Blogging Thru the Alphabet - A

Every day or so, I’m going to blog about things, people, ideas, concepts, places, etc. that start with a different letter of the alphabet. The letter for today is A….

• attitude – “Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.” ~Winston Churchill

So many people today are walking around with negative attitudes about, well, anything and everything! Our whole personality would change if we would just change our attitudes about some things. Society needs to learn to be more tolerant of others and their differences, learn to accept responsibility for their own actions, and make the best of whatever is handed to us. Be thankful for every day, every experience, and every one you touch or who touches you.

Attitude: It’s up to you!

• avocado – My mama grew up in Jacksonville, FL, and avocados were a staple, fresh fruit in her household….she said they even had an avocado tree in their yard! Growing up, I enjoyed cool, creamy avocados cut into small pieces, sprinkled with a little salt and pepper, and moistened with a splash of vinegar on hot summer nights…and still love them to this day!

• asparagus – Another vegetable that we enjoyed at our home, thanks to Mama. Even though the asparagus was usually out of a can, we would get much pleasure from the refrigerated spears on a bed of lettuce, and topped with a dollop of cold Duke’s mayonnaise! Yum…

• “aver” – (v) to assert positively; declare; state as true

In The Wizard of Oz, the coroner sings, “As coroner, I must aver,
I’ve thoroughly examined her,
And she’s not only merely dead,
She’s really most sincerely dead.”

For years and years, I did not know this word. My brother Frank and I had many discussions as to what the coroner was saying. Well, probably about 1999 (the 50th anniversary of the movie), Chuck ordered a collector’s package that contained a DVD, several photographs, a CD of all of the musical selections, and a SCRIPT! I could hardly wait to open the book and find out the coroner’s EXACT words….my hands were shaking….I was sweating….my heart fluttered (seriously!)…

I read the words, and felt immediate relief! Sadly, I found that my excitement about the words to the song was not shared by many. Some people didn’t care; some people had no clue what I was talking about; some said they knew all along what the coroner was saying; some people looked at me like I was crazy! Imagine that!

• Anne Anderson – my favorite aunt…

Anne Evans Anderson was my mama’s younger sister. She was married to George Anderson, and together they raised two daughters, Jane Anne and Sue. Anne and George both had their faults (as we all do), but they were loving, caring, wonderful people. Anne was a quiet, soft-spoken person who loved children, especially her grandchildren. She loved to watch the Miss America pageant on TV, and got a variety of catalogs in the mail…Spencer, Lillian Vernon, Hickory Farms…I could go on and on. I thought that those catalogs were magical! I can remember pouring over them for hours on end when my mama and I would visit them on Sunday afternoons. Another good memory was that she lived on High Street, and on that street in Cheraw, there were sidewalks! I’d take my metal, adjustable roller skates and skate up and down the sidewalk in front of their house while the grown-ups sat in rocking chairs or on the porch swing and talked. Anne was diagnosed with cancer of her lymph nodes in her neck, and had surgery to remove the growth. Eventually, her cancer spread to the other side of her neck, and once again, she had surgery. After all of the surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, and years of pain and suffering, she lived the rest of her life with a tracheotomy and a feeding tube. Her faith kept her strong and she stood as a shining example of love and inner beauty up until the end of her life. I loved her so much, and still miss her to this day.