R I P
? - September 15, 2009

You know it will happen someday.
Doesn't mean you'll be ready for it.
Dogs are fairly short-lived creatures
but live longer than others.
Lizzie reached the end of her fight today.
She will be missed.

I found this online and it seemed very appropriate.
It is not used by permission, but I think the author would understand:

My Little Friend

I have a little friend whose always by my side,
We're never very far apart no matter what the time.
I have a little friend who listens to what I say and doesn't judge
me for what I've done but what's inside of me.
She gives me the support I need to make it through the day.
And when I'm sad she seems to know just what I need to have.
My little friend is not like me she has some things I don't,
like four legs, a tail that wags and a nose that's wet and cold.
She lets me know with a gentle nudge that she cares
and is there for me.
We'll never be that far apart,
and when the time does come,
I know we'll be together again in that spot above.

- Linda McBroom©1997

I'm doing pretty good for July 15th ...

I'm doing pretty good for July 15th ...
What do you mean it's Labor Day?

We are at a stopping point on the window painting / repair / replacement on the house. (Sorry, no photos) It started out as a couple day job painting window trim. We've spent close to 3 weeks on it. We have replaced 4 windows and have pretty much decided over the next year or so to replace almost all of them.

Moving along ...

Outside of a kid calling her Grandma, Sue can't think of a much higher honor than a little kid pulling on his Mom's hand and pointing and saying "That's my Sunday School teacher". Here are a couple of her students and a couch full of mine

Someone asked how the restaurant was doing, so here are a few candid shots

It's hard to get a waitress to stand still long enough for a photo

And it is so famous people travel all the way from Idaho to eat there

Well, enough for now. Be sure and visit the farm site at www.bumpusfarms.us

Middle August

Has it really been that long since I posted on here? Time flies ... whether you are having fun or not. Since my last post we have painted and irrigated and irrigated.
We've survived Vacation Bible School.

We've been to the family reunion.
(See www.BumpusReunion.info for some photos)
And irrigated.
We have gotten to see a lot of thunderclouds ...
in the distance

But we've been down this road before

Sometimes you just have to stop and park in the shade

and enjoy what there is to see

Oh, and if you want to have some real fun the next few days
we bought 3 gallons of paint for the trim on the house.

Mindless musings

Yes, it is 4:15 AM. It's irrigation season and I have been out shutting down a system in the middle of the night. Problem is I am now wide awake I thought it would be around about 3. Wrong! It was around about 2. So I reversed it, sped it up, and set my alarm on my cell phone for 1/2 an hour and took a nap in the middle of a soybean field. Now I'm home and awake. Maybe it is time for some unconnected mindless musings.

From http://www.thefreedictionary.com/musing
mus·ing (myzng)

adj. Deep in thought; contemplative.

n. 1. Contemplation; meditation.2. A product of contemplation; a thought.
I've been reading the obits again. I know,the kids don't understand why one would want to do that. It is probably the most "real" part of any paper. I saw a line in one today that really made me pause and contemplate A brief excerpt. "passed away Friday evening, in his residence. He was preceded in death by his wife of 65 years on Oct. 29, 2006. Due to severe prolonged loneliness, he took his life." I pondered on such loneliness. Who might I know that was that lonely and if so what could I do about it. No answers yet.

Actually, he sounds like he might have been one of those folks who would be fascinating to visit with if you could steer the conversation the right way. The obit said "in 1937, he joined the U.S. Navy. World War II broke out shortly after his release from the Navy. He joined the U.S. Army Air Corps and served in World War II from which he was honorably discharged."

To my generation such dedication to country has been largely unheard of.

"He purchased a trucking company in 1946, in Annapolis, Ill., and sold it in 1961."

That all by itself would make me want to look at him and go "What? ...a trucking company in Annapolis?" And to operate it for 15 years and then sell it!

In 1952, he bought the *** tavern in West Terre Haute and sold it in 1961 as well.

Well, maybe that explains the exit from trucking. Beating around in a 40's or 50's truck on narrow 2 lane highways could drive anyone to drink!

During 1964, he became owner of *** Sporting Goods business. He transported live bait throughout the Midwest.

Putting his trucking experience back to good use?

During that time, he became interested in burglar alarms. He developed his own burglar alarm system that was UL approved called *** and distributed it to many homes and businesses in the Wabash Valley.

Sounds interesting. I just bet if a person could have sat and picked his mind there were a lot of fascinating stories and good ideas in there. But he let his loneliness get the best of him. Another lesson learned.

Well, enough musings for now. Maybe I'll have more later.



.

VBS 2009

One of the high points of the year for me is Vacation Bible School.

It is also one of the most exhausting.

It does weird things to you

(yes, that is Steve Sheets)
You get to try new experiences in child care

(and Rick Poorman)

And it makes you do things you would not normally do

But for some reason when I suggest going to 10 day VBS next year everyone gives me the same look?

....actually, that wasn't it.

And when VBS is over for another year everyone gets excited about that as well


But we will do it again next year and love almost every minute of it.
I can hardly wait.

The trouble with having your name on the truck door:

Sue and I had been out for supper for our anniversary and stopped by Wal-Mart in Terre Haute for some grand-kid supplies. When we were walking back to the truck the lady parked beside us said "You don't remember me do you? 26 years ago I was broke down along side the road Highway 154 and you guys gave me a ride to my dad's place." I guess I'm a bit ashamed I didn't, but I'm glad it is not so uncommon to offer someone help that I don't remember all the faces.

Sue and I got to discussing some of the folks we had stopped and assisted (my kids will tell you the old guy rarely passes a stopped vehicle with a person inside, especially a female with kids). I guess one thing really stuck with us. We have done it so often that it is second nature to us, and so few of them we remember.

I'm sure to them it is a memorable experience and like Pam (the lady's name) they remember details. But to us it is just something we do. I only remember one time vividly. We were coming back from Sue's folks and a young woman and child were stranded. We ended up bringing them home for the night and arranging for their car to be repaired the next day. It is the only time I really felt we stuck our necks out for 2 reasons. 1) we brought them into our house even though we did not know them (and to be honest I can't tell you her name today) and 2) we went to our local mechanic, who had a wrecker at the time, and told him we would guarantee he was paid for the parts on this job so the only risk he had was the labor.

I am also struck by something else. I do not recall ever feeling threatened in any way. As pastor Jack would say, God has been good to us.

Hello from the fireworks capitol of SE IL and SW IN

OK, so maybe I am rubbing it in a bit. West Union went ahead with our scheduled fireworks July 4th. I'm told the closest place that didn't cancel as French Lick. The crowd was WAY down, but it was one of the better fireworks shows they've had. The parade was rescheduled, which I think was unnecessary but will work out OK. There is a service scheduled at the park at 5 PM Sunday honoring military/EMS/firefighters/police and a 2:00 parade will fit in quite nicely.

We did it! We finished planting Thursday. Well, maybe we just quit. We got everything planted we intended except for a couple low spots, and did not replant a few drowned out spots. And there was 20 acres I would have liked to double-cropped, but by the time I figured seed cost plus the cost of planting and harvesting with a herbicide application ... I didn't care it I planted any more non-irrigated double crops or not.