Chronicles of
Dear Readers,
I sincerely hope this finds you all safe and sound and facing 2026 with bold enthusiasm. Rhett and I had a busy and exciting end to last year, including multiple projects at Tara, visiting Traveler’s Rest, North Carolina and unexpected vehicular repairs. Times were challenging and expensive, but we are seeing light at the end of the tunnel that doesn’t seem to be an oncoming train!
Since we are blessed to have everything we need, choosing Christmas gifts for each other caused some pondering. We finally settled on new shoes. Rhett was determined to find shoes for me that would improve my balance issues. Money was no object, but finding just the right shoe store was.
Our search ended in Columbia, South Carolina at a Mast General Store. If you have never had the chance to visit a Mast store, consider doing so, but give yourself a full day to explore. There is one in Greenville, SC, too.
When was the last time you went to purchase shoes and actually had a salesman measure and fit the shoes properly? Well, I had the pleasure of queenly treatment from a soft-spoken gentleman named Dave, a retired high school teacher. He measured both feet sitting and standing, length and width. Lo and behold, one foot was 7 and 1/2 and one was an 8! The memory of being told as a child that I had a “foot like a brick” came back to mind. I had been wearing the wrong sized shoes for over 40 years! No wonder my balance was out of order. I will be sending Dave a thank-you note.
On the long ride home, Rhett and I reminisced about how customer-service like Dave provided has become a lost art. Gone are the service station attendants, telephone operators, elevator attendants and many others. At two restaurants I visited recently, I could only place my order at a kiosk inside. Workers refused to take my orders verbally. Needless to say, I will not be going back to either one.
Rhett’s shoes? He went to a local sporting goods store and picked out two pairs of sneakers on his own! I tried to talk him out of the red pair, but to no avail! Sincerely,
Scarlett
Please send your questions to Scarlett at: [email protected] or through postal mail to: Scarlett O’Dara, 902 Elizabeth St., Waycross, GA 31503.
