They're predicting rain the next few days;

It's really cool and breezy.

The grass grows tall, fallen leaves pile up

While I follow orders - "Taking it easy" M.R.

While waiting for that rain, I must sit here and report more sadness. For those who knew her, Elsie Hanger passed away Sept. 19, just days before her 92nd birthday.

To remember Elsie is to think of her fun-loving, optimistic ways and she loved a good joke. Just an example:

One day a light sprinkle had fallen, and she filled their rain gauge to over flowing. When Glen came home from work, he said, "It doesn't look like it, but we got a lot more rain than Fayetteville, they only got a sprinkle." She let him wonder about it for a whole day before she told him what she had done. (And these are so many more).

Glen and Elsie didn't have children of their own, but they had lots of nieces and nephews, everyone of whom she loved and told of them with pride. In return, their love and respect for her was proved by the fact that they all traveled from Pennsylvania, W. Virginia, N. Carolina, Texas and Maryland, to Virginia for her funeral.

Many local youngsters were the same by her, some she baby-sat for. Ever so often, my children would say, "Have your heard from Elsie lately?"

She was a very special lady, hers was a life well lived. I agree with her niece Pamela who said, "I know we will all be together one day."

Locally, happy birthday to Teagan Myers, Zeb Hobbs, Robert Hobbs, Madelynn Bradley, Eden Cochran, Sandy Norton, Bill Baker, J.D. Roberts, Marietta Morris.

Happy anniversary to Seth and Kaytlynn Latta, Jim and Rebecca Ayers, David and Amy Smith.

Happy years, all!