We are Butt Dust

Gravelly news byG lenna Goodson

Lauren,(age 5) was listening to her minister pray,"Dear Lord," the minister began, with arms exxtended towards Heaven and a raputurous look on his upturned face."Without you, we are but dust."He would have continued but at that moment, Lauren leaned over to her mother and asked quite audibly in her shrill little girl voice,"Mom, what is butt dust?"

I attended the funeral of Bernice, Tootie Rhoades, last week. I saw my very first boy friend, Bunny Jennings, a cousin of Tootie's. Oh gee, to see your very first boy friend 60 yeaars later is really strange!Your mind goes back to the "good ole days." I was 13 and 14 and Bunny was 19 and 20 when we dated.Bunny was in the army when we first dated.After he married, I remember getting a birth announcement of their first born child named Harriet Ann. I met Harriet at the funeral! As wwe were hugging each other, Bunny says"You are grown up," and I told him I'm sure he meant"out". I don't exactly weigh 95 pounds any more!! I learned that Jack, Bunny's brother, had 14 children and 26 grandchildren. I met some of the grandchildren at the funeral and they were so"bubbly" and friendly, they made you feel as if you had always known them.I promised Susan"Jennings" Forrester I would
send her my article from the Record and would E-mail her. I hope Bunny, his wife, and Susan,keep in touch.

I am so proud of my sister, Kathy Minnie, counselor at Fourche Valley. Kathy has been voted the top multi-level clounselor(1st through 12th) for the Central Region of Ar. She is now nominated for the state honor.Lois Craig of L.R. has been chosen the Middle School counselor for the region and is now nominated for the State. Lois is the daughter of Jean Swafford of Gravelly. Jean is our secretary of F.V. school.

It is so true that the seemingly small acts of courtesy a person performs, blesses others and lifts their spirits.I was trying to pump gasoline at the Rover Emerson store. The wind was blowing so hard, I was having trouble.Peggy Emerson comes from the store and says"Let me do that for you, Glenna."How very kind. Then a few days ago I bought power steering fluid from the auto parts store in PlainviewI told the young lady clerk that usually the nice man in the store put it in for me. She said he was not there but she bet she could do it. I was really amused cause she lifted the hood of my car and says"By the process of elimination I will know where to put it, and here is for the oil, here is for the water, and here's for the power steering." So these young ladies just made my day!!

The proposals to save money from the 2 River's School District could get a person all riled up, especially if Fourche Valley is your school. Here is a school that brings in more then $1,000 per child because wwe are truly an isolated school--we are over 25 miles to the nearest school--not just 5 miles as )Plainview is to Rover. F.V's high school students scored the highest in the district on their Benchmark and Iowa testing scores in Math. They also scored the highest in the state in End of Course Math. Our Elementary always scores among the highest. Since the State Dept goes so highly on the Spring testing scores, this should be considered.F.V. parents need to unite and fight for our school.Have your statistics and proof in your possession as you fight for our school.Write to your representative.

Last Wednesday, I met a lady named Loiese Tinz.She and her husband bought the Sandy Hannigan place in Bluffton. She says she reads my articles in the Record and enjoys my jokes. The Ting's formerly lived in San Diego but really enjoy Ar. She enjoys especially the change of seasons that you do not have in San Diego. Loiese has 3 Llamas and told me some neat stories about these interesting animals.

I talked by phone with Betty Lampkin this week and then went by to see her.Since the Yell County Library at Danville isclosed for 3 months, Betty will be lost but I'm going to loan her my books I get from my book club. Betty reads so fast, she reads 6 or 7 books per week. She's the only lady I have met that loves to read as much as I do. Keep praying for Betty. Her wrist is better but she has a long way to go. She thanks you for your prayers.

I received another comment from my Blog stories. A friend said she could not find my blog so I'll tell you the newer address. It is http//gravellyark.blogspot.com

I received a Valentine card from my granddaughter and her children, Jake and Allyson. Jake is 4 years old and he had printed his name, Jacob, at the top of the card--all of it printed backward. I will always treasure it!!

Loucinda Buford and her grandson Michael were taking a walk in the woods. Michael heard a noise and says"What's that?" Loucinda says it is probably just a coon or an Armidilla--OR A BEAR! Michael decides he wants to go back to the house. Loucinda says, "Well, Michael if it IS a bear, I can outrun you so the first one the bear comes too--he will eat, so I don't have to worry about him getting me!" Michael REALLY decides to go home then!!Mean Grandma!! But Michael will never forget those walks in the woods with his grandmother.

I attended the Eastern Star at Mt. Ida last Tuesday night. There were 101 people that attended. We were served a delicious meal and were entertaijned by L.J. Posey and the Blue Mtn. Gospel Bluegrass The 4 guys played guitars,a banjo and a mandolin. A lady sang with them. My favorite song was "No Wagon Tracks Around the Church Anymore." Gee, when we had to travel in a wagon, we had more people at church!!

I was so proud of my 5th grade friend, Jesse Young, of F.V. school. Jesse competed in the Yell County Spelling B. He was number 2 in the county. Good for Jesse!! I subbed Jesse a lot when he was in 3rd grade and he is really a goodstudent. Congratulations to Jesse!!

Remember Life is like a coin, you can spend it any way you wish, but you can spend it only once!!