Air Force

Our twenty year old grandson left yesterday. His parents took him to the recruiters office and then to the military check-in at a hotel near the airport. He took his official oath at 5AM today and is now an official member of the US Air Force. He is on his way to San Antonio and basic training.

Stay safe John.

Snow

It snowed. It snowed a lot. The blizzard that blew through our part of the world left us over three feet of snow with drifts piling up deeper than that. The storm effectively brought our town to a close. Churches, schools, stores and even the federal government have ground to a halt. It is beautiful looking out. The plows have been working hard and it now possible to get out of the neighborhood, but it is a pretty rough ride. We are grateful to be home. Being snowbound at home is far better than being snowbound in a small motel in Tennessee. We are also very grateful for our family who came and dug us out yesterday. The sun is shining today, but another storm is predicted for tomorrow.

Digging out


Our snow shoveling crew

My Grandparents

I loved my grandparents. Staying with them in their Texas home was one of the highlights of my childhood. My grandfather was a preacher of the gospel. He was not a very well educated man, but he did know his Bible. We made a game of reading a verse from anywhere in scripture and seeing if he could quote the verse following. He always won. The man had the entire book memorized. I thought he was one of the smartest men in the world. When he was a young preacher he traveled all over Texas holding revival meetings. Families would travel long distances by buggy to hear him preach. My grandmother adored him. She was the perfect preacher's wife. They were married in 1904 and raised five children. They had a long and happy marriage.

I was excited when my cousin gave me the photo album from their fiftieth wedding anniversary. Along with the old pictures the album contains many cards and letters from well wishers. They were all addressed to Brother Fowler and wife. (All grown-ups in the church of my childhood were referred to as Brother or Sister.) When I found the letter my grandfather wrote to my grandmother on the occasion of their golden wedding anniversary I was eager to see what he had said. It seems like a strange and sad love letter to me. I have copied his handwritten letter. How do you feel about this love letter?

“To My Beloved and Faithful Wife
50 years ago today

At first that my seem a long time, but yet the years have passed so swiftly it seems but a little while. Many have been your trials and great have been the disappointments of your life. I wish it were otherwise, but I can not go back to the yesterdays of our life and correct them. The best I know that is left for for me to do is, “I pray that you may have the grace to forgive all the many mistakes I have made.”

The days of our life have been busy days, filled with toil and troubles, yet I am glad to have had you as my companion in it all. I know you have done your part well and faithfully.

The days of our “tomorrow,” at best, can not be many and they will soon be spent. Until the silver cord is broken (loosed) let us try to be cheerful and helpful to each other. May our last days be our best days together. We have climbed the hill of life to the point from which we are able to see far back over the valley of the past where lies the regrets of many things that tend to grieve us, but forgetting these things let us look ahead to the better things further up the way that leads to him who is our life and our our hope. We do not now see him in his fullness but soon he will appear and then we shall see him as he is and then our vile and wrinkled bodies shall be changed and we shall be made like unto the glorious Lord who all along life's way has been watching and waiting for our coming.

It is my hope that the sum of our lives together may be a heritage to our beloved children for whose lives we have a great responsibility.

May we be able to remember all the virtues in the lives of each other and forgive and forget all the vices of whatever nature they may have been.

I know not what you would appreciate most that I might give you on this memorial day, therefore accept this and with it get for yourself whatever will please you most.

God bless you forever and ever.
Your hubby”

Winter Road Trip

I'm looking out the window at another school-closing snow. I'm very grateful to be looking at this snow from the windows of home. Maryland is better prepared to handle snow than Tennessee where it almost never snows. After two days the interstate and main roads there were cleared, but the side streets were never plowed. People in Tennessee don't own snow shovels and we never saw a cleared driveway. It seems they just wait for the snow to melt.

Our winter road trip through the deep south was a wonderful experience. Each day was different from the day before, full of different sights and emotions. It will take me a while to sort out the stories from this trip.


The best part of our journey was visiting friends and family that we seldom see. People are what make life's journey so interesting. After spending two night's snowbound in a lovely Hampton Inn we finally ventured out and made it to the home of our good friends, Guy and Joanne. We have been friends for forty-five years. When we saw one another the years fell away and we talked non-stop until sleep overtook us. It was so good to see them. We had to intended to see several other friends in Nashville, but the storm made that impossible. Maybe next time.


Our most unusual visit was with my first cousin, Dot. Last time I saw her she was an infant and I was a young teen. She grew up in Alabama. I grew up in California. We had very different childhoods and have led very different lives. Although she has memories of my mom, she has no memories of me. We had completely lost touch until last year when through the wonders of a facebook we found each other and began to get acquainted. We met at a restaurant in Birmingham where we talked until the place closed and they made us leave. It was so much to fun to learn family stories that I had never heard. She gave me a wonderful gift, a photo album from my grandparents golden anniversary party. It contains pictures of me, age sixteen, in charge of the guest book on that occasion. The cards and letters it contains are definitely from another time. I will have to share them in another post. The letter from my grandfather to my grandmother seemed sad and strange to me.

When was the last time you visited with old friends or long-lost relatives?

Snowbound

We had planned to spend tonight with good friends in Nashville,TN. Instead we are staying in a roadside motel about forty miles south of Nashville. The ride up I-65 was uneventful for most of the day,but then we hit a big winter storm. Trucks and cars littered the roadside testifying to the ice and snow. Driving was getting pretty scary. We have not seen a snow plow. No salt has been spread on the road. The wisest thing seemed to find a safe place to wait until the storm has passed. So we are warm and dry, looking forward to a quiet peaceful evening.

Two days ago we enjoyed walking along the white sandy beaches of Florida's panhandle. The sun was shining and we were enjoyed temperatures in the mid-sixties. These are some of the prettiest beaches I have ever seen. Several people referred to this pretty place as the Redneck Riviera.

New Orleans

We have enjoyed our time in New Orleans. Jackson Square was as beautiful as I had expected it would be.


The beignets at Cafe' Du Monde were as messy and yummy as they looked.


The French Quarter was fascinating with all it's unusual shops, bars and restaurants. We walked down Bourbon Street about five in the evening, before the nighttime crowd arrived. Even during the day Bourbon Street made my eyes pop out and my jaw drop open.

This morning we took a city tour. We drove through the ninth ward where the greatest damage was done after hurricane Katrina. The damage done is still overwhelming.Then we rode through the Garden District where the rich and some of the famous live. There was a crowd in front of Manning house. A couple of famous football players grew up there.

So far this road trip has been all we wanted it to be. Tomorrow we head towards Panama City.

Michaela

In a small house about 20 miles from a small town in northern Louisiana is a young girl who calls me Gramma. We have spent a wonderful week-end together. We have played Wii games (I lost everything I played), but I am the champion of our Parcheesi tournament. We drove an hour to the mall where we shopped, built a bear, watched a movie and rode the carousel. We went to church together. Worshiping together with a grandchild is a special blessing. We created some wonderful memories.