51 Years And Counting

To the best parents ever:

Happy Anniversary!

Happy Father's Day Daddy!

I seldom am at a loss for words. And, I guess it really isn't that I don't have anything to say it's quite the opposite. There is so much I could say about my daddy that I don't know where to begin. He is the epitome of greatness. Let me give you just a little of his background.

He was born to loving parents, one of seven children. He was born with glaucoma. He suffered many days without seeing with intense eye pain. He eventually went totally blind at age eleven. None of that stopped him. Due to his circumstances, he was forced to attend the school for the deaf and blind in St. Augustine, Florida. He was double promoted, skipping the eighth and the eleventh grades. After graduating high school, he attended Southeastern Bible College and graduated from there as well.

I don't have any of my childhood pictures here in Jamaica, but this is one of my favorites of my daddy holding his only grandchild on the day he was born. When I was a child he held me just as tenderly as he is holding Nathan in the above picture.

And, he has held me close with those tender hands for the last forty three years. I guess if I had to pick of one or two of daddy's characteristics they would have to be gentleness and full of wisdom. People have often asked me what it was like growing up with a blind father. I have always said that the only thing my daddy couldn't do is drive a car. And to be honest with you he has sort of done that. I can remember him backing the car out of the carport so he could wash it. He never lacked in ways of discipline. Although he had no trouble whatsoever spanking my brother and me, his correction was always firm but gentle. I have never heard my daddy raise his voice to me.

My daddy is the smartest man I know. Not only academically but in all aspects of life. I can remember when I was young and stupid I got into credit card trouble. I don't know how he found out about it but one day we were at lunch and he told me that he and mama wanted to help me pay off my credit card debt. They had discussed it and they would give me the money to pay off the debt and I could repay them without the high interest rates. He didn't see my embarrassing smile as I said, "Daddy you can't do that because I owe a lot." He assured me that he knew it was a lot and they still wanted to help. However, he didn't know quite how much it was and when he pressed me for the amount, I told him. Unmoved, all he said was, "Oh! I didn't know it was that much." Even though he didn't lend me the whole amount he still helped me. He helped me get a loan in my name, using their house for collateral at a much lower interest rate than the credit cards wanted. That part shows his goodness. He also got an insurance policy to cover the amount of the loan just in case I defaulted on it. He had me pay the premium on the policy. That part shows his wisdom. I learned a very valuable lesson.

My daddy is talented in so many ways. He is an accomplished musician, playing the organ and the accordion. He tunes pianos. He sings. He preaches. He teaches. He fixes. He cuts up potatoes and rutabagas in perfect cubes. He builds. He reads braille. He types on a brailler and on a keyboard. He continues to learn. Within the last year he has learned to surf the internet with his talking computer. He's fluent in Spanish. He made such an impact in the country of Paraguay as a missionary that when we returned after eighteen years to visit, the people in the airport greeted him by name, "Hermano Rolando." It was that way wherever we went.

But, mostly what he does, is, he loves. Unconditionally.

Happy Father's Day Daddy! I am so blessed to get to call you mine!

Airports

I have such a love-hate relationship with them. Airports are known for two things: hellos and goodbyes. When I get to say hello, I love them. But, when I have to say goodbye, like today, I hate them. I utterly despise them.

After, three wonderful weeks, we have to take Mama and Daddy to the airport this morning and say goodbye. It has been great having them here. They are so easy to have. Mama works herself to death. She would have gotten up early this morning and washed and changed all the sheets, but I begged her not to so that I would have something to do when I get home today. The truth is, I like walking in their room and it smelling like them after they are gone. I don't know how many times I have had to tell her to sit down and rest that Nathan will be home soon and will want to play. Daddy has enjoyed listening to Jamaican radio programs. He even found and listened to one announcer that was blind. He enjoyed the DJ telling about the technology he uses to make it possible for him to do his job.

Last night they wanted to celebrate my birthday since they won't be here next Saturday for it. I told them I didn't feel much like celebrating, knowing what this morning holds. But, we had a nice meal anyway and as always Daddy prayed a sweet prayer over me. They always have a way with words that make me feel like I am the best daughter in the whole world. I only wish I were.

Nathan has been recovering from a high fever he had last weekend and has been coughing a lot. When he got home from school yesterday he went to sleep about 5:00. We tried and tried to wake him but he slept all night. He has elected to go ahead and go to school and not go to the airport this time. He hates saying goodbye, too. A few seconds ago he came up to me and said, "I'm sad." It's one thing for me to be sad about them leaving but it's another thing for him to be sad. I can't hardly take it when he cries about saying goodbye.

Lord Jesus, please give my mama and daddy a safe flight home. Put the right people in their path to help them when they need it. Help Aunt MaryLou and Uncle Olan to be there on time to pick them up and help them not to feel too guilty tonight when they are eating supper at Carrabbas or Market Restaurant. I will be here tracking the flight on flightview.com and will thank You when they land safely. If you read this before noon today, say a prayer for them, too.

All said...I will be sad. But you can bet that I will be counting the days to when I will get to say hello again.

Wii Love It!

Wii knew wii would but, it is better than wii thought it would be. The only problem wii have is wii don't have any additional games yet. Wii do have some missions teams coming and Todd's parents and brother are coming and could bring us a game or two. So maybe you could help us out. I know that there are a lot of you "blurkers" out there. That is, those of you who stop by and read the posts but never leave me a comment. I know, I'm a blurker too on some blogs and that's okay, but wii really need some advice here. If you would be so kind as to leave a comment about what Wii games your children like to play, or what Wii games you or your spouse like(s) to play for that matter, it would really help us. Any other advice like who has the best prices, games that are not worth the money, or if there are combo packs, etc., would be appreciated too. Also if you have had no contact with a Wii, you could tell me that too.

Nathan boxing.

Todd was really excited to play the golf but Nathan begged to play the boxing. Since it was his present Todd consented to box with him. Before Todd got the hang of it, his comment was, "This doesn't do anything for me." By the look on his face it started to do something for him.

And here's the queen bowler!

Another strike!

As I left in the comment section of my last post Nathan's grandmother, DeeDee, has beat us all. She has the high score of 201! Nathan usually wins all the other games but DeeDee is the best bowler. Nathan has made Miis for all of us. Even his blind grandaddy. We thought Grandaddy might be able to fish but the "bite" wasn't quite strong enough for him. He is content being one of the baseball players and enjoys Nathan letting him know when his Mii gets a homerun or catches a fly ball for an out.

Remember to leave a comment and if you didn't read yesterday, scroll down to catch up.

When He Was On The Cross...

Mama and Daddy went to church with us yesterday. I know it was hard on them with them not being use to the heat and the chairs being less than adequate. But, in true missionary style, they were champs. We did take a comfortable padded chair for mama. All of our people came to hear Daddy sing and speak. As always he did a wonderful job. After almost 43 years, I never tire of hearing my Daddy sing and speak. Although age has affected his mellow tenor voice, his passion still shines through and the result is as beautiful as it has always been.

The service began with just a handful of people. Among them, a heckler, whose name is Ricky. Ricky is big boy. He could easily pass for an American football player. As we began the music, he started laughing loudly and whistling, clearly trying to show off and disrupt. And, my mama, went to praying. It wasn't long before Ricky settled down and realized that he wasn't going to deter the service. Ricky has been with us before with other hecklers and has come in, put on his show and left, never staying for the whole service. Yesterday, however, he stayed from beginning to end. Everyone in the community knows Ricky and I watched the surprise on the faces of latecomers when they saw him sitting quietly and being attentive. He even went up for prayer at the end of the service. We all know he will be on Evelyn's prayer list for awhile.

When Daddy came up he told the people a little about himself and then sang, When He Was On The Cross, I Was On His Mind. He then preached out of Mark about Jairus, whose daughter was sick and the woman with the issue of blood. He shared how even though Jesus was on his way to help Jairus' daughter he stopped and took the time to talk to the woman who had been an outcast for twelve years. And, just like he had time for her, he has time for the needs of the people of Jamaica, some of who themselves feel to be outcasts.

Several weeks ago we ordered a podium for Daddy to use from the wood shop next to the church but, not surprising to us, after being promised for three weeks that it would be finished, it wasn't ready. So, we came up with a makeshift podium and it was an eyesore but, it served its purpose.

We took one of the air conditioner boxes Todd used for his makeshift desk and stood it on end. Todd put some books inside it to weight it down. Then I covered it with a table cloth and we set Nathan's adjustable desk on top of the box.

Daddy was able to read his notes and hold the microphone. It was actually sturdier than it looks.

For lunch we went to our new found Chinese restaurant and had a nice air conditioned lunch overlooking the azure waters of Montego Bay.

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In other news around the house, we have spent time visiting and just being together. Nathan is enjoying having someone watch him play his Nintedo DS...even if it is Granddaddy. To him, his granddaddy is only blind sometimes.Below, DeeDee gets in a playful "spanking" with a piece of rolled up foam. She was lining my kitchen cabinets and are they evermore nice and organized.

She has also decorated the top of my kitchen cabinets with a few things she brought from home and the empty bottles of olive oil that I have saved because they were too pretty to throw away. My brother, Howard, and I have always loved pretty bottles. Wine bottles and olive oil bottles are the prettiest.

In typical Evelyn style, she said this one needs some greenery around the bottom of the plate. No doubt we will find some before she leaves.

And, finally, for all who were wondering...the chicken and dumplings the other night were delicious and oh, so comforting.

The Ultimate Jerk Centre in Discovery Bay, Jamaica

Yesterday we drove an hour and a half to Discovery Bay, Jamaica to have lunch at the Ultimate Jerk Centre. I remember reading an article in the Tampa Tribune before we moved here about how the author thought it had the best Jerk on the island. It is a little over half way to Ocho Rios where Dunn's River Fall is.

Daddy loves spicy foods and so, with Nathan being off school yesterday and today, we took advantage of the time to take Mama and Daddy.

The Jerk Centre is brightly painted with accents of hot pink. It would be hard to miss it driving along the north coast highway. It is also located right across the street from the Green Grotto Caves. We have never been to the caves but I imagine we will before we leave.

The menu includes all Jamaican cuisine, including curried goat and chicken, rice and peas, pumpkin soup, and of course the highly acclaimed jerked dishes. We ordered the jerked pork and chicken. They both have a great flavor but it takes some getting use to how they cut the meat. Their meat cutting process is to take a meat cleaver and chop, chop, chop. There are no wings, thighs, and breasts. It's all chopped to bite size pieces, bone, gristle, and all. Although, yesterday I could make out a leg for Nathan. The pork too, is chopped and it may contain bone and skin with a few pig hairs still attached. We also ordered french fries and Daddy said they were as good as homemade fries. The meat is a little spicy on its own, but see the sauce in the little cups? Oh, my! It gives a whole new meaning to hot. It is made with scotch bonnet peppers and besides being hot has a great flavor with just the right amount of salt. We bring home several containers to use here at the house. The other night, we added a few little dobs to a bowl of lima beans and rice and it was good. WARNING: Eat sparingly. The next day you will need a fire extinguisher when you go to the bathroom.

Mama was intrigued with the way the roofs and ceilings were woven together. I'm not sure if it is called thatch or what? But it really does look cool, both from the inside and the out.

I thought this Victoria's Secret bag looked out of place but it did match the paint.

Nathan took his soccer ball and he and Todd played in the cricket field behind the restaurant. The wind was blowing so hard that it was hard to control the ball when kicked. So, they gave up soccer and just raced each other.

DeeDee and Granddaddy watching Nathan play soccer.

DeeDee wanted to check out the bougainvilleas.

DeeDee and Bubby.

The only person DeeDee would get on her knees for.

Mother and daughter.

It was a good day. Needless to say we were all tired when we got home. Today is a holiday here. It is labor day. Most of the stores are closed. We are planning on taking Nathan to the Yacht Club to swim while we have lunch. And I think DeeDee is making chicken and dumplings for supper!

Mother's Day

It's taken me a while to get around to this post, but it's been mulling around in my brain for several days. This was my first Mother's Day in Jamaica. I must confess it was a very emotional one. It was emotional for several reasons, but the biggest reason was that I wasn't able to be with my beautiful mother. This was compounded by the fact that Reba Rambo lost her mother, Dottie Rambo, on mother's day. My brother, Howard, called me early Sunday morning to wish me a Happy Mother's Day and while we were talking his college roommate, Bishop Jim Swilley from Church in the Now, beeped in to give him the news. Now, even though I have never met the Rambos, they still played a huge role in my brother's musical formation years. He use to listen to their music by the hours and since he listened, the rest of us in the house listened as well. Another compounding factor was that I know of several other mothers who are battling brain tumors and my heart was sad for their children. I guess it affected me so because I realized that one day I, too, will lose my mother. And, quite frankly, I'm not ready nor will I ever be ready to face that day. So, even though I was close to getting in the fetal position in a corner of my closet and staying there all day, I didn't. Here's the reason why:

My redheaded sweetheart!

I, too, am a mother to the most wonderful, sweet, precious, charming, at times trying, little boy. Many days he keeps me going. He had made me a card at school on Friday and it took everything within him not to give it to me ahead of time. As you can see, the card had a heart cutout and he made a "C" in glitter on the front for Carla. So, because I didn't want him asking his daddy why mommy stayed in the closet all day, I pulled myself together and kept going.

Another reason I kept going was because we had a missions team here and because we were honoring the mothers in our little church. We made up care packages for all the mothers and had three small gifts to honor the oldest mother, the mother with the most children and the third one was drawn out of a "hat." We were going to give a gift to the youngest mother too, but we really didn't want to promote that, if you know what I mean. Children having children is rampant here.

The care packages were made up of motel soaps, shampoos and lotions that Todd's mom collected for us, along with various other health care items that had been donated. We also added some "sweeties." Sweeties are what the Jamaicans call candy. A piece of candy goes a long way here. We placed all of these items in a Ziploc bag and each mother received on of these.

At 54 years old, Sister Dell was the recipient of the oldest mother.

Sister Wright was the mother with the most kids. She has seven. She couldn't stand because she had one baby asleep on her lap.

This lady, a first time visitor, was the recipient of the third gift.

Todd and Nathan gave all of the kids a blow pop.

After church we took the team to a Mother's Day buffet at the Coral Cliff. It was a nice Jamaican buffet. Nathan enjoyed making trips back and forth to the orange juice dispenser. I enjoyed the "made to order" omelet, and Todd enjoyed the sliver of smoked ham he insisted the chef carve off of the already clean carved bone. (Side note: Todd priced a smoked ham in the store yesterday and it was US$92.00.) As nice as it was here, I wish I could have been at the Ramada Inn in Plant City celebrating with my family. Even though the rest of the world celebrated Mother's Day last Sunday, I will be celebrating Mother's Day and Father's Day this coming Monday when my mama and daddy arrive. WHOO HOO!

You can read more about my mother at my brother's blog here.

They're Here!!!!!!!!!

I think we are the happiest people in the world. Our DeeDee and Granddaddy arrived today. They flew Air Jamaica from Orlando to Montego Bay. When they checked in, the attendant insisted they get Daddy a wheelchair. And that was the best decision of the day. They were escorted from the ticket counter, through security and all the way out to the gate.
When they arrived in Montego Bay, Throy Durrant met them at the plane with another wheel chair and escorted them through immigration, to the baggage claim where they waited only a few minutes for their luggage. Then he took them to customs for the officials to check what was in the bags. Mama said that there were hundreds of people waiting in lines from several other flight arrivals, but they didn't have to wait in any lines because Throy took them to the front of every line and brought them all the way out to us.
When Todd brought the truck around I helped Mama and Daddy into the back with Bubby between them and I rode up front on the passenger side and Todd drove. On our way out, Mama asked Bubby if Mommy was a good driver and he told her I was. As we continued to drive along I was pointing things out to Mama and she casually said, "You better watch where you are going." I thought she was talking to Todd. In a minute she said it again, this time a little more forceful. It finally dawned on me. She thought I was driving because I was riding on the left side of the car. I told her, "Mama, I'm not driving, Todd is." So, we got a good laugh at her. We decided we need to blindfold her when she rides in the car. For those of you that don't know we drive on the left side of the road and the cars have the steering wheel on the right side.

Until next time...I'm off to enjoy my mama and daddy!