Oh Wow, Oh Wow, Oh Wow

Good Morning Everyone,  It is so nice to chat with you over morning coffee once again.  I have missed you.  Somehow with the campground it seems like my summers fly by and I do not have time to chat with you.  However, I often think of you and hope that all is well in your world.  I am sure everyone is busy getting ready for Thanksgiving!!  Are you having Turkey and all the goodies that go with it?  That should be good for a couple of pounds.  We are going to my nephews house in Lenoir Thanksgiving Day.  He always has the family get together and they are great cooks.  mmmmmmm I can taste it now.  We are going to have Thanksgiving on Friday night at our house for the Harmon family and friends.  mmmmmm that should be good for a couple of more pounds.  oops that part might not be a good thing....

In addition to Thansgiving being a time to say Thank You for so many blessings it is also a time for reflection.  My sister who died Nov. 10, 2010 will not be at her sons house but our memories of her will be.  She is gone but will never be forgotten.

I think of Steve Jobs of Apple Computer.  His final words, "Oh Wow, Oh Wow, Oh Wow."  Can you imagine what he must have been seeing on his way out.  A friend ends his emails with another quote from Steve Jobs - "The goal is not to live forever, but to create something that will. "   What are we creating that will live forever? 

"Gone but not forgotten."  How many times do we see that quote on a headstone in a cemetery?  It is such a true statement.  I think of my parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins etc.  Gone but not forgotten.  The memories are good.  Above our house there is an old cemetery that dates back to the 1800's.  When I walk through it to visit Bob's parents graves I can't help but think of the people I am passing and wonder about their lives.  They are not forgotten.  There is the grave of the unknown child - the first person buried in Jont Brown Cemetery - boy or girl - no name.  There is the grave of a neighbor who died of pancreatic cancer.  He worked in the produce department at Lowe's grocery store.  I think of him often when I am at Lowes.  There is the grave of the man who shot and killed his wife and then committed suicide.  I often stop at his grave and wish him peace.  There is the mother and baby buried in the same grave - they were killed in a fire.  There are many headstones that are just rocks stuck in the ground with no name - I wonder who they are - Gone but not forgotten.  I think of the young man who used to climb the mountain to play Amazing Grace on the bagpipes.  In my head I can still hear the sounds echoing through the valleys.  There are the military people who died so I am free to write this blog, the farmers, the teachers, and the list goes on.  Here lie the freedom seekers who cleared the land, built the houses, grew the food, laughed and loved.  So many extraordinary people here and across the world -  gone but not forgotten - they live on in the good that we enjoy for the sacrifices they made.  We do have so much to be thankful for. 

We especially thank the Harmon's every day for the opportunity we have to enjoy this beautiful mountain. 

Thinking about cemeteries - are you afraid of ghosts?  Jont Brown Cemetery is a happy place with a gorgeous view of sunrises, moon rises, distant mountains, and on some days clouds that are so beautiful they can turn a non poet into a poet.  I even love to visit the cemetery at night when the moon is full and stars are twinkling.  As I walk among the tombstones I ofter wonder who is the ghost - maybe I am the ghost - intruding in their peaceful space.  Gone but not forgotten... 

If I do not mention my birds you will wonder about me.  The birds are back.  I had 12 doves this morning and all kinds of little winter birds are flying in.  The sunflower feeder is the most popular and I am having to work at keeping it full for them.  So far I have not seen a four legged bird with a big fluffy tail eating the sunflower seed but I bet the squirrel will be by soon. 

Sigmon says hello to all.  He is such a good doggie. 

I have thoroughly enjoyed my morning coffee chat with you. Take care and enjoy your Thanksgiving.  Know that we are thankful for each of you and will hold you close in our hearts in OurThanksgiving prayers.

November 4th, 2011

Morning Coffee with my friends.  Several  of you asked me this summer if I was going to do Morning Coffee this winter and I said I will from time to time.  After thinking about it for a while, I decided to try doing Morning Coffee as a blog and just let you all know when I make a new post.  Then if you want to read it you can.  There are so many options in the electronic world.  We have a blog for the campground that always looks super thanks to Lindsay who knows how to do all this stuff.   I am learning as I go so it will be interesting to see how it develops.  To keep our minds sharp with need to stretch them and push to learn new things.

It is not really morning and I am not having coffee.  This is my experimental posting.  I am looking forward to having morning coffee with you next week.