I brought rain to Canada when I went up on the 31st and I brought it back with me on the 17th! I have to say it was a rough day of travel. Everywhere I stopped it was raining and planes were delayed. I finally arrived in Austin around midnight. Poor Russ was dead tired and a little cranky from waiting around so long. To top it off, for the first time ever Southwest sent my luggage on to the wrong town. Mind you, we had to change travel plans, gates and times numerous times to avoid all the bad weather. My Cape Air flight was cancelled and I had to drive another half hour to Massena to catch a flight. You know you’re in for it when the pilot warns you that the flight will be rough. There were storm clouds all around and sometimes we just had to go through the middle. It was like being on a roller coaster ride! I had another great pilot called Pete. He looked as if he was ex-military. At any rate, I was not afraid for my safety. Bottom line of course is that God is in control. We drove home through deer infested country. I have never seen so many deer out on the road as I did Friday night! We arrived home safe and sound at about 2a.m. I had a wonderful restful vacation, and my sister Dee and her husband Dave always take good care of me. I love to spend time with my two sisters, Bev and Dee and my brother Jim. I am ready to get to work!I didn’t get to write the column last week because I was out fishing. I caught several large and small mouth bass and two pickerel. I was reeling in a really good sized bass when it snapped my 8 pound test line. Dave got a good luck at it and said it was a hum-dinger. I was too busy reeling to get a look at the “one that got away.” My sister Dee caught a 4 pound bass and lost another one trying to get it into the boat. Bev caught several good sized bass, a pickerel and Jim came out on the short list with just two small fish. We released most of our fish except Dee’s and the ones Dave caught. Those we ate for dinner!Last week we also took a tour of the Rideau Canal and Lock system. The locks were originally built to provide a safe supply route for the Canadians after the War of 1812. There is a film put out by the Canadian government and all kinds of publicity for the war since this is the 200th anniversary. Naturally the war is viewed differently in Canada than it is in the U.S. I may try to get a coy of the film and show it to my students. The locks are amazing. We stayed and watched the process for several hours. There is talk of reducing the number of hours the locks are operating, but that would be a shame. Many Canadians and Americans travel the St. Lawrence Seaway and the Great Lakes, closure of this asset would hurt many tourist operations up and down the Seaway. We went on a cruise of the St. Lawrence Seaway out of Gananoque. We didn’t get to tour Boldt Castle but I took pictures of it. This castle was built by an immigrant who started as a kitchen boy and worked his way up to become the owner of the Ritz. He built this beautiful castle for his wife, but she died before getting the chance to live in it. It is built on Heart Island. The story is a very poignant tribute to true love, but it is the American success story as well. Closing the lock system could close this tourist spot as well... I guess we’ll have to wait and see.While I was in Canada, I started the paperwork for a search of the military records for my dad and granddad. I’m trying to get it together to present to my son Scott. My grandfather was in the RAF during WWI, my dad was in the RCAF as a wireless air operations gunner and Scott, is in the USAF. It has taken quite an effort to get the information I need. My grandfather was at Vimy Ridge, Ypres and several other horrendous battles with the Canadian Expeditionary Forces. He received a medal of bravery for action on the field. I don’t know about my dad. It has been a very interesting journey of discovery. I know he was in Africa and I’m fairly sure he was also in Europe. So hopefully the next few weeks will bring me enough information to get this ready for Christmas.The church has collected supplies for school kids, so if you are a little short, just see Mrs. Mask or someone at church. I kept the polo shirt on my supply list even though we are not going to Dallas this year. We will be doing UIL and other nice things, so the shirt really is needed. It’s always nice for young men to have a collared shirt and young ladies to have a dressy outfit. I brought back some Canadian notebooks and pencils for the kids. It’s hard to believe summer is over and it’s time for school. See you next Monday kids. Don’t forget to bring your box tops.I ran up to the ice cream social Saturday. I don’t know if I had the wrong time, but for some wet reason everyone was leaving. I stayed and talked to Jason and Maxine for a short time, then headed home. Maxine tells me the event was a great success and she was proud of the boys and girls who helped with the event. There will be a scrimmage at Throckmorton next week. I’m sure some of our very loyal and avid fans will travel the distance to support our athletes. We are projected to have another winning season. I know we have the boys with the heart to get the job done. We’ll just have to work our way through to the finals. No matter what, I know Coach Burkhart, Coach Rogers and Coach Tipton, will have prepared our boys properly. Go Coyotes.I was delighted to see Alfred Garrett at church Sunday. He has had a long battle and all of us are glad he is home. H.B. Adams is also doing much better. Pete was visiting this week. It’s always a pleasure to have him in class. Kenny Powell is out of the hospital and we’re glad he is getting to stay home. I asked that my brother-in-law Dave be put on the prayer list. He was diagnosed with bladder cancer right before I left. The treatment is pretty radical. We are still praying for Charlie Capps, Weldon Faught, Kenneth Powell, June McPherson and Paul Gibson. Ottis Richmond has also been added to the cancer prayer list. Kim Tharp and Jeanine Hoke are in need of our prayers for health issues as well. Please keep them and others that are ill in your prayers.Please watch out for school children getting ready to head for school. Our elections are heating up and I’m sure we will all be tired of hearing how bad everyone else is that is running. Please pray for our elections, our President, our legislators and our precious troops and their families. May God please continue to bless America. Have a great week everyone.I