Up and Down Like a Toilet Seat

Howdy All,

So much has happened since my last post on the 1st of the month.  Some ups and, unfortunately, some downs but let's start with a big up.  We drove straight back to Todd from the last treatment at Duke.  Shortly after we got home we went to a retirement party for our very close friend and former landlady Linda Foulsham.  She had just resigned from a pressure cooker job that was a complete downer.  After a few weeks rest and relaxation she is planning on opening a bookstore in Boone where she will be her own boss.  We were so happy for her that we drank a lot and had a wonderful time at Mary Love's who hosted the party.

Linda at her retirement party

Linda is famous for being the life of the party until you suddenly look over and she is sleeping in her seat.  Not that she isn't following the conversation because she is apt to awaken just as suddenly and jump right into it.  A highlight of this party for Helen and I was the arrival of Sarah, Evan, Caroline and Ella who were just arriving after driving all the way from Austin, Texas.  They were here to spend a week with us and what a "grand" week it was (if you have grandchildren you will know what I mean).

  Even though there was torrential rain every day (Todd had over 11 inches of rain in the first week of July!) they had a great time hiking, horseback riding and keeping old Grandpa company.  We were missing them the minute they left to head back to Texas.

The Grand Pollan Clan

Helen's sister Teresa's visit overlapped with the Pollan's so we were one big happy family up there on Riverchase Trail.  God bless Evan who manned the grill all week and served up some delicious carnivorous treats.  The grandgirls delighted us with their arts and crafts and left us with a refrigerator covered with their talented drawings.  On the second we bid a fond farewell to Teresa who was such a help and such great company.  Helen drove her down to Asheville where, believe it or not, she finally found her bag.  Everything was going great as we waited for the fourth of July which promised to be a big day not only because we planned to participate in the Liberty Day Parade but also because it was Helen's birthday.

Ah yes, the fourth.  As it turned out it was one for the books but not in a way that we had planned.  It had been a busy busy past few days so, even though it was Yankee doodle dandy Helen's birthday, she was determined that I would have a nice lay it and catch up on my rest.  So you can imagine how surprised I was to get a text at 7:30 am that read "the Merc has been robbed" which got me out of bed quick.  When I got there Helen told me that the thief had broken a window on the back to door to get access to the deadbolt.  Among other things he had made off with Helen's laptop and her purse which she had forgotten to bring home the night before.  In the purse was a lot of personal items that were very important to Helen and she was understandably very distraught.  We had been robbed recently before and so had installed a security camera which did catch the robber in the act.  The sheriff sent a patrol car to gather info but we did not have much hope as they headed back to town.

                          A little movie of the (fill in your favorite expletive here) who robbed the Merc

As if to add insult to injury, the skies opened up and it just plain poured down on what was supposed to be the Liberty Day Parade and one of our busiest at the store.  The parade was canceled and the skies cried our tears for us.  Helen was just about ready to give up when some local ladies stopped in with a basket full of goodies, a dozen pink roses and, most importantly, words of love, sympathy and encouragement.  They told Helen how much she meant to our little community and how sorry they were for her setback on what should have been a special day.  It says more than a little about the folks in Todd that one of these kind souls was the organizer of the Liberty Day Parade which had to be postponed.  She certainly had enough to worry about as it was but took the time to gather with others to lift Helen's spirits.

Like I said, it was a time of big ups and downs and that point was driven home when we went to the Riverside Restaurant to see our good friends the Wooten Family perform Christian music upstairs.  The Wooten's are Mom, Dad the three boys and Grandpa all of home are hugely talented and they all sing like angels.  Think of the Statler Brothers and you get an idea of there harmonies.  Anyway, they sang this wonderful song "God Will Make This Trial a Blessing" that just tore us up as it was completely apropos.

So after a roller coaster of a day there was nothing for it but to party so off the the annual July 4th gathering of the Riverchase gang we went.  Our home in Todd is on a little dead end street called Riverchase Trail.  There is only five homes including ours and we are the only year rounders.  I have to say that I have maybe the greatest neighbors in the world many of whom you have already heard about in this blog.  Since it was, of course, still raining buckets we avoided our usual river front location - now underwater - and instead brought our covered plates to Pam and Warren Kicklighter's front porch.  Did you know that you can light fireworks in a epic deluge?  I don't know how they did it but fireworks did arise from the front yard which Caroline found to be colorful and Ella found to be intolerable.  After the show it was time to climb to our house at the top of Riverchase to put an end to a long, emotional day.


Sarah and Evan head home......


Every day in July is a busy one in Todd so the next day (Saturday) proves the point as we were up and at'em first thing to get the oven turned on for baking goodies for the weekend.  Shortly thereafter I was off on a 50 mile round trip to show property in the adjoining county with my partner Jim.  We got back just in time to help set up the sound system and food booth for the evening concert featuring Laura Boosinger and Josh Goforth.  We made a last minute call to have the concert outside instead of moving to the gallery at the Mercantile and it turned out to be a good and bad decision as, although the concert started with the sun it wasn't long before the heavens opened up and it began to pour.   Fortunately, Laura and Josh are pros and asked everyone to join them on the stage where the roof kept everyone dry.