Les Amis (The Friends)

This, thanks to Sandy, FOBVGs, on Bring a Friend Night......................................................Sweet!

For our children, as they raise their children...

LORDY, LORDY, LOOK WHO ELSE IS FORTY!!

Like j's daughter before her, Elletu's oldest daughter recently turned 40. This is the second BVGO to hit the Big 4-0. Such beautiful young (middle-aged???) women they are, busy, working mothers, and just think, their childhoods were rooted on Bethel Valley Lane. I wonder, at 40, do they yearn for the carefree summer days spent at the Piggy Park? As they raise their own children, do they stop and think, "Wow, this is what my mom went through!"? And I think the biggest, most important question I have is, "Do they have a fun group of friends with whom to navigate through life, and someday, will they be grandmothers with these friends?"

Hats off to Elletu's daughter for raising five (yikes!) children. I myself saw her at her job up to the end of that fifth pregnancy. Hats off to her for being such a beautiful grandmother at 40 (super yikes!). Her daughter was our first BVGOO, and her granddaughter is our first BVGOOO.

So Happy (belated) 40th birthday, 'S,' with love from the BVGs. May you always be proud of your heritage (as in, being a BVGO), and may God always bless and keep you and your family.

Second Annual BVG Bring a Friend Night

What a perfect picture--no cucumber slices needed! When I sent this photo to a friend this morning, he was obviously not impressed with my photography skills, or lack thereof. He had a few suggestions, like calling for everyone's attention and having them say "Cheese!" I pointed out, "You must not be a subscriber to our blog or you would know we don't like to show our faces. From that standpoint, this picture is a masterpiece and I am a master photographer.

Our second annual BVG Bring a Friend Night was last night. It was a fun and friendly gathering, eight of us, two missing, and we prayed sincerely for them because they are going through tough times.

We ate, we visited, we played our favorite game, Left Center Right, and much to the delight of everyone, a FVGO won! Congratulations to Lisa, who proved that Prayer Changes Things. And abstaining from wine until after the game appears to have been good strategy. She was thrilled to collect all her (our) quarters.

Meanwhile, over on Forest Villa Court, a FVG hosted the BVGGs (Bethel Valley Girl Guys) for a similar night of dinner and male bonding. They did not elect to play any games. On a side note, I learned the day of my husband's Route 66 birthday party that it turns out none of the guys actually like playing our game. Wow, you could have fooled me.

We celebrated last night around the theme of "Thank God for the Gift of Friendship."

Indeed!

A Family in Disguise: Our BVGOOO's First Halloween

Leave it to Elletu to dress up her whole family for our first BVGOOO's----and her first great-granddaughter's----first Halloween. Who needs cucumber slices???

Elletu has so many grandchildren, it's easy to lose count. But what about these kids?

Whoa....a trip down Memory Lane.....my children, from Halloweens past.......so fun to recall!

A Friendship of 53 Years

Most of the posts on our blog are funny by nature. This one is not. A dear friend of ours---an FOBVG, or a Friend of the Bethel Valley Girls--has been diagnosed with myeloma and is undergoing a bone marrow biopsy this morning. His so ill we cannot see him. His wife had been planning to come to the BVG Bring a Friend Night next Wednesday, as she did last year, but that will be the day she will be with her husband when they are delivered the results of the tests for leukemia and bone cancer. From there they plan to transition to the Cancer Care Alliance in Seattle. It seems this is all happening so fast, and my husband and I are sick at heart over this sad turn of events. John, our FOBVG, has been my husband's closest friend for 53 years, since they were in seventh grade. They are as close as brothers, if not closer. John was an only child, and through the sad circumstances of my husband's childhood, he wasn't able to be close to his brothers, of which he had three. When he was in sixth grade his invalid father died, and his mother abruptly moved him from rural Eastern Idaho to Tacoma, WA, marrying her late sister's alcoholic widower so she could care for his children while he went away with the military. Entering seventh grade that way was disconcerting to my husband, but another seventh grader reached out to him in acceptance and friendship. That was John, and to this day he has been that kind of friend. He was my husband's best man at our wedding 38 years ago, and his wife, Laurie, was my matron-of-honor.

 

We raised our children together. They adopted their son as a newborn three months before our daughter was born. Laurie and I even had the same doctor.

Together we faced the deaths of John's father, my husband's mother, brother, sister, sister-in-law and two brothers-in-law, both of Laurie's parents and her brother, and both of my parents. We've been there for each other so much, I just can't imagine life without either one of them.

Not long ago I published this photo on our blog:

That's John with the blindfold, playing 'Pin the Glasses on the Old Person' at our Jack Benny Party 27 years ago. I think I posted this picture as well:

 

That's me, playing the same game. Like Route 66 being the theme at my husband's recent 66th birthday party, poking fun at how we would be in the future was our theme at our Jack Benny Party. We were paying homage to Jack Benny who maintained that he was 39 decades after he had surpassed that age. That was the year nine of us turned 39. Oh, that sounds so YOUNG now! To both parties John wore the same T-shirt which reads: "The Older the Violin, the Sweeter the Music." It's a nice thought, but getting older as we all are now makes us face our own mortality in ways we never did back in our 30's and 40's and even in our 50's.

There were photos from the Jack Benny Party I haven't posted, but I will here:

 

Ah, yes, the walker relay races, the highlight of the party...so much fun, so much laughter. This party, like so many other occasions, facilitated the intertwining of the Bethel Valley Girls and other friends of ours. That's why today the lines are blurred. Sometimes I forget where the BVGs end and FOBVGs begin. The BVGs can't help but love John. Cool referred to both him and Laurie being "huge-hearted." I liked that. It so fits them! And they have always been foremost in helping plan all of our zany parties over the years. They have added so much joy to my life. We used to spend every New Year's Eve with them, having a big fondue and always including our children. We would spend the night and enjoy New Year's Day together too. They were the friends we ended and started every year with until we moved to Hawaii, and even then we would call them on New Year's Eve. They would tell us their plans, who they would be with, but they would purposefully change that every year because, as Laurie put it, they didn't want anyone to get the idea they were starting a tradition with them. They were just waiting for us to come back.

It seemed back then, 27 years ago, that we would never get old and never need aids like walkers. We laughed about all of that then, and even now, when I look at these pictures and reminisce about the fun of even just planning the events of that day, I smile. What happened earlier this week makes me smile, albeit through tears. It was another example of the gift of friendship in the time of trouble and the special nature of this foursome, the Bethel Valley Girls.

When I called and talked to Laurie and heard John's dire diagnosis, I of course offered my love, condolences, encouragement, support---"What can we do to help you?" I asked. She and John aren't ones to ever ask for help nor to complain about anything they are going through, and they have gone through so much. I was able to find out while she had a wheelchair for him when they went to medical appointments, she needed a walker for him to use at home. I told her we would find one and would also come over to do the only other thing she needed, which was someone to change the several light bulbs that needed changing but were too high up for her to reach. When I got off the phone I sent an e-mail to the BVGs and our closest FOBVGs. Within minutes j called with an offer of a walker they had in their attic, and soon Cool texted me, offering the brand new walker they had for her husband's recovery from his recent spinal surgery. Within a half hour we were on the road, first picking up at walker at Cool's house, then another one at j's, and then we headed for John's house. Their house is divided in two by a raised entryway. Two walkers were needed, but Laurie had never asked for two.

It's ironic, isn't it? Two walkers needed, only one requested, two walkers offered and ascertained, and both from BVGs. With willing hearts and concern for John j and Cool responded so quickly. Walkers, a source of humor in our hands 27 years ago, now a lifesaver for an FOBVG we all care about and pray over now.

And so today, as I pray fervently over John and Laurie, I also stop to thank God anew for friends and friendship, something He created because in His Infinite wisdom He knew how much we would need them all along the way throughout our lifetime. For us, it is now more than ever.

Our theme at Bring a Friend Night was already decided: 'Thank God for the Gift of Friendship.' How timely is that?

The Other Zoe: Our One and Only BVGD

Each Tuesday night at 9 P.M. I find myself watching "NCIS New Orleans," not because I think it is a particularly good show--I have a hard time warming up to actors pretending a Southern accent--but to catch Zoe McLellan. She is the hometown girl turned TV actress now making a name for herself on a primetime series starring Scott Bakula. As mentioned previously, Elletu's daughter was in Acting Ensemble with Zoe at South Kitsap High School back in the early '90's. This is arguably Elletu's most stunning star connection.

From Zoe to another Zoe. This time I'm writing about Zoe Viognier. Elletu is her Pet Parent, and since she is the only dog owner among us, Elletu has allowed us to adopt her Zoe as our mascot. She is our one and only BVGD--Bethel Valley Girl Dog (and she is a girl dog, or she would be our Bethel Valley Girl Boy Dog, or BVGBD). Is she not adorable? Such a cute little tongue hanging out there, and Elletu dresses her so smartly. Elletu wears scarves, and Zoe wears scarves. No word on whether or not they wear matching scarves. Zoe is a fashion plate for sure.

And the countdown is on to Barktoberfest!

Election Day

This sign on a church in Virginia caught my attention leading up to the Presidential election in 2008. I can only add, "Indeed!"

Are We Hoda and Kathie Lee, or, Isn't it 5:00 in the Middle of the Atlantic Ocean?

First came the tasting, and then came the choice. Cool and I were out to lunch last Friday---I know, two times now!!---and we ordered wine. It was 1:00 in the afternoon, and we ordered wine. That was a first for me. It was all Cool's doing, of course. It occurred to me, with our glasses sitting in front of us, that we had become Hoda and Kathie Lee. They have a 10 A.M. TV show on NBC, and they sit there looking all cute (thanks to plastic surgery I suspect--Hoda is 50, Kathie Lee is 61), glasses of wine in hand. Wine at 10 A.M.? Scandalous! Wine at 1 P.M.? Well, as I said to Cool, "It's 5:00 out in the Atlantic Ocean," and that made it seem acceptable.

Wine in the early afternoon, beer at Oktoberfest............are the BVGs in need of an intervention?

I'm just saying...

Our First Annual BVG Oktoberfest

Last night, at a rare Monday night BVG gathering, we celebrated our first annual BVG Oktoberfest at my house. I boiled brats in beer along with onions and garlic. The best German potato salad was made and brought by j, and Cool wowed us with her fried apples, which were made even yummier by her addition of raisins which had been soaked in some special kind of whiskey.

I was the beer virgin. The whole idea of the night was to get me from "I don't like beer!" to being willing to try several kinds with an open mind. The Coors was used for boiling the brats. We drank the good stuff. I liked Pyramid Oktoberfest the best. I would not describe myself as a true fan of beer, but I can honestly say that I found it to be "not bad." I just had to finish my night off with a glass of "Midnight" which is wine. And it was almost Midnight by the clock.

One observation: I had never seen the BVGs so mellow, to tired out, and I'm afraid it was the beer. Also, we met on a Monday instead of a Wednesday. So many yawns!!! I mentioned that our next gathering, Bring a Friend Night, is just a few weeks away, and we can't all be that drowsy and laid back when we have guests with us.

Guess we better have a coffee tasting...........

Grandkids Say the Darndest Things: Y Not a Ynocerous?

Elletu's five-year-old granddaughter was staying overnight at Grandma's over the weekend along with her older sister. They have a tradition of playing a little game where they think of an animal and give clues to its identity. It was Leah's turn, and she had narrowed it down to an animal with a trunk, and the name of the animal started with 'Y.' Elletu thought and thought, and finally she had to give up because she just couldn't come up with an animal that fit this criteria. Leah's answer to her Grandma was, "It's a Ynocerous!"

Out of the mouths of five-year-olds...

Barktoberfest, a page for our only BVGD: The 'Other Zoe' Story

Yes, this blog is everything BVG....and more! We have also featured the BVGOs (Bethel Valley Girls' Offspring), the BVGOOs (Bethel Valley Girls' Offsprings' Offspring) and even our one and only BVGOOO (Bethel Valley Girls' Offsprings' Offspring's Offspring). A little known fact is that we have one BVGD (Bethel Valley Girls' Dog). Her name is Zoe (but not Zoe McLellan), and Elletu is her Pet Parent. (No, that is not Zoe in the picture above. Elletu will give me a picture of her Zoe when she can figure out how to affix cucumber slices over her eyes.)

It might be too late to throw it together this year, but next year we will plan a Barktoberfest for Zoe. The poster above will give us some ideas for activities for the celebration. I have some questions about the Kissing Booth. I suppose the idea is that Zoe will be in there? Instead of brats we'll be serving hot dogs. Elletu can bring Zoe in her costume, and since she's the only BVGD, she will surely win the Doggy Costume Contest. 

Note to Zoe: Check back next September for details.

Tavern on the Green

                                                Tavern on the Green  *  New York City

We took this picture of New York City's famed Tavern on the Green on a cold December walk we enjoyed through Central Park. I am now three days away from hosting the first ever BVG Oktoberfest, which will feature our first Beer Tasting. Since my house backs up to a golf course and is carpeted in dark green, Monday night it will be transformed from the usual Trankwility Woods to--what else?--Tavern on the Green!

                                                   Tavern on the Green  *   Port Orchard

Franziskaner, Schneider-Weiss, Ayinger Celebrator & Erdinger

It might sound like the name of a German law firm, but actually that is the list of suggested Bavarian beers for the upcoming BVG Oktoberfest celebration. These have been recommended by my older son, whose own experience with beer did not begin until he was studying in Germany. He is not a Bud Light kind of a guy. I haven't the slightest idea what my BVG Sisters are planning to bring to the beer tasting set for Monday night, October 27. This is their opportunity to convince me to quit saying I hate beer. For my part, I will boil the brats in beer (gluten free for j), and instead of just sticking my tongue in to foam, I promise a few swallows of a few beer samples. It is, after all, Oktoberfest.

The brats are safely in the refrigerator, waiting to be boiled and grilled. I'll be careful, because...
       I RESERVE THE RIGHT TO REFUSE TO SERVE SPOILED BRATS!

This is what Wikipedia has to say about Oktoberfest. I guess we are a little late. It's all over in Munich, home of the original Oktoberfest, after the first weekend of October. Maybe we're late to the game, but we'll bring our game----a fun night awaits us!

Oktoberfest is the world's largest funfair held annually in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. It is a 16-day festival running from late September to the first weekend in October with more than 6 million people from around the world attending the event every year. Locally, it is often simply called Wiesn, after the colloquial name of the fairgrounds (Theresienwiese) themselves. The Oktoberfest is an important part of Bavarian culture, having been held since 1810. Other cities across the world also hold Oktoberfest celebrations, modeled after the original Munich event.
The Munich Oktoberfest originally took place during the 16 days up to, and including, the first Sunday in October. In 1994, the schedule was modified in response to German reunification so that if the first Sunday in October falls on the 1st or 2nd, then the festival would go on until October 3 (German Unity Day). Thus, the festival is now 17 days when the first Sunday is October 2 and 18 days when it is October 1. In 2010, the festival lasted until the first Monday in October, to mark the anniversary of the event. The festival is held in an area named the Theresienwiese (field, or meadow, of Therese), often called Wiesn for short, located near Munich's center. Large quantities of Oktoberfest Beer are consumed, with almost 7 million litres served during the 16 day festival in 2007. Visitors may also enjoy a mixture of attractions, such as amusement rides, sidestalls and games, as well as a wide variety of traditional food such as Hendl (roast chicken), Schweinebraten (roast pork), Schweinshaxe (grilled ham hock), Steckerlfisch (grilled fish on a stick), Würstl (sausages) along with Brezen (pretzel), Knödel (potato or bread dumplings), Käsespätzle (cheese noodles), Reiberdatschi (potato pancakes), Sauerkraut or Rotkohl/Blaukraut (red cabbage) along with such Bavarian delicacies as Obatzda (a spiced cheese-butter spread) and Weisswurst (a white sausage).

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So Franziskaner, Schneirder-Weiss, Ayinger Celebrator & Erdinger is NOT a law firm. Here's my favorite law firm, as witnessed in Smithfield, VA. Who wouldn't feel confident having this man for your lawyer?

Namesake

I have enjoyed the process of my children picking out names for my grandchildren. When I was pregnant with my own children, I don't recall asking my parents what names they would like me to choose. It was strictly up to my husband and me, and I have remembered that each time baby names have been bantered about between my son and his wife and my daughter and her husband. For the most part I have been happy with their choices. It's not as if I had to try to accept any name I couldn't stand, such as Lloyd, Floyd, Horace, Winnie, Hazel or Imogene, the latter of which I hear is wildly popular this year.

Naming your children is such a personal thing. You either choose a name to honor someone in your life, or you choose a name you look forward to using day in and day out for the rest of your life because you like the sound of it. Or it could be a combination of the two.

I have never regretted the names my husband and I picked for our three children. Our older son's name goes back in my husband's family several generations, including his middle name which is my husband's name. Our younger son was name after a blond haired little two-year-old boy I saw running across the grass at Fort Stevens State Park in Oregon. We were on a camping trip at Fort Canby State Park near Long Beach, WA. I was seven months pregnant at the time, and we hadn't been able to agree on a boy's name. When this little boy's mom called his name, he turned around to look at her, and he looked so much like our older son at that age, it took my breath away (but then everything did at that point, because I was suffering with severe asthma during that pregnancy). I knew then that this was the right name for our baby if he turned out to be a boy.

My daughter was named after a friend I met on a music mission trip with Lutheran Youth Encounter during the summer of 1967. A group of 21 college-age young people, who were selected by audition, trained together for a month on Lake Minnetonka in Minnesota. At the end of the month the director divided us into three equal teams of seven members each. There were three girls and four guys on our team, and we traveled together in a station wagon for two months, going all through the Midwest and then up into Canada and down into Upstate New York. We put on music programs in cities like Chicago, Detroit, Des Moines, Madison, Milwaukee and Toronto, and we were counselors at Bible camps, sang on radio programs, in prisons, at nursing homes, worked with youth groups, etc. It was a life-changing experience for me to say the least. Saying goodbye at the end of the summer was so hard. That's why there was no question in my mind about flying to Ames, Iowa two summers later for the wedding of my friend and former team member, Angela Asp. Laurie Blomquist, the other girl on our team, flew in from North Dakota, and we stayed together at Angela's parents' house. It was such a beautiful wedding in the church where Angie's father was the pastor. Angie and her three sisters sang a cappella for the ceremony---they were amazing.

As busy as Angie was, she took the time to be with me and Laurie. I lost track of Angie Asp. I don't even remember her married name. I determined clear back then that if I ever had a daughter, I would name her Angela, because Angie was the most beautiful girl, inside and out. Here are some old pictures of Angie (long blond hair), Laurie and me at her house the night before the wedding. Then I will add my daughter's senior picture. Is it my imagination? I kind of think the two Angelas look alike! Angie will never know I honored her by naming my daughter after her. I really doubt she named her daughter Firstelle.


(Angie is on the right, Laurie is on the left, and I, Firstelle, am in the middle in the top photo.)

The Villa People: How the BVGs met the FVGs

                                                                The Forest Villa Girls
                                                              (minus one not pictured)

Back in the days when the Bethel Valley Girls lived on Bethel Valley Lane, the Forest Villa Girls lived on Forest Villa Court. I lived in between, on a non-descript cul-de-sac. The thing we all had in common was that we attended Christian Women's Club together. I was invited to both Bethel Valley Lane and Forest Villa Court. My children were happiest going to Bethel Valley Lane because of their seven friends there--Elletu's three, Cool's two sons and j's two daughters--who were closer in age to them than the children of the Forest Villa Girls (FVGs). And there was that little playground on Bethel Valley Lane.

I mention the FVGs because they recently enjoyed a reunion. Of the four of them, only one has moved away, and she was recently in town from Idaho, hence the photo above at one of the homes on Forest Villa Court. Like the BVGs, the FVGs raised their children together, and now, all these years down the road, they are all still friends. Even one of them moving away did not break the bond that these women enjoy. Their bond is as strong as ours.

So how did the two groups connect? Well, I think it's because of ME! When my husband and I were newly married and looking for a church, we went to Sylvan Way Baptist Church in Bremerton. It was a drive, but this church was in the same Baptist Conference as Dunlap Baptist, my family's church in Seattle. (Have I mentioned that Jimi Hendrix' funeral was held here???) I felt comfortable going there, and we loved the church. We got to know another Port Orchard family there, and they lived on Forest Villa Court. Nice family, four young children, two sons and two daughters. They knew me through my first pregnancy with my daughter. I would often play the piano there. I remember playing on one hot summer Sunday evening late in my pregnancy, and my feet were so swollen I had to wear slippers (you know, thongs?) on stage. The church gave me a wonderful shower after my daughter was born.

This woman from Forest Villa Court was there at my shower, and she was also at my daughter's first birthday party. Somewhere along the way, in the nursery at church, my friend from Forest Villa Court told me their family and two other Port Orchard families attending Sylvan Way Baptist were transferring over to Harper Evangelical Free Church in Port Orchard to cut down on the long drive to church. She invited us to do the same, and since I was a nursing mom, the idea of going to church closer to home made sense. Also somewhere along the way I began going to Christian Women's Club on my own. I mentioned to my husband that I had read about it in the local paper, and I decided to get a babysitter and go. My husband called me from work that morning I was going to the monthly CWC luncheon and said the wife of one of his favorite co-workers was going to the same luncheon. It turned out this woman was a close neighbor of the family we knew on Forest Villa Court. So I looked for my friend when I was there and met the other women from their neighborhood, including the wife of my husband's co-worker. From then on I was invited over to their beautiful neighborhood for many visits. I always enjoyed my time with them.

About this time I had started going to the weekly CWC Friendship Bible Coffee, and one Tuesday a new young mom showed up. It was Cool, and we became friends. She invited me to her son's third birthday party, along with two of her neighbors. This was Elletu and j. The rest is history, only I wonder if they remember history, because I invited the three of them to the church we were attending, Harper Evangelical Free Church. That's how they got to that church. The four of us ended up there together, and we ended up at Christian Women's Club together. The BVGs went to Bible Study Fellowship in Bremerton back in those days. Years later I went to Bible Study Fellowship with two of the Forest Villa Girls in Gig Harbor, at the church that Cool and j ended up joining when they left Harper. Through Christian Women's Club, we four BVGs and our husbands were in a couples Bible study for some time, and also in that couples Bible study was a Forest Villa couple, my husband's co-worker and his wife. To this day that couple is part of our circle of friends, including the BVGs.

Just more of the little twists and turns of life, how lives get intertwined. Some friendships fall apart over time, some drift apart, but if you work at it, good friendships can stay intact over the course of decades, over the course of a lifetime, in spite of moves, just as it has been for the BVGs, and yes, the FVGs. As Michael W. Smith would say and sing: "Friends are friends forever, if the Lord's the Lord of them."

Dunlap Baptist Church: Star Connections Continued

Dunlap Baptist Church, Seattle, Washington, 8445 Rainier Avenue South, Rainier Beach District, only it's not Dunlap Baptist anymore. Now it is Medhane-Alem Evangelical Church, an Ethiopian congregation. When Dunlap Baptist began, it was a few blocks away in a white wooden traditional church building, complete with a steeple. That is the building where I first attended Sunday School, and where Royal Brougham gave me some change to put in the offering, a move that for some reason stopped me from crying. I was just two when my mother first brought me, my two brothers and my two sisters to Sunday School there. The year was 1950. The new, more modern building was opened in 1952, and there was a big celebration for that event. I was just four years old.

This church building represents so much to me. This is where I asked Jesus into my heart at Vacation Bible School, and this is where I was baptized when I was nine years old. The baptismal was up above the choir loft, as seen in the picture above. That picture is so old, I don't recognize any of the people on stage or out in the congregation. But that is the piano I started playing when I was in junior high school, and in 1967 I started playing the organ as well. I sang for contatas up in that choir loft. When I moved away and left the church, my mother took over playing the piano and did so until her death in 1982. In fact, she suffered a heart attack on a Sunday morning while playing for church, although she survived that and did return as the pianist. This is the church where my children were dedicated, and this is where my mother's funeral was held. I played the piano at her funeral. I would like to add that the Bethel Valley Girls, bless them, came to support me that day.

Aside from Seattle sports journalism icon Royal Brougham, Dunlap Baptist didn't have any star connections until Jimi Hendrix' father started bringing his young adopted daughter, Janie, to Sunday School. They lived a few blocks away from the church, as did my family. I have already written about the fact that Jimi Hendrix' funeral was held at Dunalp. Maybe I didn't mention that my hands played the piano on a Sunday morning, then Miles Davis played the piano at Jimi's funeral on Thursday, and I was back to playing the following Sunday. I think the whole Miles Davis things did impress my children, even though they continue to get nauseated when I mention Jimi Hendrix as if we were old buddies.

It was long-time Pastor Gordon Vance Johnson who baptized me. After his death Pastor Allen arrived, and after him, Pastor Blackburn. He is the one who officiated at Jimi Hendrix' funeral as well as dedicating my children. He was deeply appreciated by us but lambasted in Miles Davis' autobiography for being a 'white' pastor who understood nothing of the black culture. Davis was so vitriolic, I have long wondered if that had anything to do with Pastor Blackburn leaving not only the church but also the ministry.

After Pastor Blackburn left, in came Pastor Collins. He turned out to be the uncle of one of my closest friends, Julie Collins, who sang all of the songs I ever wrote back then. I was her accompanist, and she sang at my mom's funeral, with Pastor Collins officiating. Julie's cousin Dan, Pastor Collins' son, turned out to be a singer with the Maranatha Singers in California and was also a record producer. It was pretty exciting when I heard he was marrying Christian singer Jamie Owens, daughter of Jimmy and Carol Owens who wrote some of the youth musicals that were so popular in Christian music at the time. Jamie was well known as a soloist and was a good friend of Keith Green and all singers/musicians who were part of what was called the Jesus Movement. Dan and Jamie were married in the backyard of Ralph Carmichael, who is known as the 'Father on Contemporary Christian Music," and as noted in previous posts, I had a connection with him. I do wish I could have attended that wedding! I was pretty upset with my old friend Julie for passing up her opportunity to go. I offered to take her place, but I don't think she ever took me seriously.

Jamie Collins became Jamie Owens Collins, and she and Dan would come up to Seattle to vacation with his parents. Every time she would sing at our church, for free, not advertised, even though she traveled around as a singer. This is how I got to know her and Dan, thanks to Julie. Then years later, when we were living in Hawaii, they came to sing there. And where did they stay? With my brother and sister-in-law on the North Shore! We heard Jamie sing at Calvary Chapel in downtown Honolulu first, and then on subsequent trip she sang at our church, New Hope Christian Fellowship. That time my brother and sister-in-law, Jamie and Dan, my niece Jan, and my husband and I went out to dinner at Zippy's after the Saturday night service.. I brought all my old LP's Jamie had autographed when she sang at Dunlap Baptist---and old tapes and old song books, not only for Jamie's music but also her parents' music. It was so fun talking do Dan and Jamie about their careers. Jamie's music can still be purchased through Fairhill Music. This info is from their website:

About

Fairhill Music, Inc began in 1983 as an administrative publishing company for Jimmy & Carol Owens and Jamie Owens Collins‘ songs.
Jimmy and Carol Owens began writing songs for the church in the mid 1960s. In the 70s and 80s Jimmy and Carol inspired and unified Christians around the world with their musicals “Show Me,” “Come Together,” The Witness,” If My People…,” and “Heal Our Land.”
Jamie began writing as a teen and has given us memorable songs such as “The Victor,” “You Have Broken The Chains,” “Seasons Of The Soul,” and her best-known song, “The Battle Belongs To The Lord.” She has traveled extensively throughout the world singing and teaching. For more information about Jamie refer to her page.
Other administrated songs in the Fairhill catalog include songs from Barry McGuire, Terry Talbot and children’s songs from Gospel Light Publications.
Fairhill copyrights are licensed internationally and administrated outside of the United States and Canada worldwide by Coltman International.
For a listing of the songs owned and administrated by Fairhill music please refer to our catalog.

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What are the odds that one simple church in South Seattle would have such diverse star connections? But you know what I think is the most important thing that ever happened there? I MET JESUS!

 

Cool News

On Day 1 Cool's husband, Mr. Cool, entered St. Joseph's Hospital in Tacoma (where their younger son and both of our sons were born) and had his fifth spinal surgery. Yesterday, on Day 9, he finally came home. His projected date of release post-surgery was Day 4, and if not Day 4, then Day 5. My husband, The Duke, and I were poised to be his limo drivers last weekend, and then I was ready to take over solo duty during the week, even spent a day in Tacoma shopping around and staying in touch with Cool via text because we thought he would be able to get out. But alas, a blockage of the internal realm blocked his passage out into the external realm. After calling in Roto Rooter, Mr. Cool was good to go. However, The Duke and I were not--we were on our way to get our grandson for a few days. Thus, Cool had to make the journey alone, and of course she did just fine, as did Mr. Cool.

Perhaps my shout-out to Roto Rooter seems like TMI for this blog, but hey, Cool's Facebook post said much more on the subject, truly getting to the root (or bottom) of the problem.

The real shout-out is to Mr. and Mrs. Cool who have faced way more than their share of major surgeries and disappointments and still manage to keep smiles on their faces. It was hard, I know, but Mr. Cool even managed a 'chuckle' for me when my husband and I visited him in the hospital Friday night. He was clearly in a lot of pain. He might have been thinking some bad words in his semi-drugged state, but he displayed his customary genuine, appreciative smile.

"Home is Where the Recliner Is," Mr. Cool has been thinking, so welcome home, Mr. C. Welcome to your Sleep Number Bed, welcome to your recliner, drink up the Snapple Peach Tea, but sadly no wine for you.

We want to continue to be of service to Cool, the Nursemaid. When I asked what we could do further for her, she said, "I might need someone to come over and drink wine with me after a full day of taking care of my husband." This is when my selflessness really kicked in. "I'm there for you!" I said, with complete sincerity. I'm a BVG, and this is how we are.

As my husband would say, "It's a tough job, but someone's got to do it."

Dead Man Not Walking

When my husband and I got married it was a case of country boy marrying city girl. Prior to our wedding we each took the time to write out a list of places we wanted to take the other. It was almost comical when we compared our lists. Mine had places like the Seattle Art Museum, the Museum of History and Industry and the Space Needle on it. His listed places like High Rock Lookout, Bald Hills and the Hoh Rain Forest as priorities. Wisely, we combined our lists and did it all. As we raised our three children we tried to expose them to a wide variety of activities, from camping in the wilderness to experiencing big city life in places such as Seattle, San Francisco, Reno, Denver, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., New York City and our family favorite, Honolulu.

Camping in the wilderness wasn't my idea of fun. I did a lot of tenting in my childhood, and I wasn't anxious to repeat those experiences. While I was willing to camp in a tent at 9,000 feet in the Rockies for my husband's family reunion, deep in my heart I knew I was a five-star hotel kind of a girl. We compromised with an old trailer complete with a bathroom---that was a must. Later we traded up to a much nicer and bigger trailer with a queen size bed and bunks, even a small tub. We made a lot of happy memories in those trailers, and I cried when we had to sell our trailer before moving to Hawaii.

While I had hoped to only camp in state parks, my husband convinced me to go with friends and my parents to the wilderness. It was opening weekend of fishing, and the guys found a big spot on a logging road above Eatonville where we could put all three rigs. My husband told me I was going to love the peace and quiet. He said, "You'll never see another living human being," and those were prophetic words. Looking back, they were pathetic words.

At the time our daughter was two and our older son was a nursing baby. We were there five days, and it poured down rain the whole time. The streams were so high, fishing wasn't so good. We could hardly sit outside to enjoy a campfire. Our daughter did find something she could do:

 On Saturday we three ladies and my two little ones drove down into Eatonville for a much-needed change of scenery. When we came back we were met on the road by my friend's husband, who said, "We have some trouble back at camp." My mother's immediate question was, "Is the dog okay?" I wonder why she didn't ask about my father first, which I was ready to do. Actually, my parents' dog had run off, and in looking for her the guys came across a dead body! Note: This was NOT "another living human being." This was a dead man NOT walking.

To make a long story short, in short order they had the police on their way up to our camp spot, and then here came the coroner, photographers and reporters. We women and my children spent hours holed up in my friend's trailer. She made coffee for our 'visitors,' while I watched men carry bags by my window, with the victim's clothes, hair, false teeth, boots...all too close for comfort. When their work was done, the yellow tape with 'Crime Scene/Keep Out' cards attached to it was strung clear across behind our three rigs.

To this day my friend and I wonder why we continued to stay there, why we didn't just pack up and leave. We continue to refer to that place as Dead Man's Curve.

It was a creepy experience to be sure, but with the passage of time it has become a story worthy of a blog post.

Before the Blog: My Start in Journalism (With a Future Star)

Back in high school I was the Feature Editor of our school newspaper, The Shield. This is where I got my start in journalism. As you can see, we were an energetic bunch of writers. I put this on my page for some reason. It was a joke about something. There I am, in the middle, white blouse, head in my hand. But wait, there is someone much more important in this photo. To the left, her hand in her hair, that is Vivian Greene, one of my 'connections.' We also sang together in the select girls ensemble and were on Executive Council together. You can read about Vivian elsewhere in the blog, but remember this quote of hers:

    "Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass....It's about learning to dance in the rain."

Sounds to me like the way the BVGs have chosen to live!

Which Came First, the BVGs or the Wine?

The year was 1974, and here is the young me (26) on the right with my friend Ruth (still my friend) as we toast each other with WINE at my house in Kent. Previously, Ruth and I had apartments just a few blocks from each other. We met in high school, then we ended up working together at the Department of Social and Health Services, Kent Office, after she graduated from Central Washington University. She showed up at work one day and already had her apartment near mine. She and I had a lot of fun in our young, single years. She and her husband got married six months before my husband and I got married, and I played for their wedding. They came to visit us when we lived in Hawaii and again when we lived in Virginia. When they came to Virginia it was for my 60th birthday and her husband's 70th. We drank wine then too, and again when we recently celebrated his 76th birthday and my 66th. This was just a few months after he retired as a ski instructor after a 'mere' 45 years!

I did not meet the BVGs until 1981, so here is proof of the answer to the question above: "The wine, of course!"