Cassie Tarpley, reporter, writer, 'know-it-all'

Why?

2009-05-27T18:13:00.002-05:00

Was scrolling the national headlines at shelbystar.com today.
"N. Korea threatens to attack U.S. ships"
The world is way more complex than "Why can't they just play nice?"
But c'mon.

'Thank you' - a practiced art

2008-07-22T13:21:00.003-05:00

We hear a lot about giving, don't we?
To give is better than to receive, we're taught.
Give from the heart.
Give and it shall be given unto you.
Give 'til it hurts (because that's where the sacrifice is.)
Taking, on the other hand, seems to be a bad word.
It can be.
But graceful, grateful receiving is an unpracticed art.

When I invited myself to lunch with friends, I expected to pay and came prepared to do so. But when I reached for "the card," I was told, "No, it's taken care of."
That's when my little voice inside said, "Accepting gifts is a way of blessing the giver."
I said 'thank you' without protest.

In a short Letter to the Editor, a member of Roberts Tabernacle church in Shelby thanks her pastor and his family for what some might say was an unusual act.
The Jerry Webbs served each member breakfast before and lunch after the July 20 worship time.

Jesus told a story about 10 men healed. Only one returned to thank him.
How often do we 'take' a gift with no acknowledgement...

I believe if I practice the art of graceful, grateful receiving - quite a different concept than soliciting - the world and those in it around me will benefit.

Each day a gift

2008-07-21T08:24:00.002-05:00

Evelyn Kennedy's birthday party last week was a true celebration of life. Death is not far away, the 57-year-old believes, because her body is racked with pancreatic cancer. Apparently there's no cancer in her spirit and her sense of fun is still quite intact.
Take the 10-pound sombrero she donned with grace - if not so much with confidence as it wobbled about - as friends sang and cheered and urged her to take the first piece of cake for herself.
Remember to count your blessings today.
See the glass half full, not half empty.
Touch someone with your smile.
You know that smiling at those who think they're your enemies drives them nuts!
:)

True celebration of life

2008-07-15T09:51:00.003-05:00

I'm invited to a birthday party today.
By most accounts, this looks to be the last birthday Evelyn Kennedy may have in this world, but I fully expect a joyous time.
What an inspiration to meet and get to know Evie, as many friends call her. Her no-holds-barred approach to living life and to dying - what can I say? I believe God has gifted her with special insight and that she can say, along with the late Dr. Carl Naman, that it's a win-win situation: If you live, you get to be with friends and family. If you die, you get to be face to face with God.
Now that's a good reason to celebrate.
I'll let you know how the party goes!

On the road again - or not

2008-07-14T10:38:00.003-05:00

If a blown head gasket means nothing to you, that is, if it's something you know how to deal with, you might want to check out what I've been seeing on Kings Road.
Big orange emergency cones and a hand-scrawled sign draw attention to this car.
My auto experiences range from bending the A frame on my brand new car decades ago through pushing numerous VW bugs down the hill to start them to enduring two and a half summers with no A/C in my truck. None of that was fun.
But if car tinkering sets your soul on fire, go for it!

Silly Putty

2008-07-11T10:09:00.002-05:00

Ever feel like Silly Putty? I mean the part where you can get pulled in so many directions you don't have a real shape anymore? I get that way with more and more regularity these days.
No easy answer, is there?
Trying to stay focused under my own power....not working!
But when I remember that I am clay but that I am not the potter, things improve - my mind clears, my focus returns.
That's pretty important for someone whose job is to impart information to other people.
It's even more important when you have family to care for, friends to respond to and a world to come to grips with.
I thank my Creator every day that he is who he is and I don't have to be in charge!

Squint and you can see them

2008-06-06T15:17:00.002-05:00

More travels with Cassie:
On my way home recently, a family of four rudely ran out in the road in front of me.
But there was no skidding, no squealing brakes, no horn blowing or shouting, because I'm usually a rational driver. And no, I didn't hit them.
Indeed, this stop had me saying, "Oh, how beautiful!"
Wearing what could be mistaken for burglar masks Papa and Mama waddled across Kings Road, with two fuzzy babies pattering behind.
Look closely, because as I stopped to capture them (digitally, of course) they intentionally kept a fairly non-photographable distance.
Just one more of God's little surprises in my life. Thanks!

How much is that doggie?

2008-06-04T15:26:00.004-05:00

Driving to the office and back home again is usually the same-old-same-old. So I really slowed down to look when I saw a big brown object by the roadside.
I still couldn't tell exactly what it was, so I stopped, turned around and went back a few driveways. Still not completely sure, so I got out of the truck and walked up to this adorable soft creature with a piece of paper stuck to his head.
For Sale - $20.
That was a week ago, and I saw him a few times since, but not this morning. Hope he didn't run away.

De-bugged

2008-06-03T17:24:00.005-05:00

The little things that bug me are becoming less and less important.
And the little things that fascinate me are getting moreso.
Take this little lady bug, for instance. Yes, she's there on the rose - look more closely.
I cut some blooms from a sprawl of roses in my back yard. I didn't plant them, but inherited them when we moved to this house about four years ago. I have helped them a little by giving them space and getting competition out of the way, but they truly are a gift.
Nestled in a bulb vase on my kitchen table, the flowers made me happy. The day after I brought them in, I noticed something moving on a glossy green leaf.
She mesmerized me as she trailed along every petal edge in her quest for I-don't-know-what. She kept at it so long, I fetched my cellphone camera, then propped on the table edge waiting for just the right moment to capture her - digitally. She eventually made her way to the window, where she camped out a few days, then disappeared.
I remember her fondly.

A time to sow and a time to reap

2008-06-03T11:51:00.003-05:00

All was quiet as I drove by the Northeast Shelby Weed and Seed Community Garden about an hour ago. By 6 p.m., the site should be buzzing with activity. Anyone interested in helping weed, clear, plant more or just hang out with neighbors is welcome to join in the second annual official planting day. Brings your rakes, hoes and gloves and the community spirit!

Life grip

2008-06-02T19:59:00.007-05:00

Dying versus staying alive. It’s a win-win situation, Dr. Carl Naman told me in
September 2006.
“If we live, we get to be with family and friends,” Naman said. “If we die, we get to be with God.”
The beloved surgeon went "to be with God" Friday night, May 30.
In his three decades caring for patients in and around Cleveland County, he demonstrated a feverish tenacity for life by keeping vigils with and staying close to the people he served. That same life grip carried him through years of illness with the same zest for living.
Friends and colleagues remember him with love. Read what they say here and in Wednesday's Star.

For the full September 2006 story:
http://www.shelbystar.com/news/naman_3774___article.html/hospice_mcswain.html

Counting

2008-05-06T12:43:00.002-05:00

Just got back from filling in the little eggs on my ballot and I feel important.
My vote counts just as much as anyone else's!
I mean, I'm up there at my precinct - the 50-year-old Cleveland Volunteer Fire Department - rubbing elbows with a former mayor and a district attorney - as well as mainstream folks I've never met before, taking advantage of a right that millions in countries around the world would give treasures to have.
I mean, I walked without fear the block-and-a-half from The Star to Shelby Precinct No. 2 - no fear of kidnapping (like some children in Uganda), unafraid of attack, no bombs exploding.
I mean, if you're reading this and have yet to make your mark - get up and do it!
Casting your vote in America is a time-honored tradition (with a flawed history to be sure, but far and away better than the alternative.)

Another tradition morphs tonight here in Shelby.
No scaffolding, no humongous blackboard, no George pacing back and forth with the chalk in his hand.
Locals congregating at the above mentioned Cleveland Volunteer Fire Department for blow-by-blow election results will still be able to see them, but the big blackboard is apparently an icon of history.
Elections Director Debra Blanton said, "Election Night results will no longer be written on the blackboard."
Instead, Daryl Sando, staff member of the Cleveland County Electronics Department, will project results directly from the Board of Elections Web site onto the fire department's widescreen TV.
Technology marches on.

No superhighway to heaven

2008-02-14T17:31:00.002-05:00

Your faith journey,
Pastor Don Margarita told a full house at this week's Community Lenten lunchtime service, will probably feel nothing like the smooth traveling you can sometimes find along I-85 (when you're not in a rush-hour crunch).
No, a real faith journey is a Bette Davis special - "Hang on, it's going to be a bumpy ride," - potholes, narrow lanes, hairpin turns and roadblocks of every description.
To learn how to be a disciple, it's really necessary that you develop discipline and keep working to refine it each mile along the way. Often painful steps and slow.
Webster calls discipline "training that develops self-control."
A more precise meaning for someone on the faith journey might be "training that develops God-control."
Margarita said discipline helps you reassess the meaning of faith. Spiritual growth takes place painfully and slowly and requires self-denial.
What does that mean?
How about this - what is in your life now that you could/would/should set aside just to have the time and focus to get to know God better?

That goal is at the top of my list in making better use of my time and shedding my cloak of procrastination.

Quality not quantity

2008-02-11T20:05:00.000-05:00

I've often struggled with the question of my need vs. others' needs.
I know the intimate details of jump-starting a car downhill, heating water for a child's bath on a electric stove because the gas got cut off and stretching my cooking creativity to the limit when the cupboard looked bare.
Many moons ago, most of these difficulties, yet still vivid in my mind.
Over the years, I've fared better, but as we all do, still face hard times in one way or another. Some days, I start to feel really "needy."
But being in need of one sort or another does not mean that you have nothing to give others.
You accept the hand, the help, the love and prayers offered for you, and you give the hand, the help, the love and prayers to others at the same time.
Balance, that's what life needs, and you're capable of achieving it.
And when God looks at your gift, whatever it is, he's looking for quality and sacrifice. That's what alms-giving is about for me.

Alms - the gift of yourself

2008-02-09T12:08:00.000-05:00

I share today the words of Henri Nouwen:

Consolation is a beautiful word. It means "to be" (con-) "with the lonely one" (solus). To offer consolation is one of the most important ways to care. Life is so full of pain, sadness, and loneliness that we often wonder what we can do to alleviate the immense suffering we see.
We can and must offer consolation. We can and must console the mother who lost her child, the young person with AIDS, the family whose house burned down, the soldier who was wounded, the teenager who contemplates suicide, the old man who wonders why he should stay alive.

To console does not mean to take away the pain but rather to be there and say, "You are not alone, I am with you. Together we can carry the burden. Don't be afraid. I am here."
That is consolation. We all need to give it as well as to receive it.

Nouwen's words give shape to my feelings.
And they again demonstrate that "almsgiving" is not about money - but does lend itself to discussion of a financial concept. That concept is investment.
Don't have $$$ to invest in helping someone else? Look to what you do have:
A little time
A shoulder
An ear
Arms to reach around someone
Pen and paper to send a note
or just a smile - a simple act for you could be an incredible gift to another.

40 days of baring my soul

2008-02-08T17:58:00.000-05:00

People who observe Lent are supposed to use the time between Ash Wednesday and Easter to look at themselves hard and to acknowledge their weaknesses, failures and sins.
Looking's not so bad. Most of know who we are and who we aren't. Most can recite easily our sins of commission and of omission.
Procrastination - putting things off - lurks constantly near the top of my list, even leers at me from the bathroom mirror.

But then comes the next step - acknowledging those sins and faults - first to yourself and then to God.
And the hardest step of all - change.
My Lenten goal is to grow my respect for other people's time, which means I should be on time - or heavenly surprise, early - when I've committed to doing something or being somewhere.

How do you start hitting God's mark for your life - his bull's eye, as Father Michael Kottar from St. Mary's Catholic Church phrased it at the Community Ash Wednesday service this week.
Sin equals missing the mark.
How do you change that?
Through prayer, which Kottar admitted is hard work. Your conversations with God require faith and honesty - not that God doesn't know all about you anyway, but he needs YOU to be able to see what he sees.
Through penance or mortification - a formal word with a simple meaning: Die to the things that tie you to this world.
Kottar says "detach ourselves from our own likes and dislikes, to please God. This is a powerful reminder that we are here to give the glory to God, not ourselves.
Through almsgiving: This is not just giving money to the church or dropping coins in the Poor Box. It's more about giving yourself, about helping others in need, with money, if that's the need and you have it, but also with time - an ear or a shoulder - and compassion.

Lent begins with a service when worshipers are marked with a cross of ashes, which may seem morbid or sad.
But it's true nature, Kottar says, brings joy and hope that the grace of God is with us. The ashes represent who we are without God - dust to dust. But ashes are not our future when we commit our lives to God.

By commiting to pray about my time, die to my selfishness with the hours I'm given, and share my alms with those in need who cross my path, I'll be reaching for that joy and hope.

What are you hoping for in your spiritual walk?

Lent and the Scarlett O'Hara syndrome

2008-02-07T10:48:00.000-05:00

The first thing I committed to giving up for Lent is procrastination.
Well, it's the day AFTER Ash Wednesday and I'd planned to start this blog yesterday.
Let's hope my next 39 days are more fruitful.
Hope - now there's a word that can be interpreted a couple of ways.
I hope it snows.
I hope we get pizza for lunch.
I hope I can keep up with this schedule.
Those are wishes with little substance to propel them.
My hope is in God.
Now that is something I can count on, because God is someone I can count on. I believe that hope as it relates to God is a certainty, a promise.
Hope through God means that snow or not, I can have joy in each day God creates.
Whether lunch is pizza, pinto beans or nothing, I still have food for my soul.
And hope means that when I lean on God's power instead of my own, I'll be able to fulfill my commitments far beyond my meager expectations.
Procrastination used to be one of my father's favorite words. I guess he used it so much because I've always been a master - much like our beloved Scarlett - at putting things off.
"I'll think about that tomorrow," or next week, or next month, or never.
That is not really how I've wanted to be, but when you tend to make mountains out of ant hills...
I make strides from time to time, but my personal goal is to eliminate the habit.
If you will, watch this space from now to Easter, check back with me often and hold me accountable.

Tonight

2007-09-16T19:57:00.000-05:00

I am thankful for life.
I am thankful for a cat who wants to sit in my lap.
I am thankful for friends who are there when I need them.
I am thankful for my church family.
I am thankful for the larger faith community in Cleveland County.
What are you thankful for?
Send me your thoughts - a short note or a story idea. I'd love to hear from you.

1+2+3= infinity

2007-09-13T18:00:00.000-05:00

How can you liken a faith event to a scientific principle?
Ever heard “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts?”
That’s what organizers are saying about The Awakening.
It’s more than a big event, more than a revival, more than a crusade…
Like the power of prayer, the cumulative effect will not be quantifiable.

Here’s the schedule for this happening at Polkville Baptist Church:
Friday night – Teens from all over invited to 5th Quarter after local football games – 10 p.m. to 1 a.m.; Food, music and find out what else…
Saturday morning – Free Big Tent Carnival – 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Sunday morning worship – 10:50 a.m. — casual dress — South Carolina evangelist Adrian Despres starts his series (he’ll speak at all services) and music by Betty Jean Spangler
Sunday night at 7 — Music leaders Mike and Kim Blackwood and the Youth Choir from Palmer Grove Baptist Church
Monday night at 7 — More of the Blackwoods and Burns grad Hillary Vaughn
Breakfast Tuesday at 6 — Brotherhood men are cooking and you’ll be out by 6:50 so you can get to work on time.
Tuesday night at 7 — Craig Ledford of Mooresboro adds to the music
Wednesday night at 7 — Burns grad A.J. Moses and Burns student Kristen Lovelace

Sorry this info didn’t get in Wednesday night – I’m having to say prayers over my home computer.

The Awakening
Sept. 16-19, 7 p.m.
Mintz Arena – under the big tent
Polkville Baptist Church
N.C. 226
Questions? Call (704) 538-7464 or e-mail rick@polkvillebaptist.com
Learn more: http://www.adriandespres.com

Watch the tent go up at shelbystar.com. Click under Local Video.
Remember to send me your prayer lists - let's spread them around.

2007-09-12T08:24:00.001-05:00

Not much went down Tuesday night but a 900-seat tent is rising in Polkville. Cassie Tarpley

And the list goes on...

2007-09-09T19:00:00.000-05:00

Toss a stone in a pond and the ripples go on and on. Sharing prayer requests with the community has the same effect. The circle of prayer grows and grows.

This week's prayer list comes from Resurrection Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kings Mountain
Questions? Call the church office at (704) 739-5580.

From the Sept. 1 newsletter:
We remember in prayer:
Maxine and Dorus Bennett
Larry Birt
Deborah Bumgardner
Jason Burrows
Regina Caveny
Sharon and John Connor
Jackie Cooper
Myron Deal
Marie Devenney
Betty Falls
Dean Falls
James Forrest
Don Gladden
Gene Gladden
Jeff Goode
Dina Jo Hanna
Doris and Roy Huffstetler
Kenneth Hyatt, friend of the DeVanes
Reba Jolley
Olivia LaJoie
Faye Lawson
John D. Mauney
Frances McDaniel
Mrs. R. E. Moulthrop Sr.
R.E. Moulthrop
Kristi and John Nugent, friends of Jason Burrows
Joann and Lonnie Peeler
Ruth Plonk
Kevin Pruitt, Joan Filter’s son
Wanda Rowell
Dale Russell
Dennis Sessom
Dean Short, Dena Blalock’s relative
Howard Smith
Peggy Wingo
Betty Willis, Tammy Yarbrough’s sister
Pauline Whitlock
Our condolences to the following: The Esther Plonk family and the Dana Smith Rogers family.

Send me your prayer lists.

Prayer lists growing...send yours

2007-08-30T12:56:00.000-05:00

Faith in prayer...
Do you have it?
Share it with other Star readers here.
Send requests, lists, answers, etc. to cassietarpley@shelbystar.com.

New list today is from the newsletter of Aldergate United Methodist Church, Shelby.
Any questions about it?
Contact the church office, (704) 487-8491.
www.aldersgateshelby.com

Lane Alexander
Holden Barker, son of Andrew & Ashley (Cothran) Barker
Marie Barringer, mother of Mike Barringer
Betty Brackett, mother of Debbie Brackett Edwards
Lee Britt, nephew of Keith & Freida Hawkins
Charlotte Bush, friend of Art & Carolyn Stevenson
Len Byers
Trina Callahan
Sarah Campany, friend of Bob Shepherd
Sara Chadwick, friend of the McSwains
Frieda & Mike Collins
Cindy Drake’s parents
Amanda Dunlap, daughter of Renee Greak
Mabel Fontaine, friend of Susan Kollmar
Harry Goble, friend of Susan Kollmar
Mary Hambright, mother of Jane Brothers
Mike Helms
Forrest Hite, Donna Hutchinson’s father
Edie Hunt
Pat Kitchens
Andrea Kruse, daughter of Cassie Tarpley
Mackenzie Lynch, friend of Shirley and Gary Murray
Jim Lytle, brother of Inez Presson
Donna Martin, Dawn Herring’s mother
The Family of Jack Pendley
Vance Reynolds, father of Dot Peeler
Helen Ridenhour, mother of Paula Barringer
Amos Rollings, father of Denise Cooper
Charles and Joan Sheppard
Dagmar & Dorothea Sippel, friends of Erin Cothran
Donald Steele
Mary Reese Sullivan, great-granddaughter of Dave & Mary Kachner
JimTate, brother-in-law of Doris Lowery
Reid Tillman, grandson of Catherine Porter
Austin Tome
Hubert Triplett, son-in-law of Vera Getty
Linda Watson, daughter of Harold & Billie Watson
Ashley White
Family of Saidy Willis, friends of Charles and Joan Sheppard
Please keep Sally and Kevin Queen and their new baby girls, Ella & Mattie, in your prayers.

Time for morning prayers? Add these...

2007-08-29T05:41:00.000-05:00

I have the rare opportunity today of working the 6-3 shift for The Star and Gazette newsrooms. Many of you take this early time for prayer and spiritual reading. The prayer lists I've been sharing here are for your friends and neighbors in Cleveland County. Perhaps you'd like to include them in your devotional moments.

Have a prayer list you'd like posted? Send it to me.

Remember in prayer....

2007-08-28T17:14:00.000-05:00

Part of my job at The Star is to report on what's happening in the faith community - big news, little fundraisers, trends - things you can see, touch or experience.
What I know from my own experience and from e-mail, letters and calls is that the most prevalent activity is not visible, can happen anywhere and take place anytime.
It's prayer.
Send me your list and I'll post it.

Remember in Prayer:
From First Baptist Church, Kings Mountain
Newsletter Aug. 22, 2007
Questions about this list? Call (704) 739-3651; or e-mail brochip@fbckm.com

Cathy Powell, chemotherapy
Jerry Guin, cancer
Johann Sherrill, surgery planned 9.17
Jean Thrift, post-surgery
Sara Weaver, post-surgery
Dean Spears
James Galloway, cancer
Henrietta Ogle, cancer
Reggie Ledford
Bill Bates
Shirley McMurry
Jane Seawright
Linda Jackson
Helen Smith
Helen Bullock
Johnny Robbs
Carol Lewis
GuyAnne Hullender
Debbie Dye
Joyce Hord
Paul Hord
Margaret Dover
Kimberly Malone
Bobby Doster
Jane Jordan
Jacob Byrd
Roy Duncan
Everette Mote
Alyse Cannon
G.L. McDaniel
Lillian Boheler
Wanda Moore
Randy Buffkin
In assisted living, nursing home and extended-care:
Peggy Greene, Kathleen Sloan, Espy Cooke, Helen Norman, Violet Dixon, Sybil Hamrick, Ruth Terres, Fred Dixon, Elsie McKinnish, Bertha Morrow, Ruby Bratton, Ruby Turner, Charles Alexander, Marie Mauney, Carolyn Cobb, Eloise Wilson, Marie Rhodes, Estelle Beam, Gert Owens
Homebound:
Paul Szymborski, Judie Robbs, Marion Elliott
Missionaries:
Jimmy and Lori Ferebee, Ross Thomas, Chris and Donna Keeter, LaMon and Pat Brown, Emily Anthony, Brad and Lori Stamey, Jonathan and Christy Jones, Tim Byrd, Mike and Violette Remy, Steven and Susan Jett, Joanna Helton, Greg and Dana Smith
Law enforcement team:
David Allen, Linda Hardin, Mike Hardin, Matt Hardin, Jeff Ledford, Eddie Lovingood, Bob Myers, Teresa Earls, Larry Ware, Mark Wampler, Michael Ward, Gary Hogue
Serving in the military:
James Rikard, Eric Anthony, Brad Deaton, Mark Simpson, Mike Bumgardner, Gordon Wright, Joe Page
Praises:
Everette Mote, Virginia Nicholson, Shirley Shytles

2007-08-17T12:08:00.001-05:00

Sophie says goodbye

If it makes you happy...

2007-08-17T11:54:00.000-05:00

Tax-free weekend is gone but your shopping list for school isn't any shorter?
I'm really sorry.
I got caught up in the back-to-school frenzy - as I hope you read Thursday - last week in Atlanta. My 7-year-old granddaughter, Sophie, started second grade Monday.
Thankfully, I'd done my clothes shopping for her online. I try not to do crowds much anymore.
Soph's life profile is outlined in pink, but I took a chance and bought her a red, red hoodie and matching soft pants. I added a pink butterfly shirt and a little jeans skirt and something else pink, just for insurance.

You'd have thought the red outfit had Sophie magnets in it. Straight to it. Big fashion-show entrance to model for me and her mom. And then she didn't want to take it off, not even to try on the other things.
"But we want to make sure they all fit," Mom said.
"Oh, they will," she announced confidently. "I'm going to wear this all day. And I'm going to wear it to school tomorrow."
Here's another battle best left unfought (remember the pink glitter pencil case?)
There's no harm in backing off this one. It's only clothes. They make her happy.

Mom & Dad: It's not about you

2007-08-16T12:35:00.000-05:00

"Grandma! Guess what! I get to be on the second floor this year!"

If you're a parent or a grandparent, you already know that school starts in 11 days here in Cleveland County.
Stop right there.
Take a really slow, deep breath, then blow it out thoroughly.
Lower your stress level.
Yes, I realize that your to-do page has run out of room. I know your schedule is nuts and is sure to get nuts-er ... not to mention your shopping list and your budget.
But you know what?
Going back to school is not about you.
It's about the kids. New beginnings. Old friendships. Moving forward. Seeing into the future.
I believe the grownup's job is to help them make the most of all that.
And to set an example that transition can be managed without all that stress.

My second-grade granddaughter, Sophie, started her school year in Atlanta on Monday.
I already wrote about what a school-supply nerd I was in eons past.
Apparently, it's genetic.
All in one breath on a trip to Target the Friday before, Sophie rattled off the list of things "I really need for school."
Notebooks
Binders
Folders
Paper
Pencils - "I really love mechanical pencils, Grandma."
And the most important item: A pencil case.
Not just any old run-of-the-mill case, either. Pink, sparkly, zippered.
Not impractical but a tad more costly. But this is not the time to say no, unless it's a real bank breaker.
Never mind that, when we visited her new classroom at Mary Lin Elementary School the next day, the teacher had a whole new list. *(See postscript)*

The great thing was that I was there to experience her delight at seeing friends from first grade she'd missed all summer.
I watched joy paint her face as she ran to hug last year's teacher, Mrs. Guthrie, and saw the happy expectancy of a new relationship with Mrs. Blackwell, who will teach her in second grade. Upstairs.
It made me think of when her mother - my daughter Andrea - started first grade in Stone Mountain, Ga. I still have the picture I took of her sitting at her brand new desk.
She remembers it fondly too. Not because of the camera focused on her, but because, thankfully, I was too.

PS: Find the list of supplies your kid needs online at clevelandcountyschools.org.

2007-08-16T09:53:00.001-05:00

FOCUSING ON SOPHIE
Sophia Grace Corsi, a natural ham, poses on the sidewalk at Mary Lin Elementary School in Atlanta.

Murder site prayers at Ramblewood Apartments

2007-08-08T15:49:00.000-05:00

'Invisible' faith

2007-08-08T14:30:00.000-05:00

Part of my job at The Star is to report on what's happening in the faith community - big news, little fundraisers, trends - things you can see, touch or experience.
What I know from my own experience and from e-mail, letters and calls is that the most prevalent activity is not visible, can happen anywhere and take place anytime.
It's prayer.
Starting now, I'll be sharing prayer lists that are shared with me on this site.
Send me your list and I'll post it.

Today's list is from the Cleveland-Rutherford Kidney Association:

Becky Alexander....................Faye Nettles
Carl Morrison.........................
Washington Family................Denise Clemmer
Malcolm Stewart.....................Cookie Thompson
Samuel Ledford.......................Ruth Butler
Carmen & Tim Butler............Wayne and Bonita Butler
Kip & Charlie Butler................Martha Turner
Dennis Roberts..........................Ashley Lewis
Rex Whicker.............................Tina Callahan
Bryce Clemmer.........................Karen Nalley
VanAustin Hoyle Sr...............Jean Hoyle
Eddie Head...............................Ravetto family
Opal Beaver.............................Bolin family
Gary Borders...........................Thomas Smith-Allen Jr.
Aislinn Blackstone.................Porter Family
Anita Cantrell...........................Jonathan Crotts
Jane Cooke..............................Lunette Cook
Pam and Mark Kay.................Calvin and Elsie Dixon
Cheri Evans.............................Georgia Adams
Allison Gilbert..........................William Howell
Sheriff Raymond Hamrick........Scott Jackson
Whicker family..........................Mike Rutherfordton
Diane Neal.................................Ella Stroud
John Kubiak.............................Davante Moore
Aaron Ledford..........................Renee Ledford
Chester Lynch..........................Massey Family
Sandi Murray........................... Marsha Babb
Don Roskam............................Brian Burgess
Leona Robinson........................Don Shields
Ken Tarpley.................................John Coates
Scott Thornburg........................Carpenters

What's your greatest fear?

2007-08-02T15:52:00.000-05:00

We're all confessing our fears in newsroom chatter this afternoon, specifically fear associated with bridges. The tragic collapse in Minneapolis, of course, is the catalyst.
Everybody has a cautionary tale: Jackie said she's afraid of bridges, all bridges - ironic since that's her last name too. It started with the old Cooper River Bridge in Charleston, S.C. "It was just so narrow, and ooooh, just scary."
And now every time she goes across a bridge, she holds her breath and shuts her eyes. "Of course, I'm not driving."
Actually, she's toning it down to big, high bridges, especially the ones that curve, like Spaghetti Junction outside Atlanta.
What's your fear?
If it's bridges, your fear is called "gephyrophobia" and other weird words that sound like that.
Me, my greatest fear is not having a bridge over troubled waters.

Dash to The Star with School Tools

2007-07-31T14:30:00.001-05:00

The School Tools barrel is ready for your donations at The Star!
Communities in School representative Rachel Butler, left, and Donna Roddy, administrative assistant and project leader at The Star, set the big blue collection barrel up in the lobby Tuesday, so all you need to do is pull up to the front door, dash in with your backpacks, notebooks, paper, etc., drop them in the barrel and dash out.

Been out of school how long?

2007-07-31T13:27:00.000-05:00

And August still gets me itching to go buy “cool school stuff.”
I admit I was sort of a geek when it came to notebooks, colored pencils and protractors — remember them? Having glue, tape, pencils, zipper bags to put them in and the whole range of other school tools fit well with my need for organization. And my parents always made sure I had what I needed.
But some kids and their families aren’t so lucky. And their sense of organization isn’t the primary need. They just want to fit in at school and have the basics that everybody else has.
YOU CAN HELP! And you don’t have to spend a lot of money.
If EVERYONE in Cleveland County who has the means buys JUST ONE item and drops it in a School Tools barrel, the Communities in Schools project organizers would have to empty those barrels every day.
If you shop somewhere that doesn’t have a barrel, you can bring stuff to The Star.
Saturday, you can leave it at your mailbox – can’t get much easier than that!

Here are the details —
What: The annual School Tools collection
Who: Communities in Schools — more than 1,000 students were helped in 2006
Where: Drop off items at Food Lion stores (two in Kings Mountain and two in Shelby) and Golden Corral, major sponsors this year; and at The Star, Curves (in Boiling Springs, Kings Mountain and Shelby) and Wal-Mart
School Tools events: Friday, Aug. 3 — Stuff the Bus at Shelby Wal-Mart 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Saturday, Aug. 4 — Postal Collection Day — leave supplies at your mailbox and carriers will pick them up
Saturday, Aug. 4 — “Back to School Health Fair” at Cleveland Mall
On the Web: www.cisnet.org/cleveland, click on the calendar page to see upcoming “School Tools” events.
Need a shopping list? www.clevelandcountyschools.org
Any questions? E-mail cis@carolina.rr.com or call Karen Folk, (704) 480-5510.

Beethoven , Paul and Alice

2007-07-29T13:41:00.000-05:00

I can get lost in Beethoven.com.
Particularly when what's playing is really Beethoven. Oh, I like most of their choices, much selected by listeners like me. But Beethoven's rich passion takes me to places I haven't been in a long while -- the concert hall, the music store, the mahogany dining room table where my family shared Sunday dinner when I was growing up.
Along with my mom's memorable pot roast, we enjoyed my dad's collection of LP albums, played on a console turntable around the corner in the living room. As Mom set the table, Dad would open the red-leather-topped record chest and pull out sleeve after sleeve of classics and neo-classics, everything from Beethoven and Mozart to The Student Prince.
This kind of music isn't something a kid dwells on, but it apparently dwelt on me. It permeated to some depth I didn't know I had then and took up residence. These Sunday lessons taught me -- oblivious to the indoctrination -- the desert description that is Grofe's "Grand Canyon Suite," the romantic tenor solos of Sigmund Romberg's operettas, Mozart's genius, the story of William Tell and the apple...
I still abandon myself to whirling around the living room to a Strauss waltz, especially on New Year's Day -- comforted with another sound from my childhood, the voice of
Walter Cronkite, as he hosts the annual "Concert from Vienna."
Oh, now, don't say what a stuffed shirt she must be. I still identify with "Stand by your Man," love the Beatles and know most of the words to "Alice's Restaurant."
Music defines my mood and refines my soul.
I do get lost in Beethoven, but I also get found.
Listen.

Blackie

2007-07-24T21:43:00.001-05:00

Starved for attention

Cats apparently want what human beings want -- love and attention -- and pretty much on the same terms. They want it when they want it, not just when you want to give it.

Bethware Fair Blue ribbon, $1.50 prize best reward

2007-07-21T12:08:00.000-05:00

Oh, my aching back! And legs. And feet.
But that’s what can come of spending three straight days in the garden, especially when you shun other exercise, as I must admit I do.
I tacked on a few vacation days to my weekend away from work, looking forward to leisurely hours among our tomatoes, okra, peppers and bushes of Blue Lake green beans.
Even in the heat wave, I ventured out to do a little checking, a little harvesting, only to be driven back indoors by air so hot and dense that it took my breath away.
I took our grateful Beagle, Buck, inside with me.
While the “official” record-breaking high Saturday registered at 100 degrees, our outdoor thermometer hit 106 — not a fit day for man, woman or their best friend.
The broiling sun backed off a bit Monday, but by then, the task that could have been spread over several days had to be jammed into three — or less, since I also needed time to get ready for my yard sale.
Ever remember saying to yourself, “I don’t want to be like my mother”?
Much as I loved my Mom and admired her talents — gardening ranked high on the list — I wanted to be me and to be known for things I could do that she didn’t (that’s not couldn’t, because you haven’t found the thing my mother couldn’t have done if she once put her mind to it.)
But there I was, Mom’s old garden hat covering my piled up hair, with its flowered tie in a bow under my chin, slathered with bug repellant, knee deep in bush beans.
Blue Lakes were Mom’s favorite, and after a visit, I could always count on going home with a styrofoam cooler brimming with frozen packages of the greenest of beans, a little spinach from early in the season, and okra pods — “no longer than your index finger, that’s when they’re the best,” she’d say.
Anytime she and I fried okra together, we’d plan double what the family needed. We knew from experience that we’d snack on the first half before the second batch got done.
Of all the vegetables Mom grew, tomatoes were my favorite. Still are.
Even when I lived in apartments years back, I’d find a spot or a pot for a tomato plant. Like the late Lewis Grizzard, I believe there’s no greater satisfaction or better taste in the world than homegrown tomatoes.
One year, I drove twice a week from Stone Mountain, Ga., back home to Elbert County — making the 100-mile-plus trip in about 90 minutes, since that was before the 55 speed limit — to help Mom with a garden she promised to divvy up with me. We grew cherry tomato plants as tall as the Georgia pines that lined the mile-long country driveway.
Anyway, back to my tomatoes this year.
With a little help from America’s self-proclaimed “master gardener,” Jerry Baker of PBS fame, the Better Boys are Best Boys this season, producing dense, deep red fruit that fills my hand. A single slice from one of these babies completely covers the bread and Duke’s mayonnaise in my favorite summer sandwich.
Except in spelling, I have never been a public competitor. But with this crop, I just couldn’t resist.
So week before last, five minutes before taking off to cover the Bethware Fair, I decided to take the plunge.
“Pick me out five big tomatoes that all look alike,” I ordered my husband, Ken, while I fished for car keys. He did. I looked them over, picked three or four more from the window, rearranged them, picked again, and ended up with the same five he chose.
Then doubt set in and I started to leave them at home.
But into the bag they went, and onto the car seat. At the first stop light, one rolled off into the floor. Smashed for sure, I thought. Pulling up at Bethware, I expected juice and seeds all over, but no, it was OK. Still, I started to leave them in the car. Then I remembered a philosophy I often use with other people — “You can’t win if you don’t play.”
Into the exhibit hall I went, with 10 minutes to spare before the entry deadline Tuesday. I wondered all week how I’d done. Friends who went to the fair forgot to look, they said.
Saturday, it was nearly dark before Ken and I drove over to pick up the entry and see how I’d fared.
My plate of five fat fruits wore a blue “first premium” ribbon, and fair volunteer Betty White congratulated me and handed me my prize, a bank envelope with $1.50 in it.
You’d have thought I had won the Nobel Prize for Literature. But if I was beaming, you should have seen my husband’s pride in my accomplishment.
It was probably close to what Mother’s would have been, if she were still here.
That little blue ribbon is a tribute to a legacy from my mother that for years I didn’t want to take. But today, aching back and all, it’s priceless.

First published August 1999

This is a test, this is only a test....

2007-06-12T21:28:00.001-05:00

Been out of the blog loop so long, not sure this is real...
No one can explain it to me, and maybe I wouldn't get it if they did, but my blog works again after nearly three months on the blink!
Just trying my wings again.
Check back soon.

PS - KEN LOVES CASSIE (yes, we're at home and he's typing over my shoulder.)

2007-06-12T12:30:00.001-05:00

IVE ALWAYS BEEN A BACKSTAGE GIRL- ASK ME ABOUT MY THEATER DAYS! ENJOYED ALIVE AFTER FIVES MACK ATTACK.
This happened, of course, weeks ago, but my blog got rocketed beyond my reach for a while.
Cassie Tarpley

2007-06-12T10:28:00.001-05:00

The John Derrick lily garden. Our "late" photographer rounded up some leftover Easter lilies last year and distributed them around the newsroom. I stuck them in the ground almost immediately, the leaves fell off and I forgot about them. But they remembered that this is their usual blooming time, doubled and tripled their mass and produced dozens of snowy white blooms. Thanks, John!
Cassie Tarpley

2007-05-03T23:33:00.000-05:00

A day to pray together
A handful of pray-ers came to the Boiling Springs Town Hall today for the National Day of Prayer. But they joined millions whose prayers rose in American skies for the 56th observance.

Here today, coming back 'tomorrow'

2007-04-06T19:17:00.000-05:00

This trailer filled with new plants came and went at the Cleveland County Arts Council Friday afternoon. Fear of freezing temps this weekend changed plans to cover the landscape on the uptown Shelby corner.
The Raper-Roark Beautification Trust, with help from some nearby businesses, is spearheading the project, designed by Lou Gebel of Shagreen Nursery, checking his list.
Rhododendron, camellia, dianthus (those little bitty carnation-looking things) and at least a dozen more varieties will be planted next week. Banks of colorful annuals will mark either side of the historic steps of this building, a former post office and military induction center.

Journalism students?

2007-03-28T17:50:00.000-05:00

Check out the photo above for this one...

Pack 104 packed into The Star pressroom Monday night, waiting patiently - all right, they're mostly 9 and 10 so they weren't all that patient - but they were eager to watch Joe and Bobby set up the big presses for Fast Track, a racing publication that the company prints.
The Cub Scouts sponsored by Central United Methodist Church took a one-hour tour from the front door to where the finished newspaper goes out the back and to your home or the vending racks at your favorite shopping place.
Here's a little of what they learned:
How reporters find storiesHow editors create pages
That spelling matters
That there's nothing more important in our paper than obituaries
That managing editors can say about anything they want
That every job is important
That teamwork is essential to the success of our business
"The press is really loud."
Their stops and helpful tour hosts:
Tiffiany Borders, customer service supervisor and single copy manager
Alan Jenkins, managing editor
Maureen McGee, copy editor
Karin Mullins, pre-press technician
Sherri Pruett, mailroom assistant
And of course Joe and Bobby, who probably managed to rile some moms by letting the Scouts get ink on their hands.Here's hoping one or two of them will get "ink in their blood" even in this so-digital age.
Scouts, the future is in your hands.

Goodbye, friend

2007-03-28T17:43:00.000-05:00

LastDaySmile sandi bolick at red cross

From the it's-a-small-world files:
Sandi Bolick was one of the first people I met through my work at The Star after I returned to Shelby several years ago. I've treasured the friendship since then, and early on it was made even more special when I learned that she and a good friend I had left behind in my newspaper work in Georgia is her cousin, Elaine Butler, originally from Kings Mountain.
After 19 years at the American Red Cross chapter here, Sandi's leaving (has actually left as I type this, Wednesday was her last day) to start a new life chapter in Florida.
In addition to telling the Red Cross story together, Sandi and I have shared joys and sorrows and many smiles, particularly as we talked about our granddaughters, who are close in age.
Here's to new beginnings, even for grandmothers!

2007-03-27T12:41:00.000-05:00

CUB SCOUT PACK 104

Dessert table

2007-01-26T16:38:00.000-05:00

Come & get it! chix bbq & all this yummy sweet stuff @northshelbyschool 5 To 8tonight!

It's cold and the sink is warm!

2007-01-25T09:45:00.000-05:00

Ups and downs

2007-01-23T13:44:00.000-05:00

It's a going-away lunch for Star photographer Roger Darrigrand and I'm oh, so tempted. But since I signed up for Shrinkdown, I've said no to quite a few things - Hershey's dark chocolate, second helpings, most anything that comes from a drive-through window.

This one was hard, though.

Three of our guys ordered dessert. Not just any old sweet thing, either, but a scrumptious, gooey, heavenly-looking concoction lovingly dressed in a cloud of whipped cream.The name of the treat - Simply Sinful - was the first clue I shouldn't indulge.

The second - I've actually made some progress in this Shrinkdown effort and don't want to blow it.

Then there's the prospect of soaring up but certainly crashing down from the sugar rush. They pay me to actually produce some work after lunch, and I knew one way to scuttle that is to load up with sugar.

So I'm tooting my own horn this afternoon, even bragging that the trip to and from our little party was on foot.

I'm praying now that my magnet to the snack machine loses its power.

Hard to resist - but I did it!

2007-01-20T11:11:00.000-05:00

Simply sinful

Help! They're dragging me into cyberspace

2007-01-19T16:39:00.000-05:00

My boss will break out in a mile-wide smile when he sees this. His sincerest wish for my work is that I'll embrace all the new technology The Star is using and make it my own. He says it will help me connect even more than I already do with readers.Thursday morning I took a leap of faith, snapped a picture of a frozen truck tag with my amazing cell phone and somehow launched it toward this site. I still don't understand how all this works, but obviously it does.I'll be sharing what I learn - if I can do that without really embarrassing myself or my boss. Most of you already know everything I'm about to learn, but this could be pretty entertaining, so stick around.Right now, I'm called the senior reporter, but soon ... the V-cast and moblog queen of the newsroom.

A few dripping icicles the only activity outside emergency ops center this a.m.

2007-01-18T13:04:00.000-05:00