The rest of the story

Even though I'm home, I will be still blogging. I have a story in two parts. Remember, this is a true story. This is about my friend in Mississippi, Melanie, and her father, Mr. Robert. This is fairly long, so bear with me.

Mr. Robert bought Waverly Mansion in 1969. He is well known in Mississippi for the work he and his wife have put into the Mansion to restore it. They have received recognitions and awards from several different areas of the Mississippi government. The mansion sits close to the Tombigbee River. The mansion had a pier to export the cotton they grew. So that sets up the story.

When TVA was dredging the Tombigbee River to widen it, they wanted to bring equipment down the road (Waverly Mansion Road) that runs in front of the mansion. They informed Mr. Robert they would have to cut down one of his trees to get their equipment to the river. Mr. Robert told them they could not cut it. The chief engineer of the TVA project came over and told Mr. Robert he was going to cut down the tree. He said, "You just get out of here old man." Mr. Robert told him to wait a minute and went into the house. He called the Mississippi Senator, got through to him immediately, and told him what was going on. Thirty minutes later three limosines pulled up to the mansion. Government people told the chief engineer of the TVA project he was not going to cut down one of Mr. Robert's trees and they would have to find another way to the river. A 30 million dollar project was shut down because of a tree. The TVA had to rent a barge and haul the equipment down the river to where it was needed. A couple days later the Chief Engineer showed up at Mr. Robert's door with gifts and an apology.

And now, the rest of the story.....

Steve and I stayed at Town Creek Campground about five minutes from Waverly Mansion. One of Steve's miniature pinchers, Rollo, ran away. He was gone about five hours, but came back to the campground. The next day we were loaded and ready to go when he got out of the door and ran away again. We searched everywhere. This was about 11:00 am. By 4:00 pm we knew we would not be leaving that day. We went to visit the mansion, then came back and kept looking. Melanie kept calling because Mr. Robert was worried about Rollo. About 9 pm Steve went out for one last look. He heard him barking up in the woods. When he got to him, Rollo had a rattlesnake cornered. Steve threw a stick, grabbed the dog and ran.

The next morning I called Melanie to tell her we found Rollo. She yelled "Thank GOD!!!" She said Mr. Robert was about to call the sherriff's department to send out cars to look for Rollo. She also said he was going to call the Colonel of the Air Force base (they are a few miles from Waverly) and have them fly over with their cameras to look in the woods for him. Mr. Robert said he knew the colonel well and had entertained his wife at Waverly. Melanie knew this would have happened and said it would have been a PR disaster. She said she could hear herself trying to explain to the newspaper why Mr. Robert had the Sheriff and Air Force out looking for a dog. When she told her sister about it her sister said "Thank GOD!" She also knew her father too well.

Mississippi is always an interesting trip.

Mississippi Magnolia

Ya'll know how friendly those Mississipi boys are. Young Sargent Major Jimmy escorted me during Waverly's Pilgrimage. A good time was had by all. See ya'll soon.

Miss(issippi) Diana

Great News!!!!

Steve got his report from his doctor and his heart is actually doing better!!! Maybe it's the Reiki? We're already starting to plan another trip!!! YEAH! How many exclamation points can I put in this blog!!!!!!!

Hi Friends

Back home again!!! Not sure for how long. On the way home today Steve started getting sick. We are afraid it might be the flu. An uncle at the funeral announced he had the flu. This was after he shook hands and hugged everyone. I'm going to keep a close eye on him because his heart has been acting up lately. It keeps getting out of sync. Will keep everyone posted.

Love to all of my friends.

Back in Alabama

I was home for a couple of days. The doctors put Steve's dad in the hospital before we left Alabama. Steve needed a Rheumacaid treatment in Nashville so we left for home hoping his father would be out of the hospital in a couple of days. His flu had turned into pneumonia and he began deteriorating quickly. The doctors called the family in on Saturday to be with him. About 10:00 pm Saturday Steve's father passed away. The funeral is Wednesday and we'll be coming home on Thursday. It's a difficult time for the family, especially Steve's mother. She has Alzheimer's disease and doesn't remember what is going on sometimes. It's like she hears it for the first time over and over. Although, Steve's sister says it's a blessing sometimes that she doesn't remember.

I'm still hoping to go to Mississippi on the Monday after Easter. Waverly is awaiting Miss Diana. Besides that it's free labor for them.

My love to all of my friends and family,
Diana

Lake Guntersville State Park

We are staying at Lake Guntersville State Park. It's close to Steve's parents. Things are going well so far. They agreed to have a home health care person come everyday for a few hours. We spent one night at the hospital with his father after he overdosed (by accident) from his prescription cough syrup. It's a pretty scary situation. I feel bad for Steve and his sister.

This area is a drastic change from the keys, though. We're not used to wearing so much clothes, I mean jeans, I mean instead of shorts. The park is beautiful. At night the campers put corn on the side of the road and wait. They line up in their folding chairs to watch the evening entertainment. Much like the campers lined up on the pier to watch the sunset in the keys. At dusk the deer begin to move down the hillside toward us. First a couple, then a couple more, until they are all in the campground feeding. The babies are the bravest. They move forward, but their mother taps them cautiously while she assesses the situation. Once she feels safe she lets the baby move to the corn. I counted eleven does feeding at one time. Across the road a large buck waited and watched his herd. He wouldn't come closer, but he never left.

Every area I have visited has it's unique wildlife. The contrast is wonderful. Besides the nightly show given by the deer, there are beaver that swim through the creeks building dams; emu, donkeys, and goats (oh my), that have been saved and protected; and bald eagle soaring through the sky. If we have to be stuck somewhere, this is a great spot.

We're planning to go to Mississippi for Pilgramage at Waverly after this.

Kind of a blah day

It's cold today. High of about 65 degrees, but the wind makes it feel colder. It might get down to the 50's tonight, but I can't complain after hearing about the weather and illnesses at home and the record high's here the last few weeks (high 80's).

I decided to spend the day writing. I've had some great suggestions on my Florida story from my friends and was ready for a rewrite. As the day went on my concentration wondered. I'm not sure why. I think I'm getting a little homesick today. I love it here. I feel so relaxed. I've had time to write and time to read. When I feel bad I can lay down without feel guilty about it. But, I do miss my friends, my daughters, and of course, MacKenzie.

I've been sending MacKenzie postcards. Cassie said MacKenzie has a little purse she puts them in and carries it everywhere she goes. So I send more postcards. It warms my soul to know she thinks of me. But, it also makes me miss her.

I'll get to see Penni when she comes to Big Pine Key. It's the next key south of me just over seven miles bridge. I wonder if it will just make me miss all of my friends even more. Can you tell I'm a bit melancholy today? I have never been away from my daughters this long. I'll be home mid-April and I know time will pass so fast I won't even realize it is April.

We're going to stay on Marathon Key for two more weeks (the plan so far). We only plan about two to three weeks in advance. We have decided to bypass Orlando for now. It made us tired just thinking about Disneyworld. My friend, Melanie, wants me to come to Pilgrimage to work. It is the March 24th to April 5th. There are only six four-hour tours I would work with them. That would put me home the second week in April.

The RV has been very comfortable. I can see how people live in them full-time. We have everything we need. Steve and I have been in this space together since we left and haven't had the first argument. We seem to agree on most things, and what we disagree on, well, I haven't found anything we disagree on yet. We both have the same limits in energy so we flow together well.

So, that is my day. How was yours?

Diana