For years the little green rocking chair has sat in a corner of my storage house, a sentimental keepsake from the past. It was a childhood gift from my granddaddy, George Rabitsch, and I just could not part with it, despite the fact that it seemed beyond repair.

I can still see Granddaddy trying to sneak it in one door of the house as I came out the other door and caught him red-handed.

The chair quickly became a “magic” chair, transporting me to all sorts of exciting places whenever I sat in it. Back in the Medieval days when I was a child, your imagination was your best entertainment, and I learned to use mine well.

Yes, it had been a magic chair, but the years had taken a toll on it. And any hopes of passing the “magic” down to my grandchildren had been dashed, or so I thought. But, keepsakes, like memories, I have discovered, can be brought back to life – with a little imagination and the skill of a “magician”.

My husband recently had a young man doing some work at our house, and on a whim, we showed him the chair and asked if he could repair it. He was up for the challenge and took the chair with him.

On Mother’s Day, he brought it back to me as a gift. I was delighted! The chair looks like new now and sits next to my husband’s childhood rocker in our living room, ready to perform its “magic” for our grandchildren who are just learning the mechanics of “rocking the baby”. I can almost see Granddaddy smiling every time they climb on it.

Thank you, Jody and K.C. Finch, for restoring the “magic” in my little chair.

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Don’t forget to recognize your favorite 2010 graduate with a “Patty Cake” ad in The Millen News. The cost is $30, and the deadline for submitting the information is noon this Thursday. Our graduation issue will be published May 26.

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Happy birthday this week to: Math Johnson, Alana Mims, Elizabeth Fleming, Joely Mims, Mark Schwonke, Milton Paul Godbee Jr., Velma Bragg and Steve Burke.

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Celebrating wedding anniversaries are: Mr. and Mrs. Steve Burke and Mr. and Mrs. Matt Brinson.

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Military Active Duty List: PFC E3 Jeremy Johnson, U.S. Army, 59th Quartermaster Company, Ft. Carson, Colorado; Lance Cpl. Adam Lanier, U.S. Marines, 8th & I Marine Barracks, Washington, D.C.; E-4 Sr. Airman Roy Davis, U.S. Air Force, RAF Molesworth, United Kingdom; Cpl. Patrick Barnette, U.S. Marines, 29 Palms, California; Sgt. Adam Demshar, 44th Signal Battalion, Baghdad, Iraq; Cpl. Lee Ogden, U.S. Marines, Camp Pendleton, CA; E5 Petty Officer 2nd Class Eric B. Kelsey, U.S. Navy, NSA Naples, Italy; Senior Airman Charles F. Woods, Moody Air Force Base, Valdosta, GA; Stuart Burrus, U.S. Air Force, Osan AFB, Korea; SPC 4 Travis D. Motes, 1st Calvary Division, T. Hood, Texas; Capt. Donald Slade Burke, 735th Air Mobility Squadron Detachment 1 Commander, Richmond Royal Australian AFB, Richmond, Australia; Staff Sgt. Gilbert C. Sheppard III, 48th Brigade, 118th Field Artillery, Iraq; Petty Officer 3rd Class Jamie A. Yager, U.S. Navy, Marine Corps Base Hawaii; Chief Petty Officer Andy D. Crosby, U.S. Navy, Elroy Destroyer, Norfolk, Va.; Stephanie Crosby, R.N., U.S. Navy, Lafayette Destroyer; 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; 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. Baghdad, 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; 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; and SPC Charles “C.J.” Amerson, U.S. Army, Louisiana.