The Golden Years

In your golden years 

You see a variety of physicians
hoping they can repair it,
your bodily parts

Your body becomes like an aged car
without constant care, it begins to fall apart. 

What did you say become 

your daily answer?

Hearing aids become a necessity. 

Snap, Crackle, and Pop are the sounds
you make as you walk across the floor. 

You take the elevator instead of the stairs.

That beautiful, vibrant golden hair has turned shades of gray.

The obituary is your daily reading 

You look daily

for friends, relatives, or neighbor 

names that have gone to the great beyond!

Those once bright white teeth have aged
you now have

root canals, bridges, crowns, implants 

Heaven forbid if you have to 

wear dentures.

Your sight grows dim
and glasses are required.

Arthritis rules your body
your signature becomes a scribble
as you try to sign your name

You take more pills than you can hold in one hand
just to survive.

You leave the room but forget why?
Do you forget your name?
You forget the day, month, or year!

You watched your parents and grandparents
as they reached their golden years.

Life seems to have passed you by as
You watched your children grow and leave
the nest
then you watch your grandchildren
leave the nest
Now you are all alone.

My grandmother told me  Heaven is my home
There, I will be able to  run, & jump 

just as I did when I was a kid.

She said I don't seek 

fortune, & fame, for they will soon
fade away.

God is my refuge
Heaven is my home
No more pain and suffering.
This is my hope and my salvation!

2019 June 12, Day Trip Cooks Museum of Natural Science, Decatur Depot, Huntsville, Athens, Alabama

Hubby and I rode to Decatur, where we visited the newly opened Cooks Museum of Natural History. 

There, we walked through a cave, the forest, the Arctic, and the desert exhibits. 

Cooks Museum of Natural History 

We saw live turtles, saltwater fish, live coral, moon jellyfish, river fish, gopher snakes, American bullfrog, American Alligator, and a variety of insects.

We saw a live beehive with thousands of bees that were connected to the outside, where the bees could collect pollen for the hive. 

A meteorite from outer space, a digital seashell generator, a kinetic sand table, and a tree with a rope bridge to climb were just a few of the inter-actives at the museum. 

Cooks Museum is a place where you can touch, feel, see, and hear different species of animals, reptiles, birds, insects, and fish. 

It is a great place for school groups to visit. 

We had a great time. 

Bee Hive 

We were greeted by a well-informed curator at the Decatur Train Museum. 

He told us some of the histories of the museum.

We saw an engineer running a miniature train around the tracks along its path was a replica of notable buildings of Decatur.

We saw The Princes Theater,  the Old Bank building, the Turner-Surles Community Resources Center, The Train Depot, and the Dance-Polk House.

We saw a Coca-Cola engine, Army Supply Train, Orange caboose, CSX Engine, C& X, K Line, Seaco, ADM Box Car, etc. 

Signs along the walls that read SouthernRailway “The Southern Serves the South,” Rail-Road Crossing, & Will not clear man or side of the car.

Decatur Train Depot Museum 

We saw the early Memphis & Charleston Railroad 1869, steam engines, and carriages cars.  We saw an early telephone hanging on the wall, the early Western Union Telegram, maps of early Alabama, and an old Underwood Typewriter. 

On display inside was a Red 1941 Chevrolet 1 2ton pickup truck

On display inside was a Green and Yellow John Deere model “LA” general-purpose tractor 

We shopped at the new Duluth Company Trading Post( located near Intergraph in Huntsville), which had men's and women's clothing.

We ate a late lunch/dinner at Golden Corral. I always overeat at buffets. 

We bought an HP Office Jet 9015 Printer and ink at Office Depot in Huntsville. My old HP had died.

The car was loaded with two cases of water we had bought at Sam's the day before. 

We bought vegetables (cucumbers, tomatoes, squash) from a local grower on our way to Decatur.

We bought a few groceries from Oldies in Athens.
We bought some baking soda at CE Pool, where we got our pool water checked. 

So, the car was loaded with items to be put away.

I had taken several pictures but was too tired to upload them to the computer. I will do that another day.

Ready for some couch time!

2019 Oct 28, In Search of Historic Markers, David Crockett Park, Museum, Halloween displays

Our first search of markers was The Killen & Canal System @ Lock 6.
We saw several homes along the river, and to get to the homes, we had to travel up steep hills, which could be very hazardous in the winter.

The Killen & Canal System at Lock 6 was located at the boating dock at the end of Turtle Landing Road.

Soldiers Rest at Butler Cemetery at Butler Cemetery in front of the Polo Club.

 Old Gabe Cemetery, located at CR 42
Gabriel Butler, “Ole Gabe,” was born in the Carolinas in 1779, about the time of the Revolutionary War. His name is on records in Kentucky in the 1800s. He married his first wife, Sarah Whitesides, in Warren County, KY, on December 26, 1803. Gabe was among the earliest white settlers of Lauderdale County. He arrived here during the early 1800s and leased land from Cherokee Indian Chief Doublehead on the Chief’s Reserve. After Doublehead was killed in 1807, the government directed the settlers on his Reserve to leave. 
Gabe and other settlers signed a petition in 1809 asking to remain; however, the settlers were elected around 1811. Gabe and his family moved to the north into Tennessee. Indian Treaties signed in 1817 allowed the creation of Lauderdale County in February 1818. The Federal Land Office was established, allowing land to be sold here beginning in March of 1818. Gabe traveled to Huntsville on November 14, 1818, and purchased land here along Bluewater Creek. Eventually, he owned several acres in this area.

Gaberial "Old Gabe" Butler 1779-1856 

Gabe’s land was fertile, with an abundance of good water, timber, and game. He built his home on the hill across Bluewater. He expected the road between Huntsville and Florence to be built nearby, giving him easy access to his farmland on the other side of the creek. However, the road was built 1 1/2 miles south in the general vicinity of the modern-day US Highway  72. After 1824, Gabe built his second home southwest of here on this side of the creek. Old Gabe donated two acres of land to start the Primitive Baptist Church at Bluewater on May 16, 1840. 
The churches at Mitchell Town and Elgin Crossroads developed from that church. The cemetery at this location, one of the earliest in Lauderdale Country, was established by Gabe and named for him. Gabe died in November 1856 at the age of 77. He and some of his family members are buried within the rock walls. Old Gabe had three wives and 11 children, nine of whom married and raised families in this area. Many of the descendants of “Old Gabe” are buried in this cemetery.

Gaberial "Old Gabe" Butler 1779-1856 Cemetery
Butler Cemetery 
Deeded to Gabriel Butler Nov 14, 1818

CR 568Spider, Ghost, Skeletons, Witches, Pumpkins "Halloween"

Bettie Anne Highway HIstoric

French Glover Farm on CR 48
Revolutionary War Veteran Benjamin French (1764-1847), a native of Virginia, is buried at this site. Arriving in Limestone County, Alabama, in about 1808, the French acquired this farm in 1837.
The nearby spring is the site of prehistoric Indian Villages and Civil War encampments. The two-story log house, originally located three miles southwest of this place, is believed to have been constructed as early as 1829. It was moved here by the Glover family before 1813, This road was part of the early Pulaski Pike, a major stagecoach and supply route that connected the river at Florence with Pulaski, Tennessee

We were headed to Tennessee for Lottery tickets and were not sure how to get to Loretto from our present location we just asked Sirus for directions.
Bought Lottery tickets and rode to Lawrenceburg, stopping at The Brass Lantern for lunch.

Brass Lantern
Hoyt Tidwell & wife were there promoting their receipt book, which included his wife's famous chicken dumplings receipt.

Enjoyed eating the famous Chicken and dumplings, fried green tomatoes, Jack Daniel's Apples, red onion, cornbread, and turnip greens.
The famous chicken & dumplings are on Monday's special menu, which comes with two sides.
YUM!

Hubby ordered the chicken & dumplings, white beans, fried green tomatoes, cornbread, and one trip to the salad bar.
We had enough leftovers for a to-go box.

Barred Owl bird of prey resting on its perch

David Crockett Museum with carved pumpkins inviting us inside

We rode to David Crockett Park, where we visited the Crockett Museum
 In the museum, we saw Crockett Tennessee Westward Movement, Crockett's distillery, Crockett the Politician, the Great Frontier, Crocket power mill, Crockett the Industrialists, Crockett the Hunter, Crockett's office, his timeline 1786-1822, some of his tools, Markee of the Almo where David Crockett was killed and Crockett the homesteader.

Autumn leaves mirroring the lake, what a beautiful sight. 

Monday, after the weekend of Celebrating Halloween, still lingered at the Town Square of Lawrenceburg. 

Witches sitting, and spiders climbing on the white brick wall
showing the joys of a bright October Halloween Day.

Hubby and I had a great Autumn Day, with our adventures taking us into unknown territory.
Seeing gobblings of all kinds in places we would not have seen if we had chosen to stay home.
We met new people, tried new food, and spent the day together on one of our many traveling adventures.