We Are Community 183
Today is New Years Eve 2023. As I sit down to write this, I think back on other New Years. None particularly seems to stand out except for one in my life. There was that one year when it was the night before my wedding day. We had planned to get married during my Christmas break because I was a teacher at the time. It sounds very romantic to think of beginning a new life together at the beginning of a new year. The reality is that the date of January 1st was chosen because of tax ramifications. It would have cost us several hundred dollars in taxes to be married at the end of the year instead of at the beginning of a new year. So, we married on New Years Day and had a one-day honeymoon in Hannibal, Missouri as I had to go back to teaching the next day. It seems to have worked because we had a good marriage for over 25 years until my husband, Ben Gentry, passed away.
Why is it considered ok for a man to date a women of any age, yet a woman is a “cougar”, not a particularly flattering term, if she is attracted to a younger man. Reality seems to indicate that women should marry younger men because men seem to pass sooner. There are too many widows in this world. If women married younger men, then perhaps marriages could last longer and more couples could grow older together.
Last Sunday was Christmas Eve. Living Faith always has a candle light Christmas Eve service and this year we also had the children’s program on Christmas Eve. This was a great idea. It was cute and more people got to enjoy the children and more parents came for the Christmas Eve program. I think we just started a new tradition.
I taught at Central for 23 years so was interested when Central won the state championship in football this year. Channel 10 broadcast a special segment on Brad Dixon, coach of the team. The piece was very nice and painted the Coach as an all-around good person who not only cared that his students did their best on the football field but also in all facets of life. It was so good to see a man who encourages his students to do their best and who sets a high example for them to follow. Congratulations to all the players, their parents, the coach and the community for such a good season.
Another scam this week and a good one-they kept me on the line for a while! Got a call from CVS so they said. They were updating their records. When I asked which CVS pharmacy I used, the nice man said they were from corporate headquarters and gave me an eastern state. He had a lot of my information, like name and address and he was able to lookup my doctor’s name. He asked me if I had a Medicare card and I noted that I had an alternate to Medicare. Should have been a clue when I had to tell him this more than once. He then asked if I had a Medicare card and described the blue and red lines of it and asked me to get it. He then asked me to read off the numbers between the two lines. This is when I hung up. Should have hung up a lot sooner. If you get this type of call, just hang up!
Spent all day at the Kelso auction today. Normally I do not go to auctions on Sunday but this was the only antique auction that they had this year and there were many great things on the auction. They ran two rings all day and that is a problem when you are one person. Prices were very strong on smalls but a lot of the furniture went very cheaply. One “little old lady” cannot handle large furniture and besides my furniture store is pretty full. Auctions are always interesting.
As I near the end of this page, I will have to continue New Year’s thoughts next week. May the start of your New Year be good. May you continue to strive for Peace, Hope, Joy and Love. And may you have a happy and healthy New Year.