Mourning at the Western Gate

Today the Western Gate mourns the loss of a great man. He was our mayor, our family man, our car dealer and the man well respected and revered by all who knew him.
Mr. Vince Whibbs was Mr. Pensacola. He died May 30th of a heart attack in his home.

He was the man who coined the phrase from which I often quote and named my blog. "Western Gate of the Sunshine State." His entire quote, which he used many times to greet visitors to our magnificant city follows,
"On behalf of our elected City Council, those ten masterful men who manage our magnificent municipality; and on behalf of the chairman of our county commission and his four commissioners who constantly deal with the changing, challenging conditions of our county; and on behalf of our wonderful people who populate the Northwest Florida area, it is my privilege and pleasure as mayor to welcome you to Pensacola, the western gate to the Sunshine State, where thousands live the way millions wish they could, where the warmth of our community comes not only from God's good sunshine, but from the hearts of the people who live here. Welcome to Pensacola, America's first place city and the place where America began."

He was an ambassador of all of our city. He performed many good deeds in his lifetime including raising a wonderful, community minded family with his wife, Anna. Vince helped to put Pensacola on the map as a place to work, live and vacation. Besides owning a car dealership and serving as Pensacola's Mayor. Mr. Whibbs was a supporter of many community projects here. His current pet project was the Pensacola Maritime Museum and Park, which would bring more tourism and business to downtown Pensacola, as well as give us a place to honor our history as a port and a home for our beloved Pensacola Pelicans baseball team.
Mr. Whibbs was a well honored and respected man. Pensacola was blessed to have had him.
From the Western Gate of the Sunshine State, where thousands live the way millions wish they could, thanks and God Bless. Heaven holds a special place for you.
:J (photo courtesy of the Pensacola News Journal)

Palm Trees Belong in South Florida

There has been something truly irritating me for about eighteen months now. During post hurricane recovery it has become fashionable to replace our majestic oaks of northwest Florida with the palm trees of south Florida. I, for one, don't like the look. Northwest Florida is not the Florida of picture postcard Florida. NW Florida is more typical of the Old South. Palm trees are not native to this area. What is native is the majestic oaks covered in hanging moss more typical of the old southern plantations.

Now that everyone in NW Florida is "remodeling" after Hurricanes Ivan and Dennis, the trend is to replace those majestic oaks with palm trees. It makes me want to scream "We are not South Florida!" The palms have their place here, perhaps out on the beaches. But when you come across the 3 Mile Bridge onto the mainland, the oaks should continue to stand where they naturally grew.

Now everywhere you look, oaks are being torn down and replaced with palms. The Mall, the hospital, and now even WalMart has replaced the oaks and crepe myrtles with palms. The area I live in is Myrtle Grove. It is so named for all the crepe myrtles that grow naturally in the area. They turn the area into a sea of pink, white, red and fuschia in the spring with their beautiful blooms. When our neighborhood WalMart was built, crepe myrtles decorated the parking lot, providing beautiful blooms and shade for parking. No longer is this so, this spring WM replaced perfectly good crepe myrtles with what else? Palm Trees.

The area where I work is known as Pine Forest. Why? It was so named for the Native longleaf pine trees that grow naturally in this region. We were built around the mills and forests that harvested this lumber to build the south. Pine Trees, Oak Trees and Crepe Myrtles. They belong in NW Florida.

Please don't get me wrong. I love to look at the palms when I visit South Florida. They are majestic with their fronds waving in the sea breeze. But they belong in South Florida, where they grow naturally! The palms invoke the idea of what the rest of the world thinks all of Florida is, a tropical vacationland. NW Florida has many things to offer vacationers. I just don't think Palm trees should be one of them.

Just my wonderings,
:J

My Veteran

This is my dad. He served his country in the US Navy during World War II. He was drafted, but qualified for deferment because he was a head of household with a family. But he went anyway. He went to boot camp in Farragut, Idaho, leaving behind a wife and two children. He became a Machinist Mate and was stationed in New Guinea. He spent most of the war repairing ships in the Pacific. He would tell the story about how he narrowly missed being bombed. Every day his work crew would board a boat and travel to ships docked offshore to repair them. On this day one of the men realized he forgot his work pouch just the transport boat was getting ready to leave. They waited as he ran back to the bunkhouse to get it. When he returned as they left the dock, they watched as a Japanese plane flew over and bombed the ship. Had the man not forgotten the pouch, they would have been working on the ship. Thank God for that!

I, of course, was nowhere in the picture, not even the twinkle in his eye. But I remember the pictures and stories he told of being there and in the war. There were two pictures that I recall as my favorites, One of him in a grass skirt and one of his other "family", a native New Guinea black woman and a slew of kids. They weren't really his family, he just loved to tease us.

My dad never questioned his obligation to go, it was his duty as an American man, and he was proud to have served. I was equally as proud, later on, as his daughter, that he served his country well. He of course came back from the war to his family and went on to have another family.

As a little girl, one of my favorite things on rainy days, was to sit on the front porch and listen to his Navy stories and sing his Navy songs. I still have his Blue Jackets Manual, the book issued to every Navy man in boot camp.

He was a well respected man in our little community. I don't think he had an enemy in the world and liked every one. He was always willing to help someone in need and didn't speak ill of anyone. His theory was if he didn't like someone, he just didn't talk about them at all.
That's my dad, I'm proud of him, I love him, and I miss him everyday.
:J

What did you do today?

I planted! I love surrounding our patio and decks with flowers! Hurricane Ivan reeked havoc on our yard 18 months ago and we are finally getting it back to the pre hurricane days.
Yesterday I went to the nursery to see what new and exciting plants they have this year. I didn't come away empty handed either!
This is my Lady in Red Hydrangea. Isn't it beautiful! It is probably the most expensive single plant I have ever purchased. It was almost $24! But the Lady will make a beautiful addition to the backyard. She will join our Oak Leaf Hydrangea, Double pink Forever & Ever, and Blue Forever & Ever Hydrangeas. Our Oak Leaf is one of the few that survived Ivan.
The guys at the Nursery know me, and know I love different plants. Although I plant Torenia every year, the new guy asked me if I knew it was called the "wishbone flower". I didn't! Can you see the wish bone inside? How cool! I got some of these in purple and pink. They grow like wild all summer. I love them!

The new guy, I have to get his name next time. Also asked me if I had ever had "Bat Faces" in my garden. No I hadn't, but I do now! Aren't they adorable? Too Cute!

New guy also shared why I can't ever get Clementis to grow. They like sun, but the roots like shade. So I am trying again and have planted them correctly this time. I have been a busy girl, and hope to have more pics soon.
Nature is so beautiful!
:J 

10 Shows Tag from Kip

To shows I love to watch:

Grey's Anatomy
Boston Legal
Fox Football's Pregame show ( Love Howie!)
CSI
MASH
Desparate Housewive's (reminds me of when I lived in Military Housing!)
60 Minutes (I watched this as a kid, with my dad even)
Paula Deen's Show on Food Network
Made in America on the Travel Network
Who Wants to be a Millionaire

10 Shows I didn't Watch
Survivor
West Wing
Lost
Law & Order
Amazing Race
Seinfeld
Friends
American Idol (only in the ending weeks do I watch it)
Bernie Mac Show
probably anything on FOX or UPN except the Fox Football Pregame show

What are yours?
:J

10 Sounds I Love

1. The sound of a summer thunderstorm as it rolls into town, drenches everything and leaves.
2. The Beach, it's breezes, crashing waves, gulls chatter, and children laughing.
3. An Autumn football game, the crowd cheering, coaches yelling, cheerleaders Rahing, Announcer's play by play and of course the band.
4. Children, from their suckling sounds of a newborn, to their coos and giggles, their first words, their laughter, their midnite giggles with friends, and their glees of excitement in their teens.
5. My husbands voice, telling me about his day, saying he loves me, talking to his sons, teasing his dog, singing when he thinks no one is listening, cheering his favorite football team and calling my name.
6. Trains. Their lonely warnings of crossing roads, their clang and clatter of hitching cars, their long whines as they leave the switchyard, the clackity clack of rolling wheels.
7. Nature. Birds singing, breezes blowing, creeks flowing, falls crashing, fish jumping, crickets lulling me to sleep.
8. Hymns sung in a church with the pipe organist playing in the background.
9. Words of comfort from loved ones, making the worse things in the world better with words.
10. I love you, in any language, from anyone.

Was It the Last Day of School?

It just didn't seem like it was. The only kids there were ones who had to take final exams. The seniors have been gone since last week. Teachers and staff still have 3 more days. It just didn't seem like the last day of school.Maybe next week, as all the teachers leave and say good bye. It will seem like school has ended.
Good Bye, all the good ones leave. Some say because there are those who do, and those who don't and they are tired of always being asked to do because they do. I can relate. The good ones go. Not all of them, thank goodness, but this year too many are. Why is that? You can be a screw up, not care about the kids, not do your required paperwork, and rarely they let you go.
It's always the ones who teach well. Not just the school book stuff, but the life stuff. The things the kids really need to know. Things like responsibility, citizenship, caring, community, accountability, integrity, and so on. Those life things. The ones who teach well burn out. They do the proms, chaperone the field trips, coach, sponsor the class, sponsor the community club, put on the play, THEY DO. They do after they teach 7 hours in a classroom, grade papers until midnite, and eat lunch on the run. Because they DO. I will miss the DOers that are leaving us this year. I wish they would stay. Sure someone will pick up the slack of those DOers who leave, but it will be the rest of us, DOers.

:J

Another Day, Another Thought

I guess it's a good thing all my visitors do not leave comments. From reading other friends blogs where their visitors have left messages, I do consider myself lucky. As my daddy used to say, "it is better to not speak and be thought a fool, then to open your mouth and remove all doubts." But of course he copied that from someone else, Ben Franklin, I believe.
Then as momma used to say "don't try to teach a pig to sing, it wastes your time, and annoys the pig". Which she probably didn't originate either, but copied
I guess that was their way of saying don't waste your time on such petty issues, life is too short. There will always be someone out there who thinks they are right and others don't see their side, so of course we don't see it the right way. Some people will be the way they are and the way they always have been, no matter what they protest and say now. It is a sad statement on their lives that they want to have what they can't. And they can't be happy with what they have. Course I guess I wouldn't either if I were in their shoes. Sad thing is they have wrecked a good thing once before, and this time they don't have a snowbuzzard's chance in hell of ruining anything this time.
So, you may think I am the one who has removed all doubt. Doesn't matter, it's just the way I wonder sometimes.

:J

It Bloomed on Mother's Day

As I was growing up, my mother always had a flower garden. She grew poppies, roses, lilacs, geraniums, sedum, peonies, daisies, jack-in-the-pulpit, Dutchman's britches and lilies of the valley to name a few. She always kept a pot of water lilies on the front porch. She diligently kept them watered, and seperated the bulbs when the container grew too full.
When she died, and we seperated her household belongings, one of the plants I wanted was that original pan of water lilies. So I brought them home with me, not knowing if they would even survive the heat of Florida. I am not so good at watering them as she was. I haven't ever seperated them even though they are now crammed in the pot. But they have survived the heat and my neglect.
Every once in awhile they bloom. Mostly after a hard rain, as they did after Ivan, reminding me that life will go on. Once they bloomed after I had had a bad week at work, culminating with a disagreement with a co-worker whom I detested. Again today, on Mother's day, when I have been thinking of my Mom, and missing her.
I think sometimes when they bloom it is she who has been watering them. It's Mom's way of letting me know she is watching me and that things will be better another day.
Wondering,
:J 

Happy Mother's Day!

It's hard for me to believe I have been a mother for 26 years. It's been a job I have had the longest, never missing a day. It's also hard for me to beleive these 3 young cherubs, whom I loved, played with, disciplined, worried over, prayed over, taxied, cooked for, coached, taught, diapered, read to, fought with, cried over and shared 26 years of life with, have grown into 3 fine young men.
Kevin, Patrick and Daniel July 1987
There were days I didn't think I would make it. There were days I wanted to be sent to MY room. There were days I laughed till I thought I would burst, and days I thought my heart would burst from tears.
We have learned so much together. We have loved together. We have been best friends. We have been cowboys and indians and Princess and Kings together. We have camped in the woods and swam in the ocean. We have climbed many mountains both figuratively and in real life. Our travels and adventures have taken us places I only dreamed of going.
I wouldn't have traded it for the world.
These are my sons, Daniel, Kevin and Patrick. They have brought me joy beyond words. They are the greatest gift I have ever gotten Mother's day, Christmas and every holiday rolled into one.
I only hope that they become as good as fathers as sons they have been for me. I am proud of what they have become. Their dreams are yet to be reached. But I know, if not another day comes, they have been great sons to me.
Kevin, Patrick and Daniel at Patrick's graduation May 2005 

If You are Reading This, Thank a Teacher!

Today is National Teacher Appreciation Day! I am a bit late in blogging in, but it's never to late to thank a teacher. So here it goes.

To Mrs. Bryan, my first grade teacher, thanks for being so kind and loving. You taught me to write words and add numbers. Wow! Where would I be without that!

To Mrs. Breitbach, second grade. Thanks for putting me in that upper reading group. You encouraged my love of reading and made me feel successful. You also let me have a turn at pushing Billy, our classmate in a wheelchair, to lunch. That taught me to take care of others and even though they were a bit different, we are still very much the same.

To Mrs. Smith, third grade. You taught responsibility by making us responsible for going to the milk room, counting out enough milks for the class, carrying that heavy crate of milk up the stairs to class, and then serving our classmates. You also taught teamwork, as it took two of us to go get the milk.

To Mrs. Suess, fourth grade. You were the one who first said we were getting older, almost grown up and out of elementary school. We had to write our assignments in books that we kept in our pencil cases. Organization! We had those spelling bees and math bees and if we were good we played "Heads up, seven up"

To Mrs. Reid, 5th grade. How cool you were! So young and vibrant! You were my first encouragement to write the poems I so loved. You posted it on the bulletin board, and told me I could do anything! We made that huge dinosaur mural on the wall. We did The Christmas Carol as a play. I won the 5th grade spelling bee and you were so proud!

Sixth, seventh and eigth grades. Jr. High as we called it. Wow, so many teachers!
Mr. Gifford, science, you taught me that when you try on a friends ring that is much to small, it will come off with glycerine. You let me take home the guinea pig for the weekend. Even if my mom hated it!

Mr. Giddings, social science, How fasinating all your travels were! You made us dream of going to other lands, that there was a big world out there besides our little hometown.

Mrs. Bogue, English. Wow! I have so much to thank you for. You have been the most encouraging person in my entire life with my writing. You would let me sit for hours writing you stories instead of my English homework, which you said I mastered. I loved you so much!

Mrs. Hazel, librarian. You were always there for me. From the day I was born you have been my friend. Auntie Mary, you are all that is left of my mom. You are the last of her friends and how great it is that you are now mine. I miss you and wish I were closer. We could pick berries in that old patch of yours and eat to our hearts content. And then I will clean out that basement of yours just to see the treasures lurking there.

High School. Oh what years those were! Trying to find myself, where I fit in, and who I wanted to be.

Mr Williams, Civics, US Govt. Thanks for teaching me all I needed to know about succeeding in life. I have given your advice many times. "Find a way to make money at something you love to do" You made High School fun in yearbook, in Senior bowl team and in class. You taught us more than many books could.

Mr. Wright, History, Thanks for making us write the Star Spangled Banner, 3 verses, on the back of every test we took in your class. I now can be proud to say "I do know the words!"
Thanks for our reports we had to write out of US News, Time, Congressional Record, and The Amercian Heritage. It made me appreciate the country I live in.

So thats pretty much my list, I am sure there were more, like Mrs. Johnson, our elementary music teacher, who made us sing Do, Re, Mi all the way to our chairs. We learned the scale that way. Mrs. Siedenburg, who taught us art. How lucky we were to have our world broadened by art. I never would have thought that there would be a school day without art and music.

PE, that much dreaded, climb the rope, out jump everyone, and shower in public class. I am now thankful for 12, yes 12 required years of PE. It kept me skinny and fit and gave me an outlet for my energy.

Speaking of energy, Thanks for letting me have recess. So many kids today don't and NEED it! 15 minutes twice a day helped me settle down and concentrate on my studies. Of course we didn't know about ADD back then.

So Thanks to all teachers everywhere, for getting up every morning and facing the unknown, everyday! It may take your students many years but eventually they will be thankful!

:J

Good Deeds

On Fridays, in nice weather, DH and I enjoy our "Pizza at the Beach" nights. Sometimes all I need is 5 minutes barefoot in the sand to forget the stress of the week that has ended. We head out to Johnson's beach, pick up a pizza at Lillian's, and sit at the table enjoying pizza and the beach. Most Friday evenings, the beach is sparse of people and it is an enjoyable time.
Today, we were met by this pair of Blue Herons. Mr. Heron met us by the tables. Sadly, he had fishing line wrapped around his leg/wing and couldn't fly. DH thought about catching him and removing the line, but thought better of it. Thank goodness. We did walk over to the ranger station and let them know and they said they would take care of him.

His mate, Mrs. Heron watched diligently from the beachside. She wouldn't let him get more than 10 yards away from her. I wonder if they mate for life. She was concerned you could tell.
We will have to keep an eye on them over the summer and see how they progress.


While picking up our pizza, we also dropped off some Physics Honors Final exam notes to one of the cooks. He attends our school and while participating in Senior field day, dropped them. I found them while cleaning up afterward. Next week is finals for seniors, I figured he would need them, knowing we were going for pizza, I took them to him. He was ECSTATIC! He told us that he had gotten home, realized he didn't have the notes, knew where he had lost them, and panicked! He couldn't believe I brought them out to him! We wished him luck on the test, he hugged my neck, and promised to "hook us up" with pizza sometime. LOL!
It brought a smile to my heart. It's good to know these kids really do care about their studies!

Happy NSBD to all my fellow scrappers! Enjoy our day! Do a good deed for someone, or something!

:J 

I Survived Senior Field Day 2006

I guess I should start at the end, because I know this is the pic you all want to see! That's my friends Lori on the left, Beth in the middle and me on the right. This was after the kids got to us! But we got them just as good!
We had PLENTY of food and drink, lots of hungry kids. All the food and drink you could want. They went a little crazy with the bottled water at the beginning, having water fights. But near the end they wished they hadn't as everyone was thirsty!
The day always ends with a shaving cream/water gun fight. Most of the faculty is good about coming out and getting their share. The kids love it! The fire dept then comes and hoses us all off! The last pic is of the dancing. The DJ was fabulous, we had the electric slide going on here, and also did the bunny hop and conga! It was a great day!

Another day at the western gate, from an exhausted girl!
:J 

It was fun, I'll go back!

It was a busy two hours, but I had a great time and got all my cards done! The gals at the shop were great. Most of the girls attending were, of all things, teachers!!!! LOL! We had samples of the Croppin Chocolate Banana Bread. Yummy!
The gals at Unforgettable made the sample cards, which we could follow (or Not!). Most of you who know me know I didn't follow! These are my interpretations.
I think I like the Company Cole Slaw the best. I did do the Croppin' Banana bread like the sample, and the Cheese bar. But the rest I rebeled on!

We did five so I guess I missed one! Oh well, I'll post it tomorrow. Our next class is the end of May. We voted on recipes to do next time. I plan to take some of mine to enter in the voting.
:J 

Tag! I'm IT!

This is the latest tag making the rounds, Jules & Kath got me, I really like this one

5 things that

Make you smile:
Family togetherness
When the boss says, "Go home early"
"ya know mom, you were right"
Friends
Nature's beauty, lilacs, beach breezes, sunlight dappling through the trees.

You can see on your desk right now:
The BoBunny book I am working on
DH and my beach pic
My monkey junk holder
QK tool
A Scrapping mess

Kept you busy this weekend:
A Senior class trip to Disney
Sleep to recover from said trip
Grocery shopping
Laundry
DH, but I won't tell you why!

You will be doing this week:
New Scrapbook Recipe class
Senior Field day
Grades & Attendance, Next year's scheduling
National Scrapbooking day
Gardening

You said to make someone smile:
We could.........
We got AJ HAWK!
Did you hear the one about the 3 nuns and the priest?
Have you tried this dark dark chocolate?
If you can't be good, be good at it!

So if you haven't been tagged yet, I tag you! Post your link so I can see!

:J

A Salute to the Class of WFHSAT 2006

This is part of our class of 2006 as we wound down from a night at Disney. Their energy and enthusiasm was still vibrant at 4 am.
What the world holds for them! They are good kids, community minded and hard working. Just who I want to take care of me in my old age. Many have already chosen career fields due to the nature of our High School. The valedictorian wants to be a pediatrician, her boyfriend a lawyer. 3 of the top five students desire a medical field and have already trained in Sports Medicine or Emergency Medicine.
I admire them. At their age I didn't even know what I wanted to do tomorrow, much less for the rest of my life.
They are the good kids, sometimes mischievous, no doubt will make the some of the same mistakes we did as young people. But still, I will put them up against any group of High Schoolers anywhere. They are the best of the best.
I wish them all the luck in the world. I hope they keep their energy and enthusiasm. I hope they never lose the drive that has taken them this far. And I hope they never forget to play like we did at Disney.
To You Class of 2006, SALUTE!

Mama :Jayne 

Disney nite

The fireworks were awesome from Disney Grad night. Here is just one of the many fireworks they showed. Below are some of our exhausted chaperones at the free breakfast Disney hosted for us! This was taken about 3 am!
This is of course Cinderella's Castle lit up in purple for the night. The main concert stage was directly in front of it. I was amazed at the pics I got of it!

Will post more later, I am still trying to figure this pic posting stuff out! 

Leaving Key West

Here we are, packed and ready to leave. We actually didn't want to go, but our families and jobs called us home. We had the best time and as busy as it was, it was so relaxing and enjoyable! 

Key West

Here are Randy and Elba during the ceremony. Elba's nephew is on the left and Randy's oldest daughter on the right. They were the witnesses. 

The rehearsal dinner was hosted by Elba's sister, Zuli and bro-in-law Felix. Here they are with Mojitos and Sangria which was enjoyed by all!