Tag Archives: Travel

Tumbling Angels and The Leaning Tower

23 Mar

SUNDAY MEMORIES

 Judy Wills

                                                     

Judy Wills

 

I essentially grew up in one town.  Okay, I was born in Dallas, Texas, but we moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico when I was nearly four years old, so….  From that standpoint, my Mother was rather surprised that I “adjusted” so well to a military life.  Of course, that wasn’t what Fred and I had planned when we met and married, but God had other plans that were infinitely better than ours.  Fred did promise me that we would “see the world” when he proposed to me.  Little did we know how that would transpire.

But I have to say that I really enjoyed military life.  Except for my brother being in the U.S. Navy for a while, I really wasn’t exposed to military life until I met Fred – or more specifically, his family.

So it came as a bit of a surprise when he joined the Air Force.  They sent us to California, then to Germany – something beyond my wildest dreams.   I really loved being in both of those places.  I still have a fondness for California, but don’t think I would like to live there now.  But Germany………..WOW!  We enjoyed it so much that Fred requested – and was granted – a second tour there.

While we had many adventures in Germany, one of the last things we did was to take in the Oberammergau Passion Play.  Magnificent!  From there, we drove down to Italy.  We went to Venice:

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St. Marks Square (Piazza San Marco) with
St .Mark’s Campanile

We went to Florence

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St. Mary’s Cathedral

We went to Trieste where Fred’s family lived following World War 2.

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Miramare Castle in Trieste

He showed me the building where they had lived.

via Carducci #2 - they lived in the "mezzanine"

via Carducci #2 – they lived in the “mezzanine”

 

We went to Pisa and saw the Leaning Tower and the church and baptistry.  Amazing!

The church and the leaning tower – it REALLY leans
The Baptistry

 We had been told about a little shop in Pisa that had some unique alabaster, marble and composition pieces, so we went to shop.  Our informants were correct – the merchandise was wonderful.  We purchased two marble lampstands.  We purchased some alabaster “fruit.”  And we purchased a set of composition tumbling angels.  I just thought they were really cute, and weren’t too expensive.  We have continued to enjoy all these things throughout all those years. 

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I continue to get tickled every time I look at – or dust – those tumbling angels.  They are just cute to see, but they always remind me of that trip we took, and that little shop in Pisa where we purchased them.  It’s a great memory.

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Robots Part 1

5 Mar

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Bill

In a letter I received from my friend Leon the other day, he mentioned that he had gotten interested in “Robots & Droids.”  I had no idea where he was getting his information, since I knew he didn’t have a computer.  So, I decided to check out the internet to see what I might find there that might interest him.  WOW, was I surprised!   We are surrounded by robots, whether you realize it or not.  Wikipedia started off by saying, “A robot is a mechanical or virtual agent, usually an electro-mechanical  machine that is guided by a computer program or electronic circuitry.”  Then it went on for pages to describe all kinds of Robotics, Soft Robotics and Virtual Software Agents (otherwise known as Bots).

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This immediately brought to mind the “Star Wars” movie series with all its robotics in action and living color.  Of course, there were the “Good” robots that were always there to help Luke Skywalker and his friends with whatever had to be done.  These robots were even lifesavers at times, giving up their vital parts for their owners.

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 Then there were the “Bad” robots, coming (as it seemed) out of the woodwork, lead by the evil Darth Vader.  This guy was determined to get rid of the good guys and take over everything they had, not to mention the whole Galactic Empire.  Boy, did we enjoy watching the good guys defeat the bad guys for a change, even when they were bigger and badder that anyone could imagine.

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Then I thought about the trip to Alabama I made last year to see another friend.  On the way back I stopped in Montgomery, at the Hyundai plant, for a tour and, saw how the automobile industry is using computer assisted processing and robotics.  It was amazing to see how most of the heavy and dangerous jobs have been replaced by robots. 

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Of course there is the military use of  Teleoperated robots, or telerobots,  which are  devices remotely operated from a distance by a human operator rather than following a predetermined sequence of movements.  These units are being used for such dangerous jobs as bomb locating and disposal.

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                                                                 —– To Be Continued—–

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Earthquake

2 Mar

SUNDAY MEMORIES

 Judy Wills

Judy Wills

                                                    

I don’t remember there being much said about earthquakes in New Mexico as I was growing up.  Many other parts of our country – and the world – had earthquakes, but not New Mexico.  It used to fascinate me how the earth would “shift” and rub against another part of earth and produce such a thing. I never thought I would be involved in an earthquake, myself.  But it did happen.  Fortunately, it wasn’t a very big quake, but it was definitely enough to shake me up just a bit.

Fred and I were living in San Jose, California at the time, probably sometime in 1966, where Fred was acquiring his degree in Meteorology from San Jose State College, in preparation for his military service.  Fred’s dad was Command Chaplain for the Air Force Logistics Command (AFLC) (headquartered in Wright-Patterson AFB, Dayton, Ohio) at that time.  One of his duties was to visit the chaplains and the inspect the working of their respective chapels within AFLC.  One of those was in Sacramento, California.  So, when he came to visit that AF base, he brought Fred’s mother with him, so they could visit with us as well.

Kitty and Charles Wills 1980

Kitty and Charles Wills

We drove from San Jose to Sacramento and settled down in a hotel room.  Fred’s mother and I stayed in the hotel room and visited, while Fred and his dad visited the base chapel.  I was sitting on the bed in our room – knitting a sweater as I remember – and all of a sudden, the bed began to move!  It was an up-and-down movement, and nothing strong enough to toss me off the bed or anything, but definite movement!!

The movement didn’t last very long, but we were both going “what was THAT??!!”  Turns out, it WAS a mild earthquake.

I doubt that we were on the big fault line that will “someday” break California in half and dump it into the ocean, but it certainly gave us pause.

It certainly also gave me reason to know that I am prepared – ready – to meet my death, if it is in God’s timing for me to join Him.  I’ve tried my best to rely upon Him each and every day since then, to be ready for whatever He calls me to do.

My God is such a GOOD God!  And I love him.

One of my favorite scripture passages:

 1 Chronicles 29: 10-11

David praised the Lord in the presence of the whole assembly, saying,

“Praise be to you, O Lord, God of our father Israel,

from everlasting to everlasting. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power

and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours.”

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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 The UK~Part 11

12 Feb

A Slice of Life

 Bill Lites

Bill

 

As it happened, our B & B hostess in York was a lovely single lady who was a dedicated Julio Iglesias fan, and had followed him all over Europe and the UK.  She had a beautiful Collie dog that followed us everywhere, and if you don’t recognize that guy in the photo, on the hutch in the picture below, I’ll give you a hint, it’s an autographed photo of Julio of course. 

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She directed us to the Pickering & Co. Bookstore on the Shambles, which was at the top of the list of places to see for DiVoran.  Also in the York area, of historical interest to me, was the Jorvik Vikiing Center, which houses many artifacts from the 1100-year-old Viking city of Jorvík.  Well-preserved remains of that city were discovered during excavations between 1976 & 1981.  Many items, from that 900 AD time period, such as workshops, fences, animal pens, privies and wells, were unearthed.  Also found were many items made of durable materials such as pottery, metalwork and bones. Surprisingly, many wood, leather and textiles items, along with plant and animal remains were found that had been preserved in oxygen-deprived wet clay of the region.

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After all that exploring of the York city area, we stopped to rest and have tea at the famous Betty’s Tea Room.  The place was crowded, and a delightful local accountant asked if he could sit at our table with us.  Somehow the subject of street minstrels (Buskers) came up and he informed us that many of them earned very adequate livings, since they didn’t have to report the donations they received for their Busking to the government.

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Next we stopped at the American Air Museum in Britain, of which I had became a founding member.  The museum is part of the Imperial War Museum, and stands as a memorial to the 30,000 American airmen who gave their lives, flying from air bases in the UK, in defense of liberty during the Second World War.  Since we were there, that small annex of the IWM has grown into a huge museum with over 25 airplanes representing all of the conflicts American airman have participated in during WWII to the present day.

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Then we travelled to Hatfield, to visit the birthplace of the de Havilland Aircraft Company, builder of many of Britain’s WWII fighters and bombers.  The Comet Hotel is an Art Deco designed building that was originally built in 1936 as the administration building for Geoffrey de Havilland’s aircraft factory.  The design was intended to reflect de Havilland’s Comet Racer aeroplane design.  At that time, the de Havilland airfield and testing grounds were located just opposite of what is now the hotel.  A statue of the famous Comet Racer G-ACS sits in front of the hotel while the original aeroplane is now housed in The Shuttleworth Collection near Biggleswade.

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From there we took the route around the eastern side of London to the town of Crawley, where we had our B & B base for the last couple of days of our stay in the UK.  Our hosts, Ron & Brenda Potts,  were some of the nicest people you would ever meet, and were very helpful with recommendations for site seeing and directions for the best ways to get around the London area.   They had both been part of the thousands of British children who were sent to the country during the London Blitz in WWII, and stayed there until the war was over.  They had many fascinating stories to tell us about their wartime experiences.

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—–To Be Continued—–

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Our Trip To The UK Part~10

5 Feb

 A Slice of Life

By Bill Lites

Bill

 

Then it was up to the Moffatt Woollens Mill at Ladyknowe House, in Moffat, the most northern point of our trip, where I bought a really great Harris Tweed sport jacket and DiVoran bought a beautiful turquoise 100% Argyle sweater and matching pair of knee socks.  We both loved our Scottish items and wear them every chance we get, on those really cold (but very few) occasions we have here in Central Florida.  That is, until DiVoran washed her sweater in hot water and you know the rest of that story.  Boo Hoo! 

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While we were in Moffat, we just had to visit the home of Dorothy Emily Stevenson, DiVoran’s favorite author.  And yes, Robert Louis Stevenson was her grandfather’s brother.  It seems that D. E. Stevenson, who was born in Edinburgh, Scotland spent many years of her life with her husband James Peploe, in Glasgow, until Glasgow was bombed, in the early 1940s.  it was then that she and James moved to Moffat.  Like DiVoran, Stevenson had started writing when she was very young, but because of family duties, and WWII, didn’t start publishing her novels until later in her life.

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Not long after leaving Moffat, we saw the Scottish West Highland train moving across the famous Glenfinnan Viaduct, and what a sight that was!  Located at the top of Loch Shiel in the West Highlands of Scotland, crossing over the viaduct offers train travelers spectacular views down Lochaber’s Loch Shiel.  The view from the road wasn’t bad either.

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We had planned to travel North all the way to Inverness, Scotland but a huge Atlantic storm moved in from the West, and we decided instead to head back down the Eastern side of England.  This took us thru Newcastle and Durham, to our next stop in the city of York, as we tried to outrun the storm.  One of the things I learned on this trip was that a cup of hot tea will take the chill off of those cold windy English days.  And, one of the most popular teas used by our hosts in most of the B & Bs was called “Ty-Phoo Tea” brand English Blend, and I learned to drink it English style, with milk and sugar.  Of course, DiVoran already knew all this, having been the hot tea drinker in our family for years.

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The city of York is bounded on the North by the North Yorkshire Moors and on the West by the Yorkshire Dales, which is “Harriot Country” made famous by author, James Harriot (James Alfred Wight), who lived and wrote of his veterinary practice in the countryside around the town of Thirsk.   Also in this area is the famous Robin Hood Bay, dating back to medieval times.  A 15th century English ballad and legend tells a story of Robin Hood and his band of merry men encountering French pirates who had come to pillage the fisherman’s boats along the northeast English coast.  After a brief skirmish, the pirates surrendered to Robin Hood, and he returned the loot to the poor people in the fishing village that is now called Robin Hood’s Bay.

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We were told that a “must see” in York was the York Minster Cathedral of circa 1100, and they were right.  There is evidence that there has been a church of one type or another in this location since 627 AD.  The present cathedral now sits on the ruins of structures from at least three major time periods, and their structural differences can be seen.   There is Norman style 1070-1154, English Gothic style 1230-1472 and Perpendicular Gothic style 1730-1880.  Under Elizabeth I, there was a concerted effort to remove all traces of Roman Catholicism from the cathedral, and it became the seat of the Archbishop of York, the second-highest office of the Church of England.   It is an absolutely magnificent cruciform shaped edifice.  The outside is beautiful, but the interior is indescribably spectacular!  There isn’t room in this blog for all the beautiful pictures of the Cathedral, but you can Google the “York Minster Cathedral” and see it all for yourself.

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—–To Be Continued—–

 

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Our Trip to the UK~Part 9

29 Jan

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

When Hadrian’s Wall was completed, it is said to have consisted of many “turrets” and what were called “milecastles” used, not only for defense purposes, but also to house the upwards of 10,000 Roman troops required to man this massive defense system.  It is theorized to have been for the purpose of separating the Roman Empire subjects from the “Barbarians” to the North.  However, a number of theories have been presented by recent historians, that if not wholly, at least partially, the wall was constructed to reflect the power of Rome, and was used as a political point by Hadrian.

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I didn’t realize it at the time, but have read that only 20 years later, another Roman Emperor, Antoninus Pius, had expanded the Roman Empire in Britain another 100 miles North, and constructed another barrier between what was then the Roman Empire and the “Barbarians” to their North.  Construction of this wall began in 142 AD, at Antoninus Pius’ order, and took about 12 years to complete. The Antonine Wall, as it was called, is a 40-mile long stone and turf fortification built across what is now the Central Belt of Scotland, between the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde.  The Antonine Wall was designed with 19 forts and 6 fortlets spaced along its length, and was manned by as many as 5,000 Roman troops.  However, for military, political and economic reasons, maintenance and occupation varied at both Hadreain’s Wall and the Antonine Wall over the next 300 years, by which time both had been abandoned by the Romans.

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As we traveled north, next we stopped in Dumfries, Scotland where we visited the Robert Burns Center and drove across what is advertised as the oldest arch bridge (1431 AD) still in use in Scotland.  The next day we visited the unique triangular-shaped 13th century Caerlaverock Castle with its high towers and moat.  It was a stronghold of the Maxwell family from the 13th century until the 17th century. Then in the early 17th century, they built a new lodging within the walls, described as among the most ambitious early classical domestic architectures in Scotland.

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One of the interesting features of the Scottish countryside was how rocky the soil was.  The people had to remove the stones so they could cultivate their land so, over the centuries they have used the stones for everything imaginable.  They built houses with them, they built fences with them and they lined the roads with them.  Some of the country roads are pretty narrow, and when you are driving on one of them (on the left side of course) at night, with four foot high stone walls on both sides of the road, and you meet a car or truck coming the other way, it can be mighty scary, take my word for it!4

                                   

At the “Locharthur House” B & B in Beeswing, Dumfries that evening, we met our wonderful hosts, Mr. & Mrs. Schoolings, and their cute little redheaded daughter Elizabeth.  The next morning “Beth” invited us to follow her around as she did the chores.  We saw her special fuzzy lop eared rabbits, her five young red pigs, and the cows in the field down by Loch Arthur.  Of course she had on her Wellington Rubber Boots or “Wellies” and we didn’t, and as a result we got our feet sopping wet trekking thru the field with all its early morning dew.  We were amazed when DiVoran asked Beth how old she was and she told us she was 12, and then added, “I’m wee for my age.” What a grand time we had experiencing the busy life of a young Scottish Lass and all her animals.

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                                                                    —–To Be Continued—–         

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Our Trip To The UK Part ~7

15 Jan

 A Slice of life

By Bill Lites

Bill

 

After the castle experience, and as we were driving through Sumerset, on our way to Manchester, we stopped in the small town of Ilchester to checkout some horses in a field, and to look at the roadmap.   We happened to look across the road, at a small church, where a wedding was about to take place.  DiVoran and I are always amazed, at how we seem to be casual witnesses to weddings in progress in many places around the world, during our travels.

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As we headed north through the beautiful part of England known as the Lake District, we were awed by the many hews of delicate color that surrounded us.  There is something about the light in the Cotswold’s that gives everything a wonderful muted color, and makes everything look pristine.  We had made arrangements to meet some friends of our son Billy in Manchester, but they only had time to link up with us for a short visit at a restaurant close to the A60. 

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They had met Billy and Lisa at the Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament Show during their visit to Orlando the year before, and had asked us to stop and see them when we were in the UK.  We had a great visit, but it was just too short.  Then it was on north again to visit Dove Cottage, the home for a time, of the poet William Wordsworth and his sister Dorothy.  Dove Cottage is located on the edge of Grasmere in the Lake District of England.  As a writer and poet herself, DiVoran wanted to visit the homes of as many English writers and poets as she could during this trip.  She told me Wordsworth’s poem “I Wondered Lonely as a Cloud” was one of her favorites, and she had read it at least 100 times over the years.  It was interesting to me what a small start many of the English writers had when they were young, and didn’t publish much of anything until they were much older.  Many of them came from common backgrounds and struggled to get their work published, much like many writers all over the world today.

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William Wordsworth was a major English Romantic poet who, along with Samuel Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature, with the publication of the Lyrical Ballads in 1798.  William, Samuel and Dorothy  were very close their entire lives, and influenced each other’s writings.  Dorothy Wordsworth did not set out to be an author, and her writings consisted mostly of a series of letters, diary entries, poems and short stories. Dove Cottage seemed to be a very popular tourist stop the day we were there, and we shared afternoon “tea and crumpets” with a lovely English couple from Canterbury, who invited us to stop and see them on our way back down the eastern side of the country.

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In 1791 Wordsworth met and wanted to marry a French woman, Annette Vallon, during a trip to France, but did not have the finances to support her.  However, he did have a daughter by Annette in 1792, but was forced to leave France because of the French Revolution, and he did not see Annette or his daughter Caroline again for 10 years.  In 1802, he returned to France with his fiancé, Mary Hutchinson, visiting Annette and Caroline in order to set up an allowance for them.  William and Mary were married later that year, and his sister Dorothy continued to live with them for many years.  England honored Wordsworth in 1843 by naming him Poet Laureate of England.  Wordsworth and his wife Mary were buried at the St. Oswald’s church in Grasmere with a very unobtrusive common headstone.

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—–To Be Continued—–

 

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Our Trip to the UK~Part 6

7 Jan

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Bill

 The B & B guidebook neglected to mention the fact that our next overnight stop was at a pig farm, and we found the smell was overwhelming.  But, we figured that since we would be gone most of the day, we could stand the smell long enough to get to sleep at night.  The rehearsal lasted a little longer than we had expected, and then we got lost in the fog on the way back to the B & B.  When we finally got there, we found our suitcases on the front stoop.  Our hostess informed us she had reserved her only room to a family (who weren’t sure when they would be there) before we got there, and now they had showed up and she felt obligated to give them the room.  She said she had made a reservation for us at a friend’s B & B down the road and she was expecting us.  We were just a little miffed, as you might expect, but the family was already asleep in our bed, so we loaded up our bags and went down the road.  When we got there, we couldn’t believe our eyes!  It was the nicest, cleanest accommodations we could have ever asked for.  We thought, “Isn’t God good to us, moving us to this beautiful B & B, and at the same price as that smelly pig farm.” 

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The next day we headed northeast, through some of the most beautiful and exquisite Welch towns and landscapes you can imagine, and then finally, crossed back into England.  This time we headed for the county town of Warwick, to visit one of the most famous English fortresses, Warwick castle.  Warwick Castle was a med-evil fortress, developed from an original fortress, built by William the Conqueror in 1068, and is situated at a bend in the River Avon in Warwickshire.   During the centuries that followed, the use and miss-use of the fortress and its lands traditionally belonged to the ruling Earl of Warwick, and served as a symbol of his power.  Then, during the 15th and 16th centuries, as ownership of the castle and the lands associated with the earldom were passed back and forth from various earls, and The Crown, portions of the fortress were slowly converted for use as a castle.  But, during much of this time no one in particular wanting to foot the cost of keeping up repairs or restoring the structures, so by 1600 the castle, ended up in a state of disrepair.

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In 1604, Warwick castle and its lands were given to the Sir Fulke Greville (1st Lord Brooke) by James I.  Over the years, Greville spent  £20,000 (£3 million today) making many improvements to the castle, one being to  convert a portion of the castle into his residence, which was typical of many of the castle conversions taking place during that time period.

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Individuals have been visiting the castle since the end of the 17th century, and this practice grew in importance through the 19th century.  Then, during the 20th century, successive earls expanded its tourism potential until, in 1978, after 374 years in the Greville family, it was sold to the Tussauds Group, a media and entertainment company,who opened it as a tourist attraction.

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The castle tour was wonderful, with representations dating from mid-evil times to the early 20th century.  There were collections of mid-evil suits of armor and war weapons inside, and staged jousting matches on the courtyard grounds during the summer months, weather permitting.

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The interior rooms are decorated for various periods, with wax figures dressed in period attire, and even a recording of a famous opera singer in the grand ballroom.  The furnishings are beautiful and help one to get an idea of how the inhabitants lived and worked during the various times depicted.  As an example, in 1898, Frances Countess of Warwick, who was more affectionately known as Daisy, hosted a lavish weekend party for many of society’s elite, at the castle, in which the principal guest was the Prince of Wales, who would later become Edward VII.  Much of the Grand Ballroom authentic furniture and furnishings depict the grandeur that those guests would have experienced at such a party

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DiVoran loved the various costumes, including the scene of a maid getting one of the children ready for his bath in one of the upstairs rooms.  As part of our tour, we climbed the 200 steps, to the top of one of the towers, and DiVoran thought she would never get her breath back.  Of course, it didn’t bither me a bit.

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—–To Be Continued—–

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Does Everyone Go to Heaven

21 Dec

Does everyone go to heaven?

On my recent trip to the West Coast, I held on to the escort’s arm that dashed me through the crowds in the Los Angeles airport. No time to waste–only half an hour between flights.

We stepped outside. “We’ll wait for the shuttle here,” he said.

Gulp. Did he say “wait?” We can’t. I’ll miss my connecting flight for sure.

The shuttle finally came, and I boarded. When it stopped I jumped to my feet, hoping there would be someone to guide me to the gate.

I twirled the tip of my white cane between my fingers. Nervous? A tad. The clock was ticking. Finally an agent took my arm, “ready Mrs. Eckles? I’ll take you to the gate.”

He didn’t take me. We practically flew through the groups of passengers and luggage.
“We’re here. This is your gate,” he said.
While trying to catch my breath, the PA system announced, “Ms. Janet Eckles…paging Janet Eckles.”

“That’s me,” I called out.

To my relief, they had prepared an assigned seat and had my name on the list to pre-board. Woo hoo! They were prepared for me.

I boarded the plane, and as I settled in my seat a thought darted in my head. The same scenario will play when I arrive to take the flight that will take me to eternity. Jesus bought the ticket with His life and I count on the guarantee He has a place ready for me.

For that reason, this Christmas will shine brighter with the reassurance that no matter what happens in this life, He’s prepared the place. No matter how deep the pain, He has a promise waiting at the other end of this life. And no matter how long the wait, His love keeps the door open for us to come in.

And until that time, we can face tough moments on earth, but Jesus calls us to face this truth: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you.” John 14:1

Father, how this life changes, knowing you have prepared that place for me. Hope shines brighter, joy flows easier, and peace bathes our days more frequently. In Jesus’ name I thank you. Amen.

–What has you rushed these days?
–Do you know your destination when your days end on this earth?
–Where are your steps leading you today?

Legacy

 

 

 

 

 

Janet Perez Eckles,

Grateful for the privilege of inspiring you…

My website in English

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My story (video)

Inspirational video  just for you.

 

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