Beautiful Leaves

Bre and I drove up to Annapolis recently. We caught the leaves at near peak color I would say. Some of them were magnificent, and the bright sun magnified the effect.

We had a little color south of B’ham. The color got better and better all the way to our detour in NC. From there northward it was terrific. This same time last year we were driving between Charleston, SC and Eu Clair, WI. We had great leaves that trip too.

G^d made a beautiful world indeed. Who would have thought to hide these colors under green chlorophyll, and make the reds come alive with the waning sunlight. I have heard it said that one of the most frustrating things for atheists is to feel grateful and have no one to whom to express it.

Well, Thank you L^rd for the beautiful Fall colors.

Beautiful North Carolina

In October we had the pleasure of spending a day and a bit with good friends Pete and Nancy. They have a condo at Sugar Top, NC. These are dear friends and we always enjoy being with them. We had a great time on this stopover on our way to my 50^th reunion in Annapolis.

This area is a MAJOR tourist destination, and we can see why. We visited Blowing Rock, NC, which was the real town described as “Mitford” by Jan Karon in her Series of books. The town was full of old tourists because those with children are back at school.

We also drove to the top of Grandfather Mountain. It was cloud-covered at the top, but was still great fun. We went to Boone, where Appalachian State University is located. We also visited Banner Elk, NC where Lees-McRae University is located. The high winds made it cold, but the great friends made it warm.

We hope to return for another visit—it was definitely worth the detour!

G^d made a beautiful world indeed.

Another Season Another Hunting Friend

Mark and I immediately bonded over deer hunting. We were in the same small Christian Church congregation and discovered each other’s love for deer hunting. I am unsure of where we first hunted together, but I recall a lot of our hunts.

The best I can recollect, Mark and I hunted just east of Moundville, AL. We then hunted near Panola, AL. From there, I recall us pursuing bucks in Demopolis, AL and over near Uniontown, AL. When Mark moved to Kingman, AZ, I managed to make a trip out there for—you guessed it, pursuing deer with my bow. After he left AZ, he made a great move to eastern West Virginia.

We have hunted some great spots, and some not nearly as good. We have plotted strategies, and followed blood trails together. We’ve drug out each other’s deer and put quite a few in the cooler.

On one of our last hunts in VA, a few years back, Mark had shot an 8-point. We typically bow-hunted together, but that day we carried rifles. The deer had immediately dropped, and particularly because I was in a stand nearby, Mark had just sat in the stand after the shot. When He finally slipped down to get it, it was gone.

Meanwhile, in my stand I had heard Mark shoot. This was a pretty good spot, and Mark always scouted thoroughly, so hearing him shoot was no surprise. But, it was a bit of a surprise when I saw a buck ambling along the edge of the woods almost due south of me. I didn’t think the deer was a shooter, so I didn’t get too excited. The deer was slowly working north, down the edge of the woodlot. He turned west and broadside to me. Then I saw it.

There, just below his spine was a huge hole, almost as big as a soft ball. There was no decision to be made, I had to take this deer down. I was amazed it was on its feet and seemingly unfazed by the gaping wound. A shot to the spine put him down on the spot.

That deer was very educational. It didn’t dawn on me yet that this was Mark’s deer. The deer had taken a big hit, just below the spine. The shock to his spine had put him on the ground immediately. Some time within the next few minutes, the buck had recovered enough to stand up and slip away without Mark noticing. Subsequently, the deer had wandered into my view. Again, when I first saw the deer, and during the time it took him to wander down to me and turn broadside, I had not detected even so much as a limp. Wow! Whitetails are tough!

Mark and I had scheduled another whitetail adventure for the beginning of November of 2022. I had packed my gear for another great bow-hunting outing. Just before leaving home for the long drive to Mark’s, he texts me to say that his Chemo for his cancer had really set him back. His pain was also intense. The hunt would have to be postponed to later. I was disappointed, but I new how much Mark loved hunting. If he felt so bad he cancelled, I knew he had to be really sick.

Mark and I have many a joyous hour together. It is sad to see him so sick. But, G^d is sovereign and He is the one true Physician. Mark trusts in G^d, and so do it.

Get well soon Mark.

Wordle!

 

Yes, Bre and I have been bitten by, or bit, the Wordle bug. I you are one of the few who haven’t heard Wordle is a NY Times game that shows up each day. In Wordle the object is to guess a 5-letter word based on the game showing you which letters are in the word (yellow) and which letters are in the right place in the word (green). It takes strategy and thinking and it most commonly takes 4 guesses to get the word. Some of these words are not common in English—though I admit they are legitimate words—with only one exception (glyph).

We typically do the puzzle first thing in the AM to share with our son in Japan who gets to do it 14 hours earlier than us. He does it most every day and posts it late in the afternoon before we get access the net morning. It is fun to share it with him—and also fun to be challenged to think of the right word.

I probably take it a bit too seriously. A few months back I created a “wordle” doc wherein I often write down the potential words in order to be able to pick the one most advantageous. I have words that start with each letter, and words that end with certain letters (e.g. “e”). I also have words excluding certain letters and including others.

It’s fun and I guess it keeps us mentally exercising…but mainly it is fun.

Grace Men’s Retreat

We had our Church men’s retreat the first weekend in November, right in the middle of the deer archery hunting season. We drove an hour west to Timberlake Camp, where we have had several retreats. I rode with Mark and Danny and we had a nice chat all the way over.

The Camp is a very nice setting with a large lake and totally surrounded by woods. The Burns family operates it. The dining hall is HUGE and our first meeting was in there. I was the first speaker, and despite my dislike of speakers, after my first few words were lost in the open air of the high, high ceiling, I had to use the sound system. It was not properly set up and I still sounded bad. Afterword the sound expert told me that you always, always want the microphone behind the speakers. Thanks, but your advice is 30 mins too late!

It was great and rare to have time chatting with other men. We had a nice roaring bonfire Friday night, and the steady rain for much of Saturday gave us even more. Men seldom get these relational times. Men have a harder time with relationships than women, and many men have few-to-none friends they can relate to on a deep level.

And, this was the joy of this time. I talked to as many men as I could. I rode back with Keith, who I have known a long time. Our ride back together was a good conversation and good bonding.

Men, let me encourage you to take advantage of these opportunities to spend quality time with other men. The opps are not common, so they can’t be wasted. G^d made us for relationship—with Him and with others.

Let’s relate!

Another Deer Season

Each Autumn brings along another chance to enjoy the outdoors. Fall is the season of leaves turning, and the start of another deer season. Archery season began 15 October, as always, but we were in the midst of a month of travels not ending until the beginning of November.

For one reason or another, I only did three archery hunts this fall. I was supposed to hunt with my great hunting buddy, Mark, but his Chemotherapy derailed those plans. To be honest, my enthusiasm is the weakest it has been—ever. I am not sure why. My right foot/ankle problems have continued, and that has detracted some. We had our Grace Men’s retreat, and that took up a Friday and Saturday. I think too, retirement has made me a bit lazy, and that combined with the loss of energy consequent to old age has taken some wind our of my sails.

But, I write this blog from a beautiful spot in Greene county, where I have seen scores of deer through the years. And, yesterday afternoon I got to hunt with my grandson, J. AG hunted with Andrew and that family hunt was a lot of joy.

The stillness of the early morning, and the quietness of these fields and woods are a rate treasure in this day and age. And, there is always the thrill of high expectations. This could be the year I kill my biggest buck ever!

Hope springs eternal. What is your hope?

A Happy Veteran's Day

 I am a bit perplexed by how Veteran's Day has changed in the last few years. Today I started with the FIRST in modern times Veteran's Day Parade in downtown Northport.  It wasn't too big, but was a nice thought. Then it was a FREE carwash at OverFlow. About 1 PM I took granddaughter Hazel and we went first to Texas roadhouse for a coupon for a free meal, then for 10 Wingbites, plus fries and soda for free for veterans. We couldn't eat it all. From here we went to TCBY for a free 6-oz yogurt that was delicious.  Then we swung by Krispy Kreme for a free donut and coffee.  Our last stop was at Smoothie King where we got a very good 20oz mango-papaya smoothie.  Whew, I couldn't eat it all.

And, whereas we enjoyed the feast, the thought was even sweeter. It is always nice to be appreciated, and this seems a massive ramp-up in gratitude. And, that has a message for us all. We all ought to DISPLAY gratitude as deeply and often as we can. Robert Winfield McKenzie said that, "We are closest to G^d when we show gratitude."

Indeed!

It's a small world isn't it?

 I have a Faculty Commons friend, John B, whose wife, Steph has a brother Tim. Tim was a youth pastor near the University of Alabama. Tim married a UA alumna named Shelly, and after several years moved to Sumter, SC.

Across the Atlantic, I have a Cru friend, Courtney, who grew up in Sumter and ministers in Roma, Italy. During my recent mission trip to Roma, Courtney related this story.

One sunny summer day Courtney is visiting her family in Sumter and takes her kids to a local park. She marvels that the park is almost empty, but there are two women nearby chatting.

Courtney overheard a few words from the women and is surprised to hear a conversation about Christianity. Courtney politely enters the conversation.

The lady speaking, Shelley, relates a story from her undergraduate days at the University of Alabama. She recalls hearing a professor speak on the topic of "How to make better grades and have more fun." Courtney recognized the title of this talk because she had heard it a few years earlier given by Phil Bishop to some students in Rome, Italy.

Shelley goes on to say that for some reason that Christian talk really impacted her life. Furthermore, after I contacted Shelley, she told me that she knows my daughter Kelly. They lived together ~ 97-98. Shelley heard the talk the fall of her freshman year, which was 1994.

Most likely the speaker who had given that talk was Dr. Rae Mellichamp or me.

So I have just heard a story in Roma, Italy about a talk given years before in Alabama, told by an alumna who is sister-in-law to one of my friends.

It's a small world isn't it?

Here's a little more to the story as related by Shelley.

The lady I was chatting with at the park has two high school sons who she homeschools. She was sharing that they struggle with getting their work done and being able to be involved in other activities. So, I shared about the how to make better grades and have more fun talk because it really helped me order my schedule in college! I told her I bet we could find a YouTube video of the talk ! Then this other mom (Courtney) whose kids were playing near by interjects that she is on staff with Cru and that they still give that talk, we ended up having a great conversation about the Lord

And just an added cool part of the story ,my friend and I had invited another lady, who is not a believer and has young kids, to the park. A few days later I was talking to her and she was really amazed how God could use a talk about making good grades to connect people. She said, I didn’t really think God cared about small details in our lives like that! Which of course has lead to some great conversations. She has not become a believer but we can see the lord working!