A 'Rocky Raccoon' race, update on Kay Finney and the excitement of sewing

While strolling, I wondered whatever happened to Jamie Davis.

Happy birthday to Chase Eskew, Sandy Spane, Franklin Welter, David Kean, Anne Brinker, Jackie Heeb, Haley and Kaitlin Glastetter, Bill Hamm, Ron Whitaker, Kyle Applewhite, Betty Eftink, Pearline Tyler, Eric Hanselman, Leslie Bowers, Stella Jackson, Billy Gene Goodman, Bill Hanlon, Abby Hahn, Mason Lynn, Lee Powers, Brenda McClain, Virginia Proffer, Jeanette Eftink, Gabriel Hanks, Barbara Daily, John Dohogne, Nancy Spies and AJ Pobst.

Happy anniversary to Ralph and Fimble Enderle.

Catfish Fry-days are here! It is mighty fine eating, whether you get your catfish at the senior center, the Elks Club or other local eateries on Fridays.

Tax time is here and seniors can get free AARP tax help at the senior center on Tuesdays from 9 a.m. to noon. We remind you not to fall for those telephone calls supposedly from the IRS demanding payment of taxes. Don't take their call, much less call them back. These are scams and they are trying to get your personal information.

A full 'raccoon moon'

We are enjoying the full moon of February, also known as Storm Moon, Trappers Moon, Snow Moon, Moon of Ice and Moon of the Raccoon.

Maybe the latter had some hand in naming the Rocky Raccoon Ultramarathon in Texas this month. John Loucks, son of Mayor Steve and Janet Loucks, traveled from Missouri down to Huntsville, Texas, to run in the Feb. 6 Rocky Raccoon 100-Mile Ultramarathon. The ultimate goal is to finish in less than 24 hours, and John did so in 22 hours and 25 minutes. He finished 13th in his age group and 54th out of 241 participants. Check out his picture in this week's Scrapbook or on the Southeast Missourian's website. John's brother-in-law, Joe (Jillian) Carilli Jr., traveled all the way from Washington, D.C., to Sam Houston National Park to support him and pace John for a 20-mile interval. John and his wife, Vicki, live in St. Charles, Missouri, and John is store manager of the Fleet Feet in O'Fallon, Missouri. If you are up that way, drop by the store and check out the medal John received for finishing under 24 hours and get some expert advice on the best running shoes for you. Mayor Loucks tells us John has been a serious runner since college, and on average runs about 60 miles a week. He is a member of the St. Louis Ultra Marathoners Group.

A Kay Finney update

Last Sunday some of you may have wondered why I was wondering about Kay Finney -- after all, she is my cousin. Many of you remember the bubbly Kay Sue, the eldest of Dr. W.O. and Mardell Finney's three children. She and Leon Lauck were "Wittiest" their senior year and the caption under her picture reads, "Lively, mischievous ... wherever she is, sunshine goes." Kay was a cheerleader, an a cappella and madrigal member and on the Mogul staff.

Kay graduated from William Carey College in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and taught school for many years. Now widowed, she lives in Bay Minette, Alabama, and continues to be very involved with her adult children and grandchildren. Kay is retired but is still her energetic self and a delight to be around. Like her mother and her aunt Ruth, she remains active in her Baptist church, local and state women's organizations and area schools. Kay has attended several Chaffee High School Alumni Banquets and hopes to make this year's as well.

Sewing memories

Kay and I recall the Singer sewing lessons we took in Cape Girardeau on Saturday mornings. It was at the corner of Broadway and Main, with the entrance to the upstairs classroom on Broadway. Kay and I would drive to Cape with her dad, Doc Finney, take our lessons, drop by Woolworth's for a snack, then ride the Frisco train back to Chaffee.

Back in those days, many of us made our own clothes. How exciting it was to pick out a pattern, select the fabric, rush home to pin the tissue-thin pattern pieces onto the fabric and cut them out. With four girls in our house, it was often followed by a race to the sewing machine.

Final thoughts

Remember to tell those special people in your life that you love them -- those three words mean so very much.

Our thoughts and prayers are with those who are missing loved ones, our homebound, those in hospitals and nursing homes and those undergoing cancer treatments. Please email your news and comments to darbuck2@airmail.net or leave a message at (573) 887-6430 or (214) 207-7839.

And then ...

Then there was the Paint Can spray-on nail polish.