Tag Archives: #amblogging

An Amazing Surprise~Part 2

29 Jun

SUNDAY MEMORIES

 Judy Wills

JUDY

A few years after we arrived in Virginia, as Christmas was approaching, the wives of the officers were invited to help make up cookie bags for the enlisted personnel who were stationed at that Air Force Base, but would be alone and working over the holiday – unable to go to their respective homes.  We were asked to bake about six dozen cookies (or more), and then bring them to a certain place on a certain day, and a bunch of women would make an assortment and bag them up.  That was something I enjoyed doing, so I set to work.

When the appointed day and time arrived, I went to the assigned place.  As we were working (I didn’t know anyone else there – we were just a bunch of wives working together), one of the women looked at me and said, “Judy, are you by chance from Albuquerque?”  A bit startled, I told her yes.  And then she proceeded to ask if I had gone to Highland High School in Albuquerque.  Again I said yes.

 

 

Then I asked her what her name was.  When she told me her maiden name, I literally had a jaw-dropping moment!  This woman had not only grown up in Albuquerque, but she had lived just across the street from our elementary school.  And, as I recall, I had been in her house.  I had actually known her at some point in my life.  She was two years ahead of me in school.

SURPRISE!!  Amazing!!

After we finished up, I ran home and dug out my old high school year books, and then my brothers year books (he had entrusted me with his books – he had graduated three years before me).  And there she was.

My questions were:   after all these years and worlds apart, HOW did she recognize me?  And how, after all these years, did we wind up stationed at the same AF base?  Fred was in the Weather Wing there, and her husband was commander of one of the flying units, so we had no other connection together.  But it was fun while it lasted.

 

I do SO enjoy these kinds of happenings!!

 

 

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Circle of Love

26 Jun

Thrive

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

I'm a winner

When we left Florida last week, we traveled to Raleigh, North Carolina to celebrate the 80th birthday of my uncle, the youngest brother of my mother. My mother came from a family of twelve children and these aunts and uncles have been a blessing to me as well as to my children. I never doubted their love.

My mother and her ten other brothers and sisters have all passed on now, each one dearly missed. I’m not a poet but I wrote the poem below many years ago as my precious aunts and uncles began slipping away.

 

My circle of love grows smaller

As one by one, they fall,

The molders of my life

The molders of my soul.

 

Once so strong and sure

They led me from child to middle age,

Now they are shrunken, unsure or gone.

 

Still, memories of them-

Their laughter, scoldings and love

Echo in my heart.

 

Looking at those remaining,

My heart is heavy with dread,

They are so fragile, even frail.

I want to cling to them.

 

Yet, they loved me and released me

Allowing me to live my life,

So must I release them to live

A new life with God.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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My Western Trip~Part 8

25 Jun

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Bill

 

The next day I headed out to the Rialto Municipal Airport to visit the Warbirds West Museum, but when I got there, I discovered they were out of business. So, I turned around and drove over to Chino, CA for a tour of the Planes of Fame and Yanks Air Museums. I had visited both of these fabulous museums two years ago, and was looking forward to touring them again to see what kind of new aircraft they had added to their collections. As it turned out they both didn’t open until late in the morning the day I was there, and I had several museums in the West Los Angeles area I wanted to visit. bikesSo, I headed west for Inglewood, CA (where I went to college) but ran into heavy traffic before I could get close to my first destination. It was Sunday, and a bicycle marathon (with tens of thousands of bicycles) was being held that day and was traveling down Wilshire Blvd. causing traffic to be backed up for miles on either side of Wilshire. After creeping along for almost an hour, before I found a place where I could get out of that mess, I was tired, frustrated, and decided to call it a “Wasted Day”- giving up on seeing any museums that day and headed back toward the motel.

 The next morning (Monday) I started out for West Los Angeles again, only to run into more heavy morning rush-hour (stop & go) traffic on the freeways. I said, “The heck with this,” and headed south toward Santa Ana. My next stop was at the John Wayne fuddyAirport to visit the Lyon Air Museum. This was a great experience, as all the museum’s aircraft are in flying condition and all their rare vehicles run. I got a special treat when they towed their B-17G, “Fuddy Duddy” out of the hanger and fired up all four engines. There’s nothing I enjoy more than the smell of a large aviation engine starting up. It’s something about the oil and gas mixture that does it for me. And, here I got to experience the smell of “Four” engines starting! What a thrill.

 Next, I tried to find out about the Aeros Lighter Than Air Project I had heard was going on at the Tustin AFB. Worldwide Aeros is planning to build airships that would be about 500 feet long, with a zeppelin-like rigid structure, ultimately designed to carry loads as heavy as 250 tons, at speeds of more than 100 miles an hour. The object is to use a LTA vehicle to move heavy weights over difficult terrain, without spending a lot of money developing a supporting infrastructure. The idea sounds good, but I keep remembering what happened to the USS Macon and USS Akron back in the 1930s. Come to find out, the only scaled-down prototype vehicle, the Aeroscraft Large Cargo Vehicle (Dragon Dream), was damaged just the month before, when part of the 1942 hanger roof collapsed and fell on it. There was no word as to when or if the project would continue.

blimp

                          

While I was in Tustin, I visited The Marconi Automotive Museum.   This impressive collection features automobiles from around the world, including some very rare Ferrari and Maserati race cars.

Heading south again, I stopped for lunch at Ruby’s Aqua Diner, situated on beautiful North Lake in Irvine, CA. I had one of the best BLT sandwiches I’d ever eaten, and the 50’s music was great. Then it was on south to Vista, CA where I had a nice visit with DiVoran’s brother, David, and his wife Susan. That evening we continued our visiting and enjoyed some mouth-watering Mexican food at Cocina del Charro Mexican Restaurant in San Marcos, CA.

restaurant

                          

 

                                                            —–To Be Continued—–

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Roots

16 Jun

My Take

DiVoran Lites 

 

Author, Poet and ArtistOne day I was wandering in the cleared area behind our house and I came upon a miniature liquor bottle. I have a penchant for bottles, so I picked it up, washed it out, and stuffed a small spider plant into it. The spider plant then proceeded to grow roots. I have a penchant for roots.

Yesterday I had breakfast with a friend who is a professional photographer. We like to talk about our gardens and share cuttings and clippings. I gave her some purple heart.

She gave me some plants, too. When I looked in the succulent’s bag, I saw a long root. “I’m into roots, right now,” I said pulling out a beautiful aloe plant.

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Then she asked the big question. “Why?”

I’m still not sure I can answer it, but I have a book, Finding What You Didn’t Lose, by John Fox CPT. In a chapter called, “Leaving the Roots on Your Writing: Revealing Yourself in Your Poetry.” Fox says, “When I lead workshops and people share their spontaneous poems, one of the first qualities people recognize in the atmosphere of the place…is that there is a deepened level of genuine intimacy. People begin to leave “roots” and “dirt” on their words. This intimacy is first self-honest, which then extends into the group experience.”

As I understand it, roots are the opposite of pretension. Pretension is like a plastic string—it doesn’t grow anything new or nourishing while a root does.

My mother always said, “Make yourself the best you can, and then be yourself.” I was still working on the first part, but I began to see that it was time to bring the second part into play. It seems that one way to start living with the roots is to quit trying so hard. So what if I drop the g’s off words when I get excited? So what if I wear my shorts and no lipstick to Wal-Mart? So what if I ask dumb questions or snort when I laugh? At least I’m laughing. I will soldier on as if it were none of my business what THEY THINK. Like Popeye, I yam what I yam. Ain’t we all?

 

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The First Speeding Ticket

13 Jun

From My Heart

Louise Gibson

author of Window Wonders

 

 

 

This is ludicrous, compared to today.

The first American ever arrested for speeding
was Jacob German, 26, a taxi driver for the
Electric Vehicle Company of New York City.
On May 20, 1899 he was hauled off to jail
for bolting down Lexington Street in Manhattan
at 12 mph in an 8 mph zone.

 

What would Jacob German think now?
Compared with 1899, the pace of life has advanced
to science fiction levels.
We bolt through every hour until the days
become a blur, and the years fly by like a movie
stuck on “fast forward”

 

.
Sometimes, in our rush, we grow impatient with the Lord
because He doesn’t hurry as we do.
Our times are in His hands and His clock operates
at a different speed.
A day to Him is like a thousand years.

 

(2 Peter 3:8 “But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing
that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a
thousand years as one day.)

 

Perhaps you want the Lord to answer your prayer Now,
to provide deliverance “This instant”,
but when we put God on our timetable, it often brings
disappointment.

 

Learn to wait on the Lord, and let Him work at His own speed.
He has a perfect sense of timing, and He knows our every need.

 

From an old anonymous hymn:
” His method is sublime. His heart profoundly kind.
God never is before His time, and never is behind.”

 

 

 

Footnote:
My transportation from age 10 to 21 was a boy’s two-wheel bike-
My father wouldn’t sign for me, so it was either “bike” or “hike”.
I rode with the traffic-, youth has no fear.
My love of speed and adventure did truly domineer.
When I ran across this story, I thought it worth a smile.
According to my memory, I beat him by a mile!

 

Vintage girls bike

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My Western Trip~Part 6

11 Jun

 A Slice of Life

By Bill Lites

Bill Small Red Plane

 

Next, it was over to Simi Valley, CA for a tour of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum. I was impressed with the 24 different galleries, which traced Reagan’s life from his early days as local hero, college standout, glamorous Hollywood actor, then as governor of California, and ultimately to the presidency of the United States. There was even a full-sized replica of the Oval Office in one of the galleries. But, of course the thing that impressed me the most was Air Force One (S/N 27000), also known as “The Flying Whitehouse” and the Marine One helicopter (S/N 150611), both of which Reagan used while President. I asked one of the Docents how they got the plane in the building, and she said, “They built three sides of the new building, took the wings and tail assembly off the plane, so they could bring it in through the fourth opening, and re-assembled the airplane inside. Then they finished the fourth all glass wall. For the full story of how the U.S. President’s airplane got its name, Google “Air Force One.” It’s a fascinating story I think you will enjoy knowing.

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Before leaving Simi Valley, I stopped at the Santa Susana Railroad Depot & Museum to get the history of an early California railroad depot and its operations. This was one of the most unusual and interesting small museums. The depot is an example of what the Southern Pacific Railroad called their Standard No. 22 Depot in 1903. The depot has been meticulously restored with many original furnishings and working equipment, that the Docent uses to explain to visitors how the depots operated in the early 20th century. Today, on what was the old Southern Pacific rails, Amtrak’s Coast Starlight trains head up and down the coast, and the daily Surfliner and Metrolink trains ferry commuters in and out of Los Angeles.

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Now, because of a time constraint, I headed west to Oxnard, CA where I quickly visited the small Mullin Automotive and Murphy Auto Museums. I also visited the Channel Island Maritime Museum, there in Oxnard, where I learned something very interesting about some of the early 17th century Dutch Maritime painters. It seems that some of them painted in such detail that (with a very strong magnifying glass) one can see that each of the distant subjects in the painting has been given details such as a pipe in the mouth, some with a mustache and all with a nose, ears and even eyebrows. The kind of details you might expect in a close-up portrait painting, but not in a battle scene at sea. And, then there were the fabulous model ships, many of them crafted by the Curator/Docent that took me on a tour of the museum. The model ship detail was outstanding! What a great tour.

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Then, to round out the day, I visited the CAF WWII Aviation Museum in Camarillo, CA. This museum is very similar in size and display aircraft to the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum here in Titusville, FL where I volunteer as a tour guide one day each week. They had an AT-6 and a two-place P-51 Mustang, both actively giving rides while I was there, and I got some really good close-up photos of both as they fired up their engines, taxied out with their passengers and took off. I always get a thrill when I hear the sound of a Rolls-Royce Merlin engine at full throttle passing overhead.

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—–To Be Continued—–

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Does Anything Last Until the End

31 May

Walking by Faith, Not by Sight

Janet Perez Eckles

Goodness, spring is almost over and the spring cleaning isn’t done. Nudged by a bit of guilt, I rolled up my sleeves, and began with closets, then drawers. As I tossed out jars of who-knows-what in my bathroom drawer—old tubes of lipstick, creams that probably ended up there from when I was a teenager. But among the junk, to my delight, I found the little bottle of perfume I’ve been searching for for months. It was my favorite for its delicate, yet delicious scent.

 Without hesitation, I popped the glass lid off, brought it to my nose, and the scent was, well, blah. How could that fancy bottle of perfume lose its fragrance?

Visit Janet’s Blog and website Janet Perez Eckles  to read the end of this story.

 

 

 

His Way

 

 

 

 

 

Grateful for the privilege of inspiring you…

My website in English

En Español

My story (video)

Inspirational video  just for you.

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Time is Going By Fast

19 May

1

My Take

DiVoran Lites

 

I’m surviving Bill’s being gone surprisingly well. I’ve only had a couple of moments of wondering what to do with myself. As you know, I enjoy solitude and I love being at home. I’m getting some blogs done and perhaps a bit of de-cluttering, though that isn’t going as I hoped, but who cares?

2Bill’s having fun too. He calls each night and gives me a report of his day’s doings and plans for the next day. It’s cooler in California than it is here, he layers his long sleeved shirt and his jacket. He’s taking notes for his blogs, so we can look forward to hearing all about his adventures.

Jacob is in Japan. He’s having a good time. He’s sending blogs and Face Book entries, though I’m not sure I’m either catching them all OR replying so that he hears back. His mother says the blogs make her laugh and cry. We may be extraordinarily well disposed toward Jacob, but we think he’s an excellent writer with a gift for humor.

Bill will be home on the 16th. By Thursday he had listened to unabridged books on his car C. D. At this rate the seven he took with him in especially purchased holders won’t last. Maybe he’ll get some music on the radio now that he’s near big cities in California and that will make his CDs last longer. He has developed a fondness for classical music. I’m not surprised, though I know he’ll always love Herb Alpert, Jackie Gleason, and Chet Atkins. He has such a good ear for music that when he started to take violin lessons as a child he could play by ear—that is until he fell out of a tree and broke his wrist. Did he really hate practicing that much?

The time is going by fast. I may “let” him go for this long again, though on the way to the airport I told him I wished he’d cut back to seven days. Neither of us has changed since we were eighteen. I always preferred a book, and he always preferred to be on the move. It’s wonderful that at this time of our lives we can pursue our passions while still having good times when we are together.

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I AM Breaking a Big Rule

15 May

Blackberry blooms copy

On the Porch 

Onisha Ellis

I am breaking a big rule of blogging today. I am going to ramble, go off topic, bounce around. I am NOT going to stay focused. Why oh why would I commit this crime? Because I can. Because that is what my brain is doing. So let’s rock and ramble!

 RAMBLE ONE

I enjoy eating boiled eggs. For seventy calories I can grab a God created protein snack. I do not enjoy boiling them and peeling them is even worse. So this Easter when Facebook was filled with posts about baking your eggs in the oven I joined the frenzy and tried. It worked!! They peel like a dream even a week after I baked them! My eggs had a slight brown spot on the egg white but it was very easy to flick off.

Here is the “recipe” and you can visit Unsophisticook! to read the complete story.

 

How to Bake Hard Boiled Eggs

 

Total Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

eggs

ice water

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
  2. Place desired number of eggs in a regular or mini muffin tin and bake for 30 minutes.

Remove eggs from oven and, using a pair of tongs (I like these tongs with rubber tips from OXO), immediately transfer the eggs to an ice water bath. Allow to cool down for at least 10 minutes.

RAMBLE TWO

I have been working my way through book blogger websites, looking for bloggers who would be willing to accept an ARC (advanced reader copy) of Rebekah Lyn’s (otherwise known as my daughter Beck) upcoming release, Jessie. I feel the same anxiety I felt when I left her with a babysitter, sent her off on her first sleepover and drove her to college. Do mothers EVER get over the instinct to protect their children? I am pretty sure I have spent more time praying over my children in their adult like than I did when they were little tykes.

If you happen to be a book blogger or just enjoy reading and reviewing, speak up in comments and I will email you an ARC.

I am humbled and thankful that my BFF Pam has joined the Rebekah Lyn Books team as a marketing and Publicist assistant. Launching Jessie and planning Teas has so many elements to pull together, I was feeling totally overwhelmed.

RAMBLE THREE

My heart has been filled with prayers for a sweet thirteen year old, Kylie Myers who is receiving chemo for a rare cancer. You can visit her Facebook page Smiiey For Kylie. She has had a rough time adjusting to having cancer and the side effects of chemo.

Her dad is author Mark Myers who wrote Virgil Creech Takes a Swipe at Redemption.

When I think of Kylie, I wish she could meet my friend Wanda and her daughter, Allie who has been on a similar chemo schedule with Kylie. Allie shines with joy and confidence in Christ and my faith is made stronger when I see her on Facebook rocking the headscarf or sporting the smooth head style with her brother.

That’s the end of my ramble. There is a lot more in my brain such as why does the male cardinal insist on constantly banging his head on anything shiny, but that is for another day. Our blackberries are in full bloom and the locals say if we get a frost while they are blooming, our winter will be called a blackberry winter. Temps are expected to drop this weekend so we will see, I like blackberry blossoms because they remind me the flower of life is beautiful and even though there will be thorns, the fruit will be delicious.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A Memorable Trip Across The Desert~ Part 1

23 Apr

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Bill

 

 

Our last day in San Diego was December 30, 1957. DiVoran and I were in our shorts and tee shirts loading a 4’x 6’ trailer and our 1950 Mercury Sedan with everything we owned. As usual, I had waited until the last minute to finish the last of the packing and we were working up a sweat trying to get on the road before dark. A thick fog rolled in around 5:00 PM, which made for eerie working conditions. As it turned out, it was almost midnight before we left San Diego, headed for “Route 66” and Albuquerque, New Mexico. The U.S. Navy had given me ten days leave before I was to ship out for Japan, and I was taking DiVoran to live with her parents, and attend beauty school while I was gone.1                                               

The first few hours passed without a hitch, but as we got into the Arizona Mountains, the outside temperature became frigid and the temperature gage in the car crept over toward the “Cold” peg. Evidently, the previous owner of our Mercury had removed the thermostats from the cooling system, and I didn’t know it. Guess what?   No heater. We started covering up with everything we could lay our hands on, but were still freezing cold. As we entered the desert, on the eastern side of the mountains, I noticed the temperature gage had started moving off the “Cold” peg, and was slowly climbing toward “Normal”. That was not a good indication. That’s when I started looking for one of the many “Trading Post/Filling Stations” that were spaced at intervals along Route 66 back in those days.

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Lucky for us, we came upon a “Filling Station” just before the needle reached the “Hot” peg. We stopped to see what the problem was, but the station was closed. We were on our own. Here we were out in the middle of the desert; it was pitch dark, and we hadn’t seen a car on the road (going either way) for miles, and now, no mechanic to help diagnose the problem. Did I mention it was freezing cold?   Well, once I lifted the hood, it didn’t take long to figure

out what was wrong. One of the two water pumps had sprung a leak. What could we do?

The station had a water hose that we used to fill the radiator, and we always carried two full “emergency” water bags slung over the front bumper.

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—–To Be Continued—–

 

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