Calico Rock Cumberland Presbyterian Church.  This is very sad for me because of several reasons.  The building was erected about ninety years ago in a joint effort of the church and the masonic lodge.  The church occupied the entire first floor.  The masons and members of the Eastern Star Chapter had their meetings on the second floor that was accessed by a long flight of stairs just inside the back wall of the building.  I am a member of all three of these organizations, joining the church in July, 1939 (almost 75 years ago), Acacia Lodge No. 625 in April, 1952 (over 60 years ago) and am a charter member of Guiding Star Chapter OES (over 50 years ago).  The church moved to the present location in 1952 and the other two vacated the building several years ago when they moved to their new location on Highway 223.  My dad, mom and granddad were charter members of the Calico Rock CP Church which was organized in December 1923.  Other charter members included my mom’s sister and two of my dad’s nieces who would become my aunt and cousins when I was born a few years later.  So you see, the church holds a lot of memories for me, some humorous, some otherwise.  It was once said, if the church doors are open, the Perrymans and the Hudsons are there.  In brief form, here are some of the memories that have flooded my mind over the last few days:  My Uncle Roy, every Sunday before the close of Sunday School, responding to a request, would stand and say “Well, I read a little story this week”; Mr. Luellan’s daughter (who was a professional opera singer from New York and was home visiting her father) singing the beautiful hymn, “His Eye is on The Sparrow,” one Sunday night and the trouble we young boys had trying to keep from giggling when she rolled her R’s (Sparrrrrow); or the trouble that our  Sunday School teacher, Orville Cheney, had when he attempted to describe to a group of six or seven young boys the meaning of a word that was in our lesson (the word was circumcision); or slumping down in our seats when Mrs. Ruth was called on to lead in prayer and she seemed to drone on and on (funny, but I’d give anything to hear her pray today.  It is rare in our church that a member of the congregation is called on to pray.  We have gotten too sophisticated, maybe, and just leave that part of worship up to the “professionals.”  Well, there are many other memories that I might share later, but I’ve run out of space this time so I’ll just say Bye for now.