Tag Archives: Series

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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Our Trip to the UK~Part 12

19 Feb

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Bill Lites

Bill Lites

 

We rode the train as much as we could, when going into London, to avoid the traffic and the parking problems.  We did all the tourist things like visiting the Tower of London, examining the Crown Jewels, and touring Madame Tussauds Wax Museum, where DiVoran did a comedy number with Charlie Chapman, sang a song with Pavarotti, and met Queen Victoria.

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 The original Tower of London was built by William the Conqueror in 1078, after the Norman Conquest of England and was a constant symbol of the oppression inflicted upon London by the new ruling elite.  The Tower went through several phases of expansion, during the 12th and 13th centuries, mainly under Kings Richard the Lionheart, Henry III, and Edward I.  When we visited the Tower, we were impressed with the guards and their special uniforms.

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I wanted to take a ride on the Channel Tunnel (Chunnel) to France, just for the ride, but we didn’t have enough time to cram that into our busy schedule of things to do.  Coming back from our London adventures one evening, we couldn’t get a seat in the “No Smoking” car of the last train going to Crawley, and had to spend the hour-long trip breathing the second-hand smoke from what seemed like every person in that closed train car.   The smoke was so thick, you could almost cut it with a knife.  Did you remember, it was also freezing cold outside, and we couldn’t open the train car windows?  Well, we both almost died from smoke inhalation before the train arrived at our destination in Crawley.

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Remember the couple we met at Dove Cottage (Part 7) who invited us to their home for tea?  Well, we rode the train to Canterbury and had a delightful time with them over tea and crumpets.  Professor Wainright had taught at the University of Kent at Canterbury, and was now retired (having been made redundant).  He and Mrs. Wainright were now enjoying traveling and meeting tourists from many countries like us.  He expressed the attitude of many of those we had met in Britain on our trip when he said, “We want you to know how much we appreciate all you “Yanks” did by coming over and helping us fight the Germans during WWII.

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The next day it was time to turn in the rental car, and join the hundreds of people at Gatwick airport trying to find our way to the Delta ticket counter, the Duty Free store, and finally to our departure gate.   Outside the terminal, we saw a couple British WWII Veterans, dressed in all their finery and ribbons, passing out poppies to passersby.  What a heart-rending sight that was!  DiVoran and I, along with most everyone walking by, wanted to give them a donation to help whatever cause they were supporting.

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The flight back to the U.S. seemed to take a lot longer than it did coming over; I guess because of the Jet Stream headwinds we encountered.  Delta treated us to wonderful meals, a movie and everything we needed for that trip, except a bed.  I always find it hard to sleep on those long flights, even when they turn off all the lights and I fall asleep during the movie.  We changed planes again in Atlanta, did the Customs routine, and then we were finally landing in Orlando, Florida, where our daughter Charlene and her husband Ron picked us up.  Another 45-minute trip to Titusville, and we couldn’t wait to see our “Home Sweet Home” with our wonderful beds.

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So ends the adventures of “Our Trip to the UK”or at least as much as I can remember.  I would have to take the 5th if you asked me if this was all there was, or if that was exactly how it happened, but these were some of the most memorable parts of the trip, and  DiVoran and I loved every minute of it. 

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—–The End—–

 

 

 

 

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Our Trip to Italy-Part 1

6 Mar

A Slice of Life

 Bill Lites

Bill

 It was the Winter of 1999, and our friend Marsha was in the middle of an 18-month TDY assignment with Disney in Porte Marghera, Italy as part of the group supporting constructionof their second Disney cruise ship, the “Wonder.”  Marsha was a longtime writing friend of DiVoran’s who had worked for Disney on their first Disney cruise ship, the “Magic” and was very familiar with the surrounding Italian area.

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She asked DiVoran and I if we would like to come visit her, as she had plenty of room for the both of us, in the rented apartment she was living in at the time.  She also mentioned that she could take some time off, if we came, and escort us around central Italy to see some of the many interesting and historical sites that area of the country had to offer.  Since I had accrued enough Sky miles with Delta Air Lines to get free round-trip flights for both of us, we thought, “This could be an opportunity of a lifetime!”  It didn’t take much arm-twisting to get us to agree to go, and we started making reservations.  The next thing we knew, were on our way.2

 Our first stop was in Milan.  After a one-hour bus ride from the airport to the Metro station, we took a 30-minute underground train ride to the town center, where we had lunch at the Autogrill.  Once we found our small quaint Hotel Speronari, we had a nap and our first laugh of the trip.  DiVoran spotted the “In case of fire” instructions on the back of our hotel room door; it read “Remain in a quiet and calm mood, walk on your fours, and protect your nose and mouth with a damp handkerchief.” What a hoot!  But then, how silly that would sound if I tried to say that in Italian?  After a cup of tea, we were ready to venture out to see some of the sights of the city.

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Our hotel was just one block off the city square, which was surrounded with elegant shops, filled with beautiful jewelry, furs, and luxurious fabrics.  Every third woman was wearing some type of fur coat.  We had never seen so many fur coats in our lives.  The Duomo (cathedral) in Milan’s, city square was a must see, and we were properly impressed.  It is the third largest Duomo  in Europe and took 500 years to build.  It is beautifully decorated inside with 52 Sequoia columns, each 150 feet tall, and as many as 2000 carved statues gracing the outside.

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A Japanese couple, who had just been married, were in the process of having their pictures taken in the Piazza Duomo among all the pigeons and tourists.  What a sight that was.  After that, we got directions on how to get to the Castello Sforzesco, which was built in the 15th century and houses Michelangelo’s unfinished Rondanini Pieta.

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 Back in the city square, we strolled the streets looking at the many fresh fruit and vegetable stands.  Then we came across a candy store where their fruits looked so real we couldn’t believe it, and sure enough, they weren’t, they were Marzipan.  What a surprise!  Of course, DiVoran had to have some, and boy were they good.  They were so unusual that we brought some home and kept them in our freezer for years.

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    —–To be Continued—–

 

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