Jeri, how would you describe the scent of Emanuel? *** I don't remember, sorry. There are very few Austins left here, and will be even fewer soon. Also, how much smaller are the blooms? Are they similar in size to Graham Thomas, Golden Celebration, Pretty Jessica, Pat Austin, etc? *** Maybe Pat Austin? Think of it as a Floribunda, with smaller (2.5-3-in) blooms in nice clusters. Would The Squire have growth similar to WS2000 that tends to throw out lateral canes? *** Never grew WS2000, so I cannot say. Its growth is simply angular. Not a handsome plant in the garden, to be frank. I considered Prospero, but HMF says it grows rather large, *** Are you sure? Prospero is one of the small Austins. Until we learned that it did not tolerate pruning, I don't think it got over 2 ft. Now, it is "bend & snap" deadheaded, and never pruned, and it HAS made it almost to 5 ft. My only question on this one would be whether it will take your winters? It's got some tenderer ancestors. We treat it like a China, and it thrives that way. I am growing Golden Celebration, Evelyn, and Abe Darby in containers as well, but they mostly have tall arching growth aside from Abe Darby. *** You know that GC is a very big rose here? But beware of the Pernetiana heritage behind this one. Evelyn was an unweildy giant with a few blooms at the top end of 12-ft canes, and is long gone. Jeri

I always have trouble with foreign accents, sometimes I see Indian doctors who "mumble". I ask them to repeat all the time. I also have trouble with my husband, who has a neurological problem and trouble speaking. I went to an audiologist, who told me I can't hear high-pitched sounds, that my hearing loss is very common in people over 50. I am 56. I'm not ready for a hearing aid. But if it gets worse, to the point I can't understand normal,conversations, then I will look into hearing aids.

I was excited when I realized that one of my favorite short stories, A Good Man is Hard to Find, was going to be one of the stories under discussion this month. I've read it countless times and read it again last night to see if the story would still have the same impact even after reading it so many times. It did. How can I explain why this story resonates with me? Could it be because in my own life and experience, I could personally cast each and every character simply based on family and acquaintances? Oh, how I recognize all the characters, right down to Red Sammy and his wife. I daresay I could even point out The Misfit if you visited me and had time for a short drive. And sometimes I wonder too if this story appeals to me so strongly because of my own deep fears. Call it an overactive imagination if you will, but growing up in a rural area in Kentucky on the Kentucky/Tennessee border, I can tell you that there is an undercurrent here, a fear that that innocent-looking back road might not be so safe, no matter how idyllic it appears, and that violence can lurk around any corner, just waiting to be unleashed. Maybe this is why the violence in this story doesnÂt shock me. Instead, it is part of what I admire about OÂConnorÂs writing. She is unflinching in what must be done where other writers might try to find a way to make the character escape from certain doom. In real life, doom is more likely than a last-minute reprieve. I do not see The Misfit as the hero in this story and the grandmother as evil, yet I donÂt see The Misfit as pure evil either, as evidenced by an almost palpable regret about the outcome of their chance meeting. His embarrassment at being shirtless in front of the ladies and his willingness and almost compulsive need to converse normally as the violence escalates shows me that his conscience is still functioning. I even feel a sympathy of sorts for him at moments, such as when he states, "I call myself The Misfit because I can't make what all I done wrong fit what all I gone through in punishment" and when, in his anguish when talking about Jesus raising the dead, he says that if he could have been there to see Jesus do this, maybe he wouldnÂt be like he is. Sure, the grandmother was flawed, to say the least, just like we all are. She lied, manipulated, baited, and whined to get her way, yet she still, in the last moments of her life, was reaching out to The Misfit, trying in her own way to lead him to grace and forgiveness the only way she knew how, through her personal faith and belief in Jesus. And maybe by extending this grace, she received this grace in return, since OÂConnor says the grandmother " half sat and half lay in a puddle of blood with her legs crossed under her like a child's and her face smiling up at the cloudless sky." By offering him grace, she received redemption in return. Maybe this is a simplistic interpretation of this story, but itÂs the one that...

Elmer, thank you for your dedicated help. i'd invite you over for your favorite cocktail and point at my “thing” if you were my next door neighbor. you are a fount of knowledge and am so mad i made you fret. . I know my terminology is a mess. i have the latest xfinity cable box. let me show you the sideways picture i showed before. only on Houzz do I have sideways pics from my ipad. i remember it happening when Apple first introduced the devices. You will see my very old audio transmitter sitting on the cable box with headphones on top. in back of that box i matched the red and white sockets to the transmitter. the headphone charged on the top of the transmitter. it was called a wireless audio. I have not used this for a couple of years as everything in this den room and others were flooded out a 1 1/2 years ago. The device continued to be connected to Xi. With the place torn up and back together here I am to address some smaller issues. Thank you again.