The Weekend Dispatch Featuring The Big Texan

I have some pictures from Odie's weekend in Ohio first. It looks like she spent most of the weekend in church and that is not a bad thing. I have much more below Odie's pictures.

We began our weekend Saturday morning by driving through the wind to Amarillo, Texas. We were hoping to eat at The Big Texan and our hope was fulfilled. 😁

We enjoyed a wonderful meal that Saturday! Wow! I did not eat the big 72 ounce steak, but I sure had a big one! Then we moved to the TA Travel Center across the interstate for the evening and night.

Since we do not have to rush, rush, rush to our next revival, we wanted to find a place to go to church on Sunday. I text friends for recommendations, but could not come up with any great options. I found a Church of God in Christ online and listened to one of their services Saturday evening and we made plans to go. 

Sunday morning we cranked the bus and moved to the Petro Travel Center less than a mile away. The weather was so mild, that we decided not to travel after church and we did not want to wear out our welcome at the first truck stop.

We arrived at Pentecostal Temple Church of God In Christ a few minutes before 11:00 and slipped into service. They welcomed us very warmly. Pastor Demerson and his people were good to us and even asked us to minister for a few minutes.

It was a super great morning.

We only took one picture of people. Bro. Rodrick and Sis. Natalie Watkins were incredibly kind to us.

We had to eat Sunday afternoon and we just happened to be parked very close to a great place to eat. I had a much smaller steak Sunday.

KJo cooks a wonderful omelet! Wow!

I wrote about the weather earlier. The forecast for Amarillo was hot, hot, hot, but the weather guessers were way wrong. It has been beautiful! That is another reason we stayed here for a while. We do not have to run the generator in this weather unless we need hot water. Excellent!

Thank you for reading today.

Davy

35 Years Old - Ali Elizabeth Boggs

35 years ago today, in the evening, our second daughter, Ali Elizabeth was born. Kelly Jo had spent most of six weeks in the hospital trying to prevent Ali from being born, but on May 23rd she could not be stopped any longer.

We were blessed to hold her and love on her for a few hours and receive her love in return. In the early hours of the next day, as we were holding her, she slipped into eternity.

There are times, that I let my mind wander. What would Ali look like? What would her singing voice sound like? Would she sing the high part that we are always wishing for?

What about her personality? Would she shine in a crowd or shy away? Would she be a "Daddy's girl" like Odie was? I can imagine her loving Odie so much and almost idolizing her Mom. Would she be a piano player like Kelly Jo?

My imagination would go on and on IF I would let it and soon the hurt would start pounding away at my heart. The questions are fun for a moment, but they are better off in small doses. It is better to stick with the things that I know.

I was holding Ali when her undeveloped lungs could sustain her no longer. I carried Ali in her little coffin to the grave myself. I let her down in the ground with my own hands.

When the small service was over, I shoveled in the dirt myself. I know where her little body is, but I also know our Ali is in Heaven. For some reason, we are still here below. We can not bring her back to us, but we can go to her by the grace of God.

Today, as with most years, we are many miles from Ohio on Ali's birthday, The last two years, 2020 and 2021, we were home on May 23. In 2020 KJo and I ordered some flowers, picked them up and went to the cemetery for a while.

Ali was one of the first graves in this section, but it has many graves 33 years later. Some of them are family. I have two Uncles, two grandparents, a first cousin and a great Uncle buried within a few feet of Ali.

My cousin Debbie and her husband Sonny mulched around the graves that year and had everything looking so nice!

We stayed a while, left the flowers and walked away. I do not look back. One day, I will see her again and I will be amazed at how beautiful she is. That is why I look forward and not behind!

2021 found us at home again on May 23.

My Mother put together some flowers and we took them to Ali's grave.

You may decorate the grave of a loved one and you may reminisce a little and shed a tear or two. May God bless you, my dear friend! This is one of the very hard things in life. But as Christians, we know that we will see them again! Hallelujah!

Edit: I am adding these three pictures taken May 24, 2022, at the cemetery. My Grandpa, Martin Boggs, who is buried a few feet away was born 100 years before on May 24, 1922.

Thank you for reading today.

Davy

Our View Out The Front Window 5/22/22

Sunday Morning Sanity

Faith in God is how we stand even when we do not understand. 

Pastor Brent Gabbad

Our view has been changing this week for sure!

This first picture was taken while sitting by the front bumper of the BoggsMobile looking to the left at East Tennessee Luxury Coach in Vonore, Tennessee.

This was our view out the front window at Johnny Cash Rest Area near Dickson, Tennessee.

This was our view out the front window at Flying J in Russellville, Arkansas.

This was our view out the front window at Flying J in Sayre, Oklahoma.

We did not stay the night at The Big Texan but this was our view out the front window for a few hours.

This was our view out the front window at TA Truck Stop in Amarillo, Texas before it filled up with trucks.

I hope you have a super great Sunday!

Davy

My Friend Angie Ruiss

Hey Friends,

This is Odie reporting in for another post. I hope you are doing well. I am grateful to say I am doing good. God has blessed me in so many ways! No matter what life holds at this moment, for all of us, we can proclaim God is awesome! I am feeling thankful today.

One of the things that I proclaim here regularly is that I am thankful for my friends! Recently I was thinking about my friend group. Many of my friends have been in my life for a long time. Some friends I have only known a little while. I am thankful to know I have so many excellent people in my corner.

Our travels have allowed me to meet countless people. We have been blessed abundantly with wonderful friends all over this country and beyond. 

One of my childhood friends that I still count as a close friend lives in Georgia. I can not tell you the exact time I met Angie Ruiss. We grew up seeing each other at several different campmeetings.

 

Angie is slightly older than me but she always included me in her circle of friends at campmeeting. When we went to a new place, I was nervous about finding friends. I would get excited every time I saw the Ruiss family there too. I had a friend to hang with if Angie was there. 

Angie and I never talked between meetups in our younger days. I did not realize that I was making a lifelong friend. I am thankful for the bond of friendship that started 30 plus years ago. I wish that I had pictures from our earlier years.

Most of the time, miles separate us, and we do not get to be together. The times that our paths cross are wonderful. I enjoy visiting with her so much! We can always pick up where we left off last time. Now we do keep in contact between visits. 

We got to be together for a few nights of revival back in March. It was good to talk face to face again. After church, we were inseparable. It was great to be with my dear friend. 

Sis. Sherry Ruiss, Angie's Mom, was looking for her after church. When she could not locate Angie, she started looking for me.😀Sis. Sherry said she thought if I find Odie, I will find Angie. Sure enough, Angie and I were sitting at a table, catching up.

I love Bro. Roger and Sis. Sherry Ruiss too! They are fantastic people and friends to my parents and me! I am grateful that The Ruiss family and our family wanted to go to campmeetings. We gained many blessings, memories and friends from those trips.

The Ruiss family has traveled many miles to be in revivals with us over the years. Their presence in the services always makes our day! During our 2020 online revival, they faithfully watched and listened. Angie would tell them to gather around, it is church time.

Angie, thank you for being my dear friend! Thanks for letting me hang with you and always having time for me. You will never know how much I value our friendship! You inspire me! I love you!

I almost forgot when I snapped the selfie of us back in March, Angie said do not forget to write single next to my pictures on the blog. There is your shoutout, Angie.😍

Thanks for visiting with me today. It is a pleasure to have you here.

Odie

Vonore, TN to Russellville, AR - Travelogue Part I

We left Vonore the first time Tuesday at about 6:50 AM and had to return. We left the second time at 12:50 PM on Wednesday.

We took HWY 72 over to I-75 North to I-40 West. I-40 was our route for the rest of the day except for taking the south loop around Nashville. Leaving afternoon put us in Nashville at afternoon rush hour and it was a mess as expected. The I-440 loop was much better traffic wise.

The plan was to spend the night at the Flying J in Fairview, Tennessee, but we could not get into the RV spots out front. There was a Rest Area a few miles further that we knew we could get in, so we drove on.

This is where we rested a few minutes at Flying J.

The Rest Area was called Johnny Cash Rest Area near Dickson, Tennessee. It was marked no overnight parking, but it was obvious that truckers were settling in for the night. I figured my friend, Johnny Cash would not mind, so we stayed with no problem.

It was 6:00 AM when we pulled out Wednesday morning expecting to be in West Memphis by 8:40. That was prevented by a wreck on the interstate with a 40 minute detour around. The detour only added a few miles, but it was slow going through small towns.

We pulled into the Flying J in West Memphis, Arkansas about 9:15. I walked, messed with a few things on the bus, took my morning shower and laid across the bed for a few minutes. 

After filling up with diesel, it was 11:20 when we pulled out and hit the road.

The drive on I-40 across Arkansas was completely clear like we love it. All the rivers were very high and the trees were amazingly green. It was a nice drive.

We pulled into Flying J in Russellville, Arkansas 8 hours and 20 minutes after we left the Johnny Cash Rest Area. Only six hours of that was driving and the total for the day was 379 miles.

The RV parking spots were inaccessible for us here and the next rest area's parking was questionable so we parked with the trucks in a pull through spot on the end by the exit. Pulling out early Thursday should not be a problem.

We have driven 612 miles so far and Google Maps says we have 1272 miles to go. More travelogues to come!

Thank you for reading today.

Davy