Christmas Time 2020

    Nothing seems the same this year, not even Christmas. 

   We all want to be with family at this time of the season.

      Donna and her flock are hunkered down in Arkansas playing board games and waiting for Santa to land on their rooftop.

      Dwayne and Karen are in their new condo on Lake Norman entertaining Sydney who is working remotely in NC even though she is based in San Francisco.

      Sawyer is working on a new job in San Francisco lending his computer insights to a new start up company that he hopes might be the new Amazon.

   And we have been blessed with a visit over the past few days from our Virginia people who made a rest stop in Chattanooga on the way to a beach vacation in Destin, and Christmas in Pensacola with Dawn's family.

   Doug and his family arrived in two vehicles, with 5 kids, and Roxie, ready for food and games.

L to R David, Doug, Laken, Lucy, Caroline, Drew, and Dawn

Roxie's favorite activity

   Since the weather did not cooperate, we spent our time indoors playing table games, watching Virginia Tech Football (beating Virginia AGAIN), and watching the tree being decorated by the grands. As an aside, Carolyn and I found the simple solution to decorating for Christmas...Getting the tree set up, bringing the ornament box to the living room, and letting the kiddos put their skill to work making it festive. It is the only way to go! And they loved it..

   Too soon, the visit was over. We had been blessed and the hope that is a staple of Christmas, the love of family, had been played out in our house.

   As I read back over what I had written, my thoughts centered around that little four letter word HOPE.

   Too often I had heard someone say "2020 has been such a crazy year, I sure hope that 2021 will be easier to deal with.

   Or, "I hope this COVID stuff goes away, that the vaccine works, and that we can live normally again."

   Then I look toward the Christmas tree and the manger scene that fills the coffee table. There is a hope that we can more than just wish for, a hope that surrounds us with God's love. That is portrayed on the table with shepherds and wise men, just waiting for us to claim the promises of God that are contained therein.

   This HOPE is the sure thing, the real deal, and it is available for each of us. Jesus, the Babe in the manger, lived on this earth, was crucified on a wooden cross, dying a death that bought our everlasting life.

   We don't have to be trapped in hopping for outcomes in the days ahead that we have no control over. Believe what the Bible tells us about Christmas accept the sacrifice for you,  and have a secure hope in your future.

   Merry Christmas

   and may the fudge tin always stay filled.

Tea Time in Talking Rock

 

                                                           North Georgia in the Fall

   We had a errand to take care of down in Calhoun, so, on a beautiful Fall November Friday, after doing our business, we decided the Jasper area was calling our names. Carolyn had lately been in a texting conversation with a niece in a small town in that area, Talking Rock, and another driving adventure seemed our lot.

   The niece was not going to be home that day, but we went anyway. We were intrigued by the name of the town, and it just sounded like fun.

   The town made us welcome.

   The City Park was open, and a swing near the creek (Talking Rock Creek) was just right.

   Wikipedia said the town took its name from the creek, and the residents that we spoke with thought that sounded right although they were not sure. Carolyn said the rocks spoke to her as the water flowed over them. Decide for yourself...

   The town was incorporated in 1883 when the railroad came through, and the 1890 census showed 141 folks.

   How many churches does a town need when the 2010 census reported that 64 people lived there?

   A sign in town pointed the way to the First Baptist Church of Talking Rock, so we went. Church was constructed in 1974, but the sign revealed that the church was founded in 1839.

   Was there an older building around?

   We found a white church just a stone's throw away on another road. Check the sign above the front door.

   Now compare that to the cornerstone on the brick church. Same founding date, but now the newer church had added First to its name. 

   Sounded like a church split to us. When we went back down the hill, we stopped by one of the three antique stores in that little village and asked. The lady proprietor told us it was a split, but she didn't know what caused it. How many worshipped in the new church and how many were left at the older? Information needed for sure on that.

   But we did get another town story from a man who sorta attached himself to us as we walked the 3 store town. He pointed to a big rock at the corner of the intersection of Route 136.

   He told us that a girl grew up in the house we were standing in front of. She loved to go down to the creek which ran over by the railroad track across the street, and sunbathe on this big rock. The boy that lived across the side street from her home, also like to go down to the creek and fish. In time they married.  

   The year was 1958.

   For an anniversary present, this boy, now man, got a friend to help him make a road down to the creek, dig up that rock, haul it back to town, had a monument company chisel an inscription on it. It was their 40th anniversary, and the wording is:

      "Talking Rock

        incorporated 1883

        This rock removed from creek

        and placed here Augusr 23, 1998"

   I'm left wondering how she liked her unique gift?

   When we visit older towns, we like to walk through cemeteries that sit next to old church buildings. Thinking and trying to piece together the lives of those resting there. 

   There seemed to be so many small kids buried in that place. One family plot had two smaller stones, one for each child that had died on their first day in this world. 

   Another plot held the remains of a man and wife along with 6 stones, designating the 6 children in their family that had died, each before reaching 2 years of age. Times were hard for the Keel family.

   By the time we had finished the cemetery, it was way past lunch. Back to town, 3 stores all antique, no food anywhere, except the bag lunches carried by a few in the city park.

   Our lunch was a bottle of water and...

   Nevertheless, it was a good day. We had perfect weather, heard some stories from the locals, saw pretty fall foliage, and..

   We did not leave any money in the antique stores. 

   We had looked forward to Tea Time in Talking Rock, but had to wait till Arby's in Dalton. The M&Ms barely held out till we got there.

   What a Day

   

   

One Christian's Conscience

    I cannot speak for all people who attach the name "Christian" to their profile, I can only speak for one, me.

   This coming election has had me tied up in knots about how to cast my ballot in this race for President. Even when I went to vote the other day at the Election Commission, I knew how I was going to vote, but I was not altogether comfortable doing it.

   How do you make a choice?

      The Republican was a man who had a grating personality, an attitude of a bully, a life history that included many things that I did not agree with. But, on the other hand, had championed the life of the unborn, had promised and delivered on the whole idea of judicial appointments that would restore constitutional government on the basis of the Constitution, and had rejected the moral claims of the Left on many issues the country is struggling with right now.

      The Democrat was a man who seemed blown about with every wind of outrage coming from the left in his party. Not all the party, but the part that he needed to get the nomination. He evolved from many of the ideas he had sponsored coming up through the ranks. He seemed unprincipled in many of the areas that I held as important. How could I vote for a man, and a party, whose answer to a question about what he would do as president, said "I'll tell you after the election".

   There is always the option of voting for one of the several third-party candidates, but it is a vote that will not count in the election.

   So, what to do?

      Vote for the man whose twitter style is obnoxious to say the least, but who has demonstrated some actions that have done a lot of good in the past 4 years.

      Vote for a man who won't tell the public what kind of president he will be, but wants us to trust him to do the right thing.

      And then I recall the fact that both of these men, flawed as both may be, are not spring chickens. Not as old as the writer of this, but old nevertheless. Who would I like to succeed them in the office if something happened to either? 

      Harris or Pence?

      Mike Pence, hands down. 

   I believe that God does not cede any of His control to any electorate, and that His will will be done in our country. His reasons are unchangeable and His Word is our guide.

   The thoughts of one believer may not be altogether right, but I do believe that ...

   The purpose of The Lord will stand.

Purposes

    In the flower bed, in our side yard, the colors of the summer flowers are nothing but a memory. The ground seemed a little forlorn. Then we noticed some color. A visit to the area revealed some Surprise Lilies, perhaps so named because, when all the summer flowers wither and die, surprise! 

                                                                       Here they come

   When all seems to be turning bleak, these flowers bring back life to the garden and kitchen table.

   Just as a surprise bit of living color reminds us of the truth of our perspective, often we need a different way of analyzing what is going on around us.

   Let me take you on a different path:

   A few months back, an email popped up, unbidden I might add, on my screen. It pointed my attention to a short video entitled World in 3. This was a 3 minute video giving a quick view of world news. 

   I began watching each morning, getting a summary, and then moving on to my day. 

   The narrator always ended the program with these words:

   "Whatever the News, The Purpose of The Lord will Stand"   

   I liked that statement. To me it could be paraphrased:

   'Regardless of how bad the news sounded, behind the headlines there lurked a truth that should not be missed'.

   Father Tim, in the Mitford books by Jan Karon, is reminded by his new wife that he should always pray the prayer that never fails:

   "Thy Will Be Done"

   The ultimate truth of what will happen this day, or any day in the future, is what was, and is, God's Will. In the past, the present, and the future, events have happened, are happening, and will happen as He directs, and as He purposes.

   Psalm 33:10-11 states:

10 The Lord foils the plans of the nations;
    he thwarts the purposes of the peoples.
11 But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever,
    the purposes of his heart through all generations.

   Sometimes I may question the motives and wonder why events occurred, but I should not question the goodness of God's heart. 

   It should be enough to affirm that He is in control of all, and He has the best in mind for those who love Him.

   When I pray "Thy Will Be Done", it isn't, or should not be, with a sense of resignation, but a wanting to be a part of His Plan, of His Will.

   With that, I am acknowledging that His Purposes Will Stand.

   What is my responsibility? 

      Love God with everything

      Love my Neighbor

   Pretty easy to type this out on the computer, but living it?

   The Purpose of the Lord will Stand

   where do you and I?

It's A Small World

   You could call it the "it's a small world" concept.

   Or you could ask "what are the chances for this?"

   Back in the days when Mayre Lou and I lived in Chattanooga with our 3 kids, we used to take vacation trips in the summer. Now this is not unusual, but when the kids were pretty small, we sometimes took a babysitter along with us. It was a win/win situation, both for the parents and kids, but also for the teenager whose wages included two weeks in a different section of the country. 

   Fast forward to the present:

   On a recent Pickleball morning, I noticed a new player had joined our group. I even played a couple of games with this man. Not knowing his real name, I just called him Moose as some of the other players referred to him.

   Now, since our group from the BX is playing outside these days because of the virus, there are games going on most days of the week except for Sundays. I usually play on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but others play on MWF and even Saturday. Everyone does not play every day.

   So my path, and Moose's, did not cross for a few sessions, till one day we both showed up. As I was leaving the court, Moose told me that his wife used to be our babysitter in those long ago days. I asked her name, to which he replied "Kim". 

   "Kim Jackson?" I asked.

   "Yep"

   After chatting a few minutes, I left and drove home, thinking all the way how funny it was that this meeting had occurred.

   A half century or so had gone by, and here we were, Moose with his new wife, our babysitter, and me with Carolyn, playing pickleball together, a game we did not even know existed till 18 month's ago, on a converted tennis court in East Ridge.

   Go Figure!

   It is indeed a small world...

Visitation

    Looking out the kitchen window, not long after the sunrise, some movement on the ground in the back yard near the fence.

   Then the questions:

      What is it?

      Where did it come from?

      What is wrong with it?

   Our first guess was a coyote, but it was hard to tell with it lying down. Then as it moved a bit, there was discussion of a fox.

   When we finally found someone to talk to about it, a man from Tennessee Wildlife, he described what we should be looking for: grey on the back, white on the belly and neck, bushy tail, black tip on the tail.

   In short, it looked as if we had a coyote.

   The coyote began to move around, but with a decided limp from the right leg. From the way it put weight on the leg, it looked like the animal might have suffered an injury, possibly from a vehicle.

   Where it came from was anybody's guess, but probably out of the area of woods behind the fence in the back.

   Do we call it a "she", a "he" or an "it"?

   As the morning progressed, the coyote began to limp around, visiting the people next door on the north, but eventually coming back to settle in our back yard.

   What to do, or who to call?

   We had to go out and pick up some stuff, so we called our neighbor up the street, and Sue said she would look for some solutions to our problem. 

   Arriving back home, Sue showed up along with a man who rescued possums. 

   But now we had another problem: Where was the coyote? We had watched from the side porch as it relocated behind the area of our garden house, next to the fence on the south side of the property. When our group began to look for it, it was nowhere to be found.

   We found a hole in the wire mesh fence where it might have escaped, but no animal.

   Nothing to do but set up the trap and hope the critter might return. Our "possum" man baited the trap with dog food, and we waited to see. He wanted to take the coyote to Knoxville and leave it with a lady who worked with coyotes, especially those that had medical issues.

   We checked the trap at daybreak today, no critter, so the questions began again:

      Where did it go?

      Did it feel better?

      Was this a one-time visit?

      Did it not like that brand of dog food?

   I guess we will never know unless the coyote returns, or is sighted somewhere else, or is found in a ditch.

   He/She or It is definitely not under our control.

   

You Can't Stay Home Forever

   Well, maybe you can, but March, April, May, June, and July is long enough, already.

   Senior Adults need to get out and see people and things.

   But how to do it and stay safe from our "friend", Covid-19?

   Why not just enjoy the simple pleasures of home? After all the morning glories are blooming..

   Planning is important in these times, and we wanted to stay safe. So...

   We wanted to get to Blacksburg to see our kids, and there were some guidelines we needed to follow. 

      1. Don't eat out in strange places.

      2. Use a mask when out in public.

   Who was that masked woman?

      3. Use clean, less crowded rest rooms.

   Now you may think that this is kinda self-serving, being how I like to visit courthouses, especially those in small, out of the way places, but remembering how we used the restrooms while traveling, they seemed an available, and perfect, option. They were kept up well, never anybody else waiting or using, and seemed the perfect place to keep safety in the forefront. So we visited small county seats, especially in towns off the beaten track and kept clear of crowds in restrooms on the interstate highways. 

Cocke County, Newport, TN

Greene County, Greeneville, TN

Jefferson County, Dandridge, TN

Smyth County, Marion, VA

Washington County, Jonesborough, TN

   It is not hard to stay out of eating venues if you pack your own lunch and snacks. On a 6 hour drive, only one meal is needed each way, and that was always ready. The problem was where to eat. We solved this on the way north by finding a church parking lot, with shade and a picnic table.

Baileyton, TN UMC Church 

   The only person around was the lawn mower guy. He saw what we were doing and just waved as he mowed, ending with a salute as he drove off when finished.

   On the return trip from Blacksburg, we found a small rest area on I-81 and stayed away from the rest rooms, and other people.

   Another advantage of courthouse visits was the mandatory use of the face masks in those courthouse buildings. In Tennessee it must have been an important day for car tags as there were lines (spaced appropriately of course) in several places.

   The purpose of our trip was to visit with family, and we did for a couple of days before heading home. Our primary activity, besides eating, was Pickleball. We took our paddles and balls, chalk for marking lines on the tennis court, and played many games.

   It was more instruction in rules at first, but as that family caught hold of the concepts, some real lively games ensued. Pictured are Caroline and Carolyn in the forecourt with Drew and David in the back. PS: the photographer is standing in the shade on a hot day.

   There is a certain type of anticipation that takes place as you begin a backroad oddesey. You know you will get scenery, history, and adventure, but you just never know what interesting places you will find.

   Like a big dike holding back the waters of Douglas Lake at Dandridge..

   Like a Revolutionary War Graveyard, also in Dandridge..

   Also in Dandridge where Tennessee seemed to be hanging on by a thread..

   In Newport where a 1920s Clinic and Hotel had been redone for Senior Housing, on the highway behind the Courthouse.

   In Jonesborough, the oldest town in Tennessee, we found a picturesque town, that was home to a national storytelling theatre..We want to come back and stay one day.

   And in the parking lot behind the Washington County Courthouse, a car with a John Wayne quote. 

   "Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway"

   Appropriate for the settlers who came to these sections of East Tennessee and SW Virginia.

   It did not take a lot of courage for us to make this trip, but we found people and places where courage was put on display for all to see, and enjoy.

History in the Flower Patch

   LILIES Flourish in the Garden at Woodlane.

   And each time, Carolyn and I take a stroll to survey that plant paradise, I get a lesson in History. Not the kind of lesson taught in school and recorded in textbooks, but a personal flower story.

   "This plant or cutting was given to me by ...... way back in the 80s", and the pedigree comes out as we admire the color and shape of the flower. 

   Let me illustrate with a real life example (above). "This day lily tuber was passed along to me (Carolyn) by Jean Thigpen, but I believe she got it from Carolyn Floyd. It is called Midnight Magic."

   One day a man who worked for a neighbor, Portries, appeared at the front door with a clump of bulbs, and planted them for me in the garden. These are not days lilies, but the blooms last for several days. The flowers are named Wine and Roses.

   "Nadine is a close friend, and she brought me these from her Mother's yard."

   "Another neighbor, Denver Scott, a hybridizer of day lilies, gave me these tubers, left over from his work."

   "These were my purchases at Day Lily shows years ago"

   A cousin of Carolyn's sent her these from Missouri. They were a present in gratitude for the help she had received when coming to Chattanooga to do some geanologicai research on the McClure family from the Ringgold area. George McClure was Carolyn's Great Grandfather on her mother's side.

   These are called Rain Lilies, and they are planted around the birdbath, where the birds splash water from the concrete bath on the plants every time they bathe.

   These are not just flowers to "pretty up" the yard, there are stories associated with each. They are remembrances from friends and family, and they mean something. 

   There are plenty more plantings scattered around the house and yard, all with a story for another day.

   It is a great spot to call home.