Rebecca B. posted an article on the Adventures of Fred and Ethel - Sep 11, 2011, 6:27 am
When I was seven, my father left us to go to Vietnam. To do an extensive photo journalism project on the war. It would probably be an award winning story and would most likely be picked up by large publications, maybe even the New York Times or Life Magazine. When I was ten, I found out it was all ...
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Rebecca B. posted an article on the Adventures of Fred and Ethel - Aug 30, 2011, 1:39 am
She'll never take a prize for her beauty, but that's okay with me - neither will I.  We're both past our prime, but grateful we've gotten this far.  Yes, we've acquired our fair share of dents and dings along the way, but we live with them and keep a'goin'. She's a '96 Nissan Altima, and I...
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Rebecca B. posted an article on the Adventures of Fred and Ethel - Aug 17, 2011, 4:50 pm
(This post was copied from last year's August 17 post.  All photographs are mine, but some have been previously published.) Happy August 17th. We all have our little quirks, our little oddities that mark us as individuals and distinguish our personalities. I have perhaps a few more little q...
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Rebecca B. posted an article on the Adventures of Fred and Ethel - Aug 11, 2011, 3:31 pm
There was a time when a meal wasn't a meal unless it included a meat, a starch, at least one green vegetable, bread, and dessert.  At least, that's what I was taught as a child of the female persuasion in the South.  My tutelage included not only the three R's: reading, 'riting, and 'rithmatic,...
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Rebecca B. posted an article on the Adventures of Fred and Ethel - Jul 26, 2011, 4:25 am
(Note:  The part of Prince Eric will now be played by Wolverine.  My son-in-law was unhappy with his allonym and asked that it be changed into something more suitable to his personality.  After tossing out several of his suggestions, including KILLFACE, I reluctantly agreed to Wolverine.) Thursda...
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Rebecca B. posted an article on the Adventures of Fred and Ethel - Jul 18, 2011, 8:17 pm
Do y'all know Daryl, at on the m104?  She's a fantastic photographer with an eye for the overlooked and unusual bits of our lives, turning ordinary objects into works of art.   Check out her blog here:  http://onthem104.blogspot.com/.  You won't be disappointed. Daryl has graciously allo...
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Rebecca B. posted an article on the Adventures of Fred and Ethel - Jul 10, 2011, 1:24 pm
"Mrs. Foster?" "Yes?" "You don't know me, but I do hope you'll speak with me.  My name is Ethelmae Potter.  I'm...Bode and Emma's mother." Two months had passed since I had handed Bode and Emma over to a Yorkie rescue group, yet my grief could not be assuaged.  I checked both the rescue ...
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Rebecca B. posted an article on the Adventures of Fred and Ethel - Jun 28, 2011, 1:41 am
Never in my life had I cried so hard.  I couldn't think; I couldn't speak; I couldn't breathe.  A crushing pain filled my chest, but I was beyond caring.  I would never care again about anything.  Not after this. The woman at the car window was handing in papers to sign.  Contract?  I ...
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Rebecca B. posted an article on the Adventures of Fred and Ethel - Jun 22, 2011, 3:48 pm
Y'all please forgive me - things around here have been a nightmare lately, and I simply have not have time to post or visit.  LOTS going on, which I'll report later.  In the meantime, watch this incredible video of one day of tornadoes in the US midwest. http://news.yahoo.com/video/us-15749625/fie...
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Rebecca B. posted an article on the Adventures of Fred and Ethel - Jun 2, 2011, 3:28 pm
....from my brief sojourn into Heaven.  Got kicked out.  I balked at the fourth harp concert in four days and asked if we might have a little something different, like flute or piano or maybe reruns of Everybody Loves Raymond.  That's when the bouncer angels escorted me back to St. Peter, who inf...
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Rebecca B. posted an article on the Adventures of Fred and Ethel - May 23, 2011, 2:17 am
I guess it's the size of this place that makes it so hard to find my friends.  I'm not even sure who's here with me - I've really seen very few people so far...not even Reverend Harold Camping, who I kinda thought would be leading the parade. Of course, I've only been here a little over twen...
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Rebecca B. posted an article on the Adventures of Fred and Ethel - Apr 13, 2011, 1:53 pm
Note- this will be my last post for a few weeks.  LIFE is intruding, and I must attend to several very neglected things (and one particular person.)  I'll be back to posting and visiting ASAP. _____________________________________________________ "What did you buy that cost $648?!"  Sigh.Â...
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Rebecca B. posted an article on the Adventures of Fred and Ethel - Apr 4, 2011, 8:03 pm
To my previous post, Guessing Games, that is. Some of y'all came pretty close in guessing all the true statements, but no one got every one. I guess I'm a better liar than I thought. THAT'S disturbing. Well, let's just get on with the answers, okay? 1)     I used to live ju...
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Rebecca B. posted an article on the Adventures of Fred and Ethel - Mar 31, 2011, 9:02 pm
Guess what? Remember how we used to drive our parents batty with that question?  And then how our own children drove us batty with the same question? "Guess what?" "What?" "Guess!" "I don't know..." "Just guess!" And so on and so on and so on... But ...
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Rebecca B. posted an article on the Adventures of Fred and Ethel - Mar 16, 2011, 2:38 am
Seriously, y'all, this is a story of experimentation best left to the imagination for any male readers out there.  Sorry, guys, but y'all just don't have the stomach for this subject. What am I talking about?  Feminine products, that's what.  Are all the boys gone now?  Good, ...
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Rebecca B. posted an article on the Adventures of Fred and Ethel - Mar 2, 2011, 3:02 am
Good morning!  My name is Alexander Hawthorn Nathaniel Beeker XVI.  Just call me Alex. I am here today to tell a love story - the story of Molly and Ben. That's Ben over there.  And that's his house.  It was everything a bird could want...yet Ben was unhappy.  He was alone.  He was also ca...
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Rebecca B. posted an article on the Adventures of Fred and Ethel - Feb 23, 2011, 1:33 pm
Tennessee is widely known for many factors.  We're the Home of Country Music and the Great Smoky Mountains; the Tennessee Titans and Elvis Presley's Graceland.  Three US presidents have called Tennessee home, along with notables Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone, Casey Jones and Alex Haley, and...
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Rebecca B. posted an article on the Adventures of Fred and Ethel - Feb 16, 2011, 1:25 am
"I thank that boy's got a little sugar in his tank," was Willadean's first assessment of Dante.  Dante, like Mamacilla, Monica, Willadean, Hoyt, and myself had been deemed "no longer productive" in his current capacity in the main post office and had been sent to the airport facility, where it is p...
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Rebecca B. posted an article on the Adventures of Fred and Ethel - Feb 7, 2011, 3:19 am
Y'all might have gotten the impression by now that I'm just not much of a sports fan.  The Winter Olympics I watch, because I love the grace and elegance of the figure skaters, and because...well, you just watch the Olympics when your step-nephew is skiing and the camera pans the crowds and oh-my-g...
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Rebecca B. posted an article on the Adventures of Fred and Ethel - Feb 3, 2011, 2:48 am
(Disclaimer - the following story is based on true events, but the characters within are fictitious.  All dialogue is fabricated by the author, and should not be perceived as authentic.  The views expressed do not in any way represent those of the US Postal Service, but are merely the opinions of...
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Rebecca B. posted an article on the Adventures of Fred and Ethel - Jan 26, 2011, 4:08 am
"Please, please, please, please, PLEASE let it snow tonight, please, please, please..." While most children knelt at their bedsides and requested the Almighty's blessings upon their family members and pets, I recited the snow prayer every winter night during my school years.  But as the S...
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Rebecca B. posted an article on the Adventures of Fred and Ethel - Jan 18, 2011, 7:44 pm
Surrounded by boxes and bags and suitcases, I sat in the rear of the station wagon, caressing Poocat, tossing fitfully in my lap.  Having just recovered from the distemper that should have killed him, Poocat was an uneasy rider, and this was to be a long journey. I had chosen to squeez...
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Rebecca B. posted an article on the Adventures of Fred and Ethel - Jan 14, 2011, 6:51 pm
In case you don't remember Part I (it HAS been a while back!) click here and catch up. Yes, that's poor little Emma, all wrapped up like a tiny blue mummy.  This is what happens when the wife goes to work and a certain husband who shall remain nameless lets two five pound yappers out in their new...
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Rebecca B. posted an article on the Adventures of Fred and Ethel - Jan 6, 2011, 3:47 pm
The stage was set for the worst Christmas ever... Our new jobs at the Priority Mail Annex had taken a toll long before the Christmas rush began.  We were exhausted, sore, old injuries worsening and new ones already set in place.  Night after night, we pulled and pushed, bent and lifted...
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Rebecca B. posted an article on the Adventures of Fred and Ethel - Dec 30, 2010, 4:38 am
My goodness, it HAS been a while, hasn't it?  I hadn't really intended on abandoning my blog for such a long time, but Christmas at the Post Office was he...hectic this year, and I've been spending every available free minute at my sister blog, Fred and Ethel go to Disneyworld. But I'd like t...
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Rebecca B. posted an article on the Adventures of Fred and Ethel - Nov 29, 2010, 5:15 pm
For all of you who enjoy regular visits and semi-regular posts from Ethel, she asks your forgiveness at the moment.  She and Fred are vacationing in Orlando and will return next week.  I have been ABANDONED here at home with the three terrorists PLUS Charming and Cindy's two terrorists and their c...
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Rebecca B. posted an article on the Adventures of Fred and Ethel - Nov 26, 2010, 11:42 pm
All I wanted was one sweet little puppy.  Just one tail-wagging happy little thing that would keep Fred company while I worked afternoons and nights. But when I found Emma, I couldn't bear to leave her brother behind, so Bode joined our family, too. And six months later when we saw...
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Rebecca B. posted an article on the Adventures of Fred and Ethel - Nov 11, 2010, 5:24 pm
One of my all time favorite episodes of The Andy Griffith Show is The Jinx, in which one Henry Bennett becomes convinces he is a jinx and must leave town.  His true friends set out to convince him otherwise by rigging the drawing for The Big Prize at the town social - everyone will take a number fr...
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Rebecca B. posted an article on the Adventures of Fred and Ethel - Nov 4, 2010, 3:42 pm
As is often the case in many genres of the arts, the title can be as difficult, or even more so, to compose as the art itself. (Yes, I realize categorizing blogging as an art form may be stretching the definition a bit, but, dadgum it, if video gaming can be considered one of the arts, so can ...
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Rebecca B. posted an article on the Adventures of Fred and Ethel - Oct 21, 2010, 8:46 pm
Now that summer is officially over, the leaves are beginning to fall from the trees, and I've dug out my good black sweater and ragged old hoodie, I'm beginning to rethink that wish I made a couple of weeks ago when it was still 100 degrees outside.  Yeah, I'm the one who wished that summer would b...
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Rebecca B. posted an article on the Adventures of Fred and Ethel - Oct 12, 2010, 6:29 pm
The envelope please... And the award goes to...Ethelmae Potter! Ethelmae Potter! Ethelmae?  Are you there? Folks, Ethelmae doesn't seem to be here tonight, so I will accept the award in her honor and thank you. Pile this up with her other awards. Yep, that's me.  I love r...
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Rebecca B. posted an article on the Adventures of Fred and Ethel - Sep 22, 2010, 11:58 pm
(Dear Teacher Bloggers,     Please excuse Ethelmae's absence the past two weeks.  Her laptop has been very ill; so ill, in fact, we had already made burial arrangements.  However, it has pulled through the crisis, and she is back in school Blogland today.  She looks forward to visiting with al...
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Rebecca B. posted an article on the Adventures of Fred and Ethel - Sep 9, 2010, 12:37 pm
(This story is quite long, so I have divided it into two parts, for those who wish to read part today and save the remainder for later. Also, I normally assign pseudonyms to the persons in my stories, but some of the names in Fred's family are so unique, I just had to use their real names in this ta...
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Rebecca B. posted an article on the Adventures of Fred and Ethel - Aug 17, 2010, 5:00 am
(Parts of this post were copied from last year's August 17 post.  All photographs are mine, but some have been previously published.) Happy August 17th. We all have our little quirks, our little oddities that mark us as individuals and distinguish our personalities. I have perhaps a few mor...
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Rebecca B. posted an article on the Adventures of Fred and Ethel - Aug 10, 2010, 1:00 am
It was a dark and stormy night... Newschannel 5 kept us updated with scrolling warnings across the bottom of the tv screen.  Severe thunderstorm warning, flash flood warning, tornado watch.  Doppler radar showed a quickly approaching line of vivid color - greens, yellows, oranges and brillia...
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Rebecca B. posted an article on the Adventures of Fred and Ethel - Aug 3, 2010, 10:07 am
Hot.  Humid.  Dry. Those three little words perfectly describe the typical Tennessee summer.  And this summer is definitely typical.  The grass is brown and crunchy, leaves are falling from the trees, and flowers have to be watered daily.  With temperatures hovering around 100 degre...
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Rebecca B. posted an article on the Adventures of Fred and Ethel - Jul 27, 2010, 5:42 pm
In ancient times, the hottest period of the year was associated with Sirius, the brightest star in the Canis Major (big dog) constellation and also in the sky. Sirius, also called the Dog Star, was in conjunction with the sun during late July, and ancient peoples believed it added its own heat to th...
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Rebecca B. posted an article on the Adventures of Fred and Ethel - Jul 13, 2010, 4:03 pm
"Do y'all think I'm oblese?" Thus began the conversation that sparked Willadean's decision to make some major life changes. I lowered my head and locked eyes with Mamacilla, who returned my look of terror.  Oblese could have been either obese or oblivious, but we somehow both immediately knew it t...
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Rebecca B. posted an article on the Adventures of Fred and Ethel - Jul 8, 2010, 1:22 pm
Y'all please forgive me if I don't post for several more days.  My new work schedule has turned my world upside down, and I am now spending my non-work awake hours alternating between ice packs on my knee and SOAKING IN A HOT JACUZZI FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE!  In the meantime, my next post will be...
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Rebecca B. posted an article on the Adventures of Fred and Ethel - Jun 16, 2010, 5:38 pm
You know how it is when you've had one of those weeks?  When nothing really bad happened, but you just kept getting more and more behind?  When you spent every waking minute doing necessary stuff, and none of it got done? You know how it is when your house has been in disarray all week and y...
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Rebecca B. posted an article on the Adventures of Fred and Ethel - Jun 7, 2010, 12:53 pm
Shhhhhh.... I don't know how long I have.  They are in the basement, doing God-only-knows-what.  Frantically they rush about; they are certainly up to SOMETHING.  No good can come from this. Ethel is harboring terrorists in our home. Yes, terrorists!  Terrorists, I tell you!  They have...
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Rebecca B. posted an article on the Adventures of Fred and Ethel - May 29, 2010, 1:00 pm
(For Part I, click here.) Every day, from here to there, funny things are everywhere. Recycling is a word that has made its way into our every day lives. Most of us contribute in at least some small ways. Maybe you drop Coke cans into a special recyclables bin at work. Maybe you take your use...
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Rebecca B. posted an article on the Adventures of Fred and Ethel - May 14, 2010, 6:18 pm
I don't remember what day it was. I was either coming from or going to one of my many doctor appointments the week of April 5, when I passed by his house. As always, I glanced toward the porch, hoping to find him there, even though in my heart, I knew he wouldn't be. Instead, I found the porch and s...
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Rebecca B. posted an article on the Adventures of Fred and Ethel - May 7, 2010, 3:14 pm
Nashville and surrounding counties got the worst of the flood, but almost all of middle and western Tennessee suffered damage, from minor to disastrous. President Obama has declared twenty seven Tennessee counties disaster areas, which means federal assistance in the form of loans and grants will be...
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Rebecca B. posted an article on the Adventures of Fred and Ethel - May 2, 2010, 11:56 pm
Just as the swallows instinctively know when to return to Capistrano, baby turtles hatch and head toward the sea, and lightning bugs simultaneously rise from the grasses, we old folks know when tornado weather is imminent. Perhaps it comes from years of unconsciously studying weather patterns, recog...
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Rebecca B. posted an article on the Adventures of Fred and Ethel - Apr 24, 2010, 4:24 pm
(My apologies if this post takes a while to download; I went a little overboard with photos. Click on any to enlarge.) As a rule, a Tennessee spring begins in late February or early March, with grass greening and Bradford Pear trees budding. With the blooming of the redbud trees comes a cold ...
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Rebecca B. posted an article on the Adventures of Fred and Ethel - Apr 19, 2010, 2:35 pm
How many depressed women does it take to change a light bulb? It doesn't matter; they'd rather sit in the dark. Like the other symptoms, the depression came on gradually, so gradually I didn't associate them with the anti-seizure medication I'd been prescribed. Persistent feelings of worthlessness, ...
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Rebecca B. posted an article on the Adventures of Fred and Ethel - Apr 14, 2010, 12:04 am
(Back in November, I began a five part series on people who never knew me, but have had a profound effect on my life, and to whom I give thanks. I recently realized I never finished that tribute series. This is part II.) ♫ My hometown is the greatest place I know, Where the people I find are gent...
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Rebecca B. posted an article on the Adventures of Fred and Ethel - Apr 2, 2010, 12:48 pm
Ladybug, ladybug, fly away home... Climbing up my laptop screen, the ladybug is oblivious to the words typed out beneath her. She climbs slowly up, reaches the top, inches her way across to the other side, then begins the descent down, from whence she came. She is the typical red...
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Rebecca B. posted an article on the Adventures of Fred and Ethel - Mar 30, 2010, 2:59 pm
(Note: This update was originally posted on March 23, but, in another fit of paranoia, Ethel pulled it the following day. Feeling better today, after another B-12 injection and positive report from her semi-annual kidney cancer CT scan, she has decided to repost it.) Dear Readers, Good morning! 'T...
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