Thursday March 28th, 2024 6:32PM

A few of my favorite things

With apologies to Rodgers and Hammerstein, these are a few of my favorite things:

The feeling of mud oozing between my toes while I’m walking along the lake.

A smile from a pretty girl.

Saturday afternoons in Athens.

A good book on a rainy Sunday afternoon.

Re-reading “The Last of the Mohicans,” my favorite novel.

Living in a country where, if I don’t like what my leaders are doing, I can vote them out of office in the next election.

Friends who share the bounty from their gardens, especially if it’s fresh tomatoes, cucumbers or squash. Not so much eggplant.

Coca-Cola. Never Pepsi. And a waitress who understands the difference.

Knob Creek bourbon.

Country music on the radio.

The satisfaction of reaching a goal.

A talented trainer who uses the perfect mix of the carrot and the stick to get me to that goal.

Friends who remember my birthday.

Friends who don’t use the occasion to tease me about how old I’m getting.

Crushed ice, not cubes.

Humphrey Bogart movies.

Alfred Hitchcock movies.

Sandra Bullock movies. Well, Sandra Bullock anything.

Winters that don’t include snow or ice.

A warm spring night on the deck, watching Milly, the liver and white Springer spaniel who lives at my house, chase fireflies.

The amusement of her reaction when she actually catches one.

Long walks on the beach, preferably at dusk. I sunburn.

A Netflix binge-a-thon on “The West Wing.”

My complete collection of Lewis Grizzard books.

Drivers who actually get out of the way of the fire truck.

Drivers who understand that the “No parking anytime” signs in front of the grocery store apply to them, too.

Drivers who obey the “Slower traffic keep right” signs. There aren’t nearly enough of them, however.

The days when tough decisions were made by going “eeny-meenie-miney-moe,” when mistakes were corrected by shouting “Do over.”

The way folks like me from a small town look at the world differently than city folks.

A mother’s unconditional love.

A dog’s unconditional love.

Being part of a family that actually enjoys being with each other at holidays and any other occasion we can manufacture.

Pink Panther cartoons, not just because he was a cool cat, no pun intended, but because it was my grandmother’s favorite and we used to watch it together on Saturday mornings when I was at her house.

The smell of bacon frying. (And thanks to the aforementioned trainer who lets me have a slice.)

The smell of a freshly mowed lawn.

Not having to be the person who mowed the lawn.

Country-fried steak, rice and gravy, field peas, creamed corn, sliced Vidalia onions, sweet tea, cornbread — all like only my mother can fix. Sadly, my days of eating like this are limited.

Fresh-sliced tomatoes, a little salt and a little pepper.

Laughter. They say it’s the best medicine, and the world would probably be a better place if we could all find more things to smile about.

That warm, satisfied feeling that comes with completing another column.

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