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Burningtown News, Sunday, January 24, 2016
Hello
to good people all over the world!
Good morning to all the people all over the world,
OBITUARY
Mrs.
Betty Ray died on Tuesday, January 18. She was Willard Ray's wife. She
was a sister to Bill Hughes who goes to our church. Funeral Services
will be Monday, January 25, at Bryant-Grant Funeral Home.
at 11:00 a.m.
Our friend J. L. West died on Friday, January 22. A memorial service
will be held Monday January 25, 2016 at 2:30 p.m. at First United Methodist
Church in Franklin, NC. J. L was known and loved by many.
Please remember the families of these two people this week.
PRAYER REQUESTS
Please
remember the following in your prayers this week.
Lucy
Mason Ken Shepherd Nell Duvall Welch Lori
Impagliatelli Harry Henry Melba Martin Melba
West Meredith Jones Clarence Scott
Linda Campbell Pamela West Bob Bryson Sue
Martin Oweila T F Sue West Beatrice
Deweese Wayne Powers Charles West Tom
Needham
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Rev. Brian Holland will bring the message on Sunday morning, January
31, 2016, at 11:00, at Burningtown Baptist Church.
--
FromMacon
County Library.
Teen
Advisory Group on Wed., Jan. 27, in the Macon County Public Library
Program Room, 3:30 p.m.
Teens- you have a voice @ the library! TAG stands for Teen Advisory
Group and they get to select much of the tween, teen and young adult
programming. Want to have a video game night? Movie night? Book Club?
Arts&Crafts group? Zombie Survival Program? Anime Club? Drama, art
and writing group? These are all things TAG has suggested and we have
made them happen. TAG members also select books and other materials
for the library to order and get first dibs on check-out. They enjoy
food, games, prize drawings, funny videos, socializing. Need volunteer
hours? Find them @ the library through TAG.
Questions?
E-mail maconteens@fontanalib.org
New Movie "A Little Chaos" starring Kate Winslet and Matthias
Schoenaerts on Thursday, Jan. 28 at 2:00 & 6:00 p.m. in the Macon
County Public Library Meeting Room- Two talented landscape artists become
entangled while building a garden in King Louis XIV's palace at Versailles.
Rated R for some sexuality and brief nudity, 1 hr. 57 min.
Classic comedy "The Marrying Kind" starring Judy Holliday,
Aldo Ray, and Madge Kennedy on Friday, Jan. 29 at 2:00 p.m. in the Macon
County Public Library Meeting Room- Florence and Chet Keefer have a
troublesome marriage. Whilst in the middle of a divorce hearing the
judge encourages them to remember the good times they have had hoping
that the marriage can be saved. 1 hr. 32 min.
Kristina
Lynn Moe
kmoe@fontanalib.org
Macon County Public Library
149 Siler Farm Road
Franklin, NC 28734
828-524-3600
fontanalib.org
facebook.com/FontanaRegionalLibrary
ARTICLES,
LETTERS, POEMS, PICTURES AND THINGS
Reputation.
That
is the word I have on my brain this morning so I looked up the definition
and it is " 1- the beliefs or opinions that are generally held
about someone or something. 2- a widespread belief that someone or something
has a particular habit or characteristic." I think most of us do
care about our reputation and want to have a good one. Stop and think
for just a little bit about what you are known for. What is it that
you think comes to mind when people hear your name mentioned? I found
this quote by Billy Graham the other day and shared it with someone
this past week...."There is the person you think you are. There
is the person others think you are. There is the person God knows you
are and can be through Christ.". It also reminds me of the saying,
"there's two sides to every story, then there's the truth.".
Which one are we supposed to be concerned about? All three. That's where
my scripture comes in, "whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it
with thy might..." First of all, you have to live with yourself
so when you lie down at night you should have the peace of mind that
you did everything that day to the best of your ability. Second, people
need to see that you actually are what you say you are and not just
what you claim to be. Third and most important is what God knows. Not
even our thoughts are not hidden from Him and He is the One who will
do the judging. If we do our best with what God has given us, everything
will work out. I know I have things to work on because my goal is to
hear God say "well done" when my time on earth is over. I
hope we all get to hear that. Have a blessed week! Donna Mathis
"The Size Of
The Crowd At Your…"
Larry Alan Reeves, Region A Long Term Care Ombudsman
Southwestern Commission- Area Agency on Aging
For many years Bill Williams anchored the evening news broadcast for
WBIR-TV in Knoxville, Tennessee. Because of the high profile position
he held, he was/is very well known. There are not many folks in the
greater Knoxville area that would consider him to be a stranger. In
fact, he is fairly well known here in the mountains of North Carolina
due to his co-hosting (with WLOS-TV) the "Friends of the Smokies
Tel-a-thon Fund Raiser" each year.
Several years ago I heard Bill speak to an audience in Tennessee. He
did an excellent job during the presentation. It was well received by
the audience. During the speech he told a number of entertaining stories.
Most of the stories were very humorous. I remember one of them in particular.
He said that once he visited a very small, rural community in a mountainous
area near Knoxville. During his visit, he had the opportunity to meet
and interview several different folks. He said one of the men he talked
with stated "You really are something Mr. Williams. I see you on
the TV all of the time. You've been on there for lots of years now.
Why, I bet there are not many folks around here that are better known
than you are. But let me tell you something. The size of the crowd at
your funeral will more than likely depend more upon the weather that
day than anything else." When he finished telling the story he
just shrugged his shoulders and said "He put things in proper perspective.
Enough said."
From time to time it is good to have a "reality check". While
Bill Williams has done/continues to do many wonderful things he used
the story to illustrate the point that it is good to stop and evaluate
your life and efforts every once in a while. When we take advantage
of those times of self-evaluation there are a few things we would do
well to remember. First of all, try not to be too hard on yourself.
Sure, you could probably have done better, handled things better, responded
better, and so forth. But, cut yourself some slack. Second of all, avoid
making a bunch of excuses for the reasons you did not do better. It
is what it is. Your life is your life and you are responsible for it.
While there may be some very legitimate reasons things may have turned
out differently than you expected, planned, or hoped for; just accept
it as it is and move on from there. A third thing to remember is to
avoid casting blame towards others and situations and/or circumstances.
It is tempting to seek to blame others and things for our faults, failures,
and mistakes. However, the "blame game" is only going to result
in anger, guilt, shame, pessimism, and a reluctance to move on towards
a better day and time. My fourth suggestion (Remember now- my suggestions
are free and are therefore worth just about what you are paying for
them.) is to keep things in proper perspective. As much as is possible,
do not allow things to become too big or make them too small. Just because
Chicken Little got hit in the head with one acorn he jumped to the conclusion
the whole sky was falling. Get real! Somethings deserve more of our
attention and energy than others. Learning to determine the difference
between the two can be liberating for you. The fifth suggestion I offer
is to learn and recognize your limitations. Attempting to exceed your
limitations can be defeating. Doing less and using less than is possible
is only a cop-out. Instead of developing a better outcome you may only
increase the pain and frustration that may result. Wisdom is knowing
the difference between possible and impossible and living accordingly.
Finally (I know you thought I was never going to reach this point.),
try not to over analyze stuff. There is a phrase that is used "the
paralysis of analysis". If one is not careful they can allow fear,
failure to give credit where credit is due, lack of an accurate assessment
of available and potential resources, and a deficit of motivation to
keep one from being/becoming a more positive and productive person.
I have no idea the number of folks that might show up when the funeral
will happen over me. Hopefully, someone will be there to say a few kind
words (even if they have to make them up).
Now listen here- I am not planning on having one soon!
--
Larry Reeves
Long Term Care Ombudsman
Region A, Southwestern Commission
125 Bonnie Lane
Sylva, North Carolina 28779
(828)586-1962, ext. 223
FAX (828)586-1968
www.regiona.org
larry@regiona.org
"I love the unimproved works of God." (Horace Kephart, 1906)
--
MAMMA'S
MANSION
By: Nita Welch Owenby
When Mamma was growing
up in the old house on the head of Upper Burningtown, she and her family
had little to call riches except for their faith in God. Her mother
died when she was just the tender age of ten, and she grew up fast,
leaving her short childhood behind. Her Grandma Roper came to live with
them, knowing her daddy, Cling, didn't know how to manage a house, and
Mamma said Great Grandma ruled with an iron hand. On Saturdays, she
had to scrub the worn, wood floors with ashes, with Great Grandma standing
over her making sure she scrubbed every inch. Then, she carried buckets
of clear, cold water from the creek in front of the house and rinsed
the soap and ashes down through the cracks in the floor. According to
Great Grandma, the lye in the ashes purified the floors, warding away
germs and sickness.
Mamma had no idea when the old house was built, but the original tin
roof had rusted to a dull red and many of the edges and corners flopped
when the wind blew. The mud that had been used to fill the cracks between
the rocks in the chimney had gradually dried and crumbled over the years,
and it had started to lean. Mamma said a couple of times snakes had
crawled in through the cracks, one being a large rattler that Great
Grandma found coiled up in the middle of one of their beds. But, it
was the only home that Mamma knew, and she did the work she was told
to do without complaint. She and her younger brother, Uncle T.C., would
go up on the mountain and gather dead wood off the forest floor and
carry home to use in the winter to heat the old house. They both carried
a stick and watched for snakes that populated those mountains, lest
they get bit, for getting a doctor to come to the house to treat them
could take days. But, even though the chimney fire didn't keep the old
house very warm, due to the cracks and holes, it helped to ward off
the worst of the cold. Grandma would pile quilts on their bed pallets
on the floor, and Mamma said she and Uncle T.C. often slept together
in the winter to keep from freezing to death.
There was little level land for pasture or to make a garden on the property,
because the mountains rose up on both sides, leaving them in a narrow
hollow that was steep and rocky. It was a tiring, endless job carrying
rocks from a small patch that was known as the garden. Mamma said it
wasn't much of a garden, as the seeds had to find their way up through
the rocks and came up crooked. The soil, what there was of it between
the rocks, was fairly rich, which was a good thing, because there was
little money for buying fertilizer. They usually collected dried cow
pies from the pastures and crumbled them into the rows. It wasn't a
very pleasant job, but it helped to put food on their table. They always
had enough chickens to furnish eggs for breakfast, but Mamma and Uncle
T. C. had to get out every day and hunt their nests, since there were
no nest boxes in the chicken shack where they were closed up at night.
Several of the hens nested under the house, for it was built up off
the ground, but had never been underpinned. Again, they had to take
their snake sticks with them as they crawled under the porches and the
house, but the sticks didn't help much with all the spiders that built
their webs under there. But, if they didn't find enough eggs for breakfast,
the eggs had to be saved until there was enough to go around. It wasn't
much of a home, or a life, but it was all they had, and they all went
to church on Sunday and thanked God for their blessings.
When Mamma married Daddy, they ended up living in yet another old house
down at the bottom of a hill on Rose Creek just below Daddy's parents.
Again, this was another gray, weathered building with a rusty red tin
roof, but it was in a little better shape. The well had been dug at
the end of the porch just off the kitchen and Mamma didn't have to carry
water from a spring. Daddy was good at creating things to make living
a little easier. He put a hand pump on top of the well box and made
a trough out of a piece of tin roofing. He ran the trough from the pump,
through the window, into the kitchen. It was almost like having running
water in the house, but it had to be closed down in the winter when
the temperature dropped below freezing. With all the things she had
learned from her mother before she got sick, and from all the other
things Great Grandma made sure she learned, Mamma set up housekeeping
in a house she could call her own. It wasn't fancy, but it was a step
up the ladder from the one she had been raised in.
The day finally came in 1945, near the end of World War II. They had
worked hard and saved a little money. They were going to build a NEW
house just out from where the old house stood. Building material was
scarce, but Daddy managed with what was available, and with the help
of Mamma's brother, Uncle Bronce, they built what is now known as the
farmhouse. The outside walls are of red tile, about ten or twelve inches
thick. It wasn't lumber, but it sufficed. The outside of the walls are
of stucco, gray and with a rough pattern, but very attractive in that
day. The drywall used on the inside walls and ceiling were all painted
a cream color, probably it was all that was available, and with five
children it wouldn't show dirt so easily. The floors are oak, but were
not finished since that they had to skimp with what little money they
had. So, linoleum was laid in all the rooms but the bedrooms. The kitchen
cabinets are white with an inexpensive green top, held in place with
metal bands around the edges.
I didn't realize just what that new house meant to Mamma. It was lacking,
compared to some fancy new homes, and Mamma was not a person to brag.
But, being aware that a lot of people couldn't afford new homes, though
her cup of thankfulness was running over, she somehow managed to keep
the pride and joy of "her house" to herself. The realization
of that importance came to me many years later. Mamma was getting up
in years, but the farmhouse was still her "mansion." She and
I were walking out the road one day having one of our treasured mother/daughter
conversations, when suddenly she stopped walking, turning to look at
me with a serious expression on her face. "Juanita," she said
thoughtfully, "when I am gone, what will happen to 'my house'?"
It was only then that it dawned on me just how much that house meant
to her. She had worked hard all her life, often until her fingers bled
and there were no soles on the bottoms of the old work shoes she wore.
And the one thing God had blessed her with, other than her husband and
children, was the earthly mansion that was 'hers.' Without a doubt in
my heart that God would make it possible, without hesitating, I made
her a promise that day that I would see that her house was taken care
of. I put my arm around her bend old shoulders, letting her know that
her mansion would be well kept, even when she would be living in her
heavenly mansion that would far outshine the one she had here on earth.
I caught a glimpse of tears shining in her little blue eyes, as she
hugged me back and walked on, knowing God and I would be in charge of
her treasured earthly mansion when she was walking down those streets
of gold in front of her new mansion.
How often we fail to see what is in another person's heart. Earthly
possessions come and go, and they cannot be taken with us. But a treasure
on earth shines bright when one has spent a lifetime working for it.
And, suddenly one day, that blessing is bestowed upon us to enjoy until
God reaches down and takes us Home to better things - Heavenly mansions.
Mamma's enjoying that mansion today, but for the years she spent on
earth, God blessed her with a farmhouse she treasured, far more than
anyone knew, even me.
--
CROSSWORD
PUZZLES CAN CAUSE CROSS WORDS
By: Roy Owenby
Working crossword puzzles can be fun, entertaining and enlightening.
They can also be very frustrating if one takes them seriously. For the
most part, working crosswords is just digging synonyms out of one's
brain. I try to work them without a dictionary or a thesaurus so that
I force my brain cells to work. But when I can't dredge up a word in
a reasonable time, I do look it up. Often, I have the right word; I
just don't know what is means. Too, these crossword designers use a
lot of acronyms, half words and esoteric terms to bail themselves out
of a tough corner.
This morning, I sat down at my favorite reading place and starting working
on a puzzle called Super Crossword that I found in the Macon County
News. I don't always start at the top, but this morning, I did. The
first clue for the first word across was "sardine." The puzzle
word would be four letters. Should be an easy one, I thought. Fish sounded
good, but alas, it didn't fit. Erase, erase. Back to square one. I know
that a sardine is a type of herring, but that's too many letters. I
tried to think of other four letter fishes that might be in the herring
family, but I drew a blank. "Sole" would work, but that's
not a herring. They're flat, like a flounder. I looked at the "down"
words. The second one turned out to be Iraq so I knew that the second
letter of my sardine was "i." I wrestled around until I had
the fourth word down which turned out to be "desiring." Now,
I knew that my sardine was "blank, i, blank, d." Now, I'm
scratching my brain again.
The first word down, "one point east of southeast," turned
out to be an acronym which is SEBE; that is, southeast by east. Great,
now I'm a meteorologist. Well, duh. Now I have "si_d" for
sardine. Scratch, scratch, scratch, no luck. At least nothing that makes
sense. Three down, Library and Information Statistics Unit. Gotta be
the acronym, I thought. So I plugged in LISU. Another government acronym
coined by a bureaucrat wasting our tax dollars. So now, I have "sild"
for sardine. What in the world is that? I mused. Okay, so now, I whip
out the thesaurus and look it up. It isn't there. Annoyed, I start using
four letter words that doesn't mean sardine. So now, I'm off to the
shelves to drag out "big boy." That's my dictionary that would
wreck a train if I laid it on the tracks. One of the reasons I go to
the gym is so that I can lift "big boy."
It's too big to hold in my lap without discomfort, so I park it on the
coffee table. I start thumbing through, and voila, there it is on page
1780. Sild: A young herring other than a sprat that is processed as
a sardine in Norway. Golly, I think, what an important piece of information.
"Honey, I'm going to the store to get a couple cans of sild."
Or in the grocery store, "Excuse me, sir, I can't find the sild."
Yeah, right. Even so, I've learned something. On my next trip to Norway,
I can go hiking out in the tundra and take a couple cans of sild with
me. Now, I'm wondering if the average Norwegian knows what it means.
I spent three days in Oslo once, but I don't remember any discussions
about sardines. I did learn how to pronounce fjord.
Moving across, I come to the clue, "95.1 in Flint." What in
the world is that, I think. After mulling it over a bit, I decide it's
a radio station. Flint must be the city in Michigan. Sounds right, but
I wouldn't have a clue. Okay, the first letter down is "Paul's
band." I figure the radio station call letters will start with
a "W" so I plug that in. Thinking back, I remember that Paul
McCartney's band was Wings so I have a match. Since there's nothing
about the radio station that I can remember, I have to box it in by
getting the words around it. Just below, it calls for "enemy of
#2 down," four letters. That was Iraq but USA is three letters,
so I figure it must be Iran because it matches with the second letter
of Wings. The next one down is "You've Got Mail author, Ephram."
The only Ephram I can think of is Nora so I take a chance and write
it in.
To match the second letter, I go to the second word down, and it calls
for a "heavy bladed cleaving tool." This is a tough one for
anyone who isn't an old country boy (or girl), but since I am, I know
what it is. I just saw one at a store in Bryson City. It's a "froe."
I remember watching my great-uncle John Owenby make wooden shingles
with one. To get the last letter of my radio station, I have to plug
in "making possible" in the down column. It turns out to be
enabling. So now, I have WF_E. Now, to get the missing letter, the down
word is "commonly used with grill." I already have the last
two letters of this three letter word, and they are "ar."
I immediately think of "Joe's Bar and Grill," so I plug in
bar. It appears that my radio station is WFBE. I look up the complete
list of radio stations in Flint, Michigan. Voila. 95.1 is WFBE. Being
the idiot that I am, I have just spent thirty minutes determining the
call letters of a radio station that I can look up in less than five
minutes.
At this point, I'm ready to call the Macon County News and give them
a piece of my mind. Unfortunately, I don't have a piece left; I've used
it all on this stupid puzzle, and I'm not even half done. Moving on,
I come to a long one that goes all the way across the puzzle. The clue
is "Hollywood foreign press awards." Thinking back again,
I remember the days when Angie Dickinson made my heart zing. She was
nominated three times for the Golden Globe Award but never won. So I
plug that one in. And so on and so on. The rest of the puzzle is relatively
easy, and I finish in a quarter of the time I spent on the first two
squares.
Now, we know why crossword enthusiasts are weird people. They spend
too much of their time looking up esoteric terms that are totally useless
in everyday conversation. But I will never forget that a sild is a sardine.
I'm just dying to start a conversation with someone about Norway, so
I can use this newfound word. When I do, I will get this strange look
like I've lost my marbles. But as my dear, departed Aunt Elva used to
say about fishing, "Lordy mercy, ain't it fun?"
--
ACTIVITIES OF THE WEEK
It is Sunday at
12:12 p.m. We did not have church services at our church this morning
due to the snow and the cold weather we are having. It was around 12
degrees when LF got up. I got up a few minutes after she did so I guess
the temperature was about the same. We have been working around here
this morning. LF cooked breakfast and then she worked on her puzzle
some. I've been laying around as usual. She is in the kitchen cooking
some Irish potatoes for dinner. JG, LG, GT, and ST are coming for dinner
in a few minutes. ST is bringing tilapia and something else; we will
have plenty for lunch.
Monday LG came over to work on the Burningtown News. She got it ready
to send right around noon. JG and Barry Clinton came over here for a
minute or too but did not come in. They left and came back in a few
minutes. I heard Barry but did not get out there to talk with them.
They left again and I have not seen them since. LG went on back home.
It is very cold here today and the predictions are for real cold tomorrow
morning.
LF went to the grocery store on Monday then she came back. She went
up there to buy groceries and to see other people who had gone to the
grocery store on Monday morning. She saw Shirley Fouts. She is doing
much better and went to church yesterday. She saw Lucille McCall and
some more people but she did not say who all they were.
Roy and his lovely
wife Nita Owenby came up here. They came in and stayed for nearly an
hour and one half. Roy gave us one of Nita's new books, entitled "Rainbow
of Hope" and is shown in the picture below. Nita gave LF a doll.
She had made the clothes for the doll and had given her hair and other
stuff. It was a real nice doll. They came in to look at the newsroom
because they had never been in it. Nita kinda got a quarter from Roy
to give to the poor man. When they were leaving, Roy walked back to
the house and handed LF thirteen dimes, and eleven nickels. It was mighty
nice to have them visit us. Be sure you get a copy of Nita's new book.
Roy is writing on a new book also.
Wednesday, George Lynch came up here for a minute or two. He came in,
but did not sit down. He brought us a book, 'Misadventures in Ministry',
written by John Bunn. George stayed about 15-20 minutes then he went
on to feed his horses. It started snowing while George was here. It
was very good to see George and visit with him some.
GIFTS RECEIVED: RAINBOW OF HOPE, DOLL, MISADVENTURES IN MINISTRY.
We got about ¾
inch of snow. We did not have Church Services on Wednesday night.
LF went over to
LG's to play Scrabble on Thursday. Ruth, LF and LG played. LG made them
Lady Grey Tea with honey and Currant Raisin Tea Biscuits. However, Ruth
and LF declined to eat the Currant Raisin Tea Biscuits but they did
take them home for later to eat or dispose of as they see fit.
There hasn't been much happening since Wednesday since most everone
especially here on Lower Burningtown have been trying to stay warm and
out of the snow. ST made a snowman. He had a carrot nose and pinto bean
eyes and buttons. He got cold outside so she had to bring him in the
house and sit him by the fire. He got too hot and had to be taken back
outside.
They had snow crab legs one night for supper. I guess GT cooked them
up and according to ST they were delightful.
ST sent this picture
of the Cowee Mountain Range this morning as the sun came up. We are
blessed to live in such a beautiful place as western North Carolina.
We hope you have a wonderful and blessed New Year throughout 2016.
Remember the poor man and his sensitive little wife on Lower Burningtown.
MF, Editor
LF, Operations Editor
ST, Circulations Manager
RO, Feature Story Author
NWO, Feature Story Author
AM, Arts Illustration Editor
RP, Photographic Editor
JK, Assistant Photographic Editor
DB, Copier
JB, Assistant Photographic Editor
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