Everett on left with Bob (guitar) and Stan (banjo) at Maple Springs Church, Around 2006
As best I can determine, Everett turns 93 today . So, Happy Birthday !
{ About the only way he has not entered the 21st century (and I may be wrong about this) is that he and Ruby do not have a computer and hence, the internet. So, may I ask that someone from the Maple Springs blog readers convey this electronic salute to one of my heroes . . .someone who personifies 'aging with grace and dignity' .}
I met Everett in 1991 when the Bishop appointed me as pastor of the church he attended. He was 71 at the time. 'Old' to my 53 year old mind-set. Not so now that I have passed that marker , and then add a few. I remember asking him if I would be able to play the fiddle as he could when I was 71. He said "Sure" and then indulged my 'corny' humor when I said, "Good; because I can't play it at all now." My apologies, Everett, for that goofy 'joke'.
By that time, he had been playing with various 'country music' bands across piedmont North Carolina in all kinds of venues, including a nearby television station. He also plays a strong bass fiddle.
During my time at that parish, he was a regular in the 'Maple Springs Strings', a half-dozen or so members of that congregation who volunteered their talents each Sunday. This group and another in which he played often visited area nursing homes to play for residents there. His 'signature song' has been This Old House and he can get down REALLY LOW on the low notes.
He and Ruby are doting, devoted grand-parents. He taught his two grand-daughters to play the fiddle when they were still young girls. And while he is vegetarian himself, he frequently takes his grand-son, Lee, to get his Hardee-burger.
Besides his music and family, let me tell you some other traits of this magnificent fellow who can teach us much about getting older without 'getting old'. I mentioned that he is vegetarian. His mind is as 'sharp as a tack'. He still drives, rides his horse, and works 'public work'. Recently, while the establishment where he worked was undergoing renovations and hence closed, Everett likely was one of the oldest recipients of unemployment benefits in the state. Now that the motel has re-opened, there are tourist who regularly pass through, asking specifically for Everett's Continental Breakfast.
Without benefit of 'cosmetic surgery', he still looks pretty much as he did when I first met him 22 years ago. He epitomizes 'sartorial elegance' or , if you prefer, he's a fashion plate, always color coordinated, neatly pressed, or as the term is sometimes used around here, he's 'spiffy'. He is a gentleman in every sense of the word, including a 'gentle man'.
Ruby and Everett in 1991 . . .hardly changed 22 years later.
These words of Albert Einstein seem fitting for Everett: "Do not grow old, no matter how long you live. Never cease to stand like curious children before the great Mystery into which we are born."
And for all of us who see more and more candles on our birthday cakes, these thoughts from the inspiration of my nom de plume, Satchel Paige: "Age is a question of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter."
Satchel
Again, 'Happy Birthday, Everett' and thanks for being the inspiration that you are.
Satchel
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