RRN Online Volume 553

January 06 '07

Volume 553

Katherine The Great Granddaughter Entertains Family

Future Entertainer Sorry, this is not about Russia’s Catherine the Great, but there is a Katherine in my life, who may be destined for greatness. Centuries ago, the prophet Micah foretold of a ruler who would arise from humble beginnings. That prophesy follows in a loosely paraphrased and adulterated form: Mic.5:2 – "But thou Belmont of Tishomingo, though thou be little among the thousands of Mississippi, yet out of thee shall [s]he come forth unto Me that is to be ruler in U.S.A…"

Before declaring me a heretic or a lunatic, consider that women rulers, while foreign to our system of government, have strongly influenced the world’s political landscape. Today, Nancy Pelosi, a.k.a. San Fran Nan was sworn in as Speaker of the House of Representatives, becoming the first woman to hold that office. Is our country ready for its first woman president? If so, someone may claim that honor before my youngest granddaughter is old enough to hold the highest office in our land.

My Katherine may never become interested in politics, and her path to greatness may follow a different route, entirely. Entertainment may be her forte. And, if her penchant for comedic expression as a five-year-old is aptly encouraged, she may find greatness entertaining the masses.

Barbara has encouraged our daughter, Rayanne, to write down the comedic exploits of our Katherine, but we’re not holding our breath waiting for that to happen. Instead, I image the best we can hope for is that Rayanne will continue to orally relay the happenings and Katherine-isms to us.

Television, for better or worse, strongly influences children, and in the efforts of children to understand the adult world, certain forms of communication work better than others. Already, music is a big part of Katherine’s life, whether it’s songs learned in kindergarten, church, radio, or TV, Katherine seems to enjoy them all.

On her way to our house on Christmas Day, Katherine sang a slightly different version of "Over the River and Through the Woods." Her rendition rang clearly, "Over the river and through the HOODS, to grandmother’s house we go." Apparently, Katherine’s idea of travel involves neighborhoods, not woods. Though, it could be that letting her have a chocolate baby doll was a mistake.

Katherine, like a lot of youngsters, enjoys "pretending." For example, she likes to pretend she’s a supermarket cashier and has enjoyed the toy register and toy groceries she got as a gift a few years ago. This Christmas, among her many gifts, Katherine got a Doctor’s Kit and a lab coat. A few days ago, she got her mother to pretend with her. With chart in hand, she welcomed her patient into her office.

"Well, what seems to be your problem, Miss Rayanne?" she began.

Rayanne responded that she had a stuffy nose and had not been feeling well.

"What I really need is a few happy pills," she concluded.

Katherine took note of her patient’s symptoms and scribbled briefly on a "play" prescription pad.

Handing the prescription to Rayanne, Katherine ordered, "Read me what it says!"

Rayanne read, "It says Nasanex, two puffs in each nostril, once daily."

Merilese had been quietly listening to the conversation but was suddenly intrigued by the prescription and asked, "Does it really say that, Mama?"

"No, Merilese," Rayanne explained, "What color’s your hair?"

Sheepishly, Merilese replied, "Blonde."

"Can you take your prescription and get it filled tomorrow?" Katherine wanted to know.

"No, because you aren’t a real doctor," Rayanne shared.

Undeterred, Katherine took her Doctor’s Kit to where her dad was sitting.

Removing the small mallet, she informed Anson she needed to check him for "acid reflux."

"Who told you what that’s for?" Anson asked, referring to the mallet.

"Merilese," came the reply.

"I did not, Katherine," Merilese retorted, "I said you use it to check reflexes."

I don’t have a crystal ball, so I really don’t know where Katherine will find greatness. She may one day be a great physician or surgeon, but I’m betting her greatest success will be in the field of entertainment.

Tire Story By Barbara Carter

Ryan Fuoss has been working with us at Habitat since the end of July. He is a VISTA volunteer, and, as such, is entitled to ten days of vacation time during his year of service here in Pontotoc. Shortly after he arrived, we scheduled days for him to be off to travel home to Pennsylvania for the Christmas holidays. Ryan secured his plane tickets in plenty of time to take advantage of the price deals. He was to depart on December 23, from Memphis, and he planned to drive to the airport, leave his car for eight to ten days, and return on January 2. As time drew near, I suggested that he allow us to drive him to the airport on December 23, and I would come back to pick him up on January 2. This would save him about $70 or $80 in parking fees at the airport. Wayne and I thought it would be well worth the savings for him for us to make the trek.

On Saturday, December 23, we had to leave Pontotoc about 6:30 a.m., in order to get Ryan to the airport on time for check-in. Wayne and I dropped him off at check-in and then drove to my niece’s house in Southaven for a cup of coffee and a slice of pumpkin bread. We discussed the menu for Christmas Day and made final plans for that event with Cheryl. Wayne and I used the travel time to finalize some of our Christmas plans, and I thoroughly enjoyed the break in activity just prior to Christmas.

For Ryan’s return trip, I planned to drive up by myself, since Wayne had returned to work and I could forward my office calls to my cell phone. Ryan and I needed time to make some work plans as well. I left the office around 10:30 a.m. and had just driven onto the airport entrance ramp when my cell phone rang. It was Ryan announcing that his plane had just touched down and that he would go to baggage claims and meet me out front of the baggage area.

I drove through the baggage claims area once, knowing that he would not have had time to get there and claim his bags. Upon getting to the pick-up area the second time, I pulled into a curbside parking space where others were waiting for their passengers. Thinking I had seen Ryan come out the door, I got out of my car to wave to him, when an airport security policewoman pulled up along side my car and announced that I should get back in my car and drive back around, I could not wait here. I told her that my passenger was here, but she said move. Just as I pulled out into the traffic line in front of the police officer, Ryan walked up.

I wanted to get out of the car again and say, "I told you he was here," but I just pulled over slightly and popped the trunk so Ryan could stow his bag and we could leave.

It was about 12:20 p.m. as we headed back toward Olive Branch, MS. I suggested we stop in Olive Branch for lunch and exited to go to a restaurant I had chosen. Upon making a turn onto Frontage Road, I heard a loud noise that sounded like a plane flying low overhead, and as I progressed in my turn the noise diminished slightly.

Ryan looked at me and said, "Is that this car?"

I stopped, and he got out to investigate; I said, "I don’t know."

He checked to see if anything was dragging, but found nothing.

I spotted an automobile dealership just ahead of us and moved very slowly toward it, fearing a tire might fall off or something. I turned into the dealership and followed the signs pointing to the Service Center. There were several cars lined up waiting at the service entrance, so I maneuvered a turn to get in line with the rest. Turning the wheel seemed to have made the noise stop. Ryan and I both got out and looked again. Still seeing nothing, I surmised it could have been a rock or something caught in the wheel. We left the dealership without talking with anyone and headed for the restaurant.

Shaken by the excitement, I guess, I misjudged the turn into the restaurant parking lot and ended up next door at another restaurant. As I backed up to turn around, the noise started up again.

I was beginning to see dollar signs as I tried to imagine what could be wrong. I had visions of a few years ago, when my last car was about a week old and I ran over a straightened out wire coat hanger. It punctured the sidewall of a brand new tire. That type puncture is not covered under the warranty, I found out, no matter how new the tire.

Ryan checked once again as I eased forward, but still nothing was evident. We decided to go ahead and eat lunch after I called my niece, Cheryl, who works close by. I asked for her recommendation of where to take my car. She had two suggestions; one was to go back to the dealership, where one of her co-worker’s sons works as a salesman. They had notified him, and he could get us into the Service Center without a wait. The other suggestion was Gateway Tire Center, which is located on Hacks Cross Road, about two miles from where we were. I opted to try the tire center, since the car was not currently making the noise, they offered other services and the auto dealership was Chevrolet and I was driving a Buick.

We made the trip along Highway 302 to the intersection of Hacks Cross Road without any problems. At the traffic light, suddenly there was a rumble and a sound like something breaking away and flying out from under the tire. That seemed to have solved the problem, but to be safe I went on to Gateway, which was just a short distance on Hacks Cross Road. The attendant was very helpful. He asked for my keys and he drove my car around back. After several minutes he returned to announce that everything seemed fine with nothing loose or out of place. He suggested that perhaps I had run over something that caught in the tire rim and it just worked free.

With no charge for his help, I expressed my sincere thanks to him for his help and we headed for home.

If I keep running over things, I may have to give up driving. I just don’t see these things I run over. At least they are not things like a truck, a building or a body.

So far I haven’t had any further problems. Maybe this will be a lucky year.

Bodock Beau Quick Quips

The following were found in Laugh Newsletter December 2006, published by Reiman Media Group, Inc.

Quick Quips

Did you hear about the fellow who stole the calendar? He got 12 months.

Why did the farmer call his dog "Ink?" Because he was always running out of the pen.

Why are policemen so strong? Because they’re always holding up traffic.

What did one mountain say to the other mountain after an earthquake? It’s not my fault.

What did the person get who invented the door-knocker? The no-bell prize.

What bird is the most contented? The crow, because he never complains without caws.