Vacations are a time to look forward to all year and then when the time slowly arrives it is quickly over. Then we need another vacation to get over the real vacation. Vacations have really changed over the years. Now, no one goes anywhere without reservations. Most vacations years ago were visiting relatives maybe in another state. There were no fast food places along the road but there were plenty of picnic tables. That meant we packed a picnic lunch. I remember when my family started out on a trip to Florida to visit relatives with a packed lunch, my sister, Kay Tyler, had to eat her lunch before we got to Tignall (we lived about 6 miles from the big city.) I asked several people what they remembered about vacations when they were a child. Betty Reese said her family all traveled by wagon to Anthony Shoals with tents every summer and camped out for a week. All their Rhodes aunts, uncles and cousins also camped out with them so there was definitely lots of food and of course that’s when everything tastes so good. Now hardly anyone camps in a tent, but they had these big campers with everything including their televisions. There’s no such thing as roughing it any more. When my family went to the mountains it was a one day trip and Daddy would come back and brag about how many miles he covered in one day. and we didn’t see anything! Celeste Adams said they visited her grandfather on a farm in Fayette, Alabama, and they went to Mt. Vernon Methodist Church riding in

wagon pulled by a mule. She said they had singings on the first Sunday in June at this church and it would last all day. Now we didn’t have air-conditioning in our cars for summer trips, but everyone wanted to sit beside a window so the air could blow in our faces. Erma Bombeck said, “Never have more children than you have car windows.” I couldn’t agree more. About beach vacations, “We hit the sunny beaches where we occupy ourselves keeping the sun off our skins, the saltwater off our bodies, and the sand out of our belongings.” Happy vacationing! ƒGraydon and Pat Bobo spent a few days in Bainbridge and enjoyed being with friends and family members for the Fourth. ƒGloria Harris, Lindsey Andrews, and little Roy spent Tuesday and Wednesday of last week in Cleveland visiting Lindsey's mother, Karen. ƒGuests of Daisy Parker the week of June 21-25 was Jeremy Hammonds of Madison. His mother, Jen Hammonds, brought Jeremy on Monday and spent the day. Abby Barnwell of Marietta also spent Wednesday through Friday of the same week with Jeremy and Daisy. Visiting the weekend of the Fourth were Phillip and Pam Barnwell and Virginia of Texas. They came down last week to help their son Paul and his wife Anna move to Atlanta where they will be going to school. Paul will be attending Life University and Anna will be attending nursing school in Atlanta. It doesn't seem like that long ago that Pam was a teenager and now she has a married child and children who are attending college. ƒCarolyn Rhodes of McDonough visited all the relatives in Beulah on Father's Day. ƒ Stacy Hilley of Commerce visited David and Nancy Hilley last Sunday, June 27. ƒLaura and Kathryn Ashe of Rock Hill, S.C., visited with Dave and Tody Derrick over the Fourth of July weekend. ƒDonald and Peggy Ware met Peggy's friend, Barbara Dickerson of Carthage, Texas, Tuesday in Thomson as she was on her way to South Carolina to visit relatives. Barbara and Peggy grew up together in LaGrange. ƒWe extend sympathy to Mrs. Louise Smith and her family. Her sister, Mrs. Reba Brown Baggett Pounds of Thomson passed away Sunday, June 27. Let's keep Miss Louise in our prayers.