New Motor Home

Believe it or not, that is me driving! Joe and I traded in our beautiful Tropical for a Fleetwood Pulse. The Pulse is only 24 feet long and drives like a van. I don't even realize that I'm driving a motor home. Joe loves it, says it handles easily. The Pulse has a Merecedes engine and is getting much better gas mileage. Of course we don't have the room that we used to, but the advantages of a smaller motor home are numerous. We did sacrifice our bedroom in the back, but hey we're saving $150 a month in insurance and motor home note.

Four Corners

Here I am in Four Corners where I'm touching four states at one time---Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah.

Hey, Hey
look at me.
I'm in four states
as you can see.

Two knees, two hands
guide the way
and just think
I did this in just one day.

Unaware

I've never known hunger
I've been so unaware
Of the despair in this world
Of the people who need our care.

As I walked through the barrio
And stumbled upon the path
I saw a different lifestyle
I felt their pain and wrath.

So little did they have
It's really so unfair
Their needs are very simple
Food, shelter, and clothes to wear.

Clean water to drink
Free of germs and E.coli
Without these things
They will surely die.

Can you spare a dollar
A ten or a twenty
Whatever you can give
Will help these people plenty.

My brother-in-law, Dr. David H. Johnson, is working as a missionary in the Dominican Republic, where he has started a water-hygiene project. The Dominican Republic has one of the highest infant mortality rates in the Caribbean. Out of each thousand births, 32 infants will die. It is estimated that 40 out of 1,000 children born do not live to see their 5th birthday.

One hundred dollars will pay for a water filtration system to be placed in a strategic position enabling several families the opportunity to filter their water. If you are interested in making a donation, send your checks, made out to St. Thomas Episcopal Church to the address below. All donations are tax deductible.


St. Thomas Episcopal Church
David Johnson/Dominican Fund
P.O. Box 591
Burnsville, N.C. 28714
Attention: Tom Bailey

Countries I Have Been To

I've added another country to my list. It's still short, but I'm planning on making it longer, little by little.

Countries I Have Been To

1. United States
2. Mexico
3. The Netherlands (Holland)
4. France
5. Germany
6. Belgium
7. Sweden
8. Denmark
9. Italy
10. Greece
11. Bahamas
12. Canada
13. Jamaica
14. Dominican Republic

I thought Puerto Rico was a country, but it wasn't on the list. Shucks!

Shoe Shine boy

"American lady, shine your shoes, one dollar?" I heard this cry over and over again as I traveled in the Dominican Republic. If I didn't give a firm "No!", the boy would be down on his knees beginning to polish my shoes. At first I was quite aggravated with these boys, but I soon realized that they deserved my respect. Many of them attended school for half a day and hit the streets for the other half to earn money for food for his family. They appeared to have their regulars, but anyone who had on leather shoes was a definite target.

Seeing these young boys shining shoes, made me think about the young boys in the United States. How many 12-year-olds are out there earning money for their family? If they are working, the money most likely goes in their pocket to pay for things they want, such as, a new bike, a game, or a cd.

This young man is one of the boys that earns money by shining shoes. He's quite proud of the newly shined shoes when he has completed his work. Since I had no shoes that needed to be shined, I took his picture instead and gave him a dollar, which is really 100 pasos. One hundred pasos is equal to about three dollars. Not such a bad deal for him after all!

Dominican Republic Bits and Pieces

1. 2.5 milliion people live in Santo Domingo.

2. Children in the Dominican Republic attend school only half of the day, either morning or afternoon.

3. You cannot drink the tap water. Everyone drinks filtered or bottled water. It is even necessary to brush your teeth using bottled water.

4. Joe and I stayed at our condo six days before we realized that we had A/C.

5. Traffic stops when the Dominican Republic flag is lowered.

6. The DR was discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1492.

7. Trash is a major problem in the DR.

8. Although I swore I would never get on another horse, I did in the DR. I rode through rocks, mud, and water.

9. Motorcycles serve as cabs, and they weave in and out of the traffic. They're everywhere! They're everywhere!

10. People walk up to your car at traffic lights selling everything from phone cards to kites.

11. They're are two stones that are mined in the DR--amber and larimar. Amber is actually fossilized tree resin. Larimar, or blue pectolite, can only be found in the province of Barahona, in the south-western region of the Dominican Republic. Of course, I came home with a little of both!

Scattered

Sometimes my mind is so scattered
It jumps from here to there
It’s hard for me to focus
It’s not that I don’t care!

I start out at the computer
To balance my checkbook
Then I head to my email
Just to take a look.

I check out my favorite store Chico’s
Advertising jeans for nineteen ninety nine
I wonder if they might have my size
But then I notice Brett’s online.

I send him an Instant Message
And ask “How are you?”
But then I notice that Michele’s online
So I send her a hello too!

Next I happen to look at the clock
Where has my morning gone?
I tell Brett and Michele good-bye
And head for the telephone.

I need to call my doctor
But decide to check on Sue
But once again she’s not home
So I’ve got some emailing to do

Now I’m back online
And I happen to see
That my friend Marion
Has sent an email to me!

I open up the email
Just to take a quick look
But then I remember
It’s time for me to cook.

I head to the kitchen
To begin preparing dinner
But then remember my lottery ticket
I wonder if I’m a winner.

I head back to my computer
To find out if I won
But decide to play a game of Gin
Just to have some fun.

Before I start my second game
I run to make up the bed
I put on a load of clothes
And remember Chloe needs to be fed.

I clean out the litter box
And then I run to get the mail
I sit down at the counter
and discover a new bill from Dell.

I hear Joe at the door
But before he comes inside
I run to my computer
And quickly let it hide.

Joe asks what I've been up to
I say I've been busy the whole day through
I'm just getting ready to start supper
We're having chicken stew!