We haven't really had a good opportunity to post the last week due to our hectic schedule. Today we've decided to just relax and take sometime to tell you where we've been and where we hope to be.
Our trip began 9 days ago. We left Fergus, Ontario on a Saturday afternoon and made our way to the Sarnia/Port Huron border. It was cold and snowing that night and around 11pm, we pulled into a Walmart parking lot near Lansing, Michigan. It was 3 degrees F outside, but the camper heater, and a bit of cuddling, kept us nice and toasty.
On Sunday, we stopped in to visit some friends near Ft. Wayne, IN. After a nice supper and a few laffs, we headed out and ended up spending our second night at a gas station somewhere N. of Louisville, KY.
Our next stop was Memphis, TN. We passed through Nashville and headed west. About half way between the 2 cities, we came across Loretta Lynn's home in Hurricane Mills. It was fun to see the house and area featured in the film , Coal Miner's Daughter.
Later that night, we arrived at the Memphis home of George Perkins. I'll talk about our times there in more detail down the line, but we had a great time. I got to make the rounds with him pinstriping SUVs at the local Cadilac dealor. George even let me get into the act, and I earned a free dinner at Korky's BBQ. Yum! Yum!
We said our good-byes to George around Noon Wednesday and drove all day, arriving in a small town west of Oklahoma City late that night. We decided to splurge and treat ourselves to a motel and real bed before heading into OKC.
On Thursday, we made our way into OKC and South to the Norman home of Monte and Patsee Jumper. This was our second visit to their home. On May 4, 1999, we arrived a day after that horrendous tornado wiped out Moore, OK.
Adrienne was already there along with the star of the show, Katie Wright from Australia. What a thrill to meet this teenage wonder, who has been so important to Letterville the last few years. Cute Too!
Monte and Pat hosted their annual pre-meet social that night. The food and comradeship were out of this World. Coop and Trenna showed up with their son. Fred Self and a group of thugs from New Mexico arrived. It was great! Around Midnight Barb and I snuck away to the camper and settled down on the street in front of Montes.
Thursday, Friday and Saturday flew by in a blur. Fred and Marilyn Self's meet has become one of top Letterhead/PinHead meets of the year. What a blast! The talent and panels on display were simply amazing. We've got some photos and more to say about all this later, but thanks to all who work so hard to make this event what it is. Special thanks to Si Allen for offering us the spare bed and shower at his hotel Saturday night.
Late Sunday afternoon, Adrienne Morgan and ourselves visited the Oklahoma Bombing Memorial. The whole memorial revolves around 168 empty chairs, some child sized, representing the victims of the blast. We overheard a tour guide explaining that a 10 year old boy settled any argument over the choice of chairs to represent the victims. When the victim's families met to debate the chair idea, the 10 year old made it clear to the adults that the chair idea was his first choice. He expalined; "When I miss my Mom, I can come here and sit in her empty chair and pretend I am sitting in her lap."
After a supper with some friends North of OKC, we drove South towards Texas. Along the way we decided to make a detour and visit the folks at GBC Signwarehouse in Sherman, Texas. We arrived in Sherman around 11pm Sunday night and camped out in the K-Mart parking lot. The 3 Gripp brothers treated us like royalty at GBC. Our tour included all the various facilities including a huge warehouse. What an operation!
Last night we arrived at the home of Alton and Mary Gillespie. Alton has been an icon in the Letterhead Movement for many years. A couple years back, he married our dear friend Mary Littejohn from Ontario, Canada.
Alton and Mary have a small house located beside a lake just N. of Wylie, Texas. We've just woke up to a bright blue Texas sky. The news is Ontario has been getting buried in snow by a winter storm so this sunshine is REALLY appreciated. Mary has gone to work and Alton is busy painting something on my laptop case. Alton says to say hi to you all.
So where do we go from here? Today is rest day. After this post, we going to do some wash, clean out the camper and just enjoy our pals. We want to see Dallas and solve the Kennedy assasination, visit Robert Beverly at Dreanweaver, and lookup Bill and Rhonda Piper in Fort Worth.
Our next destination is Houston. Going to spend sometime with those speedy Houston stripers and hope to attend a Rat Fink Party in Houston Saturday night. Stay tuned.
-------------------- Steve Shortreed 144 Hill St., E. Fergus, Ontario Canada N1M 1G9 519-787-2673
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Hello Steve and Barb;glad to see you are having a fun and safe trip.When you get back we can talk about Welland if you don't remember your weigh-in competition.I will be going up to Stratford to see Doug Downey in the spring and mabey pop up to see you and Barb.Bi for now -be safe!!!!
-------------------- Randall Campbell Randy's Graphics, 420 Fairfield N. Hamilton Ontario Canada Posts: 2857 | From: Hamilton Ontario Canada | Registered: Jan 2002
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You guys are having much to much fun. Hey Alton I forgot to warn you about your guests , don't let them near any electrical outlets,see what happened to me ,and keep your refrigerator locked
-------------------- Alan Johnson Alan Johnson Grafix Blairstown, NJ 07825 [URL=http://www.alanjohnsongrafix.com] Posts: 261 | From: Blairstown, NJ | Registered: Dec 2001
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We thought y'all were going to stop by on your way to texas, (we were busy checking our eyelids for pinholes and missed ya Sunday). Saw Katie and RT off after lunch and just sorta collapsed after that wonderful weekend. Sure is quiet around here without our little Kookaburra..... It's always sooo good to see you and Barb...you guys have a good trip, OK? (posted by patsee)
-------------------- "Werks fer me...it'll werk fer you"
Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that's creativity. — Charles Mingus Posts: 6804 | From: Mendocino, CA. USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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