It is Wednesday afternoon and that means that our vacation is drawing to a close rather rapidly. Tomorrow morning we will close up the suitcases, have the valet bring up the car and head north towards Indiana and reality. It has been a really relaxing vacation. We haven’t done much of anything except find some good places to eat, go to a coupe of casinos, sit in our room and watch the shoreline and enjoy the sunshine and read. We had talked about going to New Orleans and having some good beignets and maybe some oysters on the half shell at the Acme Oyster House but —— nah, we changed our minds. We brought along our beach shoes and our chairs to sit it on the beach and soak our toes in the water, but —— nah; that didn’t happen. It has been hot and muggy most of the time we have been here. So, we have just rested and played, and read.

 Brought along a Stephen King book of short stories that Julie gave me two years ago for Father’s Day and I finally got round to reading it. I think I will be able to finish it tonight so it can finally go on the shelf when I get home instead of on the table beside my sunporch recliner where it has sat since she gave it to me. Unfortunately, it hasn’t set there alone. I had four new King books stacked up there. Two of them are half read. Fortunately, I have the ability to pick either of them up and start where I left off and be immediately back in the story. Sometimes I may have to back up a couple of pages, but never more than that. Too bad I couldn’t do that “back in the day” in high school math.

The one downside of our vacation has been that yesterday I was woken early by my phone with a text that one of our parishioners had passed away. I have been back on the job for eight months now and we haven’t lost anyone but sure as I take a vacation, someone dies. It seems to be that way. This was not an unexpected death and I am glad that the man is no longer suffering in any form. He was a truly dedicated church member and a true worker for The Lord. It does however, validate the churches decision to have Art and I as co-pastors of the church. At. My former parish I would have felt that I needed to terminate my vacation or a “stranger” would have had to do the memorial. This way he is being buried by a pastor that he knew and that the family knows. The viewing will be tomorrow evening and the memorial/funeral will be on Friday morning. I’m sure Pastor Art will do an excellent job. He’s been marrying and burying folks a lot longer than I have.

Things have been going so very well at the church. We are gaining new members, and we are completing projects that have been on the books as a “some day” project for several years. People are seemingly very happy as a Faith Family and for the first time in many years there isn’t any strife and struggle going on. It is a great time to belong to our particular church. That being said, —- people tend to either credit the pastor when things are going well or blame the pastor when things aren’t going well. As I have said before, Art and I are supposed to be interim pastors while the search committee does its job. Maybe they are doing more than I think they are but I’m not hearing any forward motion in that area. What I have heard is;  “no need to fix something that isn’t broken”. Sigh,  I may be employed longer than I had planned. But —- it is all good because I’m loving life and honored at the chance to share the Gospel.

Alright my friends. It may be Friday or Saturday before I’m back on. Stick with me and wish us safe travels on the way home. Also pray for all of the folks along the eastern seaboard as Hurricane Florence bears down on them. Peace.

Tuesday afternoon and I'm sitting in my VIP Suite on the twenty sixth floor of the Beau Rivage Resort in Biloxi, MS having a cup of coffee. I'm over looking the Gulf and the pool below me. There are "squadrons" of four pelicans flying way below me. It is a beautiful day. Least night it rained pretty good most of the night and this morning it was muggy as it could be first thing. We checked out of the Courtyard Hotel, drove around for awhile and found a restaurant that I had been looking for. It is called Le' Cafe' Beignet. We found where it was located the last time we were down here and they had moved. But the lady currently operating a business in that location told us where to go. So that was breakfast.

From there we went to find a place to get some AA batteries. The battery in my computer mouse died last night and I didn't have any spares. So we drove around until I found a grocery store and I picked some up. After that we went to The Golden Nugget Casino and played for a couple of hours, and I came out a whole thirty two cents ahead. By then it was time to be able to check in here. We'll be here until Thursday morning and then we head back toward home.

For family news --- Heather was in a four car pile up in California and her car is banged up front and rear. Of course the guy that caused the accident didn't have any insurance. Luckily, she wasn't hurt  beyond being sore. That's my west coast kid. On the east coast, Lisa, Gary and the family are tying everything down and getting ready to get hit full force by Hurricane Florence. They have a lovely brick home that should provide good safety, however, the acre yard she lives on has thirty two 100' pine trees on it. Hurricane force winds could make that pretty dicey. So, they are making their plans and coordinating with Gary's mom and sister and nephews to keep everybody safe. The could get as much as 20" of rain with this thing too. So, I'm asking for prayers all around. No doubt there will be property destruction with the hurricane but I pray that no lives are lost.

There are boats going back and forth and jet skis too out there just below. I've also seen dolphins playing out there. I would love to be out there on a jet ski. I have wanted to ride one of those for a long time. But -- I think this old dog better stick to the tricks he knows.

That's it for today. Have a blessed day. Remember the sacrificed lived from 17 years ago on 9/11 and pray we never have to experience anything like that again. Peace.

Monday afternoon and we're in Gulfport MS still. It has been a wonderful vacation so far. I enjoy sitting and watching what is going on out on the beach although to be honest, there isn't much really going on. The beach has been fairly deserted most everywhere we go. It s a far cry from a California beach. I still haven't actually been out on the beach at all. I've tried to get Ms. Kate to go walk with me on the beach but so far, no luck.

Yesterday we drove west to St. Louis Bay, MS for dinner. There is a place called Trapani's Eatery that we have eaten at one time before and loved the food. So, while we were down here we put it on our bucket list of places to eat at again. It didn't disappoint. It was right at dusk and there was a storm brewing to the southwest over the Gulf. We ate out on the patio and had a nice breeze come in and keep it very comfortable. We had our meal and then headed back to Gulfport and missed out on ay rain they might have had.

Today I took Ms. Kate to the outlets and she went shopping at the Coach Store. She bought a couple of new Coach purses. It was hard to believe she actually found a color that she didn't have. Then we went to Walmart to return a couple of blouses she bought yesterday, From there we went to the Island View casino for lunch. We had a really great lunch and of course there was too much. So we boxed up half of each of our sandwiches and brought them back to the room. Maybe we'll have them yet tonight as our supper.

Tomorrow is September 11th, 2018 and it has been seventeen years America was attacked by Islamic radicals by flying two planes into the World Trade Center Twin Towers, killing 3500 people. I distinctly remember standing in my family room, glued to the television, unable to believe what I was seeing. The sad thing is that I just watched the national news and the local news and not a single word has been said about it. How sad is that?

Take time tomorrow to remember those we lost to hate. Pray for peace.

Friday night and we are in Gulfport Mississippi. We had a non-eventful four hour drive down from Tuscaloosa, AL. and arrived around 1500 hours. We've checked into our hotel, the Courtyard by Marriott and are about 300 yards from the Gulf of Mexico.

It didn't take me too long to over stuff myself with seafood. We went out for supper and I ordered the steamed shrimp plate plus a cup of gumbo. It is very seldom that I get a plate of shrimp that is too big for me. But, there must have been a minimum of thirty-six shrimp on that plate, plus red-skinned potatoes, and fried okra. I am gorged and that was three hours ago. There will be no snacking tonight for sure.

I walked across the street to the sidewalk that they have running along the Gulf. It was very pleasant out there and a slight breeze was blowing. The tide was way out and there were just a few people that had walked out to where the water was. I think tomorrow morning I will picked up a breakfast roll and a cup of coffee and walk over to the beach and relax for awhile. Hopefully it won't be raining.

I've talked to folks back home and they say that they are having torrential rain and storms. That is the remnants of the storm that was here a few days ago. So, Ms. Kate and I have basically missed this thing all around. Hopefully it will stay that way.

That's it for tonight. We've arrived safely and the fun has begun. Peace.

Thursday evening and Ms. Kate and I are in Tuscaloosa, AL for the night.  We left home about 1000 this morning as we set off on vacation. It was a tough seven hour drive to get here. The traffic was terrible in Nashville whe we wet through which. Didn’t expect on a Thursday. But — slow and steady did the trick. Ms, Kate is a great navigator. We had to dodge rain, some of it heavy as we made our way this far. That is remnants of Tropical Storm Gordon as it makes its way north. But, the majority of the trip was fine. Tomorrow morning we’ll have breakfast here at the hotel and then had out. The end of the line is in Gulfport MS. We’re spending a week there doing nothing much beyond relaxing. That’s what vacations are all about right. Not being familiar with the area  have ordered delivery from a local pizza place It should be here shortly.

Well, pizza and calzone and a salad were delivered and they were just “alright”. The place advertised itself as a brick oven. I’ve eaten some really good brick oven pizza when I was in Italy and I’ll tel you in a moment that this pizza and calzone didn’t come close. But, it met the requirement for supper.

Now it is time to watch Mountian Man and rest awhile. I’ll get back to you tomorrow afternoon. Have a great night. Peace.

Tuesday, September 4th. Labor Day has come, been enjoyed, and is now in the history book and rolled up in the ball that never stops. Did you ever wonder what happens to time that has passed? Is it collecting to be used in another universe once that universe has been created? Is it like a book that we have read and now it just lays there on some extra-dimensional shelf of which we are not aware? Just a random thought this morning to get your Tuesday under way.

It is another hot and sultry day. Yesterday it was ninety-four degrees and sunshine wall to wall and today is a total repeat and tomorrow is supposed to be the same too. By Thursday it is supposed to be cooler and we are supposed to be getting some rain as a result of a tropical storm that is coming up through the Gulf of Mexico today. In fact it is going directly through the area where we plan to be vacationing starting Friday. Hopefully there will be no damage to the area.

Julies came over yesterday for a visit. It has been a few weeks since they have been over and Julie is starting what she calls “haunting” season. She works as a character in one of Louisville Kentucky’s haunted houses and has done so for several years now. The girl lives to do this even though it totally exhausts her because she also works full time and is going to college. Add to her load the fact that she has RA and poor health and lives in a state of exhaustion. Her answer is; ‘there will be plenty of time to sleep when I’m dead”. But, we’ve had a great visit and now we won’t see them until Thanksgiving.

I need to take Ms. Kate to a doctor’s appointment today. Then I think we need to go to the grocery store and put a few items back on the shelves here at home. We’ll get milk if we can get some with an expiration date of after we get back home on the 14th of September. I’ll probably also refill the bird feeders late today. I filled them yesterday but the starlings are going through it pretty fast.

That’s about it for today. My writing will be fairly on and off for the next ten days while I’m on vacation. So, ifI do miss a few days, please be patient and check on me. In the mean time, let’s pry for one another and let’s enjoy the blessings God has and will continue to provide. Peace.

September 1st, 2018; wow, I guess summer is done isn’t it? Monday is Labor Day and if I were still a Squardon or Group Commander in the Air Force, I would be working on my presentation for Commander’s Call. During Commander’s Call, I would be congratulating my personnel for making it through the summer without getting a DUI, or having an accident and hurting themselves either on the road or at home. It would mean that my Memorial Day safety briefing had been effective. The military keeps tabs on such things. I recall far too many times over the years that one of my people would do somethng stupid like get picked up DUI or worse, get killed from having an accident and I’d have to explain at all levels what safety briefing they had received because as aa commander, we were responsible for their behavior 24/7. There are a lot of things that I miss about the military but that isn’t one of them.

It has been aa really busy morning out in the Backyard Buffet. I had a flock of about fifteen or so starlings come in and take over the feeders. They are such nasty birds. They constantly fight amongst themselves to get at feeders and they push and peck at other birds. They grab food by the chunk and lose half of it on the ground. The they get in the birdbaths and splash the water everywhere. The after they have wreaked havoc for ten or twenty minutes, they fly way in unison. Now they will be gone for maybe an our and return to star all over again. Now it is the sparrows timee to fight over the bird bath and splash and splash. Ya’ see why I don’t get anything done in the mornings?

We had a fun tie at lunch yesterday with Bob and Brenda. I told you how it would go but Brenda blew the scenario by not ordering chili. She had a chicken sandwich instead. I told her she had broken tradition and she said she lives on the wild side once in a while. Oh well, —- good help is hard to find sometimes.

That’s’s aout it for this Saturday morning. It’s gong to be a hot day and a humid day but I need to do some work out side. I’ll just take my time and do or not do as I see fit. I the mean time, I wish you a happy weekend and a safe one. Now you have had your safety briefing!  Peace.