Losing A Close Friend

Last week, I lost a very close friend, John Woodward. I miss him greatly already and will continue through the years. John was my prayer and accountabilty partner and kept me on the straight and narrow way, God's way. I have never seen anyone who was concerned over the salvation of everyone he met. He was eager to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ and how He saves us from our sins and separation from God, to anyone who would listen.
John was riding his bike around the trail of Salem Lake here in Winston Salem when he had some kind of accident and ended up in the water. A jogger saw him and got him out of the water. The medical examiner said he did not drown. They are perplexed at the cause of death. There were no signs of trauma from a fall. Maybe God just took him home to be with Him.
John will be missed by many, illustrated by the number of people who took time to attend his memorial service. I know John is in heaven with the Father and is asking all the questions he could not answer from reading his Bible. We all miss you, John, and we will meet again someday in the Love of the Father God.

These are pictures of Ayden Craig, my new grandson. The bottom photo is of him only 11 minutes old. The other is a little later in the nursery. He was born Tuesday, October 20, 2010, at 3:12 PM. He is doing well and so is Mom and Dad.

Return to Posting

It has been over a year since I have posted on this blog. I don't know if anyone if following it, but I apoligize for the lack of posting. Right now, we are eagerly awaiting the birth of our 3rd grandchild, Ayden Craig, aka Baby Coconut, a name given him by his big sister, Alyson. He is due on Monday, October 19th. I keep telling my daughter, Missy, that he is coming today. She said she is definitely ready. The doctor measured little Ayden on Thursday and says he is 8 lbs. 6 oz. If he doesn't come before, the doctors will induce labor on Tuesday, October 20th. His big sister, Alyson, is anxious to meet her little brother and his Dad, Zach, is also.
A few months ago, my wife, Brenda, finally retired, after working for church offices for 20+ years. She hasn't been able to do all the things she wanted to do due to anemia. She is taking iron supplements and treatments now and is doing much better. I told her she is becoming re-domesticated, cooking wonderful meals and taking care of me. I am still working, eventhough I have been eligible for retirement for about 6 years (30 years with local government). I feel I am getting the urge to be home with Brenda, so maybe, Dec 2010, will be my time for retirement if our budget goes well. Brenda has numerous projects she has planned for me, now and after retirement.
I have a good friend, John, who is struggling with depression after losing a textile job he had been working at for 26 years. Please pray for John that healing would come to him and he can return to the "John" that we know and love.
The slow economy has destroyed many lives through the loss of jobs and businesses. To quote Ross Perot, when he was running for President," If we sign this NAFTA agreement, we will hear this huge sucking sound as our jobs go out of the country." This has been so true. It baffles me that a product can be produced, packaged and shipped half-way around the world and still be cheaper than producing it in the good ole USA. The products can't be of good quality. Just look at all the recalls on electrical and electronic products that come out of China.
It is Saturday morning and I am being lazy. It is 10:20 and I haven't done anything but eat breakfast and drink my coffee. I hope to post a photo of my new grandson in the next few days.

Our 35th Anniversary

My wife and I celebrated our 35th Wedding Anniversary on August 5th, 2008. We went to one of our favorite places, the Pilot Knob Bed & Breakfast Inn at Pilot Mountain, NC. Usually we stay in one of the cabins which are made of the logs from two tobacco barns. This time we chose to stay in the Pilot Knob Inn Suite, which consisted of a large bedroom, a large sitting room with satelite TV and a hot tub, enclosed by four walls and open to the sky. It was a wonderful relaxing time. Full breakfast was served each morning with eggs, bacon or sausage, waffles, toast and jelly, fresh squeezed orange juice and coffee. The Inn Keeper, Jennifer, was very cordial and brought us breakfast to our table.
For our supper on the evening of our anniversary, we dined at the Scuppernong Restaurant which is part of the Old North State Winery in Mt. Airy, NC. The food was delicious and the atmosphere was unique. The restaurant building was formerly a hardware store and was later bought by Belks Department Store. The story is that the front of the store was destroyed by a dynamite blast and the store closed and was not repaired until years later. During the renovations, the skeletal remains of a human arm was found, possibly from the person who set off the dynamite. There was a lot of competition in the hardware business in that day due to the newly opened white granite quarry where dynamite was used to mine the rock. The floors were tongue and groove wooden planks and the ceiling had tin tiles. We would recommend this restaurant for good food and atmosphere.

Alone At Last

It's been a month since I posted, but a lot has been going on. For the first time in 32 years, my wife and I are living alone. Our oldest daughter, Jennifer, was born in 1976. Our youngest daughter, Missy, was born in 1980. Missy married the love of her life, Zach, in 2002, and they have lived on their own ever since. Jennifer came home from college at ASU and finished at UNCG. She and our grandson, Dylan, have lived with us since he was born in 1996. Jennifer has recently purchased a home for her and Dylan. Don't get me wrong. I love both of our daughters and grandchildren, but it was time for me and the wife to have "our" time. We suffered through "Empty Nest Syndrone" for about 3 minutes. We enjoy so much being married to each other and we hope to have a long life together. This August we will be married 35 years. It sure doesn't seem like it. We've had some rough times, but some very good times and memories.
It's hard to believe that summer is half way through. We have just set up our Easy Set pool for the back yard. I can't wait to have it ready to jump in on these hot July and August days. I hope to post again soon.

Well, it's happening again. I remember a few years ago, ice a the store came in 10 lb bags for 99 cents. Then they went to 7 lb bags for 99 cents. Now it's back to 10 lb bags for $1.69. The same was with loaf bread. They went from a 24 ounce loaf to a 20 ounce loaf for the same money. Have you noticed the ice cream "half gallons". Bryers first went from 1/2 gallons to 1.75 gallons. Now they are 1.5 gallons for the same price. I guess we continue to get less for more money. Don't get me started about the price of gasoline. The oil companies don't care how much crude oil is a barrel because they ultimately pass the cost along to the consumer and their profits remain the same. I blame the jokers on Wall Street who keep bidding higher and higher, as if the oil suppliers aren't going to sell crude unless they keep bidding higher. Tell me what you think....

Sorry I haven't posted in a while, but it seems life has speeded up lately. My wife and I have just taken a long, much needed, weekend away to the mountains. We towed our travel trailer up to Grandfather Mountain Campground, near Boone, NC. It was so enjoyable to relax in the mountains and go rving. During the weekend, we were joined by our youngest daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter and also our oldest daughter and our grandson. The guys went fishing in a pond while the ladies went shopping. I caught two rainbow trout and another got off just as I got it to the bank. I burned a lot of gas towing the camper, but there is just something about rving and sleeping on our own sheets. Our meals ranged from hamburger and hotdogs to waffles to lasagna. It was a wonderful time.

During the weekend, we went to Blowing Rock the city and Blowing Rock, the state park. The legend of the Blowing Rock states that two Indian lovers were about to be separated by his moving back with his tribe. He leaped off the mountain. His female friend prayed the spirits would lift him back up. Suddenly, the wind lifted the Brave back onto the rock. To this day, there is a constant heavy wind blowing up the valley to the top of Blowing Rock.