Fall Fantasia!

Hello, Friend, I trust that all is well with you and yours.
We don't hear from many of you, so I pray that's "good news"!
I know that some read this blog but don't respond to it here,
but elsewise, so that's "cool".

C.J. and Leeann are back in Harrisburg, she at school, he at
work - fulltime for Hollister's in their management program,
and parttime for Gap. They ran home last weekend to see
Leeann's father who had fallen from a ladder while trimming
trees - he broke one leg, the foot on the other, and did some
serious damage to his back. He's in a Pittsburgh hospital.

The Lumina that I gave Ceej to drive for the last couple of
years he smashed up a bit by not being able to stop for a
car at a stop sign. He was coming around a corner to get
onto a highway and forgot about the stop. Only $2,800
in damage to the other guy's car (thank God for insurance),
and some serious damage to our car, which one of his
friends did a quick fix to so it could be driven. ONLY THING
is, on his way back last Sunday evening, about a mile before
his destination, the hood came loose and cracked the wind-
shield while he was going about 55 mph!! Thank God he
was able to stop and not get hurt. Whew! Wow! He said
Leeann drove the last mile while he walked beside the
car and held the hood down, as it wouldn't latch. Whew!

While waiting for estimates on repairs just to keep the
car on the road, he's looking for a bicycle to ride to work
and back, and Leeann is helping with rides when she can.

Wanna buy a car? Cheap? Hopefully he'll be able to get
something inexpensive soon, and we'll try to help some.
Otherwise, he's healthy, busy, and doing fine, thank God.

Last time I talked to Chartel, which was weeks ago, she
was in classes at the community college, still working at
I-Hop, and doing okay. Not much communication from her,
so we just keep praying.

Cindy and I leave Sunday morning for New England, an
8-day driving trip to visit some of the sites I saw while on
the road with Rite Aid. We'll begin with Stockbridge and
Great Barrington, Massachusetts, and the Norman Rockwell
Museum! Want to ride along? Then, just an hour or so
east we'll see the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame! Wow!
Want to ride along? Next on our journey will probably be
the coast of Maine, Kennebunkport (?), Kittery, etc., where
I stayed in Portsmouth, New Hampshire and trained just
over the river/state line at Kittery. Coming south after
that, we'll circumvent Boston (may stop and sightsee a
bit), then on down to Plimouth Plantation, Cape Cod, and
back to Bridgewater, Mass., possibly visiting her daughter
Joy and family in Winchester, Virginia on our way home.
Want to ride along?

We're looking forward to our "second honeymoon" as we
call it, and which I laughingly explain because the first one
was so much fun we thought we'd do another! Why not?!

My newspaper writing is a blast! People have been so
kind and gracious, commenting constantly (positively, so
far), that I may never quit! I do intend to cease covering
sports after the football season, as my study is now set
up and I want to begin to work on the book(s) that I've
been thinking and talking about for years. Finally - we're
getting close! PTL!

Work plans for me are to cut back after this year, beginning
part-time on January 1st, and then, hopefully, to retire
completely at the end of February or March. PRAY!

Cindy still drives to the North Hills of Pittsburgh 3 times
a week to work in the non-profit women's resale shop.
We try to arrange my schedule to be home the same days
and times, though it hasn't always been possible. Soon!

THANKS for "tuning in"! Hope you get a chance to read
some of my columns - I'm enjoying writing them. Call, write,
reply, or visit when you can. Love, Cindy, Chartel, C.J., and Bill