Author Archives: belindaplseklong

MY FRIEND DAWN

When I was a little girl, my sister and I had penpals.  Now if there are any younger folks reading this, penpals were kinda like online friends—except without computers, internet, etc.  You may wonder ‘then how in the world did you do that?!’ 

Imagine a life where you get snail mail every single day.  And if a day happens with no mail, you figure the mailman must have missed your house!  Now to explain what a mailman is…..sorry, I digress.  Oh, and EVERYone would read magazines!  People would pay for yearly subscriptions, even if it was quite expensive.  I’m sure I didn’t have any subscriptions unless it was a gift.  But at  around 12 years old, I LOVED the magazine called Sixteen.  It had THE cutest boys I had ever seen!  I had a huge crush on a boy I saw in a movie.  His name was Sajid Kahn.  I can’t recall the movie but I sure remember Sajid!

In the back of some of these teen magazines, kids could submit their name, age, and address to hopefully ‘meet’ someone with which to share letters. (I was going to say ‘to share letters with’ but I might offend an English teacher—or a theme park writer. 😃)  My sister found a penpal from England, and probably Liverpool since she was a huge Beatles fan.  Well I made friends with Dawn, who lived in exotic New York!  Being from small town Texas, I just thought she must be on the other side of the earth and SO sophisticated!!!  I don’t remember exactly how old we were when we started writing, but we continued throughout our teen years.  And we couldn’t call each other—in those ancient days, we paid by the minute for long distance calls.  Monday through Friday, 8-5, was the most expensive at around 35¢ a minute and the weekends were the cheapest at maybe 10¢ a minute.  (I may be off a bit on those prices but I bet not by much.) Anyway, needless to say, my day was SO much brighter when I got home from school and there was a letter from Dawn in the mailbox!  I don’t remember what all we talked about (probably boys) but I remember writing to her a few times after I got married at 18.  

Over the years, I would occasionally think about her, especially during the years I lived in New Jersey.  I always thought it would have been so cool to meet her in person!  But I knew her last name had  probably changed and I really didn’t think I could ever find her.

Last week, I couldn’t sleep and started thinking about Dawn.  I decided to google her.  And while she didn’t have a really common last name, several people came up with that name, living all over the country.  I decided to google her name again with New York added, even though she could have moved away. (I haven’t lived in Texas since I was 21, but I still call Texas home.  I even have a tee shirt that says ‘Just a Texas girl in a Tennessee world’.) I still didn’t get a hit…except….I noticed an obituary of an older gentleman with the same last name in the list.  When I read it, it said he was survived by his daughter Dawn and her husband.  And of course, they had a different last name.  I decided to look and see if she was on Facebook and there she was!  I had no idea if it was MY Dawn but I decided to write her on Messenger and ask.  And hopefully, not sound too crazy when I told her it was over 50 years ago that we were friends.  

A day or two later, I got a reply.  YES!!!!!  That beautiful, Facebook woman is my Dawn!!!!  She still lives in exotic New York and I hope we stay in touch forever!

FEBRUARY 2. 12 YEARS LATER. (and a month late)

February 2nd. Jonathan’s new birthday, Groundhog Day, Gary Snyder’s birthday (RIP)……and twelve years (and one month) ago, my brand, spanking new adventure started! Goodness, how things change over the years!!! And this past year of my life was phenomenally changed!

First, MY ADORABLE GRANDSON WAS BORN!!! Barrett Jonathan “Bear” Plsek was born May 29th. I fell in love with him the first moment I saw him! He is a precious gift from God! My condo in Florida has been put to good use. I spent a couple of months there—and plan on many more months next winter and maybe some in between. And a sweet family that are dear friends used it when, after moving to St. Pete three weeks prior, they were ordered to evacuate due to a hurricane. And my niece and her family used it to go to the parks. No regrets buying it!

Another big, new development in my life is, 5 1/2 years after Kenn died, I have met someone special. His name is Chris. When we met, he had been a widower for 3 1/2 years. And while each of us had met other people, we are each other’s first relationship since becoming widowed. He is a great guy and lives on a farm about 20 minutes away from my home in Murfreesboro. I’ve gotten to hold a baby piglet and a four day old lamb since meeting him! Eeeeek….right up my alley!!!! However, he has warned me, that occasionally they have to send some of the animals to freezer camp. I won’t be visiting on those days. 😳. Anyway, we are enjoying each other’s company and taking it one day at a time.

My big, 35 day cruise was a blast! But I got some surprises, too. Everyone who knows me well, knows that I am—and have always been—an extrovert. I will talk to a wall if I think it will listen. All of my table mates at dinner were solo travelers as well. It was a very interesting group from all over the USA and two were from other countries. I enjoyed visiting with them a lot. However, I felt so awkward doing things around the ship alone. One day, I called Chris, and asked him a simple question. If it’s allowed and possible, will you fly to Buenos Aires, Argentina and meet our ship to sail on the last half of the cruise. He said yes, and I asked, and they said yes, and he did it! His cabin was on the opposite end of the ship and three floors above me so needless to say, he got his steps in every day! But we both had so much fun! We saw one colony of penguins (from a distance, thankfully) that the captain said was over 250,000 penguins! And boy howdy, could we smell them! We did get up close and personal with some smaller colonies in the Falkland Islands. They were so interesting and cute! And very human tolerant! It truly was a trip of a lifetime!

Overall, my year was good. I had some heartbreaking moments but all in all, God has been very good to me. I’m looking forward to seeing what the next year brings!

A BIG ADVENTURE

Do you have a bucket list?  I do!  Some of the things I want to do are actually written down, and other things are just in my head.  I’ve marked off several things—places I wanted to visit, like Switzerland, Holland, Bora Bora, and Italy.  And a little closer to home—Kenn took me to see where my first love, Andy Griffith, grew up!  Mount Airy, North Carolina!  I also got to whale watch and was a temporary ‘one hit wonder’.  (You would have read a previous blog post to hear about the last two!)

But most of my friends know I love to cruise.  As a matter of fact, I’ve just recently completed my 45th one!  One of my bucket list items is to go on a long cruise—like twenty days or more.  The longest one I’ve done was 15 days, when Kenn and I did a full transit of the Panama Canal.  We also did two back to back cruises, each being 14 days.  After I finished this last one, which lasted a week, I started looking for long ones.  I mostly sail on Royal Caribbean and, since I get a lot of perks for being ‘loyal’, I started there. The longest one I could find that sounded interesting was 21 days.  However, the timing wasn’t good.  I would miss a dear friend’s wedding.  So I looked elsewhere.

And I found it!!!  Thirty five days.  Leaves from Fort Lauderdale.  Goes to St. Kitts.  Then, on to South America, including Chile, Uruguay, Brazil, and Argentina. And THEN…….ANTARCTICA!!!!!  I am stoked!  Actually, it just does several days of scenic cruising of Antarctica, which is fine with me.  I’ve already reserved some excursions—one, where I get to hang out with penguins and another one, where I hang out with seals and sea lions!  Another one is a dinner and show, watching professional dancers do the Tango.  I’ve also reserved several city tours.  It ends back in Buenos Aires, so I will fly back to the USA from there.

I’m guessing I will be amongst ‘like aged’ people.  I mean, how many young people can go away for 35 days?!  And if they could, would they head to Antarctica…..or Hawaii???  I also hope there are a few solo travelers like me.  But if not, it’s ok!

Packing will be a challenge.  I’m leaving in November, which will be the start of summer weather in the southern hemisphere.  But, as we get further and further away from the equator, it will be really cold.  So I will need to pack for both extremes. 

I am having a lot of fun planning!  It will certainly be one of the biggest adventures I’ve ever experienced!

FEBRUARY 2nd—11 YEARS LATER

February 2. Jonathan’s new birthday, yada yada yada…..

It’s been 11 years since I moved out on my own and started this blog. I was newly divorced and trying to make my way in the world as a single woman. My life continues to change and evolve every single year. Some great things, some so so things, some devastating things…. but through it all, God has been there, giving me joy and peace when I least expect it.

I’ve still been going to North Myrtle Beach for at least a month every winter. This was my 5th winter to go and I just returned home yesterday. I meet a lot of snowbirds there who don’t want to go all the way to Florida for the winter. The condo I rent is right on the beach. I find watching and listening to the ocean very peaceful. This year, I had planned on looking into buying a condo there. But a few months ago, my plans suddenly changed. Today, I signed closing documents on a condo in Orlando. It will be my 2nd home as I plan to stay in Murfreesboro for now. I need a place in Orlando because….I’M GOING TO BE A GRANDMA!!!!!!!!! Jonathan and Olivia are expecting a baby boy June 2nd! I’m not excited or anything 🙄……🎉💕🎉❤️🎉💕🎉!!!!!!!!!!!! I’m not crazy about summers in Florida but I know I will be crazy about baby boy!!! Anyway, I plan on going down often and eventually, putting the condo in a rental program for times I know I won’t be using it. 

I guess with time, everyone’s life changes. Some people get what they expect. And others, like me, have no idea what to expect each year. I wonder what year 12 will look like? I know one thing—there is going to be a very much loved baby boy in the world!!!!!!

Memories…Light the Corners of My Mind…

It’s my last day.  

Tomorrow, a new family will be buying our home.  I’ve lived on beautiful Norris Lake for 7 1/2 years.  Kenn and I lived and loved here for 3 1/2 years.  This is definitely a bittersweet move.  I am scared and excited and happy and sad all at the same time.

Memories are flooding back to me…..

How we fell in love with the house the moment we walked in.  

When we got married here in the great room, with the beautiful view as our backdrop.

The wonderful parties we had with both neighborhood friends and church friends.

Entertaining out of town family and friends.

Going fishing after dinner in our favorite cove.

Riding the mountain trails together in our Polaris side by side.

Enjoying the magnificent movie room Kenn built.

Bringing Kenn’s 18.5 foot canoe home on top of his 4 Runner from upstate New York.  

Holding my breath while watching him hang the canoe on the wall!

That last, perfect kiss goodbye….when he never came back.

The canoe is gone, the boat is sold, the house is empty of all personal belongings. A week from tomorrow, I will begin yet again in a new home back in Murfreesboro.  It’s the city where I was living when I met Kenn, 10 years ago.

I miss him every day and I know I will hold him in my heart and love him until the day I die.  But I know it’s the right time to let go of our house and move forward with my life.  I will be forever grateful for the love and laughter filled, beautiful house that Kenn and I were blessed to call home.

February 2nd—Ten Years!

February 2nd.  Groundhog Day,  Gary Snyder’s birthday (may he rest in peace), Jonathan’s new birthday—and 10 years after beginning my Act II.

Wow!  Ten.  Years.  Sometimes it feels as if it was a lifetime ago and sometimes a few months ago.  I remember hanging out in my room at my parents’ house when I was 12 years old and thinking ‘when will I EVER grow up?!’  It was taking SO!          LONG!

Now, at 66, the years dart by!  Yet, sometimes, the days drag by.  Next Monday would have been my 7th wedding anniversary with Kenn.  It’s hard to believe it’s already been almost four years since he left this earth.

However, my life is about to take a new turn.  I’ve made the decision to sell my current house and move back to Murfreesboro.  As I’ve told my wonderful friends here—I love my neighborhood, I love my church family, and I even love my house!  I just don’t love living here alone.  I’ve already had about a dozen people express interest in buying so hopefully, that won’t be a problem.  And I’m sure I’ll find a house that I love in Murfreesboro.  But I’m also sure there will be lots of tears leaving this place that Kenn and I called home.

I am so very thankful that God gave me the few years I had with Kenn.  And I am so thankful that He will see me through to the next adventure!

As a side note—

Beldar IV successfully entered my life on December 6th. I asked the doc if he would give me Beldar III after he removed it (after washing it well!) and he did. (Great coffee table conversation piece!) But Beldar III didn’t leave peacefully. The night after surgery, I was sleeping soundly, and around 3 AM, I hear BEE DEE BEE DEE for about 30 seconds coming from the other room! This repeated three times. I got up and wrapped a towel around it and fell back asleep. The next night—A REPEAT! I got up, took it into the study on the other side of the house (still wrapped in a towel), closed it up in a drawer, and shut the door. The following week, at my post surgery checkup, I brought it back with me and asked them to turn it off. The tech said she had never turned one off that was outside of a person’s chest so she had to call the manufacturer and find out how to do it.
It is now quietly residing on my coffee table!

Football. And Pacemakers!

I love watching football. I grew up in a football loving family—my brother played, my dad coached, I cheered when I was young and twirled when I got older. So I probably enjoy it more than most women. I don’t have cable (I’m not really much of a TV watcher) so in the fall, I subscribe to Sling, an app where I can watch ESPN. I cancel it as soon as the season is over.

I especially like watching college ball. But I was a messed up girl this season. Both of my sons graduated from UGA—go dawgs! I live in Tennessee—so go Vols! My very very much loved daughter-in-law graduated from Alabama and was in the marching band there—so roll tide! AND Kenn spent part of his college days at Ohio State—go buckeyes! If you have followed the rankings this season, you will know exactly my dilemma. I’m still enjoying it, though!

On another note, Beldar III will be replaced this Tuesday with Beldar IV. If you aren’t aware, I named my first pacemaker/defibrillator Beldar because it felt like I had an alien in my chest. That one lasted about two and a half years before the battery died. (In case you don’t know, when the battery goes out, they replace the entire device.). Beldar II also lasted about two and a half years. When it was time for Beldar III, I was living in Murfreesboro and my cardiologist was with Vanderbilt. They could tell which lead to my heart was draining the battery so they decided to replace it, too. That became a four hour surgery instead of 30 minutes to an hour because they had to cut the old lead out of my heart. But here I am, seven and a half years later, a happy girl! The thought of having to get my chest cut open every two years didn’t thrill me!

When my battery starts to go, my chest starts playing a tune for about five seconds every day. Jonathan, my oldest son, wanted to see if he could hear it, too, when he was visiting. The time chosen by Beldar III was 8:52 AM. When it started it’s tune (bee dee bee dee etc.—high then low note), he looked at me with wide eyes and said, “Mom! That’s frightening!!!” The nurse at my cardiologist told me they could turn the sound off if I came into the office. But since they are about an hour away, I decided to just let it go, as I’m up by then anyway. Then the time changed. Now it’s 7:52. Well, ok. I’m up then, too, most of the time. THEN….my Texas family went on a Thanksgiving week cruise together. (There were 19 of us.) I was in Central Time Zone. Beldar played his merry little tune at 6:52 AM every morning. So, on vacation, I got an early wake up call every morning whether I wanted one or not!

I’m looking forward to being on the other side of Tuesday. And, as of this blog post, I can say GO DAWGS!!!

Visiting My Home Town

I grew up in Orange, a small town in Texas.  I try to come home a couple of times a year to visit my family.  With the exception of my children, all of my family still reside in Texas.  I was the ‘black sheep’ who moved away to New Jersey at 21 years old, pregnant with my parents’ first grandchild.  I’m not sure my mother ever quite forgave me for doing that!  Both of my sons were born in New Jersey, but we lived outside of Atlanta for about 23 years—from the time my oldest was 12 and youngest was 2.  I moved to Tennessee when I became single again.

It’s a bonus when I get to visit with long time friends while in my hometown.  This past trip, I got to visit with Pam, a friend since the sixth grade, and with three of my mother’s dear friends.  That always makes me feel close to Mom again.

One morning, my niece, Jill, my sister, Gayle, and I went out for breakfast.  While we were waiting for our food, Jill looked over and said, “There’s Becky!” I looked over, and sure enough, it was a high school friend I hadn’t seen in many years, eating breakfast with her husband, Pablo!  Jill started calling her name several times, but she obviously didn’t hear her.  Finally, I said I was going to go over and say hello.  Jill said, “Aunt Belinda, just sit down beside her!”  So I walked over, and plopped down next to her in the booth.  Her husband looked at me funny, but we didn’t know each other that well.  Finally Becky looked over at me—and I said, “You’re not Becky!”  She said, “No, but I’m Vicki, so you’re close!”  I looked over at Jill and she had her head down on the table!   While I was quite embarrassed, I couldn’t help thinking that I was glad it was me instead of my shy sister.  She would have had a heart attack right on the spot!

Of course, the highlight of my trip was getting to visit with my sweet great nephew, Jude.  He is about 2 1/2 years old and adorable!  He’s not a big talker, but I continually tried to get him to say BeBe to no avail. One day, he grabbed my finger to take me to a different room.  (He did this many times a day.) I told him I would go if he called me BeBe.  He kept pulling and I kept telling him the same thing.  Finally he looked at me, said BeBe clear as a bell, and of course, I went with him to the other room.  Little stinker—he CAN talk, he just chooses not to most of the time!

I’m home now, getting ready for another trip.  I’ve found that after three weeks in the same place, I’m itching to go SOMEwhere again.  I wonder if it’s just my love of travel or if I’m searching for something??  I’m still trying to figure out where I belong.

My Friend, Carl

My friend, Carl, died this morning.  He was 85 years old and had been in poor health for a few years.  

I met Carl and his wife, Sue, at the church I attend in LaFollette.  Carl always had a quick wit and a ready smile.  I noticed a lot of people at the church called him General.  Of course, a lot of people at the church have nicknames.  My dear friend, Missy, is really Sue.  And when I met my friend, Martha, I noticed everyone call her Sugar.  Slowly, I learned the reasons behind the nicknames.  Martha, for instance, is called Sugar by almost everyone due to the fact that her maiden name is Cain.  So I inquired why Carl was called General.  Turns out he was a retired general.  In the army.  A Four. Star. General.

One time, our church was honoring service men and women and Carl came to church in his full dress uniform.  And needless to say, his uniform was spectacular.  I walked up to him and said, “Oh my!  I don’t even know what to call you!”  He smiled and said, “You call me Carl.”

Another Sunday, my sweet Mom was visiting me.  As I introduced her to Carl and Sue, I said, “Momma, you like to thank people who served in the military.  Well Carl served.”  She smiled and said, “Thank you for your service!”  Carl smiled back and nodded his appreciation.  I said, “Daddy served, too, but I think Carl’s rank is a wee bit higher than Daddy’s.  Wasn’t he a Private First Class?”  Mom nodded, then I told her Carl’s rank.  Of course her jaw dropped as Carl’s gracious, beautiful wife, Sue, said, “It’s not your rank, it’s that you served.”

I remember clearly the last two things Carl ever said to me.  The next to last thing—

He and I were chatting and someone walked by us and commented on him being LaFollette’s favorite son and that he was famous.  Carl grabbed my arm and said, “Listen.  No matter how tall a tree gets, a dog can still piss around the bottom!”  (As a side note, he would also say—instead of ‘don’t make a mountain out of a mole hill’—‘don’t pole vault over a rat turd’.😃)

The very last thing he ever said to me—

He grabbed my arm, smiled, and said, “God sure did know what He was doing when He made you.”

I feel honored that I had the pleasure of knowing Carl and am honored that I have been asked to sing at his funeral.   Rest In Peace, General Stiner, my friend.   I look forward to seeing your smiling face on the other side someday.

Apartment Training

As of this writing, McKennzie and I have lived for two weeks in our new apartment in Murfreesboro.  It has been quite a learning experience to say the least.  We are both actually enjoying small living now.  The first few days were rough.  On both of us.

While I was busy assembling furniture and trying to get things in place, she was exploring.  She wasn’t fond of the elevator at first and also wasn’t fond of losing sight of me!  After a couple of days, I decided it was time to leave her for a few minutes.  The first time was maybe a minute or two.  She ecstatically welcomed me back. The next time was 5–10 minutes.  She acted like I had been gone a month when I got back.  Finally, I joined my friend for lunch at a cute restaurant across the street from the apartment.  When I returned, she was wailing!  It broke my heart.  However, I didn’t move here part time to just do dog friendly stuff!  I think they may frown on me bringing her to church, for instance.  Anyway, after two weeks, she is still happy to see me when I return, but all is quiet as I approach the door now.

We live in a new, very large complex.  There are ten buildings, all three stories tall, with 360 apartments in all.  We go for walks three to four times a day.  The pup loves that part!  And, since she has discovered the door stops here are the kind that go boinnnggg, she hits those a few times when I’m moving too slowly to take her out for a walk!  For those who have not met McKennzie, she absolutely loves every person she meets.  I think she has decided that their sole purpose for being here is to pet her!  There are a lot of dogs here, too.  And, until she gets to know them, she is scared of every single dog, especially the large ones.  Today, we were at the off leash park and a young woman walked up with two very large, friendly dogs.  Luckily, there are two fenced areas, so they went to the other field.  But McKennzie could see and hear them through the fence.  So, according to her, it was time to leave.  

One day, we went on a long walk in the complex.  I finally told her we needed to head back.  As I was approaching the building, she pulled on her leash, not wanting to go in.  She loves the outdoors, but is usually very compliant with my wishes.  I finally coaxed her in the door.  We walked down the hall, and she was still being reluctant.  As we approached the elevator, she headed towards the door to leave the building.  She was acting so strange for her!  Then I looked around.  I was in the wrong building.  We went outside, she headed straight for the correct building, scurried up the stairs, stopped for the elevator, and went straight to our apartment.  In my defense, the buildings are almost identical.  However, I’m not getting any younger!  I’m thinking of ordering a little ‘service dog’ vest for her.

Maybe then, I can take her to church with me.