Back to the Land of Barbecue and Bass Boats

As stated previously, I had to travel this weekend. Believe it or not, I went to Frostproof again!

Last week, we were not able to get my sister to go. During the week, she said she regretted missing the trip. On Friday, I realized there was no reason we couldn’t make a second trip. So I made the proposal, and my dad and my sister accepted, and off we went!

This was a better trip; my cousin Wade was there this time, so we got to visit.

I’ll show you a few things.

This is from the first trip, in December. It’s a purple gallinule. My cousin Peg took us down to a public dock, and she opened a bag of crackers, and this bird heard it and made a frantic dash for us. They like crackers.

Here are Gladys, my father, and Peg on the dock.

Here is Gladys, looking out over Lake Reedy. She was there about five minutes before she made some new friends and got into an animated conversation. Not bad for nearly 93.

Here are some shots from the second trip. First, Gladys’s Caddy. Note the Bush sticker.

Here’s a garage wall with a bunch of stuff from Kentucky on it. Cast iron, a wooden bowl, a butter churn, a washboard, and of course, Big Mouth Billy Bass.

I got some photos of my cousin Steve’s workshop. Here’s a dust collection cyclone he built himself. Wade was a little miffed because he didn’t get credit for the metal parts, which he put together for Steve.

This is Steve’s rotating table. You can see the miter saw on the top. On the bottom, there is a lathe.

Here’s the old drill press. He says he got it from a Montgomery Ward that closed. They were using it to drill bowling balls.

Here you see my dad, Gladys, and Wade.

Frostproof is a wonderful town, although the landscape is pretty scrubby. Central Florida is not a feast for the eyes. You can have a very nice yard or small farm, but big pieces of land tend to look dry and forlorn. If you go a little farther north in Florida, things look a lot better.

I asked Gladys about the churches up there. She attends a Baptist church, and she used to teach Sunday school for them. They bring her recordings of the services when she doesn’t feel like going. They have several other churches.

While we were at the dock a week ago, I found a stainless steel fish hook on the planks. At first, I didn’t think anything of it. Then I thought of the prayer Rick Wilkerson offered for my dad, the last time my sister were in his church. He prayed that God would put a hook in his jaw and bring him to church. And it occurred to me, how nice it would be to be drawn out of Miami and into a peaceful place like Frostproof, with nice people and lots of breathing room. I put the hook in my pocket and brought it home.

Here it is on the railing at the dock:

You will also see it on this blog’s header.

I have stuff to do. Enjoy your Monday.