Friday, June 1
Today and this month began with an ending...of sorts. Aubrey, one of our church kids, had her last day of elementary school before moving up the Quitman Middle School, and we were invited to attend the awards ceremony with her family. We added a few twists of our own, as after the awards ceremony, Aubrey rode behind me on Taz to have some family time at the local Dairy Queen, and then a Taz ride back to their house...talk about finishing with a flourish!!! The morning was (nearly) all about Aubrey, but sister Rivers, Keith, and Whitney were also very much involved!
After a wild and woolly morning, it was time for us old folks to take a nap, and then get up to finish preparing the treats and handouts for Sunday's children's sermon. This one was a little more involved (and a lot messier) than most we have done.
++++++++
Saturday, June 2
Another busy day in the making...first was a trip to Lindale to join our friends the Hays in a breakfast celebrating son Jared's graduation from Lindale High School. We first met Heidi and the kids when we were volunteering at the Georgia Baptist Conference Center in Toccoa, Georgia, several years ago. Heidi was the bakery chef, and Barbara was her assistant. A twist of fate brought their family to Lindale a few years ago, strengthening our friendship.
After we left Lindale, we went to Tyler for some serious shop-looking, and then on to Canton for the First Monday Trade Days. Our PGR friends, Frank and Shirley, had an exhibit of their work for the wounded warriors, and we were able to get a first-hand look at their equipment and what they have done through their Honored Warriors Ranch..
We had planned to stick around Canton for a few hours before meeting our friends Sonny and Carol from San Antonio, but it was so hot outside that we decided to go back home, rest a bit, and then return to Canton for dinner.
We took our normal shortcut from Lindale to I-20 West on our trip back to Canton. but this time the "shortcut" wasn't so short. We got behind a carriage and several horses on a narrow stretch of road, and got to enjoy the scenery, including watching one of the horses making "deposits" right in front of us.
Other than that, the ride was pretty much normal, and we enjoyed an evening with great friends at Jalapeno Tree in Canton.
++++++++
Sunday, June 3This morning found us at First Baptist Church Yantis, making the final preparations for our children's sermon. The scripture was from Matthew 13:23, and we called it, "It's all about the dirt."
Jim: Have you
ever planted anything? Maybe you took some packages of seeds and planted a
garden of vegetables. If so, you know that the type of soil that you have is
very important to the success of a garden. If the ground is too hard, or full
of rocks and weeds, you probably won't have a very good crop of vegetables.
In our
Bible lesson today, Jesus told a story about a man who went out and planted
some seeds. This story that Jesus told is usually called "The Parable of
the Sower," but actually, the story is more about the soil than it is the
sower or the seed. Some of the seed that was planted fell on the path where the
ground was very hard. The seeds just lay on top of the ground and the birds
came and ate the seeds. Some of the seed fell on rocky ground. The seeds sprang
up quickly, but when the sun came, the plants dried up because they didn't have
good roots. Some of the seeds fell among weeds and plants grew for a little
while, but the weeds took over and choked them out. Fortunately, some of the
seed fell on good soil and the plants grew strong and healthy and produced a
good crop.
Barbara: In
Jesus' story, the Word of God is the seed, and we are the soil. Often, when we
come to church, the preacher is preaching the Word, but we aren't really paying
attention. Perhaps we are thinking about what we are going to do that afternoon
or about what we did yesterday. We are hearing the Word, but we are not
listening. That is like throwing seed on the top of the ground. It won't ever
grow into anything in our life.
There
are other times when we hear the Word and we get excited about it, but then our
excitement fades and we drift away. That is like the seeds that fall on the
rocky ground. The plants spring up, but then die because the roots are too
shallow.
Sometimes
we hear the Word and we believe what it says, but we want to keep on doing the
same things we have been doing. That is like planting the seed in with a bunch
of weeds. I can tell you what will happen, the weeds will soon take over!
When
we hear the word, and we listen and try to understand what it says and put it
into practice in our daily life, then we are like good soil. We are like soil
where the seed takes root and grows and produces a plentiful harvest. That is
the kind of soil that Jesus wants us to be. What kind of soil are you?
Jim: Dear
Jesus, we want to be like the good soil. Help us to listen to God's Word and
put it into practice in our daily life. In your name we pray. Amen.
++++++++
Monday, June 4
June has begun as a miserably hot month. Today we went out fairly early and rearranged the potted plants on the front porch so they would be easier to water and care for, as well as make the porch area look nicer.
By the time we were finished, it was already scorching hot, so we retired to the inside and air conditioning for the rest of the day.
++++++++
Tuesday, June 5
We made a morning trip to Tyler for my annual visit with Dr. Whitney to see how my eyes were doing after last year's cataract surgery. All seemed to be okay, but I did get a new prescription for lenses.
After lunch at Red Lobster, we returned home to get out of the heat until this evening when we joined our church friends Karen and Jeanetta at a special showing of Blue Hawaii at the Select Theater in downtown Mineola. We had never seen the movie, but Karen is an unabashed Elvis fan and practically had the lines and songs memorized. We did find it strange that the young Elvis, who seemed so wild when he first broke into movies, was very tame compared to modern entertainers.
++++++++
Wednesday, June 6 - Thursday, June 7
It's too hot to go outside, so we spent these days taking care of business, paying bills, working on the journal/blog for April (just a "little" behind on our publication schedule), and spending kitchen time making a batch of Kolaches.
++++++++
Friday, June 8
For some time now we have enjoyed sliced pickles at various church dinners. We found that Jeanetta, one of our good friends, was the anonymous (to us, anyway) pickle maker, and asked if she would give us lessons. Today Jeanetta and Jackie came to the house and Jeanetta taught the three of us how to transform plain old store bought dill pickle slices into delicious sweet and tangy dills. It was a simple process (even if it was a little messy), and the results were fantastic!
After cleaning up the pickle mess and having some lunch with our friends, Barbara and I drove to Lindale so she could have her initial appointment with our dermatologist PA, Mrs. Wilson.
Mineola might not be a cultural center in East Texas, but it does have its fair share of cultural programs throughout the year. Tonight we were privileged to have special passes to meet and greet the Blackwoods, the reincarnation of the Blackwood Brothers gospel quartet that we grew up with years ago. It was great fun to hear a concert of old gospel favorites performed as they were in the 50's.
++++++++
Saturday, June 9
We were supposed to ride Taz to Longview today to participate in a Patriot Guard fundraiser, but the weather was so miserably hot that we stayed home and took care of chores around the house, including finishing the preparations for our children's sermon...
++++++++
Sunday, June 10
The church was really rocking this morning. We began the service with me dressed as a bandleader (after a fashion), playing On Wisconsin and leading the Vacation Bible School leadership team into the sanctuary for a VBS pep rally. VBS won't begin for a couple of weeks, but preparations for the week are well underway.
Our children's sermon this morning was titled, "Consider Your Values."
JIM: Pastor Craig is going to preach this morning
from Philippians 3, where the apostle Paul talked about all he had gained
before he met God on the road to Damascus, and how he had to give up everything
he believed in to follow Christ.
As
you grow and get older, you will find that you get special recognition for
things you do really well. You may earn school
awards and certificates that make you and your family proud, and let others
know what you have accomplished. But, if
you let only those things define who and what you are, you will miss out on the
most important thing in life.
In
our lesson this morning, Paul found that everything he had gained and all he
valued by being one of the most religious Jews in the world meant nothing after
he came to know Christ as his personal Lord and Savior. He gave up his family, friends, and freedom
to learn more about Christ and follow Him, even when his new beliefs and values
caused him to be put into prison.
Paul
learned that what was important in his earlier life was worthless. He had to throw it all away to gain what was
really important and would last forever in order to not only know about Christ,
but to try to become as much like Christ as he could. What Paul valued before became
trash, but his new values were the greatest treasure in the world.
BARBARA: The year was 1912 and a ship named the Titanic
was going to make its maiden voyage. This ship was so strong, so big, so
powerfully made that it was declared far and wide that it was unsinkable. But,
then, the seemingly impossible happened. The Titanic hit an iceberg and began
to sink. History states that a very wealthy woman who was in her stateroom when
the accident happened, looked around at all her jewels, money, fancy clothes
trying to decide what to take with her when the order to abandon ship was made.
She then noticed a bowl of oranges and wisely abandoned her jewels and other
fine things and grabbed the oranges instead. She recognized that they, those
oranges, might give nourishment on the open seas whereas her jewels would be
worthless to her.
You,
in this same manner are called to live your life in way that might not seem
important to the world, the pursuit of knowing Christ. However, by knowing and
following the Lord, He will add value and nourishment in your life like the
oranges did to the wealthy woman. Orange you glad to know more about Christ?
Because any way you slice it, to live for Christ is what is important.
An evening shower in Mineola brought the day to a perfect ending as we received much-needed moisture, some cooling, and this view from our front porch of a perfect rainbow.
An evening shower in Mineola brought the day to a perfect ending as we received much-needed moisture, some cooling, and this view from our front porch of a perfect rainbow.
++++++++
Monday, June 11
With a big trip coming up soon, it was time to get serious about packing. But, since we had never been to this place, what should we take, and how should we take it?
Awhile back, Granddaughter Randi announced that she and Nick were engaged and had decided, after looking at all the options in San Antonio, they wanted to have a beach wedding in Cozumel, Mexico, a place where they had previously gone with John and Carol.
The kids were pretty good about giving advice (nothing overly formal...dress for fun), so we had made our purchases with that in mind. Still, packing for travel there, a week in Cozumel, and travel back home was challenging.
It took several tries of putting everything where we thought it might go, taking it out and trying again, etc., before we finally had it all in place...mostly.
That was our challenge today...certainly no photos, as we wrecked three rooms trying to make sense out of what we were doing.
++++++++
Tuesday, June 12
Today was pretty much a rethinking of what we did yesterday, except not on such a grand scale...we were starting to feel like maybe we had it all together.
Cousin Ladd's mother, Alta, was visiting in town from Tennessee and was planning to leave soon, so the Mineola family decided to have a little social time at the local Dairy Queen. Ladd, Angela, Logan, Jarhett, Alma, T.J., Barbara, and I commandeered a group of tables, and we made ourselves at home.
++++++++
Wednesday, June 13
Since the next week and a half will be all about beaches and fun in the sun, Barbara visited Leslie at Naturally Nails today to get a pedi and some war paint for her toenails...
The rest of the day was spent making all of the final arrangements for the trip.
++++++++
Thursday, June 14
Today is Flag Day in the United States of America!!!!
On June 14, 1777, in order to establish an official flag for the new nation, the Continental Congress passed the first Flag Act: "Resolved, That the flag of the United States be made of thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new Constellation."
Inspired by decades of state and local celebrations, Flag Day -
the anniversary of the Flag Resolution of 1777 - was officially established by
the Proclamation of President Woodrow Wilson on May 30th, 1916, but it was not
until August 3rd, 1949, that President Truman signed an Act of Congress
designating June 14th of each year as National Flag Day.
Each year on this date I republish a piece that I wrote in 2003
following a discussion with Barbara about the seeming lack of knowledge of what
the nation’s flag represents among school students, many of whom recite the
Pledge of Allegiance daily in their classrooms, but do so in rote fashion
without thinking about what they are saying.
The following piece was dedicated to the students of West Middle
School in Liberal, Kansas.
I AM THE FLAG
I am the Flag of the United States of America. It is almost
impossible to go through a day without seeing me…flying proudly over public
buildings and military bases…marching at the head of parades…or displayed as
lapel pins on the jackets of patriots, young and old.
Perhaps nowhere do I strive to be displayed more proudly than in
the schools of our country, for it is there that the first lessons of
patriotism are taught to those who will grow up to guide, guard, and defend the
country I represent.
But even there, as I am seen by millions of students each school
day, I am in danger of neglect. Like all things that are commonplace, I am
often taken for granted, and the pledge that was written to show honor to my
colors and my country becomes a meaningless ritual, chanted without thought, by
young people who have not learned, or who have forgotten that I represent the
sacrifices, hopes, and dreams of all who came before, and of countless millions
around the world who would share in their freedom.
It seems that it is only in the times of war or national tragedy
that I have meaning to the masses who call this land their home. If that is
true, then our country is only one generation away from losing the rights and
privileges that I represent, and that you take for granted. For after all, if
you don’t care, then who will teach those who follow you?
Whether I fly proudly over the buildings of your community, or
am placed beside the flags of your houses of worship…whether I am seen as a pin
in the lapel of a military veteran, or as an over-sized decoration covering the
playing field of a football or baseball stadium…or whether you see me draped in
silence over the coffin of a father, mother, sister, brother, son, or daughter
who served or gave their life for this country, I still represent each and
every one of you, and the freedoms that were won on the battlefields around the
world.
To you I make this promise…
“I pledge allegiance to those who call the United States of
America their home. I will fly proudly as a symbol of your hopes and dreams,
and of the blood, sweat, and tears that were shed to gain and protect your
rights, privileges, and freedoms. For as long as I am honored and respected, I
will be a daily reminder that we are truly ‘one nation, under God, indivisible,
with liberty and justice for all.’”
James A. Little
February 1, 2003 Liberal, Kansas
February 1, 2003 Liberal, Kansas
For the past couple of years, the flag of the United States has become embroiled in controveries ascribed to personal meanings and symbols that were never intended at the time it was first designed.
Our flag is, first and foremost, a symbol of the IDEALS of our nation. And, being the imperfect individuals that we all are, our nation is also imperfect. Yet, that should never deter us from striving to reach those ideals as individual citizens, as communities, and as a national society.
Those who use the flag only to espouse their own personal beliefs, separate from the ideals for which it stands, dishonor it equally when they demonstrate public disdain for it; OR, when they use it to promote their personal agendas to show what great patriots they see themselves to be. Both sides are deserving of harsh criticisms, whether they are athletes who deliberately dishonor themselves through public violations of the United States Flag Code, or elected politicians who dishonor themselves by wearing a flag lapel pin while creating legislation that benefits them at the expense of their constituents and the nation.
As the United States of America celebrates Flag Day today, I hope that all will remember that our flag is not a battering ram for beating down anyone, but a symbol of ideals for raising up our citizens and those who would espouse those ideals and lawfully become our citizens,
The Flag of the United States of America...Long may it wave!!!
Today's task for us was to finish the last minute packing, load the car, check the house to make sure everything was ready for a short vacancy, and then head out to the DFW Airport area to find our hotel for the night. We had decided that it would be better to go there and spend the night than to fight the morning traffic through Dallas and and hope we could get to the airport in time to catch our flight. Barbara had done her usual due diligence in seeking accommodations just a few minutes from the airport that offered a great rate, minimal charge for parking and leaving the car on property, and free shuttle service from the hotel to the terminal. After weeks of planning, packing, repacking, and rethinking the repacking, we were off on a new adventure!
We arrived at the hotel in plenty of time to check in, unload all the luggage for the trip to Mexico, and enjoy the benefits of the hotel, including time in the pool, a little time on the deck in the sun, and the manager's special evening meal.
Friday, June 15
The big day was upon us! After a light breakfast in the hotel dining room, we hauled all of our luggage down to the lobby, then out to the parking area, and got it loaded on the shuttle van. There were several of us traveling to various terminals, and the driver, a very personable young woman, kept us entertained as we made several stops and starts before reaching our terminal.
Leah, Ryan, and Kaiden met us in the ticketing area and we sat and visited until it was finally our turn to check in, take care of all the international travel paperwork, and head down to the secure area, which is somewhat like entering through the gates of hell.
While traveling through airports is almost always problematic, our issues were compounded by the fact that Barbara's left leg wasn't cooperating with the rest of her body. We thought her knee was getting better, but it took a strong turn for the worse today. Luckily, we were able to locate a wheelchair for her to use until we could board our flight.
Aside from being crowded inside the plane, our flight was uneventful until we came through some rough weather on the approach to Cozumel. It seems we picked the exact same time as a tropical storm to get to the area.
Once inside the terminal, Leah did everything in her power to locate someone who could help Barbara get through the process. Standing in line was out of the question, but the security folks were very kind and helpful, and we eventually got another wheelchair to get us out of the terminal and to the area where we met our cab for the ride to the Iberostar Resort.
John, Carol, Randi, and Nick were at the hotel to greet us. John had made arrangements for a wheelchair for as long as we needed it, which was a great help, especially as we were trying to negotiate our way through the crowds.
We had dinner with the family and their friends, did a little sight-seeing, and then went to our room to unpack and get everything set up for the next seven days.
Saturday, October 16 - Thursday, October 21
These days were chock full of fun and activities as we explored all that Iberostar had to offer (swimming pools, beaches, coral reefs, restaurants, nightly first-class shows by some extremely talented young people (after a couple of days we were Mamacita and Papa to the entertainers), snorkeling (definitely not our thing, but we lived to tell the story) a visit to a nearby town to shop-look and find a cane for Barbara, and food, food, and more food!
Words can't describe it, so we'll let the photos do the telling...
Of course, the whole purpose of the trip was to celebrate Randi and Nick's wedding. Sunday, the 17th didn't start our well in regard to the weather, but when the time came, the skies cleared and the beach provided a beautiful setting as Randi and Nick exchanged their vows.
Friday, June 22
After breakfast we began the chore of repacking everything for the return trip home. Cozumel is in a tropical zone (think ultra humid), so nothing that we had worn during the week was completely dry, but we managed to get everything put together and secured in the suitcases...just hoping that if airport security had sniffer dogs, they would survive the experience (the dogs, that is...the suitcases may never be the same again 😀 )
We enjoyed a nice lunch with the family and their friends and then began the process of checking out (luckily, hotel staff came to the room to pick everything up and take it to the front of the hotel for loading into the taxi.)
We said our goodbyes to everyone and then Ryan, Leah, Kaiden, Barbara, and I crawled into the waiting taxi and made our way to the airport to get checked in and wait, and wait, and wait for our flight from Cozumel to DFW.
Upon arrival at DFW we had a wheelchair waiting for us (and found that the absolute easiest way to clear Customs is to have an airport employee push the wheelchair through the process.
The longest wait of the day was at the baggage claim area, but that was to be expected. What wasn't expected was that the hotel shuttle van went to the wrong terminal gate, so we had to wait even longer for it to come back and pick up us and another couple.
We finally made it back to our hotel, checked in, and immediately drove to the nearest Whataburger to celebrate our return to the United States with an iconic Texas meal.
We took the food back to the room, sat down in peace and quiet, and enjoyed our food before calling it a day and going to sleep.
Saturday, June 23
After sleeping in as long as we could, we got cleaned up, dressed, hauled all the luggage to the car, and started the trip back home, arriving at the house around 12:30. All we got done for the rest of the day was to pile all the suitcases in the guest bedroom (shut the door, and pretend it didn't exist), check emails and Facebook, and take naps. Tonight was the kickoff activities for Vacation Bible School at Yantis FBC, but there was no way we could participate, so we just stayed home and vegged out...thankful to be back in our own home and our own bed!!!
Sunday, June 24
We were still wrung out from our travels this morning and Barbara's knee was killing her, so we stayed home from church. Later in the morning I did get outside to mow the North 40 and make it a little more presentable.
Our "across the street" neighbor, John took care of collecting the mail for us while we were on our trip. This afternoon I went over to pick up all that he collected, and among the clutter was the CD with all the photos we had made for the church directory. Here are a few that we liked (obviously, we put a personal touch on our poses)...
This evening I went to the church to do some photography duties for VBS. Barbara and I have been the unofficial "official" photographers for several years now, and this gave me a chance to observe the activities and see what we wanted to focus (pun fully intended) on this week.
Monday, June 25 - Thursday, June 28
Job one today was to get Barbara to the doctor's office in Quitman to do something about her knee. Dr. Martinez was unable to see her, but the nurse practitioner was available around 10:30, so we got there early just to make sure someone would see us today.
The NP did a cursory examination of the knee and determined that it was probably arthritic, and something that could be handled with a shot. Barbara said no to X-Rays, but since I'd been through this a couple of times already, I convinced her that X-Rays could be very important.
During all of our waiting time, we decided that a little (pun intended) photo-phun was in order...
This evening we both went to the church for VBS activities and did our photography thing. Since we would be seeing the same people doing basically the same activities every night, we just did one group of photos and collages for the whole week.
One of the activities the kids and adults did was to design and paint photo frames. To fill the frames, Barbara took individual photos of everyone "getting their game on.).
On Tuesday, the 26th, I was privileged to serve as an escort rider for Frank and Shirley Palmer as they delivered some athletic equipment from their Honored Warriors Ranch to a veterans' assistance site in Jacksonville. I met them in Canton and was their tail gunner all the way to Jacksonville, where we were joined by other riders to unload and set up the equipment. We even got some great news coverage, both print and television and my picture was in the paper, but they gave me another name...oh well, if the equipment breaks down, I can always blame the other guy
Friday, June 29 - Saturday, June 30
We have no calendar notes or photos for these two days, so there is no need to report anything...must have been two very unimpressive days to round out the month 😁
Resting at home in Mineola, Texas,
Jim/Dad/Gramps and Barbara/Mom/Grams/Gramsie
We arrived at the hotel in plenty of time to check in, unload all the luggage for the trip to Mexico, and enjoy the benefits of the hotel, including time in the pool, a little time on the deck in the sun, and the manager's special evening meal.
++++++++
Friday, June 15
The big day was upon us! After a light breakfast in the hotel dining room, we hauled all of our luggage down to the lobby, then out to the parking area, and got it loaded on the shuttle van. There were several of us traveling to various terminals, and the driver, a very personable young woman, kept us entertained as we made several stops and starts before reaching our terminal.
Leah, Ryan, and Kaiden met us in the ticketing area and we sat and visited until it was finally our turn to check in, take care of all the international travel paperwork, and head down to the secure area, which is somewhat like entering through the gates of hell.
While traveling through airports is almost always problematic, our issues were compounded by the fact that Barbara's left leg wasn't cooperating with the rest of her body. We thought her knee was getting better, but it took a strong turn for the worse today. Luckily, we were able to locate a wheelchair for her to use until we could board our flight.
Aside from being crowded inside the plane, our flight was uneventful until we came through some rough weather on the approach to Cozumel. It seems we picked the exact same time as a tropical storm to get to the area.
Once inside the terminal, Leah did everything in her power to locate someone who could help Barbara get through the process. Standing in line was out of the question, but the security folks were very kind and helpful, and we eventually got another wheelchair to get us out of the terminal and to the area where we met our cab for the ride to the Iberostar Resort.
John, Carol, Randi, and Nick were at the hotel to greet us. John had made arrangements for a wheelchair for as long as we needed it, which was a great help, especially as we were trying to negotiate our way through the crowds.
We had dinner with the family and their friends, did a little sight-seeing, and then went to our room to unpack and get everything set up for the next seven days.
++++++++
Saturday, October 16 - Thursday, October 21
These days were chock full of fun and activities as we explored all that Iberostar had to offer (swimming pools, beaches, coral reefs, restaurants, nightly first-class shows by some extremely talented young people (after a couple of days we were Mamacita and Papa to the entertainers), snorkeling (definitely not our thing, but we lived to tell the story) a visit to a nearby town to shop-look and find a cane for Barbara, and food, food, and more food!
Words can't describe it, so we'll let the photos do the telling...
Of course, the whole purpose of the trip was to celebrate Randi and Nick's wedding. Sunday, the 17th didn't start our well in regard to the weather, but when the time came, the skies cleared and the beach provided a beautiful setting as Randi and Nick exchanged their vows.
++++++++
Friday, June 22
After breakfast we began the chore of repacking everything for the return trip home. Cozumel is in a tropical zone (think ultra humid), so nothing that we had worn during the week was completely dry, but we managed to get everything put together and secured in the suitcases...just hoping that if airport security had sniffer dogs, they would survive the experience (the dogs, that is...the suitcases may never be the same again 😀 )
We enjoyed a nice lunch with the family and their friends and then began the process of checking out (luckily, hotel staff came to the room to pick everything up and take it to the front of the hotel for loading into the taxi.)
We said our goodbyes to everyone and then Ryan, Leah, Kaiden, Barbara, and I crawled into the waiting taxi and made our way to the airport to get checked in and wait, and wait, and wait for our flight from Cozumel to DFW.
Upon arrival at DFW we had a wheelchair waiting for us (and found that the absolute easiest way to clear Customs is to have an airport employee push the wheelchair through the process.
The longest wait of the day was at the baggage claim area, but that was to be expected. What wasn't expected was that the hotel shuttle van went to the wrong terminal gate, so we had to wait even longer for it to come back and pick up us and another couple.
We finally made it back to our hotel, checked in, and immediately drove to the nearest Whataburger to celebrate our return to the United States with an iconic Texas meal.
We took the food back to the room, sat down in peace and quiet, and enjoyed our food before calling it a day and going to sleep.
++++++++
Saturday, June 23
After sleeping in as long as we could, we got cleaned up, dressed, hauled all the luggage to the car, and started the trip back home, arriving at the house around 12:30. All we got done for the rest of the day was to pile all the suitcases in the guest bedroom (shut the door, and pretend it didn't exist), check emails and Facebook, and take naps. Tonight was the kickoff activities for Vacation Bible School at Yantis FBC, but there was no way we could participate, so we just stayed home and vegged out...thankful to be back in our own home and our own bed!!!
++++++++
Sunday, June 24
We were still wrung out from our travels this morning and Barbara's knee was killing her, so we stayed home from church. Later in the morning I did get outside to mow the North 40 and make it a little more presentable.
Our "across the street" neighbor, John took care of collecting the mail for us while we were on our trip. This afternoon I went over to pick up all that he collected, and among the clutter was the CD with all the photos we had made for the church directory. Here are a few that we liked (obviously, we put a personal touch on our poses)...
This evening I went to the church to do some photography duties for VBS. Barbara and I have been the unofficial "official" photographers for several years now, and this gave me a chance to observe the activities and see what we wanted to focus (pun fully intended) on this week.
++++++++
Monday, June 25 - Thursday, June 28
Job one today was to get Barbara to the doctor's office in Quitman to do something about her knee. Dr. Martinez was unable to see her, but the nurse practitioner was available around 10:30, so we got there early just to make sure someone would see us today.
The NP did a cursory examination of the knee and determined that it was probably arthritic, and something that could be handled with a shot. Barbara said no to X-Rays, but since I'd been through this a couple of times already, I convinced her that X-Rays could be very important.
During all of our waiting time, we decided that a little (pun intended) photo-phun was in order...
This evening we both went to the church for VBS activities and did our photography thing. Since we would be seeing the same people doing basically the same activities every night, we just did one group of photos and collages for the whole week.
One of the activities the kids and adults did was to design and paint photo frames. To fill the frames, Barbara took individual photos of everyone "getting their game on.).
On Tuesday, the 26th, I was privileged to serve as an escort rider for Frank and Shirley Palmer as they delivered some athletic equipment from their Honored Warriors Ranch to a veterans' assistance site in Jacksonville. I met them in Canton and was their tail gunner all the way to Jacksonville, where we were joined by other riders to unload and set up the equipment. We even got some great news coverage, both print and television and my picture was in the paper, but they gave me another name...oh well, if the equipment breaks down, I can always blame the other guy
++++++++
Friday, June 29 - Saturday, June 30
We have no calendar notes or photos for these two days, so there is no need to report anything...must have been two very unimpressive days to round out the month 😁
Resting at home in Mineola, Texas,
Jim/Dad/Gramps and Barbara/Mom/Grams/Gramsie
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ADDENDUM
This is the point each six months where we usually give a brief (or not so brief, depending on what we did during those six months) synopsis of our retirement adventures. In the past, we have kept track of the mileage for each vehicle, the number of states visited, and other interesting/inane information (depending on the readers frame of mind at the time.
The end of June this year marks a pivotal point in our lives. It was twelve years ago today that I finished my last day as principal of Liberal High School, left the keys on Keith Adams' desk, and Barbara and I made our retirement from public education about as final as it could be made as we climbed into Big V (complete with a 16-foot trailer loaded with the car, motorcycle, and whatever wouldn't fit in the car, motorcycle, and motor home) and headed off into the sunset...literally. We decided that for 24 hours we would experience the joy of traveling in our new home before settling down in our hometown, Artesia, New Mexico. We set our sights on Santa Fe for the night, but made it only as far as Las Vegas (New Mexico, that is) where we hunkered down for the night. We got up early the next day, drove to Santa Fe, and then headed down the road to Artesia, and the rest is history (told in 24 volumes of the Journal, and eventually the blog.
The primary importance of today's date is that an entire generation of students has now set out in the world since we retired. The kindergartners who were in Liberal schools our final year graduated this year without ever knowing who we were. That was a kind of sobering fact when we realized it. Our direct contact with students was fleeting, but we can only hope that our influence (at least, the positive stuff) is now being passed on to the younger generation through our students who are now teachers, and who have taken our places in the classrooms and activities.
We have given some thought a few times to signing on as substitute teachers, but the honest truth is that we left the profession when it was time for us to leave. We had both made the statement that we would leave teaching when it was no longer fun for us to go to work every day. That time came at the same time as we were financially able to start a new life after 37 years of teaching (for Barbara) and 36 years for me. We have a lifetime of good memories that greatly outweigh the disappointments we encountered along the way, and no regrets about having chosen to spend so much of our lives in one of the greatest of professions.
And so today we look back over our years of teaching with fond memories, as we also look forward to the unknown...probably more doctor visits than we ever imagined, but hopefully more traveling adventures than we ever imagined.
It's a great life, and we thank our Facebook/journal/blog family for sharing it with us.
Love and best wishes to all,
Jim and Barbara
June 30, 2018
Mineola, Texas
The end of June this year marks a pivotal point in our lives. It was twelve years ago today that I finished my last day as principal of Liberal High School, left the keys on Keith Adams' desk, and Barbara and I made our retirement from public education about as final as it could be made as we climbed into Big V (complete with a 16-foot trailer loaded with the car, motorcycle, and whatever wouldn't fit in the car, motorcycle, and motor home) and headed off into the sunset...literally. We decided that for 24 hours we would experience the joy of traveling in our new home before settling down in our hometown, Artesia, New Mexico. We set our sights on Santa Fe for the night, but made it only as far as Las Vegas (New Mexico, that is) where we hunkered down for the night. We got up early the next day, drove to Santa Fe, and then headed down the road to Artesia, and the rest is history (told in 24 volumes of the Journal, and eventually the blog.
The primary importance of today's date is that an entire generation of students has now set out in the world since we retired. The kindergartners who were in Liberal schools our final year graduated this year without ever knowing who we were. That was a kind of sobering fact when we realized it. Our direct contact with students was fleeting, but we can only hope that our influence (at least, the positive stuff) is now being passed on to the younger generation through our students who are now teachers, and who have taken our places in the classrooms and activities.
We have given some thought a few times to signing on as substitute teachers, but the honest truth is that we left the profession when it was time for us to leave. We had both made the statement that we would leave teaching when it was no longer fun for us to go to work every day. That time came at the same time as we were financially able to start a new life after 37 years of teaching (for Barbara) and 36 years for me. We have a lifetime of good memories that greatly outweigh the disappointments we encountered along the way, and no regrets about having chosen to spend so much of our lives in one of the greatest of professions.
And so today we look back over our years of teaching with fond memories, as we also look forward to the unknown...probably more doctor visits than we ever imagined, but hopefully more traveling adventures than we ever imagined.
It's a great life, and we thank our Facebook/journal/blog family for sharing it with us.
Love and best wishes to all,
Jim and Barbara
June 30, 2018
Mineola, Texas
