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Fred Remembers~Part 11

4 Nov

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

 

Back to our stay at Tyndall AFB, Florida.

 

Photo credit WJHG.com
Credit Google search

We were there from summer of 1951 through the first of February of 1955.  I attended 6thgrade at Cherry Street Elementary School.  From there I went to Jenks Junior High School. [It was spelled Jenks when I attended, but now it looks like it is spelled  Jinks, don’t know why]

 

                                                                                                          Credit Google Search

 

Jenks was a new school that year, and had been planned for 750 students.  The first day there were 930 students attending. They had to quickly put up portables for some of the classes.  I had my health class in one of them.  I attended Jenks Junior High School for 7th,8th, and 9thgrades, and one semester of 10thgrade at Bay High School.

 

Credit Google Search

 

We lived in the house at 107 Cove Lane, as I recall, until sometime in 1954. Then, because of Dad’s job, they wanted him to live on the base.

Charles wrote:  …Tyndall became for me the longest assignment in the Air Force.  I was the senior chaplain at Tyndall during the period 1951-1955 and, as such, the Base Chaplain.

 

Chapel, Tyndall AFB, Florida

 

So we ended up getting quarters on the base, out on what they called Beacon Beach. It was an old, old , fairly small house, right on the beach, maybe 50 or so yards from the actual Gulf of Mexico. There was some protection there, because out about a mile or so there was a sand bar.  I remember that Mom and Dad and the girls lived in the house, as it was just a two-bedroom house.  And out in a separate building – a detached building or shed – which had two fairly small bedrooms and one really tiny bathroom.  That’s where Larry and I lived.  I had one end of the building, which was away from the door and it kind of slopped down a bit, but it was big enough for a bed and a small chest of drawers. Between my room and Larry’s room was a small bath with a shower.  Larry’s room was just barely big enough to have a bed in it.  He also had the door that went out.

One of the interesting things about living out there by the beach was that, out in the water there was a lot of grass growing, about 8″ or 10″ tall grass.  I would wade out about waist deep and, if you were careful, either with bare feet, or preferably with some old sneakers, you could step on scallops.  So I could go out there and in maybe an hour or so could pick up a whole bucket full of scallops, probably 3″-3½” in diameter. I would take them back to the beach where I had a hose, away from the house, and we could clean out the scallops right there, take out the muscle of the scallop, put them in a separate bowl, take them back in the house, and we would have fresh scallops for supper.  If we got tired of scallops, we could wade out with a spin-casting reel and catch Spanish Mackerel

 

Atlantic Spanish Mackerel – Credit Google Search and Wikipedia

 

and occasionally King Mackerel with a spinner.

 

King Mackerel – Credit Google Search

 

Once in a while we would even get a Flounder, if we let the bait fall to the bottom.  So we enjoyed that.

Flounder – Credit Google Search and Diane Rome Peebles

 

It was probably a four or five mile trip from the house back to the main part of the base.  We rode the bus in to the schools.  We enjoyed our stay out there at Beacon Beach.

 

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

JUDYJudy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years
Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing.
Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.
After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.
She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins.
She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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When life seems empty

3 Nov

Walking by Faith, Not by Sight

Janet Perez Eckles

 

When life seems empty.

 

Reblogged November 3, 2018

As the airplane landed during my last trip, I got a little sad. The lady who sat beside me during the three-hour flight became my friend. We talked and shared and laughed. We exchanged business cards and pledged to keep in touch.

Hey, that’s my bag!

The plane landed. Passengers filed out and stopped only to grab their luggage from the overhead compartment.

Suddenly, my new friend jumped to her feet, “Hey that’s my bag!”

She dashed down the aisle after the innocent thief. I assume she caught up and claimed her suitcase.

We’ve all done the same. Unexpectedly, something or someone takes something we value, something that belonged to us, something that leaves us lost without it.

And when we’re left helpless, empty of what was essential to us, we want to either scream with pain, fade into sorrow or turn to anger. Often, it’s all three.

There’s good news.

The good news is that God knows our helpless feeling. He sees our loneliness. And He watches the emptiness that fills our nights.

That’s why, in Psalm 103, He provides that which nothing or no one can take away:

No one can rob our hope for healing if we remember all God’s benefits-and He who forgives all our sins and heals all our diseases,

No one can rob our path to triumph because He redeems our life from the pit and crowns us with love and compassion.

Nothing can snatch our expectation for good things because He satisfies our desires with good things so that our youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

No one can steal our strength when facing attacks because the LORD works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.

Nothing can take God’s love from us because the LORD is compassionate and gracious; slow to anger, abounding in love.

Nothing can remove His forgiving nature because He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever.

Nothing can take His comfort from us because He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him.

No one can take away the cleansing of our soul because as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

Life becomes rich again.

And when there are no more tears left to cry, we can give up what we lost, but we can never lose what God gives.

That’s when life becomes rich again. That’s when life shines with hope and when our life turns the page to begin a new chapter.

Let’s Pray

Father, in the loneliness of the night and the emptiness of the day, my heart will sing of the richness that your promises bring. In Jesus name.

What will fill your emptiness today?

Hey friends…

Christmas is not far, and wonder if you have considered the best gift you can give—encouragement for difficult moments.

My second book, Simply Salsa, written in an engaging, friend-to-friend style shows the simplicity of finding joy even when life hurts. Your copy waits for you here:

Janet

______________________________________

Did you know I wrote a book filled with words of encouragement, uplifting thoughts and illustrations of real-life triumph to empower you? Its title, Trials of Today, Treasures for Tomorrow: Overcoming Adversities in Life. You can get it HERE.

CLICK HERE for a one-minute inspirational video.

Looking for a speaker for your upcoming event? A great speaker makes the difference between a so-so event and one that shines with impact. I invite you to view one of my two-minute videos HERE.

Please share: Feel free to share Janet’s posts with your friends.

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Today I Choose Your Consolation

2 Nov

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

 

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Edisto Get Away Part 3

1 Nov

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

 

Day Two

 

The rain we expected yesterday arrived during the night and we awoke to heavy rains. We turned on the local news to see when the storms would move out and were surprised to hear the weather person state that the rain was the result of outer bands in Hurricane Michael! Our daughter studied the radar and declared the weather person was wrong as there were a lot of unsettled air in the Atlantic and our rain was an off shoot of that. She is kind of a stormy weather geek.

We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and she was right, the rain cleared out around 11 am. We decided to explore the island and find the private beach cabana owned by the resort. Oh well, we are at the beach so of course, I should expect to get wet feet! Fortunately the inside was completely dry.

 

 

 

I love beach pictures with sea oats. I’m not sure why, maybe memories of childhood vacations at North Carolina beaches with my family, but they touch a soft place in my heart. It was still windy but not enough to make the sand fly and sting.

 

 

We older folks sat in the provided loungers while Rebekah roamed the beach with her camera. The sun came out and I began to wonder if leaving the sunscreen at home was a mistake. I generally don’t sit out in the sun for long, but it was so relaxing, I didn’t want to head for shade. Rebekah was wearing a flowing vest and the wind was whipping it around her. I got the silly idea to do a Facebook live video, pretending to be doing a live weather report and poke fun at the “enhanced” broadcasts that occur during hurricanes. I was the announcer, Rebekah in her flowing vest was the reporter barely able to stand against the wind and Pam was the person walking behind the reporter with no problem.  It was fun, but some people thought it was real and I am sorry if we caused them unwarranted concern.

 

 

The walkway that led to the beach was lined on each side by large rental properties. One had the tiniest pool ever and the sign cracked me up.

 

WARNING NO LIFEGUARD ON DUTY

SWIM AT YOUR OWN RISK

 

 

We spent the rest of the day exploring the island and visiting some shops and a nice book store. There aren’t a lot of restaurants on the island but the name of one intrigued me. The SeaCow Eatery. It had good reviews and we decided to give it a try. The restaurant isn’t large but it had a nice menu and the food was delicious. The deserts were homemade and tempting but we all passed.

 

 

On the way home we picked up some bottled water at the Bi-Lo. It seemed the least we could do with Hurricane Michael on the way and the weather people predicted tropical storm force winds to move in over night. It’s kind of hard to know how to storm prep in a resort. We had debated cutting the trip short, but Michael was between our location in South Carolina and Florida where Pam and Rebekah live. My husband and I would have had to go west to the mountains, crossing the path of the storm. We “hunkered down” as did most f the vacationers at the resort.

 

Shameless mama plug. The sequel to my daughter Rebekah’s novel, Jessie is available in eBook on Amazon for pre-order. The release date is November 6, 2018.  Jessie is a coming of age story of a young boy growing up obsessed with becoming an astronaut and is set in our hometown of Titusville, Florida. Several of Jessie’s antics were taken from her father’s youth. The sequel, Destiny’s Call picks up on Jessie’s life as he struggles to make his impossible dreams come true.

 

 

 

Jessie was supposed to be a single novel but according to Rebekah, his story just would not end. In the near future, the title will be changed to Undaunted and the series will carry this tagline:  A Jessie Cole Novel

If interested you can find all of her novels on Amazon https://amzn.to/2SB1Tnn . They are also available for Nook, Kobo and Ibooks.

 

 

I'm a winnerAfter my retirement, I decided to re-learn the canning and preserving skills I learned from my mother but hadn’t practiced for twenty years. I titled the blog Old Things R New to chronicle my experience.  Since then I have been blessed to have six other bloggers join me, DiVoran Lites, Bill Lites,  Judy Wills, Louise Gibson, Janet Perez Eckles and Melody Hendrix

In addition to blogging, I work as the publicist/marketer/ amateur editor and general  “mom Friday” for my author daughter, Rebekah Lyn. I also manage her website, Rebekah Lyn Books  where we frequently host the best in up and coming authors.

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Edisto Get Away Part 2

25 Oct

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

 

AFTERNOON DAY 1

After we left the tea plantation we needed some lunch. We had decided to head to Charleston’s historic district so I checked out restaurants along the route. I found a sandwich place, The Southern General Restaurant on John’s Island, with “don’t miss this” reviews and it was a hit. It was small, maybe seating for 20. The menus were book like, with wooden boards for the covers. The menu was diverse and the food freshly cooked and delicious. The only sad part is that my husband and I are eating low carb and we would see each order stacked with home-made fries leave the kitchen!

After lunch we headed into the historic district and looked for parking. It needed to be close to where we would be exploring as our party are not great walkers.  We ended up at a church parking lot that explained if we were late returning to the lot they would boot our car! That kind of took the sparkle off my excitement.

We headed for the market area where vendors and crafters offer their wares. It was a warm day and I was happy to stroll through it in air-conditioned comfort. After we left the market, our daughter found this courtyard and we sat awhile to rest and cool off.

 

 

We still had some time remaining on our parking ticket so Rebekah led us down to Waterfront Park. The wind was brisk near the water and I loved it. I’m weird that way.

 

Photo credit Photo by Joel Mott on Unsplash

 

In the distance we could see Fort Sumter but it was too late in the day for us to tour it.

 

 

Waterfront Park is also home to a famous pineapple fountain:

 

The history of the pineapple explains the popularity of one of the most iconic, photographed spots in town. Visit the Pineapple fountain at Waterfront Park while sightseeing, or after a lovely dinner, as it’s a treat to see any time of day. If you visit the park during daylight hours you can snap a picture of the Charleston harbor behind the fountain, and as soon as the sun sets you can behold the pineapple lit up and glowing against a gorgeous starlight sky. The fountain is a landmark for many visiting the Charleston peninsula, and is a must-see experience.

According to Hidden Charleston dot com  pineapples are the symbol of southern hospitality. I would enjoy seeing it at night with the lights glowing.

 

I could feel the time ticking down on our parking place so we didn’t linger long. I didn’t want us to have to rush our walk. We made it back to the car with time to spare. We had planned to return the next day but Hurricane Michael changed our plans.;

 

I'm a winnerAfter my retirement, I decided to re-learn the canning and preserving skills I learned from my mother but hadn’t practiced for twenty years. I titled the blog Old Things R New to chronicle my experience.  Since then I have been blessed to have six other bloggers join me, DiVoran Lites, Bill Lites,  Judy Wills, Louise Gibson, Janet Perez Eckles and Melody Hendrix

In addition to blogging, I work as the publicist/marketer/ amateur editor and general  “mom Friday” for my author daughter, Rebekah Lyn. I also manage her website, Rebekah Lyn Books  where we frequently host the best in up and coming authors.

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Today I Choose “I Get To”

19 Oct

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

 

A friend posted on Facebook yesterday, her choice to focus on the positives in her life. One example being, her husband did not receive a full pay check for the week. She chose to be thankful for having a pay check.  This morning I read this in Jesus Always by Sarah Young,

“Make the effort to replace your “I have to” mentality with an “I get to” approach. 

 

 

Anyone want to join me in falling

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Edisto Get Away Part 1

18 Oct

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

 

October 4th, my husband and I began a shortish road trip. I had made the decision to leave my laptop at home and it was odd, but refreshing to not travel with my computer. My fellow bloggers had submitted their post in advance so the only posts missing were mine! I was ok with that.

Our first stop was outside Raleigh, NC to visit with family. Most of the extended family had chosen the same week to vacation so, I missed seeing a lot of them, but enjoyed the ones there. We had plenty of good old southern food to eat. I am pretty certain that eastern North Carolina has the best cooks in the country.

 

 

Our next stop was Edisto Island, South Carolina. I know technically it is an island but I’ve seen  longer bridges on the St. John’s River in Florida.

 

 

The wooded drive along back roads to Edisto was pleasant and I enjoyed catching glimpses of unique stained glass windows in even the smallest of churches. I could imagine horse-drawn wagons hauling their crops along a rutted road.

Our plan was to meet our friend Pam and daughter, Rebekah at the resort. They drove up from Florida. Our timing was perfect and they Pam was already in the check in process when we arrived. We were relieved to discover that our home away from home for the next three days had a working elevator. We were on the third floor and not looking forward to hauling our “stuff” up the stairs. I say stuff because we can’t see, to travel with just luggage. There’s a snack bag, bags to hold things I forgot to put in the luggage… you get the idea.

Restaurant choices on the island are limited and we were tired so we opted for rotisserie chicken from the deli and salad. Easy clean up meal then coffee and conversation on the porch until bedtime.

The next morning after a quick breakfast we headed to our first place on our to do list, Wadmalaw Island and the Charleston Tea Plantation. It wasn’t far tp Wadmalaw Island, as the crow flies, but since we couldn’t fly over the marshes, it took a little over an hour. From their website:

 

This is the home of Charleston Tea Plantation teas – nine very special flavors of tea, including our original American Classic Tea.  This is the only brand of tea in the world that is made exclusively with 100% tea grown in America.  The Plantation sits right off Maybank Highway. Driving down Maybank is like taking a step back in time. Wadmalaw has not and cannot be commercially developed, therefore much of the land remains untouched.

 

 

On the porch of the gift shop Waddy the Frog sits with his cup of tea, available for any single ladies who haven’t met their quota of kissing frogs before they find a prince.

 

 

We purchased tickets for a trolley tour of the plantation and it was informative and fun with a guide who knew his history and how to add humor to his spiel.  The tea plants looked like ordinary shrubs and I would never have identified them as tea plants if I saw  them in a garden. The leaves are not harvested by hand as this is a small operation and would require many hands to pick it. Instead, they have a specially built harvester that is set to pick a defined depth.  They kind of look like someone used a gas hedge trimmer on them.

 

The most surprising fact I learned is that the whole process, once the leaves arrive at the processing center, is automated. The production staff has only 4 members. The gift shop has more staff!

After the tour, we shopped in the gift shop and took pictures. I loved the large oak tree by the entrance. It reminded me of Orlando, Florida in the 60’s before Disney World.

 

The weather was threatening rain but we decided to continue to historic Charleston. Hurricane Michael was stirring up the weather and we were not sure the next day would bring good weather. I will write about that next time. Meanwhile, here is a picture that we found interesting. This homeowner isn’t taking any chances on the surrounding marshes flooding.

 

 

 

I'm a winnerAfter my retirement, I decided to re-learn the canning and preserving skills I learned from my mother but hadn’t practiced for twenty years. I titled the blog Old Things R New to chronicle my experience.  Since then I have been blessed to have six other bloggers join me, DiVoran Lites, Bill Lites,  Judy Wills, Louise Gibson, Janet Perez Eckles and Melody Hendrix

In addition to blogging, I work as the publicist/marketer/ amateur editor and general  “mom Friday” for my author daughter, Rebekah Lyn. I also manage her website, Rebekah Lyn Books  where we frequently host the best in up and coming authors.

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Take Time to Abide

16 Oct

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

 

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It’s Vacation Time

4 Oct

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

 

I have the most amazing team of bloggers. They never miss a deadline and even send posts ahead when I am going to be offline.

I love them!

 

There won’t be any Fall color in this vacation but I hope to get some sand in my shoes and enjoy leisurely cups of morning coffee on balconies over looking the ocean. I’m expecting some interesting blends of tea to be a fun part of the adventure.  Hopefully I will return with some fun pictures to share. Until then,

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm a winnerAfter my retirement, I decided to re-learn the canning and preserving skills I learned from my mother but hadn’t practiced for twenty years. I titled the blog Old Things R New to chronicle my experience.  Since then I have been blessed to have six other bloggers join me, DiVoran Lites, Bill Lites,  Judy Wills, Louise Gibson, Janet Perez Eckles and Melody Hendrix

In addition to blogging, I work as the publicist/marketer/ amateur editor and general  “mom Friday” for my author daughter, Rebekah Lyn. I also manage her website, Rebekah Lyn Books  where we frequently host the best in up and coming authors.

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The Blessing of Service

2 Oct

This poem was printed on the back of our monthly church calendar. Are you like me, feeling at times, inadequate to serve other? Or do you feel discouraged that through age or health that you can’t serve others or even accomplish the daily tasks as you once did? Take heart, God has a plan for you to serve. Share love, be an encourager! 

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