Columns

I will just put this out here: I hated potty training. I hated having to be 30 seconds or less from the closest bathroom, I hated spending money on Pull Ups and underwear as we tried to transition, and I hated most of all cleaning up accidents that looked very much like human feces. I didn’t mind cleaning baby diapers as much, but I think with the potty training I resented cleaning it all up because if the kid had just gone to the bathroom like he’s training to do then I wouldn’t have to almost gag.

I will also confess I did not have a good attitude during the whole ordeal. I just didn’t see why it was so hard to use the bathroom. I only had boys, and they loved peeing on Cheerios in the toilet. They would drink large amounts of fluids and go into the bathroom together just to pee on Cheerios. But going #2 in the toilet proved to be much more difficult for my oldest.

Kinda a different type of Title for me but you’ll understand at the end … AND I promise this isn’t just a trick to get you to read all the way through - but no cheating and skipping right to the bottom.

“I’m basically going potluck on a roommate.”

This is what a sweet 12th grade girl named Frances told me the other day. She’s planning to attend LSU in Baton Rouge in the fall, and is gearing up for the dorms.

She met some girls on Instagram through the LSU Housing site and they all agreed to room together in an on-campus suite. She’s going to meet them over spring break.

I told her about how I went “potluck” for a roomie as a freshman at Louisiana Tech in the

90’s, and how I met a lifelong friend in Melanie.

“Of course, we didn’t have phones or social media,” I said with a grin, “so I didn’t meet Melanie until the day we moved in.”

Frances’ eyes widened. It’s hard for teens to imagine not being able to stalk potential roomies on Instagram or “Snap” them on SnapChat.

From time to time the towns of DeSoto Parish have been mentioned but several have asked that an article just on these towns be compiled. The history of the towns of DeSoto is interesting and this writer thinks you will enjoy.

I. Mansfield, the parish seat if government, was determined by the La. legislature in 1843 and incorporated April 15, 1847. Several names were suggested such as Jackson and Ferdinand however, Thomas Abington gave a very interesting speech for the name Mansfield. Lord Mansfield of England, the only British leader that supported the original 13 colonies, was chosen as the name for our parish capital. The first post office was in 1844, a few months after the Keachi post office. Mansfield’s most noted historical happenings were the Mansfield Female College that was open from 1854 to 1930 and the April 8, 1864 Battle of Mansfield.

How Being Consistently Late Led To A Lesson in Forgiveness

When our kids are Pre-K age we feel keeping them alive is all we can handle. And some days that is even debatable. So when our church ladies’ committee approached me about being President, I initially said no. But they persisted and my resolve weakened and finally disappeared. I became the new President of our women’s organization.

The Vice President invited me over for lunch, to make plans she said for the upcoming year. Innocent enough I thought-I couldn’t have been more wrong. Oh, the meal was pleasant enough-tuna sandwiches and fruit salad (staples of women’s lunches in the South). But then she began her speech.

Each Valentine’s Day I’m reminded of how my husband and I met.

It was May 1999, and I was working as a writer/producer for the CBS affiliate in Birmingham, Alabama. I was 22 years old, single, and living in a one-bedroom apartment.

The station’s news director, Peggy, began to say things like, “Allie, I need to introduce you to my middle son, Marshall, sometime soon. I think you two would really get along.”

She had a photo in her office of her three sons, and I will admit I really liked what I saw of that cute middle son!

So one Tuesday afternoon, Peggy called me to her office. I assumed it was regarding a promotion I was working on for the 5 o’clock newscast that day.

Thank each and every one of you for the years I was able to serve you. I am stepping aside as Mansfield Alderman but I will always be as close as your phone. It was a joy serving the people of District C and the City of Mansfield.

I started my journey with the City of Mansfield on May of 1989. I am a deacon at the Corinth Baptist Church where the Rev. Anthony Kennedy is my pastor.

I have served under the administration of four mayors: Druce Chapman, Harold Cornett, Curtis McCoy, and John Mayweather. I have also served with aldermen Dezell Sudds, Ray Woodley, Sonny Hall, Dillard McCoy, Troy Terrell, Boss Ray Anderson, Joseph Hall, Chris Thomas, Bob McAllen, Dudley Kemper, Brenda Hall, Betty Carter, Marylinda Green, and Kervin Campbell.

It has been a joy working with and meeting people during y thirty-two years with the City and thirty-four years as manager of Big Star grocery.

Someone recently a s k e d how the topics were chosen that I write about each week. It took a few moments of thought to give an answer – even after giving an answer it wasn’t necessarily a correct and certainly not a complete one.

Several years ago John Blanchard, editor of the Mansfield Enterprise, knowing my interest in history, encouraged me to write about the history of Mansfield and DeSoto Parish. This has always been my main focus - “Preservation of the history of our area.” Mansfield and DeSoto Parish didn’t just happen – it was the result of brave men and women working to make it the good place that it is. We also have a great nation and the same thing that made DeSoto Parish great made our nation great.

Capturing Time in a Book

When my kids were little I made a gazillion scrapbooks of them. Okay, I’m not solid on the exact number of albums, but it was a lot. When we moved and I had to pack, move, and unpack all the albums, my interest died a little. Then my boys became teenagers and claimed my scrapbooks were “useless”, “dumb”, and they didn’t want them. I felt like perhaps I’d wasted a great deal of time and energy. Enter the college girlfriend.

This girl came to visit our humble home and asked to see all the scrapbooks. My heart skipped a beat or two as I gathered them up and placed them lovingly on our dining room table. She poured over them with my son, pointing to pictures and asking millions of questions. She scrutinized photo layouts and read each word I’d carefully scribed for eternity. I knew I liked this girl!

Stuffed Onion Bombs Doesn’t the name of this recipe just scream out at you?! It did to me especially when I learned they were wrapped with bacon. One reading and I knew I had my next column. Thanks to Charlotte Huff Miller for posting this to me on Facebook and thanks for all the positive comments by others attesting to how good they were gonna be.

Her recipe from “Best Bites” asks you to combine 1 cup of milk, 1 cup of bread crumbs, 1/3 cup of chopped onions, 1/2 tsp. of chopped garlic, ? cup BBQ Sauce, a tsp. of salt & pepper and 2 lbs. of ground beef in a large bowl.