Tuesday, January 17, 2017 1:13 pm

By CAROL GUNTER

An important birthday I left out for January was Mai Nell Melton's on the 11th. Hope your birthday was grand Mai Nell.

Tuesday morning started out as a usual day but then got a lot better at Wally World (Walmart) when I ran upon Tracy and Tony Neal. Sorta turned around in the checkout lane and there was Tony and Tracy. They were doing fine and had a super good Christmas with the family and friends. Always good that I run into family wherever I go to get to chat with them and catch up on the rest of the family.

Have you had your flu shot yet? I got mine late this past year. Usually get it in October but was sick with a cold and then one thing after another kept me from getting the shot. I finally made the time to get it the day before my birthday. Hopefully this will help me. Three years ago I was really sick and in the bed for over a week. It was an awful experience and I'm sure it was the flu. Felt like I was at death's door or somewhere thereabouts as I thought it was all over for me. Survived it but it took awhile for me to get back to normal. This made a believer out of me to get that flu shot each year.

Kids got out of school on Friday, because of the snowy and icy conditions that came our way with the artic front coming through. Cold and extra cold frigid weather we had over the weekend and, because the temperature never got above freezing, the roads still had the snow and ice on them so the kids got another day off on Monday. Two inches at least we had of snow around here. Temperatures to bounce back in the forties on Monday and that will help us all to get thawed out from this cold winter blast.

Jimmy Womack gave me a call the other day. He retired from being a mail carrier after 37 years. Jimmy is a brother to John Womack I often see around the mountain at the store or going by our house giving a wave to me if I'm outside in the summertime.

John and Jimmy Hale who lives down the road from me are good golfing buddies as I've stated in the column before. Glad Jimmy liked the column and call me after reading it. He knew "Aubrey" and his dad "John" and sure thought a lot of them. Found out Jimmy's birthday is May 7th and John his brother's birthday is May 1st.

Cousin Ruth Brown and son Jeff are both doing better over their recent sickness. Always love to hear good news.

We still have others to keep in prayer: Charlie Mai Daniel, Carlon and Mai Nell Melton, and Denise Stanton.

Someone rekindled my memory about a funny story Aubrey told this guy years ago about a problem the buy was having with his dozer's final drive. After Aubrey tore down the final drive in the guy's dozer, the guy asked Aubrey what was wrong with the dozer? Aubrey said it was out of grease and this was because of 'grease worms' that had eaten up the grease. The guy then asked how do you get rid of them? Aubrey said once you've got them, you can't ever get rid of them. The guy was sickened to hear that. That story about as gullible as I was in believing for a long time when Aubrey told me about all those weeks in amongst his machinery across the road that Jack Frost would take care of. A spell before I figured there was not a person with that name to do that job. Take into consideration I'm a brunette. Getting back to Aubrey having fun about the grease worms. The buy was terrible worried for three or four days, before he finally figured out there was not such thing as grease worms. Yes, only Aubrey could have this much fun. What a guy! Like no other, for sure.

Relating a somewhat disturbing story what someone had overheard another person talking about while browsing through the dress rack at a local department store in downtown Los Angeles. It seems at a restaurant there was this gentleman across the table from this couple who seemed on the quiet side, but mysterious from their gut-feeling about him as he was a transplant or foreigner from afar they surmised. On his phone quite a bit and speaking in a voice very, very low and had a pad with a pen and briefcase with I guess a laptop inside all close at hand maybe even possibly some weapon whether it be a gun, knife, or explosive device that could take a person or people out. Told the couple he wasn't from around there and did like the small town atmosphere displayed of the area. As he got up to leave told them to have a nice day and one of them thought for sure the guy said the small town a good place to hide in. Everything added up to, yep, a terrorist they may have been sitting across from at that table. If he was just that, they knew the law enforcement officials might be right outside the door of that restaurant and put him in handcuffs. What about the couple talking to him in the restaurant? They would be on camera and the law would no doubt be coming for them next to find out what if any ties they had to him. Where is Columbo, Kojak, or Perry Mason when you need them they wondered out loud? That is when the alarm clock went off and the dream I was having went poof!

If you have any news for the column, just give ma a call at 615-563-4429.

All things whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive. Matthew 21:22