My husband and I visited Natchez and Vidalia last week-end for our 24th wedding anniversary. We love the old homes, the walk on the river and the good food dearly. We especially enjoyed the dining at Slough Daddy’s.

The cheesecake was to die for.

We stayed in the beautiful Comfort Suites in Vidalia with its scrumptious breakfast bar and those large comfortable rooms. The view was so peaceful and my husband especially enjoyed the barges going by. It was a cloudy morning that only added to the beauty of the bridge in the distance.

After such a pleasent stay we headed back home to Sylvarena. Now if you don’t know where that is, its about 24 miles Northeast of Laurel. Before leaving Natchez, we decided to stop by Wal-Mart and pick up a few groceries since we had three hungry men (son’s) at home ranging in age from 18 to 38.

Before going inside my husband handed me some money. I put it into my pocket without thinking. We bought our groceries and headed home. When we got to Brookhaven, I realized my money was not in my pocket. I immediately called my daughter and asked her to contact the Wal-Mart and ask them if anyone had turned in a large amount of money. She called and they told her a Mr. Gore had found some money in the parking lot, but would not disclose the amount. She got his number and I called him several times. Apparently, I had written down the wrong number and he did not answer. On Monday night I called directory assistance and asked if there were any Gore’s listed in Vidalia. She would only give me two names. The first one I called was a dear lady who said her husband had passed away about 10 years earlier, but if it were anyone it would be Travis Gore. Well, I called Mr. Gore and told him about our trip and my losing the money. I described the bills to him and he said “that’s it, that’s what I found.” His wife got on the telephone, got my name and address and I received a check on Wednesday of this week with a note saying “happy anniversary.”

I wanted to say “thank you” and I really didn’t know how. I own a florist and thought about sending flowers, but I wanted the fine people of Vidalia to know what special people the Gore’s are and how special they made our anniversary. It will truly be one to remember!

Evelyn Ainsworth

Bay Springs resident