Friday, Is it too late to HOPE?

 Picture of the day!:

                            Me and

             

1st..Victor… The Paradise you mentioned is in Massachusetts I hear.  This one is in Pennsylvania, famous for being close to Intercourse. Some Pa towns make out of state folks smile.

BUT for now:

WE all anticipate things. In the past few weeks I have been dizzying or ‘lightheaded’ whatever that means; but I still HOPE to be able to drive the short trip up to Pennsylvania in the near future.

Hope = anticipate, Confident,…. maybe it means DREAM also.

I hoped to get to see Ireland before now, but then I hoped to meet most of the folks in person, that I have conversed with on this internet. I had also hoped to meet Robert and Gina Liakoa who live in Athens.  After reading stuff from friend Victor, I even hoped to get to see him over in the UK.

Even you guys here in the USA, that hope would have been more likely to have come to pass.  Wish and Hope? They are not the same, right?  Because I did not pay attention, the few English lessons I had do not allow this simpleton to truly express himself.

MA says today (as I write) is Senior Citizen’s Day. I feel more senior EVERY DAY.  I have never had time for many aches and pains, I never expected to complain about arthritis like OLD people do, but now I cannot shut up, it seems. I guess I HOPED that would never be me. I tell Sherry (that sweet lady I sleep with most nights) I am getting old, she smiles at me like I am ‘simple’ and says, “HONEY, YOU ARE OLD!”

Well, that MAY BE TRUE, but I still HOPE to hike the Appalachian Trail before I get REAL OLD!  I also HOPE I can IGNOR extended family problems.  I HOPE  I will learn to work on problems I can fix . I am just realizing I cannot FIX problems I CREATE, much less the ones I DO NOT create. (I have found….. learned….  I can’t even fix some of the problems I create trying to fix a problem).

I ‘HOPE’ YOU CAN UNDERSTAND AT LEAST SOME OF THIS MESS.  LOL

Oh well, sometimes I think HOPE is hidden in a DREAM.

.Nite Shipslog

 

PS.  I HOPE you are a happy person and can just laugh at me…… Love from North Carolina…

 

Thursday and Palmer June, sweetie, traveler and fighter,

 Pictures for today..

                                        Mama Jenna feeding Palmer

Daddy Luke  taking care to shade the sweet fighter

 And then Little Palmer her-own-self, beautiful smile.

So, for today:

 Awhile back At Ben’s BD party I asked Grandson Luke, “Where is Palmer and Jenna?”

“Ohio,” was the reply.

I laughed,  Palmer, not even 4 months and has made a few trips, including one to the beach. (Please read to the end where the real reason for this post is located!)

 

It fits with our family, so that is ‘normal.’  Jack Jr. has a trip planned for him and his granddaughter, Ellie.  He will be heading to Florida to see his brother VIA Louisiana leaving Ellie there; then driving to Florida. He will retrace his steps, returning here to NC.

 

As For Sherry & I, we have been sorta locked here for a few months with MY project of the Apartment.  Now that it is finished, we are looking forward to our trip to the Pennsylvania Dutch Country.  Looking forward to seeing our old USMC friends Dal and Marion while there.

Of course also thinking of the Sight and Sound Theatre that we always enjoy.

 

YES!!! And hoping the farmers still have some fresh corn. One year we hit it perfect, corn at 10 cents an ear; we ate corn on the cob daily and it was SUPER and DELICIOUS!

 

The trip?  Yeah, just because we need to travel. Methinks it is just that we need to be on the road. LOL

 

But my friends the real reason for this entry, Great Granddaughter Palmer June. She is so stinking photogenic, BUT this is my favorite picture of Palmer June (Palmy) here:

 

Palmer June will be a fighter, standby!

I see her looking ready to send a left ‘jab’ to someone’s nose followed by a knockout by that waiting right fist. She is saying ‘don’t mess with me!’

 

Methinks this picture was taken by her Grandma Corrine. She sends pics to our Kodak Frame (She gave us the frame)

Nite Shipslog

PS

Palmy is the latest addition to the family. Jenna and Luke have created a sweetheart. She is healthy, God is Good.

 

 

Wednesday…. Just a little more room

 Photo of the day:

 

So for today:

Sorry about that.  I left a subject hanging about the unopened room In a house I built. It really isn’t all that mysterious. 

I learned early in building, Building Inspectors can be your friend, or they can make your life miserable.  Since no one likes to be miserable, I always tried to dot all the i’s and cross the t’s. House plans I used to sell that house had wasted space under a double staircase inside. As the house went up, I kept seeing ‘wasted space’. 30-40sqft useable footage. So I added what I considered a large storage or closet area, with a door from the garage.

The buyer never came by during that phase, so he never saw the door.  Mr inspector did not like the door I used, the one he wanted was a solid core I had a good hollow core already installed.  So I told him no problem I will sheetrock over the entrance and forget the saved space. (replacing the door would have cost about$150 while sealing it was $25. neither effected the selling price or contract)

We removed the  door and carefully reassembled it and put it inside the room. Just for fun I turned on the light and we hung and finished the sheetrock then repainted the wall.

 

There was never a complaint about the house and I had no call-backs during the insured period, however, the buyer had a terrible personality, and I just never mentioned the little room.

I guess we all have wanted just a little more storage area.  One day the house may have it.

I built a couple big homes, but I always preferred the affordable, medium size house. 800 to 1800 sqft.  I liked a 3BR 2 bath design.

We are watching a remodel of one of those homes I sold for around $75,000 (A lady just paid $335,000 for the little house. Non investing hundreds of thousands in remodel)  I noticed they were throwing a door away that I could use in this basement apartment. I went over and offered the head carpenter $50 for it. I mentioned that I had built this house, “You done a D--- good job of it, we can hardly tear it apart!  But take the door it was going to the dump anyway!”

Irony, I paid about $115 for that door years ago, today it sells for $250. I like that kind of gift. Right now the door looks brand new!

Anyway that is the silly story.

 

Nite Shipslog

PS: 

AGAIN THANKS for reading the  Shipslog. Sure do appreciate you folks  who take time to read this stuff.  There will always be a secret or two in life….. Some are great.

 

Tuesday…. Hell? NO!…. No Hell? Hell --!

 Picture of the day!

 

Soooo… for now:

Most of my life has been in or around church. I believed in Heaven and Hell.  WE all wanted to go to heaven of course. Our SS classes had some wonderful, dedicated teachers.  Many used object lessons, flannel boards and chalk boards.

Lately I have heard from a pulpit QUOTE: “It's a pity, I have known people who died and went to hell; but at the funeral I heard the preacher & some family say, ‘he is in Heaven with Jesus now!’ .......THE MAN WAS A SINNER of course he is in HELL!”  END QUOTE

Church wise, Hell and heaven get a lot of attention.

My BIL was at a funeral in Norwood, NC when the preacher said: “This service  is not for Joe (pointing at the casket) Joe is DEAD and in HELL as I speak, this is for you sinners who are here today!

My daddy was a good preacher, loved his church family and the Lord. When asked about a soul’s destination his answer was always something like this: “No one on earth KNOWS a soul’s destination.  Only God knows that,” dad continued, “No one knows how long it takes to be saved. You do not know a person’s mind at death. So there is nothing wrong with a positive assumption; plus YOU will NEVER know the difference if the person did go to hell, because there is no sadness in heaven, but joy of those arriving.

Then Smiling he would say, “NOW, if YOU 'SEE' them in Hell, you will then 'KNOW' for sure. …………. SO……. how factual do you want to be about KNOWING who went to hell?”

I am smiling thinking about my dad’s down to earth thinking. If you have read Victor Mubarak’s writings, you know his fictional character, Father Ignatius. I have told Victor the good Father sounds like my dad who was a Holiness Preacher. Father Ignatius comes across as a loving down-to-earth man.  Probably like the old man Victor, who is probably fictional himself, I ain’t saying. LOL

 

Nite Shipslog

 

PS: Imma hoping you see me in heaven, if not, you won't worry about it.   Winston Churchill said:  If you are going thru HELL, KEEP GOING!   Love from North Carolina…

Monday Monday

 

Photo of the day:

 

I do not expect anyone to listen to the whole video, but you will get the idea....

So for today:

The Mamas and the Papas sang, “Monday, Monday” I do like the song.  Sherry loved Mama Cass’s singing.

 

 I have enjoyed most jobs (occupations) I have had over the years, including the miliary (except Parris Island, of course). Only one time I dreaded to see Monday come, and it was not the job, it was a Micro-Manager Boss!  Other wise Mondays have been good.

Once I started building houses, I looked forward to  Mondays and hated to see Fridays and Saturday’s end. I have always sorta been a workaholic but seeing a house grow out of the ground was always a thrill.

The above house Sherry really liked, 2 BR on one end and the master BR on the other. Separated by the kitchen and living room. A nice young couple bought it.

The associated problems were a satisfying challenge. Materials, weather, deadlines, etc. Those at times gave a challenge.  I never had a problem with labor, if someone did not show up, I did the work. Many contractors never drove a nail, I could not pass that up, Every home I built had my personal labor in it.

A fellow contractor asked me once, “Who cleans your homes when they are finished?”

“ I clean them, that is one way of discovering a problem or mistake. I have eliminated MANY ‘buyer call backs’ by cleaning them myself. Simple things are discovered, poss leaks, squeaks, sticking doors, flooring mistakes, etc.”

Not sure the suggested action was ever followed, but I always took pleasure in the cleaning job.

I left a mystery in the above house. The buyer was not a nice guy. There is a secret small room here. I omitted telling the buyer about. My plans were to tell him,  but after I got to know him better I forgot it. The entrance to it is drywalled over and painted. The new door is inside and ready to hang, the light is on (probably burned out by now). That was many years ago, the last I checked the room is still sealed.  (When the garage door is open and I drive by I can tell the room is not disturbed!)  When  I learn of a new owner, and I am still alive, I will volunteer to open the room for them.  LOL

But this is just a blog about me and Mondays. MOST of my life I have enjoyed Mondays.

Nite Shipslog

PS: 

AGAIN THANKS for reading the  Shipslog. Sure do appreciate you folks  who take time to read this stuff. 

No Monday on your job is worse than lying in a hospital or emergency room! I love the bright side….

Sunday, Church time….

 Picture of the day!

 

My last picture for friends, Bobby and Violet Franklin. She had a senior Citizens ministry for years, we did this one at that 'Old Folks Home'.(House by the Side of the Road by Sam Walter Foss.) (I think this was on Velvet, not great.)

Soooo… for now:

Growing up I remember thinking I should get a free pass into heaven because I spent so much time in church. My daddy believed in revivals. Most were one weeklong; the visiting evangelist stayed at our home. Most early parsonages were two bedroom so Shirley and I gave up our room for the evangelist and we slept on the floor and the couch.

I cannot remember ever complaining, it was normal.

Dad thought every church should grow, he went into neighborhoods door to door, asking those who did not attend church to visit ours. When adults declined, he asked if he could pick up the kids on Sunday morning and return them after church. It worked, we always had a church full of kids.

Dad in Belmont church, Sunday Morning Radio program, there were corner choir lofts one in both corners behind him. The only church I had ever knew like that.

I heard my dad tell a young pastor once, ‘REMEMBER, if you have 10-12 kids, keep them and keep them interested, in 10 years you will have a church. If you do this monthly, you will see growth and never worry about attendance.’

About those revivals, some weeks long. I was there every night unless I could convince mama I was having a ‘heart attack.’ LOL  My buddies did not have to attend every night, and I was jealous.

Once Dad scheduled a week with J.R. Campbell, YEA! A CHALK ARTIST.  His sermons hit the spot, they were about 20-25 mins, ending as a great message and a beautiful picture, I was hooked! He became my mentor. He personally advised me over the years. He retired and I lost track.

My rendition of 'The Haven of Rest'. This one drawn under the awning at an RV park. 

Sherry and I stopped at a random yard sale once. The seller asked, “You are Jack?... Right?” I said yes sir. He introduced himself; I remembered him from years back. He was Bro Campbells oldest son.

Well, if you will drop by our house (gave me the address), “Before he died, Dad said to give you all his equipment.”

I was astonished and embarrassed that I was remembered.  Sherry and I have entertained and taught kids from Cuba to Canada. Even a week in NYC..... A big job was the lights, Sherry handled the lights.

The most impressive pictures were 2 in one. The shocker was when Sherry lowered all lights and turned on the black light and the second picture or highlights jumped out

Nite Shipslog

 PS: Sorry about the length, I will try shorting them.  Love from North Carolina…

 

Saturday Traveling as a Child

 Picture of the day!

The first trips I remember were in a 1941 Chevrolet.

Soooo… for now:

I was born in Gastonia NC in 1939. WE moved to Shelby when I was in diapers. My dad being a pastor the family became separated. My brothers, Odis and Jr married and remained in Shelby, NC when dad left that pastorate.

Kat left the family in High Shoals, but married Dick, who was from Shelby.  So in all the moves later we made many trips back to Shelby for us to see family and especially as the Grandkids started coming.

100 mile car trips are tough on kids, but mama knew how to keep our interests. She made up games, one was ‘Counting Cows’... Shirley would count cows on the left side as we rode and I had the other side. When we passed a graveyard on our respected side and IF the other one saw it, we could call out, ”Bury your Cows”. When that happened, the one burying their cows had to start from zero again.

Wrecks were common and many times dad stopped to help if he could. Once, a big Black man walked around the wreck holding his limp son in his arms saying over and over, “I was just trying to get my family home!”  Dad used that to his congregation many times, “I am just trying to get our family HOME!”

Once the road was blocked by a truck hauling a WWII Airplane body, wedged under an overpass. As everyone gathered to see the sight, all cars were stopped. Driver and others wondering what to do, the truck would not move!  Dad said a Farmer wearing old-patched overalls eased up to the driver and said, “Let the air out of the tires and back up!”  It worked!

 This video is crazy and is not MY bridge. LOL

Wisdom comes from age and common sense at times. Yes, I have good and bad memories from my travels, and they started early in life. One thing I have told here, the first moving trip I remember was to High Shoals. When I let my cat Tom out of the old trailer, he jumped out and took off. .......The next time I saw Tom months later; he was back at the parsonage in Shelby. He must have hitchhiked back. LOL

 Nite Shipslog

 

PS: Thanks for stopping by the shipslog,  I do enjoy comments, thanks

 

Friday..Make a will, in case you die!

 Photo of the day: 

So for today:

As long as I live I will never forget the story my dad related about a visit to a local attorney.  He was encouraged as a pastor, by church officials, to have a will on record.  So, dad made an appointment here in Belmont and entered the attorney’s office.

After introductions my dad said, “I need to make a will in case I die!”

“Reverand, it is good to see you and I am honored you decided to come to my office. But sir, your statement is a little off, It is not IN CASE YOU DIE, BUT WHEN YOU DIE!”

(I love the old Ford in the picture and wonder whose it was!)

Grandma Darnell with her cow and chickens on the Art-Cloth Mill Hill in Lowell, NC.  I watched as a 5 yr old when she took her last breath; her family around her bed. She died with no will. Her 12-13 children AGREED everything she had would go to taking care of Ralph, the son whose mental condition needed the care.  Ralph was a great guy, his brain never made it to it's teens but he lived to be 35.

Dad always said that one sentence rung in his head for years. I is NOT in case I die, but WHEN I die. WE all know if God decides to end this world as we know it, things will change.  BUT until that time we must live, and do what is smart for us and our families.

We know a young man who was in the process of a nasty divorce. I do not know the inside of it, but I do know he died in a car accident and had never changed his will.  His estranged wife inherited everything, but his family and friends KNEW he did not mean for that to happen. OF course he did not foresee that accident, NO ONE DOES!

 

Nite Shipslog

PS: 

AGAIN THANKS for reading the  Shipslog. Sure do appreciate you folks  who take time to read this stuff.  And remember, if you have a problem, things will work out!

 

Special Attractions on Thursday

 Picture of the day!

                                                                    Pearl Harbor, Hawaii 

First, Dr. Aide Talamantez is well and the practice has grown from what I read. And YES Sub-sailors are tested in depth and it is also a completely volunteer Service. NO ONE is ordered to be a submariner.

Soooo… for now:

Sherry lived at 3 or 4 addresses in Belmont mostly due to her dad changing jobs. I lived in 6 different towns before Belmont, because my dad was a preaacher. Our family & friends know  Sherry and I travel a lot. WE've lived many places since we became a couple.  

We first moved to Jacksonville, NC, followed by: Biloxi, MS. Kirksville, MO, Moberly, MO, Rutherfordton, NC, Gastonia New Hope area, NC, Norfolk, VA, Washington, DC,(Arlington), Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Albany, GA, Key West, FL, Charlotte, NC, Arlington, VA, Mt Holly, NC, Then ending the circle back to Belmont, NC.

I ceased General Contracting when Sherry retired, we turned our home over to a rental agency and went on the road in an RV for over 20 years.  Now we are back in Sherry’s hometown, Belmont, NC.  I never had a hometown, so I have adopted Belmont as mine.

WE have been fortunate to visit 20+ countries, all 50 states. It is impossible for me to say which state we have enjoyed the most, EVERY state and country has beautiful sites and people.

I have never been disappointed in sites we have visited. The most shocked I remember, is the Grand Canyon. I was not enthused about the trip. It is not Mt. Rushmore or Honolulu. How impressive can a big hole in the ground be?? WOW! when I looked down to see the Colorado River as a small ribbon and realized I was looking DOWN on the peak of a mile high mountain; YEP  I was surprised and IMPRESSED!!

After all, the highest MT in NC is a mile. And here I am looking down into a canyon big enough to house  a mt over a mile high!

Do you have a memory from a special place you visited?

Nite Shipslog

 

PS Thanks for stopping by the shipslog,  I do enjoy comments, thanks….  I am very glad you choose to read this mess.