Spot the difference

Can you see the difference 7 years make? The picture of the church building at the head of the blog is not exactly the way it is now. At least once a year I've had to trim the trees on either side of the front door to keep them from completely covering the front of the church.





Now spot the difference. Inexplicably, in late spring this year, the leaves on one tree began to evidence some kind of problem. And then, almost overnight, it looked like this. Then all the leaves fell off and it was a bare skeleton standing there. The Bible talks about barren trees being cut down. This one has been. When we got back from the US, it had been completely dug up and hauled away. Now we have to see whether we should put in another one, or start over with another species of plant. In that case, the other tree may have to go, too.

By the way, we're not the only one with brown trees. We saw plenty of them in the US where the drought has hit Texas and Oklahoma especially hard. These were along the side of a parking lot in Arkansas. Maybe they're the kind of tree that water can rejuvenate, and they will recover with the winter rains and snows. If not, they're headed for the same fate as the tree by our church door.

She made my day

Dulles International Airport... I had just arrived from Newark on a propjet commuter plane and headed for the baggage carousel. Somehow the baggage claim was at the most distant part of the terminal from the gate where we arrived. It was a long, winding walk. Up and down, left then right, down then up... it wasn't even very clear about which carousel the bags for our flight would show up on. In the end, my bag didn't show up anyway. I expect it was the victim of a too-close connection at Newark; after going through immigration then customs, I almost didn't make the flight.

Claim Desk for United (now a part of Continental...or is it the other way around?) We had a Continental ticket but were flying on a United Airlines aircraft. I was not the only one there hunting bags...one man had been waiting over an hour, and they had informed him the bag was in the airport somewhere. He was understandably frustrated, and vocal about it; a Korean lady was distraught, all the more so when the lady on duty explained that someone had written down the wrong number on one of the forms, so they weren't sure where her bag was.

I explained my case to the agent, who made calls to the gate and to other areas. Her Latin American accent was so strong I had trouble understanding her. "Just wait," she said. She was back trying to resolve the problems of the others, the distraught Korean lady, in particular. I waited. I waited some more. Finally it was concluded that I would have to report the missing bag and have the airline deliver it to the hotel. As I turned to head for the other line where I would have to give all the details again, the agent thanked me for my patience. "God bless you!" she said. "And God bless you, too!" I added, surprised by her words. Having stood in her office for 30 or 40 minutes, I got the distinct impression she needed the blessing more than I did.

And a Happy Birthday it was

The main reason for going to the US in August was my mother's 95th birthday. The travel agent told us we could save hundreds of dollars by waiting until September, since August is the high season. I explained that Mom has had her birthday in August for over 90 years and I didn't see much chance of her changing that now. He saw the point of that; we paid whatever extra it cost.



Physically, Mom is a bit slower...more careful, lest she fall, actually. Uses a walking stick to help prevent accidents. Mentally, she's still as alert as ever. She did express some concern over her memory not being what it used to be: she's having trouble remembering the birthdays of all the great-grandkids! We assured her that missing a birthday or two that far down the generational chain should not be a source of great concern. She hit 95 and keeps right on rolling. She's already sent us a couple of e-mails since we got back. And by the way, she expects e-mails in return.

Another birthday


Abbie's father with Joy's children, Finn and Mia


Tuesday, the 13th, Abbie's dad will be 93. He's still very fit physically, the doctor foreseeing Dad to still be around at 100. The doctor has diagnosed him with "stress-caused dementia"...he's never been the same since Abbie's niece and little girl were killed on the way to church the morning after she had informed her grandparents that she was pregnant and expecting another child.

Even on "good" days he has a lot of problems with his memory--who you are, where he's just been. The two days we were there were thankfully some of his better days... Abbie's brother wrote that a few days after we left, Dad was having some "bad" days.


And not the least of which to be celebrated...



But there was another anniversary while we were there. Abbie and I celebrated our 45th wedding anniversary on August 12, as we came over the Rocky Mountains, and we spent the night at Vail, Colorado. It's mainly a ski resort, of course, but we prefer the flowers in the summer to the snow of winter. The Alpine-type constructions were a reminder that on August 12, 1991, our 25th wedding anniversary, we were in Zurich and going for a ride through the Swiss Alps. Being in Vail is almost like being back in Europe.

Back ...and forth

For a few days I was back; now I'm forth.

I last wrote on the eve of our trip to the US. We spent the month there to see family, the timing being particularly chosen because of my mother's 95th birthday. I have some pictures, but I won't take the time tonight to find them and upload them. As I mentioned above, I'm forth.

I was back...we arrived home last Friday, September 3, but "back" didn't last long. I was just about to get used to the European time zone and today, Sept. 10, I had to come "forth"...this time to Washington, D.C., for a week of classes next week. I'll be flying back next Saturday and arriving home on Sunday, Lord willing. Three Atlantic crossings in three weeks...

The last time I attended a workshop here in Washington was in 2002. I was at the school on the one-year anniversary of 9/11. The school is only a few miles from the Pentagon, and the staff told us they felt the blast at the school when the plane hit the Pentagon. Tomorrow is the 10th anniversary.

Abbie didn't come with me on this trip since we would have had to pay for her ticket...she didn't like the idea of my traveling this close to the 11th...but all went well, except for the extremely close connection at Newark, which meant my suitcase didn't make it here with me. There's always tomorrow, which is hopefully when the airline will deliver my suitcase to the hotel.

"Maybe" I'll post more this week and include some pictures from our trip. I promise. (Does promising to "maybe" do something count as a promise, or not?)