It’s amazing how your attitude can change from negative to positive in an instant. It’s like the opening lyrics in the once popular song “Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive” that the late singer movie idol Bing Crosby crooned: “You’ve got to accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative, latch on to the affirmative, don’t mess with mister in-between.”
Having an optimistic attitude removes clutter and restores order. My attitude was sure adjusted when Emory Health Care’s Dr. John Rhee, MD, who performed my back surgery last March, declared my surgery a success during a recent post-surgery exam.
And more good news turned my droopy mouth into a smiley face.
For months I had put off consulting a surgeon about a small lump in my neck. Since I delayed the call to my surgeon, Dr. Kristin Collier at Phoebe Sumter Medical Center, fate intervened. I saw her in the checkout line at Food Lion. After the initial hello and how you are exchange, I told her the concern I had and she advised I make an appointment to see her at the office, which I did. I arrived on time for our appointed rendezvous, and the cheerful and I must add brilliant young surgeon, assisted by her nurse, Joanna, successfully removed the worrisome lump. “All’s well,” she said, dismissing me with a pat on the back.
By the way, Dr. Collier grew up in Americus and returned here to practice after medical school. We are fortunate to have her around the corner at Phoebe Sumter. She is the daughter of Carl and Judy Tott and she has two children, Lainey and Hunter.
My after-doctor-treat was a cup of hot French roast Colombian coffee at Café Campesino. It’s like drinking hot molten black velvet. I enjoyed seeing Bob Stinchcum and chatting with Larry Comer, who with his wife Jane has moved back to Americus from St. Simons. Then it was on to the supermarket where I always see friends. This trip it was Sheryl House and Annie Hughes. The morning was moving along, but I had time to stop by Three’s Company Too, a unique specialty gift shop. Luck again. It was their grand opening celebration, and the store was packed with happy customers. Owner Lisa Akins Sallaw cheerfully greeted everyone, along with her parents, Grace and Shannon Adkins of Vienna and their son, Shane Adkins, Lisa’s brother. I also chatted with WISK’s Thurston Clary, Nancy Poole, Jean Bowen, Jody and Dr. Harvey Simpson, Cindy Pryor, Lou Chase, Shelley Sullivan, Treena Shattles, Brenda Underwood and Kendall Crew, who helped me select a birthday gift. Others assisting customers were Dee Hardin, Hannah Ellington, and Adair Hoffman.By the way, there were many delicious treats created by Christy Duke, including a celebratory three-tier cake.
Our good fortune continued into the evening with the mid-week service and communion at Calvary Episcopal followed by a delicious meal prepared by cooks extraordinaire Carey Wooten, Joni Woolf and Abbie Dillard.
Meanwhile, Ross and Charlotte Chambliss had a great trip to New Hampshire, going especially to celebrate the 50th birthday of their son, John Chambliss, driving from here to there with daughter Cathy Saylor, and were joined by another son, Ross Chambliss and his wife from Columbus.
Kay Tye is successfully recovering from neck surgery and Sylvia Roland has had a fascinating trip to Chicago and the Middle East with three Hendrix College friends. They toured the windy city several days   before flying non-stop to Dubai aboard an Emirates Airlines plane owned by the Sheikh of Dubai. Highlights included time spent at the Dubai Mall, and tour of its centerpiece, the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world; a speedboat tour around Palm Jumeirah, man-made islands built in the shape of a palm tree; a two-hour camel ride through the Arabian desert; tour of Old Dubai, Deira, and the new development in Dubai, including a driving tour of Palm Jumeirah and the area being developed for the upcoming 2020 World Expo in Dubai. In Old Dubai, they shopped at the spice and gold souks (markets). The country was formed in 1971, when Sheikh Zayed worked with neighboring areas to form the United Arab Emirates, a seven-state area. Qatar and Bahrain were invited to be a part of the new country, but both declined the Sheikh’s offer. Their final day was a tour of Abu Dhabi, the capital, that included the newly built Sheikh Zayed Mosque that is intricate in detail, complete with many semi-precious and precious stones; a visit to Corniche (road along the water), the UAE Heritage Center, the Sheikh Zayed Research Center. Sylvia said everyone speaks speak Arabic, and native women wear black abayas and scarves and men wear white robes with red and white dishdashas covering their heads.Visitors may dress in their own styles but must present themselves dressed in a conservative manner (no skimpy clothes).

Leila Sisson Case lives in Americus.