Just for fun

The Magnaclams are coming!


Check out this link:
Magnaclams!
You might also want to check these:
Magnaclams are FAKE
CTG Revisited

Addendum to "Happy Birthday"

The birthday lady changed her mind. She's not going to jump out of an airplane for #90 - instead, she's going up in a hot air balloon!

Happy Birthday

On Friday evening, I attended a surprise birthday party for a dear friend. She was 80 years old (or will be, this coming Friday). Her children planned the event a week early in order to surprise her, because she had been told long ago that they would give her a birthday party for her 80th birthday. She lives in an independent living complex, and because the party was to be held there (in the large dining room), someone had to get her out of the way while the guests were assembling. They did such a good job of getting her out of the way that she was over half an hour late. There was a good crowd there. And she was indeed surprised! Her children had been so elusive about the party recently that she was almost convinced they weren’t going to give her a party after all. It was tricky trying to get to talk to one of her children about it when she was around.

I don’t know how many people showed up, but the place was full. There were some poems honoring her, and a humorous one by one of her daughters that was a prayer to allow her to live just one more year, and then one more, etc., up to 89, then “I’ll be ready to go . . . maybe!” One couple played mandolin and guitar and sang some old songs. I can’t remember the first one they sang; the second one was about learning to love Jesus in grandma’s rocking chair. Then those of us who knew it were asked to join with them in the last song. I hadn’t heard – let alone sung – that song since I was in high school (I graduated in 1954), but as we sang, the words all came back to me. Anyone remember this?

Mockingbird Hill

When the sun in the morning peeps over the hill
And kisses the roses on my window sill,
Then my heart fills with gladness when I hear the trill
Of the birds in the treetops on Mockingbird Hill.

Chorus:
Tra-la-la, Tweedly-dee-dee, it gives me a thrill
To wake up in the morning to the mockingbird’s trill;
Tra-la-la, Tweedly-dee-dee, there’s peace and good will;
You’re welcome as the flowers on Mockingbird Hill.

Got a three-cornered plow and an acre to till,
And a mule that I bought for a ten dollar bill.
There’s a tumbledown shack and a rusty old mill,
But it’s my home, sweet home, up on Mockingbird Hill.

(Chorus)

When it’s late in the evening I climb up the hill
And survey all my kingdom while everything’s still –
Only me and the sky and a lone whippoorwill
Singing songs in the twilight on Mockingbird Hill.

(Chorus)

Then – one of the highlights of the evening – someone announced that the guest of honor had always wanted to ride a Harley. So, out they go to the parking lot (I stayed inside), and watched this lady ride on the back of her son-in-law’s Harley. Later on, she said that one of her grandsons said to her, “Don’t worry, Grandma, if you fall off, I’ll pick you up.” As I said, I didn’t see the event, but she had a picture of it at church Sunday. Presumably, the pastor is going to have a picture to put up on the screen this coming Sunday.

Now, she says that for her ninetieth birthday – with the disclaimer if she lives that long, and the Lord doesn’t come – she will jump out of an airplane. After saying this (I heard this from her twice), she immediately goes into an attitude of prayer, and says, “Oh, Lord, please come, so I won’t have to do that!”

Correction: She misunderstood what her grandson said; it turns out he said, "If you fall off I'll catch your teeth."

Another Uplifting Patriotic Service

I am a patriot. I think I am never more aware of that as when our country and our men in the military are honored in our church services.

Sunday, May 25, we had such a service in our church. I wish someone had videotaped at least the opening. In additon to our normal "worship team" of 4 or 5 people along with the the piano and organ, 4 teenagers joined them with trumpet, sax, guitar, and drums. The first hymn was "The Battle Hymn of the Republic." As many times as I have sung that, I got choked up a bit and couldn't even sing at first. Then, when I finally got my voice under control, two men walked down the aisle, one carrying the American flag, and the other carrying the Christian flag. After they had placed them in the stands, they stood behind them for the reminder of the opening. So I "lost" my voice again. The next hymn was "America, the Beautiful." I started imagining what those words stood for, and still couldn't sing. I finally got my voice back (pretty much) for the last hymn, "America."

When the pastor called the children up front to give them a short lesson before dismissing them to children's church, he told an anecdote about Abraham Lincoln. He told how he had made an appointment with a man to meet him at 5:00 am one morning. The man arrived 15 minutes early, and asked if it was possible to see the President a little ahead of the scheduled time. The person who received him told him it wasn't possible. The man said he knew he was there, he heard sounds from his office. The secretary (or whatever he was) responded, "The President comes into his office at 4:00 every morning, and spends that first hour reading the Bible and praying." What a great example given by one of the leaders of our country!

Addendum: The special music was done by 4 teenagers, one on piano, one on drums, one on guitar, another (along with the pianist) singing "Letters from War." All 4 were wearing camouflage jackets.

Blogs and websites

I hope you are checking out my links from time to time - especially the Campbell Family Journal and Kathryn's Keepsakes. These two blogs chronicle the medical problems and triumphs of my nephew's two adopted daughters. These blogs are very inspiring!

If you are a regular viewer of the Richardsville Road web site, you may have noticed that there have been no changes for a few days. I don't know how long this condition will last; Danny, who created the site, "lost" his computer during a bad storm. Let's hope he's up and running soon. I don't have any real authority here, but I have a suggestion, that if you wish to RSVP for the reunion in July, Pat Davis might be able to keep records for you. If you wish to contact me, for that matter, I will make sure Danny gets the info when he's back on line, but I think Pat is more in the loop than I am. If you have never looked at this site, there is a lot of info there. It took me quite some time to get through it all, and meanwhile, Danny was adding more. Particularly interesting are the pages he posted from the 1926 Echo (Brookville High School Year Book).

I suppose I shouldn't mention this, since I was somewhat instrumental in its being posted, but Paul Campbell's story on the Richardsville site is excellent! It can be found through either Bios or Recollections. He is the father of my nephew I mentioned in the first paragraph of this post (same name, too).

I have been spending so much time submitting info and corrections to Danny's site, that I have rather neglected my own; however, I don't usually post here unless something specific comes up that interests me. But I did get to see pictures of my 2 great-granddaughters, finally!

Keely (almost 1), and Briana (2 1/2)- I believe they were a little younger when these pics were taken: