Fellowship - With Long Time Friends

In 1982 we were attending Melodyland Christian Center in Anaheim near Disneyland. We were in the regular 120 voice choir that sang and practiced weekly. We were also in the community musical performance choir (300 voices) three times a year giving special original performances with orchestra and drama. Most of the time it was one weekend type of musical giving five performances. Once we gave 10 performances over two weekends for the Easter season. Our 3,000 seat auditorium was packed for every performance.

These involved many hours of practices and staging. The original theater was "in the round" and the church continued that set up for their services and specials. During our Sunday services, the choir was in a section directly behind the speaker of the day like you find in most churches.

Being together that much tends to develop friendships of those who regularly sing in the choir. There were five basses who were married to five altos and we formed a "Fellowship Group" to meet monthly for dinner, dessert and catching up with each others lives and families. A host couple was selected and the other four couples would go to their home for dinner and dessert. After one round of that, the gals got smart and said "let's go out to dinner and back to the host home for dessert". It's been that way every since.

Original Fellowship couples -- Dick & Ann Moore, Dick & Alice Carter, Harold & Fran Daigle, Priscilla & Dave Bechok, Betty & Bob Mann.

We bought Entertainment books that gives one free meal if another one is purchased and enjoyed quite a selection of restaurants to choose from and enjoy. All five couples lived in Orange County so it was easy for us to get together monthly - on the 3rd Friday night of the month. That was automatically set aside by each couple.

Then we started moving! The Daigles moved to Texas. So we were down to four couples locally. The Carters moved to Oceanside and the Bechoks moved to Carlsbad. Our Fellowship Group continued to meet every month (except December) even though it meant some driving. When it was time for the Carters or Bechoks to host, the Moores and the Manns drove down to their area. When we in Orange County hosted, those south drove north.

Then Alice Carter passed away from cancer and Dick Carter married Carolyn (Kiki) and they moved to Apple Valley. More driving - both ways. The Carters did the most as there were three couples that lived a distance from them. But we drove up to Apple Valley when they hosted.
The current Fellowship couples -- Dick & Ann Moore, Kiki & Dick Carter, Priscilla & Dave Bechok, Betty and Bob Mann.

In January 2007, the Carters were to host that month. Everyone had too much on their schedule (all retired now) and we couldn't meet. Let's try February. No - this month was too busy too! OK - March it is. Finally in the last week of March, we found a day we could all go up to Apple Valley and have our "monthly" fellowship. We changed from dinner to lunch time to help with daylight driving. After that one, we decided since there were four couples and four quarters in the year we would each take a quarter and find a date to host during that quarter. Certainly we could find one day where all could have available. We also changed off of Friday as traffic was heavy going to most places. So starting in 2007 we changed from monthly to quarter and this has worked out best in our busy schedules.

Today (June 12) is that day for Betty and Bob Mann to host. They had the second quarter (April, May, June) and we were able to find a day when all four couples could get together. We still buy the Entertainment books but don't use them as much as we did in the past.

These are fun times with long time church friends. We met them in 1973 at Melodyland and keep in touch by email and phone besides meeting in person quarterly. All couples attend different churches now and no one is in the choir at their church. Music was what brought us together.

Next quarter -- the Moores host.

Private Retirement Party

In early June of 1996, Ann put together a private retirement party for me which included friends from several churches and close friends - non State Farm friends.

This was held at the Claim Jumper in Fountain Valley on Brookhurst Street. We had their private room in back and they served us a very nice lunch. I would estimate we had 50-60 people there. Our son, Rick, was the master of ceremonies for the program and a good time was had by all.

Our family at the time - Hannah was "on the way" and Rachel joined us two years later. Emily is now 19 years old and Eric will be 17 years old this month. This is where you notice the passage of time -- in the growth of your grandchildren.

Part of the program was a "Willie and Julio" duet singing "To All The Girls I've Loved Before". This was sung by Dick Moore and Jeff Harrison. We did that song in a Hootenanny at our church and I had my pigtails on singing Willie better than Willie. (Personal opinion). Jeff and I impersonated the voices for the party and everyone seemed to enjoy it. I'll print the picture of us from the Hootenanny in another post when I write about that event. Dave Cole and I did that song first on a cruise to Mexico in their Talent Show in 1995.

In 1952 I met David Cole in our dorm at Pasadena Nazarene College. When Ann Edwards came to the college in 1953, she and Marlene Webb sang in separate trios and later in a ladies quartet for the college raising endownment money for the school. Marlene started dating Dave who sang in a male quartet for the school and later married him one month before Ann and I were married in 1955. So we (Ann & I - Dave & Marlene) double dated a number of times and became very close friends all these years. They lived in Yuba City in Northern California and came down to my party. Dave retired from his position as Assistant School Superintendent a couple of weeks later and we went up there for his party. Been close friends for over 55 years.

Dave & Marlene Cole with Marlene's cousin Ordell at our party.

The party was one that I will remember for the rest of my life. I've been blessed with wonderful friends and a great family.

My Elvis Stories

In the early 1970s, probably 1972 or 1973, Ann and I attended a Quartet Gospel Concert in the Long Beach Auditorium. At that time I was involved in quartet music with a group that started singing together in 1971. We were interested in "the big groups" that traveled full time in this field like The Blackwood Brothers, The Imperials, J.D. Sumner & The Stamps, The Spear Family, The Oak Ridge Boys, and many others. Every year some of these groups would come to Long Beach to entertain those that enjoyed that type of music.

J. D. Sumner and The Stamps Quartet was at this particular concert and J.D. was talking to the crowd. He said a friend of his was back stage and he wanted him to come out and take a bow. This friend couldn't sing for us because of contract obligations but he could at least come out and take a bow. Out comes Elvis Presley, cape and all. The crowd went wild including us. We had never seen Elvis in person before so it was a treat just to have him on stage waving to us.

The Stamps Quartet sang with Elvis backing him up in Las Vegas. Elvis always had a gospel quartet with him on concerts in Las Vegas and many times on appearances on TV such as the Ed Sullivan Show. The Stamps were the latest group that he worked with on tour.

Elvis Presley was making a comeback at this time and his popularity was still high. People loved Elvis. His personal appearance shows sold out quickly. He was a showman.

We had watched him on TV but this was the first time we actually saw him in person. The only time. Never went to a concert but saw him perform on television many times.

The company I worked for had an anniversary party to celebrate those who had served the company many years and on one occasion they hired "The Legends", a group of impersonators. Of course, they had "Elvis". A friend of mine was an Elvis freak and I talked to the person impersonating Elvis and told him about her. He made her day by singing a song to her in person. That was fun to watch.

But --- there has only been one Elvis.

Grand Birds Once Again

Fake Plastic Plants In Atrium

Years ago we put a stand with four fake plastic plants in our atrium just off the front room. Our glass doors are next to it so we can see what is going on in the atrium.

Well, a lot is going on there. Every year we have finches returning to build their nests in the top plant only. Always the same place. They build new nests as I always clean out the old one as soon as our grand birds fly away.

This year we have had one batch of five babies hatched and they have flown the coop. I watched the last three fly away one after the other. It takes two weeks from hatching to fly a way. It is fun to watch them develop and test their wings.

Bird Beak - There are five of them in there!

The second batch was started shortly after the first nest was taken out. Within two days, a new nest was started. Five more grand birds are there and hatched. I expect fly away sometime after June 4th.

Fur Balls In Tight Fit

June 1, 2008 Picture

Last year in one of our batches a lone bird just didn't want to leave home. Probably a male. He made his way up to the top of the plant and just sat there while his parents and siblings were calling him from a nearby bush to join the world. Finally he tried his wings and was surprised that they worked!

"I'm Sitting On Top Of The World ---"

I expect one more batch of birds before the summer is over. My guess is that the ones that were hatched there come back with their mates to start their family because "there's no place like home".

UPDATE: I believe today (June 7th) is the day. Four have left the nest with the 4th one just minutes ago. Only one left and he's (she's) going to be lonely since his siblings have left. So I will post when we have all five birds out of the nest.

FINAL UPDATE: The last bird got lonely and flew away. I just checked the nest at 12:10 p.m. on 6-7 and we are now EMPTY NESTERS once again.

Getting To Know You ------

That phrase is in a famous song and is a good way to start this story concerning my life. In 2003, I wrote my autobiography called "Piqua To Palmia - A Life's Journey". I was born in Piqua, Ohio and now reside in a retirement community in Mission Viejo, California called Palmia. This was for my family and long time friends. I printed about 100 copies and none are available at this time

This book has stories and pictures concerning my life's journey which I will share with you from time to time. Everything in life reminds you of something that happened in your earlier days which helps to tell a story.

This has been a wonderful trip for me. I have been able to do so many things in my life that many people only dream about. I have been on television and stage because of The Watchmen Gospel Quartet. I have recorded four record albums with them as well. My voice has been preserved so that others will know what it sounded like. Because of our 47th wedding anniversary (in 2002), I made a CD and cassette of 12 songs that meant a lot to Ann and myself.

I found a paragraph written by someone unknown that sums up our lives and put it at the beginning of my book. It goes like this ---

"As we look back over our lives, it is not too difficult to see that what we went through was for a purpose and helped to prepare us for some valuable work in life. Everything in our lives can help make us of some use in the world. Each person's life is like the pattern of a mosaic. Each thing that happens to us is like one tiny stone in the mosaic, and each tiny stone fits into the perfected pattern of the mosaic of our life, which has been designed by God."

No more than once a week I will write in this BLOG something from the book which will help you to know my life better. Come along for the journey.

To Google or Not To Google

Happiness is "googling" you name and finding it on the internet.

I don't know if it is happiness but it is weird. I googled my nick name that I go by and on page 43 of 61 pages found a reference that actually referred to me! I used Dick Moore instead of Richard Moore and had tons of references to Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore. Mandy Moore, Demi Moore and Michael Moore were listed a lot as well.

The reference I found was entitled "Olivet Nazarene College" and was the obituary of my Uncle Ray Moore who passed away January 7, 2007. It mentions "a special nephew Dick". Ray graduated from Olivet Nazarene College and returned to teach there. Also received a honorary doctorate in music from the college in 1980.

I went to live with Ray in 1949. I was in his house through my high school years and then left for California to attend college. He was my dad at a special time in my life. It was at that time that I became "a special nephew" to Ray.

This was a strange experience to find a reference to me that was actually me! Somebody has too much time on their hands.

Proud Dad & Mom

In today's Register (Friday 5-23) in the Saddleback Valley News section Page 3 we find a picture containing our daughter, Brenda Ostrander. This section of the newspaper asks people to take along a copy of the Saddleback Valley News and have a picture taken on location showing the paper.

Recently Brenda went to the Indonesian island of Sumba to do some work for a charity called The Sumba Foundation. The picture doesn't copy well so you will have to look it up if you want to see it.

Next to the picture is this article:

Where In The World: Leslie and Shane Nolan of Mission Viejo, Kathryn Downs of Laguna Hills and Brenda Ostrander of Laguna Niguel traveled more than 7,000 miles to initiate a tooth brushing program to the elementary schools that the Sumba Foundation supports. Presbyterian Church of the Master in Mission Viejo made health-related bingo games for the children.

I posted Brenda's trip with pictures that you can review. Click on "Brenda's Sumba Indonesia Trip" to see the article.

We're proud of Brenda!