Las' Appreciation

The trip to Louisiana was enjoyed by all. On the day of arrival, it was raining so hard I had to pull over. There was hail in some areas, but after that the weather cooperated. Most of the people of Mt Sinai attended the program and it made us proud. Many spoke about our growing up and how talented we were. [They said it, I didn't] Larry Bell and his son came from Texas and that was special. He sang with us and he testified on Sunday that he is cancer free. Praise God. Don came to the program and it was good to see him. He is so special. He makes sure that there are flowers on Joe and Dorothy, Mama and Daddy's graves. Las was fortunate to have all 4 of his kids present. James from Indiana, Jr. from Atlanta, Belinda from Camden and Sharon and her husband from Little Rock. His new wife, Mary is so cute and sweet. She had to translate everything to him from the program because he is too stubborn to get hearing aides. Brodie stayed at the church for an extra hour waiting to let us in because we were late for Rehearsal. Ethel Marie made a special dinner for us before she left on a road trip with her husband. Effie Mae [Pat Meadors' wife] is making a video of the program for us. Twyler came to the program, made us welcome in her home and sent us packing with home canned goods in spite of her medical problems. Let us pray for her. Carlton came, to my surprise. He introduced his Mom as Mistress of Ceremony. And did you know he can sing? He was late for his return flight and almost missed it. In the process he missed his lunch in the trunk of the car. His Aunt Louise had made homemade biscuits, ham, fried chicken and a hunk of pineapple cake for him to take on the plane. I wonder what happened to it. Cecily played the piano during the collection and did a good job as usual. She is so pretty. Mary Helen did a wonderful job as Mistress of Ceremony. We could not have made a better choice. She is so professional. Mrs. Mattie Hunter woke up the church with her prayers. Rev. Mills did the Revival. He said "I have not talked to the Bells, but from Mattie Bell Hunter's prayers, there is something not right at Mt. Sinai." Everybody did a Bozie. [THAT IS A PRIVATE FAMILY JOKE FOR THOSE WHO DON'T KNOW} It means that no one says a word. Johnny Ray did a good job with one rehearsal. We appreciate his reliability. We went to Camden before leaving and Las and Mary had made a wonderful dinner for us. We had stopped at Joe Moon's and bought thick sliced bologna and cheese so didn't have much room for dinner. Las sure knows how to pick a wife. Thank you, Wallace for the idea. It was more than a celebration for Las. For me it meant going home, seeing my siblings, nephews, nieces and many people that I have not seen for many years, like Johnny B. Brown. Thank you, Billie for driving us. It was comforting to be able to just sit back and ride. Thank you, Mattie for my scarf and for always looking out for me. Thank you, Charisse for making sure I had the good seats on the plane and for singing with us. Thanks to Vata, Glenidell, Loraine Bell Smith, Billie Wayne and Larry for their generous donations to the program. Thank you, Rikki for your donation and all you do for this family. Oh, there are plenty of hotels in Minden. We don't need the Linder Motor Lodge. Hope I have not missed anything. It was all good. Jean