Country Cafe, Castile, NY

As I traveled away from Asbury Camp and Retreat Center along Highway 39 and toward the site of the NOMADS Annual Meeting in Hamburg, NY, I passed through a small town named Castile.  It was near noon and I felt I could eat.  Yes, eat once again, not because I was hungry, mind you, but it was the noon hour after all.  Seeing an obvious local eatery and a large parking lot where I could easily maneuver my rig, I pulled in.  The place was small with a few, obviously local, customers enjoying their lunch.  I sat and ordered my traditional iced tea, unsweetened of course.  The server read me the specials of the day and left me to ponder the menu as she fetched my drink.

I elected to have a simple meal, since I was not all that hungry.  I ordered one of the specials: a bowl of chili and a grilled cheese sandwich.  Now, how often do you find something as simple as that on a menu!  The day was cool so I figured chili was appropriate.  I sat in relative silence with barely the din of conversation from a few tables away to keep me company.  I knew only too well the monotony of eating alone, and was rather tired of it.  The server returned more than a few times to check on me and my meal.  How often do you find this kind of service!

 

She asked if the travel trailer parked outside was mine.  I said yes and she proceeded to ask where I lived, where I traveled, and what I did while traveling.  I explained my volunteer work, who I worked for (the Lord and NOMADS), and how much I enjoyed it.  She responded with pleasantries and asked me about dessert.  I declined – yes, I declined dessert, can you believe that?  The server said she would bring my bill and disappeared toward the kitchen.

It seemed like more than a few minutes or so before I saw her near the cash register.  As I stood and prepared to pay, she said with a smile, “Your bill is on the house.”  I probably looked like a fool but I was dumbfounded, finding a loss for words.  She reiterated, “You lunch is free so don’t think of paying.”  Was it that smile?  Yeah, she was a beauty but a little young for me.  Again, my mind could not conjure up any response, let alone an appropriate expression of appreciation.  She continued, “We respect people like you.”  Finally, the words poured forth thanking her and her manager for their generosity.

I felt in total oblivion, as if in a foreign country and did not speak the language.  As I slowly moved toward the door, a grin came to my face.  I walked out onto a wooden porch of sorts and across the gravel lot to my truck, chuckling to myself.  Wow, I thought, did what just happened really happen?  I had never experienced such a nice act of appreciation for anything, much less for what I do – serve the Lord by helping others.  Cool, very cool.

So, if you ever find yourself along Highway 39, passing through the small town of Castile, NY, stop in at Arnie’s and Eddie’s Country Café, 125 S. Main Street, 585-493-3009.  You will certainly find some fine folks there, and good home-style cooking.

Asbury Camp and Retreat Center, Silver Lake, NY

View from the Dining Hall across the spot where a large hotel-type building once stood

Beginning with the NOMADS project in Salem, Maine, I set out on a whirlwind series of back-to-back projects.  The second in this series was at the Asbury Camp and Retreat Center in Silver Lake, New York.  Silver Lake is outside Perry, NY.  A retreating glacier created this eight-mile finger lake some years ago.  It is one of the many finger lakes in the area.  I chose this project because it was on the way to the NOMADS Annual Meeting, to be held in Hamburg, NY, near Buffalo.

As I left Maine, I traveled through some back roads so I could see more of the beautiful country in northern New England.  At one point, I had to turn around because the route took me into Canada, something I did not want to do.  I had heard too many horror stories of the United States border guards practically tearing a trailer apart, strewing contents all over the ground, and leaving the owner to clean it up.  I was told the Canadian border guards were much nicer, but coming back into the U.S. was not a pleasant experience.

I tooled along admiring the scenery and daydreaming, something I often do to pass the time on the road, when I came over a hill and within a short distance was a railroad overpass.  This was not all that unusual except for a sign about fifty feet before it, which simple read, 13’.  Fear struck deep in my stomach at the sudden realization that my trailer measured 12’ 9” tall and here I was on a two-lane back road with no place to turn around, barely able to stop my truck and trailer, and trying to think quickly about my immediate situation.  I recall wondering how accurate was that measurement, how much had the overpass settled over time or had the road settled and increased the distance, could the Lord somehow shrink my trailer to fit just enough to make it through the small opening.  I slowed to a crawl, said a brief but desperate prayer, and waited for the sure sound of my air condition unit being scraped off the top of the trailer.  I sensed a nervous sweat on my forehead as I crept forward, windows down and listening intently.  Not a sound.  No scraping.  Nothing.  “Wow, Lord,” I said aloud.  “Thank you so very much.”  I proceeded on my way, very thankful for the grace of the Lord and His watching out for me.  I reached for my water bottle, knowing that it would not be enough to quench the burning thirst in my throat.  I also realized, oh man, did I need a bathroom!

I traveled due west across New Hampshire, Vermont, and into New York.  It may have been my imagination but it seemed that as soon as I cross the New York state line the drivers suddenly became rude and inconsiderate.  Up to this point, I thought the only people who were naturally rude and obnoxious all lived in Massachusetts.  Hmm, guess some of them migrated into New York.

View of Camp

Entrance to Camp Asbury

The northern part of New York is very beautiful, full of rolling hills and farms.  I found my way to Asbury easily.  As my team leader requested, I called when I was about five minutes out.  I quickly understood why he wanted prior notice.  Asbury is an established camp on the bank of Silver Lake, complete with rustic cabins, dining hall, play areas, and a modern Retreat Center.  It also had narrow, winding paths (I would not call them roads) throughout the facility.  The NOMADS were to park trailers and RVs in a wooded area not entirely accessible.  I wrangled my way through the woods to the small lot set aside for the NOMADS.

I enjoyed the project very much.  Perhaps, some of that is because I had friends working with me that I had worked with in Rhode Island.  Good, fine people, they are.  Most of the NOMADS are like that though, friendly and caring folks.  I met some new friends too, again good, fine people.  The work was satisfying and I learned a lot.

Path or road leading to NOMADS parking area

Home for three weeks

One of my fellow NOMADS, who was a plumber in a prior life, was gracious enough to allow me the opportunity to learn from him.  He was a nice guy and a very good friend and teacher.  He and I were installing double sinks in two bathrooms.  He would work on one as I watched and then he would let me install the other.  Very cool!  In a relatively short time I was able to unlock the eternal mysteries of installing a sink without leaks, broken pipes, or looking like something out of a sci-fi movie.

My first attempt at installing sinks, counter included

Another task, and an opportunity to work with another new NOMADS friend, involved building two canoe racks down near the lake.  I thoroughly enjoyed the time it took to figure out what we wanted to do and then do it.  We laughed, we talked, and we enjoyed the task of building the racks.  In the end, we thought that when the lake freezes over in winter someone could put a sail on one of the racks and go sailing across the ice, or perhaps someone could put a tarp over the rack and go ice fishing.  My friend and I were certain that the racks would outlive us.

Permanent yet mobile racks for six canoes each

I attended the last church service of the season held by the local community of summer residents.  The community held their final service on a dock beside the lake.  It was like just about any other church service except this one was surrounded by beautiful blessings of the Lord – wonderful weather, beautiful scenery, quiet and serene surroundings, and friendly people.

This project was also enjoyable because the team came together as a group of friends.  We enjoyed sitting together in the evening and talking about nothing in particular.  A few of us would go play miniature golf, tour an antique car show, head out for pizza, or simply take a long walk.  This was one of my favorite projects.  It was not the work I did or the things I learned, which were both very nice; it was the people I meet through NOMADS.

United Methodist Economic Ministry, Salem, ME - August 2012

Maine - a peaceful, serene, beautiful state

I have yet to travel through all fifty states but I have been through quite a few, mostly east of the Mississippi valley.  Prior to the project I just finished, I had never set foot in Maine.  This state may well be the most beautiful state in the union.

Most prominent of its many positive attributes are the people.  I found them very friendly, courteous, inviting, and caring.  In terms of friendliness, they are on par with the good folks around Ruston, Louisiana.  The ‘main’ language aside, I would have thought I was in another country.  Yes, they talk a little differently up this way.  Many of the lower forty-seven states, as you might call them if you live up this way, have their unique dialects and thankfully, most of them relate to English.  Now, understand, I have not traveled through many of those forty-seven states … yet.  Still, it was a short distance inside my visit before I experienced the native language.  Like the neighboring states just south of here, the vocabulary seems to thrive without the pronunciation of the letter r.

It took me a couple of weeks before I thought I overcame the language barrier.  That is, I thought I had.  It may well have been that the local folks became accustomed to this funny-talking down-lander from Texas, Oklahoma, West Virginia, or who knows where.  I recall once when my daughter caught me humming and occasionally singing a few words from a tune that served as a ringtone on my son’s cell phone.  The tune was some rap song about California, I think, and between my hearing loss and my inherent inability to understand any words emitting from the minute speaker in his phone, my daughter remarked, ‘Dad, you sound like some country hick trying to sing a rap song, and you’re making up your own words!  That’s not how it goes!’  I thought I was doing fairly well.  It was a catchy tune, to me at least.

United Methodist Economic Ministry, Salem Township, ME

I spent three weeks with the United Methodist Economic Ministry in Salem Township, ME.  It is located about fifty miles south of the Canadian border, near the Sugarloaf ski resort, in the northwestern area of Maine.  The nearest city, called a city rather than a town, is Farmington.  Closer are towns that I found very hospitable, like Kingfield, Phillip, and Strong.  I heard the town of Strong was once the ‘toothpick capital of the world.’  If you ever find yourself in this part of the world, you might find yourself returning waves to folks passing you along the highway or returning a greeting with a smile and hello when passing someone on the street.  I also found that when I pulled over on the shoulder of a local road, the neighboring folks would stop and ask if they could help.  Gracious folks, in my book.

You will likely become accustomed to living without a cell telephone in your ear while you visit the Salem area.  With the mountains and hills surrounding the Salem valley, cellular signal is a challenge to find.  The local folks seem to adapt very well, if they ever had to adapt to cell phones in the first place.  The local folks have a well-known pull-off at the top of a nearby hill where one may drive, park, and talk to your heart’s content with a clear signal.  While traveling around the area I noticed several homemade pullouts strategically located where cell signals are the greatest.  Modern technology, you got to love it.

I could watch this all day and then some

Where's my KAYAK!!!

Another fine attribute of Maine is clear water flowing freely and abundantly through several rivers.  It is quite commonplace to see kayaks on the tops of cars.  I noticed an abundance of camping trailers in the area too.  Leaves little wonder why the motto for Maine is the vacation state.  There are plenty spots along the country roads to pull over and gander at the pleasant expanse of greenery, stretching over hills as far as you can see, which is quite a distance compared to the smog-ridden panoramic views of Virginia.

Salem United Methodist Church

'The General' Store, maker of fine sandwiches and other stuff

A wide spot in the road goes by the name, Salem.  It is a quaint little place.  Drive past the place at high speed and you would certainly miss it.  Scattered along the highway coming from Kingfield you would first see the United Methodist Economic Ministry.  It consists of a thrift store, food pantry, and workshop for home repair in the community.  Just past the Ministry, you will see an old cemetery.  The average date on gravestones is the mid-1850s and the cemetery remains well kept still today.  Next, you would see a high school, a small church, a few houses, and a general store aptly named ‘The General.’  The store sells sandwiches, drinks, and what not.  You might think of it as the local diner of sorts – a fine place to eat if you want to sample true local hospitality.

Aside from this being my first visit to Maine, this project represented my first opportunity to lead a NOMADS team.  This was my 12^th NOMADS project and through the year I noticed that some projects were in danger of being cancelled due to lack of leadership.  I had years of leading mission teams so it seemed right that I become certified as a project leader under NOMADS.  I was fortunate to participate in a training session, while in Florida earlier in the year, provided by the Chairman of the Board for NOMADS.  Following the training and some casual discussion, he recommended I lead the project in Maine.  That was one of the locales on my ‘bucket list’ so I was anxious to sign up.

To my surprise, two couples who worked with me on their first NOMADS projects signed up for my team within a week of meeting me.  I guess, I was either considerably charming or they were grossly mislead, or perhaps they were too new to know better.  In any event, I was truly appreciative.

Concurrent with the timing of the NOMADS project, mission teams visited from such places as New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts.  Although we NOMADS did not work with them closely, we enjoyed our sharing of worship time and the weekly community dinner.  As the Lord would have it, a few of us became friends, or at least exchanged contact information for future endeavors through our faith in Christ.  Their welcoming smiles, friendliness, courtesy, and kindness were very nice and comforting. 

Roof and Wall covering an existing ramp

During our stay in Salem, the NOMADS worked on four tasks.  We built a deck on the side of a mobile home, replaced skirting around another mobile home, painted a bit, and built a lean-to roof and wall along an existing handicap ramp.  I found the recipients of our labor to be nice folks.  They were especially appreciative that we had traveled so far to help in the community.

Aside from my leadership duties, I found occasions to learn something new.  From my previous NOMADS projects, I had picked up a few carpentry skills and this project gave me many opportunities to apply those skills.  In little time, I felt like I had moved from novice to seasoned carpenter.  I know there is so much more I need to learn but I can certainly see progress in my abilities.

Overall, this was a wonderful project.  The beautiful countryside, the wonderful people, the ample supply of snacks provided generously by the homeowners and Ministry coordinator, oh man, what a place!  This is without a doubt a project I will seek out again and again.

Wire Bridge, near Kingfield

Downtown Philip, ME

Typical Maine home

Home is attached to barn for cold winters

Mega snow plow - watch out for this guy!

Beautiful Maine

Camp Aldersgate, RI - April/May 2012

View of Camp Aldersgate from cabins

Rhode Island, the smallest state in the Union, proved to me just how small it really is.  After spending six weeks in that beautiful state, it seemed I could drive in any direction and in minutes, I would be in either Connecticut or Massachusetts.  This was my first visit to New England, for any duration, that is.  I was surprised to see several differences from the rest of the country.

I arrived around the third week of April 2012 after spending the previous three months in Florida.  Since the nation had little winter this past season, Florida was too warm with high temperatures in the upper 80’s and 90’s.  I was anxious to head north and cooler weather.

Cooler weather, I found.  I also found the winter I missed in Florida.  For my first three weeks, it rained every week, not every day, and was downright cold.  It was a damp cold; one that chills you to the bone.  I appreciate winter, though.  I can always add more layers and become more active to ward off the cold.  Where it is warm, you can only take off so much before folks think you are strange.

The setting was wonderful.  I anticipated a crowded area, heavily populated as most of the east coast is.  I found wooded landscape that went for miles.  Lakes were everywhere, perhaps man-made, maybe not.  Stone walls were plentiful in the area too.  Some were obvious boundaries between properties and others ran their length deep into the woods.  There were a few farms, but mostly heavily wooded home sites hidden from the road.  Even schools seemed tucked away from public view with trees hiding the football fields and playgrounds.  As I arrived, winter was giving way to spring and all plant life turned a beautiful green.

The architecture of most homes and buildings is interesting.  I am certainly not an expert when it comes to describing architecture so I will not attempt that.  I can say, however, that whatever architecture is used, it is unique and, well, interesting.

I did not expect what I found in the people.  First, the local folks are very different from the Midwest and South.  My initial reaction was what an arrogant, self-centered, unfriendly people!  In time, I realized they are not necessarily that way.  They are just different.

I like to watch people.  During my free time, I found a viewing point where I could relax and casually watch the people go about their lives.  My observations included many aspects of life.  The people did not seem to care for their own safety.  They seemed negative, almost unhappy, rarely smiling, rarely greeting others who passed their way.  The few that I interacted with talked without pronouncing their r’s, which I guess is called a ‘Boston’ accent.  Even the newscasters spoke that way.  In all, the people of that area seem to be self-centered, inconsiderate, void of social grace, and arrogant.

One interesting point about the local news out of Boston is that they displayed what I would call a snobbish coverage of local weather.  Though the states of Connecticut and Rhode Island are closely wrapped by Massachusetts, the Boston weather reports would not include temperatures in Providence and other cities in close graphical proximity.  Odd, I thought.

I learned that some of the local residents rarely travel, some having never left the state of Rhode Island.  Though some of the locals were interested in visitors, most did not want to converse.  Again, odd.

The site where I worked for six weeks was a nice summer camp tucked away from a country road.  Camp Aldersgate had been there for quite a while.  It had a nice lake with nice amenities of a summer camp.  My job for the entire time was to help install bathrooms in three cabins.  This included removing built-in bunk beds, installing doors in the rear of the cabins, framing walls and doors, cutting through concrete for plumbing and later finishing the floor, and assorted tasks related to finishing the bathrooms.  I resolved that due to irregular progress by the contracted plumber, our group did not accomplish more than we did.

I stayed for two three-week periods starting in mid-April, through the end of May.  As the Lord progresses with my exposure to working with tools in ways that I have only dreamed, He blessed me with two great leaders.  Both leaders allowed me to help build bathrooms by cutting through six inches of concrete floor, dig trenches for water and sewer pipes, frame walls and doors, and install doors and ceiling vents.  I grew in confidence and ability, thanks to these two men and the other wonderful team members.  I was especially appreciative of my team members, women and men.  With every NOMADS project, I am amazed with the quality of faithful Christians, the friendship and helpfulness, and companionship.  There is no wonder why I love working with NOMADS.

One fascinating aspect of my visit was the geese that appeared to have taken up residence around the lake.  In particular, two geese had five chicks.  They were probably days old when I arrived but seemed to grow quickly.  I noticed that one of the five was smaller and slower.  I noticed that the parents were very attentive to the four larger ones, but ignored the little one.  Letting nature take its course, the small one disappeared.  Over the six weeks of my visit, the four small chicks were soon half the size of their parents.  The parents were very protective, keeping the babies between them as they crossed the dirt road, swam across the lake to an isolated island, or grazed in the yard.  It was very fascinating to watch one of the parents (I could not tell the mother from the father) fly around the lake and land in front of the babies.  I suspect he (or she) was teaching them to fly.  Very cool to watch!

I enjoyed my stay at Camp Aldersgate.  I will consider returning in the future, perhaps for only the usual three-week period.  Six weeks got a little long, or perhaps I got an itch to travel when the first period was up and most of my team members moved on to their next destination.  Still, it was good.  I thank the Lord for having me learn more about people, this world, and how I serve Him.

During the evenings I tried to learn to play a guitar

Talking with the Camp directors

Cutting through 6" of concrete floor

Family of geese when I arrived in April

Sunset view over Lake Aldersgate

Framing 101 with my coworker

One of the three cabins under renovation

Gittin 'er plum

A rear window becomes a door

Women on the team finished the door

Heading back to my trailer for lunch

Rare sight of turtle laying eggs

Family of geese at end of my stay

One of the two teams I worked with, good folks