Follow Me to Heaven
I received an e-mail from my grandchildren’s mother the other day, and she told me this about my youngest granddaughter Chelsea:†Speaking of Chelsea, she is doing very well in high school so far. She gets good grades, and her teachers seem to respect and like her. She was baptized on Superbowl Sunday! I was so proud. I thought of her Great Grandma Dolly on that day and of how proud she would be that all 3 of her great granddaughters know the Lord and have been “dunked”. I have to say, I feel relieved myself. I can’t explain it, but I feel as though now that they have all been baptized, I know the Lord will always be with them, and they will follow me to heaven someday. It’s a comforting feeling. And does a mother’s heart good.â€
What a wonderful message to receive, and I especially liked “……and they will follow me to heaven somedayâ€.  I have always strived to be good enough to get into heaven, but I never actually assumed I would go to heaven. I guess I always thought I would be assessed upon arrival at the Pearly Gates. If you live according to His will, why shouldn’t you assume you will go to heaven? Maybe I need to be more positive about my salvation!  Thanks, JoAnn, for such a wonderful message.
Jerilyn has recovered from her fight with a cold. As a matter of fact, we are making preparations for our trip to Myrtle Beach next week. She just had me print out the weather for the next 10 days down there.  We certainly are looking forward to it. We haven’t been out of town since last August due to her mother’s increasingly bad health. For now, everything is go for liftoff.  No, Gladys does not know about it yet. We have to wait and spring it on her about two days before we leave. Otherwise, she gets really sick really fast. I think we all hate deceit, don’t you?
My cousin Jesse is still fighting his cancer. He received some bad news from his doctor the other day. The chemo he was taking is not working, and his cancer has increased in size in several locations. They plan on giving him an experimental type of chemo starting in a couple of weeks. He is a wonderful person with a lot of faith in God, and he has placed his fate in His hands. I pray for him daily, and if you have room for him on your prayer list, please place him on it.  Our family will be so grateful.
My next-door neighbor (John) and I have been trying to set up his laptop so he can log on to my wireless network to get on the internet.  After several attempts, we decided the signal was just too weak, so we ordered a signal expander to increase the signal strength. It should arrive in a few days. I will keep you advised on our progress.
I was out in the driveway yesterday, with the hood of our car up, trying to diagnose a squeal coming from the serpentine belt that travels all over the engine. John walks over, studies the situation for a few minutes, and says, “Squirt some WD-40 right thereâ€, pointing to a pulley located at the top of the engine. I walk into the garage and come back with a spray can filled with silicone. Two minutes later, the squeal was gone. “John,†says I, “anytime I open the hood on one of my vehicles, I need to get you over here!â€Â  Says he, “Well, my father used to say any dumb hog will find an acorn sometime.â€Â  Humility is a wonderful thing, don’t ya think?
I have been working on my weedeater the last few days. I finally discovered the location of the gas leak. It is about 14 years old, and I guess the tank just got tired and sprung a leak. I tried several remedies, and then my friend John suggested I get some of this clay-like stuff you knead together, and then it hardens. Off I go to Advance Auto and come back with the stuff he suggested. It appears to be working. It has been in place for two days, and as of yet, I have not detected a leak. I sure hope John doesn’t plan on moving away anytime soon.
Jerilyn and I attended Chris’ birthday dinner Sunday evening at a Chinese restaurant that cooks the food on a grill in front of you. The chef did a lot of clever things to entertain us, and we left with a full stomach and the warm feeling that goes with spending time with family. Chris appears to be anxious to start his life as an adult. He has less than 60 days left before graduation from high school. I’m sure he will do well as an adult.
I went to a retirement breakfast yesterday morning with my friend Skip in Williamsburg (30 minutes away). I think the only requirement is that you have to be a Newport News Shipbuilding retiree, and with 43 years of service, I certainly qualified (and so did Skip with 42.5 years). I was surprised at the number of people that attended, possibly 75 or more. I doubt that I have ever seen so many old people in one room before. An old friend of mine, whom I had not seen in many years, sat across the table from me and asked me several times what my name was. Another guy, who probably fought in the Civil War, spent several minutes telling me about his adventures in the shipyard. I guess I have a pretty good idea of what lies in store for me down the road.
Reminds me of a joke I heard recently: This old fella (Bill), in his late 80s, loved to play golf, but his eyesight was bad, and he couldn’t see where his golf ball landed after hitting it. One day he came upon a solution: His next-door neighbor (Ed), who was in his 90s, had perfect eyes, so he asked Ed to go with him, and he agreed. Bill gets to the first tee and knocks the ball down the fairway. “Ed,†says Bill, “did you see where my golf ball went?â€Â “Yes,†says Ed, and as they walk down the fairway, Bill says, “ok, Ed, where is it?†  “I dunno,†says Ed, “ I forgot.â€
You can find my blog at: http://tommyhale.blogspot.com/ or my pictures at: http://bipolar66.smugmug.com
I hope you’re enjoying whatever season it is in your part of the world. Thanks for reading my weekly missive.
Tommy
“Paradise is here or nowhere: You must take your joy with you, or you will never find it.” ….O.S. Marden
