Party makes for a very happy Wes Jones birthday

The invitation read : “Please join us to celebrate Wes’ 70th Birthday” ... and by the way it is a surprise so be as quiet as a mouse; in other words, do not spill the beans.

Actually it was phrased another way, but you get the idea.

The grand fete was given by the five beautiful Jones girls. It was left to Margaret, their lovely mother and her charming four daughters - Dorothy, Mary Margaret, Priscilla and Weston called Bess Soper, the spectacular Bluffton cateress - to plan the delicious menu of wonderful Southern delights. The setting for the fun event was at the Jones’ beautiful home situated on the banks of the May River. Guests wandered in and out enjoying the gorgeous day while they waited for the honored guest’s arrival.

Margaret and Wes grew up in Greenville. They met in high school. The couple started going out when Wes was at The Citadel in Charleston and Margaret was a student at Ashley Hall in the same city. Wes attended law school at USC and, after graduation, he and Margaret began their loving journey to the Lowcountry.

After many years of living and enjoying their lives on Hilton Head, we were so lucky they decided to make the big move to Bluffton. Mayor Lisa Sulka declared April 27, 2016,Wes Jones Day in Bluffton for all of his contributions - helping to protect our beautiful May River and the town he and Margaret have embraced with a passion.

As you might imagine, they have many wonderful friends who are dedicated to them. So it was indeed a special treat for all of those in attendance to share this very special day. Toasting the day and Wes were Jane and Tom Upshaw, Aimee McDowell, Susan Woods, Rose and Weston Newton, Tammy and Jim Sauter, Bess and Mike Soper, Kate and Mike Hughes, Beth and Jeff Corry and so many other fabulous friends it would take all day to write their names.

Happy Birthday again to Wes and many, many more !

We love you Elvis!

A happy trio, including me, nipped off to Savannah last week to see the new exhibit at The Jepson Center - “Elvis at 21: Photographs by Alfred Wertheimer.”

One of our group grew up with the daughter of Mr. Wertheimer so we got a bit of background which was quite interesting. The photographs on exhibit are of Elvis taken in 1956 the year he turned 21. The images displayed show Elvis before he started rockin’ and shakin’ and rollin’ on national television.

He did a concert in Savannah in June of 1956, and Joanie Heyward and a group of her friends were high schoolers jumping up and down and screaming. Dee Sutlive, a fourteen year old teenager at the time ,wrote a very cute couple of paragraphs about his performance for The Savannah Evening Press. It is on the internet if you care to read it. Hard to believe that was 60 years ago.

As a side note, Wes Jones was an innocent 10 years old riding his bike in Greenville.

Not much time passed before Elvis’ live was changed forever but for a brief moment, it was the calm before the storm. The exhibit runs through October 2.

The Trace leaves a trace on columnist

For some reason The Natchez Trace has always fascinated me. It stretches from Natchez, Miss., through a corner of Alabama and north to Nashville.

The Trace was made famous by the Kentucky boatmen from Pennsylvania, Ohio and Kentucky who floated goods downriver to sell at the beginning of the 19th century and then followed the route back north with money if they were lucky.

Indian tribes also used the Trace and lived along it, dealing with the tradesmen, too.

I can sometimes imagine the urge these brave men felt to explore and see other parts of the country no one else had.

Emojis make the scene

My granddaughters, 3, 4 and 5 years, old know what emojis are.

The emojis are varied. Some show teeth, some mouths are wide open, some have a straight line, some eyes closed. All sorts of ways can be seen.

They were given some of these little critters in “Happy Meals” at MacDonalds.

I am so amazed because I found out not long ago what they were called. These little images are the crazy faced yellow things you send via your smartphone or computer.

I have never sent one because I am afraid one might get lost in translation. On some devices, they get turned upside down so a smile could become a frown - well you get my point.

This story was originally published May 4, 2016 at 11:27 AM with the headline "Party makes for a very happy Wes Jones birthday."