Friday, September 30, 2005
Sleeping With The Past
Our local bowling association collected $700 for hurricane relief. Instead of giving it to the Red Cross and helping pay their overhead, we decided to find a family that would be settling in our local area and sponsor them. Representatives from Operation Heart (a local Dyersburg charity organization) located a family for us. This family has 38 members, ranging from grandparents to their grandchildren. They have been staying in eight rooms at a local hotel. We will be presenting them with the check tomorrow night. Plans are in the work to also provide this family with Thanksgiving dinner. One of the local churches has volunteered their banquet hall for us to use for serving them.
I also found out that more clothing was needed for these people, so tonight I cleared out the last two clothes closets in our house. These closets were special to me because they contained a lot of clothing that I wore in my college years and during my entry to corporate America. As I sorted through them, I remembered wearing the outfits to weddings, family reunions, band concerts, and various sales presentations. I even found some of my old business cards from my Tandy Corporation days. Sweet memories. It doesn't seem like it was even all that long ago.
I also found some hunting clothes that I had worn that, the pockets containing my shotgun shells and a Lower Hatchie National Wildlife Refuge hunting permit for deer dated 1993. I still remember that trip. It was the one where I got lost in the woods at the refuge in Brownsville, TN. Marlin (my ex-husband) and I got to the refuge around 4pm. He went one way and I went the other way. I did not carry my compass that day, big mistake! He told me to watch the river banks to determine my way in and out. The river was on my left on the way in, and on my right on the way out. Easy enough for this blonde to handle, right? Well, I got intrigued with watching the scenery and thinking about how nice it was to be walking in the woods, of course never seeing a deer, only a lot of squirrels that would be totally wiped out by my 20-gauge hollow point rifled slugs. I even sat down on the ground at the base of a tree and took a nap.
Around dusk, I decided that it was time to walk back out of the woods. Looking around, I had the river on the right...and the river on the left. This was not a matter of great concern, because I figured that eventually one of the streams would taper off and then I'd be on the right track. Yeah, right!
I noticed that I had walked in circles, but by this time I was so lost that everything looked familiar, and the woods was getting darker by the minute. This WAS a matter of great concern to this nature girl. I had not seem my husband in hours, and he had mysteriously disappeared into thin air. I tried yelling a little, with no success. So, what's a girl to do? This girl just kept walking, in hopes of finding her way back to the main road. Every noise startled me. I just hoped that none of those noises was some critter that decided to make supper out of me. Finally, I spotted some headlights from a truck driving down the road. I fired my Marlin shotgun in the air for three shots (which I thought would be interpreted as a distress signal) and prayed that the truck would stop. I saw it stop, and heard my husband's voice in the distance. I walked a little further and reloaded and fired three more shots. I was never more glad to see another human in my life. My instincts had led me about 1/2 mile from the highway, but this was no where near the point that I started out. Marlin had just about given up on finding me, and was headed to contact the rescue squad when he heard my shots. A close call, and another lesson to chalk up to experience. I now never leave home without a compass when going for walks in the woods.
This was just one of many memories that was brought on by looking at my clothes. I am glad that these clothes will be worn by others who truly need them now, and helping others to make new memories as they rebuild their lives.
I also found out that more clothing was needed for these people, so tonight I cleared out the last two clothes closets in our house. These closets were special to me because they contained a lot of clothing that I wore in my college years and during my entry to corporate America. As I sorted through them, I remembered wearing the outfits to weddings, family reunions, band concerts, and various sales presentations. I even found some of my old business cards from my Tandy Corporation days. Sweet memories. It doesn't seem like it was even all that long ago.
I also found some hunting clothes that I had worn that, the pockets containing my shotgun shells and a Lower Hatchie National Wildlife Refuge hunting permit for deer dated 1993. I still remember that trip. It was the one where I got lost in the woods at the refuge in Brownsville, TN. Marlin (my ex-husband) and I got to the refuge around 4pm. He went one way and I went the other way. I did not carry my compass that day, big mistake! He told me to watch the river banks to determine my way in and out. The river was on my left on the way in, and on my right on the way out. Easy enough for this blonde to handle, right? Well, I got intrigued with watching the scenery and thinking about how nice it was to be walking in the woods, of course never seeing a deer, only a lot of squirrels that would be totally wiped out by my 20-gauge hollow point rifled slugs. I even sat down on the ground at the base of a tree and took a nap.
Around dusk, I decided that it was time to walk back out of the woods. Looking around, I had the river on the right...and the river on the left. This was not a matter of great concern, because I figured that eventually one of the streams would taper off and then I'd be on the right track. Yeah, right!
I noticed that I had walked in circles, but by this time I was so lost that everything looked familiar, and the woods was getting darker by the minute. This WAS a matter of great concern to this nature girl. I had not seem my husband in hours, and he had mysteriously disappeared into thin air. I tried yelling a little, with no success. So, what's a girl to do? This girl just kept walking, in hopes of finding her way back to the main road. Every noise startled me. I just hoped that none of those noises was some critter that decided to make supper out of me. Finally, I spotted some headlights from a truck driving down the road. I fired my Marlin shotgun in the air for three shots (which I thought would be interpreted as a distress signal) and prayed that the truck would stop. I saw it stop, and heard my husband's voice in the distance. I walked a little further and reloaded and fired three more shots. I was never more glad to see another human in my life. My instincts had led me about 1/2 mile from the highway, but this was no where near the point that I started out. Marlin had just about given up on finding me, and was headed to contact the rescue squad when he heard my shots. A close call, and another lesson to chalk up to experience. I now never leave home without a compass when going for walks in the woods.
This was just one of many memories that was brought on by looking at my clothes. I am glad that these clothes will be worn by others who truly need them now, and helping others to make new memories as they rebuild their lives.
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Hey Galen!
Yes, I am a little surprised, but you have always been able to find me on the net. :) Great to hear from you! Write me sometime and let me know how life is treating you.
Take care, friend...
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Yes, I am a little surprised, but you have always been able to find me on the net. :) Great to hear from you! Write me sometime and let me know how life is treating you.
Take care, friend...
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