Cat-astrophe

Mrs. Christine was going to be doing some work on the computer yesterday. I came inside from my office outside and she was sitting on the couch looking a little down. I said "what's wrong?" She said that she couldn't do what she needed to do on the computer because something was going on with the printer. I asked if there was an error message or something. She said "there is something on the printer, you need to go see about it..."

El Gato Blanco decided that the printer was a great place for a nap on a rainy day.

- by Mr. Larry

Tribute to a hero...

Last night, my dear Uncle Mickey went home to meet his Creator. He is one of my biggest heroes. Uncle Mickey was a distinguished gentleman and a wonderful example of a loving husband to his wife, my dear Aunt Amy. Here is Uncle Mickey holding his grandson Michael Paul several years ago. Just a few days before leaving this world, Uncle Mickey's second great-grandson would be born to Michael Paul's wife.

Uncle Mickey was one of those World War II veterans who landed on Omaha Beach and marched across Europe to liberate it from the Nazis. When he published his memoirs in 1999, he held a small party at his house for us in his family. He showed some of the artifacts and memorabilia he has from his tours of Europe and Korea. One of my favorite was a Nazi flag that they took down from Beethoven's house as they marched across Europe.

A few years ago, they had to amputate one of his legs. When they did, they found that there was shrapnel in his leg from WWII. All of these years, he had been carrying around with him shrapnel from the war. There were some that told him he should make a fuss about it and he could be greatly compensated by the government. He didn't want any part of that. He was a career Army man and a proud patriot. He was a Purple Heart recipient, and had many other combat decorations and awards including the Silver Star and the Bronze Star. Like most of the veterans of his generation, he was a humble man who saw it simply as doing his duty. This nation needs more men like Uncle Mickey.

More photos from the mountains...

Here we are getting ready to board the Smoky Mountain Railroad in Bryson City, NC. It was a fun and wonderful scenic ride.


Here is my beautiful bride (a.k.a. Gorgeous) on the train.
Here is another picture of some gorgeous scenery with a gorgeous lady:


The trees are in the early stages of changing into their fall colors. It is something that we don't get too much of in South Georgia.

For the life of me, I cannot figure out how any rational, thinking, human being could honestly believe that all of this beauty and the rich and intricately balanced systems that work to produce it could be the result of a bunch of random accidents over billions of years. The beauty of creation shouts the glory of the Creator!

Here, Gorgeous stops to dip her feet in a cool mountain stream. The water temperature was about 46 degrees.

This is a sign at one of the peaks in Smoky Mountain National Park. It is kind of sad to see that we now have designated spots where you may exercise your constitutionally-protected rights. I guess this means that in the rest of the park, your First Amendment rights don't apply...
Here is a picture of Gorgeous in the gorge (Tallulah Gorge in Northern Georgia):

Retreat to the mountains...

This week, Gorgeous and I went off for a few days to the Smoky Mountains. The trees are starting to put on their fall colors, and it was a wonderful and beautiful time.

And speaking of beautiful...here's Gorgeous:

Here is a picture of the full moon coming up over the mountains. I did the best that I could with the photo, you really had to be there to see how beautiful it was. One of the most striking things was all of the beauty and diversity of God's wonderful creation. God surely put on an awesome display of His handiwork for us!

- Mr. Larry