Brenda Cannon Henley's archive

Smiling and waving as we go

On a recent trip to Georgia to visit my relatives and to take care of some pressing business, I learned a valuable lesson from my longtime sister in law, Teresa Fowler Stancil. We have been in the same family for more than 40 years and have shared much humor, some illness, hundreds of Scrabble games, lots of other good times, a few sad ones, child rearing secrets, and years of life experiences. She is quite the teacher and I have found myself gleaning tidbits from her vast table of knowledge.

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Building partnerships that work

No one puts on a show like Mother Nature. Yesterday afternoon on the beautiful Gulf of Mexico, Ted and I were treated to a more than three-hour performance by the best she had to offer. We were fishing and happily catching lots of different “things” from the Gulf. I’ve always said the best part of fishing the Gulf is not knowing what might be on the end of that line when you feel a strong tug, work the catch, and finally see it break water. It could be a beautiful silver fish, some with bright colors glowing in the sun.

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God, please save me from the need to win

I’m as much of a competitor as anyone I know. I love to play the game and win if at all possible, but I don’t always come out the victor. There are times when I play against someone that is simply more intelligent than I am or happens to get the better hand or draw. That’s what makes playing games, cards, contests, or quizzes so much fun for most people. If one is going to win every time, then really what’s the use of playing?

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Let’s hear it for the men of the home

June is always a busy month. School is out for the summer and great plans are being made to cram as much as absolutely possible into the few weeks between one grade and the next. Family vacations loom large and visits to grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins are on the horizon. For the many blended families that are living in America now, scheduling the time for mom or dad, according to court orders, has to be taken into prime consideration.

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My country is showing through today

Funny, how one simple little ordinary thing can take you back in time so vividly. I had a time-travel experience today thanks to the gifts from a neighbor here on the beach.Ted came in the door last night with a second bag of homegrown tomatoes, some peppers and a beautiful onion pulled straight out of the garden of a neighbor across the street from us. This kind man had shared some of his fresh, homegrown vegetables last week and they were wonderful.

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