THE END IS NEAR

As I sit here writing, I'm looking back & reflecting on this past season.  We will be closing the show down for the winter in two days.  From the time we left in March until now, this season has been filled with its ups & downs. 

The worst part of the season that will haunt me forever was the violent weather that unfolded this Spring.  People all across the South are still struggling to rebuild their lives.  In the hardest hit areas, I met adults & children that looked for diversions to bring joy & cheer back into their lives.  Our little show provided them with a slight respite from their everyday worries.  The joy and happiness that I witnessed on their faces as they watched the show made my day.  I was truly humbled to be a small part of their lives as they moved forward to forget the pain & devastation.

The best part was meeting the friends that I made through the ClubNorthwestern forum.  I was truly honored that they took an interest in my chosen career & the many prayers they said for our crew's safety.   I got to meet several of them when I flew to Seattle for CatchCon, as I wrote about in a previous post.  Then, as our showed traveled the East coast, I got to see & visit with them again.  I am glad that I took the leap & joined the forum.  I have made some lasting friendships thru that site! :)

Another great highlight of this year was getting to see my friend from High School that I hadn't seen in over 20 years while I was in Seattle.  We talked about the old days & how time has flown by.  We did quite a bit of sightseeing & I enjoyed catching up with her.

I also got to visit with my brother & his family for a couple of days in June.  My nephews are growing like weeds.  From the time I held the youngest as a newborn until now, I cherish every moment that I get to spend with them.

Of course there was some not so good times.  About 2 weeks ago, I came down with bronchitis & a nasty stomach flu.  I got so dehydrated that I had to get IV fluids at the hospital.  In addition to my health troubles, my truck also decided that it wanted some attention. One of the alternator connections burnt in two & was arcing fire. After paying a Ford garage almost $550.00, I had to drive a 100 miles back to the show.  I didn't get more than 5 miles before the truck shut off on me again.  I ended up having to pay again for the truck to be towed back to the same garage.  They ran a diagnostic on it & told me the crank position sensor was also bad.  After all was said & done, I paid that garage almost $800.00 to fix two things.  With it this close to this end of the season, forking out that kind of money is enough to make you cry & spoil any plans for a getaway vacation.

All in all I had a wonderful time this season & will be eager to get the ball rolling for next year's season.  I will leave you with beautiful shot of the evening sky, taken about a week ago in Springfield, GA.

As always, thanks to all who read my blog.

God bless & see you down the road!!