Lisa and I send our best wishes to OHS and the start of the high school football season.  For the first time in twenty years I will be absent from the press booth and running the score clock.  I will miss Corky Teasley and Mike Hayes tonight – sorry to have broken up the team.  We will miss the familiar sights and sounds of friday night football.

I am including a photo of William Corby who was a priest and army chaplain attached to the Irish Brigade during the Civil War.  He later became President of Notre Dame and this statue located here in Gettysburg  is replicated on the Notre Dame campus where students refer to him as “Fair Catch Corby”.  I send an Irish blessing from one of the most famous chaplains in history to the boys in red and black.  Go Devils!

Being away from home for an extended period of time carries a certain amount of risks.   We have just kept our fingers crossed that there would be no major mechanical failures of our vehicle or RV.  Our 2002 Chevy Trailblazer has just done great up until the last couple of weeks.  First our CD player quit working and is holding about five CDs hostage until we get it fixed.  Then our back window regulator went out causing our window to slip down and, of course, allowing all the rain we have had here to soak our back seat.  Next our right turn signal went bad and now it looks like our air conditioning may be on the verge of calling it a career.  Can’t complain too much – the old girl is nearing a hundred and fifty thousand miles and it is only a matter of time before the entire thing bites the dust.  In the meantime we are holding things together with electrical tape and prayer.

We have even had to deal with some air conditioner problems back home at some rental property we have that our wonderful family has been able to help us out with while we are away.  It seems that these mechanical problems are all coming at once – sound familiar?

I have very limited mechanical abilities but I do have plenty of time.  That has allowed me to surf the internet for answers on how to fix some of the problems we have had and first I decided to try to tackle our car’s back window.  I found a salvage yard near York  and managed to remove the needed window regulator.  It was gratifying for me to get the part I needed and pay about a tenth of the cost I would have for a new one.  I thought I may be able to install it myself but soon found the risk was too great for possibly breaking the glass.  If things don’t exactly fit I tend to “force” them and “forcing” car glass is probably not recommended – so today it goes to the auto glass shop.  I know my limitations.

In the meantime Lisa and I noticed our air not getting cold and we kind of looked at each other with that dreamy – this is going to be expensive look in our eyes.  At this point any unusual sound, bump, squeak or shimmy causes us shortness of breath and heart palpitations.  We know the end is near – we just don’t know how near.

Being away from home comes with it expected adjustments such as figuring out how to get from point “a” to point “b” and getting to know people in this strange northern part of the country.  Then there are the unexpected disadvantages of being away from home.  At home I know the good mechanics and the bad – the honest car dealers and the hucksters – the trustworthy plumbers from the – you get the idea.  Here we have no history with the businesses with whom we may need to give advice, fix or possibly trade our vehicle.  We will just have to hope for the best.

Lisa and I have discovered that there is no greater blessing than finding good, trustworthy people who offer help when we need it.  That discovery is always good but even more so when you are far from home.  And it is the little things that mean so much.  I had to borrow tools from a man at the salvage yard to take the car door apart which I spoke about earlier.  I was never so grateful for a socket wrench in my life.

God has a way of putting the right people in our path when we have the greatest need.  And time and again those people have shown us kindness and offered help that we have relied on.  I doubt if they know how blessed we have been by their goodwill.  I remember hearing a story about a man in Owensboro who would have donuts each week for the garbage men who picked up his trash.  I actually did that for a while and one day got a hand written thank you from them.  I’m not sure why I stopped doing that – I know it got a little expensive.  But, I know those workers were disappointed when my donuts stopped showing up.  People like being thanked for doing things – especially with donuts.

When our time is up here in Pennsylvania – I think we will make a list of all the people who have done those “little things” to help us out along the way – and find some way of saying thanks to all of them.  After this experience we hope to never take those “little things” people do for us for granted again.

Now all we need are some “Rolling Pin” donuts.

Steve and Lisa

In honor of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War battle at Gettysburg Pa., I am reposting another article written last year when Lisa and lived there.  Thanks!

Lisa and I attended the Gettysburg Presbyterian Church this morning for their traditional worship service.  The church has a beautiful, traditional style sanctuary that is famous for having Abraham Lincoln attend the same day he made his famous address to dedicate the National Cemetery.  The pew where he sat is marked with a bronze plaque that has become a favorite photo spot of many tourists.  I confess (which we did a lot of during the service by the way) that I did not get to see the actual pew where Lincoln sat – but I did see a pew with a plaque commemorating a visit by President Richard Nixon in 1972.  But it did not seem to be as famous for some reason.

Funny but true – I was looking around for the Lincoln pew when ol Abe himself walked up and welcomed Lisa and I to his church.  I’m not kidding about this – it was Lincoln.  Or at least the man must have been one of probably several Lincoln impersonators in the area.  But it was kind of startling when he walked up.  I almost called him “Mr. President”.

The service was very ‘high church’ with liturgy and organ music.  The choir sang from the balcony behind us and it was tempting (but apparently inappropriate) to turn around and see who was doing the solo.  But I kept my head facing to the front and sat and just wondered how this tradition ever started and (even more) how it has survived.  Very strange.  There were different points during the service that Lisa and I were caught off guard with the singing, standing, and responsive readings.  At one point I saw out of the corner of my eye a man next to me grab the back of the pew in front of him.  At first I thought he was having trouble breathing but then everyone stood and I realized he knew what was coming – Lisa and I did not.  Someone needs to expand seeker sensitivity concepts to believer sensitivity.  Even people like Lisa and I who have been in church all our lives were confused at times.

Despite all that – Lisa and I enjoyed the service and we both really liked the way natural sunlight brightened up the sanctuary allowing the sunshine through the large side windows.  The message was about the ten commandments and the old testament covenant.  It was part one of a two-part message.  The sermon ended with the promise made by the children of Israel to be obedient.  We will have to wait until next week to read the conclusion.  Spoiler alert:  They were not!

I actually enjoy some of the liturgy that was recited.  To remind one another of what we believe is not a bad thing.  There seems to be a general acceptance of a lot of bad theology in the church today – almost anything goes as long as it is evangelical in its tone.  I like being reminded of our core beliefs.

I am amazed at how God can work through so many styles of worship.  We have now worshipped with Nazarenes and Presbyterians and have concluded that both really love the Lord and Southern Baptists don’t necessarily have it wrong or right in regard to theology or worship style.  Loving Jesus comes in all shapes and sizes.

And by the way – Lincoln and Nixon sat on opposite sides of the sanctuary (just in case you were wondering)

Take care!

Steve and Lisa

Each afternoon when I pick up Lisa from work, we discuss how our days went and tell our different stories.  She tells me about funny and interesting people she has met – tells funny stories about doctors and nurses and it is all very exciting for me to hear.  My stories consist of great adventures such as dropping a quarter under the coin operated washing machine at our campground or other heart stoppers like picking up some milk and eggs at the grocery.  I’m sure she is fascinated.

But really all of our good stories are about people.  You meet a lot of different people traveling – even more than normal if you stay in a campground.  I thought I would tell about some of the people we have met.  Get on the edge of your seats –

A couple from Ontario Canada pulled in our campground right across from us and we noticed they had the exact same brand of RV as us.  We introduced ourselves to the wife and told her of our common RV type.  Then she said they had just bought theirs and could not get the air conditioning to work.  We went inside and met the husband (both extremely nice) and I tried to help him with his AC – but no luck.  I then called Mike.

Mike is a mechanic at the RV center where we purchased our camper.  It was his job to go through our RV when we made our purchase and show me how everything works.  It was one of those really hot days and I appreciated him taking the time to crawl under, over on top of and inside everything in our RV to show me how it worked.  The real help he gave was handing me his business card and saying I could call him anytime night and day if I had any questions.  I called him about the Canadians air conditioning and he gave us advise to get it fixed.  (turned out being a bad breaker)  Mike is a good man.  The Canadian couple stayed a couple more days and walked over to say good bye when they left.

We met a man in our campground who is from Texas working here as an insurance adjuster.  He was to be here just a couple of months but is now set to stay for the next year.  He is not sure how his RV will hold up during the cold winter.  He did say if we needed anything to let him know.

While at an antique store one day Lisa and I noticed a booth with some antique Disney items that we are collecting.  A man was there arranging the shelves and we learned he owned that booth.  When we told him we were interested in his Disney items he said we had come to the right place.  His son was an animator for Disney and had worked on “Hunchback of Notre Dame” and other Disney animated films.  He had more Disney items at his house including some rare lithographs.  He gave us his card and told us to call him anytime and he would show them to us.

Lisa met a man at the hospital who portrays Robert E. Lee at Civil War re-enactments.

There is a man who lives here at the campground that carries his little dog on his scooter everywhere he goes.  Lisa and I stopped to talk to him and his dog started barking – not as we approached but only when we were leaving.  It is the only dog we had ever seen that barked when you left as if telling you to come back.

There are so many one time encounters that Lisa and I have with people it is difficult to remember them all.  And it is those encounters that we talk about the most.  If we travel around the area it is not the places we have gone but the people we have met that make up our stories.  We have met mostly really nice, helpful folks who love our accent and, as one doctor Lisa works with put it, our “sing-song” way of talking.  Occassionally we have been put off by some but have learned it is more of the northern way – very cut and dry.  Here if someone tells you they need their windshield wipers replaced they say – “wipers are broke”.  In the south you will say, “We were driving down down Old Hartford Rd and it started raining a little and I turned my wipers on and noticed they sounded like my grandmothers old sewing machine that had a bad motor and I think it may be the motor going bad but what do you think?”

It has taken us some time to realize they are not being rude – just being northern.

Thanks for reading our blog – we miss you people

Steve and Lisa

As something of a follow up to my previous post regarding looking forward to Saturdays, I want to share some thoughts regarding the first part of that – looking forward.

As a history buff I often think about the past – being here at Gettysburg for three months has given me plenty of opportunities to do just that.  The past can teach us much about who and what we are – the good and the bad.  I believe that is important.  And while part of me lives in the past as I study history – I am also aware of how the here and now shape me and my thinking.

I understand what it means to live in the moment – that is – not allow our lives to slip from us as we anticipate the next big thing to come and not enjoy each moment of our lives.  Parents can certainly understand the need to enjoy each moment of our children’s lives since they grow up so fast and those days pass like a vapor.  But much of my living in the moment is doing things like paying bills, fixing problems, and worrying about this or that.  It would be wonderful to say that I have reached a point in my life where I no longer worry about the “small stuff” and enjoy to the fullest every moment God as given me.  But that is not me.  In fact the older I get the more that “small stuff” bothers me.  I’m sorry to admit that.

All that leads me to this idea – I really do look forward to the future.  Lisa and I enjoy planning for things one, two even ten years away.  Those plans help bring sense to all the ordinary moments of the day to day living and working.  The future gives us hope.

I’ll even go as far as to suggest that looking forward is what we are challenged to do as Christians.  Though we are responsible for our here and now living – the Christian is future oriented.

In John 14 Jesus practically teases us with the future by saying “I go to prepare a place for you.”  Who couldn’t wonder what that is like – its almost like saying, “don’t think about a blue elephant”.  We can’t help but wonder and look forward to that future.

Paul said that our citizenship was in heaven – meaning we not only should think about it but long for it as our home – as God’s children heaven is our native land.

There are plenty of other verses that could be used to make a case for the importance of looking forward in our lives.  Lisa and I are already looking forward to her next assignment, looking forward to seeing our family and friends, looking forward to our next trip – looking forward, always looking forward.

Our family has enjoyed trips to Disney World and have been making trips there for nearly twenty years.  For us it is simply a place to have fun and enjoy life together.  But we have come to realize part of the fun of going to Disney is anticipating going to Disney.  It is the planning, saving, waiting and anticipating that make going so much fun.  We enjoy looking forward to our next trip.  Looking forward is almost as fun as being there – almost.

So today I think I’ll read a little history – pay a few bills – and then do what I really do best – dream about tomorrow.

Looking forward!

Steve and Lisa

Lisa and I visited Emmittsburg Pa. yesterday and one of the many RV dealerships in the area.  Since she is on call this weekend – we have to plan our day trips to not take us farther than an hour from the Hanover hospital.  It was an enjoyable day and after looking at countless new RVs – all too expensive for us, we visited some antique stores and saw old things too expensive for us and so we then headed back to our campsite.  But we had a good time.

But all day something stuck in my mind that the RV salesman we were talking to said to me.  He had taken our information and asked if he could contact one of us to tell us about their latest “deals”.  I gave him my number and said I was retired so he could call me anytime – I really didn’t care.  “Every day is Saturday for you, huh?”  He said that and laughed and so did I.  “Yup, every day is Saturday”.

And that bothered me.  Saturdays are only good if the rest of the weekdays are somehow different.  You can only appreciate Saturdays if the other days are perhaps not so good.  In other words – you have to work to enjoy Saturdays.

People my age will understand what I am about to say – when I was a kid nothing (and I mean nothing) was better than Saturdays – especially Saturday mornings.  It was three or four hours of nothing but cartoons – wonderful, mindless, silly cartoons.  The afternoons were full of things like riding bikes, climbing trees, running, jumping and just being free.  But Saturday mornings man – that was what I lived for.  Saturdays were great for me because I hated school so much.  I had to endure the week long hell of getting up and doing something I really did not want to do five days in a row.  But then it would be Saturday – I was free and there were cartoons.

Cartoons were a rare treat for us as kids since we only had three television stations.  I remember watching the test pattern until finally the TV came alive and started the day with a rendition of the national anthem.  Then it was on to cartoon heaven.  I could not have enjoyed cartoons as much if I had access to them all week.  I could not enjoy Saturdays if every day was Saturday.  We cannot enjoy peace without chaos, health without illness, good times without bad, life without death.  It is the great paradox we live with.

So all my life I have looked forward to Saturdays and yesterday I was hit with the reality that all my days are Saturdays from now on and it scared me.  But before anyone thinks this is a “woe is me” diatribe let me say retirement is wonderful and it has given Lisa and I the opportunity to travel and to do things we have wanted to do for years.  But it has thrown my life pattern for a loop.  I no longer have the dread of Monday morning but I also no longer feel the joy of Friday afternoons or the great expectations of a Saturday.

Who knows what God will do with me and I fully expect to work again.  This retirement thing may be short lived.  But then again – Lisa is loving her travel job and we are already looking forward to her next assignment.  In the meantime I will adjust to this new freedom and find ways to stay busy.

But don’t be surprised if you find me one Saturday morning with a bowl of Cap’n Crunch looking for a test pattern.

This may be a little risky since first impressions are often wrong or misleading and we readily admit that many of our ideas of this place will change over the next two months as it should be.  But like good Americans – we have opinions that may change and probably will before we leave this place.  Who knows how the next seven weeks will go for us and we will certainly be more than ready to see our old Kentucky home by then.  But as of today we would be more than comfortable making this place our home as we have come to love the people we have met.  And along the way we have formulated thse ideas and opinions of life here in Pennsylvania in general and RV living away from home in particular.  Here goes:

We can now say…,

…,if everyone had to manually dump their toilets as in an RV –  the consumption of toilet paper would go down while the sale of air freshener would increase – drastically.

…,Kentucky must be beautiful in the fall – at least in the minds of many people who live here in Pa. (and we always thought the northeast would be the place to go in the fall).  People vacation in Kentucky – we had no idea.

…,it costs a lot of money to do laundry in a coin operated laundromat.

…,there may not be any burgers in the world as good as Owensboro’s “Dipper” burgers – but we will keep searching.

…,we all curse technology at times – but we thank God for cell phones, Skype and email to stay in touch with our family and friends.  It has made being away from home much easier.

…,people in Owensboro need to go out and spend time in their front yard.  They are rare here in Pa.  Houses sit right next to the sidewalks – some don’t even have sidewalks and literally sit next to the street.  Wrecks here don’t damage your front lawn – they destroy your couch.

…,the hardest part about driving here in the Gettysburg area is getting in and out of parking lots.

…,we enjoy spending time in antique stores.

…,nothing makes you feel older than spending time in antique stores.

…,the only thing that makes us feel older than spending time in antique stores – is finding things we had as children that are now in antique stores.

…,it is fun to tell people you are from a town in Kentucky that is located west of “Loollville” and watch their expressions.  No we don’t say “Louie – ville” just like people here don’t say “Ball-ta-more.”  Here they call it “Ball a more”.

…,as of yet – not one person we have met has ever heard of Owensboro.

…,it is so strange to talk to people who have lived in this area all their lives but have never visited the battlefield at Gettysburg.  It would be almost like people growing up in Owensboro and not listening to Bluegrass music.  Come to think of it….,

…,apparently, you do not have to comb your hair or put on a shirt to walk outside your RV in the morning…. and neither do the men.

…,it is 90 plus degrees here with high humidity and we see campers each night sitting around a CAMP FIRE – Jeez!  We stay huddled around our air condition vents and cook our smores in the microwave.

…,we use to think we would want a pop-up camper.

…,if you buy an RV out of state and want to move it to Kentucky – you have thirty days.  Kentucky will not license an RV until a sheriff and fire marshall have inspected it. They do not require that here in Pa. Temporary tags are only good for one month.  After that you will be transporting it illegally – sooooo.

…,there are no “Chik-fil-A” restaurants in this area.  We’re just saying.

…,we want to see our family but we are not homesick.

…,it is possible to survive life without television.

.., western Kentucky is really flat compared to the views we have enjoyed here.

So there you have it – our opinions…, for now.

Take care!

In honor of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War battle in Gettysburg Pa., (being commemorated this week) I have decided to repost some of my blogs about our experiences living in Gettysburg last summer and fall.  Lisa and I hope you enjoy them.

This post is for all the history buffs out there.  And for those who are not – maybe you should read this anyway.

Since being here in Gettysburg (by the way – pronounced in a way that would rhyme with “Lettuceburg” by all the locals) I have toured many of the battle sites and key locations of the war.  Today I decided to take a bottle of water and trek across the field where the famous charge of July 3, 1863 took place.  Wow!

The open field that separated the Confederates on Seminary Ridge from the Union Army on Cemetary Ridge is less than a mile in distance.  It took me about twenty minutes to walk from the seminary ridge tree line to the famous “angle” of the battlefield which is considered the southern “high water mark”.

I began my hike from the base of the Virgina monument featuring Robert E. Lee sitting on his horse, Traveler, and surveying the battlefield.  From the Confederate starting point, which was west of the battlefield, the ground is rather flat with only a slight incline to negotiate.  A cleared path makes it easier for tourists to walk across the field but I noticed the high, thick weeds all around and at one point stepped into the thick brush just to get a sense of how it difficult it may have been to move through.  Several times I was stuck with briars and tripped on the thick weeds.  Needless to say those who crossed the field that day did not have a smooth area in which to march and just getting through the thick weeds would have been exhausting.  When I reached the “Emmittsburg” Road and its rail fenced border, I noticed the incline rose drastically and it did not take me long to be out of breath trying to cross the final one hundred yards.  Many scholars believe that the fence along that road cost the confederates a massive loss of life as soldiers tried to climb over while being shelled.  One tour guide I spoke to said an eight foot section of that original rail fence was saved and contains over a thousand shell casings embedded in the wood. That final 75 yards was an uphill struggle for me.

As I got closer to the Union position it was easy to see the superior Union vantage point. To say that the Union held the high ground is certainly true.  I found myself amazed that any of the Confederate soldiers actually made it to the Union side with such a disadvantage.  I met up with another gentleman who like me was walking across the field and he too was surprised at the steep incline – something you don’t notice standing on either ridge.  I joked that it would have been easier for the Union to attack since they would have been going down hill.

I finally reached the famous “angle” where the hand to hand fighting took place. This is simply a spot where the rock walls intersect at a ninety degree angle.   At one point I had to wipe sweat from my eyes and could only imagine how hot it was for the soldiers carrying guns and ammunition – if they were still alive at that point.

I have read that there were relatively few casualties as a result of bayonet attacks.  The hand to hand combat resulted in more men being wounded or killed due to blunt force trauma than that of the bayonet.  Some suggest as brutal as the fighting became – it was still difficult to run a knife into the enemy. (If anyone can verify or disclaim that – please let me know.  I am going to ask a park ranger about that as soon as possible.)  It is interesting that the monument depicting the hand to hand combat is that of a soldier raising the butt of his gun to bludgeon his enemy – not the blade of his bayonet.  In fact this image will soon be seen on the new quarters being minted to celebrate our national parks.  Gettysburg’s will be depicted with this image (seen below).

Finally I stood on Cemetery Ridge and looked back over the field I had crossed.  Next year they will celebrate the 150th anniversary of the battle and they are already working to make the area as authentic as possible – even planting crops that were indicative of that time and place.  Some of you may be interested in knowing that Gettysburg relies on a large contingent of volunteers to do some of the clean up and maintenance work here at the park.  They use volunteers to clean all the 1300 monuments here as well as do some painting and cleaning and are always needing more help.  Before we leave here – I hope to volunteer some of my time – I have plenty of it.

In 1913 Gettysburg celebrated the 50th anniversary of the battle and several survivors of the battle were in attendance.  The Confederate veterans who were physically able re-enacted their “Pickett’s Charge” – only this time as old men they did so much slower and with less gusto.  When they reached the Union line – they reached across the stone wall where many of their fellow soldiers had died those many years ago and shook hands with veteran Union soldiers.  For many it brought closure to what must have been the most difficult moment in their lives.

I walked that same path today.  I don’t care if you like history or not – how cool is that?

It is not easy getting into the flow of life in a new place in just a few weeks.  Although we share many similarities – all Lisa and have to do is speak about three words in public and people here will know we ain’t from Pennsylvania.  I have written much about the hospitality we have experienced here and while people have been friendly – this place does not always feel like home.

There could not be anything more symbolic of our struggle to get into the flow of life here than the struggle we have had trying to (literally) merge our vehicle into traffic.  In the south it is a standard courtesy (if not the law) that you move over into the outside lane when a car is merging onto the highway to your right.  This allows the merging vehicle to smoothly and safely get into the flow of traffic.  Not here.  The lack of courtesy extended to cars merging into traffic upsets me some – but Lisa flies into a full blown – head spinning rage.  She has even screamed for me to go ahead and move into our God given lane whether the idiots move over or not.  To hell with them and to hell with scrapping the side of our car or taking off my left arm – we’ll show them who’s boss.

People here have not learned this common southern driving courtesy and when Lisa asked her co-workers about it they looked at her kind of funny wondering what she was talking about.  To their defense most of the roads here are two lane country roads and there are very few four lane highways in the area.  But there are some and when we have traveled those (which we do twice per day) we can’t seem to merge smoothly.  When this happens we miss home and the southern way of driving.

In the meantime Lisa and I will continue trying to merge ourselves into life here in south/central Pennsylvania (for at least the next eight weeks).  Interestingly we have found that people really like our “southern way” and while the people here are more standoffish and business like – Lisa’s personality (as long as she is not trying to merge into traffic) is very caring and sensitive to patients and co-workers and has won over many.  She has commented that once she has broken the ice – people seem almost hungry for that type of kindness and warmth.

LIkewise as we try to merge ourselves into the community here – we are not necessarily met with resistence but the lane is not always open to us.  Its just not home.

Take care and merge carefully – please!

Have you ever been far away from home and could swear you saw someone you knew but think it could not possibly be them because you are far away from home?  That has happened to me numerous times while we have been here in Gettysburg.  People’s faces that I see remind me of friends back home and some even have me doing double takes thinking they may be them. So far I have refrained from calling out a name and saving myself the inevitable embarrassment. Recently I even spotted some rather famous people.  I saw Lee Harvey Oswald walking into Hanover Hospital one day while waiting for Lisa to get off from work and yesterday Ralph Kramden waited on us at Wendy’s.

There has been a good chance we would meet up with someone we know while here in Gettysburg – being that there are so many tourists here during the summer.  But, so far I have only spotted dead people and fictitious television characters.

Maybe we have been listening to too many of those Gettysburg ghost stories.

Take care!