Up The Creek Without A Paddle
The Lord works in many wonderful ways
by Terry Toole

It was a grand Thanksgiving.

As I said recently, I think back sometimes more than I look forward. That is not what we should do.

For more Thanksgivings than I can remember, I was never at home for that wonderful dinner that was prepared. I was out in the woods following two or three bird dogs looking for a covey of quail.

That doesn't sound like good sense to walk 10 or 12 miles through briars and woods when I could have been home in a warm house eating a good dinner with family.

I guess it's how you were raised. As long as I can remember, that is what we did on Thanksgiving. We enjoyed the outing, the hunt, the being with hunters and dogs and the thrill of the covey rise. I still miss it and feel like I haven't done what I'm supposed to on that special day.

As for eating a good meal, don't feel too sorry for me in my younger days. I was taught to hunt on lands of a relative or family friends who would have a Thanksgiving feast around eating time. We would make sure that we arrived just in time to be invited to come in and "break bread." I can't remember o a time the plan failed. We would swap a cooked meal for as many quail as those who fed us would take.

It's been several years since this happened. I've quit keeping a yard full of bird dogs, and we would go eat with the Richardson clan for the past few years.

This year was going to be different. My first wife had made plans for us to go to the cabin in the Tennessee mountains. We were going to take our 93-year-old house guest, Uva, and some of the children and grandchildren were going to be with us. We were going to leave Colquitt Tuesday after we got the newspaper out and stay until Sunday.

Things don't always work out as planned. Donna had some surgery but thought she and Mason could make the trip. Our Richardson children and grandchildren decided they would stay home. Somebody has to work. Then Aunt Una went to the hospital. She is Uva's twin sister.

We were still going to try to go to Tennessee until I got this subpoena to be in court Tuesday morning in Randolph County.

I still didn't say anything, but my first wife, bless her heart, decided that maybe we had better stay at home after having to go to court all Tuesday morning. Donna said she just didn't feel like going. Uva didn't feel too good about leaving her twin in the hospital. As it turned out, it was just going to be us three and Betty Jo's sister, Mealie and her husband, at the cabin.

It takes eight hours on the road to get to the cabin in Tennessee. I enjoy being there after we get there, but dread the trip, but I still didn't say a word about going or not.

As it turned out, we didn't go to the mountains. Betty Jo got to see some leaves going to Cuthbert and back. We got the newspaper out Tuesday evening. We got started on this newspaper Wednesday. We enjoyed family and friends all day and into the night Thanksgiving Day and had a very good weekend. My first wife and I watched several Hallmark TV programs that were really good.

All in all, if the Tooles from Canton had been home, it couldn't have been any better.

I told my first wife she wouldn't have to give me anything for Christmas. Not having to make that long, cold trip was enough. The Lord works in many wonderful ways.

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving.