“With Your Chrome Heart Shining In The Sun, Long May You Run” – Neil Young

I don’t consider myself a materialistic person, but I am genuinely sentimental. I was before my brother died, and I am even more glad of that now. When you can’t have that person anymore, having something that was theirs or that reminds you of them provides a comfort and closeness that is indescribable to a person who has been fortunate enough not to have experienced grief and bereavement. Such is the case with a car I once had.

As long as I can remember, I have loved cars. I guess it’s because my dad does and he taught us about them. I’ll never know as much as he has forgotten, though. He can look at the placement of a small feature on a car and tell what year it was made. He knows which years the manufacturers put certain engines and other parts under the hoods and why. I won’t even pretend that I know all of that, but what I do know is that I love a Ford Mustang GT.

Twenty years ago or so, our friend Tyrone drove a black convertible GT. It had been modified and it sounded good. We would be on the porch at my parents’ and know that he was driving by the bank in Fulton, which is out of sight from there. We knew because of the distinctive Mustang sound, & Tyrone’s was especially loud. After seeing and hearing Tyrone’s, I knew that I wanted to have a Mustang GT someday.

                Tyrone and me at my first car show

After I finished college, my dad bought a 2008 GT California Special and had it sent to Biloxi to have a Rousch supercharger installed. He put FloMaster exhaust on it himself. It was a fun, beautiful car. He later traded it on a new Corvette. The Corvette was nice, pretty, and fun to drive, but it lacked that Mustang sound. He traded it as well. Whatever lucky dogs bought these two cars hit the jackpot, as they had low miles and were well cared for.

              2008 Mustang GT California Special

A 2011 Shelby Cobra GT 500 came after the Vette. He said it was like the old school muscle cars from the 60s and 70s. We drove the Corvette to Montgomery on a rainy day to make the trade. I loved all those cars, but I was especially happy for my dad about this one. He told me the story of being a young fellow at a Burger King in Crichton and seeing one in the parking lot. He had dreamed of having one, and his dream came true! The Shelby has been a keeper, and I love it!

                                 The Corvette

In May of 2014, it was time for me to get a new car. I ordered a 50^th Anniversary Edition Mustang GT 5.0 in Race Red. It was loaded with black leather interior, 50^th anniversary badging, and Mustang puddle lights. I expected it to take 6-8 weeks to arrive. Weeks became months, and I was convinced that someone was praying for me to have patience. In October, we lost my brother in a car accident. A month or so after his wreck, my parents and I were having a “bad grief day” on a Saturday. Tyrone and his daughter just happened to drive up in her ’14 and offered to take us for a ride. I’ll never forget their kindness and knowing that they were the answer to a prayer that day. My dad and I cheered up after that.

        My dad and the 2011 Shelby Cobra GT 500

Right after Christmas, we got word that my car had been loaded onto a rail car in Detroit headed for Alabama. As my luck would have it, an ice storm swept through the north, grounding the train for some time. Finally, in late January of 2015, my car arrived in Grove Hill. I don’t know who was more excited- me or Mrs. Debbie the sales consultant I had been bugging since the previous May. It arrived late in the evening, so I was unable to get it that day. My parents and I drove out to see it, though, and it was parked right in front of the dealership. I was ecstatic! It was absolutely beautiful! I’m not the kind of person who has to be the first and/or only one to have something, but this was the new body style of the Mustang, and it was the first in our area. I was still teaching at the time, and I think some of my students were as excited as I was. I told them that “today was the day!” We were all so excited. After school, my dad and I took the Shelby to the dealership and made the purchase. Larry from the dealership was my first passenger when we gassed it up, although I had Jared’s picture above the visor on the passenger’s side. Daddy and I drove in tandem back to Fulton. He took it over town and smoked the tires on the bridge “just to see what it would do.” I can drive a stick (with confidence on level ground and making only right-hand turns), but I wanted an automatic, since this was my primary vehicle. It had 425 horses and sounded pretty good stock. My dad conducted thorough research and found that the best rated exhaust system for it was a Stainless Works cat-back and H pipe. He ordered it and had it installed for me. It sounded so good.

My car arriving, then my dad and me with it when we brought it home

This car was special because I custom built it, waited so long for it, and had always wanted a Mustang GT, but also because it was my happy place after Jared died, especially that first year. I have a “Jared” playlist of songs that make me think of him. I would play it and just ride. Sometimes I would ride by his old house. Sometimes I would just ride with the windows down in the evenings and think of what we would be doing if he were here. When I cranked that car, heard that exhaust, and felt that power under my foot, it trumped my grief.

                  Larry and Debbie from the dealership came to show their support at my first car show

         My dad and me at our first show together

In April of 2018, what was called “a 100 year flood” destroyed our property. It filled my car with water and totaled it. I did everything I could to get it back. I cried as the wrecker took it away, and I have cried many times since. I needed a truck for Voice for the Animals, coaching, and running club purposes, so I got an F-150. It was a nice truck and I liked it. I planned to keep it until 2025 and get a 60^th anniversary Mustang GT. Let’s just say that all it took was one look at a blacked out ’19 with a performance package to assure me that my place is in a Mustang GT.

I don’t know what happened to “my red one,” but I hope that someone was able to repair it and enjoy it. I’m thankful for the memories, photos, and comfort it brought me. I have a memory wall in our garage for it containing the window sticker, keys, manual, photos, tag, and car show memorabilia. If there’s ever been a special car in your life, do yourself a favor and listen to “Long May You Run” by Neil Young (link below). I dedicate that song to my “red Mustang.” 

https://youtu.be/dVM8_jAL86w 

           2015 50th Anniversary Mustang GT 5.0

A fool and his money soon part ways. Proverbs 21:20

This article could've been called several things such as "haste makes waste" or "anything worth doing is worth doing right/well." I'm glad I was raised that way. I fall short every day, but not because I wasn't raised by the wisest, most loving, and sacrificial parents. 

Growing up in a middle class family, my brother and I had more than what we needed and most of what we wanted. Christmases were magical, as Santa's sleigh was definitely lighter when it left our house. We were not spoiled, though, and we were taught to work hard and appreciate things. I am glad of that, but it makes it harder for me to do (nice things) for people who do not work hard and appreciate things. When we were kids, if we wanted something, rather than our parents dropping everything to buy it then, my dad would have us call our neighbors and grandparents and ask if their cars needed to be washed or if their grass needed to be cut. If I remember correctly, they always said yes. Then, my dad would teach us how to do those jobs properly. Once we were paid, we were taught to tithe. We weren't just blindly taught to do so. We were shown where the Bible teaches about tithing. He taught us how to figure 10% of our earnings. Once the job was complete and the tithe was set aside, Daddy made us wait two weeks until he would take us to make the purchase or allow us to order whatever it was that we wanted. He didn't do that to be cruel, but to prevent us from using our hard-earned money to make impulse buys. He said that if we still wanted the item in two weeks that we must have really wanted it. If we had forgotten about it, we didn't really want it in the first place, so we could save the money for a wiser purchase. 

My most vivid memories of these valuable lessons are washing my dad's best friend's Volvo numerous times and cutting my grandmother's grass. My parents have a huge yard, so we cut their grass, too, but that was to earn our keep. When the Thomasville Wal-Mart was where Marvin's is now, I picked out a Disney watch with the character Goofy on it. It was $16 & some change. I worked, saved, and waited for that watch. Two weeks later, it was mine. 

As an adult, I look back and see my dad's wisdom. We learned to work for what we have. We learned how to be self-sufficient and take care of our own property and clean our own cars. These are two things that I am a stickler about to this day. When Jason and I first got married, he was a little embarrassed that I cut grass. He didn't want the neighbors to think he was too lazy to do it. I told him that was crazy. He worked all day and I was at home during the summers when I was a teacher. I had the time, know-how, and motivation to do it. He's okay with it now, lol. 

We also learned patience, in this area, anyway. I have no problem saving and waiting for something. Another time early in our marriage, Christmas was a few months away, and there was something I wanted that was probably $100 or so. Jason told me to "just go buy it." I told him I could wait until Christmas and put it on my list. He reminded me that we were two working adults and could afford it. I can't quote him verbatim, but I remember that he commented positively about the lessons my dad taught us about saving and waiting. 

Jared and I had countless conversations about this, and about how much we appreciate the sacrifices our parents made for us. We didn't ask for everything we saw because we knew my dad had worked in a hot sawmill all day and my mom had cleaned teeth all day. It would bother us to see children throw fits to get everything that was ever for sale or bicycles left outside in the rain. 

These weren't just lessons we were TAUGHT. We were SHOWN. I earned a degree without having to pay for student loans because my parents value education and didn't want me to be burdened with paying for it, so they saved. They did without things so we could have better. Everyone who knows us knows that my dad and I love a Mustang. The year after I finished college, my dad bought his first Mustang. I apologized to him for having to wait 23 years to get it. Of course, he thought that was ridiculous, but he knew what I meant. 

As always, I'm definitely not bragging on myself, but I will brag on my amazing parents ad nauseam because they are that deserving. If you see me being a knuckle head, it's not because I wasn't taught better. I started with a verse, so I'll end with one: Honor your father and your  mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you. Exodus 20:12 

Becoming a Voice

I have loved animals as long as I can remember. With the exception of about ten months, I've been a dog owner my whole life. I can't imagine life without my dogs and cats, and I don't really want to. The first pets I remember having are a pony, a terrier mix named Peewee, and a spaniel named Bobo. My dad raised Springer Spaniels when we were kids and the family was still ignorant of the benefits of rescue and cons of breeding. When I was in the sixth grade, we got a dachshund named Mozart. He was a huge part of the family. My senior year, we got our first rescue dog, a terrier named Tippie. She reminded my dad of the dogs he had when he was growing up. Tippie had been mistreated prior to joining our family. Even after living with my parents into her late teens, Tippie was afraid of loud, abrupt noises and other things. Between the time that Mozart and Tippie passed, my whole family began to embrace animal rescue. A popular rescue saying is "Saving the life of an animal won't change the world, but for that animal, the whole world changes." Although "rescued," when speaking of animals means "let down by humans" rather than "flawed," I am thankful that my family can look past issues that some rescues face, and give those animals the same unconditional love that they so graciously give us.

Me with Peewee, left, Maggie top right, Barney and Maggie bottom right

During my second year of teaching, I taught senior government classes, and we were studying special interest groups. On this particular day, the students received copies of the local paper. On the front page, there was a picture of and article about a little dog that had been shot, wrapped in a blanket, and thrown in a dumpster. She was found alive, but had to be euthanized due to her injuries. As a student in the front row read the article to her partner, I could hear her and see the picture of the dog. I had an immediate meltdown. This was my first time getting upset in class, so as a new teacher, I wasn't sure what to do. I said a prayer, regained my composure, and experienced my first teachable moment that would change my life. Here we were in government class learning about special interest groups while doing a current events assignment about an interest that is very special to me. A light bulb came on in  my head, and I was able to use the topic at hand as a prime example of how it takes people who feel strongly about a cause to start or join a special interest group in order to bring about positive change. From there, the Voice for the Animals Campaign (V4AC) was born.

The kids and I wrote to and petitioned our public officials about increasing the punishment for those who intentionally harm and neglect domesticated animals. I was living in Mobile at the time, Clarke County had no animal shelter, and Fulton had very few runners. I wanted to bring a 5K race to Fulton in an effort to grow the running community, and to raise money for V4AC. My fellow teacher, running coach, and treasured friend was an SEC champion runner and many-time state champion runner and coach. He guided our newly formed committee and me through the planning and executing of a successful 5K event.

Our first annual event was in the Spring of 2008. This year's is postponed due to the plandemic, but the show will go on as it has every year. I wish I had kept a list of the animals we've helped through the money raised, but I consider animal rescues an emergency. There is no time to make a list. Everything else stops until the animal (or animals) has been cared for properly. V4AC does not have the facilities to house animals, so we raise funds and awareness. Pearl and I have been to countless speaking engagements to teach people about proper animal care, adoption, controlling the pet population, etc. Through the funds raised at our events, V4AC has been able to donate thousands of dollars to local animal organizations, including our local shelter. One of my favorite things is the trap/spay/release program. Fulton would be overrun with feral cats had V4AC not started & funded that project. None would be possible without our generous donors and supporters.

If you're reading this on Facebook, there's a big chance that you already know who Pearl is. She is the unofficial poster child of V4AC. Prior to my learning the importance of rescue, we bought Jack and Bee, our dachshunds, from a breeder. Although they're not rescues, V4AC started because I want as many animals as possible to live the posh lives they live. In December of 2009, we were back in Fulton, and a friend from Mobile called to tell me that she found a white, deaf dachshund on the road on Dauphin Island. The dog had a note tied around her neck that said her name was Snowy, born November of 2005, she was deaf, and needed a home. Pearl took what I call the "Doggie Underground Railroad" to Fulton. We took her to the vet and learned that she had heart worms and had suffered a blow to the head that would eventually result in having to remove her eye. We had her spayed, treated for heart worms, and years later, had that eye removed. She never missed a beat.

Pearl

Since then, several other rescues have joined our family. We have Buck, a hound mix, and Drake, a lab mix. We also have 3 cats named Mojo, Cali, and Melania. I have 4 semi-feral cats that have been trapped, fixed, and released. I feed them in town every day. They know the sound of my car and run to greet me. Last but not least, we have a bulldog mix named Trooper. He is my best friend who entered my life when he and I both needed a friend. He will have his own article eventually. During this journey, I have acquired rescued siblings, as my parents have rescued and fostered many needy animals as well.

Rescuing has changed the lives of the animals we've helped, but it's changed our lives for the better, too. You don't have to rescue or foster to help this cause. You can simply share a Facebook post, send a check to the shelter, or donate an item to a shelter supply drive. If you want a pet, adopt one from a shelter. The love they give is unconditional. You will change their life and yours, create a vacancy at the shelter for another needy animal, and save money. A person can get help and tell someone they are hungry or being abused. Animals can't do that. We must be their voice. It's the least we can do.

Clarke County has opened a shelter, and several wonderful ladies and volunteers have made it a success. Maintaining that success requires donations and volunteers, so please reach out and help if this is a cause that is important to you.

I know that God used that emotional day to use my students, the V4AC committee, and myself to be the voice for needy animals in our area. Maybe you feel about another cause the way I feel about animals. Don't be afraid to use your gifts to make a difference for that cause. No matter how big or small, you can change the life of a person or animal. Two of my favorite quotes regarding this are as follows:

"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." Mahatma Gandhi

"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not." Dr. Seuss from The Lorax

Just a small town girl, living in a crazy world!

My Inaugural Blog! I hope I'm doing this right, but my goal is to inspire and empower others, so it'll be okay if I make rookie mistakes. It will be okay if I make veteran mistakes later on. 

As long as I can remember, I have wanted to help people and animals. I think I inherited some of it, and what I didn't inherit was conditioned into me by my wonderful Christian parents. I remember my mom giving Christmas gifts and my dad's hand-me-downs to a needy man in town who had no family. This is a tradition that my brother and I would carry on until he and the man passed away within just a few years of each other. Now that I say that, I hate when people toot their own horns and post pictures of themselves helping the needy. That's not what I meant. My point was that I enjoy helping people, and I credit that to my parents. The purpose of this blog is to help people by sharing my experiences. 

I am an odd bird. I am 38 now, and it has just been in the last 6 years that I have realized that. Apparently,  my parents and others have always known it. I am incredibly blessed, and I have faced my biggest fear and survived. I have made an unorthodox career change, and been shunned for doing yoga and bodybuilding competitions. It is through these experiences that I realized that I am different, and I want to use my experiences of being different to help people and empower them to embrace their unique qualities as well. 

Here's a brief summary of who I am and what makes me different. I was born, raised, and happily returned to a small, rural slice of paradise called Fulton in southwest Alabama. Fulton is a quaint sawmill town at the end of the shortest state highway, highway 178. 

I love my immediate family very much, but I have always been a Daddy's girl. We seem to share the same interests and many of the same trains of thought. We are different, though, in that I lack his wisdom, patience, and math skills. He is skilled at letting things go, where I tend to dwell on them and seek punishment for the perpetrator and justice for the victim. I also think he molded his first child into the kind of child he wanted, for the most part. He did my brother the same way, teaching him all the things men need to know like carpentry, electrical, plumbing, & mechanical skills, just to name a few. He also spent countless hours with us outdoors playing sports and teaching us how to hunt, fish, drive a stick, and use guns safely.

My mom has taught us a lot as well, but the skills she has taught me don't come as easily to me as those my dad has taught me. I usually don't say "never," but I will never be a great cook or seamstress. For one, I'm not as interested, and two, I lack the patience it takes to thread a sewing machine and ice a cake. My mother is a woman of many talents and strengths.

My brother, Jared, and I, especially in his last year, would often discuss how we had certain traits from each parent, but also traits that only the two of us shared. I never knew how special that time with him would be, and how thankful I am that we had such talks. 

My biggest fear has always been losing my parents and/or brother, and as an adult, I added  my husband to the list. I especially worried about Jared because he was most reckless of the group. I always feared that he would die in a car accident. And he did. I will talk more about that in a later article, but I have now faced my biggest fear and lived to tell, even though I still lose my breath from time to time. 

I was introduced to my husband because our mutual friend had never met anyone as weird as the two of us, she said. Jason is 11 years and 364 days older than I am. Neither of us are fond of kids. That also makes me different. We are both OCD perfectionists. We can throw down at each other, but we love each other very much. We also make each other better. Jason is a US Marine with a finance degree and long career in logistics management. I am very proud of him. I don't know that anyone else would or could have supported me through the last six years of my life. They've been hard on me, so I had to have been hard to live with. Although I've always been an athlete and fitness lover, he is the one who got me back into it after high school. He had competitively body built years earlier and run, but a knee injury and bad surgery really slowed him down. He's gotten back at it though, and we are registered for 2 half marathons in the next ten months. I am really looking forward to our destination races together. 

I also had a teaching career for 12 full school years and a few months of a nightmare. I thought I would retire from teaching, but things change. Society has changed. I have changed. I never thought of my decision to leave teaching and go into sales as a brave one, but many people have told me it was. I just did what I had to do. Because of my good and bad experiences as a teacher, teachers are a group of people really close to my heart. I have lots of things to share with them via blog.

I am beyond thankful to my parents for having raised me in church, but a structured church is no longer the place for me. I prefer my small group, quarterly Bible study now. I have learned more about the Bible in this Bible study in the last few years than I have learned my entire adult life in church. Choosing to leave was a decision with which I struggled, but I now wish I had had the knowledge and courage to do so long ago. I lost friends along the way, but I know that people are in your life for a season. We come and go from each other's lives for a reason and a season. I will say that I am much happier now, although I know that is not a popular statement to make. It is, however, honest. 

My life now is what many would consider too boring and regimented, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I have always loved a hot rod (another dad trait), so my job as an internet sales manager at a local car dealership is something I really enjoy. I don't have the facilities to house animals other than my own, but I enjoy raising money and awareness for those (animals) that are needy. Three of my grandparents died young of massive heart attacks, so I have loved fitness since I was a teenager.  Before work, I'm lifting weights, and after work, I'm running. On the weekends, I try to squeeze naps into my schedule after the house and yard are tidied up.I love social media and sending funny memes to my friends. My family time is priceless. That's pretty much what I do. 

If I haven't put you to sleep or bored you to tears, I hope you will hang in there with me and hopefully get some benefit from my experiences. Thank you for reading. 

A Unique DINK

I am so glad to be out of my twenties and early years of marriage so I don't have to hear as many out of line comments and questions about my choice to be child free. Being a DINK (dual income, no kids) is another quality that makes me different, especially in the rural South. Now, I just laugh and take long, undisturbed naps in my clean house (chuckle). 

My brother and I were among the youngest in a generation of 17 great-grandchildren, so we never really were around younger cousins to babysit. I guess that's one of the many reasons I don't enjoy being around young children. I don't mean this article to be offensive to anyone, I'm just being honest. 

I remember my dad telling me many times, even as a child, that I will never have any kids because I don't like getting my hands dirty. He didn't mean that in a bad way, he was just telling the truth. And he was right. I have a weak stomach, and I'm what he calls "nasty nice." I will get my hands dirty working in the yard or detailing a car, but never by sticking my hands into cold, cloudy dishwater where a swollen noodle or chunk of mystery meat could be lurking. Expect me to gag if I smell ketchup, or God forbid, it were to touch me! Bodily fluids on my skin or anything I may ever have to touch are just not going to happen for me, not without a heave anyway. People say "it's different when it's your own," but I've talked to moms who can't deal with vomit. I feel ya, sister!

Then, there's the noise. Hearing children cry, scream, and/or whine is not something I can deal with. The "nasty-niceness" and dislike for noises are textbook sensory issues on  my part. The rest is my choice and the way God made me. I know that some religious beliefs teach that you're supposed to have kids. I respect that, but I do not share that belief. Why would I do something, especially as permanent and life changing, just because people "think you're supposed to." I love animals, but I don't think everyone should have them. I've been called selfish as a result of my choice. To whom am I being selfish? Someone who doesn't exist? I also read a Facebook post where the person said, in a nutshell, that people who choose to not have children, yet choose to love animals, must not be saved because there are children in orphanages needing to be adopted. Absolutely ridiculous. I must've missed that (nonexistent) verse in the Bible, just as the person missed John 3:16.

I'm not a preacher by any stretch, but God put the animals in our care. I know they were sacrificed in the Old Testament and have always been eaten, but I believe they should be treated with respect. I will talk about my God-given love for animals in another article. I know that God has a plan for each of us. I believe that I am the way I am because He needed someone to love animals and be their voice. I believe that people who feel strongly about causes were either born with that passion or developed it through a life experience. It takes people like us to take a stand and raise awareness for our causes. 

It blew people's minds that I was a teacher who "doesn't like kids." What many of those people didn't know is that I was a secondary teacher, which means I was certified to teach 6th-12th grades. Those kids are self-sufficient and they don't cry loudly. They are old enough to take care of themselves at school, but still young enough to need a positive adult in their lives. 8th grade was my all-time favorite. Many of those kids and I formed life-long bonds. I have countless teacher friends who are also moms, and excel in both roles. I believe, though, that just as God gave me a love for animals, that He gave me a love for middle and high school kids who needed a mentor. What I am about to say is in no way a pat on my own back, but an example to make my point. Some of the kids I mentored never had anyone show up at their athletic events to watch them or give them good luck gifts on try-out day. Parents, many times, don't have time & resources for other kids because they are busy with their own. Understandable. I think that's why God made people like me. Even though my students knew I wasn't a "little kid person," they knew I loved them and still do! Renowned educator, the late Rita Pierson, summed up my thoughts in her quote which follows: "Every child deserves a champion- an adult who will never give up on them, who understands the power of connection, and insists that they become they best that they can possibly be."

As Mother's Day approaches, it doesn't bother me a bit to not be in the recognized group. I celebrate my own mom and other special ladies in my life. I also think about how blessed I am to have a family who supports my decision, the love I have for my pets, and the special former students in my life. 

In closing, it rattles me a bit to talk about this, so I hope it didn't come across negatively. I just want people to see it from the perspective of a unique DINK.