APES... Apes are the BEST!!!

Not only did I live in Great Crossing and go to church in Great Crossing. I went to school at Great Crossing Elementary School!! We were the APES!! We had our own basketball team and I was a cheerleader for my 5th and 6th grade years. I loved it!! Jack Wise was the principla of Great Crossing School and he was also the basketball team coach. We all loved him dearly!! What other coach do you know that would take the team and the cheerleaders out to eat after some of the games. He was the best. His office always had an open door policy and you could go and talk to him if you had a problem. If you were in the 6th grade, he would even come to class and get you to answer the office phones for a short period of time. I think he was training all of us to be confident and self sufficent. It didn't even bother or worry me at all to answer the phone like an adult! What a way to build the self esteem of a child. He was truly the best!

I was friends with the Wise family most all of my life and in grade school I had a major crush on Mark. I even wore his gold basketball charm on a chain. We called that going together and in 6th grade, going together was the bomb!! Growing up with the Wise's I got a chance to meet a lot of wonderful and unique people. Mr. Wise was a South Eastern Conference referee. I dated Mark again in high school and after I graduated, I babysat Tony, the youngest Wise guy. This is how I was involved in the Wise household. Every now and then, a big name SEC referee would stop by the Wise house for a visit, and they were always so kind. My daddy was a HUGE basketball fan and he knew the referees by name, so he really got excited when I met one of them!!! The Wise's were wonderful people and still are!! Mr. Wise never failed to give me a huge hug every time he saw me and since I knew him 40+ years, I received a lot of hugs! Jack Wise died a few years ago, but the love and appreciation I have for him and his family will always remain in my heart...

Great Crossing is my HOME... until Heaven, of course!!

I grew up in a little community, called Great Crossing, three miles west of Georgetown. It is just a tiny little area, but to me it is huge. I attended, and still do attend, Great Crossing Baptist Church. By the way, it is diagonally across the street from my house and if I try to play hookey, they know it. LOL This church is my "home" church and even though I have attended Southland Christian Church in Lexington a lot, Great Crossing Baptist Church has a good hold on my heart! All of my life I lived next door to the church parsonage, for those of you who don't remember church parsonages, it is a house owned by the church where the preacher and his family live. That meant my very best friends were preacher's children. When I was in 5th grade, a preacher named Brother Albert Griffin and his family moved next door. WOW, was I excited because their daughter, Debbie was my age and their youngest daughter, Denise, was a few years younger. This meant that I had a true neighbor, my age and she was even in my class at school!! That was just awesome :)
Debbie and I spent every waking hour together, we went to church together, went to school together and afternoons and evenings played every chance we got. We spent the night with each other and we truly were "best friends." All summer long we rode bikes in the church parking lot, danced to music on her picnic table (since we were Baptist, I don't think we were supposed to be dancing), played with her kittens and attended Vacation Bible School. Those were the days!! The only worry we had was what we were going to do next...

When I was young...

I was born a long time ago at John Graves Ford Memorial Hospital in Georgetown, KY. I was born on a Sunday afternoon and my sister was participating in Bible School Commencement, that should have been her first hint that I was a force to be reckonded with. I was born to Dorothy Green Moore and James Edward Moore and we lived in a little house on Miss Hilma Pierce's land in Great Crossing, about 3 miles West of Georgetown. I have one sister, Linda, who is 2 years and 10 months my elder. I am sure I was a wonderful baby because most babies are!

I was named after my Grandmother, Lula Bell Green and my great aunt, Mary Florence Reynolds and my aunt, Mary Frances Cooper. I am priviledged to be named after these three sweet ladies and I hope in my life I have made them proud :) For as long as I can remember our family was always helping others. Giving them food from our garden, taking them to doctor's appointments, baking special dishes to share, honestly, the list goes on and on... Doing this was a huge deal for my family and that is so embeded in my heart! My parents used to tell me "If you take care of others, God will take care of you." That is such a true statement... I have seen it happen over and over again in my life. God blesses those that truly care for others...

I am Marylou : )

Well, this is my very first blog... I have always wanted to be a writer, so now is my chance... My name is Marylou and my some of my favorite things are: my husband, my children, my grandchildren and doing things with my family... Memories are important to me and if I blog my memories then maybe I won't forget them!!! So, thank you if you are interested in reading about me...