Guess Who Went to See Gary Morris

Mid-March already and it has really seemed like spring around here. Well, a couple of days seemed like summer, actually. The beauty of spring has definitely arrived. I love this time of year. Every day the vista changes. One day we are seeing the weariness of winter and then the daffodils appear. Pretty soon the tulip trees bloom, and the bradford pears, then the dogwood and redbuds. One by one the signs of spring appear and color the landscape. A drive down to Little Rock was like a slide show of color.

And "Why," you may ask, "was I driving to Little Rock?" I will tell you. Carol Stone and I were on a mission to pick the newly wedded Billy and Elizabeth Stone from the airport. They spent a long week-end here in Rector, visiting with friends and family before heading back to Dallas with "the mustang" or Eleanor, as she is named. Billy will have a little more time there before he returns to Korea for the last half of his tour. Take care, Billy and hurry on home for good.

And yes that was him standing helplessly on my porch Sunday while I did my bowling pin impersonation trying to grab my errant dog as she bowled me over into Paula and eventually to the floor. After gallantly helping me to my feet and watching the dogs disappear around the corner, he made some remark about the fall of old lady dominoes. Impertinent young man! But he is cute, is he not?

I had a great email from Martha Jane Randall. She won tickets to see Gary Morris in concert at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville last Friday night. Her daughter, Kandice, grandson Evan, and Pam, a friend of Kandice's took her there so the fun was multiplied. And we know how much Martha Jane loves Gary Morris. But guess who she saw about as soon as she arrived. Bill Carter. She says she had such a wonderful time. She was treated like a queen, with front row seats special attention from Gary and Bill and the entire Hall of Fame staff. Martha Jane says "Thank you" to Gary, Johnny and Lisa. Oh, yes and she got to talk to Stella Parton, Dolly's sister. What a treat! Glad you had such a good time, Martha Jane. I know I will see you at the RHS Helping Hands concert in May.

I was the recipient of a random act of kindness this past week. A complete stranger paid postage for me on a card I was mailing. I am sorry I did not get your name, but I was very touched by your generosity. It wasn't a lot and it wasn't even a real necessity, but it was such a nice thing to do. It made me feel so very good. And I think you felt good too. I know I will now be looking for someone to pay forward for this small act of kindness. Thank you so much.

Another thing that had an impact on me this week was watching the program, "What Would You Do?" I had not watched it before and as I saw complete strangers coming to the defense of someone who was being treated badly, I began to wonder just how this program could affect the way we behave toward one another. It is not easy to interject oneself into a troubling situation. These aren't life threatening, but mostly emotional issues and clearly many more walked away without looking back. But some did what they would want someone to do for them. It was the right thing to do and it was applauded and encouraged. I felt a glow of love for each of them, people I had never met and whom I will never meet. That's a really good feeling. Do unto others as you would have others do unto you. Now there are some words to live by.

Come by Now and Then Saturday afternoon and pick up one of my books. I will be there to sign and talk about my friends. I hope to see you. I hope you buy my book and enjoy it.

Well time to go. Thanks to everyone who shared with us this week. Let me know what is going on with you. You can email me at: porchswing@newwavecomm.net or call me (870) 595-3173. You can even drop me a line at 514 West 3rd St., Rector AR. Bye for now. Stay safe and enjoy life. And do something nice for someone you don't know. It is a good trend.

Bless our military everywhere.