May 25th

Don't you all think that on a day to honor the men and women who gave their lives in defense of this country, we observe Memorial Day with a mattress sale at Rooms To Go? Doesn't seem quite right does it? We were taught in the 6th grade by Mrs. Rambo that Memorial Day is to pay tribute to those who put it on the line and paid the ultimate price for our freedom. I never forgot her saying that. Take some time this Memorial Day to remember those who did pay that price before you head to the lake or fire up the grill. Did you see the survey that said women buy under-sized clothes as an incentive to help them lose weight? The survey said more than a third buy small clothes on purpose. Another bit of research I came across this past week is that tanning products, laxatives, canned stew and bicycle helmets have seen a jump in sales due to the recession. Laxatives and bicycles at the same time is a bad combination according to Jess Newman. Some more things discovered last week was researchers have taken a second look at the old studies that coffee is bad for us. They say that the brew is good for us after all. A new survey has found we grow happier as we age. I'm happy these days for being able to get out of the bed without the help of an over-head crane. We had so much rain a couple of weeks ago that city manager Phillip Eidson has tied an anchor to the city's rain gage. It is impossible to me to keep up with how fast the grass is growing on Rhubarb Lane. Fred Owen has suggested that I sell the lawn mower and buy some sheep. The second full week of May was an emotional roller-coaster for many of us. June Feltrinelli Wood and Lane Williams, two former classmates earned their angel wings. June's family were simply wonderful to my family growing up. I ran into Lane for the first time in decades last spring at a county function. A few weeks later he had to go to Emory University Hospital for tests. He was a veteran of Vietnam and the United States Marine Corps. He fought hard in his health battle. Semper Fi Lane, we will never forget you. I don't think I ever remember seeing so many people at Miller Funeral Home on the 14th as many friends and family came to pay respect to Lane and to June. My spirits were lifted on Saturday the 16th at Holcombe's Foodland as we continued our work for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society with the 20th Annual Rhubarb Jones March Across Georgia. Red Jones of WKNG suggested since I am only doing one stop this year, we rename it the March Across Tallapoosa. I was moved by the leadership of the kids at Haralson County High School as they brought us over $1,800 for the cause. One of my students at Kennesaw State, Richard Parilla brought out a donation from Cobb County. My webmaster Ann "Taz" Borowski and her mother Joe Jean drove out from DeKalb County with a donation. Billy Howell is a former Memphian who saw Elvis perform before he was a superstar has a Ford Lincoln-Mercury dealership in Cumming roughly 94 miles from Tallapoosa. Jean Landrum who has been with the dealership for many years drove over with another check at just over $1,700. It was the 20th donation with a total over the years at about $40,000. The Emanual Baptist Church bake sale brought in just about $400. In two hours with the help of our friends at King Country the cause raised about $5,200 in two hours. For those of you who stood out in the threat of rain, I appreciate you all so much. Because of your generousity some children are going to get well. My thanks to Selma, Brenda, Candice, Junior and the entire family and staff of Holcombe's Foodland for the support for a cause Johnny Holcombe strongly had faith in. If any of you wanted to come to the effort but couldn't you can still make a check out to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and mail it to us at P.O. Box 1001, Tallapoosa, GA 30176.

Rhubarb Jones is a Tallapoosa native and a member of the administrative faculty at Kennesaw State University. Comments are welcome at P.O. Box 1001, Tallapoosa, GA 30176 or via email at Rhubarbjones@aol.com