Archive | December, 2015

My Friend Ray Part 2

30 Dec

A Slice of Life

 Bill Lites

Bill Cross Plane

 

As the word spread, and Ray’s air conditioning business increased, it wasn’t long before he had to start hiring help to keep up with all the work. At one point he had 5 trucks and 5 people working for him. Things were going really well for Ray, and as a matter of fact, during one year, Ray says he made more money with his sideline air conditioning business than he did working full-time for Leaver Bros.

1

 

One of Ray’s employees approached him one day and mentioned that the owner of the Friggitt Lounge had an air condition system that needed repair and wanted to know if Ray was interested in the job. When Ray inspected the A/C unit, he discovered that it had (what appeared to be a bullet hole) in it. He took the job and repaired the unit, after which he and the owner, Joe, became good friends. Things were going well with the Friggitt Lounge and sometime about 1970 Joe asked Ray if he would like to be a partner in the lounge. Ray knew a good deal when he saw one, and bought 1/2 interest in the lounge. Business just got better and better.

2

Then one day (sometime later) out of the clear blue sky, the local Mafia paid the bartender a visit. They informed him, that from then on their protection fee would be $1200 each week. When the bar tender told Joe and Ray about the Mafia visit, Joe said he wasn’t going to bow down to that kind of extortion, and that they could kiss his behind before he paid them one red cent. Ray tried to tell Joe that these were bad people and that he shouldn’t try to fight them, but Joe wouldn’t listen. Ray finally told him that he didn’t want to get involved with those people and wanted Joe to buy back his share of the business. Joe agreed to honor Ray’s request and just that quick Ray was out of the lounge business.

3

Ray continued to work at Leaver Bros. and his sideline A/C business. According to him, it wasn’t 3 months later that the Friggitt Lounge became one of many businesses in the area that burned to the ground. That fire made Ray wonder if that original bullet hole in the Friggett Lounge A/C unit might have been the first warning that his friend Joe had received from the Mafia about his refusal to pay their weekly protection fees.

4

After about 3 years, one of Ray’s original A/C customers, seeing how prosperous Ray’s Air Conditioning business was, approached Ray, telling him how he had always wanted to own a business of his own.   He asked Ray if he would be interested in selling his business. After some consideration, Ray quoted him a price and the man agreed to Ray’s terms, and the deal was done. (Keep in mind Ray has been doing all this while working full-time with Leaver Bros.)

5

Some people have the most interesting life stories. Ray is one of those people, and I consider it a privileged to have him as a friend. If you have liked this story, stay tuned for more interesting blog stories to come, in the near future, about

“My Friend Ray.”

 

The End

 

Tags: , ,

All Things Bright and Beautiful

28 Dec

My Take

DiVoran Lites

1

When we parked the car last Sunday at church, we saw someone cleaning out an animal trailer and remembered that this was the day for the animals to visit. We hurried to the courtyard where a live petting zoo and a pen for larger animals had been set up. All of them had fresh hay underfoot and some were grazing. A woman in jeans and a tee-shirt sat near the pen where some of the animals were. I took a chance and asked if she was in charge of them. She said she was, and I told her how healthy and well-cared for they looked. She was happy to talk about the mobile domestic animal zoo she ran with her husband and to point out her daughter and tell me she had just graduated from college and would be taking over the business.

Then, with shiny gray fur, and unique gray and white markings, a small donkey caught my attention. Bill, reading the situation accurately, asked if she was a miniature. Yes, she was. She was new so she was still nervous around a crowd. I asked if she was a rescue donkey. Many folks buy or re given domestic and even wild animals and discover they aren’t as easy to care for as it seems they would be. Those end up in rescue organizations of one kind or another. No, she wasn’t a rescue animal. The business couldn’t take that on because of the long wait for rescue animals to be quarantined to make sure they had no communicable diseases.

My family had two regular-size burros as pack animals for Dad’s hunting guide expeditions in Colorado. I learned then that females were called Jennies and males were called Jacks. In this case the miniature was named Jenny, for the donkey in the movie, “Shrek.” The male who had been left at home was Malachi, from the Bible.

There were several full-sized sheep eating the hay that covered the grass. I asked if their wool was used, but she answered, “No this is all they’re good for. They roam around and they eat, but people seem to enjoy looking at them.” Definitely, I thought.

Did you know there was such a thing as a miniature Brahman bull? I didn’t. He was beautiful too–gray and white like the donkey. The miniature wasn’t as fearsome as big ones are. He had the same coloring as the donkey and was the prettiest bull I’ve ever seen.

The petting zoo held two very small and cuddly looking rabbits, a white one and a black and white one. Unfortunately I didn’t have my camera with me. Next year, I will.

Pastor Bill apparently gets a lot of joy from the animals. He kept talking about Hormel, and we met him, too. He was a pig that stood only about three hands off the ground. He was pinkish beige. I reached down to him from outside the enclosure and his nose went back and forth seeking to discover whether it had any food in it or not. When he discovered it did not, he walked away.

The geese were stately, as geese often are. They were not as scary as some I’ve seen. Instead of them chasing people, a chubby boy in dress clothes chased them. When he had to give up, he picked up a small chicken and started thrusting it in the face of a baby goat. The owners’ daughter sorted that out by telling the child that if he was going to hold the chicken, he’d have to sit down. Soon bored, he took off to look for some other kind of adventure.

The Rhode-Island Red rooster stood looking out at his domain which was everything and everybody. Chickens have always been favorites in our family. My grandparents kept them, my parents kept them and our son and his family kept them. We even got to baby-sit them at our house a few times before the flock got too large to move.

I didn’t have my camera, but I enjoyed everything so much I didn’t miss it until later. Next year for sure I will want pictures and will remember to take it with me.

All Things Bright and Beautiful

 

 

Tags: ,

Christmas in Germany

27 Dec

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

JUDY

 

 

Recently, on facebook, I saw that our daughter, Karen, has posted a picture that took me right back to our first tour of Germany. She stated that it: “brings back memories of living in Germany!”  We were in Wiesbaden, living in government quarters, which was a “stairwell” with two “apartments” on each level. And there were two stairwells in each building. We happened to live on the top floor, which we later discovered was the best place to live. No one above us…if we needed a breeze, we had it whether or not the other levels had the breeze or not. The only drawback was carrying grocery sacks up those three flights of stairs – and laundry down to the basement!

But usually, at Christmas, we were encouraged to decorate our picture window. I seem to recall there were competitions among the buildings to see who had the “best” or most elaborate decorations, or the most meaningful….you get the picture.

Therefore, this picture really reminded me of that time. Here is the picture Karen posted:

2

I’m sorry this picture is in black and white. However, let me show you one of the building we lived in, and what we did one of the Christmases:

3

Our apartment is the upper left one – the one with the silver bells. I don’t think we won any awards, but it was fun, anyway.

Here is another picture, but not of our stairwell. They may have won an award!

4

Ten years later, we were stationed in Heidleberg. We lived in a different “type” of government housing, with the picture window at the end of the building/room, rather than like the housing in Wiesbaden. Here is what I did for our window treatment there.

5

 

The Germans made these wonderful decorations out of wood/wood shavings. That’s what this one was. Unfortunately, I must not have packed it well enough, because it arrived in the States rather beaten up, and unusable. In any case, I don’t have it any more. But we enjoyed it while there.

My taste in Christmas decorating may not be very elaborate, but Fred and I both enjoy what we put together to decorate our house.

But more than that, many of our decorations and tree ornaments are from Germany, and we are reminded of our time there every time we decorate our tree, or put together some sort of decoration in the house. It was a wonderful time in our lives, and we are thankful God gave us the opportunity to live outside our country.

 

Tags: , , ,

A Servant’s Heart

25 Dec

Louise Gibson posted this last year at Christmas. This year, she is having some health issues, so I am reposting this lovely poem for Christmas~Onisha

All of us here on Old Things R New wish you a very happy Christmas, spent with people you love, as we celebrate the birth of our Savior.

From my Heart

Louise GIbson

Louise Gibson

 

The true spirit of Christmas is one of giving.

To give of yourself is the greatest gift of all.

To follow in the footsteps of Jesus.

we learn to develop a servant’s heart

in answer to our Savior’s call.

 

Jesus welcomes, “Come, follow Me.

I will make you a fisher of men,”

“Oh, yes, dear Lord, I want to follow you.

Life on earth is not he end!

 

 

The three Marys who served

 

The three most prominent women in the gospels

were all named Mary. The first was Mary of Nazareth.

God chose her to raise Jesus because of her servant’s

heart.

“For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant;

for behold, “henceforth, all generations will call me blessed,”

 

 

The second was Mary of Bethany. She was His student.

Whenever she appeared in the gospels, she was at

the feet of Jesus.

 

The third was Mary of Magdala. Though successful in

business, she had deep spiritual needs in her life.

Jesus freed her from demons, saved her, and she

became His zealous supporter. She supported His

ministry from her own resources, according to Luke 8:1-3.

 

Mary and Joseph xmas 1001 (2)

Painting by DiVoran Lites

 

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Invisible GIfts

24 Dec

wreath02 skinny

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

I'm a winner

I haven’t written a blog since Thanksgiving. Thankfully, I am blessed with amazing and faithful friends who have a blog ready every week. They even “blog ahead” when they are on vacation or know they have a busy time coming up.  Divoran, Bill, Louise, Janet and Judy, I appreciate and admire you more than you can imagine. You are  invisible gifts underneath my Christmas tree.

Yesterday, tornados slashed a path of destruction across the Southeast, leaving homes in ruin and lives were lost. I am adding safety and protection as an invisible gift under the tree.

ws_Green_Christmas_Tree_320x480
SAFETY
FAITHFUL
christmas-gifts-object-talk

At Christmas people say “it is not the gift, it is the thought behind it” or “It’s not the presents under the tree but the people around it.” For me it is the invisible gifts that last far longer than the newest tech gadget (although I love new tech) or a piece of shiny jewelry, that stays with me. I treasure growing up in a family that loved the Savior. My parents are a precious invisible gift.Mom-and-Dad-copyI could ramble on and list more gifts, but it is Christmas Eve and I would rather here from you. When you think of invisible gifts, what are you thankful for.

PS: Our sweet poet, Louise Gibson is not doing well. We would appreciate prayers for her and her family as they care for her.

Tags: , ,

My Friend Ray~Part 1

23 Dec

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Bill Small Red Plane

 

One day in the mid-1960s, while Ray was at work, his daughter decided to clean their refrigerator and get rid of the ice in the freezing compartment. The only problem with this good-will gesture was that she used a knife to break up the ice in the freezing compartment, puncturing holes in it. When she finished her task, the refrigerator wouldn’t cool. When Ray got home from work that evening, she told him what she had done and that she couldn’t understand why the refrigerator wouldn’t cool. It didn’t take Ray long to discover the problem. But now, what to do? He called the Hussman’s refrigeration parts store to see how much a replacement freezing unit would cost and was told $100 + $50 for a service call to have it installed. Well, in those days a person could buy a new refrigerator for around $200. Ray figured he could repair the unit himself for less than that. He went to the local salvage yard and found a refrigerator similar to his and of the same make and asked the man how much he would charge Ray for the freezing unit. The man said, “$2.00, but you have to remove it yourself.” Ray removed the unit, took it home and installed it in his refrigerator. Once he had everything back together, he charged the system with Freon, and his refrigerator worked fine.

1

Sometime during this scenario, Ray had told his neighbor what had happened to his refrigerator, but not what he had done to fix the problem. The next time Ray saw his neighbor, he asked Ray, “Did you buy a new refrigerator?” Ray said, “No, I fixed the old one.” Then his neighbor said, “Really, do you think you could fix my window A/C unit?” Ray said, “I don’t know, I can take a look at it.” He took it to his shop, cleaned it up, added some Freon to the unit and it worked fine. When Ray gave the A/C unit back to his neighbor, the man asked, “How much do I owe you?” Ray said, “I’m not going to charge you anything for that.”

2

Well, evidently Ray’s neighbor told his friend what a good job Ray had done on his A/C unit, and the next thing Ray knew, the friend showed up at Ray’s house wanting to know if Ray could fix his window A/C unit. You know how word of mouth stories can get around. As could be expected, when people found out there was a reliable and reasonable air conditioning repair man around, it wasn’t long before Ray had more neighborhood air conditioning work than he knew what to do with.

3

 

Then one day Mike, who Ray was buying his air conditioning parts from, asked Ray if he would consider opening an air conditioning dealership to sell Bryant equipment. Ray told him he didn’t have the space for a dealership. Mike told Ray that if he would rent or buy a building, he would set Ray up with a Bryant dealership. Next thing he knew Ray was the owner of the Koolway Refrigeration Company.

 

 

—–To Be Continued—–

Tags: , ,

Christmas and Me

21 Dec

My Take

DiVoran Lites

The Christmas Gift

 

We’re more or less skipping Christmas this year. I’ve told several people when they ask, “Are you ready for Christmas?” Asking is one of the thing good Americans do. But I’m going on with my daily routines, not because of the so called commercialism a lot of folks love to rave about, but because of the time and work that’s needed to fulfill the requirements and expectations of the holiday. I know a lot of people glory in those things, and I hope everything goes smoothly and well, for them.

We grass-root Americans are the cream of the crop, the salt of the earth, but we may have one or two weaknesses. One weakness may be to expect others to be like us. That’s the downside of tradition. The upside is lovely celebrations, being together with people you love, color, movement, music, gifts (if you need or want something and the givers choose correctly.)

The first four people I said no to when they asked, “Are you ready for Christmas?” gave me agreeable and kindly responses like, “I wish we could do that.” Those were men. One dear man asked if we were changing religions, though. I told him we weren’t skipping Jesus, not at all. The women gave a little different answer depending on whether they had children or grandchildren. Those selfless people struggle to do their best to make a memory and they love it and feel good about what they have accomplished. I do not begrudge them.

I did my best to make Christmas magical when our children and grandchildren were growing up. I bought them presents with money Bill earned, I put up a tree, and I baked. I was a good daughter and sister, too. I bought and sent packages to California and New Mexico and I spent hours writing Christmas cards with messages in them. The year I noticed that I was busy most of every day of December I began to think about slowing down. There were other things I’d rather be doing. For some, I know, the work of Christmas is a joy and I say God bless you in every endeavor. I know what fun those things can be.

This year I thought I’d watch Christmas movies to get me in the mood. Wouldn’t, “Are you in the in the mood for Christmas,” be a more telling question than are you ready for Christmas? Some people are in the mood and some aren’t, but why should anybody have to measure up to someone else’s perceptions about it? Let each of us know God and know ourselves and do what is right for us and our families.

Over the years, I’ve quit baking, reduced the number of gifts, and slowed down on decorating. This year I’m doing none of those things. This is the happiest and lightest Christmas I’ve ever had. Mostly I’m loving the music and other people’s decorations, we’re not so much into sweets anymore, but I don’t care what others think or do. I’m mature enough to make up my own mind what to focus on.

Even with all the conflict, I do thank God for giving His son, Jesus Christ, to walk with us through our time on earth and to forgive our trespasses… I do love Jesus. He is the greatest gift we could ever have received, and I’m satisfied with all the blessings he has given us, especially our friends and family. Please don’t judge us and we won’t judge you. We wish you a wonderful Christmas. And by the way, we’re grateful for every good (and bad) thing that comes our way, including any opportunity to show love to others.

Romans 12:2The Message (MSG)

Place Your Life Before God

12 1-2 So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

Top ten Christmas Hymns

Tags: , , ,

Love

20 Dec

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

JUDY

 

 

Love………what is love?

That is such an intangible word and concept – and yet we fling it around like we really know what it is:

“I really LOVE this dress……..I really LOVE that movie……I really LOVE that ice cream…” and on and on we go.

Of course, the BEST love is…….saying “I Love You” – to your mate.

But there is another love that tops them all – the LOVE God has for us. God loves us so very much that He actually sent His one and only Son to live as a human being – just like us – but without sin – and that Son took my place (and your place) on the cross and died for us. All that so we could be children of God, and live with His strength on this earth, and then eternally with Him in heaven. Unthinkable….unimaginable. And yet, it happened, and I am a child of God because of it.

Once again, on facebook I found a cartoon that says it all. Credit to Charles Schultz.

 

Peanuts a man called Jesus

 

How did Charlie Brown get to be so smart?

I thank my God and Savior, Jesus Christ, for this wondrous plan that allowed me – a Gentile – to be in the family of God. Oh, the wonder of it all. Thank you, loving Father.

Tags: ,

Joy happens anyway. | Janet Perez Eckles

19 Dec

Walking by Faith, Not by Sight

Janet Peres Eckles

Janet Eckles Perez

 

Christmas didn’t call for a celebration. Not anymore. Not when you have a vital part of your life missing. It’s been twelve years since we lost our son Joe. Festivities don’t seem to have the joy they should. And Christmas trees don’t emanate the usual scent.

Actually, my days needed to erase Christmas, the birthdays, the holidays—all ushered pain rather than delight. They reminded me of what I once had and now what was gone. The world celebrated, greetings of good wishes filled the room. But when tragedy turns your world upside down, no amount of cheer can bring clarity to the fog of sadness.

Strange, though. Often, it’s the scorching pain that forces our eyes to open to a bigger picture. It did for me as I rewound memories of past Christmases.

Years ago, when our three sons, including Joe, were still young, I focused on providing a perfect Christmas, a perfect tree to wrap a perfect celebration. As a result, little things tended to roil in me such as a light strand that refused to shine because of a burned out bulb. Annoyed at the glitch, I promptly set off to resolve it —I fussed, I rearranged, plugged and unplugged until frustration grew hot in me. How foolish and silly. I focused on that one bulb, dismissing the glow of the star atop the Christmas tree.

I’ve done the same with light bulbs that burned in my life—from broken relationships to shattered plans. Exerting tons of energy trying to fix them, I missed Christ, the newborn King—the star that gave significance to my life. The star that covers shadows of gloom and sorrow.

Joe’s memories changed—his sweet smile, his tender hugs and his sense of humor now sit atop of my life, casting off that glow to bring back the joy. To remind me that he’s not gone, not from my heart, not from my mind. Also not gone are the images of his spunky self.

When that void in our heart aches to be filled, it’s Christ’s star of comfort that makes it whole. When bitter sorrow robs the spirit of Christmas, it’s the star of His everlasting love that whispers joy. When a health diagnosis shakes our world, it’s His star of reassurance that shines the certainty of new tomorrows. When the economy robs our security, it’s the star of God’s provision that ushers the radiance of reassurance. It’s the same star that never loses the brilliance of hope, incomprehensible hope, one we can safely embrace even when all strands of life burn out.

Janet

Visit Janet’s website to read more. : Joy happens anyway. | Janet Perez Eckles

When you sign up for her newsletter, she will give you a free copy of one of her inspiring books.

Tags: , ,

Flying Legends Airshow Part 15

16 Dec

 

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Flying Legends

Day 15 – Wednesday July 15th

 

Did I mention that on Day 2 of this trip (that day that almost did me in) that I had scrapped both passenger side doors of my rental car when I got too close to a metal entry post at a carpark? Well I did, and not even four hours after renting the car. What a bummer! And now I was looking for an auto repair shop to get a damage estimate for Budget and my insurance company. The hotel clerk looked up the name and phone number of a local shop for me. I called (on a pay phone) and asked the owner if he could review the damage and give me a written estimate. He said he could, and gave me his SatNav address. He said his shop was only about 15 minutes from the Europa hotel.

1

I gave Greta the SatNav address and headed for his shop. Well, Greta took me to a farm house on a narrow country lane with no repair shop in sight. I put the address in again, and she took me back to the same farmhouse. While I was sitting there trying to decide what to do next, a lady came walking down the lane, and I asked her for directions. She pointed me to the end of the lane, and sure enough there was the shop (about a mile further down the lane). But, it was all locked up! Stress Gummy time.

2

I had assumed the owner was in his shop when I had talked to him, but no, he was on his mobile phone! Now what was I going to do? Just then I spied a call button on the wall next to the shop. I pressed it and a woman answered and told me I had buzzed the private house behind the shop. Ops! I told her I was there to see the owner of the repair shop and she said, “Oh, that’s George.” I told her my problem (she was very nice) and asked her if she would mind calling George for me. She did, and George said he could be at the shop in 15 minutes. He came and gave me a written estimate of the repair work. Then I realized I didn’t have the SatNav for the Budget office (only the phone number). I ask George if he would call them for their SatNav number. He was kind enough to do that, and I was on my way to turn in my rental car.

3

Greta took me to the Budget office at the Arora Hotel, there in Crawley, with no problems. The Budget agent was very nice about the damage to the car. I gave him my insurance paper work/estimate, and he wrote up an incident report for Budget. What a joy it is to work with people like that. They just seem to smooth out all the rough edges of any situation. He even gave me a ride to the Crawley train station.

4

At the train station I bought my ticket to the London-Gatwick Airport and was there (on a Virgin train) at 11:00 to check-in with Virgin Atlantic Airlines for my flight to Orlando, leaving at 1:00 pm.

5

After a 45 minute departure delay at Gatwick (while they loaded some rich collector’s vintage Mercedes automobile onto our plane) we finally took off. Again I enjoyed setting in the upper deck of the Boeing 747-400 (Ruby Tuesday) during the flight back to the U.S. The plane was fuller on the flight back than the flight over and I was not able to recline my seat enough, so I didn’t get much sleep.

6

I was glad I had insisted on an upper deck seat since there was less traffic and it was much quieter. Again, I was surprised at how great the beverage and food service on the 9-hour flight was (full course meal and snack).

7

When we arrived in Orlando I didn’t notice, after going thru Customs, our bags were delivered to the “B” side of the airport. DiVoran was waiting for me at the “A” side Arrival pickup area, and it took a while for us to find each other. Thank goodness for cell phones.

8

By then it was almost 8:30 pm and we decided not to go out for dinner as planned, but to go straight home where DiVoran whipped up a delicious ham, cheese and mushroom omelet for us both. Yummm!

9

I was very happy to get home, see my lovely wife, sleep in my own bed, and not have to live out of a suitcase for a while. Having to lug that suitcase up and down all those stairs wasn’t any good for my shoulder and knees either!

—–The End—–

 

 

Tags: , , ,

← Older Entries