LAUGHING WITH DONNA

A pastor is walking down the street one day when he notices a very small boy trying to press a doorbell on a house across the street. However, the boy is very small and the doorbell is too high for him to reach.

After watching the boy's efforts for some time, the pastor moves closer to his position. He steps smartly across the street, walks up behind the little fellow and, placing his hand kindly on the child's shoulder leans over and gives the doorbell a solid ring.

Crouching down to the child's level, the pastor smiles benevolently and asks, "And now what, my little man?" To which the boy replies, "Now we run!"

THEY ARE COMING DOWN THE TRAIL

The North Alabama Mule Wagon Train should be making their annual trip through Elkmont, April  1.  Each year they make their way starting at Fort Payne, picking mules and their owners up along the way on their journey to Mule Day.  Mule Day will be held in Columbia, Tennesee, April1- April 7 where everything Mule is celebrated.  

They should be in the Elkmont downtown area  about 10:00 am; so look for them between ten and eleven.

ANOTHER CHANCE FOR FAMILY FUN

On March 31st Humble Heart Farms will be hosting another Family Fun Day. Families will be able to enjoy farm tours, cheese tasting and special food dishes. Bottle feed baby goats and see how it’s done. 10 different flavors of fresh Humble Heart Farms Goat Cheese to taste. Plus our friends from Wrights Dairy will have 6 flavors of raw milk cow cheese to taste. 

Co-Sponsoring the event will be our friends at C.T. Garvin Feed & Seed along with Red X Fitness and together we will try to break the World Record for the largest Goat Yoga Class. Our challenge will be submitted to the Guinness Book of World Records. The goal is to have 400 yoga participants. Local farmers and artisans and friends with their early produce, bake goods, canned goods and artisan craft items will also join us. The Family Fun Day times will be 11a-3p and Goat Yoga Class starts at 1pm. Please share with friends. And the price is free!

Be part of the breaking of the World Record. Hope to see you this Sunday. For more information check out humbleheartfarms.com

BARRY'S CORNER - LIVING IN ELKMONT

Ok...man what have I done wrong ... my little dog Belle was barking yesterday morning at her water bowl. This usuallymeans “Hey dad, I’m empty!” “Fill’er up!” So I get a glass of filtered water (yeah..I know) from the fridge door and pour it in. She didn’t drink. Last night we were discussing how she’s not drinking much. She’s getting old (10) and we discussed how I need to take her to the vet and maybe we should start thinking about her as “old”. 

This morning she looks kind of “peek-ed” as my mama used to say so I thought maybe she is sick. I give her her morning pop tart and she chows down. I see her walk toward her water bowl and she looks at it and moves on. I get a little teary eyed thinking about life without Belle. I’m on the couch reliving memories, thinking about how fun she’s been, how she loves her balls, how Jensen will hurt if she passes away. She’s over there basically licking her lips to death. Mouth all dry...coughing. I google “dogs not drinking “ and find out she has about 50 canine diseases and none end in a good way. 

She heads back to her water bowl and just stands and looks. I follow her when I notice a little piece of grass in her bowl. I empty it thinking as long as she lasts she is going to have clean water. I pour out the water and the blade of grass goes with it. I’m filling the bowl thinking “how many more times will I get to do this for her”. I fill it up (filtered water of course) and set the bowl down. She immediately bows down and starts gulping water! She drank the whole bowl! It occurs to me that what I thought was the end of my pet was actually a big “DIVA” moment. 

She wasn’t going to drink from a bowl with grass in it!! She’d rather thirst to death! As a runner I’ve drank from a green stream before!! I’ve drank from coolers full of grass! What have we done?? My dog is too good to drink from a water bowl with grass in it. Spoiled rotten!!Tried to have a discussion with her but she was having none of that. Time to sun her body by the door! SMH! Have a good one!

TREASURE HUNTING IN ELKMONT

The Athens Visitors Center is excited about its Athens-Limestone County Civil War Trail Geocaching Adventure.  This adventure  leads “geocachers” to some of Athens-Limestone County’s most preeminent Civil War sites and history.  The trail offers many fun caches, lots of drivebys and several hiking caches along the Richard Martin Rails to Trails in Elkmont. The Athens Visitors Center is a great place to find out more about this way to enjoy our Elkmont trail from a different point of view.

What is Geocaching?
The sport of Geocaching, much like a traditional scavenger hunt, allows players to create caches around the world and share their location coordinates for others to find using their GPS units. According to Geocaching.com, geocaching is a “worldwide activity enjoyed by GPS users”. “Seekers” use their GPS to locate a series of hidden "caches" at coordinates specified at geocaching.com by the “hiders”. 

The "hunt" takes you throughout the community with opportunities to experience different places, people and activities- in this case, Athens-Limestone Civil War history and sites. When “seekers”, also known as a “cacher”, find and open the hidden "cache" you take a trinket and leave a trinket -- this keeps the cache full. 

What do you need to Geocaching?
You need a GPS unit or smart phone with GPS navigation (portable because you’ll need to be able to carry it with you), a computer to download the coordinates, trinkets to “trade-in” at the caches and a sense for adventure. 

This family friendly hobby is easy and free. There are caches of all kinds for all ages and usually placed in interesting places. Caches contain at least a logbook to track the cache’s visitors, and may contain other objects such as maps, books, software or even money. Not all caches contain treasures. The rules are simple. If the cache contains a treasure, you may take it. If you take the treasure, you must replace it with something of equal or greater value. Sign the logbook and return the cache to the exact location you found it.

 

All you have to do is log on to www.geocaching.com and check for caches in your area- search by city, state, or zip. Then enter the coordinates into your GPS and go find the cache. A Hill Spirit tip for beginners.  Caches can be hidden in very creative ways.

BARRY'S CORNER - LIVING IN ELKMONT

The most profound learning moments of my life have more than often been prefaced with a “no” or a disappointment. Never telling our kids no, never allowing them disappointment
and fighting their battles will only lead to heartache for that child. 

I remember being young and getting in a situation where I was caught on the wrong end of a teacher’s paddle. Granted most times I was right where I needed to be, but this particular time I was innocent. Sort of ...Anyway I remember thinking my mom will take care of this. I came home, told her what had happened and sat there expecting an outrage. She calmly looked at me and asked “were you hanging with the people who caused the incident?” “Did you walk away while it was going on?” What? I was innocent. She told me she believed I was innocent. But what actions on my part led to me being perceived as guilty. 

That taught me so much. It has always stuck with me. A few weeks later the teacher told me she found out I didn’t actually commit the “crime.” I realized then that guilt by association is a real thing and even though it may be unjustified,  IT IS LIFE! All of this “trophies for all” and never being hurt and honestly never feeling “less than” or ridiculed is not life. Not being able to deal with it is detrimental. Life is tough. Not knowing how to handle it is tougher. Being strong enough to handle it is a must! Have a good one!

CHICKEN STEW WITH THE FIRE DEPARTMENT

Elkmont Fire Department's Chicken Stew fundraiser is almost here.  Our fire department is volunteer so fundraising is very important.  Help our fire fighters continue to service our community. Mark your calendar for March 23!  Stew will be ready to serve at 11am and we will have eat in or carryout but you must have your own container for carryout.  Stew will be $25 gal, $13 half gal, $7 quart.  

LETTUCE DOES A BODY GOOD - GROW SOME

Ask anyone who's grown their own lettuce and they'll let you in on a little secret: it tastes WAY better than the kind you buy in the supermarket. Vitamin content and flavor are boosted when your lettuce comes from the garden. And because lettuce is so adaptable and hardy, in many parts of the country you can harvest it year-round.

If you get started now, you'll have a fresh crop of lettuce to enjoy in spring and summer salads. Lettuce does best in temperatures between 45 and 65 degrees Fahrenheit. A dusting of frost won't do any real harm. Before you plant your seeds, decide which kind(s) of lettuce is ideal for your garden:

Link to Rest of Article

BARRY'S CORNER - LIVING IN ELKMONT

Woke up this morning in one of those panics. Yeah I thought I had overslept. I have been retired over a month now and I still look at the clock as soon as I wake and assess the situation. I work on Tuesdays and Thursdays at Solid Rock Running Company in Florence. I have to be in at 10:00am but still wake up most days at 5am and some days in a panic. The mind is trained and the body follows. 

When I realized I wasn’t late I spent a few minutes lowering the old heart rate and calming down. I laid there thinking about all the times my mind and worry have led me down that path of anxiety and stress. Worrying about not enough time, not prepared enough, did I say the right thing, did I do the right thing...can I live with the decision. My point is all of that is pointless. My running course took me through the cemetery the other morning in Athens. Don’t do that often out of respect but needed to cut through. I caught myself looking at the names and dates on the markers. Some lived long lives and some didn’t. It got me thinking that one day that would be all someone will know of me. Name, birthday, and the day I left this earth. Is the time here meant to be spent stressing? Is that time here meant to be miserable from scenarios I’ve created in my mind? Is that time here meant to be spent trying to please others who will never be satisfied? 

We can only truly be happy when we realize our happiness can’t depend on what others think, what others may do, and jeopardizing it by anticipating things that may never come to pass. Slowing down...saying no....taking time for yourself...and pleasing the One the best way we know how can lead us there. I believe it. Trying to practice it. Yeah, yeah I have a lot less stress now. Not gonna act like it’s not great! Taking time for ourselves is not being selfish. I think educators have the hardest time at this. One day when we are just names and dates in a field the things we worry about today will not matter. We’ve all heard about the dash in between those two dates. That’s our lives. Don’t waste the “dash” stressing and worrying! Now to practice what I preach! Have a good one!!!

BARRY'S CORNER - LIVING IN ELKMONT

Went to watch West Limestone play in the regional tournament at Wallace State few weeks ago. They won! Great game! Looking at the kids and the seniors and started thinking about high school and friends. Yeah...it’s been a minute. Will be 33 years this year. That doesn’t seem possible. 

I was thinking about senior year and an infamous “skip” day. My friend Brian Holt and I had decided we were going to skip and go to Dexter’s apartment at UNA. I’m pretty sure I told mama while she was running bath water or using the mixer. Brian told his mom, Charlene. Well we skipped and went and laid out by the pool with our farmer’s tans and towels. Pretty uneventful but better than school. Back then the procedure was when you missed a day you carried your excuse to Mrs. Nanette McBay ( who was better than Matlock at sniffing out a fake) and she gave you a small white square that you had every teacher, every period sign. It was marked excused or unexcused. Well..there were days mama or daddy were in such a hurry that they “forgot” to write me an excuse. It was for that reason(and that reason only) that I had practiced and practiced their signatures....yeah...that’s it 😉. 

Well what do you know...they forgot that day. I had to write my own excuse about being sick(you know...sore throat) and sign it for Mrs McBay. The next day it just so happens Brian and I end up in line, me in front of him, to give our notes to Mrs. McBay. I hand her mine , cough a little and clear my throat , while she eyes my sunburned arms and raccoon eyed burned face and get a note marked excused. Brian then hands her his. I’m walking out the door and she says “Barry,”. “Come back”. She asks for the note and marks it unexcused. I’m in shock. I look at Brian puzzled and he just shrugs and said mine is unexcused too. I turn to Mrs. McBay and she shows me Brian’s excuse. Seems his mom had not forgotten. And he had NEVER practiced her signature just in case. He gave her an excuse his mom had written!!! It said “Brian and Barry skipped school yesterday!” Busted!! He never looked at the note!! Still can’t believe it! Have a good one!

BARRY'S CORNER - LIVING IN ELKMONT

It’s March 6th. I’ll never forget March 6th 1979. It was a Tuesday and I was practicing for the school spelling bee in Gail Wunderlich’s 5th grade classroom. I needed her for something and as many kids do I said “mom” by mistake. She looked up and said “what son?” From that day on she always called me son. The rest of my school career she would give me birthday cards and I would always give her a Mother’s Day card. When she signed my senior year book she called me one of the “lights” of her life. Every and I mean every first day of school I always went to her room to tell her “hey!” She developed a relationship with me that influenced me through out my school career. She made me actually feel “worth” something and gave value to my good behavior and desire to learn through her actions. 

I never had a trip to the treasure box...never got a sticker ... never received any extrinsic kind of token for behavior. She gave me thumbs up, pats on the shoulder and “great jobs”. When I wasn’t in her room and older she always called me by name or “son” in the hallway. She always made sure I was well and gave me a place to go if I needed some “I’m OK” reassurance. She cared. I knew it. I wasn’t the only one. She did it for all her students. Through her love for us we developed a love for ourselves. And that is what educating a child to become an adult who can live and thrive in this world is all about. Loving them enough that they learn to love themselves. Doesn’t mean never disciplining. Doesn’t mean being “easy”. It means caring for and molding children to function in this world. She left this world way to early! I miss her. I think about her almost daily. You know....she got it! She absolutely got it! Education and teaching is so much more than books and tests. It’s relationships! One I’ll cherish and never forget! We need each other!! Have a good one!

BARRY'S CORNER - LIVING IN ELKMONT

Ok...my early 80’s skating friends....do you remember these?? I will never forget saving my money to get one of these. Got $5 a week from my grandmother for mowing her grass. It was $1.25 to get in the skating rink and you could get a drink and a slice of pizza for .50 at the concession stand. After that I had $3.25 left. Never will forget the Panama Jack shirts at Bennett’s were $16. Took me over a month to save up but I did and I got one. I was 15 years old and irresistible (right) after bathing in CHAPS cologne from Big B drugs and sporting my Sedgefield jeans from Rogers Dept store. Had my Jordache belt on that came in a pack of 3 colors and you just changed the buckle. I’d get out of the car and the line to get in would be wrapped around the skating rink’s corner. I bet you could smell me before you saw me. I can still smell the inside of that skating rink. Jack Collins owned the place and made sure all of our shirts were tucked in. Caught me holding hands one time with my girl and I remember it like it was yesterday, he said “you got pockets if your hands are cold!” He ran a tight ship and parents didn’t worry about us while we were there. From Robyn Terry’s birthday parties to the all night skates, we had a great time. I remember we would be shoulder to shoulder at times skating. This was extremely dangerous if you were by my friend, Jeanie Butler. She kicked when she skated. She could take down half the floor with one kick on nights like that. Those were some great times! Wish there were places like that for young people now. Made a lot of memories there in my Panama Jack shirt! Have a good one !!

CAN YOU HELP??

Many of you have asked about a service project, a chance to help someone's life be a bit brighter, this is one opportunity that is local.  The Elkmont Senior needs volunteers to deliver Meals on Wheels in the Elkmont area. The routes take about an hour. If you would like to get involved in helping others, call Regina at the Elkmont Senior Center, 256/233-6412.

HEARTS FOR THE HOMELESS

The Elkmont based Hearts for the Homeless is a continuous service project geared primarily toward our homeless veterans in the tri-county area. Their mission to help as many homeless and homeless vets as they can.

If you are out and about, and are able, please pick up one or two items. It will be a blessing to those in need. Thank you all for your gifts of love and for your prayers. Not a single one goes unnoticed.

When we began this mission we knew we would be out of pocket a lot, and that we are. There is a LOT that we do behind the scenes out of our own pockets that most of you don't know about, medicines, birth certificates, drivers license, gas, I filled up Wednesday when we went out to feed our friends, I have less than 1/4 tank left, and that was all used for Hearts business.

I am posting our winter needs list, and I am asking that if you can help please do, if not please pray us through this time of need. We are not sponsored by big churches,we depend on God to see us through to the next day, but I sure wouldn't mind him having some help just this one time.
Thank you for taking time to read this, and thank you for being here...

Here's our list of things we'd love to have for our friends, that we are not stocked on:

*everyone is invited to help out with this project

 

The name Hearts For Homeless or the leaders names of this group cannot be used for accepting or delivering donations without the explicit permission of Larry Pierce, Richard Waltman or Angie McElyea.