Friday, So it is Friday!

Funny Friday? There was a time I looked forward to Friday. But since my week now has 6 Saturdays and one Sunday, it doesn’t make that much difference.
We have been blessed this trip to NC with several visits from our son#1 Jack. He brings along his son Steve who is waiting around to work and save enough money to go back to school for one more semester. Now I am not sure if it is quarters or semesters, I just call them semesters. Anyway he will be getting his degree once he saves up the money. He is brilliant, and is majoring in music.
What does a music major do? Got me, I assume, teach. Of course his number one goal is to be an educated rock star. I personally hope he makes it.

Steve’s twin brother works for a software company. He came by for a few minutes, and I was shocked, his hair was cut and he was clean shaven.



Before upper

The above is after, the beautiful lady with him is Brit, his bride to be.

Matt (Our graduating Grandson), missed his notice of school pictures so he did not get any, it is his senior year so we wanted him to have some. I took his school ID and blew it up. it was very grainy as anythng above a wallet size.

It was a good picture in his Tux. So then we shot a picture just after Reececup had cut his hair.
Then took a new picture of him, and slid the face onto the earlier one with the tux . Results. Sherry was not happy with the hair.

Our man Matt!

Mark is working at a lot of small jobs while he builds one beautiful garage apartment. There is not a lot on the horizon for builders. There is not unemployment pay for the self employed.

Oh, Rose (from Roses are Read) had her son down a week or so ago and said she was filling him with ‘Mama’s cooking.’ Sherry has a couple dishes the kids always loved. So she has done the same while we visit here. We have Sherry’s famous Chicken a la King, and once, her famous Lasagna. One of our staple meals consists of: Cornbread, pintos, cabbage and salmon patties.
Thanks for stopping by the log to waste your time on my rambling.

Nite Shipslog
PS:
Andy Rooney on women over 50:

A woman over 50 will never wake you in the middle of the night and ask, 'What are you thinking?' She doesn't care what you think.

If a woman over 50 doesn't want to watch the game, she doesn't sit around whining about it. She does something she wants to do, and it's usually more interesting.




I appreciate you coming by the log.

Trains, childhood and FDR

Did you ever wave at a train engineer when you were a kid? I can remember many times standing by the tracks and waving. I always got a thrill when he would wave back. It was like being friends with a person from a foreign country. In my mind the man must have stayed on the train always.

Well Sherry and I were caught by an oncoming train and stopped at the barricade. I don’t know what made me do it, but I waved wildly at the engineer who smiled and returned the wave. He was towing a hundred cars. That brought back so many memories. Childhood was wonderful. Thrilling things happened almost daily.

On April 13th or 14th 1945 we did not live close to a rail road track, so I did not see the train carrying FDR’s body to Washington DC. Sherry did live in Belmont at the time and the RR tracks ran right beside the place where her mom & dad worked. So she, along with thousands of folks from the small town gathered along the tracks to watch the famous man pass thru.

Authur Godfrey described the train:
A funeral train slowly brought Roosevelt's body from Warm Springs to Washington. Although copper was rationed as part of the war effort, a copper-lined coffin was built for his internment. After the funeral ceremonies his body was again placed on the train for a last ride to his home in Hyde Park, New York.

Sherry’s dad was a staunch Republican. He was never rich and was a working man. But this time he crossed the line, he always held that FDR was the best president he knew in his lifetime democrat or republican. That was the only times in his lifetime he voted a Democrat ticket. LOL
FDR died in Warm Springs Georgia. 12 April 1945. We have visited Warm Springs; it is a National Historic Place now. There are many interesting things there and worth the time, if you are ever in the area. FDR was truly an interesting person. His home in Hyde Park is also an interesting place.

Several things I remember about trains. I loved to stand on an overpass and watch the old steam engines go under. I loved the smell of the ‘train smoke’. When I saw a train at night with the lights on in the passenger/dining cars, I always wondered where they were going, and wanted to be there. I guess it just fueled my wanderlust.
Our first trip to live in Missouri, we were towing our home, a 42x8 trailer, and drove up highway #63. It runs parallel with the RR. That night the train must have been braking, because it was one of the most spectacular sites I have ever seen. There were sparks flying around ALL the steel wheels presenting the appearance of all of them being on fire. It was breath taking to me.
I have never taken a serious train ride. Just the historic trains where they do it as entertainment. We have always planned to take a dinner train out of Bardstown, KY. We haven’t gotten around to it yet.
Nite Shipslog
PS: Andy Rooney said:
We praise women over 50 for a multitude of reasons. Unfortunately, it's not reciprocal. For every stunning, smart, well-coiffed, hot woman over 50, there is a bald, paunchy relic in yellow pants making a fool of himself with some 22-year old waitress. Ladies, I apologize.
I must agree with Andy! I love you ladies who have put up with us ignorant men until we learned how lucky we ARE!

You can learn a lot on the internet! Sex schedules?

Mel, Up NOrth, said: Every six months! Sherry has been telling me, once a year, this must get cleared up soon!

I love life, on another Forum I mentioned that if a person did not have a good outside interest, they should just take a long vacation and keep on working. Some folk retire then do not know what to do. My dad was one of those. He was a Pastor, his life was his congregation. He did not fish, hunt, golf or chase women so he was lost after a few weeks. In his sixties he and mother did organize and build one more church near their home place in rural Georgia. Retirement did not fit him.

Now me? Retirement fits. We work when we want to, mostly volunteer work. I am getting up early here, Okay, it s early for me. Sometimes I am up before 7. Shocks me too! But getting up early is not ME. I am a late sleeper and then stay up late at night or morning.
I just thought, I need to build a folding trailer for our boat. I will get on that soon!

We have friends coming up from Florida. It is another former pastor. This one is the Florida pastor who used to comment on the journal when it was AOL. Then a shower, for Sherry to attend. She also has a girls day out, she is taking Reececup and Sonny’s daughter Vickie to a luncheon.
I have one program to do in Lowell, NC using a new technique. I will let you know if it goes well, otherwise I will be quiet. Hahahahahaha

We are headed to the mountains next week. If I keep saying that we will finally make it. You know how Christmas is, so slow until it gets here.

Thanks for taking your valuable time to stop by the log, I appreciate it.
Nite Shipslog


PS:
Law of Gravity - Any tool, nut, bolt, screw, when dropped, will roll to the least accessible corner.

Introduction to Kotex

I love life some days more than others, but I still love life. Right now we are donating a lot of labor here at son #2’s house. Yes the Pool is ready, just need a few more degrees( maybe 20) and we can swim. I put up a fence to ward off the dog (MJ) from the garden. We didn’t plant the garden. Mark and the guy who works for him did, but MJ likes to run in and out of it. Now she can’t.

The pool is crystal clear now. There was a major leak in the pool one night it lost about ten inches of water. The major leak has been fixed, but I believe there is a smaller one somewhere. We have been having rain, so it is hard to judge the loss. I will need to get in the water and locate the other leaks, if any. Did you know you can patch these liner pools with the water still in them? Well Don was talking the other day and told me how to do it. That was fortunate because when I found the leak I knew exactly how to patch it. Good friend, good advice.

Jen over at ‘starting over’ said in her blog, she might consider getting married again if she found a man who would not be embarrassed to purchase Tampons (Or some words to that affect). It reminded me of an embarrassing incident when I was about six years old. (Yeah Lucy I can remember back that far! LOL). My sister in law Ruth had came to live with us for a few weeks while my Brother Odis and Uncle Hisure went to Texas to find work.

Well to a six year old a Kotex box looks a lot like a Kleenex box. My nose was running (I didn’t have my coat on or I would have used my sleeve, ha, yeah I know you girls never done that!)

Anyway I needed something to blow my nose on, so I took a Kotex out of the box. Now this was confusing. WHY did they make these so thick? I was sitting in front of the closet seriously trying to tear this ‘thing’ apart. I had just figured I had better use the thin pieces at the end when Ruth walked in. She was as sweet back in 1945 as she is now. She got me a handkerchief to clean my nose. Funny I knew I had done something wrong by her and mama’s looks, but I did not get embarrassed until years later when I realized what I had actually done.

Thanks for coming by the log.
Nite Shipslog

PS:
Law of Mechanical Repair - After your hands become coated with grease, your nose will begin to itch and you'll have to pee.

Sunday morning Sherry and I, as our habit is before church, dropped in at McDonalds. We get a biscuit, two coffees and two jellies. We split the biscuit, and sit and talk. We could simply do this at home, but since we are retired and under no pressure to be anywhere. We don’t have to feed the kids, dogs nor anything this is sort of a treat. I just love to look across the table at my girl and chat about anything or nothing.

Sometimes, but not often, something different happens. One morning I had a pleasant surprise, a man came over and asked a pardon for interrupting, but was I the author of ‘Sticky’? I proudly said ’yes’ and he told me how he had enjoyed the book. That is always nice.

Another morning, an Insurance agent whom we knew, and had met again recently during an interview at the local paper, stopped by to say it was nice to see us, but he had to rush to church. He said if he was late the pastor always asked him to lead in the congregational prayer. He then said he had heard complaints of his rendition of ‘Now I lay me Down to Sleep’, so “I gotta run.”

Last Sunday a second cousin of Sherry’s made a special trip to come say hello and talk. He was in a very talkative mood, normally I would have been a little ‘off center’ for someone taking ‘our’ special time, but this time I was not. Cody, talked about the time his dad was sick. He watched for a year as his dad slowly died. He was 15-16 yrs old at the time. According to what we had heard his dad was not easy on him growing up, the treatment was abuse, or bordering on it. He did not show that side, but said when things got rough after the death, he told himself, nothing will ever be that bad, so I have seen life’s worst. I handled it, I can handle anything. He is.

He is younger than our boys and a very responsible person. He is not a real religious man, but he was very upset at the Pentagon’s decision concerning Franklin Graham. He was upset at the news, at TV because there was nothing he liked or thought was worth his kids watching. But most of all he just wanted to talk. We were good listeners. It was good to see him. I think he is typical of people just a little older than his 40+ years.

Thanks for coming by the log.
NIte Shipslog
PS:
Why do people keep running over a string a dozen times with their vacuum cleaner, then reach down, pick it up, examine it, then put it down to give the vacuum one more chance?

I get an ATTA boy (from me)

It was 2100 today before I actually sat down at this computer. I try to read and answer the e-mails first. Tonight I had 6,323 on the list. Okay that is a lie, I had a bunch. And Joan out in UTAH, that was not funny about the returning Indian astronaut. I did laugh though and I am still trying to figure how he is breathing,LOL.

This is Raymond Hodge, Sherry says he is a very good preacher.

I guess I will give myself an ‘atta boy’, I attended church for two services today. My cousin Paul called Sherry and said he would be visiting our home church tonight, and I should be there. His friend, Raymond Hodge, would be preaching at our church, I knew that, but I didn’t know Raymond (Even though I know, everyone loves Raymond!).

I haven’t seen Paul in many years. He is BALD. Folks said if he had a beard we would look alike, I have to admit after hearing that, he is a very handsome dude, even without hair..

Okay the really neat thing about this is after the service (which I did not hear) Paul introduced me to Raymond. In a few sentences I learned he is also a friend of Fred and Frances (Fred comments on this Blog regularly) I was very surprised because I didn’t know Fred had any other friends! (That is a joke Fred, don’t delete me as a friend.)

It was interesting also because Fred had mentioned our visit, and said some nice things and has some GREAT pictures of me (LOL), on his Blog tonight: http://fbrannen.blogspot.com/

Really, Raymond said a lot of great things about Fred and Frances. Not surprising because they both are dedicated people. I mentioned I would be e-mailing Fred tonight and/or commenting on his Blog. He said make sure to say Hello for him. SO: Hello Fred & Frances, from Raymond Hodge.
Oh yes, and Raymond also knew my Dad. Yes, it is a small world sometimes.
Thanks for coming by the log.
Nite Shipslog
PS:
Why do we constantly return to the refrigerator with hopes that something new to eat will have materialized?

Getting the temperature right

We had a short summer. It is cool already here.
Weather and temperatures are always a subject to be discussed. Since we are not all alike some of us freeze when others are sweating. My Sherry will not go into a place of business or a restaurant without her trusty sweater, even if it is very warm outside.

I have been told I have the body of a lizard; I don’t get too put out over real cold or real hot temperatures. There are places where I do not understand the thinking of temps. Many fast food places keep the air so cold you could hang meat. When you see many customers bundled up you would think someone would get the hint and raise the thermostat.
I do remember once being in Wendy’s and my bro in law Elmer, asked them to warm it up a little and the manager said he had no control of it , the thermostat was set from ten miles away in Charlotte. Now I know we have the technology, but I just don’t believe that story.

Church is another place where you cannot satisfy us church members. Now they have gone to putting the thermostats in a little plastic locked container. Just anyone cannot change it.

. I think some churches have the hottest blooded person setting the thermostat. It seems with today’s technology we could have two temps; on the Right, a little warm. Then on the left a little cool.
Of course some of us just like to complain. LOL
Thanks for coming by the log.
NIte Shipslog
PS:
My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government.

Thomas Jefferson

The Blizzard, a Tropical then the Hit parade!

There was Gizelle McKensie & more

Snooky Lanson

We met Don and Evelyn at the Dairy Queen for a sandwich and a Blizzard. For another day or two they sell you the second one for $.25. I had a hot dog. I eat one about once or twice a year. That is another food the Doctors have scared me away from. I was telling Don, Mama used to make a chili dog. She cut a hunk of cheese about the size of a wiener and added the extras, slaw, mustard, ketchup, onions and chili. That was my mama’s chili dog. I loved it.

We are making a few plans. I think I am supposed to make some reservations in Lenior, NC soon. We are going up the same time as Don & Evelyn. Have I told this before? I can’t remember. Anyway they are going up for their G-daughers graduation from Grad school for her masters. There I said it again, if I have before.

That reminds me of a line in a song, “There I said it again”. I think I remember that from the Saturday night hit parade. I don’t remember the song. But I do remember:
HOW MUCH IS THAT DOGGIE IN THE WINDOW?
‘Three Coins in a Fountain’
‘Little Things Mean a Lot’
‘Walking in the Rain’
'Side by side'
Do you remember the hit parade? What songs?

I was at Guy Abee’s house. We didn’t have a TV, but I watched The Hit Parade with Snooky Lanson and Whatshername, because it came on just before Wrestling. I couldn’t miss, Haystack Calhoun, Gorgeous George, Man Mountain, the masked Marvel and the rest of those great wrestler! LOL Wrestling was just behind the Long Ranger on the radio in priority.

Take care out there. Thanks for coming by the log.
Nite Shipslog

PS:
Did you know that Siberia contains more than 25% of the world's forests.

I AM MAD AS..... WELL

THIS PICTURE GOT OUT OF SEQUENCE. SHE WAS BURIED A LITTLE DEEPER THE STONED TO DEATH, SHE DISPLEASED HER HUSBAND!

I am sick of something. What ever/who ever is trying to make this country change its views of free speech. I read today that Mr. Graham has been disinvited to a military function DURING THE Nation Day of PRayer, where he was scheduled to speak. He was disinvited because he made a statement concerning Islam. He made a statement after 9/11 that Islam was "a very evil and wicked religion."

Doesn’t he have a right to his opinion? Right after 9/11 most of us in the USA probably thought much worse. He also said true Islam cannot be practiced in the USA, and he is right. A man cannot beat his wife (legally) in the USA. One cannot kill or bury alive a daughter if you suspect they have had sex before marriage in the USA without being charged with murder. To a Christian Islam is a very violent religion.

Some writers of a TV program were threatened with death if they wrote some negative satire about Islam. They were told they would suffer the same fate as Mr. Van Gogh who was killed after making a movie not approved by the Muslims. The TV sponsors have agreed to drop the skit or whatever they were going to do.

SHE WAS BEATEN FOR GOING TO CHURCH


THE HUSBAND CAN BEAT HIS WIFE OR SLAVE.

What I am confused about is, the Muslims are allowed to call me a Satan, or Infidel. They are allowed to threaten me in any way they wish. I cannot even carry my Christian Bible into Saudi Arabia! But they can come into this country and dictate how we do business or live our lives. THAT IS CRAZY!
This is completely ridiculous.
Thanks for coming by the log,
NIte Shipslog

PS:
Where is the peace loving Muslims? Why do they not speak out against terrorists, if they are good Americans. Where is the cry to condemn the violent ones? All I hear is silence!

The best price for regular gas here is $2.66 we can drive 8 miles and get it for $2.60. In Cleveland, Tennessee a good price is $2.67.
It will be hard for folks outside the huge cities to start using bus service. For one reason there are no bus stops or station here, so busses no longer run in Belmont. They have been gone for forty years. We are addicted to cars. Car pooling is out, because a person never knows when they will have to rush home, etc. There are a million excuses for not using or wanting mass transit, and mostly they are excuses because we like the freedom of our own vehicle.
Since I have never lived in a huge city where there was little or no parking available, I haven’t faced looking for parking. We lived in Arlington (practically DC), but we had parking provided.

This is a hydrogen fuel cell car in London, it is a Mercedes.
I think we must face facts; we are going to continue to use OIL/Gasoline & diesel for at least the next twenty years. We have our own oil here in the USA. I am of the opinion as one politician says, “Drill here, Drill now!” In the interim our top minds should be looking at an alternate energy source. President Kennedy made a statement about putting a man on the moon, it was a goal, WE did it.

BMW Hydrogen car.

Bush was a proponent of the hydrogen car, one that runs off water. IT does this by separating the H2 from the O in H20, and firing the Hydrogen in the engine. It is possible and it is being done, but not on the front burner. Getting the man to the moon was not as important as the alternate fuel and we can do it. I hope someone get’s inspired and says, “We will be energy independent by2015.” We could do it.
Battery power is good, but it wastes a lot of natural resources we can us some other way. I read the estimated cost of changing the batteries in a hybrid is close to $2000. Plus we have used tons of lead. So what is the answer? It may not be hydrogen, but it is something.
Natural progression: We walked, then we boated and road horses, then the steam engine trains took the day. Someone developed a bicycle to get us around and the horse was replaced partly. Then the gasoline engine, planes, jets and rockets, mostly centered on oil. Solar energy works on the space station, but they never have a cloudy day.
What do you envision? We know we will run out of OIL at some time in the future.
Nite Shipslog
PS:
Man with one
Chopstick go hungry.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Man who scratch butt
Should not bite fingernails.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Handy man work....

I sorta like being a handy man. Today I finally see some progress on the pool. As a matter of fact the readings on the little pool water tester shows good. The bottom in the deep end is still a little cloudy.
I finally flocked the pool. Our oldest son came down to visit, he is doing that quite regularly and it is such a joy. Anyway we were out by the pool. He ask’s Sherry, “What is dad doing with the pool now.”
“He’s flocking it,”
“Mama!”

Yeah the process if no one has done it, the material called flocking is spread through the pool. Then it is allowed to settle for a couple days. The Flock sinks to the bottom, taking most of the trash to the floor of the pool and ready for the vacuum. I vacuumed today and you can see the bottom of the pool. I am glad anyway.

I installed a Plexiglas window in the dump truck drives side door today. That was a first for me.


During the time things are settling or I am waiting for something, I am training MJ. She, being deaf makes it more of a challenge. Using hints from Rain up on PEI, and info from the internet, she can sit, stay, and shake hands. It is really a little fun and a break. She is an English Bull, and very smart. We have fun.
I was trying to teach her to bring me the ball. The sign I was using was a grabbing motion with my fingers. She never understood what I wanted. When she gets tired she looks away and ignores me. Funny, you still call and yell at her and she doesn’t even know it, unless she is looking.
She is also a mathematician!!!!!!


She has balance like a cat.....

She has learned one thing though, I just noticed today. When my arms are akimbo, and I show an upset face, she will immediately come and sit down and try to shake hands with me. That way she gets some petting and a snack. Hahahahaha!
Thanks for coming by the log.
Nite Shiplog
PS: Why do we press harder on a remote control when we know the batteries are getting dead?

And Yukon King!

One shot of cross country. This is the Black Hills.

He is no longer alive; Yeah he/she is dead. I have to tell myself that every once in awhile when I see someone that I think is someone else. Often it is someone who has passed away. I still keep trying to make the person I see, the one I think it is. I know better, but my brain keeps trying to do it. Sometime the brain confuses fiction and reality.

I seldom watch TV. Since being here and going in and out of Mark’s house I see some TV. I see what they call ‘extreme sports’, to this old man it is crazy sports. I feel the same about this new fight-type of kick boxing. It is a bloody sport, a truly bloody sport. If Mohammed Ali suffered head injuries being punched with gloves, what do you think about this sport, practically bare knuckles? I am just not that blood thirsty. And I thought running with the bulls was blood thirsty.

I might be thick headed but I have crossed the Atlantic Ocean several times mostly on ship. Now we have folks who claim to have swum it, and one who has rowed it. Wow, I cannot imagine it, that is one big body of water. I heard the swimmer had a support boat that tracked her and at night she came aboard to sleep. Then someone on the boat spilled the beans about the boat kept steaming all night and she entered the water a hundred twenty miles farther along the next day. Of course either way it takes a lot of stamina; it just seems a little farfetched.

Now this thing about walking across the USA is not a stretch. Most of our pioneers did it. Not everyone rode in the wagons, on wagon trains some walked beside the oxen. Of course the Mormons walked and pushed or pulled carts with their belongings on them. Our pioneers were tough folks. Today when someone walks that far they ‘normally’ have special hiking boots and lightweight packs, not so the pioneers.

Every country had its toughies and heroes; I remember stories about the Yukon and the Northwest Mounted Police. Of course I think of Sgt. Preston and his trusty dog King. I loved those stories.

I am rambling so I will quit. Thanks for coming by the log.
NIte Shipslog
PS:
Why do they use sterilized needles for death by lethal injection?

Responsible Adult

What are we responsible for?
We are not islands, we do not stand alone. Each of us impacts someone else. If I am driving irresponsibly and rear-end someone, it messes up someone else’s day. They will be late for work or an appointment. If their car must be towed, then someone else’s life is interrupted to get them home, etc.

I have thought many times of the suffering of families of the high profile folk who do the unthinkable, and it makes all the headlines. No matter what you thought of Nixon, his family did not deserve an execution. The same with Jim Bakker and President Clinton, the children did not deserve the hate and nasty attention they received.

What about the rapist, robbers and murderers, the ones who have a wife and family of their own? How do the kids face the taunts and sneers of their peers? We can be mean, we humans.

Then in today’s society when recreational drugs are accepted. Heavy drinking is the norm for some folk. What about the children of the functioning alcoholic? Statistics prove that many children grow up thinking it is normal to get high even pass out over the weekends. They are given the impression that this is what a dad or mom does. It is called freedom to do what you want with your life. BUT no one stands alone, what we do effects many others.
Oh, I have known many folks whose answer is a pat one: ”Hey there are a lot worse folk than me!”
Therefore the term ‘Responsible Adult’. In most cases that is supposed to be a positive statement, but in many cases it is negative, I as a parent, am responsible for what I teach my children, either by my words or my actions, positive or negative.
Crack Cocaine mothers and Alcoholic Abusive Parents are all responsible for what they do. They are responsible or course, but responsible for negative results. So my heart breaks when I see someone ruining their life, and the lives of their children.

I see this in successful folk also. People who have had it all. They start mixing ‘grief’ drugs and alcohol and start a slide that confuses kids, What is happening to my Mom & Dad?
Thanks for reading the log.
Nite Shipslog

PS:
Why is it that people say they 'slept like a baby' when babies wake up like every two hours?

We just have to live our lives!

If you park too long in the wrong place you get crapped on.

And then, sometimes youjust don't know which way to turn.....Sometimes you can't go left, right forward or backward. WHAT THEN? On crap!

This is my third journal entry for tonight.
The weather has been good. The work has been hard. Things are not what they should be.
We should get out of Dodge and live our lives.
We might just do that, but we will have to come back for a graduation and a wedding. (maybe)
Have you ever noticed? Life ain’t fun sometimes?
Thanks for coming by the log.

NIte Shipslog

PS:
Yeah Mel, (both Mel's) this has been one of those days for us, tooooo)

Why do banks charge a fee on 'insufficient funds' when they know there is not enough money?

AND
Why does someone believe you when you say there are four billion stars, but check when you say the paint is wet?

Just comments!

Sorry folks, tonight has been one of the worst for a slow machine. As mama would say, as slow as crem rising on butter milk. Or maybe, ‘Slow as Molasses!”
As a matter of fact I lost five comments and I could not get to all. Sorry If I did not make it to your journal tonight. So I decided to comment on here to the ones I Know I failed to make:

Country tales…..I enjoyed the entry Paula. I know you guys need the rain to keep things operating around there. Two inches is a lot of rain, hope it is enough for awhile.

Jimmy, All I could do was read the excerpt. Hope I get a chance to look over the whole entry. I assume you have an interview with Larry King!!

Robert.. Evidently you got home brother. Good. Yes it is nice to come home.
Sam… Looking forward to reading that entry. I would love to see your view from the tenth story!Take care I am anxious to get to it later.
Honey I’m home…..And evidently Mel, is cussing about something. Not enough on her brief tell. It will be all right Mel, Just be patient and quit cussing, folks are trying to sleep!

Take care. WE are still in NC, would like to be in Alaska or the Yukon, or Idaho, or UTAH OR MAYBE UTAH. We would love to see Elsie Mae. Of course Ben, Corey, Carol, Dick and Joanne. We will make it one day.
Thanks for stopping by the log.
NIte Shipslog

PS
True: I read tonight that turning on the light when you get up at night to pee, increases you chances of cancer. (Thank goodness for night lights!)

The Matthews looked something like this when we met them.
The last couple days have been very busy. We met with our pastor and his wife from the 1958 time frame. I had joined the Air Force and we were sent to Keesler AFB, Biloxi, Mississippi. Bishop Matthews, (we used to call most church folk Brother and Sister, seems like everyone’s first name was Bro or Sis.) Anyway Bro. Matthews met with us and drove us around looking for an apartment. Funny thing, back then we could load everything we owned in the trunk and back seat of our car. So we were looking for a furnished apartment. He was very gracious and helped us find a place the first day.

We looked something like this.

(Charlie Hugh and Eloise Matthews today)

We grew to love them and we have stayed in contact off and on over the years. We met several lasting friends in Biloxi, I have mentioned Fred, who comments on the blog. As life goes we all went our separate ways. Both The Matthews and the Brannens went on to be missionaries. Bro & Sis Matthews are now nearing their eighties, but are still going on missions trips. They were in this area to speak at a half-way house ran by another retired missionary, Sis. Newsome. She is in a wheel chair but still gets around. Some people who are ‘giving people’ continue to give until they die. Others, try to enjoy retirement.

We had breakfast with them this morning.

Retirement is not for everyone. My advice to anyone in good health is, if you do not have plans to travel, or have a hobby that you can give your time to, there is no reason to retire. Some folk love their work, and hate to give it up. Probably most folk would be content with an extended vacation.
Today we washed our motor home. This thing was filthy because we have not had the weather to get out and wash it. I am tired.
Thanks for coming by the log,
Nite Shipslog

PS:
It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes. A principle which if acted on would save one-half the wars of the world. Thomas Jefferson

My mental problems.

The HARD questions, for me at least.
Do you agree with giving out condoms or ‘the pill’ in school? NO!
But statistics show that most teens are active sexually, do you want your grand daughter to get pregnant and not be able to finish school or have a baby to take care or for mama or grandma to take care of. NO! So what I want is my grand daughter or daughter or niece to not have sex! Can I stop that? NO! So Jack what is the answer. I say lock ‘em up every hour they are not in school! (YEAH RIGHT!) And where is the boy in all this? The wonderful little daddy? Does his parents suffer like the girls, of course not. So am I for contraceptives given out at school? Reluctantly I guess I am for it. Boy does that hurt to say.)
Somehow when I say that I feel like I am saying hey, “Hey buddy, here is a condom,take my car and use the back seat!!” Some questions have no black & white answers. Some question have no good answer.

Now do we shoot all drug dealers? Yeah Man, first thing in the morning. (But the law just picked up your grandson dealing a little pot at school.) WEEELL, that is different, he just got in with the wrong crowd. It was peer pressure, etc. Answers are easy as long as our family and friends are not involved.
Is California going to pass a law to make POT legal? Is that a good idea? NO, NOT ONLY NO, BUT HECK NO! Was prohibition any good? It made millionaires out of crooks. Oh well, This is another problem. Should a young man or woman spend time in jail for smoking pot? No, there should be another way to work this out. Isn’t there? We have brilliant folks in this world, and todate no one has came up with a very wise way to handle the modern vices. No we cannot just shoot them and we cannot just let everyone run wild, can we?

To me it is confusing. I have never smoked pot or done cocaine, but I still have an opinion, I think, I just do not know what it is????

I quit, I have confused myself enough!!
NIte shipslog

PS: No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms.
Thomas Jefferson

Confusion and 911 response cost.

So you ever wonder just why am I here to start with? I think we all have. Did your child ever say ‘I wish I had never been born!’ Funny We don’t have much of a choice in parents or being born. We do have a choice of friends and companions.



We in the USA, or our governments (local, county, state & federal) are trying to figure a way to keep the same amount of money in the treasury. There are more speeding tickets issued and more fines imposed. Instead of realizing they expect Joe & Mary citizen to down size and cut back, Government must too (in my opinion).

I just read about an unfortunate guy who was hit in the rear while driving his scooter. Some good Samaritan called 911. It was no problem just a bump up and no damage. The first responders came and left seeing there was no real problem. HOWEVER the guy who got bumped was charged $200 and the guy who hit him was charged $100. Now for some reason, this does not make sense to me.

I was under the impression that is why we pay taxes for Police, firemen and trash pickup. Maybe I am wrong.
Anyway somehow I just do not like it. Can you refuse 911 help if you did not call it? That is too confusing.

If they are not needed, the incident could be charged to training. Oh well no one asked us, did they?
Thanks for listening to my griping.
Nite Shipslog

PS:
To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical.

Thomas Jefferson

The above picture has nothing whatsoever with this entry, but it is in Vienna and I want to go see it one day! Isn't that something?

While we were aboard GITMO Bay , Cuba, we had TV from 4PM to 10PM. AFRTS (Armed Forces Radio and Television Stations). A lot of reruns. I am a cowboy movie lover. I think Gunsmoke was my all time favorite TV program. During our tour in Gitmo The series written by Louis Lamore, 'The Sacketts' was on and off, so I never did see the series. Maybe one day I will get the CD's of the series and watch them. (Ha, I don't watch what we have.)

Anyway today I was thinking of TV commercials. There were no commercials on AFRTS. so one saturday someone came up with the idea to copy hundreds of TV commercials running up in the world, and run them. People are wierd. MOre people watched TV that day than anyother while we were there. Ain't we wierd? I know the same folks, just like me, fussed and fussed at being interrupted all the time by commercials. Then sit and watch five hours of them.

I remember 'Halo everbody, Halo. Halo is the shampoo that glorfies your hair so Halo..... etc.' Mr. Clean was big, He can clean your whole house and everything that's in it. If I find the cigarette commercial I have put it on. Remember Johnny? "Call for Phillip Morris". After all these years, I just realized what the commerical said. WOW! was I thick.

I hope you have a great 'rest of the weekend'.

Thanks for coming by. Speaking of commercials, My books are still on sale here.

Nite Shipslog

PS:

I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them. Thomas Jefferson

DR. JACK'S OFFICE AT WALMART

WElcome to my office!!! IN MY OFFICE there is room for ONE patient, ME! I give no medical advice to anyone, except ME!
I just received an E-mail listing the medications I need. Now that thinking just makes me sick. I am old fashioned enough to think I will know when I need medication. My medical advisor is at Walmart. While Sherry is picking up our Vitamins and baby aspirins I sometimes sit and talk with my Medical assistant. You know the one! You sit down and slip your arm into the ring and press the button to get your blood pressure, pulse rate, sexual preferences, etc.

Mine is always good. Have you ever tried to manipulate it? I can slow down my heart rate and speed it up, according to what I am thinking. Now I can honestly think of my Sherry in certain ways and actually speed up the count. I can think of the water falls, and fields we have seen and relaxed in and I can slow the rate down as much as ten. Oh, when I think of Sherry I can raise it 20! That is true. Try it sometime when like me you have nothing else to do. (don’t use Sherry you probably don’t know her well enough!)
Now, I stay concerned about my Cholesterol (and I can never spell that word ). I eat garlic, chicken, oats, asparagus and beans. We eat very little red meat. I take the multi-vitamin (Cardio) that is supposed to assist in lowering the overall levels. I drink only one alcoholic beverage and that is red wine. You should know that is why Jesus turned the water into wine so it would lower my cholesterol, LOL. Now if I die soon, you can maybe re-evaluate my diagnosis.

As a rule I have always done what the doctor says. So I intentionally do not go to see a doctor unless I am SICK, I would be reluctant to go against what he suggests or prescribe, i.e. While walking the trail I got a fever and was sweating a lot, head was hurting and I did find a tick that had attached to me. WE thought it would be good to be tested for Lyme. So I went in and took what the Doctor prescribed. I did not have Lyme, but it would have been irresponsible not to check after finding the tick. So I am not completely against medical help.

I have to be concerned about my heart because that is what has taken most of my family. At present I eat and take care of myself, better than any of my family ever did, after all I do not have a spare.
Thanks for coming by the log,
Nite Shipslog

PS:
The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not. Thomas Jefferson.

One thing I DO NOT DO, is GIVE MEDICAL ADVICE! What ever works for you that you should do.

Pool and a NEW CD

I have been playing today. Mark hopes to have the pool ready for a graduation party for Matthew Dillon, his oldest son. He graduates this year.
This pool has been a catch all and had beautiful green water. I did find two nice size frogs, not big enough to supply frog legs, but on their way. I made a tour of the internet looking for advice, the best I received was check the ingredients on “Shock” as compared to Clorox or other bleach. One guy had put 14 gallons of Clorox in his. So being a cheap skate, I bought seven, five liter jugs. I have been fishing leaves and garbage off the bottom today. I poured four jugs into the water. Now it is sort of a blue green. Ha!

If anyone has any good advice please let me know. Oh, I did have to take the frogs out, the Clorox was too much for them, they staggered off, I hope they made it to the woods before the hawk got them.

Ohhhhh, NEWS! Our Grandsons, Steve and Josh (WHO JUST HAPPEN TO BE TWINS) cut, burned, made their first album over the weekend. They rented the ‘Rushing Winds’ recording studios for two days. I love the sound, but I cannot hear all (or many), frequencies.

They did 10 original songs; five secular and Five Religious. Steve wrote most of the songs, but I think two of them are from Josh. Steve does a fantastic guitar and Josh tickles the ivories. I love to hear him, but I am not much for knowing good music, but Shirl is. She says Josh is fantastic on the piano. Steve was bragging on one of Josh’s runs. Repeating , Gary the owner and technician, he said, “ that sounds like a lot of Chopin and modern mix.” Steve said on the one run Josh must have hit every key on the board.

Highschool pictures, taken after one of the plays. Josh above.

Steve still in contume also.

HS pic of Johua Adam

DAddy Jack showing they are not too big for him to handle ( Whoa, we men sometimes don't judge well) ha!

Josh on the keyboard and Steve as they entertain at our 50th anniversary. Proud daddy on the right.

Steve on the guitar and Sherry's 'Harris Reunion'. Dad, Jack and Josh are singing along.

Steve and his guitar visiting us here in the motor home.

I love to hear the guys brag on one another. They are fantastic personalities and musicians. And of course, best friends. Anyway that is my big news for today from North Carolina.
Thanks for coming by the log,
Nite ShipsLog,
PS:
Istanbul, Turkey, is the only city in the world located on two continents. Europe and Asia.

I was once caught up (by accident) in a riot, on the European side. It was a tough dance to do in a Swabbie uniform, couldn’t hide too well wearing whites! Hahaha!

Moving Day again

This moving day is not a great thrill. If we did not have to be back in NC for Sherry's check up, we would stay another week. Leaving our good friends Fred and Frances was sorta like in the service when one get transferred you hate to leave the ones you have met.

Also there is Old Jack Darnell (I can say that because he is older than I, HA!) and his publisher Yvette. I really thought about just running over there and dropping in, but nah. Maybe next time through.


Bugs on the windshield means it is spring. We reached a big highway in the mountains, and time for Sherry to try to capture some of the scenery. WE are on the back roads because the rock slides are not cleared on the planned route.

Another distant mountain shot. Oh, the roads got narrow, Sherry was a little busy worring about the edge of the road to take pictures.

It always amazes us that the ridges are starting to be covered with HUGE homes.

One of our highlights is seeing an AT crossing. Here the trail crosses one of the mountain roads.

A quick shot of a group of hikers who are starting on the trail. I blew the horn and we all waved, they knew there were kindred spirits in this motor home.

This crossing was not new to us. We left the trail here to go into town for a motel and a bath and of course to eat all we could. We forgot our walking sticks at the motel. Later we drove back and they had saved them for us. WE were using sticks we had carved in Alaska.

But what we remembered most at this crossing was heading North, clean and smelling good we met a worried mama and papa were putting their teen age daughter, with her pack, out to walk to Maine. 2000 miles up the trail.

They told Sherry they felt so much better that she would be walking with us. We promised nothing, just smiled, knowing the most we would walk with this youngster would be a mile. Mama and daddy left, and we three headed toward Maine. She was with us about 200 yards on the trail into the woods and then she said, 'good bye', and moved on, these old folks were holding her back. I don't remember her trail name but we always hoped she made the hike.

Take care, we are back behind Marks on our slab for a week or so, before our next vacation. HA!

NIte Shipslog,

PS:
When we get piled upon one another in large cities, as in Europe, we shall become as corrupt as Europe.

Thomas Jefferson