Well we didn’t stay at the Ole’ Rancho very long. We received a call from friends Margie & Odean that a good friend in Lakeland had passed away on the 2nd. Then we got a call from George & Della askin’ if we were comin’ over for the service. We decided to go to their place in Sebring and we’d go to the service together on Thursday night in Lakeland. So…. I have to load the camper back up and we need to get all the necessities to stay gone for three or four days. Della is havin’ a yard sale with a few of the neighbors and we said we’d help her if she needed it. We pulled out around high noon and arrived in Sebring a few hours later. We had just enough time to change our duds and get goin’ to the service which started at 6PM.
James Daniel Reynolds, Danny as he was known to us all was always a cheerful guy, ready to snap a pun or prank on ya’ when you wasn’t expectin’ it. He was a devoted husband, father and grandfather, an assistant pastor in his church and an all around great guy. He succumbed to a short battle with cancer after only a few short months. He was to young to go, at 61 and his death has affected Linda and I deeply. He had not even had the chance to retire and enjoy all that he had strived for all his working life. It reminds us that you never know when, and makes us want to strive to see more so’s we can see some for Danny too.
We arrived early and the church lot was already full. The service was overwhelming in the outpouring of love and recognition he received. The line of folks comin’ to pay their respects never stopped the whole time we were at the church.
Danny I hope the sun is shinin’ on all your campin’ trips and the fish are always bitin’ from now on.
After the service we retired to George & Della’s for some dinner and then bed. Friday was an early day for them as the Yard Sale started some time before we rose to greet the day. The sale went well on both Friday & Saturday and we we’re going to leave Sunday morning to visit Linda’s cousin, Billy in Avon Park, about ten minutes away. Well Linda was convinced by her Sissy, Della that we should come back for their Super Bowl party and stay till Monday. So we went to visit Billy & Gary and talked & talked. Soon we were all off on a ‘Sunday Drive’ that took us to Lake Placid, FL, The ‘City of Murals’.
We had been here many years ago for the “Caladium Festival’. Many more have been added since then, as well as trash cans that have motion and sound effects. The one Gary wanted to show us first was a classic car that when you pushed in the trash flapper door, the car made startin’ noises and rocked back and forth, Pretty cute.
There was also a train, a semi truck and a big bank safe. The murals are all over town and depict early life in this region of Florida, a very pretty city.
We left the Downtown area and drove out into the country, only to get lost for a while. It didn’t matter cause Billy told us her Grandma always said, “If you have a full tank of gas, you’re never lost”. After finding our way back to civilization we dropped in to Golden Corral aka ‘THE FEED BAG’ for a late lunch. After eatin’ way more than we should have we made our way back to Avon Park. We visited some more with the cousins and then we left to return to the “Super Bowl Party’.
We met lots of friends and neighbors and finally settled in the Florida Room at George & Della’s. They had TV’s going in four rooms and the livin’ room was about filled to capacity with Colts fans from Indiana. We were rootin’ for the underdog Saints and the rest of the crowd didn’t mind us in another room. Well sorry ‘Colts’ fans but there’s always next year. After we helped cleanup and went off to bed.
Monday we were up early, for us, had had breakfast with George & Della before we hit the road. Thanks guys, and we’ll see ya again, here or on the road somewhere.
On the ride home I told Linda that we should go campin’ again next week before her Aunt & Uncle show up for their annual 5 or 6 week respite from the frozen north. We arrived and I went to emptyin’ the camper. After all was where it should we sat down to look over our calendar and found we had Dr’s appointments on Tuesday and she has blood work on next Tuesday. So I don’t know when we’ll be goin’.
That’s all for this installment. Hope to see ya down the road as we’re;
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