CHITCHAT CORNER

A short history lesson was taught to a group of Frenchmen on Christmas Eve via conference cell phoning. Yes, you read that right. Some businesses are now set up to offer conference calls via cell phones. KC teacher David Stroud received a phone call from his daughter Sarah Stroud Quinlan while she was enroute from Dallas to spend Christmas with him. She had on another line a call from his nephew, Matt, who resides in Paris, France. A discussion had begun with Matt and other Frenchmen about the battle of the Alamo and the Frenchmen had assumed the Americans had won the battle. Matt knew it was not true, but didn’t know how to tell them how we ended up with Texas. So, the call was placed first to Sarah, and then on to David who ended up giving them a brief on the Alamo and a short history lesson about the battle of San Jacinto. “Here I am at 5p.m. on Christmas Eve giving a history lesson to Frenchmen,” David laughed. It made for a very interesting Christmas,” he said. (It makes you wonder what they thought, too.)

According to Billy Bob Brady, first alert has now been changed to “My turkey has fallen and I can’t get it up” and he shares this Christmas story with us: “My son-in-law’s grandmother is 99 years old and lives by herself in a remote area in the Arkansas mountains. Every year, a relative sends out smoked turkeys to the family members. This year, Fed-Ex arrived with a delivery and knocked on her door. Being the age she is, she couldn’t get to the door fast enough to answer it. The Fed-Ex men left the package on the porch. By the time “Grandma Horton” made it to the door, the dogs had gotten hold of the box and pulled it off the porch. Luckily, the Swepco man arrived to read the meter and retrieved the package from the dogs. He sat the package inside the house for her and left. At the time, neither realized it was a turkey in the box. Poor Grandma Horton pulled and pulled but couldn’t get the turkey out of the box and into the refrigerator. So, she did what she knew to do next. She pushed her first alert button. The response team contacted her son to let him know something was wrong. When he arrived, she said, “I can’t get the turkey out of the floor.”

The Single’s New Year’s Eve Party will be held Sunday, December 31 at the home of Teresa Anderson. The party starts at 6 p.m. If you are interested in attending call her at 903-984- 3759 as to what to bring, etc.

During this time of year, I always get helpful hints regarding the budget and what-to-do better next year. Sharon Breedlove has given me the best tip so far. “Purchase gift cards from your major stores all through the year,” she said. She purchases everything from gas cards, food certificates to clothing cards. “You can cash use them yourself when you get ready (even if you need extra groceries through the holiday season) and your are not as likely to spend them as easily as you would cash,” she said. Sharon and her family enjoyed two fabulous vacations with the help of her stockpile of gift cards this last year.

If you would like to share some of your money tips, please send them right on to chitchatlinda@aol.com or at 903-984-2593. In the meantime, May His Love and Laughter Fill Your Hearts and Your Homes. Happy New Year Everyone!