We were up a little before 6 am getting things ready around the motor home to leave USI RV Park on November 2nd. I started by taking down the satellite, dumping our black and gray tanks and putting up all the hoses. Rhonda did all her little “pink things” while I completed my “blue things.” I hitched the dolly up and then hitched the car up, filled up the LP tank on the motor home and we said our goodbyes and gave hugs to everyone. We then pulled out of USI at 10:25 am. I called Steve Lesly in Fritch, Texas to make sure we could stop by to see them because they are always so busy. But of course Steve and his sweet wife Karie always have the welcome mat out for us. We arrived in Fritch at 5:30 p.m. parking the motor home in one of the open sites. We then settled in for the night.
The following morning I worked on the computer a little and Rhonda did her thing getting ready to go see Steve and Karie. We met up with them at a Mexican restaurant. Karie brought Evan their grandson who’s the cutest little 2 year-old and he was a well behaved youngster too. We ate, talked and laughed at lunch where we had a really nice time. It was good to see old friends. Steve and I set up a golf date for the next day. The girls set up a day to do their own thing of shopping and visiting with one another. They invited us over for a nice dinner at their house and as usual we had a wonderful time.
Our stay in Fritch with our friends was way too short. We arrived on the 2nd and we left on the 8th pulling out at 9:25 am. We headed the motor home southward toward our home base of Woodville, TX. We stopped just long enough to say goodbye at Steve's office, shaking hands and saying our goodbyes. Steve gave us some homemade apple-butter that Karie had made as a going away present. (It was excellent, notice the past tense).
We arrived in Gainesville, TX about 4:30 pm after traveling 332.1 miles. We stopped at an Outlet Mall where behind the mall was a small RV park. We paid $15 to stay at this park which entitled us to all services (W/E/S). Dropping our money in the cashbox we paid for our nightly stay after we went over to Applebee’s for our dinner.
Home Base Woodville, Texas
We pulled out of the Gainesville Outlet Mall at 8:10 am. Traveling SE towards our destination of Woodville, TX where our home base is located. I drove the first 100 miles, Rhonda the next 100 miles and I finished off the last hundred. It was a total of 301.9 miles to our site at Paradise Senior RV Park. We arrived just shy of 3:30 pm. Guy and Linda (owners of the park and our good friends)
met us at the entrance where we went inside the office and talked for almost an hour. Guy surprised us by allowing us to have the premiere spot in the park; it’s so spacious and is actually two lots instead of one. It’s right beside the clubhouse and has a nice storage shed. It was good to finally be home and relax. A Nice Guy
We dropped in to see Rhonda’s boss, Danny Self traveling down to his house in Hillister, Texas. He owns the tanning salon where she has worked part-time the past few years. She won’t have the time to work there until maybe February, but we did want to see him.He’s a remarkable person with a special kind of spirit. Danny lost one of his legs through an industrial accident working on the railroad. He’s a kind hearted man with a wonderful “can do” spirit.
He showed us around his 8,000 square foot home which even has a indoor swimming pool with an area that can accommodate up to 90 people for parties and socializing. He mentioned they have even had one wedding in this large add-on room. It was quite impressive.I’m getting old – I’m SSN eligible
We readied ourselves for our trip to Lufkin, TX, on Monday, November 15th where I had a 1:15 p.m. appointment with Shelly Jabbaroo, a nice young lady who works at the Social Security Office. She was very patient with me making sure I understood everything concerning my eligibility. She answered all my questions and concerns. It was determined it was to my advantage to start receiving my SSN benefits immediately. It’s a very small amount because I already receive a pension from the government, - they consider this an off-set. So what the heck, I went for it. Waiting would have been senseless, at least according to her and the calculations she presented to me.
Two Lovely Ladies
Toward the end of the month we stopped in the town of Warren to see Patty Lonozo. She is a sweet lady Rhonda met while working at Brookshire Brothers Store. She also helped me get started playing the piano. Our purpose was to see if we could park the RV by her house while we’re gone for the month of December and for her to watch and feed our cats, Blossom & R.T. Everything looked favorable. We paid her to plug in our electricity, to watch the cats and let our RV stay on her property. It’s a pretty good deal for everyone. The electric won’t be more than one dollar a day at the most. After a short visit with Patty we came home to rest.
Going to the Chapel & We’re Going to Get Married
We went to Livingston to attend a class called, “Saving Your Marriage Before It Starts.” A workbook, written by husband and wife team Dr. Les and Leslie Parrott and a lesson plan on a DVD was presented to us by instructor Anna Chancellor. The class was held in the First Baptist Church in Livingston. The class was from 8 am – 4 pm. In attendance were two other couples’ a young couple by the name Shawn and Mandy both being in their early 20’s; the other couple was A.W. Williams and Margaret and they were in their 70’s. He mentioned being 78 she didn’t mention her age only to say they were both in their 70’s.
Their story was just like a fairy tale. At least it sounded like a fairy tale come true. The last time they saw each other was in 1957 when they were in college. They were close friends and both had strong feelings toward each other. In fact they were in love with each other but neither one of them had spoken those words to each other. So they went their separate ways married different people and lived their lives apart for more than 50 years. Until June of 2010 by happenstance at their school reunion they were reunited with one another. A.W. was in the state of Michigan and Margaret in Texas. Margaret had been a widow for 10 years and A.W. for at least 5 or 6 years. At least that’s what I think he said. Margaret is a well kept beautiful woman with a light creamy chocolate complexion. Her hair has a silver-white color that had the look of a woman who had just stepped out of a beauty salon with every hair in place. She was smartly dressed with matching accessories to her attire. She was more the talker of the two with a voice that told of her love for the Lord. A.W. at 78 was a strapping man with a slow deliberate pace in his voice and his walk. It was as if he was searching for just the right words every time he spoke.
We introduced ourselves as they first walked inside the church. I stuck out my hand first to A.W. and then to Margaret they both had a strong confident handshake. They had a wonderful story to tell and they were good witnesses for the Lord. They didn’t have a concrete date for their wedding but instead said it should happen before December 20th. They had an astounding 101 years experience as teachers. A.W. was a math teacher along with being a football, basketball and track coach in the Houston area. Margaret was a third grade teacher; I know this because the young man also attending this class had attended Margaret’s class when he was in third grade. It was a sight to see a teacher and her student in a premarital class together. Neither one of them could have imagined any such encounter.
Kountze Trade Days
We went to the city of Kountze where the city is having a Vendors Trade Days just like the city of Livingston does each month. It’s only 3 months old and a lot of the vendors who sell their wares in Livingston were in attendance. There was a lot of nice stuff being sold and the city has gone all out to make it a success. We actually liked it better than the one in Livingston. We picked up Bobby and Annette Adkins for the trip to Kountze. We walked around the vendor’s booths and enjoyed the morning with our friends. I’m sure it won’t be the last time we checkout this venue.
A little footnote: My youngest daughter called me in the middle of November letting me know that my next grandchild is going to be a boy. He is due in early April of 2011. This will be #10. I’m really happy for her and Kevin.
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