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!