Sabbatical Days 24-27: The Journey Takes Some Turns

July 21
Saturday. No power. No will. It was hot in the house. We didn't do very much. Couldn't.

We continued to move stuff for Dallas. Set up a stereo system, old school style with a receiver and three way speakers.

About 6pm we decided to stay at a local hotel. We have been thinking about a Memory Foam mattress so we decided to stay at Griffin Gate and sleep on a Tempur Pedic for research.

July 22
Woke up to rain. No power at the house. Watched the British Open at the hotel until checkout time. Went home and finished the British Open on my iPhone. Helped Dallas move some more stuff.

My sister, Melanie, has two sons. Andrew and Alex. Drew has decided to move to Colorado to turn an avocation, landscape photography, into a vocation. They arrived in Lexington en route to Colorado about 7:30pm. With no power we put them up at the Hilton Garden Inn and decided to stay there ourselves. Dallas came and met us at Harry's and we treated the boys to dinner.

Left to Right: Jerry, Kelly, Drew, Dallas, Alex

July 23
Got the boys off on the next leg of their journey. By the end of the day they had made it to Salina, KS. I'm quite familiar with Salina. When I was in college and playing intercollegiate golf we played many a tournament in Salina. The only tournament where I was medalist in college, (well, at least I did win 1), was at Salina Country Club. My seminary roommate is the pastor at First Christian Church in Salina.

The power came on at the house. Kelly went to the office and I did laundry all day and moved some more stuff for Dallas, installing a subwoofer on the stereo system. Packed. Got ready to leave for Naples, FL on Tuesday.

July 24
Woke up early. Got to the airport on time. Boarded our Allegiant flight for Punta Gorda. This was my first Allegiant experience. The seats -- not very cushy. Don't recline. The tray tables -- more like tray faux tables -- tiny.  The legroom was decent. The flight crew was great.

On the plane I started to read my third book of the sabbatical; "Grateful: The Transformative Power of Giving Thanks," by Dr. Diana Butler Bass. Fifty pages in, it's an awesome read. Her work is so deeply researched, footnoted and chronicled. She writes with a deep academic knowledge and ability but with the heart of a person like the rest of us trying to live life as best we can.

Reading "Grateful" on the Allegiant Flight

In 2014, Dr. Bass was the keynote speaker for the Regional Assembly of the Christian Church In Kentucky. It was my job to get her to the hotel safely, provide a gift basket, (Elmwood Inn tea, Woodford Reserve Bourbon Chocolates, Blue Mondays and some Maker's Mark), and to transport her from the hotel to the venue and back. We had a lot of time to talk and we discovered we were born just days apart in February, 1959 and our only children were born just days apart in October, 1997. We talked about theology and poetry and lots of good things, When she wrote her previous book, "Grounded," she kindly recalled the time we spent together. To be mentioned in one of her books has thrilled me beyond measure.

Needless to say, I buy her books and I am a fan.

We arrived in Punta Gorda without issue. Picked up our rental, a Nissan Versa, drove to Naples and found the condo. We are here thanks to the gracious generosity of Ray and Mary Jane Rush, Ed and Shannon Saunier and Walt Ecton. This condo has been in their family many years. When a sabbatical was granted to me, Mary Jane (MoJo), was quick to offer us a week here. We are absolutely blown away by the kindness and generosity that they have shown us. MoJo wrote out a huge long list of things for us to do, places to eat, and how to do anything we might want. We are even allowed the use of the Condo Car. We are grateful.

In her book, Dr. Bass talks about a circle of gratitude. You do something for me. In turn, I do something for you, and it circles back. It becomes a burden rather than a gift. Before I started reading today I might have said, the kindness of the Ecton/Saunier/Rush family is something we will never be able to repay. The thing is -- it's a gift from them. To repay it in some way would be to cheapen the gift. We are simply grateful that they thought well enough of us to gift us this week. Oh, we will offer kindness in return as a way of saying thanks, but a gift should be appreciated as a gift. Thank you Ecton/Saunier/Rush families.

We ate dinner at the Olde Naples Pub and walked to the pier; closed due to hurricane damage. But it was nice to get a toe in the sand and see the sun hanging low over the Gulf.

Historic Naples Pier

It's been a long day. There were schedules to keep today and I had to put on real shoes for the walking and the flying. I was back to sandals by 3pm. My feet have relaxed. The everyday shoes felt cramped (well, they were brand new and this was the first time I had worn them) and they hurt my feet a bit. Shoes off. Feet up. Hair down. Relaxed mode engaged. What a gift to us this week will be.

Peace and Love,
Jerry

P.S. -- I just wanted to add that Diana is candid about her own life and struggles in "Grateful" in a way that truly reached my heart. This book is a really good read, folks, and Diana is a hugely decent human being.