August 20 '96
Volume 9
Editor Celebrates
Birthday
I am
thinking
of having a surprise birthday party for myself next year. It has been several
years since I had a surprise birthday party, and I sort of enjoyed the last
one.
Rayanne, Anson and Anna came over Friday night for supper and to wish me
a Happy Birthday. Rayanne seems pretty well recovered from her surgery. They
are now completely moved into their new home in Belmont. I will try to get
over there for a visit before Thanksgiving. My wife has expressed a concern
that my daughter would like to have me visit her in her new home.
Rayanne gave me a long sleeved shirt to wear for casual days this fall. Barbara
found a couple of short sleeved casual shirts on sale at McRaes in Jackson
and gave them to me along with a pair of sunglasses that I had earlier selected.
(The clip art only mildly resembles me.) Sarah and Felicia gave me a birthday
card with my events and births of famous people during my birth year. Anna
gave me a big hug, and I think Jason wished me a happy birthday. Sarah made
a 7-Up Pound cake for the occasion. All in all it was a good day.
Sarah's
Setup
Sarah is slowly getting setup for housekeeping at her new residence at 135
East Oxford Street in Pontotoc. She and Felicia are both enjoying the change
in lifestyle. Felicia, no doubt loves her father, but does not respect him
for living his present lifestyle. She has voiced her happiness in being away
from all the goings on in Ecru. Brett is very much enjoying being away from
home at MSMS in Columbus.
Sarah took Felicia to Columbus on Saturday. MSMS had set aside the day for
parents to get acquainted with the teachers. Felicia was bored stiff, but
she did say that she saw a few cute boys. Brett has changed roommates. He
did not use the word gay, rather ‘sensitive’ as he described the
young man from Philadelphia, MS. His new roommate shares more of his interests
and is from Aberdeen. I believe Brett is planning to come home for the Labor
Day holiday.
Saturday night, I took a Fax Modem over to Sarah’s house for her to
use. She will now have the capability to send and receive fax communiqués
via her personal computer. It took almost as long to explain the how to’s
as it did to get the modem hooked
up.
Winesap Apples
The winesap apple tree in my backyard in Pontotoc is loaded with apples,
but most are riddled with insects, or peck marks by birds. A few even display
early stages of rot. Some are worth coring and peeling for pies, freezing
or drying. Last year I allowed most of the crop to go to waste, so this year
I was determined to harvest some for my family needs and some for relatives.
I borrowed a food dehydrator from Sarah and dried enough to fill a few quart
bags with these tart apples for later conversion to fried apple pies. Some
apples were bagged and frozen after being processed. I have an apple corer
/ slicer that makes quick of preparing the apples, and if it were not for
having to inspect the slices for infestation near the core, the work would
be more bearable, almost fun.
Aunt Jo will probably get the call to make some fried pies, before Labor
Day. Sarah does a fine job with a deep dish pie and has already contributed
a couple for weekend enjoyment. I prefer a slice of aged cheddar cheese with
hot apple pie, while most of the family would choose ice cream. I have yet
to find a complement to apple pie that I do not like. My dad used to tell
mother that he did not like apple pie. I would also note that he had no trouble
eating the apple pies that mom made. I never thought that mother’s apple
pies were exceptional, but I always enjoyed them. I believe that coconut
or chocolate or perhaps lemon ice box pies were her better pastry dishes.
Rural Mailboxes
I have been
toying
with an idea for a personal project. For some years, I have been interested
in Rural Mailboxes. Specifically, I have been interested in the different
approaches people have to erecting a mail box. I believe I would enjoy
photographing and categorizing different mailbox mounts, that I observe along
the roads I travel.
There are many interesting and unusual devices used for mounting a simple
mailbox. Old iron cultivator wheels or primitive tractor wheels, welded links
of chain, pot bellied stoves, washing machines, toddler sized tractors, and
wooden cut outs constitute some of the unorthodox devices used as mounts.
Even the simple post type mounts vary from rough cedar or oak to cleanly
finished four by fours, from metal pipe to metal fencing posts. The variations
of crossed beams and or braced beam mounts seem endless in assortments and
combinations of wood and metal.
I envision a day when there will be no need for rural mailboxes. It may be
far into the next century or even the next, but I really expect that mail
in the future will be delivered by computers or TV. My grandchildren or some
future family member might find such a collection interesting and educational.
A hundred years ago who would have thought the steam locomotive would become
obsolete by the middle of this century, or that wooden barns on family farms
(rhyme not intentional) would fall and not need replaced, because the rural
family farm is all but non-existent.
Thus far I have taken one picture and logged the location. So the project
begins....
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