Be Thou My Vision

“Fireballs and leather, ah, smells just like Big Al Pop’s truck”.  This was the comment made by our granddaughter, Savannah, when she smelled the combined candle scents of leather and cinnamon.  Anybody that knows Big Al knows there are some constants in his life that define him.  On the physical level he is known, among other things, for his big white, Ford F350, King Ranch truck and the jar of red, hot fireballs that are always present in it.  The fireball supply is freely given to any passengers and then replenished from Cracker Barrel whenever we make a trip to Tennessee.  Sometimes sweet friends or family that have been the recipients of them will bring him a new supply.  His truck really does smell of “fireballs and leather”.  The scent is welcoming, familiar, and speaks of Big Al.  Smells, aromas, fragrances, whatever you call them, are so powerful.  They evoke memories, whether good or bad.  Most often they are welcome, rea...

I used to work at a hospital in my hometown that was well know for its beautiful flowers growing all around it.  They were a bright spot for the patients and employees that came and went each day.  I was among those admirers as I arrived and departed for work.  Every morning I would look for any new blooms.  At that time the gardens were attended by a lovely, English woman who quietly attended to them each day.  As a hobby gardener, who is constantly battling the invading weeks in my garden, I was curious to know how this gardener kept these gardens so free of weeds.  There just had to be a special remedy as yet unknown to me.  I had to know! One day on my way in to work, I decided to just ask.  “How in the world do you keep the gardens so free of weeds?”, I inquired of the gardener.  Her answer totally surprised me.  In her wonderful British accent, she replied, “Oh dear, you just pluck them.”  Just pluck them!  Was she kidd...

Moving to Long Island, NY from Charlotte, TN has been a culture shock to say the least.  The landscape, culture, and customs are very different.  One of the biggest differences is the driving.  Going anywhere in your vehicle in NY requires aggressiveness, fearlessness, and finesse.  NY drivers have no patience for hesitation, or courtesy for the most part.  Don’t even think about stopping and letting someone out in front of you.   In the NY street system, a common site is the roundabout.  The only one that I know of in the Nashville area is the one on Music Square that goes around the naked statue.   Since they are prevalent where we now live, I’ve had to learn how to navigate them.  The principle of how they work sounds great.  Instead of having to stop for a light or sign, the traffic keeps moving to the right in a circular fashion until the driver gets to the street they want to exit on to.  They are designed to keep the traffic ...

Although it sounds like an understatement, when I severely broke my ankle, it hurt.  Same thing with my wrist.  The body immediately reacts to a fractured bone.  Pain is immediate and severe.  Swelling and discoloration follow.  The bone, once whole and intact, is now damaged and misaligned.  That bone now has to be fixed and heal.   In my case both of these breaks reqired surgery complete with metal plates and screws.  The surgeries were followed by more pain, weeks in a cast, doctor's appointments to monitor the healing process, and intense physical therapy.  In addition to all that there was the annoyance and inconvenience of not being able to perform the daily tasks of living. Dependance on someone else to help with even the simplest task is not easy for me.  The good news is that now healed they tell me that those bones are stronger then ever.  Mere bone, as miraculous and complicated as it is, is now reinforced with titanium....

Eggs without yolks, how can that be? That was a question raised by myself and others while in Uganda, Africa on our mission trip this March. On this trip we were immersed in a completely different culture. Food, especially, was a real experience. We were blessed to stay in a wonderful, clean little hotel in Mityana where the staff took such good care of us. They cooked breakfast and dinner for us every day. The food was different, but sustaining and relatively good if you were willing to stretch and try new things! At breakfast and by request, we could order scrambled eggs. We were thrilled to have them, but their appearance was unlike any egg I’ve ever seen. They were pale and appeared to have no yolk. For several days we speculated about what they would be doing with the yolks from our eggs. We just assumed that given the scarcity of food and their resourcefulness that they were using the yolks for another purpose and using only the whites for our breakfast eggs. One mo...

Swing! Swing, my classmates kept screaming. I stood poised at home plate waiting for the pitch. Palms sweating, dread filling every part of my body, I would rather have been anywhere other than there. You see, I come from a family void of any interest in sports. Even though my extended family is huge, when we got together, sports were neither the activity or the topic of discussion. In addition to this, I have never been known for my agility, speed, or strength. So, needless to say physical education class was always a source of great anxiety and dread. Feelings of embarrassment, fear, and inadequacy were my constant companions during those school years. On this particular day embarrassment reached a new pinnacle. In my hesitancy and dread I was paralyzed. At the time it seemed that not swinging would be preferable to swinging and missing. Oh how wrong I was! As I stood there wishing the ground would swallow me, the pitch came and unbelievably hit my stationary bat! The...

My track record with cell phones is less than stellar! I go thru phones at a very unacceptable rate. Their demise is due to a variety of reasons. My last phone prior to my moving into the “smart phone” world survived a dip in the toilet and a night out on the trail in the snow. The fact that it still worked was miraculous. Last year I was due for an upgrade and I decided I was ready for a smart phone. I got one of the new Droids. What an amazing device! However, I soon discovered that smart phones are very moisture sensitive among other things. About three months after getting my new Droid, I put it in my back jeans pocket and you guessed it, plunk, in the toilet. I got it out super quick but to no avail. It was dead! No problem, I had insurance. So, a trip to the Verizon store and $89 later I had a brand new Droid. The salesman did caution me that I was only allowed two insurance claims on the life of the phone, so “be careful with this one”, he said. All was well un...