Schoolwork and Fun Outing with Dad

Before I begin this blog post, let me first state that today is the birthday of Mark Twain, one of my favorite authors. I've read a good many of his books, been to his two major homes, and have read an autobiography of the man. MT was born on November 30th, 1835, and died on April 21, 1910. He was born when Halley's comet came around, and died when it came again. It comes every 75 years or so.So, Mark Twain was 74. Halley's comet came in '86 and will come in 2061. I hope to see it. Anyway, this blog post is about yesterday. Please enjoy.

I woke up in pitch black, in the basement, on the couch, my back hurting. Light was missing outside, and I could vaguely see Julie in the extreme darkness. I made my way around the mattress as she made a slight yawn. Whoo. Close. I felt drafty, but refreshed after a good night's sleep. I carefully raced up the long, slender, steep stairs, looking for a clock or phone to check the time. None on my floor, or at least one, mine, but it had the same wrong number I had seen last night: 8:40. I thought there must be something wrong with it. I went up stairs to my Mom's room, and found her phone, which I looked out and saw that it said 7:28. Julie said to wake her up whenever, but I came for a second opinion from Mom. "Wake her at 8:30." she said. I waited, and waited, and waited. I sat on a hard but relaxing couch, and heard the tick and tock of the clock. The digital clock struck 8:00. I went down stairs. And down stairs to the basement.

I was going to be interesting and put a mike in their ear and sing into the other one or something like that, but I didn't want them mad at me. And so, I nudged my sister, waking her in a boring and easy way. Oh well. I talked with her and Rebecca for a while, comparing dreams and talking about different things of that matter. Julie took a shower in the basement bathroom, got dressed, as we did the same upstairs. Mom came down to the kitchen and fixed up French Toast; I got eggs from the car just as Dad was leaving to get the people at a repair shop to fix yet another problem with the R.V. He drove it there, of course, right after I went quickly in and got the eggs from the fridge. We ate a good meal a day late. Oh well. Then Julie left for work, and I did much math in the dining room, doing a chapter review. It took an hour and a half. Rebecca's friend Kristin came over, with her father, Mr. Liquori. He later left. We saw our good care taker who lives in the WaveTree Neighborhood, Mrs. Martha Shaunessy. She and Mr. Miller did a wonderful job at keeping the house looking pretty and up to date, Martha giving us the bills and the piles of magazines. She came out of her car with filed piles in her hand of magazines, newspapers, and other things. We had about 10 times. I started to read one, about the science of favortism, saying that nearly half parent has a favorite child. Asking the truthfulness of this statement to Mom, she said she DIDN'T have a favorite. And I believe her.

"Want to go to the paint store and city hall with me?" Dad asked me.

"Sure!" I said enthusiastically. We got in the suburban again and drove around that area, seeing the seniors home, the graveyard and Jewish temple, with it's big brown flashy designs, the water tower, and, as we got closer, the paint store, close to our rented out building where a lady named Robin has an art shop. The paint store was originally a store Dad's dad(that's weird to say three times.) sold paint, and where Dad learned all the tricks of the trade. It got to be Dad's down the line, and Dean and him I believe own many more. It faces the street, has one single door and a barbed wire fence that goes back horizontally whenever we want to go in, and by the door is an old mailbox, parking places for restaurants and other buildings, a broken coke machine, and a sign saying Auto Color, in red and blue. It's warehouse shaped, with the curved roof and metal shingles. When you walk in, it's a mess. On one side is a counter with little area and behind stuff, and on the left piled up things of wood, computers, even golf clubs. We should call it a warehouse, but in the early days when I was young(still remember it) Steve and Dumbo (they called him that) would be selling and shipping paint behind a long, long counter that goes the length of the room, behind them would be shelves and shelves of auto paint for cars. This is where my Dad's career really started, where he learned his love for cars and his eye for completion and his skill in business, his strength in his muscles, his mind for math, and many other things. Today that counter with computers and such is gone, in it's place, a lot of junk. I've seen the business change from being a store to when Finish Master bought it (for a whole lot) and then made Dean and Dad sign a contract, saying they couldn't come back into the paint business until a 10 year period was over. Dad went into cars, Dean boats. Kind of sad, but I believe it was the best thing that could've happened.

Garry Duncan, a car guy who provides automobiles for movies, was helping making a movie in GA called Wettest County, about gangsters in the prohibition era who sell Moon Shine, a whiskey. Now, of course they used cars, and old, 30's cars with glass shattered, fake bullet holes, and blood. Wettest County will come out in 2012. They were done with the movie, or so they thought, and were going through the editing process. They wanted to make sure they were done with it before smashing and incinerating the cars(sad), so they hired Dad, from connections with Duncan, to keep the cars here. I remember when we took them in the barbed wire way, moved stuff around and got them all in, there were more than eleven. Little red seated ford beauties, old, wooden trucks with all kinds of old features, and, the more sophisticated blue hard topped gangster toys, with modern features put into old cars. It's so cool to have them around. I love to see things that we're in a movie, to then see the movie, recognizing the cars. That's going to be awesome. I want to be a director, and along the trail I have met some, and in Roswell there is Seth Decker (little theater), Vic Campos (does things if people want him too) and Duncan (not a director but oh well) and Larry West, who does signs in movies. He did the sign for the store the people go into in the "Blind Side" the Big and Tall one. It's kind of cool to know these people.

We went right, through little hallways between the cars, and came in front of where the floor changes into fake wood and has a green screen for pictures in the back, with all kinds of old tripods and things. By a little bathroom is a light panel, which Dad turned on. You can find ANYTHING except a talking, walking, three armed blue giraffe in the paint store, and it's amazing to see what you CAN find. Kitchen where and garden stuff is in one row, followed by whole carts full of National Geographic's from decades past. Then there's the furnace, the very large metal monster I used to be afraid of. Because of the cars, you can only go the way we went to get there, so we backtracked and I took sight of Dad's soapbox durby blue wooden car on top of the roof of the bathroom. We went down the hallway, where the huge door that opens to the little yard that has a truck and a lot of old clubs and bikes, and also saw where all of the tools are, and the wooden little staircase to the attic where a lot of old things are. By that is a fridge, some books on a shelf, and a door into the old wooden dark room, which is now a beautiful conference room, with a large wooden table and all kinds of awards and pictures and a display case with all kinds of old cameras and new cameras, with a barbie box with a barbie in it and Dad's soapbox helmet. I also love looking at all the drawers and desks where Dad's pictures and awards are. He has A LOT. We went the other way actually. I might as well described the room now. It's really nice.

We actually went into a door where on the left there is numerous metal cabinets and on the left a room with all kinds of old camera equipment(probably by now you understand my dad was also a photographer) and a long old bookshelf with many classic books, and bibles, and success books. I had asked Dad by the magazines if there was a Geographic about Shangri-La, a magical place I had read a book about. Here, on this bookshelf, was a large, bulky, index with all of the magazines in alphabetical order. I got it out, passed away from the white, creamy walled area (not a room, not enclosed) and made my way to Matt Poje's office, who is Westin's dad, who helps my dad with a website they both do called Community Bank List. They even got in the newspaper for it. I sat down opposite the desk and computer, then flipped through the pages. I got to the S's. Then the SH's. Down the line at the end of the page was a lot of numbers, and names and publishing stuff for an article about Shangri-La in 1945. Dad said he didn't have it in the store, but he had a large hard drive it was probably on. I copied all the thing said, put the piece of paper I copied it on in my pocket, and we walked down the hallway. On the left is a long room full of computers and white tables, where I have made a few evil lab lair movies. It's where Howard and many other smart people used to work in the days of the photography business, printing pictures and making frames. Right ahead is Dad's office, his computer on his desk, bookshelves and trinkets and pictures of us behind him, some mantelpieces and all kinds of different stuff, in the right front corner a picture of him with Jeff Gordon, and a sketch of the photography studio, and a sky shot of our house, with some rifles there too. I looked around to the left, where there was a desk and computer, and all around. I love that room. And I love the paint store. It, besides my house, is my FAVORITE place in Roswell. It just is.

I looked around at his shelves with new found interest, books I had seen numerous times now I had read the titles, I liked them a lot more. There was a book about how Truett Cathy made the Chick Filet into a thriving business. I had read a book like that before, about the Home Depot. I like those kind of books pretty good. I also found an old, green, hardback dusty Grimm Fairy Tales, which I'll read sometime soon. I mentioned to Dad he had so many success books, I said he could probably teach a subject about it. He asked if I wanted to read one, and he suggested one called The Four Laws to Debt Free Prosperity. It's an interesting and good story and base. He also talked about The Game of Work. We then left the paint store, with the four books. We went home, had some chili, and then left again for NorthPoint Mall. We drove into a parking spot, and walked in a good way, by a cheesecake factory. We walked in, and it looked like any normal mall, large ceiling, beautiful architecture, everything. We were going in for a problem in Mobile Me with Dad's computer and iPad, and as we entered an Apple store, he worked on that problem with a few apple employees. I tried reading the debt free prosperity, but in the first sentence or two I couldn't understand two words, "audit" and "deduction." I decided to read it to Dad aloud and ask him about it later, since now he was very busy. I messed around with those revolutionary 4S phones, also playing on an iPad, doing a program called Photo Booth, where you can do effects on your face, making you be four people or have a small face and big body, and I then got bored with it and played several games, Angry Birds and Fruit Ninja included. Then I did a cool program called Solar Walk, where you can zoom in and zoom out of all the universe, seeing different planets, their moons, and walking all around the Solar System. I then read a children's iPad version of Pinocchio, which was pretty fun. A 50 old lady asked how I liked it. I said I usually wasn't interested into this stuff, but that it was very entertaining and cool. Good, she said.

We came back and went to bed. It was a wonderful day.

Don't audit this blog! (yeah, I know what it means now.) Please don't!,

Andrew.

Christmas Tree Setup and Seeing Julie

I'm afraid that there won't be many exciting, breathtaking posts in the days to come. We won't be seeing the nation, trying new things, or learning about things first hand.

We will be visiting family, being at our houses, and having a party or two. We will also be doing schoolwork, and a lot at that. We will be relaxing, at most. If you think it will waste your time and you don't care about regular things people do, leave and come back in January. If you do want to know what we're doing and listen to these kind of things, know that I've warned you, and read the next blogs.

Yesterday we woke up at 7 or 8, and I blogged and took a shower. I moved my computer onto the flat surfaced desk in Mom's yellow walled office, with her large stationary computer, the dresser and closet behind me, which broods in the room. I love this room. It's solitude, the view of my front yard with Woodstock Rd cars zooming right by, the pretty neighborhood across the street, the faint buzzing of some function in a computer, the patting and poking of my hands on the keys; it was great to see it again. I like it.

We all got ready to leave to go to Pop and MaPops house. Even though we've only been here for 4 days, there have been re occurring characters in the blog. The Pojes, Pop and MaPop, Lauren, Mr. Miller, and in one Dean and Barbara. Well, we were going to my grandparents house to decorate their Christmas tree with them.  The day was National French Toast Day, and even though I told Mom that, we had no french toast for breakfast. We drove all together and got out to see the big garage door open and all the rain coming down like, well like rain. I was sad to get out of the clean, large suburban with it's nice leather seats; I was so used to a tight, dirty jeep for so long. But, I would return, so I got out and we came to the door. It was locked so Pop opened it up. "HAPPY NATIONAL FRENCH TOAST DAY!!!!!" I said. Pop stared at me. But he later laughed and said the same to me. We went inside and got ready to eat tuna sandwiches, alas, no french toast! I just had French Toast a second ago though, so I ate it the day after the real holiday. No matter. We made tuna and got grapes, some chocolate pretzels, chips, soup and other things and ate, talking to each other. It was fun to make food. We then got ready to get the tree, which was in the garage.

Pop had a little ladder that was shaky, and there were things over on the wall, on a wooden shelf, a big one, at that. Mom held the ladders feet and Pop got to the top of it, me and Dad ready to catch whatever he handed or threw to us, or, him. He gave us several trash bags with stuff in them, parts to the tree. We caught them and placed them down. We brought them and other plastic boxes and things into the outside of the living room, and we moved the table that had it's back to the couch, placing a stand. Pop ended up fine. We then took a heavy fake green Christmas Tree and rammed it into the stand, and got it strait. We, with difficulty, got the next part in, and then the next. We ruffled down the "branches" to make it look more real. We connected wires and plugs all through the leaves and shrubbery, then sticking them into outlets and such, and voila! All the lights lit up. After that we removed the lids to the boxes, and put ornaments around on all sides, because no side can be bare. Angels, Santas, little trinkets, even glass icicles all went on the tree. We had a lot of balls. And I mean a lot. Red, gold, white, even cabbage looking green ones. We saw ornaments of anniversary gifts or years of doing stuff, even one they gave out at the White House that Pop and MaPop somehow ended up with. There was even a paper present looking thing with a picture of me in it, as a baby, of course. Most things on the tree were put on over branches with string or silk rings or circles, but some had hooks. They had an ample supply of beautiful ornaments. As we worked, we talked about Christmas traditions and memories, little things we remembered. It was interesting to listen to my grandparents' Christmases. Very interesting.

The T.V. had a channel of Christmas Music, and so we listened to favorites like "Hark, the Herold Angels Sing" and "Rudolf, the Red Nosed Reindeer", not leaving out, "Silent Night" It was fun. We then looked upon our masterpiece with great joy, seeing all the things sparkle and glow. It was really pretty. I liked making the tree with my grandparents. It was fun, and I was glad to spend time with them, and it got us into the Christmas Spirit. We after doing it talked a lot, about tons of different things. We then said goodbye, left, and drove away after a good 1-2 hour visit. We got home at about three, and waited for my awesome sister Julie, who did not see us on the date of our arrival, to come. So she was to see us now. Lauren came first though, and we talked to her before Julie came. I embraced my 26 year old sister and friend, my sharer of talks in books and my movie loving accomplice. Julie is tall, and has pale skin and brown hair, usually having a jacket and ponytail. We welcomed her, and all talked in the office about different things, one of the subjects dogs, where there were several disagreements about behaviour and who was being nice and mean, wrong and right, in the situation of Sookie and Rocky and Emma. They were growling, and many people in the Bourne's household were thinking Rocky and Emma were scared and were trying to defend themselves, and that Sookie was the antagonizer, and Lauren and others thought Sookie was just being energetic and social. It was a house divided against itself, and I Andrew Lincoln, declare that it shall not stand!

I'm not really a Lincoln, I was making an exampleistic gesture, and that... ooh, here's another. It was the Capulets and Montague's in Romeo and Juliet, that's what it felt like, except all the romance and drama and bloodshed. At one point though we had quieted down, we were away from the crying and barking and yelling and shouting, when I volunteered to go with Julie to get dinner at Moe's. We went in Julie's boyfriend's car, a Toyota, and had a good conversation on the ways to and from from Moes. We came into a building of a tiny center of stores, and got burritos and other Mexican things. The people there were very nice and it was crowded in the buffet like setting. Very fun to be going out again.

We talked about boyfriend and girlfriends on the ride home, and had some funny stories to tell. We got all the stuff inside and ate them in Dad's "office." We then went up stairs and talked about Cyber Monday, technology, and played on all of our electronic devices. Julie, Rebecca and I made faces on a program called Photo Booth on the mac, Dad made deals and saved money on his iPad, Lauren did something on Rebecca and I's old stationary computer, and Mom sat and fiddled on FaceBook. We were all tired. Pretty soon after Lauren left. I blogged upstairs, tired as I was, and listened to all the fun going down below me with a sad spirit. Julie had already said she was spending the night, so she and Rebecca got ready as Mom and Dad came upstairs. I had a nervous break down (yes I did, not joking) and Mom said I should just relax and read or something, and that I could blog on the morrow. "No one loves to read a tired and disgusted blog post," she said to me. Nevertheless, I took a nap and after doing that finished the blog post. I know I might be too hard on myself, but I felt I needed to get it done. Exactly how I feel right now. I need to get this one done.

I went to sleep in my room, but later crept to the basement where Rebecca was on our sandy gold couch that raps around an area with a three sided square and Julie was on an air mattress she got. They were watching T.V. and stuff, and later at 11 we all fell asleep. I enjoyed doing the tree yesterday, and seeing Julie. Yesterday may have had some dramatic moments, but, you know, it's over now, so why remember it. I think that some people are getting to know me better through this blog then I probably would of revealed in person, and I do not know if that is a good or bad thing. Goodbye for now.

Have you ever looked at drops of water in a plastic bottle before? They vibrate when you type or when cars go by.

Amazing,

Andrew.

RUMC Visit and The Hicks

Writing on my mom's computer. First time I've done it. Her mac is lighter, more slick and refined, and has black, thick keys. I am surrounded by my two sisters, Lauren and Julie, and my dad. Lauren's by the table by Dad, with her feet out in a chair and autumn. Dad's seated at a nice sofa with his feet out, his mind in his iPad. Julie and Mom are both on the couch, in deep conversation. And, Rebecca is playing with Lauren's miniature black lab/pit bull, but a nice one. This is an interestingly loud environment. I'm trying to tune it out though. Today has been a good day, but that's not the story of this blog post. This post is about yesterday, when I woke up.

Once Upon A Time....(really 24 or more hours ago) I went in the den and blogged. I then did some other things, taking a shower and stuff. I can't tell you exactly what I did; you don't really remember those kind of things. Elise and Julia woke up, and I told them all kinds of holidays, most of which you've seen. They laughed a lot, although in the Octobers they got bored with it. I eventually finished. We got ready to leave for church, which Elise and Julia where going to also. Westin was to join us later. We all got ready, and I ate breakfast. We then got in the car, and drove to RUMC, Roswell United Methodist Church, a large two building white brick church. It has a yellow complex, a youth building done by Malone Dodson's, one of the preachers at RUMC. It's called the Dod, for Dodson. I had been there once before I left, but never after. This would be seriously my second time there. We first went into the big santuary, and saw Pastor Mike and all of the friendly faces and people who we knew in the church. It was such a relief. When you saw them every Sunday they were just random people in a big church, but after 6 months of you not seeing them, they were things you adored to see. Although Westin wasn't there, we sang great songs and just enjoyed being there. It was great to be in our own church again, and to feel the warmth and love of Jesus Christ. It was reviving. The sermon was great too, about salvation and being ready for it. A new guy did it. Not Mike nor Stacy, who left for another church. He looks like Newt Gingrich kind of, but a little younger, still grey though. I don't know his name. While he was speaking Mike saw us, and mouthed "Your already home?" "Yes" we said. The sermon ended soon after.

We said hello to the Ware's, friends of ours with a son named Nate. Everyone asked us if we were going to go out again after. We said we were. I then left with Mom to go to the DOD, as Elise, Julia, and Rebecca went with Dad to go to their K-5 classes. As Mom and I walked, we came to the DOD and preceded to walk up to it. Mrs. Deedee pulled up in their car and Westin came out, followed by his mom. We all walked up to the entrance, walked in, and Mom then talked to a tall, skinny, oval shaped head man with gray, cleanshaven face features. His name was Scott (had a name tag). Mom explained to him that we were in the machine, everyone knew us, but that we went on a 6 month trip around the country and were stopping for Christmas. We punched in our last name and were found in the database. We said Westin was just visiting and might come back, but to put a visitor's card on him. Scott told us to just chill around until 11, when the teachers would call us in to big group. He said to either go into the gym or into the game area in the back. The inside of the dod has a concrete floor, a little balcony above us, and that kind of new and young feel. Everywhere was filled up with stuff from the Evening In Bethlehem, an event where people were to walk through Bethlehem in the time of Jesus. There were props everywhere, plus scene stuff of wood and boxes and stuff. Westin and I said goodbye to our looming parents, and went into the gym. I explained to my friend that everyone that I knew were nice, and that we would probably fit right in. I was glad to have Westin here, glad to see him again, but uncertain of how the kid's reaction might be. I had a friend named Ben in the DOD, and also one named Will and another Zach, who was my really good friend. I was nervous on how one girl, Morgan, who likes me and was very mad when I said goodbye to her on June 12, would feel at my sudden return and then my leave again. In the summer a drama occurred in which she made rumors that we were going out,  and thought by the time I returned she would've forgotten me. Well that didn't happen. I said some things I probably shouldn't of said, more drama occurred, and long story short without unnessary details she hates me. Girls.

I was scared to see her, but as we went into the carpeted basketball gym with baskets and a stage full of material, I saw a good body to see, a hunched over and skinny figure, Scott Sorvey. We said hi to each other and shook hands. I introduced Westin as Mom and Deedee came in and they said hi to Scott. He said basically what everyone one else said. I'm really tired of repeating it. Anyway, we were told everyone was back in the game area, with the couches, lounge chairs, and hot chocolate. He said because of the events and Thanksgiving Weekend that there wasn't any room to do basketball, and that they didn't have their usual doughnuts. We said it was fine, and went to the bathroom and walked down the hall. Here I said goodbye to Mom and Deedee, this time for good. We entered into the world of the youth.

We came up to a pool table that my short and brown haired friend Will was at, and Ben, a taller brown haired guy who looks kind of the same, was at too. No Zach though. They received me a lot better than I expected them too, they acted as if they saw me last Sunday. I thought I would be treated as an outcast, but my great friends were very nice and welcoming. We talked sports, as boys do, and different things of the nature. Westin easily joined in the talk of basketball teams and leagues in GA, and wasn't shy one bit. There were older boys, like maximum being 8th grade, who talked too. A pack of girls, including  Morgan, passed by, getting cold hot chocolate, as Ben and Will call it. I turned and didn't face them, even though most I knew and were friends of mine. Morgan didn't see me. YET.

A guy called us in to a big room that went uphill with chairs and levels of platforms, where everyone from 8th graders to 6th graders were seated. A guy named PJ whom I had known prior who had laid back hair and a fit appearance talked about how we were just going to be all together for the day. He asked about our Thanksgivings, I even mentioned the Peabody. Everyone had a story to tell. Miles's mom, Pat, who is a tall woman with curly hair sticking up in odd directions spoke about having faith through hard challenges, and pivotal moments in our lifes, like when parents die or you have to move. "A pivotal moment in my life," I said, "was when I went on a trip around the U.S." I had all ears as PJ explained what we were doing. It was cool to be in the DOD. To hear students give announcements, to talk about cool things like that, grief, faith, and that everything was for a reason. I enjoyed it a lot. Even when Morgan talked. She was close to me and saw me, and kept looking at me throughout the whole time. I talked to Westin a good bit thought. We ended with reading bible verses, I read from the bible the story of Lazarus and everyone talked about it. Then we left and came through a big crowd at the front, before going across the street with Mom and Deedee to pick up the girls. We went into that 'ole familiar Kidz Zone, and walked through the halls and little class rooms and big fellowship halls. We saw Mrs. Elizabeth, a short blonde haired freckled pale lady with short curled girl like hair and a nice face, who tries to be hip by crunching up her hand into a fist and bumping it against other people's, thinking it's cool. She's cool though. Nice too.

We picked 'em up and went back outside, thinking we were going to go back home and play, but sadly the Poje's dog Boomer evidently got bitten by a snake and they wanted to see and be there for him. I can understand that too. I'm a very understanding person.

We left them and drove away, down Canton Street and back home. We then for the next hour or so took out all the school books and clothes in the R.V., plus little things like video cameras and phones (okay, maybe not little things). It wasn't exactly fun, but, you know, you do what you got to do. I had had a great time at church and was done with the day. After cleaning a lot, we chilled around and the Hicks's called, who have been friends with the Bourne's since my sisters were kids. We had seen Bob in Pittsburgh, with his girlfriend Katy. There was Lacy, who's now a teacher and used to be our frequent baby-sitter, Marcia, the mom, Katy, who likes the movie business and shares my film love, and Lynn, who's a freemason. We invited them over quickly. They came as I was taking a shower, alas, I hugged them with wet hair. Lacy is tall, thin, tan, and has a pony tail. Marsha has glasses, brown/grey hair, and is about 50. Katy didn't come because she was sick and at the house, but she later came, even though she had a cold. Marcia and her were going to go get a Christmas Tree after they saw us. But back to where I was . We were very glad to see each other and talked about a lot of things, among them cats, football, and other things. We even talked of Lacy's cat who had to take pills that were crushed up flowers, recommended by some paint lady at a home depot. Weird.

Katy came, but no hugs were exchanged at that point. Katy showed us a video of a deer going through a taco mac, and her herself was in it (has part time job there). We then all drove to Mellow Mushroom, a restaurant on a road. Rebecca and I went with Lacy and Marsha, Katy drove her car and Mom and Dad drove together. We had a great meal. Katy and I had a lot of talk about movies, and working in a restaurant, and car wrecks. It was fun. I had a BLT and all of the elder adults (Dad, Marcia, Mom) ate salads, Rebecca had mac'n'cheese, Lacy pizza and some cinamon thing, and some Italian thing Katy got. I had a BLT. Oh yeah I already said that. Oops.

Katy gave us no cold.

We said goodbye and left after a great time with them. We went home and by and by went to bed. A great day.

Whooah. I'm worn out. I may have started this blog at like 8 or 7, when everyone was around and the day was still light out, but now its 11. I'm exhausted. Goodnight. Goodbye for now.

Get asleep,

Andrew.

First Full Day in Roswell Part Two

(READ PART ONE BEFORE THIS.)

Dad and I drove to Roswell, and Mom called us saying that Elise and Julia (long time friends of ours) were at the house and that Mrs. Deedee was bringing Westin over. Westin is my great friend. I've known him literally since birth. Our parents were friends before, and so I've always been friends with him. He's nice, fun, and is very outdoorsy. When we were toddlers we tackled and wrestled and pulled each others hair, but he was always the more aggressive one. I could tell you about the time we ran around and went into offices at the Recreation Center, I could mention the time we went under my house and found a lot of old things, I could say the time Westin had a b-day party and invited me, with a lot of other neighborhood boys who were rough and tough and hurt me on the trampoline, I could even tell you when we were at the Chattahoochee Nature Center and I stepped on a snake. I have been friends with him for a LOOONNNNG time and we've done a lot of things together. I was very excited to see my best friend again. He didn't go earlier to the house because he had a project for school and because I wasn't there anyway, me being out in Lake Allatoona. But, as Dad drove me to the house and I went inside, I waited for Westin. I first went upstairs and said to Julia,"Hey Elise, good to see you," and to Elise, "What's up Julia?" just to be funny. Elise has longish hair and is 9 like Rebecca, and Julia is about 5 with blonde hair. We have a special handshake we did. I like to make Julia laugh. It's fun.

I did some other things as Dad left to go somewhere and I watched Star Wars: The Clone Wars, a cartoon T.V. show. I went up stairs and blogged, and as I was standing up Westin came up and said hi to me. He has blonde/brown hair, hair down kind of like mine but shorter, and is fit and strong. He's also tall. As I looked upon him, I saw that he HAD grown a lot, more than I supposedly did. We exchanged hellos and good to see ya's, and went in my room to talk. I showed him THE BIG BOOK OF BOY STUFF and we tried out a few games, like trying to knock down your opponent with your hips, not moving or lifting up your feet, and a few other things. We then played with the girls, making a video of that Chucky Cheese spoof, and changing lyrics because we couldn't do them or didn't have the resources, assigned parts and made costumes. We did a few shots, but we got distracted and later played other things. My neighbor Rowdy (that's his name too) came over, and he was now, tall and buzz cutted. It's amazing how things change in 6 months. Ironically, in the video he acted as a mouse, with paper cut out into a mouse face. He made a good one. It was great to see Rowdy again. He's 15, but he's still my good friend.

We didn't record it, but made a mock interview show, as me as Gary Coffman, who is fictitious. I interviewed Justin Beiber (Westin), Miley Cyrus (Elise), and Rebecca Black (Rebecca). It was fun, although it got out of hand with Bieber tackling me, Cyrus having a one armed baby, and Rebecca Black being shot by a sniper. It was still fun though.

Uncle Dean and Aunt Barbra came over, and we talked with them. I tried to order pizza. This is a little bit how it went:

(I dial numbers in on home phone in kitchen). From now on I will be A and the other guy will be P, for Pizza.

P: Hi, Dominoes Pizza speaking(does long advertising speech. ) How may I help you?

A:(at mom telling me to do it., in deep voice to hide my age) Pizza Delivery.

P: Alright what's your address?

A: (still in deep voice, will be all time) 10655 Woo(etc.) Roswell GA

P: Yeah I know that.

A: Know what?

P: That your in Roswell, GA.

A: Okay.

P: And what can I have you to order?

A: A large cheese pizza and sausage.

P: Okay and that will add up to be(pause) 14.43. Cash or Credit?

A: (I repeat what he says to Mom)

Mom:(TAKING THE PHONE FROM ME) Wait, that's not what we want. I'm sorry, my son was ordering.

P: Huh. He sounded like an adult.

We ate pizza, and I talked with Mrs. Deedee about books I liked on the trip, like Chasing Lincoln's Killer and some other books. Very interesting to talk about it. Westin and I later went outside and did bad things to the one armed baby, and I'll tell you why it's one armed and why we hate it on another post. It was already decided that Elise and Julia were going to sleep over, but Westin got back to Roswell at like one and was really tired so he wanted to sleep at his own home. I was perfectly fine with that. I was really tired too. So I went to bed after blogging. I had moved my computer to the round table earlier because we were doing the spoof and the lines were on my word document. I have since moved to the office. I'll tell you why later. I'm running out of places to move to, but oh well. I then went to bed. I had a great day seeing my grandparents, friends, and some of the Bourne's. At that time I had done:

1. Lauren

2. Mr. Miller

3. Pop and MaPop

4. Blade

5. Nathan

6. Dean

7. Blue

8. Barbra

9. Denise

10. Daniel (not his brother Joshua yet though)

11. Danielle

12. Elise

13. Julia

14. Westin

15. Mrs. Deedee

16. Rowdy

17. Mr. Matt (Westin's dad)

18. My bed.

Goodbye for now.

Today is National French Toast Day!,

Andrew.

First Full Day in Roswell Part One

Yesterday was great. I woke up at 6:41, and read a little of Innocents Abroad before going downstairs with my mom to go get stuff from the R.V. We also let the dogs out - we used to have to walk them while on the trip, but now since we have a big fenced in yard, we just let them out of the crate and they go on running.) I got some clothes to start the day out. I then watched T.V. and blogged, in the office, as before. Then I went outside to play, to get my mind off things and to just be active. That was fun. Before I went Mom asked me if I wanted to take a shower, and that we were going to go to her parents (my grandparents) house at like 9. I didn't listen and was playing outside when Mom and Rebecca went to the car, saying Dad wasn't ready yet either so we were going to go in two separate cars. I put the dogs in their crate, got my clothes and took a shower, and as I scrubbed in the tub I was amazed at how much room I had compared to the one in the R.V. It was colossal. After showering I put on my clothes and got ready to go, putting on shoes and getting my phone and such. Then I blogged while Dad continued to get ready. Dad came down and said come on, and I said, "Can I get to a stopping point?" Sure he said. I finished on: "I could make a whole book about it, but I'm sure you don't have that kind of time. " I then followed Dad out.

We got in Dad's old suburban, which he got on December 31st, 1999. They were getting a different body for the suburban in 2000, and so he wanted the old one and got it. The cool thing about it is that it was purchased on the eve of the "end of the world", 2YK, which never really happened. What's also cool is that it's kind of has the same year I was born that it was born, so it's age is mine too. We're both 12. I was born, August 6th, 1999. When I'm 40, it will be too, if it survives that long. I've always liked it because of that. It has three rows of seats, a grey design, and oldness shrouded all around it. It's not as old as SOME cars I've seen on the trip, like some I've seen in Greenfield Village from 1908, but it has some traits you would NEVER see in a 2011 car, like no GPS, a tiny radio, and just a weird style that's totally unique. When we drove to a post office place in the woods which was really where mail comes in and is put into the vehicles (not where consumers usually get their mail). Nevertheless, we parked on the outside of a small parking lot filled with post office cars, and went into a room with bars and a man on one side and us on the other. The guy scanned the orange note Dad gave him, then gave Dad an envelope, which Dad later told me was internal tax revenue or something or another (took too long to explain). I asked the guy about his Thanksgiving, and we exchanged a little dialogue. He was a tall African-American, and his name Jimmy. He was nice.

The cool thing about Roswell is, that it is a nice city environment that's totally not a city. It's a small, but wonderful town, with good park survives, nice schools and churches, a great community, and many cool businesses. As we drove and got gas, I saw that there were new businesses that had sprung up in 6 months or less, and old ones who'll always be around, like Ray's and antique stores. It was funny to see how stores had just come up out of the blue, and everyone who was in Roswell knew they were here but we didn't because we were gone. It was great to look at old familiar sights again, and to just look around and be contented. We drove through Canton and into my grandparents gated active senior adult community, Soleil, in Laurel Canyon. It's a beautiful place in the mountains, with all kinds of pretty waterfalls, rocky buildings, clubhouses and pools. We got into Soleil after going through the gate, and came to all the little nice houses in a neighborhood. In a big circle full of houses we parked and walked to the blue house, my grandparents'. It's a little house with a garage and deck and I guess a back deck and yard too, but it's not very big. We walked in and were welcomed by my grandparents, Pop and MaPop (real names Bill and Peggy) exchanging happy hellos and great "look how much you've grown's" on my grandparents part. I don't think I've grown at all. Oh well.

We sat down and talked about the trip, how we were going to help them with their tree on Monday, and little stuff of different matters. We talked about stories of the trip, even though they knew like half because they read the blog. Pop even came up with a newspaper from Cherokee, about two adults and their children going around the U.S, homeschooling, and how they went to historical places along the journey and even went to Ben and Jerry's! We've been there! It was so cool to learn about people doing that to, to learn we weren't alone. It was one of those freaky moments. Guess what? They have a blog too, on blogspot, the website this one is on. Creepy. We also went against a wooden column and marked our heights with a pencil. I had done it earlier before the trip, and when I did it here it was a lot higher than before. A lot of people had already told me that I had grown much, but this was proof that it really was true. At one point in the living room we were talking, and Pop said he had something to show Rebecca and me. We went back to his office, which is a little room with couch, desk and leather chair, and closet. He took some old looking books from the closet, dusty, blue and ripped up.we He sat down and flipped through the pages, and we went behind him. He showed us old newspaper clippings, which were yellow and 1930-1940'ish. He showed us his high school football picture, where Pop was brownhaired and handsome. He's tall, cleanshaven, and has laid back hair, but that's not the point. The point is that he showed us those pics, and that the helmet was barely a helmet at all, it was just on the top of his head instead of on his face, where the bars are now modernly there. He showed us an old picture of his grandparents house, and other things. He was looking for a picture when he was a boy scout going to Mammoth Cave, a place we've been too. He looked through several different albums and books, but didn't find it.

We ate brand muffins and another thing I forgot. We then, after a couple of hours, said goodbye to Pop and MaPop. Dad said he was going to Lake Altoona, where all of our family on my dad's side is, and left before Mom and Rebecca is, in the suburban. I remembered that I left my book in the house, and so I went back and got it. We then left. A long time later we came close to Lake Altoona. We came down a hill to an area with a store and bar/grill, with a messed up parking lot and docks to a little bay in the lake. The bar's by the road, and looks like a regular beach shack, saying the same for the store. My uncle, older cousin, and younger cousin, Nathan, were by a white truck which a little boat. We came down and parked, and got out, although my car door was rusty and broken, and closed very uneasily, so it was hard to close. It closed eventually though. "Hi!," I said to Uncle Dean, Cousin Blade (who's in his 30's and is the Dad of my second cousin, Nathan) and Cousin Nathan. We did welcoming words with each other, talking and saying stuff like," The trip was fun" and "how are you". We talked a little, and I asked Nathan some questions. He asked if we wanted to go fishing on the dock; I said I was fine with it. We got some fishing polls and a stryaphome box full of minos. We went down to a long wooden dock by the restaurant. I carried two poles and the minos box. You don't think about it, but 20 minos in a box after a long downhill walk hurts your hand. Your not tired from it, but it you put the rope your carrying it from and put your arm through, it hurts after a while. We finally got to the end of the dock, and sat every thing down. By the way, let me now describe Nathan. He is pretty tall, but a little shorter than me, thin, and has black hair. He is 11 or 12. Nathan is a nice guy.

He showed me how to hold the pole, and then how to reel it out with a special kind of way not usual on most fishing polls. It had a thing where you press down and fling it out. Nathan had like three lines going, piercing the fish on the hooks and placing them far into the water. He said when we were on the boat they didn't catch anything, so he doubted if they would be lucky now. He said I was to just keep flinging the poll out, and then reel it in right away, and repeat the process until I caught a fish by the hook, without bait. So I was really trying to hook a fish without bait and just try to be lucky. Now, I may not know much about fishing, but you'd have to be a fool to think that you would catch something. I kept telling Nathan this, but he was unpushable. We talked of the trip, my favorite places, and him being in school and how that was going. I enjoyed telling him about the ducks, and other things. The really cool thing was if I saw a duck going by, I would immediately tell him about the Peabody Ducks. Or, if I saw a huge rocky island with trees on it and several layers of different colored rocks, I would mention Pictured Rocks. And, don't get me wrong, it wasn't to brag. It was out of just doing it and thinking about it. I made a revelation, that when I'm back for good, I'll still be telling stories. I might be thought a snob or bragger, people might always hope to here the stories and be really interested, or they might just get bored of me telling them all that and not get them a chance to talk. But here I pledge right now, I will be modest. But, I do think that it's kind of cool to now say about my travels, and I now (even though we're not finished) have a bigger perspective of my country. Also, the trip won't ever vanish completely. It'll still come up on me even in my adult life. And I'm okay with that.

I looked at the minos for a while, then looked at the lines laid down on the dock, that weren't held but still in the water.We also tried to scoop up as many minos as we could in a little net, and the one of the two of us who does more wins. The minos didn't exactly like the game though. At one point Nathan had a bite way away(because he threw his line out far) and so he jumped off the dock at a point where it was in muddy land and jumped to the other one, to be closer to his prey. Well, it bit the fish off and got away. It also messed up his line somehow, so that it couldn't work. He said he liked that pole. We went back up and got the poles in the boat, and before that we played around and laughed and made jokes. We washed our hands in a nice little store run by a student with a red laptop and red phone. He was tall, dark, and very nice, after we bought crackers and two bottles of water. He asked us how our Thanksgivings were, and we said they were great and how was his. He said his was good. We then went back outside, and were told to dump the fish out into the lake, because the minos had been used for like 3 days already and needed to go, and that they weren't gonna fish anymore so had no need of them. So we took up one minos at a time, told a little bit about them, and gave them a name, and then put them in the water. Sierra, Paul, Jackson, Richard, they all had different personalities. Some jocks, some nerds, some in between. It was fun. They were the graduating class of Bourne Fishing School. At one point Nathan got a fish(Flippy the first) and threw it backward. I was okay with him doing it because he's usually a good thrower, but sadly, it landed on another part of that vertical long dock. He bounced off and landed into the water, and we were glad it was okay until it popped back to the surface again, on it's side. R.I.P. Flippy. Poor Fish.

"Come on!" Blade said. We dumped the remainder of the fish in(four of them) without any ceromony and ran up. I will now describe Dean and Blade, sorry I did not do it earlier. Uncle Dean is tall, has whiskers, and has strait military style hair, but not too much, I never really know, he little takes off his brown fedora. It looks like it's Indiana Jones's hat.He's stern and hard to make a joke with, but he's generally a wonderful man. Blade is large(not that large) and has black hair, the same kind as Nathan. By and by we said goodbye to them, that we were going to the Marina, a large flat blue metal building with boats and a big parking lot, going downhill to the lake. Dean owns it. He also owns a bait shop, and candy shop that got hurt in a flood. My cousin Danielle and her husband Blue(really his name, not joking) work there, in the marina. We saw all the nice boats on the outside, and said hello to Blue. He's a robust man with brown hair laid back kind of. He's hardworking, nice, and jovial. Blue said that work was slow today, and that he wanted to do SOMETHING productive instead of twiddling his thumbs. He was cleaning out his car. We went in the building, and it was the same as before, large, desks in the front in a horizontal line, boats all around inside of there, and restrooms and private offices in the back. Blue showed us some boats outside, saying that most were sold and a few too expensive to buy, really. That was a nice surfing red boat with slick features called a Centurion. Sea Arks and other things were bought though. It was fun to talk about boats. Like most of the people we would see, he asked if we were going back out later. Yes, we said.

We left, and went in the forest to a different marina, the locked one where our boat is. It's down a long hill in DOCK C, which you can only get into by typing into a punched numbers, or, if you prefer, jumping in the lake and swimming around. Uphill is a parking lot and other buildings. We prefered to go the dry way, and punched in the card and walked under the covered drafty dock, with all the boats. Our blue pontoon was okay, although it was dusty and one part of a tall compartments cushioned door was up. We quickly fixed that. It was really dirty, seriously, you would've thought it was 100 years old, or more. We left there and went into Victoria, where our small one floor cabin is. It was oringally my grandpas, but when he died it became Uncle Deans, Aunt Denise's, and Dad's. They share it. It has a small porch surrounded by netlike material, and a cool little yard with a tree, a rock path, a fence around it, and cool garden trinkets. Right when you walk inside is a living room with couches, and on the left a good bedroom, and then a kitchen and table and pantry and fridge, not forgetting also the other bedroom and back room with two black couch/beds. Then there's a back porch, reachable by slideable doors. I love the cabin. I have a lot of memories there. It was pretty much in good shape, although there were cobwebs and cockroaches. Our OWN house has the former. We said goodbye to the cabin and drove to Uncle Dean's where I saw Dean again and Aunt Barbara, a black haired nice women with bare feet usually. I don't know how she manages wood, stone, and grass without any foot wear. It's crazy.

We hugged and talked, espiaclly about the Christmas Party happening at Dean's. We then drove off. Even though Dad said we would see them at the party, I still wanted to see Aunt Denise NOW. We drove to there little house with yard and deck, and parked. I said hello to Denise, hugging. She's a black haired lady with a large appearance. We talked about the trip and about their new Shitzhu dog, and about different things. I saw Daniel, Denise's son, my cousin, a dark haired tan guy who I love talking about superheroes and movies with. We talked about Thor and Capt. America, and also the son of a really famous actor, I think. We also saw Danielle, and said hi. She's also blackhaired but younger. We talked, about how much I had grown. I'm getting tired of hearing that. I really am. Oh well. We said goodbye and that we would see them again and took Danielle to the marina, where we dropped her off and said goodbye. We drove away, back toward Roswell. I had a wonderful time with the Bourne's and Pop and MaPop. I thought I was done for the day, and I was really tired, but, this was just the beginning.

TO BE CONTINUED....

(END OF PART ONE. See First Full Day in Roswell Part Two for rest of story.)

Hey! Headed Home! Here's post of start of our Happy Holidays!

Well, as I write this I am in my house, my real house, the one I entered in at birth. I'm here, and I am so excited and amazed I am. Yesterday we drove 8-9 hours to get home, although we thought it was going to be a two day trek. But, it proved not to be. We went into Mississippi, and then Alabama, and saw Birmingham. I talked to family and friends on phone and computer, talking about getting home. I finished two blog posts also, and just looked at the sights out the windows. We finally took our picture next to the Georgia sign, and then we passed by Atlanta and saw the King and Queen. We passed by the Chattahoochee River, that fast flowing river with the forests on either side. It was very cool to see familiar sights again. Then we got on 400, and drove through Atlanta, what a great sight to see again! About an hour later I saw we were in Roswell, and sights I looked on every day before we left that I took for granted appeared in my vision once again! Sports A Rama, the Auroa Cineplex, all of the other sights. My barber Shirley's place, Fidelity Bank, all of the wonderful places I always went. We then came so close, to Deveraux Downs and Fellowship Christian Church on Jones Road, and then I saw it. My mailbox. Kiventon Park, the place where some of my friends live. My address. My yard. My house. My home.

The huge tree filled yard on the left with the big rocky patio and deck, the roof, walls, and white exterior and blue trim, my house, my long driveway, the threes on both sides of it, the long patch of grass on the left, the rocks, and my forest! Oh, my forest! It was great. I saw my sister Lauren, with her black-brown short hair and her purple coat, and of course her black lab, Snookie. Oh, how she's (the dog) has grown! She's so big now! The R.V. stopped midway, and we all dropped out and maneuvered ourselves, because of the tight way of getting out. We ran to Lauren, and hugged her and made hello remarks. I shook hands with Mr. Miller, our good neighbor. "The yard looks good," I said. "Thank you."

We went into the front yard and saw all of the plants alive and the rose bushes happy. My dogs, Rocky and Emma, are both delighted to be home, chasing squirrels and birds and running with each other. Although Sookie and Rocky were kind of ill toward each other, growling and barking. They'll learn to like each other. Lauren knows a lot about dogs now from a dog whisperer show, and teaches us a lot of stuff about it. Well, I saw all of my sticks, and they looked fine, mostly, and I'll probably make sure all are accounted for later. We talked and were happy, and then tried to go into the house, but the front door wouldn't open. So we went to the back, and saw the rocking chair, pool, and swings that are by the basement entrance in a courtyard thing. Our house is weird, it would take too long to explain. We pushed the doorbell first, and then went in. I saw our laundry machine, and our inside area where we store some things and have different knic knacks on shelves. I missed those little things. We then saw our kitchen, and the fridge had little to no food in it. We saw the pantry, and already the house (the part that we had seen) was bigger than the R.V. It was amazing to have this much space again. I felt happy and thinkable, and went into the office, seeing Dad still had hats on the coat rack, and seeing that big brown round table, the green chair in one corner, and the cabinets, and pictures and stuff. We saw the guest room, the dining room, the living room, and the first floor was done. This part of the house is very woody and brown and old, and this is where most of the action happens. Dad's serious talks with me are in the office, homework is sometimes done in the dining room, we eat most of the time in the office (called the office, really another dining room) the kitchen is where Mom cooks, and the guest room is where I sometimes go to think, because no one else goes in it a lot, and I don't want it to feel lonely. Let me tell you a brief thing about our house.

It is from the 30's, and the bottom half, the old one, was originally in Marietta. Dad moved it.The upper part that is connected by an upward hallway, is the "new" part, where the den is (a lot of action there too) and me and my sisters bedrooms and two bed rooms. Down stairs is the basement, which is divided into two parts, one with a big couch, T.V., and bar table with lounge chairs(which is where you enter if you go the swing way) and the other part has a bathroom, engine room under the stairs, and tables and all kinds of toys on two large metal shingled shelves. That's where Toyland, a game about our toys, was born. Upstairs is a circled area which goes around in a big circle, Mom and Dad's bedroom, their bathroom, and two walk- in closets and Mom's office (old nursery). There's a patio going out from their bedroom which looks over the property. This is our house, in a short paragraph. I could make a whole book about it, but I'm sure you don't have that kind of time.

We went through the den, our bedrooms, the basement, mom and dad's bedroom, everything. After we did so Rebecca and I looked around in the basement, remembering lost toys and old dreams. It was fun to be pulled back into the world of Toyland. I'll always miss it when I'm older. I was bored at one point, waiting for Lauren to come down, because she was going to help Rebecca make a barbie house or something. I found my mom's college yearbook from 1983, and went up to show Mom, Dad, and Lauren. She was really beautiful. I also saw her in volleyball. She was always striking the ball and stuff. They had some good pics of her in basketball too. I looked at one point where a coach was telling stuff to a team in a huddle, and saw a caption saying the coach was Randy Randall! If you remember from one of my first blogs, we met Randall at Presbyterian College in South Carolina. Check post for details. Anyway, when we saw him he was old and clean shaven (but not too old, not too old). In the picture he had black hair and a mustache. You couldn't tell it was the same person. I just showed Mom all of that, then Dad, the Lauren. At about that time the clock turned 5:30, and Lauren and Dad volunteered to go to Publix and get sandwiches. Mom made a list and they went. I went and looked at stuff from the rooms, reading titles on books and staring at things for a long time. Then I went up to my room, and had time contemplating and looking at old scripts of mine, and books of mine, and then I looked at my old wardrobe, my cape my Aunt Tami and Uncle Jeff gave me, an army suit I got in Columbus,GA, and some other things. I was called down a long time after 'cause the sandwiches were here, and sadly Mom, Lauren and Rebecca went to the den to eat, so Dad and I spent time alone, eating the sandwiches (too much mayonaise from a lady who put it on there) and a bowl of soup. We talked, and I can't tell you what we talked about. It could destroy a nation or save the world. Just kidding. We talked about what we were going to do while we were here.

I went up and talked to Lauren, and Sookie came up two, and Lauren taught us some more tips. At one point she accidentally pushed Rocky off a ledge, but he was okay. By and by Lauren left, and we said goodbye and she said she would come again soon. She's a great sister.

Dad and I got the computers and such out of the R.V., plus a fresh bit of clothes for the next day. I set up my computer in the office at the table in front of the restroom. I have since then moved, but I'll tell you about that later. Right now I need to say this: I went up with Rebecca and we stayed in Mom's room, and I found a book earlier which I had read called : The Big Book of Boy Stuff, but, to fool teachers and parents, it says Physics on the front. I read aloud to Mom, telling her about different holidays in the year, like... hold on... let me get my book. Please hold...

(wait 5 minutes before reading more. Please do. If you don't, it makes the illusion go away.)

Okay, I have the book. Trying to find the page... table of contents...(I'm literally doing this as I write this.) Holidays on... page 147!( flipping through pages...) Ah here we are! Here's a few:

Jan 23: National Pie Day

Jan 29: Dead Animal Rights Day(huh?)

Feb 7: Wave at you neighbors day(if I see my neighbors ANY day, I wave at them. A lot of people do. This one is a waste of a day we could've used.)

March 1: National Pig Day

March 26: Make Your Own Holiday Day( oh and also, March is National Peanut Month. Why is Congress making all these stupid holidays instead of helping us out of national debt? Who knows.)

April 17th: Blah Blah Blah Day(this one was probably made my teenagers.

May 6: No Homework Day(good one for kids.)

May 14: National Dance Like A Chicken Day(weird)

June 6: National Yo-yo Day(one of my friends has his birthday on that day.)

July 10: Don't Step on a Bee Day(do hornets count? I broke a rule!)

July 15: Be a dork day

August 6: Wiggle your toes day (my birthday too)

August 13: Blame Someone Else Day

September 28: Ask a stupid Question Day( why does grass grow?)

October 29: Laugh Suddenly for no reason a lot today day

November 22: Start your own Country day(just a few days ago.)

November: National French Toast Day(two days from now)

Dec 31: National Make Up Your Mind Day

Okay, so now I've wasted a lot of your time by telling you funny holidays. Oh well. Now, Mom was tired of me telling holidays and such, because she was reading too, so we went to bed. I had a good nights sleep. It was the great start to a wonderful time at being home. And the next day, would be even better.

So glad to be home,

Andrew.

Thanksgiving Day

We spent the best day of November in a great way. After waking up, I saw Mom was by me on Rebecca's couch and Dad in his office. It was like 7:30 and I was a little sleepy and told Mom and Dad Happy Thanksgiving. It was the start of a great day. I tried to blog a little bit, but Dad said we were leaving at 9:00 to go to the Peabody Hotel, where we would have a Thanksgiving Meal. We had already made reservations at the hotel, and were gonna go and dress up. I took a refreshing shower, and put on a white t-shirt and under garments and socks. Then I got my nice brown dress shoes from my cabinets above me and also got a blue collar long sleeve shirt, some khaki pants, and navy blue sports coat. I dressed, and combed and dried my hair. I texted everyone I know HAPPY THANKSGIVING! and had a good conversation with one of my dad's employees Jerry Turman and my cousins, Barret and Rachel. We talked about how we were about to go home, the next day or the day after. It was very fun. I got together all my things and left the R.V. at about 9. We drove through a nice area of Memphis, by Beale Street, and went under a parking garage connected to the Peabody. We got to a sky walk and walked over a street, looking at Memphis. It was pretty cool. We then went through a door and found ourselves going down stairs and coming out into a beautiful large room with a little stairs going up and down into a place. It had great rocky architecture, with nice plants and such. We went up into a little area with couches and chairs and paintings on the walls. We went down and found ourselves right in front of the lobby entrance, after we had gone through long corridors. We walked into a large door which had a grand sign saying Peabody Hotel.

We walked into a great lobby, with all kinds of Christmas decorations and a great beautiful Christmas tree 20ft high. There were diorama's of a gingerbread town, and everywhere was green designs and a nice rocky floor. It was truly a beautiful hotel. All the nice decorations and marble rocks into the walls and ceilings, and all the green, it was truly nice. We saw in the middle all chairs and couches around a fountain, and a red carpet leading from an elevator facing the fountain to the actual fountain. The fountain was a green one, it had water spurting out and a circular pool, I'm sure you've seen some like it. We were told the ducks, a 78 year tradition at the Peabody, were going to come down from the roof to the lobby in the elevator and then waddle on the red carpet and jump in the fountain. We were told the next show was at 11. We were also told not to distract the ducks, and to stay behind a rope. The man who told us all of these things was a man with pushed back black hair, a handsome appearance, a ridiculous red imperial looking uniform, with a black cane. He was called The Duck Master. He said that when two guys went hunting they used little ducks and strapped their wings down and used them as bait. They had a little too much to drink and left the ducks in a fountain somehow. It became an instant hit, and the ducks never left, they just stayed in the fountain. An old German gentleman stated he could train the ducks to march into the fountain, and ever since they have, although the gentleman has since passed. It became a Peabody tradition, and they've been doing it ever since. This is what we were about to see.

It got really crowded, and we had to sit down, people right beside us. I read my Innocents Abroad book as we waited for a long time. All on our side and the other side, were kids sitting down, playing on either a camera, ipod touch, iphone, ipad, or some other electrical device. I asked myself, what has this world come to? Then the master came back out and selected two girls two be duck masters with him, and he gave them rubber ducks, canes, and a certificate. He told them to follow him back up to get the ducks. He left. It was weird those girls were selected, but I suppose that they payed for it or something. They went up on the elevator, followed by a gruff looking man, whom I suppose to be their father. The elevator went to 1, and then 2, 3,4,5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and then 10. It stayed there for a long time. After that it went to 9, 8,7, 6, 5 (this is when I turned my video camera on) 4, 3, 2, 1, L.

The doors opened. The ducks, four female mallards(brown and ugly) and a male(green and pretty) ran(I guess you can't say ran, but they went fast by.) out. They all just raced right by us, and everyone were like "Wow" "huh" and other things. It was so soon over, I was amazed I even got a video of it. They all went up the red carpeted stairs to the fountain, and then jumped in. One female was distracted by a child saying hi to it, but after the duck master said "O!" it jumped in. Then they splashed around and quacked and moved around, and the duck master took a black board and blocked the entrance from the ducks.There was stairs on their side too. It was unbelievable. And it went so fast as a move of a finger or the blink of an eye. We watched them, talked to the master and asked him questions like how long it took to train them(two weeks!) and then went up some stairs to where signs said was the brunch room. We were about to eat our Thanksgiving Meal. We went into a reception room where you eat like salmon and cheeses and other fine delicacies while waiting for them to call you. The appetizers, I believe they can be called, were very good and we did not have to wait long before we were called. "Bourne, party of four" they said. We followed an old man around a squared balcony that looked over the lobby. We saw so many large tables, with all kinds of food I just wanted to try. The lobby was of the same beauty, and as we went to the far end of the room on the left side of the balcony he led us into a room, a large room, which was of the Venetian Style, with paintings of orchards and gondolas. There was even an old man in a suit and glasses, who was playing the harp. We were seated close to him, to the right of him. The walls all had gold trim and white milky solids. Our table had a white tablecloth, and it was rectangular and big. Every individual had two forks, a knife and a spoon, and a napkin. This was truly royal dining. I felt even English.

An African-American lady with big hair told us her name was Tina and recommended doing all the traditional thanksgiving things first and then making room for other things.

"Let's split up, we can cover more ground more easily. Andrew, you go with mom. I got Rebecca," Dad said. Mom and I went the long way from our end to the other one and left , and Rebecca and Dad right and upward. At first we saw fruits, cantaloupes, oranges, strawberries and blueberries; and then we saw all different kinds of cheeses. Their was also pasta salads, Caesar salads, and all other kinds of salads. I didn't get one, but did get some cheese and fruit. We then saw sea food. I saw seared scallops, and got two of those, which were circular little fish things. I got a little salon, crab pinchers, shrimp, and even little seed looking things, which are black or red, called caviar. I had heard it was a rich people food, so I got some. Little did I know it was called fish eggs. I then looked around, but, as my plate was full, I just went back to my seat, and waited until everyone else was there, to say Grace. When they did, I saw Rebecca had mostly breakfast foods, like pancakes and eggs, and Dad had only an omelet. I said a prayer, saying we were thankful to be on this trip, thankful that we were coming home, thankful for our loving family, thankful for a lot of things. We ate. All of the fruits were good, and the scallops were the best. The salmon, shrimp, and crab were good. Crab and shrimp were cold and fresh, and the salmon was hot and rich. I said, "Okay, here's the first time I'm eating caviar. Here's to being sophisticated."Then I picked up a red mouthful and put it in my mouth.

It tasted terrible. Like salt, solid seedy salt. The worst. Ever. Never trying it again.

I then got Asian chicken, turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, and yams. They all tasted good. I had a good Thanksgiving meal. I was full and listened to the beautiful music of the harp. We all talked about how this was the best food we had had and that it was awesome we were going home for Christmas in a day or two. I had a great time with my family.

Now since it was Thanksgiving I said to myself that I could be okay getting a desert. I looked at three full tables of desserts. It was crazy. There were cupcakes, cake, cookies, and all kinds of designs and displays. Three whole tables dedicated just to dessert. It was so amazing, and very hard to choose, but I got a chocolaty thing with cream and a piece of chocolate on it and a jello shaped strawberry custard with a strawberry in red goo with a kind of cracker with sprinkles. The former was very rich but good, and the latter was sweet and good. We then left the floor, going down and looking at the gift shop. There wasn't much we liked in there. Oh well. We basically went through all of those rooms and stuff and got to our car. We drove out of the Peabody Hotel. I had a great time there. My Thanksgiving Meal was wonderful. And I had a wonderful time with my family.

We went through Arkansas, and I talked to a few more people through the phone. There was mostly farms and neighborhoods there, and after a time we went back over the Mississippi River into Tennessee. We went back to EZ Daze, and Rebecca and I rode bikes. At one point as we were singing "Blue Suede Shoes my brown shoe got stuck into my bike and I fell down, scraping up my knees, elbows, and hands, a little. Rebecca went to get Mom and a guy with a baseball cap came over, asking if I was okay. I got up, uneasily, and made it back to the R.V. "Thank you sir," I said to the guy. "Happy Thanksgiving." I went inside, took off all my clothes, mostly, and looked at my wounds. I relaxed on the bed, watched T.V., and put a hot wet rag on the spots that hurt. I was fine after a while. I after that blogged while Mom and Dad watched crime shows, which I kind of watched too. Then we watched Person of Interest, and the Mentalist. We also saw The O'Reiley Factor, and it had a special quiz night where Bill O'Reily quizzes his co-stars. I took part in the multiple choice questions too, and got most right. It was fun.

I then went to sleep. I had a great day. Thanksgiving is about being grateful for what you have. And, I definitely am.

I'm writing this as we have one hour left until we get home. We're in GA. So excited! You'll find out more about that in the next blog post. Goodbye, for now.

Don't ever try caviar,

Andrew.

Lorraine Hotel, Civil Rights Museum and SUN Records

April 4th, 1968. It started like any other day. A preacher friend of MLK by the name of Kyle went at five to pick up MLK to go to Kyle's house for dinner, but they talked for a long time about different things, like the trash collector march and some other things they were involved with. They came on out to the balcony of the Lorraine Hotel, where MLK had been staying in the room of 306. MLK talked to some people below him, and asked one of them to play a song. Abernathy and Kyle were both there. Kyle turned saying it was time to leave, and then it happened. The shot. It came from a Remington 30-06 rifle, by James Earl Ray, an escaped racist convict, in a bathroom of a boarding house, in a bathtub. MLK fell down, the blood wound in his head and chest. He had barely time to breath. They called an ambulance, everyone shocked and afraid. James Earl Ray took off in his car, and drove from Memphis to Atlanta, using several fake names. He went from Atlanta to Toronto, Canada, in a place, and thence to Toronto to London, and was about to go to Brussels when he was arrested after a 65-day manhunt. He was then put into jail, and up to his death in '98, he still said it was not him, that he did not do it. Yet history records he did. It all happened at Lorraine Hotel. And that, my good readers, is where we spent yesterday.

We drove in the downtown of Memphis, a rough area of bad neighborhoods and criminals. We came into sight of a little motel, green paint with a sign of Lorraine and some light bulbs. It had a red sign on it. We parked in a little parking lot a little by it, and went into the building. At this day it is a civil rights museum, with a lot of displays. We came into a circular lobby with a ticket booth slightly smaller than other ones we had seen. There was a large and wide rock wall thing, divided into two pieces. It had all kinds of people holding hands in the rock, going up hills but not at the top yet. It's called, "Struggle to Overcome." We got tickets and entered the civil rights museum. We saw a movie in a big room, about Kyle, the only preacher in that room and the only person on the balcony who is alive. The movie was his reflections about the incident, what was going on at that time, what MLKJ was working into, where they were going, and what happened when the shot rang out. It was called The Witness. And it was very sad.

We then started the audio tape, and learned about how slaves came to America early in the 1600's, and how all of the abolitionists like Fredrick Douglas, Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, William Lloyd Garrison, want slavery to go away. Saw a timeline telling of the events of the nineteenth century, and there were papers and artifacts from that time. The civil rights museum was very well laid out, and it was very interesting. We then got to the Emancipation Proclamation, and the "freedom" of slaves. After that we learned about Reconstruction, and sadly, the Jim Crow laws and the KKK. We saw robes of those monsters, the people who killed blacks just because of their skin color. I'm very glad we live in a society today that does not tolerate those terrible things. We saw about the NAACP, W.E.B. Bois, and other people who helped to make blacks truly equal. Then we saw a display of a real diner where sit-ins happened, and saw a replica of the bus Rosa Parks was on the day she didn't give up her seat and was arrested. (real one in Greenfield Village, MN. I've seen it.) It had mannikin's and voices over intercoms, telling the story. It was cool to listen to tapes again, after seeing it at Graceland. They looked exactly the same, the only thing different being the speaker, which in this case was a women, a man, and another man. Back to civil rights museum. We learned about the Alabama Bus Boycott, and MLKJ and what he did. MLKJ organized boycotts, marches, and it was awesome to hear a full recording of the "I have a Dream!" speech. It was very cool to learn all about civil rights, and the peoples' struggle to earn rights. It was also sad at what our country was back then, mostly segregated in everyday life, and how African-Americans had to go to the back of buses or drink at different water fountains because they were what? Black? No one is inferior because of the color of their skin, everyone has born rights and every one is the same. We talked to an employee there who talked about how even when she was 17 that she had to drink at different water fountains and go to different schools. It was very crazy to think about. I learned about how two white teenagers lynched and killed an African-American student because he "flirted with a white woman" as they said. He came from the north and so did not know, and they killed him for THAT? I would be ashamed if I lived in a country like that. At least those days are gone. There are fragments of racism left in this country, but not a whole lot.

We learned about the Voting Act of 1965 signed by Lyden B. Johnson, and some other things MLKJ did. We went up fake bridges which were replicas of real ones people marched over, and saw the podium and fake Abraham Lincoln Memorial, and saw manikins of people in the crowd cheering. Then I saw it. Up some stairs through a hallway on a balcony overlooking some of the other parts of the museum. Room 306. The balcony of Lorraine Hotel. Where Martin Luther King Jr. died.

The shot. MLKJ was on his back, dead before he knew what was coming. Room 306 is like a lot of little hotel rooms. It had two beds with light brown sheets, one of the beds, on the right, had one side of the sheet pulled forward like someone came out. There was a small desk between, with a bible and an old white phone. Right in front of us was a large drawer, with an ash tray and some clothes were also on it. It was a simple room with some paintings. But many things happened there. It was separated by a glass wall, and there was a museum plaque telling about what happened. There was a hallway we were in. On the left was a room where a reporter stayed, Room 308. We were standing in the remains of 307, which was moved out to allow people to see the room. Ahead we could see the balcony right before us, with a body sized area which was in a corner of a room, if you understand me. There was a reef over the balcony rail, and some words etched in stone at the bottom of the hotel. There was a little bit of concrete that had red blood stains. Even after '68 to '11, it still was red. It gave me chills. History was made here. And it was so sad that it was. Martin Luther King Junior died because he wanted to have African-Americans free. That was supposed as a crime to James Earl Ray. It was very sad. I mean, that he died like that, it's so grieving. He was such a great man, who was very compassionate, also a powerful speaker, and a man who wanted to do good.

We soon left to the gift shop, where I looked around, looking for a book about Ray's capture and hunt. I couldn't find it. I wanted to read a book like that 'cause I had read one about John Wilkes Booth's escape, but oh well. We went across the street to where a boarding house was, where Ray shot MLKJ. It was a brick building, kind of rectangular vertically, and had windows, old and rusted. We walked in, and were told to go to the second floor first before going down to the first. There we learned about Ray escaping from jail, using names Galt and others, and coming to the boarding house, selecting a room with a view of the Lorraine. I saw his little bed, and where he had a T.V. also, with a fridge. It was old and stinky-looking residence. We then saw a little dirty bathroom with a white tub and toilet, and I saw how from the bathtub Ray had a PERFECT shot. The fatal shot. I learned about his long escape, how the FBI found out it was him, and how INTERPOL, International Police, got involved and got him in London, first arresting him for having two passports with different names and that he had a gun in his baggage, later finding out he was a bad assassin. I saw fake passports Ray used, and also the gun he killed MLKJ with. It was very crazy. I saw a picture of him, and he looked like a rascal. The next part of this section of the civil rights museum was about other famous people who were assassinated. John F. Kennedy, Abraham Lincoln, and some other people. We went into the gift shop, but sadly they had no books on Ray. Oh well.

We got in the jeep and prepared to drive to SUN Records, which is where Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash both became music sensations. It was in yet another rough area, and was a little red brick building that was dirty from age. It had a metal awning over the entrance, and a yellow guitar suspended on it. We parked in the back, rather painstakingly, though, but we got in. It was a cafe with tables, a lot of people, restrooms, lines, and a room in the back where they sold things. We tried to move around like so and so, and eventually through all the people we got tickets, and waited in a line for the tours in front of a restroom, which people frequently went in and out of. I got to read some of my Lost Horizon book, and the more I read, the more I hated it but wanted to see how it ended. It was really weird. Anyway in the back room a short brown-haired girl was telling everyone that to watch their heads and that the tour was about to start. We went up, and it was very steep, and tight, as we looked at pictures of some of the greatest singers of all time, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, and others. We came into a medium ceiling room with displays all around, guitars played by Elvis, old record player stuff and recording equipment, and stuff like that. The girl told us about a guy who started the studio, how he came out with the first ever rock song, Jack Brenston's Rocket 88. It was crazy to see the first record of the first rock song of many. We learned about when Elvis walked in at 17, asking to see Sam, the guy in charge. The secretary said he wasn't there and asked why Elvis wanted to see him. He said because he was making a b-day song for his mom, which wasn't true. He made his first recording here and took the record home. The Secretary showed it to Sam but he didn't find anything in it. Elvis came back a lot and Sam kept dismissing him until one day when Elvis played a really good song and Sam liked it. The rest is history.

We went downstairs after looking at all the cool artifacts and saw the Secretary's office, which was a desk, and two chairs by the practice room. In the practice room, we saw drum sets and guitars, plus the pictures on all the walls and the high ceiling and tile floor. All the walls and ceiling were a kind of material, white, with holes in it. We stepped on an actual mark where Elvis stood, and felt a long mike all the stars used. We even listened to real music of the stars. It was really cool to see where all the stars played. Later, we went back into the main room and went away. We came to Beale Street, a big illuminating street with all kinds of designs and lights on the sides of restaurants and businesses, like that cool worded Memphis sign. We got into Kings Palace Cafe, and listened to a large African-American singer who we met and talked to for a long time. He said his name was David Bowen, and he was a great and skilled musician, both with the mike and the guitar. He sang "What a wonderful world," which I enjoyed a lot. We got a CD from him. I had a great server and salad at Kings Palace, we then went after enjoying a great meal. We got home and I finished that bad book. I then went to sleep.

Louis Armstrong first sang "What a Wonderful World" in the 30's,

Andrew.

Room 306 Lorraine Hotel