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A
2018 Thank You to Everyone
By Susan Olling
The end of one year and the beginning of a new are coming.
I can’t let that happen without saying thank you to----
-the Iowa State University Marching Band for the fifty dancing
dinos. Thank goodness for the Internet, or we would have
missed it. If you didn’t see this T-rex treat, do a search on
Iowa State t-rexes and watch the videos. You’re a Grinch if you
don’t at least smile.
-Nancy, a friend at Boyds Presbyterian Church, for sharing the
following story. The five kids in the confirmation class,, and
their mentors, started a coat drive to collect coats (and gloves and
hats) for a local elementary school where seventy-five per cent of the
children live in poverty. They’ve made two stops so far at the
school with nearly five hundred pieces of winter clothing for kids
living in one of the wealthiest counties in the country who really need
the help. BPC’s a great congregation that has a long presence in
up-county MoCo.
-the folks ringing at the red kettles. We didn’t see many as the
years went by up in our part of Maryland. The local Kroger and
WalMart have had these lovely folks for a few weeks now.
Leaving Kroger recently, there was a mom and two little girls at the
kettle. One of the little girls was happily ringing the
bell. How could anyone walk by without putting something in?
-the parents and teachers in the Appomattox County Schools. This
county’s not immune to the ills that we left, but you have a great
bunch of kids down here. It’s been quite a while since we’ve
heard adults called “sir” or “ma’am”. Even from younger kids. We
went to a high school plant sale a few months ago. We could have
carried two pots of mums to the car, but one of the teenage boys took
them for us. Had a nice chat. We have yet to hear the word
“like” as a filler.
-the snow plow crews in this part of Virginia and further east.
We weren’t sure when the roads in our development would be plowed after
the foot of snow that fell on Sunday, 09 December. We were surprised to
see that our road was plowed shoulder to shoulder by the next
morning. U.S. Route 460 eastbound all the way to Wakefield,
Virginia showed the same thorough plowing job. We didn’t see
roads, including interstates, plowed this well in Maryland. Ever.
-the almost 20,000 people who signed a petition from Mount Vernon to
urge a utility company to change the proposed location of a natural gas
transmission compressor station on the Maryland side of the Potomac
River that would have destroyed one of the most beautiful views in the
country. Between all those signatures and a diverse group of
organizations in addition to the Mount Vernon Ladies Association of the
Union (Garden Clubs of America, Preservation Virginia, Preservation
Maryland to name a few), the utility decided not to build the station.
-everyone who had any part in our adventure earlier this year.
There still aren’t enough words to express our appreciation and thanks
for your help, expertise, patience and humor.
-The Framery. The talented folks at this matting and framing
establishment in Lynchburg did an outstanding job with several pieces
of counted cross stitch embroidery art that had needed framing for some
time (think years). The results are stunning.
-the staff and volunteers at Patrick Henry’s Red Hill for
welcoming two Yankees to your numbers. We’re having a good time
down there. A separate thanks to the volunteers at Red Hill
for getting so many laughs from Mr. History’s “three words to
say: yes, no and dear”. There seem to be very few
gentlemen in the volunteer group, and the ladies (most of whom are over
70) have welcomed Mr. History and his humor.
-Mr. Editor of CNO for the break earlier this year. I truly had
no idea about what to write and probably would have been submitting
poorly written pieces.
-the Montgomery County, Maryland Master Gardeners. I was part of
this large (400+), busy group for just over a year. One of the
activities I was part of was the Fairgrounds Demonstration
Garden. The fifteen Master Gardeners who volunteer there are the
best. People attend the MoCo Fair just to visit the demo garden.
-the Appomattox County Master Gardeners for welcoming a Yankee to your
group. Fun activities and great camaraderie. The
activities go beyond plants to Fun with Foods (cooking for middle
schoolers), the 4-H Handbell Choir, the 4-H Afterschool Gardening Club
and Young Farmers Day (this was the first year for this activity and
was a huge success).
-the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) for providing
the Jamestown-Scotland Ferry. Driving to the Historic Triangle
(Williamsburg/Jamestown/Yorktown) became much more enjoyable with this
to anticipate. The ferry runs 365 days per year, regardless of the
weather. They have a Bobcat to clear snow off the deck. I
asked.
-anyone reading this or previous installments. Thank you
again.
It was an interesting 2018. Happy New Year!
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