Well yesterday, my friend Lindsay and I decided we would go walking around the UC campus to check things out! Well game day activities were in full force and people were milling around and heading to the game! Lindsay mentions how a friend of hers told her there was a hill where you can watch the Cal games and it is a great view! So we were like lets go check it out and see what it is like!
The first journey was trying to find the stadium! We knew it was on the far end of the campus but exactly where it was, was a mystery! So we did what any person would do...we followed the crowd of navy blue and gold! They proved to be trusty for the stadium laid before us!
(side note: many of you may have seen on the news recently the many people living in the trees! Well it is along the street near the stadium where you will find such persons! The campus is planning on building a new building and these fine folks feel very deeply the trees should remain where they are! There signs say, "Trees help us breathe!" "Save the trees"! There were several people still living in the trees! There are even a couple way up in the tops of a tree some 30 feet up! They had a crane! )
So we get to the stadium and the questions remains...where does this hill stand? So we looked to the left and it looks as if only students or those with tickets can pass that way, so we decided to the right we must journey! So we take off up this hill (side note: this area is either uphill or downhill there is no flat land...my legs should look pretty good after four months of hills! let's hope!) and we find a gianormous line of people! So we ask what the line is for (make sure we don't cross any boundaries we aren't supposed to) and then we ask where the hill is! They told us go on up this hill and tightwad hill will be over there! Now they didn't tell us this hill was forever away at least it seemed like it!
We begin to walk along this wooded path that on one side is residential and the other is a softball field! We started discussing the porbabilty of this hill be somewhere on the other side of the field and someone over heard! They asked if we were looking for Tightwad HIll and we reply yes! He told us if we continue down this path we would come to the end of the fields and could cut across the parking lot! Found the parking lot now where is this hill?
We come to a point where we have to have a ticket, climb this hill to our right that we aren't real sure if it is THE hill, or turn around and walk home the very, very long way we came! So we notice a fence and in the fence was an opening! Score! So we ventrued through the fence and up the hill and we begin to see and hear people...this must be the place! Sure enough, we get to a point where we are overlooking the entire stadium and the entire Berkeley area and the bay! San Francisco sat directly opposite from Tightwad Hill!
Tightwad Hill in case you haven't put together is where all those without money or those who don't want to spend the money for tickets can go and watch the game with a pretty good view of the whole field! We thought it was just going to be a few people...oh no! imgaine like basically a whole other section of the stadium on the side of this mountain! Tons of people...i'd say somewhere close to 200! So I don't know if it is just on the hill or everywhere but they made anybody with red (Stanford's colors-big rival of Cal apparently) and anybody with green (Michigan State's colors-who they were playing) take it off! so people were having to take their shirts off to be able to stay on the hill! Thank goodness most of them had something on underneath or something else with them! There were guys singing songs they had made up over the course of a few years or maybe that night! One was in spanish, it was "we are the bears" !
Several people about fell down the mountain! It was quite an experience! One I shall not forget!The next home game isn't until Sept. 27th! So I have a month to recover and prepare for the next!
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Dinner Conversations 2
So today during lunch, a couple of us who were in the dinner conversation about ca, were accompanied by a few others and he and I began talking about spreading the ca. He mentioned how he had used it with a friend online! So we shared our discussion with those who were new to the conversation! While discussing this whole topic again...the question was posed...are there ever any new ideas or are there just recreated and adapted ideas? hmmmm? interesting thought...maybe the recreated idea could be seen as a new idea but techinically if it orginated from somewhere else is it really new? and to think that no one else has ever had that idea...isn't that kinda i don't know arrogant to think we are the only one who has ever thought of something!
All of this coming from "Honey if you love me, will you please smile." maybe that wasn't a new game, maybe it was just adpated from something else...just a thought! We spent quite a while pondering this today! Although someone else mentioned how this is acutally kind of a pessimistic way of looking at creativity! Yet I don't think creativity is bad or what not but just that maybe there aren't any truly brand new ideas! this thought was also held by others at the table! one guy had actually written a paper in college about new ideas and by the time he had finished his paper he had, in his own mind, proved himself wrong and he doesn't think there are any new ideas!
what do you think and why?
Blessed Adventurer,
Liz
All of this coming from "Honey if you love me, will you please smile." maybe that wasn't a new game, maybe it was just adpated from something else...just a thought! We spent quite a while pondering this today! Although someone else mentioned how this is acutally kind of a pessimistic way of looking at creativity! Yet I don't think creativity is bad or what not but just that maybe there aren't any truly brand new ideas! this thought was also held by others at the table! one guy had actually written a paper in college about new ideas and by the time he had finished his paper he had, in his own mind, proved himself wrong and he doesn't think there are any new ideas!
what do you think and why?
Blessed Adventurer,
Liz
Dinner Conversations
the other day several of us were having lunch on the patio and struck up a conversation! This conversation was not necessarily productive or intellectual but it sure was fun! I believe it began by someone mentioning the game "Honey if you love me, will you please smile?" After all of us had said we had heard of this game, I posed the question how does something like that get started and spread all over the place? I mentioned I had never seen this in a game book! This began the dialogue of how something might happen. One suggested maybe it was played somewhere and someone liked it and shared it and then someone else shared it and so it was! But that then raised the question, who started it! There must have been a sole starter! How does one do such a thing?
This then brought up the topic of popular phrases like "true story"! how did that become such a well known phrase? Did someone say it and it just stuck, was it on a movie or commercial? This conversation continued and somehow moved to text language! lol, brb, ttyl...how did these become text lingo? laugh out loud-that isn't really even used in day to day talk so how did it become the language on the computer or texting? One person at the table mentioned how he read most of those acronyms began from a single forum some time ago! either way...someone had to sit down and be like, "hm, we will soon have texting and it sure would be easier to abreviate everything so I will create this new language for all to use!" or did they just say, "bob, lol!" and bob was like, "Benny, lol? what does that mean?" "bob, that means laugh out loud!" and so it began!
We also discussed how do people really laugh out loud when they have typed lol? and if you haven't why do you type it? you should put down something that reflects what actually happened not something false!
We have no idea but what we did decide was we want to be THAT person! we want to start something and have it catch on and one day come back to us from someone we never shared it with! This is what we came up with! We think most people don't really laugh out loud but they probably chuckle to where it can be heard thus...ca! ca, you ask, what does that mean? It means chuckle audibly! So we would encourage each of you to begin using "ca" in your text lingo and im lingo and computer lingo! We want to see this catch on! Help us start something that spans the entire country and maybe even the world!
Oh, and that is something else we talked about...do people in other countries use the same lingo...do people in china use lol or do they have the lol equivalent? or do they even abbreviate things! maybe that is just a sign of the fast paced, instant gratification of the USA! Hmmm...we wonder! if you have any thoughts on any of this please share it with me!
Donn't forget....ca! chuckle audibly!!
have a great day!
Blessed Adventurer,
Liz
This then brought up the topic of popular phrases like "true story"! how did that become such a well known phrase? Did someone say it and it just stuck, was it on a movie or commercial? This conversation continued and somehow moved to text language! lol, brb, ttyl...how did these become text lingo? laugh out loud-that isn't really even used in day to day talk so how did it become the language on the computer or texting? One person at the table mentioned how he read most of those acronyms began from a single forum some time ago! either way...someone had to sit down and be like, "hm, we will soon have texting and it sure would be easier to abreviate everything so I will create this new language for all to use!" or did they just say, "bob, lol!" and bob was like, "Benny, lol? what does that mean?" "bob, that means laugh out loud!" and so it began!
We also discussed how do people really laugh out loud when they have typed lol? and if you haven't why do you type it? you should put down something that reflects what actually happened not something false!
We have no idea but what we did decide was we want to be THAT person! we want to start something and have it catch on and one day come back to us from someone we never shared it with! This is what we came up with! We think most people don't really laugh out loud but they probably chuckle to where it can be heard thus...ca! ca, you ask, what does that mean? It means chuckle audibly! So we would encourage each of you to begin using "ca" in your text lingo and im lingo and computer lingo! We want to see this catch on! Help us start something that spans the entire country and maybe even the world!
Oh, and that is something else we talked about...do people in other countries use the same lingo...do people in china use lol or do they have the lol equivalent? or do they even abbreviate things! maybe that is just a sign of the fast paced, instant gratification of the USA! Hmmm...we wonder! if you have any thoughts on any of this please share it with me!
Donn't forget....ca! chuckle audibly!!
have a great day!
Blessed Adventurer,
Liz
Happenings Yesterday
Well just random things I thought I would share!
I went on a nature hike! I saw a spider that builds a wed that is in the form of a dome and apparently they sometimes build like little condos with several domes on top of each other.
I took a walk down Shattuck which is like the main drag of Berkeley! As I was walking down the road, some high school students who had just been dismissed from school were throwing eggs at each other and at cars. Two police on bicycles rolled up and grabbed one kid and snatched his back pack! It was weird seeing kids running around with hand fulls of eggs! If I ever see my kids throwing eggs at people or cars, you will have to deal with me!
I saw a man who was basically just a torso! He was rolling around on a skateboard! Not sure how else to describe it but it was different! I had never seen that before!
And right after that I passed a lady who must have had terrets! She was yelling at the top of her lungs something which I couldn't understand! She just kept yelling and yelling! All of the last 3 things happened with in 3 minutes of each other! It was like bam, bam, bam!
I watched a movie with Alvin! I think that is about it for today!
Blessed Adventurer,
Liz
I went on a nature hike! I saw a spider that builds a wed that is in the form of a dome and apparently they sometimes build like little condos with several domes on top of each other.
I took a walk down Shattuck which is like the main drag of Berkeley! As I was walking down the road, some high school students who had just been dismissed from school were throwing eggs at each other and at cars. Two police on bicycles rolled up and grabbed one kid and snatched his back pack! It was weird seeing kids running around with hand fulls of eggs! If I ever see my kids throwing eggs at people or cars, you will have to deal with me!
I saw a man who was basically just a torso! He was rolling around on a skateboard! Not sure how else to describe it but it was different! I had never seen that before!
And right after that I passed a lady who must have had terrets! She was yelling at the top of her lungs something which I couldn't understand! She just kept yelling and yelling! All of the last 3 things happened with in 3 minutes of each other! It was like bam, bam, bam!
I watched a movie with Alvin! I think that is about it for today!
Blessed Adventurer,
Liz
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Landscape of Life
So it was interesting to me as I traveled to California all the different land forms! I saw mountains, shrubs, mesas, plateaus, hills, tall trees, cactus, desert, sand, canyons, and so much more! As I watched it changed and was amazed everytime, I began to think how similar that is to our life! We are on this journey called life and over the course of our life we go through several different land forms! We go through places in our lives that are flat and easy to travel! We seem to be able to see for miles what is coming our way and then it seems as if out of no where we are in the midst of a desert! Things are hot and dry! We become weary if we don't hydrate ourselves with refreshing water! We can become dead almost in life, faith, and spirit! We don't seem to produce much fruit from our land! Then we get into a place where things are more green! We have began to see growth and life! Things are getting better! Then we begin to go uphill! Maybe these are the struggles of life! These are some of the obstacles we face along our journey! But within the ascent to the top, we still see beauty and wonder! We can still see growth and new life in the grass and animals! Evergreen trees reminding us of everlasting life! yet we can feel in our bodies the work and stress of climbing such a steep mountain! BUT then we reach the top! From there we can see the whole place! We can see where we came from and the great joys and blessings it has brought us! We see the lessons we learned and how we have changed over that trek! We see the sun in all its glory, rays of sunshine beaming through the clouds and over the fields! We can smell the rain awakening the valley! The rain bringing a cleansing spirit! I then think about the Petroglyphs I stopped and visited in Albequerque! These are the things along our path that remind us of our past! Some of these may be good memories and help us to move forward! Some of them may actually keep us from continuing the journey to which we are called! We keep staring and gazing at what has been and what used to be, what happened to me instead of seeing it as just an exit on this journey and getting right back on the highway of life! We many times allow these exits to be overnight stays when they should just be a point to stretch our legs!
I know I can think back into my life and see all types of land forms in my life! I am very grateful for each and can see a lesson in each! I try to remember some of those areas I might have been able to avoid or quicken had I been more diligent in my time and relationship with God! The dry times in my life...was not only dry in the things happening but also in my relationship with God! The mountaintop experiences were the times when I felt the closest to God, my relationship was first priority!
Oh the things we learn while on the road of life!
Blessed Adventurer,
Liz
I know I can think back into my life and see all types of land forms in my life! I am very grateful for each and can see a lesson in each! I try to remember some of those areas I might have been able to avoid or quicken had I been more diligent in my time and relationship with God! The dry times in my life...was not only dry in the things happening but also in my relationship with God! The mountaintop experiences were the times when I felt the closest to God, my relationship was first priority!
Oh the things we learn while on the road of life!
Blessed Adventurer,
Liz
Orientation
Well honestly so far this week has been just meeting after meeting after meeting! Really alot of the stuff doesn't apply to me since I am not entering into a degree program but there has been some interesting information shared and things I have picked up! Everyone is very friendly! We all eat together in the little dining hall (nothing like what you have pictured in your head) but almost everytime everyone sits with someone different so are able to meet new people and get to know the faces of those in the new class! I'm kinda the joke of the group because I am the only one with the "Special Student Status" so when we go around and introduce ourselves...I say, "I'm Liz, I'm the 'Special Student'. I'm from Oklahoma" They all laugh! I've had alot of people wonder what "Special Student Status" means...so I try to fill them in!
I have already enrolled in my two dance classes! So I think all I have to do is pretty much done!
Everyone I talk to says, "Carla is amazing! Have you had any classes with her before?" Carla is the instructor of the dance classes! It is funny they ask if I have taken any dance classes with her, especially since I am a new student!
Each night they have different activities to get everyone acquainted and mixed up! So Monday night they had an Ice Cream Social! Last night we went to a place called Shattuck Down Low. We sang some Karaoke! That was alot of fun! For dinner tonight all of the seminaries associated with the GTU (which PSR is a part of) will be having a BBQ at one of the seminaries! If you want to see the seminary through which I am taking classes go to http://www.psr.edu/ ! It will give you some insight into the school! Tonight I'm going to watch a performance by a group called Wing It! It is a performance group from the program Interplay! Interplay is the other program I plan on gettin involved! It does alot of spiritual body movement, play and storytelling! I am really excited about that! If you want to go check out the website for Interplay to get a better idea if what I'm talking about go to http://www.interplay.org/
I have already been asked to help with the worship/chapel service for next Tuesday! One of the girls is choreographing a dance and I will be one of four dancers for the service! I am pretty excited about that! At that point I won't have even had a class yet! hehehe
Alvin is doing good! It is funny because I know he recognizes me and knows I am supposed to be there but I don't think he remembers my name still! Yesterday was kinda sad cause I got back to the house about 7 and then turned around to leave for Karaoke and he seemed so sad I wasn't going to be there to talk with him!
Well for right now that is about it! Can't think of any else! I love you!
Blessed Adventurer,
Liz
I have already enrolled in my two dance classes! So I think all I have to do is pretty much done!
Everyone I talk to says, "Carla is amazing! Have you had any classes with her before?" Carla is the instructor of the dance classes! It is funny they ask if I have taken any dance classes with her, especially since I am a new student!
Each night they have different activities to get everyone acquainted and mixed up! So Monday night they had an Ice Cream Social! Last night we went to a place called Shattuck Down Low. We sang some Karaoke! That was alot of fun! For dinner tonight all of the seminaries associated with the GTU (which PSR is a part of) will be having a BBQ at one of the seminaries! If you want to see the seminary through which I am taking classes go to http://www.psr.edu/ ! It will give you some insight into the school! Tonight I'm going to watch a performance by a group called Wing It! It is a performance group from the program Interplay! Interplay is the other program I plan on gettin involved! It does alot of spiritual body movement, play and storytelling! I am really excited about that! If you want to go check out the website for Interplay to get a better idea if what I'm talking about go to http://www.interplay.org/
I have already been asked to help with the worship/chapel service for next Tuesday! One of the girls is choreographing a dance and I will be one of four dancers for the service! I am pretty excited about that! At that point I won't have even had a class yet! hehehe
Alvin is doing good! It is funny because I know he recognizes me and knows I am supposed to be there but I don't think he remembers my name still! Yesterday was kinda sad cause I got back to the house about 7 and then turned around to leave for Karaoke and he seemed so sad I wasn't going to be there to talk with him!
Well for right now that is about it! Can't think of any else! I love you!
Blessed Adventurer,
Liz
Monday, August 25, 2008
The First Encounter!
Well as I said before I arrived at Alvin's house around 5pm on Sunday evening! When I got here, there weren't many places to park so I found a spot that was just a bit down from where I thought the house was! As I got out of my car I noticed a man sweeping the driveway! The plan was for Bob, Alvin's son, to meet me around 5pm so I thought maybe this was Bob! So I am walking his way with a gigantic smile on my face cause I'm thinking surely he will realize it is me since he is expecting me but he doesn't say anything...he just smiles real big at me too! So I finally say are you Bob? He grins and says, "I wish I was!" hehehehe We both laughed and he said you are here to be Alvin's roommate, I have heard about you! He told me Bob wasn't there yet but should be soon!
The man's name is Jude and he live next door to Alvin! He has lived there since he was a kid! He and Bob grew up together! So we chatted for some time and he asked all kinds of questions about what my plans were! About 5-10 minutes later Bob pulled up! So we introduced ourselves and then we went in and I met Alvin!! When I walked in, he was brushing his teeth! I have to say, he is one of the cutest little old men I have seen! So I began to unpack my car and bring stuff in! He and Bob both helped me! So that evening we went out to eat at a little cafe called Cafe Rogue! It was very good...very expensive...it will probably be the one and only time I ever eat there but I enjoyed it! We just chatted...getting to know each other! Bob is an orthopedic surgeon! He works in Oakland! He is married to a woman named Hillary and she works with childrens books but I am not exactly sure what she does!
Alvin is a former marine as most of you know! His wife, Dorothy Louise, was in W.A.S.P. This stands for Women's Air Service Pilot. This group of women flew domestic flights so the men would be free to fly over seas and be in combat! He and Dorothy met while they were in the service. They met through Dorothy's sister, Ruth. Ruth was dating one of Alvin's service buddys and Alvin and Dorothy hit it off! Dorothy died about 15 years ago from a heart condition she had from a very young age! This is a story they shared with me about her getting into the service! Due to her heart condition she knew she would pass the tests to get into the service! So her doctor told her how she could hide the murmur in her heart by applying pressure to something, not sure but either way it made the murmur basically silent! So it came down to the final exams and everything and they were required to take x-rays of their chest. So while standing in line, she struck up a conversation with the young lady behind her. As they began to talk the young lady mentioned she really didn't want to go into the W.A.S.P., so Dorothy and this young lady switched x-rays so it appeared Dorothy had an excellent heart and the young lady had an enlarged heart! WOW! How crazy is that! Anyway, it is very apparent Alvin misses her greatly and loved and admired her dearly! Ruth, her sisiter, lives within about 2 miles of Alvin and regularly checks on him and talks to him!
Alvin is an interesting fellow because he has a very bad memory! I told him my name probably 15 times the first night I met him! I have heard many of the same stories many times! I have been asked many of the same questions many times! This morning he walked over to me and said, "Now I'm sorry but I have forgotten your name and what is our relationship to each other, why are you here?" It was very apparent he recognized me but wasn't quite sure what the arrangements were! I reminded him his son Bob had arranged for me to be his roommate! He said, "Oh great, how long will you be here?" I told him til December! He said, "Oh well I think I can live with that!" He said, "Now how long are you going to be here?" It is actually very sad to know he doesn't remember a whole lot! He is so sweet and very excited to have me here! He took me to the Senior Center today for lunch! The senior center is less than 1/2 mile from his home! He seems to be able to remember how to get to and from the center! He eats at the center everyday of the week! But apparently he forgets what day it is, so he soemtimes walks to the center on Saturday and Sunday (when they don't serve meals) and realizes they are serving meals so he has to find lunch somewhere else! He loves musicals and Oklahoma is one of his favorites! I have heard several times about his trip to see Oklahoma live! He was a paratrooper for the marines! I think I have understood him right! From what he has said he worked very closely with the Navy! He was an observer pilot! So he would watch for targets and then give the coordinates to either the land artillery or to the battleship and they would fire! I think I am saying all that right! I do know he has told me about a tower they build at some State Fair and then after that the Marines used it to practice jumps! They had some arm that would swing out and the troopers would practice their jumps from that tower! He has two sons, Bob, who has set this arrangement up and then Eric. Eric lives in Massachusetts! He is a yoga instructor! Eric has never married but is apparently dating someone at this point in time! Neither one of the boys have kids, so Alvin has no grandkids! Alvin is one of nine siblings. I believe this is correct! This would be one thing we have been over many times but it seems to change every time! He asks me how many are in my family and then he tells me how many are in his family! These are his siblings: Otto, Herman, Henry, Robert, Joe, John, Esther, Clara and then Alvin! Henry died in Solomon Islands in war. Herman died in France. I can't remember if it was in war or something else! Otto was a chef and I believe he has died. Clara and Esther live in Maryland! They live pretty close to each other and apparently keep in contact! Alvin is very fond of Esther and kinda sounds like she is his favorite! Not real sure why but that just is the vibe I get! Due to the rule made because of the Sullivan brothers, how brothers had to be split up, he and his brothers were split when they went to war!
Dorothy was a big church goer and she attended a Methodist church here in Berkeley! He said he has never felt like he needed to go to church! He said he has lived a good and moral life but never felt he needed to go to church! He never felt a connection! He didn't eloborate much but I'm sure this conversation will be continued down the road! Well that is all I have for now! There will be more I am sure!
I love you all!
Blessed Adventurer,
Liz
The man's name is Jude and he live next door to Alvin! He has lived there since he was a kid! He and Bob grew up together! So we chatted for some time and he asked all kinds of questions about what my plans were! About 5-10 minutes later Bob pulled up! So we introduced ourselves and then we went in and I met Alvin!! When I walked in, he was brushing his teeth! I have to say, he is one of the cutest little old men I have seen! So I began to unpack my car and bring stuff in! He and Bob both helped me! So that evening we went out to eat at a little cafe called Cafe Rogue! It was very good...very expensive...it will probably be the one and only time I ever eat there but I enjoyed it! We just chatted...getting to know each other! Bob is an orthopedic surgeon! He works in Oakland! He is married to a woman named Hillary and she works with childrens books but I am not exactly sure what she does!
Alvin is a former marine as most of you know! His wife, Dorothy Louise, was in W.A.S.P. This stands for Women's Air Service Pilot. This group of women flew domestic flights so the men would be free to fly over seas and be in combat! He and Dorothy met while they were in the service. They met through Dorothy's sister, Ruth. Ruth was dating one of Alvin's service buddys and Alvin and Dorothy hit it off! Dorothy died about 15 years ago from a heart condition she had from a very young age! This is a story they shared with me about her getting into the service! Due to her heart condition she knew she would pass the tests to get into the service! So her doctor told her how she could hide the murmur in her heart by applying pressure to something, not sure but either way it made the murmur basically silent! So it came down to the final exams and everything and they were required to take x-rays of their chest. So while standing in line, she struck up a conversation with the young lady behind her. As they began to talk the young lady mentioned she really didn't want to go into the W.A.S.P., so Dorothy and this young lady switched x-rays so it appeared Dorothy had an excellent heart and the young lady had an enlarged heart! WOW! How crazy is that! Anyway, it is very apparent Alvin misses her greatly and loved and admired her dearly! Ruth, her sisiter, lives within about 2 miles of Alvin and regularly checks on him and talks to him!
Alvin is an interesting fellow because he has a very bad memory! I told him my name probably 15 times the first night I met him! I have heard many of the same stories many times! I have been asked many of the same questions many times! This morning he walked over to me and said, "Now I'm sorry but I have forgotten your name and what is our relationship to each other, why are you here?" It was very apparent he recognized me but wasn't quite sure what the arrangements were! I reminded him his son Bob had arranged for me to be his roommate! He said, "Oh great, how long will you be here?" I told him til December! He said, "Oh well I think I can live with that!" He said, "Now how long are you going to be here?" It is actually very sad to know he doesn't remember a whole lot! He is so sweet and very excited to have me here! He took me to the Senior Center today for lunch! The senior center is less than 1/2 mile from his home! He seems to be able to remember how to get to and from the center! He eats at the center everyday of the week! But apparently he forgets what day it is, so he soemtimes walks to the center on Saturday and Sunday (when they don't serve meals) and realizes they are serving meals so he has to find lunch somewhere else! He loves musicals and Oklahoma is one of his favorites! I have heard several times about his trip to see Oklahoma live! He was a paratrooper for the marines! I think I have understood him right! From what he has said he worked very closely with the Navy! He was an observer pilot! So he would watch for targets and then give the coordinates to either the land artillery or to the battleship and they would fire! I think I am saying all that right! I do know he has told me about a tower they build at some State Fair and then after that the Marines used it to practice jumps! They had some arm that would swing out and the troopers would practice their jumps from that tower! He has two sons, Bob, who has set this arrangement up and then Eric. Eric lives in Massachusetts! He is a yoga instructor! Eric has never married but is apparently dating someone at this point in time! Neither one of the boys have kids, so Alvin has no grandkids! Alvin is one of nine siblings. I believe this is correct! This would be one thing we have been over many times but it seems to change every time! He asks me how many are in my family and then he tells me how many are in his family! These are his siblings: Otto, Herman, Henry, Robert, Joe, John, Esther, Clara and then Alvin! Henry died in Solomon Islands in war. Herman died in France. I can't remember if it was in war or something else! Otto was a chef and I believe he has died. Clara and Esther live in Maryland! They live pretty close to each other and apparently keep in contact! Alvin is very fond of Esther and kinda sounds like she is his favorite! Not real sure why but that just is the vibe I get! Due to the rule made because of the Sullivan brothers, how brothers had to be split up, he and his brothers were split when they went to war!
Dorothy was a big church goer and she attended a Methodist church here in Berkeley! He said he has never felt like he needed to go to church! He said he has lived a good and moral life but never felt he needed to go to church! He never felt a connection! He didn't eloborate much but I'm sure this conversation will be continued down the road! Well that is all I have for now! There will be more I am sure!
I love you all!
Blessed Adventurer,
Liz
Dancin Dolly
Just a fun fact for all to know! You may and may not be wondering where Dancin Dolly came from! Well I'm sure the dancing seems logical enough but what about dolly! Well I am not sure where dolly came from but this is where Dancin Dolly came from! My grandpa Jackson, my mom's dad, called me his little dancin dolly! He died when I was in Fifth grade so he never really saw me grow in my dance! So when I was asked to put down what I wanted my address to be...it just seemed appropriate!
Gramps I hope you are proud!
Blessed Adventurer,
Liz
Gramps I hope you are proud!
Blessed Adventurer,
Liz
The Drive
Well I started my journey to California Friday around 4pm. The intention was to leave a little earlier but in true Liz fashion it ended up being a little later! I packed up what seemed like lots of clothes, some personal knick-knacks and some food and headed out! I made a stop at the largest Cross in the western Hemisphere! And kept driving! It is amazing how the scenery changes and kinda doesn't change! I drove to Albequerque, New Mexico! (just FYI, I spent about 5 minutes trying to figure out if I spelled that right, so if I did, my bad!) I stayed in an Econolodge just off the highway! That ended up not being the best hotel I have ever been in! The carpet on the floor had several stains or bleach spots or something! There was wall paper coming off the wall and you could just tell it wasn't in the best shape! Not to mention there was a small black bug on one of the pillows! Yeah! good times! The next morning I found several more critters on the floor! So don't stop at that one if you are going that direction!
I started out the next morning around 10:30am. Just a few minutes into my drive, I noticed a sign that said Petroglyph National Monument! Well it has been a while since I was in a history class so I had forgotted what a Petroglyph was! So, hmm, that sounded interesting to me! So I took that exit and found my way to this monument! Come to find out, petroglyphs are basically pictures drawn on rocks by the early indians! These are thought to be drawn by the early Pueblo Indians. So just imagine, small hills of these big black rocks! And some of these rocks have little pictures drawn on them. So of them were like little stick people, some were faces, some were just circles or squares but all cool nonetheless! While I was there, I ran into a little old man named Yunz! I think that is how you might spell it! He was on his way from Michigan to the Grand Canyon! He was traveling by himself and was taking some pictures of the petroglyphs! So I jumped back in the car and started back on the road! I drove until I made it to Barstow, California! Barstow was a neat little place. Well, not really little but where I stopped was just a cool atmosphere! It is a big train depot spot or at least alot of trains go through becasue the McDonald's was set in train cars. It was probably one of the coolest McDonald's ever!
So on Sunday morning from my hotel room, I video conferenced with the kiddoes during their Sunday School hour! Now just in case you don't know California is two hours behind Oklahoma. So it was 9:30am in Oklahoma and 7:30am in California! After I packed up that morning, I headed out with Berkeley being my next stop! I arrived in Berkeley around 5pm! As I was driving through Berkeley, I just kept getting more and more excited to meet Alvin and to begin this new adventure! I can't thank you all enough for allowing me this great opportunity!
I have had several of you say you are thinking about me and praying for me! Well it was definitely noticed on the drive! I passed many cars having problems on the side of the road! Every time I prayed for their safety and help but I thanked God for protecting me and not letting me have any problems! So THANK YOU for all your prayers! They helped!
Just some other random thougths about the trip here! I saw a mini van that looked like a giant collage literally! I really think they cut pictures and words out of magazines and mod podged them on the side of the van! Not only that but on the top of the van was a big George Washington head! Not sure what it was all about but definitely an interesting site! I saw a spot where there were about 7 or 8 multi-colored cars sticking out of the ground. They all had the front of the car stuck in the ground! It was on the east bound side of the highway so I could stop and find out what that was all about but I guess that leaves me something to do on the way home in December!
I think probably the neatest thing was watching the landscape change! We think Oklahoma is flat and treeless, there are other places a lot less treey (is that a word?) than Oklahoma! You go through areas where the hills are rocky, then the hills are sandy, then the hills have trees and grass, then there are no hills! There are places where there are beautiful mesas and plateaus and beside them are pointed mountains! It just makes you think about why are these flat on top and those right next to it pointed! It just astounds me to think of the great and awesome creation our God put together for us to marvel at! I going to make another blog about my thougths on how the land is kinda like our life journey! so for now that is it...oh what you want to know more about Alvin? Well that is going to be another blog as well! So much to say...I figured I would break it up for you!
Love you!
Blessed Adventurer,
Liz
I started out the next morning around 10:30am. Just a few minutes into my drive, I noticed a sign that said Petroglyph National Monument! Well it has been a while since I was in a history class so I had forgotted what a Petroglyph was! So, hmm, that sounded interesting to me! So I took that exit and found my way to this monument! Come to find out, petroglyphs are basically pictures drawn on rocks by the early indians! These are thought to be drawn by the early Pueblo Indians. So just imagine, small hills of these big black rocks! And some of these rocks have little pictures drawn on them. So of them were like little stick people, some were faces, some were just circles or squares but all cool nonetheless! While I was there, I ran into a little old man named Yunz! I think that is how you might spell it! He was on his way from Michigan to the Grand Canyon! He was traveling by himself and was taking some pictures of the petroglyphs! So I jumped back in the car and started back on the road! I drove until I made it to Barstow, California! Barstow was a neat little place. Well, not really little but where I stopped was just a cool atmosphere! It is a big train depot spot or at least alot of trains go through becasue the McDonald's was set in train cars. It was probably one of the coolest McDonald's ever!
So on Sunday morning from my hotel room, I video conferenced with the kiddoes during their Sunday School hour! Now just in case you don't know California is two hours behind Oklahoma. So it was 9:30am in Oklahoma and 7:30am in California! After I packed up that morning, I headed out with Berkeley being my next stop! I arrived in Berkeley around 5pm! As I was driving through Berkeley, I just kept getting more and more excited to meet Alvin and to begin this new adventure! I can't thank you all enough for allowing me this great opportunity!
I have had several of you say you are thinking about me and praying for me! Well it was definitely noticed on the drive! I passed many cars having problems on the side of the road! Every time I prayed for their safety and help but I thanked God for protecting me and not letting me have any problems! So THANK YOU for all your prayers! They helped!
Just some other random thougths about the trip here! I saw a mini van that looked like a giant collage literally! I really think they cut pictures and words out of magazines and mod podged them on the side of the van! Not only that but on the top of the van was a big George Washington head! Not sure what it was all about but definitely an interesting site! I saw a spot where there were about 7 or 8 multi-colored cars sticking out of the ground. They all had the front of the car stuck in the ground! It was on the east bound side of the highway so I could stop and find out what that was all about but I guess that leaves me something to do on the way home in December!
I think probably the neatest thing was watching the landscape change! We think Oklahoma is flat and treeless, there are other places a lot less treey (is that a word?) than Oklahoma! You go through areas where the hills are rocky, then the hills are sandy, then the hills have trees and grass, then there are no hills! There are places where there are beautiful mesas and plateaus and beside them are pointed mountains! It just makes you think about why are these flat on top and those right next to it pointed! It just astounds me to think of the great and awesome creation our God put together for us to marvel at! I going to make another blog about my thougths on how the land is kinda like our life journey! so for now that is it...oh what you want to know more about Alvin? Well that is going to be another blog as well! So much to say...I figured I would break it up for you!
Love you!
Blessed Adventurer,
Liz
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