Musings of early June

Here we are well into June and I have not blogged recently...for those who care. We lost an old friend recently with the death of Delbert Jolley, THD. Deb was in New Castle in the late fifties until the mid-1960s during some really changing times. He came at the end of my high school career after we had a real scalawag for a pastor. He was there when my dad died in 1962 and was the guy who called me to deliver the news. I was just starting finals my junior year at PS. I will never forget his voice on the other end of the phone. Dave, Jim and I went to church the following Sunday and as Deb served communion to our table he used the beatitude, "Blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted." He was there when we got married, but was not involved since Brother Dave did the honors at the Harlansburg church...Faith Baptist, but Deb did baptize Jeff. He was the one who got the new church built in New Castle. I was able to have an email conversation with his son Bob after the memorial service...wow...40 years of nothing and then contact. Bob was two years behind me in school, so I knew him fairly well.
School here goes forward. Seniors left yesterday, so I lost half my math tutors...and have to do more helping myself, which is scary. We have a week left.
Today I signed up to teach at George Fox in the fall. That will be HR related topics...one night a week for six weeks in Tualatin (they call it the Portland campus.) They want some help in either the winter or spring, but it is doubtful I will work in the winter, since Aleene is forming plans for our travel in Jan and/or Feb. So I think that decision will limit my tenure at NHS to only this spring. It has been fun. I love the kids...well, most of them.
We got our new kitchen floor laid this week. That about wraps up the projects we had in mind in the short run. We do have some painting and staining to do to finish up, but we have all summer to do that. The kitchen looks really good now. The other floor was dirt-stained and had cracks in it. Our flooring people are pros. They make sure the underneath part is ready to accept the public outer layer. It looks great and will last longer, too.
We family camped last weekend with six other families from church. Great weather and a good time. One of the freshman baseball players and I got to throw the baseball around. I did pretty well with my arm, but one of his fastballs hit my hand particularly hard and I felt it all week. We rode bikes and walked and ran back and forth for church and men's group. Lucky the park is only 7 miles away.
Bren is traveling in LA this weekend and early next week, so we will be helping Amy out. Basically, Aleene goes over early to help the boys so Amy can get to school on time. I am sure they will eat here some, too. It is nice to be able to step in when needed.
Had breakfast with three of my buddies from church. One is a PA native...get this: Cochranton, PA native, Penn State forestry grad, Mont Alto (Franklin, Co) as a beginning forester, and a Navy vet. Do you think we can gab about things or not? He got his first job out of State out here with the U.S. Forest Service and the rest is history. He is mid-70s.
Dad would have been 113 today! Really? 1894 was a long time ago.