Light from Louisville!

Spring Break 2008: Day 1: The Adventure Begins!

We picked up the mini-van on Friday and Perry carefully loaded his car-top carrier. On Saturday morning, Perry, Casey and Jessie arrived bright and early and ready to go. One problem: The folks at Enterprise had failed to tell us that the van locks itself - even when its running - and that’s exactly what it did. While we put a call in to AAA, Perry went in to A2 to pick up Brian and Laura. Naturally, it took the guy 30 minutes to arrive and 2.5 seconds to unlock the van. The rest of the group soon arrived, the luggage was loaded and we were off!

The GPS dubbed, “Simone,” we made our way south through Ohio and into Kentucky. Jim Garrett caught up with us by phone and directed us (with Simone’s capable assistance) to the Salvation Army’s outgoing headquarters in Louisville. A word about that.

SA is currently in the process of moving from one facility to another. And when I say “in process,” I mean we’ve been told to be careful to label stuff or it’s likely to get shipped out with the next load! The items that do remain are labeled and awaiting removal to the new location, an old high school just a few short blocks away. The move will put the administrative offices in close proximity to its shelters as well as provide a larger and more updated space. Over the past 90 years, the current facility has served as a home for pregnant teens, a birthing hospital, a rehabilitation center and, currently, the Salvation Army headquarters. For most of the week, we’ll be the only volunteers in residence, though this evening we’ll be joined by 45 students who are passing through. After settling into our new digs, we headed south to Hodgenville where we met the Garretts for dinner and the show at the Lincoln Jamboree.

Elvis and Friends

“Those people up north don’t know what they’re missing.” So said the gentleman sitting in front of me at the Lincoln Jamboree! And he’s right! We had a rousing good time enjoying the sounds of the Jamboree Gang and the entertainers for the week. We were particularly impressed with the teenagers who performed and agreed that no one should be surprised to hear more from Blake Whitlock in the years to come. If you enjoy country, bluegrass and gospel music, you’ll want to put the Lincoln Jamboree on your itinerary! (You’ll want to be sure to leave time to take a close look at the country music memorabilia on display.) We received a very warm welcome from Joel Ray and all the good people in Hodgenville who truly epitomize “southern hospitality.”

A Visit with Joel Ray

Pump it up: The Jamboree is an event, so, it was about 1AM by the time we returned to our “home away from home” at the Salvation Army. Perry and Brian settled into a little VIP apartment on site, with Perry taking the bed and Brian the couch. With the transition to new quarters underway, beds had already been moved and Jim couldn’t get his hands on mattresses for the night. He graciously provided us with air mattresses from home. Well, pumping up those air mattresses was an adventure but we stepped up to the task. Jessie and Laura in particular did a bang up job of establishing the right connections and getting the air flowing. Before 2, we were all tucked in and Barry was learning a new concept, “slumber party.”

Day 2: Sunday, Sunday!

Since we’ll be worshiping with the Lutheran-Episcopal Campus Ministry at UK in Lexington this evening, we all enjoyed sleeping in this morning. (What a luxury!) Perry went off to the urgent care to have a weepy eye checked (it turned out to be allergies rather than pink eye) and we’re establishing our game plan for the day. (It's likely to include the Louisville Slugger Factory!)

Pastor Sue