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Where Has All the Time Gone?

January 31, 2009

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Before I retired, I had read (several times) about men who suddenly had all this time on their times and couldn’t handle it.  I guess the death rate for newly-retired men is higher than one would expect.

All I can say is that I would like to find the person that has all my extra time on his (or her) hands.  So far I haven’t seen all that spare time I was told to expect.

Of course some of this is my fault.  Since I retired Betsy and I have landscaped our yard and started growing roses.  So I can understand that I have more to do during warm weather.

But now it’s winter and there is very little to do outside.  I’ll admit I sleep a little later in the mornings than I did while I was working, but I stay up later at night.  Household chores don’t take up any more time than they did while I was working.

Before I retired I dreamed of having time to read.  I don’t get one issue of my newsmagazine read before the next one arrives.  I started a history book three months ago and still haven’t finished it.  (This from a guy who used to read a book in a single day).  My stamp newspapers are piling up in my inbox — unread.

I have made pages for my stamp albums and mounted the stamps, but I’ve received just as many new stamps.  I have converted old LPs to CDs, but still have a couple hundred to do.  I’ve also worked on digitizing my old slides, but I’m still stuck in the 1990s.

Of course, I’ve started blogging, but, hey, a guy has to have some fun!!

I could tell you more, but I don’t have time.

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My World # 15

January 26, 2009
The former Washington School, Crown Point, Indiana. July, 2002.

The former Washington School, Crown Point, Indiana. July, 2002.

This building was a very important part of my world from 1948 – 1952.  Although it is now a private residence, back then it was Washington School in Center Township, the ‘farm country’ surrounding Crown Point, Indiana.  (The three car garage is a modern addition.)

I attended grades 1 – 4 at Washington School.  The most interesting thing about the school was that it was a two–room school.  Grades 1 & 2 met in one room, while grades 3 & 4 met in the other.

My first and second grade teacher was Mrs. Isolampe.  She was a formidable woman, but I liked her.  In the second grade she had a reading contest — who could read the most books over a multi-week period.  She started the contest by letting us go to the book shelf contra-alphabetically to pick out the book we would read.  By the time my turn came all the easy books were gone, so I had to pick one of the harder books to read.  This went on for a couple of weeks, but about half-way through the contest my classmates had to start reading the harder books while I had simple books I could read very quickly.  I won the reading contest — one of the few times in my life when I’ve won something.

Mrs. Laney was my third and fourth grade teacher.  I was pretty good at reading and arithmetic, so I could listen in on the fourth grade lessons while still in the third grade.  When I was in the fourth grade Mrs. Laney had me helping third graders with arithmetic.  She was one of the reasons I became a teacher.  I’ve always thought there were more advantages than disadvantages to going to that two room school.

Washington School was part of my world.  To see more of our wonderful world, or to join in sharing your world with us, click HERE.

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I Don’t Think She’s Enjoying This

January 15, 2009
George and Betsy on a bicycle for two, Cades Cove GSMNP, Tennessee. June, 2007.

George and Betsy on a bicycle for two, Cades Cove GSMNP, Tennessee. June, 2007.

Since our northern friends are sending artic cold weather down here to Dixie, I pretty much stayed in the house after we got back from our weekly grocery shopping trip (love those Wednesday senior discounts!).  I didn’t get as much done with my stamps as I had hoped, but I did get through some pictures, which is where I rediscovered this picture.

Our friends Judy and Charlie take camping trips much as Betsy and I take waterfalling trips.  Judy and Charlie usually camp at Cades Cove at least once a year, and we go over to see them at their campsite.

In addition to camping and hiking, Judy and Charlie also bike and they always bike through Cades Cove at least once while they are staying there.  When we visited them in June, 2007, they had, in addition to their mountain bikes, a bicycle built for two.  Somehow the conversation turned to that bicycle and, after giving us a demonstration, both Judy and Charlie urged us to take a spin.

I’ll admit I was all for it.  I rode my bicycle to work for more than twenty years and I loved biking, although I do not now own a bicycle.  I joined in urging Betsy to take a spin with me and she finally agreed.  But looking closely at the picture above (you can click on it to enlarge it), I think she was less than enthusiastic about the whole thing.  What do you think?

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My World 13

January 12, 2009
The South Ward school building, Crown Point, Indiana. July, 2002.

The South Ward school building, Crown Point, Indiana. July, 2002.

This building was an important part of my world in 1947, since I attended kindergarten there.  South Ward in Crown Point, Indiana, is the school shown above in a picture taken in July, 2002.  The picture may be enlarged by clicking on it.

South Ward was on the same street (Court Street) as the house where my family lived.  The house was about three blocks from the school.  When I started kindergarten, my Mom walked to and from school, but after she became convinced that I knew how to cross the streets she let me walk without her.  Most of my classmates also walked by themselves — it was a different world back then.

My class was in the front of the building on the first floor.  It has the windows to the left of the front door.  We had low tables and chairs, too low for adults to use.  If I remember correctly there were four places at each table.  There was also a place in the room for our daily nap time.

Sometime in the last few years the building has been converted to condominiums.  The parking lot is where the playground used to be.  I have not been in the building since it was converted.

One other thing — South Ward used to be South Ward High School.  That was the high school from which my Dad graduated.

To see more views of the world, click HERE or on the logo below.

mwtblack

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Was I Really This Young?

January 5, 2009
The boys of Crown Point YMF with their church model. 1953

The boys of Crown Point MYF with their church model. 1953

My friend Jerry sent me the above picture.  It was taken in the Spring of 1953 when I was eleven years old.  The picture shows the boys in our MYF (Methodist Youth Fellowship) with a model of the new church building that was then being proposed for our congregation.  We built the model using blue prints the architect of the proposed building had drawn up.

In those pre-Politically Correct days, the boys and girls of MYF had different activities.  The little girl to the right in the picture is the daughter of Mr. Neidigh, our advisor.  The picture was taken in Mr. Neidigh’s home, where we did most of the work on the model.

Our church building at that time was next door to the Lake County Jail in Crown Point, Indiana.  A wall separated the church from the jail, but prisoners on the top floor of the jail could look out of their windows and see people entering or leaving the church.  Usually the prisoners just looked (we kids looked back) but the situation did give rise to funny feelings every once in a while.

The Lake County Jail was rather famous (or infamous) in that part of the country.  John Dillinger, the notorious bank robber, escaped from our jail using a ‘pistol’ he carved out of wood and blackened with shoe polish.  Lake County had a woman sheriff at the time of Dillinger’s escape — I’m not sure there has been another woman sheriff since!

The last time I was back in Crown Point the old jail was being  remodeled into a museum.  The new church building is still there, several blocks down the street from the old jail.  The model was destroyed by fire several years ago.

Incidently, Mr. Neidigh is standing on the left in the picture and Jerry is in the back in the middle.  I’m standing in the back between the two of them.

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Thanksgiving

November 27, 2008
With my beautiful bride at Newfound Gap, December, 2007.

With my beautiful bride at Newfound Gap, December, 2007.

I  have so much to be thankful for — a beautiful wife to share my life and the ability to hike and enjoy the beauty of God’s world (and yes, that even includes snow!).

It’s  hard to put into words all for which I should be thankful.  Perhaps the following prayer from the Book of Common Prayer best describes how I should approach this and every other day.

Accept, O Lord, our thanks and praise for all that you have done for us.  We thank you for the splendor of the whole creation, for the beauty of this world, for the wonder of life, and for the mystery of love.

We thank you for the blessing of family and friends, and for the loving care which surrounds us on every side.

We thank you for setting us at tasks which demand our best efforts, and for leading us to accomplishments which satisfy and delight us.

We thank  you also for those disappointments and failures that lead us to acknowledge our dependence on you alone.

Above all, we thank you for your Son Jesus Christ; for the truth of his Word and the example of his life; for his steadfast obedience, by which he overcame temptation; for his dying, through which he overcame death; and for his rising to life again, in which we are raised to the life of your kingdom.

Grant us the gift of your Spirit, that we may know him and make him known; and through him, at all times and in all places, may give thanks to you in all things.  Amen.

Happy Thanksgiving!

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America Has Spoken

November 5, 2008

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America has spoken and Barack Obama will be the next president of the United States.

I will admit that he wasn’t my personal choice.  But he was America’s choice and so he will be my president.  As such he is entitled to my respect and to my support as president of my country.  That doesn’t mean that I will agree with him on everything he does — I may not agree with anything he does.  But I am a citizen of the United States and Barack Obama will be my president.

I hope President-Elect Obama will practice what he preached during much of the campaign and bring us together.  We are  very badly divided — there seems to be no ‘united’ in the United States!  I hope President Obama will be able to heal some of these divisions.

The campaign was long and hard-fought.  Now it’s time for us to come together.

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It’s Over!!!

November 4, 2008

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By the time you read this, Election Day voting should be underway.  With the exception of a few last-minute events, the 2008 campaign has come to an end.  I can’t begin to tell you how delighted I am.

Reports say that this has been the longest and most expensive presidential campaign in American history.  As far as I’m concerned two years is entirely too long.  For me the main result of the long campaign was that I have less respect for both of the major party candidates than I had months ago.  I think they both spent entirely too much time tearing down each other.  Their ads were more misleading than enlightening.

Why should any campaign last two years?  If Canada can hold an election within six weeks of the start of the campaign, why can’t we?  Sure our population is larger, but is it really that much larger?

This election has cost approximately a billion dollars.  That’s over $300 for each American citizen.  Both candidates have said they have plans to stimulate the economy.  If I had received $300 the week before Election Day I promise I would have quickly spent it!!

The good news is that the 2008 presidential campaign is over.  I just hope the 2012 campaign doesn’t start tomorrow.

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Quo Vadis

October 18, 2008

I remember reading a book, Quo Vadis, as a youngster.  I vaguely remember a movie with that same name, but I’m not sure about that.  The book is a historical novel set in the time of Emperor Nero of Rome.  Quo Vadis is Latin for ‘Where are you going?’ and the book evidently made quite an impression on me since it popped into my head after fifty-some years.

Betsy and I went to Hendersonville yesterday to help out my folks and on the way back home we listened to a Nashville radio station.  There was a report that some organization was driving illegal aliens to early voting places and helping them vote.  The report, backed up by at least one election commissioner, was that the voters could not speak English and had no ID, but were allowed to vote anyway.  I had never thought of Nashville, Tennessee, as the home of a major political machine.

The report may not be true, but the fact that it was even made is disturbing.  One of the foundations of the American way of governance is that we have fair and free elections, and after the election is over and the people have spoken, we will all come together in support of our leaders.  This obviously did not happen in 1860, and to a lesser it didn’t happen in 2000 and 2004.

So what will happen this year?  What will happen if a sizable part of the American public thinks they were denied their right to vote?  What will happen if a sizable part of the American public thinks the election was stolen by voters who shouldn’t have voted?

Quo Vadis, America?

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