November 18 '06

                                                    

Volume 546

                   


Breakfast At Callie’s Saturday Morning Special

At The Kitchen TableA few weeks ago, Miss Callie Young phoned to invite us to her house for breakfast.

"William will be here," she related, "It won’t be a full breakfast, just some assorted breakfast foods. I haven’t seen y’all in a while, and I’ve something I want to show you."

William Waldrop is Miss Callie’s grandson and the son of Wanda and Drew Waldrop. Miss Callie always has a ‘project’ going, and I was curious as to what a ninety-year-old was doing with herself.

With all that was going on that week, Saturday morning looked to be the best time for a get-together. When, I saw Miss Callie on Friday at the Fall Harvest Luncheon (sponsored by the Fine Arts Club), there was considerable doubt that William would make the breakfast meeting.

"William’s sick," Miss Callie stated, "I’ll call you in the morning, if he can come."

William was feeling better the next morning, so Barbara and I left around nine o’clock to visit Miss Callie and William.

As Miss Callie welcomed us at the front door, she pointed to the dining room table and stated, "I’ve got my things spread all over this table, so I thought we’d eat in the kitchen.

After greeting William, we were soon seated and enjoying a delicious breakfast that included, muffins, banana nut bread, country ham and biscuits, hot broccoli cornbread, cheese and crackers, fruit, juice, and coffee.

It had been several years since we had seen William, so we had plenty of questions for him as we enjoyed our meal.

William left Pontotoc and spent some time in New York attending a school of music, but later returned to get a degree from Ole Miss. In New York, he met my uncle Lamar Carter, and the two became good friends. William said when he is staying in New York, he and Lamar try to get together for lunch or dinner.

William has chosen a career in theatre. While he can most capably sing and dance and play the piano, he’s happiest conducting. Presently, he’s with a theatre group performing the musical Cats, which is touring major cities in the U.S. and abroad.

"We’ve hit all the ‘A’ cities," he stated, explaining ‘A’ represented an industry classification for the largest, "and now we’re performing in the ‘B’ cities."

Watching William’s expressions and animations, it was easy to see that he loves his work and is enjoying the travel opportunities it affords. Though he is not presently the principle conductor, he aspires to become so in the foreseeable future. His long range plans include writing a musical, possibly one based upon a love story rooted in the annals of historic Lochinvar Plantation of Pontotoc County.

In 1999, I wrote an article concerning William’s senior recital and commented that one day we’d be hearing about William on Broadway. He’s clearly making a name for himself in the world of theatre, and I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see his name in lights on Broadway in the not too distant future.

William WaldropMiss Callie continues to amaze us with her projects. Roughly one year ago, she completed a compilation of articles, by writers in or from Pontotoc County, and then turned the manuscript over to the Pontotoc County Historical Society for publication. I think of it as Miss Callie’s book, simply because, if she hadn’t put it all together, it would not have been done at all.

After we’d finished breakfast, we moved to the living room to enjoy conversation in a more comfortable setting. Barbara and William continued to visit, as I perused the materials on the dining room table that Miss Callie had called to my attention earlier.

Miss Callie is something of an organizational freak. For years she has collected newspaper and magazine articles and some newsletter articles, largely those of historical significance relating to Pontotoc and the people of Pontotoc.

Her present project involves organizing hundreds of clippings and articles into folders, which will eventually make their way into binders. Soon, when all is completed, Miss Callie plans to donate the materials to the Pontotoc Museum, where they will be kept in a yet to be completed reading room.

From the articles I saw, there’ll be plenty of material to keep a history buff absorbed for days on end. Sooner or later, Miss Callie will complete her last project, but I don’t see her ever really not working on something of an educational or historical nature. A strong work ethic is in her blood and she’s passed it down to her descendants.


2007 Impala New Company Car

The use of a company car is a huge benefit that I don’t take for granted. From time to time, I hear rumors that SUPERVALU is considering eliminating company cars and just paying mileage rates to employees who have to travel to perform their duties. While it hasn’t happened yet, I’m certain it will happen, if it can be shown as a savings for SUPERVALU. Meanwhile, I’ll do my best to enjoy driving a company car.

I don’t wish to sound unappreciative, but my new company car, a 2007 Chevrolet Impala, is not all that I hoped it would be. I base my comments on my last company car, a 2004 Chevrolet Impala. I was able to choose the color of the car, both interior and exterior, so I selected the same combination as my old car, black exterior and medium grey interior.

I’m not sure I’ll work long enough to get another company car, but if I do, I’ll probably choose a color that doesn’t show dirt quite so well. I prefer to pressure wash or hand-wash my car, rather than use an automated car wash. I’ve had my new car a week and have already washed it twice. I can’t see me going to the trouble of doing so much longer, and I may have to start using the automated services with increasing regularity because as I get older, hand washing has less appeal to me.

There are a few style changes to the body that I could have done without, but basically the Impala remains stylish and suits my personal tastes. It’s the interior, that I notice the most. Cosmetically, the upper part of the dash has been accented with black trim, leaving the medium gray along the front with faux wood inlays. The instrumentation includes a digital odometer and trip indicator, plus all sorts of digital reading from tire pressure and fuel economy to average speed and estimated distance that can be traveled based on the amount of fuel remaining in the gas tank. Of course, one has to press multiple buttons multiple times to cycle through the digital readings.

For my tastes, I was pleased to discover the car has no ashtray. However, that only means that smokers who purchase an Impala with like features will be encouraged to litter the roadside with their cigarette butts. It’s not that huge numbers of smokers don’t do so already, but the lack of an ashtray only serves to encourage another bad habit many smokers have adopted. I do have two electrical connections that are a carryover from the days of dash-mounted cigarette lighters. Today, we non-smokers use the devices for phone chargers, radar detectors, or other gadget needing 12-volt power.

I have noticed the interior does not seem as roomy as my last Impala. Without a 55/45 split front seat, I have less wiggle room while driving. Any poor soul who has to ride in the rear seat will find limited foot and leg room. With the driver’s seat not quite fully pushed back from the steering column there’s hardly room to fit my computer bag between the rear seat and the back of the driver’s seat.

Generally speaking visibility for the driver is good, but I catch myself double checking my left side before changing lanes or passing, as I don’t think visibility in this regard is as good as the ’04 Impala. And, the side mirrors are not as large as my old car, which makes me less confident that I’m seeing all that I need to see.

The armrest storage compartment is larger than that of the ’04 Impala. I also have two drink holders within reach, though they are not very conveniently located. I don’t have a cubbyhole for my cell phone, so I usually drop it in the smaller drink holder.

Overall, I have a fine automobile as company cars go. It’s powerful enough for me, and it rides as good as my old car, but that’s not saying my old car rode good. If it runs as trouble-free as my old Impala, I’ll be pleased.

While the Mr. Lewis who founded Lewis Grocer Co. (now SUPERVALU Indianola) is not around for me to thank for providing me a company car, I still remember one of my meat supervisors from the seventies telling me that every time he filled his gas tank, he said, "Thank you Mr. Lewis."

It sounds less personal, but I’ll say it anyway, "Thank you, SUPERVALU!"


Bodock Beau Humor Section

The following profound sayings were found on the Internet. Personally, I find them more humorous than profound, but I reckon I’m supposed to.

Women's Profound Sayings

  • Reason to smile: Every 7 minutes of every day, someone in an aerobics class pulls a hamstring.
  • One of life's mysteries is how a 2 pound box of candy can make a woman gain 5 lbs.
  • The best way to forget all your troubles is to wear tight shoes.
  • The nice part about living in a small town is that when you don't know what you're doing, someone else does.
  • The older you get, the tougher it is to lose weight because by then, your body and your fat are really good friends.
  • I gave up jogging for my health when my thighs kept rubbing together and setting my pantyhose on fire.
  • Amazing! You hang something in your closet for awhile and it shrinks two sizes!
  • Skinny people irritate me! Especially when they say things like, "You know, sometimes I just forget to eat." Now I've forgotten my address, my mother's maiden name, and my keys. But I've never forgotten to eat. You have to be a special kind of stupid to forget to eat.
  • A friend of mine confused her valium with her birth control pills. She had 14 kids, but she doesn't really care.
  • The trouble with some women is that they get all excited about nothing ... and then they marry him!
  • I read this article that said the typical symptoms of stress are: eating too much, impulse buying, and driving too fast. Are they kidding? That is my idea of a perfect day.
  • I know what Victoria's Secret is. The secret is that nobody older than 30 can fit into their stuff.

From A Burial Association Newsletter

People of certain faiths don't eat meat on Fridays because there is a separation between church and steak. 

Just for fun I registered my Dad with an online dating service. They matched him with a recliner and TV. 

My golf instructor says I'm doing better, that I am missing the ball much closer now. 

If the world keeps getting smaller, why are they raising postage rates?

Shared by Carl Wayne Hardeman

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