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Ronda Rich
Columnist
log dressing
Merri Grace sent me a
ong, complicated email the
)ther day - complete with
motos - on how psychologi
rally damaging it can be for
>wners to dress their dogs
iip in outfits.
Apparently, the cuter the
mtfit is, the more damage it
ioes.
This, of course, was
lirected without shame or
ipology to me. Merri Grace
las personally witnessed
)ixie Dew’s numerous,
idorable outfits - dresses,
jajamas, rain poncho, hats
md the precious tiara that I
jurchased in the French
Quarter in New Orleans.
I sense a little jealousy
lere. After all, it’s hard to
ook cuter than Dew when
she’s all turned out and all
as our fellow divas know
that Merri Grace hates to be
out done in the cute depart
nent. I suspect it is particu
arly hard when it’s a dog
that does it.
I didn’t pay it any atten
tion, though. Dew loves to
dress up so much that if I
leased doing it, that’s when
she would truly be psycho
ogically damaged. I can’t
■isk that.
One weekend, Dew and I
were visiting our friends,
Stevie and Darrell Waltrip
n Franklin, TN. The
Waltrips have a big house
which is intimidating to a
ittle dog and big dogs that
are even more intimidating
to a little one. As a result,
Dew was shy and skittish so
she stuck close to my side.
All the Waltrips, including
daughters Jessica and
Sarah, tried hard to bring
ler out of her shell. No use.
Then, I took Dew to the
jedroom to dress her in a
lew, little pink dress with
jells and bows on it. The
transformation was instant
and nothing short of spec
tacular. Her confidence
soared. She jumped up on
ler hind legs and danced
nerrily around the room
when she saw the dress
:ome out of the suitcase. As
soon as she was properly
attired, she ran as hard as
she could - leaving me
jehind - to parade around
In her clothes for the family.
When the Waltrips saw
ler, they collapsed in laugh
ter at the ruffle-covered
dachshund. Once the come
dy of the moment passed,
they were amazed at the dif
ference in her personality.
Previously shy, she was sud
denly gregarious and happy.
“I can’t believe that. Dixie
Dew, you act like a com
jletely different dog,”
Darrell said, shaking his
lead. He watched her
jrance for a few minutes
md then, with a snicker,
commented in that famous
wit of his, “Now, we know
what was wrong. She was
embarrassed to be running
around naked in front of
strangers.”
When Stevie was preg
lant with their first daugh
ter, Darrell was insistent on
laming her Victoria Lane.
That’s because, as a famous
ace car driver, his favorite
dace on earth was Victory
Lane at any race track.
Stevie balked. She rea
soned. She argued. She
called in a child psychologist
to explain the damaging
effects that such a name
could have on a child. It
worked and DW relented.
See RICH, page 10A
SATURDAY,
JUNE 18, 2005
Around the world
And back home in Perry
Story and photos by
Laura Ingalls Gunn
Ruth and Jim McCown
first met in a world history
class at the University of
Alabama. They never
dreamed back then that
somebody they would travel
to many of the exotic loca
tions that were discussed in
that class.
In fact for the first years
of their married life, while
they were raising three
daughters, they were happi
ly settled in Middle
Georgia, where they built a
home in Perry in 1973.
It was a wonderful envi
ronment to raise their fam
ily-
Their adventures around
the world began in the
1980 s when Jim McCown
retired as a government
employee at Robins Air
Force Base and began a sec
ond career as a contractor
for McDonell
Douglas/Boeing and then
later with Federal Express.
It was also then that they
began filling their home
with the collection of treas
ures that would rival any
thing that Aladdin and his
genie might dream of.
The McCowns were first
sent to live in Saudi Arabia.
They truly bloomed where
they were planted and took
their glorious opportunity
seriously. They visited as
much of the Middle East as
possible. In addition, they
planned their vacation time
carefully and traveled to
the Orient and visited such
places as China and Hong
Kong. Other journeys led
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Heirloom seeds stand test of time
Many of you are familiar
with heirlooms, those plant
varieties that have been
grown for at least 50 years,
are open-pollinated (no
hybrids), and have stood
the test of time.
Chiefly of European
descent, heirloom seeds
have been passed down
from one generation to the
next. Through the cen
turies, people selected
plants with outstanding
traits, such as flavor, vigor,
fragrance and hardiness,
and saved the seeds of these
plants.
Heirloom seeds, accord
ing to the National Garden
Bureau, were often brought
Lifestyle
them to Greece, Turkey,
Egypt and India.
They were also blessed to
live in Venice, Italy, Dublin,
Ireland and Winnipeg,
Canada. Again, making the
most of their locations, they
traveled extensively
throughout Europe.
Unlike many tourists,
however, they didn’t pur
chase the customary t
shirts and paperweights.
Instead they chose items
of lasting value. A beautiful
teak chest came home with
them from Pakistan, art
traveled back from Tai Pai.
Baskets were brought back
from Yemen. Small artifacts
were chosen from Dubai in
the United Arab Emirites,
and Oman in the Middle
East.
At times they chose sim
ple things, such as a teapot
from Casablanca, Morocco
or a camel’s milking pail
from Saudi Arabia.
Above all, they collected
carpets. They selected
Persian rugs from Turkey,
and tribal carpets from
Saudi Arabia.
One favorite is a beautiful
tribal carpet called a
Quais’kai, which contains
an amazing 16 different col
ors running through its
intricate pattern.
Beautiful silk on silk
small Tabriz carpets are
hung as extraordinary wall
art.
But it is another tribal
carpet that leaves the most
lasting impression. It is of
medium size and a pleasant
enough green. It currently
is used in a guest bedroom.
One might overlook it if
they did not know the story
behind it. Mr. McCown pur
chased the carpet the night
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Tim Lewis
Gardening
timlewis@addressisp.com
to America by immigrants.
Many heirlooms are still
being cultivated by certain
families and some have
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The McCowns’ living room in their Perry home.
before he was set to leave
Saudi Arabia. It was not a
trip anyone would wish to
make. His destination was
the University of
Washington Cancer Center.
He was given a clean bill
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BOVE: Jim and Ruth
IcCown at home.
f IGHT: Table from India » .iwfjjp /SaWep
fith teapot from •_ , *,
■asablanca. '*** t
lELOW: Camel milking
ail from Saudi Arabia. ■ r '
EFT: Moses basket from
'emen.
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ABOVE: Jim and Ruth
McCown at home.
RIGHT: Table from India
with teapot from
Casablanca.
BELOW: Camel milking
pail from Saudi Arabia.
LEFT: Moses basket from
Yemen.
jay.-: ••
been made available to gar
deners everywhere.
People are rediscovering
the great diversity of flow
ers, vegetables and herbs
that have been enjoyed for
so many years by so many
nations and cultures. You
may already be growing an
heirloom and not even real
ize it.
More than 40 of the All-
America Selections (AAS)
varieties can be considered
heirlooms because they are
still available after 50
years.
Among the first AAS
introductions, from the
19305, was the Gleam series
of nasturtium. “Golden
of health. So perhaps it is
truly possible that magic
carpets still exist.
Piece-by-piece the
McCowns have now gath
ered an amazing collection.
One would be smart to
Gleam” with its bright gold
flowers and spicy flavor,
made its debut in 1933, fol
lowed by “Scarlet Gleam”
and “Gleam Mix” in 1935.
Other heirloom AAS win
ners include the hollyhock,
“India Spring,” bearing sin
gle semi-double blossoms in
shades of pink, rose and
white, on huge 7-foot stems;
the 1942 cleome, “Pink
Queen”, and the 1947
marigold, “Naughty
Marietta,” with its bright
yellow petals marked with
maroon centers.
The 1952 zinnia, “Persian
Carpet,” boast of variegated
double to semi-double flow
ers in shades of red, gold
PAGE 9A
learn from their strategy.
Try to approach your next
trip the McCown way.
Bypass traditional tokens
for extraordinary treasures
and you will soon be on
your way to your own treas-
and white and is popular for
attracting butterflies.
The AAS heirlooms also
include several choice veg
etables: Cucumber
“Straight Eight” (1935)
was the standard for many
years, white “Salad Bowl”
lettuce (1952), “Clemson
Spineless” okra (1939), and
“Cherry Belle” radish
(1949) remain popular
today.
These heirlooms continue
to withstand the test of
time, and garner more
appeal among home gar
deners even as modern
hybrids gain their share of
attention. Try some heir
looms today!