I am so looking forward to going and visiting Mom, brother Andy, and Uncle Richard. It’s been quite awhile. We leave tomorrow very early and have a 13 hour drive to Mom’s house. Not sure how long we’re staying but it will be a much needed break. We have a few things scheduled — Timothy is so looking forward to flying in Uncle Richard’s plane. He’s going to take his camera up with him for some great shots from above! We might go see Shamu but I got a feeling Shamu is a lot more expensive than when we went over 20 years ago!

We had a really good time today. We woke up in Foley, AL and took a beautiful drive down the coast to Fort Morgan, AL. They had a ferry from there over to Dauphin Island. We drove the entire length of the island and enjoyed the beautiful beaches. We then visited the Estuarium. We left Dauphin Island across the bridge back to mainland Alabama and drove to Birmingham. We’re in the same hotel and even the same room. Not sure what tomorrow brings but we’ll be back in Tennessee.

Pictures — Day Three

What a day! We drove from Birmingham, AL to Florida panhandle for 8-9 hours just looking at old places I used to live (Crestview, Niceville, Eglin AFB, Fort Walton Beach) and then some neat time at Navarre Beach. We crossed over from Florida back to Alabama and are spending the night north of Gulf Shores.

Pictures — Day Two

It was a great leisurely drive down I-65. We enjoyed the ride, had fried chicken at Jack’s, and stopped in Cullman, Alabama where my Dad was born. We went to Mt. Pleasant Missionary Baptist Church Cemetery and saw the gravesite for my Great Grandfather Singleton Hendrix and my Great Grandmother Mary. Also buried there was their unnamed son who died in childbirth.

We stopped and enjoyed the Clarkson Covered Bridge in Cullman County. We then called it an evening on the south side of Birmingham which is about half way to Florida from Nashville.

Here is the link to the pictures I took on flickr.com:

Pictures — Day One

Well, it’s that time again. Jo Ann and I are taking a short 4-5 day cheapo vacation. We’re just getting in the van and driving south. We might make it to Florida or not. We’re gonna stop where ever we want, see whatever we find, and play it completely by ear. We need a nice break together and recharge the “marriage” battery. Timothy will be enjoying a trip with the church youth group to World Changers in Grifton, NC. There will be over 30 people in that group. Timothy has been looking forward to this for awhile. I’ll take pictures as much as I can and upload them here. Maybe I can surprise Timothy and show him his dad still has some of his camera skills left!

I was doing some research on the internet and came across this film. I read the info and watched the trailer. Wow, did it explain a lot and bring a flood of memories back. I even got the old albums and pictures out from the places I grew up — Okinawa, Crete, Germany, and numerous bases in the states like Alaska, Texas, and South Carolina. My Dad was in the US Air Force and retired as a MSgt.  Here’s more info about the film:

It’s hard to imagine a military BRAT’S childhood. Moving from base to base around the world, they are at home everywhere – and nowhere. There are 1.2 million children being raised in the military today. An estimated 15 million Americans are former BRATS. They include actors Jessica Alba and Robert Duvall, Senator John McCain, and basketball star Shaquille O’Neal.

BRATS is the first cinematic glimpse into a global subculture whose journey to adulthood is a high-octane mixture of incredible excitement and enormous pain. Make no mistake – BRATS is not about the U.S. military – it’s about their children, who grow up in a paradox that is idealistic and authoritarian, privileged and perilous, supportive and stifling – all at the same time. Their passports say “United States,” but they’re really citizens of the world.

Singer/songwriter and Air Force brat Kris Kristofferson leads us through the heart of their experiences, sharing intimate memories with fellow BRATS, including General Norman Schwarzkopf and author Mary Edwards Wertsch, whose ground-breaking book, Military Brats: Legacies of Childhood Inside the Fortress, was one of the seminal inspirations for this film. Their stories reveal the peculiar landscape of their childhood, the culture that binds them together, and the power it exerts over their adult lives.

A seven-year work of passion by independent filmmaker Donna Musil, BRATS features rare archival footage, home movies and private photographs from post-war Japan, Germany, and Vietnam.

Mrs. Joann Love Foster (Aunt Joann) passed away on Monday, November 24, at Middle Tennessee Medical Center in Murfreesboro.

Born April 10, 1930, in Mt. Pleasant, Tennessee, she was the daughter of the late Joseph and Althea Satterfield Love. She was the wife of Gene Foster, Sr., of Murfreesboro whom she married on June 1, 1952. She was a graduate of Hay Long High School in Mt. Pleasant. Mrs. Foster was a homemaker and a partner with her husband in the American Termite Company. She was raised in the First Baptist Church in Mt. Pleasant.

Joann loved to dance. She and Gene could be found dancing the night away at The Bull Pen in Nashville or the Moose in Murfreesboro.

In addition to her husband, survivors include one son: Gene (Sandy) Foster, Jr., of Summertown; grandchildren: Tim Foster, Jr., of Murfreesboro, Jimmie Foster of Lewisburg and Stephen Foster of Mt. Pleasant, Mich.; 9 great-grandchildren; one brother, Richard Love of San Antonio, TX and one sister: Carole Hendrix of San Antonio, TX. She was preceded in death by a son: Richard Timothy Foster and one grandson: Brian Foster Shultz, 10 brothers and sisters and a beloved canine companion, Benji. Pallbearers will be Tim Foster, Jr., Jimmie Foster III, Stephen Foster, Bill Love, Jr., Drew Love, Thomas Jones, Jr., and Jason Smith. Honorary pallbearers will be Walter Marlin, Joe “Sonny” Roddy, and students of the Foster Wado Dojo Karate School.

Although it was sad circumstances, it was good to see the extended family again. Being a military brat, I only got to see them roughly every 3 years when Dad would be stationed at a new Air Force base. We would always come home to Mt. Pleasant / Columbia, TN to visit family before moving on to the next base.  Mom (Joann’s sister) flew in from Texas along with Uncle Richard. It was neat to find out that his daughter, my cousin, Angie was living here in Nashville. We had lived in Greece, her in Athens, me in Crete when were very young and our parents would visit each other. I saw Little Bill, Uncle Bill’s son and his Mom, Aunt Martha. It was a wonderful time watching Timothy, my youngest son, listen to the stories he’s never heard before.

PFC Daniel A. Hendrix

Today was the last day of our visit to see Daniel graduate. He graduated from 3^rd Battalion, 34^th Infantry, Bravo Company. Tomorrow (Sunday), he jumps in a bus and heads for Fort Lee, VA for his Quartermaster school for 10 weeks. We had a great two days here with him. We bowled, shopped, ate, and generally cut-up the whole time. Daniel always brought a “battle-buddy” along who was alone and without family. I’ve included some pictures on my flickr account of the graduation. You can look at them here. We were so busy, I forget to get any pictures of him. This picture to the left is taking at 8pm at night at his barracks and it’s our final moments with him before we leave. He looks very serious in the picture but it’s right before saying goodbye and he’s already had some emotional and tearful time with Mom saying goodbye. It was hard leaving him.