Tom's retirement gift!

Tommy and I are still adjusting to the newest member of our household! Meet Alton, Tommy's retirement gift from Donna Tomlin, a lady who works with him at Goodwin Animal Hospital. Tommy is deathly afraid of spiders - has been ever since I have known him. Poor baby turned green when he realized that we would be taking a TARANTULA home with us!

Tom attributes his fear of spiders to an incident in his childhood. His older (by nearly ten years) brother, Alton, was watching him while Grandma Johnson was at work. Alton, however, was working nights and sleeping during the day. Little Tommy went out and climbed a tree. After he had reached a fairly high point, he felt a sharp pain and looked carefully at the branch he had just grabbed. Away ran a spider! He bailed out of the tree and ran into the house for help. Alton was sound asleep and totally unimpressed so Tommy sat down and wrote a note to Grandma that read something like this: "I will be dead before you get home. A spider bit me and Alton doesn't even care. love, Tommy"

My sister, Barbara, is somewhere between California and Arkansas. I am so excited! Watch out world - 2/3 of the Jurkens girls are on the loose! (I guess the whole world doesn't have to watch out - just Little Rock , Atlanta, Shreveport, and El Dorado!)