Sunday, April 29, 2018

Day 2—April 29, 2018
     I’ve been writing these travel blogs for many years.  Long before Facebook was even thought of.  I’ve also used Richard as my go-to person to poke fun at.  Those of you who have known us our entire life together know I love him and wouldn’t trade him for a million dollars, but wouldn’t give you a quarter for another one just like him.  Most of the stuff I write about him is true, just embellished slightly.

     A new friend emailed me today to ask if it hurts Richard’s feelings when I write about him.  (Note:  I can picture a few of our old friends rolling on the floor, laughing their butts off or for you FB people ROTFLTBO.) After 43 years of marriage, I know what I can write about him.  But here is the thing—No one will ever know if it hurt his feelings because he has never read even one of my blogs.

     But this cool, beautiful Sunday is one day I won’t be picking at Richard.  Not with everything he has done today.  He started the day off by going to the Huddle House to get me breakfast.  He came back and fixed his own breakfast while I ate. He is very picky about his breakfast.

     He got out the tractor, cut some grass, then leveled some ground around our bus site.  I helped him get the bus parked in the perfect spot. While I did housecleaning, my precious husband went back to the Wall to get one more picture for me to use in this blog. He hurried back to get a couple of campers parked in their reserved sites. He built a small wooden porch outside the door of the bus to make it easier for me and others to go in and out.  Took me to the pizza place for supper, and then we visited with several friends who knew we are here.  Great friends, crisp air, and beautiful moonlight made it a perfect evening.

     Then Richard began to lock up the bus. The entrance door lock broke.  The electric window shades wouldn’t work on the right side of the bus.  (Note: Yes, David, you heard me right. A shade quit working.  Film at 11.)  All that was okay because Richard is Mr. Fit-It.  He’ll take care of those two things in the morning. Wonder how early the shops in Lincolnton open?  I need to go.

     Then Richard, who had done so well all day long, spoke the six words that always send terror through my body.  I’M GOING TO USE THE COMPUTER.

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            I’d like to end today with a few statistics about The Wall That Heals. The three-quarters scale Wall replica is 375 feet in length and stands 7.5 feet high at the tallest point.
58,318 Names on the Wall                   1,500+Service Members Unaccounted For From the War
8 Women on the Wall                           600 Cities Visited By the Wall That Heals
31 Sets of Brothers on the Wall            3 Sets of Fathers and Sons on the Wall
              246 Most Casualty Deaths for one day/January 31, 1968
Marvin Gude King High School Class of '67
      This Thursday night, Dailey and Vincent (one of my favorite bluegrass bands) will be performing at  the Little Roy Lewis and Lizzy Long festival at Elijah Clark State Park. They sing one of my favorite and most touching song ever with Jimmy Fortune.  Here is a link if you have time to listen:  https://bit.ly/2r7eWB0

Until later,

Dolores

6 comments:

  1. We had the sincere pleasure of spending time with Richard and Ronnie last Summer here in Fairbanks and in Kenai. Richard got Gene to GO OUT TO DINNER AND A SHOW. I bow to him. And then they proceeded to drag Greg completely OUT of his comfort zone and do things. Lots of things! I had so much fun listening to their stories over breakfasts that Richard made and insisted we eat with them, and kicking Ronnie out of his bed so we could spend the night to start all over again the next day - it's a vacation I won't soon forget!

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  2. I often think our husbands were separated at birth, too. LOL

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  3. Sorry to hear about the shade failing. The shades in your bus are easy to fix as Richard knows how to program them. You just press and hold 12 buttons at once on the remote, press the learning button on the shade, listen for the 4 beeps, stand on one leg and with a hope and a prayer the Fedex should deliver a new shade motor before dark!

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  4. I clicked the link to that song. Wow. Emotional. So true...More than a name on a wall.

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  5. You are fortunate to have your one of a kind Richard - no copies allowed!

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