Newspaper Page Text
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May I
take your
order?
My husband has some
strange aversion to
the telephone.
Or sure, he knows how to
use it well enough. It’s not
the technology that both
ers him, or the actual act of
dialing.
It’s what follows the ring
tone that he doesn’t particu
alrly enjoy - you know, the
talking.
That is why I am often
required to act as his sec
retary.
He needs a haircut? I make
the call to make the appoint
ment.
He has a toothache? I
make the call to make an
appointment. He’s sick? I
make the well, you get the
picture.
Every so often on his way
to work he likes to stop at a
j
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Sherri Martin
The Front Porch
taurant
and pick
It has
become
routine
for me
to call in
his order:
one large,
sliced beef sandwich with
sauce, regular fries and a
large sweet tea. It’s gotten
so routine that when the
people on the other end of
the line pick up and hear
me say, “I’d like to place an
order,” they say, “Let me see,
will that be one large, sliced
beef sandwich with sauce,
regular fries and a large
sweet tea? We’ll get it ready
for him, Mrs. Martin.”
Now that’s service!
You would think that,
since he would hardly have
to say a thing, this is one call
my husband could make on
his own.
Think again. One day I
was on my way to town when
my cell phone rang.
“Did you make the call?”
I heard him say. “No, but I
will,” I said, trying to sup
press my sigh.
I guess I should be glad
that he doesn’t mind talk
ing to me. With our varied
schedules, we often have to
rely on the phone to keep
the lines of communication
open.
That’s why another day,
after he got to work, I
wasn’t too surprised when
the phone rang. I figured
he had forgotten to tell me
something before he left.
Wrong.
“Did you forget some
thing?” he asked calmly.
“Oh, no!” I said with dis
may. I had fallen down on
my job. He had gone up to
the counter for his lunch
and they said, “She didn’t
call it in, Mr. Martin.” What
failure!
In my defense, I told him I
had forgotten because I was
dealing with a wailing tod
dler whose heart was bro
ken because he could not go
to work with his daddy. All
thoughts of making a phone
call flew out of my mind as
I was busy comforting hurt
feelings.
“I’ll have to talk to my sec
retary about this,” he told
the people at the restau
rant. Um, hmm. He’s such a
funny man.
I really don’t mind making
the calls when needed.
My husband would be the
first to tell you I have no
aversion to talking on the
phone.
Plus, I enjoy taking care of
all three of my men.
And just so long as my
husband remembers to
chase his secretary around
the desk every once in a
while, I’ll keep on dialing.
With a smile.
SATURDAY,
AUGUST 12, 2006
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Journal/ Charlotte Perkin*
Chas Mann is shown here with Ronda Garbisch, Children’s Ministry director at First Baptist Perry, where he has
excelled in the AW AN A program and in learning about the Bible.
Caring is
By CHARLOTTE
PERKINS
Journal Lifestyle Editor
At 5:30 every weekday
morning, Becky Mann is
about to head out the door
to her job as an operat
ing room nurse at Houston
Medical Center.
Her husband, Dr. Charles
Mann, gets a little more
sleep, but not much,
because he gets up to run
every morning before going
to work.
A general surgeon, he has
offices in Perry, Fort Valley,
Warner Robins and Byron.
Their son, Chas, who is
13, has to get up and get
going, too.
He’s a student at the
Westfield Schools, with an
active church life and plen
ty of hobbies and interests
to keep him busy.
What makes things work
for this family is an old
fashioned extended family.
Chas has live-in grandpar
ents.
Becky’s parents, Keath
and Mary Morgan, are
devoted to their grandson.
Mary, who let’s you know
in a moment that she’s a
proud grandmother says,
“He’s a gift from God.”
And apparently, she’s one
herself, because in addi
tion to riding herd on her
grandson and his friends,
she’s the main cook in the
house.
“Mama’s an excellent
cook,” Becky says. “She
makes the best meatballs
and spaghetti.”
“And cheeseburgers,”
Chas adds, “and lemon
ade.”
The whole family enjoys
a second home at Lake
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Lifestyle
Family Values
a way of life for Mann family
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Journal Charlotte Perkins
Having live-in grandparents makes it possible for Becky
and Charles Mann to keep up their busy schedules.
She is an operating room nurse, and he is a general
surgeon.
Blackshear, where Keath
Morgan, a World War II
veteran, makes the most of
his retirement, and Chas
has his own fire truck.
No, we’re not talking
about a toy. This young
man, who has been fas
‘A Night of Swing at the Canteen*
cinated with firefighting
since he was a toddler, has
his own library of books on
the great fires of history, an
impressive collection of fire
memorabilia, and his own
fire truck - a 1960 pumper.
What does he want to be
when he grows up?
A firefighter, naturally.
But Chas has other inter
ests as well, and one of
those is growing in his
faith.
First Baptist Church of
Perry has been an anchor
for him since moving here
from Perry, and he has
excelled at AWANA activi
ties as well as learning to
put others first, accord
ing to Ronda Garbisch,
the church’s Children’s
Ministry Director.
Becky, who met her hus
band in Tifton in 1984 when
they were both working
at Tift Regional Hospital,
took several years off from
her work as an RN after
their son was bom, but she
stayed so busy as a volun
teer that the City of Tifton
still counts on her to come
back each year on the first
Saturday of December for
the big downtown festival.
Her activities there start
ed with decorating their
home for Christmas and
inviting neighbors in for an
open house, and the spirit
caught on and got things
rolling toward the holiday
festival, which now attracts
as many as 35,000 people
each year, with a parade,
entertainment, carnival
rides, historic homes tours
and more.
Chase also got some of
his early lessons in serving
others as he went with his
mother each year to deliver
decorated Christmas trees
too families in need.
In Houston County, she’s
a Faircracker and also a
member of the Pilot Club
of Perry and the Houston
Arts Alliance, while her
See FAMILY, page 4C
In honor of the Armed Forces, the Houston Arts
Alliance will host “Georgia Big Band Music and
Dancing’ - “A Night of Swing at the Canteen at the
Museum of Aviation Century of Flight Building on Sept.
9, from 7-10 p.m. There will be prizes given for the
best-decorated table and best costume, from WWII to
the Korean War. A table for eight costs $160; and the
cost for single seat at a table is S2O. There are special
discounts for military personnel (active duty). Guests
may bring their own food and drink - picnic style or
gourmet style. Tables must be reserved. To purchase
tickets call the Houston Arts Alliance office, 218-5229,
Monday - Friday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Mastercard and
Visa are accepted. Tickets may also be purchased at
Robins Air Force Base and at the Warner Robins Visitor
Center.
Special to the Journal
SECTION
c
To look
or sound
great?
Karen and I were meet
ing up on a super
secret beauty mission
(don’t mention Botox). En
route to the appointment, I
talked to two other friends
on my cell phone.
Karen, one of my best
friends, is a Grammy-nom
inated gospel music artist
who has had several num
ber one records. When both
friends learned that I was
on my way to rendezvous
with her, they mentioned
that they had seen Karen
performing on television a
couple of days earlier.
“Tell her that she looked
great!” Debbie said.
“Tell her that she sounded
great!” Pinky instructed.
Dutifully, I reported both
comments as we waited for
our appointment.
“How sweet,” Karen
demurred softly, smiling.
I furrowed a un-Botoxed
brow and asked, “Which
would you prefer? To sound
great or look great?”
It was a deep question and
one that was not quickly
answered. In fact, Karen
was completely baffled.
Ronda Rich
Columnist
Her eyes
widened,
almost in
horror.
“I don’t
know. Oh
my gosh.
I don’t
know. ”
She mum
bled back
and forth
about it
then said, “This is terrible.
I know I should say ‘sound
great’ because I’ve made my
living singing for over 20
years! But I don’t know.”
She bit her lower lip.
After a debate of several
minutes - by the way, I was
NO help on this - I com
mented thoughtfully, “Well,
maybe you could sound so
great that no one would even
notice how you looked.”
“That’s it,” she agreed,
nodding. “That would
work.”
I know we’re vain. It’s
not anything we’re proud
of, especially Karen who
sings for the Lord. After all,
vanity is one of the seven
deathly sins. I, though, have
a bit more leeway in such
matters.
We do seek, however, to
keep it at bay as much as
possible. Sloppiness is a sin,
too.
At least it is on my list
because it leads to sloth,
definitely one of the seven
deadly sins. So, it’s all a
matter of finding the right
measure and tip-toeing down
that fine line.
As fate would have it, the
following morning, it was
reported on the news that
women spend an average of
See RICH, page 4C