One In, One Out

First off, many thanks to everyone who sent well-wishes to Steve and me for our 40^th wedding anniversary last weekend. We headed up to Harris Ranch off the I-5 Freeway for dinner. I’ve seen it over the years and wanted to visit. We ended up staying the night and the food was delicious. No vegetarian here, folks. Because the drive was so long (about three hours) we stayed the night and had a terrific breakfast. Our server was a gal named Nicolene and she was just great.

We may end up heading up north again for a delicious dinner.

So our son Andy is heading to North Carolina on Friday to start a business – a concession-type stand near a friend’s four soccer fields. Being a chef, food is his business and he thinks this will be a way to gently enter the market. That’s where his focus will be on the weekends; during the week he’ll be working as a chef at the Eseeola Lodge in Linville. He worked there years ago and they loved him and he loved them. It’s a beautiful, high-end resort in the Blue Ridge Mountains. He’s excited to be heading back; they’re open only from mid-May until mid-October due to weather so he’ll be able to cook, bank some money and see some friends. His enthusiasm is exciting to see and I know he’s going to do well.

As the front door slams on his departure on Friday, it opens for the visit from his brother on Saturday!

Danny, our airman who lives in Georgia with his wife Tricia, will be working in Las Vegas for a week and plans on driving out with a couple of friends to visit this Saturday and Sunday. As luck would have it, Andy plans on driving to Las Vegas on Friday and will be able to visit with Danny before continuing on to North Carolina.

I haven’t seen Danny since Christmas and am so looking forward to giving that boy a hug.

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One of the privileges I have as publisher and owner of the newspaper is to talk to local civic groups regarding my journey. This week I spoke, via Zoom, with Chapter FF, P.E.O. I probably overstayed my welcome but the ladies were forgiving and seemed to be really interested in how and why I started the paper back in 2009.

Reflecting on the beginnings of the paper reminds me how fortunate I am to have the dedication of the people who work so hard with me to make sure that each week’s edition is excellent: writers Mary O’Keefe and Charly Shelton stand out as do office manager Rachelle Miller and, ensuring it all makes sense, is our proofreader Anne McNeill. In addition are delivery people, more writers and photographers; and of course we couldn’t do this without our readers and advertisers who show their support through their wallets by investing in what was once just a dream of mine.

I am so appreciative.