My Greatest Tourist Experience Ever: A Ghost Story

I don't know what it's like to "see the pyramids along the Nile".  I've never visited Ireland, the birthplace of most of my ancestors.  Neither have I walked on Roman streets or seen the Tower of London.  I still hold out a faint hope to visit the Sydney Opera House (though I'll take a pass on the Outback).  You see, I've never even had a passport.  But I have had some humdinger vacations in my own country.

During high school, I saw Gatlinburg and Nashville, Tennessee, twice.  Once was on chorus tour where we sang at various places en route.  The other was with a group of Southern Baptist girls going to a retreat at Ridgecrest, North Carolina.

I got to go on a fishing trip with a college friend.  We passed through the "twin cities" before we reached Sal's resort in the north.  There I had the best luck fishing of anytime in my life.

While waiting to see the White House, I started remarking how my deceased father, the high school history teacher/guidance counselor, nee coal miner, would have loved to be with us.  Then I remembered how he hated standing in line.  Same goes for the Library of Congress and the Smithsonian.

Riding the streetcars of San Francisco and watching my older two children talk to Mickey Mouse at Disneyland seemed unbeatable.

As a single parent, tired to the depths from taking care of others, I took a Pressley tour through the south.  It culminated in New Orleans where I got to sample Po' Boys and Gumbo, as well as jazz at Preservation Hall.  It was wonderful to experience the atmosphere where music, not drink was the point and purpose.  No alcohol was served there. 

I've made several trips to Florida, especially the Tampa area.  I even lived there the better part of a year.  Epcot Center was great, as was Mt. Dora where I bought a quilt made in Missouri, a long-term home.  Long Boat Key holds a special spot in my heart.  It was one of the few places where I actually got to visit the beach.  Perhaps Tarpon Springs is my favorite in that area.  I like the boats along the coast.  I tell myself that it gives a flavor of what a trip to Greece might bring.

We should not negate the fun and rest from many trips to Lake of the Ozarks where, as young marrieds, we owned a literal log cabin.  There I found my second best fishing experience.

On Oahu, we did the Circle Island Tour where a native Hawaiian explained to us that we mainlanders couldn't pronounce muumuu.  He said the only moo moos on the island were cows.  The proper pronunciation, according to Lorne, is "moo oo, moo oo".  He treated us to fried chicken breaded with pineapple juice rather than milk (yum) and showed us the best spot for surfing.

We safely skirted Pele's volcano and shopped in the International Marketplace.  We bought souvenirs for others.  I spent the money I had saved for my own favorite kind of souvenirs.  I bought one ring in pink coral and a second made from one of Pele's tears, otherwise known there as the olivine.  Here it is called a peridot.

We visited the beach.  I heard my husband deliver a research paper to the American Psychological Association.  I, as a faculty wife, attended more presentations than that APA member, who took time to visit a local dog handler.  Their common bond was Afghan Hounds.  I burst into tears in a restaurant upon hearing words of a song, "Baby, baby don't get hooked on me."  Not for any normal reason either.  My three year old son's rendition was "Baby, baby don't you pick on me."  I was homesick for my kids.  In fact, when I said I couldn't wait to board the plane and get back to them, one of my husband's colleagues called me a glutton for punishment.

But relating all of these wonderful experiences, there is no event more memorable than the following.  We were aboard a tourist charter boat.  The people nearest us were a John Wayne look-alike and an elderly lady who just oozed greatness, whoever she was.  Her face showed every crack and crevice of a long eventful life.  I was fascinated with her.

Yet, suddenly the atmosphere changed.  There was a spiritual charge.  The feeling was so strong that I felt the very presence of all those souls.  The memories began to flood.

I heard an Orson Welles type voice announce, once more, "The Japanese have bombed Pearl Harbor."  I saw my parents and grandparents scurrying around, speaking in hushed voices.  I listened to President Roosevelt explain what had happened.  I was, once again, in Junction City, Kansas, where my Father received his basic training at Fort Riley. 

My Mother and brother and I were in that little trailer where we stayed so we could spend what might conceivably be the last minutes we would ever have with my Dad.  I saw the landlady who let Mom use her oven to bake a pork roast and a chocolate cake for my little brother's third birthday.  I heard the little guy going around the bustling town of Junction City, walking up to strangers saying "Hi.  You don't know me.  I'se Jimmy."  I remembered myself singing Mares-e-doats (Mares eat oats) for a group of soldiers in a large hall; a mess hall, I guess.  How could I forget it all in the presence of the souls of all those who lost their lives during that surprise attack so long ago?  By this time you no doubt know that we were making our way toward the Arizona Memorial on Pearl Harbor.

December 7 is just around the corner.  May we, during the Thanksgiving holiday, remember to thank those souls of World War II for sacrificing their lives in an attempt to protect our country, our values, our freedom.  Let us thank all peacekeepers everywhere.  For me there has been no greater sight to see or feeling to feel than what I experienced at the Arizona Memorial that day.  It was the best tourist site ever.

On Being Thankful

Thank you Father for all the wonderful gifts that you have granted us.  As we journey through this next week toward our Thanksgiving celebrations, we want to recognize you, once more, for the gift of life, for stuff and for stuffing.

I appreciate the trip down memory lane through which you have recently guided me.  Thanks for the Aunt who came to live with us a while, who provided me with the only "sister" I ever knew.  I remember sharing a bedroom with her, the times she took me to see Shirley Temple movies and especially the time she and I both got in trouble because she bought me two banana splits. 

Thanks for the two little brothers.  I remember how much "GiGi" liked chocolate pie and the way he said ooden, ooden as he ran his cars around the backyard trees.  I remember babysitting my baby brother and watching him enjoy Winkey Dink and You on Saturday mornings.  I still smile as I "see" him dressed in his Sunday finest going around the church shaking hands with the grownups, and he such a happy little boy.

We also appreciate the uncles who came for visits, and sometimes slept on our couch.  Thanks for the one who brought the kewpie dolls and the kaleidoscope for us to enjoy and the one who brought his children for visits.

Thank you for the uncle who saw that I got to attend the concerts of the visiting violinists and pianists, and others.  I'm grateful for the grandfather that took us on an outing and cooked pork chops and eggs for my little brother and me.  I thank you for the grandfather and great grandmother a couple of hours away and for the occasions when I got to visit with them.  I still remember the great grandmother making sugar cookies on a griddle on top of a wood burning kitchen range.  Thank you, too, for the grandmother and step grandfather who were constants in my life.  They provided so much in the way of emotional support and "stuff" that enhanced a little girl's existence. 

I appreciate the cousins and second cousins that I got to meet on those rare occasions of family events.  Thank you for Ken and Fran and the excitement they brought with them after the war.

I'm also especially grateful for the childhood friends who have kept in touch off and on over these many years.  They remain among my favorite people to this day. 

I thank you for Facebook, where we can stay in touch and know what is happening in each other's lives.  Will you please bless the people who created this gift for us all?

I appreciate the Christmases, when as we celebrated the birth of Jesus, we got to celebrate each other as well.  Thanks for the memories of the grandparents and uncle who used to walk across the alley on Christmas Eve so they could place gifts under our Christmas tree.

Thank you for our trees and flowers.  We appreciate the way you provided us with food from many of those trees and from our bushes. 

You know, for sure, we appreciate the roof over our heads, the food to eat, our clothes and shoes and the public and private means of transportation we have available. 

Thank you for my children, grandchildren and the little great grands.

Thank you for providing Jesus so we could be forgiven for our sins.  And thank you, Jesus, for the great sacrifice you made for us.

Thank you also for ending our wars and bringing as many of our babies as you can home to us. 

We pray for the health and wellbeing of our family, friends and even our enemies.

Thank you, once more, for all you have provided to each and every individual on earth.  May You improve the lot of those who are less well off than we.  May you provide us all with peace on earth.

We praise you for your lessons and your gracious  presence in our lives.

Amen

P. S.  I don't want to leave out Hocker and Bickey, my imaginary friends who got me through a lot of lonely hours.  I'll not forget the fun we had when Daddy removed the old baseboards and found my Mother's nail file.  Hocker and Bickey had abandoned my gift there when they "moved on down the street" to play with other children.  You know my heart and the rest for which I am grateful.

Seven Wonders of the Ancient World

Of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, as described by World Book, the Pyramids of Egypt are the only ones visible to the people of our planet today.

Three of the Wonders were destroyed by earthquakes many generations ago. These included the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, meant to be the tomb of Mausolus, a Persian ruler.  The second, The Colossus of Rhodes, a statue that was built to honor Helios, the sun god.  The third was the Lighthouse (Pharos) of Alexandria.

The Temple of Artemis was burned to the ground twice.  The second time it was burned on purpose by the Goths.  The statue of Zeus in Olympia, simply disappeared.  (My take on it is that it was probably due to the fact it was made of gold and ivory.  Can't you see it in the hands of today's chop shop artists or our copper thieves?)

The exact location of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon has never been solved.  It is not possible to identify the remains of this great wonder in our time.

Statues and pieces of some of these beautiful structures can be viewed in the British Museum in London.

Don't you question what will be the great wonders of our time several thousand years from now when this will be viewed as part of the ancient world?

The Seasons

It looked like winter out there today.  There was enough of a nip in the air that I should have worn my gloves.  The leaves are falling, but they are still beautiful colors.

I suppose all of God's creation has it's gorgeous moments.  While my grandson was serving in Iraq, he sent a card with a desert scene on one row, a group of wicker chairs (one holding a sleeping dog) on the next, and a Midwestern farm scene on the bottom.  The sentiment says, "Enjoy the little things.  You might look back and realize they were the big things".  Three scenes of beauty in three separate environments.  Usually though, we humans don't see anything as beautiful as fall.  I remember one time writing that the scene outside my window looked like it was snowing leaves. 

Just when I tell someone Fall is the best, we have an ice storm.  Talk about beauty!  How can we top that?  Then in a couple of blinks, we see a crocus or a tulip break  through the snow.

It's a little harder, while breathing in the heat and steam of summer, to see as much to admire.  Or is it?  We have roses, daisies, hibiscus, on and on . . .  And then we get the welcome news that the grass growing has been slowed, as has the need to mow.

I cannot imagine living in a tropical climate every day -- and then I look at that greeting card again.  I'm reminded that there is beauty in all God's lands.  That includes deserts, tropics, four seasons and more.

Take time to live and enjoy it all.