A Medusa In Their Midst

Wow! I just have to say that I have a bunch of wonderful readers who lead interestingly varied lives.

I read every word that you wrote and was wishing for more! If you haven't yet signed in to tell your Smithellaneous Family what you did yesterday, it's not too late. And be sure to read what everyone else wrote, too; believe me, it's good stuff.

I promised a few more words and pictures about our day yesterday so let's get started.

There was only one minor crisis throughout the day and that is what I need to talk about first. I'm still processing the experience and working through the painful ramifications of the trauma. I'm not quite sure if I'm really ready to share it publicly but I guess I can't put it off any longer.

Are you ready for this? Well, here it is.

The United States Air Force made me take off my cap. (Moment of silence, please.)

Okay, here's the story. When I got up yesterday and realized that I didn't have time to wash my hair I thought, "Well, no problem. I'll just smush it down on top, tuck it behind my ears, and stick on a ball cap. I'll look all sporty and youthful and no one will be the wiser."

Yeah, right.

To my great horror, when we got to the flight line the announcement was made by some big wig that since there was a bit of a wind, all caps had to be removed from all heads, since flying caps are a danger to flying planes. (They don't want anything to get caught in the jet engines.)

What I wanted to ask Mr. Big Wig was this, "Which is more important? MY lovely appearance or a multi-million dollar jet? Huh?"

However, since I didn't feel like being hauled to the brig (I bet there's no free high speed Internet available there) I reluctantly removed the cap. The entire bus load of Make-A-Wish people gasped in unison and recoiled in consternation at the sight of the Medusa in their midst. In the greater interest of national security, I stoically put up with the public humiliation of being seen looking so incredibly awful. Fortunately, after we left the flight line, the hat was restored and my fellow passengers were able to settle themselves back down and enjoy the rest of their day.

Okay, now that I've bared my soul and shared my pain, I will share some pictures.

I had a great time observing this guy talk to Steve as we stood right near the flight line and watched the fighter jets take off. Although I couldn't hear a word he was saying, I just knew some amazing flying stories were being communicated to my airplane loving husband. The picture in the middle is one I especially love because it shows this fighter pilot spontaneously throwing his hands up to cheer on his fellow pilot as he takes off.

As we were waiting our turn for the flight simulator, we sat outside in the sunshine for a few minutes. My wacky husband immediately spotted this container and its message.

Of course, he felt compelled to oblige and obey the military directive.

You dress him up and you can't take him out.


And moving on to a more demure Smith, here is Sarah sitting in the simulator

Sarah also became an honorary member of the squadron we were visiting. We were all taken into a briefing room and after hearing about some of the fighter jets we'd been viewing, the base commander came in with some words of welcome. He then called every MAW child in the room forward and personally presented a personalized certificate to each one. It was very touching to see our nation's heroes honoring our pediatric heroes.

And the best picture of the day? The one that displays why our military does what it does.

God bless America!

Since I don't want to make any of you go into spasms of trauma trying to guess what just what we were doing all day, I'll give you a quick description now and fill in with more pictures and details later.

Today, Steve, Sarah and I spent the day at Seymour Johnson Airforce Base in Goldsboro, NC. Make A Wish sponsored the outing and about fifteen MAW kids and their families showed up. We got to sit in a jet cockpit, watch jets take off, go to the flight line, and sit in a flight simulator.

Although Steve was 8.7 times (that's an actual mathematical calculation) more excited about the event that Sarah and me, we still had a fun time. I've always been fascinated by the military and to be escorted back into areas where most civilians don't get to go was really cool. I took a lot of pictures and will be posting them soon.

So that was our day!

Now do you know what would be cool? It would be cool if you would sign the guest book and tell me what YOUR day consisted of. Babysitting? Going to a college class? Painting your toe nails? Building a deck? Making a quiche? Working on your classic Chevy? Eating malted milk balls?

I tell you about my days; tell me about yours! Really! I want to know! And then everyone can read what everyone else writes and then it will be kind of like we can all find out what everyone else did and then it'll be sort of fun! And cool! And community-esque!

I'm so ready to read your stuff because it's endlessly fascinating to me to know what people are doing in their very own personal corner of the world.

It's your turn . . .

Texans and Graham Crackers

Last night, we had some special visitors from Texas, Fran and Ken. Although we'd never met them, the "introductions" had been made via Fran reading Sarah's website for several years. Fran and I had emailed back and forth a little and then the next thing we knew, they were in the area on business (Ken works as a consultant in the petroleum industry) and they asked if they could take us out to dinner.

Since Nathan had to work all day, we opted to go to Chick-Fil-A so that Fran and Ken could meet him, too. As soon as we got in Nathan's line to be waited on, I started giving him a hard time, demanding to speak to the manager, telling Nathan I wanted eight ice cubes in my cup, not nine, and telling him to please stop being so slow and get my order done already. He put up with my motherisms very patiently.

After eating, we brought Ken and Fran back to the house for coffee, dessert and more conversation. It was such a treat to meet more web friends.

Today, Sarah, Steve and I have an exciting outing planned which you can read about by checking back in later. (I know, I know. Mean ol' me.) I had so wanted Nathan to be able to go with us, but he wasn't able to get off work so it'll just be Steve and his lovely ladies.

Before I forget, there were a couple guest book questions/comments to address. A couple of you said the title that I put with Snowy and Sarah's picture scared you. Oops. Sorry! Didn't mean to do that!

Also, Melissa asked if our old church has a new pastor yet. No, they don't, but they are in the process of bringing in candidates.

I'd better go get ready for our outing and make sure my supply of malted milk balls is replenished. (smile) Oh yeah, speaking of yummy things, about a week ago I was in a convenience store a couple hundred miles from Smithfield and found a new bar made out of Golden Grahams cereal, marshmallows and chocolate. If you've read my writing for any length of time, you know that I am a huge fan of anything graham cracker-ish. I bought the bar and LOVED it. Since then, I have looked in several other stores and haven't seen it. It's only available in ONE store in the entire world? And that store is four hours away? Horrors!

Has anyone else seen that bar in your town? I'm hoping it's on its way to becoming nationally distributed because it was love at first sight.

Oh yeah. And "love at first sight" reminded me of something else. (This is like in Steve's sermons when he says, "And as I continue to close . . ." )

Sarah and I were at Goodwill this week and I saw a t-shirt that said, "Do you believe in love at first sight or do I need to walk by again?" Perfect shirt for some cute, college coed.

And then I saw another t-shirt that said, "Money talks but chocolate sings."

I love t-shirts. And Goodwill. And graham cracker bars.

I'm done.

(Plea for help: If you're good with Blogger, I need some advice. I was going to try to replace the picture at the top with another one that was cropped differently; however, I don't know how to delete a picture! And the steps given in Blogger didn't work. Help!!!)

Forever Friends

I'll update later; just wanted to post a picture of two of my favorite "people." (Snowy's hair looks a lot like mine when I get up in the morning--only his looks better.)

Strange and Changing Seasons

First of all, I want to reassure you all that yesterday's excruciating number of postings is not going to become a daily habit. (And everyone breathed a collective sigh of collected relief.) I just happened to have a little extra time on my hands, plus I was still caught up in the thrill of having a new blog and well, what can I say? I just couldn't stop myself!

However, most of the time, I'll just be updating once every day or two. (Or three.) Rarely will I update more than once a day. So please don't worry that keeping up with this blog is going to turn into your new full time job!

I also wanted to share that the poll I took revealed that about 400 of the Smithellaneous readers/poll takers are from CaringBridge and just two of the readers/poll-takers are not. I guess that pretty much answers that question!

For the one or two new readers out there--I'm very glad you're here! I hope you feel at home and realize that if you drop by more than once, you are automatically an adopted member of the Smith Family. (A very scary thought, I realize.)

Well, I guess it might be helpful if I explained the title of this particular post. Or then again, maybe I should just ignore the explanation and let you fill in the blanks yourself! I mean for crying out loud, do you expect me to do all the work around here? The writing? The thinking? The picture taking? The malted milk ball eating?

Did I hear you say, "Yes?" Well, alrighty then! I'd better get to work.

Here's the deal.

Tomorrow marks five months since Steve resigned from First Assembly; five months since we've both been unemployed. Five months! With nothing on the horizon! No churches! No jobs! No home buyers! No money!

Are we having fun yet?

It's really strange to go from living life at 100 m.p.h. to living life like this. Pastors and their families (just like many families) tend to be in a perpetual state of motion and usually find themselves coming and going at all hours of the day. Now all of a sudden, we have lots of time with each other. We have only each other! We are each other's entertainment and social network and community of friends. We've heard each other's jokes and listened to each other's stories and now we're sort of looking around saying, "Uh. Hello, out there? God? Do you have anything else for us?"

Not that we don't enjoy hanging out as a family. We do. And not that we don't stay busy. We do.

For instance, I am taking an online magazine writing course, writing and submitting articles to magazines, taking an Excel class, and trying to apply myself to learning a whole bunch of technical/computer stuff. So that's all been fine. Not to mention dandy.

We're just ready to get on with the next chapter of life, we're ready to be pastors again and find a church and people to love and to serve and to minister to. Five months ago at this time, Steve was perilously near burnout and I wasn't too far behind him. This time of rest and reflection has been good for us but we're about ready for the next phase! We're ready for this strange season to be over. We're ready for the next season to kick in.

However, we made the discovery long ago that we are not in charge of the seasons. We are not in charge of what the seasons contain. We are not even in charge of our next breath! (And as someone who has COPD, that sentence packs a real wallop.)

All we're really in charge of is learning how to trust the One who is in charge. And frankly, I'm glad He's calling the shots and not me. The world would have fallen off its axis a long time ago if I were Boss of the Universe.

I have no doubt that God has the exact place in mind where we'll be going, He knows exactly who is going to buy this house, and He knows what house we will be buying. He knows what school Sarah will be attending and which doctors and medical centers we will find for her ongoing care and treatment.

Sometimes all the details of these strange and changing seasons get to be a bit much and I feel tempted to cower underneath towering clouds of uncertainty and anxiety.

But let me say it once again. I'm not in charge And I'm so very happy about that! The Bible says that God has a future and a hope for us. For me. For you. For everyone who trusts that He is in charge of our strange and changing seasons.

A Sarah and Snowy Video

Thanks for watching my non Speilberg-esque efforts as I figure out the mysteries of video. Even though the video is about a whole lot of nothin,' I had great fun doing it.

Which Techonology Is On Its Way Out?

Traci from PA pointed out in the guest book that Fox News just ran a story about about the top ten technology items that are on their way out. Since that ties in so well with what we've been talking about today, I'm posting an abbreviated version of it.

1. Landline phones: Walk into any college dorm room and ask to use a landline. You'll be met with blank stares. With cell-phone technology continually evolving, it seems that these days only a handful of people are still moving into a new house and having the landline turned on.

2. Floppy disks: Storing something on an external device? Considering the state of computer technology at the end of the 1970s, it's no wonder people were astounded by the usefulness of the 5 1/4-inch wide, 360-KB floppy disk.

A decade later, the disks had shrunk to 3 1/2 inches and their capacity multiplied to a whopping 1.44 MB — enough for a minute and a half of an MP3-file song. If you still have a few lying around, they make great coasters.

3. Wristwatches: Throwing on a fancy watch may make you look professional, but let's be honest. Cell phones and iPods tell you the time when you're out and about, and virtually every appliance in your home has a clock. No one wears a wristwatch anymore, unless he or she grew up with one.

4. VHS tape and VCRs: They met a sad death in 2006 when retailers decided there was no room left on their shelves for the big, bulky cassettes. Many people still keep VCRs around for when grandparents ask to see that old tape of little Bobby — who's now 22 and fresh out of college — shoving cake into his mouth on his first birthday.

5. Beepers: Annoying devices designed to beep any and every time anyone felt like reaching you.

6. Film cameras: When Polaroid announced in 2008 that it would stop selling its famous instant-developing film, people ran out to buy up the remaining stock in order to preserve this unique form of photography.

7. Typewriters: Once one of the most powerful means of mass communication, the typewriter claimed a spot near the top of the technological food chain for more than 100 years.

8. The Walkman, Discman and MiniDisc player: The multitasker's dream, the Sony Walkman portable cassette player changed the way the world listened to music in 1979, quickly becoming the hottest accessory of the early 1980s.

9. Dial-up Internet access: It's hard to see why anyone would use a phone line to connect to the Internet when there are so many feasible alternatives.

10. DVDs: What's that, you say? How can DVDs be obsolete? Facts don't lie — DVD sales fell off the proverbial cliff in the first three months of 2009. The fact is that with broadband Internet, you don't need a disc to watch a movie any more. Netflix and Blockbuster have recognized that by rapidly ramping up their online-download services.


So there you have it, folks. The times they are a'changing! The item on the list I couldn't believe was the watch because I'm just not sure I could make it without my wrist watch. If that makes me an old fuddy duddy, then so be it.

Any other comments on this subject? I've enjoyed reading all the guest book entries today. I do have one question though. What is a ditto machine? That one sorta threw me.

Writing Our Memories

It's been interesting to read your entries in the guest book about today's earlier post.

Sue reminded us that these will be the good ol' days in 10-20 years. She also bemoaned the fact that she doesn't have wonderful penmanship anymore. I can certainly relate to that; in fact, the only time I write in cursive these days is when I'm autographing a Chicken Soup book. And even when I do that, I realize I've forgotten how to make most of the letters. Scary!

Pam mentioned 8-track tapes. Do you remember those? You'd be right in the middle of your very favorite song when all of a sudden the music would fade, you'd hear a clunk or two and then there'd be silence for a while until the music eventually resumed. I must say, it didn't do a whole lot to enhance the listening experience.

But hey, we didn't know any better. It was just so cool to think that we were actually listening to music out in our cars. We were no longer stuck inside the house with the record player. (Which is of course, another musical antique.)

Pam also mentioned carbon paper. Good ol' carbon paper. Once again, it seemed like such a fabulous invention at the time but I don't even want to think about the nasty challenges involved in getting all the paper and carbons lined up perfectly; I don't think I ever did get it done just right.

And Wyatt wrote that e-mail and blogs are already becoming "dated" technology. Yikes! My favorite technology is now dated! What does that say about me? (Don't answer that.) But then he summed it up well when he added that we should, "Use the tool that works best for our life element." Good advice.

I don't care if I AM a bit old-fashioned; I just can't bring myself to Twitter about my life because I can't imagine Twittering about anything that would be remotely interesting to anyone. So it looks like it's dated technology for me! In fact you can call me The Dated Technology Chick, if you'd like. I don't mind.

How about you? Any memories you'd like to share with the rest of us about first computers, cell phones, or CD players? Or stories about using something that is no longer in use? For some of you readers with a few more years behind you, you can probably even tell stories about remembering when you first got electricity!

I just love reading people's memories and I think that regardless of what new technology comes along, writing our memories will always be in style.