Never a Reckless Word

Miss Ella Reading Her Bible at the Store.

Grandmaw, as we called her, was born March 21, 1908. I think about her every spring as we leave winter and enter the budding spring. Living the unique life of having your grandmother sharing a house with your parents creates a special experience for a young man. I understood homemade biscuits, daily. I enjoyed the pride she took in making my bed sheets so taut on Sunday afternoons. She ran a country store just down the street from our house. Everyday around 7:15 she would walk down the street to work; rain or shine. This continued until she was 87.  She warmed the little German lap sided building with wood supplied by the neighboring lumber company. It was a unique environment where you drank sodas from a bottle and occasionally you’d pour Planter’s peanuts into a coke. There was a spittoon beside the cast iron wood stove. Neighbors, farmers and church goers would gather to talk about the weather, crops and community happenings.  I could write a book about the blessings she gave me as a child, but I won’t prolong this short blog. There are certain things I remember more than others. Probably the most significant picture of her in my mind is the one of her seated in front of the open door in her chair with her bible open. This was a daily scene that many who frequented the store will remember. A simple woman, she never spoke ill of people, even those people who ran up a large tab (credit on goods purchased in the store). Even today, I hear her speaking to me; I hear her with that soft country accent offering “truthful lips”, telling me they endure forever. Proverbs 12:18 “The words of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings healing. Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue lasts only a moment.”

Her words were never reckless, she never pierce people with a sword; in front of them or behind their back.

I’d love  to visit Miss Ella today. I’d love for her to see Ashton (my daughter) and Lewis (my son). I would have loved for her to have been at the celebration of Ashton’s wedding. But then again, I hope in some small way the goodness that she covered me with showed up that day and even today. So if you read this short novella, know that I was trying to honor my grandmother on her birthday. She would have been 109.

Biological Siblings..Adoption reunion

I went to my brother-in-law's wedding in Edmonton,Canada in early February.  It was exciting and somewhat a feeling of completion to watch Jeffrey McGonigal march his beautiful bride down the isle.

The significance of this wedding is compounded by the fact that my wife has only known her brother since 1995. He's not 22, he is 40 years old.  The story of an adoption reunion that happen 22 years ago has taken Elizabeth and me to Canada many times, but most especially four incredible times, including this one.

During my search from 1992-1995 for my wife's birth mother, thoughts of brothers and sisters weren't the driving forces. However, after Elizabeth's realization that she was the oldest sister in a family, she shifted from being a middle child in her adopted family to the oldest in her biological family; literally overnight. When we first landed in Edmonton Alberta, we were a young 27 years  old married couple. Her new siblings were 13 to 24 years old. Like long lost relatives, we were both greeted with enthusiasm by each of them. Like a seed planted in the ground, a beautiful tree began to grow, now years later with such deep roots.

As I sit in seat 5A on American Airlines heading south, I am so happy that we were able to be a part of all four of their weddings... most recently Jeffrey to his new beautiful bride Nicole.

Kevin & Beverly McGonigal, their children and new bride Nicole

We have a very unique family. Being adopted at the age of 9 weeks, sent Elizabeth down a path that I believe inevitably lead her to me. With all the things that could have happened to her, being an unplanned birth was her destiny, growing up on a farm in Texas defined the person she is, leaving a 17 member high school class at the age of 16, as difficult as that was, all brought her  to the town of a 17 year old boy who would fall in love with her and in a few years, be driven to connect her to her biological roots.

As I watched Jeffrey's bride, Nicole, walk down the isle, I thought about how pretty she was...  but, I also thought about how in a million years , how we could have missed this day, these relationships, and these continued feelings of completion. After the wedding, I walked down to the chancel of the Catholic Church, looked up, and said "only you God could have written this story....Thank you".

T. Kyle Swicegood

Adoption

Yhttps://youtu.be/UEMw3yIUFCk

This post is specifically for the MacDonald Bible Fellowship class

I hope this video will shed some light on the adoption each of you have thru God, our father.

Elizabeth Swicegood

Santorini

Our day started off around 8 AM. We were tendered over to the island of Santorini, Greece in the town of Thira. When we landed at the dock, we had the option of taking a gondola or donkey up the 1500 feet track to the town center. We chose the gondola. Our good friends Ed and Melissa Godby suggested earlier in the week that we consider the trail to Oia. Oia or Ia is a small town on the South Aegean Sea. The trail is approximately 4.2 miles and was along the Cliffs of the island over a volcanic landscape.

So we took them up on this challenge. The 1st mile and a half was through an area that had carved out of rocks some of the most beautiful white stucco hotels with swimming pools. The trail at this point was like walking through old streets of antiquity. However after that first 40 minutes of walking, we began to greet the less populated area of the trail.

I would estimate that the trail dropped 700 feet over the next half mile. The cobblestone turned into volcanic gravel. Along the way you would find beautiful flowers, cactus, and the occasional befriending dog who followed us along the way. There was a certain area where the trail was right beside a drop off and caused you to take each step with precaution.

If you notice Elizabeth's left shoulder you will see a white Village. That was our destination. To the right of her shoulder you will see the mountain that we crossed to get there.

As we made our way down we could see in the distance the alabaster colored homes that seems so far away. But as we dropped 700 feet or so, we realized that we would have to go back up to breach the mountaintop. There were beautiful rock structures along the way and walls of lava that had harden from the last volcanic explosion that took place on this island.

When we reach the second peak we were able to look down into the city and see our destination ahead. By this point we were all tired...all 12 of us. Along the way, we would have to be careful because there were other friends who traveled on the same trail to get to the village. (See below)

 As we reach the small town, I noticed an executive helicopter flying over the island. I decided to get some photography of it as it was so close to us. There did not seem to be a helipad nearby but nevertheless this helicopter decided to land practically right on top of us. I yelled to the crowd "close your eyes and get behind the dumpsters". Unfortunately the dumpsters were the only thing that kept us from getting sandblasted by the helicopter. We were covered in grit, dirt, and the smell from the dumpsters was unbearable. So we walked on into the town...tired and hungry, our main goal was to find a restaurant, sit down re-hydrate and have a Greek  feast. We found just the place to eat that had the most incredible view of the sea. I had an incredible salad with balsamic vinegar dressing and a Greek pizza. For dessert I enjoyed a strong cup of espresso and a baklava that was homemade and delicious.

Our eight hour experience in Santorini has only wet my appetite for this quaint village. I'm ready to come back. Am I tired? absolutely! Am I taken by this island, Absolutely!

Mykonos, Greece

What a long hot sunny day. At 9:30, we were picked up at the ship by our new Grecian Friend Costas. I hand no idea that by day's end, we would be friends with his son Nicos and Alex and wife Jo. Rather than spending time in the touristy area, we hired this family to take us to the north side of the island. There we would be fitted with our snorkel gear and introduced to our two man kayak. The day included a 4.5 mile paddle into the ocean around a rock formation with a blow hole. Despite the taxing effort of paddling all those miles, the view was amazing. Rock formations, fish, bleach white houses with beautiful greenery growing up the walls. At 1 PM we settled in for a gourmet Lunch. Costas mother made home olives, we had bread that was made that morning, fresh tomatoes and a fresh Tzatziki Sauce made by his mother. Can you taste it? It met our appetites expectation.

A formal evening with a pretty lady!

27 years later and she is more beautiful than ever. We enjoyed each other, a filet Mignon, cheese cake and the outstanding performance of Graffiti (four stringed pieces).  We were accompanied at our meal with Gary & Karolyn Chapman. Gary is the author of New York Best Seller "Five Love Languages". The conversation was quite entertaining. We also enjoyed the company of Jeff Templeton, owner of Templeton Travel.

Deck 11 near sunset

Gary & Karolyn Chapman, Elizabeth and me.

Breakfast on the Meditetrrian

With our bodies adjusting to the time change, we woke up early this AM at the Tiber Hotel, located on the shores of the Med. Breakfast was on the 5th floor over looking the boats headed to catch the days bounty on the Mediterranean Sea. My internal GPS could tell that I was facing west which is unusual for an east coast person. I opened Google earth to see how far I was from home....this morning....4772 miles. That was a little daunting. But then I realized I was on vacation and thought about the men and women who travel that far to the Middle East....they're not there on leisure....and not for a few weeks; they're there on duty and for months. 

We are headed today to Civitavecchia. This is a town and in the province of Rome. A sea port on the Tyrrhenian, it is located 50 miles west-north-west of Rome, across the Mignonet river. The name Civitavecchia means "ancient town". 

Some really neat culture this morning includes eating blood red oranges from Silicy. Tangy, but really good! I was offered a delicious cup of cappuccino for breakfast which made my eyes a little brighter. The pace is a little less pushed today and we are causally making our way up the coast to the port. 

For Elizabeth and me, our trip is a delayed celebration of 25 (now 27 ) years of marriage. We delayed our 25th for various reasons.  Although I am missing my children and family, I am enjoying putting 100% of my focus on Elizabeth. For the last 31 years (dating included), we have literally been around  the world. I don't regret a moment. 

Tomorrow is just another adventure to a new place.  We are headed to Sicily. To me, this piece of Italy was made famous by two movies; My favorite, "The Godfather" and  the military classic "Patton". Although we are not going to Corelone, the fictional birthplace of Vito Corelone, I'm certain the place will bring alive both of the movies. 

Chow....So long for now.