Do you know how rare it is for me to go to an event where the majority of ladies present are wearing hats?

Happens about once in a blue moon, as they say. Come to think of it, there were Blue Moon sandwiches (very tasty) along with lots of other goodies, savored by gracious southern ladies of all ages. And a lot of them were wearing hats – hooray! (They looked gorgeous, too.)

The gala occasion was &uot;Tea With the Queen&uot; – the charming and talented Miss Greater Greenville, Melinda Toole – and dozens of mamas and daughters of all ages, along with other local ladies, turned out for the Sunday afternoon event.

The food, prepared by members of the Miss Greater Greenville Scholarship Board, was absolutely delicious – I am so glad Mama and I opted for a light lunch. We needed the room!

It was wonderful to get to visit with our tablemates, Janis Odom, Bobbie Gamble and Nancy Idland. Nancy’s large and beautiful arrangement drew the gaze of many admirers that afternoon.

&uot;Can you believe fresh hydrangea -a summer flower – and camellias

– basically winter flowers – blooming so beautifully here at the same time, in November?&uot; Nancy remarked with a shake of her head.

As Melinda said, Greenville is not like other towns.

Kudos to all the Miss GG board members and others who volunteered their time and talents to make the tea such a memorable and successful event.

And thanks to Melinda for being the &uot;real deal&uot;, a remarkably down-to-earth

and approachable young woman with high aspirations and strong values. She has captured many hearts during her time as Miss GG.

We wish this &uot;queen of hearts&uot; all the best as Miss Trussville 2005. (She certainly made some little girls’ eyes shine brightly on Sunday!)

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Just a reminder that Veteran’s Day is tomorrow. Here’s a little history behind the holiday…

At the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in the year 1918, an armistice was signed, officially ending what many optimistically believed to be the &uot;war to end all wars&uot;.

In 1938, November 11 was made a legal holiday – &uot;a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be hereafter celebrated and known as Armistice Day&uot;.

For years, Armistice Day, as it was known, primarily honored the veterans of World War I.

By 1954, however, our country had lived through WW II and seen the greatest mobilization of soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines in U.S. history.

Many more had served during the Korean conflict.

At the urging of veterans’ service organizations, Congress removed the word &uot;Armistice&uot; from the 1938 act and replaced it with &uot;Veterans&uot;.

On June 1, 1954, November 11 officially became America’s day to honor its veterans of all wars.

For a time in the 1970s, the date Veterans Day was observed was changed to accommodate a plan to observe four national holidays (Veterans Day, Columbus Day, Washington’s Birthday and Memorial Day) on Mondays, thus creating three-day weekends for federal holidays. Confusion reigned – and with tremendous public approval, the date was officially returned to November 11, beginning in 1978.

If you can attend the special ceremony at 11 o’clock on the 11th day of the 11th month in front of City Hall, do so. If you can’t, please send up a prayer for those currently serving in harm’s way…and remember to thank a vet.

Angie Long is a Lifestyles writer and columnist for The Greenville Advocate. She may be contacted at home by phone at 382-5145.