Wow! It's back to school time already! Where did the summer go? The big yellow buses were lined up Monday morning unloading students to start another year of hitting the books. Most of the youngsters I talked to in recent weeks weren't really too anxious to go back. They'd just as soon extend their break a bit longer, but today's kids are very adaptable. They'll soon be back in the groove and off and running learning new things.
When I was a youngster we didn't have the luxury of riding the bus. Even though we lived several blocks from the school, we walked to school each morning. Daddy might drive us if the weather was unusually bad, but that was a rare occurrence.
We closed out July with a trip to see the Naturals at Arvest Ballpark. Unfortunately, the team wasn't at the top of its game that night and suffered a disappointing loss to the Springfield Cardinals. The outing was fun, nevertheless. The burgers and popcorn were tasty -- although a mite high priced -- and, as advertised, the evening's fireworks were spectacular. I'm glad we went.
We enjoyed smoked chicken dinners from the Decatur Barbecue and again the next weekend at Gravette Day. We appreciate all the folks who work so hard -- the crew at Decatur and the Gravette Lions Club members and friends -- for making these good meals possible. Overall, the Gravette Day celebration was awesome. The usual events went off without a hitch and the new activities were well accepted. It takes weeks of preparation to pull the big day off, but it's all worthwhile. We enjoy the opportunity to show folks our town and its assets.
Jim and I celebrated our 23rd anniversary last Friday. It was a somewhat hectic day, with a trip to Siloam to take paperwork to the newspaper office there and pick up statements for Jim's business, and then on to Tontitown to order shingles for a roofing job this week. We made it back home with little time to spare before an interview I had scheduled that afternoon. We relaxed that evening with a barbecue meal at the new place on Main Street, then went back home to watch TV. Sorry, no wild parties to report at our age!
We had a call Friday announcing the approaching visit of my oldest nephew, David Douglas. He was in the area visiting family members and said he'd drop by on Saturday. He and his wife Stephanie have a little daughter, Savannah, who's not quite a year old and we hadn't seen her. We had fun getting acquainted with the little one and had a brief visit with her parents before they returned to his sister's home. They traveled back to Connecticut Monday morning, where David will retire from the Navy in March, after 26 years of service.
Mary Alice came by while David was here and brought me a small watermelon. Both my sisters have shared garden produce, and our former editor brought us a bag of tomatoes and cucumbers. We've delighted in having tomatoes and cottage cheese at several meals and are looking forward to another batch of fried okra soon. I have enough yellow squash to prepare another dish of Southwestern squash and there are yard-long beans on the back porch waiting to be broken. It's a joy to frequent the farmers' market and have an abundance of summer veggies.
The weather man is forecasting a little cooler weather for this week and we're glad since Jim's spending several days roofing. A good shower would be welcome, to fill the fish pond, water the lawn and hopefully cool the air further. The days are growing slightly shorter, and cooler weather should be around the bend as we get closer to fall. The Lions' first football game is less than three weeks away and we're anticipating a good season supporting the team.
We have a busy weekend coming up. I'll be involved making preparations for our third annual library gala Saturday at the big barn at the cabins on Beaty Road. If you haven't bought your tickets yet, rush out and buy them and join us for an evening of fun. We're having a "hoe down" with barbecue, country music and cowboy poetry. There will be lovely auction items to bid on, games to play and a lively crowd on hand to enjoy the good food and the toe-tapping music. Come join us and support a good cause, the remodeling of the new Gravette Public Library.
Susan Holland is a longtime resident of Benton County and a reporter for the Westside Eagle Observer. She may be contacted by email at [email protected]. Opinions expressed are those of the author.
Editorial on 08/19/2015