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Our Trip to Maui~Part 4

13 Oct

SUNDAY MEMORIES

 Judy Wills

 

 After a good night’s rest, we were ready to start our Hawaiian adventures! First off, we went to the Maui Ocean Center – a really neat aquarium and sealife center. We enjoyed everything about it.  Especially the to-life-sized bronze tortoise – with eggs! – near the entrance to the center.

Maui Ocean Center
Life-sized bronze tortoise – with eggs

The center contained all the things one might expect in such a facility – a living reef, a surge pool, a turtle lagoon, a touch pool, sharks, whales, and how the Hawaiian’s related to all of it.  Most fascinating.  We spent several hours there.

3Next, we went into Lahaina proper to see the city and all it holds.  One of the most interesting sights is a huge banyan tree.  It was planted in 1873, and has grown so that it’s limbs cover the entire city center.  Many of the limbs need to have supports so they don’t drag the ground.  It is over 60′ high, and covers more than 2/3 of an acre.  It was planted to mark 50 years of Protestant missionary work in Lahaina.

Next we saw the Baldwin Home.  It was built in 1834 as the home for Dwight Baldwin, Protestant medical missionary to Lahaina.  The house served as a medical office, and the general center for missionary activity from mid-1830’s to 1868.

We saw the ruins of the brick palace of King Kamehameha 1.  The footprint seemed really tiny, but the accompanying legend shows it to be a two-storied thatched building.  So I guess important guests were more impressed than we were.  It was built near 1800, one of the first western buildings on the island, and the bricks were locally made. We saw ruins of the old fort.

We saw the Ko’a Fisherman’s Shrine along the harbor, as it faced Molokai.

Ruins of the brick palace of King Kamehameha 1
Ko’a Fisherman’s Shrine

We went into Lahaina proper and to the waterfront.  A cruise ship was in port that day, and we watched as the ferry brought tourists from the ship to Lahaina, as the port isn’t deep enough for the ship to anchor right at the harbor.

As we walked along Front Street, we saw some young men tossing literally dozens of Mahi-Mahi into the back of a pick-up truck.  Amazing.

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A good day in Maui.  This was such fun for us.  Something we shall never forget.

~~~~~More to come~~~~~

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Our Trip to Maui~Part 3

6 Oct

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

 

The next day, being Sunday, we wanted to attend a local worship service.  There was a Baptist Church in Lahaina, and we decided to attend there.It was a lovely building – without air conditioning, of course – but there were open doors all around the building to let the cool ocean breeze blow through, aided by several ceiling fans.  It was a wonderful way to worship – almost like being outdoors.The people were quite friendly, and we enjoyed the service immensely.

After the service was over, we went to lunch at a cute little deli call The Gazebo.  We later found out that Fred’s sister and her husband didn’t even know about this deli – even though they had been to Lahaina for many years.  We sat at the back side of the deli, and could see the beach all the way around Napili Bay.

After lunch, Dad wanted to show us a sight he had seen before on Maui.  It was call the Iao Needle, and is an “erosional remnant” that was formed by wind and rain.  During war times, it was used as a lookout spot.  There was a way to get up to it – but it had 300 steps to it, so we declined that adventure!

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Home and to bed – as we were still getting over our jet lag.

~~~~~More to come~~~~~

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Our Trip to Maui~Part 1

22 Sep

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

JUDY

Let me start off by saying that, after four years of college, Fred had another 1four years of schooling at the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas.

During that time, his father, a U.S. Air Force Chaplain, 2was stationed at Barksdale AFB, Louisiana, just four hours away from us. We drove over frequently to spend a weekend with them.

After they had been in Louisiana for a few years, dad was transferred to Hawaii. As Fred’s education started coming to a close, we began to think 3about giving ourselves a graduation present by joining them in Hawaii for a visit. We were getting really excited about that prospect.

But Uncle Sam had other ideas! In January 4before Fred graduated in May, dad was promoted again and reassigned to Wright-Patterson AFB, in Dayton, Ohio. It was quite a bit of culture shock to go from tropical Hawaii to winter in Ohio in a few short weeks!

And there went our dream of a Hawaiian vacation! Shucks!

Fast forward about 39 years – boy that really zipped by, didn’t it? Fred’s parents were living in an assisted-living facility in Washington State. They had thought to make a trip to Maui for a week in a time-share owned by their youngest daughter and her husband, but needed/wanted some of the family to be with them to sort-of keep an eye on them. Since Fred and I were retired at the time, we graciously volunteered for that job. Really had to twist our arms to do that, right??!!

Two weeks before we were scheduled to depart, Fred’s mother, already afflicted with Alzheimer’s Disease, had a major set-back. She was placed in the Special Care Unit of the facility, where there were trained staff to care for her.

Since Fred’s dad had been trying care for her by himself – and he was encouraged not to visit her for a few weeks so she would become adjusted to her new home – we decided to go ahead with our plans. Frankly, he needed the rest from all that stress.

So Fred and I flew to Seattle, rented a car and dropped our luggage at the hotel where we would be staying for just one night. We drove to Shelton, an hour’s drive away, and spent the rest of the day with Fred’s mother, father, sister and her husband. We three then drove back to Seattle for the night, as our flight out was quite early the next morning.

In spite of being on the West Coast, the non-stop flight was really long to Maui. We arrived at the Kahului airport in the capital of Maui.

We had arranged for a rental car, picked it up, stopped by the Costco nearby and picked up groceries for the mornings we would be there. We planned on partaking of all the wonderful island foods for lunches and dinners.

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~~~~More to Come~~~~

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Wiesbaden~Part3/Frau Katie

1 Sep

SUNDAY MEMORIES

 Judy Wills

JUDY

When we were headed to Wiesbaden, West Germany in 1967, I was seven months pregnant with our first child, Karen.  It was a long flight over, and she and I were both exhausted.

At that time, the military was assigning each incoming military family a sponsor, to help with the transition from the U.S. to an international country.  Our sponsor seemed to be very helpful through letters (e-mail had not been invented yet).  When we told him we were going to stop in Albuquerque to visit with family before departing for Germany, his comment was for us to enjoy our time there – it was his home, as well.  Hmmm…. Interesting.

He met us in Frankfurt and drove us to Wiesbaden, about an hour down the road, where we checked into our hotel.  He apologized that his wife was not with him (it was about 5:30 a.m.), but they had a small child that was still asleep, and they would meet up with us that afternoon for a trip around the town, and dinner.

After a good nap and shower, we headed out to meet them.  As we got closer to the family, the wife called out my maiden name!!  Turns out, she and I had been in Rainbow Girls together in Albuquerque.  She had even been in my installation ceremony as Worthy Advisor.  Small world.  And small world, indeed, when Fred and her husband found out they had been in some classes together at the University of New Mexico!  It certainly made us feel more at home, having some ready-made friends there.

We had initially thought that we would attend the Chapel on base, but contribute to the Baptist Church in town.  Fred’s father had been an AF Chaplain, and we thought that we would continue that tradition.  However, some of the members of the church came to visit us, and convinced us to join them.  We became quite a part of that group, and never regretted that decision.  We made some life-long friends there.

Karen on Grandma Wills’ shoulder

After Karen made her appearance, we started taking her with us to church. There was a nursery there, that was manned by a lady they called Frau Katie.  I think she really took a shine to us, since I would take Karen down to the nursery and nurse her.  That was when a lot of American women were against nursing their babies, and only using bottles.  In any case, Karen became a favorite of hers.   On one of our last trips before we rotated stateside, we asked Frau Katie to stay with Karen while we were gone.  We later discovered that she was teaching Karen to speak German!  That gave Karen a head-start on German when we returned to Germany 10 years later.

Katie came to visit us when we lived in San Antonio, and we thoroughly enjoyed her visit.  When we returned to Germany 10 years later, we went to visit her in Wiesbaden.  My mother had come to visit us, and she went with us.  Katie treated us to some home-made cheese cake at an outdoor café.  I’m sure she’s gone to be with the Lord by this time.

But we will always remember Frau Katie and Wiesbaden.

Karen and Frau Katie

Karen and Frau Katie

                                                     

 

 

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Our Grandtwins

25 Aug

SUNDAY MEMORIES

 Judy Wills

  

                                                JUDY

 

In previous musings, I have mentioned our “grandtwins.”  I would like to think that I coined that phrase, since I’ve never heard anyone else use it.  But that’s probably rather vain of me to think so.  However, they are our grandchildren, and they are twins.

Our youngest daughter and her husband went through the very expensive InVitro process to have their children.  And we are thrilled with the results of that process.  Our grandtwins are delights to our lives.  There are 15 years between our older grandchildren and our grandtwins, so I’m afraid these cousins won’t be very close to each other, and that hurts our hearts.  However, our grandtwins were both in our oldest grandson’s wedding just a few short weeks ago, and they are all quite familiar with each other.

But the birth of the twins was quite an experience – for us all.  Our daughter (Janet) called to say that the twins would probably be born within a few days via C-section, as she had developed toxemia. The twins would be born about six weeks early.  Fred immediately called and made airplane reservations for us for a couple of weeks out, staying one week.

However, we had a call from our oldest daughter (Karen), that her husband insisted that someone from the family be there for the delivery, it should be at least her, as well as me.  So Fred called and changed my reservation to the following day.  It was to be a surprise to Janet.  Janet called Fred’s cell phone as he was driving me to the airport, and was surprised to hear my voice instead of his.  She seemed quite disappointed to learn that “we” wouldn’t be coming up for another week.  When I hung up, I rubbed my hands together and said, “Oh, this is going to be GOOD!”

Karen flew in first, rented a car, and picked me up at the airport.  We, of course, got lost trying to find the hospital, just praying we would arrive before Janet was taken up to surgery and delivery of those babies.

Our arrival was such fun.  Karen and I had planned it all out on the way.  She would walk into the room first and greet her sister.  Then she would say, “I picked something up at the airport that I thought might make you smile.”  That was my cue to walk into the room.

Well, it worked.  However, Janet hadn’t seen her sister in over a year…..Karen had let her hair grow…..Janet was in pregnancy “fog”….. and she actually didn’t recognize Karen at first.  She said to herself, “I know this person.  Who is it?”  It wasn’t until Karen was at her bedside that she recognized her and exclaimed, “It’s Karen!!”  After they hugged, Karen said her prepared speech, and I walked in.  Opened mouth – Janet was speechless!  I had anticipated hugs and laughs, but instead got hugs and tears.  It was quite an emotional time.

Later, Janet was taken into surgery, and those two beautiful babies were born.  God is good.

God is with you in everything you do.

 

Genesis 21:22

 

 

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West Berlin Part~2

18 Aug

SUNDAY MEMORIES

 Judy Wills

JUDY

         

One of our favorite places to visit in West Berlin was the Charlottenburg Palace.

1It is very like many of the palaces and castles built by German King Ludwig, and part of it was influenced by those structures.  It is built in rococo and baroque style.  It was built in the late 1700’s.  The central area has a large domed area with a gilded nude statue of Fortune as a weather vane.  The grounds are beautifully landscaped, similar to Versailles in France.

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Within the Palace is the Charlottenburg Museum.  One of the most fascinating things in there is the original bust of Egyptian Queen Nefertiti.  We’ve always wondered why the original was in Germany and not England or even Egypt.

In the Tiergarten area of West Berlin (a large public park to the west of the city center) is the Russian Memorial.  It commemorates the 480,000 Russian war dead who died in the Battle of Berlin in April and May of 1945.  Throughout the Cold War, Soviet honor guards from the Soviet occupation zone were sent to stand watch at the memorial.  It is an impressive sight.

5Another impressive sight is the Victory Column, also in the Tiergarten area of Berlin.  It was built from 1864 to 1873 to commemorate the Prussian victory in the Prusso–Danish war in 1864.  The shaft of the monument is made of cannon captured from the enemies. The bronze figure at the top was added later, after further Prussian victories in wars against Austria (1866) and France (1870– 71); so the column marks also the unification of Germany after these victories.  It’s really beautiful.

We had heard of the Congress Halle, and walked past it when our oldest daughter 6and I were in West Berlin with Fred, who was on a TDY (Temporary Duty) back in 1969.  It was built by the Americans and given to the Berliners as a symbol of friendship between the two countries.  Because of it’s unique design – an “open” oyster – it is affectionately known as the “pregnant oyster” by the locals.

While we were with Fred on that TDY, we were staying in a hotel that was miscpart of  Templehof Airport, where the Berlin Airlift originated.  One day, I wasn’t feeling very well, kind of like I was getting the flu.  When I went down to the restaurant, the German server inquired about my health.  When I explained, he said he had just the thing for me – and he brought me a cup of the most delicious lentil soup I’ve ever had.  Mostly broth – nice and hot.  And then he put together a tray of very hot water with several tea bags and had it sent up to our room.  After all that TLC, I was back to normal by morning.

One of our fondest memories of West Berlin is the English-speaking Baptist church we visited.  There was a large group of English-speaking people in7West Berlin, and they managed to find each other and form a church.  All were welcome – including any Germans who might wish to attend an English-speaking service, even if it was more to increase their knowledge of English, than to worship our Lord.  But along the way, they were sure to be touched by the people around them, as well as the Holy Spirit, and perhaps come to know Christ as their personal Savior.

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Our tour and trips to West Berlin were some of the most satisfying of our time in Europe.  Certainly something we will never forget.

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West Berlin~Part 1

11 Aug

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

JUDY

                                                     

 We had some amazing experiences during our times in West Germany.  We saw so many wonderful sights while there.  So much history, as well. One of our favorite cities to visit was West Berlin.  At the time we were there, The 1Wall (Der Maur) was still in place.  And, unfortunately, the Brandenberg Gate was in the Russian Zone, or East Berlin.  We were unable to get close to it.I later spoke to a German 2national who said she just couldn’t imagine living in such an “enclosed” place as West Berlin.  I tried to assure her that it didn’t FEEL enclosed.  The American Zone was quite open and free.  I don’t think I was very convincing.  She just had to experience it for herself.

 3As we walked around the city, we came upon a fascinating piece of old Germany – a very old hand-watering pump.  Apparently, anyone who knew about it, could bring their car/wagon/etc. there and get free water to wash whatever they had – as long as they were willing to hand-pump the water.  Not something you see around the U.S.

My Mother had come to Germany to visit us that year (May 1969) and we delighted in taking her places that I know she only dreamed of ever seeing.  We happened to be in West Berlin during the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Berlin Airlift.    The German people had erected a 4monument to that occasion, and the celebration took place in front of it.  The monument is three-pronged, representing the American, British, and French efforts to keep the free German people from starving and out of Russian/Communist hands.  It was a tremendous success.

Another site that impacted me greatly was in the heart of downtown West Berlin, along the 5Kurfurstendam, affectionately known by the locals as the Kudam, which is the main shopping street in downtown West Berlin.  After the colossal disaster of World War 2, the German people decided to leave a reminder to themselves of the cost of pride and war.  They left standing the bombed-out shell tower of the Kaiser Wilhelm church.  And built right next to it a beautiful and modern new church and church tower.  While the new structure is impressive, it cannot be fully appreciated until one is inside.  The all-glass bricks are a cobalt blue, and with the sun shining through those bricks – well, all I can say is, it’s breath-taking.  And peaceful. And amazing.  And I’ve run out of adjectives already.

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To be continued………..

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A New Beginning

28 Jul

SUNDAY MEMORIES

 Judy Wills

JUDY

 Back in March, there appeared a post on Old Things R New, written by our Grandson, Forrest.  If you want to check it out, it was March 18, and titled So How Did I Do It?  It was about purchasing an engagement ring and proposing to the love of his life.  He’s a great writer.

I now want to tell you the rest of the story – and a new beginning.  Forrest and Alyssa were married on Friday, July 12.  It was a grand event, and well attended.  Parents and Grandparents from both sides of Forrest’s and Alyssa’s family were there, as well as  aunts, uncles, and cousins.

I had teased Forrest last Christmas about being “ticked” at him and Alyssa.  At his “why?” I told him our story.  You see, Alyssa and her family are from San Jose, California.  When they announced their engagement, I began plotting our trip to San Jose and California – back to see all the sights we saw when Fred and I lived there.  And I had wanted, for quite a while now, to take a cruise that went along the California coastline, from San Diego up to Washington State.  I had it all planned out in my mind, and had even begun looking at cruises.

And then the bottom dropped out – they had decided to get married in Wheaton, Illinois, where they met at school!!  NOOOOOOOO!!!  There went my dream cruise!

Didn’t matter that it made more sense to get married there, where all their school friends were.  I wanted that trip to California!!!!  Oh well, this is not my party.

And so we all gathered on Thursday for the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner.**1  Forrest’s sister was to be a bridesmaid.  Our Grandtwins were both to be in the wedding party – Hannah as a flower girl and Connor as the ring bearer.

The dinner was held at The Ivy, a neat old building in downtown Wheaton, that one time had been a funeral home.  Stained glass windows and all.  Lovely.

The wedding itself went off without a hitch.  I was watching Forrest as Alyssa and her father walked down the aisle toward him, and saw his chin quiver, and his eyes get a bit red.  The pastor later said that it was a good thing the music lasted just a little longer, so that Forrest could compose himself!

The party moved to the Morton Arboretum for the reception, where Forrest had proposed to Alyssa.  Beautiful place, and just the right setting for the occasion.

And then the newly married couple was off to Cancun for their honeymoon.  Forrest was eager to show Alyssa some of the spots we all had seen on a cruise together.

And a new beginning starts…..

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Aunt Jess’s Plates

21 Jul

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

JUDY

My Aunt Jessie was quite an interesting person. She was my Mother’s only sibling, and was what we used to call an “old maid.” She never married, and my granny lived with her. And because Jessie didn’t have children of her own, she rather doted upon my brother and myself. Most of the time that was a good thing….sometimes it got me into trouble with my parents.

She was an excellent bookkeeper. I have pictures from an album she put together that showed her with friends from “E.B.S.” which I took to be Enid (Oklahoma) Business School. She and my mother both were taught penmanship and had beautiful handwriting.

She and Granny moved to Albuquerque in 1952, into a wonderful house that I loved. I think I spent nearly as much time there as I did at my own house. It was only about 10 minutes away from our house.

She worked as the bookkeeper for an office supply company in downtown Albuquerque for many years. But, looking toward retirement, she thought she might open up a “collectibles” store, and began purchasing collectible plates and figurines. She had flowers, and especially Norman Rockwell scenes.

1After she retired from bookkeeping, she just never really did get that store up and running. But she had – literally – hundreds of plates! They were still in their original boxes (a must for collectors!), and were in very good shape. But she really loved those plates, and rather pined over them. After Granny died, all she had left were her “things” to give her pleasure. So my Mother took many of the plates and hung them all around on Jessie’s dining room walls. There were flowers and Norman Rockwell all around.

After Jessie died, we were encouraged to take of hers what we wanted. I had enjoyed quite a few of the plates, myself, and have them today.2

Jessie got quite a chuckle out of the one I liked that was of Mrs. O’Leary’s cow – you

3remember – the one who supposedly started the great Chicago Fire?

But one that I especially enjoyed was a comfortable scene of an older couple, seated together on a couch, feet on footstools, with a cat laying before them. It reminded me so much of Fred’s parents, that I gave it to them. They hung it in their home for many years. As a matter of fact, our youngest daughter had asked, “why are Grandma and Grandpa on that plate?”

When they down-sized into an assisted-living facility, they gave the plate back to me. I have it now hanging on the wall, just above a picture of Fred’s parents. The resemblance is really remarkable.4

When Fred’s sister and her husband came to visit once, I mentioned this story and showed them the two – plate and picture. Their comment was “oh my!” They couldn’t believe it either – it was as if Fred’s parents had modeled for Mr. Rockwell!

My brother took some of the plates, but most of them were sold at the estate sale we held following Jessie’s death. We just didn’t have room for all those plates. Just another piece of my history that I wish I had room to keep.

 

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AEROBICS AND HEARING AIDS

14 Jul

SUNDAY MEMORIES

 Judy Wills

JUDY 

 I have been an “exerciser” for many, many years of my life.  As a matter of fact, I began jogging more than three months before I shamed Fred into jogging with me. We’ve never stopped doing something in the way of exercise.

 So it came as no surprise to me to find an “aerobic dancing” class beginning shortly after we arrived in Heidelberg, West Germany.  One of the military wives was teaching the class.  I took the class and loved it!  The interest was so great that she wanted to have a partner to help teach – and she selected me.  I taught the remainder of the three years we were in Heidelberg.   This was our logo and color.

During that time, there was one lady in my class who always stood in the front row and to my right (I was facing away from the students).  As we conversed, I thought she had a speech impediment.  After we got to know each other a bit better, she told me that she had been born with some hearing loss.  She wasn’t totally deaf, but enough so that she couldn’t hear the way most words were sounded.  That explained her speech.  But she had hearing aids that helped her so much, and she could understand all the cues I shouted out in the class.

As interesting as all that is – to me anyway – that’s not the end of the story.  We returned stateside and began our life in Virginia.  Our oldest daughter had met her 2future husband while in high school in Heidelberg (his father was our American pastor), and he had returned to the States to attend college – where she was attending, of course.  They married a few years later.

One evening, around Thanksgiving time, I received a call from our son-in-law, saying that, on their way to see his parents in South Carolina, our daughter had fallen asleep at the wheel and they had crashed.  I was furious that he would only say that she was “in with the doctor” and wouldn’t give me any more details – like…..is she still alive???!!!

I asked if he wanted us to come and take them back home (they were only about an hour from their apartment).  He agreed.  He then said, “wait, here is the paramedic who will give you directions to the hospital.”  This young man came on the phone and gave me the directions – with the very same intonation that my aerobic student had!!  I knew at once that he had hearing loss, and not a speech impediment.  And, by God’s grace, I was able to understand every word he said – the first time!  No repeats.  God had prepared me, all those years ago, for that very moment, when I would need my wits about me, and to understand this young man’s instructions.

I could end the story there – that is the main thrust of it – but I want to tell you of God’s gracious hand in all this.  You see, when our daughter fell asleep, the car drifted, and our son-in-law looked up and screamed, which woke her, and she drastically over-corrected.  That caused the car to roll several times.  Amazingly, there were no other cars around them – just down the road a bit – no other cars involved in the crash.  There was an off-duty ambulance behind them that stopped, and the paramedics gave aid.  They could have rolled off a bridge and crashed onto the road below them – but they didn’t – they just rolled to a stop on an embankment.  While the car was totaled, our children only suffered a few cuts and bruises.

Our God is loving and faithful and gracious, indeed.

O Lord, you will keep us safe and protect us…

Psalm 12:7

 

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