I don't know about where you live, but around West Tennessee it's officially "dead Elvis week" complete with candlelight vigils and such. One of the pathologists in the group that I work with was a resident who got called upon to do the autopsy back in the day. The Memphis paper interviewed him about the whole deal for today's cover story on the king and his untimely demise from an overdose of jelly doughnuts. Some say it was a big hush-hush coverup kind of deal with the county medical examiner rulin' it was "heart failure." Well...duh. Aren't most deaths because of that? I had just graduated from UT Center for the Health Sciences and had taken a job at the old John Gaston hospital down there in the micro department, of all things. It had to do with a guy and the short version is that I tucked my tail and slunk back to the 'burg AFTER my daddy rented a U-Haul and we loaded it up to move me down to Elvis land.

I spent that time from June 'til August refinishing my great grandmother's maple furniture in preparation for the big move. My Irish setter, Brandy, had heartworms and died at the end of spending that time with me on the front porch at home. After Daddy returned the U-haul, I went for an interview at the local hospital and got hired on pretty quick at the handsome rate of $4.92 an hour. Instead of moving to Memphis, Ethel's furniture found a home in an apartment down the street from my new job. The rest is just history.

My dear friend Sue and I worked together today and she stopped by after we got off to check out the apple crop. These little sticks that I got for joining the Arbor Day foundation years ago turned out to be of the Granny Smith variety and she's all about some homegrown for the menu at her tearoom. It sits about halfway between here and Memphis right on the highway, full of antiques. Ya'll would just die if you saw the place.

I have a couple of days off so the grill has been fired up with beef and chicken Poopie style. Bobby Flay ain't got nothing on me except maybe a handle for the top of his. It's all good, because I can lift mine up with the pliers that I use to open the dryer door. Ya'll think I'm kidding, dontcha? I'm an excellent student of the necessity as mother of invention school of thought.

There is a sunset about to happen so I'm outta here and out where the view is better. Ya'll keep the faith.

^j^