Wake Forest, Gosh its a pretty nive place to live!

Posted 03-09-2009 at 08:59 PM by dansdrive

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Wake Forest, NC. located in Wake County NC. Some call it Wake's Forest of the Triangle....Ok maybe that's just me. But if you come from the North East, Wake Forest seems to fit. It has some rolling hills and many farming areas.

It has a small town feel but close to Raleigh, you could be down town Raleigh, depending on time of day in about 15 to 30 minutes. You can be at the Virginia border in less than an hour.

It has old Historical homes and some new subdivisions. It certainly worth a look see if your looking and seeing the area. It has transplants from New Jersey, New York, and many other NE State and Mid West and California and....well you get the idea people from all over this great country now calls Wake Forest home!

C'mon down, over, left, or right and check it out you may just like what you see. :D

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1. Quote: Originally Posted by Gurn350 This has to be an all-time record for most comments in a blog post. Don't you want to make a new post? This one's, what, eight years old now? I know I know. How cool is that. Getting to the 10 year mark! A decade of notes, quotes, laughs, cries, ups, downs, and simple thanks to the one above. Will keep it going, thanks for the comment....never sure why I don't get more comments, just figured no one reads this Blog! Now I know someone does.

   Posted 05-21-2017 at 05:29 PM by dansdrive

2. Monday May 22, 2017 and its cloudy and sprinkling out with the high topping out at 80 degrees. Nice! Weekend weather was great for doing things outdoors. I also remembered today back when I was a lad of 8 or 9 years old on a Hot summers day back in Northeastern Pennsylvania. We were outside playing all day riding bikes, running through sprinklers, and just hanging around. On this day my one friend said his Dad was taking us to a local Club on the street I lived on. Now this club was not the ones they had today, this one was part of a local neighborhood Church and had a bar on the first floor and a Hall for Banquets in the basement. I had never been in the bar area before. My friend said we could go and shoot pool and play pinball and skeet bowling. I remember him giving us a bunch of Dines and said go have a good time. We played every game in that bar several times along with trying to play pool. We were have a great time right up the point where the lights went out! Yikes! It got pitch black in there and needless to say it was pretty dark already in there. Some of the folks in there lite their lighters for light. I remember my friend Dad saying boys let's go as it looks like the lights will not be coming on anytime soon. So we went outside and the whole street was black, no street lights, no house lights nothing but the moon lite. Fortunately I only lived a half a city block down from the club and my friend lived one block up. So, at the one corner we crossed I went towards my house and my friend and his Dad went the other way to his house. I remember thinking this is cool...no lights, don't ever remember a Black Out before. So I got into our house via the side door and there I say Mom and Dad sitting at the kitchen table with candles lite. I said what happen the lights are off everywhere. My Dad said must be a Black Out due to the summer heat. It turned out several Northeastern states were without power for several hours that night. I also remember my Mom asking where I was and I said I was with my friend and we were up at the club. She looked and said playing outside to which I said no inside. Well needless to say I got one of those Mom lectures on how someone my age should not be going into an Bar. Don't go in there again. And on and on.....wheww I got the message loud and clear but I still had a good time in there until the lights went out. I guess sometimes Dad's let you do things that Mom's just won't. This was one of them. Happy Monday and as always thank the one above for all your have and cherish each and every day. Memory both good and bad are examples of some of those things!

   Posted 05-22-2017 at 10:50 AM by dansdrive

3. Wednesday May 31, 2017 and its a nice sunny day outside the window. 82 degrees forecast-ed high! Some clouds roll in and out of the Carolina blue sky. The last day of May in 2017. The April showers brought all the May Flowers. Now onto the summer months! As kids we always looked forward to the flip of the May calendar over to June. Middle of June is when we got out of school for the year! Our school year prison gates were to be opened for 2 and 1/2 months! Oh man! So much to do and so little time. I can remember sitting in our classroom in elementary school high on the hill and overlook the valley base on practically all side. This school set right up at the top of a hill in our city. There mountains out in a distance from each side of the school and the valley in between. There were times we all at one time or another gazed out the windows to see if we could see the roofs of our houses. My cousin could see his as his house was one block up from mine and slightly higher. A many of quality classroom instruction time was missed gazing out those windows. Pondering, what was out there? Why couldn't I be out there? Why is there school? Why is our school on top of this hill! Its a long walk up in the morning! In my day everyone walked to school. No buses. Lived in the city. When school let out all the kids left in all 4 directions down the hills. Running, laughing, chasing each other, talking, and just fooling around being kids. Life was simpler back then. We had bullies like we did today but we always had someone that had our backs. Older siblings that would go after the bullies. Two parents that would talk to the bullies parents if need be. Or a best friends older brother that would beat the crap out of the bully. Never once can I remember anyone from our school killing themselves because they were bullied. Just didn't happen in my day. I guess our world was a whole lot bigger back then. Even thou the actual diameter of the world has not changed over the millenniums it sure was a whole lot bigger in my day. Today's technology has shrunk the world so small its amazing and scary at the same time. Where we burned off extra energy walking up those hills to our school every morning, kids today have to take Yoga classes to burn that energy off. Where Dad's left for work before us kids left for school and Mom's stayed home to keep the house going. Time sure have changed. Generation after generation grew up going to the grade school I went to and then as the world kept shrinking as the years went by the little school up on the hill was not needed anymore. Kids were now bused to schools in neighborhoods far from ours. Bigger was better more efficient I remember them saying. But for this old guy I can assuredly say give me the small local neighborhood school where one could walk, run, and jump up to. I must admit that all the gazing I did from those large school room windows never let me mind see what the realities of today have brought........and with a half grin on my face I am thankful for that! If you want to remember back in the day.....turn up the sound and watch this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gy4kIO8eptI May your day be blessed by the one above to make your world a big big place again!

   Posted 05-31-2017 at 10:59 AM by dansdrive

4. Thursday June 8, 2017 and its a party sunny day out with temps in the low to mid 70's and just about perfect! Speaking of perfect and that is a hard word, feeling, or state of mind to define. As one persons perfect is another persons agony at times! Happiness and sadness falls into that category as well sometimes. But the above feelings are really earthly states. Knowing that the one above and believing in the one above surely changes the magnitudes of those early states. People spend countless hours fretting and thinking about things that they have little to no control over. Why? Because they think in terms of earthly states of mind and feelings. Knowing that the one above has a plan for your life from before you were born until after you have passed from the earthly world surely helps cope with anything and everything thrown at your down here. Having the peace of mind and presence of body to know someone other then yourself is in control of your life and that being is from above should be all the comfort and assurance you should ever need. That being known as 'I AM' loves you unconditionally. You can stumble, fall, say the one above does not exist and the one above still loves you and always will. Eternity comes to mind here. Forever, without end....how powerful is that? Can we even comprehend forever with out end? I can't. But I believe. I believe in 'I AM' and his only Son Christ the King. I know in my heart of hearts and my soul of being that they love me and that I should love all that encounter at all times for as long as I am given this stamped ticket if mortal life. Its that simple. Which leads me back to perfect. The Son, the Father, and the Holy Spirit defines perfect to me ever more! I hope and trust it they do for you to! If you had not had that conversation with the one above yet please do, he is waiting and above all loves you no matter what. Awesome.....Happy Thursday.

   Posted 06-08-2017 at 12:29 PM by dansdrive

5. Thursday June 15, 2017 and its a hot upper 80's day outside. Sun and clouds some storms rolling in this evening. Settling in to a almost summer day pattern. Speaking of a summers day pattern. That is exactly what we would be heading into after tomorrows date. Growing up school always let out after the second week of June. In fact the last week of June was pretty much half days. It was time for the teachers to tidy up their rooms from the past years learning. It was time for us kids to anticipate all the fun we would have over the summer. Hot diggity dggie! Even thou these last days of school were half days they seem to be eternity. Clean out our desk, take stuff down off the walls, fool around in class, just have plain old fun. It was time to say goodbye to class mates that we would not see over the summer months. In those days we tended to stay in our own neighborhoods. It would not be until the next school year that we would see some of our classmates. In those days we had real chalk boards and chalk erasers. We use to have a fire encloser in the playground made of bricks that matched our school. We use to bang the erasers against those walls until all the chalk came our. The fire pit is where our school Janitor would burn all the waste paper from the school each days. That is just the way it was. I don't know that life was simpler back then but it seemed pretty complicated to me but today kids seemingly have 10x the items to wonder and worry about then we did. My grade school only got a few news kids a year and would only lose a couple of kids a year to moving. So we had friends from Kindergarten to High School graduation. Same kids one year were our enemies another year. We bullied and were bullied in both cases we typically fought with the bully or the ones we bullied fought us to a older sibling fought us. Just the way it was. When parents we involved it never helped either side. Disagreements were handled at the kid level, we all knew that and for the most part that was exactly where they were handled. The stroll down memory lane sure brought back a many a memories and a reflection on life back then and to only think what it is like for kids today. So, with that thought I wish all the teachers, administrators, and involved parents a wonderful summer off and come back ready to teach this new generation not only facts in textbook but facts of life and civics. Thanks for your efforts this past year and we are all better for your hard work and dedication. Simple facts of civil society: Family Education Lending a helping hand to all in need Knowledge that there is one above that guides us all! P.S. my non Converse or Adidas sneakers were ready to fly me down the hill towards home as soon as the last school bell of the year rang out!

   Posted 06-15-2017 at 10:54 AM by dansdrive

6. Thursday June 22, 2017 and its next to the longest day of the year on the downward side that is. Oh my! Summer is here. Yahoo and I ain't speaking Chocolate drinks. These summer days are filled with work deadlines and duties to accomplish to keep the company moving forward. Always raising the bar to the next challenging level. But its always a welcome to slip back into memory lane and remember some nuggets from the past that always puts a smile on my face at least now I can look back and smile. At the time not so much. One such nugget is the summer long ago when our city got severely flooded for several days. We were evacuated from our home one night and then from my Uncles house the next morning as the water kept rising. I remember it as if it were yesterday. We were sitting in our front room which was about 1 story above the street out in front the home I grew up in. It was a mid summer night in June. We did not have air conditioning so the doors and windows were open. Those days we could leave things unlocked and open without fear of being broken into. But that's another story to tell. This one was about the great flood. As we watched TV we heard screaming outside and we went outside and to our surprises the flood water was coming up our street. People were trapped in their homes as the water not surrounded them. There was no 911 in those days. We knew the city we lived in had flooded that morning when the dikes gave way but we lived a couple of miles from the river. But for whatever reason the water started to rise again in the evening. Our neighborhood got no warning nothing. My Dad drove our two cars from the driveway down into the water and up to my Uncle's street. Other people were coming up the streets in front of our house in water up to their waste. Most eerie feeling seeing this as a kid. So Mom and Dad packed up some things and we left and walked up to my Uncles house that was 1 city block over from ours but a higher elevation. I remember my folks talking into the night with my Uncle as us kids played in the yard and had no real clue what was going on. At some point we got to bed that night only to be awaken at 5 AM with Police sirens and helicopter with load speakers asking everyone to evacuate. The river was rising again due to a possible dam break in NY State! I remember Mom and my Aunt crying and my Dad and Uncle packing up the cars to move again. This time to another relatives house high in the hills around the city. We had to be safe there! When we got outside the sun was bright that day and the sky towards the city was black as night. Overnight whole blocks of our city were burning due to gas leaks. It was crazy. That summer is forever burned into my memory. It seems like we got a lifetime of experiences in that one summer from flooded out of out homes and city, to rebuilding what was left after the water receded. We were one of the luck ones on our street the river literally ended in our backyard. The water came up to the rafters in the basement and had only inches to go to get to the first floor. My grandparents were not so lucky. The lived a half block down from us and the water almost made it to their second floor. It was unbelievable to see the destruction that water, mud, and floating things could do. I can only imagine what it would be like today with the 24x7 news coverage, and environmental laws in place. I can remember getting two shots one in each arm for Typhod and Tetanus. There were long lines of people waiting for the shots. We needed them to be able to get back into our houses. Our arms aches for days afterwards. They hurt likes the dickens. WOW! Then long lines for food and clothing as many people lost everything. Our streets were filled with everything and anything, from dead fish to manikins that came out of stores downtown and floated up to our neighborhood. We all got through that summer and I have so many more stories about life that flooded summer in June. ....and I thankful for the one above that seen us through that great flood and the two weeks after the flood that were without rain and were warm so people could sleep in tents outside their homes wondering what was coming next. We even had National Guard solderers outside at night on street corners until electricity and other basis supplies came back on line. Amazing!

   Posted 06-22-2017 at 04:11 PM by dansdrive

7. Monday July 3, 2017 and its almost the 4th of July. There was a time not to long ago when that meant more then mere Fireworks. It meant thanks to the one able that delivered our great country from Terran y. Who delivered us to freed to chart our future as a nation and a people. To hold trues if Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Oh yea by the way it is sunny and warm outside the window. 91 degree with Mother Nature's Fireworks kicking off this afternoon. Hot, muggy, and humid fit the adjectives for the day as well. But back to our 4th of July. We have so much to be thankful for. We are still relatively free. We still can practice a form of religion freely. We can still elect our Political Leaders. We are still relatively free to pursue happiness as well. So after 241 years all that was asked for was granted us as a people. Now for the other side of freedom. The part where we are free to practice, preach, and interpret fundamental founding fathers laws and laws given to us as a people from above to fit our personal needs, habits, and conscience. That my friends is what we must be careful of. It should not be a discussion on 'I' or 'me' it should be a discussion on 'All' and 'Us' collectively. With that many things are solved that seem unsolvable to just 'I' and 'me' crowd. So, this 4th of July is an excellent time to get together with 'All' and 'Them' in other words our neighbors from all walks of life and creed and be Happy we live in the greatest country of them all! If that is boasting then guilty as charged......I boast for our great country and peoples from the Pilgrim's to the Immigrants that want to call the US of A home and live by our countries laws and life style. Happy 4th of July! To our creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. Keep repeating that as you enjoy your 4th of July. Be safe, Be Happy, and forever be grateful to the one above! Turn it up, kick back, and enjoy. Ray rest in the peace and happiness of Heaven! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yaetvTj5DE

   Posted 07-03-2017 at 11:55 AM by dansdrive

8. Sunday July 23, 2017 and its another hot Carolina summers day. Won't break the triple digits today as the past day or two but still plenty toasty. These dog days of summer and especially the first two week of July always brings me back to the days we use to camp out at our favorite lake in NEPA. My uncle always had the first two weeks of July off as his plant shut down. This meant one to two weeks of camping in a lake my Dad and Uncle belong to. It was a private lake and had no amenities. So for two weeks we roughed as they say. No running water, no electricity, no air conditioning, no problem! It was our tent, 12 foot x 12 foot canopy over where we prepared our meal and a place to keep out of the rain if it rained at all. We were very lucky it hardly rained those two weeks we spent there over the years. During the day people would come to fish or have a cook out and by night we usually had the place to ourselves. Some of the best sunsets and moon risings were at that lake. The lake had a large dock in front of a old shed someone made that had 3 sides and inside was a coal stove and some shelves and a table with some chairs. Some real outdoors men would come and sleep in this shed. But for the most part the lake became secluded to only us for those two weeks. We had a simple daily routine. My Dad would wake up at dawn and fish from the dock as there were no boats allowed on the lake at all. Mu uncle, cousin and me would roll out of the tent between 7 and 8 am. Dad maybe still down fishing or back at camp making coffee and cooking bacon and eggs. The smell would get us up and out for sure! During the day we had choirs to do. Clean the camp, chop some fire wood and get the Coleman lanterns ready for the night fishing. By afternoon me and my cousin would go exploring. The lake had a path that went from three quarters away around it. Directly on the other side of there we were was a steep mountain that came up out the lake so no path there. The far end of the lake had a earthen dam. We would go walking down there and try some fishing. The days went by so quickly. By evening it was time for supper and then clean up the dishes. We always brought in our own water. 10 gallons would get us through two weeks of camping. Once the sun started to set over the mountain on the dam side of the lake the lake would literally get like a sheet of glass. Tranquil, beautiful, and peaceful cannot begin to explain that time of the evening at the lake was like. As the sun set the lanterns were lite on that dock. There was three single lanterns and one double lantern lighting the nights sky. Being there was no home within miles of the lake and the lake having no electricity it was as dark as dark could be. Living in the city allows one to appreciate the still and darkness of the night. The lines were baited and cast in the lake and we all sat and waited. Over the years the big one never came but the time spent listening to the sounds of nature and the chatter of my Dad and Uncle talk about the old days and the changes they have seen in there life time was without compare. Those days were as special time of our life's. Over the years Dad and my uncle have passes onto the great fishing holes in the heavens and I have lost touch with my cousin over the years. So as the nights went by fishing and listening so has the times we had together and as the lanterns started to dim from being low on fuel or air supply we knew it was time to head up to camp and get ready for another day of camping. More camping stories to come for sure....... Happy Sunday and please make sure you thank the one above for your day and life. This is a special place we call earth and without the one above it is not more then a furnished Moon or other empty planet above. So a simple thanks goes a long long way to getting to Heaven for sure.

   Posted 07-23-2017 at 10:21 AM by dansdrive

9. Thursday August 17, 2017 and its a hot 95 degrees outside. Sweating like a Over repairman! But its all good. Speaking of sweating; How come as a child one never sweats? I can remember as a kid running, jumping, climbing trees, bike riding, swimming and not sweating.....okay that last one I may have sweated abit. I was soaked so it was really hard to tell. One of the wonders of growing old. Let's talk about another typically day at camp. My cousin and I were literally never ever bored. Dad and my Uncle never had to tell us find something to do. We found things to do. We explored the lake and its surroundings. we got our fishing gear ready. We cleaned out the tent and straightened up the camp. We would have afternoon games or rummy with all four of us or just card game of war with my cousin and I. There was a small lake near our camp grounds that we would walk to. It was more like a beaver dam. We would fish there. I remember we use to fish near the dam. It was an earth in dam and not very high and the water use to come over the top in many placed along it. That was the best place to fish as most of the lake was really shallow but on the dam side it seemed to hold the most fish. I can remember us getting chased while we fished by snakes. We always had one eye on the fishing and one eye on the snakes that use to come up the water channels on the earth in dam. We would kick dirt in them while we fished or more around. Fortunately none ever bite us and we did not even know what kind they were but sure kept it interesting. After a couple hours of that we would head back to the lake we were camping on and get something to eat. It was always the first two weeks of July and hot but somehow we never seemed to sweat. Maybe it was all the trees that were around or we just didn't have time to think how hot it really was...... Happy Thursday and oh how fun that was....more to come of our adventures camping soon. Have a Blessed Day and remember thank the one above for all and for being all everyday......he sure listens.

   Posted 08-17-2017 at 10:48 AM by dansdrive

10. Monday August 28, 2017 and its a partly cloudy day outside with the temp up to 75 degrees. Heavenly! Speaking of heavenly from a earthly experience, I must say camping those weeks at our semi-private lake fit the bill! Day after day would be the same routine and it never got old for those one to two weeks we would camp there each year. The smell of Bacon and Eggs cooking in a fry pan doused in butter on a Coleman stove. Priceless! Being there was no electricity to be found we would burn our sliced bread over the open flame of the Coleman stove. Fantastic. We would then sit around our camp table and chow down. Getting all filled up for the days activities. After breakfast we would clean up and wash the dishes, dry them and put them back into a box for the next meal. I can assure you that with 4 of us there was never any left overs. What we cooked we ate. After breakfast my cousin and I would round up some fire wood for the ever burning campfire. The fire at our camp never really went out while we were camping. It would smolder during the daylight hours only to come back to life in the evening and night hours. Needless to say this took quite a bit of firewood. My cousin and I would man the 2 person saw and cut and cut and cut. What a blast! After cutting and stacking we took a break. After a quick can of Shashta soda of our choice we were ready to take on the next activity. We usually headed down to the lake to walk the shoreline or go out on the big 'T' shaped dock than went our into the water. This is the dock we fished from every night. After that we would hike into the woods and see what we could find. Or we may toss our lines out in the hot sun to see if we could catch anything, usually not! But still had fun. By lunch we were ready to eat again. This usually consisted of a sandwich with cold cut meats my Dad brought. We seemingly always had a long stick or Pepperoni that lasted the week. That was so good! After lunch we would hang out by the camp and get the cards out. We would all play pitch rummy for seemingly hours. Watching the few people that would come and go from the camp grounds. Laughs and fun was had by all four in those card games. They never seemed to get old. After the games sometimes my Dad or Uncle would hope in the tent for a quick nap. The rest of us would get our Coleman lanterns ready for the evening fishing. We had 3 single bulb and 1 double bulb lantern. Plenty of light for all of us. We would rig our poles for night fishing and sometimes throw in a Hot Dog or two in the Coleman stove to hold us over till supper. Yea life was sure simple back then. No electric, no running water, only a odd house for when duty called, and battery operated radio that my Uncle had. His music of choice was Country Western and Polka's! Exactly what me and my cousin wanted to hear......NOT, But it was all good. I have another story of my uncles radio and the bogus weather report we got one night for another time. Happy Monday and happy to remember those good ole days. Special prayer today for the folks in Texas going through hurricane Harvey. Remember today you are one day closer to it clearing up! Keep the faith and always in the one above who above all loves you for ever.

    Posted 08-28-2017 at 10:41 AM by dansdrive

11. Friday September 9, 2017 and its a beautifully sunny day in N.C. Spectacular in fact! But everyone's mid is on Irma. One thing is known it will go where it wants to go. All everyone in its path can do is prepare and be as safe as you can. Getting down on ones knees and asking the one above for help and guidance sure can help. try it, he is listening that is for sure. Speaking of weather, I said in my previous post I had a story about my Uncle's transistor radio and a bogus weather report. Well here goes. We were camping and it was either a Friday or Saturday night or one of them in between, can't remember. But I do remember heading down to the dock with our fishing poles, lanterns' tackle boxes, and a can of pop. The sun was still heading down over the opposite side mountain. Just a picturesque post card moment. Oh year and my Uncle had his radio with him of coarse. Now this was one of those old Multi ban radio that even had a Shortwave Radio band. But anyway my uncle use to listen to two types of music, Country Western and Polka. Some days we would comma-dear his radio to listen to a Phillies baseball game. But in this day we heard Country Western songs all evening while we fished. We would get the occasional advertisement and weather report. Weather was for clear skies, slight breeze and very comfortable. Must of head that weather report 10 times if we heard it once that evening. As the sun set to close the day the Moon rose to light the night as well as our trusty Coleman lanterns. The lake was especially still and quiet. No one else was camping that night as the case was most nights. Fish were not really cooperating so me and my cousin would crack open one of the Flares his Dad would give him and walk the shoreline of the lake to see what we could see. We would see frogs, crayfish, and small fishing swimming in the clear water. My cousin would even stick the flare under the water and let it burn. Pretty cool! Bu once the flare burned out it got really dark so we would head back to the dock to check our lines. The radio was still playing. That radio would take 8 'D' size batteries! He was one of those guys that always seemed to have a gross of every battery size in his car.....that was just him. Anyway, as the nightly fishing drew to a close we headed back to our tent. Turned off the lights and if anyone was in the middle of know where with no lights will know exactly how dark, dark is! It was dark. Into the tent we all went, zipped up the tent door settled into our nice warm sleeping bags, usually complete with daddy long lig spiders. Those darn things would get into everything! I remember everyone talking in the darkness of the tent as was our normal ritual until one by one less and less talking was done as each of us fell fast asleep. zzzzzz Then at some point in the night it sounded like the end outside. We all sat up and the bright flashed of lightning lit up our tent like it was daylight outside. Thunder clapping and shaking the ground under us. Time and time again. Then the rain came. We would set our tent up under trees to keep the sun off it and some of the rain. Well on this night it did not matter the wind was blowing and hollowing through the forest like we had never heard before. We heard trees cracking and braking. Our camp side was under direct attack from the heavens! That storm lasted for seemingly all night but was really only an hour. As the sun rose we got up and luckily no one was really wet, our trusted tented protected us from the elements! But when we went outside our camp area was destroyed. We always had a 12' x 12' canvass top over our camp eating area. That was ripped off and into the woods. All the table, chairs, and items we have under it where blown all over the place. What a site. To this day I know it was the hand of God that protected us. So we spent time cleaning up and as we sat around we came to the same question. How could the weather report be so wrong? It said pleasant evening, slight breeze, no chance of rain. So my Uncle turned to his radio put it on and listened for a short time and said this radio station is in Northern PA. Yikes! The moral of the story is always know what you are listening to especially if you are relying on the weather report! My Uncle said, 'but this station plays good cowboy music! So that is my story of the bogus weather report. Happy Friday and as you ride out Irma remember to know where your weather report is coming from, thank the one above for each and everyday and tell the ones you love that your indeed love them....actually say it, don't just think it. It will make the world of difference to them and you.

    Posted 09-08-2017 at 02:50 PM by dansdrive

12. Friday September 15, 2017 and its a sunny beautiful morning with highs today reaching 85 degrees. Nice! Nice being the word of the day for my camping story as well. Waking up in the morning coolness in a nice warm sleeping back is pretty cool, no pun intended. But what was even better was the smell of bacon frying in the fry pan. That meant Dad was done with his daybreak fishing and the frying bacon was our alarm clock of sorts. My uncle usually rolled out of the tent when me and my cousin did. Dad would say how the fishing went and sometimes a word or two about the sunrise he had just seen. The rest of us had barely our eyes open when we rolled out of the test. Each looking for a different tree to pay a visit to. Remember no running water means no bathroom facilities! Once the bacon was nearly ready the egg shells started cracking and the eggs falling into the fry pan complete with all that bacon grease. A cooking method I would never do today but boy was it good. My cousin or I would crack up the second Coleman stove we have and get the bread out and toast it over the open flame. Out of the cooler would come the butter and jam. Plates would be set along with the silverware. Then after a short time breakfast was ready!!!!! Yahoo! After breakfast we cleaned up the dishes and pots and clean up the camp area. Then we sat around the folding table to figure out where we were going to do for the day. We may fish some more before it got to hot or we may just hang around the camp. Other time me and my cousin would head up for a walk around the lake just to explore. We may or may not take our fishing poles to try out new fishing areas. We may get our two man saw out and cut fire wood for a hour or two. Whatever we did we truly enjoyed it. There is absolutely nothing like being in the outdoors camping out and let the outside world go by at what ever pace it wanted to. The outside world rarely ever crept into the camping word...especially for me and my cousin. During the week we basically had the entire lake to ourselves, rarely anyone ever camped there. On Friday through Sunday's we would have company, mostly people spending the day fishing and picnicking or just catching some relaxing rays. So, as I started this post saying the word for today is 'nice', I will end it with the nice memory I had of days gone by..... Happy Friday and always give thanks to the creator above who loved you more then you will ever know until you meet him face to face one day.

    Posted 09-15-2017 at 08:57 AM by dansdrive

13. Thursday September 21, 2017 and its a sunny hot 87 to 91 today depending where in the Triangle you hang your hat. Chance of a passing shower or two. Three would be out of the question I suppose. Speaking of out of the question. That answer came up many times when we were camping and asked to stay another day or two......Dad was quick to answer the ole...'Out of the question'. But we had to try. I can remember several times when we camped on a weekend or for the week the Saturday night before we packed up to come home it would rain like crazy. So Sunday morning it was get up and take our camp down. Everything would be wet including the tent and canopy so that always meant we had to get home and unpack and put up the tent in the yard and the canopy to dry out. It never was as fun setting up in the yard as it was at the lake. Our food boxes we always put in the car at night to keep the critters out so they were not wet. Breakfast on Sunday's the day we were breaking camp was a piece or two of white bread un toasted or a bowl of cereal if we had milk left. Milk usually ran out the Friday before we broke camp. Where did all that ice come from for the week we were there..... We had a ice house that Dad would stop off and get 50 Lbs of ice. Two 25 pound cubes for $1. Those blocks were put in Coleman coolers and would last the week. If we stayed to weeks my Uncle would make a ice and water run to stock up. We also took two 5 gallon plastic jugs of water. These would be filled by my Uncle on the way to camp when he got off work at a local mountain spring that came up out of the ground. I am sure the spring is no longer in existence today and if it was the water is contaminated. Oh how times have changed. We had setting up camp and breaking it down to a science. Each of us had roles during the processes. Except on the set up it was my Dad, cousin, and me. We would leave our house at about 2:30PM and head up and pick my cousin up and then head up to the lake. We would be at the lake by 4PM and all set up by 5PM. That was about the time my Uncle showed up after work and with the water and other groceries he would buy. He always did two things first when he got out of the car. One was put his battery powered radio on and the other was open up a cold one. That was the start of vacation for him! After that and before we headed down to the dock for out night time fishing we always fried up some Hot Dogs as the first official meal of the camping trip. We all loved them fried black on the outside on a fresh bun! Ummm! Happy Thursday and I hope you have as fond a memories of days gone by that I have and each and everyday thank the one above for those days and your current days.

    Posted 09-21-2017 at 10:48 AM by dansdrive

14. Friday September 22, 2017 and its a sunny very pleasant day outside. In fact ditto of today for Saturday and Sunday. Sweet! As I continue my stories into our camping trips I am reminded of the time we seen a bear. Fortunately for us it was on the other side of the lake. We always wonder if we would encounter a bear but never did. We have plenty of Racoon s that would crown into the 50 gallon drum garbage containers around the camp area and toss things out. We could hear them throwing soda and beer cans out or at least into the sides of the cans while we were in the tent at night. What a recuse they would make. We never understood why the bears did not come to our side of the lake but rest assured we were a okay with it. But today's update is on a interesting fellow who use to be a guard at the campsite. He was a member of the Rod and Gun club that ran the part so he was a so called guard. This guy use to come up and sit on the dock with us and tell the most amazing stories. His nickname to us was 'Jammer'. He claim to have hunted around the campsite for years and hunted, bear, deer, fox, coyotes, and just about everything but lions and elephants. But every time he sighted in one of these animals and about to pull the trigger his gun jammed. So no ever really seen him with shoot anything but in his mind he was the great hunter. He was always good for hours of stories that we would listen to time and time again. Jammer's nickname fit so appropriately. We had many nicknames for the folks that use to frequent the camp from 'Peg-leg' to 'Slash-la-rue', 'Cap'. To funny to think back to those days and remember precisely why they had the nicknames. All for future stories. Wishing all a Happy Friday and Blessed weekend and smile till it hurts!

    Posted 09-22-2017 at 11:54 AM by dansdrive

15. October 2, 2017 and its a sunny real nice 75 degrees outside the window. How sweet is that! But before I get into today's flashback of my childhood camping stories, I must pray to the one above for the Souls that were lost in the Las Vagus shooting. Oh Lord, we can't begun to understand and comprehend the death of so many people. We pray for each of their Souls and those of their loved ones who will miss them so very much. We pray that the evil ones behind this tragedy are caught and brought to justice. We pray for comfort for the ones left behind. We put our trust in you each and everyday, we know that you are in control and know and understand all things. We pray to you Lord Jesus each and everyday for help, guidance, understanding, patience, and to love one another as you have taught us and shown us. Please protect our great country from evil. We ask this in your name Lord Jesus, Amen. Camping in the outdoors. Everyone should have the experience of camping outdoors in a tent with no electricity, running water, or heating and air conditioning to get a real appreciation for all those things we take for granted today. Our water came from two 5-Gallon spring water plastic jugs. Four people lived for one full week with just 10 gallons of water. We had cooler for our 25 pound blocks of ice that lasted one week. We had Coleman lanterns, 3 single bulb and one 2 bulb. Each day they were cleaned from all the bugs that would accumulate in them over night and refilled with Coleman fuel a.k.a. white gas and set aside for the evening. We had my uncle's battery operated radio and that was it. We loved a full moon as it would reflect off the lake and we barely needed a lantern. The reflection of the full moon off the lake was awesome! The night was never quiet. There were all kinds of bug sounds, frogs, animals howling and screaming into the night. My Dad and uncle talking the night away on subject from Politics to family stuff to the old days and the current days. As time went on through the evening and night we could track the path of the moon in the sky and one the lake. We would cast our poles out into the darkness of the night awaiting the splash somewhere out in the lake where the sinker and line would splash down. Hoping the next tug would be the 'Big One' but it never came. Most were small cat fish in the 9 to 12 inch range. As we waited for the big bit to come we would watch the Spider setting up nets to catch all the bugs that would circle our lanterns. Those spiders sure ate good when we were on the dock. Bug after bug would fly into the spider web and the spiders would pounce on them and that would be that. That life and death saga would play our every night we would fish off that dock. As the hours skipped by it was eventually time to dim the lanterns and head up to the tent for a good nights rest to repeat the process of today over and over again until it was time to break camp and go home........ Happy Tuesday and thank the one above for today and all your yesterday's and all your tomorrows. There are no guarantees so make today the best it can be for yourself and everyone around you. For all our Country Music Loving friends and the Soul of Gentry......enjoy! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qj9b3QqTOtY

    Posted 10-03-2017 at 11:07 AM by dansdrive

16. Saturday October 7, 2017 and its a its a toasty 78 degrees outside in slight overcast. Late Autumn day that is very nice. This time of the year our camping time was over but we still got out and fished in our area lakes and rivers. September and early October fishing on the Susquehanna River was amazing. The Small Mouth Bass go on feeding frenzy's for the upcoming winter months. Here is how a typical Saturday or Sunday fishing went. My job was to go out at night and round up the night crawlers. Dad would water the yard that evening and I was usually out playing in the neighbor hood and when I got home Dad would say you want to go fishing tomorrow. My answer was always sure. His was well we need worms and that is where I came in. So I wouild wait for the sun to go down and give the worms a hour or so to come out from the ground. I would get my bucket and a good flashlight and out I would go. Into our backyard. Our yard was awesome for worms. In a matter of about 45 minutes to 1 hour I have plenty for us to fish. Anyone that every tried to capture those night crawlers know those things are extremely fast back into their holes in the ground. They also are very a keen to vibrations and light. So sometimes you see a few out and as soon as the light shines in that area or movement of my foot they are gone! Quicker then wine goes at an Italian Wedding! Well once the worms are safety in the can I would add some dirt and cover them up and put them into the basement. Dad would ask how I did when I got back in and say what time we would be going to fish the next day. Sometime at the crack of dawn and sometimes not until the afternoon. We would always pick up my Uncle we would camp with and sometimes my Cousin and his Dad. If we were going to the river it would take about 40 minutes to get to our spot on the bank of the river. My Uncle would have his battery operated Radio playing either Polka's or Country Western tunes. The spot we fished was fantastic. It was a bank along the river with some tree cover to keep out of the hot sun. Down river away there was a creek that came into the river out into a rock jetty. Needless to say these is where us kids would always gravitate to as we could wade in the cool creek water and we could dam the stream up with the endless amount of stones around. We could also catch crayfish in the creek to use for fishing as well. It was just a fun area and the fishing was always really good. We would fish there for hours on end. If we went in the afternoon we stayed until sundown and walked up a big hill up to our car. Along the river was a rail road track and every time the train came it would shake the ground and almost every time we would get a bite. It was amazing how that happened. Sometimes we would follow the creek back to the spring the creek came out of. We would take a drink from that spring which was pretty cool. This place was also the first time I tasted Birch from a Birch Tree branch. My cousin showed me to break off a Birch Tree Limb and suck on it and it tasted just like Birch Beer! Pretty cool indeed! What a wonderful place and a wonderful time. Those memories are priceless! I am so thankful to the one above for the Mom, Dad, and family I had growing up. They were always close and always there to correct me or my siblings when we thought we knew more then them....we didn't. Happy Saturday and Happy for the days gone by and praying to the one above that those days come around again so future generations would know what family life is really all about.

    Posted 10-07-2017 at 10:11 AM by dansdrive

17. Wednesday October 11, 2017 and its hot 83 degrees outside the window. Summer is hanging around a couple more days. Humid as a July day. Walking outside just a short distance makes my sweat run from my brow like a stream after a rainfall. Speaking of rainfalls, can you remember the days we all of a certain generation rode the 20 inch bikes with the banana seats. I remember getting mine and it was not a hand me down. That was pretty cool, I remember the bike shop my folks bought it from. No Department store bikes back then, just from Bike Shops. The seat had to be adjusted to the lowest level so my feet would touch the ground. The tires were shinny black and the whole bike was cooler then a Popsicle on the North Pole in January! But...one day my Dad went to the Good Year store for some work done on his car and I got to tag along. That was a mistake......for him! I walked all around the showroom until I came across the neatest thing I had ever seen up to that time of my life. Colored bike tires! Holy rainbows! I see BLUE tires that would go great on my Gold bike........I had to go tell Dad come look at these. Needless to say Dad was not as excited as I was to put it mildly. But luckily for me his car repairs were talking longer then expected and I became a better Salesman that I had in the past. So by the time his car was done he was also paying for 2 BLUE bike tires. I remember getting him and getting the bike out and Dad switching out the tires. I hit the street and had to show off my BLUE bike tires. Man I was riding in the clouds that day. Then little by little other color bike tires were showing up in the neighborhood. Fantastic! There was BLUE, GREEN, and YELLOW! WOW! Those tires were bald by the end of summer. Of coarse I had to see if my skid marks were BLUE. They were so that meant more skidding then a car drifting on a drift track! By the end of summer I had the strings coming out of the tires, I was down to the inner tubes. Eventually the black tires went back on the bike but for those couple of months in the summer..........I was as Karen Carpenter once sang, " I am on top of the world..." Happy Hump Day. Did you thank the one above yet for today and yesterday and the promise of tomorrow.......I'll wait.............................................. .........Ok good and thank you.....he hears you! My song of the day. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0d2b4XuAa80

    Posted 10-11-2017 at 10:55 AM by dansdrive

18. Monday October 30, 2017 and its a sunny brisk morning. One date before Boo Day! Who don't remember Halloween as a kid. Our grade school had the full dress up and parade around the school neighborhood. I remember the school parties and being dressed up all day in costume. Some years it was impossible to keep it together all day and then at night around the neighborhood. We would wear those plastic mask of out hero's. Batman, Superman, Spider man, Hulk, GI Joe, and non mask costumes like a HoBo or a Doctor, Fireman, Police Officer. In my day we were taught to respect our elders and especially Police Officers. Never wanted a Police Officer to come to the house. Oh my! Now back to the classroom. We had candy and apples and cup cakes that parents brought in. Then right after lunch the entire school, K - 6th would assemble out in our pavement playground by grade and start our march around a few blocks that surrounded our school. It was so cool because a squad car from our city Police would lead the parade and sometime we had a fire truck with the siren going in the back. That was about as cool as it got as a kid!!! The siren brought the people out of their homes to watch our school parade go by and some people threw candy at us......my of my it just didn't get better then that as a kid. Our school sat on top of a big hill. Every road around it was down hill so the walk meant a long walk up hill to get back. Our teachers were our escorts. Our Principle would walk to. Oh yea and when you were in the 6th grade you walked in front of the fire truck. Yee-Haw! After that we came back to our classroom for the Halloween Party complete with Apple Cider. Bob for apples......talking as fasts as we could about all the candy we were going to get that night. Trick or Treating! Sweet! At that time it was not mischief night, that did not come until we were teenagers. In grade school it was flat out fun the whole day and night. I shall never forget Halloween as a kid! Happy Monday and Happy almost Boo-Day. Remember load up on the candy as those ghouls and goblins will be coming around tomorrow night. I leave you with tow thoughts.....first id simply....BOO! The second is to thank the one above for all the fun you had on Halloween as a kid! Song for the day.....you know it, so why not turn it up and sing it.....https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNuVifA7DSU

    Posted 10-30-2017 at 10:42 AM by dansdrive

19. Friday December 1, 2017 and its a sunny 62 degrees outside and just plain old nice. Many other words come to mind but keeping it simple.....'nice'. Speaking of nice, that is exactly what December is all about. The build up to Christmas, the day that is celebrated as Christ birthday. That is also keeping is simple. No mega decorations, mega gifts, mega food, just simply the day that changed the world. So much so that history stopped that day and started over. There is before Christ and one counts backwards from that date and after Christ where we count forward. I know of no other person in the history of this world that gets that kind of billing. That cannot be denied nor changed in today's world. How cool is that? The other truly amazing part is man has been on this planet we call earth for thousands of years and that is constantly being debated....when did man appear? How did he appear? But for Christians its very simple and we have a complete guide to mankind called simply again using that simple word, the Bible. WOW! But the truly amazing part to me is that Christ lived only 33 years.......think about that. He changed the times world on his birth and in 33 short years he changed forever how one dies. From death in the ground to External life in the heavens. Only took 33 years to accomplish that feat and all he ever asked was to follow me. Listen to me and love your neighbor as yourself. WOW! So I ask that for this December in the year of our Lord 2017 open your eyes, ears, and hearts to everyone you meet. <SMILE> at them even if they are perfect strangers. Crack open that Bible you have there at your house and read Psalm 23, I don't care what version you have they all same basically the same thing. Then go and read John 3:15. Those are 2 of the most important items to take from the Bible. So please read those. God is listening and waiting for you to say Hi and let him know how you are doing. He really and truly cares about each and everyone of you. He gave his only Son for us.... Please keep Christ in Xmas this year and in your hearts, that will be the greatest gift of all to you and your family and fellow man. Be blesed, Be thoughtful, be thankful, be a follower to the one that changed the worlds time. Happy Friday.

    Posted 12-01-2017 at 10:59 AM by dansdrive

20. Tuesday December 12, 2017 and its a overcast 52 degrees outside and that is not to bad for a mid December. Christmas is rapidly approaching. Certainly the hustle and bustle of the season. So much to do and so little time. The list of to-do's around Christmas seems to go up exponentially, but we seem to get all the things done. But there is a couple of things that we must take time for. One is to take a moment and reflect on your past Christmas's when you were a child. Oh my goodness! Was there a better time? When we all believed in Santa Claus. When in our little minds we actually thought Santa could go all over the world in one night and bring cheer and happiness and mostly presents to all the good boys and girls. Another is reflecting back on families when they would visit on Christmas day. WOW! Awesome. All great things but the one I want to really reflect on is a special birth that day in Bethlehem 2017 years ago. In a manger as there was no place for the parents to stay. There were many babies born on that Christmas and all that followed but none as special as the one called Jesus. He is the one that lived and followed all 10 of his fathers rules. He glorified his heavenly father as well as his earthly mother and father. So this is a good time to reflect on those 10 rules our society is forgetting. They are very easy and have lasted thousands of years. Through all the changes in societies, civilizations, how we live, where we live, how long we live. We know that the 10 rules the one above wrote into stone are still applicable and will be until the end of time. If that does not give you chills maybe naming the 10 will..... 1. I am the Lord thy God. (Simple.) 2. Do not use the word God in vain. (Correct) 3. Remember to keep Holy the Lord's Day. (Sunday) 4. Honor your Mother and your Father. (Honor/Respect) 5. Thou shall not kill. (Exactly) 6. You shall not commit adultery. (Just read the news) 7. You shall not steal. (Nothing not a thing.) 8. You shall not bear fall witness against a neighbor. (do not lie, love your neighbor - this is what Jesus lived for) 9. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife. (she is not yours) 10. You shall not covet your neighbor's goods. (They are not yours. Jesus based his life on the 10 rules above. Everything else he did was to exemplify those simple, clear, exact, rules. So in this hustle and bustle times leading up to Christ-mas please take a moment and read the above 10 and ask yourself, is this how I am living? The answer may astound you, wake you up, motivate you, and hopefully inspire you. Sometimes things written thousands of years ago make far more sense then those things written today. The above is an example of that. Oh yea and take the time to take those 2 knees and get down and thank the one above for all that you have and for sharing his Son with us and providing us external life. Its been awhile and he sure would like to hear from you....even if you don't do it today or tomorrow or 20 years from now the Lord our God will wait........ Happy Tuesday and Happy in your faith! Enjoy.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ph8XxS03bGA

    Posted 12-12-2017 at 10:57 AM by dansdrive

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