Last Saturday I, along with several other Lions Club members and their families, spent the morning in the Super Foods and Wal-Mart parking lots seeking contributions for the Lions Club WW II Memorial Fund. Ah, August and black tar in Alabama…the perfect combination for an introduction to Hell 101.

Even at 9 a.m. it was already hot and sultry. I found myself longing for a handkerchief to mop my sweat-beaded upper lip and temples. My hair felt like it weighed a ton on the back of my neck (thank goodness for my trusty hat!)

But people were smiling and they were helping fill my donation bucket.

The dollars and quarters and dimes were coming in, slowly but surely, for a wonderful cause.

My former student, Leigh Myrick, also came to the rescue with bottles of delicious cold water for us

(Merci beaucoup!).

And there was that occasional soft breeze wafting across the steaming blacktop, caressing my cheeks and giving me blessed relief.

Isn’t it great what a breath of fresh air will do for your psyche?

We’ve had such a meteorological event breezing through our office this summer and her name is Bethany Dye.

Bethany is our Troy State journalism intern and her sharp writing skills have helped fill our papers with the news you need to know.

You’ve often seen Bethany around town, running her legs off in search of facts, photos and whatever else we need for the paper.

She’s been Johnna’s faithful ‘Gal Friday’ this summer.

Bethany is capable, bright, conscientious, well mannered, spiritually grounded and very funny (did I also mention she’s just plain adorable?).

I’m thinking of adopting her.

Last Friday the two of us worked together to create what we hope is a fun and informative fall fashion feature for the back-to-school crowd.

We bantered back and forth over clever phrasing and got the girlish ‘giggles’ over some of our ideas.

(Brainstorming is the best kind of ‘storm’ and we had one brewing that afternoon.)

I was working on the staff editorial at a borrowed computer in the back of the office when Miss Bethany came over to show me her portion of the article.

Suddenly we were both struck by the sense of student and teacher—me at the desk, Bethany standing by me, papers in hand, eager to see what I thought of her work.

&uot;Gosh, I would have been the one who bugged you to death, I always asked a lot of questions,&uot; she said with a sweet, earnest smile.

But that’s the way you learn—seeking and asking.

This young breath of fresh air reminded me of that. Boy, the office is going to feel stuffy without her.