How Does She Do This?

   Writing about reading, AGAIN...

   As most of you will remember, Mayre and I are reading, well, I am reading aloud, and she is listening, or sleeping, as the situation develops, my reading voice seems to do that to people, but she does get some good naps in, and sometimes I sneak off to another part of the condo to finish up on other things.

   But back to what we have been reading, and here I will refresh some memories out there, The Mitford books, by author Jan Karon. We had read most of the series back when they first came out in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Ms. Karan started publishing the series in 1994, and the original first nine volumes hit the market from 1994 till 2005.

   What got us started this time around was the publication of Come Rain or Come Shine, which was another Mitford book put out in 2015. As we went through this later book, we knew most of the characters from the earlier writings, but we had missed a lot of the details that made up the background for the latest novel.

   So, we went back to book one and began again, reading all the way through book nine, which appears to have been the last projected book in the Mitford series.

   Karon's next two books were labeled "The Father Tim Series", and included Home To Holly Springs (2007) and In The Company of Others (2010). We decided to continue our oral readings with these, so we are on the Holly Springs one now.

   As we are reading through Holly Springs, I was stuck with the amount of detail into the early life of Father Tim, which is hinted at in the earlier Mitford books, but fleshed out in great detail here. The stories of how people and situations came about, and their effect on the life of Father Tim Kavanagh make the older books richer in meaning,

   But here is the question that seems to boggle my mind: How much of the detail presented in Holly Springs was present in the author's mind when the series began? Here is a book that gives the background of the life of the main character, whose fictional life began at least 13 years previously.

   The author has done a great job of weaving this background through the first nine books, giving snippets of information and hints as to situations and people, without telling the full story. except what is needed for that  particular book's story line.

   Then she writes Holly Springs and fleshes out the complete story. How does she do that? Does she develop the main character, and then make up situations in an earlier life that fit the current narrative?

   Does she have it all in mind the whole way through?

   I have spent the entire morning looking for a way to ask her those questions, but without success. There must be a way...I'll keep searching.

   After we finish our current reading, we will go on to Company of Others which involves a trip to Ireland, land of the Kavanagh line, and, I'm sure we will discover further information on how Father Tim became Father Tim.

   And now I see that there are four more Mitford books, that carry on the stories of all these Mitford people and their beloved priest, the last one published in 2017. How many more does Karon's mind contain?

   Well, at least, we have good material to read for a few more days, months, years....and that is a real good thing.

   You may note that the photo at the top has no relevance in this post, at least not outwardly. I took it the other night at sunset, and, in my mind, entitled it Peace...

   I like it.

   And, I like the books, a lot...

It Is Snowing...

   It IS snowing, somewhere, but just not down here where the temperature is in the mid 40s as we wake up to a Christmas morning filled with sunshine and memories.

   Our front door is festooned with a fresh wreath, fashioned and brought to us by some dear friends who have done this for us in years past and continue on this year.

   But today, we are...

   Just Granny Lou and Papa, eating a breakfast casserole, brought to us yesterday, by some friends at church. Grits and Summer Sausage, now that is a great feast for this day.

   We have been thanking our neighbors and friends for their gifts of food and goodies for the past several days now, but it does not get old. We are happy to be remembered, but wish we could still be on the giving end instead of always receiving. But, after thinking about it, we happily receive these, sent, or brought, our way.

   Our Nativity set, rests on the credenza, and, as I look at it again this morning, I remember that I need to put Jesus in his manger. Looking in his resting place in the drawer, I find the box, open it, take out the infant, and place him in the manger. Then I look at the box, take out a piece of paper and find a note from Amazon, telling us that one year a person known as just " a blog reader", has sent this.

   I seem to remember a blog post from the past that speaks of not being able to find the Baby when we put out the set, and writing about that dilemma.

   Now I see that I can look up on Amazon and find who the actual sender was. I do, and now I know who "a blog reader" is. Thanks if you are still reading.

   Had to take a break a few minutes ago to drive over to the house where the casserole came from, when we returned there was another bowl on the doormat. It was some sort of desert, and it was good, real good, but no name on the dish. I want to thank someone, but who?

  Oh well, let me get back to the previous few days before Christmas...

   As much pleasure as we get from food and gifts, there is more still from visits and conversations from friends, and even more when those visits come from family.

   Doug and Dawn have made us a part of their Christmas for a long time. Early on it was at their home in Blacksburg, but now they make it a point to visit down here during the Christmas season. One year they will come to us before Christmas and then visit the other grandparents over in Pensacola for the actual Holiday. The next year, we get the Christmas Day celebration and the Bucks get the before, or sometimes after.

   But they always include both sets of parents.

   That is good.

   No, that is very good....we always enjoy all the kids (5 now) and it makes Christmas for us.

                                                                   Drew 17

                                                       Caroline 15

                                                           Lucy 13

                         Laken (celebrated her 13th while here)

                                           David 10

   For several years, we had all the kids and grandkids down here to our Island.We rented a big house near the beach and partied.

   But times change, and kids grow and have travel schedules of their own, and other responsibilities, too. So they come when they can, and we love it anytime.

   So, this year it was just the Blacksburg contingent, and it was three days of food, fun and fellowship.

   Beach time

   Games in the condo

   Food on the table (and still some in our refrigerator)

   We may not remember all the memories we made, but we hope those with more mental capacity will remember these times fondly, and think about family times that are enjoyable and memorable.

   It may not be actually snowing, but we will carry a snowstorm full of great times away with us, to remember while we can.

   Let it snow...

A Road, A Church and A Mystery

   It has been almost two weeks since I last sat down to write, and, frankly, I miss getting to put some thoughts down on paper.

   Not that I am that busy, but it takes some undivided time for me to do this, and that is in short supply most days. It is harder to write with 10 minutes here and 15 minutes there. Much easier to say "maybe tomorrow will present some time to do it".

   The other day there was a picture on Facebook of a Primitive Baptist Church over in Brantley County, and it looked like a potential road trip. (Any chance to get us out of the condo, even if it is to photograph an old church way out in the boonies.)

   So we left this morning, taking our lunch and drove west on US 82 to Nahunta (county seat of Brantley Co.). Turning south on US 301, I followed what directions I had till we got into Charlton Co. and realized, too far.

   Going by the Georgia map, we should have passed through a town, Hickox, then the church would be off Bethlehem Rd. , but we never encountered Hickox. We could not have missed the whole town, it was shown right on 301.

   Turning around and heading back towards Nahunta, I spotted Bethlehem Rd. on the right and pulled in. It looked like a man's driveway, and, with a man in the yard working, I stopped to ask. (He was picking up pecans from an old tree in his front yard.)

   He proceeded to inform me that this was indeed the road to the church but the bridge had washed out several years earlier and the county did not have the money to rebuild it. So we had to drive back south and find the other end of the road (a dirt road by the way).

   We did find our church with his directions, about two miles off 301.

   Bethlehem Primitive Baptist Church, organized around 1880.

   Typical construction , no frills, but a nice setting back off the road.

   From the website of the Historical Rural Churches of Georgia:

"We are not certain of the exact date of organization for Bethlehem Primitive Baptist Church.  We do know that in 1905, Bethlehem joined the Alabaha River Association (Crawford), but based on earlier dates on a few of the headstones, the organization of the church could have preceded that, perhaps by a number of years. The oldest marked grave in the Bethlehem Cemetery bears a date of death of 1881, and our estimate is based on that. The church served its community until 1991 when it disbanded.  Today the Satilla River Association is down to two churches and one elder."

   The front door only had a latch,  and by pushing, I could get inside. It was dark, and the only light was that that filtered in through the cracks around the doors and window shutters.

   By using an extended shutter time, I was able to take some shots without using my flash.

   And there was my mystery:

   Take a look at these shots as I narrowed down to a small wooden boxlike structure on the floor in front of the pulpit.

   What was the little boxlike thing used for? It opens to the ground below.

   Anybody out there that can cast a little light on this?

   Anyway, a 4 hour journey into the unknown, looking for a church with no sign, on a road with a bridge out, that is getting out of the condo, for sure.

   And finally, a shot from the cemetery to the north of the church with a tombstone that told of a funeral just a few days prior to our visit. There were also some Hickox family headstones there.

   So, where did the town of Hickox go, and what was the use for the mystery box.

   Just another day at the office...

   

  

Thoughts of a Caregiver...

   I confess that not so very long ago, back when this household was healthy and rarin' to go, I was like the boy, standing outside the candy store, thinking about how each piece would taste. Then he went in and found out.

   When my wife was diagnosed down at Mayo in Jacksonville, we had no idea what to expect and how the progression would move along. Even the doctors there could not be definitive.

   So we came home and just took things as they came along.

   We started out with a right hand that did not function, and that is still the case, but now there are other issues involved with walking, talking and thinking.

   Without going into any great detail (she would not want me to anyway), I have been both blessed and challenged in the role of the primary caregiver. I tell her all the time that she is "stuck" with me.

   There are a couple of things that I have learned over these past few years that I would like to share for some that are new to the role, or don't expect ever to be.

   1. Never say never. "It won't happen to me",  either the caregiver role or the receiver. We just never know the way God will work out your life. But be certain, God will be with you in whichever place you are. I could not do without that.

   2. Hold all your plans loosely in your hands. I found out after some delay of trying real hard to make my plans work, that it is a lot more frustrating than just not making any in the first place.

   3. Never assume that what strategy worked yesterday will work again today. A case in point; I found one night that just holding my wife's hand, the one that was for all practical purposes, dead, caused her to settle down and the hand to quit twitching. Next night, using it again, had no effect whatsoever.

   4. Don't try to be a half-committed caregiver. That is a recipe for disaster. It will frustrate everyone.

   There are other others that I could mention, if I could only remember them right now, but here is a verse from Ephesians:

   "Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people,"

   Back when all of this began to happen, I asked God what I should do about the various other things in my life, even good things, and the overwhelming sense came to me that my primary service was to be to my wife during this season.

   Then came the word "wholeheartedly", which, I admit, is hard to continually live by, but, which if followed, leads to a much better resolution.

   Just thoughts from a far-less-than-perfect caregiver.

   But, with God's help, one that is trying.