This loving community is a pretty good place to get sick

I have a great memory of becoming ill when I was a child, maybe seven years old.

Yes, that’s strange, so you are due a bit of an explanation.

My mother’s dear friend and bridge partner – I called her Mrs. Wilda – was a wonderful cook, as well as a generous person, despite living way across town. It was fully a 20-minute drive from her house to ours.

Food is a love language in the South, so death, dying and even a bout with the stomach flu was cause for Mrs. Wilda to crank up her kitchen and spread some love.

Mrs. Wilda learned at the Tuesday afternoon bridge table that I was ailing. Nothing serious, just a stomach bug. But unbeknownst to me, Mrs. Wilda sprang into action.

The next day, she showed up at our back door with some homemade chicken gumbo and her specialty – a three-layer white cake with caramel icing.

It might have been a year before the flu bug rolled around, but I remember telling my Mom, “Tell Mrs. Wilda I’m not feeling well.”

Mentone is a great place to be sick. This is a community that loves on one another. We have too many love languages to count.

I can cite numerous friends and neighbors who show up with homemade soups and breads when either my Mary or I am sick. It’s part of the Mentone Magic, and it’s another reason why this is such a wonderful place to call home.

It’s not just food when we are ill and it’s not just love for us. A closer look atop this part of Lookout Mountain will fill your hearts with the feel-goods.

Sure, it’s my church, but it’s wonderful how the Saint Joseph’s Food Bank relieves thoughts of food insecurities for about 40 families each week. To the casual observer each Wednesday, it may appear to be an easy effort to make it happen. But there’s more the eye can’t see.

A team of as many as 20 volunteers works hard at tasks you don’t see. Someone has to drive to Huntsville regularly to get food at ridiculously low prices from a generous nonprofit there. Volunteers spend a good portion of Tuesday afternoon getting the items ready for distribution. Funds are donated to the church to support the effort. And there’s so much more.

The word love is a very versatile one, and those who volunteer love offer their labor, their funds, and their dedication. Simply put, they like to love on people.

This is one example. I’d love to hear other examples of how Mentone loves on people. The Groundhog would love to hear other ways Mentone Magic is made tangible. Let us know.