Early this morning I drove up to
Fremont, CA, to visit my 92-year-old paternal grandmother,
Martha Virginia Van Stone Noyes (my only remaining grandparent). My mother,
Lynda, carpooled with me paying for the gas while I took care of driving duties going and coming. Before dawn I brought a
McD's breakfast to her house in
Atascadero, CA, which we partook in before we left I then briefly visited my house in
Paso Robles, CA, on my way north to grandmother's house. The drive was easy and uneventful given the early hour and our taking the
Nimitz Freeway instead of the
Bayshore Freeway as I used to do spanning most of my life until recently. For days previous we had been hearing reports of this day being a washout but the storm fizzled and only gave us some light drizzle briefly on the way up and then a bit more rain while we were indoors visiting grandma but at no point did it interfere with our day. Grandma lives in a senior living apartment facility which has transformed our once-negative view of such places.
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| Grandma lives on the third floor in the building wing at center. |
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| Grandma and Mom. |
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| Grandma and Mom and Tequila. |
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| The leaves are changing color in the Bay Area. |
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| Grandma in her apartment. |
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| Grandma and me who looks like Frankenstein's Monster in this image. |
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| I like how Grandma looks in these two images but I look over-posed. |
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| Grandma and the girls at her eating table: Mary, Sally, and Ruby along with Mom. |
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| The newly remodeled long-time home of Grandpa and Grandma Noyes |
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| The house is now tall as a 3-story building but is a vaulted ceiling 2-story home. |
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| The new version of this house does not fit in well with the neighborhood. |
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| Apparently, the neighbors were opposed to the dramatic changes. |
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| I grew up visiting this house and find the changes disturbing. |
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| Grandpa Noyes' headstone. |
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| Grandma and Mom at Grandpa Noyes' gravesite in Newark. |
All photos by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved)
I used to listen to your grandpa, J. Vernon McGee, on Christian radio in 1984. Now in my late 50s, I was looking for sermons to listen to with my daughter, and "re-discovered" Pastor McGee. In the 80s, we didn't have the Internet to research someone, and we went with "face value." Reading your family history, it does, and does not, surprise me to discover your grandpa was flawed right along with the rest of humanity. Ironically, I told my daughter that one of the things that endeared me to his preaching was his "hometown, old-time preaching" of which you dispel as being his true speaking trait. Well, for what it's worth, my memory of your grandpa will stay intact, in the past, and forever held in respect for helping me keep the Gospel in my heart.
ReplyDeleteAnother Preacher that I liked at that time was R.W. Schambach. Big on Tent Revivals. His son posted one entry, and the only entry, in his blog about growing up in that type of household, and it wasn't very encouraging. To the kids who didn't have particularly Christian upbringings, and then discover Jesus, we are surprised to hear that the Preachers' households weren't as happy as we envisioned. There is hope for us all, and for that, it's a rough ride to Heaven. No one gets a free pass (except babies and the innocent).
Your grandma's dining room at the retirement village looks identical to the one where my dad (born in Newark) lived in the Wash., DC area. He's passed on, and I know you'll cherish your moments with your grandma, and mom. It's a tragedy that your dad passed at such a young age. My condolences, and prayers that the memory will no longer sting.
In 1984, I listened to the Gospel, and grew by leaps and bounds, absorbing The Word like a sponge. Hearing prophesy of "The End Times" that I surely thought would be many decades away, or not in my lifetime. But, here they are, those days in which "men are lovers of themselves" and all types of evil abound. I don't need to expound on how perilous these days are, and how sick people have become. When I think of the innocence of listening to J. Vernon McGee, compared to navigating the minefield of tainted doctrine-preachers today, well, it's downright awful. The sweetness of pure Gospel is hard to find. Seek it, live it and be it.
Peace to you, Kim, and I pray that you will be strong in the Lord all the days of your life.