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For lack of rain the grass dies. For lack of vision a nation dies. For lack of a free press truth dies. For lack of knowledge the people die. Those are all great truths that shape our lives and our country.

I’ll add one more to that, for lack of a comma a rumor starts! Tiny words can totally change a sentence. A misplaced modifier can wreck havoc on a sentence. One such missing comma occurred last week. That lack changed Bobbie Lusty from a sweet lady who is recovering nicely from gallbladder surgery, to one is recovering from cancer.

To all her family and friends, please accept my apologies and assurances that all is well with Bobbie. I’ve had several conversations with folks who would have liked to be included in the survivor list, but Bobbie was not one of those! By the way, the sweet lady that sat behind me at the ballgame was Babe Edwards.

A few more pictures were added to the First Baptist Church history wall. Clara Wash and several other ladies started the Ruth Bible Class in 1947. At the time, she was one of the younger members of the Dorcas Class. This class is still in existence today, although membership has changed greatly.

Billie Joy Standlee received a visit from Russ to get her picture taken. She was proud to point out that she has lived in her house for 59 years. She is somewhat housebound, but managing to get around with the assistance of her walker.

Both these ladies represent the issue that many of us have to face, as we get along in years. Our health deteriorates, and managing a household becomes more difficult. Then you have folks like Wayne Powell, who hops out of bed and heads for the tractor to turn in a full day’s hard labor. Whatever the condition, this generation of elders has seen a horrendous amount of change. Thank you ladies, for spending some of your time with us.

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I hope everyone found the time to visit the community center in support of the Stars and Stripes Committee. They are busy raising funds for our wonderful July 4th celebration. I saw Doug Gibson and former Mayor Jerry Benton with his wife Shirley up to their elbows in food. Kathy Brockman and Ember Terry were selling slices of delicious desserts to raise money for the cheerleaders. Ginger Skelton was helping ramrod the kitchen, as was Emily Mask, and several other people. I apologize, but I do not know their names.

Paul and Jewel Larrimer sat opposite me enjoying the good food. I must say, I was hoping they would serve fish again, but I guess you have to tempt other people with the food they like. Whatever the food, it was delicious, ample and for a great cause.

After another winning game, the Coyotes and their fans, headed back to the Baptist Church for a Fifth Quarter. I love this part of our community activities. There is always a lavish banquet spread out for everyone to eat. Louis Hyman is scurrying around making sure everything is good to go. Pansy Fikes and Beatrice Soto are organizing serving utensils, while several other ladies are making sure there are enough plates, spoons and napkins. It is a wonderful atmosphere. I must say I have never seen a cross person at one of these events! Carol Bryant brought some home made bread with garlic butter. Thurman is not allowed to come unless he brings his special cornbread. Gladys Powell is one great bean maker. I could name a dozen others who bless our athletes and family with mouth watering goodies.

The 5th Graders attended The Farm Safety Day in San Saba on Wednesday. This entire day is dedicated to teaching kids to be safe at all times. The only people I feared for were some of the parents. Kids have a precious knack of telling the truth just when you least want them to do so. Fortunately no names were mentioned, so those of you who don’t wear seat belts, forget to watch your child in the pool or shoot at raptors protected by law. You are safe for now! These events are reminders to me of what our lives say to our children. They don’t do well with the do as I say not as I do rule.

Please don’t stay home when it comes time to vote. Our countryis at a turning point and every vote is important. Our system of government only works with participation. I am concerned about all this voter fraud being perpetrated by the Acorn group. We can not become like so many other countries where the vote means little or nothing. Our vote shouldn’t be bought, stolen or not counted.

We the people, works only when we the people, stay involved. We know Washington is broken. It’s not just Bush, it’s all of them. They sit arguing amongst themselves, and voting for raises and retirements, when we’re fighting to keep food on the table. They’re busy cutting deals under the table while we wonder if we will have a table at which we can sit. Washington needs a good shakedown. I think we need to send the majority of them home and send in some new blood! Whichever way you vote, make it count. I’m not keen on any of them, except maybe Sarah Palin.

What I do watch carefully is the party platform. My college teacher told us not to vote the man; that was a wasted vote. He insisted we vote for the party platform that most suited our needs and beliefs. I can’t say that’s easy either; except of course, when I look at issues like abortion and marriage. I can’t believe we haven’t been able to put a stop to late term, or partial birth abortions. Were we to torture an animal in that fashion, we would be in jail. I support rights for same sex unions, but don’t believe those unions should be called marriages. That institution has been historically reserved for a union between a man and a woman. The parties have totally opposing stands on the right to keep and bear arms. The Brady Foundation has strong support from the Democratic Party. That means guns and ammunition would soon be difficult to obtain under their laws.

The final straw comes with party views on welfare. Like the early Pilgrims, I believe if you are working to support your family but just can’t make it, we should help out. I do not believe anyone has the right to stay at home and collect money earned by other people. So, please don’t stay home on Election Day.

Vote your party, vote the Bible, vote your conscience, but vote!

I hope you are keeping December the 4th open for the reader’s theatre to be given by the Preservation Society. This is going to be a must attend event. Becky keeps slipping little teasers to me to pass along. The play is already being practiced, and wait until you see the kids! Oops, I wasn’t supposed to mention the kids. Just make sure you keep that first Thursday open, and bring your cameras!

The Eastern Star will be having a bazaar in the next few weeks. I’ll put the date in when someone calls me. It will be held in the old Variety Store. I know they will have some good tasting stuff too, they always do!

Homecoming is just a few weeks away. Nominees were chosen last week and the search for the perfect dress is underway! The homecoming game will be against Veribest. Should you remember, please take the time to tell our band leader, Mr. Bishop, and the kids how wonderful they are sounding these days!

Halloween is this Friday. Please be especially careful when driving around at dusk and right after dark. So many of these costumes are dark and difficult to see! My kids think I’m crazy because I don’t want them to wear scary costumes to school. I just don’t fancy staring at goblins and demons all day long!

The Quilting Club is having a wonderful time making runners. Our Bible study, 15 Minutes of Prayer is touching many hearts. We had a new member last week; Barbara Renfro joined our group. She and her husband Barrett have a place out by Al & Billie Behrens. Barrett is a retired Methodist preacher.

They hope to make their place a haven for tired preachers and friends. Al is headed for cataract surgery on Monday.

I spoke with several people who pointed out to me that we have many more young people in the service than I had mentioned. Should you wish me to list your service hero, just give me a call or leave a message on my machine. We are proud of all of them!

Have a wonderful week. Please pray for our President, our government and our precious troops. May God bring them home victoriously safe! We need a little more rain too.