Tag Archives: #amblogging

An Everglades Adventure~Part 3

8 Oct

A Slice of Life

BIll Lites

Bill Lites

 

That evening after supper, we built a campfire and were enjoying “S’mores” when we heard rustling in the brush around our campsite. Now we were all veteran nature lovers, but, we had heard tales of what kind of critters called the Florida Everglades their home, so were extra 1cautious. As it turned out, it was a mama Raccoon and her three little ones looking for a handout. We tried to discourage the children from feeding them, but you know how kids love furry creatures, and they don’t realize how dangerous wild animals can be. We shooed them off, knowing they would surely be back to try their luck again. It was a fretful night for me since it was a strange place (many of the night sounds were different from those we were used to in our woods at home) and I kept waking up, worrying about the raccoons coming back and trying to get into our food.

After breakfast the next morning, the ladies packed a picnic lunch, we all covered ourselves with sunscreen, and insect repellant and headed off with the canoes to see what we could see. It was a beautiful day and birds of all kinds were everywhere. DiVoran was especially thrilled to get to see her first Rosette Spoonbill and we all were excited to see a nest of Pileated Woodpeckers.

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There were egrets and ducks of all kinds, on the water and in the air, and we had a contest to see who could name the most correctly. Of course, being in the land famous for alligators and snakes, we were constantly on the lookout so as not to be surprised by one of them. By the time the sun was high overhead, we were tired of paddling, so we found a small clearing, beached our canoes, and shared our picnic lunch with the ants, flies and mosquitoes. Then it was time for more sunscreen and insect repellant. We found our way back to the boat landing and decided 25 cents was not too much to pay for a shower.

 

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If you have ever done any camping, have you ever noticed how the mosquitoes seem to attack much more after you come out of the shower? I don’t know what it is about a clean body, but for me, the race is on to see if I can get to the insect repellant before they can find me. Earlier we had seen some very unusually shaped old dead trees not too far from our campsites, so we spent some time scouting the area for driftwood.

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That evening, after supper, we sat around the campfire and Dwayne showed our daughter, Charlene, how to play cords on the guitar. We had another visit from the raccoon family, but they didn’t stay long this time, as the boys chased them off.

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So much for our “Everglades Adventure.” We all agreed this sort of “Primitive” camping was not exactly what we had in mind for a relaxing weekend camping trip. The next day we packed up all our equipment, canoes and children, and began the long drive back to Titusville. Other than being long and hot, the return trip was uneventful (if you can ever begin to call 4 adults being cooped up with 5 kids for 6 hours in a hot car, uneventful). We stopped for lunch and potty breaks, but didn’t stop in Melbourne for my car, since we couldn’t pull both the camper and the car. I would have to make that trip another day, and that is a  story in itself that I will have to share with you some other time.

 

 

—–The End—–

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The Science Project

6 Oct

Author, Poet and ArtistWhen I invited my friend, six-grader, Natasha, to allow me to help her where she was stuck with her reading I never dreamed the connection might morph into that dreaded thing, a science project!

I don’t think I’ve ever done one. I would remember, wouldn’t I? My son turned out to be a scientist (biologist) so I suppose he did one or two. I taught him and my daughter to cook, does that count?

The first time Natasha and I worked on the science project after school was the first day I decided to have decaf coffee for my afternoon cuppa. My brain was totally fried, I was confused and had the beginning of a headache which later developed into a real zinger. In one place Natasha put her head in her hand with her cornrow braids and their big beads hanging down. I thought the gig was up for me.

We did get some things done and another day we worked on it some more, then yesterday I picked her up from chorus and we came to my house. I had my coffee this time. I’m going to have to break myself of it grain by grain, I guess.

Anyhow, we had done some work on the botany-type project. We got our containers, and mediums and she’d written her hypothesis, and her question and we’d read the instructions – goodness how hard they are! I should have only read the numbered topics. Those I understood.

Before she came I was getting that tight feeling in my chest that tells me I’m anxious. Oh, what shall I do. I don’t want to be like this. I prayed. As always I asked God to show me the truth of the situation. The thought came to me that I might as well stop acting like a big-shot who knew everything and tell her I’d never done one before.

As it happens Natasha has done at least three of them. She was undismayed at my confession. I think putting our heads together did help her.

We got it all started, and then we took photos. I showed her how to use the digital camera and the computer to enhance and print them. We’ll take more sets of pictures as time goes on. She will measure the progress of the items ten times over a period of a couple of months. Her mom is going to have a baby soon. We talked about this project being Natasha’s baby and how she’ll have to think about it and write something every day, because that’s was in the instructions. We had fun. We talked about doing some art to go with it. We like to do art. Natasha said she has to do a graph. I nervously asked if she knew how. She described the process to me and then I knew I could lend aid whenever possible, but that she’s going to do a good job and I completely turn loose of it. What a relief.

I think I’ll look up the website printed on the instructions and learn something, http://www.sciencebuddies.org/ We’re on our way.

 

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How We Met~Part 1

5 Oct

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

JUDY

Wow…….to think back all those 56+ years ago to how Fred and I met……..I really have to stretch my memory. Do you know how much fun it is to look back at those times? It’s almost like living them again. I was in my junior year of high school.

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I belonged to a Baptist organization call BHiU – as in Baptist High (school) Union. If you are at all familiar with Baptist organizations on a college campus, you might be familiar with BSU – Baptist Student Union. It was the same thing, just on a high school level. We met in a church not far from my high school, and kids from Baptist churches around the area that went to that school met there before classes one morning each week. It was mostly Bible study and testimonies. Anything inspirational to help us get through the day and week in public school.

Being an officer in my group, I had been invited to attend a BSU meeting on the local college campus – the University of New Mexico(UNM). As we were gathered in the room, I remember someone asking, “Where’s Fred Wills? He said he would be here.” And then someone else said, “He’ll be here – oh! here he is now.” I remember seeing him come in and sit down. That was my first glimpse of him. But I didn’t remember him.

The next year, all of us that were seniors in the BHiU were invited to attend the state-wide BSU convention. It was during a long weekend. This particular year, it was being held in the town of Portales (por-TAL-es), New Mexico, (peanut capitol of NM) about a four-hour drive from Albuquerque. We stayed in a hotel near ENMU – Eastern New Mexico University, and held our meetings in a conference room in the hotel.

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As it turned out, Fred and I rode in the same car together with others from Albuquerque. We all got settled into our rooms and had the first meeting that evening. Then, since Fred’s parents were stationed at Cannon AFB in Clovis, NM, just 18 miles away from Portales, about 10 of us piled into the car and drove that distance, to take Fred to his family’s home. We all then piled out of the car and traipsed into their house, and we got to meet his family.

 

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Oh yes, one little tidbit I forgot to mention – since there were 10 of us in the car – we had to double up. And yep – I sat on his lap all those 18 miles! I think by the time we were at Cannon, I had decided that this was someone I wanted to date!

 

 

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

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An Everglades Adventure~Part 2

1 Oct

A Slice of Life

 Bill Lites

Bill Small Red Plane

 

Well, as it turned out, that engine had died a loud and painful death! Much later, I discovered some of the teeth on the phenolic timing gear had sheared off and left the valves and push rods free to fend for themselves.   Boy, what a scary racket that was! Well, since the car wouldn’t run, Dwayne had to tow our dead car, with us and our camper off the Interstate, to the closest campground. What a mess! Here we were, not an hour into our great Everglades Adventure and we were stuck with a broken car.

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 However, not to be deterred from our original goal, we spent most of the that day setting up for our overnight stay in a nice campground there in Melbourne, after which we had to locate, purchase and install a bolt-on trailer hitch for Dwayne’s car. We arranged with the campground owner to leave my car until I could come get it, and transferred everything from our car to theirs. Now we had 4 adults, 4 children and a baby in Dwayne’s car with two canoes strapped to the top, and also pulling our tent camper. What a site that was when we pulled out of the campground and headed south again the next morning.

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Since I-95 ended north of Miami back then, we had to use county roads for the last 45-50 miles before we made it to the entrance of the Everglades National Park.   Then it was another several miles to the Flamingo camping area. With no A/C in the car, it ended up being a grueling 5-hour trip (counting lunch & several potty stops). Then we had to get checked in at the Everglades campground, and find our campsites in the sprawling camping area.

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The grassy campsites had paved slots, which made camper and tent setups very easy. We had a picnic table for each campsite, which we put together for our meals. After we had eaten, we went exploring to find the closest restrooms. We found them, and also discovered that for a shower we were going to have to drive 3 or 4 miles to the closest bathhouse, and then pay 25 cents for water. We would have to think about that. We were used to swimming in the fresh water springs and didn’t usually need showers.

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—–To Be Continued—–

 

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Do You Read Self-Help Books

29 Sep

My Take

DiVoran Lites

 

Author, Poet and ArtistIt’s confession time. Raise your hands if you like to read self-help books. I see not many of you have them up. Mine would be, though, if I didn’t have to keep my fingers on the keys. Yep, whether it’s The Power of Positive Thinking, by Norman Vincent Peale, or How to Win Friends and Influence People, by Dale Carnegie, I love a good, well- written, intelligent self-help book. Some of the more modern ones I’ve read have been Inspired and Unstoppable, by Tama Kieves, and A Course in Miracles, which, not knowing that it majors on Jesus Christ and His Atonement, I avoided for years. I’m so glad I read them all. The list would reach all the way back to Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand, and The Feminine Mystique, which patrons recommended when I was working as a stylist for Magic Mirror Beauty Salons in Inglewood California.

Even now, I could give you the central idea from each book because they changed my life for the better. When I was a young mother I read Dr. Spock. I lived in that metropolis which is Los Angeles and had no one to tell me what to do with a brand new baby. In subsequent years we heard a lot of complaining about that one, but not everyone who criticized it had actually read it. Our children turned out so well, I was grateful for it. When I became a Christian I liked Dr. James Dobson’s books on child rearing. I’ve read books on psychiatry and psychology, religion, and Christianity, cooking, and cleaning. I’ve read How to dress, how to write journals, poems, novels and memoir. I couldn’t begin to tell you all the books I’ve read.

One that really stands out is, A Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life, by Hannah Whitehall Smith. I’d recommend that one to anyone who wants to live a truly happy Christian life.

Long ago, I decided that I needed a standard for all these books. Oh, it wouldn’t matter, maybe about the cooking ones, but I wanted a solid philosophy to measure ideas against. I decided on the Holy Bible and it has never failed to keep me on track. I’ve read it over in many different translations and in different ways, such as topical studies, memorization, verse comparisons, and as straight story.

I majored for a semester to become a media specialist so I could work in a school library. It seemed people in the library world did not believe in censorship. That was a change for me, because I’d always been told in one way or another which books I could read and which ones I couldn’t. Books exist that could lead a person in the wrong direction, that’s for sure, but in general, I’m now of the opinion that I can read what I want because my wants are lined up with those of the Master.

I can’t imagine where I’d be if I hadn’t had all those wonderful and interesting books to read. It has been my major education and I’m deeply grateful for the much needed healing they have brought to me and to the ones I love because they have changed me for the better.

The one thing I’m seeing now is that I can read synopses and blurbs and decide whether I need that book or not. For a while, I was interested in various religious practices that show you how to live in the present, how to seek angels, etc. But I’ve found a wonderful secret now, I can short circuit all the hard work, study, meditation, that comes with that sort of thing and just ask Jesus to tell me the truth about anything and he puts thoughts in my head that because of my acquaintance with the Bible, I know are true, right, and good. These thoughts set things straight for me in a miraculous way and I thank the Lord Jesus Christ and His Spirit for being there for me.

 

John 8:23

You will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free

 

Surfers

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Daddy an Me

28 Sep

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

JUDY

 

Our family moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, when I was nearly four years old. We moved so my Dad could take on the position of New Mexico Sunday School Secretary for the New Mexico Baptist Convention. He traveled a lot around the state, either starting up new Sunday Schools in churches in other towns, or encouraging the existing Sunday Schools. It was a job he absolutely loved to do, and was very good at it.

He was also responsible for setting up what were called “summer missionaries.”. That is, college students from around the state would come to Albuquerque to be “trained” in conducting Vacation Bible School, and then would go to different churches around the state for a week or so doing just that. It was a life-changing time for a lot of those college students – as well as for the children they interacted with.

The New Mexico Baptist Convention headquarters was in Albuquerque, and that’s where Daddy’s office was.

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All of the leaders (called Secretaries) of Baptist interests were in that building. One lady, Eva Inlow, was involved with women’s ministries. Her father had been quite involved with Baptist work in the state for many years, and he had established a summer camp for children/young people in the mountains about two hours out of town. They named it after her father: Inlow Youth Camp. I spent many summers there, usually anywhere from two to four weeks each summer. My brother said he did, as well. It was a great place to have fun and learn stuff, and get close to God. I have so many fond memories of my time there.

In going through some old photos recently, I came upon the following two pictures, taken at Inlow. It was in 1949 when Daddy and I were on this horse. Unfortunately, I don’t have any memory of it. But, obviously, Daddy and I took a horse ride together. Looks like we were both having fun together! He grew up on a farm, so I suspect he knew how to handle a horse.

Daddy and me on the horse. Mother in the doorway behind us

Daddy and me on the horse. Mother in the doorway behind us

 

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While I don’t have any memory of this event, I do have some wonderful memories of being at Inlow Youth Camp. I remember meeting new people there. I remember as a teenager going with a group of other teens from my church. I guess we, essentially, grew up at that camp. The mountain scene was great – the air was fresh and clean. And it was a great time just to commune with God and get our heads on straight.

God has blessed me in so many ways, but being able to go to Inlow Youth Camp was one of the best.

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You Are Unique

26 Sep

From My Heart

Louise Gibson

Balderdash Mirth copy

 

 

God created you to be YOU!

He is the one who gave you talent.

He is the one who gave you lifel

When you struggle to be another,

it will only lead to strife!

 

Trust in the Lord with your whole heart.

He wants the best for you.

When you are doing what you love,

God is saying “Yes” to you.

 

Don’t let failure define you.

Hold on to your vision.

Ask the Lord to guide you

in making the right decision.

 

When you are doing what you love,

it excites your inner core.

It energizes creativity

and allows you to do more.

 

Keep in mind, your biggest cheerleader

in life is you..

Choose a positive attitude in reaching your goals,

and watch your dreams come true!

 

When You are doing what you love

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My Husband Threw My Frying Pan into the Fire

25 Sep

Frying pan burning in the fire copy

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

I'm a winner

 

My husband threw my frying pan into the fire. Well, to be accurate, he threw two frying pans into the fire. You might think he was swearing off of fried foods and choosing to eat healthy, but nothing could be further from the truth. His idea of eating healthy is if it tastes good eat it.

The “frying pan incident” began back in the summer when my aunt Geroleen came to visit. I was getting ready to scramble eggs and pulled out my cast iron frying pan that had been my mothers. My mind flashed back to washing up my aunt’s frying pan on one of our visits with her. That frying pan was smooth and a thing of cured beauty. I was a bit embarrassed by the bubbles of built up burned grease on mine so I asked her how she kept her pans free of crud. Her answer was culinary shock and awe. She throws her cast iron frying pans into a fire! I questioned her on just how that worked and filed it in my mind. (It’s like a steel trap, you know-Ha-ha)

Weeks passed as I mulled this bizarre idea. I decided I had to try it, so I told my husband the next time he burned brush, to let me know. I wanted to add my pans to the fire.

On Monday it was a beautiful cool morning with very little wind. Mike announced it was time to burn some brush. Now burning brush is not a chore for my husband. He loves burning wood and tends the fire while practicing whittling with a water hose by his side. My ears perked up. “Wait, I said. I want you to burn my frying pans” Since he has lived with me for forty-three years, he didn’t even hesitate. When the fire was all set, he took the pans and put them on top of the heap. He said the pans literally caught fire as the grease burned. As the wood burned down, the glowing pans fell into a nest in the ashes.

Once the pans were cool, he brought them up to the house and I began the job of scrubbing them with steel wool. I was thrilled with the smooth sides and inner surface Once that was done; I washed them, coated them with oil and put them in a 180-degree oven for an hour and a half. After they cooled again, I used paper towels to wipe out the remaining oil.

The downside to this story is the pans look so nice, I don’t want to mess them up again.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

When I searched the Internet for ways to clean cast iron, this method was not listed. It’s an “old” method. Do you have any cleaning or cooking hints from the old ways that you use today?

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An Everglades Adventure~Part 1

24 Sep

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Bill

 

After moving to Florida and becoming an avid Florida Natural Springs campers, we began to encourage our close friends to go camping with us. We told them how much fun it was and how great it was to get out and be one with Nature.   Florida has some of the most beautiful tropical State and National parks a person could ask for, and we had become determined to visit as many of them as we could.

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One day our friends, Dwayne and Jenny, expressed an interest in going camping with us. Well, that’s all we had to hear and we began planning our next trip. DiVoran had always wanted to visit the Florida Everglades, and since we had no other suggestions, that’s where we finally decided to go. In the early 70’s, the Everglades National Park was advertised as Nature at its best, with camping, hiking, canoeing, animal and bird watching and more. Well, we thought it would be a great adventure to camp at the southern tip of Florida and enjoy all those wonderful features. The part they left out of their colorful brochure was how primitive the area was.   

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As I remember, at the time, Dwayne and Jenny’s three children were about 12 months, 3 and 6 years old, and our two children were about 8 and 10 years old. We planned to use our small pop-up camper as a base camp while their family slept in a large tent that would hold all of them. We each borrowed a canoe for the trip, and we packed all our food and equipment in our camper. We had a 1960 Chevy Biscayne that I drove back and forth to work and used to pull the camper.

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Dwayne and Jenny had their tent, and all of their family provisions loaded in their car, with their canoe strapped on the top.   We had everything loaded, packed and ready for an early morning start. The best I remember it, Dwayne and I had taken Friday off, and since we were both off work the following Monday for (I think it was) Columbus Day, we were looking forward to a nice long four-day weekend to enjoy our Everglades Adventure. So, off we went the next morning as early as we could to get everyone moving.

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We headed south on I-95 looking forward to a wonderful relaxing trip.   We were breezing along at 70 mph, with great anticipation about our upcoming adventure, when just as we were approaching SR-192 in Melbourne (only about 40 miles from our starting point), the engine in our car suddenly made a loud clattering noise, and the engine quit. I had no idea what could have happened, but all I could do now was to safely get off the highway and coast to a stop to check it out.

 

                                                            —–To Be Continued—–

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Getting More Than You Give~Part 2

22 Sep

My Take

DiVoran Lites

Author, Poet and ArtistVolunteers from large organization help a large number of people. But not everyone is in a position to do that. That makes me wonder if a seemingly smaller contribution has less importance. When I think of Denisha, I know the answer is a simple no.

Some members of Danisha’s family are in jail. Some have been shot. There’s not a lot of money in the family. Danisha, however has a job. She works hard, even though she has gone through multiple surgeries as the result of an automobile accident. Denisha seems to be the guardian angel of a family of cousins and sisters and their children. One girl-child is under guardianship with Danisha now. She has brought others to church for many years. Several of them have invited Christ into their lives.

My little Sunday School class has a different number of these children attending almost every Sunday. I like them a lot! They remind me of the child I was, and the kids I knew in our small, plain community in Colorado long ago. Danisha says that her grandmother brought her to church and her uncle who is an elder in our church included her in family get-togethers. She had her troubles as a young adult, but she came into the love of Christ and it made all the difference.

Danisha, often brings edible treats for our Sunday School refreshment time. A few Sundays ago she missed most of the church service to go after hamburgers for the seven kids who attended our class that day. Last Sunday she headed out for pizza. Before she left, she asked the children what kind of pizza they wanted. The verdict was: one pepperoni pizza and one cheese. We were all hungry and excited.

While we waited, we had rhythm band and singing. Then Mr. Lites prayed for them. Next as I searched through my store of books for the right story I came to a Jack Prelutsky book of poetry. “Oh, I hope this is, A Pizza the Size of the Sun, I thought. It turned it was not only the book, but the poem of the same name appears on the first page. I picked it up and read with great feeling about a great pizza while the children listened rapt and salivating. Then I recalled that this was a “lesson,” so I said, “God is even better than pizza!” It might sound a bit lame, but given the fervor in the room when pizza was mentioned, I thought the idea just might seep into their little minds and lodge permanently in their brains.

A lot of learning takes place on the woodsy play ground outside, so we went out there to play on the swings and wait some more. We learn sharing, kindness, love, obedience, and maybe a bit of race relations. When we first got there we found a few frogs the size of the my thumbnail jumping around. Nature is always a part of our curriculum so we looked them over and one of the boys picked one up. Finally Danisha came with the pizza confessing that she had eaten the missing sliver as she headed back to church. We sat at picnic tables and dug in. Yum! That pizza was delicious! The kids ate and ate, we were all happy, but I suspect that the person who got the most joy out of the experience was Danisha.

Yes, there are many different kinds of volunteers, from people who do wonderful things in big organizations and help a lot of people to those who work hard, take on a guardianship, and bring the little ones to Jesus just as He commanded. All kinds of volunteerism gets passed down, all kinds of roll-models are needed.

volunteer

 

 

Psalm 68:6 New Living Translation (NLT)

“God places the lonely in families;
he sets the prisoners free and gives them joy.

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