2020 has been quite a year. The kids have been out of school for a month now; South Carolina has been under a stay-at-home order from Gov. McMaster for a couple of weeks. The M.R.S. and I are both considered essential employees, so we've still been working - though that's changing next week for her. Covid-19 dominates the news cycle; I have almost forgotten the flooding in Australia followed by catastrophic wildfires; Kobe Bryant's shocking death in a helicopter crash, the impeachment, and the locusts decimating Africa. I haven't been to a church service since the beginning of March - everything has been done at home, including Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread. This is surreal, but I'm becoming more and more accustomed to our new reality with each passing day. We've had a new addition to our home (temporary, or maybe not) for the past month. She's becoming more and more accustomed to being here. These are quite interesting times! Tomorrow I shall participate in my first virtual memorial service via Zoom for my cousin Pecolia Peterkin. I wonder what else 2020 has in store for us...

Redd Foxx

Missed out on a beautiful red fox that ran out in front of me on the highway, and then turned around and ran back. New Spring church was letting out, so traffic was too heavy for me to just stop and get out. Would've been a perfect shot, too.

Arab Spring continues?

Looks like the rebel forces in Tripoli have managed to capture 2 of Ghadaffi's sons. There is much celebration in the background, and the US appears to be in favor of the rebels' success... While I'm all for removal of despots, I think the US gov't outlook on how this will affect us long-term is a tad rosier than mine.

Bobcats baffle Daniel down the stretch

Bobcats baffle Daniel down the stretch

First Post of the Oh-Nine

Hello world! We're still alive. Nick's stretching out and still only weighs about 3 lbs. soaking wet. Noah, on the other hand, is rock solid and doesn't appear to be getting any taller. Jalen is looking me in the eye now, and is looking like the defensive lineman he is. He was named 2nd team All-Region. I went to his banquet and was watching him when his name was called. He almost fell out of his chair. I didn't know until that moment that he didn't know that he was going to receive that honor. Lil Mama is developing her own personality and is stretching out as well.

As for me, I'm still working as a chemist and I still have a job. Our company did curtail the production workers' hours and pretty much everyone is working 32-36 hours. No one has been laid off though. As for the salaried folks, salaries have been frozen, and promotions are on hold. Of course, we get this memo 2 days before my hire date anniversary, which is when performance evaluations and raises are given. However, I do still have a job.

The M.R.S. has been working for a few weeks in an allergy practice about 5 minutes from my job. The handwriting is pretty much on the wall now; with both of us making this 45-50 minute commute, a move is probably coming up pretty soon. We'll keep you posted. Oh well, my parents and brother's family are in town for the weekend. The kids have run and played quite vigorously, so there should be some deep, coma-like sleep in the Palmer house tonight. I'll probably be up late reading; I started The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel and I'm also re-reading The US & Britain in Prophecy by HWA.

Day 6 of the Feast

All is well here in Branson, MO. There are about 1500 UCG brethren in town, along with the 980 or so LCG brethren here. I think Intercontinental has a site in the vicinity as well, though I haven't seen any of them around town. We've heard sermons from Mr. Rand Millich, Davy Crockett, Karl Beyersdorfer, Rod Reynolds, and Richard Ames. My notes are spotty, so I can't rattle off the the sermonette men. The ones I remember off the top of my head are Mr. Gary Maney, Mr. Ray Clore, Mr. Turner, Mr. Wally Smith... Who am I forgetting? Noah and Nyla seem to be conspiring to keep me from listening to a complete sermon.

The crib is pretty nice too. We ended up sharing a 4-Br with some good friends from Ohio. There are 10 of us here, but it's been great. (Actually 13, if you count Mr. Frizzle, Superlion, and an as-yet-unnamed Blue Monkey that's really an ape.) I'll post some pics eventually. Some quick points:

Dixie Stampede : Much better than expected. Food was good too.
Putt-putt: I'm horrible at it.
Chateau on the Lake: Location of Bible Studies. Absolutely fabulous.
Everyone in the church from the state of Missouri is here (except Annette and Charlie).
Little Rock to Branson via 165 is a horrible drive.
Scarboroughs: There are 78 of them here and two more at another Feast site. Impressive.
Stone Hill Winery's Cream Sherry isn't bad if you like brandy.
Bible Studies: Excellent. Mr. Clore's powerpoint presentation on Jerusalem and Mr. Reynold's study on repentance and conversion were very helpful. Tomorrow morning's topic is "Then the End Shall Come". I wonder who's leading it...

On a serious note, I just found out Mr. Raymond McNair died. My prayers go out for his family. There aren't very many of the Old Guard left.

Anyway, I've got an 8:30 a.m. Bible Study to get ready for, so I guess I should go to bed now. Ciao.

FoT

Thousand Hills Resort it is.