Thankful, Thankful

We are so thankful this Thanksgiving for so many things -- but especially for Connie's visit to the dentist's office on the day before Thanksgiving. We had just finished seven out of nine weeks on the road exhibiting at conventions. Prior to the last convention Connie developed a toothache and saw her regular dentist. The prognosis was that she might need to visit an Endodonist for a root canal. Sure enough that was the conclusion after she suffered through several days of medicated misery. The Lord arranged a miracle cancellation so that we could hurry back to Rocky Mount from Washington, D.C., for a Wednesday appointment.

We had planned to have Thanksgiving in Northern Virginia, but, instead, we drove to Raleigh for a turkey dinner at Mimi's Cafe. This is the third time in five years that we have enjoyed Mimi's Thanksgiving feast -- first in Orlando, then Fort Worth, and now in Raleigh.

We highly recommend Mimi's Cafe -- here is the feast! (Plus pumpkin pie.)

At our Washington convention Connie met one of her favorite telephone customers. Her name is Myrrh. Can you tell that she is timid and shy, just like Connie?
Here is a little Southern cultural experience that we have every fall. We drive past a Cotton Gin every day we go to work in the tiny town of Whitakers, North Carolina.
This what cotton looks like when it comes in nowadays from the cotton fields. These are huge bales that are the size of the inside of a semi-trailer. There are not as many cotton fields in Eastern Carolina these days as when we moved here thirteen years ago, but the finishing process has become more hi-tech.

A NIGHT TO REMEMBER IN NORMAL (Actually it was in Bloomington)

Following the Lindblom Reunion (see below), we had the privilege on Sunday morning of attending Marquette Manor church and speaking in the Youth Department Sunday School class. After the morning service we hitched up the trailer and headed for Normal, Illinois, to camp at the Calvary Baptist property and attend the Sunday evening church service. It was fun to attend Calvary and see many friends where we had lived and served from 1966 t0 1970, and then again from 1978 to 1985.

On Monday morning we had to do a mound of laundry. But in the afternoon we enjoyed the beautiful weather and took an 11 mile bike ride on the excellent Constitution Trail. This trail is the former railroad trackbed that ran right behind the house where we lived from '78 to '85. Here is Connie in front of our old house at 22 Broadway Place in Normal.

Here is the Camelback Bridge that is just a block north where we lived. This a good shot of the trail heading north.
We fondly remembered this drainage ditch that was one of Chad's first "fishing holes" back in the 1980s.
But the great blessing was a wonderful dinner gathering that we had that Monday evening at the Olive Garden in neighboring Bloomington. We had asked Dan and Jane Shickle if they could invite some friends to go out for dinner. Bless their hearts -- but 27 of them showed up!
It was a great evening of sharing testimonies, experiences and remembrances. We are hoping to plan a Reunion Singspiration for sometime in 2010 if possible.

50th HIGH SCHOOL REUNION

From Iowa we made our way to Kansas City to exhibit at our third convention. As soon as the convention was over on Friday we dashed toward Illinois so that I could arrive at my 50th High School Reunion that began at 3 pm on Saturday at he Holiday Inn in Hinsdale, Illinois. We drove the 500 miles and made it on time. Actually, we arrived in time to park our trailer at Marquette Manor Baptist in Darien, which was about 10 minutes away from the Holiday Inn where the reunion was held.

What a great experience that evening was! George LaBine and his committee did a superb job planning and organizing a delightful evening of memories. We had 99 class members attend, out of 478 listed in our 1959 yearbook. Back in the day the Chicago Public Schools operated on a semester system and therefore held a January and June graduation each year. Our reunion for the Lindblom High School Class of 1959 included both groups.
It was fun checking the "lanyard photos" around our classmates necks to see who we could remember and identify. I enjoyed immensely the opportunity to reconnect with classmates after so many years.
The program included a delicious dinner, plus a very interesting video and several special features. Of course there was time for lots of pictures and lots of conversation.
Here I am talking with Jack Beasant and Jo Mannino; with Ron Lach on the left in the background. Connie enjoyed herself and did a great job snapping priceless pictures.

STOPPING AT THE AMANA COLONIES

After leaving Madison we headed southwest toward Iowa, on our way to Kansas City for our next convention. Late in the afternoon we pulled into the campground at the Amana Colonies and were informed that water would not be available after 5 pm due to the freezing temperatures. The next morning we had to wait until about 9 am before the thermometer crept to 32 degrees so that we could connect the water hose and take showers.

Then we drove into town and spent a little time in the historic Amana Colony. Here is Connie at the Woolen Mill after she purchased a worm, woolen scarf to fend off the chilly weather.

We enjoyed some shopping and some historic investigating. The woolen mill is still operated and then the products are sold in the same building. Our visit was timely on account of the very early cold temperatures.
We discovered the Brick Haus Restaurant in Amana and enjoyed a wonderful lunch. Seated next to our table was delightful group of ladies who belong to the Red Hat Society. We had heard of "Red Hatters" and so we asked if we could take their picture. They obliged -- and that gesture led to the responsibility of being their de facto photographer for awhile. They were a lively bunch!

VISITING KRISTY & KIRK

We've arrived home after 28 days and 4.300 miles on the road. Next is a trip to Lancaster and Gettysburg, PA. Our first two weekends in October were spent in Chattanooga with Kristy and Brian, and then Madison with Kirk. Chad and Jen were off to warm Guatemala, and we endured 25 degree cold in Wisconsin -- but it was worth it!

In Chattanooga we arrived in time to participate in Kristy's neighborhood Garage Sale. Here is the "Sale Lady and Crew" on a beautiful fall morning.

Then before we left town on Monday morning we were able to visit Kristy at her school. Here is Kris and Mom in the classroom. It is in the blood!
We even were able to sit-in on one of Kristy's classes. It was fun to interact with the students and see Kris at work.
The next weekend we were in the cold north with Kirk. It even snowed a little at our campground. We had a great time hanging out with Kirk, which included grilling brats at the KOA.
Before we left the Madison area we were able to visit Kirk's place of employment. Here is Kirk at the front door of the offices of REM Wisconsin. We were very impressed with the quality facilities and friendly staff members of this interesting company. Kirk loves his job and we were pleased to see him doing so well.
Here is Kirk in his office cubicle at the REM headquarters. His work keeps him very busy as he manages the lives of six clients. We even were able to meet one of Kirk's charges. We left Madison on Monday, October 12th and headed for Kansas City by way of the Amana Colonies of Iowa.

A Visit to Uncle Remus

We began our fall convention trip two weeks ago by traveling to the sunny state of Georgia. We just left Madison, Wisconsin where the temperature dipped to 25, and we had snow flurries! What a contrast!

On our way through Georgia we happened to see an interesting place. It was the Uncle Remus Museum in the small Central Georgia town of Eatonton, about 45 miles southeast of Atlanta. This town was the boyhood home of Joel Chandler Harris, who was the author of the Uncle Remus stories.

As a boy my dad would read the stories about Brer Rabbit and Brer Fox. These stories were created by Mr. Harris and originally published in the Atlanta Constitution newspaper. A number of years ago Cousin Dave Gunzel gave me a small book containing some of these stories as a gift. I have kept that book in my office as a remembrance. We enjoyed a short visit to the very fascinating museum that is located in a log cabin made from two original slave cabins.

You can learn more about the museum at http://www.uncleremus.com/index.html. Here is Connie being welcomed by Brer Rabbit.

This plaque explains the historical significance of the site.

Connie is standing at the door...it was a neat museum.

Here I am stirrin up trouble!

I got stuck in the "Briar Patch"

From Eatonton we traveled on to Macon for our first convention. We camped at the beautiful Lake Tobesofkee County Park just west of Macon. The only problem was that we did not get an opportunity to enjoy the lake property, except for a very short time in the morning. Here was our view from our trailer's front door.

Summer is over!!

Summer is over, but it was great while we had it! Our last trip of the summer was over Labor Day weekend and we enjoyed several days at the Outer Banks. We returned to "The Refuge" at Wanchese, NC, and camped again at a beautiful spot on the backwater of the Pamlico Sound.

This is what we saw every day out our picture window in the trailer. The weather was beautiful and we love this location.
One of the days we visited friends Herb and Elaine Haines and saw their beach house building project. The Haines' were friends from the 80's when we lived in Fairfax, VA. They are building their retirement home in Rodanthe, NC, which is about 25 miles from the Hatteras Lighthouse. Elaine's parents purchased the property many years ago, but never built.
On Saturday we climbed Jockey's Ridge, the large sand dunes in Kill Devil Hills. Connie has always wanted to do this -- and as a good husband, I went along for moral support.
Jockey's Ridge is where you can learn to fly -- or, at least, hang glide. No, that is not me! (Or Connie, either.)
We took two great bike rides over the weekend. Our second ride was from Duck to the Sanderling Resort on the northern end of the Outer Banks. Along the way we passed the Costal Research Facility and saw this "danger" sign. At this facility they study ocean waves, but it previously was a military training where munitions were tested.

Remembering 9/11 -- I was at the White House

I wrote the following testimony on 9/12/2001, the day I returned home from Washington, D.C. after the 9/11 attack.

I AM THANKFUL FOR THE LORD'S PROTECTION! I WAS AT THE WHITE HOUSE WHEN AMERICA WAS ATTACKED!

On Monday morning R.C. Winstead, a PAFC board member, and I drove to Washington D.C., to attend a legislative conference for Christian school leaders. Little did we realize the extraordinary significance of the conference theme when it was introduced at the opening session on Monday night. That theme, "For Such A Time As This," became so prophetic and momentous as the events unfolded over the next twenty-four hours.

Tuesday morning, after an hour-long preliminary meeting, the entire group of about 140 was loaded into buses at about 9:00 a.m. to travel from the Holiday Inn on the Hill up Pennsylvania Ave. to the White House complex for a special "White House Briefing." The buses dropped us on 15th and E Street, which is on the east side of the White House grounds. We leisurely walked up the sidewalk to Pennsylvania Ave. on this gorgeous morning. We were surrounded by numerous tourists and government workers -- all enjoying the beauty of that very special place.

Then we walked west in front of the White House to 17th Street where we were to enter into the Old Executive Office Building to be cleared by White House security. As we arrived at the entrance we were only there a few minutes before a group of employees began to quickly emerge from the building. Immediately we were told to get away from the building because a plane was heading toward the White House.

I must confess that my first thought was that a small private plane, piloted by a kook, was trying to make some crazed point. So we obeyed the policemen who began to shout at us and we moved down the street for protection. At the same time cell phones began to chirp and members of our group began to receive calls from family and staff members in different parts of the country. Near me was a pastor from Hackensack, New Jersey, who received a call that gave us the shocking news about the first hit to the World Trade Towers.

In the minutes that followed we began to learn the tragic story. It also began to dawn on us that we were definitely in harms way. I remember fear beginning to rush into my mind due to the realization that our nation's capitol was under terrorist attack. And here we were -- a block away from the seat of America's power. Then I remember one of the men saying to three or four of us -- "let's pray!" There we stood -- praying for our safety and for our country. Then I can say that God's peace came to my heart. And all up and down that street groups were calling heaven -- asking for God's strength for us and wisdom for our country's leaders.

In a few moments another call told us that the Pentagon had been hit. I did not learn until today that my colleague R.C., and another friend in the group, saw the aircraft circle above us. Perhaps this occurred while I was in the prayer group -- I don't know. I do know that God was good to keep me from seeing that plane. Because of my long acquaintance with the Washington area, I would have known that this meant something was terribly wrong. I know that all aircraft are strictly prohibited from leaving a narrow route along the Potomac River on approach to Reagan National Airport. The Lord not only protected us -- He throttled my fear by keeping my mind in the palm of His hand.

Soon our group was urged to move west to 19th Street and then south toward Constitution Ave. to an area where we could maybe meet our buses. By now the traffic was turning to absolute gridlock as all government workers poured out of the buildings and headed for home. When we reached Constitution Ave. the sirens began to wail as fire engines, police cruisers, and many unmarked law enforcement vehicles began to emerge from all directions.

Then we saw the large cloud of dark smoke emerging from the Pentagon -- several miles to the southwest. It was then that the reality really began to set in. The unthinkable had happened. Everything had changed. But the changeless God of the universe was right there with us on Constitution Ave. And we could sense His protection and peace.

We've learned today that the plane made two passes over the White House. Could it be that God kept that plane from exploding into the White House specifically because 140 Christian leaders were there at the door? We don't know God's ways. I just know that God's protection was on our lives. He must have things for us yet to do. What a challenge! What a privilege!

Summer Happenings

We've had a busy summer. Every summer is busy for us because our ministry, Positive Action For Christ, sells and ships most of our products during the summer months. This year has been true to form and we are thankful to be busy, active, and productive. The Lord has been good to us and to our ministry during these challenging times.

Over the 4th of July weekend we camped near Elizabeth City, North Carolina, and watched fireworks at the Waterfront Park on the Albermarle Sound. Prior to the fireworks we enjoyed the patriotic concert given by the U.S. Army TRADOCK Band from nearby Fort Monroe in Virginia. This area has a big military influence and the crowd was very patriotic.

Earlier on the 4th we stumbled upon one of those famous citizen "Tea Parties" at the little county seat town of Currituck. We sat for an hour or so and listened to the speeches. It was very interesting.

During this summer I have embarked on a task that I have been contemplating for some time. I have researched slide scanners over the past few months and finally found the best scanner for me. That choice was ultimately the Image Lab scanner that is pictured below. This little gadget easily converts old 35mm slides into a digital format that can be uploaded to a computer. Here are some of the vintage family slides that we have been able to reclaim for viewing.

Here is our first date, recorded by Connie's dad in 1960. What kids we were!

Look at this great memory of our kids in Connie's parents' backyard.

A wonderful Christmas memory with Grandma Carlson.

And here is one of Connie's early bikes and gives an indication where our Carlson "bikeride" tradition began.

Tennessee Travelers

We took a vacation trip -- plus a homeschool convention -- during the last twelve days of May. The trip started with a three day stop in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, to help at the very large North Carolina Home Educators Conference. We parked our 5th Wheel at the Marshall Baptist Church, where our good friend John Homes is the pastor.

Homeschool conventions are long days and very tiring, but it was a very profitable and enjoyable experience. We also had the privilege of attending Sunday services at Marshall Baptist and we appreciated being able to park on the beautiful church grounds for three nights -- next to the church cemetery.
Before we left Winston-Salem we rode our bikes on the paved Salem Creek Trail to Salem Lake. This was a nice trail from the historic Old Salem Village to Salem Lake. Then we headed west over the Smokey Mountains to spend several days near Kristy and Brian in the Chattanooga area. We camped for four days at the beautiful Harrison Bay State Park that is about six miles from Kristy and Brian's house.

On Tuesday night the whole Walker Clan came out to our campsite for Root Beer Floats and an old fashioned campfire. Here's our campsite -- and Brian's parents. It is always a treat for me to spend time with Brian's dad -- my great friend of over 30 years. We had a wonderful night!

Here is our campsite as it looked just before we pulled out. We first camped at this campground 40 years ago when Kristy was not quite two years old. I can assure you it was much more enjoyable now with our comfortable 30 foot trailer that has all the comforts of home.

Before leaving the Chattanooga area we had the opportunity to ride the great Tennessee Riverpark bicycle and walking trail. This trail is fantastic! Ultimately it will be a 22 mile trail, but we rode almost seven miles from a few miles south of the Chickamauga Dam to downtown Chattanooga. Of course, we had to ride back to where we parked our truck. We did enjoy a cup of coffee at Rembrandts, which is Kristy and Brian favorite coffee haunt.

From Chattanooga we headed north to Nashville for three days at the Nashville KOA. This delightful RV park is just a mile north of the large Opryland area that features the historic Grand Ole Opry. Kristy and Connie are pictured here in one of the atrium areas of the huge

Gaylord Opryland Hotel and Resort. We toured the sprawling facility and wandered through the shops. Plus we had coffee!
On Saturday night we attended the Grand Ole Opry show at the impressive and grand auditorium where the Opry now resides. The show was good family fun and enjoyable. Many of the performers were the old timers. We especially enjoyed the Riders in the Sky, who pattern their style after the old "smooth" harmony western group known as the Sons of the Pioneers. Their rendition of the song Tumbling Tumbleweeds was outstanding!
The evening ended with a historic appearance by Comedian Steve Martin playing the banjo. We were clueless that he was on the program, although most (all?) of the sold-out crowd was very well aware of his scheduled appearance. He was good! No, he didn't tell jokes, just played the banjo to a standing ovation. It was a fun experience.