NEVER SAY NEVER!

When I was growing up, my Mother worked so hard to supply the things I needed.  She worked as a seamstress, worked in a mattress factory, and other places.  The last place she worked was Lake
Catherine Footwear, as a stitcher.  She never complained about the hard work, or that she still had
work to do when she got home. 

When I was about 12 years of age, I vowed I would have a good education no matter how hard I had
to work mentally or physically. Mother had the best education she could have gotten in a one room
school house.  I vowed not to work in a factory or sew for people.

From age 12 to date:  I did get a good education.

I was never going to work in a factory.  I broke that vow.   I spent my 31 year career at Munro and    Company (aka Lake Catherine Footwear).  I wasn't a stitcher.  I was a computer programmer and later Employee benefits director, BUT the reason I could hold those positions was because of the CUTTERS,

STITCHERS, PACKERS, and everyone else who had anything to do with making shoes.  No job
is any less important than another, and no PERSON doing those jobs are any less important than
the person in charge of it all.

I also broke the other vow. (you know, the one about sewing for people)  I have replaced a button
on a pair of Ron's pants.  If I have to hem a pair of pants, I buy hemming tape.  Once, at a boatrace I even used duct tape.


NEVER SAY NEVER!  You never know where your road will lead you or why!  I thank God I chose
the one that was on Mother's map.  I just seem to be taking the long way around.

Our friend - JIM EVERETT

The photo above - Left-Jim Everett, Race Director, Center-Ron Jarrell, Referee, Right-Mary Alice, Chief
Scorer. Jim and Mary Alice were our best buds for many years.  The four of us went to races all over the country, Canada and Mexico officiating boat races.  ( I was the computer scorer )

After a long day at the races, we had dinner, then off to our rooms.  Ron and Mary Alice were early to bed
people.  I was a late night person.  I found out Jim was too.  One night I went to the hotel restaurant to get
a cup of coffee and cheese cake.  Well, there sat Jim having cheese cake.  We became cheese cake
buddies.

A lot of times we took extra days to just visit and enjoy the city or country we were in.  We had just spent
a week in Saskatoon, Canada.  Jim and Mary Alice took their grand daughters, and we took Kate Beebe, Lauren, Cassi and Dj.  Karma was now doing the computer scoring .  I was now just a spectator.   I could take the girls sight seeing.  We all had a wonderful time.

That was July, 2000.  We returned home to our regular routines.  Jim died in August of a heart attack/stroke.

I was cleaning out some drawers the other day, and I found an email I had sent to Jim February 02,2000
Jim was always emailing funny jokes to Ron.  I responded to Jim with the following email.

Hey Jim,

I just printed the jokes.  I am going to read them to Ron.  Where do you get all these jokes?

I have a good one for you, but it is TRUE!  Monday night Ron started cutting up my old kitchen floor to
put down tile.  He said "The frig is leaking.  It must have a broken line."  Well the frig is only 3 years old.
It was during one of my family reunions that it went out.  We bought a new one.  It was a hair too small to fit into the hole.  Ron decided he and two other guys could force it in, which they did.  Now go figure!  Ron is
going to pull it out by himself.  After awhile he did just that.  He looked behind it, and there was nothing
broken and no water was there.  He got a real frustrated look on his face, and said "Well S---!  There is no
leak.  That was your Y2K water!!!!

I had a cooler of water sitting on the floor on the wall adjacent to the frig.  It had kind of tinkled out the
spout and kind of walked down the baseboard to the front of the frig, which made it look as if it came from
under the frig.

Well, guess what!  I don't have that little blue water cooler anymore!!!

Oh yes, the way Ron got the frig back in the hole is as follows:
He sat in the kitchen floor, and leaned back against the trash compactor and kicked it back in.  I bet it will
have a leak now.

That was a true story, but I'm sure YOU KNOWING RON AS YOU DO, have no doubt of that.

He also put my grandkids on a big tube that we use in the lake, hooked them to a ski rope, attached to the
trailor hitch and pulled them all over this property in a foot of snow.  Dj fell off, and he picked him up just
like he does in the water.  It was almost dark, and it scared the crap out of me.  I just knew he would kill
one of them.  Dj did not want to get back on the tube.  He said he got off because the wind was hurting
his face.

I need to go to bed.

Buttons

Buttons is the nickname Jim and Mary Alice gave me because at some function, I wore a dress that had
a lot of big buttons.

Jim was a kind, wonderful, fun loving man who we will always miss.  He has been gone 10 years this year,
but we will always have the great memories of and with him. RIP Jim

Jarrell Plumbing named Plumbing Contractor of the Year by the State Plumbing Inspectors.

The following article was posted in THE PLUMBLINE, a quarterly news brief published by the Arkansas Department of Health,  aka ADH, Plumbing and Natural Gas Section. 

Jarrell Plumbing named Plumbing Contractor of the Year

Ron Jarrell, dba J.P. Jarrell Plumbing Company has been named the 2009 Plumbing Contractor of the Year by the State Plumbing Inspectors.

J.P. Jarrell Plumbing Co, Inc., is based in Hot Springs, Arkansas and has been in business continuously since 1947.  Ron worked with his dad J.P. Jarrell from 1963 to 1974 when J.P. retired, Ron took over the business becoming the Owner/President of J.P. Jarrell Plumbing Company, Inc.  Since that time Jarrell Plumbing has grown to approximately 20 employees.  The company does commercial and industrial work as well as residential service plumbing.  Ron is the current President of the Garland County Plumbing Apprenticeship Committee and a member of the State Plumbing Apprenticeship Committee.  We would like to congratulate Ron and Jarrell Plumbing Company for the excellent work they perform on a consistent basis and for the many years Jarrell Plumbing has served the community.

April 2010 issue - Thank you State Plumbing Inspectors for this honor.

First - We would like to thank all our customers.  Without you, there would be no Jarrell Plumbing.  We appreciate all your business.

Second - We appreciate all the loyal employees who are the instruments in making Jarrell Plumbing a success.

HAVE YOU BEEN CALLED ELDERLY YET? WHAT A SHOCK!!!!!!!!!

How did I get from this -

To this -

To THIS?

















 Unless I look in the mirror, I think of myself as that young girl      
in the first picture.  I was 19.  Like most girls, even now, I was
thinking about going to college, marriage, career and having a family.

It somehow became 20 years later.  I had a career and Ron and
I were raising two daughters.  We were living our lives.  Doing the
things we needed to do in order to be able to do the things we wanted
to do.  The girls had their hobbies and sports, and so did we.  God
watched over us in spite of our mistakes and YES sometimes, just
plain ignorance.                                                                      

NOW, I am that last picture.  ELDERLY.  I was called that for the
first time, last year.  I called our cable company to add ESPNU so
I could watch a Razorback game.  I asked the lady "How long do I
have to keep this if I decide I no longer want it?"  She told me I could
cancel it the next day if I so desired.  I watched the game, and the next
week, I called to cancel it.  The lady I spoke to this time told me, I
couldn't cancel it for a month.  I let her know that I had paid for it for
a month, but I want it out now, and I want the box picked up.  She
informed me that she would go ahead and cancel the service because
I had already paid for it for a month.  She then told me I would have to
take the box back myself.  Oh boy!  I told her I expected it to be picked
up because it was delivered to me, and I didn't want to drive to the office
to take it back.  She put me on hold.  When she came back on the line she
said "Maam, since you are ELDERLY, and I can see that you are upset,
we will send someone to pick it up RIGHT NOW!                                 

The customer service girl was not rude to me.  I think I was in shock to be
referred to as an elderly person.  I was taught to respect my elders.  I just
didn't realize I would become one of those ELDERS so soon!                 

Generation Gap? I think not! I certainly hope not! Garvan Woodland Gardens with our 4 generations.

Yesterday all but 3 of my immediate family took a
little tour of Garvan Woodland Gardens.  MIA were Ron, Phil, and Lauren.

Karma, Stacey, Cassi, Dj, Hayden and I were joined by Cassi and Dj's Aunt Amy and her two
adorable daughters Macy and Maddy. 

We had a fun time.  Now days, Hayden Rae IS
the center of our fun.  She made us laugh more
than I have in a while.  Many of the Garden visitors
stopped to smile, laugh, or make a comment about
Hayden.  That made my head swell and my heart
smile.

That's what pride is, and I have been told Pride isn't
good.  What ever I felt, I thank God he put all these
wonderful people in my life.

The GENERATION GAP thing was a phrase first
used by a French political thinker and historian by the name of Alexis de Tocqueville who lived from 7/29/1805 - 4/16/1859.  I believe we should continue to grow in understanding that we, as
older people did not have the same challanges facing us growing up as our children and grand children did and do. If we can keep that understanding, I believe we can stay or grow closer.

God bless all the rest of my family, and all my friends.  I am better because YOU ALL are in my
life.

                                                                                                  

Mindless Accidents

Ron gets really cranky when he does something dumb that he just can't blame on me.

He came in one night in a really BAD mood.  He said "Get in the car and take me to

the E.R.!"  I really wasn't the one who mashed his hand between his tractor steering wheel

and a tree that caused him to have lots of stitches in his finger.

                         What goes around comes around! 

I was going out of the driveway in Ron's van.  I noticed the passenger side door was ajar.

I stopped and opened the door to close it all the way.  During the process my foot slipped

off the brake and the van backed up.  The door was wide open and it hit the telephone pole.

Oops!  The door almost came off.  I was in big trouble.  You don't want to be in BIG trouble

with Ron when you do something really stupid!  I heard about it big time for about 3 days. Ron

had the door repaired or replaced.  All of a sudden, one day he just stopped complaining to me
about the van door.  I thought it was odd that I had gotton off the STUPID hood that quick.

I was walking around outside. I walked to the lake to see what Ron was doing down there.  He
was standing by the van, looking very disgusted.  The windshield was busted and the top of the
van was smashed.  He had been on the drag line.  He hadn't paid attention to how close the van
was.  Well, you get the picture.  The van was pretty close to totalled.  WHAT GOES AROUND
COMES AROUND! 

I use to really get my feelings hurt, but now, YOU KNOW WHAT?  I just laugh at the things Ron
says and does.  I believe we laugh more now because WE ARE JUST TWO MINDLESS WONDERS!

More Mr. J.

I love my Harley!I have to tell you how

Ron turns his equipment into toys.  It was Mother's Day 1995.  We went to church.  When we returned, Mother and I were finishing lunch.  We went out to tell everyone to come in to eat. Still in their church clothes, Ron had the grandkids in the manlift.  They were moving back and forth in the tree leaves as high as the thing could go.  The kids were laughing and Ron made the bucket move back and forth.  We thought he would dump them out.  By then, I wasn't worried about them ruining their good clothes, I was worried for their safety.  Mother watched and laughed.  I went back in the house and did what I always did when my girls were small.  I just prayed. (They learned to operate the backhoe by age 10) I didn't want them to grow up afraid of everything like I was.

Another manlift story: May 22, 2009

My sister Maye was here from Texas.  She, Ron and I had eaten dinner.  It was about 9pm (dark).  Ron decided he would go down to the shop and check out his new manlift.  It's a good thing he had his phone in his pocket.  If he hadn't called, I don't know how long it would have been before I checked on him.  Maye and I were watching a movie.  Ron called me from his cell phone and told me to come get him down.  He was in the manlift bucket (basket, boom or what ever it is called).  He was a few feet higher than the shop, probably 20 or 25 feet high.  The machine was out of gas and he could not lower it. 

He had to teach me to operate the backhoe in the dark. I had a flash light so I could see all the levers, but when I turned the backhoe on, I couldn't hear Ron's instructions.  I had to turn it off each time to learn all the levers and how to raise the front end loader to help him get onto the roof and into the bucket.  I got that accomplished, and lowered him to the ground very smoothly.  I bet if I had to I could remember how to do it again.  I told him I bet he wished one of our girls was here.  Now I KNOW I'm not too stupid to learn.  I had never had the desire to play on the backhoe.  When he was down, we had to laugh.  Maye had put a ladder in the truck to try to help, but he was over 20 ft up and the ladder was 6ft.

By the way - the photo is the OLD manlift.  I can't find the new one. :)

I guess I will save the drag line (crane) stories for another day! :)

Don and I got our butts kicked so bad, after 3 days, it wasn't even shameful!!!!!!!