grace grits and gardening

ramblings from an arkansas farm girl

in the blink of an eye

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Life can change in the blink of an eye. In a heartbeat. We all know this but don’t expect it to happen. Not really. One minute things are customary and safe, the days filled with the familiar pattern of life, and suddenly nothing is ever the same again.

Tommy Van Zandt’s life changed on February 7, 2009. Trimming tree limbs on his property after a huge Northwest Arkansas ice storm, he fell from a ladder and suffered a severe neck injury which left him paralyzed from the shoulders down. In that one moment, his world was altered.

Tommy and my husband attended high school together in Ft. Smith, Arkansas. And college together at the University of Arkansas. Woo Pig Sooie! And we all three worked together in Dallas at the Bright Companies for several years until he moved back to Fayetteville to co-found a successful real estate company, Sage Partners.

He is an amazing spirit and still very much involved in the day-to-day activities of his company. But his daily struggles are significant, his journey difficult.

Tommy’s Nite Out III is scheduled for September 14, 2012 in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It will be a fun gathering of friends to raise awareness and support for Tommy and his family. His medical needs are great and insurance covers very little. Everyone should visit the site and participate in some way.
Even if all you can do is send a prayer for his recovery.
Tommy is one of us.
Grace Grits and Gardening
Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

“I thank my God every time I remember you.” Philippians 1:3

 

 

Driving Home

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I enjoyed the drive from the lake to my mother’s house, a drive I had not made in years. Since college, I leave the lake driving in the opposite direction to Texas.
Lake City
The trip is much, much faster now, the roads better and wider with turn lanes. Before, you could get stuck behind a rock hauler and spend half the drive going 30 mph, adding hours to the trip. Although portions of the drive were the same, some sections were unrecognizable. New highways dotted with Sonics and Exxons completely bypassed the Kreme Kastles of all the charming small towns. The cool bridge in Lake City has been totally rebuilt, with only a small section of the original structure remaining for historical purposes. My sister and I always held our breath driving over that bridge. Every bridge for that matter.

The memories flooded me. Things I haven’t seen or thought of in years.
I studied the trees, wondering which of the tallest ones watched us drive this route years ago. Years ago in Momma’s pale yellow Cadillac convertible loaded with kids and Samsonite suitcases and groceries and bright orange life jackets. One year the convertible top broke and we were forced to drive all the way home with the top down. Sunburned and windy it was miserable. And took forever.
Abruptly on the other side of Hardy, the hills disappear and miles and miles of farm land stretch from the road to the horizon on both sides. Rows and rows of cotton and soybeans. As a kid this was always a jolt to the heart, knowing the lake was far behind us.
This time the drive was different. I was happy to see farmland. The corn was tall and I was excited to see white and pink cotton blooms signaling cotton bolls tomorrow.
Another season. Another time. New memories.

talya
Musical Pairings:
Who Says You Can’t Go Home, Bon Jovi & Jennifer Nettles

Land of the Lost

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Taylor (my niece) and I were having severe internet withdrawal yesterday. She needed to download a book for her Kindle and I needed to blog. Temporarily living in the Land of the Lost, we are lucky to even get television reception.

We went to the Osceola Public Library for a quickie wi-fi adventure. The lady on duty checked my driver’s license and assigned us to study carrel 10. It was the only vacant one. She insisted we sit in the carrel, as if she was responsible for filling all the seats on the Tilt-a-Whirl before starting the ride.
Me: Can’t we just sit at one of the reading tables?
Library Lady: The internet doesn’t work there.  (Four yards away??)
Me: (Puzzled. Shouldn’t it work everywhere inside the library?)
Ignoring her direction, Taylor and I spread our things on the reading table, excited to soon connect with the outside world. Several networks popped up, all locked. Having spent time at this library before, I knew the drill although it does vary slightly with each visit.
Back to the front desk:
Me: Which network is the library? (Showing her my screen. There were several options.)
Library Lady: (Reading from a secret hidden paper beneath the counter.) It’s 877456566.
Me: (Puzzled. Again.) Isn’t that the password? First, I need to know which is the library network.
Library Lady: Well, they haven’t told me that yet. 
Me: So do you think one of these might be the library?
Library Lady: Probably the AT&T one. Yes AT&T. Maybe. (She was becoming flustered.)
It wasn’t the AT&T one. At least not with those secret numbers she gave me.
Me: That wasn’t the right network. (My head was beginning to spin.)
Library Lady: Look you really need to sit in carrel 10 for it to work. (Getting a bit snippity.)
Me: Why?
Library Lady: I don’t know. I’m just a part-timer.
Returning to the table with the secret numbers in my head, I tried every network including the dentist across the street. None of them worked. Just for grins, Taylor and I went to study carrel 10 to see if it was magical. Dangling inside was the hard wire to plug in for connection. The plug was larger than my MacBook Air. 
Avoiding the lady at the front who was beginning to look like a Sleestack, we left the library undetected. Driving slowly around town with my MacBook open in my lap, Taylor and I trolled for unsecure wi-fi. As Taylor occasionally announced, here’s one(!), I pulled over attempting to connect. I thought someone on Hale Street might have an unsecure network. No. We thought the Catholic Charities might be generous enough to share. Nope. Secure. The entire town of Osceola is amazingly secure. Or completely without.

Osceola Days Inn
Free Internet + Biscuits and Gravy!
Finally, the manager of the Days Inn generously allowed us to use the motel’s free wi-fi as we loitered in the lobby. It was very nice and clean and comfortable. Taylor downloaded her book and I published a blog about Chatty Cathy.
We returned to the Bat Cave feeling like we had just survived a rickety ride on a Tilt-a-Whirl. 
Taylor partaking in free wi-fi @ Days Inn

talya

Musical Pairings:

Land of the Lost Theme Song

If you’ve been in the Land of the Lost that much longer than we have, you ought to know by now that not everything here is logical. Will Marshall, Land of the Lost

Food. Farm. Garden. Life.

THANKS FOR READING!