For today's flashback we travel back in time to late October 1975. Melinda was just 6 and all dressed up as Raggedy Ann for Trick-Or-Treat. I think Katie Grace looks so much like Melinda in this photo. Definitely a treat.
We lost yet another loved one this morning as Melinda's papaw (Blake Moon) died from complications of pneumonia. He would have been 93 this coming Christmas day. Melinda is overflowing with wonderful memories and stories of spending time at her mamaw & papaw's house growing up. Her mamaw passed away in the early 80's and Papaw re-married later in the decade. He and Melinda's step-grandma (Marty) soon moved to Jamestown, KY near Lake Cumberland. Melinda would drive down on her own during breaks in her schooling and spend a week at a time with them. After we got married we would drive down to stay with them too including once with John in tow who was just 2 years old at the time. Recently, they moved to the Dayton/Kettering, Ohio area to be near family as they grew older. I will always remember the time visiting with them about 3 years ago when Papaw and Katie Grace played ball in his room at the nursing home he was at. He was always so sad to see us leave. Now we are the ones who are left sad. Papaw will be missed.
A few nights ago the kids of our church were treated to a Hallelujah Party at Brenda & Mike's place. It was a wonderful evening; warm enough to be comfortable and yet cold enough to remind us that it is Fall. There were games to play, an exploration into the woods, and plenty to eat. To top it off, a bonfire was prepared for everyone to huddle around. We all had a great time and everyone learned a bit more about Jesus in the process. Hallelujah!
t lots of innings playing 3rd in hopes that we will be able to use him there next season instead of the outfield when he's not pitching. I even got to coach 1st and 3rd bases on a few occasions. Now, a few months off, and then we will start to get ready to defend our two 1st place finishes in the Spring of 2009.
My friend Ora e-mailed me a photo of his daughter the other day saying the I have a fan... When I opened it I saw her wearing a t-shirt with "Jonas' #1 Fan" on it! Wow! Then I realized that she was just another of the millions of American teenagers who are fans of The Jonas Brothers. Sorry, no relation. Maybe I should start marketing myself as the long-lost Jonas brother? I'd probably have more luck trying to pawn myself off as the Dad of the Jonas Brothers... Boy do I feel old now!
Well, I failed to win back the coveted Jonas-Burgei Golf Tour Trophy again this year. I kept things close until the 14th hole but couldn't make up any ground. As you can see, Dave is seen in this photo taunting me with that trophy and to make things worse, he "vandalized" my garage door with a UK sign! Talk about motivation for next year!!! Seriously, we had a blast and the weather was beautiful especially for this time of year. I think I am going to make it a resolution to practice on my game especially my tee shots. It's been 4 years since I've had that trophy and I think it's about time to have it reside in my house again.
Well, I'm getting ready to hit the links for the first (and likely only) time this year tomorrow when I square off with Dave for the 2008 Jonas-Burgei Golf Tour Championship. It's usually a best of 3 series but this year it is going to come down to 1 round; winner takes all. The stakes are high. The winner receives a box of Grippo's BBQ potato chips and their choice of pop. Oh, and the much-cherished Jonas-Burgei Tour Champion trophy. I haven't won the trophy since 2004 but I hope to steal it back this year. Heck, I may try stealing it back even if I don't win... We are playing at Boone Links which I affectionately call Boone Jinx because of the success I've had there over the years. I've only lost once in the seven meetings at the Jinx (including one tie). I usually pour on a healthy dose of "Jonas shots" which are incredibly bad shots that bounce off stuff and end up great! Drives Dave crazy but that's the fun of it. I will send a tee shot heading deep into the woods only to see (and hear) it bounce off a tree and come back into the fairway! There have been literally a dozen of these shots over the years 
including one tee shot of mine that flew way past the hole on a par 3 only to see it bounce on the cart path straight up and then come down on the path with enough backspin to send it onto the green! Then there was the time I hit the ball into the creek but when we went to retreive my ball we found that it was on a little island that I was able to hit it off of!!! Poor Dave... Anyway, we will have fun and I hope to have that trophy again. I'll report back later.
Fall is my favorite time of the year. I love the beautiful color display that God's creation puts on here in the Midwest. A couple of days ago we went to the local park and took some photos. I brought along the tripod and we snapped some family photos with the beautiful backdrop of the fall leaves.
I remember getting a radio just like this Bert & Ernie one back when I was about 7 years old. I must have received it for Christmas in 1976 or so. Anyway, I loved it. After years of use it finally broke but my dad said he would be able to fix it. Well, it soon became a running joke because after the radio hit Dad's workbench in the corner of the basement, it sat there for years...decades even! I would joke with Dad when I was 20 and ask him if that radio was fixed yet. When Dad moved out of the house that radio was still on the workbench. I properly "retired" it to the garbage that day about 5 years ago. In hindsight I probably should have kept it and put in on a shelf in my garage.
Vote for Obama/Biden if you believe that higher taxes will stimulate the economy, or if you want bigger government and more welfare handouts, if you want us to negotiate with leaders of rogue nations (like Iran and North Korea), or if you think America is bad and needs to be changed fundamentally.
Our last full day in Naples. We are really going to miss this place and not just because of the beach and weather. Aunt Luellen has been such a wonderful host. We are going to miss her so much. Her place is so beautiful and she went above and beyond the call of duty to make us feel at home. In the morning a flock of ducks came walking down her street and we had a blast feeding them. After lunch we took full advantage of the perfect weather and hit the beach one more time. John found another sand dollar and gave it to Katie Grace to show Mel. He spent the rest of the time “tackling” the waves and crashing over them too. Katie Grace spent the majority of the afternoon in my arms as the waves are just too much to let her play alone in the surf. She also enjoyed playing with the little clams that would burrow down into the sand in her hands when she scooped up a handful. Mel soaked in some rays and came out to enjoy the waves as well as collecting some pretty shells. I did some more swimming and sand dollar searching before we headed back to Aunt Luellen’s for a feast of lasagna and then packing up for the morning exit. Saturday night should find us in Macon, Georgia and halfway home. We have had such a wonderful vacation and hope to be able to get back here again some day!
John and I went to the local mall Thursday morning so he could buy a t-shirt/jersey of a Florida Marlins player. Then we took some group photos with Aunt Luellen before the kids and I headed out to the beach for the second day in a row. John found a sand dollar on his own (the one he found a few days ago was after I had shown him where a bunch were located). Katie Grace unfortunately seems to have “caught” a sunburn (even though we lathered her up with lotion). Melinda and Aunt Luellen went out shopping while we were at the beach. To wrap up the beautiful day, Melinda and I went to the beach alone for the sunset and a romantic stroll among the splashing waves and little crabs. It is going to be very hard to leave this wonderful paradise…
The waves were quite strong and John made the most of them by crashing through them or trying to jump them. John and I went real far out into the waters and eventually found a whole slew of sand dollars under our feet as we tip-toed to keep our heads above water! This was probably the most beautiful beach I have ever seen. Needless to say, after a couple of hours we were all quite exhausted and ready to head home for supper. I think we will be heading back tomorrow for a few more hours of fun in the surf! It is absolutely beautiful down here.
