Today's Thought - Pain

Daniel 3:28 - "Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, 'Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him, and set aside the king's command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God."

The Story is told about the baptism of King Aengus by St. Patrick in the middle of the fifth century. Sometime during the rite, St. Patrick leaned on his sharp-pointed staff and inadvertently stabbed the kings foot. After the baptism was over St. Patrick looked down at all the blood, realized what he had done, and begged the king's forgiveness. Why did you suffer this pain in silence, the St. Patrick wanted to know? The king replied, "I thought it was part of the ritual." (Source: "Pain," Sermon Illustrations).

The most powerful emperor of that age in Daniel's passage was impressed with Daniel and his friends' faith. King Nebuchadnezzar recognized that these guys were willing to defy his order and risk death because they trusted God.

Did you know that some trees only sprout after a forest fire? The Lodgepole pine tree is like that. The seeds are in the cones so tightly that they won't come out unless intense heat comes along. It will melt the resin, then the seed drops, and then it germinates. Without heat, it would not happen. The same is true with us. Sometimes God brings new life to others because we trusted him through our fire. 

Have a blessed day!

Peggy Sue's 50's Diner - Yermo, CA

One of our favorite place to stop is located 10 miles north of Barstow on the I-15 Interstate.  It is at the Ghost Town Road exit, Peggy Sue's original roadside diner. 

The diner was built in 1954 with 9 counter stools and 3 booths. The owners moved to Southern California in 1981 working for Knott's Berry farm and the movies. In 1987 they reopened the diner to restore and preserve it in its original state. With their background working in the movies, it's the place to display their extensive collection of movie and TV memorabilia.

Inside is cozy atmosphere with great 50's music playing, servers in 50's attire and good homemade food. We only stopped for breakfast due to timing of our travel.

The support from locals, truck drivers, military, and tourists (like us), the diner prospered and became popular so they expanded the diner into a real Old-Fashioned Tourist stop. The diner has 50's style restaurant, store with curious and memorabilia, Soda Fountain, Ice Cream Parlor, and Pizza Parlor.

In the back, we took a stroll in their own Dinosaur Park with larger-than-life Dinosaur Sculptures, Waterfalls, Fountains, Ponds, Grass and Trees. It brought some old memories and we made some new ones. Good food and nice place to stop.

Thanks for traveling with us.

Blessings!

The Carpenters Apartment Complex - Downey, CA

While visiting Nan's family in Downey, CA, we visited 1970 hit music due Karen and Richard Carpenter's apartment buildings.

The Carpenters are a brother/sister powerhouse pop act, the angelic clean duo was responsible for some of the most wonderful ballad music of the 70s. However, at the hight of their fame in 1983, tragedy stuck when lead singer Karen Carpenter succumbed to heart failure brought on by a years-long battle with anorexia, a disease that wasn't widely reported on at that time.

Apartments? After breaking into the music business in the early 70s, Karen and Richard purchased apartment buildings as an investment in the booming Las Angeles, CA housing market. They purchased these two adjacent buildings in their hometown of Downey, CA - formerly known as The Geneva - in 1971, and splashed the names of their biggest hits across the sides. 

While the buildings are no longer owned by the Carpenters, they're still functioning and have (obviously) kept their spirits alive by honoring the original names. As we were taking photos of these two buildings, we wonder whether the people living here are aware that their building is stamped with the lyrics from one of music's greatest singer.

The apartments are actually well groomed, pretty retro looking and as a Carpenters fan, nice experience. Thanks for traveling with us. Blessings!

The Oldest McDonald’s - Downey, CA

We visited the quintessential fast-food restaurant in Downey, about a 15-minute drive southeast from downtown Los Angeles, CA. This is the oldest McDonald's restaurant in the world.

The sign features one massive yellow parabola coming out of the ground instead of the iconic "Golden Arches."The towering neon chef "Speedee" was McDonald's first mascot and he symbolized fast, efficient service.

This McDonald's was opened in 1953 by Roger Williams and Bud Landon. It was the third restaurant franchised by Richard and Maurice McDonald, who founded the chain in 1948. The Downey restaurant, then, is the fourth oldest McDonald's but remains the oldest still standing today.

There's a large sign in the window above the counter comparing the prices of things in 1955 to those of today; gas used to cost 20 cents per gallon, now it costs $3.40. A loaf of bread used to cost 18 cents, not it's $3.50. The McDonald's hamburger, which used to cost 15 cents, now costs $1.00. 

Then, in big, red, bold letters: "Our $1.00 Hamburger is a better value today than it was in 1955 when it was 15 cents! [sic]"

The building is mid-century style architecture with windows across the front for customers to walk up and place orders Next to it is a building to provide indoor dining and a small museum showing many very early McDonald's historical items. The drive-thru was not added until 1916. The restaurant was open for food sales the day we visited but the indoor dining was closed. However, I was able to take some zoom photos.

About McDonal's see photo below:

When people think "McDonald's" they don't typically think "innovative," but they should. McDonald's paved the way for Americans' obsession with inexpensive, expeditious food. It pioneered the whole red-and-white tile burger-joint aesthetic that California made famous and lives on today in franchises like In-N-Out.

If you're hunger after reading this, go out a get yourself a McDonald's or In-N-Out burger. 

Thanks for traveling with us.

Blessings!

Liberty Sculpture Park, "Fight for Freedom," in Yermo, CA

Driving north from Los Angeles, CA we stopped at the Liberty Sculpture Park off I-15 exit 194 in Yermo, CA. This patch of land is dedicated to art by Weiming Chen, that spreads the message for freedom.

The Park promotes democracy, freedom and human rights by the Chinese overseas, and a memorial ground for communist victims.

As we parked and walked toward the park, the first noticeable sculpture is a 16-foot-tall likeness of Chinese activist Li Wangyang. He was imprisoned for 21 years following the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989.

There by the garish ice cream sundae water tank, is a wired fence with the plaque "Lennon Wall." Here we saw many wooden plaques of individuals stating their opinion/understanding of the Chinese Communist.

The massacre took place on 6/4/1989. The numberers are 6.4 meters tall (20.0094 feet), and they are set at a 64-degree angle and the sculpture is 6,400 miles from the massacre site in Tiananmen Square.

Title "Tank Man," it's a life-size version of the famous photograph of an unidentified man, holding a briefcase, defiantly standing in front of a column of Tiananmen Square tanks. Chen made the men out of 1,300 pounds of bronze-painted concrete. He wanted a real tank, but last-minute delays forced him to build one from scratch out of steel, wood, fiberglass, plaster, and plastic foam.

Staring down the tank in front of Tank Man.

Crazy Horse, is a 15-foot-high head of the Native American leader.

My understanding is that the artist Chen will dedicate one or two sculptures every year at this Liberty Sculpture Park. When we visited there was no one else around, we hope as people drive on I-15 will see the sculptures and stop for knowledge as well as be encouraged to fight for freedom.

Thank you for traveling with us.

Blessings!