"It Came Upon the Midnight Clear..."

...couldn't be happening on Bolivar Peninsula lately.

Never have I ever seen such thick fog as last night riding the ferry home from Galveston. Literally could not see one car length ahead of me.

I've heard that old expression all my life, "It's like driving in pea soup," and I have now experienced it for myself. Without the white line on the right side of the road, I couldn't have known I was in the right place from the ferry landing to the house.

Wrapping Christmas gifts and listening to Christmas music. Does it get any better than this during this happy time of the year? Just received a basket of Christmas cards from friends and the older I get, the more I appreciate and enjoy them. Now, to display them somewhere in the house properly so all can enjoy them with me.

Merry Christmas, everyone, until the next page turns...

Happy Birthday to Me...

OK, OK, so I know that the traditional "Happy Birthday to You" is not thought of as a Christmas song, but it should be since we celebrate the birthday of the Lord Jesus Christ. In this case, the Happy Birthday song was sung a bit early last night as four beach neighbors celebrated our December birthdays together in the lovely home of Warren and Pam Adams.

Terri Ward, a special friend to Steven, Warren Adams (host), myself, and Michael Likos, all share December birthdays just a few days apart, so last year, shortly after Hurricane Ike, we started a good tradition of planning our own birthday party since they are so hard to come by in the busy month of December. Everyone is tired of shopping, going to parties, and they have little money to spend on birthday gifts. It comes with being a December child, though unfair.

We had such fun with the birthday honorees, and Jim and Cindy Srader, Ted Henley, Pam Adams, Michael and Laurie Likos, and John and Joni Harding, all good friends. Mike and Yvonne VanZandt were to join the group, but Yvonne got sick on Saturday during the day. Randy Ward was also unable to attend this year due to medical testing at the hospital.

The group enjoyed wonderful food with Warren doing prime rib for everyone on his fabulous new grill. The Adams also learned during the party that they had won first place for Christmas decorations on the entire Bolivar Peninsula so our congratulations to them for that achievement. Gifts, good food, fellowship, and fun was shared, as well as the four birthday honorees feeling very special. Can't wait until next year's traditional gathering.

Until the next page turns...

Warren also played for us his favorite Christmas song, "Christmas in Dixie."

The Candy Man Can...

I know we are supposed to lead off our blogs with lines or titles of Christmas songs, but after seeing a very good live presentation of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory last night in Galveston, I've been singing "The Candy Man Can" all day long.

Christmas time is a good time for the candy man, I think, too.

Merry Christmas to all until the next page turns...off to a Christmas party in Shoreacres (near Houston) tonight. Good wishes to all...Cold and dreary outside at the beach, but still nice.

I think Santa Claus is Coming to Town...

I realize some of you don't believe in Santa and don't want your kids to think he is real, but I, for one, still believe he is coming to see me.

Can't give that up!

I'm enjoying getting ready for his visit and trust he makes to the beach where we have sand instead of the traditional snow.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good day...Until the next page turns.

Ginger, I received a wonderful surprise gift in the mail yesterday afternoon. One of my favorite movies of all time and a nice, warm, beautifully colored throw to wrap up in to watch it here at the house. However, I have been creative and designed the throw to wear as a big scarf/wrap with an outfit tomorrow night to a huge Christmas party in Houston. It matched my outfit perfectly and I started out teasing about doing it, but goodness sake, it works! Thank you so much!

I promise, Daina, I've kept the December challenge

I just forgot and wrote it on my Yahoo Internet Site, Bolivar BLUE and several of the members there are doing it with me. I know I did "Silver Bells" on Monday and "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas" yesterday and today I wrote "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" in my status.

OK, OK, so I'm in...

Others if you want to get in on the challenge, write something every day from now until December 20 using a line, title, thought from a Christmas carol, song, play, or writing. It is fun!

I've had some good ones on the group site including a clever one using "Go Tell It On the Mountain." To join or see Bolivar BLUE, simply go to Yahoo Internet Groups and type in Bolivar BLUE (spelled like this) and I'll approve you for membership. The BLUE is an acronym for Beach Lovers United Effectively.

Until the next page turns...

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Today is December 4, and we are getting snow in Southeast Texas. This is the earliest date recorded. We got flurries last year on December 10 and it was beautiful in Galveston. We all rushed out to take photographs.

There is just something pretty spectacular about snow falling against the backdrop of the Gulf of Mexico.

We have a winter weather advisory and the snow is predicted to start at noon and last into the evening. Of course, our temps will warm up and it will be all gone, but it is fun right now and our folks are filled with anticipation. School and some offices have been dismissed for fear of icy roads.

I know our friends in Michigan (Jack and Laura Rounds) are laughing mightily at our excitement over snow when they have something like 7-8 inches and it will stay on the ground there until spring most likely. But for Southeast Texans, it is a novel thing.

Ted's niece has challenged everyone who blogs to begin on Monday, December 7 and go through December 20, using a line or the title of a Christmas carol or snow in their blog header. I said I would participate, so I'll try to be faithful.

Merry Christmas everyone,

Brenda

Until the next page turns...

Able to get a lot done today...

This week feels long already and tomorrow is only Thursday.  I keep thinking it should be Friday or maybe even Saturday.  We are planning on celebrating DeAnna's birthday on Monday, Labor Day, here at the beach.  She truly inherited the love of water from me and she gets out here as often as she can.  Happy Birthday to my oldest child, DeAnna Stancil Davis.

Steven stayed at school to play his drums for the city wide pep rally in preparation for the first football game of the season at Ball High School. He was excited to be asked to join the band for this occasion even though he has not been attending the before-school and after-school practices. Transportation back and forth to his new school on Galveston Island is a bit of a problem and no matter how you plan it, takes about three hours to get in the Bolivar-Galveston ferry line, ride the ferry over, do whatever you have to do on the island, and do the reverse to get home.  I left here tonight at 6:10 and we got home a little after 9:30 pm, which makes for a very long school day.  His bus picks him up at 5:45 am, when it is totally pitch black dark outside.

Thus far, he is doing well in his busy ninth grade classes and I am in communication with each of his teachers by way of email.  Boy, things have changed a lot since my children went to school!  He's carrying a heavy load of classes in the Advanced Placement program.  All he wants to do when he gets in the door in the late afternoon is eat and get a bath, chill out for a short while, and head to bed.  He is also involved in the Junior ROTC program, which is somewhat tough I hear.

Joni Harding, a friend of mine here on the peninsula, and I are volunteering tomorrow at the Children's Center, also in Galveston, for a mutual friend, Terri Ward.  She directs the Children's Center and Safe Place on the island and is in need of some help regarding a project. Joni and I are honored to be asked to help there.

I've been working all day on the Hurricane Ike Memorial and Anniversary Service/Celebration, planned for September 12, on the beach nearest Coconuts, beginning at 7 pm.  We plan to honor the ten known dead from Ike and the four still unaccounted for in a solemn service with tea lights and sending a live floral wreath out to sea in their memory.  An old ship's bell that survived the storm will be rung after each name is read.  We will also hear from some Bolivar Peninsula residents, property owners, vacationeers, and some of our talented musicians.

The general public is invited to join us and participate and we are hearing that many are planning to do just that.  It has been the most unusual year of our lives I think.  My mother was dead one year on her birthday, August 26, and Hurricane Ike hit our beloved peninsula and destroyed our home on September 12 and 13 of last year.  We are still waiting on TWIA to pay our insurance claim so we can rebuild or buy a new home.  Thanks be to God, we are in a nice leased property now and are quite comfortable.

My old and dear friend, Betty Cargal Nance, told me about her sister-in-law's gratitude journal, and I want to begin one of my own.  Every day my heart is touched with some small thing (and sometimes, large ones, too) and I want to remember those things in the future.  We get so wrapped up in living that we forget to enjoy the ride from time to time.  I think for me to list those things I am most grateful for will help to keep me focused and my eyes on the prize. Living where I do in my dream world of the ocean and beaches, I see things every day that are special and deeply meaningful to me.  

If you were writing in your gratitude journal today, what would you list? We have so much to be grateful for each day, don't we?

I am excited that Ginger (Bragg) Doster and Millie (Jones) Pincus, two of my oldest and dearest friends, are coming in mid-September to stay a week or so with Ted, Steven, and I here at the beach house. I guarantee there'll be a lot of front deck sitting, sand and surf watching, telling of old tales, playing of board games, cooking and eating, and good memories being made.  And, then, in late October, we are heading to Atlanta for another reunion of sorts with the Carpenters and the Rounds, more old and dear friends. Jack and John came to us at Forrest Hills Baptist Church from Bob Jones University when they were young college students.  Both have now matured, married, had families, and still communicate with each other often. It will be the first time we've all been together in quite some time and we look forward to hitting some of the old haunts in the Big "A" Town, eating at the Varsity, climbing Stone Mountain, visiting old friends and catching up.

God is good ... all of the time.

Until the next page turns,

Brenda

Today is the anniversary of Elvis' death...

OK, I know it is corny, but today is the anniversary of Elvis' death, and I don't feel so good myself.

It has been a trying week for many reasons.  DeAnna and Callie Grace came to the beach for the weekend and we had such fun, so it ended well.  Ted and I took DeAnna out on the boat into the bay and on the Intracoastal Waterway for fishing on Friday and she caught lots of "stuff," some of it wild, and some of it good.  On Friday, we went out again to the deeper, more beautiful water of the open Gulf out beyond the North Jetties.  I caught a shark right off the bat and she was impressed.  We had fun and then came back and took Steven and Callie Grace to the beach at our house to join some of my dear friends, John and Joni Harding and their grandchildren for a time of playing in the sand and surf.

The reason I can always remember when Elvis died is that the anniversary is on the 16th, one day before my son's birthday on the 17th of August.  I was in the kitchen icing his birthday cake when Teresa, my beloved sister in law, called to break the news.  I told her that what she said wasn't funny and a bad joke, and she said, "Oh, Brenda, he really is dead.  I'm not joking.  Go turn on the TV."  And I did and he had!  I couldn't believe it.  That man could sing and he will always represent a part of my growing up years.  There's lots more to tell, but I won't take the time to do that now. Happy Birthday, Brent.

When Brent moved to Florida to pastor Community Bible Baptist Church, he made a joke about hurricanes following him.  Everyone laughed. There's three building right now and two are heading for central Florida — Not so funny!  He and his family (and us eventually) have experienced way too many hurricanes here on the Texas coast and the church (Val Verde Baptist) had storm damage at least three times from weather related issues while he was there.

Ana, Bill, and Claudette are concerns right now for all of us.  We have been told to batten down the hatches, but it mostly is going to be rain — they think!  We pray!

Had some experiences this week that I would have liked to have avoided seeing.  Hurting people do hurtful things, and they seem to do it simply as a matter of their own existence.There is nothing uglier to me than a bitter, rude, embolden, older woman who speaks out of the meaningless heart she has emptied years ago.  When you have no joy in your own life (for whatever reason) because of your past actions, alcohol, drugs (prescription and other), lack of close family, not getting along with neighbors, and jealousy and envy, there is a tendency to lash out and hurt those who are more successful and certainly more happy. I saw that demonstrated twice this week by two different women who had no cause to be concerned about issues they chose to tackle.  You almost want to hold a life mirror up to their faces and demand that they stop and take a hard look at themselves, but of course, that would not be acceptable.

May God help them.  Dr. John R. Rice used to say often that "bitterness and envy eats up the vessel it is stored in...and quickly at that."  Dr. B. R. Lakin shared with us "If they're kicking you in the rear, you've still got the lead, so keep on going."

Ted and I ask you to join us in prayer for his only sister, Martha Ladd, of Beaumont, Texas.  She underwent open heart surgery in Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, Maryland, on Wednesday, August 12.  She has had some complications and needs our prayers. These complications involve her heart, kidneys, lungs, being disoriented, and a staph colony.  She is at this writing in an isolation ICU.  Her husband and children are there with her and they all need our prayers.

May God bless all coastal residents during hurricane season — 2009 — and Happy Birthday, Brent!

Morning from the Marsh on Bolivar...

OK, Millie, so I've been slack about writing on my blog. Forgive me again. I'll do better, I promise. 

Life is too fast these days and moving much too quickly for me to stay on top of all my doings. Summer is running across the pages of the calendar and I don't get everything done I want to accomplish in any given day.

Still writing for The Beach Triton and two stories due today to beat deadline for printing.  Have the ideas now and will get that done asap. Jan, hold up the presses, please. I'll get right on the stories and get them in to you by close of business today.

Rather bad news at the eye doctor day before yesterday. Been having some bad headaches and Ted made an appointment and insisted I keep it. Left eye has lost ground over the years and the surgery I had on it in fourth grade was unsuccessful, which we already knew. New news was that perhaps treatment could have helped saved some of the sight in it. Was diagnosed as "legally blind" in that  eye with only 20/200 vision and eligible for some help and an extra tax exemption. Good right eye that has always had 20/20 vision now reduced to 20/70 (not good) and is tiring because of doing all the work for two eyes. The doctor explained that the brain sends out the signals for the eyes to see. Left eye won't so strain goes to right eye thus causing the headaches.

Got new, much more powerful glasses and a big black pirate eye patch for the left eye to help reduce the stress by having it try to work. Moral to friends and family – keep those eye doctor appointments and listen to what he or she says.  Great fun for friends with eye patch jokes...My Mom...the Pirate, Captain Wig Eye (courtesy of Brent), Aaaarggggg (in many different versions), Captain MaMa of the Seven Seas, and so forth. Creative friends and family of mine...

Decided I am way tired of being without my faithful dog, Anchor, and found one available from the same kennel where my original one was born and reared in Waverly, Tennessee. Ordered a direct descendant of Anchor from Kodiak, a pure bred Siberian Samoyed, and Steve, my son in law, will pick up and bring him down around the first of August. Attaching a pic of the quite beautiful and charming "Mr. Green," his unofficial name in the kennel, along with his brother. Kennel owner puts colored collars on new puppies to help tell them apart and owners choose "real" names when they are picked up or delivered. There's nothing quite like a Samoyed ball of fur that grows into a wonderful family pet that is not dirty and does not shed. Read up on the breed and you will love "the smiling dogs," too.

(Mr. Green is the sleepy looking pal on the left looking at the picture. His brother is on the right and more awake looking).

We've found a much larger and more comfortable home here on the Gulf to have until we can build again. Marsh cabin is nice enough, and we appreciate the use of it, but small for the three of us. Plans are to relocate by the first of the month with everyone's blessing. Will miss my view of the marsh and all of its inhabitants, but will still be on the gorgeous Gulf. Thank God for good people who care. We need room for family and friends to come and visit and for us to have enough space to do our own things such as reading and games.

Steven begins high school in late August and we are gearing up for that. Today, Ted has Steven and his good friend, Diego, studying the Bill of Rights and the US Constitution. Ever the educator, he doesn't want them to get out of practice during the summer months. Steven is enrolled in the AP or Fast Track program for college and will carry a full load, plus his music, in a few weeks now.

For now, we are enjoying the beach and the lazy, hazy days of summer. 

Until the next page turns,

Brenda

If you have had a change in your address since last Christmas (and many have), please send me a quick email giving me that change along with a current telephone number. 

brendacannonhenley@yahoo.com. Thanks so much. Ours remains Post Office Box 323, Port Bolivar, Texas 77650.  New home phone is (409) 684-7285.

Great fun and two big events...

Two important events have taken place in our lives in just a few days. My Aunt Anna Lee celebrated her 90th birthday and we happily made the trip to Georgia to surprise her and she was indeed!  We were so happy to have a part in her wonderful birthday party and hundreds of friends (literally) came by to say best wishes.  Her daughter, Ann, did a wonderful job in planning and conducting this gathering, along with the help of her friends.  Our thanks for a wonderful afternoon of fellowship with old and dear friends and family.

Upon our return to Texas, our grandson, Steven Alan Brown graduated from Crenshaw Middle School on the Bolivar Peninsula. We have come to call his class "the come back kids" because all of them have struggled in one way or another to come back to school and to the Peninsula following Hurricane Ike.  It was a special evening in their honor.

Steven was presented the Presidential Award for English and Language Arts and we are so very proud of him and his accomplishments this year. He is off to high school next year — where did these years go?

A favorite writing of mine seems to fit both occasions because Aunt Anna has always been important in my life and I appreciate her unconditional love, guidance, spiritual character, and kindness given so freely to me. Ted and I hope to offer Steven the same qualities and remain important to his young life.

"A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove; however, the world will be different because I was important in the life of a child."

Until the next page turns,

Brenda

(First photo is Steven and Kevin, a classmate, awaiting their turn to receive the all-important diploma and second is Steven and friends at the graduation party following the actual ceremony. The third is Steven in bright red cap and gown, fourth is processional, fifth is PaPa Ted, Steven, and Brenda and sixth is Brenda, Cousin Ann, and Aunt Anna at 90th birthday celebration in the Atlanta, Georgia area).

Safe back in the Country of Texas...

Ted and I had a wonderful trip to Gulf Shores, Alabama, and remembered again why we like the area since the beaches and communities were quite beautiful.  The beach was clean and as white as sugar sand and the water a gorgeous blue/green. We enjoyed fresh seafood and ate in some of our favorite haunts while there including The Shrimp Basket and Lambert's Throwed Rolls. Did a little shopping and made our way on to the busy Atlanta area.

Our trip took us on to the beautiful home of my lifetime friend, Millie Jones Pincus, in Lawrenceville, where we have our own floor in her great house.  My other "best friend" since third grade of school, Ginger Bragg Doster, came over and joined us at Millie's where we had fun and enjoyed being together again after all these years. We always have so much to remember and talk about and it takes a while to get caught up on all current events in our lives. The weekend flew by way too fast to suit any of us.  

We three also spent time on planning the 50th Class Reunion for the Clarkston High School Class of 1960.  Where has this time gone? We were able to make contact with more than a baker's dozen of our classmates to get the big ball rolling.  My, how we miss our old friend, John (Tommy) Barnes when we start on a new gathering.

We are meeting on October 1, 2, and 3 of 2010 in the Atlanta area and are excited about seeing all of our old friends. Please help us get this word out to our friends and classmates.

The reason for our trip to Atlanta was to share in the wonderful surprise celebration of my precious Aunt Anna Lee's 90th birthday.  She was overwhelmed with hundreds of dear friends and family members who came by to say Happy Birthday to her and to share in her wonderfully kind life.  Aunt Anna's daughter, Ann Lee, had done a great job of inviting and planning the event. Aunt Anna will never forget it and neither will we! 

Aunt Anna still lived at home at my Mama Cole's house when I was born and she has also been "my other mother."  Ann, my cousin, has never been able to figure out why I was able to be in her mom and dad's wedding pictures when she wasn't.  Not sure that she has ever forgiven me for that...

We thank the Lord for traveling mercy and for seeing that we arrived back home in Texas safely.  So good to share time with old friends and family.

Until the next page turns,

Brenda 

Happy and Safe Memorial Day Weekend to All

The Internet sites, which are usually so active, are fairly quiet because most of our family and friends are heading out for a long Memorial Day weekend. Traffic has picked up considerably here on Bolivar Peninsula, and even though thundershowers are predicted, the enthusiasm for seeing friends, eating good food, playing in the water, boating, fishing, and just hanging in does not seem to be affected.  

As we enjoy our time together, let us be reminded of why we celebrate this particular holiday. For some families, my own included, it is one of the most special we have. My dad was killed in WWII on New Georgia Island when I was six months old. I never saw him.  

I did have two photographs of him until Ike and I was given all of his medals, including the Purple Heart, but those are now lost to Ike, so I literally have nothing except memories.  

I was born on my dad and mom's third wedding anniversary and my folks had "liked each other" and "courted" since third grade of school.  

My mom was ill equipped to face a world without him and all of our lives were greatly impacted by his wartime death. She never got over it until the day she died last August. Many families fight the old wars every day of their lives. Some of us think of a little white cross on some faraway island that we've never seen in person.  

That's all we have.

Thursday Morning, May 21, from the Marsh on Bolivar

Hello friends and family: This is a very exciting day at our house because tonight is the much planned and anticipated Crenshaw Bulldog Annual Talent Show and Steven and many of his new friends will be performing. We have also enlisted some "professional" folks to help round out the program from our area. Kat, one of Steven's guitar teachers from Galveston Island, will be joining him on "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" and Michael Stewart, another of his guitar teachers, along with local favorite Bucky Faggard, will be singing and playing. We also have Zak Perry of the Zak Perry Band out of Austin and Galveston and he will be doing two songs for the group.

Zak is something of a local success and has several recordings and a busy playing schedule to his credit. Kevin Bowling, associate minister and youth director, at Val Verde Baptist Church in Groves, will also be singing and Kevin is always a delight to every audience.

These kids have worked very hard on the program and are looking forward to performing tonight for family members and the community. I've dubbed them the true "come back kids," because so many of them have fought various battles and won since Hurricane Ike des

troyed their home and much of their life. Many still live with relatives or neighbors just to get to be in school and for that, I say, we should tip our hats. We have a wonderful program and look forward to the entire night. It's been a lot of fun helping to organize this event and we are so thrilled with the over $800 we raised to fund the eighth grade lock in and graduation ceremony, which is right around the corner.

My new little business has taken off like wildfire, too. I bought a Miche Bag type of franchise and have filled over $1,000 worth of orders in just a few days. The purses are now being advertised on TV and I had a lady stop me in the store yesterday. She grabbed my arm, and said, "Is that one of those purses I saw on TV, where you just pop the shell off and put another one on." I said, "Yes, it is, but I did not know they were being advertised on TV." She told me they were, took my shell off and put it back on, and ordered three bags and seven shells on the spot. I never said a word about her buying anything from me! Can't beat that!

The concept was invented by a woman named Michelle who spilled sugary coffee on her favorite fabric bag. She thought as she tried to wipe off the spill, "I wish I could just keep the bag intact and put on a new cover." She worked on her idea and together with a friend, designed the first Miche Bag. We have the basic bag in black or brown, different handles to suit your style and over 40 colorful and attractive magnetized shells. You can change your complete bag in less than three seconds and be on your way. If you are interested in knowing more or ordering a Miche Bag, just email me at brendacannonhenley@yahoo.com. You can also go to the Miche Bag Official Web Site and see color and design and tell me what you want. Glad to ship or deliver in the area. This is not a pryamid or enlistment scheme. Just fine looking, classy, fun bags for women on the go. You'll want several shells to enhance your outfits, I promise. My phone just rang with a big order - one mom, daughter in law, and two daughters!

Until the next page turns,

Brenda

Friday, May 8, 2009 from the beautiful marsh on the Bolivar Peninsula...

Mothers have vast amounts of space inside their hearts and minds where they keep and ponder all of the events of a lifetime.  Not only are their memories, joys, sadnesses, achievements, failures, successes, and goals harbored there, but much of the lives of their children and grandchildren also find a quiet and lasting berth. Some of us are blessed with "forever memories" that time and nature cannot take away.  

Ted often says I have the memory of an elephant, and I'm not always sure that is a complement. It can be both — a blessing and a curse.

(Photograph - Brenda Cannon Henley and Ginger Bragg Doster on the old wooden dock at Pine Lake in 1959 - Forever Friends)

One remembers the "what might have beens had times been different," "the things I would have changed," "the hurts and pains of disagreements and sadness and loss," but God in His infinite wisdom balances all of these hidden thoughts with "the absolute wonder of life," "the new discoveries," "the blessed friends of a lifetime," "our families and those close enough to be if born in the same line," and "the hopes for the future."

I recently had the occasion to hear a song sung by Kenny Chesney, "A lot of things different." This song was a favorite of a dear friend from my childhood who went Home much too soon, John Barnes.  He and his wife Kitty stayed in mine and Ted's home while he was undergoing serious cancer treatment at MD Anderson Hospital in Houston.  We drove them around Houston, to the beach, to fly kites in the salty air, and to share the last food that they enjoyed so much.  John and I never dated.  We were neighbors in Pine Lake and went to Clarkston High School together. But, we were the best of friends.  John always felt he had to take care of Ginger and myself and we spent many long hours hanging out and growing up.  In our later years, we became even closer working on our high school graduation reunion and traveling together.  John was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of friend and he was loyal and faithful to those he loved.  He could be a demonic bear to those he didn't, but that was part of his great charm.

He was a very successful businessman and politician and a hard worker for his family and community.  John had many honors come his way and he is lovingly remembered for the good he did.

John got to MD Anderson a little too late with way too much cancer and we lost him.  John is one of those secret treasures I hold in my heart. Not a day goes by that I don't think of something "Tommy" said to me or some advice he gave me.  (Note - We all called him "Tommy" in school and pretty much throughout his life, but the US Air Force and his strong wife Kitty changed it to John and we all tried to adjust, but failed). As Ted wheeled his chair into the Hobby Airport on that last visit, Tommy and I held hands and said little.  What was there to be said when we both knew it was almost over? I leaned down and hugged him really tightly and he whispered some parting advice in my ear. Tears glistened in his eyes and rolled unashamedly down my cheeks in the busy airport as I gave him my word on what he had asked.

Not many days later, Ginger Bragg Doster, Millie Jones Pincus, and I drove to his beloved Florida home and met Sandy Martin Teal, Dianna Buder Suratt, and others, and buried Tommy in the sandy soil he had come to love.  He had left strict instructions that "we girls" were to be treated as immediate family and sit in places of honor at all the services. I thought again of the song by Chesney, "I would have done a lot of things different." In the verses, the writer thinks back over his life and wishes had had made different choices.  He would have gone to see Elvis the last time he came to town (Teresa and I did that at the Omni in Atlanta against all church rules and regulations), he would have spent more time with family and loved ones, he would have hugged his brother before he left for war, and it ends with, "If I had known that dance would have been our last one, I would have made the band play on and on and on...I would have done lots of things differently."

One cannot get caught up in the "I would haves" of life, but I'm convinced that it is OK to remember people, places, events, good times and sad times, and then move on back into the present. All of these memories can be a healthy part of what mothers put inside their hearts and minds and ponder with such clarity that at times if you listen closely, you can hear the music, smell the flowers, touch the gifts and see the smiles of old friends and family members. 

I am so enjoying FaceBook after my daughter DeAnna made me join. I am in contact with so many of the dear friends of life that I have had for years and I get suck a kick out of turning on the computer, reading what they wrote, seeing their accomplishments and their activities, meeting their families, sharing in their joys (and their sorrows at times) and  entertaining this feeling of reconnecting. If you are not on FaceBook, join today. I can't find much wrong about it.

Betty Pennell, my sister in law, Teresa Fowler Stancil, Joy Rice Martin, Betty Owens Moseley, Debbie Eads, old friends in the media, distant family members, John and Lydia Carpenter, college kids we helped back in the day, Jack Rounds, Dixie King, church family from years ago, Sandy Bagley, Amy Bagley, and my list goes on and on.  Each of you hold a treasured place in my memory bank and you've had an impact on my life.  For this, I thank you.  Be safe and stay well.

Until the next page turns,

Brenda

Sunday afternoon from the marsh...

Nearing 5,000 visitors to the blog site gave me the inspiration to post a baker's dozen of new photos to help bring everyone up to date on our doings. I am amazed at just how many old friends tell me that they are reading the blog and will I please try to keep it more up to date?

I will, I promise!

Things are just almost always in high gear around here with educating a busy and happy 14-year-old and getting settled into the leased cabin where we'll be for a year while Ted builds our home back, getting ready for fishing season (yea) and doing the ordinary of cooking, cleaning, transporting, paying bills, and the like.  And, oh, yes, we do try to have a little fun from time to time, too.  Just now, Steven and Ted are visiting Rusty and Becky Cluck and their family before they head back to Zavalia and Austin.  Steven has so many new friends here and he keeps us on our toes getting him back and forth.  I don't know which will be worse - driving him all over and picking him up - or knowing he soon will be old enough to drive himself.

Lots of exciting plans in the works right about now and there's talk of a brand new newspaper coming to our Peninsula - the Bolivar Peninsula Examiner, which I've agreed to write and edit. More about that a little later.  Right now, I'm busy writing for The Beach Triton and will keep on doing that. Be sure to get and read this month's edition of that fun paper if you can.

Don't forget, next Sunday is Mother's Day, some women's favorite holiday.  If your mom is no longer living, choose another good woman and honor her in some fashion on this Mother's Day. It will be good for both of you and bring lots of happiness.  Life is short - use it wisely.

Until the next page turns,

Brenda

Enjoy the new blog photos.

Saturday, May 2, 2009, from the cabin on the marsh...

Beautiful day here on Bolivar on the beaches and on the marsh.  Hazy white clouds, gentle breezes, water lapping playfully along the shore and birds flying in the air.  Fishing must be good, too, because the North Jetty has lots of fish feeders on it today.  Some seem to be catching some fish and all appear to be having fun.

Ted says we are going to be "catchermen" and not just "fishermen."  He just about has our boat repaired from the storm and after removing a big piece of metal that was lodged in the hull, I think it is about sea worthy again.

Lots going on with the end of school nearing so rapidly.  The kids finished their TAKS testing last week and one could hear a collective sigh of relief from both teachers and students.  We were all very pleased to learn that Steven is doing well.  He scored the highest grade in his class for English (makes MaMa proud).  He got a 99.49 out of a possible 100 points and he pulled in at 155 on his book reading theme project.  Yea for him!  He will graduate from eighth grade and be officially ready for high school next school term.  We hear Brendan is making good grades, too, at his new school near Nashville.  We hope to see him during the summer months for his regular vacation at the beach.

Brent preached his last sermon at Val Verde here in Texas last Sunday and will soon be on his way to Community Baptist Church in lovely St. Petersburg, Florida.  Valerie and the kids will join him around June 1 when school is out. Both he and Valerie and Quinn, their oldest, has been very ill this week with a strain of the flu, not diagnosed as swine flue. We're having an onset of the swine flu here in the area and many of our school systems are closed down because of it.  Folks are very sick when they get it despite news reports saying it is mild.  We are all trying to be very careful and DeAnna is being given medication at her job because of working with incoming passengers.  She is still very sad about Brent moving to Florida and taking his children with him.  She thinks they won't have any "fun" in their lives without her!

Speaking of fun, I'm having so much fun on FaceBook after DeAnna made me join.  I've heard from so many of my old and dear friends that it is amazing.  Ron and Brenda English and John and Betty Pace (and others) and I have been catching up this week on the years that have passed.  I love communicating with John and Lydia Carpenter and so many more that I've found through this means.  Betty Pennell, an old friend from Forrest Hills, found me, as well as so many more.  Heard from Betty Owens Mosley this week, too.

Take care and happy week before Mother's Day, and until the next page turns,

Brenda

Sunday evening from the beautiful marsh of the Gulf Coast...

Sorry I've been so negligent in writing, but my, we have been busy around these parts.  Steven, my 14-year-old grandson, is settling in just fine here with us, and he is doing well at school at Crenshaw on the Peninsula.  His progress report shows that he is making good grades, so we are thankful for that.  He has had two big projects to complete because he is nearing the end of the eighth grade.  One was on a book he had to read, "Witness," by Karen Hesse about prejudice and ill will. The other was on Robert E. Lee and we were able to find and use photos of the famous general on Stone Mountain to add a personal touch.

The school has a big talent show coming up on May 21 and Steven will participate in that. He is doing well with his guitar lessons and takes weekly from Michael Stewart here on the Peninsula. Michael is originally from West Virginia and is a very talented musician.  He also continues to play his drums and takes band at school.

We celebrated his big 14th birthday with several activities in his honor; cupcakes at school for his classmates, a chocolate birthday cake cut at the home of Terri and Randy Ward, his good friends and the owners of the two big dogs Steven bathes and cares for at their home.  And, then last night (Saturday), we had five couples over that have been especially kind to Steven in some way. Dana and Tim Turner from Beaumont came out. They have property here on the Peninsula and are now set up in their travel trailer on their lot.  The Turners bought Steven a wonderful acoustic guitar that he loves.  Becky and Rusty Cluck, our dear friends and neighbors here on the Peninsula, were also on hand, and they gave Steven a flash drive for his computer. He loved that! Michael, his music teacher, and his wife, GinGee, attended and gave him money for whatever he wanted or needed.  

Terry and Randy came to join us, too, and Terri found Steven two fabulous t-shirts (Rolling Stones and Rock) and an amp he needed for his guitar, so all in all, he had a wonderful birthday. Ted and I gave him a new leather guitar case, got Direct TV and Internet hooked up at the new house and some smaller gifts. His dad sent him a beautiful card with money inside.  Yea!  He said he loved getting "stuff" for his birthday. Each adult gave him one comment or piece of advice for his young life and that was a special time for everyone present.

Living on the marsh is different than living on the beach, but just as nice in a different way.  The wildlife and birds are amazing.  And the beach is just down the way a bit in walking distance, so we have the best of both worlds.  We met our next door neighbors, Dewey and Daisy Jones, originally from Houston, and they are a very neat couple.  

We are presently working on the Crenshaw Bulldog Talent Show for May 21 at the school and helping getting out promo material for the 24th Annual Crab Fest and Stingaree Music Festival to take place on Bolivar, May 29-31.  And, Steven will have a real graduation ceremony complete with cap and gown at the end of May.

Ted and I are fine and stay busy all of the time.  We each serve on several different rebuilding Bolivar committees.  Ted is on Housing with the Bolivar BLUEprint Committee and I serve on Human Resources, and both are active and interesting.  The Yahoo Group Internet site, Bolivar BLUE, which I formed shortly after the storm is very active also and we've made tons of new friends there.  Still no major payments from Texas Windstorm and so we all continue to wait to rebuild our homes.

Take care and stay safe.  We are hearing today much about the swine flu and see on TV that Mexico City is shut down for all practical purposes. There are cases in Texas, but so far, we are all well and safe here on Bolivar.

Life on the marsh in Southeast Texas

Steven, my oldest grandson, Ted, and I are getting accustomed to living a varied life right on the marshland on the Gulf of Mexico.  I never knew the different wildlife and birds that call this part of Texas home.  One can stand or sit on our long deck any time of the day or night and be entertained as if you are watching a televised program on National Geographic or one of the programs similar to that.  The birds are amazing in their color, flight patterns, habits and how they eat from what Mother Nature has provided for them.

We moved back to the Peninsula after having lived in a beautiful condo in Galveston for several months since the storm.  Because of having to ride the ferry back and forth, and waiting in the always long lines, much of the workday was spent in transportation and we needed to get back on Bolivar to seriously begin the building process. Our seven lots are cleared and cleaned of all debris (except Ted's boat collection) and we are ready to begin.

We have been busy getting settled into new quarters, cleaning, decorating and putting things away.  It's beginning to look like home now.

We attended a huge panel discussion yesterday sponsored by The Public Adjusters for our Bolivar Peninsula residents to learn more about how we can continue to fight against the injustices being meted out by Texas Windstorm Insurance Association.  No one here on the entire Peninsula has been paid fairly that we know of anyway.  Most are being offered the 11.2 percent settlement we were presented with, which is nothing like what we are owed.  The battle continues!

Steven Alan Brown, soon to be 14,  came to live with Ted and I a week ago from his home in Tennessee.  It appears that his mom (my youngest daughter, Nikki) and my son in law (Steve Brown) are getting a divorce and breaking up their beautiful home nestled in the pretty pastureland of Tennessee just under the Kentucky border. Divorce is always hardest on the children and Steven and Brendan are no exception.  

Steven has adapted well to life in Southeast Texas and my friends have been wonderful to surround him with lots of love and attention.  He had his first week in eighth grade at our new Crenshaw School and did very well. He made 110 on his weekly spelling test by getting all of those hard words correctly and a bonus word.  He was thrilled as was I!   He is also continuing to take guitar lessons here on the Peninsula and enjoys that music. One of my friends brought him a new iPod and complete set up yesterday to the gathering, plus $100 of iTunes gift cards and he was absolutely delighted. He was also given a $25 gift card by another friend for helping with the gathering.

Ted can teach Steven a lot about "man stuff," and the two will no doubt fish, build, repair, tinker and oh, did I mention eat?  He and I have always had a special connection and nothing has ever broken that.

Please pray for my children that God's will can be done and that Brendan will fare well during all of this.  He is getting to visit his dad this weekend in Georgia and he was excited about that trip.

Happy Easter and Happy Spring to each of you, dear family and friends.

Settled into a leased cottage on the marsh on the Gulf

Dear Family and Friends,

Ted and I celebrated our second wedding anniversary yesterday amidst moving yet again.  We have been able to secure a nice little cottage located in our community on the marshland and Gulf.  We are much closer to the water than we were in our home that Ike took out (yes, Ginger and Millie, I do know that hurricane season is coming again in June and I have been reading the predictions for this year).  It is amazing to stand on our long deck and watch a myriad of birds taking off and nesting in the tall spring grass of the marsh.  

We leased the cottage from Victor Emmanuel of Victor Emmanuel Nature Tours.  Victor bought the cottage some years ago because of its location on the water and he is kind to allow us to lease it for a full year.  Again, we know we are better off than many of our dear friends who still have no home to call their own.

We are continuing the battle with Texas Windstorm Insurance Association and they have not paid what they should to us or anyone else.  Our protest in Austin on March 13, the six-month anniversary of Hurricane Ike, was effective and we got their attention, which was our goal.  The claims adjusters began calling on Saturday morning offering some of our folks a slight increase, but still not nearly what they should be paying.

We have engaged the services of a highly sought after public adjusting firm out of Florida, The Public Adjusters, and signed on with Chip Merlin of the Merlin Law Group, also out of Florida, to pursue our case should it go on to litigation.  We feel we honestly have no other options and think that these professionals may have a better chance than we, as individuals, would ever have against the  system we are facing.  I am very impressed with Chip's record and he is representing us personally because of the Yahoo Group, BolivarBLUE, and the number of contacts we have by way of that means.

BLUE continues to grow and provide important information to our members.  We are having a large meeting on Saturday where we will meet members of the adjusting team, weather experts, engineers who have been on Bolivar, and many other professionals engaged in this major recovery effort.

Steven, my oldest grandson, son of Steve and Nikki in Tennessee, has come to live with Ted and me here in Texas.  He is a fine boy, very intelligent, and enjoying going to school at the brand new campus on the beach.  He has completed his first three days successfully and came home with a 110 on his very difficult spelling test today.  He will be going into ninth grade next year and we are very proud of him.  We trust Brendan, the youngest, will come for much of the summer here with us as well.  Ted is a wonderful teacher, instructor, and pal to these boys.

My son, Brent Stancil, resigned Val Verde Baptist Church in Groves where he has pastored faithfully for some 12 years.  He will be moving to Saint Petersburg, Florida, where he will pastor the Community Baptist Church there.  His last Sunday in Texas will be April 26th.  It is a sad move for DeAnna, who has been thoroughly involved with the church since her move to Texas. I do trust that all of my good friends there in Florida will visit his new church and help to welcome him to The Sunshine State.  Val Verde has not called a new pastor, and the search committee is busily trying to determine God's will for this good group of folks who love the Lord and each other.

Sorry I have been so negligent in keeping up the blog site, but with the Yahoo Group and everything else I am involved in, I have very little time.  I am including a photo taken at the big protest in Austin on a cold, rainy, windy Texas day.  I had the opportunity or challenge to question Jim Oliver, the director of Texas Windstorm Insurance Association for quite a while on the wet parking lot.  We did not get satisfactory responses needless to say.

Sunday Morning Coming Down on the Bolivar Peninsula

We woke up early here on the Bolivar Peninsula on this fine Sunday morning in beautiful March, even with the time change arriving during the hours we slept. Looking out the windows of our newly repaired RV, we can see things we've never seen before from our property.  I can see many cars coming off the ferry from the Galveston area and old Fort Travis shines proudly now that crews have cleared debris and growth from in front of the massive bunkers that have protected many soldiers and civilians since its construction. The North Jetty is adorned with its fishermen and women, and even some smaller tykes. From time to time, one or the other of them appears to catch a fish or a crab.

I can also still see great piles of debris, parts of fallen in houses, abandoned vehicles, lawn mowers, boats (did I mention boats?), pieces of trailers to move those boats, blown sand piles, heavy equipment, tools of various degrees and flying American and Texan flags.  Bolivar, for all of the hard work by so many, still resembles a war zone where much combat took place.  It is discouraging at times and heartening at other times.  Clean up is dirty work and our beloved Peninsula will remain in this stage for a long time to come.  The cleared areas, for whatever reason that they have been worked, are encouraging and new growth is appearing here and there.

Many of our people cannot come home because many of them have no home left to come to. Most are in a battle for their life against the huge Texas Windstorm Insurance Association and we've found that this sad group is not playing by the rules.  More than 100 (at this point) of our friends, neighbors and family members are protesting their action (or lack of) in Austin in front of TWIA's offices on Friday, March 13, the exact anniversary of the day our lives changed so drastically. Many have come home — sort of, anyway — to RVs, fifth wheels, and partially repaired properties.  We laughingly call ourselves "slabbers" the name TWIA dubbed us early on after the storm. Many others we know simply cannot face coming here to the Peninsula where they believe their dreams of a lifetime died violently six months ago.  One of our neighbors has never been back and her husband says she cannot come back. She has developed a raging fear of the water, a fear of diseases she surmises are here, and a fear of losing her life, as at least four of our immediate neighbors did.

For me, personally, once I see the Gulf, with her lazy waves rolling in, or even on a windy day, when the waves beat their way to the shoreline, hear the cry of the gulls, watch the ships come and go, and see little children playing in the sand, I remember vividly why I nailed my mast to the staff here in this place and why I will fight to the bitter end to have my life continue where I choose to live.  Bolivar Peninsula is for me the very closest place I've found to the heart of God and what I most imagine Heaven to be like.  Until I change locations, love me, but don't worry about me.  I am a survivor.  I have good friends and a husband who are also survivors.  We will be back strong, vibrant, happy, peaceful and content, and, hey, you can come see us on vacation or any time you get an off day from your work.  We'd love to have you — as long as you behave yourselves, don't dirty up our beaches, treat the land and water respectively,  and join us in our effort to get fair treatment at the hand of our insurance companies.  We need your support and involvement as this battle continues.

Tennessee visit coming to an end

As plans now stand, I am leaving for the return trip to Texas in the early morning. Ted and I have much to accomplish there toward the rebuilding effort of our home which was lost to Hurricane Ike back in September.  Texas Windstorm Insurance Association offered us less than 9 percent of our total insured value, the same as they have our friends and neighbors, and it is a joke. We, of course, declined and are continuing to battle for our rightful payment.

Our Yahoo Internet Group, BolivarBLUE, which I founded shortly after the hurricane, has organized a protest demonstration in front of the big TWIA building in Austin, on Friday, March 13, for those who are dissatisfied with the association's practices.  Several dozen folks are joining us there and our media coverage has just gotten underway.  It is shameful that this huge association of insurance companies has banded together to beat lawful policy holders out of what is due them for their homes.

It is very simple.  We struggled to buy and pay for hurricane insurance for our homes.  We had a hurricane.  TWIA will not pay our policy values.  They have engaged in some unsavory practices, including, but not limited to, hooking up with engineering firms that are not on the ethical side to try to prove that water came before the wind. If you look up the definition of a hurricane, you will note it is a wind-driven event. Six months is long enough to wait and be patient, while many of the Bolivar Peninsula residents are virtually homeless.  And, for the record, FEMA is largely a joke, too.

DeAnna and Callie flew into Nashville and DeAnna and Nikki and I drove to Atlanta on Sunday in a terrible snow, sleet and ice storm to bury my nephew John Paul Richardson who was found dead in bed on Thursday. Cause of death has not been determined, but he did have sleep apnea and they believe that played a role.  Our sympathy goes out to Jean Richardson, his mom, Joe Richardson, his father, Misty, his sister, and handsome David, his brother, and to Willie Stancil, his grandmother who loved him greatly. How sad to bury a child or brother.

Please continue to pray for the residents of the Bolivar Peninsula who were so affected by Hurricane Ike and its aftermath.  Our battle has been underway for six months now and we are tired, but not discouraged.

I am uploading a photo DeAnna sent me last night of Mother (Flo Davis) and myself taken at my retirement party last January.  Mother died on August 26, 2008 on her 87th birthday after suffering a stroke caused by a cancerous brain tumor.  

Having fun on the Tennessee Farm...

My sister in law, Teresa Fowler Stancil, drove up from the Atlanta, Georgia area to the Nashville, Tennessee farm of my daughter and son in law, Steve and Nikki Brown, to spend the weekend with us.  We've had such fun playing "farmers,"and feeding the various animals who call this home.  We went to WalMart (everyone goes to town on Saturday here) and we bought fresh carrots for the horses, made big milk bottles for the baby calves, and bought cream cheese and olives for the people.

Coming home, we hurried to the barn to feed the calves before dark.  As Teresa was feeding Rusty, the largest of the five horses, he decided he liked her finger as well as the crunchy carrot she was holding for him.  The baby calves, born December 23, were Christmas gifts to Steve, Nikki, Steven and Brendan and have been the source of much fun and learning for the entire family. Nikki often calls Texas to tell PaPa Ted that she thinks of him warmly every morning at 5:30 AM when she marches out to the barn in the cold to bottle feed the babies.  They are growing quickly now and Truffles, Steven's calf, is the largest by far.  Oreo and Beau are keeping up and they can empty the giant bottles in only seconds now.  They have also adapted well to the sweet feed provided for them and are now eating some hay to supplement the milk diet.

We've played Scrabble, bowled on the Wii game, cooked and eaten great food, made music with the boys, and in general, enjoyed ourselves immensely.  Steven and Teresa both play guitar and Steven also plays drums, so it has been an eventful, fun-filled weekend we will long remember. We also got in a bit of shopping and discussed all of the recent books we have read as well as escorting Steven and his little friend, Callie, and Ryan and Nikki, on a double date to Hendersonville for a Valentine movie.  Teresa and I chose to see Clint Eastwood in Gran Torino.

There's nothing like enjoying the simple things of life and being around those you love. DeAnna and Melissa, you've missed a hoot of a time!  Had you been able to see Teresa when the horse chomped on her finger while the calves were butting her, you would have convulsed in laughter.

PaPa Ted was so right in suggesting the calves as Christmas gifts.  They've been great hits!

Until the next page turns,

Brenda

Another spectacular event -Valentine Gathering for BolivarBLUE

Property owners and residents of the Bolivar Peninsula were treated to a wonderful afternoon event at Coconuts, a really good restaurant now open, on Saturday, February 7.  BolivarBLUE, a Yahoo Internet Group I founded shortly after Hurricane Ike ravaged our shores, hosted the celebration for some very hard working and tired folks.  Everyone had a ball and many got to reconnect with old and dear friends while many others made new friends and met neighbors on the Peninsula.

A lifelong friend of mine in the Atlanta area, Pam Hicks Gresham, could not see how our women folks were making it after having lost their jewelry to the storm so she organized a collection to replace some of it among her family and friends and church members.  Pam's idea soon spread and we had jewelry coming from many places.  Each piece was bagged and sealed and the women were invited to come and choose. What fun they had opening their bags and seeing new and interesting sparkling things to be treasured.

Another friend on the site and a tireless worker on the Peninsula, wanted to share her very large collection of cook books with ladies who had lost theirs.  Edith Watson with the help of Dianne Ledet, founder of the Bolivar Peninsula Yahoo Group, brought over 1,000 volumes and shared with our guests.  Another donation came from Meredith Hamilton who gave 100 copies of the Winnie Rice Festival cook books, which were big hits, too.

We also were joined by more than two dozen vendors and service providers offering help to the residents.  All in all, it was a wonderful day on the beach for all concerned.

If you are interested in keeping up with happenings on the Bolivar Peninsula, you are welcome to go to Yahoo Groups and type in BolivarBLUE (spelled in this fashion) and we'll gladly welcome you.  The "BLUE" is an acronym for Beach Lovers United Effectively and we're having such fun with this crew.  Ted is a tireless advocate for recruiting new members and tells everyone he meets about the site.

Our thanks to Rusty and Becky Cluck who took charge of our decorations and did a masterful job, to Randy and Terri Ward who always work, to Edith Watson and Dianne Ledet, and to many others who contributed.  

Evening with Author Mitch Albom - Fantastic

Many hours of hard work came to a culmination last Thursday evening, February 5, in Beaumont, Texas at the beautiful Julie Rogers Theatre when best selling author Mitch Albom came to speak. His appearance in Southeast Texas was hosted by the Todd Christopher Legacy of Love Cancer Foundation, of which I was honored to have been named publicist. It was an astonishing evening for everyone concerned.

More than 1,300 people filled the seats of the Julie Rogers and Albom did not disappoint a single one of them when he spoke about his old college professor Morrie. You may remember that he hit the best seller lists with his sensational book, "Tuesdays with Morrie," followed by "The Five People You Meet in Heaven," and his latest, "For One More Day." Albom is also an acclaimed ESPN sportscaster and appears weekly on the Sports Reporters Show on ESPN. He is also an accomplished musician and songwriter, among his many other talents.

I had the privilege of being his private host for the evening's event and was so pleased to see that Mitch is pretty much a "regular guy" when he first arrived in the green room before speaking to the waiting audience. We talked about the local area, people likely to be in the audience and his new book on faith coming out in September.  From the minute he took the podium, he had the audience in his grip.  I watched and listened from the shadows of the stage curtains.  When he finished his speech, something very interesting happened.  The audience stood to is collective feet and did not move nor make a sound.

Ted was in the audience and he was very impressed.  He said he'd never seen anything quite like it.  No one wanted to move or leave.  They simply stood in a reverent attendance.  Finally, as one, they begin to clap and clap and clap.  Mitch had agreed to sign copies of his latest book and I had the joy of again being with him during this lengthy process.  He literally met hundreds of folks, spoke with them and graciously signed their books.

It is so nice to be able to report when a well known guest makes an appearance where folks have worked hard to prepare for them that they are far more than was expected.  In this case, Mitch Albom went above and beyond  what folks thought he might be.  He is one of  the better speakers I've ever heard and Ted agrees.  He makes his audience seriously think about what he has said.  The topic was "For One More Day," and making our lives count.

WOW! 

If you ever get the opportunity to hear him, go, whatever it takes.  And, buy his books, too!

Making a difference...one person at a time...

One of my favorite little stories of recent years is the one about the young man walking along on a deserted beach on a windy, blustery day. An embittered older gentleman was standing above him on a bluff observing the young man stopping often, picking up something, and seemingly tossing whatever it was back into the surf.

Finally the older man couldn't stand it any longer, so he walked down and blocked the young man's way.  He then saw thousands of starfish stranded on the beach from the recent high tide.  "Don't you know that you can't save all of these starfish?" he asked the younger man. "You're just wasting your time here.  Go on and do something that matters to the world."  The young man smiled back and continued to toss the starfish back into the water.  "What I'm doing sure makes a difference to that one starfish I just tossed back into the water."

I firmly believe that's the attitude Christians must have about their work in this world.  We may not be able to change every bad situation or help every person with which we come into contact, but we can certainly work to be a blessing and help to one person at a time.  Who knows what an encouraging smile, a friendly hello, an invitation for a quick meal, or something more substantial might do to change a life?  Kindness doesn't always win, but I had much rather be found on the side of erring toward goodness than evil.

I read a story this week that focused my mind on the coming Super Bowl.  I have checked several references to be certain that the facts are straight and it is a wonderfully heart-warming reflection on one man changing the world for one family.  Normally, when I don't have a favorite team playing, the Super Bowl isn't all that thrilling, but I've decided this week that I'm cheering for the Arizona Cardinals and their quarterback, Kurt Warner.  My choice has little to do with football or his skill in the game, but I like his attitude about life.

I read that Kurt Warner worked as a bag boy for a local grocery store. One day he was called up front to help bag groceries and when he looked at the young lady running the register, he was shocked by her beauty.  He waited around the store entrance a few days later hoping to run into her again.  Sure enough, she clocked out and came out the door.  He asked if he could take her home.  She said no.

A day or two later, he waited and asked again if he could drive her home.  Again, she said no. Finally he got up the nerve to ask her out on a real date.  She said, "I'd like to go out with you, but I think you should know that I am divorced and have two children."  Warner simply smiled and said, "No problem.  I'll get a sitter." The night of the date arrived and the sitter didn't. Brenda (just happens we share the same name) called and said, "We can't go out.  The sitter did not show."  Warner said it didn't matter and suggested that they take the kids with them. Brenda objected and told him that her son had been in an accident when he was young and required special care.  Warner again said that it didn't matter.  The couple went out and took the kids with them.  Brenda (now Warner) said that she was truly amazed at how good Kurt was with her children, and especially her son.  When he had to go to the bathroom, Kurt took him and never complained once.

Later in an interview, Brenda is quoted as saying, "He fell in love with the children first and with me later."  Some time later, the two married and Warner has enjoyed a wonderful ride into his new position as quarterback of the Super Bowl team, the Arizona Cardinals.  They now have seven children, the two from Brenda's first marriage and five of their own.

To me, this is a thrilling example of one man making a change in another's life.  

I can't help but root for the good guy to win on Sunday afternoon while the world watches.

Bolivar BLUE Valentine Gathering on February 7th

Happy Valentine Day to family and friends and a 

special reminder to all of the members of 

Bolivar BLUE, Bolivar Peninsula residents,

renters, property owners, and friends...

You are cordially invited to attend a Valentine

Gathering beginning at 2, at Coconuts on Highway 87 on the Peninsula. We will enjoy a time of fellowship together with both old and new friends, some great door prizes and some surprise gifts from folks around the country.

The meal is to be purchased from Coconuts - Dutch treat, so you'll eat what you want.

Let Tward1216@yahoo.com or myself, brendacannonhenley@yahoo.com know that you plan to be attendance for this special event.

Following the Valentine Gathering, representatives will be on hand to answer questions about housing needs for Bolivar residents.  This part of the program will begin at 4 and only those that are interested are asked to stay.  

Until the next page turns, and Happy Valentine to all,

Brenda

Sorry I've been so negligent...

Hello Friends and Family Members...Mitch Albom, author of "Tuesdays with Morrie," "The Five People You Meet in Heaven," and "For One More Day" is coming to speak in Beaumont on February 5.  He is pictured on the right.  More details in post.

Life has been on the very fast track for the past few weeks and we haven't stopped to catch our breath it seems.  We stayed in Nashville with the kids for a week and bought new calves for Steve, Nikki, Steven and Brendan for Christmas as well as a few other things we had taken up for surprises.  Nikki said every morning around five when she goes out to feed them their big bottles, she thinks of Ted very warmly.  But, truthfully, they love the big babies and are having fun with them.  Steven's calf, Truffles, is the largest and will bring the most money when it is sold.

From Nashville, we went on to Amarillo, Ted's home town, and visited there for a week and then returned to Galveston Island where we continue our long, long battle with FEMA, Texas Windstorm Insurance and trying to get electricity turned on and the beginnings of a house started.  We do have water!  And, I mean the kind that comes in a pipe and not by way of a storm.  Texas Windstorm continues to delay and everyone is getting angry over the four-month long battle. They are now saying that the study group of experts that they commissioned could not come to an agreement about what happened and it will now be the end of February before we are told whether they are going to pay or not.  So unfair after we, like our friends, paid those insurance payments faithfully to them.  We just want to resume our life on the beach.

Pam Hicks Gresham, a dear friend in Atlanta, has come up with an idea for all the ladies of Bolivar.  She just could not understand how we were making it without our "things," so she organized a group of family and friends to collect gently used and new jewelry and is sending it to the women of the Peninsula who lost everything.  My sister, Paula, also got involved and told the folks in her office who also wanted to share. Martha, my sister in law, told another sister in law who got involved and then a daughter in Dallas told her church, so we are having jewelry sent from various places.

We are organizing a February outing to disburse these lovely gifts of caring from many different places.  I think our ladies will love it!  And, our sincere appreciation to all those who have participated.  The boxes can be shipped to Post Office Box 323, Port Bolivar, Texas 77650.

I have also been very involved in the publicity for the Todd Christopher Legacy of Love Cancer Foundation.  The group has a huge event planned for Thursday evening, February 5, at the Julie Rogers Theatre in Beaumont, where Mitch Albom will speak.  Mitch wrote the very successful book, "Tuesdays with Morrie," featured on the Oprah Book Club, "The Five People You Meet in Heaven," and  his latest best seller, "For One More Day."  I have been named publicist for this group and have been busy designing ads, fliers and personal appearances for the committee members.  We are doing radio, television and much print media.  It is a wonderful opportunity for the folks in Southeast Texas to meet and hear Mitch Albom, who is also a sportscaster for ESPN and an excellent speaker and radio personality.  Tickets are available by calling (409) 962-7866.

I continue to work daily with the Bolivar BLUE Yahoo Group members.  This is a group I founded shortly after Hurricane Ike hit our area.  To join this group and to keep up with what is going on here, simply go to Yahoo Groups and click on Bolivar BLUE and you will be directed to the site.  The BLUE is an acronym for Beach Lovers United Effectively, an idea I came up with around 3 a.m. one day shortly after the storm hit.  Ted and I have made some wonderful new friends in this group and have had many questions answered.

Have lots of new pictures to post and will just as soon as I can grab a minute.  Note to the lady who wrote me about the painting of bluebonnets done by Flo Davis in the 80s.  I don't think that was my mother, but I would love to know more about the painting.  My husband loves bluebonnets and has many pictures of them he has taken.  I have not been able to get back to you from the posting on the guest book.  So sorry.  I have tried.

Until the next page turns,

Brenda

If you want to write to me, please use brendacannonhenley@yahoo.com.