Month: November 2012

Christmas Season is Officially Here

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With Christmas just around the corner, everyone is wanting to get into the Christmas spirit. You will find Christmas goodies and aisles lined with toys and all the things to wet our appetites  Lifetime and Hallmark TV Channels have switched over to continuous feel good Christmas programs that offer messages of hope, love and sharing with one another. Why shouldn’t they, that is what this time of the year is about, right?

ImageLooking back in time, the first Christmas was void of these items. They had no Santa, Frosty the Snowman, red and white striped candy canes and no TV’s to watch programs like Christmas Shoes to help set the mood for Christmas. What is more amazing is that the very first Christmas involved a young couple by the name of Joesph and Mary that had nothing, who gave birth to the most precious child of all in a manger. (Luke 2-4-7)

When I think back to Black Friday, I can’t help but be reminded of how far we have come from the real meaning of Christmas. Christmas isn’t only about showing kindness  helping others and giving, it was about true love. Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Christ. God gave us the first gift… The Messiah, born in the manger. Jesus was God’s gift to everyone  not just the deserving. (Colossians 3″11)

On Black Friday, while Jessica and I were standing there and watching the crowds trample others to save a few dollars here and there. It seem’s to me that people have forgotten that love isn’t hurting one another in order to give their child or another person exactly what they wanted. They have also forgotten that Christmas isn’t only about showing love for those we care about, but also for those who are undeserving. We don’t have to know the person to show love and compassion for them.

During this Christmas season, let us remember the true meaning of Christmas… Peace on Earth, Good will toward Men. (John 15:13) Instead of going out and spending all your money on those expensive toys and items that you don’t really need, how about helping others that are less fortunate. How about showing the true meaning of Christmas, and the gift of God’s love, and love others as God first loved you. This Christmas open up your heart. Let God’s love in. Receive the Gift of God’s love – “Jesus Christ.”

FYI- The word “Christmas” occurs nowhere in the Bible. It is an old English word that means “Christ’s Mass” which refers to the celebration of the Lord’s Supper, i.e. the Mass. The earliest occurrence of the word on record is 1038 A.D. Christians at this time considered the Mass (Lord’s Supper) to be the most important part of the celebration of Christ’s birth, hence it came to be called Christmas.

Black Friday Madness in St. George, Utah

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Bloomington, Utah Walmart

Click here to view a video of the madness in Bloomington Utah. 

With Christmas is coming around the corner Jessica and I decided to venture out into the mad world of Black Friday. We were only wanting a couple items so we didn’t think it would be that bad. Boy oh Boy were we wrong.

Since I had to take Craig to work on Thanksgiving evening and kill some time, we decided to go to the Walmart in Bloomington, Utah. For those who don’t live in Southern Utah, it is normally filled with great people that are willing to help anyone in need. This is a wonderful community. But , and I say BUT strongly, Black Fridays the bad comes out in people.

The normally great people that is filled with love and care for their neighbors and willing to offer a helping hand stopped at the door of the Walmart. The bad evil side could be seen all around. As people were guarding their find and waiting for the clock to strike 8 pm, it was a winner take all approach.

 

 

My first item I was looking for was a Brother Sewing Machine for my daughter Beckiah. She has been wanting one for a long time and there was a sweet deal on them. I went over to the pallet that had what seemed like about 50 of them and waited for the time. The person on the intercom was announcing when it was time and the holders that work for Walmart had watches in hand. The time arrived and so did greed and hate. Once the tape was cut on all the goodies strung throughout the store, it was a mad dash. People were kicking, punching, elbowing and literally throwing themselves on the items so nobody else could take the prize they came for. I never did get the sewing machine that was for under 50 bucks. One the pallet holding them was cut, there was only about 5 sewing machines. They made it look like there was alot of them, but it was a very small amount. Police had to be called in and people had to be treated for their battle wounds.

The next items we wanted was a cell phone for my husband and I wanted the 10 dollar tri-pod for my camera. Jessica had the phone covered and I had the tri-pod. It was like people were guarding their items of choice like they were about to loose their lifeline. There was only about 15 tri-pods and maybe about the same. Jessica was able to get the cell phone after someone tried to take it out of her hands. She just about lost a nail over it and was scratched. I did get my tri-pod. I was a little devious on that one though, lol. I have a piccline in my arm and the big burly guy that had his hands on the pallet of tri-pods helped me get one. He asked why I had an IV in and I told him. He asked me how many tri-pods I needed. There was only one left and this girl had her hands on mine and the guy was between us, and he took it from her and handing it to me. I was thinking SCORE!

Everyone was saying how long the lines were at check out and yeah they were. But Jessica seen one line and the area where our stuff was at was close to the front. She secured a place in line and we were out of there in less than 5 minutes. Everyone else started charging the check out stands behind us.

OH! And I will apologize before I write this paragraph. I wish I would have taken my camera so I could post this on People at Walmart’s website. Most people came dressed warm and how a normal person would dress. But I have to say that some people should think twice about going out in public when they dress like this guy did. I actually felt bad for him. This very heavy gentleman was pushing a cart. He had to have been close to the 600 pound range. He was wearing a tshirt and grey shorts. The thing that got me and Jessica and we were right behind him is the streaks down the middle of his shorts. More than likely this guy wasn’t able to wipe himself or clean himself back there because he couldn’t reach. He walked around with no conscious and it was more than just nasty. I think someone should have told this poor guy that he needed to change or something. Maybe he has become use to it and doesn’t think anything of it, but it was just nasty in our opinion. I wanted to tell him he needed to change his pants, but I didn’t want to embarrass him more.

Some of the things that was running through my brain as we were watching the greed of people  is that they are wanting to get that perfect gift for their loved ones at a good cost. They were willing to almost kill to save a few bucks. But I had to think about what Christ would do. I wasn’t willing to risk my life for a materialistic item. Jesus paid the highest price so I could be saved. He had people trampling Him and doing whatever they could do to get what they wanted. The true meaning of Christmas was NOT found at Walmart or in the electronics department. Is this fiasco and display of greed and hate what people really think Christmas is about? I hope not.

Tomorrows post will be on a much better topic about the Church of Jesus Christ’s Temple Lighting here in St. George Utah. Even though I’m not LDS, they sure did a much better job when it came to the true spirit of Christmas than the feeding frenzy at Walmart.

Happy Thanksgiving and Week Of!

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Happy Thanksgiving and God Bless

First off, I want to wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving. I will be covering a few different topics in this blog that pretty much involves things that happen the week of Thanksgiving.

  1. The first thing is the most important thing and that is what I’m thankful for. I could name alot of things I’m not thankful for but there are even more things i am.
  • I love my family even when I get grumpy and go on my venting sprees. Sorry all. It is who I am. I have my imperfect moments like we all do.
  • I’m thankful that I can worship God in a country that lets me have that freedom.
  • I’m thankful for the rain, snow and the bright sunny days.
  • I love to wake up to the birds chirping and singing a new song each morning.
  • I’m thankful for my dogs, bird and fishes.
  • I’m thankful that I have a freedom of speech. Even if others don’t like what I think or say.
  • I’m thankful for the friends that God has put in my life, even if some are for a short time.

2. Thanksgiving should be a time to spend with your families if you choose to do that. It is a national holiday and in my opinion businesses should be closed. But there are some stores that will be open on Thursday and Friday.

ImageIf businesses choose to be open that is because usually there is a demand from the same public that is yelling about them needing to be closed. For example, when I worked at a local grocery store, I volunteered to work on Thanksgiving. They would only be open if they had enough employees volunteered to cover shifts. I usually had no problem.

But there would be no need to be open if the very same customers that were grumbling about us having to work would do their shopping before Thanksgiving. On the average of 1 in 3 customers would tell me each year how sorry they are that I had to work and that the store should be closed. But yet, here in front of me is the customer who decided they forgot something and needed last minute items. It goes back to supply and demand.

This goes for the restaurants that remain open and serve their customers who choose not to cook or have no other place to go. Most of the people that work have families too. Businesses such as Walmart and Kmart are open on Thanksgiving. The reason for that is because they know that customers will shop and someone has to wait on them and to be there to open the store. I know I sound cynical, but it is what it is. If someone is upset or angry that a business is open and making their employees work, then don’t shop there. If people stopped shopping on those days, there would be no need to have people work it.

I had to admire the way Lins Marketplace was with us. That’s the grocery store I worked at for a long time. Everyone has a choice to work or not work on Thanksgiving. They show how much they appreciate their employees in many ways. You will see them open part of the day because the employees are giving their time to serve their community.

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 3.  During the week of Thanksgiving, there is alot of focus on Black Friday. I normally don’t do Black Friday, but there are a couple items I can’t pass up on this year. My grand-kids are only getting one gift (toy) each and one outfit. I want to get them all at the same place. Since I have been very limited health wise this year, I will do it all in one day and in one swoop. But there are things that drive me crazy about this whole Black Friday and shopping on Thursday (Thanksgiving).

The day after Thanksgiving is Black Friday. And I understand why businesses offer good deals and it is a time to boost their sales. I dread Black Friday and I don’t look forward to it. If people are doing Black Friday all I ask is that people be considerate of others. This is suppose to be a time of thanksgiving and celebration of the birth of Christ. It’s too bad that it has turned into a commercialism extravaganza. People will gouge each others eyes out for a bargain. It’s a mad dash of craziness and you have to watch out or you will be trampled in the process.

Every year people are hurt, walk over, beaten, slammed and sometimes killed on Black Friday. I  guess I would have to ask myself if that bargain i really worth someone else’s life.?

Question: Why Is Black Friday Called Black Friday?
Answer: Black Friday is the name given to the shopping day after Thanksgiving. It was originally called Black Friday because so many people went out to shop that it caused traffic accidents and sometimes even violence. This was first recorded in 1966 by Earl Apfelbaum, a dealer in rare stamps. In his ad, he said “‘Black Friday’ is the name which the Philadelphia Police Department has given to the Friday following Thanksgiving Day. It is not a term of endearment to them. ‘Black Friday’ officially opens the Christmas shopping season in center city, and it usually brings massive traffic jams and over-crowded sidewalks as the downtown stores are mobbed from opening to closing.” The Police Department coined the phrase to describe the mayhem surrounding the congestion of pedestrian and auto traffic in the Center City downtown area. (Source: The Chicago Tribune, “Black Friday – Why and When?)You can continue reading the history of Black Friday if you follow this link… Black Friday- What Does It Mean?Stores that will be open on Thanksgiving in my area.  You may want to call the stores to verify the hours. My source is from the Huffington Post and Retail Industries website and the companies websites. Not all places may be listed. Just what I could find info on.

  • Wal-Mart: Most stores will be open 24 hours on Thanksgiving.
  • Kmart:  -6 Am-4:00 PM on Thanksgiving Day, Kmart will re-open at 8:00 PM and stay open through 3:00 AM on Black Friday (and then re-open again at 5 AM…
  • Sears: 7 a.m. until noon on Thanksgiving
  • The Gap: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Thanksgiving.
  • Old Navy: noon to 7 p.m. on Thanksgiving.
  • McDonald’s locations across the country will also be open on Thanksgiving
  • Golden Corral® has special Thanksgiving and Christmas hours. Hours vary per location.
  • Denny’s is open on Thanksgiving and they have a Thanksgiving meal.
  • Black Bear Diner is open on Thanksgiving
  • Not sure if Chuck A Rama’s is open or not.
  • Cracker Barrel will start serving Turkey Dinners at 11 A.M. They will be open at 6 AM and close at 10 PM.
  • Harmons will be open from 6 AM – 4 PM and the pharmacy will be open from 10 AM-2 PM
  • Lin’s Marketplace will close at 1PM
  • Smith’s will be open until 6 p.m.
  • Albertsons is open from 6am to 5pm
  • Kohls is open, but check the store for the hours. They are going to vary depending on location. Most will not be open until midnight though…
  • Family Dollar is open from 8am-5pm
  • Michaels is open from 4pm-11pm
  • Walgreens Drug Store– They are open Thanksgiving and Christmas
  • Some Chinese restaurants are open on Thanksgiving as well. Call around to see which ones are open.

Places Closed… I may add to this list… 

  • Targets will be closed on Thanksgiving and will reopen on Friday morning… I don’t know the time they open. Shoot, I may have to do some of my shopping there just because…
  • Carlitos Mexican Restaurant in the Albertsons Plaza on Sunset is closed…
  • Banks and there will be no mail delivery

As I did this list, it seems to me that commercialism and making the almighty buck is more important than family. I choose not to go out on Thanksgiving. I will go to my daughters house. And people shouldn’t grumble about businesses being open if they are going to go shopping there. Someone does have to be there to wait on you.

Hateful Thoughts During This Election

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President Obama and Mitt Romney

I know this is going to strike a nerve for many. But this is something that gets me going every-time I hear all the posts on Facebook, Yahoo and Twitter.

Each of these types of social networks have people that post the most hateful and demeaning messages about the political parties. Most of the comments coming from people who I always thought were Christian and they are calling those who didn’t vote for Romney idiots, entitled, satanists and lowlifes. And these are just a few of the lesser of the mean ones.

Today in our local newspaper there was a vent that went like this;

I would like to know when the GOP decided that Social Security was an entitlement. I have had the government taking Social Security taxes out of my pay check ever since I began working.

This quote from whoever sent it in says exactly what I think. Since when is Social Security an entitlement? What gets me even  more is that I know a WHOLE lot of people who are Republicans that get Social Security, Food Stamps, Unemployment, State Medical and so on… Does that mean that there is a difference in the assistance  they get over the ones a Democrat gets? I would think not. But I guess there must be since so many rude and hateful comments are coming from those who think it is an entitlement only if a person is a Democrat.

This is one of those other things that gets me and I think is one of the most hateful things going out there. Some people have posted in comments on social networks and yahoo comments that if a person is really a Christian, they would never vote for a Democrat. They aren’t really Christians and are working for the devil. I have seen some friends loose friends because they voted for Obama  They told a couple of my friends on my friends list that they only allow Christians as their friends and since they voted for Obama, they are fake Christians. REALLY!!!

There is For those who need direct links on Snopes to the Lies… There is alot of  the mentality of  this good -bad mentality going on from both parties. I don’t vote based on party affiliation. I vote for the person. I read and study all things, not just what is on Fox News. They are pretty one sided from everything I hear. I don’t listen to the photo-shopped pictures that is spread all over Facebook and beyond. I’m registered Democrat but I don’t always vote that way. I’m not stupid or uninformed. I never post a picture of something unless I have checked it out on Snopes and find out if it is real or not. 95 percent of the time, it is someone making it into something it isn’t. Here is a link to a news station on Fox in Phoenix. This is a good place to go to listen to all those things that people are listening to and passing to others.

  • Claim– Obama wasn’t born in the United States- Thank you Trump for this crap…  Read More
  • Claim- Obama didn’t put his hand over his heart during National Anthem… Read More
  • Claim-  Obama’s campaign was funded by Hugo Chavez… Read More..
  • Claim- Hundreds are healed by touch from Obama... Read More.. . 
  • Claim- Obama was a foreign  exchange student… Read More… 
  • Claim- Obama is Muslim.. Read More… 
  • Claim- Obama goes to Columbia… Read More... 

I don’t understand the hateful messages and uniformed messages posted by many of his supporters though. These posts were the turning point for me to not vote for him. If his followers had so much hate and was being so judgmental  I wanted no part of it. In actuality, I did a write in. I didn’t vote for either one of them. When Billy Graham put out his statement, only one name came to mind that fit that description of who our president should be. I choose Jesus Christ. He is the only one that has my best interest our all of our best interest at heart. He isn’t affiliated with any of the political parties. He is already on the winning side and I know this. I know that my vote counted with Him.

Here are some lies about Romney… Not many, but I will provide links to those pages so people can read them…

All of the links above and the comments have created alot of hate messages and behaviors from others who don’t vote the way they want someone to vote…

Crazed woman who ran over husband who forgt to vote…

Then this last week on Yahoo, there is a story about a woman who runs over her husband because he didn’t vote… He is in the hospital in critical condition and she is in jail. Read More…

My final thought and I’m pretty sure by now, you are all ready for that is, that no matter who people voted for, We are America.! We are One Nation Under God.! America Will Survive! We all should pray for our nation and our leaders!Everyone should be respected no matter what party they belong too! God will Prevail no matter who is in office!

These are the issues I find important:

  1. Healthcare
  2. Education
  3. Jobs/Econmy

Cell Phones and Outsourcing..

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ImageMy day started off pretty much the same as usual. Well, I have been sick, but that is what it is. But then I had to go get my niece so she could go to work. First we had to stop off at the cell phone companies office..I bought a new droid and I was giving her my old one…

We went through the whole process. The lady reactivted the old phone for Bridgette and got her the number for it. I didn’t think I would have a problem. Should have been simple enough since I have upgraded my phone a number of times. Instead it turned into a nightmare from hell!

I dropped Bridgette off at her work and I was not in a pleasant mood at that point since my car was empty and I had no money for gas. I get home barely and I noticed something was going on with my phone. I tried to call my friend Lisa and she was gone out of my contacts. There wasn’t anyone under my L’s. I didn’t think a whole lot about it till a little later when her husband came over.

I tried to call someone and all my contacts were gone. And in thier place was my nieces contacts. Let me tell you all one thing, she has some not too good language that she stores her friends names under. I was shocked and was wondering what the heck happened to my phone. The only contacts I had was about 10 of them. All my settings and ringtone were gone too.

I called the boost store and asked him and I have to say that I was not very pleasant at all! I’m livid over this whole thing. I know it isn’t Brigettes fault, but still, I had her not so good friends in my contacts.

I tried for over an hour to get ahold of customer service. If I could have reached out and chocked someone I would have. By now, I’m not just ticked, I’m at the point of wanting to torture someone. The kind of torture where you want to pull thier toenails out. Ok,well maybe not that bad, but close enough.

ImageI finally got this woman on the phone who could barely speak english. I tried to tell her what the problem was. She told me ‘I understand you are upset, I never heard of this before”. She kept apologizing and I kept wanting to jump through my phone and touch someone. She wasn’t making it any better. Finally after about 30 minutes of explaining, she puts me on hold to talk to her supervisor. Click! This is all I heard. After 90 minutes on this stupid phone that has none of my contacts, she drops my call. Thankfully she called me back 30 minutes later. But in that time, I got to stew some more while trying to contact a person again.

She told me she had a solution. Yeah, a solution finally after 2 hours of this ordeal. She told me to get a different google account since my phone is sync’ed with my email. Now let me tell you, I wanted to choke her all over again. I was having a very anti- Christian moment with this woman from whatever country she was from. That is a whole other topic for me to go on a rant about.

The last thing she told me is that she is sorry about the inconvenience and that she understands. That is something that gets me everytime. Don’t tell me you understand or know how inconvenient this is unless you know me personally.

Bridgette is going to come over with the SD card in her phone to see if she may have something on that. I sure hope so. And this woman was NO help at all.

AZ Trip- Part 3 (Road Signs)

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I won’t say what the thing is at The Thing… The reason for that is because that is the biggest draw for the place and the curiosity and the build up with the signs is what is fun… This is the way Wikipedia explains it…

The Thing? is an Arizona roadside attraction hyped by signs along Interstate 10 between El Paso, Texas, and Tucson, Arizona. Teaser ads, such as The Thing? What is it? and Mystery of the Desert, entice travelers along this sparse stretch of desert highway to stop, just to find out what the mysterious Thing? might be. Such billboards are similar to signage seen in the South as drivers approach the South of the Border near Dillon, South Carolina and Rock City near Chattanooga, Tennessee.

There is alot of things that you will find there including bathrooms and a Dairy Queen… You will find souvenirs galore and western wear too… I have to say the gas was terribly high considering all… If you find your way down there… Make sure you gas up in Willcox or Benson… Better yet Tucson if you can…

We ended up making a game out of trying to get pictures of the full boards for The Thing… This kinda reminded us of the old  Burma Shave Billboards... I don’t remember them myself, but I remember the history of them…

Not only was there The Thing, we also stopped off at Picacho Peak and took pictures of Nickerson Farms… This use to be a special place for our family… When we went to Tucson from Phoenix we liked to visit my in laws  and we would stop off at Nickerson Farms and eat there… Now it is nothing more than a boarded up and run down restaurant… One day I’m sure it will be taken down… When you went in there you could get rock candy and local honey…  Sitting outside of Nickerson Farms is an Adult Store… When I took a picture of the signs, that showed up and was not how I thought it would turn out… Not sure if that was funny or not… But it does show how the times have changed… To think that was once a place where our family spent time and looked forward to on our trips is now an adult book store… It isn’t in the same building, but close enough…

Also outside of Nickerson Farms is an old train that was custom made… There has been some tagging going on with it, but it is still pretty cool looking for the most part… It’s sad that people have to destroy things by tagging them…

Nickerson Farms History:

Nickerson Farms was an American roadside restaurant franchise that existed between the mid-1960s and the early 1980s. It was started by a former Stuckey’s franchisee who did not agree with that chain’s rules and regulations. Nickerson Farms had as many as sixty restaurants located along Interstate highways, mainly in the Midwestern United States. Each Nickerson Farms location had a full-room restaurant, with a gift shop. Honey, collected from on-site beehives, could also be purchased at Nickerson Farms stores. [1][2]

The majority of Nickerson Farms locations sold Skelly gasoline and other petroleum products.

Here is a pretty cool page that shows more pictures of the Nickerson Farms we went too… It is listed in some Ghost Town pages…

Trip to AZ- Willcox, AZ- Part 2

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Last week I tried to find out when the church services were at the Willcox Church of the Nazarene… Man, was that a hard task… I called the churches telephone number… There was no answer and there was no answering machine… I then decide to try to call Harry Myers that lives right next to the church… He was one of my pastors when I was younger… There are no answer for him either… Then I call the Chamber of Commerce… Now, I’m thinking they should have some kind of information for me about the church… They did help me out by calling the Methodist pastor and then they called me back and told me to call a guy named Kevin that worked at the internet company… Kevin then told me that they were in between pastors and the time for the services… OK! I finally got some information and intended to attend the church service on that Sunday…

We went to Willcox early in the morning… We wanted to go get some breakfast and I wanted to take pictures of my old high school… I also wanted to go to the cemetery where some people I knew was buried… We had a number of things going before the 10:45 service time… But we made it and we were even able to drop by the cemetery in Benson to take pictures of headstones for my daughter Jessica… Her husband has relatives buried in there…

We got into Willcox and went to the TA for breakfast… Once we were done there, we drove out to the high school I went to back in 1980… That was a long time ago and I was thinking the school must have changed alot in that time… It didn’t!… The only thing that was different is that they were adding on and renovating because last year they had a huge fire that gutted the inside of the main halls of the high school… This was on a Sunday and nobody was around, so I wasn’t able to go inside… But everything was basically the same… Even the little picnic tables and cement benches between the classes where we would hang out and gab before school and during lunch… I have looked over and over again for good pictures of the school… I guess I just needed to drive down there and take them myself… So now I have a number of them…

After that we drove over to the Cemetery… I was looking for Mattie and Dinks grave… They were awesome people… It is because of Mattie that I write poetry… They will always hold a special place in my heart… I never found their grave sites, but I did find Christina Leaches… This girl was only 14 yrs old when she was killed by a drunk driver… I took pictures of her grave site and sent it to her mom… It seems like she has many visitors and was loved a great deal… She had a very nice area and people left flowers, angels and gifts… Christina loved to dance… My heart goes out to her family… I know they miss their angel girl everyday…

We left the cemetery and went over to the Nazarene Church off of Taylor Rd… Funny I remember this even now… It was so long ago since I took the back roads… But we made there with time to spare… One thing that was kinda comical at the cemetery was this noisy little bird… His legs were bigger than he was… I had a hard time trying to get a pic of whatever kind of bird he is… But he was fast and very loud…

After I took a few pictures of the outside of the church, we went inside… I was thinking it would have been awesome to be able to see Harry and Dixie Myers… I was told on the phone from Kevin that they don’t come to church often because of Dixie’s health.. I was planning on going to their house though, just in case… As we walked in, there was a guy singing and a couple sitting a couple pews back from the front… Harry and Dixie was the couple…  Harry had a look of shock when he seen us standing there… We hugged each other and caught up a bit…

When I last seen them, Harry was running his pilot car service and Dixie was doing great… She is in a wheel chair now and she said it was a very long time since she felt good enough to go to church… She woke up Sunday morning and told Harry she wanted to go… He got her dressed and they went together… After talking to them a few, I found out he was the one doing the sermon for that Sunday… Kevin didn’t know who was filling in since they had alot of fill ins … This was a treat for me…

Before church started, some of the congregation came in… Harry and Dixies daughter Cheryl and her family joined in… Cheryl’s testimony from many years ago is one that made a huge impact on my life… We were given a chance to share what we would fear most when we stood before God… She told everyone at that revival meeting that her greatest fear was that she missed an opportunity to share what Christ has done for her and what he can do for them… I carried that with me all my life… I could only imagine a close friend or family member standing beside me in front of God and never talking to them… Then God asks me about what I did for Him… I tell Him… Then He asks my friend and they said they didn’t know they had to do anything or believe… This is the reason I take whatever opportunity to witness that I can…

So, back to the people coming in… In walked this other older couple… He came up to introduce himself and as soon as he came toward us, I knew who it was… He extended his hand and introduced himself as Charlie Rose… Charles and Mary Rose are the parents of one of my friends in school… Mary Susan and I would hang out quite a bit… It was great walking into the Nazarene Church… I will always have a connection to that church… I was saved while going there and I was baptized there…  I will always have the principles of a Nazarene…

After the service they had potluck… They invited us to stay, but we had to get on our way… We were in the area to visit my parents and we needed to get that way… We did make a quick stop at a house we use to live in… One was from my high school days… It is still the same color and such… The other was a house we rented from George Nickels that owned a TV shop… They house is in horrible shape and should be torn down… It should be condemned .. We first moved into that house when my husband was released from the Army… My daughter Jessica turned one there and she learned to walk… There were alot of firsts for her… When I seen the house now, I was shocked it was still standing considering how it looked… Of course I took some pictures of it.. What I liked and miss in the church I go to now is that they have a real altar… They do the alter calls and you can go forward on bended knee and pray.. Usually on Weds we always had prayer time…

I was thinking that I would go back out to the cemetery to see where Mattie and Dink were buried at… I asked Harry where she was buried and he said the cemetery  lol… OK .. Yeah, I knew that… I asked him were at in the cemetery ,.. His answer was simple ” I will have to look at the map”… For some reason I thought this was funny… I know that only the shell of their body is there and that their spirit isn’t there… But was thinking if anyone knew, he would know, lol… RIP sweet Mattie and Dink…

Overall, it was a great trip down memory lane… Church was a God thing and couldn’t have been better… It was like coming home… One other side note is that in the picture of Charlie and Mary Rose, they have their great grand-daughter… She was born on the same day as JJ… They are both turning 5 on Nov 5th..

Trip to AZ- Tombstone (Part 1)

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Since Chuck and I hit a number of areas and there are a number of highlights I will post this in parts… So this is our Tombstone Experience…

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Chuck and I went to AZ to see my parents and go looking around the area… We stayed in Tombstone at a little place called Crazy Annie’s Bed and Breakfast… It was a interesting and fun place to stay at… The owner made sure to keep with the theme of Tombstone and the decor… Our room was named after Soap Sud Sal… We really enjoyed our stay and when we go back to AZ, we will for sure stay there… They offer a community area with a hot tub, TV and tables to eat at… They also own a saloon and there is a steak house across the street from it… The area for this is known as the red light district…

When we first checked in, it was pretty casual… They treated you like you have known them all your life… We got our key and we asked about a place to grab something to eat and drink… We checked in at the saloon… I know it was crazy… But it goes with the theme… But I found it nice that the ladies that were sitting at the bar invited us to join them for karaoke .. The bar tender is known as the voice of Tombstone and had to go do his night job and have fun… We were extremely tired and I needed my meds, so we passed…

In the morning everyone was sitting around in the common area, dogs and all… This place is a pet friendly place… Gotta love a place that loves pets… But we met the owners dog Rosco… He is a wiener dog kind of dog… He is a dog that they rescued… We also met Toots and her parents… We just sat around gabbing and visiting before looking around the town… They offered a continental breakfast also… We had no complaints… Well, we did but it had nothing to do with Crazy Annies… We couldn’t pick up a phone signal to save our lives while we were down there… But that is a mixed blessing… We  didn’t have calls every 5 minutes and we could do what we wanted to do…

If you happen to find your way to Tombstone, you should try to get a room here… They only have 4 rooms and they are clean and I can’t say enough good things about Crazy Annies Bordello… We didn’t spend much time there during the day because we were all over the place. but our nights were perfect… One of the things also about this place is that the rooms are quiet… You can’t hear the people in the rooms next too you, even if they have dogs… We were very pleased that we chose this place to stay at… Here is some contact info for anyone who may want it…

Crazy Annie’s Bordello
95 South 10th Street
(corner of 10th & Allen Streets)
P.O. Box 1624
Tombstone, Arizona 85638

Owners:
Carol & Joe Pauli
(520) 457-3847
info@crazyanniesbordello.com

One of the things that we learned about was there was this ghost town that is still original that sits about 10 miles outside of Tombstone… One of the locals was telling us about Fairbank AZ… Then there is Gleeson and Pierce… Chuck and I have decided that we need to have a couple extra days to take in the whole area to see these Ghost towns… We just ran short on time…  From what the local guy was saying is that there was this little girl that died when she was playing near the San Pedro River… Everyone thought her dad was the one that killed her and they waited for him to come into Tombstone… One day he came in and he was shot on the corner… Her grave is really the only grave site that is maintained today and people still visit… Next time we are down that way we plan on going there… We ended up going to the Bird Cage… It is the only place in Tombstone that is still original… That is the only tour we paid for… We looked around and such… I found it interesting that they had a sidewalk prophet… He was handing out pamphlets to anyone who would take one… I took 4 of them… Never know who I may meet up with who needs to hear about Gods plan of salvation… We never got to look around at boot hill because of all the other running around we did… My main thing was to visit my parents and sister and to go to the Nazarene Church in Willcox that I grew up in… I was saved and baptized in that church… I will do a blog posting of that though…

On the last night in Tombstone, we sat at the table outside our room and just visited with the owner Joe… They made you feel like family… We did bring home a little rescue dog and Joe was great with him… Parker loved Joe and Carols dog Rosco…

You can flip through the pictures on the slideshow at the top of this post to view Tombstone and Crazy Annies…