Friday..the last about the pool

 Picture of the day.

This was the house I built for us after the Pool house. It is a duplex deeded as condos. You are looking at Sister Kat and her hubby Dick's side. garage on the left was theirs.

Above was our side, it was to be our LAST house (HAHA!)

Now for today’s stuff:

The buyer confided to me that he was buying our home because he had sold one of his textile mills to his son a few years ago. The house he lives in was part of the deal but his son had agreed they could live in the house until death. Dad lived too long and son wants him to buy the house for $35000.

He said, I built it in 1953 for $500. No way am I paying the for a house I built and raised him in.

Looking thru the home he wanted to know how long the ceiling fans stayed on. I told he the ones over the pool have never been turned off, they run 24/7. They keep air moving in the pool area and the windows don’t fog up.

He murmured ‘I can’t have that.’

Several other things bothered him. Mainly the pool heater/pump came on 2hrs every morning and evening. Keeping the pool on that routine costs about $20 a month and keeps the water at 91 degrees.

He wanted to buy the home. We set a date.

WE had moved out. One day my BIL Dick was cleaning the glass doors around the pool for us and the Buyer drove up. The buyer asked, “Who and what are you doing?”

Dick explained he was a retired minister, he was just helping get the house ready for him.

Buyer looked at Dick, “Do you believe in healing?”

“Of course I believe, and it is real!”

"I mean heart healing? I am having a problem with my son, I need peace. I need help.”

Dick said, “Would you like to pray now?”

“YES!”

Dick said they knelt beside the pool and sincerely talked to The Lord. Dick said that Mr. Saunders was able to smile. Hugged Dick and thanked him deeply.

I was so thankful to hear that. It made me feel good about the sale.

Nite Shipslog

PS: WE never know the load others are carrying. This was a very wealthy man. Able to pay cash for a nice home, yet had a heavy heart. That brought to my memory what the richest man in the world just said a few days ago, ‘Money cannot buy happiness.

Thursday... Selling the home we loved, but we also love to travel.

 Picture of the day:

       Above is Ben & me in the pool,  Below is the twins

Answers: I do miss it a little, especially in the winter. ha!  The cost and care of an indoor pool is probably less than 5% of an outdoor pool. It only took Muratic Acid at times and it added it's own chlorine.  Chemical costs less than $5 a month.

AI pic:  Yeah some noticed no white out, and typewriter is facing the wrong direction. LOL  THANKS y'all!

Now for today:

Sherry and I were enjoying our life, and then it came time she could retire. I was in the process of becoming rich (LOL). I had a subdivision in the works, the land was paid off, I had spent a year's salary for surveying and laying off lots. Every step I took, the city had ‘one more’ requirement. After about 5 of those ‘one more things’. Sherry said, “Forget it Jack. Let’s go on the road and travel like we planned.

WE can't leave this house for months at a time. Too many tragedies possible with an unguarded pool. Let’s sell the house, you build us another and we can travel without that added worry. So we put the house up for sale, I started the duplex (condos) for us and my sister & BIL Dick, on a nice piece of land I had held on to.

That was our RV home on site, so we lived in front of the duplex.

A self made multimillionaire, owner of a couple Textile Mills bought the house on South Main St. WE stored our furniture and moved into our RV at the building site of the condos; living right at the job, nice ;-)

Some stories about this move, a sickening one, but some neat ones.

Sick one today: I contacted a mover, he had a full-page ad in the yellow pages, several phone #s. Told him we were moving and needed to store our furniture until the new home was ready.

WE paid for the move and storage in advance, it was 2 months before we were ready to move in. Then I called the the mover, message: phone was disconnected, all 4 phone #’s disconnected.

LONG story short: Furniture was stolen some of it sold, some recovered about 40-50 miles away in a deserted warehouse. WE got over it, except for the missing octagon shaped end tables Sherry had been so proud of. She still mentions missing them. :-(

Better stories:

Above is Ben & Sherece helping in my office, the pool is right thru that window where Ben is, I loved the view from my desk. ;-)

More on the sale tomorrow, some funny, some curious, and one very spiritually uplifting.

Nite Shipslog

PS: Florida is remembering it has a sun! ;-)

PS2 victor only:

Yeah Victor she made me pull the blinds and skinny dip with her (at least once)

Wednesday.. Hot water, baths and the pool.

 Picture of the day.

Now for today’s stuff:

I was in the first grade before we had running Hot water and a bath tub. Until then mama heated water on the kitchen stove and put it in a wash tub for baths, girls first then boys. Sherry was raised in a mill house and did not have a bath tub.  We both know how nice a bathtub or shower is.

Are you addicted to a hometown? My girl is. As a builder I (we) built a nice home in Mt. Holly NC. But that was NOT Belmont. From the time I took her away from Belmont, and for about 25-30 years she always talked about finding a home in Belmont, so she could be back home.

One day I found a lot on South Main St. in Belmont. She nearly giggled as we looked thru plan books. WE agreed on a set of plans that was a large ‘L’ shape.

Her sister Lennie had a back yard swimming pool. WE and the grands had fun there. For a couple years I helped open and close the pool. I learned it was work and expensive. I refused to ever have a pool. Too much work.

AS I looked at the plans, I saw the perfect place for a swimming pool. Just square the ‘L’ shape house up and install a pool. Sounded great to her.

So we did. There were no indoor pools in town, I checked with contractors in neighboring towns, NADA. I found a Pool man, he had never done an inside pool. BUT we worked thru the problems.

 WE thoroughly enjoyed the heated pool all year round.

This is the back corner that I filled in on the plans for the pool It had sliding glass doors two sides for the summer.

Of course it was a concrete inground pool.

Under construction, pumping the concrete. I decided it would be much easier to install the pool first then enclosed..

My Lumber man told me to use Canadian Cedar to line the room and NEVER paint it.

The pool bathroom was the brown door you see. WE had a sliding glass door from our bedroom into the pool room. Just to the right of the glass doors is a door and window coming toward you, that was my office.

I made one BIG mistake.  WE paid for a separate heating system that was NEVER turned on. It is probably brand new to this day.  The pool stayed heated at 92 degrees, so of course NO heating system was EVER needed. LOL

Mark and Corinne had Shereece's Birthday party at the pool.

                                        It was fun at night too!

Nite Shipslog

PS: Life is good. Especially after a bad bump!...

Tuesday.. Just rambling

 Picture of the day.

Above is an AI generated picture. I asked for a secretary making a correction to a document on a typewriter.

Do you trust AI?  See any errors?  Just asking.

Oh yes, Myra, on Friday's entry, that was Jack Jr. to the left. Sorry to be late. ;-)

Now for today’s stuff:

I’m turning into a kid again, when Sherry says get up in the mornings, I want to roll over and stay in bed. ;-)

Our sweet DIL Corinne gave us a Kodak Frame, we enjoy sitting here and watching. It is one of those modern things, it has its own e-mail address and the family can send us pictures. WE sure get a kick out of that.

Many people earned your living with a typewriter. I was just thinking today how wonderful these apps are for typing and correcting errors, some even auto correct is possible. You that used the typewriter will remember carbon paper, when you corrected a mistake on the original, you had to flip thru every copy and fix them. NOW you just back up and fix it.

Mama got her first refrigerator when I was about 6 yrs old. Until then we had an ice box and had ice delivered weekly. Ice was scored in 25 lb blocks, mama usually got 50 or 75 pounds. As the ice melted it dripped into a pie pan that mama put under it. One sister Shirley and my chores was to empty the pan before it ran over into the floor.

Winter home heating for folks my age goes back to fireplaces, cast iron potbellied stoves, floor furnaces gas stoves, steam heat then to central heat.

Central heat and air hasn't always existed.

The first house I built had central heat but the A/C was window units.

Every house since then has had central heat and Air.

The fire place was the most inefficient, but to my memory as a child, it was the most fun. The whole family and a visitor or two sat in a semi circle and talked the old folks told stories. At times there was pop corn over the fire and parching p-nuts.

The fireplace was the least efficient, but to my memory as a child, it was the most fun. The whole family and a visitor or two sat around it  and talked the old folks told stories. At times there was pop corn over the fire and parching p-nuts.

Mama got her first refrigerator when I was about 6 yrs old. Until then we had an ice box and had ice delivered weekly. Ice was scored in 25 lb blocks, mama usually got 50 or 75 pounds. As the ice melted it dripped into a pie pan that mama put under it. Sister Shirley and my chore was to empty the pan before it ran over onto the floor.

(we missed a few times and put a stream of water across the kitchen floor)

Nite Shipslog

PS: Life is good....

OH yeah, I have been asked about our indoor pool of the past. Tomorrow I will get to that.

Monday.. There is always HOPE, wishing, and memories.

 Picture if the day.

I made an attempt to join the USMC at 16 yrs old. I used Sherry's typewriter to modify my birth certificate, I just about made it but I got kicked back. 

This is when I was grown, 17 (LOL), I made it in,  2nd from the right kneeling.

Now for today’s stuff:

I still have some memory, I can remember ‘hoping’ I had passed a test. I have said it here many times, as a 17 year old BOY on Parris Island, I hoped I would wake up and it was a bad dream. ;-)

I am hoping that soon Florida will remember it is supposed to be a beautiful, balmy state!

Recycle, I am sure our parents did this automatically. The groceries were in big paper bags, the bags were always folded and kept, for storage and garbage bags.

My mama used to call in her grocery order in to the grocery store. They delivered and placed them on the kitchen table 75 years ago, that was a long time before it became a thing around here lately.

Dad & Mon had credit at the grocery store. And paid weekly. That was very common in Mill Towns. Daddy had an account at the gas station also and paid weekly.

I was wondering when credit cards became common. Cards came with Gas companies first, Imma thinking.

I am also wondering where some of the statistics come from today. I just read on the internet that the average net worth of a 74 year old person in the USA is 1.3 million $. WHAT? If true, I have lived in the wrong section of the country or I am like Rip Van Winkle and have been asleep for the last 30-40 years. LOL

On Parris Island I learned that sissies used washing machines real men could scrub their own.  LOL

I do hope YOU are doing well and handling the tough weather.

I also hope if I reach 90 yrs of age I am still walking without a walker. Many of my friends do need assistance.

I still wish and hope I will be strong enough to even attempt a thru-hike of the AT in the next couple years. (Yeah, I do know that is a big stretch)

BUT, but there was an old gentleman who made the attempt at 87 yrs of age and hiked 600 miles before he had a problem. I’d be proud of a few hundred miles… ;-)

Nite Shipslog

PS: I think life needs hope and dreams...

Sunday…. That preacher, That speaker!..

 Picture if the day.

Now for today’s stuff

We have all sat under that lecture, sermon, speech, or campaign dialog that we couldn’t wait for it to be over. Lots of reasons for that, some good, some not. BUT, have you ever sat under that speech, talk, lecture or sermon, That you wanted it to continue, or hated to see it end.

Lots of reasons for that also, many good. I have heard a couple military guys give lectures that when it was over, you GOT it! It made sense. Others, Not so hot!

When my hearing started failing, I started noticing, I could understand some TV ministers much better than at a church service. Charles Stanley was one I liked and could understand.

Oh man, I could understand D. James Kennedy word for word and I stayed tuned in, wrapped up!

And a Guy named Hayford, he kept me on the edge of my seat. On radio and TV.

I had a 7^th grade teacher, Ms Grill. I listened when she spoke, I learned under her.

Once a Bible teacher George Voohis had that same effect. Other students said the same, he held your attention.

If someone could save that characteristic, that some calls charisma; bottle it for sale they could make a million $. But that cannot be taught methinks. It is either a blessing, a gift, an anointing or something, but dang it, it works.

To me, what it boils down to is becoming a great story teller. Don’t laugh at that, ONE that I and many millions respect was a great teacher. Have you ever taken the time to realize that Jesus Himself, taught with stories or parables. People flocked to hear him.

I heard a man I respected highly say of one of his pastors, he kept you coming back, he did ot try to say it all in one sermon.

When I heard that old man say that, my mind went back to what was called ‘Serials’ at the Saturday morning movies. They would leave you hanging, you had to come back next week to see what happened.

If the ability to grab attention and hold it could be taught, we would have a lot of silver tongued saints and devils….

There are writers who WRITE! There are speakers that SPEAK! WE who read and listen can tell the difference..

Nite Shipslog

PS: One thing makes a good speaker, “He/She knows when they should end the sermon, speech or diatribe!”

… Saturday…. Weather..

 

Picture if the day.

Now for today’s Stuff:

When I heard of ‘Global warming,’ I laughed. Then those wise men said, not necessarily warming, just a big change is coming, now it was ‘Climate Change’. I laughed again.

Now over the past 10 years this old man has watched the weather, I am not, nor have I ever been a scientist; however, I thought was smarter than they! Me a high school dropout with a GED. With a total, off and on, about a year or so of college, too lazy to get a degree.

I kept saying over and over, “Of course there is climate change, it’s changed off and on over the years, just check the Farmer’s Almanac.

I am thinking a little deeper at present, just maybe I am not as smart as I think. I am leaning that maybe those scientists do know more than I do.

Nah, imma smart guy. BUT,but… just maybe a man who has studied weather, has access to others’ research, has spent his life looking at weather full time, while I wondered job to job if it would rain before I got the roof finished on a house.

So now these guys tell me it just may snow in the

 Bahamas WHAT? ARE THEY CRAZY?

Okay what I am saying is: these scientist guys just maybe right. Maybe Jack has been putting his head in the sand. Maybe I should be paying attention to taking more care of this world that I am blessed to live in.

I do not know your religious beliefs of the Lord’s return. I heard a minister once say, “I’m not concerned about saving the environment, our Lord is returning in a few days and we will have a new earth.

That IS Scripture, but also I am sure it says: Time to God is not the same as us. Doesn’t it say a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years like a day? That is also scripture. So if the Lord is coming in 5 days, couldn’t that be 5,000 years? I really don’t think so, BUT……..

Just asking….

DISCLAIMER: Please, what I have written is serious, and I have laughed at the scientists and climate stuff, but lately, I am questioning myself. I sure cannot prove either direction. WE all have our own thoughts, those are mine,….TODAY ;-)

Nite Shipslog

PS: Don’t leave, imma try to do better. ;-)

Friday … The end of a work week, and Grand Kids....

 

Picture if the day.

Josh & Stephen (twins) and Sherece (Only granddaughter)

Now for today’s Stuff:

I remember hearing when you retire you have 6 Saturdays and one Sunday each week. I just read where the Richest man in the world said, “The person who coined the phrase ‘Money cannot buy happiness’, knew what they were talking about."

We have witty folks here on Bloggersville, I liked what Victor said, “Don’t worry about tomorrow, Australia has already had it.”

I remember my daddy ‘way out there’ over our sons. He even held Jack Jr. many times in church until his time to Preach. ….. HOWEVER, when our GRAND KIDS

 came along I UNDERSTOOD how he felt. There is something special about your children’s children.

            Benjamin Aaron (our first)

One Grandpa said, “It is because you can have fun, and enjoy them, then HAND THEM BACK to their mom and dad.”

One of the grand kids gave me a saying on block: “Granddaddy’s are DADDIES without rules!”

              Matthew Dillon and Luke Vegas (Luke the youngest)

And of course as I have said here, I have the BEST Grand kids in the World.

WE are truly fortunate, both our sons have had great work ethics. We are proud of the Grands also; they all have solid work ethics.

Cute Corey, the red headed dude (our truck driver). Ben's brother. He passed away at 44 years of age.  Our only family loss but remembered always.

Enough bragging for today. Thanks for coming, and yes,

I know YOU TOO have the best grand kids too.

 HOWEVER.....!

Nite Shipslog

PS: The Enlisted Club in the USMC are called The ‘Slop Chute’ .