February 28, 2017 - Latin American Independence

February 28, 2017

Latin American Independence

Raised in Texas, I am as patriotic as the next.  I know all the stories of America’s quest for independence, as well as Texas.’  I never dreamed that those two revolutions were the beginning and the end of a move of independence across the Americas.  It covered a period of 60 years, but Spain lost its empire in just 20.  I know why the United States desired independence and Texas, but what happened in Spanish America that caused Spain to lose its vast empire in a span of 20 years?

Imagine, if you will, the extent of the Spanish Empire.  In the north, it included all those states who have names of Spanish origin, like Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Louisiana, Arizona, California, Nevada, and Oregon.  It included all of Mexico and Central America.  South America, except for Brazil, was Spanish.  The Caribbean, though for a century other European powers were taking an island here or there, was Spanish.  That is why almost every island in the Caribbean has a Spanish name (Trinidad, Barbados, St. Lucia, Grenada, etc.)  The empire also included the Philippines, which traded with Spain across the Pacific, through the port of Acapulco, Mexico.  It was a huge empire.  It was never duplicated until the British Empire of the 1800s.

The first reason for revolution was the Spanish lack of respect for the Creoles.  These are people of Spanish decent, the white people who had been encouraged to emigrate to the New World and make it more Spanish.  Just like the British did not respect the American-born Brits in America, the Spanish did not respect their white cousins in the colonies.  Important positions always went to someone who had been born in Spain, never a better qualified man born in the Americas.

The second reason had to do with free trade, one of the same reasons the British colonies rebelled.  Spain demanded that the colonies only trade with Spain, even if they could get better prices selling to France or the British colonies.  Imagine Colombian coffee being sold to Spain, who then sells it to England, who sells it to their colony in Virginia.  Dumb, right?  These guys wanted to make money off the goods they produced.  They had to break the law to take the shortcut.  You would think the Spanish would have learned a lesson watching the American Revolution, but they were stubborn.

By 1810, when the revolutions began, the creoles observed the results of revolution in the British colonies and the one in Haiti.  That becomes the third reason.  They did not want to become like Haiti, fearing what happened there, might happen in their land, especially those with large slave populations.  At the same time, they observed what happened with the creation of the United States.  They admired the new country and wanted to emulate it.  It is not surprising that almost every American nation has a constitution based on the Constitution of the United States.

The fourth reason has to do with war in Europe.  Spain supported Napoleon and the British fought back, including an invasion of Argentina that the mother country could not repel.  Shortly thereafter, Napoleon decided to add Spain to his empire and the colonies were completely cut off from Spain. They were forced into self-rule, and they liked it.

The last has to do with racism.  I’m not talking about black versus white, or white versus Hispanic.  In this case, it was white versus white.  Those in Spain felt that if you were born in the Americas, you were inferior to one born in Spain.  It didn’t matter how well-educated you were, or how wealthy you were.  A sheep farmer in Castile was better than the landowner of the largest ranch in Venezuela.

In 1810, revolution began in Mexico and soon spread across Latin America.  By 1825, when Bolivia gained its independence, Spain was ousted from the Americas, except for Cuba and Puerto Rico.  The year 1836, when Texas gained its independence, could be called the last revolution, Mexico had other revolutions to deal with, including the loss of the Yucatan.  The vast empire of the Spaniards was gone, in the blink of an eye.  Spain would never recover from the loss.

I will share a few more bits of history this year.  As I am learning about this beautiful land of Bolivia, I am discovering heroes as great as any told in the history classes of my youth.

Want to read more? I have currently have two novels on the market. Click here to learn more.

 

 

 

Februay 27, 2017 - Return to Berea

February 27, 2017

A Return to Berea

Tuesday, I had a great morning.  I had slept all weekend and half of Monday, but I knew I needed to get up and get out.  Originally, I wasn’t going to tell anybody when I got back in Bolivia.  I was going to relax and chill a bit.  But Tuesday, I felt it was time I to say I was back in South America.

As I was walking to my barber, who can’t remember that my name is Mark (Señor George), I took a pretty picture of one of the frangipanis blooming in the Plaza Blacutt and posted it on Instagram and Facebook.  As I am leaving the barber salon, my friend Debbie sends me a message on Whatsapp.

“You are sly, aren’t you!”

“What?”

“You are back in Bolivia and haven’t told anyone.”

So I told her I had been back since Thursday.  She said she’d keep the secret, but I told her it was OK to tell others.  I said I wanted to go to church mid-week and she suggested Thursday prayer meeting.  She said she’d keep it quiet from Pastor Percy, her husband and let me surprise him.

Thursday arrives and that is my big plan for the day.  I was going back to Berea for the first time since the end of November.  I thought I left early, but my taxi driver took a circuitous route.  He thought he knew where he was going, but he discovered he did not.  I arrived right at 7:00! 

There were only 5 people in church and none of Pastor’s family.  I guessed that for some reason they weren’t there.  I decided to enjoy the worship, because they always have good worship.   One young man, Gustavo, saw me from across the room and came over and gave me a big bear hug.  Jhonny, who works in the school office, also came and gave me a hug.  There were others I don’t know by name, but it was good to be remembered.

Just when I thought I wouldn’t see the pastor or his family, the pastor came out of his office.  He is usually in his office praying during the worship part of service.  This night was no different.  When he stood at the podium to speak, he had a look of total surprise.  Debbie had kept it a secret.  He did not know I was there.

He had a short sermon from 2 Corinthians 10.  Percy talked about the importance of it in relation to Carnival, which is this weekend.  Berea Church takes their annual retreat on this weekend. It is a good thing for the youth.  Carnival can be tempting to a young person.  It is intended as a last-minute fling before the 40 days of Lent, leading to Easter.  In Latin America, anything goes during Carnival.  Their annual retreat is one of the reasons Berea Church has so many young men and women on fire for God. 

After the short sermon as a time of prayer.  Imagine this.  A church filled with about 75 or more people.  At least 60 of them go to the front of the church to pray.  They are on their knees, their faces to the floor, crying out to God to do a thing in their lives during this Carnival.  A few, like me, stayed in their seats to pray.  Some of us have more difficulty getting down on the floor and then getting up later.  This prayer time lasted for close to 30 minutes.

After church, I talked with Pastor Percy until his services as a pastor were needed.  A man who had been coming to church for a while brought his wife.  Percy wished to speak with her.  And that is the way it should be.

I love this amazing little church.

 

February 26, 2017 - Cañoto

February 26, 2017

Cañoto

This was my favorite statue when I was here in the 1980s.  Today, an older and maybe a little more jaded, I don’t think it is one of the best made statues in the world, but I still love it.  I like the jaunty cowboy looking fellow carrying his guitar.  He speaks to me of the old west.  In Bolivia, that would be the old east.

But who is this guy?  I never thought to ask in the 1980s.  Now I want to know, so I can share it with you.

His name is José Manuel Baca.  He was born in 1790 in the province of Santa Cruz, sometime between October and December.  As a child, he studied grammar and letters, as well as some of the native Indian languages.  He developed a talent for the guitar, and composed his own songs and poems.

He gained recognition during the War of Independence in the 1810s.  He fought in the Battle of Pari in 1816, the bloodiest battle of all the battles of American independence, and maintained a guerrilla struggle against the loyalists throughout the war.  When the war was over and Bolivia gained its independence, he was sent to garrison a post in the east, because he was outspoken in his ideas of the new government.   

Eventually he was forced out of the military, where he retired to a farm to live out the rest of his years.

People who are outspoken about what is right never make it in a world of politicians.  Cañoto was no different.  It took another 100 years for him to be recognized for his participation in the struggle for independence.

To me, he will ever be the singing cowboy.

Adapted from an article on es.wikipedia.org.

You can read another exciting Bolivian legend in my newest book, Mojon con Cara.

 

February 25, 2017 - Roman Holiday

February 25, 2017

Roman Holiday

The first time I saw the movie, Roman Holiday, I loved it.  I know every little girl dreams of being the princess that Audrey Hepburn played, but I wanted to be the reporter played by Gregory Peck, living in the tiny, efficiency apartment, writing for a newspaper, and living in Rome.

My grandma thinks it’s her fault that I am living in Bolivia.  She took me on a trip to Israel when I was 13 and now she thinks that is why I love to travel.  It was my first trip overseas, but it didn’t create this dream in me.  She took me to Israel because I was the one grandkid who would devour the National Geographic from cover to cover, especially if they reported on cities like Rome, Vienna, Madrid, Isfahan, or Rio de Janeiro.  She took me because she knew it would be meaningful to me.

When I was a teenager, twice I went to Rome with my class at Duncanville High.  I saw every place they visited in the movie.  I felt like I was beginning to live out my dream.

At 19, I became a Christian, a believer in Jesus Christ.  My love for travel turned into a love for foreign missions.  I have had the privilege of being a part of ten mission trips to Mexico, two to Nicaragua, one to Trinidad, and another to Lithuania.  And I am now living in Bolivia for the second time in my life.  My love for travel has not stopped.  I want to see and experience as many places as possible before I am too old to do it anymore.

My first time in Bolivia I was so busy that I rarely had time to think.  When I returned to Texas and started working at Nash Intermediate in Kaufman, I discovered I had free time.  That is when I started writing Spartan Sisters.  But I didn’t tell anybody about that.  You might ask why, but the answer is simple.  I was embarrassed.

I was embarrassed that someone would read my novel and think it was pretentious, boring, or stupid.  I did not want to deal with telling everybody that I wanted to be a writer.  People always ask why and I would be expected to tell them.  Why a novel about the Trojan War?  And I’d get that glassy-eyed stare and have to explain to someone who really didn’t care and would never even read the first page of the novel.

But I kept writing.  I spent years rewriting Spartan Sisters, trying to make it perfect.  I’d see how someone else wrote an opening and tried to emulate them.  I would read a character description and go back to my characters and know I had work to do.

I’d have other ideas for novels too, but school kept me busy enough that I usually only worked on writing during summer or Christmas breaks.  Yesterday I was looking through my flash drives at the various novels I have started.  Sometimes I had chills at something so well-written or I’d laugh at a scene that begged me to work on it.  I have a dozen novels in various stages.  Onesimus, the one I am writing now, and Remembering Sorrento are both about halfway complete.  I must finish those.  I plan to finish both in 2017.

I had several reasons to return to Bolivia.  First, I wanted to see if I could recapture my experience of living in Bolivia in the 80s.  Second, I wanted to explore a different world than my home in North Texas.  And third, I wanted to express what is in my heart through my writing.

Exploring Santa Cruz, Samaipata, Tarija, and Sucre in the fall of 2016 caused my desire to express what I was experiencing.  The butterflies hovering over the road to Samaipata.  The chocolate covered hills out the plane window flying into Tarija.  The bluest sky I could ever imagine at the dinosaur park in Sucre.  The Milky Way that I remember from a visit 30 years ago, to Buena Vista. This place is so beautiful.  I just have to tell somebody.  Maybe the only somebody who will listen will be me.

By November, I discovered I love to write. Taking walks around the city sometimes inspires me.  I see a chapter clearly in my head and have to write.  Sometimes I know where I want to go, so I just write until I get there.  One night I was pondering a scene in Onesimus.  I knew how I wanted to end it, but I could not figure out how to get from the beginning to that ending.  At 11:00, lying in bed, it hit me.  I knew how to do it.  I went to the living room, turned on my computer, and started writing notes.  The next thing I knew, it was 4:00 in the morning, and the whole scene was written in front of me. That is the kind of life I want to lead.  It might sound crazy to you, but it sounds invigorating to me.

My desire is to write.  I must write.  I want to return to the innocence of the child who watched Roman Holiday with wonder or read about Venice in National Geographic planning to go there one day.  I want to tell the story of Joseph in Egypt and Mary, the mother of Christ.  I want to introduce you to the real Dracula, not the Hollywood stereotype.  I want to explore the conquests of Mexico and Peru.  I want to show you a love story based on an incident on my high school trip to Italy.  I have so much to say.  I’m sorry, I can’t be quiet.

Yes, I am writing for your enjoyment, but even more I am writing to discover me.  I am in Bolivia on my Roman holiday.

If you want to keep track of my writing career by purchasing my novels, here is the link to my Amazon author page.

365 Days in Bolivia: February 24, 2017 - La Pascana

365 Days in Bolivia: February 24, 2017 - La Pascana: February 24, 2017 La Pascana – My Favorite Restaurant How I never met this restaurant in the 80s I will never know.   I think it was...

February 24, 2017 - La Pascana

February 24, 2017

La Pascana – My Favorite Restaurant

How I never met this restaurant in the 80s I will never know.  I think it was because it was more hidden.  The Plaza was more enclosed by trees and the streets facing the Plaza were not as pretty as now.

My friend, Anna, told me that she remembers visiting it when she was a teenager, before they had paved the streets of Santa Cruz.  It has been here forever!

When I visited in March of 2016, with the intent of moving back to Santa Cruz, I stayed at the Senses Boutique Hotel.  It is about $90 a night and worth double that.  It has absorbed the La Pascana Restaurant into the hotel and expanded its size.  The hotel also includes the Nice Cream ice cream parlor I wrote about recently.

The hotel has some funky artwork, and some of that runs over into the restaurant.  They have to keep the Spanish Colonial feel, but like the Manzana 1, they make it feel chic, modern, and funky.

Staying here in March, I decided to get a few meals here, since I could bill it to my hotel room.  The burgers aren’t that great, but get away from North American foods and the restaurant excels.  When I had what are called Argentinean empanadas, I decided this was my restaurant.  Empanadas are what we would call turnovers, but these are not sweet, but savory.  I prefer the chicken over the beef, but both are so good.

One of the reasons I wanted to live near the Plaza was to visit this little restaurant.  I have been back at least once a week since I arrived in July; in fact, it was my first meal back in Bolivia in July.  Frequently, I just go to get a meal of fried yucca and a coke.  Not a real meal, and maybe not that nutritious, but it satisfies the hunger.  It is the best fried yucca I have ever had, though my friend, Anna, will tell you it is nothing to compare to her mom’s fried yucca.

I have been there enough that they know who I am.  The young man, who is one who usually waits on me, came to the table and said, “La usual, Señor?”  That means, “The usual, sir?”  Well, that is what I came for, so I said yes.  That is how you know a restaurant is yours. 

My books are available online. I'll be happy to sign one for you.

 

365 Days in Bolivia: February 23, 2017 - Thank You Friends

365 Days in Bolivia: February 23, 2017 - Thank You Friends: February 23, 2017 Thank You Friends November of 2016 I felt more alive than I had in a long time.   I was writing and writing a lot....

February 23, 2017 - Thank You Friends

February 23, 2017

Thank You Friends

November of 2016 I felt more alive than I had in a long time.  I was writing and writing a lot.  Inspiration had hit in September and I completed the short novel, Mojón can Cara, with the editing help of my friend, Mariela.  I was also busy writing Onesimus. 

The Gang of Nash, Joan the Fox, Elaine Howard, Sharon Vance,

and me, the lucky guy surrounded by these awesome women.

My amazing cover artist, Josh Ramirez.

One night, as I was going to bed around 11:00, I was pondering how I would get one particular incident written.  Inspiration hit.  I knew how to do it.  I went to my computer, started writing, and I wrote until 4:00 in the morning.

Mom at the Silos in Waco

Then my momma fell and broke her hip.  It was a scary moment when I discovered what happened.  Someone needed to be at her house to take care of my 95-year old grandma and a fussy cat, and be able to help my handicapped brother when needed.  Once my momma was out of rehab, she pushed herself to do everything on her own.  Now she is not only walking well, but driving.  She gets tired easily, but is doing well.

Me and Lynnette, the lady who secretly runs Nash

Best boss ever, Linda Mott

When I got home, I wanted to publish Mojón con Cara.  That is when I discovered that Amazon had started something new, publish on demand.  I could publish my novels as paperbacks.  People could order them and they would be printed as they were ordered.  I wouldn’t have to order hundreds and hope someone would buy them.  Ten could be ordered or just one.  Preparing my books for print gave me something fun and interesting to do for the next few weeks.

Ma and former student, Jody.

Me with one of the best reading teachers on the planet, Jeanne Sutton

Then many of my friends started buying my books and wanted me to sign them.  It makes me laugh thinking people want my signature!  But one of my life long dreams has been to have my books in print.  I wrote Spartan Sisters in the 90s and dreamed of it being in print and now it is!  Holding my book for the first time was an emotional moment.

Annissa and Coby

Me and good friend, Wendy LaDue

Of the many fun things I did over the holidays, such as visits to the zoo and taking momma to see the Silos in Waco (if you don’t know what I am talking about, you are missing out), the most fun was meeting friends and signing my books.

Rhonda Peterson, one of the sweetest ladies on the planet.

I appreciated you guys so much!  Mom, Cris, Aunt Sarah and Uncle Ronnie, Dad, Elaine, Joan, Sharon, Wendy, Josh (my cover artist) and his mom and dad, Jenn, Linda, Annissa and Coby,  Judy and Jody, Denise, Jeanne, Lynnette, Lisa (who bought an e-book) and Lisa, Rhonda, Susan, Renee, and I am sure I have left somebody off the list.

My books are online, waiting for you to get to know them. I will be happy to sign one too.

365 Days in Bolivia: February 22, 2017 - El Cristo

365 Days in Bolivia: February 22, 2017 - El Cristo: February 22, 2017 The Cristo The Cristo is a monument located on Avenida el Cristo Redentor and the Second Ring, in the middle of a ...

February 22, 2017 - El Cristo

February 22, 2017

The Cristo

The Cristo is a monument located on Avenida el Cristo Redentor and the Second Ring, in the middle of a rotunda with traffic streaming around it.  If you continue north on this highway you will get to the airport, so coming into Santa Cruz for the first time, you will meet this statue.

The statue was cast in bronze by the sculptor Emiliano Lujan of the city of La Paz in the year 1961.  Its original purpose was to commemorate the Fourth National Eucharist Council in 1961.  The dedication ceremony was attended by then president, Victor Paz Estenssoro. 

The statue faces the city of Santa Cruz, seeming to bless the city.  In the busy, rough and tumble world of Santa Cruz, it is a good thing to have Christ looking down on you.

On the southwest corner of the intersection is an open-air chapel, with a beautifully carved wooden cross facing the monument.  This monument was built for the recent visit of the Pope.  He wanted to look on the Christ while preaching to the faithful  of Santa Cruz.

The road running south from el Cristo is lined with restaurants, many of them old and serving traditional Bolivian meals.  A friend and I enjoyed a nice meal here after spending the morning at Interpol.  It is an avenue, so that means a divided street.  The median is like a park.  There is a wide walkway, with trees, a fountain, statues, and plenty of places to sit and watch the busy traffic pass by.

At the far end of the avenue is the Palacio de Justicia, the tallest building in Bolivia and one of the tallest in South America.  With a few exceptions of buildings in Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires, and Santiago, there are just not that many tall buildings compared to what we have in the States.

It seems that every time I visit the Cristo monument, three times since I moved here in July, I haven’t been able to catch the light just right.  The sky is too bright and the statue too dark.  One day I need to go near dusk.  Maybe then I will catch it.  (The nice picture I have included was just before I returned to the United States.  Finally I had a good picture!).

It is nothing compared to the amazing statue in Rio de Janeiro, but it should surely be on your list of places to see in Santa Cruz.  After you take some selfies of yourself in front of the statue, stop and have a nice meal at a sidewalk café.

In Rio at the Cristo with my Brazilian son, Artur

Some of this information was gleaned from the Spanish Wikipedia page on El Cristo.

My books are available online. Read one and tell me what you think.

365 Days in Bolivia: February 21, 2017 - Getting Reacquainted

365 Days in Bolivia: February 21, 2017 - Getting Reacquainted: February 21, 2017 Getting Reacquainted I walked into my apartment around 10:00 on Thursday the 16 th .   I knew my first day was goi...

February 21, 2017 - Getting Reacquainted

February 21, 2017

Getting Reacquainted

I walked into my apartment around 10:00 on Thursday the 16^th.  I knew my first day was going to be busy paying bills and working out all the little things that need to be done.  By the time I crashed on Friday, I still was not finished unpacking.  Saturday and Sunday turned out to be sleep and Netflix days.  A pot of beans was my meal for two days.  I was tired.

Monday I ventured out.  I needed to get back into the swing of things.  I started with a nice breakfast empanada and juice at Teconté.  The lady there recognized me and asked, “Where have you been?”

“I was in the States for a family emergency.”

“And you didn’t even bring me a gift!”

No, I didn’t get her a gift, but it was nice that I was remembered.

I took some pictures of my pretty little plaza and bought some groceries.  The day was sunny, with a perfect breeze.  Birds, mostly parrots, were signing in the trees.  It was a gorgeous heavenly day.

I posted a few pictures on Instagram and Facebook.  I didn’t say anything, but was going to let that be the message that I am back.

At 10:30, I walked down Avenida Velarde to my barber salon.  My barber, Elie, had not arrived yet, but I only had to wait for 2 minutes before she walked in the door.

“Señor George, where have you been?”  Somehow she got it in her head that my name was George.  The entire haircut, which is a truly amazing procedure for just $10, Elie kept calling me George.  So I joked that I was going to give her a new name.  Her new name is Roxie.

Lunchtime was approaching as she finished, so I decided it was time to visit my favorite restaurant on the Plaza, La Pascana.  How fun it is to walk in the door and Sebastian, one of the waiters, says, “Where have you been?  Do you want the usual?”

My usual there is fried yucca and a coke.  A delicious meal for $5.  Yes, of course, I wanted my usual.  But the best part was being remembered and appreciated.

During lunch, Debbie started writing me.  “You sly dog!  You are back and haven’t told anybody!”  I’m going to stop by her church this Thursday evening for prayer meeting.  She is going to let me surprise Pastor Percy.

After lunch, I walked across the street to the Plaza.  There was a group of teens dancing.   I assume they are preparing for Saturday’s Carnival festivities.  It was fun and colorful.  I walked to the Manzana 1, where there is an exhibition of colorful Carnival costumes. 

Sandra also wrote me asking if I wanted to go to lunch on Saturday.  Of course, I do!

Before I left the Plaza for good that day, I heard more music.  There was a small band, two men playing drums, and a third playing leaves.  I’ve seen people whistle with blades of grass, but this guy was playing  it like a musical instrument.  Amazing.

By the time I got home, my students at the SCCLC were texting me, asking if I was home. 

And so I am home.  It feels good.

Now, let’s get back to that novel.

While you are waiting for Onesimus to come in print, there are always my other two, Spartan Sisters and Mojon con Cara. Read one and tell me what you think.

365 Days in Bolivia: February 20, 2017 - Keeping in Touch with Home

365 Days in Bolivia: February 20, 2017 - Keeping in Touch with Home: February 20, 2017 Keeping in Touch with Home Have I mentioned before that this is my second time to live in Santa Cruz, Bolivia?   W...

February 20, 2017 - Keeping in Touch with Home

February 20, 2017

Keeping in Touch with Home

Have I mentioned before that this is my second time to live in Santa Cruz, Bolivia?  Well, in the 1980s, I joined the Assemblies of God to work here as a teacher.  Because of obscure rules they had, I was restricted to two years with them.  South America Mission (SAM) was quick to invite me to join them.  I spent an interesting day driving to a Guarani village with Cesar Cubas, figuring out quickly his intent was to convince me to join SAM.  I stayed another three years with SAM mission.

Communication was very different in the 80s compared with today.  It was limited to phone and letters.  The Internet did not exist back then.

If I wanted to make a call back home, I had to call the operator in La Paz.  I would give her the number; it was always a woman and I think the same one each time.  She would tell me to wait by the phone until she put the call through.  That might take ten minutes, but more likely four hours.  I would get a call back and ask the person on the other side to call me.  It was too expensive to call from Bolivia and much cheaper from the US.  A few minutes later, I would get a call back and we could talk for just a few minutes because it was also expensive to call from the States, just cheaper than Bolivia.

The other method of communication was letters.  Often, I sat home at night writing letters to family and friends.  I also sent out a mission newsletter about once a month to those who financially supported me, and to family, even if they did not.  I would get letters from home too, though sometimes not with a lot of frequency.  During my second year in Bolivia, there was a postal strike.  I doubt any of my letters got back to the States.  One day in February, after the strike was over, I sat down with a pile of letters from home.  I put them in order from oldest to most recent and spent a Saturday afternoon reading news from home.  Even with letters nobody told me my sister-in-law Jackie was going to have a baby.  I found out about her three weeks before my beautiful niece, Katie, was born.

The year 2016 (and 2017) is very different from 1989.  The Internet rules.  Everybody has Facebook or Instagram, or whatever is the latest means of communication.  In Bolivia, they all have WhatsApp (I discovered at Christmas that is what they use in Brazil too).  I post pictures on Instagram or a blog on Facebook and I get almost instantaneous responses from family and friends.  I know what my little nieces and nephews are doing almost every day because their moms post a lot.  Thank you, Leslie, Katie, Madison, and Brook!  I know what my friends at Nash or Bristol Baptist are doing because of their posts.  I was up-to-date on the contentious election of 2016 and see the funny stories and videos everyone else sees.  I am sure I will be reading about the exciting (or frightening to some of you) new administration of Donald J. Trump.

My mom was worried that she would lose contact with me.  Yet we chat on Facebook Messenger half a dozen times a day.  I even know what she is eating.  As I am rewriting this in February of 2017, she just told me she found some pizza in the fridge.  That makes me hungry.  That is how up-to-date we are in this age. 

I know some people complain about social media.  To me, it is my connection with home.  I think it is a great thing in this crazy modern world.  So, keep sending pics of your new haircut or your cousin’s baby.  I don’t mind the pictures of your cow, dog, horse, or cat.  I love all the back to school pictures.  I love the funny stories and memes.  I like the food pics.  Keep up the contact.

Love you