I can’t believe Halloween has rolled around again! But here we are carving pumpkins and getting costumes ready for tomorrow night.
PUMPKIN SHOPPING. We’ve been trying to get over to Steve and Connie Freeland’s to walk their corn maze and get a pumpkin for weeks. It has worked out that every time we had a chance to go we got rain. (The weather even cancelled a field trip for Jenna last week.) This afternoon worked out to be perfect weather. Unfortunately the corn maze had taken a beating from several storms, but the kids enjoyed running through it regardless of its condition.
We came home with a really nice pumpkin. After a bit of looking online Ben decided he wanted to carve a ghost on it. We won’t be home to receive trick-or-treaters tomorrow night, but we’ll leave our jack-o-lantern outside to keep watch on things.
A DAY OF FUN. One of Ben’s best friends is Ethan Bibb. Ethan invited Ben and Wil Swann to celebrate his sixth birthday Saturday. They went to Chuck E. Cheese’s for lunch and returned to Ethan’s house to play away the afternoon. We got one wound up boy back after the fun was over.
BLESSED BY ANOTHER. If you’ve ever been to our church on a Sunday morning chances are real good that Harry Wilson greeted you and shook your hand. That has been his ministry at Mt. Carmel ever since I can remember. Mr. Harry suffered a heart attack Wednesday. His funeral was yesterday. As folks around here reflect on his life we all feel like he raised the bar on living for Christ. One of my fondest memories growing up was riding in his combine with him whenever he was harvesting grain in the field across the road. I spent hours in that combine with him and would have gladly skipped school for more time. They say Saint Peter mans the gate of Heaven. I would not be surprised to know that Harry Wilson is right beside Peter.
ARE YOU A GENIUS? Have you ever played the peg game while waiting for your food at Cracker Barrel? Do you win consistently or are you proud to be “plain dumb” every now and then? A recent trip to Cracker Barrel got Jenna and me talking about the peg game. Many years ago Uncle J C taught me how to solve the puzzle. Jenna got her peg game out and asked me to teach her. Now she can wow and amaze all her friends.
With this on my mind I decided to search Google for “peg game solutions.” What I read was totally amazing. At least two people out there with too much time on their hands have written computer programs to find all the possible solutions to the peg game -- all 131,448 unique solutions that will allow you to claim the title of “genius.” So, are you feeling like an “eg-no-ra-moose” now?
By the way, if you don’t want to cheat but want a tip, start with the empty hole at the middle of one of the sides of the triangle, not in a corner. About two thirds of the solutions start from this position.
MR. JOHN CROSSING THE CUMBERLAND ON A FERRYBOAT (4 of 4--by Nola Simmons). Once upon a time Mr. John and his son were crossing the Cumberland River on a ferryboat. They just rode the car onto the ferryboat and forgot to close the gate!
Mr. John decided he would climb over on the back seat of the car and trim his toenails while they were crossing the river. He took off his shoes and socks and proped one foot upon the back of the front seat and started trimming his toenails. As Mr. John started trimming--the boat started moving--and the car started rolling backwards until caplunge! right into the river went the car, Mr. John, toenails and all. Now what do you think Mr. John did? Y--when that car started down in the water, Mr. John started coming out of that car. He kicked, and kicked, and kicked, until at long last he kicked himself to the top of the water. His son helped him to the banks, where he stood barefooted; soaking wet from the skin out; and even his goat-tee was dripping. But what did Mr. John say? As he quivered and shook, he just stroked his goat-tee said, “By Granny, safe at last!”
NOTE: Aunt Mar remembers hearing this story. She feels this happened in the shallow water as they did retrieve the car. I’m sure this took care of any lingering new car smell.
Joe
