Wednesday, May 1
On what was destined to become one of our craziest days in a long time, these crazy people, for whatever reason, were wide awake at 3:30 am. Now, there's not much to do in Mineola, Texas, at that hour of the morning except go to Whataburger. So that's what we did, and didn't have to wait in line for our Whatabreakfast.
We spent the morning doing odd jobs around the house (and taking the odd nap to make up for the early wake-up), and at noon we went to visit Leslie at Naturally Nails to get haircuts.
Shortly after getting our locks sheared, we heard from Funtown RV that their work on Big V was completed and we could pick her up to take her to Tyler for a new set of "shoes."
Big V was now officially un-inspected and unlicensed, so I just held my breath and tried to not doing anything stupid before we got to Goolsbee Tires and dropped her off.
After making all the arrangements for new tires and an alignment, we went to Red Lobster for lunch, then stopped at Broadway Power Sports to talk to the folks in the service department about our situation with Taz. In addition to not being able to shift out of 1st gear, Taz was overdue for a routine oil and filters changes. They told us if we could get Taz in to the shop, they could get started on a diagnosis.
Once back at home we took care of some routine business around the house and yard and then closed out the evening with some outdoor music and the sounding of Taps under our new flag.
Here's our day in a nutshell...
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Thursday, May 2
We though yesterday was crazy, but today put the icing on the cake.
We made arrangements through Good Sam to have Taz towed to Tyler to be repaired. Wyatt's Towing in Mineola has always been good to us, and we have appreciated their service. When the tow truck showed up, there was another vehicle on it, and Taz wouldn't fit. It seems that even though I gave all the information to Good Sam about Taz being a three-wheeler, they neglected to pass that word on to Wyatt's. The driver of the tow truck was very apologetic and said he had to take his current load to Tyler, but would be back as soon as possible to get Taz,
Now, we've spent enough hours on the highways to feel bad whenever we see a vehicle being towed, but not nearly as bad as watching OUR Taz being hauled away...
While Barbara spent the afternoon studying our finances and figuring out how we were going to pay all the vehicle expenses, I went outside to mow the North 40. Later, Barbara came out to photograph the north 40 and it's woodsy, country appearance.
Before I left for band rehearsal tonight I played a couple of patriotic songs and sounded Taps as some of our neighbors watched and listened.
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Friday, May 3
The craziness continued today as we left early to get to Goolsbee in Tyler to pick up Big V and get her inspected. We knew that inspections couldn't be done if it was raining, and it was already sprinkling in Mineola, but looked like it was clearing in the Tyler area.
By the time we got to Goolsbee, it was getting dark again, but they worked as quickly as they could to get the payments done (two different payments...one for the tires, and another for the alignment and labor) and then we headed to the nearby inspection station at Tyler RV. We made it just under the wire. We were first in line for the inspection, and just as they finished, it started raining. But at that point we didn't care...Big V was inspected, if not registered and licensed.
Our original plan for the day was (if everything could be accomplished with Big V) to leave the car at Goolsbee (oh, yeah, it also needed a set of tires), take Big V back to the house, load it with some things for a short trip, and get the heck out of Dodge. However, as it is with a lot of our plans, that didn't make sense when we got right down to it. The logistics of returning to Mineola from a trip in Big V and then getting back to Tyler to get the car were just too much.
So, while I finished the business at Tyler RV, Barbara drove the car back to Mineola, got the registration done for Big V at our local tax office, and went to the house to start moving things for the trip out to the garage.
All went fine with Big V until I got into Mineola and noticed the coolant temperature gauge climbing into the red zone...never a good sign. As soon as I got to the house I opened the engine compartment and saw that the coolant had leaked out of a crack in the reservoir. It was a problem we had experienced on a trip a couple of years ago, but I thought I had the cracked sealed...so much for my thinking.
It looked as if we weren't going to make our trip after all, since the coolant reservoir is a specific Winnebago item, and the local RV place couldn't get it. That's when Barbara's brain kicked into high gear. "Let's call Logan (Cousin Angela and Ladd's son), he can fix anything. I had to admit that I had my doubts about anyone being able to fix cracked plastic, but we had no other choice except to try. Barbara called Logan and explained the situation and he said to come on over.
By the time we got to their house, Logan had his plastics welder on the table and was ready to go to work. It took about an hour and several testings, but Logan got the cracks completely sealed and ready to go.
We returned to the house, put in some new coolant, loaded Big V, and took off for a trip to the KOA Kampground in Durant, Oklahoma, and a few days away from our "real" world.
PS...I'm never going to doubt Logan's abilities again...that kid is a marvel!!!
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Saturday, May 4
Today was a major house-cleaning day. It's been a couple of years since we spent any significant time in Big V, so she was long overdue for a deep cleaning. However, it didn't seem a bit like work...we just reveled in God's goodness and provision and what He has done for us!
And when we finished, we treated ourselves to some fine dining. Life is good!
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Sunday, May 5
Many campgrounds that we stay in have some kind of chapel service on Sunday morning. This campground didn't have one, so we went to a quiet spot on the edge of the property for some trumpet music, Bible reading, and Barbara's devotional.
Then we were off to enjoy the day in our surroundings...no car, so we either walked or took a shuttle bus.
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Monday, May 6
Today reminded us of what our former life in Big V (before we had a house and all the responsibilities that go with it) could be.
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Tuesday, May 7
And more of the same...but different...
Storm clouds started rolling in tonight, so we revised our plans for tomorrow and decided we'd better pack as much as we could and get ready for an early start for home tomorrow.
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Wednesday, May 8
Our decision last night to get away as early as possible this morning turned out to be a good one.
We broke camp and pulled away from the KOA in a light drizzle that became on again-off again showers until we got to Mineola and ran into heavy rain. We got to the house, unpacked Big V, and took her to the Civic Center RV Park for the night, rather than trying to get her put away in the rain at Our Little Lot in Holiday Villages of Lake Fork.
The storms continued to roll through Wood county this afternoon, so there was nothing to do but watch from the front porch.
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Thursday, May 9
It was back to the real world for us this morning as we moved Big V back to Holiday Villages and got her hooked up to the utilities, then came home to wash clothes, get everything from our trip put away, work on our children's sermon for Sunday, and begin working on graduation gifts for some very special high school graduates.
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Friday, May 10
We were up and around early this morning to go to Goolsbee Tires in Tyler to get a new set of tires for the car.
When we finished there, we drove back to Mineola and picked up where we finished last night.
We got the children's sermon and handouts completed, and Barbara finished up the graduation gifts and we got them to the post office.
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Saturday, May 11
We voted that we needed another Big V "fix," so we packed up a few things and drove out to Holiday Villages to spend the weekend. The plan for today was to get some serious yard work done, but it started raining, so there was nothing to do except enjoy our "home on wheels."
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Sunday, May 12
Happy Mother's Day!!!!!
Following is a message that Barbara sent to each of our daughters and daughters-in-law for Mother's Day.
Our children's sermon at church this morning was from Luke 16: 19-31
BARBARA:
Do you use an alarm clock to wake you up in the morning? A lot of alarm clocks have a button on them
called a snooze button. When your alarm
goes off the first time, you can hit that button and go back to sleep. In about ten minutes, the alarm will go off
again. You can just keep hitting the snooze button and go right on sleeping.
Maybe
it’s nice to get that extra sleep, but there are two problems with snooze buttons. The first is that if you keep on hitting them,
you may be late or miss out on something completely. The second problem is that if you keep
hitting the snooze button, you may get so used to the sound of the alarm that
you don’t hear it at all and you will sleep right through the alarm.
Did
you know that God sometimes sounds a “wake up” alarm in our lives? He speaks to our heart and says, “It is time
to wake up and follow me.”
Unfortunately, many people hit the snooze button and say, “Not now,
Lord, call me again…a little bit later.”
Some people hit that “snooze button” so many times that they get to
where they don’t even hear or feel God calling.
When they finally wake up, they find it is too late. That is what happened in today’s Bible
lesson. Mr. Little, would you please
tell us about it?
JIM: Thank
you Mrs. Little. Jesus told a story about a rich man who wore the finest
clothes and lived in luxury. A beggar
named Lazarus lay outside the rich man’s gate.
Lazarus was hungry and his body was covered with sores, so he couldn’t work. He was hoping that the rich man might have
pity on him and give him some of the leftover food from his table. But the rich man passed by Lazarus every day
without giving him a thought. It could
be that he passed by Lazarus so many times that he eventually got to the point
that he didn’t see him at all.
Now
the Bible tells us that Lazarus died and went to heaven. But the rich man who had ignored Lazarus all
those years wasn’t so fortunate. He wasn’t allowed to go to heaven because for
years he had failed to do what the Lord wanted him to do. He only wanted to keep his money. He didn’t
want to share what God had given him with others. Time and again, the Lord gave
him opportunities to do the right thing, but the rich man continued to ignore
him because he wanted to live only for himself and his riches. He refused to
listen to God.
We
don’t ever want to become like the rich man and do our own thing without
listening to the Lord. We want to follow the Lord and we can’t do that if we
continue to turn on our snooze buttons when he calls us to get to work for him.
God is
still sending “wake up” calls to people today.
Let us pray that we, and they, will listen to his voice and follow him
before it is too late. We can wake up
and find new life in Christ, or we can snooze…and lose.
Our
treat to go along with today’s lesson is a container with a label that says, “God
wants you to Wake UP!.” Once the candy inside is gone, we hope you’ll keep the
container to remind you to wake up and get right with the Lord.
Now
let’s bow our heads for prayer.
Dear
Father, when you sound the alarm telling us to wake up and follow you, may we
never be guilty of hitting the “snooze alarm” and saying, “Later, Lord.” Instead, may we wake up, rise up, and follow
you. It’s in the name of Jesus we pray,
Amen.
When church was over, we went out to eat with Eve and Carlee Vavra, and then returned to Big V for a nap, some relaxation, and some yard work to spruce up Our Little Lot.
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Monday, May 13
As we often say, "Some days are just days." And this was one of the,
I went to the church to help count yesterday's offering and gifts and make the bank deposit, then returned to Big V to help Barbara shut down Big V and load the car with whatever needed to go back to the house in Mineola.
We've been having a lot of trouble with our phone service, cable, and internet lately, so this afternoon Suddenlink sent a serviceman to check out the system. What he found was that nearly every piece of equipment was outdated or obsolete, so he change out everything and we instantly had great service. This came on the heels of weeks of complaints, but we were so glad that this young man was able to diagnose and fix everything for us.
I had a rare Monday night rehearsal with the Lake Country Symphonic Band tonight to prepare for next Sundays concert.
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Tuesday, May 14
Today was just another day in the life, but tonight we went to Yantis for the annual Rehoboth Association dinner and meeting hosted by First Baptist Church of Yantis.
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Wednesday, May 15
Another day like yesterday, but without the church dinner. 🤣
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Thursday, May 16
Today was the anniversary of the day that our grandson, Jameson Dudley McQuitty, was stillborn in Liberal, Kansas. That was a very difficult time for all of us, but we survived and grew together as a family through that time.
Following is a copy of a letter that Barbara wrote to Jameson...
Friday, May 17
It was a beautiful day in the neighborhood...perfect weather for getting some yard work done. I had my agenda set, but it changed when Barbara looked at what I was doing with hedge trimming and asked if I could cut the hedges in the front to a much lower level. I got started on it and it didn't turn out to be as difficult as I thought it would be. When the leaves come back, it's going to be really pretty.
Barbara has a very good eye for floral photography, so while I was cleaning, mowing, and trimming, she got some shots of the new blooms that were coming on.
Unfortunately, Barbara began having a recurrence of the symptoms she had last month when she was so sick, so she took some of the meds the doctor had prescribed just in case this happened again and went inside to get some serious rest.
Saturday, May 18
Barbara was feeling better today, so she helped as I took advantage of beautiful weather outside to get as much yard work as possible done before the coming weather change.
And then the rains came...again...
Sunday, May 19
The fresh air yesterday was not good for Barbara. She woke up this morning with a relapse of the flu symptoms, so she stayed at home from church. Since the children's sermon wasn't one that would be a effective with only me telling it, we postponed it until next Sunday.
I stayed through the praise band part of the service and then returned to the house to change clothes and get ready for the Lake Country Symphonic Band concert this afternoon. Barbara was feeling even worse than this morning, so she missed the concert, the first one she's missed in eight years.
Immediately after the concert I drove to Yantis for a church Stewardship Committee meeting, followed by our quarterly Church Council meeting. Then it was back to home in Mineola to change clothes and kic back and relax for the rest of the evening.
Monday, May 20
Alicia came to do the bi-weekly house cleaning while Barbara hid away in the extra bedroom. She certainly didn't want to infect Alicia!
I drove out to Yantis to count money and make the bank deposit for the church, and then returned to the house to mow and trim the front and back yards.
After Alicia left, it was nap time for Barbara and me as we tried to rest up from the weekend.
Tuesday, May 21
This was a "take-it-easy" day. Barbara was generally feeling better, but she still had a bad cough, so she decided to skip the concert tonight rather than hack her way through it.
Wednesday, May 22
Our Wednesday special event was yet another series of calls to Broadway Power Sports in Tyler to try to find out what was going on with Taz. In the years of dealing with them since we bought Taz, we have yet to get connected to the service department on the first call. Either the service department doesn't answer when the switchboard lady tries to connect, the connection is broken, or no one answers in service and we give up after a few minutes of listening to bad canned music and announcements about how important our call is to them. When we finally did get through to a real voice, we heard that Taz is in the line-up and they will notify us when a technician is assigned to the job. And this is day 20 of Taz being in the motorcycle hospital!
Thursday, May 23
The children's sermon that we planned for last Sunday was to utilize photos of two of the children, Aubry and Rivers. They were there, but Barbara was sick, so we postponed that sermon until the 26th. Then we found that Aubrey and Rivers weren't going to be there on the 26th, so today we drove to their home to give them the lesson and get some practice for ourselves.
Tonight we had dinner with church friends Jeanetta and Karen, and then attended a special showing of Grease, The Sing-along Version. Needless to say, a good time was had by all. It wasn't until the movie got started that I realized that although I had directed the show several times, I had never seen the movie.
Friday, May 24
We've been looking for somewhere to go in the Dallas/Fort Worth area for a short getaway in Big V, so today we drove the car over to check out a place that Leah recommended. After looking at it for a few minutes we gave it a thumbs-down. There was no shade for Big V, and we were about 100 yards from an airport runway.
We then drove Jellystone Park a few miles south of Burleson. We'd stayed there a couple of times with grandkids and thought it might be fun to go back. However, the prices have risen so high that it just wouldn't be worth it for what we had in mind, so we just scratched the idea and, on the way home, came up with an alternate plan that didn't involve Big V, but that ultimately, was a great idea. More on that later.
Saturday, May 25
It looked like it was going to be a nice weekend, so we packed a few things and drove out to Our Little Lot to spend a couple of days in Big V.
Sunday, May 26
We finally got to give our children's sermon that we prepared for last week. The lesson came from Matthew 4: 18-20.
Following is a copy of a letter that Barbara wrote to Jameson...
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Friday, May 17
It was a beautiful day in the neighborhood...perfect weather for getting some yard work done. I had my agenda set, but it changed when Barbara looked at what I was doing with hedge trimming and asked if I could cut the hedges in the front to a much lower level. I got started on it and it didn't turn out to be as difficult as I thought it would be. When the leaves come back, it's going to be really pretty.
Barbara has a very good eye for floral photography, so while I was cleaning, mowing, and trimming, she got some shots of the new blooms that were coming on.
Unfortunately, Barbara began having a recurrence of the symptoms she had last month when she was so sick, so she took some of the meds the doctor had prescribed just in case this happened again and went inside to get some serious rest.
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Saturday, May 18
Barbara was feeling better today, so she helped as I took advantage of beautiful weather outside to get as much yard work as possible done before the coming weather change.
And then the rains came...again...
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Sunday, May 19
The fresh air yesterday was not good for Barbara. She woke up this morning with a relapse of the flu symptoms, so she stayed at home from church. Since the children's sermon wasn't one that would be a effective with only me telling it, we postponed it until next Sunday.
I stayed through the praise band part of the service and then returned to the house to change clothes and get ready for the Lake Country Symphonic Band concert this afternoon. Barbara was feeling even worse than this morning, so she missed the concert, the first one she's missed in eight years.
Immediately after the concert I drove to Yantis for a church Stewardship Committee meeting, followed by our quarterly Church Council meeting. Then it was back to home in Mineola to change clothes and kic back and relax for the rest of the evening.
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Monday, May 20
Alicia came to do the bi-weekly house cleaning while Barbara hid away in the extra bedroom. She certainly didn't want to infect Alicia!
I drove out to Yantis to count money and make the bank deposit for the church, and then returned to the house to mow and trim the front and back yards.
After Alicia left, it was nap time for Barbara and me as we tried to rest up from the weekend.
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Tuesday, May 21
This was a "take-it-easy" day. Barbara was generally feeling better, but she still had a bad cough, so she decided to skip the concert tonight rather than hack her way through it.
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Wednesday, May 22
Our Wednesday special event was yet another series of calls to Broadway Power Sports in Tyler to try to find out what was going on with Taz. In the years of dealing with them since we bought Taz, we have yet to get connected to the service department on the first call. Either the service department doesn't answer when the switchboard lady tries to connect, the connection is broken, or no one answers in service and we give up after a few minutes of listening to bad canned music and announcements about how important our call is to them. When we finally did get through to a real voice, we heard that Taz is in the line-up and they will notify us when a technician is assigned to the job. And this is day 20 of Taz being in the motorcycle hospital!
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Thursday, May 23
The children's sermon that we planned for last Sunday was to utilize photos of two of the children, Aubry and Rivers. They were there, but Barbara was sick, so we postponed that sermon until the 26th. Then we found that Aubrey and Rivers weren't going to be there on the 26th, so today we drove to their home to give them the lesson and get some practice for ourselves.
Tonight we had dinner with church friends Jeanetta and Karen, and then attended a special showing of Grease, The Sing-along Version. Needless to say, a good time was had by all. It wasn't until the movie got started that I realized that although I had directed the show several times, I had never seen the movie.
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Friday, May 24
We've been looking for somewhere to go in the Dallas/Fort Worth area for a short getaway in Big V, so today we drove the car over to check out a place that Leah recommended. After looking at it for a few minutes we gave it a thumbs-down. There was no shade for Big V, and we were about 100 yards from an airport runway.
We then drove Jellystone Park a few miles south of Burleson. We'd stayed there a couple of times with grandkids and thought it might be fun to go back. However, the prices have risen so high that it just wouldn't be worth it for what we had in mind, so we just scratched the idea and, on the way home, came up with an alternate plan that didn't involve Big V, but that ultimately, was a great idea. More on that later.
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Saturday, May 25
It looked like it was going to be a nice weekend, so we packed a few things and drove out to Our Little Lot to spend a couple of days in Big V.
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Sunday, May 26
We finally got to give our children's sermon that we prepared for last week. The lesson came from Matthew 4: 18-20.
BARBARA: Wonder if anyone has an idea what I’m
going to talk about this morning. You do? What? How did you know? You’re right,
Rivers has a fishing pole doesn’t she. Did you know that Rivers and Aubrey are fishermen
and they are just kids? I can prove it...look. Wow! You see, age doesn’t
determine who can fish well. So, what are these skills that make a good
fisherman?
First,
you need to be properly equipped. You
can’t just get a piece of string, put a hook on it, and tie it on the end of a
stick and expect to catch very many fish, can you? No! If
you are serious about fishing, you will make sure you have all the right
equipment much like the one that Rivers brought for me this morning.
The
next thing is that you must go where the fish are if you’re planning to catch
fish. You can’t just sit around with your friends talking about fishing or
reading fishing magazines and expect to catch any fish. No, you must go where the fish are to catch
fish!
Finally,
if you want to be good at fishing, you must learn patience. Sometimes the fish just aren’t biting. I think that is the main reason I was never
good at fishing. I thought that you
should catch a fish as soon as the hook hit the water…and when I did go fishing
and didn’t catch anything…well, let’s just say that’s I don’t fish...I’d rather
take pictures of others fishing!
Mr.
Little, do you have a fishing story you’d like to share with us this morning?
JIM: I do, Mrs. Little. The Bible tells us
that Jesus called Peter and Andrew, who were fishermen, to leave their nets and
follow him. He wanted them to be fishermen; but not fishermen of fish but of
people. Why did he pick fishermen to be his disciples? That’s an easy question
to answer. He picked them because they had the very skills needed to do what he
wanted done.
Jesus
wanted them to fish for people. That
means he wanted them to tell others about what he had done and what he wanted
to do for them. That’s the same thing he
wants us to do.
What
does it take to be a fisher of people? The exact same things Mrs. Little told
you about fishing.
First,
we need to be properly equipped. We need
to know what the Bible teaches and learn how to share it with others. Next, we need to remember that we can’t just
sit around reading the Bible and talking with other Christians about fishing
for people and expect to bring others to Jesus.
We must go out where the people are and tell them about Jesus.
Finally,
we must learn patience and endurance.
Everyone we tell about Jesus isn’t going to believe. Some people just won’t be interested, but we
can’t give up. We must keep telling
people about Jesus and let Jesus take care of the rest of it. If we will do our part, telling people about
Jesus and living like we are followers of Jesus, we can be the fishers of
people that Jesus wants us to be. And if
you think there is a great feeling of excitement in catching a fish, just
imagine how exciting it will be to bring a friend to Jesus!
Mrs.
Little, what do we have for the children this morning to remind them of the
lesson and encourage them to become fishers of people for Jesus?
BARBARA: Well, obviously, we have some gummy
worms and some goldfish. What better way to introduce Jesus to your friends than
to talk about how fishing for fish is fun but becoming followers of Jesus and
then fishers of people for him is a sweet and rewarding experience. Mr. Little, would you please lead us in
prayer.
JIM:
Heavenly Father, teach us to become fishers of people for you, and give
us the wisdom, strength, and courage to tell and show others what you have done
for us…and what you want to do for them.
We pray this in the name of Jesus, Amen.
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Monday, May 27
Memorial Day - A day to honor the memory of all military personnel who lost their lives while on duty in active service to our great nation and its people.
This collage was the result of photos taken by Barbara when we were in Arlington National Cemetery to sound Taps in Memory of Joe W. Little as part of the Taps 150 program in 2011. To us, the collage remains as of the most iconic series of photos of Arlington National Cemetery and to those for whom it is a final resting place on Earth.
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Tuesday, May 28
We were pleased and honored to have some very special guests in our home today. Mr. and Mrs. Lalu George, who we worked with in Liberal, Kansas, and who are now retired from teaching, brought their family to see us.
The story of our friendship with the George's would take a book, but the Reder's Digest version is that, when I was an assistant principal at Liberal High School, they were teaching in Botswana, Africa, and wanted to come teach in the United States. We ran into many obstacles because of lack of cooperation between Kansas and Washington, but finally got approval for them to come to us.
Barbara and I coordinated efforts by our respective teaching staffs at LHS and West Middle School to find an apartment, get it cleaned up, and furnish it with at least the basic furniture, appliances, and anything else to set up housekeeping in a new home, as all that the Georges would be bringing was their clothes and teaching materials.
Since we first met them, Mr. and Mrs. George and Livesey have completed their dream of becoming naturalized United States citizens. It was a long and tough path, but they wanted it so much that they were willing to take every step that was necessary to earn their citizenship.
While this is a rare editorial comment, we go on record as holding the Georges and their work and efforts as the model approach to attaining citizenship. They asked for nothing except a chance to begin a new life in our country, and have proved their worthiness over and over!
With Mr. and Mrs. George today were their sons, Leslie and his wife and child), Livesey (who was a student at West Middle School and Liberal High School), and their nephew Joe. Needless to say, a good time was had by all!
Wednesday , May 29
What we had planned as a trip to a campground in Big V turned into a trip in the car to Fort Worth to spend some time with Leah, Ryan, and Kaiden. The drive across I-20 from Mineola to our hotel in Fort Worth was plain and simple, but as soon as we got to the hotel, clouds blew up and tornado alert sirens began sounding. This could be a more exciting than planned trip!
We were too early to check in at the hotel, so we went off to find some lunch. The rains started as soon as we left the hotel and it took awhile before we finally ended up at a nearby Denny's (that we don't ever plan to visit again...the food was bad, but the service was terrible).
We drove back to the hotel, checked in, unpacked and put everything away, took our nap (most important part of the day), and then prepared to welcome the kids for an evening of fun and getting caught up. A special thanks goes to Leah and Ryan for helping us program a new firestick that they gave us for viewing programs via internet!
Thursday, May 30
Wow!!! What a day!
We had never been to the Fort Worth Stockyards and the Botanic Garden, but Leah and Kaiden took care of that for us today.
Since Leah knows the best ways to get around Fort Worth, I turned the keys over to her and turned her loose to get us where we were supposed to be.
The F.W. Stockyards are pretty amazing. It's good that the City of Fort Worth and concerned benefactors have saved this part of their history.
We spent time walking around, had an open air lunch (complete with a giant fan that (mostly) kept the flies away, watched the cattle drive, did some shop-looking, and even took a carriage ride for the grand tour of the perimeter and the center of the stockyards. It was a most enjoyable time!
On the way out of the stockyards we took photos of two iconic sites...Billy Bob's, and the Cattle Drive sculpture.
And when we were done at the Stockyards, we visited part of the Botanic Gardens, getting just enough of a taste to want to go back and spend more time there in the future.
This evening we were joined by Ryan, Leah, and Kaiden for the Friday evening special meal provided by the hotel, fun and games, and some swimming.
And then it was time to say "good night...see you tomorrow.
Friday, May 31
This morning the kids treated us to a whole new experience, a trip to Top Golf for Ryan and Leah to practice their driving skills, and for us to discover a whole new level of ineptness...but it was fun!
When our session at Top Gold was completed we took a tour through downtown Fort Worth (handy hint...don't try this on graduation day...you will discover first-hand the true meaning of traffic gridlock).
Then we went to Boomer Jack's for outdoor dining, and then back to the hotel for an afternoon and evening of more family fun.
It was finally time to say goodbye, send the kids back to their house, and head to bed for some much-needed rest.
"I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination." - Jimmy Dean
Signing off on May after a "Little" vacation in Fort Worth
Jim/Dad/Gramps and Barbara/Mom/Grams/Gramsie
The story of our friendship with the George's would take a book, but the Reder's Digest version is that, when I was an assistant principal at Liberal High School, they were teaching in Botswana, Africa, and wanted to come teach in the United States. We ran into many obstacles because of lack of cooperation between Kansas and Washington, but finally got approval for them to come to us.
Barbara and I coordinated efforts by our respective teaching staffs at LHS and West Middle School to find an apartment, get it cleaned up, and furnish it with at least the basic furniture, appliances, and anything else to set up housekeeping in a new home, as all that the Georges would be bringing was their clothes and teaching materials.
Since we first met them, Mr. and Mrs. George and Livesey have completed their dream of becoming naturalized United States citizens. It was a long and tough path, but they wanted it so much that they were willing to take every step that was necessary to earn their citizenship.
While this is a rare editorial comment, we go on record as holding the Georges and their work and efforts as the model approach to attaining citizenship. They asked for nothing except a chance to begin a new life in our country, and have proved their worthiness over and over!
With Mr. and Mrs. George today were their sons, Leslie and his wife and child), Livesey (who was a student at West Middle School and Liberal High School), and their nephew Joe. Needless to say, a good time was had by all!
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Wednesday , May 29
What we had planned as a trip to a campground in Big V turned into a trip in the car to Fort Worth to spend some time with Leah, Ryan, and Kaiden. The drive across I-20 from Mineola to our hotel in Fort Worth was plain and simple, but as soon as we got to the hotel, clouds blew up and tornado alert sirens began sounding. This could be a more exciting than planned trip!
We were too early to check in at the hotel, so we went off to find some lunch. The rains started as soon as we left the hotel and it took awhile before we finally ended up at a nearby Denny's (that we don't ever plan to visit again...the food was bad, but the service was terrible).
We drove back to the hotel, checked in, unpacked and put everything away, took our nap (most important part of the day), and then prepared to welcome the kids for an evening of fun and getting caught up. A special thanks goes to Leah and Ryan for helping us program a new firestick that they gave us for viewing programs via internet!
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Thursday, May 30
Wow!!! What a day!
We had never been to the Fort Worth Stockyards and the Botanic Garden, but Leah and Kaiden took care of that for us today.
Since Leah knows the best ways to get around Fort Worth, I turned the keys over to her and turned her loose to get us where we were supposed to be.
The F.W. Stockyards are pretty amazing. It's good that the City of Fort Worth and concerned benefactors have saved this part of their history.
We spent time walking around, had an open air lunch (complete with a giant fan that (mostly) kept the flies away, watched the cattle drive, did some shop-looking, and even took a carriage ride for the grand tour of the perimeter and the center of the stockyards. It was a most enjoyable time!
On the way out of the stockyards we took photos of two iconic sites...Billy Bob's, and the Cattle Drive sculpture.
And when we were done at the Stockyards, we visited part of the Botanic Gardens, getting just enough of a taste to want to go back and spend more time there in the future.
We went back to the hotel for a nap (a daily requirement, like vitamins, coffee (for me), and Diet Coke (for Barbara).
This evening we were joined by Ryan, Leah, and Kaiden for the Friday evening special meal provided by the hotel, fun and games, and some swimming.
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Friday, May 31
This morning the kids treated us to a whole new experience, a trip to Top Golf for Ryan and Leah to practice their driving skills, and for us to discover a whole new level of ineptness...but it was fun!
When our session at Top Gold was completed we took a tour through downtown Fort Worth (handy hint...don't try this on graduation day...you will discover first-hand the true meaning of traffic gridlock).
Then we went to Boomer Jack's for outdoor dining, and then back to the hotel for an afternoon and evening of more family fun.
It was finally time to say goodbye, send the kids back to their house, and head to bed for some much-needed rest.
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"I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination." - Jimmy Dean
Signing off on May after a "Little" vacation in Fort Worth
Jim/Dad/Gramps and Barbara/Mom/Grams/Gramsie
