Get out the dental floss, it's National Corn on the Cob Day

By Darla Buckhannon

Happy birthday to Bill Hawkins, Lisa Stagoski, Richie Swain, Veronica Bennett, Don Seyer, Debbie Graviett, Janice Eftink, Jamie Keller, Dean Smith, Geralyn Siebert, Kristi Uhrhan, Matt Hanlon, Alvin Blades, Lula Rogers, Amanda Horrell, Bridgett Rains, Jody Riser, Don Sheeley, Billy Davis, Lynn Felton, Linda Kidd, Roggie Reece, Andy White, Esten Cooper, Candi Hargrove, Maxine Scott, Nathan McIntosh, Shawn Nix, Peggy Lee, Berta Payne, Wanda Schwartz and Bill Dysinger.

Happy anniversary to Lester and Pam Eichhorn, Jack and Sue Wessel, Jon and Tonyua Townsend, Charles and Sara Hemingway, David and Leslie Herbst and David and Dayneen Glastetter.

How does your garden grow? Today is National Corn on the Cob Day. Perhaps a little early here but in Texas we have cucumbers, zucchini, okra and tomatoes. Our neighbor spent hours building her raised vegetable beds. The cucumbers and zucchini are huge, which she credits adding compost to the dirt. We have yet to see a red tomato but that's OK; we like to grill the green slices. Let us know when you get your first red tomato!

A manly fragrance

Our "then there was" last week was about fried bacon bouquets. There is a florist in the Dallas area that makes bouquets out of fried bacon. She first made one for her dad's birthday since he was so fond of bacon. She now has a growing business and you can order online at baconbouquets.com. They range in price from $30 to $50 and are available in a vase or box. Best of all, they are edible! With next Sunday being Father's Day, maybe it would make your dad's day!

Packing for Mars, Venus

Continuing our read of the July 1961 Ford Times, another two-part article addresses who is the better packer, women or men. This was of particular interest to me since my sister Ruth was packing for her trip to Italy. She kept putting the task off but she has since departed for her two-week stay, so she obviously got it together at the last minute. Titled "Do Women Lack the Packing Knack?" and the second, "They Sure Do!"

In our family, Richard is definitely the winner. When it comes to packing my suitcase, I do OK, but loading the car is another story. I would just throw my items in the trunk and take off. Richard has a method, and it is amazing how many items that man can fit into a vehicle!

The author of the first article, Dick Emmons, says that he doesn't know what the guys were going to do in the winter, but he was going to get his wife packing for their August vacation trip the following year. He continues that a woman can pack three school lunches, prepare five delicious breakfasts, correct her husband's office attire and be on her second cup of coffee in half an hour. On the other hand, the same woman takes forever to pack a suitcase whether it is for a weekend or a month. Mr. Emmons narrows it down to three reasons: Frenzy, overpacking and indecision.

Author Mary Augusta Rodgers agreed in the second article "They Sure Do!" She says there are several reasons why men are better packers, one of which is they have studied the matter and realize it is not a simple job. The second reason is that they have imagination. Rather than fool with a list of necessary items, men like to add items they considers essential such as archery and badminton equipment, portable TV, clock radio (remember this is 1961), shotgun, favorite cocktail shaker and several bottles of that special steak sauce and pepper grinder.

The third reason is that men understand the proper use of space. While pretending to watch the ballgame while she carries everything to the car, he knows that all of that will not fit and tells her so. The fourth reason Ms. Rodgers gives is that men have faith -- faith that everything will get done before their 5 a.m. departure. The fifth reason is that men have patience. They know how much easier it would be to take the whole job over and get things done right, but they hold back and let the women keep trying.

As always

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

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

And then ...

Then there was the license plate IDKDOU.