And I'm so excited about it, I don't know that I'm going to be able to wait until August 25th!  It's a long way off but I also know that it will be here before I know it!  I'm hoping to convert 2 of my friends into Jimmy fans as I informed them as soon as I found out that they were going with me.  Oh, and did I tell you that I'M SOOOOO EXCITED?!?!

My other Andrew is in the hospital with what they think is pneumonia.  They're not sure because his chest xrays came back clear.  He's in a room but still don't know if they're going to keep him.  They're waiting for a P.A. from the pedicatric clinic to come look at him. He sounds terrible but he doesn't act like he doesn't feel good.  I'll be going up there after Dave gets home from rehearsal.   Please keep him in your prayers.  Thanks.

I just got back today from spending a wonderful 8 days in my hometown of Lincoln, NE.  Stayed with my sister, Diane, in her "new" apartment.  I went back to help her go through a ridiculous amount of boxes of her "stuff".  She's lived in this apartment since July and still had boxes sitting around she hadn't gone through.  So, we got through those and went and got more boxes from the basement of where she used to live.  After we got through those, we went back for another load that we were going to go through while we watched the Nebraska football game.  Didn't get it done, but thinking back on it, we should have gone through the boxes instead of watching Nebraska lose to Texas!  Got to spend time with a couple of high school friends on Monday and another old friend on Tuesday.  Also got to see my sister and brother-in-law, who were in town for the game and went up to Omaha to see nieces and grand nieces and nephews.  Visited my old neighborhood and visited the only people left on my old block that I know.  It had been way too long since I'd been home and it was great visit! 

And I hope I do it justice.  I've forgotten a couple of things. 

Day 9 -- Sunday June 27th (con't)  I had told Lynn what I wanted to do and on this day and why, the first day we were there.  She actually sounded interested when I told her where Staunton was and who lived there.  I wasn't sure she would be.  I still didn't want to get my hopes up because Lynn is very traffic conscious.  Always mindful of rush hours and how much traffic there's going to be on a particular road.  And with the traffic being what it is in that part of the country, I don't blame her one bit.  So I wasn't going to let myself believe it until I saw it.  Even so, I thought about this all week!  So, Sunday rolls around and Lynn looks on the map to see if there's any way we can get to I81 other than using I66 because according to Lynn it's always very congested.  I suggested using I95.  She said no, 95 is worse than 66 for traffic.  So I figured we weren't going because she sounded like she reaaalllyyy didn't want to go on I66.  But she said that we'd go ahead and hope for the best.  So, off we headed for Staunton, VA.  We left at 3:00 in the afternoon.  I66 turned out to be not so bad and we didn't have a problem.  The drive down was absolutely beautiful.  The only way it could have been more beautiful is if it had been autumn.  It was only supposed to take us 2 hours, 36 minutes to get there from her house, according to Yahoo Maps but it took us a bit longer.  I think we finally got there about 5:45.  Coming in we drove right by Olivet Presbyterian. We had some time to look around but Lynn wanted to find the church first.  So, we found 2nd Presbyterian, which was an adventure!  This is when we discovered that there are hills in Staunton, VA!  North Augusta between Beverley and Frederick, I swear, goes straight up!  But those of you who have been there probably already know that!  And there's a light at the top of it and of course it was red.  That in itself wouldn't have been so bad, but there was a bus stopped at the top of the hill at that red light!  So not only are we vertical on this hill, we were in danger of being run over by a bus going backwards down the hill when it's brakes failed!  After we found it, we drove and looked around a bit.  Stopped at the Statler Monument on W. Johnson. Then walked down to Byers Street and looked around.  I had to explain why that area is called the Wharf.  We drove down Beverley passed Thornrose Cemetary just looking around and we found another one of those hills.  Only this one was going straight down!  And there's another thing!  The streets are only about a foot and a half wide!  Anyway, one of the streets led us to Thornrose Ave so we headed for Gypsy Hill Park.  Didn't really see much of it, the road we turned onto just led us to a parking lot.  On the way out Lynn stopped so I could take pictures of the old Statler offices.  Then back to 2nd Presbyterian.  We were greeted by 2 very nice ladies from the church, one led us into the Fellowship Hall.  Instead of it being just chairs like an auditorium, everyone sat at tables.  It isn't a real big room but there were quite a few people there.  We picked our table and sat down.  There was a pillar in front of our table so Lynn asked if I was able to see around it.  I said yes but there may be a man's head in my way.  There was a gentleman sitting on the other side of the table with his back to me.  Then I decided that I should probably use the Ladie's Room before it started.  So I went back out into the entryway and there were two men standing out there.  Well, I found myself looking at a very handsome, clean shaven young man.  It took me a few seconds to realize who I was looking at.  When I did, I said, "Langdon", he said yes and that's when I stuck my hand out and said, "It's nice to meet you."  After that, words absolutely failed me so I just asked the other man where the Ladies Room was.  I couldn't help thinking that Langdon had to be thinking I'm some kind of weirdo the way I just stood there looking at him!  When I got back, one of the ladies went up to the podium to introduce Don.  As she was introducing him, I realized who the man was sitting on the other side of the table.  We had sat down at the same table as Don and Debbie and Debbie's mom.  Debo was also there. He was taping it.  Gotta shut down now, looks like we're in for some bad weather.  One more post and I promise you I'm done.

Dave and I are taking a trip to Washington DC the last two weeks of June.  It's our anniversary present to ourselves.  We are going to do all the touristy stuff; the Smithsonian (not sure how many days we're going to take doing that one), the monuments, the White House tour, the Capitol, having breakfast with our state representatives one morning and all the Civil War battlefields we can get to.  Yes, we are going to Gettysburg.  That one's a definite.  If I don't get to any others, that's ok as long as I get to that one.

I have a sister and brother-in-law that live in Alexandria, VA so we'll be staying with them.

And as long as I'm going to be that close, I thought I'd take a little side trip to Staunton.  Dave already knows I want to go though I may be going by myself.  What I thought I'd do is go down at least on Sunday, June 27th.  Don is going to be giving a talk on his books at the 2nd Presbyterian Church that evening and I really, really, really want to go! I'd like to go down on Saturday and spend a couple of days looking around.   So, we'll see if I can pull that one off.

I'm very excited about this trip and waiting for it isn't easy.

I'm pretty bummed though. We're going to miss Jimmy's Radford show by 4 days.  We're leaving for home on June 30th.  So close....

To all of you who will be traveling to the Festival, drive carefully and be safe.  Above all, have a wonderful time.  Give Jimmy and Nina an extra squeeze, for those of us not going, when you get those hugs.  We'll want full reviews when you all get home.

God Bless.

I got this in an email and thought you all might like it.  I never knew these things.


Do you know that at military  funerals, the 21-gun salute stands for the
sum of the numbers in the year  1776?

Have you ever noticed  the honor guard pays meticulous attention to
correctly folding the  American flag 13 times? You probably thought it
was to
symbolize the  original 13 colonies, but we learn something new every
day!
The 1st  fold of our flag is a symbol of life.

The 2nd fold is a symbol of our belief in eternal life.

The 3rd fold is  made in honor and remembrance of the veterans departing
our ranks who gave  a portion of their lives for the defense of our
country to
attain peace  throughout the world.

The 4th  fold represents our weaker nature, for as American citizens
trusting in  God, it is to Him we turn in times of peace as well as in
time of war
for  His divine guidance.

The 5th fold is a  tribute to our country, for in the words of Stephen
Decatur, "Our Country,  in dealing with other countries, may she always
be
right; but it is still  our country, right or wrong."

The 6th  fold is for where our hearts lie. It is with our heart that We
pledge  allegiance to the flag of the United States Of America, and the
Republic  for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with
Liberty and
Justice for all.

The 7th fold is a  tribute to our Armed Forces, for it is through the
Armed
Forces that we  protect our country and our flag against all her enemies,

whether they be  found within or without the boundaries of our republic.

The 8th fold is a tribute to the one who entered into  the valley of the
shadow of death, that we might see the light of day.

The 9th fold is a  tribute to womanhood, and Mothers. For it has been
through their faith,  their love, loyalty and devotion that the character
of the
men and women  who have made this country great has been molded.

The 10th fold is a tribute to the father, for he, too,  has given his
sons
and daughters for the defense of our country since they  were first born.


The 11th fold  represents the lower portion of the seal of King David and

King Solomon  and glorifies in the Hebrews eyes, the God of Abraham,
Isaac
and Jacob.

The 12th fold represents an emblem of  eternity and glorifies, in the
Christians eyes, God the Father, the Son  and Holy Spirit.

The 13th fold,  or when the flag is completely folded, the stars are
uppermost reminding  us of our nations motto, "In God We Trust."

After the flag is completely folded and tucked in, it takes on  the
appearance of a thingyed hat, ever reminding us of the soldiers who  served
under
General George Washington, and the Sailors and Marines who  served under
Captain John Paul Jones, who were followed by their comrades  and
shipmates in the
Armed Forces of the United States, preserving for us  the rights,
privileges and freedoms we enjoy today.
There are  some traditions and ways of doing things that have deep
meaning.
In the  future, you'll see flags folded and now you will know why.

Share this with the children you love and all others who love the  symbol

of "Liberty and  Freedom."

LONG MAY SHE  WAVE!
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
Please keep praying for our armed forces and that they will accept Christ

as their Savior, while serving.  I remember seeing pictures of some
converts
being baptized in whatever they could secure some plastic and water.  May

God help them stay true to him forever.</HTML>

I'm playing with my new toy.  Dave and I got laptops tonight.  I'm still trying to get used to this keyboard.  Quite different than a PC!  That's why what I posted to Sandy in "Rileyisms" looks the way it does.  Oops!  It's really fun though!  Yeah, I know.  It doesn't take much for some people!