Singing Hills RV Park, Cave City, Kentucky
The LORD detests all the proud of heart. Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished. ~ Proverbs 16:5
We’d like to honor all the Veterans in our Nation’s history, remembering and being grateful for their service which keeps our country great, free, and united. But do you know the history behind this designated day? We didn’t.
What is Veterans Day?
Fighting ended on the Western Front of the First World War on Nov. 11, 1918. Celebrations of the end of war soon turned solemn, in remembrance of all who were lost. Armistice Day, officially recognized by U.S. President Woodrow Wilson in 1919, began to be observed throughout the world, honoring those who brought about the end of the “Great War.”
Armistice Day continued to be an important part of national identity and global memory, even as the world entered another war in 1939. In the aftermath of World War II, the day took on additional meaning. British Commonwealth countries adopted the name “Remembrance Day” or “Remembrance Sunday,” commemorating all soldiers who died, not just those of World War I.
When did Armistice Day become Veterans Day?
In 1954, after the return of service
personnel from both World War II and the Korean War, U.S. President Dwight D.
Eisenhower signed a bill rededicating Nov. 11 as Veterans Day, encouraging
Americans to commit themselves to the cause of peace and to honor America’s
veterans for their courage, honor, patriotism and sacrifice.
The Memorial in Kansas City, then known as the Liberty Memorial, was originally dedicated on Armistice Day in 1926, with U.S. President Calvin Coolidge delivering the dedication speech to a crowd of 150,000 people – the largest crowd a U.S. president had ever addressed to that point in time.
The Memorial became a dynamic addition to Kansas City’s—and the nation’s—cultural landscape, continuing to mark the Armistice and then Veterans Day after President Eisenhower rededicated the holiday. It has served as host to commemoration events ever since, including that for the Centennial of the Armistice on Nov. 11, 2018.
Do you ever have random events or memories from your childhood, pop up in your mind unexpectantly? This morning was one of those times for me. I woke up to the strains of the “Brownie” song playing in my mind. And now it won’t leave. There is very little I remember about being a Brownie. For those of you who may not be aware, Brownies are sort of the precursor for Girl Scouts, which means I was probably 7 or 8. I remember the milk chocolate brown uniform dress and the darker brown felt(?) beanie. And apparently, our theme song.
I’m a Brownie in a beanie
‘Neath my beanie is my face
My face has eyes to see with
My eyes see friends to be with
My friends will all agree with me
That we Brownies always
Brighten up the place!
How many of you former Brownies, or parents of Brownies, can hear the tune now? 😊
Today was moving day, and it’s a day we’d like to forget forever. We only drove 188 miles, but it took us 4 ½ hours because of the three stops we made. It was supposed to take 3 ¼. And but for the grace of God, we might never have made it.
About a half hour into our drive, we heard a loud pop! And then a puff of smoke appeared from under a semi that was ahead of us, and then a huge piece of tire appeared in the middle of our lane. Blaine is an excellent defensive driver, so there was plenty of space between the semi and us, but we still ran over it. We had no choice.
Blaine was very calm as he told me to “Hold on.” With all the traffic on the expressway, there was nowhere for us to go. The semi pulled over way ahead of us, and no, I don’t have pictures of the offending shredded piece because it takes us too long to stop, so we left it far behind. But I do have a picture of the mark it left on our front bumper, and a bent rock guard in the back. The Jeep seemed to be just fine. Those Jeeps are pretty tough birds! And it’s a good thing because it sure gets mistreated a lot!
And that’s about how far away from us he was when it blew.
Things happen fast on an expressway!
and to make sure the generator slide is still closed up tight.
Fortunately, there was no real damage. Thank the Good Lord for watching out for us!
Shortly after that, we stopped for fuel at a truck stop. The problem here was that the pump would only allow $75 per credit card, and you could only use 2 cards, so Blaine then had to go inside and convince them to allow us to take on more fuel so we could fill all the way up. Now wouldn’t you think a truck stop would allow more? I mean, with today’s prices, $75 only covers about 25 gallons of fuel. Trucks hold anywhere from 125-300 gallons! And we have a 100-gallon tank. Very strange!
Back when I was about five.
I got to skip Kindergarten because I was too smart.
Kindergarten was a lot different back then. You didn’t learn much.
After that, it was all downhill. : )
but the closer we got, the worse the photo-op was.
And then, with about 30 minutes left of our trip, the worst happened. Well, the worst for today, not the worst that could’ve happened. Again, thank God for watching over us!
Let me set the stage.
Blaine was driving the coach and we’re towing our Jeep, just like always, and we’re heading to our destination in the right lane of a two-lane highway, driving 5 mph below the speed limit. I’m on the phone with my Mom having a nice chat and enjoying one another’s company.
And I see it. A short on-ramp to my right with a semi barreling way too fast down a decline onto the highway. He hits the gravel on the side, narrowly missing demolishing a car in front of us, who swerved to avoid being hit. And the truck begins to jack-knife. I do my standard sharp intake of air (as opposed to screaming), Blaine starts to swerve over to the left lane, but realizes immediately that there’s too much traffic, so he remains in our lane, and we somehow manage to squeeze past the truck. My mom’s asking what’s going on, as Blaine yells, “He hit the Jeep!! He hit the Jeep!” And I repeat that to Mom and tell her I have to go, and hang up.
We came to a stop along the side of the road – again quite a ways from the actual scene, and the semi pulls up behind us. Blaine is out, the semi driver is out, and just as I come out, I can see and hear how agitated the semi driver is. It seems his version of the facts differ dramatically from ours.
I called 911 during all this, and reported the incident. Thank goodness for gps trackers in our phones because Blaine nor I had any idea what mile-marker we were at. At least we knew what road we were on.
The Tennessee Highway Patrol showed up soon, while I was calling Mom back to tell her what happened so she wouldn’t worry.
Blaine tells the patrolman what happened, the semi driver tells him what happened. His story was that we changed lanes right in front of him, cutting him off. Of course, I’m certain he didn’t mention how fast he was going, nor about the other car he almost hit, nor the fact that he almost jack-knifed in front of us.
But there are no witnesses, except my mother on the phone back in Ohio, because everyone continued on their merry way, and we were both able to stop. He hit the right-rear tire of the Jeep, flattening it, damaging the wheel, and breaking off the running board. Considering what could’ve happened – like hitting a jack-knifed semi head-on – we walked away pretty easy, but still. None of these accidents we’ve had over the past 2 ½ years are our fault!
Our coach, the Jeep,
the offending semi and waaay in the back,
the Tennessee State Highway Patrol car.
Oh. And guess what. Remember two years ago when we were rear-ended in Alabama on Easter Sunday morning? And remember all the comments we made about how horrible drivers are in Alabama? Well, guess where this guy has his driver’s license? That’s right. Alabama.
My brother really needs to move to a new state . . . .
No need to do that now, we just want to get to our site!!
Northgate RV Park, Athens, Alabama
We’ll check that out once we’ve calmed down.
If they’d been parked any closer to the end of their site,
we wouldn’t have been able to make the turn!
Just what Blaine needed! More stress!
We made it! Full of stress and barely waning adrenaline, but we made it. And we’re very, VERY grateful! After relaxing, breathing a sigh of relief and collapsing for a few mintues, it was time to button up and wait for the Arctic Blast to hit us this evening.