Comments to: andybowman839@gmail.com Coffeetimecolumn.com Happy? Maybe you are and maybe you’re not. But, one thing is certain, you have the right to try to be happy.

Comments to: andybowman839@gmail.com Coffeetimecolumn.com The four-year-old little girl had a startlingly vivid imagination. She loved to live in a makebelieve world of her own, and expected everyone else who happened to be around to follow along.

A lot of you might have thought I was too young to fight in WWII. The same could have been said for the Byrd boys, Roy and Troy. But with the advent of the big war by 1942 we were involved. The sight of all the young men being drafted, then coming back in a few weeks all dressed up as soldiers, Marines and Sailors inspired us. They were instant heroes in the small towns and churches of Coal and Pontotoc Counties. The newly minted members of our armed forces were our heroes. We felt heroic ourselves as we were left to defend the streets and hedgerows of Centrahoma. Reality comes hard for some first graders.

I had a good visit with 1949 HHS graduate Bill Watkins this past week. He is the son of the late Wes and Mamie Watkins, two of our good friends. His brother Clark was also a special friend and Clark and Queenie’s daughter Nannette was so much fun to be around. I have lost track of Nanette and hope to see her and others as soon as HHS resumes their alumni gatherings. I had hoped we would do something for our 55 last year, but it didn’t work out. When I was talking to Bill, I was reminded that his mom worked at LaValley’s Dry Goods for many years. I loved to go in there not only to shop but to visit with the employees. They were always so pleasant. I still miss that store….Rick Summy making some youngsters mighty happy by giving them his famous snocones. I still miss his folks. I have never had better friends. I bought Summy eggs until they retired and they were the best!.....For the first time in several years, I visited with my longtime friend and classmate Mike Brown. Mike is a retired attorney and now lives in California. He served as a Marine during the Vietnam War. Mike and another one of our classmates, the late Kenny Conn, were very close friends and we talked about how much we miss Kenny. Mike and I will never forget the first time we ever left Holdenville. Kenny’s mother, Helen, took the three of us to Ada to bowl. She packed sandwiches for the trip and stopped at a drive-in and bought us a coke. It was one of the most fun-filled days the three of us ever had. Helen was such a special lady and we all loved her. Every year, I would receive a birthday card from her with money in it and a note to use the money to buy me a hamburger and coke. Money was very hard to come by back then and I know when she sent me money, she sacrificed something she needed for herself. In high school I got a job working part time for Assistant District Attorney George Oliphant because of Helen. She was his secretary. It was a great experience and George was a very interesting person and a WWII Veteran that shared many of his memories….. For the first time in a long time I saw Johnny Mayfield at the Save-a- Lot grocery store and we had a good visit. Johnny and wife Susan own the Mayfield Grocery in Spaulding. It has been in the Mayfield family for years and I love to go in to visit and look around. I have known the Mayfield family for most of my life and there are not better folks….Dr. Keith Boren and I had a great visit this past week. He is a close friend and a great musician. I have three of his CD’s and really enjoy them…..Visited with my friend Ethel Phelan recently. She is really enjoying her retirement and she certainly deserves it…..My brother-in-law, David Leewright and wife Sherry a bit sad to see their daughter, Afton move to New York, but we know she will enjoy the adventure….. Congratulations to Sonic manager Jessica Cellars for having the number one Sonic in this district……We hope our friend Sharon Nolen is doing okay after a knee replacement. I have never been through that but understand it is not a pleasant experience… Today we want to take a look back at the year 1929 and see what was going on in Holdenville……

I have read thousands of books in my lifetime, but one of my favorites is a little volume by Penelope Stokes entitled Thanks Dad! Lessons from the Lake on Living and Loving. It is a small book with very short, well illustrated chapters of life lessons Penelope learned from fishing with her father.

Comments to: andybowman839@gmail.com Coffeetimecolumn.com You’ve heard it…the one about the little girl who was wakened by the lightning and thunder that lit up her bedroom and made the walls shake. Trembling with fear, she shrieked for her Daddy who came running.

True story. Probably countless times thru the span of history.

Andy was only a green twenty-year-old when he was called to his very first pastorate out in the Panhandle of Oklahoma. Located in a rural isolated community, this tiny church was accustomed to getting “newbies” as its pastor. Preacher-boys needed somewhere to learn pastoring and public speaking, and that church did a fine job of tolerantly being that somewhere.

Regina Bell, 90 years young, is a former columnist for the Cleveland (Ohio) Plain Dealer newspaper. This is her report brought to you with her permission.

Comments to: andybowman839@gmail.com Coffeetimecolumn.com Occasionally we fix oatmeal for breakfast. Not your favorite thing to eat of a morning? Me neither.