Blessings of Mossy Creek

THe Mossy Creek books aren't exactly cutting edge fiction, but they are a wonderful way to pass some time with characters that you know fairly well. Blessings is the 5th (I think) book in the series, and it is as wonderful as the rest. There is some small town pettiness and some small town loving-kindness, and an enjoyable time will be had by all.

It is a blessing to live in Mossy Creek located hours North of Atlanta, where everyone who lives there wants to stay there. Neighbors help friends and arguments are usually settled amicably. Outsiders who move there are warmly welcomed as long as they treat others, as they want to be treated.When the bride has no flowers for her wedding day, the groom tries to find them but it is the people of Mossy Creek who work together to fill up the church with roses and one woman donates her prize winning rose instead of entering them in the local competition. The owner of a ballet school and the owner of the funeral home are feuding and disturbing the newly bereaved. Tango lessons temporarily solve the problem and friendship finds a solution.Even the children in Mossy Creek are kind hearted. John Wesley has been saving up all summer to buy his mother a birthday present but when a homeless hungry family of migrant workers passes through town, he gives them his money for gasoline and food. On an amusing note, the town bands together to save a tree from being torn down while Amos the chief of police tries to get Ida the mayor to admit she has feelings for him.There are many more blessings in Katie Bell's column in the Mossy Creek Gazette; they are all tender, worn-hearted and uplifting as the ones in this review. Mossy Creek combines the atmosphere of an Anne River Seddons' novel with the magic of a Barbara Samuels' character study. The latest trip is worth the journey.Harriet Klausner