Sunday was the day we had scheduled to head over to my Dad’s place in East Livermore, about ninety minutes from Rockland. We did get to start the day off with church, with Carleton at his church, which was a good way to start the day. After church, we all went to the Offshore Restaurant, where we had lunch. After lunch, it was time to go back to the house and pack up, which always seems to take awhile. I’m always amazed at how much stuff we bring along in the car, but I’d rather have it with me than miss it during vacation.
The trip out to East Livermore was uneventful, except I got stuck in the wrong lane in the first rotary in Augusta, so Mer got to hear my rotary rant for several minutes. She is a patient soul. Dad was actually over at a friend’s house helping him with a project when we got there, but my stepmother Kellee was home, so we unpacked and visited with her. Dad got home just as I was getting the grill going with chicken, and so we were able to have supper together.
Dad had received a DVD called Conscientious Objector from someone (he did not know who sent it to him), so we watched that together. The film was a documentary about a WW 2 medic who was a committed Seventh Day Adventist, and as such refused to carry any weapon. It told about all the grief he got during training and his early deployment, but he stood by his beliefs. The men in his unit were won over when they saw how dedicated he was to going into dangerous situations to rescue and treat wounded men. He exposed himself to intense danger during the battle for Okinawa, staying on top of a defenseless ridge for twelve hours to rescue wounded men. For that heroism, he won the Medal of Honor. It was an excellent film, and was, to me, a great reminder of how God can help those who stand by their faith. Mer joined us for about the last third, and she was impressed as well.
After the film was done, we said goodnight to Dad and headed downstairs to the guest bedroom, where we went to bed. Even though Dad’s place is inland, we were still able to leave the widow open for fresh air, and needed a blanket, as it got quite cool overnight.