What's Right With This World!

In my last blog I said that selfishness was the problem with this world.  I have not changed my mind, but that could be expanded to include the more or less identifiable symptom called greed.  However, I want to change the direction of our thoughts here so that we might see something that is right with this world.

We have just experienced the joy of Thanksgiving.  What a wonderful time of the year.  Now, I don't claim to be a philosopher nor even a teacher, so don't be disappointed if all I'm saying amounts to no more than just revving my engine, but I must yelp about the great time of Thanksgiving that we have just enjoyed at my sister's house here in Cleveland, TN.  We had relatives from Florida, Alabama and Texas and we got to met some new friends from Wears Valley, Tennessee.  The rest of us were from 'close by' Cleveland, TN.  There were about 40 of us.  Some were young and some were old, some were small and some were large, some were of modest means and some were fairing well, some were fit as a fiddle and some were more like Momma's old, antiquated, Stradivarius (copy) Violin, but we all had one common characteristic; we were all happy.  At least everyone seemed happy to me.  We've all experienced sadness and disappointment from time to time, but the good news is that we can got over it.  We didn't have to continue in a sad, despondent, gloomy mood. What fun!  Laughing, singing, reminiscing, and of course eating.

What does this world have to do with that?  Well, this world is the creation of God.  It is a display of His splendor and majesty.  He has created such a beautiful world that even the beauty of it has healing qualities.  There are marvelous healing qualities in the trees and the fruit of the land.  The clean air we breath is a gift from The Creator.  If we only use the "stuff" of this world properly, we would find that everything we need is provided for us by such a caring God, then perhaps, we would know more how to enjoy the good things that this world provides for us because of His care.  We have morning, day time, and night.  We have summer, fall, winter, and spring.  What wonderful mountains and valleys, oceans and springs of fresh, bubbling water.  This world operates according to the laws of nature that God has designed.  And, I could rev my engine more but I believe I'll just let it idle for a while.  There is something right about this world, and I thank God for it.

I do hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  If you want someone to say a prayer for you, just click on 'Prayer Request' and let me know.  I'll be glad to pray for you.

Together Again!

Today is a day to be remembered by the Brannen family - by the Louis A. Brannen family, that is.  On this day, after more than 50 years, all of the original Louis A. Brannen family that are still living, have addresses in the same city.  That city happens to be Cleveland, TN. 

About 55 years ago we all lived in the same three bedroom, shotgun house that was the parsonage for the church that daddy pastored in New Orleans, LA.  Daddy was a minister and pastored churches.  We moved a lot.   I used to look at moving to another place as an adventure, full of excitement and expectation with apprehension.  One or two years in any one location was not uncommon, but Dad stayed in New Orleans for four years.  Now, about the time we left New Orleans, my oldest brother, Fred, joined the U S Coast Guard after finishing high school in Cleveland, TN at Lee Academy.  I can't remember if he joined the Guard While we were still in N.O. or if it was after we left there in 1956 when we moved to Ooltewah, TN.  Ooltewah is only about 15 miles from Cleveland.  Fred was was the first one of our clan to leave the "fold". 

The next of the Brannen's who flew away from the "coop" was my next to the oldest sibling, Wil, who also completed his high school education at Lee Academy and joined the U S Coast Guard shortly thereafter.  I'm not positive about the exact times these events took place but I do remember that we moved from Ooltewah, TN, after being there only one year, to Smithville, TN where I started high school at DeKalb County High School in 1957.  I do remember for certain, that I had my own bedroom in that house.

That left two of us kids under the watchful eye of Mom and Dad - Me and my sister, Bonita.  We stayed in Smithville for only one year and then we moved back to Louisiana to the city of Monroe.  Monroe is the city I have often referred to as my home town.  While living there, I graduated from Ouachita Parish High School, I began my ministry with the Church of God, I began my college career at Lee University in Cleveland, TN, I joined the U S Air Force, I met my first wife, Vera Gail Welch, and I met my second wife, and we are still married after 37 years.  A lot of reasons to call Monroe my home, and Bonita has probably just as many and even more reasons to call Monroe her home, but she too now lives in Cleveland, TN. 

The three of us boys were at one time separated from each other as far as Corpus Christi, TX, is from Nairobi, Kenya, Africa, is from Lake Charles, La, is from Corpus Christi, TX, and Bonita was in West Monroe, LA.  At some point during that span of time, Mom and Dad were in Tennessee.  I heard my Mom say that we were all in different states, except that Fred was in Africa.  To say the least, we have been scattered.

While I was still in high school, there was another sibling added to the family, Donice.  She lived with Mom and Dad mostly in Louisiana and then attended, Lee College in Cleveland, TN, where she became engulfed with Tennessee culture and made Tennessee here home.  She now lives in Cleveland, TN.  As a matter of fact, so does Fred, Bonita and myself.  Oh, don't forget my Mom.  She moved here too, after Dad passed away over eleven years ago while they were living in Athens, TN.  That put us all here in Cleveland except for Wil.

Today, Wil is moving to Cleveland, TN.  He is here with some of his belongings and the moving van is to be here tomorrow.  It's been about 50 years but it is amazing how things turn around.  Time goes on and things change.  I don't know how long it will remain this way, but while it is this way, I plan to enjoy it.  Who knows?  It might be that the Brannen Brothers will become something of value, or it might be the Brannen Family that becomes renown.  There is already a Branham Family of note here in Cleveland but if you noticed, the spelling is different.  BRANNEN and BRANHAM!  The Branham Family Singers are really good.  What will the Brannen Family or Brannen Brothers be?  Who knows.  Anyway, we are all here together.  Look out Cleveland, TN!

Well, What Can I Say!

Just click on this link and that will suffice!

More About Janis and Teacher of the Year

If you'd like to read more about Janis, as well as the two other system winners, Click Here. This article appeared on the front page of the real live newspaper, along with pictures - much better pictures than before. (Cleveland Daily Banner, dated Friday, March 13, 2009)

I Am Proud Of My Wife

For those of you who know my wife, Janis, you know that I am indeed a blessed man. What an excellent lady she is. When we met, she had already begun her career in teaching. She was teaching English at her High School alma mater, Calwell Parish High School, in Columbia, LA. All of our married life, she has been a teacher - an excellent teacher.



Being a minister, I traveled from place to place in my career seldom stopping very long at any one place. I knew she was an excellent teacher and the school system and the principal of the school just didn't realize what a great employee she was. If they had known, they probably would have given her special recognition every where we went. Instead, just about the time she was making her mark, about 2 yrs., I felt the urge to travel on, so we packed up and moved to another city and/or state, there to start all over again in our lives. For me, it was a new church and the preaching ministry and for her, it was a new school and the teaching ministry.

She stayed at one school for 9 years even though I pastored two different churches during that time and we lived in two different cities, or towns. She probably enjoyed those years best of all. She was teaching Special Education at that time and she was recognized as the Special Education Teacher of the Year for LaSalle Parish. I think her supervisor realized what a great teacher she was but that recognition didn't seem to carry the prestige as being recognized as Teacher of the Year would have and does carry.


Now in my retirement years, we have settled in (for now anyway) here at Cleveland, TN and Janis is making her impact again, in the Cleveland City School System. She was recently nominated by her peers as a candidate for Teacher of the Year at her school, Cleveland Middle School, and chosen by the supervising committee to receive that recognition and was then a candidate for the City School System as Middle School Teacher of the Year. She achieved the next step of recognition by the City School officials who selected her as Cleveland City Schools Middle School Teacher of the Year. Now, that means she, as well as the winner for the Bradley County School System will be entered for the regional slot in the state of Tennessee. I guess it could go on, but we are so appreciative for this recognition that we will just bask in the sunshine of it and enjoy it for now. Check the article in the Cleveland Daily Banner dated 03/03/09.


Where would she be and what would she have become if I had stayed in one place for 20 or 30 years? Who knows? It may have been good and it may have been bad. But the fact that she was willing to up-root so many times and restart the whole process, shows me that she held me and my career, the ministry, in high regards. What can I say? Isn't she the greatest? What a blessed man I am. You can see why I am proud of my wife.

Pictures of Gabe

I thought about posting these pictures on Facebook, and I still may, but momma wants to see them and she can see them on this blogspot. I know she could see them on Facebook, but she says that she doesn't have a facebook account. I thought she did. As a matter of fact, I believe she does but, apparently, no one has shown her how to navigate in facebook. Do you think we should? I don't know. It really seems like a lot of 'stuff' to contend with, even for me. Anyway, here are some pictures of my new grandson, Joshua Gabriel Baldridge.

Depression Has Many Triggers

I think it's about time for another blog. Don't you? Well, here goes anyway. I'm going to elaborate on some news I just received. My youngest daughter, Jennifer, who didn't get to come to Tennessee for our Thanksgiving/Christmas celebration, even though she had already bought a plane ticket, had to cancel her plans to come because her doctor told her that she could not come since her baby, the one inside of her womb right now, was too far along for her to safely do so. She is so sad because her little Daisy, a white, mixed breed part snouzer and part terrier, just got down so sick with arthritis and other complications that the doctor had to put her to sleep, like permanantly, about 8:00pm tonight. She held Daisy, who she has had for more than ten years, in her arms while the doctor administered the drug.

Jennifer has another little four-footer, about four years old of just about the same mixture, only it is, as it's name, Brownie, indicates, brown. Furthermore, she will soon, about January 6th., have another little bundle of joy to occupy her time. So, she should not be too unhappy, but you know, we are human and humans are made like that. We get sad and we cry. First, we get attached to something or someone and that attachment can be very tight, then we fall in love with that something or someone. We will love the thing or person to various degrees based on so many different factors and it's kinda like 'it' or 'they' become a part of us. When we lose a part of ourselves, we feel the pain, whether it be light or heavy. When several light pain producing elements combine together into one ball of sadness, it can be very depressing. For some it is unbearable. Others snap right out of it and go on. We must have something to lock in to and rely on in order to remain stable. Otherwise, we would be like blind men walking a tight rope - no one knowing for certain if our next step will be successful or disasterous.

- A note to my daughter Jennifer - You have someone to hold on to and to rely on and you know who that is. You will get through this shortly. We are sad with you, but let this be something that will help you to be strong in spite of disappointments. We are looking forward to seeing you when the baby, Gabe, arrives.

- An additional note to anyone who may be interested - Why wouldn't my wife let me put the following sentence in this blog? I had to rewrite it as you read it, but I so wanted to make a very long complicated sentence, and she just was not pleased with it. Are all English teachers that way or is it just my wife, Janis? Here's the way I would have done it. "My youngest daughter, Jennifer, who didn't get to come to Tennessee for our Thanksgiving/Christmas celebration, eventhough she had already bought plane tickets, but had to cancel because her doctor told her that she could not come since her baby, the one inside of her womb right now, was too far along for her to safely do so, is so sad because her little Daisy, a white, mixed breed part snouzer and part terrier, which she has had for more than ten years, just got down so sick with autheritus and other complication that the doctor had to put her to sleep, like permanantly, about 8:00pm tonight." :)

How'd The Surgery Go?

Just to let you know that Janis' "surgery" went well. Notice, I put "surgery" in "" because it wasn't regular surgery, but it was a procedure. It was done in the doctor's office. The procedure is called 'electrolysis'. I guess it is a lazer type surgery where the eylashes are zapped so that, hopefully, they will not grow again. The procedure has about an 80% success rate, and if it happens to be in the 20% failure rate then she will be a candidate for the more pervasive surgery. Your prayers will be appreciated. One thing Janis and I both have noticed, She has slept very good the last two nights. I think one night she didn't even wake up during the night. That is unusual. She has been restless and unable to relax her leg and/or hip muscles at night when she lays down, resulting in very little sleep. Once or twice she slept only about 2 hours. Now how that can be related to her eyes, I don't know, but it makes me wonder. This will be the third night. We'll see how it goes.

One more thing I want to add to this blog. Saturday, we went to Merciers Apple Orcherd in GA. We have been going each year for about three or more years now, with friends from church, Nathan & Tammy McConnell. It's just a fun thing to do and we get a supply of good apples, plus some other apple products - apple sauce, apple butter, apple cider, apple fritters, apple pie, you name it. Now, Janis and I didn't get all of that but it was available. By the way - apples are good for you, you know. Have you heard the saying, "An apple a day will keep the doctor away"? Well, I guess Janis and I won't need the doctor for a while. I usually eat at least one apple a day, sometimes more. Now it looks like I may have to eat two or three or they may spoil before we eat them. I guess we could cook some apple pies etc., but Janis works and doesn't have a lot of time to experiment, so I guess that means I could do it. You think maybe I could? If I give it a try and it turns out well, I'll let you know, but if I don't try it, or if I do try it but it flops, I probably won't even mention it again.

Apple Poems

Apples

Helen H. Moore

Apples, apples, what a treat,
Sweet and tart and good to eat.
Apples green and apples red,
Hang from branches overhead,
And when they ripen,
Down they drop,
So we can taste our apple crop!

Apples in Autumn

It's hard to eat apples,
Without my front teeth,
But apples in autumn
Are really a treat.
The apples are squooshy
Down under my feet,
But those from the tree
Are still crunchy and sweet!

We're back from Louisiana

We just returned from Louisiana yesterday, so I have spent most of my computer time today catching up on my emails and other spaces. We had a good trip. As it has been so many times before, I believe that God was with us for a safe trip, both going and coming.

Our purpose for the trip was to check on Janis' mother and to spend some time there with her. She is 86 years old and she is beginning to show that she is getting feeble. She did seem to be a little more spry and lively the last day we were there but I suspect that it was just for a while. It's a sobering thought to know that we are all getting older every day and that we too shall soon be 86 yrs. old. Soon?? Yes, soon. You see, 21 years (that's how many years I will have before I turn 86) does not seem nearly as long as it used to seem, and what makes it worse is that 21 years of being over 65 will not be as agressively active as the 21 years before. Well, anyway, we were confronted with the thoughts of loosing Janis' mother in the near future - Not only Janis' mother but my mother as well. My mother just recently turned 87. We do have to face the facts. None of us are going to live forever in this present state of existence.

Speaking of my mother, let me tell you a little about her. About two months ago, she preached a revival for Ed Dickerson at the Hudson Chapel Church of God. She preached Friday night, Saturday night and Sunday morning. I was there with her and I preached Sunday night. About a month ago, she was ready to go, and did go to Crosville with the Peacemakers for a day filled with fellowship, shopping, good food and a play at the Cumberland County Play House. As of right now, this very minuet, she is in Florida. She went with Bonita, my sister, and her husband, Michael, to Orlando, FL to go to Disney World. Can you believe it? An 87 year old woman at Disney World? She started out with a bang. The first night there, she slipped down the steps in the camper and broke her arm. At least that's what she told us. Do you suppose that she could have been sliding down the waterslide or maybe riding one of those wild rides designed for active teenagers and maybe fell off and broke her arm? haha! Well, I guess we will take her word for it and assume that it wasn't like that. :) The last I heard, she is doing better with her arm in a temporary plastic cast. She will see the doctor her in Cleveland when she gets back so they can put her arm in a permanent cast. Thank the Lord that she didn't hurt herself more than that, and thank the Lord that she is able to take care of herself as much as she does. But you know, we just do not know who will be the next to leave this world. It could be my mother, or it could be Janis' mother. It could be me!! Or it could be you!!! We would do well to be ready to answer the call of the Master, whenever that may be.

Let me sign off for now and post a few pictures taken in and around Janis' mother's house.

Janis' Mother, Edna Stamper. (86 years old)

Janis' Mother and Daddy - some years ago.

My youngest daughter Jennifer and her husband Bill. And Brownie and Daisy.

Well, who do you think? Me and the First Lady! (Picture taken at her nephew's house)

Janis and her three sisters and three brothers (two now deceased) were raised in this house.

Glen's garden. Glen is Janis's brother.

The land is rented out to another farmer.

What in the world could that be?? A tire??

I believe this Grand Toreno has seen it's best days.

Another Blogger!

I have recently added my son, Stephen, to my blogroll. You can scroll down my page and find his name on the right side of the page or you can just type in his address: http://stephenbrannen.blogspot.com/ and go there. If you like good commentary, you will like his blog. I know he would love to hear from you.

Just Ramblin!

Tomorrow night, Wednesday, will be the beginning of week #23 for me of my medical therapy. That means only 25 more weeks to go. I'm almost half way through this ordeal. I've not been doing any work since Friday, so I have been doing pretty good. I plan to start back to my 'honey do' chores tomorrow. That may wear me out, but I can't just sit here and do nothing. Now, I'll admit that I sit at the computer a lot but as much as I enjoy it, I still get tired of it sometimes. I could go shopping all day at Wal-mart but that would definitely wear me out, plus, you gotta consider the money factor. :( I could visit people all day long, if they were at home, but even that becomes a chore. I think the best thing for me to do is just keep on doing little improvements here on my house, which will probably wear me out. I'll just work slow and rest often and take all the sympathy and attention that my wife offers. Now, I wouldn't take candy from a baby! Would I? ............ Nah!

I have been blessed today with the visit of my brother Fred, and his wife Frances, and my cousin from Florida, Junius, and his wife. They really love God and are wonderful people. We've never had the privilege of getting close to or relatives, so when we have the opportunity we do like to ensure ourselves that we have them. You know, that is the cost of choosing to get close to God. As we tried to get close to Him, He called and said, "Go Preach the Gospel"! So, in order to stay close to Him, we have to go where He says to go and be what He says to be. With my Dad and Mom that was also true. As a result, while I was very young, the Louis Brannen family left Florida to follow God's leading. It was always a highlight to go to Grandma's house for Christmas and occasionally in the summer also. Believe it or not, I did not know that there are so many Brannen's in this world, until I began to discover it on the WWW. I am not alone. The Brannen family is not alone. There are more of us out there. Ain't that something?!

I guess it was about time - Time to sell my boat that I have never moved out of my yard. I've had it about two years and it has not been out of my back yard, so I decided to sell it. I can use the money for something really important you know, like getting a new computer. :) It wasn't a new boat, nor was it a big boat, but I thought surely I would use it and go fishing now and then but I never did. My neighbour is all the time asking me if I am ready to go fishing and I am all the time never ready. I think that is a shame. Fishing is Biblical you know. Oh! and by the way, so is carpentry. I guess if I can't go fishing, I'll just enjoy doing my little bit of carpentry work.

I'm Still Here!

I can't believe that it has been eleven days since my last post. How does time get away so quickly? I was too worried about my sister, 'travelin on', not posting anything for so long that I didn't realize that I myself am guilty of the same thing. Well, she 'recovered' and I guess I can stop worrying about her and pay attention to my own blog.

As usual, I am tired most of the time, and Thursdays are not my best days. Sometimes I think I am getting adjusted to the medication and can do better, but sometimes I am not so sure. Wednesday night Janis gave me a shot in my left arm. I can handle those that are in my thighs and stomach but those in my arm,.....well, I'm glad Janis can do it. That was shot number 21, leaving 27 to go. At number 24 (that is week 24) it will be time for another viral count or viral load reading. I believe that right now the viral load is undetectable. I'll let you know what I find out. Now, it may be four or five weeks actually before they take the lab work for that reading, but when I find out what it is, I'll let you know.

Right now, I am tired from doing that 'honey do' job in the kitchen. If you remember what my kitchen looked like, you need to see it now. Well, give me a few more days or so to finish up, then come and see it. For an amateur, it's not bad. Of course that opinion is from the very amateur who did the work. ha! Hey! But my wife likes it, and if she's happy..... I removed the entire oven unit. You know. The oven-in-the-wall thing that stood right in the middle of the kitchen. I pulled out the stove top and replaced it with a slide in stove (man those things are expensive), raised the vent-a-hood about six inches and built a counter behind the stove in the dinning room. Have I got you confused yet? Just come on over and see it when you can and if I'm not completely finished, it may be that you can tell me how to do it. You see - I told you I am an amateur at this kind of thing so I may need some advise. By the way. It's not my daddy's fault that I am not a better carpenter. Ya know what I mean?

Momma still has it in her ya'll. She just got back from Whynot, MS where she preached a revival for Ray Fulcher at the Water Valley Pentecostal Holiness Church. They had a good revival. She preached twice on Sunday and then through Wednesday. She said she preached kinda like the way she did when she was young and preached hard every night. My cousin-in-law, Ed Dickerson, is trying to get her to come and preach a revival for him at the Hudson Chapel Church of God just out of Union, MS. I think there are plans, tentively in the making, for the time when spring break comes. Ed's wife stella teaches and my wife Janis teaches. Ed & Stella want me and Janis to come with Momma at that time and be with them in the revival. That may happen, but I want you to know that when an 86 year old woman can still lay it on the line then surely a 64 year old man can do it. I'm not finished. I'm not washed up. I'm on a God given leave of absence and do expect to return to a useful state of being when God is finished with my healing.

I'll try to post again soon. Sooner next time than this time. Hopefully! May the Good Lord bleeeeessss and keep you, 'til we meeeeeet aaaaaahhhhgiiiiinnnn!

Good News! It's Good To Be Home

We have just returned from our 7 day trip to Louisiana. We had a good visit with family and friends and I did very well. I did have to leave the group once and find a place to rest for a while but overall I did great. That's just what I want them all to think and it is true - I did very good.

We stayed with my Mother-In-Law, so you know Janis was having a wonderful time. I tried to be good and do right, of course. :) Seriously, my Mother-in-law and I have a good relationship and we did have a good time, but, 'There's No Place Like Home.'

On our return trip, we stopped in Union, MS to visit with Ed and Stella Dickerson. She is Janis' cousin. Ed is the pastor of Hudson Chapel Church of God. We arrived at their house just about dinner time. She had a wonderful meal prepared and we enjoyed our visit. They are really wonderful people. I wish you could see the house that Ed built. Truly a blessing from God.

Here's some good news that I want to share with you: While in Louisiana, I called back to the doctor's office to find out the results of my last lab work and especially my viral load, or count. It needed to be 700,000 or less (a two log drop from the original 7.2 million), or else I would probably not continue the treatment. Well, the count was 194,000.....or was it 154,000? I know it's a shame that I do not remember exactly which of those numbers the nurse said, but it was under 200,000 and that is well within the acceptable range. That looks really good to me, so I will continue treatments. The dragon is about to fall by the wayside, but I will continue to strike at it with my sword (the redipen).

By the way! I told you that God was doing a healing in my body. He still is doing it. I wonder what that viral count might be right now? Possibly, so low that it would be undetectable! But for now, I believe that I am supposed to continue the treatments. Thanks for your prayers.

Fred & Frances Brannen - 50 Yrs. Together!

Saturday we helped celebrate the 50th. anniversary of my oldest brother, Fred, and his wife, Frances. That seems to be a more rare kind of event these days, but there are still some who know and understand the art of living together. Oh, yes! It's an art. Some men are real artists at some of the shenanigans they pull and then the cover-ups they hatch. :) I must not give all the credit to the men, however. Some women have perfected the art also. Can I get a good hearty "Amen" men?

Someone said, "The way to be married for 50 years is to never get a divorce." Fred and Frances never did get a divorce and continued to live together through the good, the bad and the ugly. Now I really don't know their personal lives that much, but I believe there has been more good than bad and ugly. I know they have really made an impact on a lot of lives, some of which were at the celebration Saturday and gave testimony to that fact. So many people had so many nice things to say about how they have been touched by the lives of Fred & Frances. Everyone had the opportunity to say something if they wanted to, and I should have made a short speech, but by the time I realized that I had something to say, it was really too late to do it with dignity so I thought, "I'll just blog my story and let everyone read it, if they want to." What follows is true.

When I was in the 10th. grade of high school, I had the misfortune of failing my English class. I went to summer school that year in Gulfport, MS, where Fred was stationed in the United States Coast Guard. I stayed with Fred & Frances in their small, eight foot wide trailer. They were very gracious in allowing me to stay with them during that time. You know, I don't remember any time that we got mad at each other or even had any arguments. I must have really been a good kid, huh? :o) Not really!

Here I was, a teenager, away from home, and Momma and Daddy didn't know what I was doing. The trailer was parked in the Ocean Springs (I believe that's the name of it) trailer park. There was a community bath house for the men and I guess, one for the women. I had the unhealthy desire to smoke cigarettes. Yes, I was the preacher's son but some deacon's kid somewhere taught me how to smoke. Err, ah, it might have been Fred who taught me to do that in Campaign, TN. At any rate, I enjoyed going to the shower so that I could indulge myself. Now, Frances was a 'little more wiser' than I was hoping for her to be. She just knew that something fishy was going on. Well, Fred came to check on me one day and caught me puffing away. He asked me, "What do you want to do that for?"

"I don't know," I answered. "I guess for the same reason you used to want to do it."

What I want to point out is that he didn't 'chew' me out or any thing like that. Further more, a short time later Fred & Frances were going somewhere, maybe to church, I don't remember, but they wanted me to watch Frankie while they were gone. Frankie was just a baby, maybe 1 or 2 yrs. old. Frances said to me just before they left, something like, "Now, Lowell, we don't want you to leave Frankie here in the trailer by herself, so if you want to smoke just use this cup to put your cigarettes out in." You know how smooth talking Frances is. And she said it with a smile on her face. No accusations! No blame! Just loving concern. And can you believe, they are the ones who let me, some years later, preach my first revival at their church in Tellico Plains, TN. They could have impacted my life for a bad memory, but they choose to love me anyway and I know they were, and still are, praying for me.

Thank you Fred & Frances for being who you are. Janis and I both love you.

Janis and I have 16 years to go before we can celebrate our 50th. I would be 80 years old. If the Lord tarries and we reach that milestone, I hope that it will be easy for my children to find something good to say about me. They won't have any trouble finding someone who can pin accolades on Janis, but I'm a little worried about me. I will expect some grand celebration if we reach that time, so kids (Stephen, Tammy, Jennifer & Jonathan), you have 16 years to think about it.

A Happy Anniversary Celebration!

Tomorrow, June 1st., Janis and I will have been married 34 years. In celebration, we went to Etowah yesterday and boarded a shuttle (a school bus) for the short trip to the Gee Creek State Park where we boarded the train for a three hour ride around 'the loop'. I believe that is the first time that I can remember ever riding a train - a real train. I've ridden the train in Dollywood and I think in Silver Dollar City in Branson, MO, but this was a real passenger train. It only consisted of two passenger cars and the two engine's, one in front and one in back, but when you're inside the passenger car and riding, you don't even think about that. It was fun and scenic. Here are a few pictures.

Isn't she still beautiful?

I am not even trying to be beautiful, just slimmer.

Fred and Frances went with us. They will be celebrating their 50th., Saturday.

Getting ready to board the train.

We were down there before we were up here.

Some highway that we traveled over.....maybe Hwy. 68!?


This is what makes it the loop. The train tracks loops around and over itself.

Just couldn't let this pass.

Part of the Hiwassee River.

Another scene along the way. For those of you who know, that's the Hiwassee River out there and Webb's store and the bridge that crosses the river there.

Jons' Commissioning and Graduation

The one who really helped him

(I'm going to be in trouble with 'the one who spoiled him')

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The one who spoiled him all these years

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Jon Kristin & Kristin's parents

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Pappa, Jon & Momma

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Jonathan & Kristin

Commissioning and Graduation

Here are some pictures of Jonathan's Commissioning service on Friday night, May 4th. and Graduation on Saturday, May 5th.