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The Office Cat
Guillaume and Sokun Slama have had some busy, busy times in recent months as owners of The Fitzpatrick Hotel, Lafayette Manor, and Sophie's. They decided one day last week to go to Atlanta, catch a show, and get away from Washington for just one night. They arrived a little early and decided to do some light window shopping at Perimeter Mall. They parked the car and went straight into Macy's and ran right into Judy Thompson from Washington! Judy explained that she is spending most of the week in Dunwoody to help her daughter who is pregnant with triplets and is now confined to bed rest. Guillaume says, "The moral of the story is that you can never get away from Washington-Wilkes completely." * With all the fine restaurants and all the great shops Downtown, we are badly in need of more parking places. One suggestion is that if Downtown employers would insist that their employees park off The Square and the employers themselves would do the same, we would have a good many more parking places. . . . If restaurant-goers and Downtown shoppers have to "park and walk" they might not be inclined to "come again." * After three weeks of sun-up to past sundown work by a large crew of workers, The Washington Jockey Club opened Wednesday (August 6) with a completely different look. New owners, new managers, some old and some new employees, will make for a new experience for diners. . . . Meanwhile, there are five other restaurants Downtown, too. I cannot remember having as many at any time as we have now. * The Humane Society of the United States has blanketed Georgia over the past few months with advertisements promoting a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of dogfighters. The campaign is soliciting tips from citizens, especially in rural areas, where dogfighting is occurring in record numbers. If you suspect dogfighting in Wilkes County, or any other county, call the Sheriff and you might be $5,000 richer -- and we'll be rid of one of the most cruel crimes I can think of. * Ken Bufford, Wilkes Countian now living in the Augusta area, sent me a beautiful picture of two hummingbirds that he had photographed at his feeders. Ken says he makes a lot of pictures of the beauties and is fascinated by them. . . . A teenage friend tells me that she was sitting in the swing on her front porch when she heard a humming to her right. When she turned her head to look, there was a hummingbird not two feet away, hovering and staring right at her. . . . Allison Gunter Hayes, Wilkes Countian in Athens, took note of my wishing for binoculars in last week's column and called to tell me there's a better solution. She has a device with a suction cup on it that fits on a window. It brings the hummers right to you so that you can see them close-up. She got it at Lowe's. I've got to have one. * I've been following with interest the controversy in Athens about a chicken ordinance to allow Athens citizens to have a few pet chickens in their backyards. The Athens-Clarke County Commission is taking it seriously and working towards having an ordinance that allows a homeowner a maximum of six to eight chickens, and prohibiting roosters (because they crow.) The Athens Banner-Herald even had an editorial supporting the ordinance! . . . . About 15 or so years ago, Kermit Hocutt gave each of the children, 3-5 years old, at First Baptist a baby chicken on Easter Sunday. Some parents objected; most just "made do." My granddaughter was one of the children who received a chicken. She promptly named him (yes, it was a rooster) Orange Juice -- OJ for short -- because of his color. OJ didn't know he was a chicken. He followed my granddaughter just like a dog would. She could pick him up; throw him up in the air and catch him; and even walked down the aisle carrying him during an "offerings of praise" program at the church. He died just before her 16th birthday. * Last Tuesday night we got .15 of an inch of rain; and Saturday we had .3 of an inch. It's amazing how that little bit brought out the green in the grass. . . . Some areas of the county had a real storm Saturday night with hail, lightning, thunder, wind, and rain. * Bonnie Dees, former resident of Washington-Wilkes now living in North Carolina, sent me an interesting ledger which is 100 years old this year. It's a record of a doctor's services in 1908 to his patients in Wilkes County. Bonnie's husband Jeff found the ledger when his law office was upstairs over what is now The Jockey Club or the Art Gallery. The doctor is not named and most of the names I do not recognize. There is an H.H. Fitzpatrick, Mrs. Kitty Fitzpatrick, Tom Flint, J.H. Foster, Miss Pearl Epps, Godfrey, Harriss, Higginbotham, Hester, Holland, and others. The doctor was not always paid in cash. He was paid with eggs, bundles of fodder, and other agricultural products. He also treated a sick horse. Anybody interested can come by and see if you recognize any names. . . . Bonnie says that Jeff has had a stroke, not a mini-stroke, but is making progress. He can now "walk" some with a walker and a brace. He says that it is the hardest work he's ever done. They both appreciate the prayers of friends in Washington. *
Bob Hill brought me a copy of a column -- "From this corner . . . " by Steve Booher in The Cherokee Messenger and Republican, a newspaper in Cherokee, Oklahoma. Bob thought it was an interesting column and I do too. I will use portions of it from time to time. It tells the origin of sayings we have all heard, such as, "Throw the baby out with the bath water;" "raining cats and dogs;" "dirt poor;" "bring home the bacon," "upper crust;" "graveyard shift;" dead ringer," and others. Most of us have heard the saying "It's raining cats and dogs." The article says that in the 1500s houses had thatched roofs of thick straw piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and other small animals (mice, bugs, etc.) lived in the roof. When it rained, it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip off the roof. Hence the saying, "It was raining cats and dogs." . . . Next week: "the graveyard shift."
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