TEAR WRAPPED SMILES.....VISUALS OF DADDY'S WWII EXPERIENCES

I did not hear many stories from Daddy's time as an Army Staff Sergeant in the Philippines during WWII. I did hear of his tasting fresh filched pineapple from a field in Hawaii where he went first for training. 

I was thrilled to visit WWII Museum in NOLA to see a section devoted to the battles/guerrilla warfare in the Pacific, specifically Leyte where Daddy was stationed.

Daddy told me of slogging through the mud until their boots rotted away.

Years later he told me of coming upon a shack in the jungle that had a rickety upright piano. One of the men in his platoon sat down and played a tune and they all sang together. He told me he "decided then and there that he would have an upright piano in his home one day so that someone could play the piano to bring joy to all who heard." I was that "someone" for several years but i'm not sure I ever got to the point of bringing joy. I saw a picture of such a gathering at the museum movie but was unable to snap a photo. It brought tears to my eyes as I remembered Daddy's story. Tears had me smiling because I now saw those harrowing lessons (across the street at Mrs Bell's) as a privilege.

The Leyte Gulf section gave me "pause" as I recalled the story that Daddy, a quiet, gentle man anyway, held close for many years.

Leading his platoon out on maneuvers, Daddy was shot in the leg by a lone Japanese snipper in a tree. His men returned him to the field hospital & then he was taken to the hospital ship which took him to Goodenough Island in Papua New Guinea to recover from wound and malaria.The next day, "his" men (reconnaissance unit and the man who took his place) went to Mindanao.  All were were ambushed & killed by a squad of Japanese snipers. It was a real time of war... (Ecclesiastes 3:8) as the world had never seen. Years later, Daddy at his Saturday lunches at the VFW, reminisced with two chums who had also been on Goodenough Island during the war. Tag & Frank.

How proud I was when I saw those Philippine maps that changed from almost completely red (Japanese control) in Leyte....

to blue (United States control) during Daddy's time there.

Daddy's final days in service ended in Australia as he qualified for the Points' System* & was shipped home, to CA & on to Indianapolis, where Mother, who had ridden bus from Clarksville, TN was waiting for him. 

The rest is history---that would be me, as I was born the next year.

 

*Points System---points for months of service over seas, combat situations, Purple Heart, and points for each dependent child---His first child, Buddy, was born while Daddy was overseas.

 

IN THE PINK!

The idiom "in the pink" has been a defining term for many seniors  this past year. It was their way of saying, I'm grateful to be alive and well. I am truly in the pink! As Daddy aged, he would say, "I'm grateful for each day the good Lord gives me!"

The chorus of "Alive and Breathing" by Ellie Limebear and Matt Maher 2019 says it well.......and was sung beautifully by Ephie Johnson and the First Evan choir.*

Joy still comes in the morning, hope still walks with the hurting.

If you're still alive and breathing, praise the Lord.

Don't stop dancing and dreaming.

There's still good news worth repeating,

So, lift your hand and keep singing, "Praise the Lord.

May these words put you "in the pink"physically, emotionally & spiritually this rainy, foggy Meditation Monday morning. And for an uplifting treat tonight---glimpse the Harvest Moon before you head to bed.

*  Alive and Breathing--FirstEvan YouTube 9/19/2021

MUCH OBLIGED

Old fashioned? Maybe.
Small Town only?  Maybe.

Southern? Probably.
Polite? Definitely!

A Daddy phrase often heard by his daughter





I will be "much obliged" if you
are patient, waiting on my next entry.

MONDAY OOPS

5/27/13 Today has been a "puddling" kind of day for me as the sadness of missing Daddy continued throughout the day. Daddy didn't die on the battlefield but he was severely wounded on the island of Leyte in the Philippines. The day after his wounding his entire platoon was wiped out while on patrol under the soldier who took Daddy's place. A big part of him died that day in a trauma that stayed with him throughout his life.

But God.......reminded me that today is Monday and on this blog Monday means meditating on scripture. 

A gift bag was the prompted meditation .....
the gift bag had the needed verse to free me from the oops of sadness.

It is for freedom God has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do no commit again to a yoke of slavery.

(Galatians 5:1)

NECESSARY Pruning

3/13/11 Yesterday, I spent time with hubby in the yard with clippers and pruning shears. Felder Rushing, former Memphian, and 10th-generation American gardener, would be rolling his eyes because the Liles prune when time allows. Convenience often rules our lives even to our lawn care. I spent less time outside than hubby did though I did try not only to direct his efforts but also to try my hand with the pruning shears as well. Fatigue took me inside before the job was completed but I took a spiritual lesson with me as I closed the door to the outside world and sat at the feet of my Master Gardener.

(John 15) ¹ “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. ² He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.

Pruning both in the garden and in our spiritual lives is necessary for healthy growth. We have to get rid of the superfluous and useless parts that compete with the healthy growth. Pruning helps to bring balance and it guides the shaping of the plant (or person) to be all it (or she) was intended to be by the one who planted it.

These last 6-8 weeks, the Lord has begun an awareness of pruning that is needed in my life. I don’t have enough time in my day for everything. My time needs trimming and shaping. I need to know my Master Gardener’s plan for me for this season in my life. I know that pruning is painful. I just need to remember that God will never leave me and His pruning is loving surgery to allow me to let His “Sonlight” go deeper than it ever has before. If it becomes the blessing that my cancer was, I know I’m going to love the results. **

A Well pruned life---what does it look like? I’ve seen it in the lives of others---Marge Andrews, Geary Irwin, Mary Ann Frazier. But I don’t know what it looks like in my own life----but God ….God willing and guiding (“apart from Me, you can do nothing.” John 15:6), I’m going to find out because I have recently enrolled in Basic Pruning 101, A Guide to NECESSARY Pruning. Care to join me? The text is God’s Word and is free on-line.

**Before I even could post this blog entry, I received an upsetting phone call. I had planned to be in KY this week for the first part of Spring Break. My cardiologist visit on Wednesday and another carotid artery “episode” thwarted those plans.

This phone call was from brother, Bobby, with an update on Daddy. Friday, Daddy had trouble eating lunch because his right hand was swollen & wouldn’t work for him. Care clinic and ER visits showed no stroke but an appointment was set for Monday with his internist. Late this afternoon an ambulance took him to Jennie Stuart hospital. Daddy has had a stroke and though we’re hopeful it’s mild, he couldn’t recall Bobby’s name or remember his own birth date.

Please join me in praying God’s best for Daddy.

Routine for a “New Dance”

4/22/10     I am a Daddy's Girl! 

During"back in the day" college years my phone rang every Wednesday, as Daddy could call long distance "free" from Clarksville Livestock Company,

For years, my daddy has been “routine” personified. He ate grapefruit for breakfast everyday. He walked every day. Had Wednesday lunch at Mama Davenport’s in Clarksville, TN every week. You could plan your days by him---and really down to the hour and sometimes even the minute. We often joked about him being the “man to set your clock by.”

• 6:14 am wake-up
• 7:15 am “library time.”
• 8am out the door.
• 10:15 post office run.
• 3:15pm front step Hopkinsville Livestock Company (originally Altsheler and Payne) with an ice-cold 6½ oz. bottled coke---the ones in the bottle with the light green tint and embossed at the bottom with the name of the local bottler. He chose that time to watch his granddaughters, Polly and Allyson, come by on the school bus.
• 9 pm his orange that he ate every night in front of the TV---a dish towel over his lap to catch the drips.
• Bedtime 10:14.

As he aged, the routine changed somewhat and his coke became a 12 0z. can b/c the little grocery in Trenton, KY where he got his “bottle” supply finally ran out. He eventually changed to the canned “diet Coke” variety. His orange became a ½ an orange. Lunch at Roundies remained a daily routine and any of the waitresses could get his order w/o writing it down b/c it rarely varied---salmon patties on Monday, always beets on his Tuesday plate, chicken and dumplings for Thursday and ending his week with his Friday fish. They always brought his jello with fruit about 2/3 through his meal. A nod from him was all it took. Sat. lunch at the VFW was a given b/c for his “big” dollar in the jar donation, he was fed---a lunch this World War II “purple heart recipient” deserves.

That routine gave him security---it’s what he hung his hat on. Plus, when Mother was living, she supported his routine and kept it running smoothly for him. Now he hangs his hat and coats and clothes all over everywhere---although there seems to be a system to that too, I just don’t always understand it.
In the last 6 mos. Daddy really began to fail---maybe even the past year but I was not with him as much b/c of my treatment/surgeries in Texas. He still walked at the mall, though slower and not as far, and in the past month, not at all. More and more his confidence is deteriorating. His memory is fleeting and too much of the time he won’t even try but just say, “I can’t remember anything.” I hear him talking to himself trying to remind himself of what is next and even his speech falters some. What I am seeing is that Daddy is desperately trying to hold on. Trying to hold on to life as he once new it. I want to hold on for him---to hold on to the healthy Daddy, still walking his mile. Daddy, working at age 88. Daddy, only taking 1 aspirin a day Daddy and reading The Upper Room daily.

Daddy---the way I’ve always known him.

Daddy, my first dance partner---the one who danced with me standing on the top of his feet as a child----danced with me at my wedding and even at my 45th high school class reunion. There won’t be any more of those dances with my earthly father. That makes me very sad!

How do I handle this new struggle in unfamiliar territory?
I, who just 2 nights ago encouraged others to “dance,” am going to have to apply those same principles to new steps needed for this unfamiliar dance---a dance to a new tune with my heavenly Father.

Discovering that I need new revelation from God’s word or maybe it’s new application of truth I already know---THOTS---Trusting Him On This Subject as I begin to seek

Accepting that aging of a parent and its physical difficulties are for the most part out of my control and accepting (trying) my emotional pain

Noticing God’s hand in the provision of 2 brothers who are the best and the one who is closest in distance never waivers in attentiveness to Daddy’s needs

Celebrating last night’s phone call---Daddy sounded good and even told me he got some chili at Roundies for lunch b/c it was the daily special---but he said “it wasn’t that special” and he wouldn’t order it again.

Extending hope to others in this type struggle as I learn from it---but hoping others will extend to me their stories of “long distance” care for parents and how it’s worked for them

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4