Finley Watkins on Ellen, football updates and more shudder-inducing words

By Darla Buckhannon

Happy birthday to Joy Moyers, Jon Nordin, Cindy Wibbenmeyer, Clifford Van Dover, Aria Kirn, Maggie Lancaster, Leo Schott, Richard Graviett, Zachary McDaniel, Teasha Totty, Caitlyn Randolph, Jason Mott, Dewayne McAlister, Michael Lee, Gaylord Spane, Gina King, Michelle Neal, Seth Barnhart, Dean Riley, Virginia Chronister, Bill Schwartz, Victor Powell, Bret Whitaker, Jennifer Siebert, Virginia Harris, Hailey Jo Enderle and Kimberlie Nothdurft.

Happy anniversary to Tom and Carla Smith, Ron and Billie Davis, Jerry and Linda Lee, Jim and Margaret Arteme and Larry and Glenda Pobst.

Chinese New Year is Saturday and it is the Year of the Rooster! Those born in the year of the rooster are reported to be resourceful, courageous, hardworking, talented, loyal and honest.

Little Elvis on Ellen

Bernie native Finley Watkins recently appeared on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show." Adding that his aunt makes his suits, he was surprised at the end of his performance when Ellen gave him a white jumpsuit. In case you missed it, check out this 8-year-old Elvis tribute artist's action on the Southeast Missourian's website.

Playoffs continue

There was a lot of Monday morning quarterbacking after the Kansas City Chiefs' loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys' devastating loss to the Green Bay Packers last Sunday. In Dallas' case, it was Monday morning coaching, not quarterbacking! The boys battled back, but we would all agree that Green Bay Packer quarterback Aaron Rodgers is amazing.

Some of you may remember when Texas Stadium was built back in the 1970s, people joked that the hole was in the roof so God could watch his team, America's team, play. That stadium has since been razed and all the action is in the $1.2 billion AT&T Stadium in Arlington. As it turned out, tornado and flash flood warnings popped up everywhere after the game and some fans stated it was because God was not happy that the Cowboys lost. The very foggy morning after was quite appropriate for the low spirits, and the Dallas Morning News headline said it all: "State of shock." After last year's 4-12 season and a dismal start, fans can agree, however, that rookies Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott made it a fun, exciting 13-3 season. The future looks bright for the Dallas Cowboys! Today we get to watch the last four teams play!

Near miss

We in Chaffee escaped a hard hit of last week's freezing rain, but there were some nice pictures in the Southeast Missourian of icy scenes at the Cape Girardeau County Park North and Conservation Nature Center. It was appropriate that last week's full moon was the Ice Moon!

Inconsistent temps

With the fluctuation in temperatures, it is always a good idea to maintain air conditioning and heating systems in your house and automobile. After a record high recently in Dallas, our "smart" system started out with heat early one morning and by midday had switched to air conditioning. That same day I saw a commercial van doing business under the name of Bacon Heating and Air and a clever motto, "Everyone loves Bacon."

Shudder-inducing words continued

A couple of readers added some words to our list of those that make us shudder. One agreed that "absolutely" was absolutely one, and another mentioned that the word "literally" is overused and often misused. Bob Burnett jostles our memory with the 1970s popular comment "far out." He adds that maybe those personnel in the service industries could take a hint from national restaurant chain Chick-fil-A and respond with "my pleasure" rather than "no problem."

Robins in spring

In many states, the American robin is considered the harbinger of spring. We rarely see robins in Dallas, but every once in a while one shows up on our birdbath. The robin is the state bird of Michigan, yet Bob Burnett, who resided in Michigan at the time, stated some folks wanted to change the state bird because even robins leave the state with the snowbirds in the winter. Jae Hopkins tells me that in their lovely city of San Diego and with their beautiful weather, robins are seen year round.

Final thoughts

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

Our heartfelt condolences go out to those who have lost loved ones. Our thoughts and prayers are also with those who are in hospitals, nursing homes and those who are homebound.

Email your news and comments to me at darbuck2@airmail.net or leave a message at (573) 887-6430 or (214) 207-7839.

And then ...

Then there were four!