Four-leaf Clover Hunting

Confessions of a Four-leaf Clover Hunter

BY REBECCA ALEXANDER

YYes, I am a lifelong four-leaf clover hunter. It’s an addiction. I cannot pass a clover patch without looking down and scanning for the small chance of fi nding a four-leaf clover.

It is a skill I learned in the lazy spring days as a child when springtime clover patches would appear in lawns in our neighborhood. Childhood friends and I would plop down near the edge of large clover patches and compete to see who could fi nd a fourleaf clover. It was a game of patience, with very little reward of searching through every clover. The cool green of the clover patch was welcome on a warm day. After a while, the clover hunting game would get tiresome, as there were never many four-leaf clovers to be found. We would move on to something else, like making a chain necklace from the white and purple tipped clover fl owers. We would wear them around our necks, unaware that it made us much more attractive to the bees always lurking around those clover patches. But I digress.

Fast forward, and for some reason the very rare thrill of fi nding a four-leaf clover reinforced a habit and being able to spot a four-leaf clover that others would miss.

It is not that I am looking for luck, as it is a game. I do feel lucky when I fi nd one, but I do not feel like it has anything to do with being lucky or a sign of anything else that will happen. It is just fi nding a needle in a haystack. The joy is in the fi nding itself.

Every spring, I always hope at least one neighbor doesn’t believe in killing weeds. Clover grows fast in the spring, and will stand out over the brown Bermuda grass that is slower to grow. Maybe also

HOW TO FIND A FOUR-LEAF CLOVER

There is a light green pattern near the center of a clover. The three-leaf pattern is distinct in it’s triangle shaped angles. Don’t count the leaves fi rst. Look for the pattern which stands out at right angles for a four-leaf clover.

the deep green is a welcome sight after the long winter of browns and grays.

I scan quickly to see if there is any small chance that I will spot one with four leaves instead of three. Oh, the common clover can be trick for the four-leaf clover hunter. Some threeleaf clovers get tangled together to look like one great big sixleaf clover. It’s a ploy, and works to make me reach down, and discover, it is just two three-leaf.

I can go months and months scanning every patch in parking lot medians, side yards and not fi nd a single four-leafed one. There are only threes, threes, threes. Maybe the fours are completely gone! Just something in my imagination.

Then, when I have half given up the hope of fi nding one, a tiny four-leaf suddenly catches my eye. Jackpot! It is a thrill to fi nd. I pluck it from the ground, and triumphantly hold it carefully until I can show it to my husband. Then I press it in a book, as my four-leaf green trophy. There it stays, where past treasures are pressed between the pages.

Sometimes the same patch will again produce the rare variant four-leaf clover. If that lucky clover patch is on my evening walk with the dog, evening, after evening, the dog is wondering why we keep stopping to look down at the same spot. She is ready to keep on moving. Although, she does enjoy nibbling on a bit of tender grass now and then. For a few days, there could be a more. Sometimes that patch will yield four or fi ve, before it stops. For no good reason, it goes back to being just an average normal three-leaf clover patch. Special no more.

This Spring, for whatever reason, I have found more fourleaf clovers than usual. I found a fi ve-leaf on St. Patrick’s Day. A few days later I found four four-leaf clovers in the same patch. The next day, excited to pass that patch again, I found 12 four-leaf clovers. All were found in less than 2 minutes. It does not take long if they are there. Twelve is the most I have ever found at one time. Then one more from this patch, and then nothing.

The clover spoiler was an outside force, the lawn mower. Yes, my neighbor decided it was fi nally time to chop down the weeds, clover, and other wild grass into one mottled same height “lawn”. The clover patch will not recover this year, as Bermuda takes over growing faster as the days warm up. The Spring clover is gone for the season in that spot.

But next year when the clover patch appears again, you bet it will be the fi rst place I look.

Q&A With Miss Northeast Mississippi, Caroline Parnell

CCaroline Parnell, a Batesville resident and student at the University of Mississippi, has found her passion for literacy through the Miss Mississippi and Miss America Organizations. Born in Sevierville, Tennessee, Caroline and her family relocated to Batesville when she was twelve years old for her dad, Dr. Don Parnell, Jr., to work at the hospital now known as Panola Medical Center. By the time she graduated from North Delta, she had been a member of fourteen different school clubs, sports, and organizations. Notable among these, she was a Hall of Fame graduate, instrumental in forming the North Delta Cross Country team, and a State Champion in

Caroline with second grade students at Pope Elementary School

the High Jump. Currently, Caroline is a sophomore at the University of Mississippi where she is an active member of the student body and Greek life.

When Caroline was seventeen and a senior at North Delta, she became interested in competing for the Miss Mississippi Organization. Through the help of North Delta and University of Mississippi graduate, Charley Ann Nix, the 2019 1st runner up to Miss Mississippi, Caroline was able to win her first local preliminary title of Miss Modern South. This was her ticket to the Miss Mississippi stage in Vicksburg, Mississippi. When she won her first title, she took up her Social Impact Initiative of “Let Your Imagination Soar, Read More”, where she advocates for the literacy of children in Mississippi. Since then, Caroline has spent the last three years promoting and learning about literacy programs for the state of Mississippi. Currently, Caroline holds the

What led you to choose literacy as your Social Impact Initiative?

“Ever since I was a little girl, I have had a deep love and appreciation for reading. Sharing my birthplace with the one and only Dolly Parton, I was fortunate to be a participant in her program, Imagination Library, which began in Sevier County and is now available worldwide. This program gifts children’s books each month from birth until the age of five. I was fortunate to receive sixty books from birth to kindergarten, not counting the ones that my older brother and younger sister received. Even at a young age, my siblings got excited for the books that would arrive in the mailbox. We knew that we were about to experience something thrilling. My interest in books as an adult came from the deep

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love of reading I formed in my early childhood. Reading was demonstrated as more of a choice not a chore. Through my platform “Let Your Imagination Soar, Read More”, I strive to help all children understand that reading can be for enjoyment instead of viewing it as mundane. A goal I am working towards is to see Imagination Library expand across more Mississippi counties. It is currently in 18 of the 82 Mississippi counties. By fostering a love for reading in today’s youth, we can improve literacy rates and help blaze a trail for students’ future successes.”

Why is “Let Your Imagination Soar, Read More” important to Mississippi?

“Instilling the importance of reading at an early age can have a tremendous effect on an individual’s perception of reading. The early foundations of reading are fundamental in creating what is essentially a domino effect. This effect has the potential to propel a student’s academic career towards success. In Mississippi, reading proficiency at the 4th grade level in 2017 was 27%. However, recent data shows an upward trend in Mississippi’s reading testing scores at the fourth-grade level. Yet these scores still fall below the national average for the 8th grade. The effect of this is reflected in the high school dropout rate of 9.7%. In July 2019, Mississippi was ranked 47th for Reading Test scores and 44th for median ACT scores and is continually ranked at the bottom when it comes to foundational literacy in the United States. While educational and governmental programs are vital, they do not replace the importance and impact of reading in the home.”

What would you say to someone who says pageants are just about appearance?

“During my time in the Miss Mississippi Organization, I have learned an extraordinary amount about myself. I have learned that I can strive to better myself daily. I have been blessed to learn how to improve my confidence as a public speaker and have had more interview practice than I ever thought possible. Even more so, the Miss America Organization is one of the largest scholarship providers for women in the world. In my opinion though, one of the best things about being involved in this organization is that the organization allows women to create a platform to advocate for on a matter about which they are passionate. I never would have had the voice I have today without Miss Mississippi.”

Do you have any upcoming events?

“Yes! I will be having a book give away at the Batesville Springfest on Saturday May 15th. I would love to see everyone there! I am also planning on being at the Batesville Farmer’s Market on June 2nd to give away more books, while supporting Batesville’s small business owners. Also, I am excited to be competing for Miss Mississippi in Vicksburg in June. Preliminary nights are June 23rd, 24th, and 25th and finals night will be June 26th. Individual night tickets will be going on sale starting May 10th, for anyone that is interested in coming to Vicksburg to watch the competition!”