Surprise….

 

When I was in the Third Grade Dad was assigned a church in Albemarle, NC. The parsonage was a two story Brick house, the largest house we had lived in. Shirl and I had our own rooms upstairs. There were two bedrooms down stairs. One for Mom & Dad the other was the guest room where an evangelist slept during revivals. I think in the 50’s we had a lot of revivals. Some of us take a lot of reviving! Hahaha!

As I have said in the past few days, dad had a great sense of humor. Shirl and I knew on school days breakfast was served around 7am. The steps were not carpeted to the upstairs back then. Dad would take a couple of mama’s bread pans and maybe a pot, he would stand at the bottom of the stairs and throw them up to the top and let them bang back down. Then he would yell loudly, “Breakfast children! Come on down but don’t wake the evangelist!”

I have a reason for saying this. We visited a church last Sunday that we have only attended once before. The pastor announced an Irvin Burris was speaking next Sunday. That rang a bell. The Burris’s lived just across from the parsonage in Albemarle. He was older than I. The preacher said he was around 81, so that would put the age right. This was going to be a surprise.

There was one thing that always fascinated me about the Burris’s place. It was sort of a farm in town. Like the housing area had built up around it. They had a barn, chickens and a cow. They had one duck that I remember. The duck pond was more like a big mud puddle about ten feet across. It was that duck’s landing in that pond that always got my attention. I was 9 or 10 and had never saw a duck land and spray water the way they do. It just fascinated me.

• (Irvin and Ruth Burris he is 81 and doing well, she is a little behind him)

After church I asked if I could take a picture for my sister Shirl. I announced as I took the picture that I had known this guy longer than anyone in the building except possibly his wife. He kept looking puzzled. Then I told him, and we had a hugging reunion. What are the odds of running into someone 60 years or so after you first knew them three states away from their home?

Lunch today with the Carters!

It was a good surprise. Thanks for coming this way.

Nite Shipslog

PS:

'Never trade luck for skill.'

The other day at Bojangles

Sherry jumped out of the van saying I didn’t get a picture of Don & Evelyn! So we got one!!