Sept. 11 arrived with a beautiful sunrise and lots of promise for a gorgeous day, which it was.

The first thing I did was to get dressed and head over to town hall for the 9/11 ceremony. The event started at 8:30 a.m. promptly, and there was a nice crowd in attendance to hear a wonderfully short, moving speech by Jeff Fulgham. Jeff has recently returned from a year's tour of duty in Afghanistan, where he earned the Bronze Star and was awarded the Purple Heart for his service. Police and fire department officials also joined in the ceremony as did a lone bagpipe player. It was a very nice way to start what has become a national day of remembrance, with people we all know and love gathered together.

I sure hope we will never have to go through a time as traumatic as that horrible day 10 years ago.

How would you like to play host to a group of friends and help raise money for a worthy cause? Dinner for 10, perhaps, or 20, if you are brave?

Dine In For Beaufort-Jasper Volunteers in Medicine is soliciting area friends to host fun dinner parties. It is really very simple. The dinners will be held Oct. 29 at around 5:30 p.m. You can have any kind of meal you wish, but it should be fun, of course. Guests should bring monetary donations. How wonderful is that?

You won't have to prepare dessert because at 8:30 p.m., everyone will head to Myrtle's for a champagne finale. The desserts will be prepared by some divine chefs, including Ally at Pour Richard's. Can you stand it? The Chilly Willy Band will provide the music.

I think this is a really swell idea and I know there are so many good cooks in Bluffton, it will be a rocking good time. Call Lynne Hummell at 843-290-9860 for more information.

One of my favorite programs on television last year was "Downton Abbey." It is a period drama that takes place in England during World War I.

I have a terrific crush on Hugh Bonneville, who was the Earl of Grantham. There were all sorts of juicy plots, and it ended way too soon for me. I learned the other day there will be another season beginning in January, just in time for a glass of sherry and a crackling fire.

There is another PBS program I am fond of, called "Mapp & Lucia." You can buy the DVDs on Amazon. "Mapp & Lucia" takes place in the 1920s in England -- where else? -- and is charming. Every time I watch it, I think about how Bluffton must have been during that time. There are some wonderful characters who remind me of some gone, but not forgotten, friends we once had in our midst. The only thing that is really different are the accents.

Bluffton was in its heydey during that time, and I think probably lost some charm when the Houlihan Bridge was built. Before that, our little town was rather like an untouched haven for a whole slew of fabulous characters.