That’s my attempt at an artsy-fartsy photo of the United Methodist Church in Van, TX where the funeral reception of WifeGeeding’s grandmother was hosted.
I texted that photo to a few of my pastoral friends who reside outside of Texas playfully asking if it fits their stereotype of a Texas church. There’s a lot of history in Van with oil, but you don’t typically see this sort of thing in Texas. However, a lot of North Texas churches have sold their mineral rights. DaughterGeeding did seem quite intrigued with the number of them she spotted in Van.
While at the graveside funeral, I couldn’t help but roam the grounds and look at all the gravestones and wonder the story behind some of them. One marker had palm trees, a Hawaiian name, and stated his birth was in Hawaii. It made me wonder how does one born in Hawaii eventually lay for eternity in the small town of Van, TX. There were also a lot of toys left on gravestones for children who never made it to adolescence. BoyGeeding, not knowing any better, wanted to play with the toys and take them home.
I acknowledge it’s uncouth of me to be judgmental at a funeral, but I thought the use of an electric keyboard and the playing of “Wind Beneath Your Wings” a bit tawdry. And I’ll go as far to say the women who wore pointed high heels and stood on flat gravestones so they wouldn’t sink into the ground was disrespectful. But a small town funeral lead by a minister who actually knew the deceased and her late husband for decades is something to be appreciated. That’s something I took for granted attending funerals in my teen and early adult years in Mineral Wells. Now that I’ve attended many in the “big” city and have some perspective – the intimacy, the simplicity, the closeness of an entire community and the longevity of relationships of decades of family and friends is something to cherish.
WifeGeeding has been a Geeding for almost 14 years but I think it finally became official at the funeral. As the minister was reading the list of grandchildren names, he accidentally said “Greeding” instead of “Geeding” as he read WifeGeeding’s name. For us Geedings, “Greeding” is the most frustrating misspelling. Gosh dang it, did that used to bother me, someone putting “greed” in my name. But then I started to think about it, it’s more of a reflection of the person seeing “greed” in the name than it is me being perceived as greedy. At least the minister got BoyGeeding and DaughterGeeding’s name correct when he read the great-grandchildren names.
I’m very proud of how well-behaved, quiet, and respectful BoyGeeding and DaughterGeeding were at the funeral. They also did a great job interacting with adults by not replying using only single words (i.e. saying “I’m six years old” instead of simply saying, “Six.”) and by saying yes/no sir/ma’am. They just need to work on speaking louder and shaking off the shyness.
I say this often, but one thing I miss about small town driving is the steering wheel wave.
The more people talk or hype up The Masters and Augusta National, the less interested I become. It’s just not my thing.
For a good five years, I’ll admit, I was “a prompter”. I thought it was a passive aggressive way to get people involved in a conversation and to gauge interest.
Three of the top seven are Texas teams. The Spurs top the overall list (ABA records were taken into consideration) and the Stars and Cowboys are fifth and seventh overall.
It’s interesting the Cowboys are highest rated NFL team, I thought that long drought would have wiped out all the accomplishments of Landry and Jimmy Johnson.
Even though the title states U.S. teams, the Montreal Canadians are third overall, but I don’t think the U.S. has annex Canada as of yet.
I shared the following last week from the book I’m reading and the next day Trump fires missiles on Syria.
Ike’s assessment of Russia rings true today. He believed anytime we showed weakness, that was the time for them to press the U.S. hardest. But since they admired strength and cold calculated self-interest, that’s when they get cagey.
Man Accidentally Shoots Himself at NRA Headquarters – A National Rifle Association employee accidentally shot himself while doing firearms training at the organization’s headquarters, according to police. The 46-year-old man’s pistol accidentally discharged Thursday afternoon as he holstered the gun in Fairfax County, Virginia, police said.
I smiled at your Disney Princess Half-Marathon comment. Actually, I ran the regular January one that isn't princess themed, but it was still a blast – same course, tons of characters to pose with, etc. But if I did the princess half, I would totally go in costume as…hmm…gotta go with my girl Ariel. Because it's totally not creepy for a dude to dress up as a teenage redheaded mermaid.
I ran the Disney Princess Half Marathon in 2010. It was indeed magical except for the weather. Florida had a cold snap and it was 30 degrees as we lined up for the race at 4 in the morning. The characters along the way and especially Mickey and Minnie at mile 13 were awesome!!! Glad I did it but not sure I need to ever do that again!!! lol
I smiled at your Disney Princess Half-Marathon comment. Actually, I ran the regular January one that isn't princess themed, but it was still a blast – same course, tons of characters to pose with, etc. But if I did the princess half, I would totally go in costume as…hmm…gotta go with my girl Ariel. Because it's totally not creepy for a dude to dress up as a teenage redheaded mermaid.
I ran the Disney Princess Half Marathon in 2010. It was indeed magical except for the weather. Florida had a cold snap and it was 30 degrees as we lined up for the race at 4 in the morning. The characters along the way and especially Mickey and Minnie at mile 13 were awesome!!! Glad I did it but not sure I need to ever do that again!!! lol