Mental Musings

Well...we made it back from our vacation. We really had a great time, but we did have some interesting things happen. To sum-up our trip: we drove through 15 states (Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia--stopped for 1 night, Alabama, Mississippi--stopped for 5 nights, Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri--stopped for 5 nights, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio--stopped for 1 night, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and back to Maryland. The map below shows our route. Blue dots are places we stayed overnight. In Mississippi: both boys took a trip to a walk in clinic for ear infections; we toured the war zone on the coast; we met a pastor friend, his wife and three kids for lunch in Daphne, Alabama (Eastern Shore of Mobile Bay); we discussed my father's health which is failing quickly with a weak heart as well as his frame of mind with Vietnam flashbacks and depression; Zachary bought a trumpet in Alabama and is going to take lessons from me; met with Tracy and Charlie, my 27-year-old niece a...

We have had a very interesting vacation so far. It started on Friday, September 8, at around 6 am. As we were just leaving Baltimore, about 45 minutes into our trip, Zachary throws up in the car. We are just entering the D.C. traffic and no exits in sight. Zachary insists he isn’t sick. Wendy gets him cleaned up and we continue our trip. The trip was going smoothly. We were expecting to arrive in Atlanta around 4 pm. Wendy and I were alternating driving. I had not told her what road we were to turn on next and she never asked. Sometime around 3:00 pm I realized that we had never taken our exit off of I-95. By that time we were already two hours off course and had to take some alternate roads (including one that I doubt anyone outside of the area had ever been on before). We made it to Atlanta around 8:00 pm after an extra four hours of driving. Last night my mom woke us up to tell us that Zachary was crying. Wendy checked on him and he was complaining of severe earache. I sat up with h...

Today we went to worship service at the church I attended as a teenager ( Temple Baptist Church ) in Big Point, Mississippi. It is the first time I have been to this church in over eight years. Two of my nieces were singing a duet today and did a wonderful job. The church has made some major changes since I was last a member in 1983. The worship service was a blend of choruses and hymns. The worship center had good quality sound and projection equipment. The praise team and choir used flat-screen monitors for lyrics in order to keep their hands free. They has hung some white banners from the choir loft ceiling and projected red lights onto the material to create a more contemporary atmosphere. Plants were used to hide floor monitors and floor light canisters. The worship leader played keyboard and bass, they used another keyboard player along with a pianist and organist. A six person praise team sang with a choir behind them for a few choruses and then joined the choir. The choruses we...

We spent most of our Labor Day weekend painting our den and preparing for our vacation next week. We are going to be driving 5 days and spending 5 days in Mississippi on the Gulf Coast and 5 days in Branson, Missouri. Wendy has prepared travel journals for the boys so that they can make notes about the 14 states we will travel through. Isn't it amazing how we work overtime trying to finish up work before a vacation and then return to extra work that is waiting for us. We spent extra hours packing for our trip and then extra hours when we return putting things away. We try to fill every hour of our vacation with activities or visiting friends and family. Once we return we are worn out and need another vacation just to recover from our vacation. Oh, well. Maybe I will find time to blog while on my vacation.

Often I am asked to read a skit or poem or to listen or sing through a song created by someone’s child, husband, grandmother, etc. I wish I could say that all of these creations that I have been asked to review were excellent. I wish I could say that about all of my own creations. The ugly fact is that sometimes what we created just stinks. And even though it hurts me deeply when people do not like something that I created, I need their honest evaluation if my creativity is to grow in a healthy direction. [ NOTE: One thing that the American Idol television show has proven is that relatives and friends are not the people to ask—they will always tell you what you want to hear, not what you need to hear] Perhaps the most frustrating art form is writing. Why? I think it is because virtually everyone considers themselves to be adequate writers. It is by far easier to imagine ourselves writing “ The Lord of the Rings ” or “ To a Skylark ” than to consider ourselves with the ability to pain...

Can you remember visiting your grandmother’s home? What things stand out most in your memory? Take a few moments to describe everything in detail to yourself. Did you mention the things you saw (quilted bedspreads, hand-made tablecloths with a protective plastic cover, 30-year old appliances, etc.)? Do you remember the way things sounded (crackling fireplace, creaking rocking chair, the hum of the fridge, etc.)? What do you think is the strongest memory that you have of your grandmother? Amazingly, studies have shown that the memories which most strongly remain with us have to do with smells. The clean, antiseptic smell reminds us of a hospital. The scent of certain flowers may remind us of a wedding or funeral. The smell of cookies baking can remind us of some fond childhood memory. Smells trigger something in our brain that can virtually transform us to many years in our past instantly. Only a few churches, Greek Orthodox for example, still use incense as part of worship. Most of us ...

I did not blog this past weekend because I have been painting. No, not like Rembrandt. Maybe like Michelangelo, although I think the Sistine Chapel was slightly more artistic than my work. My work could best be described as suitable for the toilet. Literally. Our boys have wanted to have a SpongeBob Squarepants bathroom ever since they first saw the SpongeBob toilet seat cover at a Walmart. We found the SpongeBob border, SpongeBob hands-free trashcan and SpongeBob handtowel all at Walmart as well. Wendy put the border on and is very proud of her first wallpapering experience. The SpongeBob toys are from Burger King. The lighthouse is something I made from ceramic and painted in 1981. It won first place in a county fair. There is a little light inside that lights up the windows and beacon. Wendy made the lifesaver out of a styrofoam ring, ribbon and yellow rope. She actually made two, the other one is over the toilet. The den is our next big painting project. There is a theme for it als...