Day: June 15, 2019

Paula and drove to Blue Ridge today for lunch and a quick drive to some places we went during our “honeymoon” 50 years ago. It was a simple week, staying in a little suite we thought would have long ago been torn down. To our surprise the little cottage units were still there, albeit a little careworn. I’m not sure what they called them back then. “Something” cottages. It was somewhere close enough that we could drive there in a couple of hours. It was right next to the lake. It was close to Cherokee N.C., which was going to be one of our main “trips” while we were there.

Paula reminded me that the cabin with the car parked next to it was where the National Forest ranger lived back in ‘69. We had driven our old ‘64 Ford Galaxy over onto the dam and it went dead. Had a bad alternator. We walked back to the ranger’s house and he gave me a ride to my Uncle’s house where I could get his help with the car. Paula stayed with the Ranger’s wife and kids.

Turns out, the car would have to be pushed off every time it needed starting…no much of a problem, just a little push. We lived with it while we were there. But, the day we were going to leave, I couldn’t get the locking gas cap off the car to put gas in it. We started back home from Blue Ridge with a half a tank of gas in a 350, 8 cylinder Ford…praying it would make it the 90 miles home. I coasted down from the top of Fort Mountain in neutral…could not turn the engine off because there would have been no brakes or steering, since they were power brakes and power steering.

The engine was running on fumes when we coasted into eighth street. Turns out, the gas cap was cross threaded onto the top, and we needed a new alternator. (And battery)

Fortunately, we had a luckier day today and had a nice lunch and a quick drive through some of the places we remember. Wish we’d had time to visit.

A Fathers Love, written in 2010.

I did a lot of writing before I got sick with heart disease and had bypass surgery. I’ll share a few of these little “essays” over the next little bit of time. Nobody has to agree or disagree…or even read them for that matter.

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I know a Father’s love is advantageous, if at all possible.

With Fathers Day coming up soon, we all tend to want to pay respect to, and honor our Fathers.

Most of our Fathers are or were very precious to us. Most gave us unconditional love, and they gave us discipline when we needed it. They gave us guidance and advice. They raised us.

I also know sometimes Fathers totally mess up their kids. I watched Forrest Gump again the other night and pondered on how glad I am that there are not too many Daddies like Jenny’s Daddy.

I’m so glad my Dad was good to me, and I have tried my best to be good to my children. My wish is that all children have good role models and tight family units, but most of all that children have parents…People…who love them, and show them so, and tell them so. It’s of the utmost importance that the love is there.

I also remember reading that when his disciples told Jesus there were 5000 people following him, some of them sick…the first thing he did was walk among them and heal them, and then he took a small amount of food and multiplied it many times over …miraculously, and fed them all…with baskets full of food left over.

Bread and fish.

He did not “qualify” these people, nor did he care what class they were, what color their skins were, what their sins were, what country they were from, or who they loved and why. At least I didn’t read that anywhere.

He didn’t even really preach to them at that point…simply ministered to their physical needs, healed them, “taught them” and sent them away. He wasn’t mad because they senselessly followed him far away from civilization. He didn’t berate them. He dealt with them all equally with compassion . He was good at that. He acted like a good Father would act.

If you’re a Christian, or if you are some other religion, or no religion at all…It’s good to remember to treat all people with love and respect, but if you have responsibility for children…you must go even further because the need of children is far greater than adults.

If we are using Jesus as an example we must remember that he did not put himself above anyone…

except for that one last time.