Cooperative Living September 2023 - 34

RURAL LIVING
to encounter them?
nter
Heat Waves, School Supplies
and Bears, Oh My!
by Margo Oxendine, Contributing Columnist
Cool weather, grizzlies and men all needed
in Southwest Virginia
I
don't know what
to write about
this month. It's
September and we have
all just endured the
hottest summer ever. As
has the rest of the world.
Here in rural Southwest Virginia,
I have tried not to complain much about
the heat. Not when I see it may be 84
here, but 118 elsewhere in our country.
Also, here we haven't been hit with
tornadoes or, say, 8 inches of pouring rain
in an hour. So really, I should have no
complaints at all about the heat.
And yet, I do.
At least the way my house is situated,
it is cool inside most of the time. That's
not so great in the dead of winter, but
boy, has it been nice this summer. I don't
have an air conditioner. Well, I do, but
for me it requires the help of a man to lift
it and insert it in the window. As I've said
before, I keep waiting for a man to stop
by, but that doesn't ever seem to happen.
I guess that's a good thing since if I'm
at home in summer, I am usually in my
pajamas. I have lots and lots of pajamas,
and they are the coolest clothes I have,
in every way but the fashion sense. And
at home in umme
am
ua
in my
who needs to be fashionable at home?
Especially if no man is stopping by?
I am really glad to have ceiling fans
in almost every room though, and a
small fan on my screened porch. I make
do with those, and my cool pajamas.
(By the way, I don't wear the same pair
day and night. There's no better feeling
than a fresh pair of pajamas after a
cool shower.)
I've found that if I don't take my
walk by 10 a.m., I do well to wait until
7:30 p.m. It's still hot then, but at least
the infernal sun isn't baking down on
me at that hour.
Of course, the wildlife thinks the
same way. It's about dusk when the
bears and the deer also begin to venture
out of the woods. I keep looking and
looking, but I have not spotted one bear
in more than a year. Where the heck are
they? And do I honestly really want
●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●
The other thing I was
musing about writing
thing I was
writi
this month is the whole
nth is the whole
I discovered this in
is
this in
we
hed
" bback to school " buzz.
red
Walmart last week, when
whe
mother after mother pushed past me
with carts heaped with notebooks,
pens, crayons, markers, glue sticks and
reams oflined paper. IfI read the list
of necessary school supplies in the
newspaper correctly, it even includes
Kleenex Wet Wipes and a change of
clothing. Geez! No wonder these kids
are weighed down with backpacks that
seem to weigh as much as the children
wearing them.
otebooks,
lue sticks and
reams oflined paper. IfI read the list
ined paper. If
the
I understand that many teachers,
tired of begging for supplies from school
boards, simply throw up their hands and
decide to buy the supplies themselves.
That is a darn shame. But, as we all know,
teachers are dedicated souls who care very
much about their students. Sadly, they
now have to foot the bill. It's especially
sad considering the comparatively paltry
salaries they're paid. Go, teachers!
I've loved many of you over the years!
Thank you for caring!
Now ... I only hope the local schools
are air-conditioned. 
To order a copy of Margo's " A Party of One, "
call 540-468-2147 Mon.-Wed., 9 a.m.-5 p.m.,
or email therecorderoffice@gmail.com.
CL WHEREZ IT?
Look for the CL logo, like the one above,
in the pages of this issue of Cooperative Living.
Submit the page number where you found it
along with your name, email and phone
number to WherezIt, c/o Cooperative Living,
P.O. Box 2340, Glen Allen, VA 23058-2340
or go online at co-opliving.com under
" Contests. " Deadline is Sept. 20. The winner
will receive a $25 Amazon email gift card.
32 ● Cooperative Living ●
September 2023
co-opliving.com
PHOTO COURTESY CHOPTANK ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE
http://www.co-opliving.com http://www.co-opliving.com
Cooperative Living September 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Cooperative Living September 2023
