The Office Cat
Remembering China and Camak

The much-needed rain really played havoc with the Tour of Homes Saturday. Norris Ware reports that from Thursday night until late Saturday night, he recorded 2.15 inches of rain in his gauge. Other areas in Wilkes County received comparable amounts. The storm Friday night put a damper on the tour of the lofts in the Downtown area and had some folks sitting close to their weather radios for tornado watches and warnings. Wilkes County did not have a warning but there were several watches for the area for several hours.

• Another chinaberry tree tale comes from Rosemary Hopkins who lives on West Robert Toombs Avenue. Rosemary grew up in Mc- Cormick, S.C., and says that while waiting for their house to be built, they rented a house which had a huge chinaberry tree. She and her brother, Johnny Talbert, a former resident of Washington-Wilkes, loved to play around the tree, climbing and crushing the chinaberries. One day Rosemary decided she would get a hammer and really crush the berries. She was standing over a stump pounding away at them when Johnny came up and wanted a turn. Rosemary told him absolutely not and that he had better get out of the way before she hit him in the head. Johnny didn't move, so Rosemary hit him with the hammer right in the middle of his forehead. Rosemary says that that incident resulted in the worst whipping she ever had. . . . A couple of years ago, Johnny had to have a complete physical. He was surprised when the doctor said to him, "Do you know that you have a piece of metal in your forehead?" Johnny couldn't wait to tell the whole family about that.

• That reminds me of something that happened in the 1930s. My sister and I were playing in the yard while Mama visited with Christine Wall. At that time Christine and Henry lived on the corner of Spring and Liberty Streets, next door to the medical officeof Dr. A.W. Simpson. My sister found a railroad spike and said, "I'm going to count to three and then I'm going to throw this thing." That thing went off course and hit me behind the ear, causing a gush of blood (and pain). We hurried next door to see Dr. Simpson, but there was nobody in the officeexcept Elizabeth Norris who had been the receptionist and secretary for many years. Something had to be done to close the wound so Miss Elizabeth got out all the proper instruments and in no time put four stitches behind my ear. She swore us all to secrecy and for many years after that she would ask if I remembered it and push my hair aside so she could see the scar.

 

• Doris and Sanders Rhodes' four-year old grandson, Trey Rhodes, has a memory like an elephant. He frequently accompanies Doris when she goes shopping and has seen her pick up items, look at them, and say, "Oops. Can't buy that. Made in China." They were shopping in Ingles one day and as they went down an aisle Doris said, "I can't findwhat I want." And Trey said, "MeMe, just be sure it's not made in China." The bread vendor was stocking the shelves and heard Trey, and got a good laugh. . . . Several weeks ago they thought about going to the big train event that was to be held in Camak last weekend, but decided they didn't want to go. Last Saturday Doris was trying to remember where it was to be and asked Trey if he remembered. His reply was, "MeMe, you know it was in Camak."

 

Four years old!

• The grand opening of Alfred's On The Square last Thursday night was a big success. A good number of people attended the ribbon-cutting and were guests of Jeanne Davis- Blair, owner of Alfred's, for a very delicious buffet dinner. Jeanne says she served about 300 people during the weekend.

 

• If you read this column, you know that I like baseball -- especially the Braves. I now have a special interest in the Georgia Bulldog baseball team. Justin Holmes, fiancé of my granddaughter Lizzie, is assistant coach of the team. Last weekend the team swept three games with South Carolina, putting them in first place in the SEC standings. . . . A couple of weeks ago the Bulldogs lost to Kennesaw State, and there was a special Wilkes County connection to that game. Micah Sales, son of Wilkes Countian Mike Sales (now living in Athens), and nephew of Dr. Les and Kim Sales, pitched fiveinnings during the game. The games are frequently televised on CSS.

 

• You pet lovers! Have you seen the current Washington-Wilkes Humane Shelter Association Newsletter? It's full of interesting information about the Shelter and animals in general. One of the needs of the Shelter is for "dog walkers" -- people to take the Shelter dogs out for a walk. It also says that petting a dog can help reduce the stress level in dogs -- especially Shelter dogs. And it also helps reduce blood pressure in humans. Give it a try. Call the Shelter.

 

• An article about the Washington Little Theater Playhouse being named for Bolton Lunceford appears in Scribbles 'n Bits, published by the Georgia Council of Teachers of English (GCTE.) Bolton has been a member of GCTE for many years. . . . I'll be glad and interested to see the new sign go up designating The Playhouse as the Bolton Lunceford Playhouse.

 

• Acoustic Eidolon featuring Joe Scott and Hannah Alkire will be performing at the Bolton Lunceford Playhouse Friday at 7 p.m.

• The Washington Historical Museum has a display of Georgia pottery from the collection of Virginia Lee King and Robert Willingham. The collection will be in the museum through June 28.

 

• For many years, my spouse has chided me for saying "I have a long ways to go before I'm through; or before I can sit down; or before I can quit." He says it should be "a long way" -- not the plural "ways." A recent column by James J. Kilpatrick, connoisseur of the English language, came to my rescue. He says it should be the plural "ways" because, among other things, "the plural construction offers a lovely hint of variety, of pathways unexplored, or miles to go before we sleep." Isn't that "loverly!". . . So, I've got a long ways to go before I finish this column tonight.

 

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