Nicole Daughhetee

Life As I Know It

By Nicole Daughhetee

I find myself saying “in the last year” a lot – like my entire life has been relegated to the past twelve months – yet I cannot shake from my mind the thoughts that this last year has been one of such profound and tremendous growth in my life that I cannot imagine another year in my future that would parallel.

Who else, in her right mind, is up at 4am on a Saturday morning writing? This her; that’s who! Again, it is one of those things that has occurred in the last year. Insomnia. Thoughts racing through my head at the speed of light – initially they were filled with heartache and anxiety.

Olivia Fowler

On The Way

By Olivia Fowler

By Lieutenant Colonel

 John McCrae, MD,

(1872-1918) Canadian Army

In Flanders Fields the poppies blow

 Between the crosses row on row,

 That mark our place; and in the sky

 The larks, still bravely singing, fly

 Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead.

Short days ago  

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

 Loved and were loved, and now we lie

 In Flanders fields.

Olivia Fowler

On The Way

By Olivia Fowler

I was surprised to learn that although the Roman Empire rose and fell, standard measurements they put into place 2,000 years ago may have determined the size of the rocket boosters used in the American space program.

My good neighbor, Brian Dismukes, told me about this when he was curing my computer of yet another nasty virus that had wormed its way into the system.

Please bear in mind that the following information was gleaned from various Internet sources, and of course we know everything on the Internet is true.

The standard gauge for the width of American railroad tracks is 56.5 inches. Why is this?

Nicole Daughhetee

Life As I Know It

by Nicole Daughhetee

One year ago I would have never imagined the following words pouring forth from my heart or my mind. As with everything else in my life, I write about those things that I feel passionate and, quite frankly, God was not one of those things.

I’ve experienced some profound changes in my life this last year. My husband and I separated, and though I know it has been for the best, the reality of it was not any less painful for me or my daughters. I’ve had my heart broken in more ways than I ever imagined. Every month I struggle to pay my bills and provide for the most important people in my life in the ways I was once able. In a matter of weeks I will lose my health insurance and have yet to find a way to provide the necessary benefits I so desperately need.

Olivia Fowler

On The Way

By Olivia Fowler

There wasn’t a television in my grandmama’s house. So back in the olden days when we were children, we weren’t exposed to Captain Kangaroo. Instead, after supper and before bedtime we’d all join Grandmama in the sitting room.

In winter we’d gather around the big kerosene heater on the old fireplace hearth and sit entranced listening to the radio.

She had a big old upright Emerson. I thought it was a magic box.

Nicole Daughhetee

Life As I Know It

By Nicole Daughhetee

I’m not sure if I’ve ever told you much about my maternal grandparents. Growing up, they were a big part of my life, and I spent a great deal of time with them — especially after they relocated from Colorado to Bartow, Fla.

If they were still alive, they would be celebrating their 76th wedding anniversary today, May 15. I like to imagine them together in Heaven, loving one another more with each passing day of eternity.

Ben Robinson

All About Ben

By Ben Robinson

When you’re trying to turn things around, it’s easy to get discouraged.

A couple of weeks ago, I went to a small town in Georgia for a job interview.

The town is small and closed off by mountains that surround it. It’s a nice place, a little small for a weekly newspaper, but from what I was told, most people there subscribe to the newspaper there. Their only competition is the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, but apparently the AJC no longer sends papers that far. Some guy in town apparently goes to Atlanta a few times a week, buys some papers, and then sells them for quite a profit.

Olivia Fowler

On The Way

by Olivia Fowler

I’d like to know what our yard would look like if everything ever planted out there had survived. The yard would look like a botanical garden.

I can’t tell you how much money has been spent on roses, ornamental trees, foxglove, hollyhocks, gardenia bushes, lavender, hostas and other things that grow.

A lot of things lovingly put into the ground to beautify our surroundings had one brief season of glory before being massacred.

There are a number of ways to kill a plant.

A weeping cherry tree was ordered and planted near the back door. It wasn’t large when it arrived, but was beautifully shaped and lived almost long enough to bloom. And would probably be alive and well today if someone hadn’t staked the horse in the yard to graze a little too close to the tree. The horse managed to loop the rope around the tree’s slender trunk and snap it off below the graft. And that was that.

The Blue Angel rose planted near the Leland Cyprus lost its life to an overzealous person wielding a weed eater. It was trimmed level with the ground. We did get to see it bloom once.

Three pink azaleas planted near our camelia bushes met a similar fate when grass cutting was delayed one weekend until late in the afternoon. The lawnmower did have headlights, and that was good, but if the driver of the mower tries to cut most of the yard after dark while in high gear it isn’t surprising for various and sundry flowers to meet a grisly end.

And humans weren’t alone in wreaking destruction. We once had beautiful healthy hostas planted on each side of the front steps. Beautiful, that is, until our cocker spaniel went berserk in the border trying to catch one of the cats.

The hostas were literally shredded. I dug them up and relocated them to a safer place, but they never did well after that.

Finally, they quit coming up. I guess it was just too difficult to try to stay alive in such a hostile environment.

Not every plant loss can be blamed on human or animal interference. Some things just have an aversion to blooming where they’re planted.

Over the years I’ve learned that some things just don’t like the dirt, location, the temperature, the light exposure or the amount of water made available.

Some plants have traveled the yard looking for a place they can be comfortable in.

We had one climbing rose that we moved four times before finding a location that it felt happy with.

But we’ve learned a lot and certainly know more than we used to. It’s important not to quit when growing discouraged.

Plants have a lot to teach us if we don’t give up on them. Every morning when I go outside and see a new green shoot poking up or a new bud forming I feel the thrill of victory. When things go right in the garden, it is a happy day.

Nicole Daughhetee

Life As I Know It

By Nicole Daughhetee

Self-righteous I am not. Humble, modest, loving, and extremely sensitive I am. I am also the first person to tell anyone that I have made more mistakes than I can count and as I learn and grow I foresee many more blunders on the horizon.

I have developed a code of sorts that I live by, and it is simple: I do my darndest to treat other people the way I would want to be treated; I do the right thing even when no one else is watching to hold me accountable; knowing that I am flawed, I strive to be non-judgmental of others.

Olivia Fowler

On The Way

By Olivia Fowler

I nearly ran down a turkey gobbler on my way to church. He was pretty big and was crossing Roanoke Church Road when I came around the bend. I barely missed him. I haven’t seen a live turkey up that close in a long time. Not since the days of Mr. Jones, Grandmama’s prize turkey who strutted around her yard and terrorized all the grandchildren.

Mr. Jones was more vicious and aggressive than a pit bull and would attack any child under four feet tall. We wouldn’t venture out if we spotted him outside. Unfortunately, there were times when he was in the area and we couldn’t see him from the front porch.