Touting egos and promoting personal “causes” are sometimes in the forefront for some, but the sheer enjoyment of sharing with friends is the real success behind one’s participation on Facebook.

It is probably easier to guess the hour of the day Danny Sheridan applies coloring to his hair than trying to select the most tempting recipe of the day posted by avid Facebook cooks and connoisseurs. Yes, the unique and flavorful recipes are considered one of the most helpful features by these countless posters.

Friends sharing together with a respect for all who post regularly, as I said, are the real reasons for such a closed, binding association.

Over the past few months since I have joined Facebook I have learned to identify my friends by the nature of their posts. Some friends share their flowers, foods, family, online games, ego, Bible verses, art, poetry, books, politics and yes, even their ailments. Yet, all these diversified offerings are accepted by those of us who enjoy this close-knit form of sharing. And, Facebook is really an ideal vehicle to air these thoughts. Seldom a day goes by that I don’t get a request from someone who wants to become one of my friends. In a couple of cases I have had one or two who defriended me. That is to say they did not want us to share any more. Such was the case of one who said she did not like what I wrote in my column. But, on that same day I believe I received two new requests to become friends. Sadly, on occasions, some find it amusing to “hack in” on certain sites and insert irrelevant and sometimes hurtful posts.

But, overall, each Facebook member respects and appreciates all his or her friends.

Now, taking a look at some current news of the day: I found it amusing that, by his sheer name, Alabama State Treasurer Young Boozer has captured the nation’s most unusual political name. I know of several folks whose last name is Young, but I don’t recall ever meeting anyone who uses it as his first name. But, when it comes to strange names, just take a look at the names of some popular football and baseball players.

Here’s a question I would like answered: Why didn’t they change the numbering of our license plates following the 2010 census figures? According to those figures, Montgomery passed Mobile in population growth by 205,000 to 195,000. Since the very beginning, license plates reflected the first three states by population and by alphabet on the states thereafter. So, shouldn’t Montgomery become number two and Mobile number three? Gosh, I had to learn the license plate numbering in the fifth grade.

In years past, several nationally known personalities passed through or stopped by Atmore. One occasion was in the early 1950s, when movie star Robert Stack made a one-hour stopover while promoting his movie “Mr. Music.”  He came into town on a large tour bus and drew the attention of many movie fans. Dub “Cannonball” Taylor took a cool dip in Little River State Park in the 1960s. The former cowboy sidekick, who hailed from the state of Georgia, was returning from a bird-hunting trip in southwest Alabama.

Smiley Burnette, who was better known as “Frog” and the sidekick of Gene Autry, included the Strand for a live farewell tour in 1951. He told a joke about having to stay over night during a heavy rainstorm at a farmhouse along the way and having to sleep in the same bed with the owner’s three-year-old son. He said, “I would have been better off traveling on down the road….IN THE RAIN.”

Ladybird Johnson, wife of President Johnson, made a train stopover over in Atmore in the mid 1960s to pick up her cousin, Mrs. Thomas, first wife of Dr. J Thomas. And, our own Paul Smith, who was known by his theatre name, Paul Birch, visited his old home in town on several occasion prior to his death in the late 1960s. From the big band days, the Blue Barron Orchestra played for a dance at the Atmore Country Club. This well-known band included Atmore on its farewell tour. The musical group brought the tour to a close with an Andalusia concert.

I had the opportunity to meet several recording stars from 1954 to 1957 when I worked summers and weekends at WATM Radio while attending college. I remember Ferlin Husky coming by the station one hot summer day. He was promoting one of his recordings that he recorded under the comical name of Simon Crum. I can remember how friendly he was and how he was really working hard in his singing career. A few well-known gospel quartets made frequent visits to the station when they were in town performing at Byrne Field All Night Singings. The Blackwood Brothers and The Statesmen were my favorites. Abner Jernigan and Clift Frazier were often concerned about their having enough chairs available for the big crowds at Byrne Field.

Long tall Dave Akeman, better known as WSM’s Stringbean, came by with his small band while on a south Alabama tour. I believe his banjo performance he offered on our airways was probably as good as any I have ever heard. Sadly, his life was snuffed out in the early 1970s, when he and his wife were killed by would be robbers in his Tennessee home.

Now, lets take a look at our Pink Lady of the week. She is Linda W. Blake. You will find Linda working in the gift shop at the hospital. A very devoted volunteer, she has been affiliated with this Hospital Auxiliary for more than 14 years. She rightly boasts of her one daughter who, she says is “smart and beautiful.” “That’s one mother’s opinion,” she said.

It’s always good to write about these dedicated ladies who serve us so well at Atmore Community hospital.

We will have more news of Atmore’s people, places and events next week.

Lowell McGill exam@frontiernet.net.