Name:Thomas 'Tom' Country:United States State:Illinois Metro:Plainfield
Interests:Interesting things
like truth and life
"Thy Word is Truth" Expertise:Anyone who lives 50 miles or more from where you live Occupation:Education/training Industry:Media
Well, here we have the two birthday guests of honor - Variety is XVII and yours truly is LIII going on LIV.
It was a loyal fellowship of not tamika, variety, LRH, Chad the Tall, and Muchado (3 out of 5 daughters) ... with special guest appearances by ....
Cal the pal, who knows how to have a good time, and his brother .....
Ike the tyke, who looks like he's snapping his fingers here.
The boys missed their KS cousins, but managed to enjoy the delightful entrees and cake, brownies, and ice cream.
CCT and LRH received some healthy gifts for their birthdays which have been put to good use around the quiet village ....
In this artsy picture we see the two Schwinn bicycles with their riders relaxing after a jaunt out to the park and back.
Speaking of the park, we observed the planting of an autumn blaze hybrid maple courtesy of the village board and an area nursery ....
Put the auger on man, these Bobcats are so handy.
Our buddy Bob is in the hole checking it for depth, and he likes what he sees.
Speaking of liking what he sees, here are a couple of parting shots from the DQ at the study in Lee's Summit this summer ....
Why I believe that's Craig, Tina, Riley, Dylan, Variety and the Morton's all waiting in line for the scrumpdillyiscious treats. I know spell check doesn't like that word, but he is just a youngster.
Dylan and Riley say "thanks for joining us, folks" on this here xanga post!
Well, it's another bonny day in London, and we have time to put up some more photos for your viewing pleasure, as well as informative purposes and the lot.
For those who like cars, may we suggest this for you to take for a spin, buy, and then take home to your gerudge? (garage)
All I know about this is that it was in the parking lot at the Royal Air Force Museum (which we will get to shortly), it's a Lotus, and it is cool.
The view that many will see as it passes on the right.
Okay, enough gawking in the parking lot, let's go inside and see the ....
In spite of the menacing surface-to-air missile poised at the gate, a friendly welcome really does await us!
Here is the lay of the land in an easy to understand diagramme. This portion of the programme is dedicated to Almarusa, my good father, Mr. Dubois, and to my elder brother, who would have enjoyed this even more than I did.
A Supermarine Spitfire and Hawker Hurricane defend the entrance.
Don't you just love that British accent?
The helpful information was ... helpful.
More on the inside about the RAF's most famous aeroplane.
The latest version of the Spitfire, the spittin' image of its predecessor, with some improvements.
This version took over after the war, but as good as it was, it was superceded by faster and more deadly aircraft developed with advancing technology.
The impressive powerplant of the Spitfire and Hurricane.
More on the Merlin.
Here is the first hall you visit when you come to the museum.
Another view of the assemblage of various flying machines. I wish I could play some of the video they had on the beginnings of flight. But what I learned was that God designed the glider, the airplane and the helicopter. To understand aerodynamics, man looked at the feather, the wing, the trout, and the dolphin and they were the models that the inventors of flying used to get us off the ground.
P-51, Cadillac of the sky!
Look out, Red Baron - Here comes the Sopwith Camel!
Speaking of the Germans, here is the Messerschmidt 109, with a Messerschmidt 262 in the back.
The FW 190, another nemesis in WW II. I don't like Nazis.
Front view of the Me 262.
Inspiration for a U2 album.
Another German Jet fighter, the Heinkel 162.
Ya never give up, do ya?
My wife wondered if I was harried over here. It's been hairier. Har har.
UH OH! INCOMING!
Looks like it's coming right at us!
I think it's gonna miss us!
There's another one! Different from the first!
The first one is the Storm Shadow, the RAF cruise missile.
The second one is our baby, manufactured by Boeing.
BOMBS AWAY!!
The size of the bomb bay on this Avro Lancaster was impressive!
More info on the Avro.
The British make a little jet called the Vampire!
And now for a bit of another fine museum ....
The British Museum, where you will find lots of old things, but none of them are for sale.
My favorite part is the Assyrian exhibit where they have discovered once again how accurate the Bible is in recording historical events. In the 1800's, 'higher criticism' attacked the Bible as though it was not trustworthy. One attack said that there was never an Assyrian Empire, it was just made up by the Bible writers. Not only did archaeological findings confirm the Assyrian Empire's existence, they found records which confirmed the Bible account of the capture of Lachish in the days of Hezekiah. The Assyrians wanted Jerusalem, too, but God drew the line there. Marvelous.
Here is a representation of the capture of Lachish, preserved in stone in the palace in Ninevah. The face of Sennacherib has apparently been deliberately scratched out by a later conqueror.
This one is good - it shows the gesture for conquest and submission alluded to in the Bible. Joshua put his feet on the necks of the 5 King confederacy, and Jesus does the same thing to Satan - through Christ, we can also conquer Satan instead of letting him rule over us.
And a parting shot .....
Let me get this straight ... You formed a company and bought some little vans, and you think you are going to get rid of the world ?!? Good luck with that.
Time to make a post on this bonny London morning ....
First we have some pictures from earlier events of the summer which we hope you will enjoy:
The delightful chocolate fountain at Abby & Brian's reception in June ~ it was a hit with all the happy people in attendance. Such as,
The fine co-workers of LRH at the newspaper who showed up in almost full force and had a lovely time.
The various friends and relatives admire the newlyweds. Mellowmorton, Fourthwoody, Mahalaleel, Didactic, Boomerang, Yaknyams, Mr. Dubois are some xangans you might be able to spot in the crowd.
Now, how about breakfast with some of the Prince Road members? Once a month for most of the year, several who have the time gather for breakfast at a local diner. Duane T. makes the arrangements and we always enjoy the camaraderie of the occasion.
Now it's time to visit Eminence ~
What happy little campers we have here. Look at how good they are!
"I just love this camping stuff. Mostly."
The fine campsite with Kiddie Corral managed well by LRH.
Now it's off to London with ye ....
It takes about 9 hours of flying time from St. Louis to London, but you can take the trip here on xanga in a matter of seconds. Here we are between STL and North Carolina, admiring the clouds piled up over our great land.
After leaving Raleigh/Durham, we witness a beautiful sunset over America as we head up the coast towards England.
This is such an impressive view of clouds as the sun rises in the east where we are headed. The sun blazes orange slices under the grayish canopy of clouds, like a warm fire beneath it all.
Amazing what another perspective can give us.
A first glimpse of dry land reveals the white cliffs of the south edge of the island kingdom. Not sure if they are Dover or not.
A favourite of many, the patchwork of the English countryside.
Finally we fly over London as we prepare to land at the Heathrow airport. The way some foreigners pronounce the name it sounds like a hairstyle for an African-American: "he-fro".
On landing, you get to try out the fine London transportation system which does an excellent job of getting you to wherever you would like to go in London. Here for your viewing pleasure is our on-the-spot reporter, Alistair Cookstove, to gie ye a taste of the Tube:
What a way to travel!
The Headline in London on July 10th:
Because of this scare, one congregation cancelled my meeting since one of their members had been exposed to the flu at school, and now all of their church was exposed. But there was no problem with the other congregation here so we have been able to spend more time studying with them. It has worked out well.
I am staying at the place of Robert & Gigi, who are very hospitable like all the Filipinos we meet. Robert is placing something very precious in the back seat of his Honda:
Jairo !!!! A lively little boy who we hope will grow up to do much good for the Lord.
In one of our studies at the home of Roger & Patty, we enjoyed the company of these fine young people. Marie, Sierra, and Gerald are relatives of Patty from the Philippines, all nurses, and here in the UK on student visas. I was very impressed by Marie's ability to read clearly from the Bible in English.
Manang Tess, the eldest child of the late Hilario W., and Manang Patty, our hostess for the evening.
When in London, be prepared for different things, some which seem to reek of lunacy. What is the poor tourist supposed to do when he sees a sign like this? A humped zebra? I looked across the street and it looked like a park so I wondered if the creature wanders away occasionally. But when I realized that the humped zebra refers to a giant speed bump with a crossing sign painted on it, I didn't feel like I was going crazy anymore.
Seen on a billboard, someone who thinks they deserve HD.
I feel "Colinized" in this neighbourhood. My nephew might like this.
This is the London version of Wal-Mart. Green type is used instead of blue, and not a lot of similarities that I could see, but they are "part of the Wal Mart family" nonetheless.
While walking on the sidewalk, I got to see one of the Beatles. He seemed a lot smaller in real life. I know there are only two of them left, but are they just not as big as they used to be?
No wonder they are having flu problems here. If you need an illness, do they just go to the "Infection Centre?"
ahhooooooo ..... Monsters of London ...
Now if eba, dodo, and pounded yams don't make your mouth water and come inside for more, you must not have good taste. But there is lots more, for sure.
Which we hope to bring to you later - The RAF Museum, for example. Cheerio, mates!
