Archive for the ‘American Life’ Category

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Observations While on the Road

May 13, 2010

On our way to the beach Betsy and I spent the night in Simpsonville, South Carolina.  We were hungry after a day of visiting waterfalls and went to Ryan’s Steakhouse for dinner.

While we were eating I noticed a man talking to the young cashier.  They talked for a while and then the cashier came over to a table near us and told the family sitting there that their dinner was being paid for.  She took their receipt and went back to the front.  I saw the man who had been talking to her give his credit card to a man who turned to out to be the manager.  The manager processed his credit card, gave some cash to the young lady, who then brought it over to the family.

This happened at least four times.  Finally the cashier brought the man around and introduced him to each of the tables as the man who had paid for their dinner.  Of course, everyone thanked him profusely.  No name was mentioned, but it did not appear that the people whose dinner he paid for knew who he was.  He told each table that he was happy to be able to do it and he wanted them to remember this when they had the chance to help someone out.  Of course, they all said they would.

We have no idea who the man was.  We got the impression that he was known to at least some of the people in the restaurant, but not all.  Regardless of who he was, he brought a great deal of happiness to some strangers and gave Betsy and me something to think about.

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Posted in American Life | 14 Comments »

There Are Lots of Good People Around

May 10, 2010

Anniversary Party for my Parents at Their Church, Hendersonville, Tennessee. May 4, 2010.

I imagine that many of you have heard about the serious flooding that occurred last weekend in Nashville, Tennessee.  My parents live near Nashville in Hendersonville, Tennessee.

Sunday, May 2, was my mother’s 90th birthday.  My sister and I had arranged for the altar flowers to honor both Mom and my parents’ 70th anniversary, which was on Wednesday, May 5.  Because of the high water my parents couldn’t get to church, and a party that had been planned for them Sunday evening also had to be cancelled.

But it takes more than a flood to keep good people down.  On Tuesday our friend Judy and a Sunday School class of young adults who have adopted Mom and Dad prepared a surprise anniversary party for my folks.  About 50 people managed to get to the church at noon on Tuesday for the celebration.

My parents are in the lower left-hand corner of the picture above.  Judy, who helped arrange the party, is the woman in green at the extreme right.  The young adults (with their children) belong to the Sunday School class that ‘adopted’ Mom and Dad.  Judy’s husband Charlie took the pictures.

Dad Singing Mom's Song, Hendersonville, Tennessee. May 4, 2010.

One of the high points of the party was when Dad sang a song he made up for Mom many years ago.  I really don’t know when he ‘wrote’ it — I first heard it on their 50th anniversary.  Charlie said there  wasn’t a dry female eye in the place after Dad sang.  Not bad for a singer who is almost 98!

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Posted in American Life | 19 Comments »

I Got an Award

February 11, 2010

Fishing Guy granted me this award the other day.  He has a very interesting blog about life in northeastern Ohio and I encourage you to visit him.

One of the requirements for the award is that I tell you ten things that I love and which make me happy.

1.  My Beautiful Bride.
2.  All of our children and grandchildren, my parents, brother and sister.
3.  Growing roses.
4.  Searching for and visiting waterfalls.
5.  Music and my iPod.
6.  Hiking in the mountains.
7.  Reading a good book, especially one about history.
8.  Photography — taking and sharing pictures of the things we do.
9.  Visiting and being visited by my blogging friends.
10.  Cooking.

Janie at Janie & Steve’s Utah Trails gave me the same award for my photo blog, Photos by Senior Hiker.  Janie features wonderful pictures of the wide open spaces of Utah in her blog.

One thing I do NOT love is having to pick from among the many wonderful bloggers I visit on a regular basis and who visit me in return.  So I’m passing this award along to all of you.  Feel free to copy the badge and tell us ten things that you love and make you happy.

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Posted in American Life | 17 Comments »

A New Year Is Dawning

December 31, 2009

Sunrise on Mount Nebo, Arkansas. December 4, 2008.

It’s hard to believe that 2009 is drawing to a close.  It seems like only yesterday that we were celebrating the new year, watching football on TV, and eating Betsy’s special Hoppin’ John, a New Year’s Day tradition at our house.  Now we’re getting ready to do it all over again.

Life certainly didn’t slow down in 2009.  We seemed to have more projects in our yard rather than fewer.  (I wonder if we’ll ever get it looking the way we want it to?).  Sometimes the work was downright hard, but it became worthwhile when we could see new roses for the first time or enjoy old favorites again.  The other flowers didn’t seem to cause as much work, but they sure brought a lot of enjoyment as well.

We managed to enjoy our families in 2009.  We were able to see four of the five children in person, along with their children.  We didn’t make it out to Las Vegas, but we were able to virtually visit thanks to phone calls, text messages and video calls.  Our faithful Prius took us to Hendersonville every other week (sometimes more often than that) to help my folks.  That involved a lot of miles, but my parents appreciate each and every trip we make.

We managed to get in some waterfall trips.  We ‘discovered’ Tallulah Gorge State Park in Georgia and fell in love with the waterfalls and the trails.  We enjoyed our first trip in June so much that we went back in October.  We also visited new waterfalls in Arkansas, Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee.  We revisited some old favorites in each of those places as well.

We also got to do quite a bit of virtual traveling through all the wonderful people we have met in the blogosphere.  I can’t begin to tell you how much we have appreciated your visits to our blogs and how very much we have enjoyed visiting with each and every one of you.

What will 2010 bring?  I don’t know.  But if it’s anything like 2009 it definitely will NOT be boring.

We’re going to Hendersonville bright and early this morning (Thursday).  We want to help the folks finish up a few year-end details and get the new year off to a good start.  I’ll try to visit you as I get a connection, but I don’t expect to post myself until Monday morning.

So until then let me wish each and every one of you a very Happy New Year!

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Posted in American Life | 18 Comments »

Christmas Odds and Ends

December 28, 2009

Betsy and George on Christmas Day.

First of all, I hope you all had a Christmas as wonderful as the one Betsy and I shared.  Every Christmas is special, but this one seemed to be extra wonderful.  I think part of the reason was that this was the first Christmas for a while on which we didn’t travel.  People came to us this year.

One of our Christmas traditions is to take a Christmas photo.  This year’s photo (above) was more informal than most have been.  Thanks to a roaring fire in the fireplace we wore T-shirts from Santa Claus, Indiana, given us by our good friends Judy and Charlie.

The mailman actually brought these on the day before Christmas, but we put the package under the Christmas tree unopened.  These beautiful mats came from Mary at Faith, Fabric and Photos.  They are absolutely beautiful and the rose patterns are perfect for us.

It’s another tradition at our house that Betsy comes up with a gift that is completely unexpected.  She did it again this year with this baseball cap.  The cap says ‘Don’t Forget My Senior Discount!  (I Know I Look Too Young For It)’  I’m sure there’s a message there, but I’m not sure exactly what it is!

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Posted in American Life | 10 Comments »

Happiness Is A Blueberry Muffin

December 22, 2009

Mom enjoying a blueberry muffin.

Yesterday Betsy and I made our delayed trip to Hendersonville to check on and to help out my parents.  Fortunately we found both of them in good spirits and good health.

Much of our morning was devoted to going over Dad’s finances, paying bills, and trying to get their Medicare Part D coverage straightened out.  We then took them out so they could do their grocery shopping.

Dad usually takes us to lunch when we go over there, but yesterday we wanted to treat them since it was close to Christmas.  They usually eat at a meat-and-three restaurant, but we wanted to take them to someplace a little different.  We took them to Mimi’s Cafe.  Some friends had taken them there and told us that Mom really liked the blueberry muffins Mimi’s served.  Since Betsy and I had never been there, we decided to take Mom and Dad back so Mom could have another muffin.

Mom is a little woman — five feet tall and less than 100 pounds.  But she polished off that muffin without any problems.  Oh, yes, she also finished her salad as well, but the muffin is what made the greatest impression.

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Posted in American Life | 14 Comments »

Christmas at the Opryland Hotel

December 21, 2009

Christmas decorations in the Cascades at the Opryland Hotel, Nashville, Tennessee. December, 2001.

One of the advantages of wintry weather is that I can get more work done on my computer than I would if the weather were nicer and I spent more time outdoors.  This weekend has enabled me to make progress on a couple of projects, for which I am grateful.

The Opryland Hotel (or more properly the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center) has been an attraction in Nashville, Tennessee, since it first opened in 1977.  It has gone through several expansions and renovations since that time and is now a tourist attraction in its own right.

One of the traditions of Opryland is A Country Christmas, which makes Opryland ‘The Most Christmassy hotel in the nation” according to the Travel Channel.  A Country Christmas is now in its 26th year and includes more than 2 million lights and more than a dozen shows and attractions.  A Country Christmas runs from before Thanksgiving to after New Year’s.

I’m sure the decorations have changed quite a bit since 2001, when Betsy and I toured the Opryland Hotel one evening during Christmas season.  It was our first Christmas together, and the grand display at the hotel seemed a perfect complement to that special time.

To see more of Christmas at the Opryland Hotel click HERE.

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Posted in American Life | 8 Comments »

A Perfect Way to Spend a Wintry Evening

December 17, 2009

Our living room at Christmas time. December 12, 2009.

When I lived in western North Carolina we had a wood-burning stove to supplement the heat in the house.  I was teaching at the time, so I spent much of the summer cutting and splitting wood to use in the stove.  (I was MUCH younger then and had MUCH more energy!).

Years passed and I met my beautiful bride.  When it came time for us to find our dream house, Betsy essentially had one requirement — it had to have a wood-burning fireplace.

So now, many years later, I have to be concerned with firewood.  We now get firewood cut to length, but some of the pieces still need to be split.  So I often spend a chilly day splitting wood; at least that helps keep me warm while I’m working outside.

And I have to admit that there are few things as pleasant as sipping tea in front of a fire on a cold evening.

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Posted in American Life | 15 Comments »

Why?

December 1, 2009

Hogskin Branch Falls, Flag Pond, Tennessee. November 28, 2009.

As most of you know, Betsy and I ‘collect’ waterfalls.  We enjoy finding waterfalls, since they give us a great excuse to get out in the great outdoors.  We’ve been to some beautiful and awe-inspiring places on our visits to waterfalls.  We usually research an area (online and through books) and try to find and visit as many waterfalls as we possibly can.

This past weekend we spent a couple of days in northeast Tennessee and visited several waterfalls.  The waterfall in the picture above was one of them.  We knew that not much could be seen from the road since it was a small waterfall and was in a small gorge.

I’ve become pretty good at bushwhacking (for an old man), so I went down into the gorge and was able to get a better view and the photo above.

But I also found some other things that weren’t apparent from the road — garbage bags, old televisions, tires, and even the old car pictured above.

Hogskin Branch Falls is no Niagara, but it could be a pretty place to visit.  Why do we feel it is okay to trash any part of God’s beautiful creation?

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Posted in American Life | 16 Comments »

A Reason To Be Thankful

November 30, 2009

Wild turkeys on Bays Mountain, Kingsport, Tennessee. November 26, 2009.

After a delicious Thanksgiving dinner of turkey and all the trimmings, Betsy and I took our friend Reida for a drive to visit a waterfall and to see some of the other sights in the Kingsport, Tennessee area.

One of the places we visited was the Eastman Recreation Area on Bays Mountain.  We saw these critters near the lodge, walking around as if they didn’t have a care in the world.  Since it was the afternoon of Thanksgiving Day, and they were able to enjoy an afternoon stroll, I guess they really had a reason to be thankful!

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Posted in American Life | 18 Comments »

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