Wednesday, December 14, 2016

View From The Bridge 12/14/16

VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE
By Muncie
12/14/16

MORE CHRISTMAS CONCERTS
One of the events I enjoy at this time of year is the Fort Benton Elementary School and the Fort Benton High School Christmas Concerts.

The K-4 concert is on the Tuesday the 13th at 7:00 p.m. If you weren’t there or not aware of it, you have missed it. All three (3) of the concerts will be held in the beautiful Fort Benton Elementary school auditorium.

On Wednesday the 14th, the High School Concert will be held at 7:00 p.m. On Tuesday the 20th at 7:00 p.m. will be the 5th through 8th grade Concert.

All of the youngsters and teenagers work very hard for these concerts and for me they are very professional. Thanks to Margie and Eric for their putting together these concerts.  As always I would like to see the auditorium filled to capacity. See you there!

WINTER SPORTS SEASON
One of the things I like about winter, as opposed to the many I have told you I do not like, is the winter sports season.

I love watching basketball because I always wanted to play. As a girl I wasn’t much into wrestling. I do keep up with the wrestling reports in the River Press and know that we have now and have had great and winning teams and individuals. I love it when they put Fort Benton on the map.

A huge bunch of roses to the middle school basketball girls’ team for 1st place and the boy’s 3rd.  What a boost not only to the teams but to their supporters. It excites the whole town when Fort Benton is #1 again.

The 8th grade girls who will go on to play with the varsity team must be worn out after playing a season of basketball already. Of course, I look forward to a really exciting season for 2016 and 2017.

All the dates of the games are now on my calendar as I cut the schedule out of the Fort Benton sports section. Watch carefully because the games are not always on Fridays. It should be an exciting time and I’ll see you there.

ASSESSMENT MEETINGS
I did not make it to any of the assessment meetings. My only excuse is that it was too cold to go out and snow had to be cleaned off the truck.

Several people I talked with said they wondered why the meetings were held at this time of year when everyone is so busy with Christmas. I am anxious to read the results in the River Press this week.

COOKIE WALK
If you did not make it to the Golden Age Senior Center Cookie walk last Friday you missed the most mouth-watering treats ever. The variety made it difficult to choose but I managed without too much thought I went back to my kitchen with 2# of the most delightful array of goodies.

Ladies of the Senior Center, I want you to know how much I appreciate all your hard work. I want you to know that I think of you every time I devour one of those cookies. You are the hardest working group and give so much of your time to keep the Center going. You have made it a home away from home. It is delightful to spend time there.  

TUESDAY NIGHT DINNER
Because December began on a Thursday the Tuesday night dinner at the Senior Center will be on the 20th which is the 3rd Tuesday of the month,

Be sure and sign up early because they can only accommodate 48 people. The December dinner seems to be the most popular because of the season. Everyone seems to be in a holly, jolly mood.

I just wanted to mention this little item because perhaps you did not know or realize what it is. At the dinner there is a 50/50 drawing. If everyone would buy 1 ticket the winner would receive $24.00 and the Center would receive $24.00. Every $24.00 is a help to the Center income. So please be generous and buy a ticket.  You may be the next winner.

AROUND TOWN
Have you wondered about when the old rectory was going to be moved? I inquired and found that it is ready to go but they must wait for the ground to freeze. The rectory is too heavy to move now because it would sink into the soft ground. Now we know that it will be a while before it is gone. Take you pictures now before the space is vacant.

I used to take a lot of pictures and the one I feel sad about because I didn’t take a picture, was the grain elevator across from the Old Depot. I knew that it was going to be torn down but I did not get there soon enough to take a picture. You do not get a second chance once it is gone.

NEXT C.C.P.A.
It will be almost 2 months until the next Chouteau County Performing Arts program on January 31st. Look forward to it because it will be the songs of Nat King Cole. It is titled “Too Wonderful for Words,” and it will be. “Mona Lisa” comes to mind and it is still popular today. See you there!

DECORATIONS
Have you taken your yearly ride around town to see the Christmas decorations? Marvin Brodock won the prize for the best decorated house. It was a very difficult decision to choose a winner because there were so many great entries. I am enjoying a house down the street from me belonging to Joe Bach. It looks like the entrance to Santa’s house. I saw Joe putting up the lights the Saturday before Thanksgiving and that evening he turned them on. I did not have many decorations around my house before I moved.

Behind me, Mariah Ball put lights all along her white fence and I am enjoying looking out my kitchen window at that colorful display. The two things I like the most about Christmas, as opposed to those I do not like, are the music and the lights.

SQUIRRELS BACK
I wrote a while back that I did not have many birds visiting my bird feeders. Previously I did not feed the birds in the spring and summer thinking they could find their own food. I thought that they had a more difficult time in the winter finding food. My feeders were always filled every day during the fall and winter. I had a conversation with Karen, who lives near me, this past week and she only feeds the birds in the spring and summer. She said that birds had to have many trees around to nest. I do not have any trees but my neighbor has two. Karen said once spring comes the birds will be at my feeders. (This is another good reason to count off the days until spring beside the days getting longer.)

Well, this started out to be a squirrel story and I am so happy that a squirrel has been visiting my squirrel feeder. It has been a week now since the peanuts in the shell have been disappearing. I know that it is a squirrel because he leaves the shells. When birds took the peanuts they did not leave the shells. If anyone around me has trouble with squirrels, please let me know and I will solve the problem.

FUNNY QUOTES
“No man has a good enough memory to be a successful liar.”  By Abraham Lincoln

GOD BLESS AMERIA, OUR TROOPS, THOSE WHO PROTECT US, and WEAR RED ON FRIDAYS. BE KIND, BE KIND, BE KIND!