What do you do when there are no wagons to circle?

When visiting Mexico back in 1947 or so, Cappy and I were driving along a "road", when the springs broke on the axle of our car. Cappy decided we would make camp that night right where we were! He gathered wood for a bonfire and made a pit out of rocks to radiate the heat and cook our meal. He layed the meat directly on the rocks to cook it and was in the process of putting up a tent with our bedding when lo and behold! what should appear but a strangely dressed and ominous looking bunch of people! They just stood around and stared at us for a while, until Cappy asked them what they wanted in Spanish. They told him something or other and then moved on. I asked Cappy who they were, after calming down a bit, and he told me they were Tarahumara Indians. I had never seen any before. They wore breechcloths and not much else except a headband with feathers. Quite startling for my first encounter with this people. They moved on, then Cappy told me about them. They are a nomadic people and just wandered about in the Northern Mexican Sierra Madre mountains. Needless to say, I got no sleep that night, and slept in the car with little Bob. The next morning, finally, a horseman came along and asked Cappy what was wrong. Cappy told the Samaritan that our car had broken down on our way to town. Our new friend suggested to look around for some haywire to try and attach the spring back to the axle and that his father owned a garage in the next little town about 3 miles down the road. He had a face you could trust, and did not let us down. He attached the car to his horse and towed the car to town with it! What a sight! His father fixed the car and we went on to our destination. We were happy to have found a new friend and also to find out the Indians were peaceful and were not going to attack. It would have been hard to circle the wagons with just a car--and a broken down car at that! Happy Thanksgiving to all and I hope this story has made us all realize that no matter how much trouble we think we have, God is always there to help us out.

Weather!

When one listens to T.V. or Radio as to what the weather is going to be like, seems like it never happens! Either these "experts" don't have a clue about weather or are just guessing! Goes to show who really takes care of the weather and everything else in the world! Whether WE like it or not!!! I was surprised when it turned so cold in the night last night! It was supposed to be a "beautiful weekend, temps. possibly in the low 80's." Imagine my surprise when I got up this morning at 8:30 and was freezing! In fact, that is what probably woke me up! My feet felt like icicles! I did my few morning chores, like bathroom and morning prayers and got my breakfast, Bob called and I told him about being so cold. He said it was nice and warm in So. Cal. I looked at my little thermometer and at that time, about 9:30, it was 69 degrees here! I went to my front door and looked out and it had been "showering" I guess. The ground was wet and it was cloudy all over. I just looked up our weather on the computer and it is still pretty cool, in the low 70's. I'm not complaining because I think that I am getting an answer to the prayer I have been saying that we would get rain and lots of it to get this part of the state out of the drought it has been in! I hope this is just one of many showery days we have. Rain doesn't bother me at all. I love it! When it rains my arthritis slows down, and I begin to feel vigorated. When I was younger, I used to love to walk in the rain. Not in a cloudburst, mind you, but a gentle rain. Everything smells so fresh and new. I remember when I went to Hawaii several years ago and we had a sudden downpour. The rain felt like you were in a warm bathroom shower! I just let it pour on me and in about 10 minutes after it had stopped, a warm wind came up and I was dry again in a just a few minutes! I don't like dark dreary days, when we have what they call a high fog! I feel as though I am all alone in the world! And fog itself is very bad for my "Arthur"! Wind, now that's something I really don't like! I get so nervous and cross when it gets windy! I don't realize it until I start to think "What's the matter with me?" When I was young and we lived in the big 10 room house that I told you about before, the wind would come up and that old house would actually weave in the wind!! Maybe that's when I first got this "hate" thing. One night it blew so hard that it broke the window in the room where my brothers were sleeping! Our bedrooms were upstairs and I remember Mother and Dad telling us to stay in bed and not to try to go into the boy's room because there was broken glass all over! Then sometimes when we had heavy winds we had dust storms! One could hardly breathe and the dust settled on everything! Well, we take what we get and God has his reasons for making the weather "sometimes good and sometimes bad!" At least so far we haven't been struck with very many tornadoes! Or hurricanes! See ya later!

Barb 'n me

I have felt so blue today! Don't know why. I have a roof over my head, food in my fridge, and family on the internet!!! But it's just not the same without Barbara! I can't explain it. I am not sorry that God chose to take her at this time because she was really bad off!!! In pain and not able to do anything for herself, etc. This was just not Barbara! Was thinking about the last time we took a trip together! We went to St. Joseph, Missouri for a family reunion of my Mother's people, the Rabideaus. We had recieved notice of it and started planning to go! I went to So. Cal. for something or other and Dick and Janie were there. I was telling him about the trip and he says, "we'd love to have you guys come and see us in Cleveland before you go home" Anyway, to make a long story short, he called me when I got back to Lodi and said that he and Janie had been talking it over and that they were going to pay for our trip to St. Joe if afterwards we would come back to Cleveland and see them before we went home. I told Barbara and she was estatic!!!! So we finished making out plans. Dick sent us the tickets and we went to the Reunion! We had to go via Dallas and then up to Kansas City. We had planned on getting a rental car so we could do a little sight seeing, etc., which we did and then set off for St. Joe. We found the Hotel where we were registered and where the reunion would be held. Never saw so many family members in my life!!! I forget how many had come from all over the U.S. and Canada! The first people we talked to, was a couple sitting on the veranda of the Hotel and they were from a place up near Quincy, Cal. They kind of hung out with us while signed in and then we had, that afternoon, a cocktail party, where everyone tried to get acquainted!!!! In looking around I thought, " I would have known this crowd any where!" While talking their hands were flying as fast as their mouths were! You just felt, well, at home! This one would introduce you to that one and so on. Many of them had been meeting someplace every four years for years! We were sitting at a table with this lady and a couple of guys from Canada walked in and sat down with us because they had known this lady at the table for years!!! They were so interesting. Their wives were there and finally wound up with us. Pretty soon they brought in, I don't know how many kinds of pizza and someone called out to come and get whatever kind you wanted and as much as you wanted!!!! After a certain length of time we had to get in line and they, the committee running the thing gave us envelopes with all the instructions as to what was going on the next few days and how to get there, etc. Everyone had been instructed by mail to bring family albums, etc. and these were set up in another room where there was books that one could buy ( about geneology of the fam., etc.)We were getting pretty tired by this time so we and everyone else kept drifting off to their rooms, or wherever they were staying. Barbara and I overslept the next morning (probably not the only ones) so we had to find a restaurant to get breakfast. Found one pretty close so ate quite a few meals there while in St. Joe. Tried to have our Continental breakfast at the Hotel though because it was free! They had scheduled a trip on the second day and our new-found friend told us that we wouldn't want to go on that! Alot of walking, climbing, etc. so we decided that we would go down to "Old Town" and see a few of the famous places. The house where Jessie James was shot, the first pony express station; this is where the first mail by pony express started out! and there were a few other Museums, etc. Then, since there was to be a dinner at one of the Old museums that night, we decided to go and visit a place that I had visited a long time ago. Well, I got her up to the next town and from there they had changed the highway that I wanted get on and yes, you guessed it! We got lost. We found ourselves going down an old gravelled road and way out in the country. Barbara decides that this is probably not the right way and so here we were!We stopped the car to try and get our bearings. Some guy comes along in a pickup. I yelled "hey" out the window and Barbara told me later she was scared to death! The guy stopped and when we told him where we wanted to go he had us turn aroung and go back into town and so we did find the way. We wanted to go to a Monastery that I had been to with Teresa and Hank and Bob years before! We found it but it was getting so late that we weren't able to stay very long and headed back to St. Joe. The nuns told us how to get to where we were going without going back to the little town we got lost in. We made it back in time for the dinner at the old Museum and a beautiful dinner and after dinner the Host told us the history of the Museum, Seems like there was a ghost living there with his wife and him! He finished the story and after looking at the million and one things there, all went back to the Hotel.The next morning after breakfast Barbara and I decided to try out the Casino at the edge of town. No, we didn't win anything but did find half the reunion members out there!!! That evening was the Grand "Ball" so to speak, a catered dinner at the Hotel! The next morning after that, one of the "relatives" a priest from Kansas City came to the Hotel and said Mass in one of the Conference rooms We packed up and left the Hotel to go to Kansas City to leave the rental car and catch our plane to Cleveland. After driving around and not being able to find the rental place and we had passed the airport several times and so Barbara says "Why don't I let you out and you can get our bags checked and I'll see if I can get this car back". I did as she instructed and found a place to sit with out carry-ons and then I started to wait for her. They announced loading and still no Barbara! Finally some one asked if I was waiting for someone and I told her the story. She went up and talked to the lady who was putting people on the plane and they called out for Barbara over the loud speaker, etc. I really started to worry. The loading lady came over to me and told me not to worry that they would do something else about our tickets, etc. So, when I had given up in walks Barbara! You guess it she finally had to stop and ask someone to guide her to the rental place! You see when we got off in Kansas City they were there with a shuttle to take us to the rental place!!! Well, I promise I will finish our trip sometime!!! I am getting very tired of typing!!!!!

Whew! Halloween gone....

Not that I was worried. For three years I haven't had anyone come to the door! And there was not that much activity in the neighborhood. Guess people are waking up to the fact that it is really a dangerous activity in this day and age!!!! Now good old elections, (which are REALLY scary anymore!) And then too soon Thanksgiving! Course if we really think about it, it really is what it means! Giving thanks to God for what we have or don't have, (in the case of a unexpected illness!) I have so much to be Thankful for this year! I know that sounds funny with all that has happened in my life but to just name a few! I first of all, thank God for my family who have been so helpful to me during all the years of my "widowhood"!And then I thank God that they have come through the "trials" of illness. Then I thank God for giving me the strength of Faith to weather all the "storms" that I have gone through for the past couple of years! Loss of two sisters, two sisters-inlaw, illness of so many of my brothers and their wives, my own family illnesses! Now for some of the better things to think about on Thanksgiving. I'm remembering a few years ago, or it seems like a few years ago, when my Mother and Father and their family would all get together and rent the Y.M.C.A. Hall in Torrance and everyone would cook what they thought was their "best" dish for a Thanksgiving dinner! Of course, we would let the others know what others were bringing, so we didn't wind up with 8 or 9 turkeys! Made it much simpler! The hall was large and had tables already set up for us and there was a fireplace, a piano, and a nice big yard for the kids, if the weather allowed, to go out and play.Sometimes the older boys/men would have a lively game of touch football before dinner. The women would get the tables set, finish cooking the dinner, etc. After dinner there was always pumpkin pie, and a couple of other kinds of pies! Then while the women and the young folk put the dishes into a dishwasher (I seem to remember a dishwasher! Maybe it was a human dishwasher or two!) and cleaned up the kitchen, the men sat around and talked or whatever. It was a really good time! Afterwards, someone would be asked to play the piano,(most of the time it was me!)And someone would suggest that we dance to some records that someone was thoughtful enough to bring!I always loved to dance! We had almost the whole day there at the hall and would go home really happy and content that were able to see the "family" We took pictures and I'm sure some of the pictures are still in many albums. But things change and even though it is even now a "family" day, there are fewer and fewer families getting together. It is much easier it seems to go "out" to dinner. I wonder if, with the economy as bad as it is, someday it may get back to the old things we used to do as a family! Ho, hum!!! Enough of being old!