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Evergreen Outreach-Aug. 4, 2011

By Dr. Melanie Schaafsma
Evergreen Outreach began on  Monday to the sound of piano being played by the nimble fingers of Pam Childers.  She played many old EO favorites like "I’ve Been Working on the Railroad," "Let Me Call You Sweetheart," "Oh, Suzanna" and "Old Smoky." Thanks, Pam.
Beulah Brown was our fearless leader. She is a retired school teacher, and began by asking everyone to smile. She stated that “Everybody wears a smile in my class.” And everyone was smiling! She mentioned that the heat has been really hard to take.  The hot spell is hard, but inside is great. She complimented the crowd for surviving the heat and doing well.
Beulah led the guests in the singing of the "Welcome" and "Evergreen Outreach" songs. She also announced this week's  birthdays: Jason Galvin, Cora Foster, Marie Sutton, Ivan Witbracht and Pam Burton.
The devotions were given by the Rev. Joe Lawson. He spoke on Proverbs 15:15b, “The cheerful heart has a continual feast.” It seems that Joe’s son had a friend over to spend the night, and Joe decided to make some chocolate chip cookies for them. (NICE DAD!) He took the cookies down to the boys, and later thought he might have one himself. But when he got downstairs where they were, he found that the two boys had eaten every one of the three dozen cookies he had made. He laughed, and said that those boys surely did have a continual feast of chocolate chip cookies.
Those around me, mothers and grandmothers, mentioned that they weren’t a bit surprised that two teenagers could easily wolf down three dozen cookies! But you had to feel a little bit sorry for poor Joe. No cookies for Joe! He ended by chuckling about it, and reminding us all to be sure to spend time around people that make us laugh, because we all need to be cheerful. Joy is definitely a requirement to meet our spiritual needs. It is sustenance to our soul, just as a feast is sustenance for our bodies.
Bill Beard was making animals, cars and even apples out of balloons for the EO guests. They loved them. Bill carries a huge "shoebag" filled with the tools of his trade! It is a giant shoe made with different colors, and it really is a sight to see. Cindy Brown Harding, Beulah’s daughter, spoke to us about bicycle trips that she and her husband, Steve, have taken. They live in Texas, but like to travel to Colorado to do some bicycling. She entertained us with her story of how they bought battery-operated bicycles! She said that they can ride normally (doing all of the pedaling work), use the battery to pedal for them or do a combination of both – pedalling for a while and then letting the battery help them. Cindy told us that when she’s going up a hill and getting tired, she says, “I think I can.  I think I can.” She has found that having the batteries in her bike doesn’t necessarily make her “lazy.” She goes farther, knowing that she has a backup. That makes sense. The battery gives her confidence to try a little harder.
Cindy told us of several bicycle trips they have taken in Colorado.
Beulah and Cindy then sang a duet, and asked us all to join in. The song, appropriately, was "A Bicycle Built for Two."
Brad Elmore played his own rendition of "Amazing Grace." He later told me that he plays the harmonica as well. He said that when he was in the Army, he used to play the harmonica with a guy named Ralph "Montana" Hager, who played the guitar. It seems that “Montana” was a sheep herder from Montana,  who happened to have an IQ of 185! I told him I had heard or read somewhere that people with outrageously high IQs were sometimes a little bit crazy. Brad chuckled and agreed that Ralph was a little bit off sometimes. One night, at Camp Rucker, Ala., Brad heard a commotion.  It seems that after Montana climbed into his mosquito-netted bunk, he “tore up his guitar beating mosquitoes.” What a shame!
Beulah led the group in exercises.
She sang a song called, "Hello, Hello, How Do You Do?" and led in the singing of "You Are My Sunshine."
After that, Erna Wasmuth put on a song and invited the guests    to dance the train. They danced to "Rock Around the Clock,"  "Good Golly, Miss Molly" and "Ain’t It a Shame." Patty Sprague and her three grandchildren and daughter, Tabitha, danced in a circle with Erna, and ended with "If You Want to Dance with Me."  Great tunes!
At the first pinochle table, Shirley Lock and Jeanne Schlicht tied with Joyce Mueller and Ruth Ann Scott, with one game each.  At the second table, John Hunsley and Richard Kruenegel tied with Mary Woolsey and Rosamund Hobler, again with each team winning one game. Everyone was a winner! Good playing!
It was all over before we knew it! Looking forward to another fun-loving time at Evergreen Outreach next Monday! See you there!

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