Archive by Author

My Beloved – Part 2

9 Jan

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

DiVoran & I became good friends, and when the foursome broke up, Bud went on to girls of another persuasion and the next thing I knew DiVoran & I were going steady.

1

We went the movies, went to church, went roller skating , and cruised Albuquerque’s Central Avenue my restored 1940 Chevy coupe.  This evolved into our getting engaged.

2

I joined the U.S. Navy when I was 18 and went on a 6-month cruise of the Mediterranean on the aircraft carrier USS Coral Sea.  We wrote letters to each other every day and signed them “All my love…”   After I returned to the U.S. I was transferred to the Fleet Repair ship USS Hector that was stationed at the San Diego Naval Base.

3

When family friends from San Diego stopped in Albuquerque during their vacation to visit my parents, they offered to take DiVoran home with them to see me.  That was when we decided to get married.  Our fathers were both on trips for their jobs, so our mothers came to San Diego for the wedding.  DiVoran was 18 and I was 19.

4

The car I owned at that time was a highly modified ’32 Ford coupe, and DiVoran hated riding in it because there was only one bucket seat for the driver and the rest of the interior floor was a sheet of plywood that she had to sit on.   Not long after we were married, I traded my “Pride & Joy” wheels for a nice ’50 Mercury sedan that DiVoran could drive.

5a5b

 

 

 

We lived in San Diego for 6 months until I left on the USS Hector for 8 months duty in Japan.  DiVoran went back to Albuquerque to wait for me and complete beauty school.

beauty school

By the time I was discharged from the U.S. Navy, I had finally seen the need for more than a high school diploma to make a decent living.  We moved to Los Angeles for me to attend Northrop University.  DiVoran worked full time with the Magic Mirror chain of beauty salons, and I worked part time servicing airplanes at LAX to help pay for my education.  DiVoran said it was the best investment she ever made.

7

We lived and worked in L.A. for 8 years where our two children, Renie and Billy,  were born.  We moved to Titusville, Florida in 1965 with the Apollo Manned Space Program.  I worked that program and various other missile programs, through the years, as an Ordnance Engineer until my retirement.

 

3,2,1

DiVoran and I live in the same house we bought new in 1965 and plan to live here together forever.  We are both happy as clams with our favorite past times, R/C model airplanes for me and novel writing and painting for DiVoran.  Our children and their families both live in Central Florida, which makes it great for us to be able to see them and our Grandchildren often.

 

9a

 

9b

 

 

 

 

 

As a side note, DiVoran and I both learned to type in that high school typing class, and that is one of the things that is helping us write these weekly blogs.

10

The story of “My Beloved” and me will never end.  However, that’s all for now folks.

Proverbs 5:18

 

Tags: , ,

Calendar Choices

7 Jan

My Take

DiVoran Lites

DiVoran Lites

The calendars in the bookstores are on sale now, but we bought ours before Christmas. It may not have been the smartest shopping choice, but one year we waited for the sale and the ones we wanted were all gone.

We bought the Audubon Engagement Calendar with a nature photograph every week. We also got, Live, Love, Dream which has helpful quotation and has pages small enough to glue into my journal every day. I’m crazy about journals and about helpful quotations.

Audubon calendar buyers get a free page a day calendar for 2013, and I chose a Bible version. Sometimes my friends like a Bible verse on Face Book. Besides, as helpful as the helpful quotations may be they can’t deliver the dimension scriptures can.

A long time ago our pastor suggested we try writing out Bible verses as if God was talking directly to us. Almost any verse will bring the Holy Spirit up close and personal. Sometimes I keep on writing in my journal after I finish with the verse. I’m surprised when I go back and read it again, Hey that sounds like God and not like me. It’s so cool!

Here’s a sample:

My Dear Child, I love you. You are unique and special to me. Here is something I deeply desire for you to have: May Christ, through your faith, actually dwell—settle down, abide, make His permanent home—in your heart. May you be rooted deep in love and founded securely on love. Ephesians 3:17 (Amplified Bible)

The Message uses the phrase: “the extravagant dimensions of Christ’s love.” What does your version say? Try it, you’ll like it.

calendars

Tags: , , ,

JANET AND THE OPTOMETRIST

6 Jan

SUNDAY MEMORIES

 Judy Wills

Judy

                                                     

We have always felt that it was most important for us to teach our girls to read.  After all, if you can’t read, you can’t do math problems.  It has been such an important part of our lives and training that both our girls were able to read while still in pre-kindergarten.

 Back in the 1970’s, the big method for teaching children to read was phonetically – sound out the letters of the word and you will be able to make the word your own.  That may still be a method of teaching children to read – I don’t know.

Because Fred and I both wear glasses/contact lenses, we were concerned that our girls might need eye correction fairly early in their lives.  So we had them tested by the AF Base’s optometrist upon several occasions.

Our youngest daughter, Janet, was in second grade, when we had her tested at one point in time.  The technician started with the smallest “line” to read.  No response from Janet.  He moved it up to the next line – no response.  Wringing of hands by Janet at this point.  He moved it up another line – no response.  Severe wringing of hands by Janet.  But no response.

 

EYE CHART

 

Finally, Fred leaned toward her and said – “it doesn’t make a word.”  She had been trying to phonetically make those letters into a word – and she couldn’t do it!  Well – I doubt if WE could have made it into a word, either!

The technician had told her to “read” the line, and that was exactly what she was trying to do – read that line of letters!

She did learn to read – and she didn’t need too much eye correction.  Thank goodness!

 

Tags: , , ,

Lord Willing and the Creek Don’t Rise

3 Jan

Those of you who have been  following Bill’s travel adventures, we are offering up praises that his heart attack was mild and he is doing very well- Onisha

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

Onisha

 

 

Last week I wrote of the plans I had made for Christmas and how they hadn’t worked out. I am hoping 2013 will be a bit more cooperative.  My parents often prefaced their plans with “ the Lord willing and the creek don’t rise.” As a child, I thought this sounded silly but now I understand that in a humorous way they were lifting their plans up to God.

This week we will be leaving the chilly weather and heading to the sunshine in Florida. We live a rather migratory life, visiting between our children. When I am in Florida I am very content. I love spending time with life long friends and of course being with our daughter. When it is time to return to the “hills,” I am sad and not sure I really want to go.  Once our car gets a few miles up the interstate my heart begins to race with trills of anticipation, excited to see our son and his family and all the things we love about our living in the country. All too soon it’s time to close up the house and head back to Florida and once again I am sad and not sure I want to go.

Does this make me fickle? I don’t think so. I prefer to think of myself as content. In Philippians 4:11 Paul speaks of being content in his circumstances. Admittedly he is referring more to finances, but I am still claiming the contentment!

 

Philippians 4:11-13

 

11 Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: 12 I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. 13 I can do all things through Christ[a] who strengthens me.

 

 

Tags: , , , ,

My Beloved–Part 1

2 Jan

A Slice of Life

     Bill Lites

Bill

By the time I got to my senior year in high school, my interest in education was almost nonexistent.  My parents had planned a formal education for me and kept pushing me to prepare for college.  I only wanted to graduate from high school so I could get a job and get out of the house.  As a result, I was not a very good student, so I only took the required classes, and filled the rest of the day with meaningless electives.  One of those electives was typing.

 

typewriter typing class

As it turned out, that class ended up being a really good choice for two reasons.  One, I was the only boy in the class, which was great, because I loved being surrounded by girls.  And two, I didn’t know it at the time, but God had planned for me to meet DiVoran in that class.

 

young beloved

I didn’t pay a lot of attention to the class requirements, because I was more interested in impressing the girls by being the class cut-up.  At first, DiVoran and I knew no more about each other than that she used the typewriter I did in the next class.  Oftentimes I would be slow collecting my typing stuff, she would be early for her class, and we would talk briefly.

My best friend at the time was Bud.  He also had classes with DiVoran, and had asked her out a couple of times.  DiVoran happened to be friends with a girl named Rita, who I had also noticed.  When I found out from Bud that DiVoran knew Rita, I saw my chance for a clandestine inquiry.  Being a little shy about the whole thing, one day after class, I asked DiVoran if I could carry her books to her locker, as I had a question to ask her.

lockers

Months later, she told me she had expected me to ask her out, but was surprised, when it was Rita I wanted to know about.  “Yes, she probably would,” DiVoran said, “but you better ask her yourself.”   I did, and after my first date with Rita, she and I, and Bud and DiVoran started double dating.

double dates

Somehow, it evolved that DiVoran and I called each other to talk about our relationships with Bud and Rita.

 

 

—To Be Continued—

Tags: ,

Morning Song

31 Dec

 

According to Mary Harwell Sayler in her new book Poetry Dictionary for Children and for Fun, an aubade is: “a morning song. Sometimes it’s a love poem. Sometimes it’s a sad song, but ready or not, an aubade greets the dawn.”

Here’s an aubade for today, actually yesterday, because yesterday it was warm, today it’s cold.

Morning Song

Feed cats

Fill water bowls

Make coffee

Let cats out

Let cats in

“Good morning, husband.”

House chilly

Step out the door and into sunshine.

Tropical breeze

Take a walk

Vines in a yard hanging from a line

Purple flowers

A sycamore clatters brown leaves

“Trees of the field shall clap their hands.”*

Fallen leaves skitter, call, “come hither.”

Not yet!

Six-foot sunflowers, yellow duckies round their feet.

Turn back, work to do.

Thank God.

*Isaiah 55:12

Aubade

 

Tags: , , ,

NEW YEARS IN WIESBADEN, GERMANY

30 Dec

SUNDAY MEMORIES

 Judy Wills

Judy

 

                                            

When Karen, our oldest daughter, was still quite young, we were stationed, through the US Air Force, in Wiesbaden, West Germany.  We had joined an English-speaking Baptist church there.  One year, the church decided to hold a New Year’s Eve evenand they needed a “Father Time” (old year) and a New Year’s baby.

 Our little Karen was just about the right age and size to be the New Year, and they asked us if she could do that.  We agreed.  And, so she wouldn’t be traumatize, they asked Fred to be the old year.  He was to wear a “toga” along with a white beard and white wig. We were concerned that Karen would still be frightened by this strange looking man with a tall stick.  So we had Fred dress up in his costume, and present himself to her before the program.  She looked up at him and said, “Hi Daddy!”  So much for a disguise!The program was a lot of fun, and the church group enjoyed themselves.

While we had never seen a drunk German, we were still a little apprehensive on our drive home late that night.  Yes, there was a lot of fireworks, and a lot of reveling all around, but nothing too drastic.  Along the way, as Fred drove very carefully, we spotted an older gentleman on the sidewalk.  Fred slowed down,  just in case this gentleman decided he needed to walk in the street.  The man stopped, looked at us, and tipped his hat at us!  Then he was on his way.  We waved at him and thought how remarkable it was.

We’ve remembered that courtesy all these years.  Such fond memories.

Tags: , , ,

The One Whose Plans Are Always Perfect

27 Dec

I had big plans for this years Christmas. My granddaughter and I love baking together and were going to bake lots of cookies to share with the neighbors. I planned to attend   many Christmas programs given by the local churches. Sadly no cookies were baked and I only attended two Christmas events.

Sitting on my couch surrounded by Christmas decorations some complete, some in progress I realized once again that plans don’t always work out.

Christmas Day arrived and  the frustration melted away. All the failed plans were swept aside as we celebrated the birth of our Saviour, the one whose plans are always perfect.

I love this song performed by Michael W Smith. Lyrics found here 

My Jesus, My Saviour,

Lord there is no one like you,

All of my days, I want to praise

The wonders of Your mighty love.

My comfort, my shelter,

Tower of refuge and strength

Let every breath, all that I am

Never cease to worship You.

Chorus:

Shout to the Lord, all the earth let us sing,

Power and majesty, praise to the King!

Mountains bow down and the seas will roar,

At the sound of your name!

I sing for joy at the work of your hands,

Forever I’ll love you, forever I’ll stand

Nothing compares to the promise I have in You.

Repeat verse

My Jesus, my Saviour,

Lord, there is none like You

All of my days, I want to praise,

The wonders of your mighty love

My comfort, my shelter,

Tower of refuge and strength

Let every breath, all that I am

Never cease to worship You

Tags: , ,

Our Trip Across America-Part 12

26 Dec

   A Slice of Life                       

 Bill Lites

Bill

 

We headed East out of Westcliffe on SR-96 and then South on SR-165 so we could stop and take a tour of one the most interesting local attractions in the area.  It’s called Bishop Castle.  Located on the edge of the San Isabel National Forest, it is a truly amazing structure.  What started out to be a one-room stone cottage in 1969, over the years, has turned into a life’s project, for Jim Bishop, who has built the entire “Castle” by hand.  As it stands now, the “Castle” has three full stories of interior rooms, complete with a Grand Ballroom, soaring towers and bridges with vistas of a hundred miles, and a Fire-Breathing Dragon, all making the Bishop Castle a most unforgettable experience!

1

 

We picked up I-25 North out of the mountains, stopping in Pueblo to visit DiVoran’s grade school friend Joan and her family.  She and DiVoran had a wonderful time remembering “The Good Old Days” they spent growing up together in Westcliffe.  It wasn’t long after leaving Pueblo, heading East on US-50 that we had our 2nd flat tire on the camper.   I guess all those sharp rocks we encountered going up and down Hermit Lake Road weakened that old tire.  We were able to find a replacement tire in Lamar, CO and were soon back on the road toward Dodge City, Kansas.

 

2

 

Of course, we had to stop for a spell in what was the famous frontier town to have a Sarsaparilla at the Long Branch Saloon, and take a stroll out to see Boot Hill, where some of the West’s most famous outlaws were laid to rest.

3

 

From there, it was on East through parts of Kansas and Missouri, where we encountered some of the vast mid-American heartland, with its huge farms of miles and miles of lush wheat and corn crops.

 

45

 

At some point we crossed that grand old  Mississippi River, with all its commerce and history.  Boy that sure is a lot of water!  It was about this time in the trip that we had our 3rd camper tire flat.  What a pain!  I said to myself, Come on now, there are only three tires on this camper, and now we have had all three go flat.  I hope this will be the last of them!

6

 

If the picture above looks familiar, it’s because I was becoming an expert at changing those camper tires.  After replacing that 3rd tire, we now had three brand new tires on the camper, and we never had another tire problem with that camper as long as we had it.

7

We continued our travels Southeast, making stops in Tennessee and George, and we were awed by the sights of some of the most beautiful parts of the Appalachian Mountains we passed through.

8

As we got closer to home, we stopped in Atlanta, Georgia and Tallahassee, Florida.  Part of the joy of this trip was to experience the different parts of the country, its history, and the way people have lived down through the years.  The southern plantations were of special interest and beauty, as they were surrounded  by so much history and grandeur.

9

 

What a great adventure we had visiting our good friends and relatives and seeing all those wonderful sights across our beautiful country.  But now we were heading for the barn, and there was no way to stop us.  After the six weeks on the road, we were all ready to get home, see our Florida friends and sleep in our own beds again.  Boy did that feel good!

10

 

By the way, remember the freeze-dried brine shrimp we bought in Salt Lake City, Utah?  Well, sure enough, when we got home, we put them in water, and they came back to life.  That was Amazing!   Who knows, maybe this is where the Science Fiction folks got some of their ideas.

Well, that just about wraps up “Our Trip Across America.”  I hope you have enjoyed it as much as we did.

 

—-The End —-

 

 

 

 

Tags: , , , , ,

E is for Enough

24 Dec

My Take

DiVoran Lites

DiVoran Lites

Bill and I are incompatible. The first time I realized it was the morning after the wedding when I got in trouble for squeezing the toothpaste tube from the middle. How was I supposed to know you rolled it up tidily? Right then I decided I was not a roll-up kind of gal. We have used separate toothpaste tubes ever since. We even use different kinds of toothpaste now.

Then there is gasoline. He buys it all because he knows where its cheapest. I ask to buy when the gauge is on E, but he says, oh, you’ve got enough to get you where you’re going and back, and I always do—except there was that one time down in Texas when we were driving a new old car and E meant what it said-empty. I’m grateful we didn’t have to walk as far as we might have had to.

Carrots, now, carrots are something else altogether. In my humble opinion, you can never have too many carrots. I keep canned ones on hand but come on now, they just aren’t the same. “Carrots,” I write on the list. When we go over it he says, “We’ve got enough carrots.” Maybe for you, but not for me.

Time: Bill likes what you call close tolerance. That means you measure something like a door that opens onto the enclosed back porch, then you measure for a fan and put it up and turn it on and when you open the back door and the fan is whirling you can’t see a gap between them. So close tolerance goes for time as well. He doesn’t like to waste it by getting someplace too early, but unfortunately we’ve always been just late enough to embarrass me. Since he’s been retired, however, we’ve been working on it. We calculate what time we have to be there and then count back to when we may need to leave. It works most of the time. If it’s really crucial I don’t answer directly when he says what time do we have to be there. I say we need to leave at 8:30 or whatever I deem respectable. I sometimes say we have to leave at 8:32 and it works. I read about that somewhere. I don’t know why it works. Depending on how desperate I am we can get there just a little bit early. That’s nice for weddings and funerals, so you don’t have to disturb prayers and stuff. But the last funeral we went to was a little disorganized, we got there a good ten minutes early and I was proud. But the funeral didn’t actually start for an hour and a half after we got there. We had some nice quiet chats with some nice people, but there’s no telling how far it set my training program back.

We are compatible in the big things. Our kids tried the old switcheroo a few times: if dad says no, ask Mom, but Mom almost always had dad’s heart on the matter and agreed with him, so they soon gave up on that one. We also agree that lots of small and large things are funny and we laugh together. If we had memorized the Apostle’s Creed we’d be able to say it together with complete commitment. Jesus is Lord.

So although we are incompatible we still are pretty unified. What does that Bible verse say? “Behold how good and pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together…” As you know we aren’t brothers, but still it’s pretty fine to harmonize as husband and wife. Psalm 133:1

By Divoran

By Divoran

Tags: , ,

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →