RFD
By Bonnie K. Taylor General Manager The True Citizen

You look back and you wonder where time has gone. My mother told me the older you get, the faster time goes by.

You know what? She was right! Speaking of time, it seems like a few years ago, my nieces,

Maria and Erin were born.

This Friday Maria will graduate from Clemson University. Her sister, Erin, will graduate from high school later this month.

It seems only a short time ago, my brother, Sam Kelly, was hurrying from a meeting hundreds of miles away, because his daughter was being born, four weeks before she was due.

Everyone in the family was in a panic. It

was their first child and it was too early.

She was born, healthy, and has been a joy ever since.

I was worried if she would ever get any hair. Around age 2, she began getting hair and by age 3, she had a head full of dark, thick locks.

She was a bit of a finicky eater. She ate lots of rice and, unless the meat was chicken, she would not eat it.

We would tell her a certain meat was chicken and she ate it for a while until she figured out the con scheme.

Now, 21 years later, 22 on May 14, she will graduate from Clemson University with a bachelor of science degree in psychology with a minor in sociology.

She will enroll in graduate school this fall working toward becoming a nurse practitioner.

Maria, you have grown into a beautiful, Christian woman and your family is so proud of you!

******

This Sunday is Mother's Day.

I remember one Sunday many years ago when the Rev. Wayne Dixon was delivering a sermon about getting married.

He told the young women in the congregation that if your beau is not faithful to you while a steady couple you can probably bet he will not be faithful as a husband.

To the young men in the congregation he said if you want to know what your young woman will look like as she grows older, take a look at her mom.

I have thought many times that Brother Wayne hit the nail on the head with his observations.

My mama keeps telling me that I get more and more like her all the time. I think she does this to see how I will respond. Most of the time I go along with whatever she is saying, but there are times she and I get a little perturbed. trained me well. So many of my good qualities come from my mama.

Mama, I want to wish you a happy Mother's Day. I want to tell you I am proud to be your daughter and thank you for the good life you have given me!

I want to wish all of my readers a happy Mother's Day, too.

Being a mother can be heartbreaking at times, but the rewards are great and it is well worth your time.

I want to wish my co-worker, Anne Marie Kyzer, a happy first Mother's Day!

******

When I was at home at lunch yesterday, I had a visitor.

He introduced himself as Lance Poindexter. He said we had a mutual friend, Mr. Tarity.

I thought to myself quickly, I do not know a Mr. Tarity.

Then he said I had recently purchased some outdoor Adirondack chairs from him and I immediately knew who Mr. Tarity was.

I told Lance I knew a couple of young women who had the name Poindexter and he asked me if they attended Edmund Burke Academy and I responded, "yes."

He said he was their dad. We talked about his girls, Alison and Heather, and the chairs.

He asked if he could take a photo of the chair for his wife.

His intentions were to give her the chairs for Mother's Day but Mr. Tarity was out of stock and was going to Florida for graduation services for a family member and it would be after the holiday before he began making the chairs.

Mr. Poindexter took the photo to prove to his wife that she would be getting the chairs but it would be a little late.

Only in a small town would this happen. Happy Mother's Day, Mrs. Poindexter!

******

I want to extend my heartfelt sympathy to the family of Barbara Caudle Tinely.

Mrs. Tinley, well known and respected public school English teacher, died Monday, May 7, after a long battle with cancer.

I had the good fortune to have Miss Caudle as my English/ literature teacher in high school. It was her first year of teaching. I learned so much from her. It was the first time I enjoyed reading literature and it was because of her. She made it interesting!

That year in high school she had a date with a Billy Tinley to go to a grand national race (I believe it was the Daytona 500).

Miss Caudle's complexion was fair and when she came to school on Monday following the race, she was red as a beet. She showed us her fair complexion underneath her bangs and we all thought it was funny!

It wasn't long after that weekend, our class learned she was engaged to Billy and that they would marry soon.

They were married for 36 years and five months and had two sons, Bill and Wesley.

She was a loving wife, adoring mother and a friend to many.

Mrs. Tinley touched many lives while on this earth through her teaching and her church activities.

She will be sorely missed by her family and peers.