Articles by Toni Thompson

It’s a classic tale. In 2005, after a career that included 24 years in coaching, teaching, and administration at Poplar Bluff High School, Bill Ray was packing it in for good at Camdenton when a unique prospect came his way.

Soon enough, the newly-minted retiree became the area rep for Fellowship of Christian Athletes programs in a whopping 16 counties throughout Southeast Missouri. He recently spoke to me of an upcoming FCA event called Fields of Faith, to be held locally for the first time on October 8 from 8 p.m. to 9:15 p.m. at Fred Morrow Stadium (Poplar Bluff Varsity Football Field).

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The Margaret Harwell Art Museum is gearing up for its 15th Annual Fall Arts Festival, to be held on Saturday, October 4 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. along Main Street in Poplar Bluff!

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“Americans like fat books and thin women.”

–Attributed to Pulitzer Prize-winning essayist Russell Baker

Frankly, I was not aware that we were all that big on books.

But that last bit sounds about right.

Which is why it was very cool chatting with a Poplar Bluff acquaintance who apparently never got the memo.

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In ambling about the ’Net for my recent pieces on actress Lily Tomlin, I came across a most fascinating tidbit of information related to her formative years.

Tomlin is a graduate of Detroit’s Cass Technical High School—where, she quips, she wound up becoming “the best white cheerleader” in the entire city!

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Stacey Million, Executive Director of the Poplar Bluff-based Claudia Foundation (www.claudiafoundation.org), is seeing to a host of administrative details as Friday evening’s Lily Tomlin fundraiser for the Foundation draws near.

“People are really excited about the show,” she says. “[Ms. Tomlin’s] doing her one-woman, 90-minute show that has sold out across the country.”

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The Claudia Foundation of Poplar Bluff
presents

“An Evening with Lily Tomlin”

A Fundraiser for the Foundation,
Timed to Commemorate the Restoration of Balcony Seating
at the historic Rodgers Theatre in Poplar Bluff
Friday September 19th, 2008 at 7:00pm

(for more information, click here, or call the Foundation at 573-686-3040)

* * * * * *

Unless you have spent the last few weeks in a campaign-ad-induced coma, surely you’re aware that Poplar Bluff is gearing up for a rare evening of entertainment, courtesy of the Claudia Foundation’s very special guest, Tony Award-winning comedienne Lily Tomlin.

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“Character building.” That’s what I always try to tell myself when I am hit with an unexpected hardship.

Ah, but how sorely we are all being tried of late! We shall all have developed the character of Solomon by the time we resolve our fuel and transporation issues.

As I finished up some errands around sunset yesterday, I could easily see that, though Hurricane Ike had yet to hit in the U.S., it had already driven us to our local gas pumps amid rumors of yet more ghastly price hikes in the (hopefully) short-term.

By the time I gassed up, the rumors had all come true.

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It’s all home-made, with both care and flair.

The personal touch is very much in play here, and the price is so right even I can do the math. And live with it!

Stay and enjoy, or have your meal prepped to go—it’s all good at The Scott-Walker Eatery, located on South Main in Poplar Bluff’s re-emerging historic quarter.

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As the world continues to examine the resume of Alaska governor Sarah Palin, Americans are heating up the blogs with debates on balancing family life and professional life.

But—distinct from current blogging on the subject—often in this area there seems to be a disturbing linguistic implication, in both print and speech: that parenthood, in contrast to paid work, is something other than…well…work.

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