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SUNDAY,
JANUARY 30, 2005
Irene Harner
Columnist
irenehamer@juno.com
Learning to drive
I like to think, as eveiy driv
er on the road today thinks,
that I’m good at it. I’m proba
bly the only driver that
learned how to drive in such
an unusual way. My husband,
Myrel, was my teacher as he
was in so many things. My
school ground was dirt logging
trails very high in the Sierra
Nevada mountains of
California.
The roads were one lane,
just wide enough for a truck
loaded with the remnants of
the tall virgin timber being
brought off the mountains
more than fifty years ago. The
road followed the twists and
turns, some places being just
ledges cut from the mountain
side hanging above the
canyons. Whoever carved
these roads figured the truck
drivers knew what they were
doing, or had better know, and
ignored what we have come to
accept as our just due—guard
rails.
My teacher was patient,
(back then anyway) and only
once did he come near to los
ing his cool. I came around a
sharp curve and was trans
ported by the absolutely
breathtaking view ahead of
me. I forgot I was driving. By
the time Myrel suggested I hit
the brakes the front tires were
kicking the pebbles down into
the canyon several hundred
feet below.
When I got really proficient
at finding a hidey-hole when a
truck came barreling down
the mountain at me, Myrel
decided it was time to take me
to civilization and let me prac
tice on the back roads.
Out in the boonies where
we lived there wasn’t much
traffic, so I was made back up
for miles. Myrel wanted me to
be so at ease with the car that
driving would be second
nature.
Then came the parallel
parking. Not much call for it
anymore although if you’re
interested in tiying your hand
at it, Mulberry Street in
Macon still has parking along
the curb. It’s like riding a bike
apparently, once you learn, it
sticks with you. Since parallel
parking was definitely a por
tion of the drivers test in
California at that time, if you
couldn’t do it you got a
restricted license that said so.
Really. My sister-in-law had
one, she never learned to
park, nor has she ever been
much of a driver. (I’m not wor
ried - they live in Arizona and
if I don’t send them the col
umn she’ll never know what I
think of her driving.)
Finally, the big test came; I
had to get out on the famous
Highway 99 that was the main
artery that ran from Baja
California to Oregon. I was
tested in the winter rains and
the heavy fogs and passed the
first time. Those fogs were so
bad at times that more than
once trying to get home of an
evening, the sheriff or high
way patrol troops would stop
us and urge us to “please go
home and stay there!” One
night, with our heads hanging
out the car windows trying to
follow the white lines as we
crossed a highway to get to a
side road, Myrel put us on the
railroad tracks. Fortunately,
we got back on the road safely,
but it was really scary.
But knock wood, my inten
sive training has served me
well, no stops, no tickets, and
only one accident and that
was half a block from home -
so far. Let’s hope my luck
holds for another 50 years.
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LaTonya Holmes as Ronette in “Little Shop of Horrors.”
The sky s the lintir
Northside High School grad on national tour
By CHARLOTTE PERKINS
HHJ Lifestyle Editor
When the national tour of
“Little Shop of Horrors”
opens at at Atlanta’s Fox
Theatre on Tuesday night,
Northside High School will
be well represented with 25
students and two drama
teachers in the audience -
and one of their own on
stage.
Warner Robins native
LaTonya Holmes, who has
the role of Ronnette in the
musical, said in a telephone
interview from Houston,
Texas, last week that she’s
looking forward to a back
stage meeting with the stu
dents and her old drama
teacher, Ray Horne, as well
as well as current Drama
Dept, head Brian Barnett.
“I’m a Northside Eagle to
this day,” Holmes said.
She’s also looking for-
peM!e
Big honor
Kimberly McDonald has
been named 2004 Woman of
Achievement by the Warner
Robins Business &
Professional Women.
The big event
Ross and Sally Tolleson
were in Washington, D.C.
last week for the
Inauguration of President
Bush, as were Angie and
Philip Mitchem and their
children, Jake and Tyler.
A bright idea
Le Ann Tuggle let us
know that Charles and
Nelle Shelton surprised
their children and grand
children and other family
members over Christmas by
making a set of DVDs of old
family slides, complete with
music.
Le Ann said “It’s one of
the best Christmas gifts
“from the heart” that I’ve
ever seen,” and notes that
Lifestyle
ward to a big family
reunion in Atlanta. Her
parents, Clifford and Rosa
Holmes, both well-known
Houston County educators,
will be in Atlanta with a
host of relatives to enjoy the
musical.
And for singer’s proud
parents, that’s a matter of
seeing “Little Shop of
Horrors” for the fourth
time, because they already
saw it three times when
they flew out to San
Franciso to catch it on tour
during the summer.
Ray Horne has already
seen it in New York City,
and he says that watching
his former student perform
brought tears to his eyes.
Looking back, Horne
remembers the day he
learned that a young girl
named LaTonya Holmes
could really sing.
somebody ought to per
suade Charles to do a histo
ry of Perry on DVD.
“He is probably one of the
most knowledgeable people
around when it comes to
Perry history,” she said.
News from the
Bistro
Among those celebrating
recent special events at
Chef Audrey’s in
Centerville were Ramona
Mills, who is has just
opened RJ Realty and Mr.
and Mrs. Bart Reid, who
had a 24th wedding
anniversary. Chef Audrey
George also reports that tne
Tiger Cubs Den 1 of Pack
422 - Toured her restau
rant. Their den mother is
Shena Seacat, assisted by
Jay Becerra. Chef Audrey
baked cookies for the Tiger
Cubs.
A note from Tara
Tara Poole writes that
“Everyone knows someone
affected by heart disease or
stroke,” and she wants to
do something to help.
She has set her own per
sonal goal for raising funds
for heart disease and stroke
research and education.
Tara will be one of those
participating in the
Houston/Peach County
Heart Walk on Feb. 26 at the
■RK3I
_ M .
Holmes in 1987 at Northside High School.
He was planning audi
tions for “The Wiz” and
went looking for Latonya,
who was practicing basket
ball. She was on the team at
the time. He called her
aside with her coach’s per
mission and talked with her
about auditioning.
That was the start.
“She has pure talent,”
Horne says. “She’s amazing
and so dedicated.”
And, he notes, “She’s gor
geous looking.”
Holmes’ singing, which
had actually started in the
youth choir at Springfield
Baptist Church when she
was still in elementary
school, became the focus of
her ambition. She was a
good athlete, but gave up
basketball when it became
apparent that she couldn’t
juggle drama, music, and
basketball games without
Georgia National
Fairgrounds and Agricenter.
Happy
Anniversary!
Mitzi and Van Sexton are
celebrating their 54th wed
ding anniversary. They
were married in Cresswell,
N.C., on Jan. 29, 1951.
Mitzi has retired from the
Bank of Perry, and says that
Van is now “working hard
at the Perry Country Club.”
Aloha
Joan Dorsett and Annette
Johnson are just back from
a long weekend on
Honolulu, where they
stayed in the Hale Koa
hotel' on Waikiki Beach.
They planned their week
end escape while Ralph
Dorsett and W.L. Dent were
off in Hermosia, Mexico, on
their annual dove hunting
trip.
Feeding the birds
This just in from Terry
Everett: Doers of the Word
of Bonaire United
Methodist Church (chil
dren’s church K-2) has a
mission project each month.
In the past, they have col
lected over three miles of
pennies for the parsonage,
decorated cans of Boost for
cancer patients, and collect-
having her grades suffer.
Her talent, combined
with her good academic
record, earajeflUier a four
year scholarship to
Roosevelt University in
Chicago, and since leaving
Warner Robins, she has
performed in “Dream
Girls,” “Joseph and the
Amazing Technicolor
Dreamcoat,” “Children of
Eden,” and many more
musicals.
She also works in TV ani
mation, as the lilting voice
of the kitten in “Clifford’s
Puppy Days,” as well as
working with “Rocket
Power,” “As Told by
Ginger,” and “Static
Shock.”
The touring company of
“Little Shop of Horrors”
has been on the road for
over a year, and the sched
ule has been grueling at
ed money to buy goats for
CARE, among other proj
ects.
This month, Terry
reports, the following chil
dren braved temperatures
in the teens to come to
church to make bird feeders
from pinecones covered
with peanut butter and
then rolled in seed to hang
in memory of loved ones
who have died: Joshua
Buice, Evan Mellone,
Stewart Lee Collins, Jacob
Hunter, Cameron Bldfck,
MacKenzie Franklin,
Jaucelynn Hiekam, Jessica
Cerka, Misty Cerka, and
David Mellone. The giant
pinecones were provided by
Kay Blodm. In addition to
family members, the chil
dren named classmates,
teachers, and bus drivers
who had suffered a loss.
“This project helped us to
not only feed the birds, but
feed our spirits as well,”
Terry said.
Dramatic news
A note for those who love
following the Yellow Brick
Road, the Houston County
High School drama team is
preparing for a spring pres
entation of “The Wizard of
Oz.”
Blood drive
Donna Hunter let us
SECTION
c
times.
“We have Mondays off,”
she says, “but on most
Mondays we’re traveling.”
She loves the musical,
which, despite its ominous
sounding name, is a comedy
and a romance. As
“Ronnette,” she is one of
three Urchins, a Motown
style Greek Chorus. They
are musical storytellers for
the show.
Asked what message
she’d like to send to all the
people “back home,”
Northside’s Broadway star
answered, “I want to say
thank you to Mr. Horne and
to my parents and my fami
ly, because they always
believed in me.”
What would she tell stu
dents with big dreams?
“I’d want to tell them
this,” she said. “ Fear not.
The sky’s the limit, and I’m
a witness."
know that Crossroads
United Methodist Church
in Perry is sponsoring a
blood drive on Feb. 14. So
have a heart on Valentine’s
Day and go make a dona
tion that could save some
one else’s life. The hours
will be between 2 and 7
p.m.
On the Move
Carrie Lynn’s is expand
ing and opening a second
location in the old Butler
Brown gallery that last
belonged to JMA. Jillinda
Falen says that they hope to
open in the new location in
March.
Thanks, everybody!
We appreciate everybody
who’s pitched in with news
for Real People. Keep it
coming! The e-mail address
is cperkins@evansnewspa
pers.com. Or you can call
Charlotte at (478) 987-
1823, ext. 234.
PS. If you’re reading this
on Saturday, don’t forget
the Perry Kiwanis Talent
Show which is Saturday
night, starting promptly at
7 p.m. in the PHS auditori
um. They’ll have 33 acts,
and that great organizer,
Nancy Whiddon, says it’s
going to he a terrific show.