I dragged myself out of bed on Saturday to attend the benefit for Jerry Benton. What a magnificent show of community love and generosity!

Jerry and Shirley have left a little of themselves in many of our houses, including mine. I’d like to think that we gave them back a little love and encouragement this Saturday. I understand over $8000 was raised at the auction; that’s without counting the meal donation money. They will every penny of that money to fight this battle. I was teased a little about my chili pancake questions in the paper, but I stood firm on putting any chili on my pancakes.

Mind you, w here I come from we put strange things over fries. One dish both my boys love is called Poutine. You take white cheese and brown gravy and put them over your fries. You can also add chili to your fries. I guess that can’t be much different. At any rate, it was a wonderful outpouring of community love and support. We will continue to pray for Jerry’s healing and safety as they travel back and forth to doctors.

I have to take a moment to apologize to the lady to whom I told to stop acting stupid and go home. Although the statement was true, I did not help the situation in any way. So whoever you are from Rochelle; I’m sorry. I was rude and that is not very Christ-like behavior. I would request that you not use those words in a school again. I don’t like them and

students should not be subjected to such bar room talk. I heard several Rochelle fans apologized for your behavior. The bottom line is everyone is

trying to do their best when they referee these games. There is no point in being down and dirty ugly. I expect I’ll hear more about this.

There is to be a benefit for Mary Cummings on the 31st. I believe there are flyers around town and in San Saba. I haven’t seen any of the flyers so all I can tell you is that it will be either around the Tabernacle or in the Community Center. An account has been set up at G & R Grocers for food donations for the event. G & R is always so gracious when it comes to community events. This benefit is to help Mrs. Cummings cover her medical expenses as she struggles with chemo treatments. Our prayers go out to her and her family during this very trying time.

Please keep Junior Evans in your prayers, he and Bonnie are headed up to Dallas in early February for a few tests. We sure need him in church on Sunday!

This will be a short column; I think I’m going to take my sinuses back to bed! Our school sicknesses have been cut dramatically this year. Vicky and her crew do a great job of sanitizing our rooms several times a week. We have many students out, but not nearly as many as past years.

I am loving this winter. A few days of cold, followed by several days of hot, makes for a great winter! Unfortunately, it also makes for snotty noses. When you couple that with high winds filling the air with dust, it makes just enough mess to annoy both nostrils. We all know what happens next! Russ said the aisle for sinus stuff was packed with people. Everyone was reading labels carefully, trying to figure out which one of the many drugs available would best heal their symptoms. He brought me back several, but I still sound like a particularly loud seal. The leaky nose is definitely the most bothersome. I can see why they say drink plenty of fluids. You are dehydrating yourself every time you blow your nose! I guess I’ll go back to my old standby home cures and see if I can’t shake this thing in the next few days! To all the rest of you with the crud; hope you get better soon.

One of the shortfalls of a small school is that seasons overlap. For example, we are seriously starting tennis practice, but most of the kids are still in basketball. Coaches work with one another, but it gets tricky at times. Then you have to throw in UIL and One Act play to confuse the pot. It is also one of the plusses of a small school. Students can take part in so many activities. All my grandkids attend larger school systems, where only the best of the best get to compete. There is no chance for an average student to get better, because they never get to play. We may have some weak points, but as Barry Fikes pointed out “this is a good place to rear kids.” Where else can you see the kind of spirit that fills a fire house with friends, family and neighbors sharing out of their pot to fill yours?”

I hope everyone has a great week. My week was better because Velita played the organ with Kay today. Velita Smith Powell just makes my day!

Please pray for our new President, our government, and our precious troops away from home. We have several families with loved ones overseas; the Nietos, the Sligers, the Gardiners, the Gibsons, the Bates, the Cohns, the Smiths, the Muncys, and Dale McNett Jr. Please keep them in your prayers. Everyone in the world wants to immigrate here for a good reason.

This is a wonderful country, we are a Christian country but we let every other religion meet in peace. Stand up for your country; it is the best! God bless you all.