Good evening, Readers.
I love it when we get to flip the calendar page
on a Friday blogging night.
I'm spending this beautiful night at the Lamp Post.
Friday night lights have a different glow tonight, Readers.
Eloise is couching it with Natalie,
taking in the game via my phone.
A two hour trip south to Butler
was more than we could do tonight.
We'll watch Truck, Sam,
and the rest of the JV Bang Bang Gang
tomorrow morning on our home field.
I was thinking about commendable things this week.
There have been plenty of them worth mentioning.
I also was thinking how close the words
commend
and
condemn
are in spelling,
but miles away from one each other in meaning.
com·mend
/kəˈmend/
verb
- 1.praise formally or officially."he was commended by the judge for his courageous actions"
- 2.present as suitable for approval or acceptance; recommend."I commend her to you without reservation"
con·demn
/kənˈdem/
verb
- 1.express complete disapproval of, typically in public; censure."fair-minded people declined to condemn her on mere suspicion"
- 2.sentence (someone) to a particular punishment, especially death."the rebels had been condemned to death"
It's amazing what the scramble of a few letters can do.
Nature is surely commendable.
There is such a difference in the colors
from the beginning of October until the end.
The glow of reds,
warm oranges,
glorious golds,
great greens and blues
and bright pinks and purples pop the landscape.
By October's end
the thistle will all have gone to seed
and the beauty of the bones of nature will emerge.
Speaking of bones,
these TOM's shoes are my new favorite.
I stayed away from them for far too long.
I was afraid of that weird toe fold thing.
The elflike puff is what keeps the pressure off of my toes.
This is my cute new fall design.
And, the canvas ones are machine washable.
See the little squirrel with his acorn?
My favorite acorns to find on my walks are the twins.
My favorite acorns to find on my walks are the twins.
Questies,
if you find acorn twins
bring them in to show Mrs. Eloise.
I found this unusual one today with a hole in it.
While I was out looking for acorns this week,
apparently I missed daughter day,
son day,
and coffee day.
This blog serves as forever son and daughter Fridays,
716 of them as of tonight,
to be exact.
So commend me,
not condemn me.
To make up for the java miss
I'll assign some weekend homework.
Assignment #1: Name the coordinate grid points
according to how you like your coffee.
Eloise is F6.
has condemned my dogs.
They found their hiding space under Grandpa's wheelbarrow
on the side of his garage.
Mr. Mortensen and I have enjoyed
watching the students get the new radios set up.
This Junior High student
gets high praise for getting his FCC Technician's license.
This high school student has been working hard.
Probably even on Son's Day and I didn't give him a lick of recognition
for these outstanding trees on his story map.
Momma isn't condemning his artwork.
It's a nice cross between folk art and late pre-school motifs.
This student athlete is ditching the shoulder pads
for a neck tie next weekend.
Son Sam is Homecoming dance bound,
and we had some shopping to do.
First pants and first shirt fit!
If you truly want to read about something commendable,
check out this Homecoming story out of rural Mississippi.
These are both of my forever queens!
Assignment #2: Read this.
It's a wow.
Kindness.
It's one of the world's greatest gifts, especially when that kindness comes out of nowhere.
This is a story that might just rip your heart out.
It's also a story that will warm your heart once you put it back in.
The sun had begun to set last Friday night in Brooklyn, Mississippi.
Twenty-six miles south of Hattiesburg on Highway 49.
Rural Mississippi.
They filed into the bleachers at Forrest County Agricultural High School.
The Aggies were ready for West Marion.
The air was thick and the sorrow was thicker.
Senior Brittany Walters joined her homecoming court in body, but her mind was lost.
Less than eight hours prior, her world was shattered.
But Brittany Walters was making good on a mother’s dying wish.
So kind, so trustworthy.
A.J. Walters was always there in her job as an administrative assistant at Forrest County Agriculture High School.
And when her cancer returned last spring?
A.J. was set on beating the beast, for her daughter Brittany was going into her senior year.
A.J. needed to be there.
Brittany needed her mama.
Nyla Covington is a friend of many.
The FCAHS senior is quiet, humble, giving.
Like Brittany, Nyla was on the homecoming court.
A court full of over-achieving students who were crossing their fingers.
It was last Friday morning, and A.J. Walters was on her way to Heaven.
But before she left, she summoned to power to whisper a last request into her husband's ear.
"Please, Sean... please walk Brittany onto the field at homecoming tonight... please."
A.J. Walters was gone.
It was 6:30 last Friday night, and a hush came over the crowd, as into the stadium walked Brittany Walters- she was escorted by her father Sean, who wore his favorite cowboy hat, a crisp white shirt, a red tie and a matching red rose.
A.J. always liked that cowboy hat.
Somehow Sean kept it together.
Somehow, Brittany did the same.
The fans stood in silence as the PA announcer read the list of those on the homecoming court.
It was time to announce the 2021 homecoming queen.
"And, the 2021 Forrest County Agriculture High School homecoming queen is..."
"Nyla Covington."
Smiles, hugs, applause.
And then....
Shock.
Nyla Covington smiled and cried and cried some more as she walked toward Brittany.
Brittany's father Sean looked confused.
Nyla’s father Derwin looked confused, too.
Nyla faced Brittany, looked her in the eyes and said:
"This belongs to you."
Nyla placed the tiara on Brittany's head and hugged her tight.
A bright light was cast in the midst of gloom.
A sliver of happiness surrounded Brittany on her darkest day.
It took a while for the fans in attendance to catch their breath.
Tears flowed among them and they didn't mind a bit.
For eight hours after A.J. was lost, kindness was found.
Brittany Walters was the homecoming queen.
"We are all so proud of Nyla", Forrest County Schools superintendent Donna Boone tells me.
"Nyla showed us all what kindness and love are all about."
"And we're so proud of Brittany, who we love very much."
It's going to take quite some time for Brittany's pain to subside- in fact, there's a good chance that it never will.
But as she tries to move forward, Brittany's heart will swell when she thinks of the beauty in the heart of senior classmate Nyla Covington.
A senior classmate who for a brief moment brought Brittany some comfort.
A senior classmate who reminded us all what a precious thing kindness can be.
Twenty-six miles south of Hattiesburg on Highway 49.
*Thanks to Kari Ryals, Kristi Easterling and Kelley Murry for the pictures.
Sorry,
I forgot to warn you to grab some Kleenex.
Eloise
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