Jane Morris Bay Shares Notes About Her North Carolina Trip

 

Kitty and I are going back to North Carolina on Saturday, March 7 for one more visit with our cousins to wrap up the research for the next chapter of GROWING UP SOUTHERN - Stories from the Attic of Childhood Memories.  This chapter/short story will be about our Mother.  Below are some notes I made last April during the Morris Girls Road Trip that I wanted to share you on the eve of our upcoming journey to the South.  These notes will be part of the next chapter, with a new twist.

"The dogwood and azaleas were in full bloom when we arrived in North Carolina.  It's rained like cats and dogs every day, but we've spent most of our time sitting around the dinner table, eating good homegrown food and talking with cousins about our family history.  Went over to Kenly yesterday to the house that Uncle Elton and Aunt Gladys lived in where Mother lost her high school ring a few days after graduating in 1932.  Mother was throwing out food scraps onto the compost pile and her ring, a little too big, flew off her finger and disappeared into the compost.  

Mother had been very upset about the loss of her 14 carat gold ring studded with a multifaceted oval shaped ruby. I remember her telling this story when we were children every time we went to visit Uncle Elton and Aunt Gladys who kept a vegetable garden year round until after Aunt Gladys died.

Fifty years later when the current owner of the house was rototilling the garden, he noticed a red stone (ruby) sparkling in the soil that had been turned over and, low and behold, it was Mother's ring.  His wife found the initials IBN (Ina Blanche Neighbor) inscribed inside on the band of the ring.  She called Benson High School in an effort to locate the owner, and the local newspaper wrote up a story about the long lost ring.  Someone sent the article to Mother in Florida, and shortly thereafter, she went to her 50th High School Class Reunion and was reunited with her ring.  I'm wearing the ring on a gold chain around my neck while we're here in North Carolina in memory of our dear sweet mother."

Mother was indescribably happy to have her High School Graduation ring, and enjoyed telling the story of it's recovery for over twenty year.

As you may remember, there was magic in the air during last years trip to North Carolina, Georgia and Florida, and the two recent short stories I sent you, which have been revised, rewritten and embellished, are now up on the website www.JaneBay.com with wonderful photographs in the "Stories from the Road" section.  "SynchroDestiny" is the story about my being reunited with Martha Jean Webster (Miller), my best childhood friend from the age of three until I left Leesburg when I was twelve years old.  

As its turned out, I've been invited by my childhood friends from Kindergarten through the Fifth Grade to come as an honorary member to their 50th Leesburg High School Class Reunion on Friday and Saturday, March 13-14.  I am so excited I can hardly stand it.  Several of my friends from Lakeland, where I actually graduated from high school, are also having a luncheon in my honor while I'm in Florida.  One of my best high school girlfriends, who was the Captain of our cheerleading squad, is actually coming in from Texas for the get together because she won't be able to attend the 50th Lakeland High School Class Reunion in October.  Of course, I'll be there for that one, too.

There's something karmicly delicious about this journey, with Mother's ring and her 50th high school class reunion, and both my 50th high school class reunions, so off I go with her ring on a gold chain around my neck and an open heart full of love and gratitude for all life's blessing, big and small.  Life is good even in these hard and troubling times we're going through right now.

Oh, and, one more thing, yesterday I got a copy of my portrait for the 2008 Lucasfilm Yearbook which is attached. 

Love ya'll.  Bye bye....  Jane