Lifestream
- Published Life and Science with Annika and Carrie.— September 7th via maustsontoast.com
- Checked in at Goodberry's— September 5th via Foursquare
- Checked in at First Baptist Church— September 5th via Foursquare
Remembering America
6. Remembering America August 2006: Thanksgiving and Home.
Thanksgiving came early to Beckley this year. Duane and Chris kindly invited us to experience a real American Thanksgiving before we went home. We'd had a pretend one in England the year before when Drew came a-wooing (Emily, that is). What a fine lad he is, and also his brothers. Duane and Chris sure know how to bring up kids, don't they?
Well, the meal was fantastic, turkey, sweet potatoes, pumpkin pie – you know the sort of thing. Those settlers certainly ate well. Duane must have been up early that day with his gun, hunting that turkey on Maust Mountain. And Chris, cutting up that pumpkin (which had been the prize item in her vegetable patch) and getting rid of all the seeds. As she's such a busy lady we wouldn't have minded if she had opened a tin.
The ride down to Beckley was great. Duane's car seemed to know where it was going. I needn't have held the steering wheel. I could have taken a little nap. I thought I was dreaming. Drew was telling us this unbelievable story of two gorillas who had a house in Beckley. Perhaps he meant guerilla as in urban terrorist? Or two very hairy men? No, these were real gorillas. Drew and Matt used to visit them, no doubt to monitor their welfare. Apparently, they would shout and rattle the fence to get the gorillas' attention. They loved those gorillas.
5. Remembering America August 2006: Morgantown
Someone once said that Morgantown was the sort of place you could drive through without a second glance. Not true. The official Morgantown website tells us that "Morgantown, WV has been recognized as one of the best small cities in the Country. World-class healthcare, recreation, education, and art facilities complement our strong business community". And the website wouldn't lie to us, would it?
4. Remembering America 2006: Pioneering Days
His name is Leroy and he is the king. Through guts and hard work he has helped make America the country it is today (the good bits, not the crime and greed etc). He is still at it now, in his dairy with his beloved cows, and he's approaching eighty. He had a large family and they were brought up to love the Lord, each other and their country. We were privileged to meet many of them on top of Maust Mountain where they have been working together to build a log cabin in their forest clearing. It was like feeding the five thousand with loaves, fishes and a hog roast. First was the hay ride. They know how to enjoy themselves, those Mausts. No, it was good fun, once you had scrambled over the ten foot high trailer sides. I can picture Mom Chris now ……..nuf said. We bounced our way through the forest breathing in lungfuls of fresh mountain air and tractor exhaust. To the viewpoint in the National Park where we climbed the tower. There were trees as far as the eye could see in every direction. Mom Chris was but a speck on the ground below. One of the boys leaned over the rail. I thought he was going to spit. A bit of target practice, eh? But no. Little rascal.
3. Remembering America August 2006: Wild and Wonderful
"You've never seen a possum or raccoon?" To us English they seemed exotic, even mythological like the duck-billed platypus or unicorn. "Possum's are mean, ugly critters". Raccoons only come out at night. If you see one in daylight keep away".
"Why? Do they get a bit grumpy if they miss their sleep?"
"No, they're probably rabid and will bite you".
"We ought to go on a 'coon hunt".
My mind involuntarily flashed back to the days of slavery. Then I realised. "Those 'coons had better watch out if we did".
Beyond the golf course was a forest. "If we shone a torch in there we'd see little beady eyes shining back". Unfortunately no torch but we knew the forest was teeming with wild life. We could hear them, billions of insects all rubbing their wings or back legs, or whatever they use to call to their mates. The noise was deafening. Couldn't they find each other and shut up?
2. Remembering America August 2006: Welcome Meeting
Our resort was on a golf course above Cheat Lake, and I mean literally "on a golf course". I think our kitchen sink was probably the 16th hole. Golf balls were flying everywhere. I noticed a golf ball sized hole in the headlight of the bus (practically an RV) that Duane and Chris had very generously lent us. I lived in fear for a few days (Duane looks like a tough guy) until Drew pointed out it was damaged previously. All these resorts have a welcome meeting for new visitors. As there's usually free drinks and snacks they are usually crowded. Not so at Cheat Lake. The room was empty, only a solitary waiter coming and going. There were drinks and nibbles – all for us. A family of five came in. Two old ladies entered and sat next to Drew. The place was beginning to burst at the seams.
"Where are you from, young man?" Was she talking to me or Drew?
"Morgantown". Drew, of course.
"This is my wife, Emily".
1. Remembering America August 2006: Getting there.
So they want to blow up our plane mid-atlantic, eh? The news screamed at us a week before we were due to leave. The security would be tight, we'd be alright. No liquids on the plane and a small amount of hand luggage. Emily phoned. "Were we still coming?" "Of course we were".
Gatwick was busy, very busy. We queued for this, we queued for that. The man in front had a bottle of clear liquid in his pocket. The swift hand of a security guard whipped it out like a pistol. "No liquids on the plane, Sir" Even the "Sir" sounded menacing. The man looked middle-eastern. "Go on, blow up his bag. It's probably a bomb".
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