Texas, Chapter 3

I finished my last post by commenting there was a funny story involving my ride on the boat on Lake Livingston. As I said, there were Pastor Ed, Judy, Darci, Jami, and myself. The pastor does not have his own boat landing, so he shares with someone else. To get from the street level to the boat dock, we had to go down quite an embankmant to the lake. Judy and I both knew I would never make it back up such a climb, so she told Pastor Ed as soon as we got on board, that he would have to figure out some place different to let me get off. OK, no problem. I am not very sure-footed about anything any more, and to get from the dock onto a boat, which is swaying on the water, was not an easy task for me, to begin with. But I made it with a little help, and the ride was absolutely beautiful. As I think I said, we traveled at sight-seeing speed, so it was very nice. As we got away from the shore a little bit, and around a bend, the wind came up a little, and we did get a little rough water. Not bad, but enough to get sprayed good once. It was such a nice day, getting wet just added to the fun of the trip. We were on the water a little over an hour, and decided to go in. The church they go to is on the waterfront and has a small pier, so that's where Pastor Ed headed. Now comes the fun. The water level is 18-24 inches below the pier, so we had to figure out how to get me off. He nosed the boat up right against the pier, but the landing on the boat was still at least 15 inches lower than the pier, besides the boat was bouncing quite a bit. He did have a piece of rope tied to the boat, so Darci got off first, and tied the rope to a post of the pier. That still didn't hold the boat very steady. Anyway, I managed to get hold of the post and pull myself into a sitting position on the pier, with my legs dangling over the water. Now you have to realise that I have not been able for years, to put my weight on my knees to get up off the ground or floor. So, OK, I'm sitting on the pier, with my feet dangling over the water. But how do I get to my feet? Again, you have to realise I am 79 years old, and weight about 185 pounds. The last several times I have fallen, it took two people to get me back onto my feet. Pastor Ed kept telling me he could lift me, and I didn't think he could. Anyway, I finally got my legs around to where they were on the pier. I started to scoot myself along, headed got the bank and a picnic bench where I thought I could get myself up. Judy just knew I was going to get a seat full of slivers. When Pastor Ed told me (and he, himself is about 60 years old) that he handles his mother all the time without any problem, I decided that maybe he could get me up. So, he got behind me, put his arms around under my armpits, and I managed to get at least one foot flat on the pier. Then, it just seemed so easy - he just lifted and there I was, standing on my own two feet. He made sure I got to the bench, and then he and Darci took the boat back to where we had started from so Darci could get the car. It was a wonderful, fun, experience, and I would gladly do it again - all of it!!

Gonna cut this short, - the trip home, later. That's all folks!!