No Fair!

Ever hear your kids say that? "No Fair!" well, I'm saying it tonight but for a different reason. I decided not to go the the fair in Utrera tonight. I have heard differing opinions about the fair but today I was talking to the reserve liasion, and he gave me a mental picture that made up my mind. He told me that the only way he knew to describe the fair here is to picture the worst state fair you have ever been to, and maybe make it a little worse, that would be considered a great fair here. I stopped at one in El Coronil a few weeks ago and I wasn't too impressed and the one in Utrera is supposed to be a good one???? I have heard that the fairs here can be fun to go to but not knowing what to expect, I did a little research and this is what I came up with. There are tents set up at the fair and unlike our fair where everything is open to the public, most things are not at a fair in Spain. Families, companies, and groups of friends go in together and purchase a tent that is for their own private parties at the fairgrounds. They actually have "bouncers" at the entry and without the proper id, you don't get in. There are a couple of public tents that you can go to from what I understand but not knowing where they are or how to communicate well enough to find out, I decided to just stay here. The other reason I am staying here is because the fair doesn't even really get going until about 2:00A.M. One of the Airfield Managment guys was coming to work this morning and he said the fairgrounds were still packed with people. The fair officially started last night at midnight when they light up all the lights in the fairgrounds...Hmmm...Maybe that explains the constant power failures around here? Lt Col Logrande, the reserve liaison, was a guest at one of the fairs last night. The represented the base at the mayors private tent and they didn't serve the meal until 4:oo A.M. He said that at 3:30 A.M there were kids running around everywhere. How crazy is that? Here's an idea, next year when the Greenwood fair comes to town, we'll see if they'll let us run it like a Spanish fair and we'll all let our kids run wild until the wee hours of the morning...Well, Ok, maybe not!

I got to talk to my buddy Chance Lane today. I happened to be logging on to facebook and he was online so we started up an online chat. I had never used that feature before, it's pretty cool.

Hopefully Connor has been good today. Apparently he has been giving his mama a little attitude and she told him at the first of the week that he was getting 3 strikes just like in baseball and if he struck out...No Bulldog football game tonight! Well, as of this morning he was on strike 2. I'm hoping that he is being a good boy so he can go to the game. I gave him a little pep talk this morning, hopefully that did the trick.

As I'm typing this, I am beginning to fear for my life! I think there is a pack of rabid heyenas coming down the hall. They're getting closer, the noise is getting louder....oh, wait, it's just the annoying girl that lives across the hallway. She has people over all the time and she laughs so loud it sounds like she is standing right outside my door. Unfortunately, it's one of those laughs that sounds kinda like a cat in a blender...er, uh...not that I personally know how that sounds. What I meant to say, is I imagine that's what a cat in a blender would sound like...yeah, that's what I meant! Thankfully, the girl is leaving soon, I think! Chaplin Croft would be proud of me for mentioning cats in blenders. I know how much you like cats, Chaps!

Before I get into Signs of Life, I wanted to mention that Jackie Dolan's business card makes a great bookmark. I suppose it also comes in handy if you need to order whatever it is that Jackie sells! I use it to keep track of what day we are on. If you don't have one of these stylish ARGCO bookmarks, ask Jackie for one. I'm not sure how his business card made it all the way to Spain with me, but it has come in handy! Thanks Jackie!

Signs of life was interesting today. It began with a great story about John MacVane. Mr. MacVane worked for the National Broadcasting Company during WW II and he reported from the battlefront to the American people. In November of 1942, MacVane was in Algiers, North Africa where he was preparing the "Army Hour", a broadcast which entailed hours and hours of interviews, script writing, and music. Mr. MacVane had assembled a group of 50 personnel to assist with this tremendous undertaking. To add to the stress, the entire program had to be reviewed by the war censors prior to the broadcast. Finally the night of the broadcast came, the cast and crew assembled in a makeshift studio ready to give their all to broadcast to the American people from the front line. The broadcast went off perfectly and was heard by 40 million people back home. The broadcast ended with a group of G.I's playing the National Anthem. SUCCESS! Several days later, however, MacVane recieved a telegram asking what had happened to the broadcast...No one had heard it! The broadcast went out on the wrong frequency and was never picked up by the engineers in New York, nobody at home heard a single word. MacVanes program had vanished into thin air.

Dr. Jeremiah asks the question, Can the same thing happen to prayer? He then offers us some advice: Pray as Jesus did! Pray to the Heavenly Father, Pray in secret, pray all the time, and pray submissively.

Life Sign, Day 16: I am open and listening for God's direction

Life in Action, Day 16: Write out a prayer of submission to God. Tell Him that you want to be submissive, pliable, and responsive to His will.

Pray without ceasing. -- 1 Thessalonians 5:17