4.23.23
I was quite surprised to see that my last blog post to you good folks was back in December right before Christmas! How did that happen? Well, that clock keeps ticking, and there’s not a thing we can do to slow it down….lots going on, so I’ll try and hit the highlights and condense the rest.
The Advent-Christmas-Epiphany season was lovely as was Lent and now Eastertide with the hope of new life in full swing and showing out all across the Delta. I celebrated another ‘trip around the sun’ around a shared table in the company of good friends, and was hoping to march again this year with the O’Tux Society in the Hal’s St. Paddy’s Day parade in Jackson, but had to take a raincheck…more on that in a moment.
So far, 2024 seems to be the year to ‘fix’ things…having been reminded in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians that ‘our bodies are the temples of the Holy Spirit,’ I took a look at this temple and determined that some repairs needed to take place. So early in the year, thanks to the incredible advancements in medical knowledge and technology, I had cataracts removed from both my eyes. [I never knew the gas light on my stove was so BLUE!] And to follow that up, three weeks ago, I had full knee replacement surgery on my left knee. My surgical team was top notch, and although I think I had prepped myself pretty well for the pain and discomfort based on others’ information, I 
ain’t gonna lie….it HURT. Physical therapy is ongoing and I’m making good progress each day. I am SO grateful to my ‘tribe’ across Mississippi that surrounded me with tender care, delicious food, transportation, encouragement, and sacrificial friendship. I’ll put on my dancing shoes soon…
Did a fun podcast episode, produced out of Nashville, with Susan Sizemore called Fifty Forward, for ‘mature’ folks working to ‘squeeze the day’…here’s my episode.
In February, Delta State University celebrated the inauguration of Dr. Daniel J. Ennis, our ninth president. For the festivities, I was pleased to put together an informal evening of entertainment called A Delta Celebration, comprised of DSU graduates and former students. Our new president surprised everyone with an impromptu harmonica performance with Keith “Prince of the Delta Blues” Johnson…priceless:) 
But to my even greater surprise, at the end of the evening, a local patron and longtime supporter of DMI stood and pledged to fund an endowed scholarship in my name. I’ve been on stage enough years in my life to usually have an answer for most situations, but that one left me speechless. Stunned. Grateful. Here’s a link to the story…thank you, Mike and Nan. 
And then this happened.
My friend, Dawn Rodgers (sister to DSU baseball legend Bryan Rodgers), and I were songwriting partners during our early years in Nashville. She and I wrote a worship song back in 1982 called “Baruch Hashem Adonai,” based on a sermon topic by Don Finto who was, at the time, pastor at Belmont Church. Belmont Church included a community of musicians, many of whom were key musicians of the contemporary Christian music movement (CCM). Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith, Dogwood, Brown Bannister, and more. I got a text from Dawn the Monday of Holy Week saying that Michael W. Smith was going to perform our song on that Easter Sunday morning from Jerusalem on a program hosted by Franklin Graham…I kid you not. A song we wrote 42 years ago found a platform for a new audience of listeners (And I confess that this is one of my top five songs that I’ve had anything to do with). I think this link is still active…I hope you enjoy it. If you’re interested, do a search on YouTube under “Baruch Hashem Adonai”…I had no idea it’s been recorded so many times.
And then this happened.
At our fabulous GRAMMY Museum® Mississippi right here in Cleveland, the director had invited me to sing a couple of songs at their Membership and Volunteer Recognition event last week. Wasn’t sure how I’d be feeling only two weeks out from surgery, but I promised I’d try. Little did I know they were being sneaky in making sure I was there so that they could present me with their Legacy award this year. Again, very blessed in so many, many ways.
I’ll close with this, good friends…a Facebook post about the Delta from a local mom after a recent near tragedy at one of our elementary schools and how the community responded…included by permission:
“Took a 2-year break from social media, but after this past week, I’m coming in hot with a long post. Love you people.
The Delta is not easy. It’s why so many only pass through, or why some who were raised here can’t wait to get out. For some it’s hard because we don’t have a Target within 2 hours, and for some they want a better school system or school options, for others jobs are limited, and for those of us who have decided this is our home for better or worse, those goodbyes are so painful and each one makes you wonder if the grass really is greener out there, or causes you worry about the future of this place…and then you spend time somewhere else and come home and realize you were meant for here. And you realize it’s community with memory and responsibility, to be contrasted with the ease of opportunity. It is a place where the hard draws you together and gives you shared affection that is at the heart of its strength. A person grows in such a place and is comforted there. Briana Davey sent me Wendell Barry’s book Hannah Coulter this past summer. It’s a beautiful book about a woman at the end of her life looking back over her memories growing up in a small Kentucky town and was essentially a love letter to that place. It made me miss my grandmother fiercely, and it reminded me of our place, a shrinking rural area with all the hardships that come with that life. These lines touched me:
“Most people now are looking for a better place, which means that a lot of them will end up in a worse one. I think this is what Nathan learned from his time in the army and the war. He saw a lot of places, and he came home. I think he gave up the idea that there is a better place somewhere else. There is no “better place” than this, not in this world. And it is by the place we’ve got, and our love for it and our keeping of it, that this world is joined to Heaven. . . Something better! Everybody’s talking about something better. The important thing is to feel good and be proud of what you got, don’t matter if it ain’t nothing but a log pen.”
Last week Anjanette called to say there was an explosion and fire at Hayes Cooper but as far as she knew the kids were alright and I just started praying. Jane Cannon was in the hallway and saw the fire and smoke and couldn’t find Patton at first and melted when I got back to the school. Patton’s classroom was one of the classrooms involved in the explosion but thankfully he was in the cafeteria for breakfast. After seeing video of the explosion, it is a miracle no children were hurt, and that the teachers in that classroom are still with us today. I have heard about the bravery of teachers and daddies dropping off their kids running into the fire to pull them out and begin trauma care, and bravery of the students who helped one another and comforted each other, and none of it is a surprise to me. Hayes Cooper Center has been a refuge and blessing for my family since Holt took his first nervous steps into that place 14 years ago for 4K when Mrs. Rogers took him and comforted him and loved him. Mrs. Judy Raines cared for him as she has all my kids even though they weren’t in her classroom. He is graduating in a few weeks, and he still talks about the OG’s of Mrs. Bray, Mrs. Sparks, and Mrs. Lamastus and still stops to hug their neck when he sees them, even though he’s the one stooping over to them now. I was so sad when I realized Jane Cannon would probably not finish her last year in the building that is Hayes Cooper, but yesterday when I hugged Mrs. Williams and she told me that they were going to finish strong and love our babies well, I was reminded that Hayes Cooper isn’t a building but all the people and a spirit that transcends classrooms and walls.
Then, this morning as I was dropping off a couple of anxious kids at Delta State and there was a line of football players, cheerleaders, and the President and First Lady of DSU waiting to greet them and I wept. Delta State is special, Hayes Cooper is special, all the local schools, public and private, who have donated and cheered us on are special, and this place we call home is special.
The Delta is not always an easy place to make a life, but it is good and we love her, imperfections and all, and today was such a sweet reminder of the importance and blessing of this place that is our home. And, to borrow from Wendell Berry, “it is by the place we’ve got, and our love for it and our keeping of it, that this world is joined to Heaven. . . .”
Sayward Fortner – April 16, 2024
If you hung in there for this whole post, bravo! I’ll try not to wait so long until the next one…blessings, Tricia