Welcome rain, summertime fun and worshiping wheels

Editor's Note: Stephanie Seyer's name has been clarified below.

While strolling, I wondered whatever happened to Harry Acup.

Happy birthday to Stephanie Seyer, Steve Rogers, Agnes Landewee, Linda Simpson, Amy Pobst, Stephanie Uhrhan, Jessica Barnhart, Garrett Pepple, Natalie Townsend, Josh Hanlon, Mike Kitchen, Breanne Gilmer, Marc Sadler, Mike McCallum, Josh Hendrix, Carol Gribler, David Jackson, Charlie Sladek, Loretta Ditto, Jill Little, Melonie Payne, Kathy Holmes, Casey Hampton, Wanda Perry, Kim Foulk, Danny Loucks, Kristie Lynn, Terry Curtis, Denny Graviett, Shelly Dooley, Jason Sadler, Leann Hudson, Jessie McFall and Tammy Erlbacher.

Happy anniversary to John and Jeanie Smith, Gene and Elizabeth Cummins, Vernon and Susie Pobst, Tom and Shelly Burnett, HB and Kathy Rice, Zac and Andrea Horman, Donnie and Lorraine Reischman, John and Debbie Gaines, Charlie and Nan Charleston and David and Tracy Kirchdoerfer.

It's all wet

Water, water everywhere, and not a drop to drink. Lots of rain in Southeast Missouri all the way down through Texas. Lake and river levels are up everywhere, and the rain continues. Even North Texas is no longer drought-stricken. Lake Buchanan near Austin remains low, yet much of the dried-up lake was delightfully covered this spring with bluebonnets!

Congratulations to Danny and Gail Walther, whose home received Chamber of Commerce's Residence of the Month.

Here comes summer

The swimsuits are out of the drawer, the white pants are out of the closet, and the grills are fired up, loaded with burgers, hot dogs and brats! We wish everyone a safe Memorial weekend as we honor and celebrate our veterans and those in active duty. We invite you to share with us your out-of-town guests or holiday travels.

The pool opened yesterday, and next Saturday there is free swimming from 10 to noon, when there will be a celebration of the pool's 75th anniversary.

While pool season and Memorial Day herald the unofficial start of summer, another sure sign that summer is here is the sound of cicadas. We are told that two broods of cicadas are emerging early this year. After a subterranean existence for 13 and 17 years, respectively, they are expected to arrive here at the same time this month or next rather than July or August. It won't happen again for 221 years.

Driving Miss Darla

A survey indicated that fewer teenagers are getting their driver's licenses. Reasons include dependence on others for a ride or public transportation, expensive car maintenance and insurance and, best reason of all, they prefer to walk or bike. For most of us, turning 16 so we could drive was a rite of passage we looked forward to after our 13th birthday! Not only were we excited about driving, we learned to drive and passed our driving test in a stick-shift car with no power steering!

I wonder if another reason is that today, cars don't have the pizazz they did back in the day. I started with a 1967 gold Barracuda followed by a 1968 navy Camaro convertible and later, a 1970 gold GTO convertible as my love of cars continued through my adult years. It is always a delight to see muscle cars that have been well taken care of or restored. My cousin Norm Finney still has his 1968 Camaro in its original condition. You can see some of those cars when the Hot Rod Power Tour comes through McClure, Illinois, June 9 en route to Memphis before the tour wraps up in Louisiana.

'Fast N' Loud'

No doubt many of you guys are familiar with Discovery Channel's top-rated series "Fast N' Loud," featuring the Gas Monkey Garage and owner Richard Rawlings in Dallas. Richard buys, modifies and resells old- to late-model cars. All of the action is fun to watch, and Richard, for female car enthusiasts, is pretty "hot" himself in his black T-shirt, black sunglasses and bluejeans. His biography is just out, and his next venture? Gas Monkey Cinnamon Tequila.

For ladies in Southeast Missouri, a heartthrob for many years was and is Narvel "the Marvel" Felts. Bill Burke tells us Narvel will perform June 6 at the Rodgers Theater in Poplar Bluff.

Special words

Remember to tell those special people in your life 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. 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 arrest of two teenagers who in the process of stealing a car asked the owner how to drive a stick shift.