The Joy of Christmas

Today is December 25, probably my favorite holiday of the year. I have learned over the years to just try and not get too "worked up" over a holiday that is supposed to be a celebration of new life! So, when the big day was too quickly approaching, I first decided to not put up a tree. When it got even closer, I regressed into former behavior and did not get my Christmas letter mailed (rationalizing that everyone would enjoy it more after the rush of the holidays). Quite a few years back, Kay, a dear friend of mine, suggested that her family has Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve. Then on Christmas Day, they just relax and eat leftovers (of which there are always plenty at Christmas time). After spending many years working all day long on Christmas to prepare dinner (and this after having gotten up at the crack of dawn to see what Santa had brought the kids), I thought to my self, "What a great idea." So, now every year on Christmas Eve we have a light (if any) lunch and begin the celebration with a few snacks before having dinner around 5 pm. Our tradition (as started by my Dad many years ago) is to prepare a "roast beast" along with all the trimmings (but not the Yorkshire pudding which my Dad so lovingly prepared- too much cholesterol for the old heart). After dinner and a quick cleanup we head to church for Christmas Eve service - communion, candlelight and carols. We need never forget that "Jesus is the Gift" for which we celebrate. It would not be Christmas Eve without it! Later we went to Kim's for dessert and gift exchange. Earlier today we talked via a skype internet call to Joey and his family. Nowadays modern technology makes it so much easier to keep in touch, than in years ago when we were out of the country and Christmas came around. We were able to see John model the new "night vision goggles" we had sent his way and to talk with all the Hickox grandkids. Tauna, our pseudo adopted daughter called from Phoenix to wish us a Merry Christmas. Karin tried to call us while we were talking to Joey's family, so we'll have to talk with her family later today. Now we are enjoying some much needed R&R and eating leftover hot roast beef sandwiches for dinner! Thanks Kay for that wonderful suggestion those many years ago.

A Christmas Carol, live

I've seen movies of Charles Dickens, a Christmas Carol, many times over the years. A theater production of it is performed every year here. This afternoon Kim, the Turner kids, and I went to the Alliance Theatre in the Woodruff Arts Center and saw this year's production. It was a wonderful show - fantastic scenery/props, great period costumes, special effects, and super music and acting. Chris Kayser played the lead and has performed in a Christmas Carol for 24 years, 17 of them as Ebenezer Scrooge. All the actors were really good, including Tiny Tim. It amazes me that such a young boy can have such a great old English accent. It was Ben's first time to attend a professional show, although he's been in several school productions. As an aside, after we made plans to go, Alison and Daniel found out they could get extra class credit for going. On the way home we stopped at the world famous Varsity for supper. A good time was had by all!

Christmas is Here!

I have finally gotten a little time today to start decorating. I know it's a little late, but then again, for those who read this and know me very well, it will not be much of a surprise. I am notorious for not getting my Christmas greetings out before the big day. I think the record one year was March when I finally got it mailed. A few days ago, when I realized that Christmas was very rapidly approaching, I decided that I would NOT put up a Christmas tree this year, for the first time since we have been married. I would still decorate, but just no tree. Joe was in agreement. I love a big tree and with the time getting so short, it just isn't practical or realistic. This was the year we were going to get an artificial tree for the first time, and I couldn't make a decision on one. Every one I liked was so overpriced, that we just decided to wait until after Christmas and hopefully we can get a deal on a nice tree then. Joe did get the outside lights up last weekend - I figured people passing by would think we were ready for Christmas if they just didn't come inside the house.

Anyway, my prize Christmas possession is now up and in a prominent place in the living room. When we knew we were going to be going to Europe, back in 1970, I promised myself that if I ever got to Germany I would purchase a Hummel Nativity Set. Over the two years we were there, I waited until my last trip out to Frankfurt. Fortunately, the BX had a set on sale, but I still hesitated to spend the $120 dollars (yes, you read correctly). Now, just one of the figurines would cost more than that. I finally purchased and hand carried it home with me on the plane. I had quite a time trying to explain to the German police at the airport that I was carrying figurines and not guns in the long, slender box that held the prize. To this day I still use that box to repack the set every year. Of interest, when I arrived home, very excited about my treasure, another wife commented "Did you get a camel?" A camel did not come with the set, and I was devastated!! As you can see in the photo, I later purchased the camel for the dear price of $75 (almost the cost of the whole set). Each year now, the Hummel Nativity is the first thing to be put out and the last to be packed away. And why not? After all Jesus' birth is the reason we celebrate the holiday in the first place!! Tomorrow I will get the rest done, but tonight I know that Christmas is definitely on the way. The newsletter is gonna have to wait!

There are Heroes Among Us

Last night Joe and I attended the annual Christmas meeting of his Ben T. Epps Flight of the Order of Daedalians. Joe has been a Daedalian for many years and has, in fact, over the years helped start two flights. For those of you who don't know, the Order of Daedalians is a fraternity for military pilots. At his local flight members get together regularly and tell war stories. In addition, they raise money to fund college scholarships for young men and women who aspire to a military career. Although you might say that all the members are heroes (which they are in many ways), there were two genuine, HEROES, that attended last night's meeting. Wayne Waddell http://www.pownetwork.org/bios/w/w058.htm was a neighbor or ours and a fellow instructor pilot at Craig AFB in Selma, Alabama during the early years of our marriage. But more significantly, he was a POW in the Hanoi Hilton http://www.farfromglory.com/hanoihilton.htm for almost six years during the Viet Nam War. Wayne is a member of the Ben T. Epps Flight and gave a short commentary on remembering those military personnel who have never returned, either as POW's, KIA or MIA. It was very sobering and reminded us all that the freedoms we experience in this country have never been "free." In fact, they have come at a great cost to many. Will include a short video clip of our attempt to get a good photo with Wayne and his wife, Barbara (the photographer managed to do a video rather than a photo) .

The program speaker was 87 year old, Theodore "Dutch" Van Kirk, the navigator on the Enola Gay. Talk about an historic evening! He was a member of the US Army Air Corps during WWII and flew several very interesting missions (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodore_Van_Kirk). He showed a short film about the Enola Gay mission that the Smithsonian uses in it's Enola Gay exhibit. He talked about the preparation to fly the mission to drop the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, and described the flight itself in detail . During the question and answer session that followed the presentation, he was able to clarify why we dropped a second atomic bomb on Nagasaki and why that was the last one. It was an awesome evening!

Joe, Barbara, Wayne and me

Joe,

"Dutch"

and me

We've UNADOPTED!

Just a quick note! When Mom realized that Prissy was back to her "old" self, she decided she needed to go back home with her. So, for the time being Prissy is back with Mom. If she gets sick again, we'll have to reconsider. BTW, we had a nice trip down to Joe's hometown and enjoyed getting together with a bunch of his HS classmates for dinner and fellowship. We were pleasantly surprised when Maryanne and Charlie showed up from California. Joe and Charlie grew up together out in the cotton and peanut fields of South Georgia. Almost 25 years ago, we took a nice trip with them - a week long cruise of the Hawaiian Islands. They had just gotten married, so it was their honeymoon, while we were celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary. We had a good time reminiscing. After we spent the night with Joe's sister, Helen, we took her out to Cracker Barrel for breakfast - nothing can beat breakfast at Cracker Barrel!

Joe and Helen at Cracker Barrel

We've adopted!

We've added a member to our family! You're probably thinking "what are those two old codgers doing adopting at their ages?" But, it's not exactly what you might think at first glance. Most of you know my Mom, Mary. Prissy is her pekingese that she has had now for all except about 6 weeks of Prissy's first days. Prissy is now 17 years old (and that's a lot of years in dog years), pretty much blind and deaf, but still perks along with Mom on her daily walks around her apartment building. In fact, whether Mom could keep Prissy with her when she moved to her current residence 5 years ago was a critical deciding point. About 10 days ago, Mom called and said, "I've got a PROBLEM." Prissy's diet had been changed by the Vet a few days prior to the call, and it seems it didn't agree with her GI system. To keep it brief and not too graphic, Mom had been cleaning up after Prissy all day as she "leaked" from both ends. Of course, she was dehydrated by this time and so, I suggested she might want to get her to the Vet. Mom was exhausted after all the cleaning, etc, so Joe and I went to pick up Prissy that night. When we took Prissy to the Vet the next morning (which was last Friday) he decided to give her some IV fluids and keep her there over the weekend. After the weekend of tender, loving care, and a little help from some drugs, Prissy came home (meaning our home) on Monday and has made steady improvement since that time. Mom says she just can't handle Prissy any longer and has "let go." I think that since Prissy has been gone, Mom has realized that it is easier without her. So, you guessed it! We now have another dog. She really isn't much trouble. Joe has always loved her (as have I). Except for the long hair that gets on everything, we enjoy having her here. She only weighs 8 pounds (so doesn't eat much), and at 17 sleeps a lot of the time. However, since she has lost most of her sight, the first thing we had to do was put the baby gate back up at the top of stairs yesterday. Yesterday, when Prissy saw the light of the stairs she thought it was a hall, and before I realized what was happening there was a little ball of long, brown fur rolling all the way down our stairs to the basement. I was very thankful she didn't get hurt. She also periodically runs into things she can't see well, but doesn't seem to have difficulty finding the food bowl. She likes to travel, so we will take her with us to visit Joe's sister this weekend.

Slow going

Well, after being so excited about all the "progress" we had made a couple of days ago on my new curriculum writing endeavor, we spent the day changing EVERYTHING! Well, maybe not everything, we still have the same mission statement and philosophy. But our beautiful (and artistic I might add) conceptual model - GONE! Instead of circles we now have triangles. I would put the new one on this website, but it will probably be different the next time I make an entry. We even changed the concepts! Oh well, I've done this before and just forgot what a tedius job it is. How it's never perfect - how every time you look at it you see something you want to change under the guise of improving it. Oh well, it's been a good day and my brain is in full speed ahead mode. Hope I can get to sleep.

Failing Retirement

I recall very clearly in years past hearing retired people saying to me "I'm busier now than I was when I worked." I always wondered to myself, "How could that possibly be?" Now that I have entered this phase of my life, I too find myself busier than ever. Of course I am now doing the things I want to do with my days and not what I "have" to do. Most everyone knows that I manage to stay pretty busy with a variety of things, among them are serving as a CASA (court appointed special advocate) volunteer for kids in foster care, working one or two weekends a month doing clinical nursing testing for a center here close to home, traveling whenever I get the chance, and keeping up with the grandkids, etc. Last week when I told Kim I had decided to take on another activity, she was aghast. A fellow "retired" nursing faculty called me and asked if I would help her write a curriculum for a new nursing program that she has taken on. Apparently, everyone she had asked could not do it, and she was getting desperate I think. I like to write, and it sounded like fun. Initially I just went in to "talk about it." After thinking about it for a day or so, I decided that a temporary committment of 2-3 days a week for a few months might be a challenge for my now somewhat idle brain. Today I spent 8 hours brainstorming with my new "boss," and surprisingly we really got a lot done. When I got home, I proudly showed Joe the draft of a mission statement, program philosophy and conceptual model on which we had worked. Joe told me to return a call from Jeanette (formerly my department chairperson and now supposedly "retired" also). The first thing she said to me was, "I hear you flunked retirement and are back at work." I really didn't think about it like this, but guess it is so. Doesn't life take interesting turns??

More Blessings

Since there would be just three of us, Joe, my Mom and I had planned on going out for Thanksgiving dinner. For one of the few times in the almost 48 years we have been married, I was not going to have to prepare a big dinner. I also looked forward to having time to watch the Macy's parade on TV. It occurred to me that 1951 was the one and only year my family lived in New York City. I vaguely remember my Dad taking us to the Macy's parade that year. Now I realize it was a more than momentous occasion. I do recall all the bands and seeing the huge overhead balloons, with Santa bringing up the rear. One of my sisters remembers sitting atop my Dad's shoulders to view the parade over the crowd. Even then it drew a huge crowd. There is a wonderful website for this at http://www.macys.com/campaign/parade/parade.jsp.

But I digress, back to the present. As I said, we had every intention of sharing our holiday meal with other slackers at Cracker Barrel. However, our plans changed when I met up with a friend of mine last week. Although I had no intention of soliciting an invitation for Thanksgiving dinner, when I told my friend, Chris, that we were going to Cracker Barrel for dinner, she insisted we join her and Walt for dinner. It was a wonderful meal and even better company for the day. She had prepared a feast with all our favorites. Their other guests, Glen (who is a retired AF pilot) and Beverly (a retired nursing faculty)complemented the wonderful meal with interesting conversation. It was a perfect day and enjoyed by all. Thanks so much for having us, Walt and Chris!

Thanksgiving Blessings

Yesterday morning a young man, we had never seen before, named "David" showed up in our driveway. Out of the blue he asked to borrow $5.00, assuring us he would pay us back next week when he will start a temporary job that he has for the holiday season. Joe told him he wouldn't "loan" him the money, but that if he was willing to work, we would be glad to pay him for it. So, David worked for an hour or so, helping "eat the elephant" that is still in the yard. Joe noticed that there were several blankets in David's car, and David validated Joe's assumption that he was homeless. We didn't go into why this was so, but he talked about how he had graduated from a local high school and had played football all four years. He said that he hopes to be a physical therapist some day. After he had stayed one night in a local motel, he had learned there were no shelters in our area that would take in men, only women and children. When he finished transporting the 40 wheelbarrow loads of wood chips that he had agreed to do, Joe paid him an amount that would at least get him food for a couple of days. As he was leaving he said, "I'm glad I met you today." To which Joe replied, "I'm glad we met too David." David is one of those hundreds of thousands of people in this country today, that are without a means of support despite efforts to obtain work. Yesterday's experience made today seem so much more precious. We have a home that is warm and dry, clothes on our backs, and plenty of food to eat. We have good health and a way to get health care if we need it. We have family and friends who will help us out when we need a hand. God has blessed us in so many ways. Every day, not just today, we must remember to give thanks for those many, many blessings.

A Southern Road Trip with Nancy

Mom and I headed off to Asheville, North Carolina with our friend, "Nancy" Nuvi (my new GPS) late yesterday afternoon. By the time we had gotten through the Friday evening traffic it was supper time, so we stopped at a Cracker Barrel to eat. This took up enough time that the traffic had thinned somewhat by the time we were back on the road. FYI we had made the same trip this time last year to Asheville when we went up to see "Christmas at the Biltmore." We ended up traveling at approximately the same time of the day and arriving in Asheville around 9:30 pm both trips. However, Nancy made this year's trip so much nicer. We did not have to wander about in the dark looking for what road we were on or where our night's resting spot was located. Nancy took us to the front door of our hotel. What a miracle!! When we got up this morning it was 17 degrees farenheit (that was two degrees warmer than Minot, North Dakota this morning)!! My brother, Ray, lives in Asheville, and while he and my Mom had a nice visit, I took some time to "chill." Later in the afternoon, when it was time to head home, we decided to take a different route via Dahlonega, Georgia. The drive through the Smoky Mountains was beautiful, and as I told Mom, a lot different than I remembered from my childhood. For those who knew me as a child (or have heard any of my stories of same), I was the only one in the family who suffered motion sickness from the time I was nine months old (at least that's what Mom says). Most years we would drive to my Mom's family home in Jacksonville, Florida for Christmas. It would usually be a long two day trip from either Chicago, upper New York State or Canada. Of course that meant we had to drive through mountains. And in those days, there were no interstates or multi-lane highways. We would spend hours going up and down, around and over, windy, narrow roads and "hairpin" turns. It was a nightmare for me, as I lay on the floor board of the car (sick as a dog) from the time we left home until we got to "Maamam's." It was probably a nightmare for my three siblings who had to share the back seat with me and my "sickness." I remember in particular a trip we made from Chicago (mind you I was 12 or 13 by this time) and I was sick about five miles from the house as I "lost" the spaghetti we had eaten earlier that evening for dinner. The red of the sauce was bright against about ten inches of new fallen snow (in my mind's eye I recall it to this day). And that was on flat, straight land! Dad couldn't believe we were barely out of the city limits and had two days of driving to go. Fortunately, as I have gotten older, I have very little problems along these lines. Today, except for forty miles, we drove on interstates, and four or five lane highways with wide, wide, turns. There's much to be said for modern living. The Smith House is a well known hotel/restaurant located in the middle of Dahlonega, and we got there just in time to stop for dinner. I have been wanting to have a meal there for a long time, and today was the first time we had been there. The restaurant serves boarding house style with delicious country cooking. We were seated with a nice couple with whom we visited throughout the meal. We started with sweet southern iced tea and the following dishes were placed on our table to share: fried chicken, pot roast, ham, mashed potatoes, milk gravy, sweet potatoes, green beans, fried okra, collard greens, creamed corn (are you getting hungry yet?), black eyed peas, slaw and relish, rolls, corn muffins and biscuits (can you tell we were in the south??). And for dessert - only one choice! strawberry shortcake with vanilla ice cream. We didn't drive home, we rolled!! So, any time you are in the vicinity of Dahlonega, Cleveland (Home of the Cabbage Patch Doll), or Helen, Georgia, you MUST take a meal at the Smith House. We arrived home this evening in time to watch FSU whip up on Maryland. GO NOLES!!

Finding My Way

Joey and Nicki were the first in the family to get a GPS (global positioning device for those of you who are behind the times like I was) the first summer they were in Germany. It was a lifesaver (and still often is) as they travelled around Europe. (Nicki remember our trip over the mountain into Innsbruck?? and, Mary remember the night we got lost in Kaiserslautern and just pushed "home" on Betty and she got us back??) Recently, Joe decided we needed a GPS. So he asked me to research them and purchase one. It has been over a month since my Garmin Nuvi 5000 arrived at the house via E-Bay. Today I used it for the first time. WOW! It is the most fantastic thing. Today I had to take a trip to visit one of my CASA kids that is with a foster family fifty miles away. So, after doing all the things I needed to do to get it going, I headed out. It caught on right away and I was off! I travelled from the interstate to state roads, to two lane country roads, into a distant neighborhood of a labyrinth of houses and streets. Miraculously, we arrived at exactly the address I programmed it to go. Now mind you, I had thought it would be difficult to work the thing, but with the very sensitive touch screen, and options for just about anything, it was a breeze! After I had finished my home visit, I decided to put it to the test. I had to mail a package, so I touched on the icon for "point of interest" and typed in "Post Office" and voila! I was on my way to the most out of the way post office I have been to in years. Well, by then I was feeling pretty confident, and so I decided to touch the fork and spoon icon for "food". Up popped options for every type of food one can imagine, ie. German, Italian, French, Fast, etc, etc, etc. So I touched "Asian" and then typed in the word "Sushi". Several options again popped up on the screen, I touched "I Love Sushi" and "GO." I never in a million years would have found this great little restaurant located in a strip mall about three miles off the interstate. From there I set out for a town another forty miles to the South to do a mystery shop. Again, it got me to exactly where I wanted to go. It was time to get on home, so I touched the house icon that is "home". It asked for the address, I typed it in, and it began with "take a right onto Hwy 54." As I pulled into my driveway it said "You've arrived home." My heartfelt thanks to whoever was smart enough to invent such a fantastic "toy" and for a husband that thought I needed such a wonderful gift. When I got home I was so excited, and he said, "Now I know where Joey gets it from." Joey and Nicki call theirs "Betty", so I am in the process of selecting an appropriate name for ours. I am throwing away the maps and atlases. Give me the technology!!

One Bite At A Time

There hasn't been much exciting going on here the past week. It turned much cooler (at least by Georgia standards) last night, and I think winter is fast approaching. After Joe took his morning 3.5 mile run with Molly (our psuedo Australian Sheep Dog) this morning, he made a couple of trips into town to pick up various and sundry items for the restoration of the now legendary "56 Mercury" collection of cars we have parked (I say parked because they don't really run yet) in our garage. Another thing that is keeping him busy is the redistribution of two huge piles of wood chips that were dumped in our yard a couple of weeks ago (at his bequest I might add). He calls it "eating an elephant one bite at a time." He is keeping a record of how many wheel barrows of chips he is moving about. So far he has moved sixty (that's right 60) wheel barrows of chips from one point to another on our 3.5 acres of land. And you may note in the adjoining photo, that it hasn't made much of a dent in the work to be done. In the past, Kim's kids came over and after taking volumes of photos atop the "pile," they helped "eat that elephant." Now, the kids are getting bigger and are involved in so many other things that fill their time, so Grandpa is just doing it himself, a little at a time.

Old Friends

Whoever originally said, "Old friends are the best friends" was right. Yesterday I had lunch with my friend Bunny. The first time we met was on the day I began college. It was September, 1958. She and I, pretty much the most unlikely of room mates, had been paired up to room together as freshmen at FSU. I didn't know anything about her and she knew even less about me. My Aunt Betty Jean and Uncle James had driven me over to Tallahassee from Jacksonville, where I had arrived via Greyhound bus a few days earlier (at the time my family lived in Hagersville, Ontario, Canado). When we got to the dorm, it was obvious that my new room mate had already checked in and settled into our room, but was nowhere to be found. My aunt has often commented on how bad she felt for leaving me all alone there that day. Later that afternoon Bunny showed up, and from that point we were destined to be friends. I guess, as we mused yesterday, that "opposites do attract," because now after over 50 years, and much distance between us over those 50 years, we are living within fifteen miles of each other. Bunny (or Francis to those who don't know her like I do) and I have always had somewhat opposing interests and personalities. She was always more studious than I, and I managed to nearly fail out of college my freshman year(believe me, it was really BAD, my Dad was ready to make me not return for a second year). Bunny was more serious and goal oriented while I was the party girl (as my grades will validate) - but I did have a great time my freshman year! (Unfortunately it took me the remaining three years to get my GPA to a point that I could later get into graduate school). However, we managed to enjoy rooming together for the first two years we were at FSU. We were forced to part ways when she joined a sorority and moved into the "house," and I went off to Miami to continue my nursing curriculum in the beginning of our junior year. After Joe graduated from FSU in January, 1961, he moved to Miami and lived with Bunny's parents until he began pilot training in April of that year. Bunny was our maid of honor when Joe and I married in 1961. Since that time we have kept in touch. Over the years we have seen each other a few times, but we have always communicated with both Bunny and her parents around Christmas (or after as the case may be). Interestingly enough, several years back, Bunny's daughter, Susan, and her family moved to the area where we now live. When Bunny and her husband, Larry, retired a few years ago, they moved here to be closer to Susan and her family. It has been a while since we've seen each other, but yesterday we met for lunch and had a wonderful time just catching up. We really need to make time to get together more often.

Time is the Best Gift

Last night, Joanna and I went on a "date." Actually it was my birthday present to her. You see, Joanna is totally enamored with High School Musical (HSM) EVERYTHING! I had taken her older siblings to see the stage production of HSM when it was playing here at the Fox Theater a couple of years ago. So, as my birthday present to Joanna, we went out to dinner and saw HSM2 which is premiering here at the Fox. Her parents dropped her off around 5 pm. She was all dressed up with her HSM shoes, HSM hair barrette, and matching outfit. This should have given us plenty of time to drive into town, have dinner, and be at the theater in plenty of time for the show. However I, for some unknown reason, thought the show started at 8 pm like most of the other shows I see there. On the way driving in, Joanna said, "Doesn't the show start at 7 Grammy?" After a quick check of the tickets, I realized, in fact, the show was to start at 7 pm. Having left the house at 5:30, that only gave us a minimal amount of time to show up at the theater on time. On the drive in I prayed that there would not be a wait time at the Old Spaghetti Factory, where we had decided to have dinner(the reason being that Fettucini Alfredo is Joanna's "favorite" meal). Keep in mind, I had been home all day with nothing in particular to do except get ready. There were so many cars there when we arrived at 6 pm I was fearful. However, we were seated immediately. When our server learned we had to be at our show a 7 pm, he assured us we had "plenty of time." Joanna enjoyed her dinner, but commented that it was "not as good as Mommy's". She even selected the spumoni ice cream over the vanilla ice cream for dessert (which she liked by the way). We arrived at the Fox, took a quick photo of Joanna in front of the marquee (for her scrapbook of course), bought a commemorative T-shirt, and were in our seats with five minutes to spare before showtime. The show and music was quite good (for a teeny bopper show) and Joanna liked it all. At the intermission we walked up front to look down into the orchestra pit and up at the twinkling lights (stars) over all the ceiling at the Fox. Joanna was pleased to see that Troy kissed Gabriella at the end of the show. She had wondered about this earlier having seen HS2, the movie, repeatedly. On the way home, we discussed the parts of the show we liked best. Isn't it nice that retirement offers you time to do things like this with your "grands"? I just wish all of 11 of mine lived close enough that I could do things with each and every one of them.

A New Perspective

It is another beautiful Fall day in Georgia. The sky is blue, the trees are a blaze of color and the air is crisp. The election is over and for the first time, the United States will have an African American president. I thought and thought, throughout the day yesterday, about how I feel regarding this turn of events and the promised "change." Will it be good or bad? No one can see into the future. Honestly, I do not care about the color of skin or national origin of the US president. But I do care very strongly about how this country is run. After yesterday's pondering of what has transpired, today has given me a new perspective. This morning while reading the newspaper, there was an entire section on the election and its impact. There were comments from a variety of people with varying opinions. The article that caught my attention was one illustrated with a picture of Juanita Abernathy (widow of Ralph David Abernathy) exuberantly jumping up and down at the news that Obama had won. My childhood years were marked with the separation of blacks and whites. I thought back to the early years of our marriage when we lived in Selma, Alabama during the most turbulent years of the civil rights movement. I remember driving across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in going to work every day. I recall standing at the fence that surrounded Craig AFB (where we lived) and watching the March to Montgomery pass along US Hwy 80. Most of the civil rights leaders were probably there, but I did not recognize any of them. I have no undestanding of what it must have been like for those who marched. But, here we are some 45 years later with a black president-elect, primarily because there were those back then that were willing to stand up for a cause. I am thankful that this country has come to this point even though I don't agree with the politics of it all. This proves to all, without a doubt, that this is the country of opportunity. Anyone has the potential to be whatever he is willing to work for and desires. We are so blessed to live in a country that offers opportunity to each and every one of us. With all our warts, is it any wonder there are so many people from other places in the world trying to get into this country!!

Election Day

It's finally here! I truly don't know how to feel about today. This will for sure be an historic day, whichever way this election goes. In some ways it is with trepidation that I await tonight's outcome. In others, I am just trying to "keep the faith" and trust that God is in charge of it all. With all the accusations and stories that are flying about, it is very difficult to know what the truth really is. I learned a long time ago that the news media in this country is very biased and seems to print that which will hopefully get read. For some reason people in this country seem to somehow enjoy the "bad" that so frequently gets published. I have often wished that some of the things that are so good about this country would make the headlines. The saying "one bad apple.." is so true. We have so many young people like my two oldest granddaughters, Alison (17) and Mary (15+). I proudly watch them live their faith every day, an example that others can see, hear, admire, and respect. But, what do we see in the media about young people? - gangs, crime, drugs, sex, violence, etc., etc. I truly want to believe that the greater majority of our upcoming generation is more like Alison and Mary, but they don't get the media coverage do they? My faith in this upcoming generation was reinforced recently when the Project 7 came to our area. After presentations in local schools built up to a final rally, 6500+ (when 3000 or so had been expected) young people came together in our local Mall parking lot to enjoy music, fellowship, and a new awareness of the Way to hopefully make this world a better place. So, as I move along in my life, I want to focus on the good that I find in the world and upcoming generations. I know that the USA may still falter, at times, along the way, but whatever the outcome of the election today, I have much faith that in the end we will remain a democracy of the people, by the people and for the people. May God Bless America!

Fall is here!

Today is cool, crisp and clear. In other words, a beautiful Fall day in Georgia! We celebrated Joanna's 8th birthday a week ago and Daniels's 15th this past Sunday. I can well remember when I realized that all my children had grown taller than me. Now here I am looking up at my grandchildren! How in the world did I get to this place in my life so quickly!

Joe just left to stand in line to vote. The paper says that he may be waiting from 1-5 hours. The election results may not be what I would desire for this great country of ours, but one of the blessings we have always been cognizant of is the way our government has always had a peaceful transition in power. Whatever the outcome, I will continue to pray for this to be a peaceful transition.

On another note, I have a friend who lost an adult child a little over a year ago. Now her husband is slowly fading away from her. He slipped into a coma yesterday. Today I will go and try to provide physical, emotional, mental, or whatever kind of support that I am able to give. It has been a long road of physical deterioration for this man, who has finally made the decision to just "let go." I have prayed for him for a long time, and now I can only pray for strength and peace for his wife and family to move on through this next transition in their lives. It is time for him to get some much needed rest. When things like this happen, it makes one feel guilty that he or she is so blessed with good health and happiness. Then again, as I've always said (and my kids will vouch for it), "Life is not always fair, is it?" We don't have any guarantee as to how long we have on this earth do we? Today, more than other days, I am made more critically aware of this. Live today like it could be your last!

I am truly blessed in so many ways and need to keep reminding myself of this every day.

A Rainy Day in Georgia

It is finally raining today. It is also cool and a little windy. There has been a drought in this area for many months and we are still way behind in rainfall. So, every time it rains we send up a little prayer of thanks. No matter how BAD the weather may seem, we are always glad to see the rain. Fall is fast approaching, the leaves keep falling on the ground and into the pool, and Joe can't keep up with them.
I will be working this weekend, but on Sunday we are going to celebrate Daniel's 15th birthday here. When I was in Germany with Joey and his family last month, I brought home some breading mix to make "schnitzel." Since Daniel loved Germany when they were there this past summer, I will be making german food. I don't know if the kids will like the german potato salad and red cabbage that has to go with the schnitzel, but it should be authentic. Maybe I can find some real "brochen" at the Whole Foods bakery tomorrow to add to the authenticity. I weakened at Sam's this week, when they handed out samples of an absolutely delicious pumpkin cake. I tried to resist, but in the end acquiesced and bought one on the excuse it can fill in for a birthday cake. Hope everyone likes as much as I did. If not, there's always vanilla ice cream for this gang. Happy Birthday!! Daniel.