Alphabet Soup

Carla tells me that I had a very strange experience while at her house...I had a TGA. Ever heard of that? Its transient global amnesia...and I will just have to take her word for it, because I do not remember a single thing about it (thats why its called amnesia, right? One minute we were picking up piles of weeds in her back yard that we had been pulling, and the next minute i was lying on a bed in the ER of St. Luke's...and in between an hour and a half had gone by. Well, I am not sure I want to believe all the things Carla tells me transpired during that time...my conversation was OK, I dressed myself to go to the hospital, I repeated a lot of things over and over and over, I spoke on the phone to my son-in-law, but now its only her word against mine! Carla took me to exactly the right place - St. Luke's Hospital in Kansas City, renowned for its work with brain, stroke, and heart situations. I was blessed to have Carla by my side the entire time, day and night, and her friend Lesa keeping us company in the ER. I was blessed by a terrific team of doctors and nurses, who checked on me all the time, day and night. I was blessed to hear from many of you, or you talked to Carla, and your prayers supported me. The alphabet was a very important part of all of this - for I had a TGA (not a TIA, as first suspected); they ran me through every test you can imagine..CT scan, Echocardiogram, MRI, MRI Brain, EKG, ECG, EEG (someday I'll check out what all those mean!) The neurologist told me I had "nice brain waves" and everyone else agreed I was just fine. So they sent me home to resume my life as before..no changes, no meds, and my fervent prayer that it does not ever happen again! I am so grateful to all those caring folks at St. Luke's. Fortunately, I have very little hospital experience, and this was a very good experience.

Kansas City & Marshall MO

Carla and I made a day trip to Marshall MO - we lived there for 13 years, both girls went all through school there and graduated from Marshall High (Carla just returned from her 25th reunion - how could that possibly be?) Some special friends joined us at the country club for lunch and lots of visiting - all of these have very special connections to us and the friendships have been ongoing for many many years. The group included Sally & Scotty Campbell, Virgil & Nancy Rabe, Larry & Anita Wright, and Don & Norma Rutter. Wasn't that fun? The passing years have made the friendships stronger, and the stories seem to get bigger and better with each passing day. Thanks to all of you for all those memories! There is a downside to all those passing years, and one of them is our former home on Brunswick St. in Marshall. This was a house where Jerry hung out often when he was a college student at Missouri Valley College and the house belonged to his buddy's grandparents during college days. We had some of the most fabulous times in that home - we put our heart, soul, sweat and blood into redoing the inside of the house. It was the setting of many many gatherings of these friends, our church family folk, the college youth (called Rap 'n Sing) which met every Sunday evening in our living room, the porch swing on the front porch where we spent every available moment, and on and on the list goes. Well, it is pitiful today...and nearly broke my heart. The walls of that house are filled with lots and lots of love and laughter as well as tears and aches...and its falling apart. But here is the only upside....when we lived here, the lot was pretty barren..and Jerry planted anything he could get his hands on. One of our college students came by one day with a tiny little sapling in a paper cup...it was growing up between the cracks in the sidewalk in front of Black Hall (then a men's dorm) and would be pulled out and destroyed, so he thought Jerry might like it. WOW! Or the memories of this tree--Grandma Lucy, a precious dear oldster in our church family, wanted us to have a sycamore tree, so one day it was delivered to us and planted in this spot. Later, when we built the family room on the back of our house and opened up the kitchen, the room size was determined by what would fit without disturbing this tree or its root system! Just look at it now! And then our favorite time at Carla's home - morning coffee (or it could be evening - we don't care when it is!) around her firepit on her back deck. Thank goodness for cooler weather so we can do this now. Its a joy to be this close to Kansas City and the opportunity for more time spent with Carla. In September I join her to host our PEO chapter at her house. Carla is the president of our chapter this year, so thats a special joy for her mama!

A PS to Summer Entertainment

Before we leave, I just need to add this...as I mentioned earlier, the hottest outside event ever was "Beauty & the Beast" at Starlight last Thursday. However, the evening was made perfect by friend Lesa, who brought us all princess items to wear into the theatre so we could be in the theme of the show. Jerry was the best of all...I must say the later earrings he wore set off the tiara better--they were actually bracelets which he looped around his ears. But this was marvelous. Thanks, Lesa.

Summer experiences

This has been a great summer for theatre. When we found we would be coming to Wichita, Carla got us season tickets for the Starlight Theatre in Kansas City. Both Jerry and I have memories of going to productions there many years ago (this is Starlight's 60th anniversary!) We have seen a glorious production of "Beauty and the Beast" (on the hottest evening I can ever remember being at an outdoor event), Mo-town music in "Dreamgirls", Melissa Gilbert herself as Ma in "Little House on the Prairie"...and we look forward to "The Producers" and "Rain" to complete the season. This month Pat, Jerry and I headed for Palo Duro Canyon. This has to be a well-kept secret in this country--its just spectacular..who needs the Grand Canyon? If we thought it was hot in Kansas or Oklahoma, you should have joined us at the bottom of the canyon! When Pat's thermometer hit 128 in the sun, she packed it away--we don't even want to know! The production "Texas" was superb...great enthusiasm, dancing and singing from all those folks in the play...their energy was amazing. The amphitheatre built into the bottom of the canyon with those steep walls is glory in itself--especially when the deer stand at the top and look down on you...and the cowboy on his horse rides to the edge of the canyon wall carrying his flag. It makes you proud to be a Texan even if you are not!

2010 Bloys Cowboy Camp Meeting

Camp Meeting began in 1890 in Skillman Grove, just outside of Ft. Davis TX. (If you really want to read more about its history, you can google it!) In the beginning it was probably tents and wagons, then cabins, and now we have an RV park across the highway, where we can park our motor home. Our RV spots have full hook-ups, so we are very much at home. If we could not take our RV (as was the case when we were in Sammamish WA), the Presbyterian pastor has use of the Presbyterian Cabin, a little 3 bedroom, 2 bath, cabin centrally located on the grounds. The setting is gorgeous, the altitude is 6400' so the nights are cool, and the sky is radiant. What an opportunity! One of our neighbors in the RV park called for a jam session on the evening before camp meeting opened...lots of good folks brought their lawn chairs to listen to the guitar, keyboard and fiddle make music together, with good singing as well. I sure hope this becomes an annual event, for my fiddler husband thoroughly enjoyed himself! Three meals a day are served by the six cooksheds - there is plenty of good food, I can assure you. This is one of the cooking teams at the Burnett Camp who serve up a great breakfast. The children are just a delight. All ages have their own programs going on during the day in various locations. This youngster was so pleased with his bubbles that I just had to capture him for this blog. The kids love to climb on the boulders that surround the camp, climb the mountain to find the Bat Cave, and the temperature does not seem to bother them at all! Family and friendships form the Bloys Community. For many families, it is always their family reunion and folks come from far away to be present. We met Peter & Diane from WA a few years ago, just as we were preparing to move to WA for an interim. So Bloys has now become our reunion time with them. Ralph, Pat Mundy (Enid OK) and Jerry visit on the porch of the Presbyterian cabin. Ralph & Sally (Midland) have joined us for several years at Bloys. One evening the Greens joined us and we headed for Van Horn TX, halfway between Ft. Davis and El Paso, to meet our El Paso family & friends who met us for dinner at the newly remodeled and opened El Capitan Hotel. What a great occasion. There are 4 denominations among the clergy..preachers are from the Baptist, Disciples of Christ and Methodist churches, while the Presbyterian pastor teaches the Bible Study. This was Jerry's 4th year to have this opportunity, and he opened the Book of Acts for us. Each pastor is invited by his denomination. Only the Baptists have a time limit on it, and their pastor serves for 5 years. That meant that this was Jim Dennison's 5th and last year to be with us, and we shall miss him next year. It was truly a highlight for Jerry to have Marge Carpenter with us for a day. Marge was moderator of our denomination in 1995-96, loves Jesus, and is a powerful advocate for the mission work of the church. Jerry had closed the previous day's Bible Study by starting to tell us of some of the folks who are in his personal Hall of Fame and only mentioned the late Andy Edington and ran out of time...so he was to begin the next day by telling us some others--walked into the Tabernacle that morning and there was Marge, who was the next person Jerry intended to mention. Now is that a God-blessing, or what? This week is so special - there are so many blessings that we see happening all around us every day. The preaching is certainly annointed, and the music is like unto heaven, I am sure. Thanks to all of you who have a part in Bloys for making it possible, and for allowing us to be a part of it. P.S. Here is a video clip taken by a friend at Bloys - perhaps you will enjoy it, and also get a feel for the fabulous inspiring music that was shared during the week. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzR03mnRG24&feature=player_embedded (You may have to cut and paste.)

The Empty Cabin

When we first moved to Midland, we were invited each year to come to Bloys Cowboy Camp Meeting by the Beals. This is their cabin at Skillman Grove, site of BCCM. We attended several times, usually just for one or two nights, sleeping in one of the many sleeping rooms in this cabin. The porch held a wonderful swing on the end, and the big wooden rockers would be brought over from the ranch and placed on the front porch. All day and evening there were folks sitting on the front porch, visiting with each other, praying together, talking about the Bible Study that morning, or sharing insights from one of the sermons we had heard. And the children--lots of children and youngsters of all sizes and ages, running up and down the stairs, climbing the nearby boulders and mountains, coming in for water, playing on the tire swing. The walls of the kitchen of the Beal cabin are covered with signatures and comments from previous years, newcomers adding their names to the growing list. Each year grandchildren and friends were measured and their growth recorded on the sheet rock. Let's not forget the homemade ice cream--one evening of the week, ice cream was churned in the kitchen, and we would gather after evening worship and share in its deliciousness, with all the toppings. In my years of attending Bloys, this cabin has been the center of activity and family times, so it was heart-breaking to walk by and see the cabin windows all closed up, and the doors padlocked. The absence of any of the Beals in our Bloys community left a real void in the lives of many of us who were regular visitors on this porch. We treasure the memories that we have built being there. The absence of any of Beal family at the 2010 Bloys Campmeeting was our loss, and we hope that next year we will be reunited there, and once again, the cabin will ring with laughter, hugs, ice cream, and special conversations. P.S. The absence of any of our friends in the Beal cabin this year was just "one of those things"--conflicting schedules, pre-school activities, a 50th anniversary celebration the weekend prior out in Colorado--just scheduling conflicts that could not be avoided. So perhaps that will change next year.....