100th Blog

This is my hundredth blog. I wasn't aware of that until I signed in.

Saturday starts Vacation 2009 for the Lavys. This year is Myrtle Beach year. This will be the fourth family vacation there. The first year, we went "budget". It was not the greatest vacation ever. Next time we had a beach house across the street from the ocean. Very nice. Two years ago was an oceanfront condo. Wow, what a view of the Atlantic! This year it's a condo across the street from the ocean with a side view of the water.

Dudley and Bilko, the doggie cousins are going with us. And, so is Holley, so it could be the greatest vacation ever, or something not quite that great! Just kidding. Vacation 2009 is just around the corner.

Gatlinburg!

Family Fest Weekend in Gatlinburg

Courtney Collingsworth

The Cousins - Bullwinkle Baker, Dudley Lavy and Bilko Lavy Camping out in the Smokies in the Puppy Condominium The only picture I wanted - Ben Speer

Michigan 2009

A beautiful cluster of four morels

Grandpa, Brent and I took a quick mushroom-hunting trip to Wolverine, Michigan. We left our house at 2:55AM last Tuesday. We were in the woods at 9:08AM. Sixty seconds later, we had our first morel mushroom. After a day and a half of hunting, we finished with 180.

Dad started this madness in 1958 when he took the family north to find sponge mushrooms for the first time. Fifty-one years later, I got to take him to the very same woods to which he took us many years earlier. We still find them in almost exactly the same areas.

In 1960 - give or take a year or two - Dad took his mother and father to Michigan. Grandma Lavy, Dad's mother, found a patch of mushrooms in an area near Old 27. For many years after, we hunted that same spot and found mushrooms nearly every year. In recent years, we have not found them there. However, this year Brent and I searched that spot. We were about ready to give up when BJ spotted two small ones on the edge of a dirt bike trail. That caused us to look more closely, and we found sixteen in that patch. That was very near Grandma's spot. That was amazing to me.

If Grandpa (who will be 89 next September) is able, we may try it again in 2010. As he said, "I'm making no promises." None of us are, but what a treat for the three of us this year! Dad and I at the roadside park where he stopped in 1958 What a smile! Dad in the woods that he loves. That's a start Grandma was happy to see Grandpa come back. No, seriously, she was!

WOW

OK, here's the little kid that I helped raise for quite a few years. We played one-on-one basketball in his bedroom for hours. Keep in mind, this room was 8'6"x11'. Almost every game, played with a rim hung on the closet door and a nerf ball, came down to a last-second shot or free throws. Mom wasn't thrilled when we took out the light. Eventually, we took the rivalry outside.

He moved onto the court at Ansonia and had some success against Covington, Twin Valley South and a few other schools. Mom and I got to see him light up the scoreboard with threes. Then, he was outta here.

Off to Cincinnati where he has worked his way through four gruelling years of college. A little basketball, a little soccer and a lot of work has been the norm for the past few years.

There, he found this young lady to spend some time with. She has been to visit us a few times. She has toured the site of our in-room basketball games. I think she thinks BJ is as goofy as his dad.

Pride is not really a great attribute. However, this father is VERY proud of his son, Brent. Four years of college and many hours of work takes a lot of discipline. He'll make a great teacher, husband, man and whatever else it is that he decides to do.

I'm proud to call you my son, BJ. Go get 'em.

You might ask him about the door in the background
Kid's Klub
That's the lady to whom I was referring

Farewell

Farewell, my friend

Cancer has consumed your body.

Soon you'll be only a memory here,

But you will live forever - somewhere.

Be faithful to the end, dear friend,

Lavished in God's grace.

I stoop to kiss you one last time,

Your weakened lips whisper - Goodbye!

I'm looking forward to the Eternal Day

When we can share and enjoy more fully

With none of earth to hinder us.

Yes, rooted in the Timeless One,

Our friendship will not die and wither,

But blossom fuller, sweeter,

"Over There."

"See you in the morning,

My precious friend."

("Tea Leaves" adapted from Jo Weaver & Joanna Birky)

This was sent to Rena from our pastor's wife following the death of Rena's best friend. Rena sang to Bobbi and held her until she left this world last Saturday night. I believe her last words were, "Look up." Not sure what she saw, but it must have been worth looking at.

Fortunately

A man had wanted to ride in an airplane all of his life. Unfortunately, he had never had the opportunity. Fortunately, on his sixty-fifth birthday, a pilot offered him a plane ride. Unfortunately, while the pilot was doing an acrobatic maneuver, the man fell out of the plane. Fortunately, he was wearing a parachute. Unfortunately, he did not know how to open the chute. Fortunately, the pilot of the plane was able to fly close to him and tell him how to open it. Unfortunately, the chute would not open. Fortunately, there was a haystack below him. Unfortunately, there was a pitchfork in the haystack with the sharp end pointed up. Fortunately, he missed the pitchfork. Unfortunately, he missed the haystack. Fortunately, this is a fictional account!

Two Captains

Captain Sullenberger

Captain Phillips

In this era of constant grim news about the economy, crime and war, it’s nice to have some good news. I, along with most Americans, have rejoiced and felt a great sense of American PRIDE at the unfolding of two stories involving two American captain heroes.
On Jan. 16, 2009, US Airways Flight 1549 took off from La Guardia Airport in New York City. In just moments, that aircraft was in serious danger after striking a flock of birds which unbelievably knocked out both engines. Apparently, Captain Chesley Sullenberger was one of a few captains who would have been able to successfully save the passengers on his plane. With no more than a handful of minutes to work with, Captain Sullenberger surveyed his options, saw the small landing strip at Teterboro, New Jersey, realized he could not make it there and radioed with amazing calm these words, “We’ll be in the Hudson.”
After clearing the George Washington Bridge by about nine hundred feet, he ditched the A320 Airbus in the Hudson River, with nose elevated as if he had done it many times. As you know, he lost no one and became an instant hero. Are you proud to be an American? Me, too.
On April 8, 2009 the Maersk Alabama was plying the waters of the Indian Ocean off the coast of Africa. A few wannabe pirates saw their opportunity to make a few million dollars by taking over a defenseless American-flagged ship. Well, it appeared to be defenseless to these four Mensa candidates. After storming the ship like pirates of old, they met up with Captain Richard Phillips, who quickly surrendered after instructing his crew to lock themselves in a room, no doubt trading his life for their freedom. I don’t know all of the details of the attack, but there was apparently some hand-to-hand combat and one of the pirates took an ice pick through the hand. Believe it or not, that saved his life. Somehow, the crew overpowered the pirates, sending them on their way in a lifeboat, but with Captain Phillips as a hostage.
On Easter Sunday, after the pirate with an injured hand had agreed to come on board the US Navy ship, the USS Bainbridge, the drama was about to come to a violent ending. The lifeboat was being towed by the ship to get it out of rough waters. I understand that they were being towed by a 200-foot towline. I’m just speculating here, but sometime during the towing operation, the line was shortened to about 90 feet. Do you start to get the picture?
At some point in the previous five days of this crisis, a select group of Navy Seals had jumped out of a plane from approximately 25,000 feet in the air. They dropped in a free fall for a few minutes, then deployed their parachutes in a classic HALO operation. That is an acronym for “High Altitude Low Observability”. They were then picked up by small boats and transferred to the Bainbridge where they set up shop on the fantail.
When two pirates decided to get some fresh air, and one pirate may have been momentarily distracted from holding an AK-47 to the back of Captain Phillips, the Seals did what they are trained to do. Three bullets, three dead pirates and one happy nation.
America needs some happy news. I think those were two happy events. Be happy and proud today for America. There’s plenty of time later for worrying and hearing all the negative news. That’s my two cents for today, April 13, 2009.