Are You Ready For Some Football?

NFL?? No, it is not our favorite football league. NCAA?? This year, with FSU playing so poorly, again, not our favorite football league. Club Sports Kids?? YES...with two superstar grandsons playing, by far, our favorite football league.


Dean, Baxter and I headed for the  fields, for an exciting morning of flag football. Rusty and Flip provided two hours of thrilling, hard "non" hitting action that any fan of  the gridiron would have loved! Their fans went WILD!!

First it was Flip's team..Flip played with reckless abandon..grabbing flags right and left, running for a touchdown (which was called back due to the erroneous ref's call that he stepped out of bounds), and chewing his mouthpiece into submission. When it was all over, his team had won, and Flip had garnered 5 quarters from Grandpa, based on the 4 flags pulled and the "touchdown", and he was awarded with the "MPE". That is how Flip explains the, perhaps more commonly used, MVP of the game.

 

Next, it was the big "Rust". His team had yet to win a game. Today, Rusty helped his teammates change that outcome completely. Rusty, as usual, was the thorn in the opposing quarterback's side, as his blinding speed provided little time for picking out receivers. Rusty pulled 3 flags and had a great day on offense, rushing for a key first down! At the end, his team counted their first win, and Rusty garnered 4 quarters from his Grandpa!

We had a great time watching the boys play and playing with the girls. Baxter is still taking a nap after all the walks he took with Ellie and Ruthie.

 

United Way

Yes! This handsome United Way volunteer is none other than, Dean Jerger. Dean is the co-chair of the United Way campaign in Jefferson County. He and Nan Baughman begin this month, visiting or calling businesses in the area, schools, and others to contribute to this worthy organization. The two of them are spearheading this fundraising for the third or fourth year.

When I was an employee of Pinellas County Schools, I resented the fact that the county first took money (not much) for United Way. Finally, I opened my eyes to the kids in my classes who actually benefitted, in some way, from the United Way organizations. Then, I quit griping, and actually increased the nominal contribution. In a large county, like Pinellas, it is so easy to raise the big bucks!

Since we moved to Jefferson County, we have come to understand, not only the unmet needs of a small county, but also the fact, that the good folks and businesses get "tapped" time and time again for so many causes. The most fascinating thing to me is that these folks just keep giving and giving and giving. Even in these tough financial times, they understand that the needy keep getting needier, and that joining their small contributions can make a difference to the organizations in the county that serve those folks.

Jefferson, along with Madison County, are a couple of the smaller counties in the Big Bend area. So, United Way, up here, is called United Way of the Big Bend. The larger county, Leon, is able to raise money much like Pinellas, so the "Big Bend" shares a little of that wealth with the smaller counties. Our county raised $50,000 last year, but distributed over $70,000. Again, I see the generosity of people helping people...

Yes, I know, there are administrative costs in the United Way. In the Big Bend it is 17.5%. As you can see, the "little guys" do not pay any of that percentage,technically, as they distribute more than they raise. Without the organization, I believe many of the needs in a smaller county would continually go unmet.

So, thanks to Dean and Nan, for all the hard work they do for, as you can imagine, many, many causes in Jefferson County. And thanks for Jefferson County residents for "Living United".

Angels again

OK, Mim reminded me that I had not mentioned another angel who would probably be attending the gymnastics meet, our Lillie. She was definitely there; she's always looking after "her girls". I thought this would be a good time to introduce you to Lillie Walker, who next to our parents, taught us Hall girls many valuable life lessons.

We moved to Eustis when I was 3 years old, and Mama was very pregnant with Miriam. We moved into a house right next door to Dr. Debo, who became our family doctor and introduced Lillie into our lives. She was, for lack of a better word, our "Nanny". Mama carried Miriam into the 11th month of her pregnancy, and Lillie took care of Margaret and me, and then later, Miriam, when Mama returned to help Daddy with the nursery business.

Lillie was "colored"...she insisted on that term, even when the world became "enlightened", and the "word" became black. "It took me a long time to not be a "N....." and be "colored", I don't need no more changes." Lillie was born on a plantation in Tallahassee, and was never formally educated. But that lady knew that a "N....." was not just black, she used that term on black and white folks alike. Anyone that received one of her notes, though the spelling was not up to par, valued it for the love it contained.

Some lessons:
1. When you go out to pick your "switch", there are some decisions to be made...the little skinny ones, stung like the dickens, but the big ones could leave a lingering pain..maybe 30 seconds or so. Funny, I cannot remember the "switchin", but I DO remember the decision making on the "switch".
2. If you get an invitation to a party, and you weren't invited, at first, but only after the other little girl couldn't make it...you do not go. "You are nobody's second choice."
3. When a restaurant makes one of the family eat in the kitchen, you better believe that the younger members of the family cannot understand the "prejudices" and "rules" of the day. You might just lose a customer, or worse still, have to deal with a screamin' youngun', who is completely dependent on that wet dishrag that Lillie so lovingly supplied after every meal. Nope....even the whitest, fanciest, cloth napkin could not replace the love from her hands.
4. Santa Claus will NOT come while you are still awake!

Lillie, along with Mama and Daddy, taught us all so much, during times that prejudice and hatred ran rampant. There were separate drinking fountains, racist sheriffs, back doors and separate waiting areas for the doctors' offices, "invitations" from the KKK, ad nauseum, ad nauseum.....

We three Hall girls grew up learning respect and love for our Lord and our fellow men and women, regardless of race, or any other labeling system, the world threw out. We were "poor" in material things, but rich in love; no one was "better" than us AND we were "better" than no one else; nothing was more important than giving and receiving love..... just check your selfish, ornery, attitudes at the front door OR be ready to "Pick out your switch"!

Angels Part 3

I am going to end my "angel" series talking about one of Dean's and my earthly angels. We have 4, you know, Ruthie, Rusty, Philip Dean"Flip", and Ellie, our grandchildren. We share these "grand" angels with Gwen and Joe, and Phil and Susan. I also want to share a little something about 3 angels from above.

This weekend, Ruthie competes in her very first competitive gymnastics meet. We got a sneak peek this weekend, as she showed some "moves" on the front yard. When she set that jaw and pushed those lips tightly together...I could see Adam standing up at the plate, getting ready for the pitch. Thankfully, when she began her routine, I could see Lori's beauty and grace. Don't get me wrong...anyone who has seen Adam's Olympic "dismount" will say "it is a thing of beauty " :)

So after years of hard work and practice and the recent recovery from a stress fracture...our little earthly angel is taking center stage.

Now, here is my take on our angels above. I believe that God lets them take a break every once in awhile and lets them take in an earthly show..Well, I know at least three that will be taking a jaunt over to Daytona for a beginning gymnastics meet.

First, my mama, Grandma Frances Hall, who left us 13 years ago in October. I believe her "steady" job is protecting the travelers... she did that while she was on the earth...she wanted to know whenever we were on the road or in the air...so she could concentrate her prayers at that particular time. I believe her most noted success was getting Adam all the way from Auburn to Eustis, by himself, in the dark!!

Next, two years later in May, we said goodbye to Uncle Rusty. I believe his "steady" job is being able to speedily and with great strength, get to the emergency situations and cushion the blows. I know that an angel was there to cushion Flip's fall from the front stoop; and one was there to guard Ruthie on the seawall until Lori could get there...A couple of Rusty's assignments?

And lastly, Dean's dad, PaPa. His steady job has got to be flying with those pilots in Iraq, Afghanistan, and anywhere else that young men are in the air facing great peril... He literally has his own "wings", and doesn't have to worry about anymore crash landings! Dad left us two years ago, this weekend. Coincidence?? No, I don't believe so...10 years ago, December, after heart surgery, he made his way from the floor above to hold his new great-granddaughter, Ruthie. So, this weekend, he will "pilot" the others coming from above, to watch one of their earthly angels "strut her stuff"!!

So, do angels get to sometimes call their own assignments?? Does God let them come back and visit and cheer at a gymnastics meet?? Did our God create this entire cosmos?? Did he hang the stars?? Does He love us that much?? I know what I believe...

Angels Part 2

I went back , wayyyyy back for this story about angels in my life.

I was about 10, and had spent the night with a friend in Umatilla. I was dropped off at our house earlier than Mama and Daddy expected, 'cause the rest of my family was at a rodeo, which left me alone with just this pitiful grasshopper, that my sister, Mim, had closed up in a glass jar. Obviously she intended to let the poor insect die a cruel and grisly death, so I was going to do something about THAT. No, NOT because I truly cared about the life of that yucky grasshopper, I had ended many a beautiful butterfly's life in a similar fashion, for my "collection". Don't get excited, this was way before the "green" movement. No, I was just being my normal mean self. I knew Mimmie would be really mad that I had SAVED her grasshopper.

So, I went to the drawer and pulled out a butcher knife. I know folks my age remember how easy it was to pop holes in the metal lid of a jar, with a knife. And, I, too was creating many air "slashes" until..ooops, I missed the jar, and the knife went in between the thumb and first finger of my left hand. I was too young to know what I had done, but it was bleeding in a very "funny" way. It seemed to be spurting up out of the wound.

I went to the bathroom to get some gauze to wrap up and stop the bleeding, but it just bled right through. I unwrapped that gauze and wrapped another "package" around the wound..still no luck. So what else was I to do?? I went out to the "Florida" room and sat and cried while I held my hand.

Then, my angels... My neighbor, across Windemere St., just happened to be walk outside to get something...he could hear my cries, because in the days of no air conditioning, all the jalousie windows were open. He came in, swooped me up, and took me to the Emergency Room.

By the time my frantic Daddy, who had found all the blood, when he came home ahead of the rest of the family, got to the Emergency Room, I was stitched up and ready to go home.

My angels were certainly watching over me that day!!! Hey Mim, did that grasshopper ever get his??

Angels?

A friend asked me recently, do you believe in angels and would you care to share a story?? So, here is one story that came flooding back.

The year was 1994, and Adam had started his freshman year at Auburn. Thanksgiving was coming up, and as has been the practice since Dean was swimming,the swimming team could not take time off for Thanksgiving to come home.

Dean and I decided to ask Lori if she would like to join us, and bring Thanksgiving to him. So, on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, we loaded up and headed for I-75 and the 8 1/2 hour trip to Auburn. I was driving the first leg, Dean in the front passenger, and Lori in the back.( No, Pinellas County Schools, I wasn't really sick that day).

As we approached "Malfunction Junction",that wonderful area of road in Tampa where I-4 (the high road)and I-275 (the low road) clumsily try to meet up, the traffic was pretty heavy, as usual. "Something" made me look up, as we started to go under I-4. A truck was scraping and bouncing along the side of the highway above us, and I actually observed it "hopping" up and one wheel hanging over. I knew that truck was coming over.

Most first instincts would be to hit the brakes, but I hit the accelerator, and for those of you who know me, closed my eyes!! I began slowing down, because something was being dragged under the car, and Dean was gently nudging my arm and telling me to pull over. So I opened my eyes and did that. Behind us, in the exact place where we had been, was a large truck, upside down and flattened on the highway. Behind it were three lanes of cars, all stopped and stacking up. We were the only car to make it through, along with a vehicle that had been a few seconds ahead of us. Under the car was a round piece of metal that had come off the truck as it fell, or after it hit. That is just how close the three of us came, to joining the driver of that truck (the accident was not his fault) as fatalaties on that Thanksgiving weekend.

All I could think of, as Lori and I walked back to the stillness of that scene, was how devastated Adam would have been if his whole "world" had left him that day. Someone else's whole "world" had left in that moment...arm in arm, lost in our prayers and thoughts, Lori and I walked back to the car, which Dean had cleaned up and started up, and we continued on to celebrate Thanksgiving with Adam.

Why do I attribute this to angels and God's intervention? 2 things... I hit the accelerator instead of stomping on the brakes, which would have been anyone's, including my, first instincts. OK OK..I still probably shouldn't have shut my eyes, but as you can tell, we were being guided. The second thing, if something had not made me look up, no telling... I do not go under any "overpass" since that day, without thanking God for giving us a few more days, and praying that he is looking out for that man's family.

So yes!!! Emphatically, I say, "I believe in angels!"

Bill Hall's 91st Birthday at New Smyrna Beach

Make a Smilebox photobook

This year, we took Daddy to New Smyrna Beach for his 91st birthday celebration. New Smyrna Beach holds so many memories for the Halls. Daddy was born and raised in Orlando, FL...long before Disney. His father would take the kids (7 of them) to New Smyrna for the day, and get in some good swimming, while the kids played. As the "boys" (6 of them) got older, they would swim the inlet between New Smyrna and Daytona for a challenging swim...Funny, there were sharks back then,as well, but that did not seem to deter the Hall boys.

Later, when Daddy had a family of his own, living in Eustis, FL, it just seemed natural to take his girls to New Smyrna during the summer. We stayed in a motel run by a Greek family, and got to stay for free, as Mama and Daddy would run the units while the family took their own vacation....We also stayed longer as Daddy would "hustle" golf to keep us there...While he commuted to Eustis for the week to work the nursery, Mama and us girls would stay at the beach. That motel became, and is still, the main lifeguard station on the beach.

As Mama also loved the beach, we continued to travel as a family to New Smyrna, even into my college years and afterwards, when we were all married with kids of our own. The family met, as a whole in 1980, and we introduced our kids to body surfing, riding the floats, dreamcicles, snow cones, Norwoods, the inlet, shells, and all the other activities associated with the quieter beach...New Smyrna.

So, it was so natural to take him back for a trip for his birthday. Adam and Lori came over for the weekend with his great grandkids. Though the waves were mild, we still got in some boogie boarding and crab hunting. The kids, old and young, loved all the sand and surf.

Margaret, Miriam and Ted, Mim's friend, Sherry, and David and Dianna came over on Sunday armed with 91 Orange slices and a variety of sweet treats. We ate at Norwoods, one of the only restaurants Daddy wanted to eat at....he used to know the owner, and even helped him clean green turtles, before they became endangered. Norwoods used to make a mean "green"turtle soup! They also had the coolest tables with glass tops and a variety of shells and sea "stuff" on display beneath. Though the old restaurant sign is the last remaining reminder...the new Norwoods has the same excellent seafood.

Margaret spent the night, and began searching for the old White Sands Motel...we think it is the new massive condo, The Pelican, . We all had lunch at JB's Fish Camp...great food and still has the charm of "old" New Smyrna. JB's Marina was where Mama and Daddy outfished Dean and I when we all took off one stormy afternoon to fish the Halifax River! Margaret returned to Monticello.

We met up with a couple, Jack and Joanne Yelvington, who were good friends with Mama and Daddy. Had a nice lunch on Wednesday, visited, laughed, and Dean and I took Daddy to the New Smyrna Golf Course...many memories for him.

On Thursday, Mim came back and we all headed for that main lifeguard stand to search out those cool hydra-wheelchairs. I don't know who was more excited, when we wheeled him down to the surf, where he could smell the salt air, hear the surf, and even put his feet into the sand and surf. Talk about full circle...the first motel now housed the wheelchairs that provided him with the access to the beach, that would not have been possible without them. I know Mama was smiling down on that scene!!

Mim stayed until Friday, and in came Mike and Adie Price to celebrate a little more before they went to visit David and Heather and Emily for the 4th. We ate at a restaurant on the river...The same location that we would pick up fresh shrimp brought in by the shrimp boats the night before, so many years ago.

All in all, Daddy had a most exciting time....ate well, slept hard, remembered so much. He and I dropped Dean off in Daytona, to meet up with Adam, who had tickets for the Coke Zero 400. Daddy still remembers when part of the race was run on the beach.... Happy Birthday, Bill Hall...We all love you so much!
LOVE,
YOUR FRIENDS..... YOUR FAMILY