old pictures

The mind is a wonderfully complex creation. It is what sends out the signals that cause us to breath ,makes a persons heart pump,and all our other body functions that go own quietly without us having to think about it .Scientist have sent men to the moon ,they have been able to clone animals and many other great achievements .But they study the brain and don't really understand how it does what it does .they understand certain things about it ,but not all the inner workings .How memories work in the mind is still somewhat of a mystery .I recently put up some pictures on my face book of me and my father ,as well as of my grandparents and mother and aunts and uncles.I am always amazed at the memories that come back to me as i look at old pictures ,Its like that particular time or person are back vibrant and alive in my mind. It is a very nice thing to have good memories come back.but as is always the case with good doesn't always come without bad.It is the yin and yang of life .But it was nice to look at the pics and feel the good and sometimes painful emotions that they evoke .I think a person needs to move forward in life. but in moving forward a person should also take time to reflect and remember the people and events that helped to make you the person you are .I don't know all the ends and outs of the minds memory ,but i am thankful that as the old saying goes " picture is worth a thousand words "That old pics can at times be priceless.

2011 cruise day two

By the time we got up on the second day we were far away from land ,surrounded by water .My wife ,Mary said that it made her feel a little funny not seeing any land .I worked off-shore several years ago so being surrounded by water was not new to me .The water was a very dark almost royale blue . We ate breakfast in the Paris room it was very good and as always the service was top notch. We went to an excursion seminar in the Rome theater ,we found it very comforting and educational .With all the stories you hear of the mexican drug wars ,they assured us our ports of call and any excursion we did would be safe . They also told us that the ship would be stopping and checking its side thrusters and not to be alarmed ... so most people that did not go to the seminar were kinda alarmed when they stopped..We made our way around the ship and kinda got a little better bearing on were things were located. We did get in the hot tub and enjoyed that . The second day also happend to be the formal night and the captains dinner. We had gotten dressed early so we could go and have pictures taken,and listen to the bands play. We got to take a picture with our captain Angelo Los .It was amazing to see some of the outfits and tuxes some were wearing .We had the the late dinning and it was very fun and exciting with everyone dressed up it added even more to the experience .We went to comedy show after dinner and then to a small magic show .We walked on the deck taking in the Moon, it was gorgeous out on the water .And with much anticipation on the next days coming events we called it a night.

Cruise Day one Port of New Orleans

Me and my wife left our house early Saturday morning heading to New Orleans .The trip down went very smooth .My GPS did a great job. We were very excited and a little nervous ,having never done the cruising procedure before . The check in went very well getting there early definitely paid off, as we had short waiting times in every line. We got 6 as our loading number and our wait in the port went fast. Before we knew it we were on the ship trying to find our way to deck 9 the "Liddo Deck". When we found the deck ,my wife got in the line for purchasing her coke card. While waiting in the line we were offered drinks my wife said sure not knowing at the time that they were neither free nor non-alcoholic. We tasted the drinks and mine was not as strong as my wife's but after having paid for them and her not liking them she made me drink not only mine but also hers .It was then on to find the food .They had a buffet and grill .By the time we ate my head was swirling just a bit . We had looked down and watched the long line of passengers boarding the ship. They finally had our rooms ready and having had the drinks i was in need of a nap .We napped for a bit . After getting up from our nap we made our way around the ship ,as you can imagine the interior of a ship can be hard to navigate around until you learn where all the places our located on the ship.The ship "Carnival Triumph" was very nice ,it is a large ship almost 3 football fields long and taller than the statue of liberty . We would see new people at every turn .We made a point of going to the welcome aboard show which was very entertaining and informative .We were told that if this was the first time on cruise that we would see some strange things in the coming days,but not to worry .As you will not be seeing these folks again .They had the triumph dancers do a song and dance show ,one of comedians came and did a small number. We were told food would be served 24/7 and at 3 in the morning we might see people slightly drunk out and about eating on the liddo deck .room service was available 24/7 too.We had the late dining which meant that our dinner time was at 8:15 pm every evening in the Paris room. Our table number was 429 which was a booth table .We were seated with a great married couple that were celebrating their 20th wedding anniversary .They pastor a church in Tennessee. The formal dinning experience was great ,the waiter placed your napkin on your lap ,suggested what was good that night and kept your drinks in check.I never once had to ask for a refill my cup ,it stayed full and the food was very good .I ate some kind of Italian chicken the first night although it was green ,it was very tasty .The food and service simply rocked.as did the ship cause we were going down the Mississippi river by then. It took about 7 hours for us to travel down the Mississippi river and reach the gulf . The ship was kinda rocky as we traveled down the river .but calmed as we got out to the gulf . It was a very fun and exciting time on our first day .As a side not it took a long time for our luggage to reach the room .So if you do cruise you really need to have everything you will need through out the day on the first day of boarding. I quickly learned that i brought way to many clothes and when i cruise again will not bring nearly as many clothes . We dressed up every night to dine and went and listened to the bands as often as we could. after our dinner the first night we went to see Cal Rimmi do his comedy act it was funny but the heckler/drunk guy that was talking to him from the crowd was just as funny . We were well ready for bed and sleep after the show and walking around on the deck . i will be trying to write other blogs covering the rest of the trip in the comiing days .i hope you enjoy this .

Time to enjoy

The time change has happened as it does twice a year .After you think about it. I have for no real sound reason been forced to make my body suddenly adjust to a new schedule almost 80 times in my life. I love the way the daylight hours are extended during the spring .I wish the powers that be would stop this time changing madness.The way things are these days ,what with the greatly fluctuating fuel prices ,food cost changing ,world events ...natural disasters .It seems our government could make having to change time one less thing we would have to concern ourselves with.Arizona and a few other areas don't change their time and they seem to make it just fine . I do so love spring time its the magical time when the plants spring to life .Grass grows and life seems a little brighter. Currently japan is trying to deal with the natural disasters that have befallen them .They are a very resilient people and no doubt they will make a recovery .So while i enjoy the days of spring ,and complain of the time change .I need to take stock at the great blessings and wonderful life that the Lord has blessed me with .Thank you Lord that you have blessed me with time to enjoy ,even if i have to change it now and again.

hurt my leg

Friday night after me ,my wife and two youngest children got back to our hotel from a concert . They all headed into the hotel while i was getting a few things from my truck .I thought about my boots that were laying in the bed of my truck.Friday at work had been a rather muddy day so i had pulled my boots of in the hotel parking lot to let them dry in the bed of my truck. I stepped up on the Nerf-bar step to reach them one of my boots was towards the middle of the truck bed. So as i hoisted my self up over the side rail i felt something like a rubber band going bong in my left calf area and the sensation of window blind rolling up in my calf . My leg swole up and though i could walk it was no easy task . By the time i made it to the Doctors office the next morning i couldn't put weight on it . Doc gave me some anti inflammatory meds and i have been soaking it on ice .i can get around on it a little better today .I have lots of people praying for me .I was able to play guitar with the praise team Sunday .After worship our pastor had all the members gather around and he and them anointed me with oil . I am believing Jesus for a speedy recovery. Me and Mary have a cruise booked for the 19 -24th of march it is a belated 20th and early 21st anniversary present for us from us .We have never done anything really big like this just for ourselves ,i am so looking forward to this trip . I know the Lord has it all in his hands and will see us through .

nostalgia or just fond memories

There are many times during the course of a day or week I find myself with a person or place on my mind that I haven't seen in a while.Sometimes the places are still standing and sometimes they are gone as though they never were there.Its the same with the people that cross my mind some are just folks which I have not seen in a long time and others have gone on to their reward . Today I thought of our neighbors we had when i was growing up in Ramer,Al ."Sue" and William Stephens but mostly i thought of "Aunt Sue " and how good she was to me. She never had any children of her own but she treated me with as much love as a mother would at times.I treasure the trips to Montgomery we took together. She always took me to Wendy's to eat ,she liked to eat there . It was not the things she bought me or the places she took me,but how nice she treated me and how proud she was of my accomplishments .She truly enjoyed spending time with me ,as I did with her .I am still touched that one of the last things she said before she left this life .She said to William "I wonder where Wayne is ".I always stopped and visited with her long after I had moved from Ramer .She is a bright spot in my memories ,one I will treasure .