Last Saturday, I took our youngest son to his morning football practice. As we were driving into town, the sky was getting dark. The forecast was calling for storms. I dropped him off at the high school’s football field and decided to stay close by in town in case the storms came in during practice.
I made a stop at our local bakery in Elkins, Nellie B’s, to get a good cup of coffee. I had not been in during the summer and was pleasantly surprised to see a small crowd gathered. As I walked to the counter, I was talking with the owner about how busy I have been this summer. We both agreed that our gardens had been bountiful. I told her we had more tomatoes than we knew what to do with. She offered me a sample of a tomato jam she had recently made. She came back with a biscuit covered in something delicious and unexpected! Then she proceeded to tell me how to make it – I want to try it out.
As I turned to leave, I noticed two of our neighbors standing in front of a local coffee roaster’s demonstration. The air was filled with the wonderful scent of Costa Rican coffee roasted locally by Confident Coffee Roasters. I had not seen either of them in several months. We talked about our children, work and how fast the summer had flown by.
When I headed toward the door, I ran into another precious friend and had to briefly catch up. They had taken the time during the summer to write our youngest daughter a letter of encouragement while she was away for two weeks at New Life Ranch, a church camp in Colcord, Okla. It was so nice to bump into her.
As I headed back toward the high school, I noticed the “corn lady” had a small farm stand set up in front of the Farmer’s Coop. In August, I get homesick for Iowa sweet corn. I decided to pull in the parking lot and see what all she had to offer. Even though we have had a wonderful vegetable garden this season, I did not grow any sweet corn. I had been craving this delicious farm treat. When I got to the stand, she was busy with other customers. I had the opportunity to look over all the produce she had for sale. When it was my turn, I took advantage of the day’s special, 14 ears of sweet corn for the price of a dozen and some homegrown peaches. I felt as if I had hit the lottery jackpot.
The sky was getting dark, and the wind was picking up, so I headed toward the football field to watch the end of practice. When I got to the field, there were several parents and grandparents up at the fence watching. As I walked up, I said hello to Jeff Graves, the maintenance and transportation supervisor for Elkins Public Schools. I met Jeff when I was out campaigning for public office. We have a shared interest in solving the problem of the bus driver shortage that plagues many of our rural school districts. He told me he was still actively looking for bus and route drivers to fill some positions before the school year started. I had always wondered why the school vans were out and about in Fayetteville each day. Our district uses these to transport students who are dual enrolled in the local technical school, Northwest Arkansas Technical Institute. I told him I would help spread the word to people who might qualify for the open positions.
As our conversation ended, it got windy, and practice ended just as the storm was cutting loose. I collected my son and bolted to the car. In the busyness of summer, I am so thankful to have had a morning to catch up and connect. Social media has its purpose, but nothing beats bumping into friends and having an old-fashioned chat, neighbor.
Jody Harris is a freelance communications specialist, gardener, ranch wife and mother of four. She and her family raise Angus beef cattle and other critters on their northwest Arkansas ranch. She is a graduate of Missouri State University. To contact Jody, go to ozarksfn.com and click on ‘Contact Us.’
