Turning Thirty (no, wait, it's 40)

LYRICS BY RANDY STONEHILL, adapted by yours truly

I'VE GOT A HOUSE DOWN BY THE OCEAN (actually Gulf of Mexico)
THE RENT IS NOT TOO HIGH
AND I LOVE TO WATCH THE SHIPS (boats)COME IN
AND HEAR THE SEAGULLS CRY
AND LATELY I'VE BEEN TAKING STOCK
OF ALL THAT I'VE BEEN THROUGH
OH TOMORROW IS MY BIRTHDAY (really it's today)
FEELS FUNNY BUT IT'S TRUE
I'M TURNING (THIRTY), 40-but who's keeping count?

NOW I'VE GOT A MAN WHO REALLY LOVES ME
HE MAKES MY LIFE SO SWEET
AND 3 GROWING GORGEOUS DAUGHTERS
WHO PLAY GAMES AROUND MY FEET
AND MY WORLD IS VERY DIFFERENT
FROM LOST LAZY SINGLE YEARS
BUT IF I HAD THE CHANCE TO GO BACK
I'D RATHER STAY RIGHT HERE
TURNING (THIRTY) 40

AND I HAVE FRIENDS WHO CARE ABOUT ME
THEY'RE THE BEST I'VE EVER HAD
AND THEY ALWAYS STAND BEHIND ME
WHENEVER TIMES GET BAD
AND I LOVE TO PLAY MY MUSIC
THOUGH SOME REHEARSALS ARE A TRIAL
BUT EVERY TIME I WALK ON STAGE
IT'S WORTH EACH DUSTY MILE
TURNING (THIRTY) 40

WELL, NOW FORTY AIN'T LIKE FIFTEEN
AND IT'S NOT LIKE TWENTY-FIVE
MY BACK'S A LITTLE STIFF
AND THERE'RE SOME LINES AROUND MY EYES
BUT I'VE STILL GOT MY ENERGY
AND I'VE GOT ALL OF MY HAIR
AND I'M NOT TOO OLD TO JAZZ IT UP
AND I'M NOT REALLY SCARED
OF TURNING FORTY

OH, THIS CENTURY LOOKS LIKE TOUGH TIMES
THE WORLD IS TURNING SOUR
SO I'LL KEEP ON SERVING JESUS
AND AWAIT THE FINAL HOUR
AND THOUGH I'VE OFTEN FAILED HIM
IN THESE FORTY ROCKY YEARS
HIS MERCY BROUGHT ME THIS FAR
AND HIS LOVE HAS DRIED MY TEARS
I'M TURNING FORTY

I'LL TREASURE THESE YEARS

I'M TURNING FORTY

Charleston, Part 2

Tourism....
New bridges, old houses; slavery from the past, desegregation in the present. (Although, as an aside, the attempts to desegregate and its apparent failure in South Carolina are more evident there than in Sarasota, Florida. Isle of Palms, where my step-sister lives, is a clear example of this. This is where the affluency of caucasians thrives in big beach houses, as opposed to the struggle to survive that continues in poorer areas, where people of color reside in tiny little shacks with fruit or basket stands by the side of the highway as their only income. Churches are still either white or black. I find the entire culture very sad.)

We spent Monday morning in downtown Charleston. We began our tour on Market Street. The soboring thought I had was of my great, great grandfather more than likely coming to the very spot to purchase slaves for his plantation in Hartsville 160 years ago. This "shopping spot" has been in existance, though under very different circumstances, since the 1700's. On Monday we purchased a new bread basket, handmade from seagrass.


We went from Market St. over to the battery. Near there we toured the Calhoun Mansion. One of the owners was the grandson of Vice President Calhoun (under John Adams). His father-in-law built the home in the 1870's for his daughter, Sarah. Its current "claim-to-fame" is as the interior of the summer home in the movie "The Notebook". In fact, this movie was filmed on location in the Charleston area.



Our trip back to Florida included a stop at the Krispy Kreme store at the edge of town. This has become a sort-of tradition. There is nothing like a warm donught before driving for 8 hours! :)

Charleston, Part 1

We had the opportunity to get a little relief from the Florida heat and went to Charleston, SC over Labor Day Weekend. Saturday was my dad's 73rd birthday, and he lives in Mt. Pleasant (just outside Charleston). There were two sides to our visit: time with family and tourism, so I'm going to divide our experiences into two blogs.
My dad and his wife have been married for 23 years. His wife, Nancy, has four children, one of which passed away a few years ago from cancer. Her two surviving daughters live in Charleston also, so a visit to Dad includes them as well. As an only child, it is fun to have time with "steps" and their families.

Lyn is closest in age to me (3 years older), and has two daughters of her own with her husband Mike. Her oldest is only 9 days older than Laura, with Grey coming 5 years behind.


Ellen is Garland's age and married to Joe. They have one son, Kevin, who is in his early 20's. Kevin is studying Arabic (he graduated from Central MI U) to pursue a job with the CIA!


After Saturday with Dad and Nancy, Sunday was enjoyed over at Lyn's. We have a great time together, and Laura was able to reconnect with Nancy's granddaughters.

More on Monday's activities in the next post...