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An Amazing Adventure~Part 4

16 Nov

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

JUDY

 

As a child growing up in New Mexico, it seems I had always known about “Shiprock” New Mexico. It wasn’t until many years later, that I knew what or where Shiprock was, or the Indian lore about it. It is a majestic piece of rock—possibly volcanic but probably sandstone—that is just out in the middle of nowhere. It just sprouts up by itself. It is absolutely magnificent, and for some reason, holds a special place in my heart.

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Brian had not thought that we would have time to cross into New Mexico, but then proclaimed that it was a “pilgrimage” for me, so we went to see it. I’ve had a framed calendar photo of it on our wall for many years, but Karen and Brian had never seen it in real life. They were AMAZED.

As we were leaving Shiprock, I made the statement that “it’s dirty, it’s dusty, it’s scrubby—and I love it! This is home!” Of course, I hadn’t lived in New Mexico for more than 50 years, but it still felt like “home” to me. Funny how our minds work.

From Shiprock, New Mexico, we crossed into Arizona, heading to Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park that is in both Arizona and Utah—Navajo Nation land. Absolutely AMAZING!!

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This picture is of the two formations called “Mittens” – and you can see why. They look like right and left handed mittens.

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And here is Brian, trying to hold up The Cube. Those are enormous rocks! It reminded me of a “saying” that my dad had, i.e. “I sure wouldn’t want that pebble in my shoe!” I asked Karen if I had told her about that “saying” of her grandfather’s, and she said “no.” So she got another touch from the grandfather she had never known. I keep wanting to pass along those things to our girls and their children – so they will know him, as well.

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The roads in Monument Valley are just dirt—and, as you can see by the car—it just covers everything!

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We stopped by the side of the road there and had a picnic lunch right at the car. The wind was blowing in such a way that the dust made by any cars passing by would blow the other way from us, so we weren’t eating dirt!

At many of the stops along the way, there were Native American women selling hand-made jewelry. I bought a neat beaded necklace with a silver Kokopelli at the center. He’s my favorite Indian character—the flute player.

After we had packed up from lunch, we headed to Grand Canyon National Park. I don’t remember how long it had been since Fred was there, but I think I was about 8-years-old the last time I visited the Canyon! It hasn’t lost its appeal at all for me! Absolutely breathtaking!!

There are so many pictures we took of the Grand Canyon, that I just can’t show them all. But here are a few of our favorite sights.

 

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These were taken at sunset. Absolutely gorgeous!!

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On the side of one of the buildings up top, this sign was posted. Marvelous!

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~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~

 

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An Amazing Adventure~Part 3

9 Nov

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

JUDY

Leaving our friends, we drove to Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve in Colorado, just north of Alamosa, after stopping in Alamosa for lunch.

There are 30 square miles of dunefield. I never even knew there was such a place! And it’s right at the foot of a mountain within the Sangre de Cristo Mountain Range that is 13,297’ above sea level! There are five dunes that are over 700’ tall.

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We had sand dunes on the west side of Albuquerque, and we used to go there just to play around in the sand. But they were completely different from the sand dunes here at the National Park.

These are shaped by the wind (naturally), and the Medano Creek that flows below the dunes. We stuck our toes in some of the water oozing from that creek. Amazing!

We walked out on the sand—that in the summer can reach 140°! I took my sandals off and felt that lovely warm/wet sand between my toes. However, when we got back to the van, I realized that my feet were coated with something like oil! Fred and Karen had to clean my feet off for me!

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The next part of our journey would take several hours. Brian suggested that we listen to a book-on-tape (MP3 in this case). Unable to connect his smartphone to the car’s sound system, he set up a unique amplifier: a plastic cup, set between the front seats, with his phone set in it, speaker into the well of the cup. It was amazing how the sound was so much louder and clearer. We listened to this story the entire trip. If you haven’t heard (or read) Unbroken, by Laura Hillenbrand (author of Seabiscuit), let me recommend it to you. None of us slept through any of it—and it was 11 discs long!

From the Great Sand Dunes, we drove to Mesa Verde National Park in southwest Colorado.

 

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This is another place Fred and I went on our honeymoon 53+ years ago. Here is a picture of us in 1964 when we made a second trip with my parents. We hadn’t been back since.

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Unfortunately, because my knees are bad, I couldn’t make it down the trail to the cliff dwellings, but Fred, Karen and Brian made it, while I went to the gift shop and spent some money. I’m sure Fred wished I could have made the trip down the trail instead! It was a first trip there for Karen and Brian. It is a fascinating place, for sure.

For our overnight, we had another great experience. We stayed in the Ute Mountain Casino and Resort in Towaoc, Colorado.

The rooms were large and well-kept, and we slept well. The next morning, we had a great breakfast there. The rooms were quite inexpensive, probably because they thought everyone who came there would play the casino.

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~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~

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An Amazing Adventure~Part 2

2 Nov

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

JUDY

 

 

The next day, Brian was working. He works with a Christian organization called GEM—Greater Europe Mission. You can check them out on the internet—great organization. Before he went to his meetings, we walked through the Garden of the Gods again—through the mist. We saw rabbits and some deer. I really LOVE this stuff!

While Brian was at work, Karen, Fred and I visited the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs.

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Again, Fred and I had visited there on our honeymoon 53+ years ago, but the Chapel was not completed at that time. It was such a treat to see it up close and personal. It is a massive structure, and really beautiful.

 

Next we went to Peterson AFB Museum. We had a great guide, Carl—he was very knowledgeable about the history of Peterson. He also told us that, when he was young man, he was working at the golf course on base, and his supervisor called one day in a tizzy. He was told that “Ike” (President Dwight D. Eisenhower) was flying in for a round of golf, and Carl had to caddy for him! And he did! What an experience for a young man!

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There was some really neat architecture in this place. Very “hollywoodish.” One funny exhibit there had a “Wild Hair” painted on the fuselage. The caption said that the pilot had complained and complained about something wrong with the engine, but the mechanics couldn’t find anything wrong with it. Someone made the remark that it seemed like there was a “wild hair” in the engine—and the name stuck!

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After we picked up Brian, we headed south. We stopped at a neat BBQ place called Obie’s and picked up some great BBQ. We then headed to the house of a childhood friend of mine for supper and overnight. (More about them at the end of this tale)

Brian had called them the previous evening and spoke with Ruth Anne. He told her who he was, and said we would be there in about 10 minutes. We heard Ruth Anne clear in our room saying: “WHAT! TONIGHT?” He’s quite the joker. Ruth Anne and her husband have built a cabin for themselves on top of a mountain—and have 35 acres of land—and absolutely MILES of dirt road to get to them! But we had a great time with them, and I was so pleased that Karen and Brian had the opportunity to meet them. They are such fun people. They provided us with an enormous breakfast the next morning and sent us on our way.

 

 

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Brian said later that one of the highlights of the trip for him was to meet these friends—however, the nearly-tame red fox and her two kits right outside the back door probably had something to do with it!

 

 

 

~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~

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An Amazing Adventure~Part 1

26 Oct

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

JUDY

I’ve just had the most A..M..A..Z..I..N..G adventure! Fred and I, with our oldest daughter, Karen, and her husband, Brian took on the National Parks in the southwest. We covered nine National Parks in about five days! That doesn’t include the National Forests and state parks. Yes, it was a bit tiring—especially to us “old” folks—but we loved every minute of it!

We started out our adventure by flying into Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the best airport near where Karen and Brian live near Chicago. (Just a side note here: In the Milwaukee airport is the area just past security—you know, the area where you put your shoes back on, your belt back on, put the stuff back into your bag, etc. Well, at that airport, there is a sign that names it the “Recombobulation area.” I’ve never seen that area named such in any other airport. Cute, huh?!)

We spent a few days with them—visiting with their two children and new granddaughter-in-law.

 

The four of us then flew out to Denver to begin the real work.

The first thing that Brian did was to rent a van for us to travel in—one with captain’s chairs in the middle row. So much more comfortable to travel in than a car, and the windows are bigger so we can see more from the “back seat.”

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The next great thing was to purchase a $2.27 Styrofoam cooler, along with ice, and lunch meats, bread, condiments, etc., for those times we would be having a “picnic” out. Almost always once a day and occasionally twice, if we were out in the boonies and had no other place to eat. We replenished the stock whenever it was needed. It was great. There’s just something about eating “al fresco” that really satisfies the appetite, you know?!

Since it was afternoon, we drove to our hotel and checked in. We were not far from the Garden of the Gods, so we drove through it, not stopping right then. We would do so the next morning. Fred and I had been there on our honeymoon, 53+ years before. Lots I don’t remember about it, and I suppose the wind and weather has changed it a bit. Fascinating. Here are a few of the sights:

 

 

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And Balanced Rock was just about the most fascinating to me. How does it stay up there?

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We drove through Manitou Springs, but took no pictures. Lots of “springs” around the town, with supposedly healthy/healing qualities to the water. We didn’t have an opportunity to test that theory out.

 

~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~

 

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How We Met~Part 3

19 Oct

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

JUDY

 

 

As it turned out, Fred was attending the same church where I was a member. So we kept seeing each other there, and were in the same youth group.

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It didn’t take long for me to realize the he was probably the most shy guy I had ever met. He also had never been on a date – so I was his first! And as for the first date – the youth group was having a hay ride up to the mountains – and I had to ask HIM if he would like to go with me! I told you he was shy!! He also didn’t have a driver’s license, so anywhere we went, I was the driver.

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Chapel service at the UNM BSU Center

 

I remember that the BSU had a Halloween haunted house, and I went there with Fred. It was a neat thing. In a darkened room, they had you put your hand in a bowl of peeled grapes as eyeballs, spaghetti noodles as brains…you get the picture. One of the adult sponsors of the BSU was good at story-telling, and she had on a black outfit with glow-in-the-dark gloves, and told some sort of tale. Everyone had on some kind of costume. There was bobbing for apples and other such games. It was really a lot of fun. You remember – the way we used to do it.

 

 

The group had retreats in the mountains outside Albuquerque (Sandia Mountains); they had retreats at Glorieta Baptist Conference Center near Santa Fe; all those things Fred and I went to together, becoming more familiar with each other.

 

 

Fred started coming to our BHiU meetings – by walking from UNM to the church where my group met – about a three mile hike – and all before he had to go to his own classes! He said he doesn’t remember ever riding the bus there – perhaps the bus schedule at that hour of the morning didn’t fit our meeting time. In any case – he walked there.

 

Fred started spending time at my house, getting to know my parents.

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My brother, Bill, had already gone into the Navy and wasn’t there to meet him. It wasn’t until we were engaged to be married that Bill and Fred met. We had been dating for about 18 months before Fred popped the question. I said “yes – but not yet.” We were engaged for another 18 months before we married.

Fred, my parents, and I drove from Albuquerque to Los Angeles (Inglewood), California, to spend Christmas with Bill and DiVoran in 1960. They had a little house and we were really crammed into that space.

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Dad told me later that Bill had pronounced Fred to be “a man’s man” as we left. Bill had always been my protector – when Daddy was out on the road as much as he was, Bill was the one to meet my dates. And intimidate them, if possible! He was bigger than most of them. But he and Fred got along, right from the start.

The last year of Fred’s UNM experience, he roomed at our house. He paid my parents what he would have paid the university for room and board. It made us very comfortable with each other – we saw each other last thing at night and first thing in the morning. So we both went into our marriage with our eyes wide open!

 We married on June 20, 1961. It’s been a great 53+ years of marriage. We are grateful to God for all these years together.

 

 

~~~~~~The End~~~~~~

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How We Met~Part 2

12 Oct

SUNDAY MEMORIES

JUDY

Let me add a bit of Fred’s history here. He is the oldest of four children in his family.

Judy’s Father in Law

His father had been in World War 2 as a Chaplain, after being through seminary and pastorate. When the Army Air Corps decided to break apart and the Air Force became its own entity, his dad went with the AF rather than Army. So the family moved around quite a bit – not only in the States, but also had a tour in Italy after the war.

When Fred was in high school, his dad was sent to Japan.

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The family followed, but it took a while. The year they moved, Fred went to three different high schools! (In his public school years, he went to 23 different schools!) They started in Panama City, Florida, then moved to Danville, California (near Walnut Creek) for a while, then on to Japan. He was ticked that the California school he was in – San Ramon Valley Union High School – which was supposed to be top-of-the-line at that time, didn’t offer either Latin or advanced Algebra – both of which he’d studied in Florida. The California schools also didn’t want to let him take upper-level American history (a junior course, and he was just a sophomore), saying that he couldn’t possibly be ready for that class. His father convinced them to let him take a test to measure his level – and he aced the test! In any case, they were there only a few months before the move to Japan.

Fred’s sisters told me later that he went straight from age 12 to 20! He apparently got serious about his studies and girls just fell by the wayside! I guess it was a good thing, since he was Valedictorian of his high school graduating class in Japan! None of that moving around stunted his brain power, it seems. He actually said it was an education within itself, and he was grateful for that opportunity.

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Because of his grade average, he had applied to – and been accepted by and had a line number for – four universities: Purdue, Florida State, the University of Illinois, and Washington State. He just hadn’t made his choice yet.

Fred had always had a bit of a problem with hay fever, but it got worse while he was in Japan. He was talking with the librarian in his high school on Johnson AFB, Japan, one day. She was from Albuquerque, and she suggested that the dry climate in New Mexico might actually be good for his hay fever. So, late in June that year, he applied for admission to the University of New Mexico – and was accepted.

And that’s how he came to be in Albuquerque. God just brought him there for us to meet. Isn’t it amazing how God works things out?

 

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.     Jeremiah 29:11

 

 

 

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~

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Transition to Maine~Part 5

8 Sep

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

JUDY

 

Winter humidity in Maine is so dry/non-existent, that we had to have a humidifier running inside the house all winter.  Otherwise, the furniture would come apart, and the glue in the picture frames would dry up and the frames would fall apart.  We purchased a new one when we arrived, and sold it when we left.

It was so cold and dry during the winter, that I wrote to family and friends that “when you go outside, and the moisture in your nose freezes, you KNOW it’s cold!”

Fred was able to get off time at Christmas, so we drove to King of Prussia, Pennsylvania to spend it with his parents.

 

 

 

It was a long drive, but it was nice to get back to “civilization.”  While it was still cold in PA, it was almost a relief to have “normal” cold rather than the bitter cold of Maine.

We held a going-away party at our house for the departing Commander of the Weather Detachment.  Most of the unit attended, including spouses.  While in Germany we had some reel-to-reel tapes of instrumental music made, and since they were long-playing, we just let them play during the party.  The Commander got up and gave his goodbye speech.  There was a pause – in the music as well as in his speech.  When he started up again, he started with “I just want to thank you all….”  At the same instant, the music began again, and it happened to be Bob Hope’s theme song Thanks for the Memories.  I couldn’t have timed it better if I had planned it!  One of the other officers there was also a musician, and we looked at each other and grinned – we both caught the significance of it.

After the departure of the Commander, Fred became the unit Commander, serving in that capacity for the remainder of our time there.

Our little church was without a pastor when we arrived.  Several of the men in the church would take turns preaching – including Fred.  There was a small choir.  In spite of it all, the spirit of the congregation was good, and we had a good fellowship, and were able to worship our Lord and Savior.  While we were there, the church called a pastor.  Turns out, his wife was a Maine native, and they were eager to return to the state.  God used him greatly in that place – and he stayed as pastor for 20 years, until his retirement.  We have since learned that the government has closed Loring AFB, and that impacted the church as well.  We knew they had been reaching out to the local communities, in hopes of having a lasting congregation if….when….the base closed.  We don’t know, currently, how it is faring.

~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~

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Transition to Maine~Part 3

24 Aug

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

JUDY

 

In addition to setting up house at Loring AFB, we started looking for a church home. There weren’t very many Southern Baptist Churches in that area – actually only one – so we scoped it out. They didn’t have their own building, and were meeting in the Odd Fellows hall in Caribou. It wasn’t ideal, especially on the Sundays after the Odd Fellows had been having a party on Saturday night with beer flowing freely. We frequently had to clean up the hall before we could hold our services on Sunday. (Fred and I were only in Maine for 13 months, and after we left, the church rented space on Sundays from the Knights of Columbus. Several years after that, they built their own building). However, the church was strong and the fellowship was tremendous. One of the best things we found in the churches we were in that had a large military membership – the rank came off when we walked through the door. We were all just fellow believers in Christ. We met many people there who became good friends, and some we’ve even retained contact with throughout the years. We’ve also had the pleasure of meeting up with them when they have come down to Orlando for their time at Disney. That’s such a joy!

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The Weather Detachment that Fred was assigned to was a fairly cohesive group, as well. He started in working right away. Loring AFB was a first-defense base with bombers, aerial refueling and interceptor aircraft stationed there. One section of the base was on constant alert. Loring was the closest U.S. base to Europe and U.S.S.R.

Loring AFB was named in 1954 posthumously for Major Charles J. Loring, Jr., USAF, a Medal of Honor recipient during the Korean War. During the morning of 22 November 1952, he led a flight of F-80 Shooting Stars on patrol over Kunwha. After beginning a dive bombing run and getting hit, he entered into a controlled dive and destroyed a Chinese gun emplacement on Sniper Ridge which was harassing United Nations troops, by deliberately crashing his aircraft into the emplacement.

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Public schools in Aroostock County started in August. They were in session for three weeks then broke for two or three weeks for the potato harvest. Local farmers hired students and airmen looking for some extra money to help with the harvest. Then school resumed.

There was only pre-kindergarten through elementary grades on base – other grades/schools are in town. Karen was able to attend a part-time pre-k there. She got to ride a bus to school and was thrilled. Unfortunately, Fred and I were in tears to see her go!

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Transition to Maine~Part 2

17 Aug

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

JUDY

Finally assigned quarters on the base (Loring AFB), we began the process of arranging our lives to this new place. We lived in a two-story row house (18 “houses” or apartments, within each row – directly across from another set of row houses), and ours had been added on – giving us a half-bath and a laundry room downstairs, right off the kitchen. We considered ourselves fortunate for that addition – the houses on either side of us did not have the add-on, and the only bathroom was upstairs.

The base housing was not in very good repair – especially on the outside, and was scheduled for refurbishment the summer we arrived. Here are some before and after pictures.

 

Before
After

 

The military had contracted with a Canadian company to do the work. Nothing wrong with that – except they were on Atlantic time, and arrived about 6:00 a.m. local time. We kept hearing stories about people asleep in their upstairs apartment, awakened to find Canadian faces looking in their windows!   We made sure we had the windows covered.

Of course, just covering the windows didn’t help with the sound. They were removing the old siding in preparation for new siding. It looked really nice when they were done, but BOY! was it loud in the mean time!

Since we had only been able to ship 2,000 pounds to Germany, we had left a lot of our household goods at my mother’s house in New Mexico. Now was the time to collect everything that was ours, and start using it all. So we had to find a place for all the china, crystal and sterling we had been given as wedding presents. The apartment was partially furnished, so we only had to purchase a minimum of furniture. We were furnished a dining room table and chairs, sideboard and two beds. Fred built a “hutch” for the sideboard, and we stored the crystal there.

We purchased a sofa (110″ long) in electric blue, with a matching high-back swivel rocker. We also purchased a 12′ X 15′ rug to go in the living room. It was such fun arranging all that stuff.

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Fred’s parents and an aunt and uncle arrived the middle of October, hoping to see all the gorgeous fall colors – but they were about a month too late. Fall hits in early September in northern Maine. But we had a nice visit with them, anyway, taking them to our favorite restaurant in Canada, York’s. York’s had a set menu – only five items. But they had corn fritters the size of a baseball, served with real maple syrup – as many as you wanted to eat. You could have one serving of any of the five entrees, and if you were still hungry, you could have a half-order of anything except the steak. I really learned to love lobster there! And what was neat was that they split the lobster in half, and all you had to do was pick out the meat! No cracking there! Unfortunately, they closed down mid-October and didn’t open again until Mother’s Day. The roads were just too impassable, so they had no customers.

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~To be continued~~~~~~~~~~~

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I Say Tomahto…You Say

10 Aug

 

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

JUDY

 

I’ve done a number of things in my lifetime, some enjoyable, some not so much. But God has been good to me, and I have had more of the enjoyable ones.One of the fun things is to be able to travel the world. Well, I’ve not been to Asia, but going to Europe was wonderful. I’ve been as a “tourist,” and I also have lived there. I certainly never dreamed that I would live in another country – and I’m sure my mother never thought I would, either. She commented once that I had really “adjusted” well to military life – all that moving around, especially since I grew up in one town and house.

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And so it is that I enjoy hearing European accents in those around me. Fred and I enjoy hearing all the different languages and accents of those we pass while we are doing our thing at Disney. We can tell what season it is by what languages we are hearing.

We’ve known several military couples where the husband was American, and the wife was British, or German, or…..   One especially comes to mind. We were living in Panama City, Florida, on Tyndall AFB.

As a member of the Officers Wives Club, I had chosen to work in the Thrift Shop on Base. It was a fun thing to do and I was able to meet lots of people. The customers were not limited to officers – it was open to everyone. The proceeds went toward scholarships for the high schoolers. So it was a bit of a win-win situation.

One of the wives who worked along side with me was British. She was a quirky, fun person to be around. One thing she told us once has stuck with me all these years. Her children were rather young (elementary school age, I believe) at the time. In her son’s class was a young girl named Kirsten. Linda had a hard time remembering how to pronounce her name, and her son fussed at her. He kept saying, “Mom, it’s KIRsten…KIRsten….not KRIsten!” Her response was, “Well, you know I grew up in another country, and I sometimes have a hard time pronouncing your American names. For instance, I say tomahto and you say (she pointed to him)…. (and he said) tomato. I say bahth and you say (she again pointed to him)….(and with a cheeky grin he said) (wait for it…………) shower!”

 

We’ve had a good laugh over that one through the years.

 

 

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