Christiansen's Comments...Hinds County Gazette Thursday June 9 2011

Facebook?

I bet there are some of you who do not know anything about Facebook. I shall attempt to explain to you what little I know. Facebook is what ‘s called a “social network“…you do it on the computer, by connecting to the Internet and signing up, you able to keep up with all your “friends” without stepping outside your door or getting in the car,and driving over to a friend's house to hang out on the porch… You don’t even have to make a phone call…not anymore…just turn on your computer and you can read all about what is happening in the lives of your “friends“.




Well in fact, You don’t even have to get on a computer , if you have a smart phone….with a smart phone you never have to be out of touch with your friends, where ever you are or they are in this world, all you have to do is … touch an icon on the phone and instantly you can read all about your friends, where they are, what they are eating, and what their dog is doing…..complete with pictures!

       I was posting pictures of .....



My new Grand dog Scout...!!!!

  Animals are very popular facebook topic….yesterday Erin Noble Patrick had a picture of a baby rabbit that was found in her neighborhood. Shea Cannada had a picture of Micah cutting their dog Bojangles toe nails.…My friend Janice had a wonderful picture of her grand dog sound asleep hugging a stuffed Barney. .

Unnamed Rabbit



Bojangles




Sable and Barney

 Of course deer season it is all about the deer...but right now is mostly dogs and cats.

Food is another popular topic, Mary Kathryn is always posting pictures of yummy nibbles.

I have been a facebookie for awhile, but not very active…I found it was taking up too much of my time…running back and forth to my computer… and I didn’t have many friends….sort of embarrassing. You see, after the quick sign up procedure, you go on the hunt for “friends”….I asked everybody I knew to be my friend. I had less then 30....BUT of those 30, I am guessing, if I was to go live with Jesus, they all would be at my funeral...That is if I didn't die during a hunting season...or an important sports playoff.

All of my face book friends had great multitudes of "friends". Up in the high 100s some nearly 1000 ….So I begin to wonder how do they know so many people? I asked a friend, “how do you know all those “friends”?

“people ask me to be their friend.” Nobody was asking me.



But I recently bought an Iphone…I now know how folks get so many people to be their "friend"…they steal them from their "friends"…I guess I didn’t pay any attention until I got the IPhone, but you can click on your friend’s “friends” and ask them to be your ‘friend“. On one of my friends pages I came across the name Beth Harris Guider, I said out loud ,“I know her! Beth is Alison‘s mother!" Alison Guider was the star student at Hillcrest Christian School this year! my friend Lindsey Noble was the star teacher this year at Hill crest.! And Of course I know Beth’s mother Lois Harris…I knew Lois before I met her…. from reading Ms Worrell‘s Learned news… I made one touch to my IPhone screen and ask Beth to be my friend…Then I ran up on Mac McNair’s name on a friends list…I clicked on him…Never mind I hadn‘t seen Mac in 20 years…..then Joe Liddell’s name popped up on some ones list, “I know him”!!!” I have met him a couple of times at Suzanne and Dave Harpole’s house! click…. Lo and behold, all three of them let me be their friend….



Daughter Angela came, I ask her if she had any “friends” that might let me their friend …”Ask Bruce, he will be your friend.” so I did…. he is…so now I have a “friend“, that as far as I know, I have never laid eyes on…But I’m thinking I am going to like him….Saturday Bruce was out shopping with his dog Abby, there were pictures ….they were at The Bass Pro shop.

Abby

I was so encouraged I began clicking in earnest and asking folks to be my friend I now have over 100 friends.



In a very short time Facebook has redefined the term “friend“. Is it a good thing? I don’t know

 I doubt many of my newly acquired facebook friends will be at my funeral....probably will not even be aware of my passing unless they see it on facebook.…

But wouldn’t it be nice if every one in the world could be friends?
And That’s all I know about facebook…. Got to go now and water the ferns….

Call if you need me....

Life, is what happens to.......

Community Revival in the town square...

Marianna and Jamie.....

“Life, is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans.” John Lennon,

We in small town America know exactly what John Lennon meant. Here in Edwards, in less then a two week period, we have had three deaths, three funerals, a wedding, two births, a Friendship club meeting, and a community revival in the town square. . And a good number of the citizens of Edwards were in some way or another were effected by all.

The morning of Sunday May 10, Jimmie Lee Fowler and Sonny Montgomery, life long friends and neighbors died within an hour of each other, both funerals were held on Tuesday, Sonny’s in the morning, Jimmie Lee’s in the afternoon. I saw many of Jimmie Lee’s family members that morning at Sonny’s visitation…they had stopped to pay there respects on their way to Jackson to the services for Jimmie Lee.

That afternoon at the graveside service, Montgomerys were there, respectfully honoring Ms. Jimmie Lee’s passing. My friend, Betty Kemp, over on Long wood Drive, last month she diagnosed with acute leukemia, even though dieing herself, mourned the passing of Sonny and Jimmie Lee. Everyday Betty asked about Jimmie Lee and Sonny.

On with the Plans that had been made.

Saturday, May 16 there was a wedding here at the Presbyterian church Marianna Harpole married Jamie Hilbun. Betty’s grandson Andrew Noble was in the wedding, he was there standing with his friends Marianna and Jamie on the biggest day of their lives. Andrew and Marianna grew up together…much of the time on the same block on Jackson street. Andrew went from the wedding reception to his grandmothers bedside…Where Betty was anxious to hear all about the wedding.

Tuesday Kay Turner entertained the Edwards Fellowship Club out to her house, it was a refreshing time, the was sun shining, the birds singing and flowers blooming. Wednesday in the square there was a community revival. Several pastors of Edwards churches, black and white, participated in the revival. I went away filled with hope for the future of Edwards.

Early Thursday morning, surrounded by a loving family, my friend Betty Kemp passed, Betty was able to stay home through out her illness, with help from Hospice her family was able to care for her in final days and hours.

Betty’s memorial service was Saturday, at same Presbyterian church, where just the week before the wedding had been held. In fact for the memorial service, the father of the bride, Dave Harpole with Betty’s son-in-law, Ronnie Noble sang “Victory in Jesus” .

After the service, the ladies of the church served the Kemp family a meal, at the home of Suzanne and Dave Harpole…Where Just a week and a day ago, had been the location of a crawfish boil…the rehearsal dinner before the wedding.

Love to all and call if you need me…

Oh, the two births, Jennifer Stuart, Sonny Montgomery’s daughter, became a grandmother the day Sonny died. Thursday, the day Betty died, Kay and Lewis Montgomery became grandparents again…Victors wife gave birth to a healthy baby girl in Memphis. Life does go on……….

It is also said, that in a small town, “Everybody gets in everybody else’s business“….I feel it my great honor and privilege to live where that is true.

Gloria Christiansen,Hinds county Gazette April 23 2009

Rip Noble, preaching at the special services
held at the Edwards Presbyterian church recently.


I didn't even ask her name.

I am writing this early Sunday morning…Because of the very busy week ahead… Rip Noble is preaching for special services at the Presbyterian church today, tonight, Monday and Tuesday evenings, the Edwards Fellowship Club is coming here for dessert Tuesday afternoon, Wednesday I am going to Raymond to get Susan to cut my dog Charlie’s hair, and Annie to polish my toes nails. Then Saturday there is a wedding shower for Marianna Harpole out at Peggy Ann‘s. And in the middle of all these goings-on ….….The L C has Yankees coming ….to visit…He is delighted. They are coming from Pennsylvania…they were part of his church family up there.

So, any spare time, I have this week, will be devoted to practicing my best southern manners and of course working on my southern accent, because Yankee love the way we talk down here in the deep south. If I do say so myself, I have perfected my accent to a level high enough that I can fool most Yankees…..but not to the degree I can deceive you all.

In my efforts readying this house for Tuesday, I cleaned off my desk and under a pile of papers, I found the journal from my recent buss ride. March must be the time for the traveling carnivals to crank back up…one lady was traveling from Indiana to Port Arthur Texas, to join back up with the carnival she has worked for seven years. Coming out of Florida there was a carnival worker, young lady, who was on her way to Tupelo Mississippi, to visit her family.

I am thinking, that buss travelers quite possibly have more tattoos and body piercing then the average person traveling by most any other means. My favorite was a woman, she was densely tattooed on all parts of her body that were visible, she was small built and very thin, in fact she was scrawny, she had several teeth missing. I am guessing she was my age,…..There was something about her that draw me, maybe it was her smile…..it was sincere and genuine. She was a chain smoker so when she got off the buss she went with the smokers, a younger crowd, I watched as she interacted with them…..she was motherly toward them….she seemed have a honest affection for them and them for her.

It was in Tallahassee, outside the terminal where the smokers had been banished to….That I got up the nerve to chat with her a bit…found out she was going to FT. Myers too…it was her birthday she was going home to see her family, her mother and aunt would be meeting her at the station…I asked permission to take her picture…I did not take many picture of the people traveling on the buss….It was not my world, it was theirs.

I took her picture, they called our buss…as we were walking back across the terminal together, she saw a young man standing near a bank of pay phones…she excused herself, “I have got to go check on my buddy.” She explained, that Tallahassee was his destination…and he could not find anybody to come pick him up. She was worried about him, I went on by myself and took my seat.

I only talked to the tattooed lady that one time…we did however exchange smiles each time the bus stopped. I have thought about her a lot, and wondered about me…questioned if I had met her in my world, would I have given her a second thought? Would I have judged her based solely on her appearance? And missed her sweet compassionate heart? Her caring nature?
I have come to believe, If I had not met the lady with the many tattoos, even though the encounter was a brief one…it would have been my great loss…..

I better get going…I think Dave Harpole is singing Beulah Land at the special services this morning…I don’t want to miss that!

Love to all , call if you need me.
This is the web page for the church Rip Noble is pastoring You've Found Hope!

GloriaChristiansen@gmail.com