The Chatter Box

The Millen News is closed for vacation this week. Hopefully, I'm somewhere taking it easy as you are reading this column. Just to make sure, I have taken some necessary precautions.

I hung an "out-of-order" sign on the kitchen stove and have stocked up on microwave dinners. Paper plates and cups, along with plastic spoons and forks, are lined up on the counter where everyone can find them.

I also hid the dirty clothesbasket, just to make sure that it will remain empty, and the mop and broom have mysteriously disappeared. The vacuum cleaner is making a funny noise, and I just cannot use it until I determine what is wrong. That could take a while.

I have given amnesty for a week to any dust bunnies and spider webs and that might be lurking around my house, and I am almost certain someone has stolen the shrubbery trimmers.

The telephone has been programmed to turn itself off after the second phone call of the day, and the television has been trained to turn itself on when Oprah airs. And my car has been put on "stand-by" just in case I decide to jump in it on a moment's notice and take off somewhere.

If, however, there is an absolute emergency, and you just have to get in touch with me - you can call BR549 and leave a message. I will return your call - just as soon as I get back from vacation.

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Happy birthday this week to: Sarah Johnson, Jim Waters, Ed Wilson, Sidney London, Marsha Hood, Kayla Boynton, Matthew Goodwin, Barbara Davis, Helen Boone and Emily Williams.

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Celebrating wedding anniversaries this week are: Mr. and Mrs. John Troisi Jr., Mr. and Mrs. John Troisi III, Mr. and Mrs. George Dudley and Mr. and Mrs. Wayne Bennett.

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Military Active Duty List: SPC Grade E4 Arthur Lamont Milton Jr., HHC 1-36 Infantry Support, Friedberg, Germany; Staff Sgt. Gilbert C. Sheppard III, 48th Brigade, 118th Field Artillery, Ft. Stewart; Petty Officer 2nd Class Jamie A. Yager, U.S. Navy, Maryland; Petty Chief Officer Andy D. Crosby, U.S. Navy, Elroy Destroyer, Norfolk, Va.; Stephanie Crosby, R.N., U.S. Navy, Lafayette Destroyer; LCPL Dwain "Cade" Lee, 1st Marine Division Combat Service Support Group II Security Element, ArRamadi, Iraq; Jimmy Cooper, U.S. Army National Guard, 878th Engineering Battalion-Augusta, Persian Gulf ; 1st Lt. J.R. Taylor, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Iraq; SPC. Daniel Stuart, 18th MEDCOM, 121 General Hospital, Seoul, Korea; SFC Floyd Bolton Jr., 7th Battalion, 159th Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division, Ft. Campbell, Kentucky; SFC Maria Bolton, 61st Medical Detachment, 21st Combat Support Hospital, 4th Medical Brigade, Ft. Campbell, Kentucky; 1st Lt. Andrew P. Thomas, U.S. Marines, 2nd Marine Division, F.A.S.T. Company, Yorktown, VA; Sgt. 1st Class Steven Yager, 362nd Sig. Company, Korea; MM3 Jeffrey Sweat, U.S. Navy, USS Kauffman, MM3 59/E-Division, A-Gang, Norfolk, Va.; Cpl. Larry Lamont Clark, U.S. Marine Corp, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C. Bagdad, Iraq; Khan Young, U.S. Navy, U.S.S. Kitty Hawk, Persian Gulf; Robert Milton Jr., E-3, U.S. Army, Ft. Stewart, Hinesville, Ga., Mission Kuwait; SFC Ronnie Perryman, E-7, Georgia Army National Guard, Battery A, 118th Field Artillery Regiment, 48th Brigade Combat Team; Arnold R. Mosley, 2nd Lt., U.S. Air Force, Randolph AFB, Texas; and Debra A. Mosley, Tech. Sgt., U.S. Air Force, Randolph AFB, Texas.