Fall on Lake Burton

Dean's mom has a birthday today, the 24th of October..she will be a beautiful 89. It has been 10 years since she could celebrate her birthday on Lake Burton. As soon as we arrived, all of us breathed in the crisp fall air and settled back to watch the leaves begin turning bright yellow, deep crimson and orange.

Baxter, who had been a howling "basket case" in the motel, settled right down and enjoyed his stay at the lake, and his ride on "Evie's Porch".

 Isn't my coat just precious?? Thanks MOM!!

Yes, we had to bundle up for our boat ride, but it was worth the effort. As usual Evie's Boat Tour was a huge success, as we checked out the latest construction projects, and gave thumbs up or thumbs down to the newest creative endeavors. We don't quite understand the lighthouse or turret or observation tower on the newest house...but someone with a bunch of money must have liked the idea.

We still like coming back to the Jerger place. Just hope that the generations to follow will appreciate having this beautiful place to come. Though Lake Burton is 95% Georgia Power Leased property, Dean's Mom and Dad purchased their 3 lots from long time resident Knox Bynum. With their foresight, and Dad's love of a challenge, our family will never have to worry about leases...Up Yonder will belong to the family as long as we wish to have it. After 40+ years, it still looks great and is such a peaceful place to come.

Ruthie's Gymnastics...The Beginning Chapters

Wow! were we ever impressed on Sunday. Ruthie was participating in only her second competitive gymnastics meet. For those of you who know, she is a Level 4 in experience, and so much higher in perseverance, dedication, and drive.

Her team is  "beautifully" outfitted in TuTu's (Ruthie's great grandmother, Evelyn, from whom she received her first name.) favorite color...PURPLE!!

They began their rotation at the bars, where Ruthie twisted and flipped and muscled her way into the number one position. It was a great start to the meet.

Then, they moved to the beam..I still have no comprehension of the courage it takes to spin, hop, and do handstands on that teeny little board, high above the ground. But, Ruthie did it and with style and grace.

Thirdly, the girls approached the floor exercises. Everyone does the same routine, to the same  music. So, by the time Ruthie got there, we kinda knew what to look out for. Though she fell short of the perfect 10, which I was awarding on every event, the judges rewarded her with the highest score of her age group. 9.375. I think if they would just review the tape, they would see it was really a 10! Again, Ruthie took top honor for that rotation.

Finally, she made her way to the vault, and again did a magnificent job on that apparatus, as well!

Then, Adam and Lori led us off to the rewards room, where all the "hardware" was presented to the highest scoring level 4's according to ages. Ruthie walked away with the two first places (Bars and Floor) plus a 7th in the vault. This propelled Ruthie into the #1 Overall gymnast in her age group! She got medals and a plaque, and she helped her team finish in 3rd place!

I don't know how, but she was able to muster up a smile and didn't seem the least bit winded by this unbelievable day of competition. I personally was exhausted, and had to rest my back after WATCHING the warm ups!

Way to go Miss Ruthie!!

Are You Ready For Some Football?

NFL?? No, it is not our favorite football league. NCAA?? This year, with FSU playing so poorly, again, not our favorite football league. Club Sports Kids?? YES...with two superstar grandsons playing, by far, our favorite football league.


Dean, Baxter and I headed for the  fields, for an exciting morning of flag football. Rusty and Flip provided two hours of thrilling, hard "non" hitting action that any fan of  the gridiron would have loved! Their fans went WILD!!

First it was Flip's team..Flip played with reckless abandon..grabbing flags right and left, running for a touchdown (which was called back due to the erroneous ref's call that he stepped out of bounds), and chewing his mouthpiece into submission. When it was all over, his team had won, and Flip had garnered 5 quarters from Grandpa, based on the 4 flags pulled and the "touchdown", and he was awarded with the "MPE". That is how Flip explains the, perhaps more commonly used, MVP of the game.

 

Next, it was the big "Rust". His team had yet to win a game. Today, Rusty helped his teammates change that outcome completely. Rusty, as usual, was the thorn in the opposing quarterback's side, as his blinding speed provided little time for picking out receivers. Rusty pulled 3 flags and had a great day on offense, rushing for a key first down! At the end, his team counted their first win, and Rusty garnered 4 quarters from his Grandpa!

We had a great time watching the boys play and playing with the girls. Baxter is still taking a nap after all the walks he took with Ellie and Ruthie.

 

United Way

Yes! This handsome United Way volunteer is none other than, Dean Jerger. Dean is the co-chair of the United Way campaign in Jefferson County. He and Nan Baughman begin this month, visiting or calling businesses in the area, schools, and others to contribute to this worthy organization. The two of them are spearheading this fundraising for the third or fourth year.

When I was an employee of Pinellas County Schools, I resented the fact that the county first took money (not much) for United Way. Finally, I opened my eyes to the kids in my classes who actually benefitted, in some way, from the United Way organizations. Then, I quit griping, and actually increased the nominal contribution. In a large county, like Pinellas, it is so easy to raise the big bucks!

Since we moved to Jefferson County, we have come to understand, not only the unmet needs of a small county, but also the fact, that the good folks and businesses get "tapped" time and time again for so many causes. The most fascinating thing to me is that these folks just keep giving and giving and giving. Even in these tough financial times, they understand that the needy keep getting needier, and that joining their small contributions can make a difference to the organizations in the county that serve those folks.

Jefferson, along with Madison County, are a couple of the smaller counties in the Big Bend area. So, United Way, up here, is called United Way of the Big Bend. The larger county, Leon, is able to raise money much like Pinellas, so the "Big Bend" shares a little of that wealth with the smaller counties. Our county raised $50,000 last year, but distributed over $70,000. Again, I see the generosity of people helping people...

Yes, I know, there are administrative costs in the United Way. In the Big Bend it is 17.5%. As you can see, the "little guys" do not pay any of that percentage,technically, as they distribute more than they raise. Without the organization, I believe many of the needs in a smaller county would continually go unmet.

So, thanks to Dean and Nan, for all the hard work they do for, as you can imagine, many, many causes in Jefferson County. And thanks for Jefferson County residents for "Living United".