More favorite links

Today I am posting links to some web sites that I found recently.

The Wikipedia web encyclopedia is a very useful site. If you are researching a topic for school or work, you will like this site. I happened to find it while reading an article on foxnews.com about Eastman Kodak. A link on one word took me to this site and I was able to read about how products they sell were developed and produced, etc.

Another site I keep in my favorites sidebar is the Webster Online Dictionary. Any time my mind draws a blank when spelling a word, I just click on this site!

Leah told me about this site about J.M.Barrie, the author of the book, Peter Pan. It is a very interesting site with lots of info about his life. If you saw the film, Finding Neverland, then you will be interested in reading more about Mr. Barrie.

I have listened to Prairie Home Companion radio show for many years, not every week mind you, but I enjoy listening to the music, skits and humor. Now you can listen anytime you so desire, not just on Saturday on the radio. If you have time to relax, click to it and enjoy! Disclaimer: I do not agree with all of his personal and political beliefs, but I still enjoy his humor.

On the road again ...

Brandon plays his trumpet at the nursing home service.

We returned late last night from SC after a very busy weekend! Driving through Atlanta to drop off a rental car, it took about 10 hours to get to Cowpens, instead of the normal 6 hour drive. I worked on the computer and set it up so mom and dad can access my blog. Mom went with us to Ryan and Laura's wedding on Sat. evening in Easley. We got to catch up with some of our former Jacksonville friends who are now living in SC. AND, we finally met Laura's parents, who were excited to finally meet Brandon's parents. Brandon drove up to visit Laura and her family a couple of years ago on his famous "road trip" the summer after his college graduation. The Ruse family are missionaries in Nova Scotia. Brandon claims to have used this trip to "hook up" Ryan and Laura, or something like that.

Yesterday, we went to church with my parents at Calvary Baptist Church in Cowpens. After Sunday School, we went to White Oak Nursing Home and conducted the morning service for the residents. Josh and Janelle drove over from Greenville so that Josh could preach. Jonathan and April also helped with the service. After the service, we all joined other family members at my cousin Judy's home to celebrate my mother's 72nd birthday. There were about 22 of us for birthday dinner.

Hurricane Katrina

As you can tell by now, in Florida we spend all day at work tracking hurricanes - this one may be over by the time we get back from SC - but it may not - so we will keep our eyes on it!!

The big day is tomorrow for Ryan Thien and Laura Ruse - they will tie the knot at 6:pm Saturday in Easley, SC. Brandon is already there, and as the best man, and I am sure he is has a nice bachelor party planned for Ryan tonight. Between my other son Josh and Ryan's brother, Jeremy, this ought to be interesting to hear about tomorrow. Congratulations to the bride and groom!!

Deja Vu

Almost one year ago, Labor Day weekend to be exact, we traveled to SC, along with Stephen's family. It would be Natalie's first visit to Florida and her first visit to SC to meet her great-grandparents - four generations of Franklins altogether for a nice holiday weekend. Then came Francis - Hurricane Francis - last Sept 4th and we were stranded in SC. We were planning to drive back to Jax on Saturday, but the weather changed our plans. When our neighbor called and told us that church services were cancelled for Sunday, then we knew we would stay put. We finally headed home Sunday around 5pm, just as the worst was over in Jax and the storm was heading further towards the FL panhandle. We arrived home about 1am Monday morning, Labor Day itself, and unpacked the car just in time for the power to go off. We were fortunate because our power came back on by noon on Monday and many of our friends were out for a week. School was cancelled on Tuesday as well. What a way to introduce our grand-baby to Florida!

So this weekend we are heading to SC and now Hurricane Katrina is hitting south Florida as I write this blog. It is supposed to head into the Gulf stream and turn north-northeast. So it looks as though we will be driving back home Sunday into a hurricane again!! Of course, if it really gets bad, we will again stay put until it is over.

All eyes are on Florida again

Wouldn't you know it - we plan on going out of town and there may be a hurricane come through - this is too much like last year! We were in SC for Labor Day weekend when Hurricane Dennis caused so much havoc. Maybe we can get back home before TS Katrina hits NE Florida!!!

Miracles still happen

Everybody is still talking about how the Lord protected Brandon, Stephen and Tommy. As you can see from the pics, it is a miracle they survived.

Fix-It site at Bob Vila.com

I just had to post this site I found recently. Our light switch in the bedroom stopped working, so we went to Home Depot and picked up one for about 60 cents. Then I went surfing on the web to find the repair instructions. Just wanted to be sure, we could do this without getting bit by the electricity. So I found this site by Bob Vila called Fix-It-Club. On the site, you can click on the link to fix it guides and then scroll down to whatever needs to be repaired. We printed off the instructions and replaced the light switch.

Also, our newly remodeled Highlands Branch Library finally opened in July. I walked over tonight and picked up a my new library card and checked out some books on "blogging." Maybe I can find some new ideas for this site and help to make it more interesting.

Four more days!!

Josh preaches at the nursing home service in SC


Janelle is working at BJU HomeSat filming a class for home schoolers










I thought I would give you an update on Josh and his wife, Janelle, in SC. My oldest son will be finishing a master's degree in Pastoral Studies at Bob Jones Seminary by the end of December. Janelle is still working on finishing her HomeSat class that is being videotaped for the satellite network Bob Jones University produces for home schoolers. She has had to write the scripts, skits, and lessons, and record the class, which has taken about 1-1/2 years. They are looking to begin serving at a ministry in January, 2006, if it is the Lord's will. We should be able to post the decision in a few weeks.

We will be able to visit with them this coming weekend as we are traveling to SC for Ryan Thien's wedding Saturday, Aug. 27. Brandon is going to be the best man in the wedding. We will also get to see Mom and Dad in Cowpens. Thanks to Ryan for planning the wedding on the same weekend as my Mother's birthday!(Friday, Aug. 26 - Four more days!!)

For those who cannot get enough sports

I found this site recently from Fox Sports. You can look at photos from all kinds of sports. This link will frist take you to photos of Lance Armstrong from this years Tour de France, but there are many other sports to select. This site has about 99 photos like the one above from the Tour.

angels watching over me...

Praise the Lord for His protection

Our son, Brandon, and his two friends survived a wreck Friday afternoon when he totaled his Toyota while on the way to see the Braves in Atlanta. We are so thankful to God for the angels that protected them and that they were able to walk away from his demolished 4-runner.

Psalm 91:11
For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.

Summer vacation is over!!!

Even though it is 96 degrees outside and it is still summer, it feels like summer is over. School has officially started for the 2005-2006 year. Victory Christian Academy began the school year on Weds, August 17th, and life will not be the same around the house! Cindy is back to work - back to school teaching. It seems like the summer flew by this year! Victory is probably the last school in this area to start as all public and most private schools began back on August 8th. Cindy will be teaching Math and English this year. She will also be running the Passport Learning Center for the school. Looks to be a good year at Victory, enrollment is up and the year has begun!

Just a few more days and those college students will be heading back. April Logan will be heading back to Bob Jones University, in Greenville, SC. Leah Franklin will be taking classes at Maranatha Bible College in Watertown, WI. Josh Franklin will be finishing his seminary degree by December at Bob Jones Seminary. We are praying for all of you as you head back to school!

Google Maps Mash-ups

USA Today had an article on the newest technology available to anyone via the internet and using google maps. Called "Google Maps Mash-ups" - they take real-time data and link it to a google map. You can check it out at www.googlemapsmania.blogspot.com

There is a lot of information on this site. One I think is neat, is a combination of the maps and the price of gas, on this link at http://www.ahding.com/cheapgas/

Some favorite web sites

Yeah!! I finally figured out how to post links in my sidebar to some of my favorite web sites. There is a nice Bible scripture search site now, you can look verses up by the passage, choose which translation to view, etc. There many useful searches on this site to use when you study the Bible. There is a link to Tim Fisher's site for Christian music, DCM recordings. You can browse the site and purchase music from there if you desire, or you can just check it out to see what CD's you are missing in your collection. I also added a site that allows you to listen to good old-fashioned, conservative, traditional godly music. You can open a separate browser and listen while you work or play on line. Dr. James Dobson started "Focus on the Family" many years ago, and their website is filled with lots of information about raising a family.

A few other links I posted are more "fun" sites - DCI is the web site for the Drum & Bugle Corps Int'l. The championships will be broadcast on ESPN this fall, I think on the Tuesday night after Labor Day, for the first time ever. In the past, they were broadcast on PBS. If you have never heard Clark Howard on the radio, then you should be sure to check out his site. It has lots of information on handling your finances, as he is known for "watching out for your money". I added a couple of news site that I read once or twice a day, Fox News and Newsmax.

And, of course, I have to keep up with Duke basketball, yes, even this summer. Didn't you know that Sheldon Williams and JJ Reddick are playing in a tournament this summer. They are on the USA U21 World Championship Team and the team has a 7-1 record as of today. Things are looking good for Duke basketball this year. One last site I had to include was the comics. There are many of your favorites on this link and you can enjoy them in on your screen.
Have fun!

As I promised ...

As I promised Cindy, I am posting her favorite picture of Natalie from our vacation in Arkansas. Here she is on the stage at the Ozark Folk Center. She looks like a little doll. We miss you, Natalie-it sure is quiet around here!

Thinking about family

One of my on-going projects has been compiling a family genealogy - oh, I've been working on this since we married in 1977. I have started my family tree on genealogy.com, but I am not ready to post it. Did you know there are many free sites available to search for your ancestors. The Ellis Island site is pretty awesome.

Been thinking of our families recently, how many Baggetts and Franklins there are all over the USA. Some we rarely get to see anymore. Maybe through this blog site, we can get more connected with each other. If you know of someone in the family who has email, or internet access at home, you might want to send them a note about the site. I was thinking of my Dad's brothers and their sons who carry on the name Franklin - how it would be nice to connect with them and see how they are all doing. One brother moved to Rhode Island years ago. Uncle Lawrence is dead now, but he has several sons I would like to get to know some day. Another brother, Uncle Howard is also dead now, and he had two daughters and one son, Jim. I was a little kid when cousin Jim was in high school, back in the day they say he was a real popular guy at Cowpens High. Then I start thinking of the female cousins, even with different last names, they are still Franklins by birth. A lot of people to keep track of and that is just on my Dad's side of of the family!

The Baggetts are mostly in Arkansas, but there are a few family members scattered around the country. We tend to keep up with them more because most of them are still in Arkansas. My wife is here in Florida, most of her brothers and family are in Texas, and her Uncle Kelsea and his family are out in California.

So if you have any famly news, pictures to post, etc. just send me an email or post a comment on the blog.

Special Family Events in July

There were several special days for the Baggetts and Franklins in July so I thought I would post some pictures of those events.



Amy Baggett married Josh York on July 9th in Sheridan, AR. Stephen and Leah Franklin celebrated their 2nd wedding anniversary on July 12th



Birthdays were celebrated in July - Stephen turned 26 and we had a nice birthday party while on vacation in the Ozarks.



Jo Ann Baggett had a birthday which was celebrated with Cindy, Aunt Robbie Blackstock, and Winnie Baggett. I think she is 39 and holding



Other birthdays included David Baggett and the newest member of the Baggett clan born to Derek and his wife this July. If I missed any other dates, let me know.

Red Raider Forever

I guess you have heard the latest from the "politically correct" crowd, that the NCAA has ruled that 18 Universities cannot use Indians for mascots, or they will lose the privileges of post-season tourneys, etc. Coach Bobby Bowden was quoted as saying that "he was a Seminole and would always be a Seminole". Gov. Jeb Bush said that whoever is making these decisions needs to get out of the office and see the real world, or something like that. FSU will be fighting this in court, if need be. I say the whole world is going nuts! Cindy and I both have some Indian in our blood line, and I do not see any problem with Indian mascots. I have Cherokee in my Franklin blood. I think it is fine to use Indian mascots and it keeps before us a reminder that there were many proud Indian nations in America before England, France, and Spain discovered this land. I graduated from Cowpens High School, yes you are reading it correctly, located in Cowpens, SC, in the year 1973. We were the Red Raiders, our school colors red and white! A few years later around 1977, the high school was closed and the Cowpens students were consolidated with Pacolet High School students to become the Gettys D. Broome High School in Spartanburg county. So much for progress.
The Cowpens High fight song: (tune is "Washington and Lee Swing")
Oh, when the boys of Cowpens fall in line
We're gonna win that game another time,
And for dear CHS we'll yell and yell!
And for the red and white, we'll yell and yell and yell!!
We're gonna fight, fight, fight for every game,
We'll circle round our team and make a train,
We're gonna knock our rivals in the sky, oh so high,
Cowpens High !!
Well, it sounds a little corny today but it still brings back a lot of good memories!! I guess I will be a Red Raider forever.

Happy News!!

I found out about this website - you all might find it fun or corny - nothing but good news on this site, or so they say. I have not searched every news article but it looks like a fun site - go to HappyNews.com

Hannity & Colmes & Dobson

I just watched the interview of Dr. James Dobson on Fox News tonight on the Hannity & Colmes Show. I sent Sean Hannity an email because of the noise that was heard every time the bottom headline changed. It must have changed at every sentence during the interview, and I was distracted by the swooshing sound. I wonder if he will read my email or if anyone will - I wonder if Fox News did this just to distract listeners - maybe a liberal has infiltrated the Fox News graphics dept.
By the way, Dr. Dobson has a daily email available called Citizen Link, which can come to your email address daily with the latest news of interest to the Christian citizen. You can go to the link above to sign up for it. I have been receiving this email for over a year now, and even though I do not take time to read it all, I can scan the headlines for topics of interest to read.

Things we learned on vacation

We just returned home from WI early this morning, about 12:45 am, thanks to "Delta Delay" Airways. We really enjoyed being with Stephen, Leah and Natalie in WI. We traveled the countryside and visited many new places.

Some of the things we learned on this trip:

Amish country exists in WI and they are a very friendly people. We "invaded" their space one afternoon visiting the Michler's General Store, the Hillside Bakery, a furniture store and several other places. The house that had the bakery also had a wagon of produce outside with a bucket for cash, self-service style. We joked about how quick the veggies would disappear outside our house in Florida, and that no one would pay but just take. Stephen reminded us that in Florida, someone would also steal the money bucket.

We visited the shores of Lake Michigan in Sheboygan, WI, and also in Chicago, IL, this week. We never realized how huge this lake is - it is just like an ocean. Looking at the map of the US does not allow you to realize how large this lake really is.

We found the visit to the Pacific Garden Mission in Chicago very fascinating. The radio drama, Unshackled, is recorded every Saturday at 4:15pm. This is the only radio drama still recorded before a live audience in the US.

A few other interesting tidbits about WI - there is no Wendy's restaurant in Watertown or Beaver Dam; the Trek bike plant is nearby in Waterloo and has Lance Armstrong's jersey and bikes on display in the lobby; Kohler, known for plumbing fixtures, also made the first electric clothes washing machine and during WW II made casings for torpedo shells.

While some like to say that "all good things must come to an end", we can say for sure that all good "vacations" must end, so we head back to work on Monday.