Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 6B
- FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS Sunday, April 18,2004
Letter writing is a lost art in these days of telephones and e-mail
Before you even wonder,
let me assure you that 1
love my computer and e
mail is my first choice -way
above telephone calling -for
quick communication. And still
... who doesn’t love receiving
letters? No, not bills, not form
letters, not greetings from your
new dentist who so appreciates
your business. No. what I am
referring to is a good, old-fash
ioned hand written letter or
card - addressed to you person
ally, begun with the no longer
familiar, "Dear...”
It seems letter writing is on
the way out the dixir, with our
own children leading the pack
of door stammers. Last summer
when my two oldest children
got home from their weeklong
No teasing: Big hair is back
Divas across Dixie are
dancing in the streets
and 1 am leading the cel
ebration. It’s all over the nation
al news. Or haven't you heard?
Big hair is back! It’s the day
that I and other creatures with
similar frivolities have been
dreaming of for years.
This mammoth news comes
straight from the runways of
Pans, the very runways that dic
tate trends for those in
Greensboro, Ga., Bryson City,
N.C. and Myrtle Beach, SC.
It's big news. Big enough that it
has gone a long way in redeem
ing the French in my opinion. 1
may even go back to using
Chanel lip gloss, my all-time
favorite, which 1 dutifully gave
up when the French acted so
unseemly to America. This is
big enough to w ipe aw ay a mul
titude of sins.
As soon as I heard the new s,
I raced to phone and hit the
speed dial numbers of all my
dear friends w ho w ere certain to
be overjoyed. 1 even called the
one who stole my high school
sweetheart when we were in the
11th grade. It was such happy
news and lifted my spirits so
high that at last, after all these
years, 1 could forgive her.
"Are you positive?" Karen,
my lifelong friend, asked
breathlessly. "You’re not mis
taken, are you? Please don’t get
my hopes up." Karen was the
last to give up big hair, some
thing she was able to do
because she’s an entertainer and
they always break the rules.
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14th Annual
Big Tent Book Sale! I
I I Sed Brx.ks $1 (X) ■ $5 (X) ■
1 I Tue Apr 20- Sun Apr 25 B
■ 9AM-7PM ■
Table- Restocked Daily I
Forsyth Christian
ei
1 FCS Middle & High School
jT’ ■ *\ If * College Preparatory Curriculum
sEwK fRA ' r" • Student Activities/Outings
• Full Conference Affiliated
XJV & Varsit\ Athletic Programs
«Wil i-So/,*
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ECS Elementary aUf, tf JmHBB
• Excellent Student-Teacher Ratio tflK JttflHSjH
• Success Oriented Environment
• Intramural Athletic Programs *
Our Vision:
dedu ated to excellence in providing each student with a genuinely balanced Christian education in all
areas of their life - spirit, soul and body - coupled with teaching the importance of daily putting on the
whole armor of God
♦ Grade Levels K-12 ♦ School Scripture: Ephesians 6:13
♦ Non-Denominational: No Church Affiliation ♦ School Mascot: Christian Soldier
♦ Life Preparation ♦ Contemporary Chapel Services
♦ "Charter Family" Tuition Rates Available through May 1 ♦ Administrator: Chris Walls
Administrative Office & Future Site of FCS
838 Atlanta Road • Cumming, GA 30040
Forsyth Christian School accepts qualified students without regard to race, religion, color or national origin
home
matters
by Adlen |
W.
Robinson
tor the
Forsyth
County
News
* h
camps, one of my first ques
tions to them was, "Did you get
the addresses of your new
friends so you can write to
them?" Both of my children
assured me they had several
addresses - but none involved
Tlixie
ViMI
by
Ronda Rich
for the
Forsyth
County
News
i
I
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jT *
Finally, though, she gave it up
but has been in severe mourning
in the years that have followed.
Her heart pounded wildly at the
thought that her bereavement
period was coming to an end.
Southern women are
renowned for our hair. There
have been many hairdressers
that fell at our feet and wept
with admiration. Whenever 1
have done national television,
I have paraded myself into the
make-up room and plopped
down in the chair for hair and
make-up, only to be disap
pointed by hair stylists who
said, "Great hair. Nothing to
do here." On one show I did in
Los Angeles, the hair stylist
who had already compliment
ed my hair in the make-up
room, was waiting on the set
for last minute checks. As
someone checked my mike,
the stylist said, "I just love
your hair!" he oozed again. "I
want to learn to do hair like
that." I’m not sure hat was
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Wendy Keenan Cell: 770-317-7479 ’ ,
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Hours: Monday by Appt. Tues-Sal 10:00 • 6:30
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lift
street addresses or even provid
ed a clue what state these new
friends lived in. Instead, the
"addresses" all ended with “dot
com” or "dot net.” It seems the
Internet has all but replaced
written correspondence. The
post office has certainly felt the
sting. More and more people
pay their bills on line, and send
e-greetings instead of paying
three dollars for a card, then 40
cents to mail it.
I have always loved hand
written letters and cards but
not cards with someone elses
words, but with personal
words, chosen by the sender.
When my husband and 1 were
first married, he used to ago
nize over choosing just the
right store bought card for me.
compliment or if it meant that
my hair was retro enough to
be cool in L A. Nonetheless, 1
responded, “Come South. Any
southern woman worth her
weight in magnolias can teach
you how to do hair like this."
Admirably, we, who like to
stay fashionable as possible,
have tried to play along with
the trends including that of
straight and - shudder - Hat
hair. It has been a difficult task
and we have had to call upon
every ounce of steely woman
hood but we have soldiered
along. Now, the veil of tribula
tion can be lifted and forgot
ten. To celebrate, 1 pulled out
some photos from 1989 and
1990 when my hair was so big
that it barely fit in the cam
era’s frame. Lovingly, 1
stroked the image and
dreamed of the days to come.
I’m making a list now for a
big shopping spree where I’ll
load up on hair-thickening
gels, stiff mousses and ultra
holding hair sprays. Maybe
there’s even another hair pick
in my future. One day soon,
I’ll gather the divas together
and ceremoniously we’ll all
bury our flat irons and whisper
"Au revoir” then "Merci,
beaucoup" to the French who
made it possible.
Now, what about bringing
back big shoulder pads? Si’l
vous plait?
Ronda Rich is the author of
What Southern Women Know
(That Every Woman Should)
and My Life In The Pits.
Finally 1 took a chance and told
him 1 would much rather him
compose the entire card himself
-1 gently explained his words
meant much more to me than
the words of a stranger. So, he
started making cards for me -
and called them "Paulmarks.” I
still love when 1 receive one of
those.
My oldest son had to write a
letter to someone for an assign
ment. He wrote to his great
grandmother in North Carolina.
That was months ago, but every
time we talk to her, she men
tions how much that letter
meant to her. We decided not to
tell her it was an assignment,
and are encouraging all of our
children to write to her on a
more regular basis.
Scenic gardens on display
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L.. .V .——t y i. fe "'i. .4 a
Photo/Submitted
The North Fulton Water Garden Tour is scheduled for May 1 from 10 a.m. to 4
p.m. Tickets are $lO in advance and sl2 the day of the tour. Autrey Mill Nature
Preserve is located in Alpharetta at 9770 Autrey Mill Rd. For more information,
call (770) 360-8844 or e-mail autreymill@mindspring.com.
■ ■ ■ - .... .y—,.., - ,
A ] here’s to our .
o aaminisi native i
‘ professionals
w VjL ' "V 1 ADMINISTRATIVE PROFESSIONALS DAY
XK 0 APRIL 21
PUBLISHES
WEDNESDAY
APRIL 21,2004
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APRIL 14, 2004
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770-887-3126
If you really want to make
someone’s day, take a minute
right now to jot down a hand
written note for them. It does
not have to be long; and it can
be on regular plain old paper. If
you have children, why not
host a letter writing marathon.
Even little ones can draw a pic
ture and you can write down
what they tell you they would
like to say - these are among
the best letters, I can assure
you. If letter writing does not
sound appealing to you or your
children, 1 have a possible solu
tion. Visit a craft store near you.
There are aisles and aisles of
stamps, stickers, markers, col
ored pencils, blank cards and
every imaginable color of paper
with just as many different bor-
ders. Let your creative juicei
flow and choose things that
speak to your heart. Then,
when you sit down with your
address book (or your PDA),
you can begin some creative
correspondence with your
friends and family. I promise
they will appreciate your efforts
and you may surprise yourself
and enjoy the process more
than you thought.
Adlen Robinson's "Home
Matters" column is published
in every Sunday's Lifestyles
section of the newspaper. You
can also read her food column
in Friday's newspaper. She wel
comes reader tips, comments
and suggestions! Please email
her at a4kidz@bellsouth.net or
write to her at the newspaper.