Archive by Author

My 2016 Mid-West Trip~Part 11

14 Sep

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

 

Day 11 (Tuesday)

 

I began the day by heading south, out of Nashville, on I-24 for my first stop, to visit to the Cannonsburgh Village located in Murfreesboro, TN. Now according to Wikipedia, Murfreesboro was named Cannonsburgh until 1811, when the name was changed by the state legislature. How’s that for a really great trivia question? This village is a nicely restored early 1800s Tennessee farming community. Most of the buildings are of log construction and were moved from their original locations to this site in 1976.

 

1

 

Included in the village buildings are a log home, a one-room schoolhouse, a general store, a church, a town hall, a gristmill, and a working blacksmith’s shop. This village gives people a good idea of how an early farm community would have looked in the early 19th century Tennessee hill country.

 

1a

 

From Murfreesboro I headed south on U.S. 231, through Shelbyville and Fayetteville, and across the border into Alabama. My next stop was to visit the North Alabama Railroad Museum located in the northeast outskirts of Huntsville, AL. This museum was very small and looked like it probably consisted mostly of local railroad memorabilia. The sign out front and on the entrance gate said the museum was supposed to be open but, I got there around noon and, it was closed. I suppose they could have just locked up and gone to lunch.

 

2

 

Down the road a ways was the next stop on my list for today at The Historic Huntsville Depot located in downtown Huntsville, Alabama.  The depot was constructed in 1860 and is the oldest railway passenger station in Alabama. It was the eastern division headquarters for the Memphis & Charleston Railroad, and serviced its last passenger train in 1968. As luck would have it, the museum was closed in preparation for an event that was to take place in and around the museum grounds during that coming weekend.

 

3

 

Next on the list was the U.S. Space & Rocket Center also located on I-585 just east of downtown Huntsville. I had been to this museum once before but decided to go through it again to see if they had added anything new. It didn’t look like there were any new exhibits and many of the outdoor exhibits that had been pristine the last time I was there, were now weather-beaten and looking poorly. I find it very sad to see an organization as large as this NASA museum allowing their exhibits to deteriorate to such a degree. Especially after all the money they pull in from visitors from all over the world.

 

4

 

Next I checked out the Veterans Memorial Park there in Huntsville. This was a beautifully sculptured park, with a couple of very nice statues representing our military, and their part in the ongoing fight for our freedom.

 

5

 

I wanted to see if there was a museum associated with the Redstone Arsenal, which has been so instrumental in U.S. rocketry development. However, I was disappointed when I called the base to inquire, and was informed that there were no museums open to the public.

 

6

 

Next I visited the Veterans Memorial Museum located around the corner from the Veterans Memorial Park. The signs for the museum were a little hard to follow but I finally located it. This museum is dedicated to all of the U.S. military services, and has restored Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine equipment. Like many small museums I have visited, this one was hoping to expand soon, so that they could display many more of the items in their collection to the public.

 

7

 

 

Now it’s time to head for the motel, where I will warm up and enjoy leftovers of St. Louis ribs, turnip greens, and corn-on-the-cob. I even have a nice piece of Jack’s BBQ homemade cornbread and some butter and Strawberry jam to spread on it for dessert. Yumm again!

 

—–To Be Continued—–

Tags: , , , , , ,

Bridget’s Mustang

12 Sep

My Take

DiVoran Lites

1a

Photography by Melody Hendrix

 
Trader come down the draw,

Truck, trailer, red cloud dust.

I saw he had a filly,

And own her, that I must.

 

“I’ll take that paint;” I say,

“It looks like she’s got soul.

I’ll get a stallion in,

Next year we’ll have a foal.”

 

“You keep an eye on her,

“She’s mustang through and through,

A wild one from the range.

Foal next year? Maybe two.

 

“You call me ‘bout that horse,”

The trader wasn’t done.

You need to talk ‘round here.

It’s all that makes life fun.

 

Tags: , , , ,

What to do when all falls apart.

10 Sep

Walking by Faith, Not by Sight

Janet Perez Eckles

09-02-16 Major Delays

“We have some good news and some bad news,” the airline rep announced to those of us sitting at the gate.

We squirmed in our seats.

“The good news is that we identified the mechanical problem with the plane,” she said. “The bad news is that we need to bring a part from Chicago. It will be at least two hours.”

Groans of annoyance echoed throughout.

That meant I missed my connecting flight and the changes resulted in my 4-hour trip turning into 13 hours.

We waited for three hours. Then the lady seated to my left said, “Why weren’t they honest with us? This is totally ridiculous.”

The lady to my right let out a huge huff. “All my plans for the day fell apart. This is a horrible way to treat their customers.”

And since I’m a mind-your-own-business kind of gal, I said to myself: Chill friends. This delay might be a way for God to protect us from a disaster while flying in the clouds.

Then, suddenly another announcement: “Those of you on flight 2049, approach the counter for a courtesy voucher for your inconvenience.”

I knew it would be a lunch voucher, and navigating to make a line would be cumbersome with my white cane. So I turned to the lady to my left and said, “Would you be so kind as to get the voucher for me?”

“Not a problem,” she said.

Later on, she came back and placed two slips of paper in my hand. “Here, we all got a $200 voucher toward our next flight.”

Woo hoo! Thank you, Lord! I quickly stuffed it in my purse.

Next, I heard the same ladies talk on their cell phones, “You won’t believe what happened. Because of the delay, I got a $200 voucher…I love this airline. It’s the best.”

I’ve done that. Maybe you have, too. We praise only when good things happen. When doors open, opportunities come, blessings show up, surprises happen, and good times appear…we praise God and we rejoice, right?

But when mechanical malfunctions in life cause all to fall apart, we’re left stuck in sorrow, frustration, and anger. Who could blame us, we grumble and complain.

But the one who taught me not to fall for that trap is Habakkuk (I know, strange name). But when I get to heaven, he’s on my list to give a big ol’ hug because this is what he said when he found himself in the gate of emptiness because all his plans had fallen apart.

“Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior” (Habakkuk 3:17-18).

In the waiting for answers, in the sadness of emptiness, and with broken plans, what rumbles in your heart and what slips from your lips?

 

Source: What to do when all falls apart. | Janet Perez Eckles

Tags: , ,

Do You Know?

9 Sep

From the Heart

Louise Gibson

 

 

 

 

When I cried out in my sorrow,
His presence came shining through.
Don’t ever suffer in silence.
Christ is always there for you.

 

Do you know that God smiles?
It’s recorded in His word.
That is so encouraging.
A fact I had never heard.

 

“When they were discouraged
I smiled and that encouraged them
and lightened their spirits.”
(Job 29:24 TLB)

Tags: , , , ,

Don’t Fake Love

8 Sep

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

My friend, Pat is a delightful mixture of elegant Southern style, charm and out spoken opinions and I love her. This past year she has traveled the road of widowhood and has done so with courage, joy and tears.  She and her husband, shared a life long passion for memorizing scripture passages and the conversations of our weekly breakfast group were often spiced with passages that tied into whatever of the world’s problems we were solving.

This Wednesday at breakfast she handed me a card in an envelope and asked me to open it after we left. At home, I opened the card, a beautiful handmade creation, with a hand written note, thanking us for offering to drive her to Asheville for eye surgery. I looked on the back and sure enough, there was the name of the person who made the card.  I suspected  Pat had purchased the cards to encourage this creator in the same way she encouraged my daughter, Rebekah by buying her novels and giving them to people she thought might enjoy reading them.

img_3444

Isn’t it pretty?

At the bottom of the sweet note she shared a scripture, Romans 12:9-13. KJV

9 Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.

10 Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;

11 Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;

12 Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;

13 Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality.

 

I decided to read some other versions and when I came to The Message it read in the same way Pat encourages us. Perfect!

The Message

9-10 Love from the center of who you are; don’t fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle.

11-13 Don’t burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant. Don’t quit in hard times; pray all the harder. Help needy Christians; be inventive in hospitality.

 

This was on the bottom inside of the card.

 

img_3443

 

 

Tags: , , ,

My 2016 Mid-West Trip~Part 10

7 Sep

A Slice of LIfe

Bill Lites

Day 10 (Monday)

 

What a beautiful day to take a drive through the Kentucky and Tennessee Hill Country. My first stop today was to visit the Swope’s Cars of Yesteryear Museum located in Elizabethtown, KY. This really was a “cars of MY yesteryear” museum. It was filled with beautifully restored 1900s to 1960s cars, many of which brought back the memories of my teenage years. They had a Hudson Hornet that DiVoran told me she drove when she was a teenager. They also had a 1955 Ford Crown Victoria, similar to the one that my high school best friend’s sister had. She would drive us around town when we asked her to, so we could feel like we were high class teenagers.

1

 

The next stop on my list for today was the Historic Rail Park & Train Museum in Bowling Green, KY. This was a good sized museum located in the original Bowling Green train station. They had memorabilia and model trains inside and some nicely restored Pullman train cars outside.

2

 

As I was leaving Bowling Green, heading back to I-65, I came across Art’s Corvette/Art’s Auto Mart, just around the corner from the National Corvette Museum, located on the outskirts of town. It looked like they could have had as many as 100 different Corvettes and other cars displayed in those two facilities. However not being a Corvette fan, and not needing to buy a car, I elected not to pay the entrance fee and go through the museum. Besides, these two museums were not on my list and I needed to make tracks for Nashville.

3a

 

I stopped at the Tennessee Welcome Station for a short break and to pick up a Tennessee road map. They were playing country music on their speaker system for their visitors. After I used the restroom, I picked up a map and headed for my car. I saw a lady on the sidewalk, who looked like she was waiting for someone, and she was moving to the music. By the time I got to my car she had started heading toward her car, but she really wasn’t walking, she was line-dancing down the sidewalk to the music from the welcome station. It was the coolest thing. She had no idea anyone was watching and I don’t think she really cared. I wished I had thought in time to take a video, but I didn’t.

3

My first stop in Nashville was to visit the Lane Motor Museum, located on the east side of town, just after I crossed over the Cumberland River. This museum was unbelievable! One man, Jeff Lane, has collected approximately 450 different kinds of motor vehicles and motorcycles from all over the world under one roof. What was so amazing for me was that almost all of the vehicles in this collection run, and many are shown at various car shows. A sign in front of the museum reads “Unique Cars from A to Z.” I had no idea that so many different types of vehicles have been manufactured throughout the world in days gone by.

4

 

I tried to visit the Music Valley Wax Museum there in Nashville but discovered that it had been closed, due to a flood in the area in 2010. However, within walking distance of the wax museum building, I was able to walk through The Nashville Music Palace (The home of traditional country music) and The Willie Nelson & Friends Museum. Both were filled with memorabilia of various country music stars from over the years.

5

My plan was to visit the Grand Ole Opry, but I was told the only way that was going to happen was if I bought a tour ticket, that included the Opry House and a stage performance. I probably would only see an empty Ryman Auditorium stage and I didn’t have the time to wait around for an evening show. So, I opted to do the whole Grand Ole Opry tour another time.

6

Last on the list for today was to visit Nashville’s Centennial Part and take in the full-scale replica of the original Parthenon in Athens, Greece. The Original replica was built in 1897 as the center piece for the Tennessee Centennial Exposition.   Later, during the 1913 & 1914 Spring Pageants, it was referred to as the “Athens of the South.” The structure was left standing for the next 20 some years, until weather and deterioration required its removal. It was permanently rebuilt, on the same foundation, between 1920 and 1931.

7

The Nashville Parthenon now operates as an art museum, with a 41-foot high reproduction of Athena Parthenos (Greek goddess Athena) as its focus. It’s beyond me why anyone would want to keep something like that in their city. I guess it makes for a good tourist attraction. It got my attention didn’t it!

8

When checking into the motel, I asked the desk clerk about a good place to eat, and he referred me to Jack’s BBQ Restaurant a couple miles down the road. Jack’s was a small place, but the aroma in and around the place made my mouth water and my stomach growl. I had some of the tenderest and most delicious St. Louis Ribs I have ever had. They came with collard greens, corn-on-the-cob, and cold slaw. I enjoyed a slice of their homemade cornbread and Grape jam for desert. Luckily, there was enough of everything, left over, for me to enjoy it all again tomorrow night.

9

 

—–To Be Continued—–

Tags: , , ,

Christmas Park

5 Sep

My Take

DiVoran Lites

1

 

 

I danced once to a fiddle.

Bill smiled, the fiddle-man played.

I stepped and swirled in a picnic pavilion

No one else in the park

No one said a word

One fine day.

 

 

 

 

Tags: , , , , ,

Five reasons why not to worry about tomorrow. 

3 Sep

Walking by Faith, Not by Sight

Janet Perez Eckles

low branchVIDEO OF THE WEEK SNEAK PEEK https://youtu.be/d-fBJigMXAE

Hubby and I took off for our routine evening walk. And as we rounded the walking trail, he repeatedly had to duck to avoid smashing his head against the branches that hung low. He endured this annoyance for a while.

Then he decided to take action.

So the next day, before we headed out, he grabbed the trimming clippers from the garage. Armed with this weapon that he carried rifle style, we set off for our walk. As we drew closer, he gave a gasp of surprise. The maintenance folks had taken care of the trimming.

I couldn’t suppress my chuckle as he carried the clippers back home.

We all do that, don’t we? When the branches of life annoy us, we get fed up. Sometimes we become anxious because the problem persists. Then anger flares up, wondering if God is watching. And frustrated, we ask ourselves if He’s planning to do anything about it.

But through David’s words In Psalm 139:4, God has five ways to remind us that although we don’t see how, God is in full control. His clippers are sharper and better, capable to trim our restlessness and cut off our worry.

  1. He’s aware of our every move. “You know when I sit and when I rise…”
  2. He reads our mind. “You perceive my thoughts from afar.”
  3. He follows us wherever we go. “You discern my going out and my lying down…”
  4. God knows our habits, quirks and flaws. “You are familiar with all my ways.”
  5. God is ahead of the game. “Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD.”

If God is working on taking care of the glitches ahead, why do we carry the clippers of worry?

Janet was recently interviewed on Never Ever Give Up Hope. Drop by and listen, it’s a great chance to get to know how amazing she is-Onisha

http://neverevergiveuphopenet.blogspot.ca/2016/09/how-to-see-with-your-heart.html

 

 

Source: Five reasons why not to worry about tomorrow. | Janet Perez Eckles

Keep Your Eyes on the One Who is Invisible

2 Sep

From the Heart

Louise Gibson

 

 

As a child, who did you go to for answers?
As a teenager, who was your “go-to” friend?
As an adult, do you have a mentor who helps you
find answers you seek?
You can engage the wisest person in the universe
as your councilor to the end.

 

(Without council, plans go awry,
but in the multitude of councilors
they are established. Proverbs 15:22)

 

Move in the direction of life, not fear.
Stand on the promises of God, our Savior,
He promised to always be near.

 

If you are feeling “in the dark”,
look up to “The Light”.
Keep your eyes on the one who is invisible,
He will guide you safely through the night

 

Light in the dark

 

 

Tags: , , , ,

My Internet is Evil

1 Sep

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

I probably shouldn’t use the word evil to describe my internet, but the level of frustration it provokes in me leads to dreams of random acts of revenge.  It isn’t the internet itself that is evil, it’s my internet provider. It has no respect or concerns for my needs. Whether I am in the middle of booking a reservation or snagging a sudden opening  on a promotional site, it does not care. It will drop me faster than an egg in an egg and spoon race and as often.

Egg and Spoon Race

 

After a particularly dreadful bout of internet failure, I appealed to the provider on Facebook. Their social media team expressed dismay and distress for my predicament and sent a request to their escalation team asking them  to call me. They did call. I missed it but they did leave a message. It seems I live in a high usage area . No consolation of an impending improvement. Basically too bad, so sad.

Now you might be thinking, why doesn’t the woman change providers?  I would love to. BUT we have DSL and it seems that all of the internet in the area runs over the same system. No matter who we pay, the service will be the same. Now that I have grumbled and groused, I need to say that I am grateful and blessed to have internet service, Many families in rural areas have no DSL or broadband internet.

Another thing I am grateful for is my husband’s improving health after two years of decline. This summer he has completed multiple projects and is almost finished with his current one, replacing our entryway stairs.

 

I am working on grousing less and giving thanks more, but my internet service is really testing me!

 

Tags: , , , , , , ,

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →