Tucson Trip

We went to Tucson to see my brother, Kevin, and his family. Had a really neat trip. Here are some photos. We stayed in Van Horn, Texas, coming and going. Part of the reason for the trip was to take my nephew home. It was going very smoothly right until we got into Tucson. We were still nearly an hour away from Kevin's house and I noticed the "check engine" light on. The heat gage was in the red. I looked up and saw an exit and took it. There was a Chevron there and we pulled right up to it. I was so thankful it happened where it did. We had just been in the desert - with no houses or businesses - and it was 105 degrees. It would have been miserable if we hadn't been able to sit in the Chevron. They had tables and chairs and plenty of cold water. If we had been out in the sun, it literally could have been a life-threatening situation. The ladies at the Chevron were really friendly. They gave me some phone numbers and pretty soon I had a tow and had found a mechanic that was open. It was costly, but it all worked out. I felt like God was really watching over us.

I loved the desert. It was blazing hot, but beautiful. Kevin has saguaro (se WAR oh) cacti right in his yard and over his fence. Saguaros only grow in Southern Arizona, Mexico, and a small area of California. White-wing doves land on them. I don't know how they do that! They also have orange and lemon trees. Beautiful mountains tower over Kevin's back yard. I could just sit and stare at them. They grilled burgers and we swam and sat in the hot tub. Kelly makes a great pasta salad. It was all very relaxing and very nice.

Summer Visitor

I was mowing the back yard this afternoon and this red bird flew into my vision and landed on the fence near me. I just assumed it was a male cardinal and didn't think anything of it. Then I looked at again and saw that it was not a cardinal, but a summer tanager. It let me get pretty close so I could study it.

After I finished mowing, I went back out with the camera and took this picture. I haven't seen it again. I guess it was just passing through.

Homesickness

I had the privilege of being a guest on Family Life Radio in Arizona this week. It doesn't hurt that my brother is the co-host of the show, and his partner is one of my best friends. I can see God's hand in orchestrating my brother, Kevin's, move to Tuscon to co-host a morning radio show there. The radio station, KFLR, hired Lorri Allen first. I worked with Lorri at KLTV in Tyler, and we have been good friends ever since, even though she's a Longhorn and I'm an Aggie.
So, when KFLR hired her this spring and said she could pick her co-host, she chose Kevin, whom she knew through her friendship with me. The two sound great together and you can listen to them by going to www.myflr.org. Click the tab that says "find a station" and then the dot where Tuscon is on the map. That will launch your Media Player and you can listen to them in the mornings on your computer.
Kevin and Lorri called to talk on the radio show this week about homesickness. They talk about all kinds of interesting topics and homesickness just happened to be one of them. Kevin knows that issue is something with which I struggle. He knows it may take me two days to drive to a destination, but I can drive home in one day. After one day at Texas A&M as a college student, I packed my stuff and headed home. Dad told me to bow my neck and get back down there and I'm glad I did.
It's not that I have any great advice for dealing with homesickness, I just know about it. I've outgrown some of my homesickness, but while Kevin has taken exciting jobs in Cincinnati, Dallas, Austin, Waco, and now Tuscon, I've made my living within a rock's throw of where I was born, except when I worked at KLTV. To this day, I enjoy traveling, so long as I know I'll be back in my own bed in a few days.
In the interview, I told them that people today have better ways to stay connected than when I was younger. Now, we have cell phones and texting and Skype and Facebook. I would have enjoyed that technology when I went off to college.
Lorri asked me why I think we suffer from homesickness. I discussed how we are created to love one another and to be loved. Science has proven that we are "hard wired" to be connected to friends and family. Our brains were designed to find connections with others -- and with God -- and we thrive on those connections. When we leave our comfort zones, or the comfortable presence of our loved ones, we can feel it. It hits me when the sun sets and I'm nowhere near my home town. I've simply come to realize that that's the way I am.
I wonder if some of that homesickness is the realization that no matter where we are on earth, we're never in our true home. When we are present in the body, Paul said, we are away from the Lord. When we arrive in God's presence, we'll never feel misplaced, lonesome or homesick again. Kevin pointed out that maybe God allows us to feel homesick to remind us that we aren't ever really home. Not in this life. Jesus said our hearts should be in heaven. That's our true home.
We plan to go see Kevin and Lorri sometime this summer. I'm looking forward to seeing them, but I know I'll feel that tug while I'm away.

Memorial Day 2010

Ahh, summer time! Memorial Day is the traditional start of summer and you have to go swimming. So here I am. We got this pool for 80 bucks at Wally World. I put it under the patio cover to keep the water from getting so hot. Just one problem: this water is freezing!

Noah's Ark Found? Well Maybe

Chinese and Turkish Christians have shown photos and video they say is from inside Noah's Ark, 13,000 feet up on Mt. Ararat. The thing is, a former colleague of the team says there are spider webs in the video and there wouldn't be spiders in those conditions. He claims the whole thing is a hoax. Why would people want to dupe people like that? What could they gain? Why would Christians want to fool other Christians? I hope it's not a hoax, but I'll wait to see.
I guess Christians will always hope someone finds Noah's Ark. But such a find would require extraordinary proof. It would require verification from a neutral news team or some other group.

Through the years, several people have claimed to have found the Ark, but no one has ever been able to independently verify the claims.

If the Ark were found, it would be a solid, physical proof of our faith. We Christians believe the Ark story, and finding it would confirm our faith and solidify our beliefs. But if we never find it, we'll go on believing. After all, wood that old might not have survived this long, even in the frozen conditions of a mountain top. Some culture may have "borrowed" the wood for shelter or firewood, or Noah himself may have used it. I'll keep watching and hoping such a find is made, but I'll hang on to my faith without it in the meantime.

Mammatus Clouds

A storm passed nearby this evening and the mammatus clouds formed overhead. Rare and interesting clouds. My dad would have loved this.

Our Place in Spring

These yellow flowers are just wild weeds, but they sure are pretty this year. You'll notice the dogwood tree in bloom in the woods too.