MY TWO UNCLES

 

Left to right Uncle Ernest, Uncle Hollis, Grandma Isabel, my dad David --1977 --photo by Chris

The first story my mom related about Uncle Ernest, (5 November 1916 to 15 January 1980), was that she was on the North Central High School journalism staff with him.  One day he took her books from her and threw them down the school hallway.  She was stunned.  Then he went and picked up her books and gave them to her.  He asked her out on a date.  When she went home and told her family that she had been invited out, her older sister Evelyn, insisted that my mom get dates for her and their friend so that they could go as a group.  When my mom told Ernest that her sister and their friend wanted to be included, Ernest brought his two brothers, Hollis (25 May 1912 to 10 November 1985), and David (22 June 1914 to 11 March 2003), along with him.  From then on my mom and dad were a couple.  Uncle Ernest met is wife Emily when he attended the Pilgrims Club at the Congregational/ United Church of Christ.  Both couples were married in 1939-- Ernest and Emily in September and Dave and Grace in November.  Hollis and Jeanne were married in March of 1940. 

The second story my mom told happened when I was two years old in 1945.  We were enjoying a day at a beach.  My mom loved to swim so she asked my Uncle Ernest if he would watch me.  Ernest assumed that I would be like my brother, Jay, and cousin Kit, and play in the sand.  No such luck.  I took off after my mom and jumped off the dock into the deep water.  Ernest had all of his shoes and clothes on but jumped in after me and brought me to shore.  He assumed I wouldn't do that again.  Unfortunately I took off again and jumped in and he had to rescue me again.

When I was a  senior in high school Uncle Ernest advised me to develop a passion about something, and to choose that as a major in college.  I developed a passion for boys and dated as many as I could!

When I was in college Uncle Hollie gave me a whole bag of candy bars.  I was very popular in the dorm as long as they lasted.  When our daughter, Heather, was born, he built a rocking horse for her.  She still has it and used it with her children.

Hollis photo by Chris

Rocking horse by Hollis

I'm thankful that Uncle Ernest out lived his mother, Isabel,(26 March 1887 to 3 September 1979), by a year.  It is too difficult for a parent to loose a child to death.  

My dad chose II Corinthians 12:9 as his life verse for the grave markers below --  "But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me."

CULTURE SHOCK

 Duncan Gardens Spokane, photo by Chris

The lives of my grandparents, both sets of which settled in Spokane, seemed to be well ordered.  One grandfather was born in New York State and one grandmother was born in Wisconsin. The other grandmother and grandfather were born in Iowa.  Both my parents and my older brother were born in Spokane.  The Inland Empire, so it was called, seemed to be the ideal place to dwell.  But then WW II happened.  Families were displaced as a result.

Spokane Falls photo by Chris

My family ended up in California.  We adjusted to the mild weather and wonderful growing conditions for orchards and vegetable gardens.  We were thrilled when we had snow one day.  We didn't need to change out of our summer clothes to enjoy the snow as it was all melted within hours.

Me with Evy photo by Grace

Then, due to a career change for my dad, we moved to Alaska.  That was culture shock for sure.  We wore heavy clothes almost all year round.  It was dark all day during the winter and daylight all day and night in the summer. My dad did shed down to a short sleeved shirt when the temp hit 0 degrees. 

 

Dick, Dorothy, Evy, Jay, me, neighbors. Photo by Grace

Two years later we were transferred to Washington D.C. We lived in Virginia and Dad commuted. What a shock to the system.  We were expected to wear more formal clothes, say "sir" and "ma'am,"use "white" fountains and rest rooms, attend "white" schools, etc.,etc.  I felt restricted-- hemmed in.  The humidity was heavy and oppressive in the summer.  We had hurricanes and other heavy weather. The drivers were not prepared to drive in the snow. 

Jay, Emily, Grace, Wayne, Davy, Evy, Dave, Kit, me, Rinda. Photo by Ernie

But then I met some very nice people.  At church I felt loved-- especially because of Reverend Mac and his family, and other kind people. When I attended Madison College in Harrisonburg, VA I had a roommate from southern Virginia.  Her accent was so deep we had difficulty understanding her.  When we were assigned to read "Uncle Remus" in our children's lit course she read it to us flawlessly. I then appreciated people from different cultures.

I thought of all of this culture shock I had experienced in the past after reading two novels recently.  The first book was "Frontier Lady-- Lone Star Legacy," by Judith Pella.  It involves a woman being rescued by a tribe of Indians and marrying one of the chiefs.  I enjoyed learning about the different thinking of the various tribes.  But it was a shock to me to see that they had no knowledge of Jesus or about His love and sacrifice for them.  There were some who did know in their hearts that there is a God. Because of that they chose to do what was right. 

Then I read-- "Their Eyes Were Watching God," by Zara Neale Hurston.  It is written in that deep southern dialect which makes it hard to read.  I wished I had my old roommate to read it to me. Through the whole book all I could think about was that these are little sheep who have no Good Shepherd. They were running hither and thither living but not knowing the care of Jesus.  If they had only known about God and how good His laws are they wouldn't have been so lost.  But there were some in this story who knew instinctively that there is a God and that they are accountable in the end.  

And now we have culture shock in America.  Some are so lost and have no idea that they have a Good Shepherd to watch.  God has revealed Himself through creation and through His Word.  No one has an excuse.  I pray that all will turn to God before it is too late.

How about you?  Have you ever struggled with culture shock?

AMIR TSARFATI -- DAYS OF EZEKIEL

 

Amir Tsarfati spoke last Sunday in Bothell, WA.  He is a messianic Jew and is an Israeli.  You can find out more about him on his website https://beholdisrael.org/  His sermon, sprinkled with humor, was thorough.  He covered the appearance of Jesus to the disciples after the  resurrection, and then the prophecies in the Old Testament.  If you would like to know more about end times he gives scripture references.  Click on the You Tube above to hear his 45 minute discourse.

A SHY SUCCESS

 

My dad did some writing about family in his later years.  He wrote this about Evy several years after she had passed away.  

A SHY SUCCESS
by
DAVE STOWELL

I'm not very good at remembering names, but some stick with me for 
various reasons. Out of hundreds of men in my medium tank battalion, 
I can recall only 2 names. Captain Kidd was so easy, but for a 
beautiful name it was Peter Rigoletto Spinabella. Difficult names I 
find are forgettable. My neurologist spells his last name K-O-O-I-K-
E-R (pronounced Quaker). Trying to pronounce it over the telephone 
gave me fits. Some names I try to identify from national origin, 
others with personality. 

Evelyn was a shy personality -- a wall flower. She had an older 
sister who tended to dominate, and a younger brother who got lots of 
attention. When Evelyn learned to read, books were her best 
friends. She read History, Biography, Art Music, Languages, 
Economics, Political Science, the Encyclopedia and lots more. 

Often artistic objects would appear around her; a large painting, a 
small painting, an afghan, a tool box
 When asked about them she 
would shrug it off with "Oh I did that in my spare time." She played 
Guitar, Clarinet and Saxophone. 

When selling Girl Scout Cookies in a big office, she found that while 
she could not speak to the whole crowd at once, she was comfortable 
with one-on-one contacts. Her shyness drew sympathy and customers 
found themselves buying more cookies than they had expected. The 
Girl Scout leaders were puzzled by her far above average sales. That 
sort of surprise at her success was happening more and more often. 

When a statewide band or orchestra was being formed, she decided to 
take her clarinet and try out in an over packed field. Aggressive 
candidates urged the conductor to choose them. Evelyn as usual stood 
next to the wall. Finally the conductor decided to put on a 
blindfold and listen to each one without peeking. He was astounded 
to find that he had put Evelyn in first chair when he had not even 
noticed her before. 

Evelyn attended a couple of institutions of higher learning including 
University of Washington. She graduated from U. C. Santa Barbara 
with a degree in Mathematics and Computers. She went to work at 
Ampex, the company that Invented taped TV shows for broadcast. For 
sports they introduced Instant Replay. Their customers were TV 
stations and networks. The company kept finding more useful chores 
that Evelyn could handle. She earned a graduate degree in 
International Finance by staying hours after work to listen to 
professors who were successful business men throughout Silicon 
Valley. These professors urged Evelyn to consult with them by 
computer and TV screen; that introduced her to key figures in that 
technical business. She gained many important and useful contacts. 

Evelyn wound up moving up from Ampex to Ampex International. Each 
morning she checked the Wall Street Journal on Financial Money 
Markets. Salesmen and representatives of Ampex called her from far 
parts of the globe. She was not chief of anything but they needed to 
know "Should we require cash for the sale or would it be safe to 
extend credit?" With several phones on her desk she was able to 
answer questions or help people make connections. A truck driver 
might come to the loading dock to pick up crated equipment and find 
nothing ready. Instead of working upward through responsible lines 
of control, taking much time, the driver could go to Evelyn to 
explain his problem. She would make a phone call and the driver's 
problem was solved. 

Her experience with credit made her invaluable to the credit union. 
When a borrower decided to buy a car she found there was no stopping 
it even when poor deals were set up. She did her best to make sure 
her credit union got the best deals. 

Evelyn was taller than average, so what little dating she did was 
with men who were taller than she was. One (Jay Richwood) was 
especially smitten by her personality and she finally married him. 
She made sure he completed a degree in Pharmacology. He got a job 
representing a drug research and sales company. 

Then it all came apart. She was struck down with Lymphoma cancer and 
died at the age of 49. Many of those in the large group of Ampex 
mourners were heard to say "What will we do without Evelyn?"

( Yes, the whole family was lost without her.  She was the support of all of us.)

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY

The Kings Return, a Dallas based a cappella group, arranged, "God Bless America,"  and performed it in the above video. 

Have a wonderful 4th!🎆

BULLIES

Jay 1950 Burbank, CA

My older brother, Jay, was a mild mannered sort of guy.  He went to school, did his homework, and was good to our younger sister and to me.  He never fought with anybody until we lived in Fairbanks, Alaska. 

While living in Alaska we would wear wool scarves over our noses and mouths while we walked to and from school in below 0 weather. It was dangerous to run as we could freeze our lungs. Our neighbor girl, Mickey, decided to pick on Jay.  Many times he would run home to avoid  a confrontation with her.  One time our Aunt Evelyn was babysitting because our next to the youngest brother, Davy, had just been born.  That day Jay rushed into the kitchen and slammed the door.  He was wheezing; his undiagnosed asthma caused him to gasp for each breath.  Aunt Evelyn was alarmed and asked why he was out of breath.  He explained that he was avoiding having to deal with the neighbor girl.  

This was not acceptable to Aunt Evelyn.  She informed Jay that if Mickey picked on him again he was to wash her face in snow without hurting her.  So the next time Mickey caught Jay he did as instructed.  

Unfortunately Mickey complained to her parents and they complained to the school.  Jay and Mom were called to the principal's office.  Mother was then angry at her sister as she didn't approve of violence.  

But sometimes people must stand up to bullies.  I was interested in how voter fraud was taken care of in 1944.  The military veterans had just come home after winning WW II and were shocked at the corruption. Click on the You Tube below to view the 14 minute video.  Do you approve or disapprove of this method of taking care of bullies?

Psalm 82:4 Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.

 

ANGELS OR UFOS?

 

I've never seen a UFO but apparently many pilots have.  The radar that tracks these anomalies reveals high speed movements which challenge the laws of physics.  I have heard several theories such as -- China or Russia have aviation technology that we are not aware of, beings from other galaxies are observing us, or they are something that the United States has kept secret.

As I watch the news and contemplate these strange sightings in the sky -- I have my own theory.  Could they be good angels fighting bad angels?

As a child, I enjoyed the Sunday School song called "Angels Watching Over Me."  I found a You Tube of Sara Groves singing the melody.  Click on the You Tube above.  And then because of the 1980's books by Frank Peretti I can imagine great warfare going on in the spiritual realm.  If you have ever read any of Frank Peretti's books you know what I mean.  I added "When at night I go to sleep" sung by Charlotte Church.  It depicts 14 angels watch do keep.

I'm looking forward to the greatest UFO ever.  The Bible tells us that the New Jerusalem will descend from Heaven---  Revelation 21: 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 

10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, 11 having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. 12 It had a great, high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed— 13 on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. 14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

Now that is what I look for!

The New Jerusalem by Carly Simon: