The Chronicles of Narnia

When my daughter was very young, we had a appointment every night with C.S. Lewis and his books, The Chronicles of Narnia. Over the course of many months we read through the entire series, starting with The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe then working our way through the remaining six books. 

The memories of reading each night to my beautiful daughter and having her fall asleep in my arms made this a part of my day I looked forward to with great joy. There was also the added benefit of knowing she would drift off to sleep with vibrant images of Narnia in her dreams. Also, these books conveyed such deep truths on a simple level. I know some Christians attach an almost canon-like quality to these books but that's not how I look at C.S. Lewis creation. What I draw from these books is a wonderful description of the age to come, as well as the age that is. C.S. Lewis painted word pictures that make Heaven seem real, exciting and welcoming, and I thought that if he could convey those feelings with an human imagination than how much more was our Creator dreaming up for our future home! This scripture became even more of a foundation for my faith because of these books, " . . . no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no human mind has conceived - the things God has prepared for those who love Him." 1 Corinthians 2:9 

Rocky Mountain Racetrack Closes After 54 Years Of Racing

In the late 1970's I spent a summer in Salt Lake City. My faded memories of that time are mostly all good, a organized and very clean city filled with friendly people. I was living with a family in Salt Lake and they were gracious enough to take the time to show me several of the nearby attractions. The one that I remember enjoying the most was the Bonneville Raceway.

It was a cool summer afternoon and our plans were to spend the day at the Racetrack. The bill included Funny Cars, Top Fuel Dragsters and Motorcycles. It turned out to be an awesome day filled with noise, smoke and speed. At the time it was $3.00 to get in the gate and if my memory is correct, you could splurge another $2.00 dollars and have access to the pit area. The bleachers weren't very crowded so we sat on the row nearest the track. I don't remember if there was a fence separating us from the racing but either way I do remember it was a sensory-overload type experience. As night fell the visuals became even more stark. Cars racing into the darkness, flames and smoke illustrating the speed and danger, and the Rocky mountains absorbing the roar of the engines before releasing it back into the valley at an even louder volume.  I do remember watching a funny car explode at the starting line and the burst of heat that quickly became uncomfortable, even from the safe distance of the stands. The green light and the emerging parachutes on the race cars seemed to be separated by the blink of an eye, and the excitement of watching these mechanical duels never got old.

The Chain

 Can you imagine playing this song for over thirty years standing next to the person who was the reason you wrote the song in the first place? Greatest love/hate song ever. 

Toto - Pamela

 

A Thaw In Winter's Grip

In my childhood I had several favorite foods. I loved pancakes with chocolate chips, very fond of spam sandwiches, spaghetti with garlic bread was another favorite but my all-time favorite food was cornbread. Cornbread with pinto beans, cornbread with chili, cornbread with spaghetti . . .

I also found it was the perfect food for those days when I couldn't seem to get warm, inside or out. But then I would catch a whiff of that smell and Boom! Starting to get warm in here just thinking out about those days . . .

Of course, it could also just be a southern thing . . .