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'Red River Valley' in Chinese
All my life I have called Mary Johnson Duggan "Sister." That's what her family called her, and the name spilled over to include close friends, too. She is a few years older than I, and in my senior year in high school she came home to be the Washington High School band director after getting her music degree from Georgia State College for Women. Her presence as band director caused a bit of a dilemma for many of her students. Should we still call her "Sister," or should it be "Miss Johnson," or what should it be? Before the end of the school year, after getting used to whatever we decided to call her (most of us opted for "Sister") we had to call her Mrs. Duggan because she married Dr. Dan Duggan. Not only was Sister a superb band director -- we made Superior ratings in state competition - she also has a beautiful contralto voice, sang in our church choir, and directed the Christmas music shows at The Playhouse many years. She recently gave me some thoughts she had written on Mother's Day. Here they are: Oh the joy of being a mother. I'm so glad I'm a sister instead of a brother. If I were a brother, not a sister, I wouldn't be a Mrs.; I would be a Mr. ƒ Sister's son and daughter-in-law will be starring in the Washington Little Theater production of the musical comedy, I Do! I Do!, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday this week. Tom and Gail Duggan have been rehearsing for months for this performance and it promises to be most entertaining and "enlightening." Reservations are recommended by calling the reservation hotline at 706-678-7592, but you may get tickets at the door if they are available. Since Sunday is Mother's Day, mothers who attend with their adult children will be admitted free. It's a good show. I hope you won't miss it. ƒ The much publicized and anticipated Relay For Life event to benefit cancer research is now history, but we don't slow down yet. Saturday night, May 10, is the night for the annual Spring Cruise-In sponsored by the Memory Lane Cruisers on The Square. The show gets underway at 6 p.m. and continues until 9:00 with antique cars, hot rods, muscle (what's that?) and collectible cars. There will also be food, prizes, and fun for the family and Tommy Landrum's Cruzin' to the Oldies will be providing the music. I can tell you whether the old cars are Ford, Chevrolet, Buick, Chrysler, Studebaker, or whatever, but I hardly know one from the other of today's cars. It's interesting. Go see! ƒ The Relay For Life was a big success. There were a lot of people who attended many of the activities taking place from 7 p.m. Friday until 7 a.m. Saturday. There were a lot of fun things to do, and all kinds of food available. The goal was to raise $50,000. The unofficialreport Monday afternoon was that $63,000 had been raised. The children, teachers, and other personnel of the Washington-Wilkes Elementary School accounted for $2,353.00 of that total. They turned in $921 in pennies collected; raised $346 in ice cream donations; and collected $845 for "dress down days." . . . I'm sure there were other equally as remarkable amounts raised. These are just ones that I heard about. ƒ I've heard that if you want to hear the latest "news," the place to go is the ladies breakfast at the Kum Bak Cafe in Tignall on Monday mornings!! ƒ Cindy Hardy was the winner of the big and beautiful swing given away by the Georgia Peaches and Peanuts Team (mostly retired citizens). Arnold Adams made the swing and sold 160 tickets. Cindy's tickets were the first that he sold. She and husband Ray are building a new house and the swing is just what they needed. Donna Hardy won the prize for guessing the number of jelly beans in a jar. In fact, she guessed the exact number. ƒ My soon-to-be grandson-in-law and I were standing by the balcony railing in the Hugh Hodgson Center for the Performing Arts Center Saturday. We were waiting to be admitted to the hall where the UGA Veterinary School Commencement was to be held. As we looked over the balcony at the sea of people in the rotunda below, I said, "I'm glad I'm not down there." He promptly said, "I'll bet God looks down and says that about us sometimes." ƒ A Washington-Wilkes grandmother who has a daughter, son-in-law, and grandchildren living in Florida, told me about something that happened in that family recently. The nine-year-old son came home from school singing "Viva Viagra," a catchy tune on a television commercial. His mom pulled him up sharply and asked him where he learned that. He told her that all the kids at school were singing it. She told him not to ever sing it again. And then came the inevitable, "Why?" Mom's reply was, "Ask your dad." ƒ A few weeks ago I told about Katherine and Preston Sanders seeing fivecoyotes at the Post Officeand watching as they went on to Fievet Pharmacy. That's in the heart of town. I've heard reports of coyotes near Berkshire Drive, Sims Street, on the Thomson Road, and North Alexander Avenue. Now I've seen one in my backyard on Lexington Avenue. I was reading and my spouse was watching television (sleeping in his chair?) about 10:30 Sunday night when I heard what I thought to be a cat. I heard it again and turned the television off to listen. My spouse heard it, too, and went outside to see about our cat, who is an outside cat. I went to the back door and turned on the floodlights in the backyard. And there was that sinister creature called a coyote sauntering along as if he owned the place. The next morning "Pop-up," our worldly-wise cat, didn't show up for breakfast, something he never misses. About 11 o'clock he came to the door, having obviously been in a fight for his life. Dr. Les Sales says his injuries were just minor and not as bad as we had thought. For several weeks I have been hearing a strange noise outside the window at night. I attributed it to "a banshee," but I guess it was a coyote. . . . I didn't want to see that coyote, but I'm still waiting for that black bear to come loping through my yard. ƒ
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