SCENE IN PASSING
MARIE WHITEHEAD
It is time to flip our calendars and say good bye to the first month of the new year. Turn your calendars back 60 years, to 1948, and you will be on our wedding day. That Jan. 30 was also frigid with snow and ice. After the exchange of vows in Huntsville, we slipped and slid into Houston. Was a new motor in our newly bought used car a hindrance or a help? In those days a new motor had to be broken in with speeds of no more than 35 mph allowed for the first 500 miles. The highlight of our honeymoon was a tour of the press room at the Houston Chronicle. And thus, we launched our lives together, spending two and one half years at Livingston. June 1, 1950 saw another new beginning when our address changed to Rusk. It has been an interesting 60 years, all of them richly blessed. Because so many of you have shared them with us, I invite you to celebrate with me what was, what is, and what is yet to be.

Here is good news to hear. Darlene Beasley Pruett has stayed in touch with us as her family takes another leap (well, it is leap year.). Just recently, Jan. 18 they became the official family for Selena 11, Isaac 10, Liliana 9 and Joshua 6. Darlene writes, "They have resided in our home for three years, but officially became ours Jan. 18." They are the grandchildren of Curtis and Mary Lu Pruett of Tyler, formerly of Rusk and they have lots of relatives still living in Rusk and the surrounding area. Curtis Pruett will be remembered as the superintendent of Texas State Railroad back when. Darlene and spouse Todd are to be commended for their time in service to children who need a loving home. They have given their best.

New additions l to the Darlene Beasley Pruett family include Selena, 11, Isaac, 10, Liliana, 8 abd Joshua, 6. The paperwork was finalized Jan. 18.

News from others is always welcome. Here is a note from friends Edmund and Nancy Bojarski who have recently moved to Carthage. They indicate they would have written sooner, but the computer "went down." I know that feeling. They hope to be surfing the internet and receiving e-mail soon. Not only is the computer a problem, but Ed is having some serious health problems. He is legally blind, has some hearing impairment and has a broken neck which cannot be repaired. He is among the faithful readers of Joseph Conrad, a well known Polish author. He has done his best since we've known each other to keep Conrad's memory alive. His most recent project to transform Mr. Conrad's personal ship into a lighthouse, which was in last week's letters to the editor.

Nick Norton received praise for his musical talent in The Salt Lake Tribune. Celia R. Baker, writer, says, "If you think the trumpet is a loud, blating, abrasive instrument, you haven't heard Nick Norton. He is the Utah Symphony's longtime principal trumpeter, can play brassy fanfares that could wake the dead, but he's better known for spinning out smooth, refined melodies of supreme sweetness, a much rarer gift." The Tribune writer interviewed Nick and notes that he is notoriously modest. His response, "It has more to do with perspiration than inspiration. Trumpet is one of the most physical instruments and if it's off a couple of percent, it's not good. I tell my students that composers don't write stuff to make your life miserable it's uplifting. It's hard when it's such a difficult instrument, to remember that." Nick joined the Utah Symphony in 1980 and in 1995 married the Symphony's bassist, Claudia Christiansen." According to his wife, Nick practices three hours each day. This is just excerpts from a lengthy, well written feature on the son of Gloria Dotson.

Please let me hear from you? You make my life so much easier. Here is the address: mwhitehead@ mediactr.com

And remember to pray for our less fortunate friends who live with pain of body, including Mr. Bojarski, and our special RHS graduate, Jimmy Persons. After a period of remission, the problem has returned. He is now at M.D. Anderson in Houston. For all of us, a closing thought: "A smile is just a frown, turned upside down." Keep smiling? mwhitehead@mediactr.com