2012

Merry Christmas My Friends!!

             Sit back and rest yourself for a moment and let me bend your ear/eyes for the 23rd running edition of the Tidwell's adventures for 2012. Each year when I reflect back on the events and try and convey concisely all that went on in our world it makes me think of It's a Wonderful Life. I mostly identify I think with the guy who has multiple strings tied on his fingers and can't remember what they are for..........I seem to have misplaced my crow that should be sitting on my shoulder also.....something else I can't remember where I left...ahhhhhhhhhhhhh. Actually the resemblance is due to the many blessings I have and the folks I get to share them with each year. And I have Susan to remind me of who they are......and what relation they are to me.

     Geographically speaking this year we have covered MANY miles for W.H.Bass and MANY for ourselves. We ended last year in Key West with many glorious memories, thousands of pictures and good friends for life. Last year when predicting where Karma would put me next, I forecast somewhere cold like Wisconsin..........boy was I wrong!!!  Our next adventure took us to Wichita, Kansas and was a fur piece from cold....but even so it was as are most of our destinations.........wonderful. The people there are hard working good people, very courteous and proud of the lives they have built through their hard work. A  fine fella who was grading on my job became a friend early on and shared places to go and see while we were there and then on Easter he invited Susan and I share Easter dinner with his family. His children were just like him in their courtesy and warmth and entertained us hunting Easter eggs with baby rabbits found in the field along with the eggs hidden. A wonderful Easter! He called me recently and shared that his little boy who rides with him towards town makes him blow his horn when passing the campground we stayed at. Tells his Dad........."Honk for Buddy Daddy!" Now I want to tell you.........THAT simple story warmed me more than any fire on a cold day.......to be remembered and thought of by a youngster briefly met in my travels.

            It's a far piece to get to but we would recommend Wichita to put on your list of places to go visit........beautiful in it's western nature but even more so for it's people.

            A milestone came around this year with my working family at W.H.Bass and they gave me a superlative gift........no gold watches, shotguns or golf clubs...........but an opportunity to have a lengthy time off with the promise to still have a job when I came back with the condition that I would share with them my experience while gone. When Carl, the founder of W.H.Bass, told me it was a Sabbatical , which I promptly Googled to make sure it wasn't a fancy word for termination due to gettin old, I was quick to answer what my once in a lifetime adventure would encompass. A Wild West Tour.........Tidwell style with our camper in tow.  Susan and I planned out a trip, made reservations and took Carl's advice and made the trip in the fall when the tourist were supposedly winding down.........Apparently nobody told the Japanese that they were suppose to wind down as they were out west in droves on busses.

This annual letter to y'all can't start to encompass our adventure, but let me just say it was AWESOME in many ways.........traveled over 7000 miles, through many national parks and countless fill ups of diesel. You can thank me for the recent price drops at the pump as the oil folks saw huge profits in the fall thanks to my Chevy. As we traveled we met fine folks, saw landscapes that made you just want to sit on a bench and take in the sound of the wind blowing, feel the sun and be in awe of what we have to share in this country of ours. Makes it very understandable why so many foreign folks were encountered on our travels...........envy.

    Currently Susan and I are enjoying Chattanooga once again and I am building my second Chick-fil-a this year after the first one in Wichita. Nice to be able to come home on weekends to catch up on chores.

            With our return closer to home it was a good time to spend time with Carrie in looking at houses with the much appreciated help of a real estate agent who is a close friend of Carrie and Daniels. I was taken along on these house reviews for my critical eye of construction..........which after a few houses gave Carrie pause as to how critical I was.......what can I say.........it is who I am to look at the details. One creepy house built in 1935 had a dug well built into the house.............we all had visions of how many bodies were down there.......echhhhh. But good news...........finally a house came up that seemed like "the one".......I was dutifully taken to look at it.............all eyes turned to me after we walked around it........I saw the expectation on their faces ( especially the real estate agent!) and I gave them literally a thumbs up........there were great cheers........the agent almost fainted! FINALLY!

As I write this Carrie and Daniel spent their first night last night in their new home....all is good!

            Melissa and her crew are putting more miles in each week than even me as she, Kyle and Sarah are all going to college in the Kennesaw, Marietta area and Keith works down there too......Sarah is staying down there and is doing great in school and seems to enjoy the whole college experience. Kyle is spending time finishing up high school while taking classes at Southern Tech and has been struggling with Calculus (which he honestly inherited from ME) but seems to be catching on (which I NEVER DID).

           

Madison and Rachael are holding down the home fort as the last of the kids at home trying to keep the family stable from the traveling. But then again they do a fair amount of traveling around town with the many, many activities they participate in. Madison is still avid about her cross country and social activities and Racheal has found a true niche that she excels at in Drama and Chorus.

            As this year draws to a close I think back on the 23 years I have sent out this little glimpse of life here on Burnt Mountain and how the number of folks we share it with has grown even with some leaving us to head back home as it were. We Love all of y'all and hope you view out little letter each year as just letting you know that. A trait of the Tidwell's well established by my parents is once a friend, always a friend .        We hope this coming year brings Love and Happiness to all of you and yours and know the Tidwell's appreciate letting us share our  life with you.   

Merry Christmas,       

Buddy and Susan

PS: Make sure and check out Susan's blog where she has posted a link to many of the pictures from our travels along with some pretty darn good observations about many things.