For your reading enjoyment, we continue to publish Rambling Vines by the late Marylea Vines as she recalls events and names of Corning folks from many years ago. We are currently in the year 1990

Well, I am a year older than I was this time last year but can’t tell any difference… yet!

It was fun day, starting with friend Evelyn Barnhill Lepard getting me out of bed to answer the telephone very early… and from then on, I was on the telephone numerous times, talking with most of my family, including cousins. I’m still getting birthday cards and nearly everyone has a note asking about Putter. (His birth is in August). My neighbors, the Kelletts, took me out for Sunday dinner and later in the day, another neighbor had seen me outside wearing my best clothing and came over to ask if someone had died! They are used to seeing me run around in sweats over the weekend as I take care of all the chores around the house and yard.

Putter and I took three walks during the day and later in the afternoon he got into big trouble when he ran across the street. I got a keen switch and went after him and now I know what mama used to mean when she would say, “This is going to hurt me more than it will you.” I gave him a couple little pecks and just simply broke his little heart… he laid down and made noises that sounded just like crying… whew, I couldn’t stand it, so I picked him up, gave him some loving and then gave him a couple tablespoons of ice cream. Dot, my neighbor, said that I defeated my purpose, but I think the message got through, no need of going on and on about it.

Anyway, it was a nice birthday, had several drop-in visitors, got lots of cards from all over the place, even got a box of candy from the Cochrans and so long as I can get up and go and continue to feel fine, I am not the least bit worried that I am 39 again!

Found my census form in the front door one day last week, with the urging that it be filled out and returned by April 1. Of course I did, because of its importance to Corning now and for the next ten years, but for a few minutes there I felt tempted to write, telling them that I would fill it out four to six weeks… that’s they way they do business!

Following a meeting at the courthouse the other night, Jerry Kirby, walked up and stated, “Marylea, I want to ask you something… what is Putter?” He had missed out on the beginning when Putter came to live at my house last August and he and his wife, Joyce, couldn’t figure out if I might be talking about an animal or a little nephew or something. He really perked up when I told him that my little “boss” is a long-haired Dachshund, because he said Joyce had at one time planned to raise that breed of dog.

Just about everyone in town experienced a temporary shutdown of the television cable the other Saturday night, but nowhere in town was service disrupted for as long as it was at my friend Beverly’s house!

They have one of those remote controls which tantalizes her to the point that she can’t leave it alone… a person has to be quick to see all of anything on their television… she runs all the channels about every 20 minutes. Well, Saturday night when the cable interruption came, she started punching buttons… no luck. About every 15 minutes, she would try again. This went on until bedroom. Soon as her feet hit the floor on Sunday morning, she grabbed that old remote control and started in again punching buttons. Finally, she resorted to calling the cable serviceman and was informed, “I got that fixed last night.” She argued that not all of the town had power restored and convinced him to go check it out one more time. Finally, after fretting around for an hour or so, she just happened to notice that she had pushed buttons until she was trying to get a picture on Channel 75… something that just isn’t possible yet, in Corning.

One sure way to get Corning and the roads leading into town clean and neat and keep them that way is for them to be adopted… have a group of concerned people agree to adopt a section of highway, the block they live on, the downtown area, the park, or other places, and then spend a few hours each week in keeping the place neat in appearance.

The Corning Volunteer Fireman has come forward and adopted a twomile section of Highway 67 from Bobcat Lane Northward. They were out there last weekend picking up aluminum cans and other trash.

I remember once, years and years ago, that my dad and others on the Highway Department crew spent an entire week picking up beverage cans between Corning and the Missouri state line. They picked up seven gravel truck loads of them… that’s nothing to be proud of!

Read an article the other day about a man observing his 70th birth anniversary and it stated, “The Lord must be mighty forgiving to let a fellow live to be 70 years old when he has voted the Republican ticket for 49 years.”

Waiting for someone to invent a grass that will grow to two inches high and automatically stop growing but will stay green all Summer.