Peeping through my Venetian blind, I saw the sweet autumn clematis, still in bloom. I turned back to my tea and Miss Cora Covington, my guest, along with the Portly Gentleman, who was finishing off the last petit four, bless his heart.

We shared our tidbits of news.

Seen at Larry’s for supper were Larry and Margaret Sanders and Mr. and Mrs. David Barton.

Seen at the Samurai were Tim Ramsden and Laurie Grimes. Ramsden is the soccer coach at the Andalusia High School. He was born and reared in England, in the county (shire) known as York, Yorkshire.

The Samurai serves a slice of sweet potato, battered, and fried, that is delicious. I hope you get to try it.

Dropping by the newspaper office this week was Hazel Jordan, who once worked there with her husband Paul. A member of the AHS Class of 1948, Mrs. Jordan also worked for years with the food program of the Andalusia City Schools. Her cinnamon rolls and yeast rolls were legendary. She is the mother of two daughters.

Seen at David’s the other day were Donald and Pat Jackson, their daughter, Tina, her husband, Cecil Mock, and her great-nephews, Brodi Jackson and Jess Jackson.

Mrs. Gotrocks of Greenville was telling me this week all about her bridge club in the Camellia City, which started me asking about bridge clubs in this area.

There is the Florala Bridge Club, which meets each Tuesday, and is made of Lucille Cox, Frances Ptomey, Pat Carmichael, Ann Eason, Joanne Carpenter, Dianne Stevenson, Wanda Harrison, and Ann McKenzie.

The 1990 Bridge Club meets Thursdays and is made of Barbara McClain, Collene Petrey, Betty Baldwin, Dottie Spencer, Jan Roach, Drucilla Feachen, Arlene Nettles, Dot Burkett, Mary Lee Howard, Frances Ptomey, Virginia Brawner, and Ellen Rose.

Seen at the P.O. here in the “Dimple of Dixie” were Allan and Nelle Wiggle, and Bill Law.

Some of the best potato salad in town can be found at the Surly Mermaid on the Golden Square.

David Wilson and his son Tyler were seen at the Samurai this week. Tyler Wilson is one of the coaches at AHS.

Friday, a week ago, during supper, a terrific storm fell over David’s restaurant. I had finished my meal and was enjoying rocking on the front porch as the rain fell and the thunder rumbled and lightning flashed. Rocking by me were Joey and Wanda Davis and Patricia Sessions. We sat a long time, remembering the past, feeling the breeze, enhanced by ceiling fans above. It was fun to “visit” with those, coming and going, avoiding the rain and puddles.

It rained so much that I looked for the ark to float by at any minute.

Some I saw were Bill and Charlotte Spurlin, B. J. and Hazel McClain, Jay Farrington, and John and Elizabeth Cumbie, here to visit his mother.

The Portly Gentleman observed to me that some women whom he knew in youth as beautiful have grown ugly in age because of their immoral lives. On the other hand, some “wall flowers” of his youth, through good character, have grown lovely, even beautiful.

It is heart-warming to note husbands who are faithful, loving, and good to their wives, often spending years of devotion in caring for their wives. Three couples come to mind immediately.

Irene (Davis) Butler entertained with a luncheon in her home August 20.

Her guests were Charles Cope, Chrissie Duffy, Maggie Jones, Corey Bryan, Amanda Wardle, Rhonda Geohagan, and Joe Wingard.

Mrs. Butler’s Victorian interior featured a dining table, set with lace cloth and napkins, a crystal centerpiece, and crystal candlesticks.

A cornucopian buffet offered Boston butt, pork roast, chicken and dressing, chicken and rice, camp stew, chicken salad, carrot salad, fried bread, a bread basket, peas, creamed corn, pineapple casserole, sweet-potato casserole, cranberry sauce, Watergate salad, Italian cream cake, and tea.

Conversation included the following subjects: Mrs. Frank Park Samford, the Burger King Club, Sister Schubert, cooking, Tim Trent, miniature cats, Dr. Lamar Jackson, Dr. David Jeremiah, the Chamber of Commerce, racing cars, and Winter Garden, Florida.

Other recent guests of Mrs. Butler are Lawrence and Tammy Davis and their son Cody, a junior at Straughn, and Ricky Paul Patterson.

Wayne and Lenora Johnson entertained guests in their home July 14 -16. Her brother, Cecil Faulk, and his wife, Martha, traveled from Virginia Beach, Virginia, bringing with them fresh vegetables from Dothan and Slocomb. (Lenora, Cecil, and Martha grew up in the Wicksburg/Dothan area.)

A portion of their time together was spent “putting up little green peas” and enjoying Alabama squash, peas, and tomatoes.

Cecil is a retired Navy man who remained in Virginia but greatly misses Wiregrass vegetables.

They also enjoyed eating at David’s Catfish House while in town.

Also visiting the Johnsons, but on a more recent weekend, were Whitney (Wiggins) Tolbert and her husband, Ben, with their two little girls, Mary Collins and Nora. They were here to attend the AHS Football Hall of Fame. Her dad, Mark Wiggins, was inducted into the HOF. Mark and his wife, Lesa (Merrell), are currently at M.D. Anderson Hospital in Houston where Mark is receiving treatment. Whitney was here to read his acceptance speech.

Lenora, assisted by a neighbor, Martha Steele, stayed home to take care of the girls.

The younger girl is named for Lenora. The older is named for her maternal grandmother, Mary Frances (Collins) Merrell, a long-time resident of Andalusia. Grandmother Frances now resides in a long-term, care facility in Birmingham near her oldest daughter, Kathy (Merrell) Southall.

Last weekend the Johnsons’ son, Ken, and his son, Campbell, were also home to visit relatives.

Ken has recently moved from Andalusia to Blue Ash, Ohio, to begin a new job.

Once again, I ask the citizens of Andalusia to join the Covington Historical Society and pay its annual dues of $25 to help preserve the history of our county, whether you attend meetings or not. Mail to CHS, P.O. Box 1582, Andalusia, Alabama 36420.

The mysterian is Miss Mattie Waters. Who was she? Doesn’t anybody remember her? This is pitiful.

Recent birthdays include those of Edgar Lee Masters, an American poet/attorney who wrote Spoon River Anthology; Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, a German poet known for his poem about Faust, the man who sold his soul to the Devil; Lev N. Tolstoy, a Russian novelist, who wrote War and Peace, which some consider the greatest novel ever written; and Oliver Wendell Holmes, an American poet, doctor, and teacher at Harvard.

Goethe is to Germany what Shakespeare is to England, the greatest poet of his country.

Goethe’s poem, Faust, was made into a French opera by Gounod. Two particularly moving pieces are “Even Bravest Heart May Swell” and the trio in the prison as the opera ends. The principal characters are Faust, Marguerite, and Mephistopheles.

Now, gentle reader, allow me to join Buffalo Bob Smith in encouraging each of us to be in his place of worship this weekend, Lord willing.

Fare thee well.