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When Claire was twelve years old, she visited Mazatlán with her parents who own at the same condominium complex as Dave and I.
Unlike us, however, they own a sprawling penthouse on the top floor where they stay when their busy California schedule allows. I met Claire at a get-together for all the owners.
To make small talk, I asked how she was. “Stressed,” she sighed. Since this is not a normal answer for a pre-teen, I asked if she was serious. She was. “And what is there to be stressed about?” I pressed, trying not to laugh. Primarily, it was her strict school schedule, plus some extra-curricular activities. Her communication skills were well beyond her years.
That was seven years ago. Claire is in Mazatlán this week, and I am learning that her maturity probably was attributable to her intelligence. She is a computer major at USC and scored a perfect 36 on her ACT. Most of her high school classes were Advanced Placement ones, and she is a bookaholic. Name a book; she has read it and can summarize it for you.
Last night her parents and two other couples came over to play Marbles and Jokers, a game introduced to Dave and me three years ago. Typically, people do not catch on to the game’s strategic moves before the third round, at which point they are addicted. We started at 2:00 in the afternoon and played until 9:00. Girls against Guys, and had the men not table-talked non-stop (I’m over that now), we girls would have won more than one game.
Claire and her boyfriend showed up around 8:00. She skimmed the instructions, asked a few questions and was ready to play. Now, NOBODY is ready to play M&J that quickly… NOBODY, apparently, except Claire. Dave and I have played with nuclear engineers, CEO’s, CPA’s, RN’s, Cyberwar specialists and Silicon Valley gurus, none of whom have understood the nuances of the game that fast.
Early on, Claire directed her mother to try an advanced strategy that beginners don’t use. Claire was the first of the eight of us to get her marbles into her home base, while we, her teammates, labored over which move to make and straggled around the board. Her brain clearly worked at a level I didn’t understand but certainly appreciated.
Over the next several days, it was not uncommon for several of us to be involved in marathon M&J games. Claire never lost. Which meant, of course, that we girls didn’t, either. She was a great one to have on our team. Teammates, as we all know, make a difference.
There’s another, however, a “must have” on our team, who is a total game-changer, and that’s Jesus Christ. No one has the wisdom to direct our paths and who pulls for our success like he does, and unlike Claire, there’s nothing in it for him.
Romans 8:34 tells us that he intercedes for us, so not only did he die in our place, but he continues to cheer for us to overcome sin and live a faith-filled life. I can’t imagine how many times a day he’s muttering to himself, “Come on, Patty. Nope. Don’t do that. Nope. Don’t say that. You can do it. I have confidence in you.” And then he turns to his Father and asks that I be forgiven because chances are, whatever he was pulling for me not to do, I did.
Jesus waits patiently for us to join his team. The winning team. Why would we choose anything else?



This year, there were five total participants ready to earn their spot at the Southeast Area Favorite Food Show on June 22nd in Emporia. The results for the Junior Division were Carly Taylor (Southwind-Yates Center) Top Junior, Kason Botts (Southwind-Iola) Top Junior, Carly Kramer (Southwind-Iola) Top Junior, and Henry Kramer (Southwind-Iola) Honorable Mention. For the Senior Division, Jenni Armstrong (Southwind-Iola) Top Senior.

Mauriel Whisenhunt helped her grandfather, Clyde Brooker, when he was homebound and had edema.
“I would massage his feet, arms, and back,” she said. “He was the first who said God has given me a gift.”
This prompted her to begin a career in massage therapy.
Whisenhunt’s massage therapy is pain management, she said.
“I do pain management,” she said. “Everybody is different, I work to accommodate what the body may need.”
Whisenhunt said she is grateful for her clients.
She said many in the business don’t make it.
“Longevity in massage is five years,” she said. “It’s hard work.”
“I have so much gratitude for the personal relationships with people, watching client’s kids grow up, working in hospice,” she said. ” I have so much overwhelming gratitude. Every place I have been, it’s God’s timing.”
She is constantly learning, even after 20 years.

“There is so much new coming out about science and massage,” she said.
Her constant challenge is trying to help people get out of pain and helping them with pain management, she said.

Whisenhunt has been a massage therapist for 20 years.
Last year, she moved her business, Bodyworks and Wellness, to Uniontown, where she lives.
“COVID (the pandemic of the last year) prompted me to open shop in Uniontown,” Whisenhunt said. “I think all small businesses had to reshape their business plan.”
“We were told by the (Kansas) governor that we couldn’t work,” she said. “I was quarantined five times, two weeks each time from different places of contact.”
“When you can’t work, you have no income,” she said.
She and her husband, Rick, live in Uniontown and in addition, own a large building there.
“We revamped a small portion of his hobby space,” she said.
The building is located at 104 Sherman, just off Uniontown square. For an appointment call 620-224-7251.

Curbside Take-Home Vacation Bible School is offered on June 9 through 11 at First Baptist Church, 123 Scott Avenue, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.
The event is for ages 3-12 years old.
Join us for a mystery island adventure as we track down the One True God!
Everything that your child would normally do at Vacation Bible School can be picked up in a bag in front of the church building.
You can pull up and the bag will be handed to you through the car window, or you can get out of the car and pick up the bag.
To conclude VBS there will be a family day on June 12 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the parking lot across from the church. There will be a cookout and games for all to enjoy!
Please call the church office to enroll from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 620 223-3080.
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Norman James “Shorty” Spencer, age 92, a former resident of Ft. Scott, Kansas, and more recently of Prescott, Arizona, passed away Friday, May 21, 2021, in Arizona. He was born May 2, 1929, in Attica, New York, the son of Harold Spencer and Elsie Hanner Spencer. He grew up in New York where his family worked in the dairy business.
He later moved to Arizona and then to California prior to moving to Ft. Scott in the 1970’s. Norman worked as a truck driver for Mid-Western Distribution.
In later years, he worked as a driver for the Amish.
He first married Marion Drake on December 20, 1951, in Ithaca, New York. They later divorced.
He then married Juanita Fear on June 11, 1977, in Nevada, Missouri. She preceded him in death on July 2, 2012.
Survivors include his four daughters, Vicki Kilgore, of Glendale, Arizona, Janet Spencer, of Prescott, Arizona, Peggy Quintella of Welton, Arizona and Marianne Avett, of Ft. Scott, Kansas; six grandchildren, twelve great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren. Also surviving are three sisters, Eleanor, Inice and Eloise.
In addition to his wife, Juanita, he was preceded in death by a son, James Edward Spencer, a grandson, a great-grandson, eight brothers and four sisters.
Rev. Gary Demott will conduct funeral services at 11:00 A.M. Saturday, June 12th at the Cheney Witt Chapel.
Burial will follow in the West Liberty Cemetery.
The family will receive on Saturday from 10:00 A.M. until service time at the Cheney Witt Chapel. Casual dress is encouraged.
Memorials are suggested to the Hammond United Methodist Church or Gideons International and may be left in care of the Cheney Witt Chapel, 201 S. Main, P.O. Box 347, Ft. Scott, KS 66701. Words of remembrance may be submitted to the online guestbook at cheneywitt.com.
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