NELSON'S NOTES #56
San Benito, Texas
Feb. 24, 2005

OUR GREAT-GRANDDAUGHTER

Her name is Smanatha Lynn Sweeney. She was born on January 30 and is the daughter of our grandson Sean and his wife Tracy and the sister of Connor. They live in Longmont, Colorado.

Samantha, age 3 weeks.

Samantha with brother Connor, age 3 1/2 years.

WORLD PREMIERE, RV PARK: THE MOVIE, A FUN NIGHT FOR ALL

On Feb. 14, fresh off a jet plane, the stars entered on a red carpet--just like in a real world premiere. The Paparazzi (Kirby Edwards) infiltrated the event, shooting pictures of the glamorous stars. A crowd in excess of 700 filled the Fun N Sun recreation hall, munching on free popcorn while they waited for the actors to arrive and be interviewed by "the press."

The full-length comedy has a golf-cart chase scene and a clandestine skinny dip episode from the perspective of the man in the moon (Bruce). His facial expressions tell all as he looks down on Harry and Mary Goodfella (John Tromp and Bonnie Morton) drinking champagne on their 43rd anniversary and listens to them whispering to each other in the park's hot tub.

Thanks to Kirby Edwards (the Paparazzi) for these premiere photos.

The crowd.

The camera was projected live as "the press" (Glen Hindman) interviewed Big Tex (Joe Wooton) with his wife Millie . . .

. . . and director Bruce with Marianna.

Two shots from the movie:

The man in the moon reacts . . .

. . . to Mary (Bonnie Morton) and Harry (John Tromp) in the hot tub.

At a wine and cheese reception following the movie, the cast and crew very kindly gave Bruce a generous purse and honored him with a plaque and a "Brucie," which he is holding in this photo.  A giant thank you card and a promotional poster of the movie are in the background.

GUERRERO VIEJO

The background for the western gunfight scene in RV Park: The Movie is a still photo of an old stone church in northern Mexico.   Bruce took it when we visited Old Guerrero (Guerrero Viejo) on a "Go With Jo" tour.   The photo below was taken by our friend, Lou Beveridge.  As we wandered through the church and walked on cobblestone streets past the ballroom, we wondered what it was like to live there 200 years ago.

This quaint Mexican town, founded in 1750, was built as a tourist resort and once had a population of 30,000. From 1953 to recently the town had been submerged under Falcon Lake, after disappearing when the waters of the Rio Grande rose behind the newly-built Falcon dam and created the lake. When a severe drought in northern Mexico and South Texas lowered the level of the lake, the town reappeared.

Old Guerrero church.  Thanks to Lou Beveridge for this photo.

QUILTS OF VALOR

If you have unfinished quilts, or know someone who does, read on.

In 2003, Delaware quilter, Catherine Robert, started a quilt project for our wounded servicemen and women in Iraq and Afghanistan. Her goal is for every wounded service member to receive a lap quilt for their sacrifices. Military chaplains across the country distribute the quilt in emotional ceremonies. Typical comments are, "I didn't know anyone cared." By October, 2005, 2,900 had been given out--they need 29,000 more.

Escapees member, Heidi Young, says: "If you have unfinished quilt tops, projects in boxes, or half-square triangles sitting in a pile, even almost finished tops that you just don't like, I'll finish them for you!

I'll finish the sewing, quilt and bind it, and put both our names on the label. Then I'll make a pillowcase for the presentation ceremony and mail the whole thing to the hospital/chaplain. All you have to do is mail the project to me. Please contact me with any questions."
Heidi Young: call (208) 793-3300 or e-mail hampyoung@directway.com

BOOKCROSSING

I have just become a member of BookCrossing. It's free and it's private, and it has the lofty goal of making the whole world a library.

Here's what Bookcrossing.com says:

"The "3 Rs" of BookCrossing:

1. Read a good book

2. Register the book online along with your journal comments, get a unique BCID (BookCrossing ID number), and label the book.

3. Release it for someone else to read (give it to a friend, leave it on a park bench, donate it to charity, "forget" it in a coffee shop, etc.), and get notified by email each time someone goes to the site and records journal entries for that book. And if you make release notes on the book, others can go hunting for it and try to find it!"

To find out more, log onto bookcrossing.com.

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Text by Marianna Nelson

Special Thanks to Ken Roberts who "hosts" Nelson's Notes at www.web.newsnotes.us

Check out our home page, On The Road With The Nelsons