Monday… At times I do not know what to say!

 Picture of the day:

Today’s stuff:

I saw some nice used cars the other day. Price in large letters, ONLY $25,000! I have a problem, 1956, when I got my license, a NEW Ford/Chevy was $1600. Shucks the Caddy was $3100. Back then I heard the Rolls sold for about L5000 or about $20,000.

(The Rolls sells new today starting at about $350,000)

Out of my understanding! Those used cars I saw sell for more than a Brand New Rolls Royce in 1955! What happened to our economy? I guess Victor would say what happened to the euro?

Hearing that gas prices are on the rise, we filled the coach. It is full now and ready to start to NC in a few weeks. Our round trip to NC in this gas coach is 166 gallons.

We were paying about $380 round trip but now at present price of $3.45 per gallon, it will be about $520. WE can fly round trip cheaper. OUCH! Of course that flight trip cost will double too.

I hear this upward cost is only temporary, I sure hope so, because if gas goes to $4-$5 a gallon our traveling will sure be cut down LOL.

                        (I just hate to cry in public!)

I know, I know, Sherry too says I am now OLD and should not be on the road. But before I disappear I want you to know my little brain

 thinks I am as ‘cool’ as I was 70 yrs ago. Uh

 OH! AFTER I wrote that, looking back, READING IT, mmm...mmm, maybe, just maybe I could be hallucinating. I will think-on that; I hope I will be back tomorrow. ;-)

Nite Shipslog

PS: Life is good, brains may not be all they are cracked up to be, it is said some folks do not use ½ their brain capacity. It is hinted that I DO NOT USE

 mine at all. But I am trying. When I say ‘I am

 TRYING!’ Sherry says, “YOU SURE ARE!”

Sunday… Don’t tell me what I can say!

 Picture of the day:

An old General Store in Eastanollee Georgia from the time of my grandpa's store.  THANKS to Lisa up in Michigan. I will research some more I would love to have a picture back when mama was a kid.

Today’s stuff:

I order a lot of stuff like many people today. I never cease to think of how things turn around. As a kid my mama ordered from Sears & Roebuck catalog. Even her baby chicks came in the mail in a box with holes in the sides. I loved that.

And for many many years very few folks ordered, NOW? Wow, Amazon has out stripped Walmart. Who woulda thunk it?

Anyway as you all know once you order and it is delivered, immediately you get the auto email, “How did you like the product?” Most of the time before you have had time to even use it.

I have tried to respond, and a few times I might give them 5-star and say a few words. Once or twice I used 3-5 words, I.e. “I enjoyed the product!”

I immediately received the notation, ‘not enough words!’ What? Don’t tell me how to comment. You asked, I responded, you should be happy about anything good that is said!

Anyway, I told them I would not respond again. I know they don’t care but I definitely won’t feel bad bout NOT making a comment.

Take care out there I just wanted to VENT, Thanks.

Nite Shipslog

PS: WE are settled in Eustis again. Nice place. Mark will be over and we will attend church here in the park. Our pastor here has a dog on the stage with him. He is very wise man, an in depth sermon, very well delivered and less than 30 mins.. Singers from different states most use guitars. Good sounds...

I just  found a picture of some muddy girls. Left is Sherece, Right is her mother Corrinne.  Some competition they were in.  Running obstacle course water and mud involved.

Saturday, March 7 Just moving our home a few miles.

 Picture of the day:

The color did not come out well. Many of you know that bird head has a bright red cap. No show here.

For today:

I have enjoyed this short stay near Orlando. Too much traffic in this area to suit my sweetheart and me. But I did enjoy the Sand-hill Cranes and their crazy loud sounds. Also, I tried to get some pictures of a couple with two skinny chicks but I wasn't very successful.

I was feeling sorry for you girls the other day as I was wiping my hands on my work trousers. Girls can’t do that. Sherry said Boys are not supposed to do it either. BUT where else are we supposed to wipe ‘em? WE don’t keep a box of Kleenex with us??

We boys (NOT WEE boys) are just lucky I guess, our pants can handle it.

Works on shirts too!

Unique things:

Sherry and I watched a coach pull in, to park. A lady got out, went around and disconnected the jeep she was towing. Then moved the Jeep into a parking spot. She proceeded to back the big coach into the site perfectly and do all the hookups (Power, water and Sewer). She leveled the coach, opened the awing and went in. A few minutes later she was out under the awning, drinking a cup of coffee and reading a book. Tough lady, I want you to know, that was a job. I just about bet she wiped her hands on her pants!  LOL

She just went inside, that is her coach straight ahead of us.

Sherry said, "I wouldn’t do that. IF you were not here I would be in a house watching TV."  She could do it of course, but prefers not to wipe her hands on her pants.

Another view from our front window:

A standard view, Sherry on the phone with Jack Jr.  They do Trivia every day, some days it is a 3way call including Mark.  They love the old games.

Y’all have a great day we should be moved by now. ;-)

Nite Shipslog

PS: Life is good even if I do break the rule and wipe my hands on my pants, that’s why they go to the trouble to make ‘Spray ‘n Wash’. ;-)

Friday...Things that were...

 Picture of the day:

Things were different. This is the only thing I know of that still exists about my Grandpa Lloyds store in Eastanollee, Georgia. It is what is left of a calendar. I never saw the store but my mama worked there as a child (1909-1915)

Today’s stuff:

The surroundings of RV parks and campgrounds has changed since the arrival of COVID. WE are seeing many more children where we once only saw old folks until Summer. Example, A couple just parked across the road, they have three children, a puppy and a cat.

They are home schooled and the parents work from ‘Home’; for them, home is where you park it.

I had to smile when the oldest child asked Sherry if we had any kids? LOL The mother was there, I laughed, looking at her saying, “Yes we do but they are on Social Security.”

Electric bikes, scooters and 4 wheelers are the thing. Yes even life on the road has changed very much.

That is my sweet Sherry in her sister Collette's arms. Cute wasn't she?

I don’t guess it is sad, it is really history repeating itself IN CHANGE. i.e. Dad would say, when I wanted

 a car, “When I was a boy and wanted to go

 somewhere, I walked or rode a mule bare back. Things

 have sure changed!” And of course they had.

WE catch ourselves saying things like, “At one time we could understand the words of a song when Elvis, Sedaka, and Ray Charles sang !”

Speaking of those and hundreds more, we are reminded no matter who you are, how rich you become or famous you are; unless you are a president, inventor, or great philosopher you will be forgotten.

Our boys and cousin Steve  (nothing stays the same!)

A generation or two down the road someone may remember a grandpa or grandma named ....mmmmm ? And they will be saying, “Hey we used to do things much different than these crazy kids today!”

I hope in a few years (if time goes on and I am alive) I can still move and think well enough to tell the great grands how much fun it was to be alive in the 1940-1970 era of music and TV! (Part of the Silent Generation)

Many of my elders thought the 'Rock and Roll' teens in my time were headed to hell in a hand basket. Some folks think that today, but when I see our fantastic Grand kids, and I know you have some too; I know the country will be in pretty good hands…

Nite Shipslog

PS: Oh yes RV parks have changed, as I type this, it is about 8:30PM and I hear noise, children cutting up. We used to hear only bugs or night noises after 6PM, LOL…….Don’t leave, I’m even gonna try to do better;-)

Thursday Luke Vegas, one more thing that tickles my fancy #8

 Picture of the day:

Luke above as the 'KID' below as the Graduate with his Grandma
                        

Now for today’s stuff:

We thought Mr. Luke was going to be the dedicated bachelor. Then he met THAT lady. JENNA!. But first he was a cute kid, a tow head who was always ‘sweet’ around us. Brothers and sister mom and dad may have different insights. LOL

Above is SHORT Luke the comedian no legs!

He was good in school and very good on the little league baseball field.

My pride in him was his frugality. He WORKED, saved his money and by the time he was around 20 he had saved $16000. He located a house in Paw Creek, NC owned by a Hell’s Angels Chapter. He bought the house. With the help of his dad and William (one of our go-to workers, he calls Sherry mama) the house was transformed. He was our youngest and the first to own his home outright. You gotta be proud of that. (Mark was in Florida part of the time and he said Luke would pay for his gas to come up and work some.)

Luke and Jenna now have Palmer June, a beautiful daughter and that young man is a chest busting daddy.

He has become a leading plumber at the Charlotte International Air Port and doing great.

Palmer (Palmy, PJ) is already a traveler. She has flown several trips to Ohio (Jenna’s mother lives there), She has visited her grandpa and the other great grand parents here in Florida. Trips to the beach and a cruise or two and not a year old yet. This child is very sweet and cuddly.

Palmy dropped by to see us not long after she was born. Grandma now has girls around.

Nite Shipslog

PS: These GRANDS are THE BEST things, yes they tickle my heart strings! I hope you enjoyed the Grand Tour, this was of course more interest to the family, a tribute from our time here on this planet.

Wednesday Ben Came back.. Things that tickle your fancy 7

 Picture of the day:

Oh yes, Ben let that beard GROW!

Now for today’s stuff:

Ben was doing great in the building industry in Utah; he and Corey worked closely for a few years. Corey moved to Oregon and started driving a truck.

Back in the height of my building I wanted Ben out here. He finally came out and settled down, but by that time I had retired. He has never owned his own place. He rented or lived in with his mother in Utah, but now, thanks to his dad he is buying his own place. I think he has it mostly paid off.

While in Utah Ben and Ashley created a beautiful daughter, they named her Elsie Mae. Like her grandmother Carol, Elsie has red hair.

She is a sweetheart of course and Ben loves her to pieces. Ashley left Utah and moved to Louisiana. Now 'Elle' travels there to visit. Elsie is now 18 years old, Out here she and her Grandpa Jack are near inseparable.

(I like this picture of Ben, WE are still delighted to have him out in our corner of the world.)

Ben is on his third job since being out here. This is a ‘stair building company’ owned by a cousin of Sherece (Sherece’s mother’s side of the family).

His other jobs paid very well, but at times driving 40-50 miles to a job. I think he will be satisfied and do well at this job. It is close by.  WE and his dad are very proud of his work ethic.

Oh yeah, one more of Ben and Sherece helping Grandma in the kitchen...

 I am gonna let Ben go now.  I have one more Grand.  I will talk about him tomorrow. He is the youngest, Luke Vegas.

Nite Shipslog

PS: These GRANDS are THE BEST things, yes they tickle my heart strings!

Tuesday... Ben Came along... Things that tickle your fancy 6

 Picture of the day:

                    SOME OF HIS FIRST STEPS
??  Yes the twins are very close still, They appear  as "The Darnell Brothers" for singing music gigs most weeks.  All our Grands are with in 25 mi of each other. in North Carolina.

Now for today’s stuff:

Corey came into our lives and not too much longer along came Benjamin Aaron. Ben was born to Carol & Jack Jr. at Walter Reed Hospital Bethesda, Maryland. He was born co-patients with presidents, ;-) so you know that dude is important. His mother was stationed at the Pentagon.

Before Ben came home, Corey and I went to McDonalds. He could not decide what he wanted so we just order everything on the menu (There was not a lot on the menu back then). So he got a kick out of the order. We just took home what we didn’t eat. He never forgot that.

Carol brought Ben home, WOW what a fine boy. I knew he would walk in my shoes a little when I saw this:

(I would have held him tighter had I known he would disappear in a few weeks.

I took him to work with me. I sat him in my pickup with all the necessities, including diapers, for the day and took off. Days were a pleasure with him. Like all the grands after him, he was the perfect child. Never a ‘fusser’, always pleasant.

There was a sad period of 2-3 years. In a well planned act, just after Jack Jr left their apartment for work; a moving van pulled up. Carol took furniture, Ben and Corey and departed for parts unknown. We did not HEAR from them for over a year, then did not see them for a couple years. Those times may not be exact, but it was a few years. Every day of that time I talked to Ben and Corey on my tape recorder.

Keeping the tapes, hoping I would see him soon. Later in life Benjamin (12) and I drove the RV from NC to Utah. He listened to the tapes as we traveled. He would say over and over, “I can’t believe you thought you would never see me again?” But after a few years of no contact you begin to wonder. Once, maybe twice after a year we got a letter post marked from different states. Saying Ben and Corey were doing fine.

Now for all the animosity between Carol and our family, I must say Joan and Dick ( the Grandparents in Utah) gave Corey some great basics in manners, etc. Carol did the same with Corey and Ben. But the mysterious departure and no contact was heart breaking.

This is the boys when we got to see them after 3 long years without them.

That was over and when Ben was about 6 Carol allowed Ben and Corey to fly out every summer for extended visits. WONDERFUL TIMES…

This is gonna take two Blog entries, Ben had four lives, 2 in NC and 2 in Utah. Stay turned for his latest life...

Nite Shipslog

PS: These GRANDS are THE BEST things, yes they tickle my heart strings!

Monday Twins (the rest of the story) Things that tickle your fancy 5

Picture of the day:

Josh, Megan, Rosie and Ollie (yep  are missing teeth!)

Now for today’s stuff:

I have found it hard to talk of our twins without including them both. You met the older guy, Stephen, now the other half of the story, This is Joshua Adam. You can tell he is not at old as his brother. ;-).

I wish me 'n Sherry could do that!

I would say this is Lake Louise (Canada) in the background but I just might be wrong

Both boys were very good in school. They were also talented actors and were in several high school plays.

Their talent for singing and song writing was becoming high profile in their late teens. Stephen who chose the guitar while Josh leaned toward the piano. Both very proficient.

They chose different life paths, Stephen into Business (Music) , Josh into the technical stuff, writing apps, business controls, and stuff that I can only dream of like into machine language. I kid a lot saying Joshua is smarter than the computers I repaired and operated.

Take note of his hair:

The story I got is: He had not planned to ever cut it, but as a courier he made a delivery to an outfit that created wigs for those who lose their hair in ways like Chemo Therapy, etc. Someone there said 'we would love to have that hair,' so he gave it to them. ;-O

I cannot go deep into all the grands lives, but they are well rounded. Josh met and married a sweet lady, Megan. She is a nurse. They have created a wonderful family. Oliver Jack and Rose Mary.

Now, Josh works in HIGH technology. He is a great musician and he and Megan love to travel. I envied the trip they took to Ireland. BUT on top of that, the dude has run in marathons, can you imagine running 26 miles? He has completed several. Friend you don’t have to win one of those races. Just completing it is more that millions of runners can do.

I am close to my word limit. With GRANDS (yours and mine) it is hard for us to come to make an end to a story. Just saying having twins in the family is fun.

Nite Shipslog

PS: These GRANDS are THE BEST things, yes they tickle my heart strings!