Peeping through my Venetian blind, I saw Miss Flora Covington, coming up my walk with a basket of cut zinnias for my afternoon tea with her sisters, Miss Cora and Miss Dora, Miss Priscilla Primme, Miss Purdie Birdie and Mrs. Gotrocks of Greenville.

Miss Primme and I were out driving this week and saw a pasture, filled with yellow bitterweed. I know that bitterweed gives a bad taste to the milk from cows; but, at a glance, a meadow covered with its yellow blooms is a beautiful sight.

Some senior adults from First Baptist of Andalusia motored over to Greenville Tuesday to enjoy a fellowship supper at Cracker Barrel. Passing the new school in Georgiana, some noticed that the name of Butler County Magnet School had been changed to Georgiana School and wondered why.

At the Cracker Barrel, the Hopalong Cassidy table was noted, though much too small to seat the crowd from Andalusia.

Following supper there was a good bit of shopping in the gift section.

Fellowshipping were Dennis and Charlotte Johnson, Bill Law, Margaret Smyly, Kim and Eleanor Dyess, Bea Miller, Vivian Hickey, Gillis “the Comb Man” and Laura Ann Jones, Gordon and Trudy Vickers, Morgan and Wilma Moore, Betty Bass and Joe Wingard.

Colonel Covington, speaking at the Andalusia Lyceum, stated that he thought the confirmation of Elena Kagan for the Supreme Court to be a mistake. He added that he thought the high court had violated its trust with its decision on abortion and should no longer be appointed for life but elected by the people with limited terms of office.

Robert Lee Holley was a guest of his nephew, Will Holley, in Auburn recently.

I ran into Jerri Stroud the other day at First Baptist, and we fell to talking about people we know in Greenville, including Mrs. Gotrocks. Jerri, a retired science teacher from the Andalusia High School, lived in Greenville nine years. She and her late husband, Gene, worked there in public education. Gene was superintendent a few years.

Don and Dot Lingle have a new granddaughter, Victoria Nicole, born July 23 to Kristen (Lingle) and her husband, Daniel Evans. Victoria has an older brother, Andrew. The Lingles were here in the “Dimple of Dixie” 28 years while Don was minister of music at First Baptist.

The Adult Choir of First Baptist, Brewton, presented a concert last Sunday evening at First Baptist, Andalusia. The choir was directed by Todd Ray, Brewton’s minister of music, and accompanied by David Mathieu, a student pianist, enrolled at the University of Alabama and the son of the Presbyterian minister in Brewton. Some seven anthems were sung with solos by Emily Moore, Becky Moore, Jena Kilgore and Bubba Bracken. A praise band accompanied several pieces, along with Mathieu at the piano.

The Adult Choir of First Baptist joined that of Brewton for four, final anthems.

Sunday evening, Aug. 22, Lord willing, First Baptist, Andalusia, is scheduled to return the favor by singing a concert in First Baptist, Brewton, with Dwight Crigger, Andalusia’s minister of music, directing.

Mary Clyde “M.C.” (Mims) Merrill, piano teacher here in Andalusia, accompanied the singing in the assembly of the distinguished Baraca Class last Sunday morning at First Baptist. She was helping out her friend, Martha Givhan, the regular accompanist, who was out of town. M.C., “the Peach of Chilton County,” known for her delightful personality, required only a few hugs as payment.

Seen at Tabby D.’s for the lunch buffet were Pat Palmore, Nancy Smith, Betty Cockcroft (the Cake Lady), Edwin and Margaret Patterson, Judge “Trippy” McGuire and Mr. and Mrs. Lee Enzor.

Seen at the new Pop’s Place on the Andalusia-Opp Highway Friday night were Kenneth and Helen Johnson and Roger and Cathy Powell. The specialty of the house is the fried green tomatoes – and, boy, are they good!

Margie (Jacques) Thomasson, retired teacher, recently motored to her alma mater, Harding University in Searcy, Ark., to join other alumni in cutting a record of choral music. While there, Mrs. Thomasson attended the dedication of a statue of Dr. Kenneth Davis Jr., affectionately known as “Uncle Bud,” at the school’s lily pond. Dr. Davis was the beloved director of Harding’s A Cappella Chorus for years. Mrs. Thomasson is just one of his many former students, faithful still to keep his memory alive and to carry on the musical tradition at Harding.

On her way to Searcy and back here, Mrs. T. stayed four days with her son Curt, his wife Heather, and grandsons, Tyler (8) and Peyton (6), in Oakman, Ala. She especially enjoyed babysitting the boys while Heather prepared her classroom to teach second grade.

I was saddened to learn of the death of our beloved “Win” Murphy. My, she was a treasure, always smiling and laughing and entertaining us with stories. I was always – always – glad to see her enter a room, to be around her, to hear what she had to say. It was she who introduced me to one of my favorite plants, the Kiss-Me-at-the-Gate. I’d never heard of it. Win brought some sprigs to the high school one day and put them on the counter for all to see and smell the sweet fragrance. I’ll always associate that delightful plant with her delightful personality. Oh, I shall miss her.

The Covington Rifles Camp of the Sons of the Confederate Veterans met August 5 in the Dixon Memorial of our public library.

Sir Francis McGowin, new commander, presided for his first time.

Larry Shaw led all in “Dixie,” standing.

Sir Francis reported on the SCV national reunion, which he attended with his wife Ann in July in Anderson, S.C. He shared that Joe Clark of Elba, commander for the SCV Southeast Brigade in Alabama, suffered a stroke while in Anderson and is recovering.

Sir Francis also honored Curtis Hampton Thomasson, commander for the past 11 years, and Jimmy Cobb, camp adjutant.

He announced that the l50th anniversary of the War Between the States begins this December and will include a big celebration in Montgomery February 19-21, re-enacting the swearing in of Jefferson Davis as president of the Confederate States of America.

Sir Francis spoke of the delicious food he enjoyed in Anderson, even the humble hotdogs and Cokes.

A planning session followed for the 2010-2011 meetings.

Others sitting in on the planning were Vaughn Bowers, Morris Mullen, Derick Davis, Fletcher Jones, Kelly Veasey and Joe Wingard.

The American Association of Retired Persons met August 10 in the Dixon Memorial of the Andalusia Public Library.

President Norma Gavras presided. Clarence Trousdale led the pledge. Mary Green worded the devotional and led all in singing, a cappella, “This Is the Day.” The selfless Joyce Leddon arranged refreshments for the group. Mrs. Leddon, secretary, also read the minutes from June 8 when Sue (Bass) Wilson spoke on Julia Tutwiler, author of the state song. Elizabeth Milhorn, treasurer, made her report.

Mrs. Gavras announced that the library has a new policy, to charge $2 per meeting to anyone using the Dixon Memorial.

Irene (Davis) Butler, vice-president, suggested that the group change its name from AARP to AMAC, the Association of Mature American Citizens, a different organization. Some have become disgruntled with the AARP.

Mrs. Butler introduced the speaker, Joe Wingard, who spoke on the early history of the Andalusia High School, where he taught 39 years in the same room.

Door prizes were distributed before dismissal.

Attending were Pricey Best, Voncile Newman, Zelmer Jones, Nancy Robbins, Charles McCrory, Catherine Edmond, Delores Gomez, Sandra Tew, Mervin Ellis (who did so much to help build the original Dream Park), Joyce Oguttu, Ollie B. Landrum, Billy and Dot Treadaway and Jim and Marcia Williams.

This past week saw the anniversaries of the births of Izaak Walton, the English fisherman who wrote that most famous of how-to-fish books, the Compleat Angler (the complete fisherman); John Dryden, English poet and dramatist; and Carrie Jacobs Bond, American composer of such songs as “I Love You Truly” and “When You Come to the End of a Perfect Day.”

Now, gentle reader, let me encourage each of us to be in his place of worship this weekend. Fare thee well.