It was a fund raising event at my sister's church for

a couple going through Radiation and Chemo. Both the

husband and the wife. I had promised to go and take Neil so he could hear the singing and also the fiddle player that was coming to play.

I had it on good authority that there were going to be lots

of wonderful cakes and pies and that Bitsy Summerbell was

baking her famous to die for coconut cake. There is one thing that will bring out a serious bidder to a church fund

raiser here in the south, if they're selling tickets on a pick up truck or Bitsy Summerbell is donating one of her coconut cakes.

Neil loves coconut pies and cakes so I had made up my mind ahead of time that he was going to have THAT cake.

We got to the church, made a donation for the food part of the event, got our burgers, drinks, etc and sat down to listen to the music.

I went around looking at all the things that had been donated for the silent auction and even put my bid on a couple of things. There was a beautiful diamond ring

that they were selling tickets on at a dollar a ticket.

Men and women alike were standing in line for that.

It was a hot item for sure but all I could think about was

Bitsy Summerbell's homemade Coconut Cake and how Neil was going to love it.

I checked out the cakes and I have to say that there were tables full of beautiful cakes. My BIL had his bid on several of them including the famous Coconut cake that I wanted. I made my bid and wandered off talking to old friends then slowly made my way back to sit down.

I had no more than settled in my chair til my BIL came

up breathlessly explaining that several people had now

bid on MY CAKE. Well, I'm nothing if not competitive so I

sauntered back over and upped my bid.

I sort of stayed close to the cakes to keep an eye out for future bidders and boy howdy it wasn't long before a young woman was making the cake rounds, checking out the bids.

The look on her face when she got to MY cake told me I was up against some SERIOUS competition. She looked around, a smug smile fixed on her face, grabbed up that pen and upped the bid another 5 dollars. She had no idea I was bidding for the cake but I had caught HER red handed with bidding pen in hand.

I decided I had to be cool about it from now on so I casually went over and put another bid on MY cake. I heard several women discussing cakes but the notion was that if you could get one of Bitsy's cakes, well, she was the best

baker in the church. I walked away with the knowledge that

when I went home that afternoon, I would be taking home THE CAKE that everyone wanted.

I walked around and talked to some other folks keeping an eagle eye on the cake tables and on the one person intent on having coconut cake for supper that day. Sure enough she checked on the cake and with a bold stroke of her pen she

put an even larger bid on the bid sheet. Well, I know it was a church event but I began to see RED. That was MY cake and not one person there was going home with it. I walked over picked up that pen and doubled the bid.

By then my family had become somewhat amused at my tenacity over a cake. "What will you do if she goes back and bids again? " "I'm going home with that cakes, says I."

Several people were then keeping an eye on THE cake and THE bids. She wanted the cake and I wanted it. In the end I

walked out the door with that beautiful and I have to say

perfect, delicious Coconut cake. It was on my table today

and it was worth every expensive slice.

Here's to a good cause, a good cake and to competition.