Plentiful pawpaws, persimmon predictions and bourbon balls

While strolling, I wondered whatever happened to James Sanders.

Happy birthday to Ron Davis, Tina Pobst, Teresa Clark, Walter Obermann, Bessie Eskew, Robert Tyler, Dennis Wagoner, Jeanette Spies, Jessie Simmons, Bonnie Duncan, Jim Chronister, Shirley Rhodes, Emily Eichhorn, Tammy Ancell, Chris Eichhorn, Ashley Hooker, Eliot Shields, Chondra Uhrhahn, Molly Fowler, Richard Seyer, Steven Crippen, Billy Farris, Gwenell Streeter and Vickie Goetz.

Happy anniversary to Danny and Yolanda Schlosser, Ron and Karen Senciboy, Carl and Laura Estes, Michael and Amanda Proctor and Marvin and Judy Ralph.

This full moon of September is Singing Moon, Nut Moon, Harvest Moon and Moon When Calves Grow Hair.

Leaving leaves?

The seasons are changing, and soon we'll be dealing with falling leaves. City Hall says bagged leaves may be dropped off at the compost area. Some residents prefer mulching the leaves and leaving them in place or using them in their gardens. Fallen leaves form natural mulch and also provide food and shelter for birds.

Pawpaws are plentiful this year! We have seen many on our hikes at Tywappity and General Watkins Conservation Area. We were told groundhogs will climb a tree to fetch the banana-tasting fruit.

Did you catch the recent ad by the Conservation Department regarding persimmons? They are best picked after the first frost. Some people say woolly worms predict what kind of winter we will have, but, according to the Missouri Conservation Department, persimmons can as well. Cut them in half, and if you see an outline of a knife, the cold wind will be frigid; a spoon will have us shoveling snow, and a fork predicts a mild winter.

Congratulations to Sharon Bell for receiving September's Chamber of Commerce Residence of the Month.

The Chaffee Drive-in closes for the season tonight at 9 p.m.

The Citywide Yard Sale is Oct. 2 and 3 and Fall Cleanup the following week on your scheduled bulk pickup day. A great time to declutter!

Texas ticket

We had several inquiries regarding last week's "then there was" about the lady getting a ticket for a dirty, bent license plate. Just so you know, it happened in a small Texas town, not Southeast Missouri.

Who doesn't like a good grilled cheese sandwich? Every time I saw the "World's Best Grilled Cheese" written on the chalkboard in front of The Corner Grocery Store on Broadway in Cape Girardeau, I wanted to stop and check it out. I finally did recently when I was looking for a copy of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The owner, Robert Gentry, told me he doesn't carry newspapers, but gave me a tour of the store.

Along with sandwiches, hot dogs and soup, they have everything one would need on short notice, including gourmet chocolates and candies. Every Friday is their fried chicken dinner special. I had already eaten so didn't have the grilled cheese, but did get to indulge in one of their homemade Kentucky bourbon balls and -- boy -- was it good! Stop by next time you're driving down Broadway.

It has been fun reading the memories of Wimpy's people have shared in the Southeast Missourian. Do you recall how much their burgers and fries cost in the 1960s?

Elvis forever

Did you get your Elvis Forever stamps? The post office still had plenty when I stopped by to mail a package to my sister Jo. I sent her package via priority two-day mail to Wisconsin from Chaffee and she received it within that time frame. She recently sent a package to me in Dallas using two-day priority. The roughed-up package finally arrived a week later via California with the contents amazingly intact. Jo was told at the originating Wisconsin postal office they cannot guarantee the two-day priority will actually arrive in two days. Obviously, some post offices are better than others, but if you are sending something that has a "must arrive by" date, you best check with the USPS, FedEx or UPS for guaranteed delivery.

Special words

Remember to tell those special people in your life that you love them -- those three words mean so very much.

Our sincere condolences go out to the families and many friends of Jerry Wolsey and former resident Ronnie Gilmer.

Our thoughts and prayers are with those who are missing loved ones, our homebound, those in hospitals and nursing homes and those undergoing cancer treatments. Email your news and comments to darbuck2@airmail.net or leave a message at (573) 887-6430 or (214) 207-7839.

And then ...

Then there was the VIP pups nanny service offering bodycam-wearing dog walkers.