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Our World: Ozark Mountains

August 27, 2012

The view along Route 9 between Fairfield Bay, Arkansas and Mountain View, Arkansas. August 5, 2012. (Photo by Betsy).

(Note:  All pictures may be enlarged by clicking on them.)

This is my post for the Our World meme.  This meme is a second generation of My World Tuesday created by Klaus Peter and is hosted by five wonderful ladies.  To learn more about our world or to join and share your part of the world, click HERE.

When Betsy and I went to Arkansas earlier this month, we were shocked at the drought conditions in the state.  As we traveled from Memphis to Little Rock we saw many brown fields and lawns.  Even when we traveled north to Fairfield Bay, it was obvious that the state was very dry.

We left Fairfield Bay and headed toward Mountain View, Arkansas, along Highway 9.  We passed over many dry creeks, but then we rounded a bend and saw the scene above.

Ozark Mountains in Arkansas. August 5, 2012.

It was so beautiful  with the mountains, sky, clouds and green trees, that we both said “Stop!”.  So we pulled over to the side of the road and got these pictures of this part of the Ozark Mountains.  The Ozarks of Arkansas were definitely beautiful in spite of the drought.

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Skywatch Friday: We Found Spring

April 2, 2010

Blue Sky and Bradford Pears, Hendersonville, Tennessee.

This is my post for Skywatch Friday, a meme for sharing views of the sky from all over the world.  To see more, or to join and share your own photos of the sky, click HERE.

Yesterday Betsy and I went to Hendersonville to see my parents.  They are about as good as can be expected and we had a nice visit with them.

But in addition to seeing my parents, we also found Spring!  We live on the Plateau here in Tennessee while Hendersonville is in the ‘Nashville Bowl’.  What that means is that our house is about 1500 feet higher than my parents house.

When we left yesterday morning there were no Bradford Pears blooming here in the Glade and the Forsythia was just starting to bud out.  By the time we got off the Plateau we were seeing Bradford Pear trees in bloom all over the place.  We were also seeing blue skies, as in the photo above.

Forsythia, Hendersonville, Tennessee.

We also found Forsythia in bloom.  What a difference 1500 feet can make!

Our Prius is not a large car, but we did our best to bring Spring back up the Plateau with us.  I can hardly wait to see what today brings!

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For Unto Us a Son Is Given

December 24, 2008
The manger at Nashville's Opryland Hotel. December, 2001.

The manger at Nashville's Opryland Hotel. December, 2001.

I’m writing this a little early because Betsy and I will be busy later tonight.  We’re going to head down off the Plateau tonight to attend the Christmas Eve service at St. John (Episcopal) Cathedral in Knoxville.  We enjoy our little church up here on the Plateau, but the Christmas Eve carols and choral Eucharist are very special for us on Christmas Eve.

Since Knoxville is about 90 minutes from here, we get another benefit by going there tonight.  Our travel gives us plenty of time to hear the complete Messiah by Handel.  I’ve been listening to Messiah on Christmas Eve for about 40 years now, and never get tired of it.

And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them:  and they were sore afraid.
And the angel said unto them, Fear not:  for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

May the meaning and joy of Christmas be with you and your family throughout the days ahead.  Merry Christmas.

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Six Random Things

December 20, 2008
chinastudents

My first class of Chinese students. Tianjin, PRC, August, 1987.

I have been tagged by my blog-friend Neal at Photographic Memories to take part in the “Six Random Things About Me” meme.  So here are six random things about me (not necessarily in any order):

1.  When I went to summer orientation before my freshman year in college, my advisor told my father that I was not college material.  Less than seven years later that same man hired me to teach at the same college!

2.  I took my first teaching job in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1963 because they paid a whopping $5000 per year!

3.  When my parents and little sister came to visit us in Montreat, North Carolina, Janet (my sister) was floored that Billy Graham knew my name.

4.  After teaching mathematics for 20 years, the Dean of the College assigned me to teach a course in computer science.  My qualifications?  The junior high my son attended had a computer!

5.  I have taught English as a second language in China on four separate occasions.

6.  I can’t go out to work in the yard without my iPod.

These are the rules:

1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself.
4. Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them.
5. Let each person know they’ve been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

I’m afraid I’m going to let Neal down.  I just don’t feel comfortable tagging people at this time.  (Perhaps after I’ve been at this a while that will change.)  For now, if you would like to tell us six things about yourself, consider yourself tagged.

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Hope Springs Eternal … And the Wait Has Been That Long!

October 3, 2008

You have no idea how frustrating it is to be a Chicago Cub fan.  I remember listening to the Cubs on radio while as a young boy in Northern Indiana.  When we got a television I watched the games.  Ernie Banks was my favorite player — he was wonderful even when the Cubs weren’t.  Each Spring started out with hope and optimism, but they all ended the same way — ‘Wait ’til next year!’.

Cub fans have waited for next year a long time — it’s been 100 years since they won a World Series.  I sure hope we won’t have to wait another 100 years.

During the regular season this year the Cubs were absolutely great — they were probably the best team in baseball.  So what happens in the post-season?  They blow the first game.  Can anyone remember the last time the Cubs won a post-season game?

As I write this the second post-season game hasn’t begun.  I’m almost afraid to tune in when the game starts.

Will the Cubs win this series?  Can they go all the way?  I don’t know — I certainly hope so.  But if not, ‘Wait ’til next year!’.

P.S.  Since I wrote this the Cubbies lost another game.   AAAUGHHHHHHH!

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Consider What The Future Might Bring

September 8, 2008
Sarah Palin accepting the vice-presidential nomination. September 3, 2008.

Sarah Palin accepting the vice-presidential nomination. September 3, 2008.

I’m sure my children will tell you that I’m an old fuddy-duddy, and they might  be right.  But I don’t think that I’m quite the Neanderthal that they sometimes think I am.

For example, is the U. S. ready for a female President or Vice-President?  I think we very well may be.  The excitement generated by the Sarah Palin nomination for Vice-President exceeds anything we’ve seen in a long time.  I feel she has generated much more excitement than did Geraldine Ferraro did in 1980.  Betsy has not been particularly interested in politics since we’ve been together, but she sure is interested now.  She can’t get enough information about the new vice-presidential nominee.

Could Sarah Palin successfully handle the duties of Vice-President?  Yes, I think she could.  Was she the most experienced person John McCain could have picked?  No, but Joe Biden isn’t exactly a a sterling example of ‘change’ for Barack Obama, either.

Maybe we put too much emphasis on experience.  Most of the men and women in Congress are ‘experienced’, but they haven’t had a great record of accomplishment for the past ten years or so.  Maybe we need a few more outsiders!

Can the McCain-Palin ticket win?  I don’t know.  But regardless of the outcome of this election, consider the choice we might face in 2012 or 2016:  Hillary Clinton or Sarah Palin.  Wouldn’t that be something to behold?

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I’ve Moved!

July 15, 2008

As you may know, I’m a big Apple fan. I’ve had Apple computers for more than 25 years — first an Apple II and then Macs. And I absolutely love my iPod.

I started this blog on .Mac, using Apple’s iWeb. At first everything went very well, but then I began having increasing problems. I have to admit that I’m fed up with iWeb as far as a blog is concerned. It takes two or more hours to publish a blog post, and during that time I can’t do much of anything on my computer.

So I’ve moved to this site. I hope to be able to continue my blog here for a good long time. I’ll try my best to keep it interesting.

I’ll try to continue publishing photo pages using iWeb. That process seems to go better than the blog publishing. Links to the photo pages can be found to the right. There is also a link to Betsy’s blog.

I hope to see you again!

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