Visit from a childhood friend

 

Kim and I have been friends since 5th grade, and she came to visit me in Houston. Her daughter (pictured above right) also lives in Houston. 

Kim and I drove down to Galveston for lunch on the beach one day. It was really hot that day and we weren't much in the mood to take photos. So this bad one is all we've got.

A visit from my oldest brother and his wife

My oldest brother C and his wife P came through Houston a few days ago. We spent the evening together and I cooked dinner for them. Unfortunately, my all-electric kitchen lost electrical power while I was cooking. It was a minor disaster and we were still able to eat.

Memorial Day flood

It was my great misfortune to have been in Houston on the evening of Memorial Day 2015 when the great flood hit. Hundreds of motorists were stranded overnight on the highways, thousands had their homes destroyed, and my car was a minor victim.

The rains and thunder were unlike any I have heard in my life thus far. And I consider myself to have endured quite a few storms (mostly overseas, some in east Texas). The lightning and thunder were relentless for seven hours straight in my part of town. I knew my car was at risk, but it was too dangerous to go outside and move it. The rain POURED out of the sky without stopping, hour after hour after hour. I was thankful to be on the second floor of a garage apartment. I was also glad Mimi wasn't there. She might have died of fear.

I went outside several hours after the rain stopped. I didn't see the worst of the flooding, as I'm sure it had subsided somewhat in those few hours. This is what I saw.

 You can see that the water had been at least a foot higher before I took this picture.

The insurance adjuster says it still works. The interior is being replaced. Hopefully I can pick up the car sometime soon.

Insurance takes away some of the pain, but it is still an extremely unpleasant experience to go through. I hope I never have to go through it again.

UPDATE: The insurance company finally declared my car a disaster. It was totaled. Since the car was being leased from a non-profit organization that was in no hurry to replace the car, I was in Houston without transportation. But God provided and I never missed an appointment. I am back on four wheels again. More on that another time.

Pretty little liar

On my trips to Houston, sometimes I stay overnight with a family consisting of two parents and a 8-year-old boy named Cole. I just met this fine Christian family in recent months. My brother J has known them for years.

Last week when I was in Houston, the adorable boy Cole took down the collage of his baby photos that was in the guest area where we were staying. He was embarrassed by one of the baby photos in which he was taking a bath and his private parts were showing. His mom made him put the framed glass collage back on the wall before he broke it. But we gave him an idea that he might put a post-it note over the one offending part of the collage. He ran in the kitchen, got a yellow post-it note, and covered the photo.

The cute little fella was relieved. He laughed along with the rest of us and said, "Sometimes I am forced to lie and say that the photo is of my cousin instead of me!" 

While in Houston

I have been to Houston four times since September. On the first trip, my brother J and I had one day with nothing to do in between appointments, so we decided to go see our old family stomping grounds nearby. I may claim to be a west Texas gal, but my roots are actually in the Houston area.
                        

My Grandmother Wilson used to live in this end apartment.

 

Way back in the late 50s or early 60s, my family lived in the light blue house. The brown house belonged to my uncle and his family, and they lived there for their entire lives, or at least the rest of their lives after I was born.

My dad and uncle served as volunteer firemen. I remember during Hurricane Carla we all hunkered down at the fire department to wait out the storm.

Here is the First Baptist Church. My parents got married there in 1955.

On this corner, which is now a vacant lot, my grandmother used to live in a white wooden house with a porch. It's just a block from the church.

This furniture store used to be a corner soda fountain pharmacy, and it is where my parents first met.

This is the gas station across the street from where they met at the soda fountain pharmacy.

Herfort Diamond Factory is where my dad bought my mom's wedding and engagement rings.

This underpass is the city limits between two cities. We used to travel under this a lot.

This is the hospital where I was born. Both my brothers were born here too. It has been remodeled and renamed since we lived there. It's right next to the underpass. I think we moved away from this area when I was 3 or 4 years old, but we always went back to visit relatives, so I am familiar with it because of that.

We dropped by unannounced to visit my cousin Richard who is 70 years old. Richard is funny and awesome.

 It was a pleasant day (and we arrived unannounced), so I suggested we visit on the front porch.

Here is J with a LONE RANGER guitar that my dad, uncle and even Richard played with when they were children.

I got a photo of the three of us ... the angle is distorted, but at least we can prove we were all together on that day! Glad we got a chance to visit, drive around and take some photos on this day.

In Houston

Sorry for the blog absence. As I have mentioned before, I am having a health crisis, and I am in Houston now to visit MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Because I don't want this blog to be tainted by the ugly details of cancer, I am not putting the fine details of my health information on here. But if you want to read about my health details so you can better know how to pray for me, I invite you to refer to offtheb10path.wordpress.com.

Please pray for me tomorrow morning as I go for a new biopsy that should settle my diagnosis once and for all. I won't know the results for a full week after the biopsy is done. Thank you for your intercession before God on my behalf. I believe He will hear and act according to your requests placed before Him.