By By Steve Swogetinsky
July 16, 2001
We have a little Joy in our house.
Actually, we have a three-year-old named Joy. People look at me like I'm crazy when I say I have a 19-year-old in college, three-year-old in daycare, and two in-between. They don't know how close to being right they are.
In Joy's mind, everything in the house belongs to her. If you leave something laying around for very long, it becomes her property.
Case in point: On Tuesday, my keys to my wife's car came up missing. My 19-year-old, Stephanie, had her car in the shop and was using my wife's car to go to work.
So Stephanie had to use my wife's keys.
By Wednesday, those keys came up missing, too.
After tearing up the house, the family started suspecting Joy might know something about the keys. So Stephanie tried to bribe her. Joy would get a trip to the ice cream place if she found the keys. So she ran to her shoe box and quickly turned up my keys, which had been missing first.
Stephanie then checked Joy's pockets and there was the other set of missing keys.
She blames all of her misdeeds on my son's good friend, Paul. It was Paul who hid the keys, if you believe what Joy says.
I wouldn't have thought that was nearly as funny say16 years ago when Stephanie and Steven were that age. But when you are going through child-raising the second time around, and have learned from the first time, some things just don't stress you like they once did.
Some people say I spoil my Joy baby, but I don't think so.
Communicating
Nothing to do in Meridian?
You couldn't have made that argument last week during a gathering of event sponsors. The Lauderdale County Tourism Commission staff held an informational meeting to see what they could do to help people putting on the different events to be more successful.
It was a good first start. Allison Beasley, executive director, and her folks promised to line up speakers for future meetings.
Scheduling was a topic of discussion. Sometimes, three or four similar events wind up being held on the same weekend at the same time. They are competing when a little coordination and cooperation might have been good for everybody.
Getting the word out so that people know something is coming up is another concern. How do you do it effectively?
It gave me the opportunity to explain what we are going to do with "Connections," and this column is one way I plan to remind people of the things that are happening. Here's an example of how I think it will work:
The Meridian Symphony Association is in the process of selling its memberships for the upcoming season. The dates are Sept. 29, Nov. 10, Jan. 25, April 13 and May 4.
Carolyn M. Fuchek-Abdella, general manager, said the brochures have been mailed out, and there has been some response. She noted that anyone interested should go ahead and purchase their tickets to avoid missing any of the shows that could sell out. For more information, call 693-2224.
Jimmy Pigford, director at the Meridian Little Theater, reports that he has gotten a great response from the story we ran Wednesday, announcing the tryouts for "Annie." Tryouts will be Aug. 5-7. The musical version of the "Little Orphan Annie" comic strip will run Oct. 11-17 at the MLT.
Tryouts for the parts of Annie and the Orphans will be Aug. 5 at 7 p.m. Tryouts for the other leads and chorus will be Aug. 6-7, starting at 7 p.m. Anyone interested in trying out for a part should plan to be there at the correct time.
Other events on the calendar include:
Meridian Day at the Neshoba County Fair on July 25;
The opening of an exhibit at the Meridian Museum of Art. Featured artists will be Bryce Speed and Ted Jackson. There will be a reception July 28 from 6 to 8 p.m. For more information, call Terry Heder at 693-1501.
The Mississippi Junior Miss Program will be held Aug. 2-4 at the Temple Theater. The contestants will arrive July 29 to begin practicing for the programs. For ticket information, call 482-7488.
Looking to help …
Each November, the Church of the Mediator holds an annual barbecue that provides some of the finest food you'll ever put in your mouth. They also make money on the project, which they like to put back in the community by assisting agencies that assist in helping those in need. If you have a project, pickup an application at the church office or call 483-3959.
If you have an event coming up, let me know about. See you next time.
Steve Swogetinsky is regional editor of The Meridian Star. Call him at 693-1551, ext. 3217, or e-mail him at sswogetinsky@themeridianstar.com.