Country Roads Take Me Home

The last couple of years before J.D. retired from PPG in Lake Charles, Louisiana we bought a camper and lived out of it to save some money and to already have our home on wheels when retirement time came around. The RV park where we lived during that time was owned and operated by Millie Mylander who just happened to originally be from Ohio. We became very close friends during that time and make it a point to stay at her park any time that we are in SW Louisiana. It is always like going home when we do , because Millie, Earl and Deb (their daughter) are like family to us. If you are ever in Sulphur, Louisiana and need a camper park to stay in look up Mylanders RV Park. Millie and Earl will treat you right.

We were busy busy busy while there, trying to get in visits with family and friends. J.D.'s oldest daughter, Darlene hosted a get together at her house. His middle daughter Debra and her family was there, as well as all of the grandchildren, great grandchildren and a couple of long ago friends  of J.D.'s that live in the area. Other than the sweltering heat wave that was going on, it was a great visit.

No trip to Sulphur, Louisiana is complete without getting together with J.D.'s brothers and sister. We did miss visiting with his brother Kennith and his wife Jackie on this trip though, as they were running the roads in North Louisiana while we were there. If memory serves me right, they got back the same day that we left for Texas.          

Our next stop on our journey was Paris, Texas to visit with son, Greg and his family. Greg and everyone else was working when we arrived, but his son-in-law, Butch met us and helped us get the camper settled in. 

I know I mentioned several posts back that Greg is an RN. His wife Tami and mother-in-law Sandra also have careers in the medical field. It has been a dream for the three of them to free lance and travel all over the country when they got their daughters, Alaina and Becky raised. Well, that time is quickly approaching. Alaina is now married with two beautiful children of her own and going to school to be a teacher. Becky is going to school to be an RN.

They are getting their ducks in a row right now, which became obvious when we pulled into the driveway and saw this big  beautiful camper that will be their home when they get their show on the road. It is a beautiful camper and very spacious. I am sure that Greg, Tami and Sandra will be able to live very comfortably in it. They have it all set up and operating. Becky calls it home for right now, which is great because it serves to give her the privacy and  independence of her own place, while at the same time saving her the cost of an apartment.  Another plus to Becky living in the camper now is that the kinks and gremlins that usually shows up in new campers, vehicles, etc. will get worked out and fixed before they take it on the road.

Like all trips, this one came to an end too soon and we were on our way back to Ohio. We had a birthday to celebrate when we got back, a Labor Day camping trip with family here, and a couple of soccer games to attend before I went back to the hospital for my second knee replacement surgery.

There was something that saddened me to see as we made our way south and then back north to home. I couldn't help but notice that  there were so many little country churches along the way that had their doors and windows boarded up. I thought, how sad that the lagging economy has not only found it's way into everyone's lives and homes, but also into God's House. At a time when we can all find the solace we need in the welcoming warmth of God's House and family......... The doors and windows are boarded up. It was then, that I really put some thought into what I was thinking and found a reassuring peacefulness in the knowledge that God's real house can be found within the heart.

By the way, Paddy proved to be an awesome traveling companion. 

............. To Be Continued.   

Moving On To Texas

We left Louisiana early on the morning of Friday, January 9th and headed west for Texas. The drive there was really pretty uneventful. The only trouble we had was finding someplace to eat breakfast so I could take my insulin shot. We left before the crack of dawn, which tends to cut down on our dining choices because there just aren't that many restaurants open that early. We did find a little donut shop eventually...... Yeah, I know! Not a very good choice for a diabetic, but like I said we had very slim pickings on the back roads of Texas (The route that Maggie chose for us). As we started getting into the more populated areas of Texas I noticed what looked like the cameras that Ohio uses to deter speeding and running red lights. There were quite a lot of them, so J.D. and I started waving to the cameras as we went under them and then I started taking pictures of the cameras taking pictures of us. We had a lot of fun with that, only to find out later that they weren't cameras. Instead they were some sort of traffic monitoring devices. They can call it what they want, we still hold to the opinion that they were cameras. Lesson Number one Grasshopper, never ever underestimate Big Brother.

We arrived at Greg and Tammi's about 2 in the afternoon. There was an SUV in the garage with Oklahoma tags, which puzzled me. J.D. rang the doorbell and a strange woman that we didn't know answered the door. I would have given anything to see the look on J.D.'s face when this strange woman opened Greg and Tammi's door, but I was standing behind him. It must have been priceless, because this woman played it out for a few minutes before telling us that she and her sister were there to clean the house.

It wasn't long before the family started arriving. Greg was the first one home and had told us how Miss Audrey had started showing signs of jealousy from time to time with Caden. Before she arrived we decided to make a conscience effort to show her a lot of attention instead of going straight for Caden when they arrived and she just ate it up. She and I connected instantly and she was my constant companion all weekend. She is a very smart little gal. Within an hour she decided that she had too many grandmas and what she really wanted was a sister and asked if I would be her sister. I told her she would have to ask her Mama about that. Mama told us that it was fine with her, because if she wants a sister that is the only way she will probably get one. So from that moment on I became Miss Audrey's Grandsister Jo..... Now how cute is that!

The collage above is just a few of my favorite pictures that we took while we were there. Caden is so much like Miss Audrey when she was his age..... smiles all of the time. To look at him now you would never guess that he had gone through that surgery on his stomach when he was just a few weeks old. It seems like yesterday that Alaina and Becky were still teenagers living at home. Alaina is the mother of two beautiful children and going back to college so she can be a teacher. She has quite a full plate being wife, mother and student. I have complete confidence that she will accomplish what she has set out to do though. Becky is going to school to be a nurse and has her own apartment.

Greg and Tammi came into possession of this antique phonograph quite some time ago. I was amazed that all the speaker amounts to is what appears to be a waxy looking cone of paper. J.D. had a good time looking at the labels on some of the old records in Greg and Tammi's collection.






This is a 100 year old clock that Sandra ~aka~ Nana (Tammi's mother) had. It is a beautiful piece of workmanship. As we oohed and aaaahed over it Sandra said that we should put it in the car, because she was giving it to us. We were dumb founded over her generosity. That is Sandra though..... not a selfish bone in her body. Thank you again Sandra. We will give your clock a loving home and a place of honor where it will shine.



In the wee hours of Monday morning we tiptoed to the car and started our trip homeward. We arrived back at the Home place about 9 PM the same day. Remember when I was telling you about Maggie's attitude when we first started the trip and we ignored her directions to take us through Cincinnati during rush hour? We decided to give Maggie a shot at it on this trip and followed her directions to the letter going home. Would you believe that as we started around Cincinnati, she instructed us to make a turn and we ended up lost and she took us on a turn here and a turn there and a make a legal u-turn at the first opportunity ride, to get us back where we should have been. I am thankful that we didn't follow her direction on the trip south and was equally as glad that on the trip home it wasn't rush hour when she chose to get us turned around in Cincinnati. All in all it was a very good trip, but it so good to be home.



Wishing you all a wonderful weekend filled with the blessings of good health and much happiness.

Road Trip

I am taking a little break from my 'To Do List' to do a post. J.D. and I both have our own lists and they are each pretty long. Very early on the morning of the 2nd we will be loading up the car and heading south to the Lake Charles, Louisiana area and then west to Paris, Texas to visit our Rebel Younguns. If I don't make a list I know that I will walk out the door and get 300 miles down the road and think of something that I either left behind or forgot to do. Angela and Nick will be home from Abu Dhabi from the 4th until the 8th. They make the trip every year to visit Warren's grave on his birthday. It will be a particularly difficult visit this year, as Warren would have been 16 years old on this birthday. Angela especially requested that her Daddy be there this year and so we are going. It will also give us the chance to visit with the other children and grandchildren while we are there.

Before heading home we are going to go just a little further west and visit with Greg and his family in Texas for a little while. We haven't seen that new Great Grand Baby, Caden yet, so we are really looking forward to that. I have lots of hugs and kisses saved up for our little Miss Audrey and can't wait to give them to her. While we are there I want to go to the Paris Cemetery and get a picture of a huge monument they have there so I can share it with all of you. It is a monument of Jesus in cowboy boots. I had no idea that Jesus was a Texan and wore cowboy boots, but those people in Paris, Texas seem to think so.

I am going to have another list when we get back. I have blood work that will need done and then a routine visit with our family doctor and a visit to my Diabetic Boot camp to get checked out by my Endocrinologist. My Rhuematologist is going to fix my knee up with Synvisc Injections. It is a gel that he will inject into my knee and is supposed to act as the cushioning that is no longer there. I will get one injection per week for thee weeks in a row. It is supposed to last for 6 months. The nurse from his office called yesterday to let me know that the Synvisc had come in. So I will need to figure out when I can fit these injections into my life. I have mixed feelings about these injections, but the bottom line is that the pain has increased to where it wakes me up most every night and that is after laying there dealing with the pain most nights for a couple of hours before I can fall asleep. It will be a solution to the pain.

Hoping you all are having a blessed week.

Santa Biker

It wasn't so many years ago that the very word 'BIKER' brought visions of the Hells Angels sort to mind. These visions making you want to run and lock up your daughters and hide some place yourself. Things have changed a lot over the past 30 or 40 years.

The biker of today comes from many walks of life. They are professionals, the same as they are good old boys that punch a time clock every day. Riding in the back is no longer where you are likely to find women these days. There are probably as many women on the road steering those bikes as men. Don't be surprised to see senior citizens amongst the roles of today's bikers either.

If not for the effort of a lot of Bikers and their clubs around the country many children would do without Christmas every year. They get out there on their bikes and do Santa Runs, Toy Runs, and Christmas Runs to bring in the toys for the children that otherwise would not receive anything for Christmas. God bless every one of the bikers that give so freely of themselves.

Our Texas younguns, Greg and Tammi, as well as Tammi's mama, Sandra are all bikers. This past summer Greg and Sandra rode their bikes from Texas to Ohio for a little visit. I was impressed with what good time they made. The three of them are medical professionals and would you believe there's not a single beard between them. This post is for all of you.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Twas the night before Christmas, And not until Spring
Would a motor be running, not even a Wing.
The bikes are all sleeping, they're covered and warm,

Batteries are tended, nylon covers their form.

My Bros were all nestled down snug in their beds,
While visions of new chrome danced in their heads.
And I in my do-rag, bike jacket and boots
Out shoveling snow, and dreaming of scoots.

Then from the horizon there came such a clatter

My shovel I dropped, what could be the matter?
Away up the hill, I slogged through the snow
Looked up at the sky; where'd all that noise go?

Then a throb from the heavens, like straight pipes so hearty
Gave Summers' good thoughts, a loud bikers' party.
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear
But a Hog Ultra Classic, Red trailer in rear!

With a little old rider, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.
More rapid than a V-Rod his Ultra came on,
And he whistled, and shouted, and sang out this song;

"Now, Springer! Now, Dyna! On Ultra and Softail!
Now Vulcan! Now Injun! On Vict'ry and Triumph!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now RIDE away! RIDE away! RIDE away all!"

As small bikes that from the semis do fly,
When they meet with the air blast, mount to the sky,
So up to the house-top that Ultra it flew
With a trailer of goodies, and ole' St. Nick too

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The rumble and thunder of pipes that gave proof.
I ran in the house, boots thumping around,
And in came St. Nick all bearded and round

Dressed all in black leather, from do-rag to boot
His chaps were all tarnished with road grime and soot;
A T-bag of goodies he'd flung on his back
And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack

His shades -- how they twinkled! his do-rag how scary!
With chains intertwined, through skulls that were cherry!
His droll little mouth had done many a row,
So the beard of his chin was as white as the snow.

The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
The smoke had a strange smell; it gave him relief.
He had a broad face and a large fat beer belly
That shook when he laughed like a bowlful of jelly

He was tattooed and plump, a right jolly old rider,
So I offered a cold brew, thought what could be righter?
A wink of his eye as he downed that cold beer,
Gave me to know I had nothing to fear

He spoke not a word, but went straight to my ride
And fixed it with Chrome, Horsepower and Pride
And giving the peace sign with bikers' good cheer
Strode off to his Ultra rumbling near

He sprang on the saddle, his gloves on the bars
A wheelie he threw; then off towards the stars
I heard him exclaim, as my chest swelled with pride

"MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL,

AND TO ALL A GOOD RIDE!"

A Jo note: I couldn't find credit for this poem anywhere. If anyone knows who the author is please leave that information in the comments so I can give credit. TY