Not quite a native Ripley Countian - she attended only her last year of high school in Doniphan though she taught in the R-1 system for 32 years - Teresa (Pearson) Lee delights in surprising readers and herself with anecdotal observations of life in general. Maybe you can blame her St.Louis roots for a quirky humor and some slightly-askewed opinions, but never doubt she writes from the heart.

It's S.O.B. Month (Not What You Think)

Posted Saturday, February 25, 2023, at 7:45 AM

A lunch buddy gave me a skirt out of a bright fabric. The nest gathering I showed it off! What fun it was putting this outfit together. It makes me feel like a spunky old broad when I put it on!

You might think it quite a leap from church ladies to spunky old broads. In case you forgot, February is Spunky Old Broad (S.O.B.) month. In 2021 I devoted a column to specifics about its founder and ladies who have served as annual calendar girls - Dolly Parton, Katie Couric, Helen Mirren and 2023’s Kamala Harris, to name-drop a few.

S.O.B.'s are movers and shakers in their arenas who spark others to live boldly with spirit, humor and optimism on their own stages. Mommas and grandmas, sisters and aunts, colleagues and pals AND church ladies (CL’s) can fit right in with the rich and famous. The word ‘broad’ has evolved. If you consider yourself a feisty individual who strives to get as much out of life as possible, regardless of circumstances, you qualify.

My inclusion on the S.O.B. list seems more likely than on the CL’s. Lately, though, I’ve struggled to feel spunky. There are strange phenomena occurring that make me want to hide under covers in the back of the closet, phone in one hand, weapon in the other.

First, the footsteps that wake me up. I was slinking on socked tippy-toes planning my escape when my caravan of cats zoomed down the stairs, bringing the ‘footsteps’ ever closer. I laughed out loud - eventually.

Lights. They bounce off walls and mirrors, interrupting my sleep. Feline detectives silently swivel their heads, activating tell-tale wary ears and exponentially increasing the suspense. Socked tippy-toes swiftly slinked to peer through curtains multiple times before my sleep-deprived brain solved that mystery. Cars coming down a nearby road can’t be seen or heard till long after the headlights do their dance in the dark. Also, the smart tv has a blue light that comes on willy-nilly. I wish off meant off like it did on tv’s in the olden days.

Then there’s the voice…making scaredy-cats of all creatures under this roof. It is loud and clear, short and to the point, no hemming and hawing. Mercy. It’s a ‘service’ of a newly-installed app telling me there is lightning or rain or storms nearby. Gonna have to eliminate that voice and dig out my weather radio. I prefer its alarm.

Maybe I’m not an S.O.B. just yet.