Journal of a Living Lady #310
Nancy White Kelly

Have we all gone insane?

A few days ago I dashed into a nearby variety store for a few household necessities. Regardless of how busy our lives are, there are some times you just have to stop and shop. Buddy doesn’t like to run out of toilet paper. I reminded him that the pilgrims managed without it. He wasn’t amused.

On that late October day, the temperature outside was unusually toasty. As the double glass doors of the store sprung open, I was greeted by loud Christmas music and a swaying Santa Claus.

What happened to Thanksgiving? Oh, I remember. Only the grocery stores commercialize Turkey Day. There is little economic motive for other establishments to promote a national day of giving thanks. But Christmas hoop-la already? To quote the famous commentator, Charlie Brown, “Good grief.”

I love the real Christmas season. My mother did too. She even birthed me on Christmas Eve. Those nostalgic memories of childhood Christmases are probably an exaggerated figment of my imagination. They were good, but never perfect. The anticipation was always greater than the day of the tree.

As a parent, I tried to create that same utopian experience for my children. Some Christmases were better than others. Each year, as I put away the decorations, I promised that next year would be different. Simpler.

Buddy and I have even considered going away in early December, maybe even out of the country, until after January 1. So much work, anxiety and expense could be avoided that way.

Of course, the real meaning of Christmas is important to Buddy and me. Yet, historians tell us that Jesus wasn’t really born on December 25th. Reality is that the birth of Christ should be celebrated all year long, not just on some man-made calendar date.

Will Christmas find us on some deserted island, far from the hustle and bustle that has already begun? That is doubtful. There is always next year or the hope of it.

In the meanwhile, the guest closet is full of items I have picked up all during the year. Nothing expensive, but quite a pile all the same. Toys, shirts, gimmicky things. Same-O. Same-O.

All I really want for Christmas is my family together. A good meal. A little laughter. Unhurried time. Fond reminiscing. If Christmas is the only time to conveniently do that, then bring it on. It is coming anyway.

nancyk@alltel.net

Journal of a Living Lady #308
Nancy White Kelly

Every day I realize more and more that I am past my prime. While arthritis screams rather loudly to my joints, it is my mind that I mourn the most. We older folks know more than young people. We just can’t remember it.

Removing my rings is a daily ritual. I don’t like to wear them when attending to mundane household tasks like washing dishes. Chemicals and soapy residue aren’t good for jewelry.

Early last Tuesday morning, while a rooster crowed in the dawning light, I discovered that my wedding rings were missing. Where could they be?

Time was fleeting and I needed to leave for work. I checked in all the jewelry boxes given me by relatives and friends through the years. No rings. I looked in the bathroom soap dishes. Still no rings.

With the pathetic, non-agility of an aging lady, I slowly lowered my body to the floor. My fingers combed through the bedroom carpet. My eyes caught the clutter of papers and books scattered under the bed. The clutter would have to wait.

I grabbed hold of the bedspread. My elementary students would have considered it a humorous version of “ tug-of-war.” With all the strength and courage I could muster, I finally pulled myself to a standing position. My sophisticated high school students would have described the scene in more scientific lingo: applied physics. Whatever. I was vertical.

Where could those rings be? I have misplaced them before, but never for so long and never when in such a hurry to leave. I am a known advocate of punctuality. It would be amusing to the staff, but embarrassing to me, to be late to our morning faculty meeting.

I asked Buddy if he had seen the rings.

“Nope,” he replied casually. He never even looked up from his newspaper while taking an unhurried sip of coffee. Apparently the headlines were more compelling than my need for wedding rings at 6:00 in the morning.

I did a final walk-around of the entire house, looking high and looking low for the missing rings. I resigned myself to being ringless that day, but not late.
I made a hasty stop in the bathroom to spray my hair for an anticipated long day. It was then that I saw the shiny reflection of a diamond in the medicine cabinet mirror.

Yep. My wedding rings were right where you might expect them…on my left ring finger.

nancyk@alltel.net

Journal of a Living Lady #308

Nancy White Kelly

Today is Saturday. It is coin shop day. I must change hats from being a school administrator to being a proprietor. It is quite a challenge to be responsible for a business with only one day a week to tend to it. And, to top it off, Buddy says jokingly that he needs to find me a third job. In almost the same breath, he tells me he is hungry.

Reluctantly I ask him to take charge of the coin shop. I amble across the drive-way to the house. In the kitchen I prepare soup and sandwiches. My mind tells me that there is something wrong with this scenario. I don’t complain. Buddy is a good man and his type is increasingly hard to find in this modern day.

Buddy is not a lazy man. He is always busy, but it is chosen business. He can go back to bed in the morning, or noon, or even afternoon if he wants. He has no time clock. He cuts grass, piddles in the shop or visits with friends while I work. Occasionally he will drop by the school and put up a bulletin board or two. I am envious.

My day starts early and never ends. His day is just so flexible. Mine is full of meetings and more meetings. Parents, students, board members, and community activists flood my life with visits, phone calls, and emails. Then there are the students who want me to watch every volleyball spike or quarterback sneak. There is never a day anymore that I feel caught up. My method in this madness is to assign priorities to my tasks. I do it by numbers: 1,2,3,4. Most days I am fortunate to get past the 1’s. Nobody is at fault. It is called the tyranny of the urgent.

The staff at Mountain Area Christian Academy is wonderful. They are professionals and don’t require micromanaging. In fact, they inspire me. Schools can survive for a while without an administrator, but would not last long without passionate, dedicated teachers and employees.

When the younger students, in their neat little uniforms, pass by me in the hall, someone will almost always say, “Good morning, Dr. Kelly.” That cheers me. The high school students stand in respect when a visitor comes into the classroom.

As I encounter courteous young people, it gives me hope for the next generation. Leaders of the past are almost gone. Like the Bible says, life appeareth for a while, like a vapor, and then vanishes away. We all are terminal.

Thankfully my six-month cancer scans came back “stable.” That is a good word when you are in the fourth stage of this awful disease. Though the cancer still shows in my bones, it isn’t spreading and hasn’t for over a year now. That is good news. The bad news is that cancer in the bones is painful. Nothing I do or take seems to stop the gnawing, aggravating drilling that penetrates my spine. Yet I am grateful for each day is a new day and for the opportunity to make a difference.

The Living Lady is still alive and productive. When my oncologist sees me, he points upward and says, “Miracle. Miracle.” I respond with a vigorous nod and point upward myself. I know a miracle when I am one.

nancyk@alltel.net

Journal of a Living Lady #307

Nancy White Kelly

It was nice being a grandmother again. Charlie, Tori and our two grandsons, Micah, age two, and Noah, age five-months, came for a week-end visit.

Because all three of us adults are heavily involved in the educational field, trying to create meaningful time with our growing family is becoming increasingly difficult.

I am a school administrator. Charlie is a science teacher. Tori is a preschool director. All of us work in different schools. Add Buddy to the list. He is constantly on-call at MACA to do handy-man jobs. All the teachers know him. When they see Mr. Buddy come down the halls on his motorized three-wheel trike, they come flocking.

On Labor Day week-end, both the boys were sick with nasty colds. We vetoed the visit because that is the last thing Buddy or I need. Then Tori got their colds. Finally, this past week-end looked like a possible go. The launch of a space shuttle couldn’t have involved as much anticipation on my part.

Regretfully, it was still necessary to open the coin shop on Saturday from 10:00-4:00. Our growing base of customers depend on Ye Old Coin Shop to be open that one day a week. During customer lulls, Charlie came in and helped sort buffalo nickels. I instructed him to look carefully for a 1937 buffalo nickel with a missing half leg. That one is worth at least $800 in fine condition. He also looked through some mercury dimes hoping to find the elusive 1916 one with a D mint mark. It is worth about $2000 in uncirculated condition. His happy hunting turned up nothing spectacular, but it was nice having his company.

On Sunday, we all went to church. Micah was the only one in the nursery with whiskers. He found a permanent green marker on my desk and decorated his arms, legs, and face. Buddy and Tori tried everything to remove the indelible ink: vinegar, WD-40, and even a touch of gasoline. Nothing worked so Micah went to church in his Sunday clothes with weird, swirly green lines sprouting beneath his impish nose.

Grandchildren are priceless. If we had known that they were so much fun, we would have had them first.

nancyk@alltel.net

Journal of a Living Lady #306

Nancy White Kelly

My life could not be any busier. Being out of the work force for so many years and then being thrust back into it big time has been challenging. Gone are the days of casual lunches with friends or quietly reading the newspaper while enjoying my morning cup of coffee. Buddy has been a good sport about his missing wife though I think he remembers the good ole days with a bit of sadness. My day starts at five in the morning and often ends late at night.

Funny things continue to happen. For instance, our school has mail boxes for each employee. I was using a plastic tray for my notes until the secretary found time to label me a slot. Since there were no more slots available, I designated my plastic tray for the new custodian.

One day I had an unsigned note in my box requesting that the water fountains in the gymnasium be cleaned. Obediently I headed for the rags and was on a hunt for cleaner when a staff member noted my unusual assignment. She quickly identified two problems: lack of communication and failure to read the new mailbox labels. All was well until the custodian began receiving the teacher lesson plans meant for my approval. I think everybody knows now where the mail should be delivered. I just hope I don’t get asked to wax the floors. I can barely walk those long school halls.

On Saturday our school played its first football game ever. We were the traveling team and had to go to a new field in a little town north of Marietta, Georgia. Buddy and I got lost and arrived several minutes after the kick-off. Being that I am a stickler for punctuality, it was a bit embarrassing crossing the field on the goal post end to get to our team’s side. Nobody kidded me and I was glad.

We won 35-44 which was a good ending to a very long week.

nancyk@alltel.net

Journal of a Living Lady #305

Nancy White Kelly

Handwriting can be a bit mystic when written hurriedly. Being a school principal again has had its funny moments. During orientation recently, I asked the teachers to give me a list of their current extra-curricular school responsibilities. One teacher’s handwritten response was puzzling. She wrote that she was in charge of fire ants.

During a brief lull in the team meeting, I asked the English teacher to explain. She didn’t remember that she had written such a response and came up to the podium where I was standing. Upon glancing at my list, she burst out laughing. Instead of being in charge of fire ants, she acknowledged that she was instead responsible for Fine Arts. Big difference.

Four weeks have passed since becoming the newest administrator of Mountain Area Christian Academy which is south of Blairsville. It is a fine school with a fine staff as well as a progressing Fine Arts program.

Personally I am drawn to music and art of all types. You will find classical, southern Gospel and patriotic bands in my CD collection. Buddy and I both enjoy folk art, but I have some signed lithographic masterpieces as well. Eclectic is the fancy word for such diversity. Good friends support my pleasures.

One friend made me a half-dozen corsages, some of which are extraordinarily big and fanciful. While unintentional, those big flowers have become my signature of identity at school.

When someone asks who the principal is, quite often an elementary child will say I am the lady with the big flower. I prefer to be known as the lady with the big heart. But, as surely as can be imagined, some middle school cutie will simply shorten my identity to “the big lady.”

And, as conversation often gets heard in bits and pieces, a kindergartener will probably describe me as the big lady with the big flower who sits in the big office in the big building directing big people in charge of big fire ants.

Life is short. Laugh a little.

nancyk@alltel.net

Journal of a Living Lady #304

Nancy White Kelly

This will be the shortest newspaper column I have ever written. The tyranny of the urgent constrains me from giving a long discourse.

If this column were a book, I would entitle a chapter, “The Week that Was.” In a single week I have gone from enjoying leisurely retirement to being the last-minute administrator/principal of a state of the art school which includes day care through grade twelve. Besides that little monumental task, Buddy and I hosted the grand opening for our new numismatics store which will now be open only on Saturdays and by appointment.

No doubt you will hear more about Mountain Area Christian Academy
and Ye Old Coin Shop in the future. That is, if I can get Buddy to bring me a high-octane cup of coffee.

nancyk@alltel.net

Journal of a Living Lady #303

Nancy White Kelly

Sometimes it is good that we don’t know what our children are experiencing until after the fact. Last week was like that for Buddy and me.

Our son Charlie, the science teacher, is serving as an interim youth minister between school terms. He and some friends recently chaperoned a group of high-school students who were attending a spiritual retreat in Daytona. They domiciled in a sixty-five year old condominium.

Following a morning Bible study time held on the ground floor, Charlie was the first to get on the elevator for the next scheduled session. A couple of young men got on after him. Then two more followed. Just as the door was beginning to shut, a large group of boys jovially leaped inside. Charlie was crowded to the back corner.

The young man closest to the door pressed the elevator button for the second floor. Charlie, the only adult in the group, said he thought he felt a little movement. Slightly claustrophobic, he waited and waited…and waited. A momentary flash of anxiety flowed over him as he and everyone else realized they were stuck. The elevator was not moving and the door would not open. This, he said, was not a happy time. Thankfully, his faith and adrenaline kicked in.

Ironically the emphasis for the week was on trusting God moment by moment. Charlie recognized this as an opportunity to demonstrate God’s grace for the present situation. He related that it wasn’t easy being stuffed like a tuna in a small elevator.

Taking charge of the fourteen young men, Charlie moved to the front of the elevator. His concern was that just a slight whiff of air was coming from a tiny fan near the top of the elevator. The electrical power fluctuated. Sometimes the inner door would open, but the outer door would not.

Charlie said the boys did all that he asked, but a couple of them started to panic as time went by. One young man in particular was struggling. Charlie knew that he had to get in more air. Hoisted by the boys, he removed the plastic paneling from the ceiling of the elevator which revealed florescent bulbs and a wood ceiling. He had to make the decision to puncture the roof even though it would destroy the elevator. It was the only choice if they were to survive for a long duration.

God came through with grace and manpower. The fire department arrived just before Charlie got in the first blow. He and the boys survived with a good story to tell their children and grandchildren…AND parents.

We asked Charlie what he learned from the experience. He grinned. “That the little sign giving weight limits for elevators is there for a purpose.”

Buddy and I don’t take God’s protection of Charlie and the high school boys for granted. We asked for safety before he left on the trip and we are grateful for answered prayer.

So life goes on. We senior Kellys are busy making preparation for the grand opening of the Ye Old Coin shop on August 4th. That is a Saturday and the time is from 10:00 until 4:00. We are looking forward to meeting and greeting readers, friends, and new acquaintances from the numismatic community. There will be punch and cake for all who drop by to wish us well. You are coming, aren’t you?

If you are a robber, you can stop reading now. Ye Old Coin Shop is located exactly one mile from Young Harris College. To get there, turn at the traffic light, go Highway 66 to Byers Creek Road. Turn left on Byers creek and go four-tenths of a mile to 6156 Southern Road. Look for the bright yellow building and flags. That’s us, right there in the curve. If you get lost, call us…706-994-7622/379-1488.

nancyk@windstream.net

Journal of a Living Lady #302

Nancy White Kelly

Just when I thought life could not get more complicated for Buddy and me, it has. Add the position of chairman of the board to a new grandbaby, on-going cancer appointments, and the grand opening of Ye Old Coin Shop on August 4th.

I was elected Chairman of the Mountain Area Christian Academy which is located north of Blue Ridge and south of Blairsville, Ga. MACA has a beautiful new building complete with gym and cafeteria. The school is expecting 250 students next month in daycare through grade 12. Students travel from North Carolina and Tennessee as well. The website is mountainareachristianacademy.org.

I previously served as MACA’S chair for a few months in the early days before the revenges of cancer treatment canceled most of my life. Vice-Chairman, Mike Kiernan, co-owner of PanelBuilt in Blairsville, has served two terms but must now step down according to the school by-laws. My cancer is currently stable and the board again elected me.

I could have said, “no,” due to my hectic schedule, but I believe in Christian education. This doesn’t mean I oppose public education. My son, and several good friends, teach in governmental schools. I did too until the early 70’s.

When the wife of the superintendent of education told me I could not teach the biblical view of creation along-side evolutionary theory in the textbooks, I knew I needed a different setting. I finished my public school contract and never looked back. Eventually I became principal of three Christian schools. The second one became a nationally recognized “Model School.” The last one, Mt. Zion Christian Academy, was the largest Christian school in Georgia at that time. I am proud of those schools and the staff that contributed to their success. I cannot think of a better legacy.

Did you know that Frank Sinatra, one of the great entertainers of the 20th century, was often referred to as Chairman of the Board? I never knew why and researched it. It seems Sinatra, also called Ol’ Blue Eyes, acquired the chairman moniker after buying Reprise Records in 1961. Quite a crooner, he left his mark as a showbiz icon.

John Smoltz, a Cy Young Winner in 1996, is also a Chairman of the Board. While better known for his legendary pitching for the Atlanta Braves, few people know that he began North Ridge Christian School in Alpharetta, Georgia. It wasn’t an easy task. He is quoted as saying, “Building a school takes an incredible amount of time. In one sense, I'd rather have another surgery on my arm than go through all this again." But, as a father of four, he believes the investment was worth the effort.

I can’t sing like Frank, but, like John, I can pitch… quality academics in a Christian environment.

It’s a wonderful life!

nancyk@alltel.net

Journal of a Living Lady #301

Nancy White Kelly

The tiny pink and blue shopping cart sits idle. I am observing it from the den recliner where I am pasted with inertia. My weary eyes catch a green triangular blob wedged under the settee in the corner. It belongs in the yellow tub for teaching shapes. Somehow it escaped clean up time.

The house is so quiet I hear the murmur of lawn mowers in the distance. This is a far cry from the last two days.

Charlie and Tori left to go back home after church yesterday. Following lunch at a nearby restaurant, I couldn’t help but smile. A very few years ago they were starry-eyed college students. This day Charlie was standing outside the family van, hunched over the seat of the driver’s side. He was struggling to put a fresh diaper on Micah, our two-year-old grandson. Tori was standing on the passenger side attempting to diaper two-month old Noah. What a difference five-years of marriage makes.

The little family came Friday afternoon and the whirl-wind began. It was as if our old house groaned.

“Again!” said the screen door. “They were just here Christmas. Guess I am going to be swinging big time. Hinges, get ready.”

The guest bath tub chimed in: “It is out of retirement for me. Here comes the yellow duckies and maybe even bubbles.

The waste cans became diaper disposals. The kitchen counter burgeoned with infant bottles, formula, fever drops, and other myriad items necessary to keep little children fed and comfortable. The den couch runneth over with diaper bags, child seats and enough toys for an army of little boys. It turned out that Micah much preferred the outdoors. Our big green yard, with its flowers, rocks and flitting honey bees, fascinated him. And so it was. For about 72 hours Buddy and I participated in parenting again.

Teas from the Heart ministries invited Tori to a special tea for new mothers. It was a treat and welcome respite from her non-stop days. She connected with other young women losing sleep and juggling household tasks between baby naps.

On the way back from the tea, Tori and I stopped by the home of the Browns who are dear friends. They presented our grateful daughter-in-law with a hand-made ABC book, originally intended for grandchildren that they themselves never had. Little Noah was born on April 9th, the exact birthday of Mrs. Brown. This petite, white haired lady beamed with joy at finally finding a home that she considered worthy of the hand-stitched booklet.

It is Monday. I must resume life now. My usual Sunday nap turned into a nine-hour coma. I feel like I have been on a Saturday night binge. Actually, I’ve never been on a binge on any night, but it must feel something like this.

For those who responded to my survey in the last column, the volume of calls, emails, and cards were heart-warming. Votes to continue Journal of a Living Lady came from as far as Canada and even South Africa. Apparently I have reader friends that I never knew existed. The rewards of writing are often not measured in money.

And, the Ye Old Coin Shop? It is coming along. Hopefully we will have our grand opening on August 4th.

nancyk@windstream.net

Journal of a Living Lady #300

Nancy White Kelly

Count to three-hundred. That is the number of this Journal of a Living Lady. That doesn’t include the fifty or more computer-related columns written in the mid- nineties.

Journal of a Living Lady started out as Journal of a Dying Lady. I was in the terminal stages of cancer. The Sentinel publisher, who was and is a personal friend, discussed over lunch the intriguing idea of playing out this cancer journey publicly. No whining, just realistic dialogue about what it is like to finish life from a first-hand perspective. Though there have been a few touch and go episodes that brought in the family, obviously I didn’t die as expected. Miracles happen.

This column was published weekly for several years. Then it became bi-weekly as the events of my life seemed, at least to me, rather mundane. You have read about weddings, babies, random encounters, as well as the on-going battle with cancer.

An unexpected notoriety occurred, especially after appearing on the Oprah show and being photographed with Charlie Gibson and Diane Sawyer.

Then there was the book containing early columns compiled from this Journal of a Living Lady. Most often it is given as a gift to someone needing a spiritual lift or a bit of humor while battling serious disease themselves. (The book is available at most Sentinel offices, on-line at Amazon.com, at Ingles in Blairsville, and several bookstores.)

It has been my long-time plan to stop writing this column after number 300. Buddy and I are in the process of remodeling a cabin beside our home in Young Harris. We will be opening the Ye Old Coin Shop in a few weeks. I will be buying and selling old coins, paper money, silver and gold bullion as well as numismatic supplies. Buddy, no doubt, will be entertaining, and distracting, customers with hangar flying and chicken stories.

For those who have no interest in coin collecting, we will carry a few interesting odds and ends, including glass paperweights and war memorabilia. After the coin shop is well established, we may expand to include an eBay consignment shop.

Why would a 75-year-old man and a stage-four cancer patient start a new business at this point in our life? We are frequently asked this. Let me explain. This is more information that you probably need to know, but it relates to whether I should continue Journal of a Living Lady. To write or not to write. That is the final question.

Buddy worked for Eastern Airlines which is now defunct. When he began retirement in 1994, we no longer had company-subsidized health insurance. Those unplanned high insurance premiums made a huge dent in our finances.

Years ago we made a commitment to Charlie to pay his way through college if he did his part by being a good student. He was. We never borrowed a dime and Charlie began his career of teaching without any odious student loans.

A steady check, which has been a major source of our modest income, is ending soon. Our plan A is to off-set that income with the coin shop. Though I have the numismatic knowledge and credentials, Buddy is the necessary brawn. He has contributed many hours of sweat equity to make Plan A happen. Believe me, he has high hopes. Plan B is for him to stand on the corner with a “Will work for food” sign.

This is a personal fleece to the readers of this column. Will you care to read about our new adventure? If so, please email or call. (706-379-1488). I am not looking for a pat on the back, just affirmation that this column has continual hopes of being worthwhile to you. Regardless of the answer, it has been a wonderful journey.

nancyk@windstream.net

Journal of a Living Lady #299

Nancy White Kelly

Those of us who have five good friends, I mean really good friends, are blessed. One of mine died yesterday. Her name was Ramie. She shared the same birthday with my father, including not only the day, March 31, but the year, 1920.

There was not another woman like Ramie, not one. When God made the mold for that gal, he destroyed the mold. She was a jewel in every sense…not perfect, but a classy old lady who loved her Lord, dressed to the nines and spoke her mind. I can just imagine her remodeling her mansion just now and attempting to choreograph heaven.

When our son, Charlie, was married, Ramie rode with us to the wedding. She had directed many weddings in her lifetime and took it upon herself to give Tori’s wedding director a few pointers. She rearranged the flowers and later attempted to sit in my deceased mother’s place. That was the only time I resisted Ramie’s amusing, yet annoying persistence.

My mother adored Charlie and would have been at that wedding if she had lived. I just could now allow anybody to sit in my mother’s spot, not even my dear friend, Ramie.

Not to be dismissed so easily, Ramie squeezed into the pew just behind me, right between two of my three brothers. When I crooked my neck to check out the commotion, there she was, smirking, but beaming like a proud grandmother. And that she was, a mother a grandmother or best friend to all she knew and liked.

For thirteen years, Ramie and I laughed, cried, and prayed together. When her husband, Guy, died, she became an inspiring widow. Guy and Ramie were close, very close, but she never allowed self-pity. Within a week she was carrying food to the sick. Just a few weeks before her death from cancer she was teaching Sunday school to young couples.

Teaching Bible was her passion. Living it was her legacy.

I will miss my dear friend. This time last year, Ramie had picked out a dress to wear to my obviously imminent funeral. I have had a wild ride with cancer. Then kidney failure morphed into a coffin nail. Ramie really thought I would beat her to heaven and told me she was jealous. Heaven was as real to her as anything tangible.

She is there now and I am almost jealous. The good news is that someday I will see Ramie again. You can’t lose somebody when you know where they are. Deceased Christian friends are like stars on a hazy night. While you can’t see them, you know they are there.

nancyk@alltel.net

Journal of a Living Lady #298

Nancy White Kelly

Now that the weather is pretty, we are getting our annual influx of visitors, mostly old friends and family. Unless I am sick or extremely busy, I enjoy company. My only request is that I have enough time between guests to wash the sheets. Clean linens are still in style, at least in the Kelly household.

Buddy enjoys having company because it means a wider variety of food on the table. I have my staple meals for large gatherings, Barbeque and Brunswick stew, Lo-Country Boil, Chicken and Dumplings. I keep a tray of sandwich fixings in the refrigerator for lunch or in-between meals.

You know the old saying, “after three days, fish and company begin to stink.” Not always, but frequently so. If the company stays beyond an etiquettely-correct length of stay, I start announcing future meals of chitlins and stewed possum. Nobody has ever stayed long enough for me to actually follow-through with such thinly-veiled threats. That’s a good thing as I was a city girl and know little about cooking such victuals.

I do recognize a possum when I see one. The first thing I learned when I moved to Georgia was that they sleep in the middle of the road with four feet in the air.

Chitlins. I have never seen one of those critters, but I got the displeasure of smelling some once. When I was a primary-age child, my Sunday school teacher took me along to visit her former maid who was very sick. My prim and proper teacher bent double in laughter when she determined that I thought the old woman said chill’en were cooking on the stove. I think she wet her pants.

The smell of those stinking chitlins wafting from that wood stove is something I never forgot. When the frail little woman died a few days later, my childish mind wondered if those smelly critters didn’t poison her insides.

Now I am adult with lots of memories and a bit of senile humor. Come to the mountains. I promise not to threaten possum or chitlins. Just don’t over-stay your welcome. I might serve you a scrumptious pseudo-blackberry cobbler… if I can find that can of caviar.

nancyk@windstream.net

Journal of a Living Lady #297

Nancy White Kelly

Poor Midget! She came of age this month to have that little operation. We knew that when we bought her. In fact, the breeder would not even consider selling her unless we signed papers that we would have her spayed. Don’t know how legally binding that contract was, but we honor our word. Besides, the senior Kelly family doesn’t need a litter of tiny Chihuahuas. For that matter, neither does the junior Kelly family. They also have a Chihuahua, as well as two-year-old Micah, and that precious newborn, Noah.

We have always been satisfied with our veterinarians. Our primary residential vet was booked up for over three weeks. The second one we called didn’t bother to return our call. I couldn’t remember the traveling vet’s name though I used him once before and liked him. I called a newer vet in the area. I had been to that office once before when we had a tape worm scare with Midget. Turned out to be false alarm. The breeder graciously warned us two weeks after the adoption that another pup in the litter had them.

The receptionist told me the price for neutering was $97 and, almost as an afterthought, said, “That includes anesthesia.” My mind reflected on the oddity of that statement, but I said nothing. Who would ever consider an operation without anesthesia? Sedation was just understood.

On the morning of the surgery, I arrived at 7:30 a.m. with Midget in tow. She had no idea what was ahead. Neither did I. The receptionist asked if I wanted a battery of blood tests for $72.60. I said no. Did I want an x-ray for $57.50? Again I said no. EKG, $47? No.

This was getting ridiculous. But the real kicker was when she asked me if I wanted Midget to have a pain shot after the surgery? Well, of course. Then that would be an “extra $18.00.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Was this an option or extortion? It wasn’t so much the money as it was the principle of it. How absurd to put a pet owner in that position. Pay or your puppy suffers unnecessary pain. I gave in and agreed, but not before letting my position be known.

That afternoon I picked up Midget. Was she ever glad to see me. I paid the bill, including $5.20 for clipping the nails while asleep.

Other than getting her stitches out, I seriously doubt that this vet will ever get another dollar out of us. I don’t begrudge the man making an honest living. I just begrudge what I perceive as the gouging of the unexpecting.

nancyk@windstream.net

Journal of the Living Lady #296

Nancy White Kelly

We have been waiting almost nine months for the phone call. When it came, wouldn’t you know that Buddy would be no where to be found.

“We are on the way to the hospital,” Tori said excitedly. “The doctors are going to try to hold off until 2:00 to give grandparents time to arrive.”

I looked at my watch. It was 11:30. Where was Buddy?

I called his cell phone. Some strange lady answered. I apologized for the wrong number and punched the tiny buttons again. The same young lady answered. I am not the jealous type. Yet, the thought of another woman brought a brief laugh. Then I spotted Buddy’s cell phone on the kitchen counter. It was recharging. So much for cell phones.

Buddy had a standing appointment for a routine blood test so I guessed that he might be at the hospital. I picked up the land phone and dialed. The operator quickly transferred me to lab registration.

“Is Buddy Kelly there?” I asked. This is an emergency…sort of.” Because of the new Hippa regulations, I was pleasantly surprised that she offered to check. Nice lady.

“We had a Hiram Kelly” here at 11:30,” she offered.

Doggone. I had just missed him. Where else might he go?

Since I was still in my pajamas, I took a break from my search for Buddy. Baby or not, I had to dress. My birthing clothes were in a special section of our closet waiting patiently for this occasion.

In the midst of dressing, I called a friend who was in a near-by hospital recuperating from knee surgery. Yes, Buddy had been there earlier, but hadn’t said where he was going next.

I tied my shoes, applied some make-up, threw my night bag on the couch and headed outside. Dixie was grazing in the backyard. Baby or not, the horse had to be put up.

Dixie is easily lured with a little sweet feed. She followed me back to the pasture. I hooked the gate and tied it with a rope to be certain it was as secure as Buddy would want. Next I put out a large bowl of water and food for Midget, our Chihuahua.

I tried to think of all the places Buddy might go. The drugstore. A friend’s house. The hardware store. Buddy is well-known for his non-stop gabbing. He could be holding a listening stranger hostage… anywhere.

Trying to make good use of fleeting time, I gathered Buddy’s medicines and razor. He wouldn’t leave home without those. An extra pair of jeans and a shirt went into the backseat of the white car. I was hoping that this was the car Buddy would choose to use. He is the family “safeologist” and is adamant about having good tires. Would he want the white Mazda or the red Kia? We didn’t have time to measure tire tread today. Eeney, meaney, miney, mo. In the Mazda we will go.

The clock seemed to be ticking at double speed. It was 12:15 already and Buddy still wasn’t home. It was a decision I had to make. Do I leave without him and possibly prevent him from participating in one of the more memorable moments of our married lives? Or do I wait a little longer and take a chance of missing the event myself?

Midget sensed my unusual, anxious mood. She continually ran around the house in circles. She stopped so quickly that I could hear her little feet skid. Midget turned and ran to the back door, barking hysterically. What a relief. That usually meant somebody was in the driveway. Sure enough. It was Buddy, the soon-to-be paternal grandfather, who had no idea that he was so desired.

In less than ten minutes we were on the road. We arrived only five minutes before the maternal grandparents. They came from Warner Robins which is much further from the hospital. All our hurriedness was for naught.

Tori had a C-section at 6:50 p.m. Noah Samuel Kelly entered his bright new world unaware of the life-time of love awaiting him from his family. Tired, but elated, we all celebrated as the bell rung in the nursery signifying a new arrival.

All is well. We are home again. Buddy is taking a needed nap and I am about to join him. Slumber and birth are always best when shared with the ones you love.

nancyk@windstream.net

Journal of a Living Lady #295

Nancy White Kelly

Today would not be a good day for me to step on the scale. My mind is heavy.

One biggie is waiting on Charlie and Tori to call saying they are on the way to the hospital to deliver little Noah. The time is getting close.

The birth of a child seems so natural for this season of the year. While the weather in January and February was mild, most days were dismally dreary. March was only a little better. Several cold mornings I decided not to waste make-up. Spring has finally sprung and nobody is more excited about that than I am.

Life goes on and apparently I am going with the flow. For the first time since my breast cancer returned in the late 90’s, my oncologist has spaced my visits to every ninety days instead of thirty. The recent CAT and bone scans showed no new activity. I am stable and that is a very good word. But, all is not well in the family. I got some somber news last week.

My niece, who is only 33 years old, learned that she has cancer, not just one type but two. Such a combination is rare. She is beginning her journey through chemotherapy and radiation. I pray for her just as others have prayed for me.

I wrote my niece a note of encouragement. She responded that for the last five years she had lost her spiritual focus. Now, she related, God was high on her list of priorities. Good. At least something positive has come from her experience.

So, just as the seasons come and go, life dances from one extreme to another. Sometimes we hear joyous songs. Other times a solemn dirge. What a deficient world it would be if we kept our music inside.

nancyk@windstream.net

Journal of a Living Lady #294

Nancy White Kelly

My laptop is out of town and I am with it. It isn’t easy writing a column on the road, but it is against my nature to miss deadlines. The last time my column was lost in cyberspace, two faithful readers called my oncologist to see if I was still living. She was good natured about it. Citing the new HIPAA regulations, she told those two people to “call Mrs. Kelly and ask her if she’s alive or dead.”

Just a few months ago I was in total kidney failure and flirting with the death angel. Today I am not only alive, but thriving.

Buddy and I are in Missouri. We are with several friends who are volunteering for a week with an international, faith-based organization called CEF. To discourage distractions, there are no televisions or telephones in our modest dorm rooms. We are up by 6:00 a.m. and hit the bed dog-tired by early evening. While there aren’t any children or inmates at the campus headquarters, we are greatly involved with those who work with them day-to-day. Likewise, we have supportive friends like Larry and Carol Chandler who volunteered to care for our dog and horse while we are away.

Today Carla Bowen and I have typed hundreds of names and addresses into a database. Mailing labels will expedite the sending of requested study materials. Carla’s husband, Ted, and my Buddy have been assembling desks for the administrative staff. During lulls in the building and maintenance schedule, Buddy helps others grade the Bible-study worksheets submitted by children from around the world. Hand-written, encouraging notes are added to the tests along with smiley-face stickers. Nancy Gadsby, a Hiawassee resident, uses her bi-lingual ability to write to Spanish-speaking correspondents.

Other Georgia and North Carolina locals, Walter, Ann, Betty, Howard, Rosemary, Peggy, Elisabeth, Oskar, Gunter, Helga, Erika, and Dale cheerfully contribute their labor and skills to various tasks. Many of these have been to the CEF headquarters before and plan to return.

Buddy and I are happy for the opportunity to participate, yet we are weary. Neither of us has put in a full days work in years. We miss our naps. We miss watching O’Reilly. We miss home-cooking.

While we have a renewed appreciation of retirement, Buddy and I don’t regret volunteering at CEF. Not at all. It is a small sacrifice, knowing that one week of our lives could make a profound difference in the lives of hundreds of spiritually-thirsty inmates and children. If you’d like a similar opportunity, write and I’ll put you in touch with Child Evangelism Fellowship.

nancyk@windstream.net

Journal of a Living Lady #293

Nancy White Kelly


It has been a long, long time since I listened to a teacher explaining the first of Newton’s Laws. You remember, don’t you? Every object in a state of uniform motion tends to remain in that state of motion unless an external force is applied to it.

If I remember correctly, Newton, Aristotle, and Galileo had a difference of academic opinion on the topic. But, as the young folks say, “Whatever.”

Newton and his theories aren’t particularly relevant to my everyday activities today except perhaps to scientifically explain my struggle, especially on Sundays. It takes a lot of strength to keep panty hose from retreating south.

Another Newton gets the blame for that game. Who could forget the taste of those square cookies with a smidgeon of grainy, figish filling? When I was in grammar school, those crumbly bars went so well with a glass of milk. If only I had quit my affair with Fig Newtons back then and there.

But, no, those little Newtons launched my life-long longing for bigger and sweeter treats. And we all know the end result of unrestrained indulgence. Actually I am not as big as I used to be. Cancer and its effect on appetite and a little old age took care of that problem. I never want to be a skinny ninny anyway.

A few of the fat jokes I have read lately remind me that I don’t want to reacquaint myself with fig newtons. It is time to stop when the scale says, “One at a time, please.” I don’t want to get so big I have to iron my pants in the driveway or be mistaken for a taxi when I wear my yellow raincoat.

Now, back to those Sunday pantyhose. Have you ever seen the laughable size of those nylons? I have seen cow fingers bigger than those things. And, I’ve never figured out why they package pantyhose in plastic chicken eggs.

It’s time. On with the panty hose. Sir Isaac Newton knew what he was talking about. The resistance begins just as I cross the bulge and finally get the toes started.

The Lord must know I love him very much.

nancyk@windstream.net

Journal of a Living Lady #292

Nancy White Kelly

Some of my brightest thinking occurs at night. The number of businesses I have organized from scratch would rival Donald Trump. In two lifetimes, Mother Teresa could not have made as many mission trips as I have vicariously taken to exotic places.

Ideas for non-profit organizations that would solve many problems of the world freely dance on the synapses of my brain. Often, at some unseemly hour, I rise from my bed fumbling for pen and paper. I cannot allow myself to lose brilliant thoughts that evaporate at daybreak. Eventually, in the clarity of the day, I collect my random notes and type the words which were scribbled in near darkness. They are conveniently filed on the hard drive of my computer under the title, “Nancy’s Nocturnal Notes.”

The funny thing is that every thought originating in that narrow time frame between midnight and dawn seems so clever and original. Cerebral adrenaline flows without restraint. No challenge seems beyond me. My mind roams freely without regard to my age, health, or finances.

However, after sleep overtakes my cerebral hemispheres, nothing seems quite as exciting in the morning as it was just hours before.

I would still like to open a brick and mortar numismatics shop with on-line capability. Only time will tell if that becomes a reality along with an eBay Selling Station. But it is doubtful that I will ever travel to Monsubaswie or start a food-bank with connections to major food and trucking companies.

Buddy is a fine fellow, but no longer is a cheer-leader or ditch-digger for my impulsive passions. He has had nearly forty-two years of supporting me through multitudinous short-term interests, including worm-farming and Charley McCarthy-style ventriloquism gigs.

His response to my grandiose ideas is now nothing more than a smirky grin. While his short-term memory is failing, his long-term memory is still great. He remembers the thousands of red-wiggler worms that crawled off on a rainy night and the paper-mache dummy he painstakingly crafted that crumbled in the middle of a performance. That seems like a life time ago. The years have flown by and neither he nor I are what we used to be.

Yet, I refuse to be a matronly mannequin consigned to a boring life. My nightly escapades continue to entertain me. No harm done. Who knows when one inspirational spark might light an enduring fire for Mrs. Methuselah?

nancyk@alltel.net

Journal of a Living Lady #291

Nancy White Kelly

The snow is gently falling as I write. What a beautiful transformation has taken place over the night. A powdery white veil coats the landscape. The surrounding mountains are as scenic as any New Hampshire postcard.

A distinctive neigh from our horse, Dixie, attracts my attention. She is undoubtedly cold and is announcing to her new owners that she wants some sweet feed.

It didn’t take long for Dixie to train us. How funny it is to watch Buddy sneak out the front door to get the morning paper. If he goes out the back, Dixie whinnies incessantly until Buddy gives in and tromps out to the barn with the feed bucket. Not that she is starving. She has a constant supply of good hay.

For a horse though, Dixie is clever. After a couple of mornings of delayed feedings, she approached the setback from a new angle. Literally.

Now, when Dixie hears the paper lady circle the drive, she goes to the highest hill in the pasture. From this vantage point, Dixie can see Buddy no matter which door he exits. If he doesn’t come when she neighs, Dixie throws the equine equivalent of a toddler tantrum. She snorts and runs wide-open across the pasture. It works. Buddy’s coffee and my reading of the paper wait until Dixie gets what Dixie wants.

We ought to know better. We’ve raised enough children and dogs to know that we are supposed to be in charge. Giving in just reinforces bad behavior.

Perhaps Buddy and I are getting soft in our old age. Yet, is a charming creature creatively calling for crunch chow so crazy?

Neigh. Not is this neighborhood.




nancyk@alltel.net

Journal of a Living Lady #290

Nancy White Kelly

"The time has come," the Walrus said,"To talk of many things:Of shoes--and ships--and sealing-wax--Of cabbages--and kings--And why the sea is boiling hot--And whether pigs have wings."

These lines are from Lewis Carroll’s, Through the Looking-Glass, published in 1872. The strange combination of words has remained glued to my brain since fourth grade. They served me well many times during high school and college when I needed an introductory paragraph for an essay.

While I know little about ships and even less about sealing wax, I do know about shoes. Most women do. I have a closet full of them, so many that Buddy jokes about my being kin to Imelda Marcos. She was the former First Lady of the Philippines who was renowned for her extensive shoe collection.

Yet, the poem that comes to mind today is more sentimental. Written in the same century by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, it begins, “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.”

Shoes and love. An odd combination of the tangible and intangible, but pertinent to my week.

My favorite shoes are leather boots. They are short, black and have side zippers. They weren’t expensive, but fit well.

This winter I could not find them. I searched the house, every room, every closet, every corner. The boots were nowhere to be found.

I gave up. Buddy didn’t. For hours he went through every black plastic bag and box in the shop attic, not once but several times.

When I emerged from the office where I write and conduct my numismatic business, I was delighted to see one of the boots on the dining table. I clapped in glee and held out my hand for the other one. Buddy is such a tease. Unfortunately, there wasn’t another one.

How that lone boot got in the garage loft is an enigma to us both. I haven’t climbed the ladder to that attic in years. My arthritic knees hardly allow me to climb two steps. Other than returning the Christmas decorations, Buddy couldn’t recall any recent trips up there either.

Still one boot was of little good and I was disappointed. Buddy wouldn’t give up. He went through every closet in the house. On the third round, he found the match for the singular boot.

I was elated. I almost had my boots again. He wouldn’t let me have them back until he had polished them to a shine only found in the military. He proudly presented them to me, his queen, like a knight in shining armor which he is.

Those boots are symbolic of our relationship. How much does Buddy love me? Two boots worth and then some. How much do I love him? A kiss and a peck and a hug around the neck? Somehow that doesn’t cut it. Words can’t describe love. It just is.

nancyk@alltel.net

Journal of a Living Lady #289

Nancy White Kelly


How can it be 2007 already? Just yesterday we were preparing for a new millennium. A lot of water has gone under the bridge in seven years.

In the last month of 2006, three notable people were buried. I have a personal note from one of them. No, it wasn’t from Saddam Hussein or James Brown. However, President Ford wrote me once. He was aware of my then precarious health and wished me well.

Maybe I should be sorry that he is dead. Honestly, I am not. He lived to be 93. That is a ripe ole age in my book. President Ford regularly attended church and spoke often of a relationship with God. His health had declined and it was time to cross the great divide. That time comes to all of us. The Bible says so plainly.

In high school, I memorized a portion of a poem written by William Cullen Bryan. It was entitled Thanatopolis. This is the last part.

“So live, that when thy summons comes to join
The innumerable caravan which moves
To that mysterious realm where each shall take
His chamber in the silent halls of death,
Thou go not, like the quarry-slave at night,
Scourged by his dungeon; but, sustain’d and soothed by an unfaltering trust…”

I liked that poem so well that I penned it in my then new Bible. Now the loose leather covers, with its dilapidated pages, reside in a sealed plastic bag among other memorabilia. My name that had been printed in gold is barely visible. Maybe one of my sons or grandsons will someday read the margin markings and notes in the back and be inspired.

This brings me to our best news of the New Year. We are going to be grandparents again. Charlie and Tori are expecting their second son in April. Micah will be two in February. Despite a tenuous start, he is doing fine and is an adorable specimen of the Kelly family. If I sound like a doting grandma, I am.

Lives end. New lives begin. It is the circle of life.

nancyk@alltel.net

Journal of a Living Lady #288

Nancy White Kelly

Low-budget coin-collecting has been my hobby for many years. Eventually I took the necessary courses to obtain ANA numismatic credentials. In the process I have met some interesting people.

Yesterday an elderly couple came by. He was 93. She was 87. They carried a small assortment of coins. A friend had recommended me to them as I occasionally buy old gold and pre-1965 silver coins.

This couple won my heart immediately. They would have been a push over for an unscrupulous person wishing to make a buck. That isn’t me. A wolf preying on helpless lambs is not my idea of Christianity.

The wife patted her husband’s cold hand while I went through the paper sacks. Unfortunately their small cache didn’t have a lot of value. It contained many foreign coins as well as modern copies and replicas that are highly advertised, yet thinly plated in gold. There isn’t much of a market for these glitzy come-ons. I made a fair offer and recommended that the couple get another estimate. They didn’t want to shop around.

“Write the check,” the aged man said. Assured that they were both pleased with the transaction, I obliged.

The two individuals were of more interest to me than their two sacks of coins. They live alone, far from relatives, on top of a nearby mountain. Their main source of heat is firewood. A single space heater warms the bedroom. I wondered how they managed. He was on a walker and she on a cane. Neither could walk appreciably well. The wife had just begun driving again after recuperating from a broken hip.

While we were inside talking, Buddy was outside washing their van windows and making sure the tires had air. We both could see the situation for what it was: two old people trying to survive in an expensive world.

As they left, the wife lovingly assisted her husband into the van. I held my breath, fearful that they might fall. It was obvious they had a routine. The wife shoved the man’s uncooperative right leg inside the vehicle. Then, with all the heave she could muster, she slammed the heavy door shut.

The wife reclaimed her cane, gave me a grateful smile, and asked for a hug. I gave her the biggest one I had.

Life is tough for many. I can only imagine what the situation will be for these two in another year. Half-jesting, I told the gentleman that I hoped I could get around as well as he did when I was in my nineties. He told me to stick around.

Maybe I will. So far my life has been an epoch of extraordinary encounters.

nancyk@alltel.net

JOURNAL OF A LIVING LADY #287

Nancy White Kelly



I watched the little ole man from the corner of my eye.

On our Thanksgiving journey to my brother’s house, Buddy pulled into a non-descript sandwich shop. We were tired and we were hungry. It didn’t matter what was on the menu or that ambience was lacking. We just wanted food. Turned out that this place’s specialty was spiral-sliced ham.


While we stood in the order line, scores of local people came through the squeaky cabin door to pick up pre-placed orders. That deli must have sold a hundred hams and turkeys during our brief stop. When our order eventually came up, there was only one small table available. Though unwiped, we gladly took it.

A quick sip of sweet southern tea quenched our thirst. Buddy eagerly bit into a savory sandwich stacked high with honey-baked ham. I didn’t. The white-haired man at the take-out counter continued to hold my attention. He was a short, nattily dressed gent plainly misplaced in this Mississippi neighborhood of century-old cotton patches.

When the man’s order came, he paid with a wad full of bills. Then, as if an afterthought, he sat the sacks down and turned our way. There were at least a dozen other people sitting at tables and many more were standing. For some unknown reason he headed our way. Maybe we looked like a long-time married couple who shared similar values.

He greeted us and remarked about the beautiful weather.

“Bet you never had a Thanksgiving serenade.”

“Sure haven’t, “I replied, not knowing exactly what to expect but thinking something unusual was about to happen.

He pulled a harmonica out of his suit pocket and began playing “Yankee Doodle Dandy.” We smiled and thanked him. He proceeded with “Dixie,” and few other whimsical tunes. By then all the customers were fondly watching. We nodded our appreciation. Buddy tried to engage him in conversation, but the focused man was clearly into his music, tuning out any attempt at frivolous intrusion.

Next came “How Great Thou Art” and “Amazing Grace.” And, finally, he reverently played “Taps.”

We were awed. Several patrons clapped. One man wiped away a tear. Without a word, he put the worn, silver harmonica back into his pocket, picked up his sacks, and headed out the screen door.

It was an extraordinary Thanksgiving experience, one of those treasures of serendipity that comes along unexpectedly.

nancyk@alltel.net

Journal of a Living Lady #286

Nancy White Kelly

Today I am not sitting in a doctor’s office. I am not lying rigid in an MRI tube fighting claustrophobia. No chemotherapy is dripping through my veins. Nope.

At this very moment I am doing what I have always imagined would be the epitome of literary experiences. Alone, on a towering penthouse balcony, I am in a writer’s fairy land. To the left is a majestic golf course. To the right, ocean waves rhythmically lap the sandy dunes. It is sweet solitude, the necessary laboratory of a creative mind.

To top it off, this billionaire ambience, isn’t costing a dime. At least not me. For three days, I get to enjoy such ridiculous opulence. This is in stark contrast to my humble childhood home or current middle-class abode.

In the early 1950’s, there were no high-definition TV’s, DVD’s, i-Pods, or X-boxes to lure me away from the front porch steps. My imagination entertained me and eventually morphed to stories and poems written on torn bits of brown grocery sacks.

While I am enjoying this posh environment, Buddy is not neglected. He is undoubtedly flying high, literally, on this beautiful day. He lives to fly. I love to write. I can fly and have the license to do it. He could write, but lets his Mississippi education chain him to the untruthful idea that he can’t.

A friend is here on business. She invited me to come along to share the journey. Margit is equally awed by the beauty and magnificence of this coastal island in South Carolina. Reservations for the hotels were full. She got bumped up to a resort villa. Sometimes life is better than fair.

While Margit is listening to a seminar speaker at the conference center, I am soaking up the salty air and watching sea birds dive for lunch. Sometimes life is far from fair.

I feel like the Queen of Serendipity. Three years ago, a CEO and regular reader of this column, sent Buddy and me on a first-class trip to the Holy Land.

Old friends and new have been exceptionally nice to this Living Lady. I may never know why, but I am grateful.

nancyk@alltel.net

Nancy White Kelly

On the way home from visiting an old friend, I chose not to stop by the woods on a snowy evening. Why repeat what Robert Frost so famously did? Instead I stopped by Wal-Mart about forty miles from home.

Christmas is near and I needed to start shopping. Wal-Mart is a bargain hunter’s mecca and I like to save a dollar.

My basket was filled with gifts for friends and family but also included a fluffy bedspread for Buddy and me. It was a nice little splurge.

The clerk had a difficulty scanning the spread. Finally, with a sigh of disgust, she keyed in the numbers manually. Unintentionally, she under-priced the sale price by $9. I noticed the mistake immediately but said nary a word.

I smugly loaded the trunk of my car. It was my quiet little coup. But not for long.

While driving home, an inner voice kept nagging me. Some might call it conscience. I think it was God.

“Thou shalt not steal.”

“But, God." Wal-Mart will never miss $9.”

“Whatsoever is honest, think on these things.”

“It was just $9, Lord. Surely they made more than that in profit on just my purchases.”

“Will you let $9 come between us?”

Throughout the afternoon and part of the night I tried to rationalize keeping the $9. I might as well have robbed a bank. Nobody would ever have known. My children had heard the mantra from my lips many times, “Character is what you are in the dark.” It was dark thirty in the morning when I decided there was nothing to do but make it right.

The next day I penned a note to the Wal-Mart store manager explaining the situation and my need to return the $9. I addressed the envelope, stuck a stamp on it, and dashed in the rain to make sure it went out in the afternoon mail.

A couple of hours later I realized that, in my haste, I had forgotten to put the $9 in the envelope. I dug through my purse. I didn’t have a $5 bill and four ones. However, I did have a $10 bill. That would do.

I went back to the mailbox and retrieved the letter. Using a kitchen knife, I created a small opening in the flap of the envelope and inserted the $10 bill. Mission accomplished. Lesson learned.

Buddy would have noticed the unusual activity had he been home. He left earlier to attend an afternoon meeting. It was almost time for me to join him for our church supper.

I searched through the closet for something different to wear and noticed my mother’s jacket. It was a custom-made, glittery black blazer that I had given her many years ago. My mother loved that coat. When she died, I asked for two things only: that jacket and her cookbook. I use the cookbook often, but the jacket has hung in the closet since 1996.

My dad was the big guy. My mother was small-framed and, until recently, I was much too large to wear the jacket. I slipped the blazer on and, to my pleasant surprise, I could even button it.

With my Bible in hand, I locked the back door and slipped the door key into the pocket of the jacket. Two seconds later the whole community must have heard me shout. Imagine my shock to pull out of the jacket pocket, not one, but TWO $10 bills.

Coincidence? You decide, but I know the hand of God when I feel it.

www.thelivinglady.blogspot.com

Journal of a Living Lady #284

Nancy White Kelly

Jews, Buddhists, Muslims, or Atheists need not apply.

Have your attention? Thought so.

Most of us are vocal defenders of the U.S. constitution, including equal rights and the Freedom of Religion. Coming of age in the civil rights era, I experienced all the commotion that accompanied it. In college I became increasingly aware of man’s inhumanity to man. Crusaders placed human heads on stakes. Nero and Hitler were terrorists too. Today’s headlines scream of murder in the cities and genocide in odd-sounding villages like Darfur.

Intolerance isn’t new. But I wasn’t expecting to find it where I did. In the classified ads of a major newspaper.

Buddy and I have been searching for a puppy since Oppie, our beloved Chihuahua, passed away recently. While looking in the PETS FOR SALE column, my eyes fell upon an egregious example of intolerance: “Christian home” wanted for Yorkie puppy.

I am a Christian. That is no secret if you have read this column for very long. But the idea of rejecting all but a Christian family to adopt and pay for a dog struck me as rather humorous.

True, Christians are generally good folks. Unfortunately, not all Christian families are ideal. Some are better pet keepers than others.

The question this odd ad raised is this: What constitutes a Christian family worthy of a dog? Do they visit the sick and feed the poor? Do one or more family members attend church regularly? Do they tithe? While these are desirable characteristics, religious activity does not make one a Christian anymore than reading the label of a dog food makes the reader a canine. Christianity is far more than that. John 3:16 and Ephesians 2:8-9 succinctly sums it up.

Does my belief in Jesus as the Messiah, born of a virgin, make me a more worthy puppy buyer than my Jewish friends? Hardly. What difference does it make to an animal whether their owners read the Torah or the New Testament? All a puppy wants is lots of attention, food, and warmth.

Buddy and I didn’t buy the Yorkie puppy. We ended up adopting a darling two-pound Chihuahua puppy. Coincidentally, her owner just happened to be a Baptist preacher. Didn’t change things one bit.

Midget is unimpressed with my piano rendition of Amazing Grace. She much prefers my chant: “Here, doggie, doggie, doggie.”

nancyk@alltel.net

Journal of a Living Lady #283

Nancy White Kelly

Buddy left me today. Not forever. Just for three days. He and a friend discovered that they both have brothers in Olive Branch, Mississippi. They have discussed taking this trip together for over a year. Finally their trivial chat turned into a real event.

In the 60’s, Buddy and I lived briefly in a nearby community called Southaven. Newly married, we were anxious to settle in. We signed a contract on a new subdivision house. We were invited to occupy the house while the routine, but time-consuming, VA paper work was finished.

To our surprise and the builder’s dismay, the mortgage company decided we didn’t make enough money to qualify. This was in spite of the fact that we had excellent credit, Buddy had a good job with the airlines, and I was a first grade teacher. I forget what the exact price of the house was, but remember that it was fairly average for that decade.

As time would tell, that was our first and only brand new house. Forced to vacate immediately, we found a neat bungalow just over the line in Memphis. Three years later, Buddy was transferred by Eastern Airlines to the Atlanta area. Again rushed, we reluctantly sold our house for a grand profit of a few hundred dollars.

Time was of the essence. We had two weeks to settle in Atlanta. Since Buddy needed to work, it was necessary for me to go ahead and scout Atlanta for something to rent. No problem. I confidently flew to Atlanta, rented a car, and read the classifieds in the Atlanta paper. I looked at half a dozen houses that were within our price range. By then it was getting late.

Nightfall found me on a street called Stewart Avenue. The male clerk at the economy motel stared at my eyes for a few moments.

“Are you a local girl?” he asked.

“No, I replied. “I am from Memphis.”

“Yeah,” he replied smugly.

“Cash up front,” he said as he threw the room key on the counter.

Little did I know that I was in the red light district. Buddy explained by phone what “local” girl meant and I blush even today when I think about that experience.

The next day I found a house for us to rent in Candler Park. It was very old, had a cold damp cellar, and heavy creaky doors. It would have been the perfect abode for ghosts if there were such. But it would do. I was in a hurry to get home. That was nearly forty years ago.

Here I am alone again in a large house. Our house. The night is dark and there is no beaming moon light. Twice I have checked the door locks and chains. Even the bedroom door is bolted shut. The nightlight is on and Buddy’s 38 Special hangs above the bed. Am I supposed to sleep now?

Three days is going to be a long time.

____
nancyk@alltel.net

Journal of a Living Lady #282

Nancy White Kelly

It is 3:30 in the morning. I put on my bedroom slippers and head to kitchen for a cup of java and then on to the computer hoping for some inspiration. Very seldom do I know what I am going to write in this column before I actually place my fingers on the keyboard.

Since Oppie, our aging Chihuahua, passed away last month, the house has been unusually quiet. I miss Oppie’s tiny little toes scampering over the kitchen linoleum. She was never shy in letting her desire to eat be known. She always had her own kibble and fresh water by the kitchen window. Unless the squirrels were robbing the bird feeders, she didn’t visit that area often. I don’t ever think she admitted to being a dog. Even the dry bones given by the drive-through bank teller were snubbed by Oppie. She wanted people food and her two top choices were pound cake and pimento cheese.

Unfortunately Oppie’s fondness for pimento cheese caused her to fall out of favor with my mother when visiting her in Memphis. As coincidence would have it, pimento cheese was my mother’s favorite food also.

One night, for her bedtime snack, Mama nt nless the squirrels aremeticulously prepared a sandwich overflowing with mayonnaise, cheese, and red specks. She placed it on her nightstand, along with a cup of coffee, as she made a last nocturnal trip to the bathroom. When she returned, the sandwich was gone, napkin and all.

Everyone in the house was accused of eating the sandwich. In my heart, I knew better. Sure enough, a few crumbly remains under my mother’s bed confirmed my fear.

While no longer appreciated by my mother, it didn’t matter much in the scheme of things. There were plenty of others who loved Oppie. She was a bonafide member of the family.

When it became increasingly clear that Oppie’s death was approaching, Buddy and I carefully watched what we considered her death rituals. Though deaf and nearly blind, she fared well during daylight hours. At night she would become confused with her surroundings. Always an inside dog, she began dragging her little blankets through the doggie door to the outside carport where she slept through the night. Sometimes, at sunset, she would move continually in slow, methodical circles, occasionally stopping to rearrange her blankets. This ritual continued for over an hour before she would settle down and cover herself from head to toe.

A nurse told me that Oppie was exhibiting the canine form of Alzheimer’s which she called Sundowner’s Syndrome. Such unusual behavior must be the outward expression of some inner sense of demise. is an inate sense within us that prepares her for that time in life is us us unnubebt..

When I was knocking on heaven’s doors in mid-summer, following complete kidney failure, I sensed the rustling of angel wings. Others did too. One of my dearest friends told me later that she had already picked out the clothes she was going to wear to my funeral.

Obviously the escorting angels returned to their estate. My friend’s clothes are back in the closet. I feel more alive today than I have in many, many months.

Top that!

nancyk@alltel.net

Journal of a Living Lady #281

Nancy White Kelly

We had just finished a Wednesday night meal at church when Buddy informed me that some friends had invited us for supper tomorrow. I was elated because they also planned to take us for a boat ride which is one of my favorite activities.

This would be the first time for us to be guests in the couple’s home. Actually, it was their second abode. They recently acquired a large RV and resided there part-time to be on the lake.

Today, Thursday, was the tomorrow Buddy mentioned. I had a vague idea of the general area where the RV was parked. To be sure we wouldn’t be driving aimlessly in Neverland, I asked Buddy if he knew the way. He nodded affirmatively.

Later, as we made our way to our host’s home, I questioned whether Buddy had traveled too far from the expected turn. He quickly acknowledged that he was lost in deep thought and had over-shot the runway. Driving on auto-pilot has happened to me many times. No problem. We still had plenty of time.

Buddy turned around and headed west. That didn’t seem right to me either and I said so. Shaking his head in frustration, Buddy turned around again. However, at the main highway, he incorrectly turned left instead of right. I frowned. What was wrong with this husband of mine?

Often our strengths, taken to extreme, become our faults. I have always been a punctual person and have little esteem for others who aren’t. Especially so if I am preparing food. Whether the guests have arrived or not, I put the bread in the oven at the appointed meal time.

Buddy and I were already more than ten minutes late. My concern was that the hostess would be miffed at our tardiness. I was clearly unhappy with Buddy. He said he knew the way.

My blood pressure rose steadily as Buddy made one wrong turn after another. He was lost. Reluctantly, Buddy stopped the car in a driveway where a man was tending his yard. He asked the stranger if he knew our friends. Surprisingly he did. The affable fellow volunteered to lead us there in his car. I was truly grateful. Otherwise, we might still be driving endlessly in Evermore.

Even though we were thirty minutes late, I put on my best, hypocritical, happy face. I was mumbling to Buddy that we deserved burned bread when the front door jolted open.

The husband stepped out on the porch, noticeably missing his shirt and shoes. That seemed a bit odd, but these are down-home folks as are we. No big deal. As gently as the man could, he explained that the supper invitation was for the next day, Friday. In fact, his wife was in Atlanta.

Buddy profusely apologized for our misunderstanding. I didn’t correct him, but he was using the wrong pronoun.

Our friend unceremoniously put on a shirt which was drying on the porch rail. After some brief, but awkward small talk, I gently poked Buddy to signal that we needed to leave.

Fully aware of his social blunder, Buddy quietly backed out of the drive without so much as a look my way. He steered the wheel sharply and grazed a big tree. I rolled my eyes, shook my head in disbelief, and then locked my tongue between my teeth.

Buddy said nothing either. Taking a deep breath, he slowly opened the car door to access the damage which turned out to be minimal. He opened the passenger door and addressed me in mockingly pleasant voice.

“Honey, sweetheart, would you like to drive us home?”

Nice attempt, but I wasn’t humored. We rode home in total silence. That is the way we have argued for 41 years. Thankfully, we don’t argue often.

Who can stay mad at Buddy? He is the most considerate husband I have ever had. Come to think of it, he is the only husband I have ever had… or want. We have never considered divorce, but at times either of us could make a case for justifiable homicide.

True, Buddy is getting older. But aren’t we all? Forgetful? Yes he is, but I couldn’t tell you what I had for breakfast. Fuzzy with directions? Yes, again, on count three, but I am the queen of the directionally challenged.

Tomorrow Buddy and I will be on time for that dinner with our friends. Tonight we make up and snuggle closely as we drift off to sleep. Life is too short for silly marital warfare. Ask any grieving widow.

nancyk@alltel.net

Journal of a Living

Journal of a Living Lady #280

Nancy White Kelly

The phone call brought forth a huge wave of nostalgia. The red-haired, freckled faced, ten-year-old boy was waiting with his few meager things. He was pacing the sidewalk outside the Children’s Home waiting for us to come. When our car pulled up beside him, he flashed his huge signature smile. He was finally going to a home where he would be, for the time being, an only child.

The home had called us a couple of weeks before to tell of a child who was left there with two older brothers by a mother who couldn’t care for them. David had trouble adjusting to group home life and the counselor thought he’d do better in a foster home. This was ten years before the birth of our own, late-in-life, son, Charlie.

David was the second of many foster children we would nurture for a number of years. He was a charmer. David was also mischievous and plenty stubborn. He liked to be the life of the party and did most anything to blend in with his peers.

In his early teens, the school called to say that David was staggering in the halls. The principal suspected that David was using drugs. I was insistent that he was just showing off. Many months later I found out that I was wrong. He had marijuana which was all too common in the 1970’s.

When he was fifteen, David and Buddy spent many months fixing up a car which was to be his first shot at real independence. On his sixteenth birthday, we gave him permission to drive it to church and back. He was to have no passengers. A few hours later we got a call that the car was in a ditch far away, but that the carload of boys were okay.

Things went from bad to worse. He tried going home to his birth mother. Life was entirely different in a looser environment. No mon. No fun. Repeatedly he came back home only to resent reasonable rules.

After high school, he went into the Air Force, but was soon given a general discharge due to marijuana use. Time and again we helped him on his feet, but eventually he landed in jail for shoplifting and employer theft. After serving his time, we gave him a new chance at home with us until he could get a job and get on his feet. I remember the probation officer warning us “that boy would kiss the ground and eat dirt right now to be free. But the honeymoon probably won’t last.” He was right.

David had a good voice and loved Elvis. He even sang at his own wedding. Charlie, then four, was the ring bearer. The brief marriage didn’t last, but he did have a daughter that he dearly loved. David was given few opportunities to see her for good reason. He wasn’t a responsible individual or parent. Yet that didn’t keep him from writing poems and songs for and about her. Sometimes he even wrote lovingly about me.

The phone call last week was from a friend telling us that David had died from collapsed lungs, asthma, and heart failure while on crack cocaine. He was 46.

Our first foster child, a rebellious teen, has passed away also. She turned her life around and was the mother of three fine daughters. Severe diabetes took its toll of her fragile body. She was barely in her 40’s also.

Though not blood related, they were our children: David for seven plus years and Linda for four. I miss them. They held such promise.

Life is serious, and for some, short. My mind keeps returning to that line in the Robert Frost poem from high school: “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I -I took the one less traveled by. And that has made all the difference. “

One young man took the wrong road and made wrong choices. I am sad today.

_____


nancyk@alltel.net

Journal of a Living Lady #279

Nancy White Kelly

We are on the brink of the apocalypse. My source of authority is the Bible. Based on the books of Daniel and Revelation, events have to escalate before they get better. But I digress.

My writing goal is to bring hope, cheer and occasional humor to readers. Yet it is hard to write something light with the evening news blaring about the devastation caused by war and terrorism. Like Scarlet O’Hara in Gone with the Wind, I “can't think about that right now. I'll think about that tomorrow.” Willfully, I flick off the television remote so I can concentrate on something less heavy.

My only sister, Sunnie Anne, and brother-in-law just left after visiting for ten days. They live near Memphis and came to give Buddy some relief during my recuperation from acute kidney failure. I am happy to report that I am off dialysis and back to fighting cancer.

While they were here, Buddy decided to entertain them with my walker. He proceeded to run backwards down our handicap ramp, Jerry Lewis style. The walker wheels hit an aluminum strip which flipped him over.

I came close to being widowed. Buddy’s head missed a concrete wall by about two inches. The worst injury was to his knee. He limps from the soreness, but didn’t lose his ability to continue entertaining guests with time-worn stories. I have heard them so many times during our 41 years of marriage than I can repeat them verbatim. My favorite is about the bird.

A Christian man received a parrot as a gift from a friend. This parrot talked all the time, but only said curse words. The man tried unsuccessfully to retrain the parrot as he had great distain for the bird’s profane vocabulary.

The good man tried to teach the bird Bible verses, but the parrot repeatedly squawked only objectionable language. One day, the profanity became unbearable. He grabbed the parrot by the neck.

"Stop that foul language or I'll have to do something drastic!" The bird didn’t believe him and let our string of new vulgarities.

The exasperated man threw the bird into the freezer thinking that a "cooling off" period would help. There was some squawking for a while and then complete silence. The man was afraid he had killed the parrot and hesitantly opened the freezer door. To his amazement, the subdued parrot flew out and quietly perched on the man's arm.

The parrot said, "My dear sir. I apologize profusely. My language was inexcusable! You will never ever again hear a foul word coming from me.”

After a brief pause, the parrot asked, “By the way, what did the chicken do?"
_________­­­­­­
nancyk@alltel.net

Journal of a Living Lady #278

Journal of a Living Lady #278

Nancy White Kelly

One of my friends has renamed me: Ms. Kitty 9 ½. Seems like all I write about lately is my health or lack thereof. Yet, according to recent email, readers want to know. So, to up-date you and apologize for the delay in the regular bi-weekly column, this is it in a nutshell.

On July 11th, while on my regular chemotherapy appointment, the chemo room became unusually quiet. The nurses slipped off. My doctor dashed in and out whispering.  My oncologist stopped by my infusion chair. He said in a hushed tone that, according to the lab results, my kidneys had completely shut down.

I was stunned though for days I had felt terrible.  I was beginning to believe that I was a hypochondriac. Every joint and organ in my body ached or cried out in excruciating pain. My limbs were flailing unmercifully at odd times.

I was hospitalized for nearly three weeks and am now on dialysis three times weekly. And I thought cancer was a bummer!

So far, I have managed to keep good cheer most of the time, but this is an endurance test. What caused the kidney failure is unknown, but there is hope for recovery medically. Of course, divine healing is always an option. I am most grateful for all the friends and strangers who have bombarded heaven on my behalf. I am blessed beyond measure with people in my life who genuinely care and demonstrate it on a daily basis.

As usual, Buddy is a wonderful caregiver. But be forewarned, ladies. Don’t send your husband to the grocery store without a specific list. Buddy doesn’t hear well without his hearing aides.  I asked for him to pick up a good name brand of some prunes and offered him some suggestions. Later I looked at his list: Prunes by Dell.

_______________
nancyk@alltel.net

Journal of a Living Lady #277

Journal of a Living Lady #277

Nancy White Kelly

July 4th has come and gone quickly. The calendar inches toward Christmas. How can it be? Seems as if yesterday we were counting down to the millennium and now we are facing the beginning of 2007. Much transpires in our lifetimes, both planned and unplanned.
My month of June was interrupted big time by physical set backs. Several of my friends are busy with entertaining company and some are involved in elections. Seems odd to have elections in the summer months.
I don’t mingle much with partisan politics. I vote, of course. After studying the issues and the candidate, I vote for the person who personifies my own ideology or world view. As far as running for office myself, that is not something I would seriously consider. Too much muckraking for me.
I was invited recently to interview a Lt. Governor candidate. For the life of me, I don’t understand why I was asked to do so. However, in reflecting on its implications, I decided to forego the opportunity. I am a columnist, not a reporter. Reporters are supposedly unbiased and report just the facts. Columnists make observations, offering commentary on the passing affairs of life. In a few cases columnists are influential. The Living Lady believes it is best for voters to investigate and decide on the best candidates themselves.
There was one election that I did become involved in the 1970’s. The brother of my pastor decided to run for Police Chief of a county in mid-Georgia. I was a school principal. My help consisted mainly of writing a couple of promotional brochures, drafting a few letters, and editing a campaign speech.
The candidate was a good man with integrity. Though the under-dog, I wasn’t surprised that he won. However, I was a bit taken back to receive a large bouquet of flowers the day after the election. A personal note was attached, thanking me for all my “hard work.” I am happy to report that this man went on to be sheriff of one of the largest counties in Georgia and recently retired with deserved accolades. If he had turned out to be a bad sheriff, I would have forever felt guilty of assisting the wrong posse.

nancyk@alltel.net