Our Trip Across America-Part 2

17 Oct

Last week BIll began a series, Our Trip Across America. He picks up this week with his transition from tent camping to a pop up trailer. Onisha

A Slice of Life

  Bill Lites

The camper was an older 6’x10’ unit I bought from a friend at work.  He told me it was in good shape, but had been sitting in his driveway for a long time.  This was a very basic house shaped square box camper with gas for a stove but no electricity. We had to use Coleman lanterns for lighting and we took a small three burner Coleman stove in case we had a gas stove problem or needed to cook outside for some reason. The camper had a small fresh water tank, but the water had to be pumped into the sink with a hand pump.

Everything had to fit within the camper footprint as the tent portion opened straight up to a peak running fore and aft.  The small gas stove, sink and counter top were on one side, with an office size “ice box” (remember, no electricity) under the counter.  On the other side was a small fold down table with bench seats for four people.   My wife slept on the twin bed that ran across the front with storage under it, and I slept in the other twin bed that ran across the rear with more storage underneath.  A swing-away bunk bed was pinned into each of the fore and aft upright tent supports and that was where the kids slept.  It was a very compact arrangement.  When folded down, everything was flush with the top sides of the camper and a canvas cover over the top, was secured in place with ropes.  This did not allow anything to be carried on top of the camper, so all our clothes and personal items needed for the trip had to fit inside the camper.

I spent many hours on maintenance on the camper and on our 1968 Ford 10-passenger station wagon to make sure all went well during our trip.  Knowing we would be traveling over some mountainous roads, I had installed a transmission cooler for the engine. I had packed tools, spare oil, transmission fluid, and fan belts for the car, and extra jacks and spare wheel bearings for the camper in case we had any emergencies.  The two seats in what we called “the back-back” of the station wagon faced each other, so I built a small wooden table to fit in that space where the kids could sit and read or play games when they got bored with the scenery.

 

 

 

 

 

My wife loaded the camper with all the creature comforts we could think of, including our fresh water tank filled with the best drinking water anywhere.  Finally, all was ready, so we arranged for a neighbor boy to take care of our dog and off we went.

 

 

 

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“Heaven is a Wonderful Place…”

15 Oct

I am especially pleased with this offering from DiVoran. It made my soul lilt. Today I am blessed to be undergoing a cornea transplant because someone  chose to give a stranger sight. I am humbled and do not take lightly the gift. I pray my donor is enjoying a” wonderful place” and I pray for comfort for their family. Onisha

My Take

DiVoran Lites

“full of glory and grace, I want to see my Savior’s face, ‘cause heaven is a wonderful place.”

When I was about four years old, I lived with my family in Crowley, Colorado, and I played with a little boy next door almost every day. One day when I was going over to his house I saw that the sidewalk continued and became a stairway. My friend’s mother was walking up it away from me. I called out to her, but she didn’t turn around. Sometime in the next day or so Mother told me the lady had died and I thought without emotion of any kind, “Oh, she was going to Heaven.” That’s absolutely all I can tell you except that I have never in my life had a doubt that Heaven exists and that I’m going there. Of course, since then I have been grateful to have an opportunity to take the step, which would guarantee it. When looking for a picture for this blog I saw something like the stairway again. I suppose someone else has seen it too.

Today I read in Streams in the Desert that a Christ Follower, who had a short time to live on this earth, looked at a mountain and said, “I may not see you many more times, but mountain, I shall be alive when you are gone, and river, I shall be alive when you cease running toward the sea.”

Fancy that. Have you ever seen the Rocky Mountains? We will outlive them all.

I’ve done some thinking and reading about Heaven, but unfortunately my imagination balks at the grave. Right or wrong here’s what I believe.

I believe the crystal sea runs down from the throne of God.

I believe the walls are made of precious and semi-precious gems and the gates are made of pearl.

I’ve heard about the mansion next door to Jesus in a song.

I would imagine that if something is special on earth, like love, it will be a million times more wonderful in Heaven.

We could take all the small things that give us happiness and multiply their effects. For instance, I have a calico cat with soft fur and a loud purr crowding me as I write. One day when I sneezed, she even acknowledged it with a prrrt. I thanked her.

Looking at the garden I see lavender plumbago flowers and yellow orange cosmos backlit by the morning sun.

Yesterday Onisha came for tea and we prayed together and spoke in sweet communion. Both our days were better because of that friendly interlude.

I don’t mean to leave out family, I can barely express how much mine means to me, and though there is no marriage in heaven, I believe again you will love each person there a million times more than you could the best spouse and children on earth.

I wonder about projects. What work, what projects will we have in Heaven? We’ll be making music, for sure. Will I have a beautiful singing voice and be able to play the harp without working up calluses? God must store up absorbing and enjoyable tasks for us or he wouldn’t have given us a need for satisfaction through a job well done.

This I do not believe. I don’t think we turn into angels when we die. I don’t think we are reborn as cattle or even humans again, thank God. Hebrews 9:27

It’s probably better that I don’t know what Heaven is like. I might yearn for it too much and miss out on all the joys available to me in the now. I am content to wait, but still, sometimes I wonder.

“Whoever lives and believes in me (Jesus, the incarnation of God) will not ever die.”

John 11:26

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Kitty

14 Oct

MEMORIES

Judy Wills

My mother-in-law was a gem. She was funny, cute, elegant, classy, down-to-earth, loved to laugh, and welcomed me into the family as a daughter. Of course, it didn’t hurt that I married her first-born.

Her name was Charlotte Emily, but I had never heard anyone call her anything but Kitty. Occasionally a niece would mention “Aunt Charlotte” but that’s about it. She rapidly became a second mother to me, and I loved her.

I was always curious as to where the nickname “Kitty” came from, and found it to be a most interesting and amusing story. In her own words:

“…when I was in 7th or 8th grade, I was given a nick-name, Kitty! This came about in the winter when we were skating on a small lake in Monroe, New York. My sister Eleanor told some friends about an episode when we were living in Windham, New

York. Our Mother and her three daughters were enjoying the evening sitting on our front porch, when a small black and white animal came creeping up the front walk. I began calling, “Kitty, kitty” and started down to pet him or her. As I got up my Mother said, “That’s not a cat – it’s a skunk!” Well, luckily, it turned and ran away without leaving the usual odor we associate with skunks. That winter when we, El and I, were skating, El told this story and from then on everyone on the ice began calling “Here Kitty, Kitty!” And I’ve been called Kitty every since!”

Mystery solved! I’ve heard similar stories before, but not where the name stuck.

Her father was a Scottish Presbyterian minister, who immigrated to the United States from Scotland during the Potato Famine in 1910. I remember her saying that she loved to hear the bagpipes play – it really got her blood up to a good boil!

She was devoted to her husband and their four children. Being a U.S. Air Force wife, she moved and traveled frequently. She had a flair for decorating, and her home was always elegant yet comfortable. I remember the story of how, in 1947 after World War II, her husband was assigned to an installation in Italy. He went over first, and then she made the trip with those four children in tow – ages 8, 4, and 2-year-old twins. She was a brave woman! They lived all over the world – many places in the United States as well as Italy, Japan, and Hawaii.

She was a great cook. She taught me to make turkey stuffing the “New England” way – with bread rather than cornbread. She taught me to make German Springerle Christmas cookies – the best I’ve ever eaten!

She loved to have fun, and was a bit of a cut-up. I will always remember her with me on the beach in northern California, dancing barefoot through the wet sand and kelp.

She left us in 2010, after about 10 years of dealing with Alzheimer’s disease, and so she actually left us many years before that. I miss her, still.

John 14:27

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Speak Up Saturday- Grizzly Encounter

13 Oct

Speak Up Saturday

 Patricia Franklin

 

A couple of years ago our grown family members reminded us we never got to take family vacations when they were little, as we had a business and were always working. So we decided it was time. We coordinated our vacation time and decided to make it a trip to Yellowstone where most of us had never been. We took two cars and off we went.

On our first day into the park, I realized that wherever there was a group of cars stopped there was usually wildlife to see nearby. After a couple of stops behind umpteen cars, we barely got to see anything. Then we were driving along, rounded a curve and saw a group of cars and people standing by the side of the road. We were able to pull off the side of the road and stop.

So we all got out of our cars. I followed my son and said, “Let’s go up to the front of the crowd, as I am too short to ever see anything.” So there we were at the front of a crowd, close to a steep ravine and about 50 feet from the edge. Suddenly a park ranger, who was in the middle of the road to our left, and on the curve of the road directing traffic, started yelling, “Get back in your cars! Everyone back in your cars now!” Well, I did not see anything, but knew something was coming, and I was bound and determined I was not going to miss it this time. So I stayed where I was and actually took a couple of steps forward. Suddenly I saw directly in front of me a grizzly head pop up over the ravine. At that point, I quickly turned around and…. I was the only one there! Everyone had already made it back to their cars. I hightailed it as fast as I could, dodging between cars to get back inside our vehicle before I ever looked back.

In the meantime, my daughter was out on the road near the park ranger and could see what was coming up the ravine. She was in a safe place and close to their car, so she focused in on the bear family. As she brought the image in closer, she saw Mama Grizzly followed by her two small cubs, and at the top of the ravine there I was waiting for them to come over the top. She screamed at me, nearly losing the camera, but did manage to get the two babies and part of the mama bear in the picture (enclosed). After we were all safe and the bears had crossed the road she snapped two more pictures you see here. Mama bear was not concerned about the cars and people all around her that day, but only finding food for her family. I am glad I was not part of that.

It turned out to be a wonderfully exciting trip for all of us, with many adventures, and we were rewarded with the beauty of nature in all its wonders.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Away

11 Oct

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

Today is the last day of our cruise. I am sure we have had a good time and have eaten too much. I have been “disconnected” for  four days and hopefully it was not too painful for me. It is odd how attached one can become to their friends on social media.  I know for sure that being able to “talk” with people from all over the world has enriched my life.

Our trip across America-Part 1

10 Oct

A Slice of Life

   Bill Lites

                              

In 1974, I was between jobs and decided it would be a good time to take the cross-country family camping trip I had always wanted to do, to show my family the wonders of America while visiting friends and relatives along the way.  The planned route was from Florida through the Southern states visiting relatives in Louisiana and New Mexico.  Then it would be on to Southern California to show the kids where they were born, visit my wife’s brother and some friends. We would then head up the California coast to Fort Bragg about halfway to the Oregon border, to visit my wife’s folks.  We planned to come back across the middle of the U.S. visiting relatives in Colorado and see the wonders of America’s heartland.

As a little background, we had started our Florida camping experiences years before with friends at the Alexander Springs Campground using two-man pup tents.  As you may know, most pup tents have no floors, and only a drawstring to close the entry flaps.  It didn’t take us long to discover that mosquito netting over our sleeping bags was not the answer to keep from being eaten up by all those many pesky insects.

Then we tried using the 9’x9’ canvas tent and equipment my family had used, to go hunting in New Mexico. (That was when I was a teenager, and in a desert climate where things seem to last forever).  My folks had not used the tent or camping equipment for years and had shipped them to us for our use.

 

Well, after our first camping trip with that equipment, I guess the humidity got to everything, because all the tent stitching rotted, the tent fell apart, and the stove and lantern rusted beyond repair.

So we upgraded to a newer 9’x12’ tent that worked for a while, until after one cold rainy night in the North Carolina mountains, we woke up with the whole tent floor was covered in about 2” of water.  We were up off the ground and dry in our not so comfortable army cots, but nothing else was.  It was not long after that trip, that we decided to buy our first tent camper.

 

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My Love Affair with Chocolate

8 Oct

 

My Take

DiVoran Lites

I’ve been lying on my potato couch listening to Julio Iglesias sing and eating 72% dark chocolate. I can’t tell you if it’s Ghiradelli’s or Lindt, because I broke up both bars and put the squares together in a plastic box. I can tell you it goes down like nothing else I can think of.

Sidelight about Julio I met someone who knew him. She ran a bed and breakfast in England. We stayed there. She and some of her friends were hard-core Julio groupies and had somehow got into riding in his bus whenever he traveled around England. She said he gave her a hug once. I gave her a hug the morning we left, so does that mean…?

But back to chocolate. It all started with Eskimo Pies when our parents owned a small restaurant in Colorado. We called them Milk Nickels. It sounds healthy and the price was good. I was fond of Hersey bars with almonds in them. Then I progressed to peanut clusters. I could eat a bag in an evening along with about six coca-colas. That was when I was a hairdresser in the Los Angeles area. I eventually dropped the cokes, but stuck with the peanut clusters for a long time.

After I had my first child, I had to start thinking about losing weight so I read everything I could get my hands on and kept up with the chocolate. When I discovered dark chocolate, I was in paradise, especially dark chocolate wrapped in foil with almonds.

Eventually though I learned that I could have one dark chocolate after lunch and one after dinner if I didn’t eat pies, cakes, cookies, etc. As long as that was all the dessert I was going to have I figured I could afford good chocolate.

One time my son’s family gave me a tidy little box of Godiva chocolates tied with a ribbon. We were eating out and I offered everyone a piece of the chocolate, but someone said we should save it for after dinner. Why? Your palette works better if your stomach isn’t full. By the time we had eaten I couldn’t bring myself to offer again. I reasoned that they had given me the candy at great cost and it would be ungracious to give them all away. Besides, three out of six of them didn’t like dark chocolate. I didn’t dare take the chance they’d change their minds. They said I could do whatever I wanted with them so I kept them. I’m not proud of that. Most grandmothers would have shared. Anyhow, that’s the way it is with affairs, sometimes you just don’t have the sense God gave a goose. Drug addicts and alcoholics are the same way, or so I hear.

 

Psalm 34:8

 

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THE CONCERT VIOLINIST

7 Oct

MEMORIES

 

Judy Wills

 Sunday Memories

July Wills

 

We had not been in town very long – less than one year – when we found the church where we felt God wanted us to be members.  Six months later, I was the Church Secretary.  I found the atmosphere to be absolutely pure, compared to secular jobs I had held.

Our Senior Pastor was a delight – what you saw was what you got.  A great preacher as well as a tremendous pastor to the flock.  Wonderful to work with.  He considered us co-workers, not boss-employee.

He was very mission-minded – always looking for ways to encourage our congregation to be aware of how they could be missionaries, and lend support to those actually serving on the mission field.

Each year he proposed to have a Mission Conference, with missionaries speaking about their particular field.  He tried to incorporate those from North America, International, State, and Local missionaries.

One year, he was given the name of a woman who had defected from the former Soviet Union, Bulgaria, in fact.  And not only would she be speaking, but she was a concert violinist – First Chair in the Moscow Symphony Orchestra, and later, after her defection, First Chair in the Los Angeles Symphony Orchestra.  She had earned five music doctorates.  We were suitably impressed with her credentials.  She agreed to come, but required a piano accompanist.

As neither our church pianist nor organist wanted to undertake this requirement, I volunteered.  She sent me the music I needed to play and I began practicing every spare moment.  I was really beginning to feel intimidated by the music – not completely sure I was capable for the task.  But the day arrived, and so did our violinist.  I was shaking in my boots!  I was convinced she would see how inadequate I was to even THINK about accompanying her!  But we practiced together and both seemed satisfied we could complement each other.  My only hope and prayer was that I wouldn’t mess her up too much!

Her testimony was jaw-dropping and spell-binding!  She told how each person in her church in Bulgaria only had ONE PAGE of the Bible – and yet it was enough for them to come to know Christ.  She is the only surviving member of her family.  Both her parents and her brother (pastors) gave their lives for the Gospel.

And then she played for us.  What a command of that instrument she had!  She made it positively SING!  It was such a joy to accompany her.

We became friends from that experience – and other years she came to continue her message to us.  Even though I knew she had professional accompanists, she told me she was always happy to have me accompany her!  She could tell that my heart was in it.  She is a very gracious lady.

Violinist

Violinist (Photo credit: Arturo-)

Psalm 33:3

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A National Zoning Law?

4 Oct

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

This past weekend we made a quick trip through Florida, Georgia and North Carolina. We traveled back roads and interstates and I noticed something odd. We are one month away from a major national election and we saw no political signs for the presidential race. At first I thought maybe there was a national zoning law that I missed hearing about. This theory didn’t fly when we were on back roads and I saw signs for local races.  During the whole four-day weekend, I saw two bumper stickers, one for each party. So this  led me to do some questioning.

My first question involves passion. Have we as Americans lost our passion for our country? Has the ongoing financial crisis moved us to apathy? Maybe we don’t believe it matters who we elect.

Another explanation could be technology. Have we moved beyond signs, billboards and bumper stickers because everything we want to know is on our smart phones?

Finally, are we so passionate about this election we are spending our time “stealing” the opposition signs as fast as they are being put out? One of my family members put out a sign at the entrance to her neighborhood and it promptly disappeared. To date, in my small town I have seen only one sign for a presidential candidate. I have to admit  in the past I have been sorely tempted to steal a few political signs. Some candidates really irk me but this is what America is about, everyone having the chance to voice their opinion and to support whomever they choose.

Now that the presidential debates have begun, will we see more signs? I hope so. It seems every election is “the most important” ever. This may sound like crying wolf but I don’t believe it is. This election season many people are participating in Forty Days of Prayer. I think maybe we should have been doing this for every election.

I would love to hear from you, what is happening in your town?

2 Chronicles 7:14

Bumper sticker car parked in Santa Cruz, Calif...

Bumper sticker car parked in Santa Cruz, California. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

John F. Kennedy Bumper Sticker - NARA - 194067

John F. Kennedy Bumper Sticker – NARA – 194067 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

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My First Real Cruise

3 Oct

A Slice of Life

 Bill Lites

 

After joining the NROTC in Albuquerque, NM at age 17, I spent the first six months going to weekly indoctrination/training  meetings, getting medical checks, shots of all kinds, and generally being bored with the whole thing.

When it came time for what the Navy called an annual Summer Cruise, my first “Cruise” was two weeks of Boot Camp (Basic Training) at the San Diego Naval Training Station.    

We learned many cool things, like rescue swimming, fire fighting and gas mask training, but it was mostly two weeks of long days and hard work.

In those days, when you signed up for any branch of the military, you were in for “The Duration”.  None of this, “Oh I made a mistake and want out” stuff went on then.  Well, it seems, I had gone to Boot Camp during the Navy’s 1956 fiscal year, and now that year had ended and we were into the 1957 fiscal year. So, I asked my Company Commander if I could take my 1957 Summer Cruise now instead of waiting till next summer.  He was agreeable to that idea and cut me a set of orders for my first “real” Summer Cruise on the USS Gurke (DD 783) out of San Diego.

I was thrilled and amazed when I first went aboard that ship, to find that there were other reservists like me on board.  At first glance, there didn’t seem to be room to do anything, as every available inch seemed to be packed with essential equipment.  Of course, I found out real quick how much empty space there really was, once a mop or a paintbrush was put in my hands.

 

 

 

 

I discovered in the Navy, the smaller the ship the better the food because there are fewer men to cook for.  The food was great on the Gurke, and I looked forward to every meal.  However, that wasn’t the case with some.  I thought we were lucky during this cruise, because the areas of the ocean we did our maneuvers in was very calm most of the time, so I got my sea legs quickly.  But, there were others who were sea sick from the moment we left the dock, and never did get over it.  That was really bad for them, because we stayed out at sea for week at a time and only came back to San Diego for the weekends.

 

I had never thought I would enjoy sea duty, but the two weeks we were at sea ended up being a fun trip for me.  As it turned out, I spent almost two years at sea going around the world on ships and never did get seasick.  That included crossing the North Atlantic in a huge storm, which had waves coming up over the bow of the aircraft carrier I was on.

 

But I did almost get “seasick” after the second week at sea on the Gurke. When I walked down the streets of San Diego the whole city seemed to be rocking back and forth.  That along with the sights and smells of a tattoo parlor I went into with a friend, nearly cost me my dinner that first night on liberty.

 

Scripture:  Psalm 107:29 (English Standard Version)

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