Ever so often, I mess up with this column. O.K., lots of times I mess up with this column.

It's not what I write about politically. If you will notice, I try to keep my political opinions to myself, and our thousands of readers in this newspaper and our web site. I try hard to opinionize on the opinion pages. Most of you who read them, I consider friends whether you like me, agree with me, or not.

As I've said before, the woman that I sleep with every night must really love me, since she has been with me for over 54 years, and seldom agrees with everything I write about. She is a good woman. I am fortunate above all men to have had her, and she is still with me.

For the past few weeks, I have written about family, and how they are doing.

As we were having our immediate family to lunch after church last Sunday, I was told that I had messed up, again.

Now my first wife enjoys having folks to our home almost as much as I do. When she cooks, she cooks for a crowd, and usually invites a crowd to eat with us. If she doesn't, I do.

Before we left for church, first wife told me, "Don't invite anyone to the house. Tammy is tired and doesn't want to dress for company."

Tammy overdid it Saturday helping host a bridesmaids’ brunch, working and attending a wedding and reception of friends. That chemo is tough on her, but she won't let it keep her down.

As we were leaving church, Betty Jo said, "I saw six or eight more that I would have invited if Tammy had been up to it."

I told her it was a good thing we agreed not to have a big crowd, since I saw several old friends and some new ones that I might have invited. We do cook plenty, and have a lot of paying back to folks that have been so good to us while Betty Jo, Tammy and Uva have been sick and recovering.

Sorry, our youngest daughter and grandson, Donna and Mason, had already gone back to their home.

That woman cooked a big, big roast with all the trimmings. She had me peeling a sackful of rutabagas, cutting up several cabbage, two kinds of potatoes and peeling a setting of boiled eggs late Saturday evening. We both enjoy cooking to have some left over if we don't over-invite.

It was just seven of us this time. Kent, Tammy, Joanna, Garrett, Uva, Betty Jo and "ye scribe” enjoyed a meal at which we all over-ate.

Uva has been feeling under the weather for a few days, but she is on the mend. She worked up at the office for awhile Saturday with me until I had to get ready to go to our friends’ daughter's wedding.

I'll bet I have the only 96-year-old plus inserter in the nation, maybe the world. Talking about work ethics, her name should be in the dictionary next to work.

Yes, you read right. I went to a wedding. I have said I won't say what I will not do the rest of the time I'm here. I wind up having to eat everything I say I'm not going to do.

It was a good wedding. The father and mother of the bride, Jimmy and Ruby Holt, did it up right. It was nice, plus.

I have always made it a practice since Tammy and Kent were married, to stake the father of the bride with a two dollars bill. It's not much, but it always brings a smile, and they can say they are not totally broke.

Back to my mess-up, I hadn't mentioned my favorite granddaughter, Joanna, while telling you about our bunch.

If there is one person in this world that her Papa would not want hurt, it is Joanna. Through the sickness of her Honey (Betty Jo) and her mother, Tammy, Joanna has been a nurse, a store manager, a cook, a cleanup person and anything else that could be put on an 18-year-old young lady. She stepped in like she was trained by her Honey and her mama. Without her help and support, her Papa and her daddy would have been Up the Creek.

Happy, Happy 19th Birthday, Joanna, Wednesday, April 14.