Opinion

Some things I thought about while sitting in the dark after the ice storm.

•Flashlights and kerosene heaters are wonderful inventions. Having new batteries and fresh kerosene is even better.

•I had forgotten just how quiet the night can be.

•You don’t miss television as much as you might expect.

•I’m glad the neighbors have a generator to keep them warm. I just wish it didn’t sound like they were mowing their lawn all night.

•Reading by the light of a kerosene heater feels so Lincolnesque.

When I was a little girl, I attended Pleasant Grove Baptist Church with my mom and brother.

One year, an ice storm damaged some branches on the two big sycamore trees at the edge of the cemetery. I recall some discussion among the church members whether to cut the trees down – as they were advised by an expert – or to trim the damaged branches and give the trees a second chance.

Being a bit of a tree-hugger back then, I was glad when the adults decided to do the only wise thing by giving the trees a chance to recover.

For 10 years I worked with Daphne Loyall at Sunrise Manor Nursing Home.

Daphne, as administrator, deals with patient care, personnel issues, auditors and government regulations. Just try to read through the latest Medicare requirements and you’ll find plenty of reasons to pull out your hair.

Daphne had an expression she used when she was having one of “those days,” when no big thing was going wrong but the little things weren’t going right and she felt she would drown in them.

A couple of months ago, someone asked me why I don’t write about my children as often as I used to. When they were younger, they made frequent appearances in my columns – but always with their permission.

As they became adults, I tried to respect their right to privacy. Amanda, always a whirlwind of sociability, probably wouldn’t mind if I wrote about her life; but Daniel was more introverted. He didn’t care to draw a lot of attention to himself.

But he managed to do exactly that on Nov. 2.

That was the day everything changed.

In less than three weeks, TV as we know it will end – unless Congress grants an extension. Most of us won’t even notice.

Thanks to a government-mandated flood of public service messages most Americans know that the transition from digital to analog transmission signals for broadcast television stations must be completed by Feb. 17.

We’ve seen the countdown clocks, watched the commercials and some even have visited the dtv2009.gov Web site for more information.

I saw something downright appalling the other day.

It was a fat child.

Before you start penning those letters or firing off e-mails with indignation that I should say such a thing about the poor little fella, let me explain. His weight was the least of his problems.

My husband Bud and I were in the grocery store and ended up in an aisle behind a woman pushing a shopping cart with her son inside. She was complaining and griping at the boy because he was riding in the cart, that he wouldn’t get out and was eating all the food.

As many of you already know I have resigned my position as Hodgenville Main Street manager effective Jan. 15.

Although this decision has been difficult for me I am comforted by the friendships I have made and the wonderful work we have accomplished. The Main Street organization has become like a family to me and I will dearly miss each of them.

About a month ago, we received a “Just Ask” question by e-mail: “Is it true that (some of the local candidates) broke campaign laws with their signs and newspaper advertisements?”

The person asking the question did not provide their name or contact number.

Without more information, we were unable to file a complaint with the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance. The person we spoke to at KREF said the agency takes complaints about campaign violations under KRS 121 very seriously and provided a link to a pair of brochures on their Web site.

People come and go in our lives. For better or worse, some paths cross for only a short time. Others seem to intersect frequently despite relocations, job changes, marriages and the passage of time.

I have known Tammy Nischan since she was a child. She says our wedding was the first she remembers and talks about how romantic she thought it all was. Years later, we attended her December wedding and gushed over the poinsettia decorations. Our oldest daughter was influenced by it and when it came time for her to wed, she set the date in the Christmas season.