The USA, God and Country

 Photo from the Past:

 

So for today:

I have said it many times, I love this country. Like all military personnel I swore to die for this country if necessary. 

I KNOW it was founded on Christian principles, but our constitution declares separation of Church and State. Joe Biden is MY President. Soon Donald Trump will be MY president. And that is because I believe in this country’s ability to select via the VOTE, I accept the choice of my fellow citizens.

 Our founding Fathers came from Countries where the State Religion had a big voice in the running of their country; they did not want to see the same in this new nation. THUS the decision to declare a separation.

 I have deep Christian roots, but even Christians differ in their approach to JESUS; the VERY reason we have so many denominations. I do not think you can get any better than the old standards given to the Jewish People before the Messiah came.

I think those TEN COMMANDMENTS, when followed, make for an honest and good society, regardless of religion.

BUT there becomes a problem If a Baptist even Muslim (Or any large group) reaches a dominant number and decides it would be BEST for EVERYONE to share their belief, let’s make OURS the law, THERE is where the problem comes in.

JFK was a good President. He was Catholic. I heard many folks say, “If we elect Kennedy, the Pope will take our country!” Of course it did not happen.

Churches in politics have lost their tax-free status. Some are treading in shallow areas now.

Lately in churches and on the internet, I have heard ministers of different denominations STRONGLY declare Trump for President,

My dad, a dedicated pastor, at voting time he would always say from the pulpit, “Do not ask me what party I support, I am whatever you are. I pastor this flock and I respect your opinions and choices, that is what makes our life so good, we can have differing opinions and still enjoy our fellowship.”  I did not know his Political Preferences.

I have been saddened to hear preachers declare prayer for the election that God’s will would be done! But it was no secret they were sure which man was God’s will. ;-)

WE do this in the USA every election year. We pray for God’s will to be done. BUT this time on the internet after the election, I heard my pastor state, “We have had a miracle, the RIGHT man has been elected. God can use even a flawed man to lead our country!” (something to that effect)

I THINK TOO MUCH, GOD can do anything. Surely if he can use a known adulterer, he could just as well use a Black Lady, couldn’t HE?

I am conservative, Over the years I have voted both major parties and at least one independent. My wife and I do not always vote the same. If God is deciding our Presidents, didn’t he pick Joe Biden also?  SORRY, Just me thinking too much.

Nite Shipslog

PS.

 Thank all of you that read here. I enjoy comments and appreciate it as I read them. Y’all are the BEST! Thanks for the times you allow me to state an opinion. There was a time Christians could be Republicans or Democrats and still love one another. I would never dislike or hate my family because they voted different from me.  LOL IT AIN’T MY FAULT THEY CANNOT SEE THINGS RIGHT!

 

Sherry’s Birthday has passed.

  A picture from the Past.

 Every sailor has a special picture. This was mine. Every time I opened my rack locker, this is what I saw, and I thought of my beauty.  This girl has always had beautiful LEGS also, :-O

                                    (Yeah, I know you ladies cannot remember that hair style)

For Today:

Believe it or not, Sherry shopped only one store for her BD present, a  Purse. She could not find what she wanted. We planned to make some more stores, but I found a purse on the internet. She looked at it and said, “I want that one!”

I told her that if she was not happy with it when it arrived, we would go shopping. BUT….When it arrived she was very satisfied. It has just the pockets she was wanting.

I did get her a couple more things and the day before her BD she said, “I would like your pancakes for Breakfast.’  She wanted to try some of the black walnuts she has been picking out. The nuts are from our trees in NC.  I cracked them to bring south and pick out.  She has put the nuts in syrup, and they are DELICIOUS!

It reminds us of the nuts used on the Chocolate Nut Sundaes we used to enjoy once a month in the first year of our marriage.

As I write this we have moved to Leesburg to 'house sit' for son Mark. This place WAS ours, but son Mark bought it.  So my playhouse is still here with tools still where I left them.  LOL

(Sherry has always had a great work ethic.) At times she has supported us by working when I was out of work.  When I go thru our records, I find MANY letters of commendation for her work.

Sherry chose Longhorn Steak house for her Birthday dinner.  As always, we enjoyed our meal together.  It is good to have a private celebration at times.  Our family is very supportive and if we were around them, we would have celebrated together.

                                                 In our much younger years;  Can you tell I love this girl?

I haven't always been a good husband, but in the last few years I realize more and more how fortunate I have been to have this lady as my BETTER HALF.  I can never make up for the times I have been LESS understanding, BUT I want to try.  She will read this Blog entry, so I want to say, "I LOVE YOU SWEETHEART. You are and have always been, THE BEST!"

Neither of us ever thought we would reach an age even near our 90s, but we are thankful.  God has been good to us.

 

NiteShipslog

PS: 

AGAIN THANKS to y’all for stopping by the Shipslog. It is nice to know some folks will read this stuff, if it is crazy.

PS2: Sherry's Birthday was filled by phone calls, texts and e-mails. Then this aft. I stopped to pick up our mail The clerk came around the counter and gave me a hug, it must be Sherry's BD, She handed me more BD cards. Happy Birthday to Sherry!

Life and Death

Pic of the day;

Crazy Headlines!

 

 For today:

LIFE...

There are many unconventional lives, mine has been one, from birth 'til now.  I was raised in a very fundamental church life.  When I was a kid our church had a list of ‘SINS’. Our church also were believers in the gift of tongues. As in when the Holy Ghost fell on the day of Pentecost and the disciples of Christ spoke in other tongues, Etc.

Oh yes, and of course many members became excited praising the Lord and were known to walk benches, run, dance, shout and roll on the floor.

THUS WE were given the slang term of being “Holy Rollers”.  We were shunned by many people as being a cult.  Now lemme tell you it ain’t no fun to be the son of a Holy Roller Preacher. I took a lot of ribbing because of my family’s religion, of course a few fights.

I want to clarify here. I have known some of the most honest good folks in the church world. I even met and married the most beautiful girl in the world in church.

I do thank God that our church moved into the mainstream now, and very seldom referred to as Holy Rollers. Of course I haven’t seen/heard much tongues, shouting or rolling since the 1950s. Although on occasion one will hear a message given in tongues.  I guess we grew and quit much of the demonstrations.  We are now just referred to as Pentecostals or Full Gospel.

My Dad was a farmer in Georgia, when he felt called to be an evangelist. In the Early 1900’s that meant getting a big tent and finding someone who would allow him to set it up and preach. He joined what then was called the Fire Baptized Holiness Church. He was very successful and won many to the Lord.

Once when a storm destroyed his tent, he said he had a vision or leading, to join a new organization called the Church of God.  He did that. In the 1930s he organized and built a large church in South Gastonia, NC. It still stands today.

My dad was never a dogmatic minister. His messages were about the Love of our Savior. Dad delivered a message and it was like a story, holding folks' attention. He was fond of the 30 min sermon saying that was ideal for the mind.

 I mentioned to Victor that I appreciate his creation of Father Ignatius in his books. When I read about Father Ignatius, that could have been my dad. The stories Victor writes show the Father as having great insight and common sense. Yep, that was my daddy.

I mentioned my sister Kat and her husband Dick. He was also a successful preacher; Kat was the perfect preacher’s wife. Dick died before Kat.

DEATH...

 I sang and talked to Kat most of the night before she passed away. In the early hours of morning, she slowly raised her arm pointing upward. I walked over to check on her then returned to my chair...... Suddenly it hit me. My dad pointed up, just before he died.  I went to her side, "I am sorry Kat, I know you were saying you are going home, right?" She blinked her eyes twice (yes). She could hear me but could not talk. She communicated by blinking her eyes.  She became ‘glassy eyed’ and listless come morning.

Sherry and I were by her side, her eyes were closed.. Suddenly she opened her eyes, they were clear, she appeared to be looking far off, slowly the sweetest smile crossed her lips and face: she held that for just a moment, closed her eyes and left this world.

We have wondered, “What did Kat see in that last moment?

Nite Shipslog

PS 

Thanks for all the visits. LOL Sorry to be so long I started this entry just to tell about Kat’s passing and elaborated too much.  Love y’all.

 

Then there was Shirley, or Shirl.

 Photo from the Past:

 

Shirl stopped by to see us on the way to sing with to an appointment to sing country. she could do about any style.

Now for today:

Shirley and I were sort of a second family to mom and dad. So we grew up together.  She taught me to play hopscotch and ride a bike, when dad pastored a country church. Our closest neighbors were farmers. They were black and in the 1940s we did not know that segregation was demanded down south. When we played with anyone it was those farm kids.  We had a ball.

Shirley fit in upper society, at times I would remind her she once played in a barn and jumped out of the loft into straw and manure. We kids racked a big pile after cleaning the stalls in the barn. It was great to jump in and very soft. LOL

Later at another church and in her teens, Shirley and her friends, Micki and Margreta, had a Trio and tried out for a shot on statewide TV.

Arther Smith Talent Scouts came to Valdese and the girls entered. When their time came, Shirley started out playing the Accordion and as they sang "Because Just Because" (by Frankie Yankovic), she switched to the piano without missing a note (quite a feat).

They won and were featured once with Arthor Smith and the Cracker Jacks on WBTV, of course the girls were the talk of the local High School for a while. 

Shirley married an ‘Aerospace Engineer,’ Jim Wrape. They had a good marriage and sang in the Charlotte Methodist choir.

After Jim passed, she leased our home and moved to Belmont while we traveled. She became active in the Belmont Historical Society.  The town of Belmont was founded on Cotton Mills and She became interested. I had picked cotton one summer as a kid, but Shirley never did. She shocked the folks at the Society by growing cotton and using the product, most still on the stalk, created some great decorations for her home and in the Historical House of the Society.

She always had a great musical talent and dreamed of being a lead singer in a band. In Belmont, She met and became a steady date of Smokey Coe, he was a record producer and had his own band. He was famous locally; he had been the first to Record and promote Randy Travis. She got the chance to fulfil her dream by singing with Smokey Coe’s band for a few years and loved it.

Her last was sad. She called us in Florida and told us we needed to come home and take care of her, "I'm losing my memory!" she said. We came home to find it was true.

A sad but sweet thing, Sherry and I were with both my sisters when they passed. Those were both tough times.

 Nite Shipslog

PS:

God has allowed us to meet some of the best folk on the planet. In person and here on the net.  Thank you all for being here… and being YOU, and reading an old man’s memories.

And then there was Kat and Shirley

 Photo from the Past:

 

This is Dick and KAT on our trip to Alaska. They followed us in their Bounder Motor home. Top is in the Yukon at the Sign Forest. Below we are boon-docking in the wilds of Alaska.

 

So for today:

Sisters are special.  Sherry had two sisters, Colette and Lennie.  My BILs & I learned when You married one of ‘em Harris girls you married them all. They were very close. We traveled thousands of miles with them and their hobby's around this country. BUT they were hometown bodies and about a month was the most they could be gone. LOL

I had two big sisters, Kat & Shirley. Where I come from, if the sisters were older than you they were the 'BIG' sisters.  Kat the oldest.

I remember the tale around our house about (in 1944) Kat and her cousin as teens, concerning freckles. They despised theirs. Her cousin told her that she heard that putting fresh cow manure on them for a few hours would erase them. The cousin spent the night with Kat. The pasture was just out our back door. After everyone in the house was asleep, they found a fresh cow pile and applied the manure. They tried to stay awake for a couple hours but fell asleep and mama found them sleeping in the kitchen when she arose in the AM,  everyone at home got a good laugh. BTW, Kat said it DID NOT WORK!~  LOL

Kat married at 16.  She had a fine husband. He became a minister and years later was elected to Church Administration where they served overseership in NYC and later over all of Canada. Mostly they worked with Jamaican and Haitian immigrants.

Once the General Overseer of the denomination asked Kat to address the hundreds of pastors and wives attending the Assembly. As she spoke the Overseer disagreed with something she said and stood to correct her. She amazed her husband and church leaders by saying, “Sit down big boy, you asked me to speak and I am not finished !”  The entire congregation stood applauding, as the overseer sat down embarrassed.

She was known as MAMA by the Jamaicans and Haitians in NYC and Canada.

I am an ignorant southern boy. I knew my family by the names they were called at home. Once Sherry & I went to visit Kat in the hospital. I asked for Kat Lankford’s room number. The receptionist said, “We do not show a Kat Lankford, but there is a Mary Katherine.”

" But..."

I started to say 'I know she is here,' and Sherry interrupted me, “Jack, THAT IS Kat’s name!”  Boy howdy, am I one of the sharp knives in the drawer or what?  LOL

Nite Shipslog

PS.

 Thank all of you that read here. I enjoy comments and appreciate it as I read them. Y’all are the BEST! Thanks for the times you have let me relive some memories.

 PS2 (ref previous post) Chatty was right in a comment about putting the candy in the pot rather in the grounds. Last nite  I put two mini-candies in the pot and it worked well, the candy melted into the coffee,  no mess, but still did not flavor the coffee enough to matter.  If I were to try it again I would put a mini candy in for every 2 cups brewed. LOL

I worry me!

 Pic of the day;

 

This split entry home Sherry and I built all by ourselves, except for the heat and A/C systems.

  For today:

I remember hiding Easter Eggs in my youth and forgetting where I hid them.  At times one or two weren’t found and we found them later in the Summer.  Now in my second childhood or the winter of my life, I am starting to hide things from myself.

I know one should not do this, but for many years when we lived close on finances, I would put a dollar-bill behind a framed picture, you know, for a ‘rainy day’.

A friend’s hubby died and she found MUCH money in his wallet, and he had told her he was nearly broke. Yes, someone will find a bill or two hid in my wallet also! Do you do that?

Hiding money.  Sure, most times we retrieve what we have ‘put back’, but sometimes we don’t!  Example I have probably mentioned it here before, but my sister (and we too) liked thrift stores. Once in a small town in Florida she bought a small cushion for her couch. She bought it because it had a zip on cover she could wash.  When she got home and removed the cover she found a $100 bill.  Some old person had hidden it and the cushion was discarded at their death.

That makes one wonder how much money is hidden awaiting the lucky finder.

I am writing this because lately I have hidden things from my self, I still am looking for a ‘door stop’ I ordered for this coach and did not have time to install it when it came in, so I put it aside until later.  LATER came and I cannot remember where in this crazy coach I put it.

I misplaced something VERY IMPORTANT a couple days ago and looked thru every drawer to no avail.  Finally, I asked Sherry, and she said I had told her where I had put it, and I had. So at least I found the important stuff, now to find that silly door stop!

 

Nite Shipslog

PS 

Thanks for all the visits. LOL

PS2:  I found the door stop. In a drawer just a few inches from the door where I will install it. I kept looking for the little box it came in. I forgot that I had taken it out of the box therefore it was overlooked. It still in the plastic wrapper it came sealed in. ;-)

Tomorrow, sisters (maybe) LOL

 

Try something new maybe even crazy?

  A picture from the Past.

 Our next to last house under construction

Below I am lining the Pool room with Canadian Cedar.

For Today:

Like a lot of people, we had NO trick or treaters here at Halloween. So, we MUST eat that bag of candy we bought for them, SHUCKS!

I have mentioned I prepare the coffee around here.  Sherry says I make the BEST.  (at times I wonder about her reason. LOL) WE no longer use a percolator, but our Mr. Coffee is pretty old. So as I made coffee that night I decided to try something NEW.  I put a small snack size ‘3 Musketeers’ bar in with the coffee grounds, just to try something different.

Okay, that was not a great idea. It sorta stopped up the filter and overflowed the grounds and DID NOT enhance the taste of the coffee.  As a matter of fact at this writing a day later, Sherry did not comment on any difference in her morning coffee.  LOL, so much for sweetened flavored coffee at our house that I expected.  LOL

Some of my family have done odd/ crazy things. My brother Junior tried several business starts, but hit his stride in making concrete yard decorations. Bird Baths, chics and ducks, etc.

Brother Junior and Mozelle his wife in front of their store. The business was started in his back yard while they worked in the cotton mill.  Jun was a hero of mine, he served as Port Gunner on his ship in the South Pacific.

Brother Odis could do anything with wood. He was a truck driver and drove past the USS North Carolina (a WWII Battle Ship) twice a week. He made sketches of it and finally built a 9 foot model of it. He got carried away and finally had a fleet.  Even did the Pinta, Nina and the Santa Marie. They were displayed in many new buildings at their opening. One was the NCNB TOWER in  Charlotte, NC

Below Shirley and I delivered the model to the USS North Carolina monument where it was displayed for many years.

Below is most of Odis's fleet.

Above is Odis with the Pinta.  NONE of his ships were from kits, he did them all from scratch.

Yeah, I have also did the crazy. Sherry wanted a swimming pool. I have never liked the outdoor pools. They are a pain to maintain and expensive to keep regulated. So on our next to last house, I put a pool inside.  The Grand kids loved it.  We did too. There were no closing and opening spring and fall, that is expensive. It cost us about $6 a month to maintain the inside pool, it stayed at 92 degrees.    (Night view)

I installed sliding glass doors on two sides for ventilation and comfort in the summer.  I liked the Cedar, I was advised never to put a finish on it, and it would handle the moisture well, and it did. I enjoyed hanging that cedar, it was a fun job.

This is the fun view, we loved it.  BUT we decided to travel full time and could not leave the pool unattended, so we sold it. 

  Below is the house on South Main after completion.

 

It was much cheaper to throw the candy in the coffee pot, to do something crazy. LOL

NiteShipslog

PS: 

AGAIN THANKS to y’all for stopping by the Shipslog. It is nice to know some folks will read this stuff, if it is crazy.

And then there was my sisters!!!!!!  Maybe tomorrow..

 

Halloween, then and now

 Photo from the Past:

 

So for today

I remember Halloween before trick or treat was popular. I never went door to door for candy, WE turned over trash cans (back when people had old 50-gal drums and set them out on the street for the city to collect.)

Oh, and we went to town and ‘soaped’ store windows. Most of us had an old bar of soap and carried it to town to write on store windows. Lemme tell you there were no ‘dirty’ words written, that was a NO-NO even for the worst of us.

Now if you really wanted to be mean, you carried one of mama’s wax squares that she used when sealing homemade jelly. That sucker wrote on windows good and the store man had to work the day after Halloween.

YES, we went down town to make noise and look around to see if we could ID anyone we knew.  Most kids had a nickel/dime mask they had bought at the dime store (some saved from last year).  Most kids made up their Halloween costumes to go with their mask. There were some GREAT ideas, and it was a fun time to try to scare people.

I am NOT downgrading preachers and churches that shun Halloween, Saying it is ‘devil’ worship.  BUT..... I was a preacher’s son, and I NEVER considered it evil to have fun on Halloween.  Evidently my dad did not, he never castigated me for wanting to dress up for Halloween, unless it happened to be on a church night. LOL (I hated it when that happened!!)

This year I am glad for our church back home in NC, they had a Trunk or Treat night in the church parking lot. Giving out candy and inviting the kids to church. Maybe some churches miss a time to contact and show kids that do not attend church; church ‘Ain’t so bad,’ after all.

 

Nite Shipslog

PS: I hope you had a chance to see Chatty’s Halloween blog.   https://chattycrone.blogspot.com/2024/10/october-29-i-love-halloween-can-you-tell.html.

 Thank all of you that read here. I enjoy comments and appreciate it as I read them. Y’all are the BEST! Thanks for the times you have let me cry on your shoulder…..