The Soldiers Came

The dedication service was more spectacular than I could even imagine. Diana and I got there one hour and fifteen minutes early. We were greeted by two men dressed up and a buglar. I was impressed. Shortly another soldier appeared. At this time we were so excited that we started texting a few friends that the Confederates had arrived. However, that was not the end. In the next forty-five minutes, eighteen more solders and three widows appeared. We felt like we were a part of "Sweet Home, Alabama" when they did the war re-enactment scenes.

The service was a perfect tribute to Lindsey and Julia. Nelda had the Eulagy memorized. Marlon's solo and  "Taps" by the buglar brought tears to my eyes. WOW! is all that could be said about the soldiers, the 21 gun salute, and the three cannon shots. Then when we thought we had experienced it all, the widows performed the "Black Rose ceremony".

It was a perfect the day. We met more Scoggin/Scogginses and visited with the ones we were already familiar with. I did appreciated that Chad and Tara were with me to experience this day in history (I did NOT make him come).  The lady from the funeral home summed the event up best by saying that this was by far the neatest thing that she had ever witnessed at a memorial service.

Crazy and Getting Crazier by the Day

There is no doubt that I can be and have been called the crazy "mom," "sister," or"aunt." I now have a new title; I am now the "crazy cousin." But that is ok with me. I and some of my very distant cousins are planning a tombstone dedication ceremony this Saturday for my Great-great grandfather and mother. They were buried over 100 years ago. He fought in the Civil War, which it is 150th anniversary of the Civil War, so we are having a special ceremony for this, too.

He never had a marker, and hers had broken into three pieces. We have had both of them a new marker made and her old marker set in a cradle to preserve it.

With the genealogy that I am involved with, each new piece of information that I come across is a jewel. This last week I received several jewels to take to the ceremony to share with others. I have my grandparents' family Bible, Papa's pocket watch, and Granny's glasses.

The New England States - again

Rick and I just got back from his sprinkler show in Providence, Rhode Island. I had another great experience. Highlights for me from the trip are as follows:

We got to stay at a nice hotel, which was next door to a three-story mall. The time I spend in this mall while Rick was in his show is more time than I have spent in a mall in the last five years total. I am no longer a shopper. The amazing fact is I did NOT buy anything but lunch and a coke either day.

The touristy thing that Rick and I probably enjoyed the most was the mansions at Newport. We did tour four of them. All were spectacular in their own way. The other item we toured with the show was Gillette stadium where the New England Patriots play ball.

The food was delicious. The seafood and cheesecake were to die far. I even splurged on a chocolate turtle walnut cluster blizzard just for the girls back at home.

We were a little early for "leaf peeping," but that did not stop us from driving. On Saturday, Rick wanted to travel to all the New England states so that he could get stars on these states. We have on our bucket list to visit each of the the 50 states. We did hit Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine all in one day.

Sunday was our Boston day. We did a Freedom Trail walking tour, the USS Constitution tour, and a Hop-A-Bus tour of the city. I just wish that I could remember a fraction of the facts that I have heard from my travels.

Rick did not enjoy the trip nearly as much as I did. There were way too many people, too much traffic, and Sunday in Boston was way too cold for him. He can relate to Dorothy with the thought that "there is no place like home."