Christiansen's Comments Hinds county Gazette 3/11/2010

HCG March 11 2010


Here in mid Mississippi, we at long last have had some delightful sunny days, I have been able to get out and get some yard chores taken care of, such as picking up sticks, trimming shrubs…Nothing any body would notice except me…..well, you might notice the poison ivy on my arms.



Friday I was riding up Old Highway 80, I saw tractors in the fields, plowing the ground, preparing the soil, for planting. After all of the rain and snow, it is finally dry enough the farmers can get in the fields. The air was bursting with the smell of rich, fresh plowed, ground….I love the scent of fresh plowed earth …smells so good I am sometimes tempted to taste it. I have heard of folks eating dirt….I can see why, the aroma is almost irresistible

Recently, Peggy Ann, Isla and I, went to Terry to see the actress, Jo Ann Robinson, in her one woman play, Eudora Welty’s “Why I live at the PO” You may recall last time the three of us struck out to Terry to attend the Friends Of Terry, dinner theater, at the depot, we got lost….with a GPS in the car. So, this time, we were accompanied by Peggy’s husband Keith …. Keith drove us…and we stayed on course the whole entire journey to Terry and we did not get lost….On the way home however, it was dark and were not always on the road we intended to be on…but we were never lost.



We had a grand time, the food was wonderful, the play was fun and I enjoyed Jo Ann Robinson…but Miss Welty was still the star of the show…Miss Welty has a knack, more then a knack really, more even then a talent, she had a God given gift, to show us, the uniqueness in ordinary people and everyday events.

We all know people very similar to those Miss Welty brings to life in her stories. That is why Eudora Welty has stood the test of time.



Our families, friends, and acquaintances, be may eccentric headed toward full blown crazy, and they may sometimes embarrass us with their antics….but they are characters in our life story…and we in theirs. It seems impossible but, there may even be times our family, friends and acquaintances are not be real proud of us and our behavior. People even the irritating ones are the jewels…sometimes rocks…..in our existence…..to be, if not treasured, at least recognized as a natural part of our life story….and life would not be nearly so interesting or as much fun with out them.



Could it be if we looked at others, as actors, characters in our life story, people to be enjoyed, to learn from, or at the very least, try to find ways to tolerate them…as individuals, …. would we be, happier, more contented with our own life?



I have noticed, when I get out done with folks…they don’t care that I am out done….I am in a stew and they are going on with their happy little lives. Have you found that to be true too?



I got to go…I am making cupcakes for the Women in the Church meeting/Bible Study, we are having Wednesday evening…It is beginning to feel like Spring, so I am planning to decorated the little cakes with flowers. Posies fashioned from gumdrops. If they turn out…They may just become my new favorite dessert…and I shall carry them to all the Spring events…cemetery day, old People club…Have them for Easter.

I have been reprimanded many times for calling, the Edwards Fellowship Club, “Old People Club” But for me it is a term of endearment…I often referred to mother as “My old Person”.

Call if you need me

I have been to the Doctor, I have been poked, I have been scanned and I have been declared cancer free! Thanks for all the prayers over the years. I love you all, God bless you.

Gloria ChristiansenChristiansen's Comments, Hinds County Gazette

Isla and Peggy


Friends of Terry dinner theater


Christiansen's Comments
Hinds County Gazette
October 1, 2009


I do not watch the news or listen to talk radio…there is nothing wrong with doing ether…I used to be a news junkie…And John always listened to Mississippi talk radio on his way to and from work, he would come home all riled up. One time he stayed in a stew for weeks over the state of the public schools in Mississippi,,,… and how much money was being wasted, seems some of the superintendents in some of the districts were being paid enormous amounts of money…and not much to show for it .....education wise.

Of course all of that has been rectified by now…Soon as those folks in charge became aware there might be reason for concern…they flew in to action and resolved the problem…Right? ..because that was years ago….They have… haven’t they? Of course they have…they promised to do so when we elected them.

I forget now where I was going with that…..So let me tell you about, Peggy Ann, Isla and I driving over to Terry Mississippi, last Saturday evening for The Friends of Terry, Dinner Theater at the depot. During the ride down Midway Road…we were lost conversation…about clouds, sunshine…we hadn‘t seen the sun in days and reminiscing about Porter Herb Farm that was once in the area.

On after while, we found ourselves, not exactly lost, but a bit discombobulated…Until Peggy remembered she had a GPS on board…we were not satisfied with what it was telling us , about that time… we, spotted a man, up the road, mowing his grass….after a bit of contemplating, whether or not we should interrupt his work…you know how temperamental lawn mowers can be …sometimes after being shut down they refuse to crank back up….but after just a few words of deliberation…we decided he looked perfectly capable of fixing the machine if it needed it….so we asked him for directions, he set us right and off to Terry we went…..we did not look back….

The dinner theater was so much fun! The food was delicious, it was roasted pork loin, some of the best green beans I ever ate….real bacon don’t you know. ….a roll that tasted homemade and strawberry shortcake for dessert…Oh! yeah and rice… flawlessly seasoned.. The food was cooked, and served by the members of The Friends of Terry, some of the ladies and gentlemen after serving and clearing plates, pouring tea and coffee, pulled off their aprons and stepped in to costumes and took part in the play.

The Play, Lilly, The Felon’s Daughter, is one of those villain plays, where the audience gets to participate by hissing, booing and throwing peanuts. I do not believe, I am revealing anything to you, that the cast was not already aware of, when I say….…“Hollywood need not send talent scouts to Terry Mississippi“…On the other hand Foodnetwork would not be wasting their time by coming down for a look.

But, It was grand fun and oh! sooooo entertaining, the cast was having so much fun…they infected the audience with their enthusiasm. Sitting in the back of the depot watching all the silly carrying on, taking place on that makeshift stag…I could have been in Mayberry, with Andy, Opie, Barney Aunt Bea and all the rest of the town.

The likes of which that happened in Terry Mississippi last weekend, and what will be happening in Raymond this weekend, with their Pilgrimage…That is the real America.

The members of Friends of Terry, and the rag tag cast…every one a volunteer were not looking for fame or fortune…They come together for a cause. The profits generated by the dinner theaters are used for the restoration and up keep of the depot, a train engine, a box car and a soon to be on sight caboose.
　
Trough their generous gifts of time and labor have achieved something far greater…then fame or fortune.

"To affect the quality of the day – that is the highest of arts." Henry David Thoreau.
Thank you, all of you, for affecting the quality of my day.

Love to all and call if you need me
　
　
GloriaChristiansen@gmail.com