Time Travel

My husband is responsible for the computer systems of the Ball Corp. plant in Springdale AR. Normally we drive, which takes about 7 hours from our home in Ft. Worth, TX, but this time Merle wanted to try flying instead. I don't know that it saved us any time. We left home at 7am and didn’t get out of the airport in Harrison, AR until about noon and we still had an hour drive to Springdale. (It is possible to fly to Northwest Regional Airport, which is closer, but a lot more expensive.)

We booked through Mesa Airlines. It felt more like time travel…going back 30 years. Instead of entering our plane through a jet-way, we walked across the tarmac and up the steps to the plane, like in the old days. We flew on a 19-seater, with only 7 passengers including us. Of the 19 seats available, 4 were emergency exits. We both had a window seat. We both had an aisle seat. (In case you weren’t paying attention, that means there was one seat on each side of the plane.) I didn't want a seat over the wings, because I wanted an unobstructed view, but basically all the seats were over the wing, or engines (even worse), except the very back row. We sat in the 8th row, with only a partially obstructed view, one row in front of the back seat row which had three seats. There was no stewardess so the co-pilot gave the welcome and emergency info. No beverage. No snack. No tray tables to return to their upright and locked position. No carry on bins overhead to secure before take off.

Here we are, walking across the tarmac, and up the stairs.

We both had a window seat. We both had an aisle seat.

We were scheduled for a quick stop in Hot Springs AR for about 10 minutes and picked up several passengers there. We could feel the plane jostle as the newcomers’ luggage was placed in the compartment directly underneath our seats and we could hear the guy singing as if he was in the row behind us. I'd have sung along, but I didn't know the song, so we all just grinned at each other. We watched them refuel the plane's engines through our windows.

Then we flew on to Harrison, AR. Again, we walked down the steps and across the tarmac.

The Boone County Airport terminal in Harrison, AR.

The terminal building was smaller than a McDonalds. It was the smallest airport I've ever been in. They had a tiny room walled off with glass for their security and baggage handling facility. In the open part of the room were two 6 foot counters: one for rental cars, one for passenger ticketing and check-in. They hand carried in our luggage, in fact the same person was checking in passengers, delivering luggage and servicing the rental car desk!! There may have been about a dozen padded chairs to sit in. We had to wait until all the luggage was carried in, and then, for some reason, our car rental reservation wasn’t easy to locate (imagine how hard it must have been since we were the ONLY passengers on that flight renting a car), but we finally got a car, which was parked about 20 steps outside the front entrance of the airport building.

I wondered what I was going to do in AR. We were allowed 2 pieces of luggage each, but no carry on, just a personal item. I didn’t have room to pack a project to work on. I could go shopping, but what good would that be, since I wouldn’t have room to take anything home?

I did go to some antique malls anyway. I bought two things. We were eating dinner and I told Merle “I only bought 2 things.” I said, "one for you and one for me." And from my little purse I pulled out 2 little action figures, a Superman and a Batman and stood them on the table and said "do you want to play?" That cracked him up. I actually bought them to put in the toy box at home.

On our return trip, we got up at 4:30 am to drive the 40 minutes from Branson, (where we’d spent the weekend) down to Harrison to catch our 6:50 flight to Dallas. We noticed that there were three TSA agents to check in 8 passengers. Overkill? They were obviously bored because all four of our bags had the note informing us that bag had been searched. It really seems a little absurd, since what terrorist is going to waste his life on 8 passengers?

All went well until we made our 10 minute stop in Hot Springs to pick up a couple of passengers. Then they wouldn’t give us clearance to take off again. They said it was due to weather in Dallas, but Merle brought up the radar on his fancy little Blackberry, and it was just rain, so we don’t quite understand what the problem was. We sat on the plane for a while, taxied out to the runway, then back to the terminal and de-planed. They told us to leave our personal items on the plane to make security recheck easier, so I left my purse in my seat. I asked if I could take my book, and was granted permission.

We sat there for a few hours, so I was glad I had my book. I borrowed Merle's Blackberry to call my Mom. The extent of the food available in the Hot Springs terminal (which was marginally larger than Harrison’s) was one Coke vending machine and one snack machine, but my purse with all my money was on the plane parked outside. Luckily, Merle had some change in his pocket, so we decided to split a bag of peanuts. He put the money in, pushed the buttons and the bag of peanuts moved right to the edge, but then got hung up and wouldn’t drop! Luckily, another passenger also wanted peanuts. She put her money in and ours toppled down along with hers. Everyone cheered! So we split a bag of peanuts and a can of Dr. Pepper.

The terminal at Hot Springs, AR.

We could have driven and gotten home faster. In fact one passenger opted to rent a car and drive to Dallas. (Hot Springs boasted two rental car desks!) The two passengers who were joining us in Hot Springs were pilots on their way to work at DFW. One had already missed the flight he was scheduled to pilot by the time our plane was given clearance to leave, so he didn't join us after all. They finally said we should all go back through security and get back on the plane. (The whole security thing was laughable, since I think there were only a half dozen, if that many, people who entered the airport doors during the hours we sat and waited, yet we had to go through security again...rules are rules, you know.)

When I put my shoes in the tub, the security man asked to see my photo ID. Hello? We were told to leave our personal items on the plane, and I'd been a good girl and did as I was told. "My photo ID is in my purse, on the plane." Of course, I was the only passenger with this problem, because I was the only woman who followed directions, the rest (4 others) took their purses into the airport, and the remainder were men. The guy at security said “we’ll see what we can do.” “What’s your name?” I told him, and he answered, “it’s your lucky day! You’ve guessed the name of one of our passengers!”

We finally arrived at DFW and remember I said we didn’t use a jet way? Yep, that meant walking across the tarmac in the rain. We had an umbrella…IN THE SUITCASE….checked luggage, of course. Reminder to self: place the umbrella in the personal item when flying on small airlines. We had to stand in the rain until everyone de-planed, and claimed the personal items which were too large to put under the seats, then walk over to the terminal, following the man sent to lead us in like ducks in a row. When we got to the stairs we found the water draining from the roof pouring splashing out a spout making a good sized waterfall. Since no one wanted to take a shower right then, we walked back over to a Jet way set of stairs and finally got inside.

Our luggage was already inside waiting for us (one advantage of a small airline.) Yes, we are home again. Finally. Believe me, I slept well in my own bed last night. Would I pay $228 to fly to AR again? No, but the experience was priceless.

Different Drummer

Sometimes I feel like I march to the beat of a different drummer.

Manicures and Pedicures. Everyone seems to think they are not only nice, but necessary these days. They seem so frivolous to me. Never had one. Don't want one. I have funny little feet with short stubby toes. My toes look a little like fringe on a pillow. Why would I want to draw attention to them? A lady here in Ft. Worth recently died after getting a pedicure from a staff infection that she got from tools which hadn't been sanitized. They have clamped down on the shops, but I will tell you the best way to avoid infection...do your toenails yourself...if you do them at all.

Expensive cute little purses. Seems everyone buys a whole wardrobe of cute little purses and they change them with every outfit, or at least regularly. I recently spent the most I've ever spent on a purse. $32. It is black so it will be my winter purse. I usually just use one purse year round, but I recently bought a woven straw looking one that I've been using for summer for $7.50. I am particular about purses even though "cute" isn't one of my qualifications. I love the organizer purses with lots of separate compartments and a zippered section on one side that holds credit cards, etc. I want another outside pocket to hold my cell phone and a place to hook my keys. I don't like them to be too tall, it makes it too hard to see all the way to the bottom. I like a shoulder strap that isn't too long, so that the purse fits snugly just above my waist. Most straps are too long and I end up tying knots in them. It's hard to find a purse that meets even most of my expectations. I know exactly where to look for everything I carry in my purse, so why would I want to go to the trouble to change purses so often? It's not only a lot of trouble, it means I don't know where to find anything for a while. I don't think of my purse as a part of my outfit, I think of it more as a piece of luggage. It needs to be practical first. Cute is a distant second.

Slides, Mules, heels and flip flops. Go to the shoe department and see the percentage of shoes that aren't one of those. I have hard to fit feet and I will spend extra money to buy good shoes (although I still prefer a good clearance sale.) But, I personally don't have many shoes that don't have at least a heel strap. Maybe I am just klutzy, but I tend to walk right out of slides, and I get tired of trying to hold my shoes on by squeezing my toes. I do keep flip flops by the door so that they are easy to slip on when I go outside to get the mail or water plants, but I rarely wear them anywhere. I can't seem to walk without making the slapping sound, which annoys me. Heels over 2 inches make my feet and back hurt. I will wear them on special occasions, but not if I have to do much walking. I have seen plenty of women fall while trying to walk in silly shoes, and I don't want to risk it. My shoes must be comfortable first, cute second.

Jewelry. I like necklaces and earrings and my ears are pierced, but I think of jewelry more as apparel than jewels, just part of an outfit. I buy a lot of clearance jewelry, and none of it is REAL jewelry. I do have a few pair of sterling silver earrings, but it's all costume jewelry. The only REAL jewelry I own is the ring that was Merle's grandmother's. It has little flowers made of rubies and diamonds. I use it as a wedding ring since I lost the diamond out of my wedding ring years ago. It is probably not super valuable, but I still worry a lot about losing it. I take it off at night, and in the middle of the night I will feel that it's not there, and think "Oh, no! I lost my ring!" One piece of jewelry is enough to worry about, I don't want any more. One of my friends always notices if I forget to wear my ring (I don't wear it at home, so sometimes I forget to put it on when I go out.) I almost never notice other women's rings. She had to point out her new one. Another friend's husband got her a ring with lots of diamonds. It was important to her to have a "nice" piece of jewelry. She had to tell me about it because I hadn't noticed. It's not only something I am content to live without, I really don't WANT expensive jewels. I don't feel any less loved or important without them. When I lose a costume jewelry earring, or a necklace breaks, I'm sad because I liked it, but if it were expensive and that happened, I would be very upset.

Cars. An ex relative and her sister were discussing vehicles one day and I heard them say that they wouldn't be caught dead driving mini-vans. Huh? I LOVE my mini-van!! What's not to love about it? I like sitting up high and having clear views out of my windows. I can haul plenty of people in addition to cargo. We often remove the seats and use it like a truck. Mark, our oldest is moving into an apartment this weekend. What would we do without the mini-van?? Mine is a 1998, so it will soon be 10 years old, but it runs great. Merle said recently that he'd like to get me a newer one, but I am just fine with this one. Other people may not think my car is cool, but I love it, except for maybe the missing hubcap.

Houses and furnishings. One of my friends has been looking at houses. The style of it is really important to her. Sure, I want my house to look inviting, but I care WAY MORE what the floor plan and space looks like on the inside than what style it is on the outside. My furniture is garage sale and hand me downs, and would be considered out of date, but I don't mind. I'd like to think that I have an ability to combine a lot of worthless stuff and make it welcoming and appealing. I think I have a gift of hospitality, and I'm not at all embarrassed that I don't have the latest and greatest.

I guess what it all comes down to is appearances. For the most part, appearances mean little to me. I know first impressions are important and that we probably do get a feeling about what a person is like from those initial encounters. So, I guess you would probably look at me and say "practical and thrifty." And you'd be right. Hopefully you'd also add "kind and friendly" and maybe even "attractive in her own way." You definitely wouldn't say "cool" or "sophisticated". Yes, I feel like I march to the beat of a different drummer, and I'm totally OK with that.

Other Side of the Fence

When Phil was young, he peeled off any sticker he could find. Every toy was missing sticker eyes, brand names, etc. The white paper stuck to the adhesive was all he left behind. But, NOW, you should see his laptop computer. Well, actually you can't... because it is COMPLETELY covered with stickers. "Colorado Native", "Nerds get chicks", "ubunto", stickers from some favorite bands, etc. It's as if he saved every sticker he ever peeled off in his childhood and attached them to his laptop.


I have a theory. You become the opposite of what you were as a babe. You end up on the other side of the fence.

My oldest son, Mark, was the snuggliest little love bug as a baby. When he was 5 months old he kissed me so much one day that my chin got chapped. Now he is the one who wants a hug and then it's over and he needs his personal space. He doesn't want anyone sitting close enough to touch him. My youngest, Phil, on the other hand, resisted cuddling as a babe. He would firmly place both hands on my chest and with stiff arms, he would push away. He now loves being close and being touched, needs lots of hugs and snuggles. They traded sides of the fence.

When Mark was a baby he would awaken at unearthly hours. I am a night owl, so I would stay up until 1 am and then he would wake me up very early, so I hardly got any sleep and walked around like a zombie with dark circles under my eyes for years. Once, when he was about two years old, he said to me "Did you know there is a four, zero, zero in the night too?" That particular time he didn't wake me up, so I asked him "What did you do at four, zero, zero in the night?" Mark responded "I watched TV." Oh, you can just imagine what wonderful children's programming is on at that hour! He had watched a show where a woman was jumping off of a bus! He got a quick lesson in how to use the VCR to view his children's videos. But, now, as an adult he sets his alarm and it can actually be going off for over 20 minutes and yet he doesn't even rouse, but then when he finally wakes up enough he hits the snooze, and then continues to hit it every 5 minutes for literally HOURS! So, why couldn't he sleep as a baby?? Phil on the other hand, fought going to sleep at night when he was a little guy. It took him forever to unwind enough to fall asleep. He would kick the wall (gently) beside his bed to unwind. The wall beside his bed was always dirty! Now, he's the one with farmer's blood saying "I'm tired, I'm going to bed." Just another example of them switching sides of the fence.

Reading and being read to was Mark's favorite activity as a youngster. He loved his books. He learned to read before I had a chance to even teach him. We were on our way home from preschool one day. The Scholastic book order had come in, so he had the books in his lap. He began reading one of the books out loud, The Carrot Seed. I asked, "Oh, did your teacher read that to you?" "No." I asked again "Have you ever seen this book before?" "No." My brother and I had grown up that with that story on an old LP record , which is why I had put it on the Scholastic order. But Mark had never heard it before. Here he was, reading it aloud, page after page. And it wasn't just a Dick and Jane reader. It was a story! I didn't even know he could read. Over the years we made regular trips to the library, and I bought lots and lots of books from stores and garage sales. He always had his nose in a book! These days, he rarely, if ever, reads. And even though he blames the fact that books written for adults aren't as interesting, he's on the other side of the fence.

When I was young, I was highly competitive. When we played a game, I was definitely playing to win. But now, it doesn't bother me at all to be at the bottom of the scoreboard. Today I just play for the fun of it, who cares who wins? I've hopped the fence.

When Phil was a baby/toddler he was a perfectionist. Every open cupboard door had to be shut. If a lid was off a jar, it had to be replaced. If he saw a scrap of paper on the floor in a store, he fussed until I picked it up and put it in a trash can. Now, you should see his room...you can't find the floor. Clean clothes and dirty ones are treated equally. It's as if someone took everything he owned and threw it all into the dryer and then opened the door and let it tumble onto the floor. Why couldn't he have just stayed on the other side of the fence?




When Mark's buddy Nick was a little guy, the last thing on his mind was food. He was far too busy to eat. His mother, Susan would try to find creative ways to con him into eating. She would make food look like faces, or animals. She would bribe him with promises or treats or whatever. Nothing she ever tried made any difference. He just wasn't interested in eating. This is the same young man who went with Mark to Red Lobster for the "All you can eat shrimp fest" and the waitress ended up bringing 12 or 13 plates of shrimp. Susan copied the receipt and it's hanging framed in Mark's room. I doubt Nick even remembers eating on the other side of the fence.

I was extremely ticklish as a child. I was always so frustrated that my mother wasn't ticklish. She had conquered it early in life because she had three older brothers who were merciless. My Dad was a little ticklish, unless he was angry, and then he wasn't at all. I realized that being ticklish was an option. About the time I got married I made a choice. I wasn't going to be ticklish any more. And guess what? I'm not. (unless I happen to be feeling very ornery... and then, just the bottoms of my feet, but then, I'm hardly ever ornery any more.)

It's as if you are born on one side and have to climb the fence at some point during your life, sometimes it's just to prove that you can. I am curious to know if others have seen my theory in action. I'd love to hear your stories about climbing the fence.

Senior Year

I took these questions from Stacy who found them on Nesa's blog.

1. Who was your best friend?
I had lots of friends, but I'm not sure I could name one as "best" during that year.

2. Did you play any sports? No, but I competed in Forensic Meets and took 7th at State in poetry. One of my friends, Jeanne, suggested that competition in poetry was less intense than comedy or debate. It was a stretch for a wallflower, but ever so good for me.

3. What kind of car did you drive? I didn't have my own car in high school. I rode the bus to school. Even though I only lived a couple of miles from school, I had an hour ride both ways. I was always first on and last off, since they routed it for the more populated areas. Then, my senior year they appropriated a small van bus for the kids in my neighborhood. We got teased constantly because it looked just like the "special ed" bus. The summer after graduation, my parents bought me a used Corvair, red with a white top, and I named him, Gus.

4. It’s Friday night. Where were you? During the fall, I would have been at the football games with my friends. My parents (who are early to everything...what happened to me?) came early to pick me up, and were waiting in the car for the game to end...the police shined a flashlight in the windows thinking they'd caught a young couple necking. During the winter, my family went ice skating at a lake up in the mountains every Friday night . (see my Christmas quiz blog) Otherwise I was home with the family or occasionally spending the night with a friend. Often, I was probably on the phone, having long discussions with my friend, Auline. (As I was growing up we had an 8 party phone line, but sometime before my senior year we were able to obtain a private line. ) Auline and I disagreed on just about every issue, but by talking with her I learned to express myself and was forced to defend my positions.

5. Were you a party animal? Sure. You must be kidding! Far from it, as you've guessed by my other answers.

6. Were you considered a flirt? No. Innocent and naive. I didn't even know it when someone was flirting with me!

7. Were you in the band, orchestra or choir? Choir. Always Choir. I loved choir and I loved it when there was finally someone shorter than me (Debbie Bova, I love you!) so I didn't have to be on the end in the front row anymore. (Actually I grew 2 inches my senior year, so I topped out at 5'3.75"I learned to sing harmony which is a lifesaver since I am a low alto and can rarely sing the melody because it is too high.

8. Were you a nerd? Hmm...quiet, shy, smart enough to get reasonable grades with little effort, but nerd? don't think so, anyway, but who knows what others thought.

9. Were you ever suspended or expelled? I was DEFINITELY a rule follower, so no. In fact in JR. High I had nightmares about getting my code card taken away. (a list of rules, which we had to sign and carry with us at ALL times. If you broke a rule, your code card had the infraction written on the back and after 3 times it was taken away, which meant suspended I guess. ) I lived in fear that I would break some rule unintentionally, because if you even broke ONE you couldn't be on the honor roll for that quarter. I had that stupid dream for YEARS afterward.

10. Can you sing the fight song? That was a long time ago. uh-uh.

11. Who was your favorite teacher? NOT my art teacher, Miss Klaiber. I was straight laced, she was a hippie type. I don't think she liked me much either. She ruined my love of art. I wanted to be an art teacher until I had her. NOT my algebra 2 teacher, Mr. Irwin. Oh, wait. he was my Jr. year. He DIDN't teach, and I couldn't go on in math my senior year because I didn't get the basics I should have in his class. In his class half the grade was homework and half was tests. I got a B first quarter, based on review of Algebra I, but a C my last one (and A for homework and an F on tests.) I was handing in the homework, although I couldn't work the problems, I put them on the paper. I was turning in blank tests by the end of the year. I guess I liked my French teacher and my English teacher, no wait, I know! My science teacher!!! Yeah, Mr. Carlson. I took Basic science because I had to have a science to graduate. It was a little of each of the major sciences and I LOVED it. He taught me to love science, albeit too late. Well, that love of science did come in handy when I home schooled, I guess.

12. What was your school mascot? Knight.

13. Did you go to the Prom? No.

14. If you could go back, would you? No way. I survived it, but wouldn't want to relive it.

15. What do you remember most about graduation? We could only have 4 tickets since Mackey Auditorium at CU, where it was held was too small. I managed to get 3 extra tickets from friends so that my parents, brother, 3 grandparents and future DH could all be there. I remember my gown was white. I remember the white polyester rib knit dress, which I sewed myself and my new white pumps. Shallow, huh? The speeches? not really.

16. Where were you on Senior Skip Day? At school of course. Not sure I even knew when it was, but it wouldn't have mattered.

17. Did you have a job your senior year? No. I lived out in the country, and had no car.

18. Where did you go most often for lunch? The year I was a senior we finally got open campus at lunch time. Up until then, you either bought school lunches or brought a bag lunch. One of my friends, Cindy Barrick had a VW bug. She drove barefoot. I rode shotgun. Her younger brother, Bobby, and 2 or 3 of his friends would cram into the back seat and we took a wild ride to McDonalds. Our high school was out in the country, probably 5 miles from town, so to get there and back on a lunch break was a feat in itself. Cindy and I would split the combo...the little hamburger, fries, small coke. It cost us each about 50 cents. Back then, our Mc Donalds didn't even have a dining area. You formed lines outside the order windows under the big golden arches. I remember on the way back to school the boys would throw their weight from side to side causing the VW bug to rock violently. I was certain they could tip us over.

19. Have you gained weight since then? Mucho, unfortunately.

20. What did you do after high school? I thought maybe I would like to be a teacher, so I applied to be a teacher's aide. I was too young to be an aide for anything but elementary. They weren't sure they'd have enough funds to have aides in elementary. "Come back next month. " Next month, same story. Then the next..."Oh, we've already hired." By then it was too late to get into college classes, so my mom drove me around and I beat the streets looking for a job. I remember just before going into a flower shop (Hartman Floral, BaseMar Shopping center) that I said to my mom "I would REALLY like to get a job here." I did. I think I started at $1.25 an hour and ended at $1.40. Since I was working instead of going to college, my parents bought me the Corvair. I loved working at the flower shop even though Mrs. Hartman could be a bit intense. Merle and I got married the following summer and I began working as a floral designer at another flower shop, Golden Floral, while he went to Colorado School of Mines. Merle worked after class and on Saturdays delivering flowers. My employers, Ron and Betty Stapp were WONDERFUL to us. I wish I could find them again to say thank you.

OTHER: (added just because...)

School has changed so much since I was in high school. Girls wore dresses (except the ONE day a year when we had "slacks" day.) Boys wore slacks and collared shirts. Yes, this was PUBLIC school.

Only a few kids smoked (the BAD kids, for the most part) and they gathered on the OTHER side of the fence before and after school, so they could smoke and not be on school property.

We were required to take PE every year except our senior year. We had to wear these stupid royal blue, one piece gym suits. The girls acceptable rebellion was to remove the cuffs in the shorts which essentially turned them into bloomers. For some reason, we thought that looked better??? I HATED PE WITH. A. PASSION. I was not athletic. I couldn't wait to be a senior so I didn't have to take PE anymore. Imagine my mom's reaction when I actually signed up for it my senior year! I had learned to like gymnastics, specifically the uneven parallel bars and the balance beam.

Miracles! and such

Stacy's August 8th blog http://cowtownstacy.blogspot.com/2007/08/is-that-our-tire.html about their tire coming off and rolling down the highway made me realize that I may have never written down some of our experiences…the times we felt the HAND OF GOD.

Stacy’s story brings back a memory from LONG ago. January 1976. We had sold our house in Colorado in order to go to Bible College in Florida. We had just purchased an older used car and had gotten new tires put on it. We were probably 400 miles from home, pulling a U-Haul trailer, in the middle of absolutely nowhere (New Mexico or western Texas). It was a dark moonless night and I was driving. Merle was asleep in the back seat. There was a set of headlights coming toward me. Then another vehicle pulled out into my lane, as if to pass the other car. But, it didn't get back in its lane...it just kept coming and coming. I realized if I didn't stop we were going to collide head on. I slammed on the brakes throwing Merle to the floor. Then the lights vanished….COMPLETELY! I kept saying..."Where did that car go? There was a car headed straight for me! I KNOW there was!" Merle said, "Pull over and I will drive a while." I was FINE, I hadn't even been sleepy, and now I was DEFINITELY alert, but shaken. Then, as I drove along very slowly looking for a spot to pull over, we heard the clunk, clunk, clunk of the lug nuts inside the hub cap. 2 lug nuts of the 5 were completely sheared off and a third nearly was. Evidently they hadn't tightened the lug nuts on one wheel when they put the new tires on. Merle tightened down the lug nuts that remained and we drove on. Do I believe God caused me to see a vehicle that wasn't there? YES,I DO! If I had driven much farther, I probably wouldn't be here to write this. Pulling a trailer, with an unfamiliar car, in the dark on an unfamiliar road, with only moderate driving skills....If HE knows how many hairs are on my head, and HE knows when a sparrow falls, I believe HE protected us in a miraculous way.

On down the road a bit farther, we began talking about driving through Lubbock. It would be fun to see the town, since our good friends Mike and Vickie, who had lived across the street from us until recently, had moved back home to Lubbock Too bad that we would be passing through it in the middle of the night.. Then, before long, about 3 am, both of us grew weary and knew we needed to pull over and take a short nap. We slept in the car, and when we awoke, it was after 6:30 am. We hadn’t planned to sleep so long, but had no way of setting an alarm, and had slept nearly 4 hours. We came into Lubbock about 7 am that Sunday morning. We decided to call Mike and Vickie and see if they would like to join us for breakfast. They were excited to hear from us and gave us directions to their house, and told us to come on over and she would fix us breakfast. We had a great time catching up over a delicious meal, but knew that we were hours behind schedule and better get going. Merle was showing Mike how the U-Haul didn't have to be attached with a ball and hitch, we had one that just attached to the bumper itself. As they got to looking, they noticed that the ENTIRE bumper was being pulled off the car! We could have been down the road a bit and lost the trailer and bumper all at the same time. Who knows what damage could have been done, or who might have been injured because of it.

But, now what were we going to do? We were smack in the middle of the Bible Belt. In those days, basically NOTHING was open on Sunday mornings. But, we HAD to get it repaired before we could go any further. It wasn’t going to be a simple fix either. We knew it would have to be welded, and we couldn’t do anything to repair it ourselves. Then Vickie announced that her father owns a welding shop and he could weld it back on for us! She called him and he met us at the shop and did just that. Early on a Sunday morning in the Bible Belt. On top of that, he did it for FREE, wouldn't even take a dollar.

If we hadn't grown sleepy and slept precisely that amount of time, we wouldn't have made a connection with the Buxkempers, since they would have been at church later. And if it had been earlier, we wouldn't have even called them. If Merle hadn't been showing Mike how the trailer attached, we would never have known that the bumper was being pulled off. Vickie’s Dad just happened to own a welding shop…God's perfect timing. Reassuring us that yes, HE was indeed with us.

Well, maybe I need to back up just a little now. We had been living in a small town on the prairie, Ft. Morgan, CO. Definitely a cowtown. Lots of dairy and beef cattle in the area. Merle worked horrendous hours as an oil well logging engineer for Dresser Atlas. We were involved in a Bible Study for couples sponsored by the Christian Women's Club I attended. There were couples involved from all different churches and backgrounds. This was our first real experience of being in a study with people who didn't share the same views. It sent us searching the scriptures to see if what we believed was true. I became convinced that I really wanted to go to Bible College to learn more. I kept telling Merle that if we ever got transferred somewhere close enough to a Bible college that I wanted to go. I guess it gave him the bug to go too.

At some point his work hours were becoming unbearable (often 80 to 100 hours a week), with no relief in sight. We decided that he would quit his job and we would go to Bible College somewhere. We bought a book that listed different colleges: where they were, and what they offered. We spoke about our desires with our pastor, Frank Hogeland of Grace Bible Church. He suggested the school where his daughter was, Florida Bible College. It was between Ft. Lauderdale and Miami, in Hollywood, FL. We decided to enroll for the session beginning in Jan. It must have been about Thanksgiving when we made that decision. We were excited about it and told the couples at our Bible Study about our plans. One of the men, Tom, worked at the Savings and Loan, and told us there was NO WAY we could sell our house quickly enough to get to Florida for classes beginning in January. Even if we sold it TODAY, it would take four to six weeks to process the loan before we could close. We told them, that we believed God was leading us and that if HE wanted us there, then HE would make a way. We decided on a price and put an ad in the local newspaper. The next day, a lady called and came to see the house. The following day she brought her husband. They agreed to buy it. In TWO DAYS. We had signed the contract within a week. They were able to put enough money down to assume our loan and we closed two weeks later. Tom couldn’t believe it.

We packed up some of our stuff to store at my parents’ house, and then spent the holidays with our families. Two days before we left, we bought an older used car to take to Florida, knowing that the salt air would ruin our little Mercury Capri that we'd bought just two years earlier. So we bought Ruth--we named her that, saying that she would say "where ever you go, I will go, and your people shall be my people, and your God, my God." We bought new tires, rented a U-Haul and headed to Florida. We decided to take turns driving so that we could get there sooner. We would try to drive through the night....and that's when I saw the lights coming toward me...

So, you would think that we would be FULLY assured. that we were INDEED going where God wanted us to be. After three miracles of sorts….selling our house so quickly, the lights which vanished so that we would drive slowly enough to hear the sheared off lug nuts, and the newly welded bumper…Yes, surely we would know…yet just two days later, I found myself sprawled across a sheet-less bed, crying my eyes out and wailing that I wanted to go back home….

What happened?

We found the campus and pulled in with our U-Haul trailing along behind. The beach was directly behind the college buildings and there was a large sign saying not to go one direction, but we misunderstood which direction that was, and we ended up driving down the boardwalk. Since it was just after New Years, there were lots of people on the beach. They were all staring at us. We realized that we’d made a mistake and needed to get back to the main road, so we drove on, looking for the next opportunity to go out, surely there would be an exit down just a little further. We were a couple of blocks down the street when everyone on the beach started flailing their arms back and forth over their heads and yelling “GO BACK, THERE’S NO WAY OUT!” Ever tried to back a U-Haul 2 blocks?? NOT an easy task…and how embarrassing to have the whole beach watching and shaking their heads at our idiocy.

We planned our arrival to be a couple of days earlier than most of the student body would be returning, knowing that we’d need to get settled in. As a result, there weren’t many people around. I can’t even remember all the problems we encountered, but nothing much went right from the moment we arrived at our destination. I do remember that we couldn’t find anyone to help us figure out how to get our things all the way up to our 10^th floor efficiency apartment. I do remember that I tried to be friendly with a girl on the elevator and she snubbed me royally, and wouldn’t say a word. (Later I learned that this girl was the most snobbish of anyone on campus. She wasn’t even a student, but was the young daughter of someone on staff.) I found the atmosphere wasn’t the welcoming one I had envisioned at all. Maybe I didn’t want to be here after all…

And thus began two of the happiest years of my life.

My VALENTINE

Three years of drought brought a painful end to his father’s farming days,

So they left Nebraska for Boulder, trading farming for a “job that pays.”

The little church on the corner was our first meeting place,

It’s where I got to know the little boy with freckles on his face.

Both of us were bashful, so when we’d meet in high school halls,

We’d barely speak, and then turn red and bump into the walls.

He traded Coke bottle glasses for contacts, grew his crew-cut into curls,

And suddenly he was growing up and interested in girls.

I thought it was to make another girl jealous when he asked me for a date.

She decided to try to get him back, but by then it was too late.

Movies, Lakeside, Twin Burger, Putt-Putt and Dairy Queen,

Together in these places we were often seen.

From a pay phone during a long talk, (we had one every day,)

He first said “I love you” when he ran out of other things to say.

Face to face we sang to one another, well, at least we tried…

That hot August afternoon in ’70, when I became his bride.

On weekends he drove the delivery van and I made the bouquets,

That’s how we made a living all through his college days.

ROTC gave us the chance to live in Washington D.C.,

Then, off for more school in Houston, as a Dresser Atlas employee.

Thirty-two thousand bought our first little house. Ft. Morgan.’74.

But as a logging engineer he‘d often work 80 hours a week, or more.

I wanted to go to Bible College when I realized how little I really knew,

And soon I had him wishing that he could go there too.

In just a month we sold our house and bought a car named Ruth,

Enrolled ourselves at FBC and traveled with “The Sound of Truth.”

After Florida came West Virginia where our work with teens began,

Plus work at a coal testing lab, two full time jobs was too much for one man.

We loved those kids in Morgantown, but we really missed our kin.

And our little household grew a bit when we moved back home again.

First came Mark in ‘82, our precious, red-haired baby boy,

Then redhead Phillip In ‘85, blessed our lives and doubled our joy.

Laid off twice in just three years, how could he provide

When no one wants to hire a man who’s “overqualified?”

He finally found a job in Northglenn on Robertsons’ payroll

Shift work on the assembly line and then into quality control.

He designed their computer system, and kept it up to date

That’s when he discovered the job he loves, a perfect fit, it’s great.

Clipper Court, the condo at Madero, then a year with Mom and Dad

Then one day at an auction we bought a house, put down all the cash we had.

We lived in Broomfield 16 years, and changed the place so much,

We planted trees, put in windows, laid new floors and gave it our own touch.

But ’03 brought big changes, when MPI was bought by Ball,

We moved to Burleson, Texas, where we’ve learned to say “y’all.”

Our empty nest became full house when our college boys moved home,

Now, we’re enjoying their company until they move out on their own.

We have lived in lots of places and enjoyed so many things,

Since that day so long ago when we gave each other rings.

I chose to love him then and I choose to love him now.

Our lives, our goals, hearts and souls, became entwined with a vow.

There have been some ups and downs, of that you can be sure,

But, our commitment’s prized reward is a love that will endure.

Making plans, dreaming dreams, sharing smiles and tears,

We’re working as a team and we will throughout our years.

He’s my sweetheart, He’s my friend. There’s no one else for me,

My provider, protector, my love and my life, until eternity.

Songs That Made Me Cry

It’s weird the things that make me cry and the things that don’t. Something just trips in my brain and the tears are there unbidden and unstoppable. Other times I am deeply moved, but without tears. I cry during Hallmark commercials even when I’ve seen them before. I sob through some books and movies, but not others, but I can only think of three songs that have actually made me cry.

Old Shep

I can still remember sitting in our rented farmhouse and begging my mom to sing “Old Shep” to me when I was six years old. But every time she would sing it to me I would be crying my eyes out half way through the song and trembling before it ended. Still, I would beg her to sing it. She once asked me “Why do you want me to sing it if it makes you cry?” I really never knew the answer, but I still loved it, and it continued to make me cry every time. What is so odd, is that at about that age I went with my Aunt Shirley and her boyfriend (who later became my Uncle Jay) and his little brother, Denny, to see Old Yeller at the theater. Shirley and Denny cried. I didn’t. It was sad, but I didn’t cry. Still, Old Shep always reduced me to tears of sadness.

OLD SHEP

(Red Foley / Willis Arthur)

 Red Foley - 1940

Elvis Presley - 1956

 When I was a lad

And old Shep was a pup

Over hills and meadows we'd stray

Just a boy and his dog

We were both full of fun

We grew up together that way

I remember the time at the old swimmin' hold

When I would have drowned beyond doubt

But old Shep was right there

To the rescue he came

He jumped in and then pulled me out

As the years fast did roll

Old Shep he grew old

His eyes were fast growing dim

And one day the doctor looked at me and said

I can't do no more for him Jim

With hands that were trembling

I picked up my gun

And aimed it at Shep's faithful head

I just couldn't do it

I wanted to run

I wish they would shoot me instead

He came to my side

And looked up at me

And laid his old head on my knee

I had struck the best friend that a man ever had

I cried so I scarcely could see

Old Shep he has gone

Where the good doggies go

And no more with old Shep will I roam

But if dogs have a heaven

There's one thing I know

Old Shep has a wonderful home

Serenade of the Bells

My Dad isn’t a singer. He is a bass when he does sing, but I don’t remember him singing very much. The song I most remember him singing to us when we were young is Serenade of the Bells. I loved it! Maybe partly because it was the only song I ever heard him sing solo. Otherwise, he sang at church, or with us as a family in the car on trips, but never solo. I doubt I heard it very many times, but it was short and I learned it. As I grew older and took Spanish in school, I realized that Dad mispronounced the word padre, and instead sang it pod-way. We laughed at him. Mom reprimanded us and told us Dad didn’t know Spanish and was only singing it the way he “heard” it. He’s been hard hearing almost his whole life. It breaks my heart to think I was rude enough to laugh at him. I still love the song, but it brings tears of shame to eyes when I think of it.

SERENADE OF THE BELLS 

(Kay Twomey / Al Goodhart / Al Urbano) (1947)

 Recorded by: Gene Autry; Don Autry; Don Cornell; Vic Damone;

The Fleetwoods; Dick Haymes; David Houston; Sammy Kaye;

Carl Mann; Gene Pitney; Frank Sinatra; Jo Stafford;

The Vibrations; Bobby Vinton.

 In the sleepy town of San Juanita

There's a story that a padre tells

Of a gay senor and senorita

And the serenade of the bells.

Seems they asked the padre for permission

To be married early in the spring

But their folks had made just one condition,

That the mission bells had to ring.

Ev'ryone knew the bells were broken,

And hadn't sounded for a long, long time.

Then one night the village was astounded

For the bells began to chime!

Still the bells are broken, goes the story

But if in your heart a true love dwells

They will ring for you in all their glory,

That's the serenade of the bells.

The Christmas Shoes

I vividly remember where I was the first time I heard this song. They say your memories are most clear if you experienced strong emotion when the event originally occurred. I was driving to meet my friend, Debbie, for lunch. I was on Foothills Highway, turning onto Colorado Ave when the song began, and before I got to 30^th St I had to pull over and stop because I was blinded by my tears. I had to hurry and pull myself together since I was only blocks away from my friend’s workplace, but I’m sure my eyes were still red and the song haunted me all day. It got lots of airtime that first year, but it continued to make me sob, although never as dramatically as that very first time I heard it.

THE CHRISTMAS SHOES

NewSong

It was almost Christmas time

There I stood in another line

Trying to buy that last gift or two

Not really in the Christmas mood

Standing right in front of me

Was a little boy waiting anxiously

Pacing around like little boys do

And in his hands he held a pair of shoes.

And his cloths were worn and old

He was dirty from head to toe

But when it came his time to pay

I couldn't believe what I heard him say.

Chorus

I want to buy these shoes for my Mama please

It's Christmas Eve and 

These shoes are just her size

Could you hurry please 

Daddy says there's not much time

You see she's been sick for quite a while

and I know these will make her smile

And I want her to look beautiful

If Mama meets Jesus tonight.

He counted pennies for it seemed like years

The cashier said son there's not enough here

He searched his pockets franticly

Then he turned and looked at me and he said

Mama made Christmas good at our house

But most years she just did without

Tell me what am I gonna do

Somehow I gotta buy her these Christmas shoes.

So I laid the money down

I just had to help him out

And I'll never forget the look on his face

When he said Mamma's gonna look so great.

Chorus

I knew I'd caught a glimpse of heaven's love

As he thanked me and ran out

I knew god had sent that boy

To remind me what Christmas is all about.

I wanna buy these shoes for my Mama please

If Mama meets Jesus tonight

Christmas Questions

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate?

I always like to have a glass or two of egg nog sometime over the holidays, but I “water it down” with regular milk and I drink it cold. I like hot chocolate and enjoy it more often, but truth be told, hot spiced apple cider would top them both. (And I make a hot almond drink that even tops the spiced cider.)

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just set them under the tree?

Santa has never been a part of our Christmas traditions.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?
Outside it’s all white. The main tree is all white. Some smaller trees around the house are colored, and the “COKE” tree is in red lights.

4. Do you hang mistletoe?
I have a tiny sprig of “fake” mistletoe that I sometimes hang, but it doesn’t usually even get noticed when I do.

5. When do you put your decorations up?
Usually the weekend following Thanksgiving, but we didn’t have Thanksgiving until Sunday this year due to work schedules, so it’s down from the attic, ready to go up tomorrow night.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)?
Cheese Fondue. We either do fondue for Christmas or New Years, depending on the year.

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child?
Oddly enough, at some point we started “making” our own Christmas trees. The first year it was a chicken wire cone covered with tumbleweeds, sprayed silver. Another year it was made of crepe paper and decorated with intricate egg ornaments hung by ribbons (much prettier than it sounds.) I loved it so much that I begged for it to be left up. When my mom could no longer stand it (probably about Feb. since she is a very patient woman) she told me if I wanted to keep it, it had to go into my bedroom. I kept it in my bedroom til the end of June before I could agree to take it apart. Another year, when I was in high school, we found an old dead woodpecker log that was hollow. My dad wired it for electricity and put globes on it. We loved it so much that it became our traditional tree which we used every year. Eventually we decided to leave it up year ‘round and it became our “seasons” tree. My mom still uses it to this day. We made another one like it for me and DH later, but it’s at my parents house in Colorado. Making our own tree was a great family bonding process and an unusual creative endeavor.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?
I was about 3. I started analyzing the whole thing, and realized it was a bunch of baloney. I asked my mom “There isn’t really a Santa Claus, is there?” She simply answered “no.” I never felt like I missed the “magic” of Christmas at all, and was always appreciative to my parents for gifts received. My mom was honest with me because she had been very hurt as a child by “believing” , but having been born into a very poor family. She wanted a bike in the worst way, but never got one because they could never afford one. Meanwhile the snotty rich neighbor kids down the road got oodles of wonderful presents. We decided not to ever start the Santa thing. Our kids learned about Santa from other kids and books, but he was always a fictional character for them. I recently asked them if they felt they missed out by not believing…answer, no. .

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?
We’ve always opened one gift Christmas Eve. Sometimes I chose it (like new PJ’s for everyone, so photos would look good on Christmas morning) but sometimes they got to choose one.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree?
I buy the boys a yearly ornament to represent something about that year (some years, just one they liked.) DH always gets a Coke ornament (even though he is a recent Dr. Pepper convert…took me YEARS to get him there!) I buy several that I just can’t resist every year, especially from the after Christmas clearance sales at the Hallmark stores. For a while I've tried to buy something for the tree from every family vacation. We have so many sentimental ornaments that I have several small trees around the house (Coke, a mouse tree, a Disney tree, an Eskimo tree, and I may have enough S’more ornaments for a small tree this year.) Not all of the ornaments go up every year, but we all choose our favorites. When the boys leave home they’ll have enough to decorate their own trees.

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it?
I LOVE to watch snow falling, love to stand outside and let the snowflakes fall on my face, love to walk in the snow and hear it “crunch” when it gets really cold, love making snowmen--one year on a snow day (remember I am from Colorado, and to get a snow day you had to get a LOT of snow), we made an Indian brave, and added a real feather. On the other hand, I HATE to drive on slick roads…so I LOVE snow… as long as I can stay at home. Of course, now that I live in TX, snow is like… a miracle.

12. Can you ice skate?
My family drove about an hour up into the mountains to a wonderful outdoor lake (Lake Pactolus) every Friday night for years. They would flood the lake so the ice was smooth and would blade off the snow by driving around on the lake with an ancient old pick-up truck (circa 1940?) with a plow on the front. It was a big lake, and you could find your own area of the lake and do whatever you wanted, you didn’t just skate around in circles (how boring!) The AMTRAK train went right by and we’d wave to the passengers. Sometimes the wind was so strong that if we held up our coats above our heads like sails, it would blow us the entire length of the lake! They had a warming house with wood benches and we’d always take some thermoses filled with hot chocolate. It was the highlight of my week. We could never afford lessons, but in high school a friend who was taking lessons was teaching me some figures, jumps, spins,etc. and I loved it. I can still skate, but wouldn’t try any fancy stuff anymore.


13. Do you remember your favorite gift?
I've never been very good at choosing a single favorite thing of anything...As a youngster it was probably my red mohair sweater or my used manual typewriter. As an adult it was my jewelry armoire or my kitchen aid mixer, both gifts from my parents, or the 35mm camera from my DH one year.

14. What's the most exciting thing about Christmas for you?
Lights and decorations. I love driving around and seeing the lighting displays, seeing how the stores decorate, visiting homes that are decorated.

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? Chocolate fondue with fresh fruit.

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?
I love singing harmony with a group a cappella, so caroling is right up there, although I guess my very favorite would have to be decorating the tree as a family. We put on our Santa hats and some Christmas music. We usually have cheese and crackers and fruit along with hot cider or cocoa. We each reminisce about every ornament as we put it on the tree.

17. What tops your tree?
Finding a tree topper that I really love has been a challenge. We’ve had a lighted star, a lighted angel, a fabric angel, a glass pointed topper, etc. I still haven’t seen one I truly love. I’ve even used just a bow with streamers coming down.

18. Which do you prefer giving or Receiving?
I am a giver. I love finding just the perfect gift for someone, and delight in watching them open it. My family isn’t very good about buying things for me or filling my stocking, but I don’t care ‘cause I’m too busy watching them anyway. I have to admit my mom usually surprises me with something wonderful, and it’s not usually on my list…she’s just great at knowing what I would love.

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song?
As I said before…I’m never good at picking A SINGLE favorite anything…So, I decided to go with the first one that popped into my mind…On one of our Christmas records (a cheapo LP I bought at the supermarket when we were newly married) has a lively arrangement of “While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks By Night.” I’ve never heard another version I liked as much. I love traditional carols and contemporary songs equally, and I love singing along. Our church choir prepared and sang a cantata every year. Many of the songs in the cantatas used words straight from the Bible. I can hardly read the Christmas story without bursting out into song, since those words are now associated with wonderful melodies.

20. Candy Canes?
I love using candy canes to stir my hot chocolate, which looks pretty and turns my hot chocolate into mint chocolate, but I don’t eat them. I’m a chocolate or toffee girl all the way. Nothing else is worth wasting the calories on.