Holiday in Texas and Long "Lost" Friends

Tuesday and Wednesday April 12-13, 2022 

We drove through the night and arrived at my sister Sandy's home in Wichita Falls, Texas at 6:00 a.m. Tuesday. She and her husband David we up and waiting for us as they started their day. David had to go out of town for work But we were able to spend nearly all day Tuesday with Sandy and part of Wednesday. I wish I had thought to take photos, but we were just doing plain, everyday things and visiting, so I didn't think about it. I did get to see this little aviation museum and the Wichita Falls Airport when we took David to pick up his rental car.

On the way to Burleson, TX to stay with Bill and Linda Cunningham Darryl and I stopped in Weatherford to take a look around. We visited the Antique Car Museum, but realized we wouldn't have much tie to see anything else, so we decided to go on to Bill's and come back tomorrow.

President Lyndon B. Johnson's personal Lincoln Continental.

The car above once belonged to Country Singer George Jones.

The car below was found in a barn and was used in the movie "The Godfather".

The red and yellow Taxi was my favorite though, it was used in the movie Pearl Harbor.

Thursday April 14, 2022

We made a surprise visit to some dear friends of ours in Aledo, TX. Harry and Liz Wynn. We had a delightful visit and it was good to know that they remember us as fondly as we remember them. After they fed us a light lunch, we went into Weatherford to see what has changed. 

The answer is A LOT! North Main street has several antique malls and shops, bohemian clothing shops, a clock shop and many, many specialty restaurants. It was quite fun to see.  

After spending the afternoon looking around town, we met up with Jim and Marsha Norwood for a delicious steak dinner at Texas Road House and then to their home for more catching up before going to Bill and Linda's for the night.

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Once again I have failed to adequately document our little excursion with photos of Jim and Marsha, or of the 5 wonderful days spent with Bill and Linda or of some of the other friends we met with. But, I will tell you all about it.

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April 14, 2022

I did get a photo beside the only street sign I have ever seen with my name on it, so that must count for something, right?

And how did we find this street sign? It was a very pleasant morning that started with our hosts taking us to breakfast at a Burleson favorite called "Our Place".  Bill then drove us to the area of Ft. Worth where he and Darryl spent their Jr. High/High School years near Lake Worth. We saw their house on Ten Mile Bridge Road, Marine Creek Lake, Wayside Jr. High and Boswell High Schools and Boat Club Road. They talked of their escapades riding their bicycles all over this area. "Cindy" lane  is just past their old house off of Ten Mile Bridge Rd. It was probably a sign for Darryl. Haha!

Saturday April 16, 2022

Have you ever met someone for the first time but it feels like you could have been friends forever. Well, that happened to me on this beautiful Saturday morning. It seems as we grow older and our mortality becomes more real with every ache, pain and year that goes by, and there is a desire to renew old friendships from the days of yore. Days when you were young and healthy and life was full of everything new and exciting. Over the last several years, with the advent of social media, Darryl and I have been able to contact old school friends, mission friends, church friends, boyfriends and girlfriends, etc. and on this Saturday we were able to meet up with two of them. 

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Family History Story time: 

Darryl's story:

The fall after Darryl graduated from High School his friend set him up with a young woman from Aledo. Her name was Ethelda Sue and they dated right up until he went on his mission in October 1973. She wrote to him and he wrote to her during his mission, but by the time he came home after 2 years, he knew he wanted to go to BYU and she was dating someone else. He went to BYU in January 1976, met me on Feb. 5th and the rest is Family History. He has always told me he wished I could have met her  because we would have gotten along so well. When you hear that in the first 5 yrs. of marriage you go "Yeah... right". But Darryl had a chance meeting with her in 2019 and said to me, I wish you could meet her. Attitudes change after 45 yrs of marriage and I thought "Sure, I would like that". Well, on this Saturday in April I met Ethelda Sue, and I am so glad I got to meet this wonderful woman who made such a big impression on Darryl nearly 50 yrs. ago.  We met up at Starbucks and instantly hit it off spending the morning chatting about their friends, work, what we are doing in our lives now and our families. What a beautiful and wonderful woman she is and I am only sorry I didn't get to know her sooner. 

*Cindy's Story*

I met Russell Joe when I was a sophomore and he was a Jr. in high school, through a mutual friend on our high school swim team where Russ was one of the top swimmers. I was a timer and I remember seeing his whole family come out to support him and his brother Mike.  I believe he asked me out on a dare and I can honestly say the results of that changed my life for good and for the better. Not long after our first date he asked me over to dinner where I was introduced to "Family Home Evening" with his entire family. Soon he asked me if I wanted to go to church with him, so I went to my church in the morning and his church in the evening. From there I wanted to know more about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and this church, and even though we stopped going steady and dated other people we still remained friends. On May 4, 1974 Russ baptized me into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and I realized that the entire direction of my life was forever changed because of his courage to speak up and not just ask me out, but to tech me what he knew about the gospel and ask me to church. 

On this Saturday in April, Darryl and I met up with Russ and his wife Sherri for lunch and had some great conversations about our children, parents, siblings and shared memories of the past. Sherri is another wonderful lady I wish I could have known better in years past. One thing is for sure, I am definitely looking forward to getting together again with all three of these wonderful friends in the near future.

Easter Sunday, April 17, 2022

Burleson, Texas

As Saturday rolled around I asked Bill and Linda what they do to celebrate the Easter Holiday. We all know I am a big kid at heart and I have no problem decorating the house, coloring eggs and putting together Easter baskets for Darryl, Missionaries, neighbors and friends, not to mention any grandchildren who might be spending the holiday with us. 

In my entire life this was the first Easter I can think of where none of those things happened. It was a little sad for me, as I have always use these symbols of Easter to relate the story of the greatest sacrifice of all made by our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ. To not have one symbol of this beautiful holiday gave me an empty feeling inside. I am sure Darryl could tell how I was feeling, so after church and lunch with Bill and Linda, he took me to a park where we walked around and saw many, many people celebrating this beautiful Christian Holiday, and that made me feel much better. 

It was a lovely Sabbath day for a nice stroll around the lake.

I also turned to some other sources to make my Easter Holiday feel complete.

I am blessed beyond words.

And, just so you know, my dear husband and wonderful children have been the greatest blessings in my life.

If you are reading this and you know me, I know that you have been a blessing in my life too. 

May God bless you always.