The Chatter Box
By Deborah Bennett

Why is it that a heater never quits in the summer and an air conditioner never goes out in the winter? Must be one of those little "quirks" of life.

Our heater waited until the coldest weather of the winter hit to lie down and die. Actually, the pilot light just went out, and we cannot get it lit again. Never mind that the flame burned all summer without a problem! It is only when it gets cold that it doesn't work.

I spent about 20 minutes the other night lying on the floor, striking a match and trying to "sweet talk" the thing back into the service. It didn't work.

Fortunately, we have a back up heater, but it doesn't heat the house as well. So, we've added some extra blankets to the bed. However, that doesn't help much when you're sleeping in a warm spot and then roll over onto a cold-as-ice spot. It is kind of like getting in the shower and discovering there is not any hot water.

It also reminds me of the times I spent at my Granddaddy's house. He heated his whole house with fireplaces, and, of course, there was no fire in them at night, so we piled the quilts high and tried not to move.

Granddaddy would get up early every morning and start the fire in the fireplaces so that the house would be warm when it was time for everyone else to get up. I can still recall jumping out of bed and huddling up to the fireplace to get dressed. It is a nice memory.

I guess the heater dying is not so bad after all.

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Happy birthday this week to: Kyler Pierce Cook, Megan Frye, Brett Burke, Hank Joyner, Jeremy Dailey, Tyler Troisi, Blais Chance, Rhett Smith, Bob Dwelle, Burdell Frison, Carol Frison, Patricia Mincey, Randall L. Gay Sr., David P. Owens, Brooke Peel, Demarius Baldwin, Tim Clark, Cori Brinson, Ray Roberts, Sujata Sardar, Tyiese Cooper, Sam Sardar, Willie Baldwin and Marshella Herrington.

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Celebrating wedding anniversaries are: Mr. and Mrs. Randall L. Gay Sr.

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Military Active Duty List: Capt. Donald Slade Burke, Travis Air Force Base, Fairfield, Calif.; 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; Capt. 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.