Supportive Friends and Family

Mother, Frances, and my youngest brother, Lowell

Debbie and Dewain and Me after a meal at Cracker Barrell

Two wonderful meals that my neice, Jean Hamilton prepared and brought for me.

I thank God for my Family.  We are close friends and spend time together regularly.  Any excuse for a party (Birthdays, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New years,) brings us together at some one of our homes or in a restaurant where we socialize, tell stories (some true, some embellished), tell jokes, maybe sing awhile, pray together and enjoy one another's company.

One of Frances' neices (Jean Moore) lives here in Cleveland, TN where her husband Rick teaches Old Testament at Lee University.  She is an RN and works with hospice.  She is a twin and has another sister and a brother.  Frances and I have always enjoyed all of her siblings as we have watched them grow from the time they were born.  With her busy schedule - she still found time to come check on her Uncle Fred when I first came home from the major surgery in November.  Then - a few nights ago - she and Rick came by and delivered the delicious meal that you see laid out on our kitchen stove.  What a sweetheart she is. 

Mamaw, Dewain, Frances, Frank, Elizabeth are Frances' family visiting in our home.

Sometimes I like solitude.  I enjoy being alone for two to three days at a time now and then.  Some of you know of my love for the out-of-doors and that I go to the mountains alone and spend time there reading and thinking and praying when I'm not hunting or fishing.  But I love being with my family and close friends.  When you are in a crisis, your family and friends really matter (or at least I can say it seems to me that they matter) more than ever.  Tomorrow, as I go for my second chemo-therapy treatment, my closest minister friend (Dr. E.L. Williams) will be driving for me.  It's thirty miles to the treatment center.  He will spend about 8 hours of his valuable time waiting on me.  I am a blest man to have such a wonderful family and friends.

Me and My Siblings

Dr. Ed Williams, delivering "Meals on Wheels"

Ed and Me

A Visit From Kathy

          Kathy Davis (Frances' Nairobi Daughter) has been here again!  This time she left husband Rob at home so she and "Mama Frankie" were at their leisure to do whatever their hearts desired.  It's amazing the differences between what the guys consider fun and what the girls consider fun.  These two worked themselves hard from daylight to well past dark every day for a week.  They shopped, they cooked, they painted, they made banana pudding, they preserved peaches, etc. and etc. until I thought they would drop from exhaustion.  But they were together, laughing and playing and both talking at the same time - and answering each other.  If I asked one of them a question both would answer me without realizing that the other one was talking.  Ha. 

Kathy Decorating The Guest Bath

After Painting - Up Goes A New Shower Curtain

After Shopping - Ready To Preserve Fruit

Results!

Thanks Kathy!  For being such a great friend.  You are truly "one of a kind"!

Alabama Visit

The setting sun was so beautiful from the front porch!


Well, maybe it was just a little bright! Here is Frances sheilding her eyes as she looks out over ther fields to the west.

We were sitting on the front porch of this beautiful home.

Wow! I can hardly believe it but Frances and made this short trip with me down to Athens, Alabama Thursday night and home this morning without being totally worn out! This has been really good for me, at least. We went to visit our good friends that we had met in 1989 in Nairobi, Kenya - Rob and Kathy Davis. He has a small farm with pond, horses, and dogs on 20+ acres out in the country. We loved their place, but of course the best part was being with these good people and reminescing about our times in Kenya. Their son, Tristan, was in for a few days from Colorado. I'm so thankful that she is making such good improvement with her heart rhythm. The medicine change about two weeks ago seems to be working better than anything has so far. Keep praying saints!

Our "Nairobi Daughter" and "Mama Frankie"

Our good friend, Kathy, having coffee during the house painting.



Bookcases were emptied and moved in order to paint the wall behind them.


Chairs and tables moved out of place, ladders in the way, wat-nots askew, getting ready to paint.


Of course this painter uses only "Premium" paint!



And knows how to measure each and every space to accurately figure needs before starting.


The formal dining room table serves as a temporary storage space.


Another view of the living/dining space.


Taping begins!


And painting Begins!

How many of you have friends that would come into your home and paint for you just because they want to do something nice for you as well as spend time together with you? Frances and I are very fortunate to have such friends in Kathy and her husband Rob. Kathy came alone this time, arriving on Sunday night, intent on painting "Mama Frankie's" den, kitchen and hallway. I knew the best thing I could do for Frances and her "Nairobi Daughter" was to get out from underfoot, so I disappeared to the cabin. I'm hanging around today - but they don't want me to interfere.

Let me explain. In 1989 we moved from East Tennessee to Nairobi, Kenya to live and work. We arrived within a very few short days of Rob and Kathy Davis and their three children. When they heard the piano playing in our apartment, Kathy said, "I don't know who those people are - but they have been to Lee College. That's the same way my Mom plays the piano and she learned it at Lee!" Over "Tea" we learned that her mother's brother was converted in a meeting where my maternal grandmother was the evangelist, preaching in a tent, on Gasparilla Island, Florida. When we later visited Kathy's Mom, she brought out one of those old black and white photos of a crowd in front of the tabernacle at Wimauma, Florida, a Church of God campground. Standing next to Kathy's Mom in the picture was my Mom at the age of 15 - just the year before my Mom and Dad were married. What can I say? We "bonded" then and have been friends ever since 1989. Rob and Kathy were there to work for Compassion International. He was a CPA and gave a large amount of his spare time helping us with our book-keeping for the National Church which I had been sent to Kenya to supervise. It was one of those "God things". God knew that both of our families needed the friendship and encouragement lent to each other. The bond has grown over those 21 years. Since we have moved to Cleveland we have been delighted to have them and their three children continue to visit us from time to time. They feel like part of our family.

A word of explanation about "Mama". In Kenya, and most other countries in Africa, people will call parents of their friends "Mama" - together with the name of either their oldest child, or, if they know a younger child more intimately, they will use that name - but always preceded by "Mama". Our first-born was Frances whom we always called Frankie. Hence "Mama Frankie". It's a way of showing respect to the elders. For some reason I was always known by the respectful term "Baba" (Father) Fred. Another thing to note - Africans will call a lady shop-keeper "Mama" as a term of respect. Whether they know the lady or not "Mama" is used like we in the South used to say "Ma'am."

Friends, Relatives and Birds

A Gorgeous day outside today - and we had an appointment to have lunch with a brother-in-law and his wife at Logans. Great food, too much food, then coffee and pleasant conversation. I love being retired because I had no need to rush back to the office. It was a wonderfully leisurely day. Dewain and Debbie live about 30 minutes away so we get this opportunity occasionally. He's retired from being Comptroller of Children's Hospital in New Orleans - right after Katrina.

This Mourning Dove and a mate have been playing in the kitchen
window for the last few days. They will come from the tree to the window, Coo-cooo-coooo, then fly back to the tree. I have seen one of them carrying straw and various items into this tree to build a nest. They are beautiful - but will not hold still for the photo I wanted to get.




I'm not sure - but I think this is a Carolina Wren. Several of them have been hopping about in the grass, picking up worms, then flying to the window of my office. I put out a few crumbled crackers to entice them up close for a picture. Worked like a charm.


Tennessee's state bird, the Mockingbird, also loved the crackers and was more aggressive in coming up close to take them. This one espied the camera right away and split-seconds later flew away. I love watching them. Maybe, just maybe, I'll go out and buy some bird-seed.


This is a side view of the same Mocking-bird. Tra la la, tra la la, tra la la, tweedle dee dee dee - oh what a thrill to wake up in the morning on Mocking-bird Hill.




This squirrel has a bobbed tail. Not sure what happened - could have been that black cat that roams the neighborhood - or a dog - or even a "snap trap"...but something definitely got it's tail. This is the third year we've seen the same squirrel feeding around our



Right after we left Logan's Roadhouse, I took my wheelhorse out to have it serviced. Sitting up all winter (yes, out in the open) the steering is "locked". Probably from rust? At any rate it was impossible to steer it, so have to have it repaired soon as the grass is starting to speak to me about needing to be kept trimmed. A friend had asked me to take his weed-eater to the repair shop when I took my mower - but I forgot all about it. Hopefully he'll forgive me.

Below are three snaps of the city of Cleveland's "Green-way", a very nice walking trail of over two miles - along Mouse Creek. We have been blessed and now own the lot between here and the road behind our house so we have this gorgeous view 24/7!