Wednesday, March 1
Since we finished out February yesterday with a road trip, we decided we'd just stay home today and take care of the usual business of life. When we weren't cooking or doing laundry, Barbara spent time working on the October journal.blog so we could get caught up after a lapse of publication the last few months.
Tonight was praise band practice at Yantis FBC. Because it still gets dark early and the highway from Yantis to to Mineola is pitch black late at night, we took a change of clothes and the computers and spent the night in Big V, which is just a few minutes away from Yantis.
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Thursday, March 2With the October journal/blog almost finished, Barbara spent a big part of the day working on it and doing some final proofing.
It was a nice day outside, so I spent a couple of hours clearing weeds and brush out of the North 40 and getting it ready to be mowed.
Tonight was our final rehearsal for the Lake Country Symphonic Band concert scheduled this weekend. Two hours of rehearsing Sousa marches left us all physically and mentally drained.
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Friday, March 3Hallelujah!!! We pushed the button on the October Journal/Blog early this morning and got it on the way!
We celebrated the occasion (and a special friendship) by meeting our friends Gene and Michelle at Jalapeno Tree for lunch and catching up on each other's lives. Gene and Michelle were at Dodge City, Kansas when we were at Liberal, but we didn't meet them until several years ago when we both had lots at Holiday Villages of Lake Fork. Small world, huh!!!
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Saturday, March 4A little (no pun intended) get-together with some church friends was scheduled for tonight. Our contribution was a new recipe for cherry bars. Barbara was the pastry chef and I was her assistant. Here is our offering of a work in progress.
Later in the day we took our Sunday-Go-To-Meeting clothes out to Big V, drove to Yantis to pick up Maylene, and then headed across Lake Fork to the Nickerson home where we joined the others for an evening of good food, fellowship, and a rousing game of 99.
When the game was over, we crowned our winners, Charlie (first time player) and Maylene...
And then headed out on a dark and rainy night to take Maylene home before driving back to Our Little Lot to spend the night. With the weather as it was, we were very glad we didn't have to drive all the way to Mineola!
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Sunday, May 5This was a day that was filled to the brim. First, we had a bite of breakfast, got dressed, closed up Big V, and then drove to Yantis for the morning church service, where I played in the praise band...
and then Barbara and I gave the children's sermon. Our scripture for the children this morning was from Joshua 22, and was about judging without knowing the facts.
JIM:
Joshua 22:17 tells the story of how the tribes of Israel almost went to war
with each other because of rumors that had started with some of the
Israelites. It was because of one of
God’s teachings in the Book of Deuteronomy that the tribal leaders in the
Promised Land went to the tribes who everyone thought was turning against the
Lord and found out that the rumors were false and those who started them just
didn’t understand what was happening.
God wants us to know and speak the truth to the world around us, but we can’t do that without his wisdom and the courage to stand up for the truth in a true Christian way. If we accept rumors as truth and tell them to others as if they are truth, then we are no better than the ones who started the rumors and false statements.
Have you ever gotten into an argument at school with another student? Did they always tell what happened the same way you did? Well, as a teacher and then principal, I often had to settle arguments between my students, and the only way I could do that was to talk to those who were arguing to find out what they were arguing about and why they believed as they did. Without having all the facts and finding the truth, my decision could be very wrong, and the argument would never be settled.
God wants us to turn to him for wisdom in everything we say and do so we will be able to discover the truth about others and their situations and help guide them in the path of Jesus Christ.
Barbara: When we started working on this lesson, I immediately thought of two of my 5th grade students in Lubbock, a girl and a boy. These two argued every time the wind blew! Really! The girl came from a well-off family with both mother and father, her clothes were the newest, her hair perfect, she had it all! The boy, on the other hand, came to school in dirty, wrinkled clothes, his blonde hair was always sticking up, and he was like a puppy dog around her. You know what I mean, right? He always wanted her to like him, to be nice to him. But, she just couldn’t see beyond the dirt and grime; so she complained, tattled on him, said mean things about him to others trying and often succeeding in getting them to side with her. Then that Friday came…the last words she said to him after the bell rang and they walked out was a resounding, “I hate you! Why don’t you just die!” I kept her after class and visited with her about her choice of words; but she was too angry to listen.
Unfortunately, that’s not the end to this story. On Saturday night, the boy's single mother left him and his 1st grade sister alone and went out partying. At 3 AM Sunday morning, their house burned down without either being able to get out alive.
I knew Monday morning would be a miserable day for my class and especially the girl, who had chosen such bitter words that Friday and then had to live with them. The message is clear…don’t judge others…you just don’t know.
PRAYER: Heavenly
Father, please teach us to rely on your spirit and wisdom as we make daily
decisions about how to grow closer to you and show others how important it is
to follow you and your ways. We pray
this in the name of your son, Jesus Christ.
Amen.
We had to leave church early to return to Mineola so I could get ready for a 1:30 stage call and a 2:00 pm concert. Barbara wasn't feeling well, so since their would be a repeat performance of the concert on Tuesday, she stayed home and rested.
When we decided a while back that we really did need to get busy and catch up on our journal writing and blog posting, we split the months between us to speed up the process. While Barbara was hammering out the October edition, I was concentrating on November, and late this evening I got it published to the blog site. Our progress has been slow, but we are getting there!
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Monday, March 6
Not a very exciting day...I had an optometrist appointment early this morning and then we returned to the house to do some normal chores and continue with our work on the journal and blog, which seems to have taken over our lives lately.
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Tuesday, March 7
Happy 11th Birthday to granddaughter Abby!!!!!
Today was about as much of a day of rest as we are likely to have. We did nothing out of the ordinary or exciting.
Tonight was our repeat concert for the Lake Country Symphonic Band. The concert went well and was played to a very enthusiastic audience.
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Wednesday, March 8
This seems to be the doctor season for me. I had an early morning appointment in Lindale with my dermatologist.
The drive down to Lindale wasn't exciting, but it was such a beautiful morning that Barbara decided to take some photos of the countryside along U.S. 69.
Mrs. Wilson, the P.A., went through the usual routine; we discussed an option to the freezing that she usually does on my scalp and face, and then I pointed out a spot on my left cheek that was very painful to the touch. Mrs. Wilson checked it out and decided it was worthy of a biopsy, just in case, so she did a little cutting before we left and returned home.
The rest of the day was spent in working on journal/blog entries for December (Barbara) and January (Jim). We are determined to be back on schedule by April 1.
I had praise band rehearsal at Yantis this evening, but since we had a busy schedule planned for tomorrow morning, Barbara stayed home this evening and I drove out to Yantis and back.
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Thursday, March 9
Our morning calendar was full today...haircuts for Barbara, Aunt TJ, and me, a couple of errands, and then lunch for the three of us at Jalapeno Tree. Did we have a camera or take shots of any of those things...evidently not...what were we thinking?!!!
All the activities of the morning made us so tired that we just had to go home, watch another episode of Person of Interest (our latest Netflix series) and then take a nap...retirement can be so exhausting!
Tonight I finished working on all the photos and collages for the January journal/blog. The next step is to find something to say about all those images.
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Friday, March 10
While Barbara worked inside on our children's sermon for Sunday, I took advantage of a beautiful morning to fire up the lawnmower and tackle the front and back yards and the North 40.
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Saturday, March 11
Working together, we pretty much finished the script for our children's sermon for tomorrow, but we were still working on ideas for something to give the kids to reinforce the lesson. We decided that a Walmart outing would be necessary to see if something might jump off the shelves and give us a bright idea. Well, that's about what happened, so we took the goodies (some Fruit Chews candies, small boxes of raisins, and a package of postcard stock home and went to work.
Preparing a children's sermon is an exercise in teamwork for us, as is evidenced by this collage...
Just as we were getting ready to shut down for the night, we got this photo of Mike and Ava at a Father-Daughter dance...what a great way to finish out the week!
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Sunday, March 12
Our children's sermon this morning came from Joshua 24:14-15, and was about serving the Lord...
JIM: In Joshua 24, we read that the children of Israel are all settled in the Promised Land after more than 40 years of wandering and fighting. Their leader and military commander, Joshua, is now an old man, but he has one last speech that God gave him to give to the people. In the speech, God reminds the people of all He has done for them. At the end, Joshua told the people that they must decide for themselves if they were going to serve their one true God, or fall back into serving idols and false gods. After giving a warning about serving false Gods, Joshua said, “But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”
Joshua
served the Lord by living each day as a spiritual leader and an example of the
life God wants each of us to be. It
didn’t matter what others said or did, Joshua was committed to living his life
as a servant of God.
In our
lesson today, we’ll talk about ways that we can serve the Lord daily and show
others that we are committed to being God’s servants. It won’t be easy, but know that God will give
us the wisdom, strength, and courage to serve him and stand up for him if we
really want to serve him.
Barbara: What is this? Ladle?
And this? A spoon with holes. The ladle scoops out soup while this spoon with
holes keeps the liquid out of your food. This pasta spoon holds spaghetti while
tongs picks up different foods. Do you know that these utensils have in common
even though they don’t look alike? That’s right, they are used to serve food.
Well,
each of us are like these utensils because we look different on the outside and
we all have different talents and abilities. But…we all are here to serve the
Lord. One way Mr. Little serves the Lord is to play his trumpet; but could we
do that? No, we have to find another way. For example, sometimes serving the
Lord is just sharing a smile with someone. Or, maybe it’s drawing a picture for
or sending a card to someone. It could be saying a prayer or inviting someone
to church with you. Did you know you are serving God right now; because you are
sitting here listening to His message?
As usual,
we have made you something to help you remember Joshua’s lesson. This card
says, “I choose to be “raisin” my family to serve the Lord.”
JIM: Father God, it isn’t always easy
to serve you and show others in our daily lives that you are our one true
God. Please give us each day the wisdom,
strength, and courage to serve you in all we say and do. We pray this in the name of Jesus, Amen.
We called in an order for pizza on the way home from church, stopped to visit TJ for a few minutes, picked up the pizza, and then came home to eat, rest, and relax.
Tonight we finished and proofed the January edition of the journal/blog, hit the button, and published it to the blog site. Finally, we are well on our way into 2017!!!
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Monday, March 13
God works in mysterious ways; without knowing it as we began this day, this would become a common thread for the next two weeks.
We had a lengthy agenda for the day, but before we left the house, Barbara suggested that I call my brother Ernie to check on him. When I talked to Ernie on his birthday last month, he was suffering from some kind of "bug," and not feeling good, so a follow-up call was in order.
Ernie didn't answer his phone, so I left a short message and we started to leave. But, we hadn't gotten out of the house when Candace, Ernie's oldest daughter, called back and said that Ernie had gotten worse and they had taken him to the local emergency room. We explained about all our appointments today and asked Candace to please keep us informed of what was happening with Ernie.
First on our agenda this morning was to get over to the local Verizon store so Barbara could see about getting a new screen guard for her phone. It seems that the unbreakable guard we got a couple of months ago decided to split, which somewhat damaged its reliability as a guard.
Nothing goes quickly at our Verizon store, so while Barbara took care of business there, I drove across the street to Walmart to gas up the car. When I returned, Barbara and one of the store employees were finishing the installation of the guard, and I took a photo of the grand occasion.
We then drove to Tyler to join cousins Angela, Ladd, Donnie, and Lynette to sit in on Aunt TJ's neurology appointment. When we found that the room was too small for all of us, Barbara and Ladd opted to stay in the waiting room while the rest of us visited with the doctor.
Just before we went into the examining room, we got a text from Candace letting us know that the ER in Harrison, Arkansas, had sent Ernie to the ICU at Cox South Medical Center in Springfield, Missouri.
While they were waiting outside, Barbara played with the various photo frames on her phone and came up with this collage...
After the appointment, we all headed back toward Mineola, but stopped first for a late lunch at Catchers, a wonderful seafood place in Lindale. You can probably tell from the photos that a good time was had by all...
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Tuesday, March 14
When it rains, it pours...especially when it comes to medical appointments and us. I received a call from Dermatology Associates of Tyler this morning to set up an appointment for a U-V laser procedure for my scalp. I've been going every three months for liquid nitrogen treatments and they haven't done the job over the long-term, so Mrs. Wilson suggested that I might want to try a new procedure.
Candace contacted us late in the morning to say that Ernie would be in ICU for at least the next couple of days. At that point, we asked if we should come to Springfield, and she said she thought that would be good. We knew that things were not going well for Ernie.
We drove to Tyler this afternoon for a cataract examination for me. My vision has been getting cloudier and cloudier, but I haven't been able to hit the standard of deterioration that would get the cost of the procedure covered by Medicare. At my last eye exam, the doctor recommended an examination by Dr. Whitney, a cataract specialist in Tyler.
So, this afternoon we visited with Dr. Whitney, and without even trying, I failed the test miserably. Dr. Whitney said that with today's results, I wouldn't be able to renew my driver license if I had to apply now.
When we left the Eye Center, I decided that a selfie with my new designer sunglasses (given to me to ward off the effects of the dilation) was in order. Barbara helped out by taking another photo of me holding the booklet of orders from Dr. Whitney.
After the exam, Barbara drove us back to Mineola and we began throwing things together and packing for a trip to Missouri. We packed enough for five days, thinking that if we needed more, we could either wash somewhere, or buy whatever we needed.
Sometime during the evening we received the announcement from Susie Francis that we have a new member of our extended New Mexico family. Paul and Stephanie are the proud parents of Annie. We're certain that her four older brothers are just as proud!
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Wednesday, March 15
We were up and running early this morning, pulling away from the house at 6:15 am for the trip to Missouri. After a breakfast stop at our local Whataburger, we headed north through Texas, Oklahoma (via the Indian Nation Turnpike to McAlister), then through Muskogee to the Will Rogers Turnpike, and across I-44 to Springfield, Missouri, to visit Ernie, Billee, and Candace.
It was an 8-9 hour drive with minimal stops, so we got to Springfield in time to get checked into our hotel and still get over to the hospital to visit with Ernie and Billee for a short time. They kicked all the visitors out of the ICU at 5:00 pm, so Billee drove back to Harrison, while Barbara and I took time out for supper before I went back to the hospital to sit with Ernie for a couple of hours after they opened visitation again at 8:00 pm.
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Thursday, March 16
Today was a full day of visiting with Ernie. Billee had some business to take care of in Harrison, so it was a little later when she joined us. Ernie slept a lot, but after Billee came, he was awake and more alert. He even showed some sparks of the old Ernie, as evidenced by this photo of the two of us joshing with each other.
At some point during one of our conversations, something was said about sending me out on an errand. I said, "Someone needs to tell me where to go," and Ernie immediately responded by raising an arm and saying, "I can do that.!" It was just like the old days.
Later this afternoon we had visits from both the ICU doctor and the oncologist. It was with heavy hearts that we learned that Ernie had widespread cancer, that his liver was severely damaged, and the cancer had spread to his lungs. The oncologist spoke of possibly ordering a couple more scans tomorrow to see if the cancer had spread to Ernie's brain.
We all left at 5:00, and Billee later let us know that Ernie would be moved from ICU to a room on the 7th floor sometime this evening.
After eating a light meal, I returned to the hospital to sit with Ernie. He slept nearly the entire time I was there, but I was able to speak with him, hold his hand, and when he became restless and woke up enough to let me know that he was really hurting, I found his nurse, who got an order from the doctor to begin administering morphine. That's when the seriousness of Ernie's illness became very real to me. I stayed with him until after 10:00, and then returned to the hotel in a state of semi-shock and sorrow.
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Friday, March 17
The first thing we did this morning was to pack everything up, load the car, have a bite of breakfast, and then check out of the Best Western Airport Hotel. After two mornings of cold showers, no control over the room temperature controls, water backing up in the sink, and NO internet service, we decided that we'd had enough of the place.
We made the half hour drive to the hospital and spent the morning in Ernie's room, just sitting with him, talking to him from time to time, and holding his hand and head, and checking with Haley, Ernie's nurse from time to time to ask about possible orders. The transition from yesterday afternoon to today was amazing and disheartening.
Billee, Candace, and their friends Tim and Charmaine arrived a little after noon. After visiting with them a bit, we left to let them have some private time with Ernie (well, as private as the time can be when sharing a room with another patient and their family members).
After a bite of lunch, we walked around the lobby a bit and then went back upstairs to sit in the waiting room and visit with Tim and Charmaine.
Later, both the hospitalist and the oncologist made their respective visits to meet with the family. Bad news is always bad news, and there's not a good way to be prepared for it. The situation with Ernie was as bad as it could get. Tests overnight and this morning determined that the origin of the cancer was colorectal, and it had spread through the liver, completely destroying it, and into the lungs. There was a possibility that it had also spread to the brain, but the oncologist ruled out any further tests because there would be no point. The prognosis was that Ernie had from 2-10 days left.
Before the oncologist left, Candace and I stepped out of the room to thank him for all he had done and for the professional and caring way he had treated Ernie. The poor man was almost in tears as he said, "It's my job to fix things, and I can't fix this."
Barbara and I left the others to discuss the next steps, and we went to a nearby hotel to check in for a couple of nights. Later, we took some time for ourselves for a rare Friday night out to eat at TGI Friday's. We thought we weren't very hungry, but once we got inside and savored the atmosphere, we perked up a bit, enjoying the first real meal we'd had in days.
Candace notified us that Ernie would be moved to the 9th floor for palliative care, so we drove the few minutes back to the hospital to check on him and meet the nurses who would be taking care of him.
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Saturday, March 19
We had a quick breakfast at the hotel and then drove back to the hospital to find Ernie asleep. Shortly after 9:00, he became very restless and we could tell he was in pain, so we asked the nurse for help. She administered 10 cc's of morphine, and when that didn't help, she came back later and administered another 10 cc's. While I held Ernie's hand and asked him to squeeze my hand when the pain became too great, Barbara kept a close eye on the clock, since we felt that the morphine should be kicking in just any minute. I read some Bible verses, including the 23rd Psalm and talked to Ernie about some of our boyhood memories. Barbara went back to the nurse's station to ask for some more help, but the morphine finally kicked in and Ernie relaxed a little and went to sleep.
We went downstairs for a bite to eat and then visited the beautiful little chapel just off the main lobby. The Winston Churchill quote spoke very deeply to us of Ernie's life.
Candace messaged us to let us know that they were in the building, so I went to the elevator bank to meet Billee, Candace, Cari, and Nathan and guide them to Ernie's room. Once they were there, we left for a few hours to go back to the hotel (had to change rooms due to a computer glitch) and rested for a bit before returning to the hospital to sit with Ernie.
Before leaving for the night, we told the nurse that we planned to be back early tomorrow morning for a short visit before driving back to Mineola. We explained that we were staying just a few minutes from the hospital and asked that someone please call us if there was any change in Ernie's condition.
We stopped along the way to grab a couple of sandwiches and then returned to the hotel to eat and begin packing for tomorrow's trip. We went to bed around 9:30 and were awakened a little after 11:30 by the nurse, who told us that Ernie's breathing had changed and it wouldn't be long.
We quickly threw on some clothes and drove to the hospital. Unfortunately, all the doors we knew about were locked, so we had to search around the building to find an open door and get directions to the main building. We walked into the room at midnight, and the nurse told us that it was over...Ernie had passed away at 11:57.
We stayed there with Ernie for a few minutes, said goodbye to him, offered a prayer, and then returned to the hotel, all the while keeping in touch with Candace.
Sleep did not come easily over the next couple of hours as we mentally digested all that had happened over the past few days. At some point, I went to my computer and composed the following announcement of Ernie's passing:
"And then there was one...At 11:57 pm on Saturday, March 18, 2017, Ernie Little slipped the surly bonds of earth, put out his hand, and touched the face of God. He is now celebrating with Daddy, Mother, Jerry, and a host of family and friends in a place prepared for him by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ."
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Sunday, March 19
With only three hours of sleep behind us, we got up, finished packing, grabbed some breakfast to eat on the road, and left the Hampton Inn to head back to Mineola. It was a full day of driving, with both of us sharing the duties, but we arrived back home mid-afternoon, emptied the car, started washing clothes, and began packing once more to go to Harrison, Arkansas for Ernie's funeral sometime this week.
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Monday, March 20
It's the first day of Spring!!!
I went out early this morning to try to capture the beauty of our place the first day of Spring. We rarely are around to enjoy the full beauty of the azaleas, but they were certainly ready for us today!
Luckily, I had mowed the north 40 last week before we left, so it was in good shape this morning.
After packing the car, we drove to Lindale for a pre-op consultation with Mrs. Wilson at Dermatology Associates,
...And then hit the road again for the long trip to Harrison. We grabbed a Whataburger breakfast as we passed back through Mineola and then were once again playing road warriors. We did split the driving again...I drove on the four-lane highways, and let Barbara drive through the construction zones east of Texarkana. She didn't think it was a very fair split.😀
We got to Harrison around 5:00, checked in at our hotel, and later met with Billee and Candace at their house to get caught up on what they had been doing and find out what they needed from us.
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Tuesday, March 21
In our meeting with Billee and Candace last night, they asked if we would put together some photos for the service. They didn't want a slide show at the church, but did want come kind of collage of photos at the service. Since we have a large archive of family photos stored on our computers, we felt that we could come up with something.
The other thing they wanted us to do was to make sure that there would be military honors that would be coordinated within the service.
The first order of business, after breakfast, of course, was to go to the funeral home on the south side of town to work with Hilton, one of Ernie's good friends, to flesh out details of the military component of the service. Billee had also asked us to select a memory book and memory folders, and Hilton was very kind in helping to pick out something that we thought was attractive and appropriate.
Then, we drove to Walmart on the north end of the town to find something that would be good to construct a collage. We did find something we liked and, since Barbara had already sent in an order to duplicate some photos we thought would be appropriate, we picked them up and returned to the hotel to see what we could put together for a first showing for Billee and Candace tonight.
Then, we drove to the church to see what the physical setup would be to help us in determining what we would need on display.
This evening we drove to the house to meet with Billee, Candace, Cari, Tim, and Charmaine to begin planning Ernie's memorial service. Along the way, we stopped at a church close to the house so I could do some trumpet warmups and practice playing Taps.
While the overall mood of the group at the meeting was somber, we did have a good time sharing Ernie stories to give Tim, who would lead the service, more background on the Ernie that he had come to know in the past few years.
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Wednesday, March 22
We decided to start the day with a morning selfie...
And then went back to work on our preparations for the service. That included multiple trips between the funeral home and Walmart, as well as trips back to the hotel to get the collage just the way we wanted it.
And then, we found that the collage frame would not sit on the little tripod we had purchased at Walmart, so we began a citywide search for a tripod. We finally found a floral shop just down the street from the hotel that had a good selection. When we showed the lady the collage frame, she searched until she found exactly what we needed. During the course of our conversation, she learned that it was for Ernie's memorial service and she said we didn't need to buy it...that we could just return it after the service. We asked if she wanted us to sign for it and she said that wouldn't be necessary, and that we looked like we were trustworthy. That was the same attitude we encountered all over the city as we did our part for Ernie's service. The ladies at the Walmart photo shop (one of whom was also named Billee) were wonderfully helpful when it looked as if our whole plan was falling apart. God sure did put some neat people in our pathway today!!!
Later this evening Candace called to say that she had been going through Ernie's things and had found a letter that Mother wrote to each of us boys after Daddy's funeral in 1966. She said it might be helpful in preparing my remarks for a eulogy at the service, so we drove over to the house to visit awhile ad read the letter (which brought tears to everyone's eyes,) but which also turned out to be the missing link for the eulogy.
We were wrung out mentally and physically by the time we returned to the hotel, but we felt in our hearts that we had done our best to honor Ernie and support Billee and the girls during this terrible time.
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Thursday, March 23
Remembering Ernie Little
We were up early and at the church a little before 8:30 to get everything in place and make last-minute preparations for Ernie's memorial service. In a short time, I had gone over the procedures with the Honors Team from Little Rock AFB, Barbara had the displays set up, and Tim had finalized the order of service.
Tim read the obituary and then called on me to deliver the eulogy to the family and the many friends who had gathered.
A Brother's Love...
Thank you for joining us this morning for a Celebration of
Life for my brother.
The first thing you should know is that I won’t be talking
about Saint Ernie. I lived with Ernie
from the time he was born until I left for college, so I can testify to the
sainthood issue. However, I will have
some things to say about a true Christian and a Godly man, brother, husband,
and father.
We always said that we three boys were born Baptist. We went on the Cradle Roll 8 months before we
were born, and when we were born, we came out of the womb with a King James
Bible – Schofield Edition, in one hand, and a Broadman Hymnal in the other.
Mother and Daddy were faithful church members, choir
members, and Sunday school teachers, and Daddy was a deacon at First Baptist
Church in Artesia, New Mexico, so we were well-immersed, no pun intended, in
Christian doctrine. Our formal biblical
and spiritual training came through the church, but our daily models of Christian
living and Christian responsibility were our parents and grandparents.
To Mother and Daddy, the concepts of God, Christian
service, and service to our nation were synonymous, so in the Spring of 1966,
as the Vietnam War was heating up, as I graduated from college and Ernie
graduated from high school, all three of us boys enlisted in the United States
Air Force. Daddy had served in the Army
Air Force during World War II, so it was a foregone conclusion, although
certainly not Daddy’s requirement, that we would follow in his footsteps in the
modern air force.
Now, Ernie has been described as a “gentle soul” by some,
and I cannot argue that description, but I will guarantee you that he had a
breaking point, and he did not brook nonsense.
After a short tour of duty in Greece as an aircraft mechanic, Ernie was
ordered to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.
You probably know that Dover Air Force Base is where members of our
armed services who are killed in action are returned to be repatriated and
prepared to be sent home to their final resting place. During the time of our service, Dover was a
very busy base. Unfortunately, Dover at
that time was also known within the air force as a place where high ranking
officers could come for a few days to get enough flying time to recertify for
their flight pay (even though they no longer had flying duties) and be within a
short distance of Atlantic City for some Rest and Recreation. Within a couple of days, Ernie learned that
his job was to keep high ranking officers and government officials happy, even
if it was at the expense of keeping aircraft ready for transporting troops who
were returning from or leaving for battle stations in Southeast Asia. After one week of being at Dover, Ernie went
to his commander and requested a transfer to anywhere else. The commander said he could go to Vietnam and
Ernie said, “I’ll take it!” And so he
spent time in Vietnam, serving his military brothers and sisters who were doing
the real fighting.
On August 23, 1966, just a few months after we all
enlisted, Daddy was killed in a flood while serving as a radio news reporter
and helping to rescue people in a low-lying area near our town. Mother, after having lived so many years with
a husband and three boys, was devastated, but continued in her role as a
spiritual adviser and mentor to us.
I said earlier that Mother and Daddy were our role models
for Godly living. Yesterday, Candace
sent us a message telling us that she had been going through some of Ernie’s
papers and found a letter that Mother had written to Ernie, Jerry, and me after
Daddy’s funeral. The letter speaks
volumes about the values that our parents tried to instill in us.
Billee, even though this letter was written a little over
50 years ago, Barbara and I were struck by how it applies to your family
today. We can almost hear you saying
similar things to Candace and Cari about their daddy.
This is what Mother wrote:
“Dear
Boys
I
am a very lucky woman. I had nearly 24
years of love and devotion from the most unselfish man that I ever knew, and he
left me with three of the finest young men who ever lived to keep his memory
alive.
Everything
about the home place speaks of his love for us and the hard work he had put in
to take care of us. He did not get to do
a lot of the things he wanted to with and for you, but it was never because he
did not love you and want to.
I
know that he would say to you, “Place your faith in God for your spiritual
welfare, love each other, and help your fellow man at any and all times he
might need it with no thought of thanks or reward.”
He
would have you serve your country honorably and to the best of your ability in
whatever you are given to do. He tried
to teach you the value of honest work and the pride and self-respect of
independence. Be strong men, but never
ashamed to cry. Someone has said that
man is the only animal that cries, because he is the only animal that sees the
difference in the way things are and the way they ought to be. Do your best to make things the way they
ought to be, then trust God to take care of the outcome.”
No, Ernie was not a saint, but he was a good and Godly man
who was a servant of God and a follower of Jesus Christ, who he accepted as his
Lord and Savior at the age of 7. He
spent his life serving others quietly and, for the most part without
recognition; it was a duty and responsibility that was taught, modeled, and reinforced
by our parents, and something that he has modeled for his family and his many
friends and acquaintances.
As Barbara and I were driving up from Texas on Monday, we were
listening to an Oakridge Boys album and heard one of our favorite songs, “Did I
Make a Difference,” and we immediately thought of Ernie’s life. We know that If
you knew Ernie for only five minutes, you will agree that in his life, Ernie
Little made a difference.
We miss you, Ernie, but know you are in a far better
place. Say “Hey” to our family and
friends, and tell them we’ll be there when God calls.
Following the eulogy, Tim preached a beautiful and moving memorial service, and then called the Honors Team forward to render final military honors, and I took my place in the back of the room to sound Taps.
We all enjoyed family and friends time at the end of the service...
And later, at Connie and Keith's (Billee's sister and brother-in-law) home...
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Friday, March 24
This was a travel day. We pulled out of the hotel parking lot at 5:45 and, except for a couple of brief stops along the way, kept the pedal to the metal.
Back in Texas, we spotted this American Flag waving proudly over the landscape...
We stopped in Mt. Vernon around noon to get some barbecue to take home for lunch, and then trucked it on home, arriving at the house around 1:30.
We unloaded the car, checked the mail, and then headed for bed to catch up on some much-needed sleep...the unpacking and other chores would just have to wait until tomorrow!
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Saturday, March 25
Just another day of catching up...unpacking, washing, cleaning house, and mowing the yards were the primary items on the agenda, as well as a trip to Walmart to restock some supplies.
We always appreciate receiving photos of the grandkids, so we were thrilled to receive this from Mike...Jack at his very first T-ball game!
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Sunday, March 26
Since we hadn't been around this week for me to rehearse with the praise band or for us to prepare a children's sermon, we just sat toward the back and enjoyed the full experience of the Sunday morning service at First Baptist Church of Yantis.
Eve, one of the newer members of our congregation, knew that Barbara enjoyed collecting special rocks, so she brought this South Dakota fossil to Barbara this morning...
We headed straight home after church, but since we were all dressed up, we took a few minutes for some Sunday mugging for the camera...
Lunch and a nap were the highest priorities, but later this evening I went out and mowed the north 40 to get ahead of some projected rainy weather.
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Monday, March 27
In preparation for the first of two cataract surgeries beginning tomorrow, we began the process by using a series of eye drops. Barbara played the part of the highly-skilled nurse, while I was the practical and easy-going patient. My part was more difficult than hers.
Our friends Gene and Michelle called this morning to see about scheduling a meal together somewhere today. We all decided on Wingdinger's in Quitman at noon, and had a wonderful time catching up on each other's lives before they went back to their farm in Kansas for a few days.
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Tuesday, March 28
Happy Anniversary to daughter Whitney and son-in-law Jim Farnham!!!!!
Our appointment for cataract surgery was scheduled at 8:30 this morning, so we got up and around early enough to get away from the house a little after 7:00, since we weren't sure where we were going in Tyler and what the traffic would be like.
After checking in, I was taken into a waiting room with three others who were awaiting a similar surgery, while Barbara went out to the car to read and nap, since she wouldn't be able to see me until the surgery was over and I was in recovery.
All went well with the surgery except for the part about waiting an extra hour in the holding tank before they took me in for my turn. It was after noon before we got our instructions and Barbara got a chance to take this snappy photo of me in my designer surgical gown. Next time, I'm going to pay a little extra to get something nicer than the Medicare-approved surgical wear!😀
Barbara decided she'd keep the keys and drive us home. By the time we got to the house, I was ready for some Tylenol and we were both ready for a nap. Exercise and yard work were not part of the recommended regimen, so we just hunkered down for the rest of the day.
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Wednesday, March 29
The downside of the late surgery yesterday was that I had an early 7:15 appointment with Dr. Whitney, which meant that we had to leave Mineola no later than 6:15. But, since it was raining heavily and thunderstorms were rolling around the county, we left at 5:45 am with Barbara driving. She was as nervous as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs, but did a great job of getting us there and back so we could spend the rest of the day catching up on our interrupted sleep and then doing as little significant work as possible.
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Thursday, March 30
Have we mentioned that this is a week full of doctor appointments? This morning found us on the road again to, where else, Tyler. However, we got to leave at a more decent hour, and Barbara didn't have to drive.
The adventure today was to have a squamous cell malignant tumor excised from my lower left cheek. While it was described as a particularly aggressive cancer, the doctor thought she had caught it while it was still relatively small. This was not my first squamous cell tumor, but each time I have one diagnosed and removed, Barbara is reminded that Henry, her first husband, died from squamous cell, so she gets a little nervous.
This is what she posted on Facebook this morning...
In 2010, Dr. G found that Jim had a squamous cell spot on his face. My Jimmy Clint was in jail on 3 DUI charges and had turned his life over to Christ, which meant that we finally had wonderful talks through phone and letters. Since his Dad had battled squamous cancer, his response to Jim's news made us laugh! Today as we head to Tyler for a squamous cell removal on Jim's left cheek, Jimmy's words once again make us smile! His prayers as well as others are still appreciated!
We got checked in at Dermatology Associates and went to the waiting room to wait, and wait, and...well, you know...
T
he type of surgery Dr. Meads does is the Moh's procedure in which she removes as much of the tumor as she can, then has the pathologist check to see if the margins around the cutting are clear, If the margins indicate the tumor is completely removed, the procedure is completed. If the margins are not clear, the patient goes back under the knife and the procedure is repeated until all margins are clear.
In my case this morning, I was sent back to the waiting room until the pathologist finished studying the slide. While we were waiting, I asked Barbara to take a series of mug shots to show what I looked like after two surgeries this week. It wasn't pretty...
I did have to go back for a second cutting, but the pathologist declared me "clean" after that one, so we bundled up our stuff and headed back toward Mineola with a stop at Red Lobster for some lunch and three dozen of their delicious biscuits to save for a rainy day.
I had a Tylenol cocktail when we got back to the house and we voted that we'd had enough excitement for one day.
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Friday, March 31
We've been to Tyler three times this week already for doctor appointments, so why not finish out the month with another run to Tyler...for another procedure!
This morning found us once again at Dermatology Associates for a new procedure to treat my persistent actinic keratosis, a fancy term for garbage (pre-cancerous lesions) that grows in/on my scalp. For several years I've been going to the dermatologist every three to six months to have my scalp sprayed with liquid nitrogen,,,anywhere from 20-30 sprays each session. Mrs. Wilson, my PA at Dermatology Associates, suggested that I might try the new Blue Light procedure in which parts of the head are bombarded by ultra-violet rays to destroy the lesions that are caused by, interestingly enough, ultra-violet rays.
When it was finally my turn in the chair, the assistant rubbed acetone and some other chemical all over my scalp and then I had to sit and wait for two hours. When the two hours were over, I went back to the room, had a metal hood placed over and around my head, and they turned it on for 16 minutes and 40 seconds.
At first I could feel a few interesting tingles on my scalp and forehead, but then it got really interesting. The noise level was about the same as in a MRI machine, but the heat was so intense that I had to hold a small fan and let it blow over my head. Also, those few interesting tingles began to feel as if a swarm of bees were lighting on my scalp and stinging me.
When the time was up, I told the assistant that they could probably market that machine as an interrogation tool at Guantanamo. By the fourth minute, I was ready to tell anything I knew to anyone who asked!!!
Following the procedure I was given a selection of creams for my scalp with the warning that I wasn't to wash my hair for three to five days, to use only those creams for the dry scalp and flaking that would come from the massive burn I would experience, and to stay away from direct sunlight for three to five days...not what I wanted to hear on a weekend when I really wanted to get outside and work in the yard.
But, being the sensible, agreeable, and patient person I am, I told the assistant I would follow all the directions and then I went to find Barbara and we left so we could get home and begin the regimen of doing nothing for the next few days.
We're here to tell you, folks, getting older is NOT for the faint of heart!
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We saw the following in a barbecue joint in Mt. Vernon when we returned from Harrison last week. It seems to sum up the second half of March.
Resting and recuperating at home in Mineola,
Jim/Dad/Gramps and Barbara/Mom/Grams/Gramsie
