I had to dig out the warm clothes for Friday night’s football game! I sure was glad I brought that blanket. Those metal benches get a tad cold when the wind is blowing! We played arch rivals, Eden, and our young men brought home the win. I’m one of those strange people that hate to see the opposing team go home scoreless. It just seems a shame that they’ve worked hard all week only to come up empty. There was a wonderful 5th Quarter at the First Baptist church. I saw some new faces that I had not seen before. It’s always nice to see neighbors and friends at these gatherings. We are going to miss, Arlene Stratton and her team of volunteers each 3rd Sunday. She has been coming to the quilting/ Bible study and you should see the beautiful quilt she has put together. They still try to be nice to me as far as my quilting ability is concerned. Fact of the matter is I’m not built for quilting. I have neither the time nor the patience. Never-the-less, I am going because I just love that bunch of ladies. Billie George says I’m coming along just fine. Kay thinks I do just fine, but she

is in the Ida Byrd Woods genre, always sweet and pleasant no matter what. Like I said; come on down, there are some great ladies studying about prayer, and quilting to their little hearts content.

My stepdaughter Tracy was down this weekend. She came and watched the downtown pep rally on Friday. I love that event because it brings life to the town. We may not have a bunch of kids, but we let everyone know we’re in town! She is a Coyote fan. Can you believe her cubicle at work is decorated with all kinds of Coyote memorabilia? She took home a tee-shirt and homecoming ribbon this time. It does her good to get out of the Houston rat race. Hal Lane Jr, 1950 graduate and Miss Pearl Cantrell were crowned Coming Home King and Queen. Miss Pearl gave the crowd a true royal wave. She is such a delight; I hope that I can have her zest for life at 101. Mind you I’m not sure I want to live to be that young. The half time festivities were splendid. Our band looked spiffy in their uniforms, and played

perfectly while four chilly, but beautiful young ladies walked out on the field. Mr. Fowler will give you full details in the Coyote Pride article. Congratulations to all participants.

The Christmas musical can still use you if you think you would like to join us on Wednesdays. Practice starts at 6:30 p.m. and finishes about 7:45 p.m. It really is sounding good, but more voices will only add to the richness of the sound. Come and join us if you have the time. This year is passing far too quickly. My son Scott and his family leave for Germany on January 3rd. I’m not going to the airport to see them off. I’m not that brave, and I don’t want them to see a crying lady on the tarmac. Plus they don’t let you in to say goodbye anymore. You have to leave them at the security gate. I think that part is really hard. You have all that time to wait, and you can’t wait with them. We have many ugly regulations thanks to the bombing of the Trade Towers.

I had such a good time with my pink hair, I think I’m going to

ask that crazy hair day be one of the homecoming dress up days next year. I can’t get into the twin day much, and the super hero was tricky, but I could swing the hair trick! Kathy Brockman did a marvelous job on camo day! She

even went to the trouble of putting camouflage makeup on her face! All in all it was a great homecoming week. I hope we have many more.

Some of the staff has put together a flyer in their spare time. It will be posted around town and at the post office. We hope it is an explanation of the ballot to be presented in November. We are obviously hoping everyone will vote “FOR” the tax remaining the rate that we have had the last two years. If you vote “AGAINST” then the tax will go back to the 2007 tax rate, thereby decreasing the school’s revenue. I don’t think the staff and school can cut back much more. Mr. Winn is watching every penny. Teachers are paying for things out of their pocket. Not that that is very unusual. Every year teachers spend hundreds of dollars making sure their kids have little things. Every last one of us is glad to do it. There’s only so much you can do if the money is not there. So please consider carefully as you prepare to vote. Cherokee passed their vote, but San Saba did not. I’m not sure what that will do to their budget. I know what losing out on this ballot will do to our budget.

We have many sick around town. George Hill is asking for prayer for his mom. She has just been diagnosed with lung cancer. As you know, his dad recently passed away. There are several families dealing with the loss of loved ones. It’s been great to see Elisa Draper back in church lately. She still needs our prayers as she struggles to get strong enough to undergo surgery. George Martinez went for surgery on Monday. He and his wife Angela recently moved here from Florida. The list is long but our God is strong. He is able to take care of all our needs.

Please pray for our government leaders, our President and our super wonderful troops. Should you be given an opportunity, please help a soldier’s family deal with the absence of their loved one.

Don’t forget the Elm Grove Singing on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. Have a great week everyone.