June 14 - “Creative Accounting??”

I was up and at ‘em by around 5 a.m. yesterday. After my usual quiet time with the Lord and checking out the newspaper for crucial local happenings, I tackled our latest bill from the hospital. Their accounting system is the absolute most absurd that I have seen anywhere. They receive payments, but don’t apply them. Then they bill you for an amount that includes those received, yet un-applied amounts. On top of that, they act like they are doing you a big favor by allowing you to put it all on a payment plan. But only if you call them and set it up separately. You can’t just operate off your bill like a regular installment account. Whew. Made me tired. And it wasn’t even 8 a.m.  

Chris had a doc appointment with her PCP at 8:30, so she was up early (well, early for her). She remembered that it was time for her regular blood work up, so she didn’t eat breakfast. Good call, too. The doc did want to do the blood work, and she was more than impressed that Chris had the foresight to forego breakfast. Made it possible to get it all done right away. 

I did break out of the house for a while in the afternoon. We went over to … Walmart, of course. We were out of fruit. Can’t have that. Fruit is an integral part of my breakfast routine. We picked up a few other things as well. Can’t go to Walmart and leave with an almost-empty basket. 

Romans‬ ‭5‬:‭8‬ ‭says, But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

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Father, thank you for Chris’ PCP. She really seems to care, and as a result does all she can to cover all the bases in Chris’ care. Bless her for that. Amen. 

June 13 - “At the kids’ table”

Chris went for her walk. Not me. I stayed in my chair and nursed a sore neck. Well, more like one or two levels above a simple crick in the neck. Not sure where that came from. Heating pad on the neck sure felt good, though. I fell asleep. 

We did have to leave the house around ten to go to another funeral. This one was to honor my Aunt Betty. She was in her 90’s and had lived a long and fruitful life, for sure. She had four sons and a daughter still living, along with grandkids and us nephews and nieces. 

Aunt Betty and my cousin Tammy were our favorite Tuesday lunch at Luby’s partners for a long time. Well, up until Luby’s closed and became some Chinese food buffet place. I’ll always miss that Luby’s. Besides the great companionship of my cousin and aunt, that Galveston Luby’s was the home of the infamous salad lady. She always asked, in her terse way, “Salad?” If you refused, or even if you didn’t, her next words were invariably, “A’ight.”

The funeral was at St. Peter’s Catholic Church on Broadway. It’s a massive, God church, meaning the architecture makes you look up when you walk in. There are some gorgeous stained glass windows all around the sanctuary as well. 

After the funeral we headed to the cemetery for the interment. All went well until the hydraulic lift that was carrying the casket to its final resting place in a mausoleum site about three levels off the ground stopped and began to beep. The workers lowered the casket a few feet and tried again. Same result. Stop. Beep, beep, beep. They tried lowering all the way to the ground and re-leveling. Nope. They finally decided to get it as high as they could, then get all four of the workers to lug it up by hand. There was a near-drop experience by the guy on one end, but they finally managed to get it in place. One of the family members remarked that apparently Aunt Betty’s wasn’t quite ready to go just yet. Great lady, she was. She will be missed. 

After all was said and done we went to their house for some lunch. Carraba’s lasagna. Good stuff. We enjoyed talking and sitting at the kids’ table. “Someone” may or may not have sent a tiny portion of paper napkin  flying through space in the general direction of the “adult table.”  Fortunately, the one it hit happened to have recently completed her first year as a schoolteacher. She purposefully moved her chair around so she could keep an eye on the happenings behind her. Being totally innocent of any prior infractions, I saw that as an obvious invitation to play catch, so I tossed her my napkin that just happened to be rolled into a ball already. And being the awesome teacher that she is, she threw it right back. She’ll do just fine in her profession. 

1 Corinthians‬ ‭13‬:‭4‬ says, Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

Father, thank you for Aunt Betty and her life of dedication to you and to her kids. Amen. 

June 12 - “Family connections”

After church we had an influx of humanity descend upon our house. Kel and Christina and Jachin and Micah and Josiah and Noa and Ezra all came over for lunch. Best part? They stopped on the way over and picked up lunch. Sub sandwiches all around. Queso made with some kind of white cheese. Watermelon. Dr Pepper Float Blue Bell ice cream. We watched the Astros game … sadly. Kel and I managed to doze ever so briefly. 

After they left Chris went out on the back porch and called her sister in Mexico. Yesterday was her sister’s birthday. The two of them talked for two hours. It was great that they connected again. I stayed inside. There was a rom-com on TV, but I spent a lot of the time stringing my new fishing reel onto one of my rods. I’m pretty excited about trying it out. Maybe on Wednesday …

Psalms‬ ‭119‬:‭114‬ You are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in your word.

Father, thanks for family time, especially when they bring out the grub.  Amen. 

June 11 - “Cuteness overload”

I woke up pretty sore yesterday, so I stayed home while Chris did her walk. It gave me a chance to catch up on some puzzle putting together. Got pretty close, too. Left it up to Chris to fill in the last seven or eight holes. 

We dropped everything around nine so we could watch AnnaGrace on TV. Actually, I had to set up the computer and connect it to the TV before that was possible, but that was done by 8:45.  And after an interminable wait at the School of Dance website, AnnaGrace danced out and wowed us all. Her costumes were really cute, too. Deadly combination, for sure. We are proud of you, AnnaGrace. Wish we could have been there. 

In the afternoon we braved the Galveston Saturday traffic and ran two errands. First, we snuck around the back roads (read here, “avoided the Seawall”) and made our way to Academy. Our task there? I had my new reel strung with fishing line. Takes them about two minutes. Didn’t even charge me. Now I’m gonna have to go fishing again. But not on the weekend. 

Our second task involved a bit trickier maneuvering. We went to Home Depot, which is located right at the intersection of the two busiest streets in town on the way out of, and into, town. Chris handled it like a champ, though. So why there? Replacement bushes. Two of our azaleas died. Oh, and of course we had to get another big ol’ honkin’ bag of potting soul as well. Gotta replace that dirt we dig up with better dirt, right?

By the time we got back home, it was too late (and too hot) to plant the new bushes. We heated up some supper and settled in to watch the Astros game. Speaking of the Astros, Cailyn and her family got to go on a tour of Minute Maid Park. She also got to meet ex-Astros Jose Cruz and Shane Reynolds. Sounded like a great day. 

Micah‬ ‭6‬:‭8‬ says, He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

Father, thank you for the cuteness overload in that dance recital. Amen. 

June 10 - “BETTY HEAD … COMING TOGETHER”

 Last night we went to the funeral of a very special lady, Mrs.  Betty Head. I had the honor of sharing a little about my experiences knowing her for pretty much my whole life. Here’s the text of what I shared. 

My name is Kelley Vaughan. I gave the honor tonight if sharing a little about my experiences knowing Mrs. Betty for, well, my whole life. She was my mom’s best friend. We lived in the same neighborhood. I played baseball with her kids. She was pretty much stuck with me. 

 It’s important at times like this to come together.  And coming together means more than just getting together for a quick lunch at Shrimp n Stuff.  It means encouraging one another.

 

One of the best ways to encourage one another is to remember Mrs. Betty together—out loud.  Get together and share some of the things you remember.  Little things.  Things that inspired you.  Things that taught you.  Things that made you laugh and things that made you cry.

 

Things like these …

 

Her Youth

            Robert and I were reminiscing the other day about an old black and white photo we both have digital copies of.  In that photo are a group of absolutely gorgeous babes at the beach.  But wait!  Upon closer examination … among those gorgeous babes are … OUR MOMS!  Wow.  But they really were beautiful.  Guess that’s where we got our good looks, huh, Robert?

            One other thing about Mrs. Betty’s youth … she was really proud of her Daddy.  His name was Robert Spoor.  He was football coach and athletic director at Ball High School for many years.  As a result, the current Ball High School practice field behind the school campus is named after him.  That’s where this story comes in.  The field had a really nice sign attached to the fence indicating its designation as Spoor Field.  One day Mrs. Betty was driving by the field, as was her custom, and she noticed that the sign had fallen to the ground.  Well, she was not about to stand for that.  She whipped to the side of the road and picked up the sign.  She carried it into the office and demanded that it be rehung and restored to its proper place.  Apparently, the Ball High administration was not about to argue with Mrs. Betty.  Would you?  Oh, no.  The sign was back up the next day.

 

In the Neighborhood

            I had the good fortune of growing up in the same neighborhood as Mrs. Betty.  Even had the chance to play baseball with Robert when we were growing up.  Now, it is true that Mrs. Betty was generally overshadowed by the loud personality of her husband Paul.  But I have a sneaking suspicion that it was really Mrs. Betty who ran the show. 

 

Trinity Episcopal Church

            Mrs. Betty was a long time and very faithful member of Trinity Episcopal Church.  I know she was involved with many things over the years, but I often heard her talk about her responsibilities with the altar guild, that behind the scenes group that sees to it that everything is ready for the service long before worshippers arrive. 

 

UTMB

            How’s this for a career?  Mrs. Betty worked at UTMB until she was 90 years old. She was proud to tell was of the time she was selected to go to Mexico City for some training.  And it was kind of fun to hear her talk about our revered doctors as if they were just another of the youngsters coming through her lab.

 

Moody Gardens

            Mrs. Betty was a founding member of Friends of Moody Gardens. Honestly, I’m not sure what Mrs. Betty did when she volunteered at Moody Gardens, but we did see a lot of that Moody Gardens t-shirt.  Maybe a docent in one of the pyramids, or perhaps a consultant for landscaping?

 

Oleander Society

            Speaking of landscaping, Mrs. Betty’s pride and joy was most assuredly the Oleander Society.  You really can’t even mention oleanders in Galveston without her name being connected in some way.  There is a park full of oleanders here in Galveston actually named after her.  In fact, as I understand it, there is a species of oleander named after her as well.  She often spoke about oleanders to groups all over the country. I know about that one because she asked me to help her prepare a powerpoint presentation one time.  And that dedication wasn’t just academic.  I can’t count the number of times she yelled at me when I threatened to trim the big oleander bush in our front yard.  “Don’t you dare trim the oleander until I have had a chance to gather the seeds!  And that doesn’t happen until September!”

 

Wednesday Club

            Mrs. Betty was also instrumental in keeping afloat one of the oldest women’s groups in the country.  This one developed into kind of a book club, where the members would take turns sharing a book report on some topic of interest. 

 

Salvation Army

            In her “spare time” Mrs. Betty would make her way over to the Salvation Army building.  Once a week she would help feed the homeless through their program, often staying until she was exhausted – but fulfilled.

 

Home Church

            Many weeks, right after spending hours feeding the homeless, Mrs. Betty would head right to our house where she became an integral part of our home church group. The group really came to love her.  In fact they saw to it that the most comfortable recliner was reserved for Mrs. Betty.  They still refer to that chair as Mrs. Betty’s!  She often had the most insightful questions, and she certainly proved that she loved the Lord and that she knew a lot of stuff!

 

My Mom’s best friend

            Wow.  I think you all would agree that Mrs. Betty certainly had an effect on pretty much everyone she met.  But for me, as awesome as she was in all these other areas, I most appreciate Mrs. Betty for the impact she had on my Mom.  They were friends for a multitude of years, from way back in their bathing beauty days.  It was Mrs. Betty who invited my Mom to, and kept my Mom involved in, Wednesday Club, Moody Gardens activities, and Oleander Society.  She displayed a level of friendship that certainly went above and beyond the call of ordinary duty until the day Mom died.  Mrs. Betty was, and will always be, my Mom’s best friend.

 

Thank you, Mrs. Betty, from all of us. 

Thanks for the messages on your phone

They cheered us up when we felt alone

We’ll be fine down here somehow

So we’ll say just, “Bye Bye now.”

You all have stories about Mrs. Betty that you will never forget.  Help others never forget … with you!  Remember together … out loud.

Proverbs‬ ‭12‬:‭25‬ ‭says, Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up.

Father God, thank you for being right here with us.  Thank you for these friends and family who have been touched by Mrs. Betty.  Our prayer for today is that you will surround them all with your peace that passes all understanding.  Our prayer for tomorrow?  The same.  One day at a time, walk with them.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

June 9 - “As per … nope”

After waking up at 2:30, then 3:30, then getting up at 4:30, it became quite apparent that I was pretty sore from my grand fishing trip. I took an extra Tylenol, though, and steeled myself for the task ahead for the day … mowing the grass. May as well get these cranky muscles moving again. 

Well, I strapped on my new pink Minecraft glasses and dove in, and the muscles held up just fine. But I ran into a few difficulties. The biggest one involved the lawn mower. I filled it with gas as per usual. I rolled it out to the yard, as per usual. I pulled on the famous EZ start rope, as per usual. And the rope … snapped off in my hand. As per … nope. That one never happened before. 

Well, of course our first thought was, “It’s time for a new lawn mower.”  And it certainly is. But that didn’t solve the immediate problem. After all, I had just filled it with gas. I can’t toss it until we get rid of that. So I did what any other overly confident homeowner would do. I took it apart. Well, I started to. 

Chris brought me a screwdriver. Nope. This one needs to be a star screwdriver. Fine. I went to the garage and got one. Screws came out easy enough. Moved to the next set. Nope. These are bolts. Need a wrench. Back to the garage and the trusty tool kit. Again, these came out easy enough. And the part finally popped off. Only to reveal that the broken rope was wrapped around in a circle that could only be accessed by … a flathead screwdriver. Deep breath. And before heading off to the tool kit again, I assessed the situation for any other tool that might possibly, remotely be used as a next step. I finally settled on a pair of pliers just to make sure. 

And then the final attack commenced. Oh, there were no flat head screws. I just needed the screwdriver to reach inside the tiny crack in the mechanism to force a piece of the rope out. Believe it or not, it worked. I was able to snag it and tie it to the piece of rope that popped off in my hands. Then began the painstaking task of replacing all the parts with the proper screws. Not sure how long it will last, but hopefully we can get through until we run the rest of the gas out. Time to look for another lawnmower. 

Back to the immediate task at hand. I had to stop about half way and drink a bottle of water. Must have gotten too hot. But now the yard is mowed and edged. Chris did the sweeping up of clippings. And my back thanks her … over and over again. 

Galatians‬ ‭6‬:‭9‬ ‭says, Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

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Father, thank you that sometimes the miracles of modern small engine operation can be boiled down to a simple knot. Amen. 

June 8 - “The one that got away”

I had a chance to go fishing yesterday with a long time friend of mine from back in college days (and beyond), Robert Creech. He and his family were staying at a house in Sea Isle for a few days, so we met there and did some wade fishing. His wife Melinda even waded out and tossed a line with us for a bit. 

We made a pretty good haul for a day when the live shrimp were truly shrimpy (very small).  We landed lots of hard heads. Not happy about that. We did get one speck and a good frying mess of whiting. Even got to use my new fillet knife. It is really sharp (get it?). 

Of course the real excitement came when I landed two bonnet-head sharks about 2-3 feet long. Then Robert pulled in a black tip shark about the same size. The water was amazingly clear, and one time we watched as yet another shark swam right between us. 

All that action was awesome, but there always has to be …The one that got away. I had whiting cut bait on, slowly reeling in. Suddenly I had a massive strike. The aggressor immediately started taking out drag. The pole tip was bent over, and I held on for dear life. Sadly, after just a few seconds, whatever critter that was broke my line. Of course I’ll never know for sure, but by the way it hit and ran without ever coming to the surface, I’m pretty sure it was another rather large shark. 

Late in the afternoon Jachin came by for a visit. He had just come from a summer job interview on the pleasure pier. And boy was he in a talkative mood. He told us all about the Alaska mission trip from his perspective. Even showed us some of the pictures he took. It was great just sitting around talking to him. He’s quite the young man. 

Last night we joined Robert and his family for a big shrimp boil. They did a great job putting together the shrimp from Katie’s Seafood, fresh corn on the cob from a neighbor, potatoes, carrots, and even some garlic cloves. They decided (after we combined forces to consume the bulk of the pot) that it could use more spices next time. Either way … it was some good stuff.  

Romans‬ ‭10‬:‭17‬ says, Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.

Father, thank you for good friends from our past lives who still remember us. Amen. 

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