Downtime in Tennessee

I have been back in the USA for 2 months now. I don’t know that I have accomplished much, but I have managed to keep myself occupied.  My Oriental carpets from Turkey and Afghanistan are in better shape than I expected due to the color running and being folded during the Great Pensacola Flood of 2014…still despite the fact that they are nowhere near showroom quality, I figure the flood adds to their individual stories. Their smell will certainly add to that story unless I can figure out a way to make them smell more like camels and less like sewage. I have sorted through almost everything that I salvaged and have thrown out a fair amount of permanently damaged stuff, or things that I looked at and wondered “why in the world am I saving this?” Now I can almost put all my worldly possessions in the bed of my truck when I move again.  That’s quite a downsize from a 3 bedroom house. Other things have been busy work like, banking, doctor’s appointments, fighting to settle my worker’s comp case…you know, the kind of stuff that gets in the way of having fun.  My son John and his girlfriend Autumn made me the grandfather on August 12^th of Cayden, a 9 and a half pound baby boy.  I got to spend 22 consecutive hours with my Blake the day he picked me up at the airport coming in from Okinawa until I dropped him off to catch his plane back to Orlando.  I really like that guy.  I am catching up on quality time with my parents as well, living very close to each of them. I am staying in an apartment in the back of my dad’s barn with a bunch of farm equipment, so although I have privacy, a nice place and a great view of the woods complete with hoot owls, deer, and things that shriek in the night, I have to admit that I miss my apartment in Okinawa with the view of the East China Sea. I miss my people in Okinawa too, some more than others (you know who you are) but I guess that is par for the course.  The School Age kids at Camp Kinser in sent me a video birthday song via FB, which made my day…that and the strawberry cake my mom made and a great birthday dinner with my dad. Then that afternoon as I was turning 35, I hit the road for Wisconsin to attend my niece Amanda’s wedding. My other niece Andrea was her bridesmaid.  I must say, even though I may be a little prejudiced that my nieces are two of the most beautiful young women EVER. My new nephew Jordan and his son Jaden were also quite striking. Last week I was off to see my “other” grandkids (Robert and his family) in Columbus, Ohio, and then to see my buddy Sue in Philadelphia (and New York) for a few days. Soon, I will be headed back to Florida for a week to meet Cayden, then back home to prep for my move to Jerusalem on October 23^rd.  I am stoked beyond words and I get to share it with my Dad for a month before my stepmom joins us for a couple of weeks. Almost everyone in my family will have been to Israel with me after this. Now you have it. That brings me up to date as far as the blog goes. Still a lot to do over the next several weeks.  I expect my next blog posting will be from the eternal city Jerusalem.