Throwback Thursday: Floridays 1990

Today's Throwback Thursday takes us all the way back to our 2nd trip from Springfield Friends Meeting to Walt Disney World- Floridays 1990! I wish there were more pictures to share, but we took slides for our post-trip slide show, and those slides were lost in one of my moves. Still, here are 7 things that stick out in my mind from that adventure:

1)  We had many great "performances" while at Disney. We saw Heather Beggs and Mike Mercadante dancing in front of the "Chinese Theater" that houses The Great Movie Ride. There was J.J. Carter delivering his line to David Letterman- "Hey Dave, why don't you ever do anything educational?"- at Superstar TV. But the performance of the week had to belong to Kelly Allen (pictured, on left) and her ongoing portrayal of Lucretia Soul Disney Murphy Johnson, who could never figure out "who da hat be wif" and who was constantly on the lookout for Tyrone Mouse- "cause he's a liar!" Best supporting actor awards go to Wendy Mattocks and Jennifer Woods, also pictured.

2)  Russell Farlow ran out of money on about the second day and was constantly trying to borrow from his friends. At the awards ceremony following the trip he was awarded the Brother, Can You Spare A Dime Award.

3)  Jon Moran (pictured, along with Bryan Dowling) celebrated a birthday while we were in Orlando, and we did a birthday meal at the Olive Garden. I remember it was fun and that we had a great time, but I it seems like we were there forever. There were 60 of us, and they just couldn't seem to get our food out, our drinks filled or our checks out so we could leave. Jon may have aged a year while we partied...

4)  One night, after a very long day at the parks, we arrived back at the Gold Key Inn only to find that we had lost Dana Oxendine. We were searching and getting a bit frantic when someone discovered her asleep in the back of the Suburban that Butch Moran was driving. Given that Butch had been accused of falling asleep at the wheel on occasion, it was a miracle she could sleep that soundly!

Stinky also reads the blog!

5)  I have been on a lot of youth trips in my life, and on most of them there is one room that develops a smell that is, as my friend Alan Brown used to say, "taint"-  as in, "that jus' taint natural!" The award for worst smelling room ever (mostly from very natural causes!) goes to Jamie Robinson, Danny McCorquodale, Ken Hill, Jeremy Godwin and (part-time) Todd Farlow. They blamed it all on Jeremy's stuffed animal Stinky (who still takes trips with Jeremy on occasion!). Danny took most of the credit for himself...

6)  On the afternoon we spent by the motel pool, Tim Harding (our trip pastor), Robin Thomas and I wandered across the street (Well, sprinted!  You don't wander across the Orange Blossom Trail and live to talk about it!) to an A&W Root Beer store. Those were without question the best root beer floats in history! They made them with Breyers vanilla ice cream and put them in frosted beer mugs. We had more than one that week I can promise you!

7)  The New Mickey Mouse Club was popular in 1990, and the show had produced a spin-off band called The Party. One of the guys was named Chase Hampton. He was spotted at the Magic Kingdom one day by some of our girls- Jennifer Simmons, Emily Beggs, Elizabeth Tillman and others- and was then pursued until they caught him and got his autograph on their hats. The restraining order took effect the next day...  

So there you have it- a few classic memories from Floridays 1990! There are more stories on this blog from that trip, and you can find them by searching the label below this post. Have a great Thursday and thanks for sharing in this trip down memory lane!

Because of Jesus,

Floridays 1990 Flashback: A Rough Start

Today we step into the Wayback Machine and celebrate Flashback Friday with a look back at the inauspicious first day of our second trip from Springfield Friends Meeting to Walt Disney World, June 9-15, 1990. Over 60 youth and adults caravaned together in five vehicles. Included in this adventure was our friend Jeff Byrd (that's Jeff in the glasses, with Rich Hughes at The Florida Mall ), the youth dude at Archdale Friends Meeting, and around 10 of his group. The trip had tripled in size since our first WDW outing only three years before, and there was great excitement. We were staying at the Gold Key Inn, once again out on Orange Blossom Trail (OBT) in Orlando. We would have four days at the Disney parks, including the brand new Disney/MGM Studios. We couldn't wait to get there.

Getting there turned out to be a bit of an issue, however. One of the Suburbans we were using for transportation, owned by Judy Rees and driven for most of the trip by Robin Thomas, took the wrong exit at one point. This was before the days of cell phones, but we did have some walkie-talkie type radios, and we were able to correct the mistake with minor damage to our trip time. We discovered later those radios didn't have much range. 

We made it into the Orlando area and were cruising down I-4 looking for the OBT exit, all of our vehicles together in single file formation. I was driving the lead vehicle and keeping us in the center lane of traffic when I came to the exit and realized a bit too late that we would be exiting to the left, not the right as one would suppose. I signaled and pulled over, and Butch Moran and my wife Marilyn did the same, blocking the lane and allowing our other vehicles to move over as well. We took the left exit and headed for the motel, thinking all was well. We were wrong! Somehow (and to this day I don't know how) the Archdale van driven by Jeff Byrd did not take the exit with us. They had been in the middle of the caravan, but somehow had continued on down I-4! We tried the radios, but could not reach them. We continued on to the Gold Key Inn, confident that Jeff had the address of the motel and would find it. We should have been more worried. In the years that have followed I have lived in central Florida and spent much time in Orlando, and I have NEVER been able to figure out exactly where Jeff went after we lost him. Apparently he exited on to a toll road (the Florida  Turnpike or the East-West?) and then could not get anyplace he wanted to go. He traveled up and down the highway until finally figuring something out and making his way to the motel, a good hour after the rest of us had checked in. It was a joyful reunion.

After checking-in and unpacking we were all really hungry and ready to hit the food court at The Florida Mall and end this first, very long day. We prepared to cram back into our vehicles when we encountered a slight delay. It seemed that someone (Robin Thomas got all the blame at the time!) had locked the keys in Judy Rees' Suburban. The spare key was safe and secure- in North Carolina! We wandered around the motel and explored out motel while we waited for a locksmith, who eventually showed up and rescued the keys. We were now more ready than ever to make the short drive to the mall, so we once again gathered the troops and loaded up the vehicles. We had a standard operating procedure for making sure we had everyone. Each person was to ride in the same vehicle everywhere we went that week. Each vehicle would count their own passengers, and then I would go from van to van and total our numbers. It was a very safe system- usually.

On this particular night, as I began to go from vehicle to vehicle to make the final count, Jill Gilbreth (that's her in the stripes, at Archdale Friends Meeting at a pre-trip car wash! Behind her are Emily Beggs, Mary Mercadante, Dana Oxendine, Stacy Gilbreth & Beth Brown.) left her vehicle AFTER I had already made sure everyone in it was accounted for. When I finished my rounds, we had the right numbers. Jill, however, was still in the motel getting her money for dinner. Her driver (I don't remember who) didn't realize she was gone, and her friends somehow failed to mention this to anyone. I guess they were just that hungry! So off we went. We arrived at the food court and were sitting down eating, when suddenly Jillybean came running up to our table, looking rather panicked. She told us the story of how she had been left behind at the motel.  She had gone inside, freaked out and crying, and told the motel employees that her group had left her. She must have appeared to be totally panicked, because the motel gave her a ride to the mall AND gave her $5 for supper. She forgave us- sometime around 1993!  And we never failed to remind her that the Gold Key Inn was so anxious to be rid of her that they paid her off!

It's so hard to believe we are coming up on the 25th anniversary of this great trip. Floridays 1990 began with us losing a van, keys, and Jill all on the first day. The next day we would make it to Walt Disney World and things would improve greatly. It was a wonderful trip full of memories. But that first day was a doozy...

Because of Jesus,

The Incredible Mr. Toad

I had a wonderful visit this past week with my old friend Jeremy Godwin, who was down in Florida on a vacation/business trip combo.  It was really great to get to spend time with him. I also got to spend an afternoon texting with Jennifer Wood Jones, another survivor of my years at Springfield Friends Meeting (1986-1994).  I couldn't help but think back to our Florida trips, and especially our Floridays 1990.  Here are a few of those memories in a vintage post from 2010...

Our visit to Walt Disney World in 1990 was a true "festival of fun!"  There were a large number of people with us who had never been to WDW before, and so we set out to do everything!  We watched all the parades, rode all the rides and "ohhhhhhed" and "ahhhhhhed" at all the fireworks.  The Disney/MGM Studios had just recently opened, so that was new to all of us.  As we had on our first trip in 1987, we spent every moment we could at the parks, never leaving until they closed.  One of my favorite Disney memories came around midnight on one of those nights at the Magic Kingdom.

Jeremy Godwin (that's him on the left, with Ken Hill front and center and me on the right- waiting in line at WDW.  Aren't we cool?) and his twin sister Shelley had come to the Springfield youth through our TNT program.  Their family attended another church, but we loved to have them around, and they were both on the Floridays 1990 trip.  Jeremy was a big, strong high school student who was a star lineman on the Trinity HS football team, and who a couple of years after this trip would win the state heavyweight wrestling championship (His final match is still the most exciting sporting event I have ever seen in person, but that is a story for another day).  I was 30 years old at the time, and I was taller, wider and not nearly as strong as Jeremy.  One night of the trip our group was to meet at midnight at Cinderella's Castle before heading back to the motel.  The 9 PM SpectroMagic Parade had ended, and the 11 PM fireworks were complete.  As we stood at the back of the castle waiting for our group to arrive, Jeremy and I noticed that there was no one riding Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.  Mr. Toad was a kids ride, but we all loved it and had ridden it during the course of the day.  Now, with no line and nothing better to do, Jeremy and I (and some others) decided to ride.  And we did.  Over and over again.  With Jeremy and I packed into the same car.  We could have each had our own car, but that would have been way too normal for us!  The Disney cast members who were working the ride were cracking up.  We rode until it was time to shut down the park and meet our group.  Jeremy and I had a blast, and everyone who watched us was entertained.

They closed Mr. Toad's Wild Ride in 1998 to make way for a Pooh Bear ride, and I was crushed.  I will always have my memories of two giant guys crammed into the car of a kiddie ride, going over and over again while laughing hysterically.  Thanks, Jeremy, for a great night on a great trip with some great people!

Because of Jesus,

Max & the Big Boo-Boo

This past Thursday night when I asked for "requests" for old stories to write about here, my former student Laurie Rees (that's her in 1989- or at least that is the date on the back of the picture- stopping by our house on the way to the prom!) suggested that I write a funny story about her grandfather and my former Senior Pastor, Max Rees.  I was blessed to serve under Max for 8 years and he and his entire family had a major influence on my life and ministry.  During my years at Springfield Friends Meeting (1986-1994) I did a "Children's Moment" in worship most every Sunday morning.  When I was away that quite often meant that Max would fill in.  This is the story of one such Sunday.


In June of 1990 I took the youth group to Orlando for a week.  We left on a Saturday and so our first full day in Florida would be a Sunday.  As usual, there were many members of Max's family with us on the trip.  His daughters Barbara and Cathy were chaperons, along with his sons-in-law Butch and Robin and his daughter-in-law Judy.  Approximately 15 of his grandchildren were also with us. Max didn't like it when we were gone on a Sunday, but with so many of his family along for the ride it was hard for him to complain.  Our group had worship at the motel (the Gold Key Inn) that Sunday morning before heading over to Walt Disney World, and sometime in the midst of all that Cathy got a phone call from High Point.  This is the story she was told- as best as I can remember it.  If anyone who was there has corrections, I welcome them!

Max (at right) with the Quaker Kids Club-
Ann Saunders, Mandy Beggs, Emily Beggs,
 Natalie Whitaker, Marie Allen, Jill Gilbreth,
Beth Brown, Allison Rees, Erin Moran

Max called the children down front for their special time and began to teach an object lesson of some sort- the content of which has long since been forgotten.  As part of the lesson, he was talking about Boo-Boos.  For those of you may not speak the language, a boo-boo is a scrap or a cut one gets while playing.  Max was expecting some of the children to show him a scraped knee or an elbow with a raspberry on it.  Max knew these children well.  We ran an after-school program every Wednesday during the school year called Quaker Kids Club, and Max and his wife Avis were huge parts of the program.  As he asked to see their boo-boos, he knew they would have some to show him.  But he had not counted on his own grandson, Zack (or Zach?) Brown- Cathy's 4 (?) year old son.  Zack spoke up quickly and said, "Papa, I have a boo-boo."  Max responded by asking where the boo-boo was.  Zack responded with a booming "it's on my butt!"  Again, I only heard about the aftermath, but what I remember is this- the congregation broke out in uproarious laughter.  Max moved quickly, apparently afraid that Zack might just show everyone the boo-boo.  Zack's father Garry was sitting in his spot in the back of the church trying to make his 6'7" frame invisible to the rest of the congregation.  There was a moment of total chaos.  But I have no doubt that somehow Max rescued the moment by saying the exact right thing- because that was Max.  He just had a knack for handling whatever situation presented itself.  I'm just sorry there is no video...


We love and miss the Rees clan, although we keep up with many of them through my wife Marilyn's Facebook account.  Max & Avis are retired and living in Illinois these days, and his health has not been good lately.  Our prayers are with the entire family.  And Laurie, thanks for the request.  It's a great memory.  Have a blessed Sunday, everyone!


Because of Jesus,

That's A Wrap

At the conclusion of the Floridays 1990 experience- after the trip, the banquet and all of the work that followed- I took the slide of the group picture I had taken in the Great Hall underneath Cinderella's Castle and had it blown up into an 8x11 picture.  The picture was taken around midnight our last night, and the entire group is in it except for myself and Robin Thomas (he was also taking pictures.).  I had it framed and hung it on my office wall at Springfield.  I also hung it every office I had after that.  It is currently hanging over the bed in our guest room.  I was going to scan it and post it here, but I discovered after almost 20 years it is stuck to the glass of the frame, and to remove it would destroy it.  And I can't do that.  I did, however, take a picture of the picture so I could post it here.  You can't really see much of the group, but the symbolism is important.

Why has this picture always been so significant to me?  After all, this particular Florida trip is only the second best Disney trip I ever led (the 1993 WDW trip is my favorite trip ever!).  Overall, it would rank sixth or seventh on my all-time list of favorite trips.  So why is it a picture from this trip that has always been on display for people to see?  The picture has always reminded me of what can happen when we seek God's will and are faithful to God's vision.  It reminds of how the youth ministry of Springfield Friends Meeting changed in a three year period, going from 5 my first Sunday to 20 on the first Disney trip in 1987 to 60 on this trip.  I look at the picture and see so many lives that were touched by God through our TNT program and wound up in Florida as a result.  We invited Jesus to be a part of our student ministry, and He showed up in a very real way.  The trip also represented a changing of the guard in our ministry.  The youth who had taken us to a new level were aging out, and a whole new batch of incredible young people were assuming leadership .  The next four years would be amazing.  I cannot overstate the significance of this trip as a wrap-up to the  first four years and the beginning of whole new world. 

Tomorrow I am going to rant a little bit about why so much of USAmerica sees Christians not as Christ-followers, but as "Jerks for Jesus."  I hope you'll be here.

Because of Jesus,

Now the Truth Can Be Told!

Regular readers of this blog may recall that our Floridays 1990 adventure began with a trip from High Point, NC to Orlando that was nothing if not eventful!  Among the unusual occurrences was losing the Archdale Friends Meeting van driven by Jeff Byrd (for more info, click here).  Everyone who was on the trip remembers that part of the story.  Almost no one knows, as Paul Harvey would say, "the rest of the story!"

Jeff was a total wreck by the time he found the motel, and as the evening went along his condition did not get better.  Late that evening, after our group meeting and after everyone was heading to their rooms, two of Jeff's dear friends decided he needed to visit the motel bar.  I should state clearly at this point that North Carolina Quakers are, on the whole, quite opposed to the use of alcohol- so this trip had to be taken on the down-low.  The two friends told me of this plan, and I suppose I should have tried to stop them- although it would not have mattered.  You see, one of the friends was Tim Harding, our trip Pastor, who was looking out for our spiritual well-being during our stay in Orlando- and Jeff clearly needed some attention.  The other was my wife, Marilyn Jones, with whom it would have been pointless to argue, because I never win!  In any case they slipped off, had an adult beverage in Jeff's honor, and went on to have a wonderful week without anyone knowing.  The truth has been told (to the best of my memory!).

Years later I had two adult sponsors sneak off to drink beers at an Atlanta Braves game- and I caught them red-handed!  My point here is that I invited adults to work with my youth ministries because they had a heart for God and a heart for kids, not because I thought they were perfect.  Jeff, Tim and I were professional Christians, yet we still had our struggles.  Our walk with Jesus does not end because we have a late night drink or because the words we use when cut off in traffic might not be "church language."  It is only when we realize that God is with us at those times that we can be truly blown away by the grace of Jesus Christ.  As an example for youth, I'll take a struggling seeker over a "Jerk for Jesus" anytime!  I guess what I am trying to say is, to Jeff and Tim and Marilyn and all the other adults who over 28 years made my student ministry possible, thank you for being real with me and with the students we served.  It made a difference.

Because of Jesus,

Floridays '90 Awards

Some time after we returned from Orlando, we held a banquet for Springfield Friends Meeting at which we showed a slide show from our trip, and at which we presented awards for special moments from our adventure.  I still have the list of awards, and most of them honor moments I have previously blogged about here. Others stated the obvious, such as the award for Most Disgustingly Filthy Room (Ben Moran, Shon Hildreth, Ion Hildreth and Bryant Gillis) and Best Dick Tracy Souvenirs (given to Stacy Gilbreth, see picture) are very obvious.  But there are a few "awards" on the list that I no longer understand or remember.  I list them here in the hope that someone who reads them might shed some light on why they made my list.

• Most Confused Morning Person- Judy Rees
• Don't Know When They Slept-  Jane Gless and Patsy Hill
• Best Disappearing Act-  Cathy Brown
• Most Unusual Display of Affection-  Shelley Godwin
• Most Likely To Blind You With Her Swim Suit-  Amy Simmons
• Best Use of Motel Bar-  Jeff Byrd, Tim Harding and Marilyn Jones  (So we didn't actually give this one- but you can read more on this story tomorrow!)

If you have any information leading to the solving of these mysteries, please e-mail me at
Youthguy07@aol.com and share the info. 

7 Things (Floridays 1990 Edition)

I have spent the best part of the last two weeks telling stories from our Floridays 1990 trip from Springfield Friends Meeting to Walt Disney World. I wish I had more pictures to share, but I took slides for our post-trip slide show, and those slides were lost in one of my moves. Still, here are 7 more things that stick out in my mind from that adventure:

1)  We had many great "performances" while at Disney.  There was Heather Beggs and Mike Mercadante dancing in front of the "Chinese Theater" that houses The Great Movie Ride.  There was J.J. Carter delivering his line to David Letterman- "Hey Dave, why don't you ever do anything educational?"- at Superstar TV.  But the performance of the week had to belong to Kelly Allen(pictured, on left) and her ongoing portrayal of Lucretia Soul Disney Murphy Johnson, who could never figure out "who da hat be wif" and who was constantly on the lookout for Tyrone Mouse- "cause he's a liar!"  Best supporting actor awards go to Wendy Mattocks and Jennifer Woods, also pictured.

2)  Russell Farlow ran out of money on about the second day and was constantly trying to borrow from his friends.  At the awards ceremony following the trip he was awarded the Brother, Can You Spare A Dime Award.

3)  Jon Moran (pictured, along with Bryan Dowling) celebrated a birthday while we were in Orlando, and we did a birthday meal at the Olive Garden.  I remember it was fun and that we had a great time, but I it seems like we were there forever.  There were 60 of us, and they just couldn't seem to get our food out, our drinks filled or our checks out so we could leave.  Jon may have aged a year while we partied...

4)  One night, after a very long day at the parks, we arrived back at the Gold Key Inn only to find that we had lost Dana Oxendine.  We were searching and getting a bit frantic when someone discovered her asleep in the back of the Suburban that Butch Moran was driving.  Given that Butch had been accused of falling asleep at the wheel on occasion, it was a miracle she could sleep that soundly!

5)  I have been on a lot of youth trips in my life, and on most of them there is one room that develops a smell that is, as my friend Alan Brown used to say, "taint"-  as in, "that jus' taint natural!"  The award for worst smelling room ever (mostly from very natural causes!) goes to Jamie Robinson, Danny McCorquodale, Ken Hill, Jeremy Godwin and (part-time) Todd Farlow.  They blamed it all on Jeremy's stuffed animal Stinky (who still takes trips with Jeremy on occasion!).  Danny took most of the credit for himself...

6)  On the afternoon we spent by the motel pool, Tim Harding (our trip pastor), Robin Thomas and I wandered across the street (Well, sprinted!  You don't wander across the Orange Blossom Trail and live to talk about it!) to an A&W Root Beer store.  Those were without question the best root beer floats in history!  They made them with Breyers vanilla ice cream and put them in frosted beer mugs.  We had more than one that week I can promise you!

7)  The New Mickey Mouse Club was popular in 1990, and the show had produced a spin-off band called The Party.  One of the guys was named Chase Hampton.  He was spotted at the Magic Kingdom one day by some of our girls- Jennifer Simmons, Emily Beggs, Elizabeth Tillman and others- and was then pursued until they caught him and got his autograph on their hats.  The restraining order took effect the next day...  (Thanks to Emily for reminding me of this story- I love hearing from all of you!).

That's it for now!  See you tomorrow for more Floridays 1990!

The Great Maid Caper

The youth ministries of Springfield and Archdale Friends Meetings occupied 15 rooms at the Gold Key Inn in Orlando during our Floridays 1990 trip.  Most of the rooms had four occupants; we were able to cram five students into a couple of the rooms.  One of the rooms of girls housed Laurie Rees (at left, at Springfield on their senior night I believe), Cecily Livengood (center), Kristin Thomas (right) and Alysha Naples (not pictured).  Laurie and Cecily were veterans of the previous summer's Myrtle Beach trip, and were famous for having stated that they "would miss this Betsy B place- forever- because there is no Betsy B in Florida, and these are our childhood memories."  Kristin was Laurie's cousin (another of Max Rees' grandchildren) who lived in Raleigh, but she and her dad Robin had joined us on the trip.  Alysha was a friend of Laurie's from school who had become active in TNT.  These were four fun, intelligent and beautiful young women, who were about to experience a big OOPS!

We were leaving the motel fairly early one morning to make our way to Walt Disney World for the day.  If you have ever been part of a trip with teenagers, you know how difficult it is for a room full of girls to get ready on time.  There is never enough shower time, sink time, mirror time or hairdryer time to go around.  For our four heroes, this was one of those days.  Most of us were outside at our vehicles, waiting on the stragglers.  The following is what I remember from what I was later told.  As Laurie and her friends were leaving the room, a maid approached them and asked if they could come in and clean since the girls were leaving.  In a hurry, the girls said yes and left the door open for the maid.  Unfortunately, this maid was not a maid at all, but a professional thief who targeted tourists.  When we returned to the motel, the girls discovered they had been robbed.  They reported the theft to the front desk and learned that this scam was commonplace in the area.  I don't remember what all was taker; I do remember some cash was involved. Since Laurie's mother Judy and Kristin's dad Robin were both on the trip, I didn't get as involved as I otherwise would have.

It is adventures like this one that teach life lessons on youth trips.  I always had students be in charge of their own money so they could learn to take care of it.  I always tried to get them out of their comfort zones when it came to meals and events.  And I always sought to help them connect everything we did to their relationship with Jesus.  It didn't always work.  But I can look back at it all now and say "WOW!  What a ride!"

Because of Jesus,

Sorcery In the Sky

One of the most exciting parts of Floridays 1990 for me was seeing the newly opened Disney/MGM Studios Theme Park for the first time.  And one of my favorite parts of the Studios was there late night fireworks spectacular, Sorcery In the Sky (see picture).  This new evening-ending show began the week before we arrived, and was done in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Disney classic Fantasia.   Thousands of patrons (including all of us!) gathered on the main street of the park to watch as fireworks danced through the sky, perfectly choreographed to music from some of the greatest movies of all time.  The narration was done by the late, great Vincent Price.  At the grand finale, a giant Mickey the Sorcerer inflatable rose up from behind the Great Movie Ride with fireworks coming out of his finger for a spectacular finish.  Of all the fireworks displays I have ever seen, Sorcery In the Sky is my favorite.   For all of us on the Floridays 1990 trip, it is a memory we will never forget.

Because of Jesus,

Hall of Fame: Ken, Amy & Todd

Among the unique things about the Floridays 1990 trip was it was the only one of our major trips- Myrtle Beach, Walt Disney World, Atlanta, Youthquake and New York- in which Ken Hill, Amy Simmons and Todd Farlow were all able to participate.  Todd had missed the first Disney trip and Ken the first Myrtle Beach excursion.  But Floridays 1990 brought these three (pictured above at Walt Disney World), in many ways the foundation of our early years at Springfield Friends Meeting, together for part of a big trip.  And now they are together again- in my youth group Hall of Fame!

You have read much about Ken already on this blog.  A senior when I arrived at Springfield, his dedication and leadership helped us start over with some new ideas and new excitement.  He was part of the original Disney trip, and by 1990 was one of our adult leaders.  Most of the adventures I shared with Ken came after his "official" youth group days, but he still is most deserving of a place in the Hall.  Most memorably, he asked Marilyn and I to be at the Appalachian State basketball game at which he (a cheerleader) proposed to Gilly (also a cheerleader!) and the celebration that followed.  I was also part of their wedding and the very entertaining golf tournament which preceded it.  His mom Patsy, and his Aunt Jane and Uncle Wayne were great friends to us and great supporters of our ministry.  We miss them all.

Amy was always there when I needed her.  If I needed someone to help with decorations, or to call people, or to help get things organized, Amy was who I called.  She was among the first to start bringing friends to TNT, eventually involving half of the Trinity HS baseball team.  She went on most every trip and was always a leader.  One of my favorite things was being
together with both Ken and Amy, because they often fought like siblings.  They never agreed on anything!  I always thought there was a little romantic tension under all of the bickering...NOT!  But that is why the picture that accompanies this post has always been among my favorites.  It says so much about th love we all had for each other- even on the roughest od days!  Amy is married with a lovely family now, still in the High Point area.  Her mom, Millie, was the church secretary most of the time I was at Springfield, and will get her own post here someday soon.

The first time I was ever at Todd Farlow's house I got in trouble.  His mom, Brenda, thought his room was too messy and wanted me to back her up.  I thought it looked pretty good and I said so.  Oops!  Over the years Brenda and Louis became very dear to us- and so did Todd.  Basketball dominated his life during his time at Ragsdale HS, so he missed many of our big trips.  For Floridays 1990, he was working at Quaker Lake for the summer, but I got special permission for him to take a couple of days off and join us in Orlando.  I took him to the airport so he could fly back.  As with Ken, our adventures continued well beyond his graduation, through several trips to visit us in Kissimmee and up to his marriage to Meleah, his lovely wife.  They have two children and also still live in the High Point area.

Floridays 1990 and the student ministry at Springfield Friends Meeting would have never been the same without the contributions of these three amazing people.  There is absolutely no question they belong in my Hall of Fame.  If only we could all just blot out the memory of the Ridgecrest Conference Center and the Go For It weekend of 1987....right guys?

Because of Jesus,

"This IS Barbara's room..."

One of the young ladies who joined us on our Floridays 1990 trip was Natalie Whitaker.  Natalie's mom Brenda had been one of the adults on our 1987 trip, and her sister Traci had been a participant.  Natalie and her younger brother Justin had joined us even though they were not yet of youth group age.  By 1990, Nat was a very active and very important part of our youth family. 

Natalie had one small problem- she got homesick.  Her mom was not going with us in 1990, and people doubted if Nat would survive the week.  As I began to explore the situation it became clear to me that Nat might not be the one having the problem.  When she was away from home her mom would call her and say things like "Do you miss us?" and "If you want to come home it's OK."  Brenda was missing Nat so much that it was triggering the homesickness. I told Brenda that we would take Natalie to Florida, but that for the first few days she was not allowed to talk to her.  Brenda's brother Butch Moran and his wife Barbara were going with us, so Nat would have family she could turn to if she needed them, and Brenda could call Barbara to get updates.  This plan worked wonderfully, and Natalie had a great time- and to the best of my knowledge was never homesick again.  But my plan did lead to one small mishap...

Butch and Barbara roomed with Marilyn and I at the Gold Key Inn.  They were our best friends at Springfield Friends Meeting, and it just worked out for us to share space.  Early one morning (I think the first morning, but I can't swear to it) the phone in our room rang very early- we were all in the process of getting up (Remember, this is before cell phones.).  I answered the phone and heard Brenda Whitaker say "Oh sorry Carl- I thought I was ringing Barbara's room."  I responded without hesitation "This IS Barbara's room."  At first there was silence on the other end, and then Brenda just started to stammer.  I was laughing so hard I couldn't talk.  Barbara took the phone and explained to her that we were all sharing a room, but Butch and I kept making jokes about it.  We were pretty sure she understood, but we still half expected to get calls asking what kind of hanky-panky we were up to on this trip!  We loved Brenda and her husband Denny too, and over the years we brought up this story as often as possible.  It is truly a great memory from a sensational trip.  Come back this weekend for still more from Floridays 1990...

Because of Jesus,

Mr. Toad's Wild Ride

Be sure to check out Jill's entry (#20) in the my Guestbook- and leave your own too!

Once we finally made it to the parks, our visit to Walt Disney World in 1990 was a true "festival of fun!"  There were a large number of people with us who had never been to WDW before, and so we set out to do everything!  We watched all the parades, rode all the rides and "ohhhhhhed" and "ahhhhhhed" at all the fireworks.  The Disney/MGM Studios had just recently opened, so that was new to all of us.  As we had on our first trip in 1987, we spent every moment we could at the parks, never leaving until they closed.  One of my favorite Disney memories came around midnight on one of those nights at the Magic Kingdom.

Jeremy Godwin (that's him on the left, with Ken Hill front and center and me on the right- waiting in line at WDW.  Aren't we cool?) and his twin sister Shelley had come to the Springfield youth through our TNT program.  Their family attended another church, but we loved to have them around, and they were both the Floridays 1990 trip.  Jeremy was a big, strong high school student who was a star lineman on the Trinity HS football team, and who a couple of years after this trip would win the state heavyweight wrestling championship (His final match is still the most exciting sporting event I have ever seen in person, but that is a story for another day).  I was 30 years old at the time, and I was taller, wider and not nearly as strong as Jeremy.  One night of the trip our group was to meet at midnight at Cinderella's Castle before heading back to the motel.  The 9 PM SpectroMagic Parade had ended, and the 11 PM fireworks were complete.  As we stood at the back of the castle waiting for our group to arrive, Jeremy and I noticed that there was no one riding Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.  Mr. Toad was a kids ride, but we all loved it and ridden it during the course of the day.  Now, with no line and nothing better to do, Jeremy and I (and some others) decided to ride.  And we did.  Over and over again.  With Jeremy and I packed into the same car.  We could have each had our own car, but that would have been way too normal for us!  The Disney cast members who were working the ride were cracking up.  We rode until it was time to shut down the park and meet our group.  Jeremy and I had a blast, and everyone who watched us was entertained.

They closed Mr. Toad's Wild Ride in 1998 to make way for a Pooh Bear ride, and I was crushed.  I will always have my memories of two giant guys crammed into the car of a kiddie ride, going over and over again while laughing hysterically.  Thanks, Jeremy, for a great night.  We'll get to the story of Stinky a little later on!

My CCM countdown resumes tomorrow, but then it's back to WDW and a phone call that left a parent dazed and confused...

Because of Jesus,

Left Behind

The following stories are a continuation of yesterday's post Floridays 1990.

We were all really hungry and ready to hit the food court at The Florida Mall and end this first, very long day.  We prepared to cram back into our vehicles when we encountered a slight delay.  It seemed that someone (Robin Thomas got all the blame at the time!) had locked the keys in Judy Rees' Suburban.  The spare key was safe and secure- in North Carolina!  We wandered around the motel and unpacked our belongings while we waited for a locksmith, who eventually showed up and rescued the keys.  We were now more ready than ever to make the short drive to the mall, so we once again gathered the troops and loaded up the vehicles.  We had a standard operating procedure for making sure we had everyone.  Each person was to ride in the same vehicle everywhere we went that week.  Each vehicle would count their own passengers, and then I would go from van to van and total our numbers.  It was a very safe system- usually.

On this particular night, as I began to go from vehicle to vehicle to make the final count, Jill Gilbreth ( that's her in front, not at WDW, just being Jillybean!  Beth Brown and Holly Harward are also pictured.) left her vehicle AFTER I had already made sure everyone in it was accounted for.  When I finished my rounds, we had the right numbers.  Jill, however, was still in the motel getting her money for dinner.  Her driver (I don't remember who) didn't realize she was gone, and her friends somehow failed to mention this to anyone. I guess they were just that hungry!  So off we went.  We arrived at the food court and were sitting down eating, when suddenly Jillybean came running up to our table, looking rather panicked.  She told us the story of how she had been left behind at the motel.  She had gone inside, freaked out and crying, and told the motel employees that her group had left her.  She must have appeared to be totally panicked, because the motel gave her a ride to the mall AND gave her $5 for supper.  She forgave us- sometime around 1993!  And we never failed to remind her that the Gold Key Inn was so anxious to be rid of her that they paid her off!

Floridays 1990 began with us losing a van, keys, and Jill all on the first day.  The next day we would make it to Walt Disney World, and things would improve greatly.  See you tomorrow...

Because of Jesus,

Floridays 1990

Our second trip from Springfield Friends Meeting to Walt Disney World occurred June 9-15, 1990.  Over 60 youth and adults caravaned together in five vehicles.  Included in this adventure was our friend Jeff Byrd (that's Jeff in the glasses, with Rich Hughes at The Florida Mall ), the youth dude at Archdale Friends Meeting, and around 10 of his group.  The trip had tripled in size since our first WDW outing only three years before, and there was great excitement.  We were staying at the Gold Key Inn, once again out on Orange Blossom Trail (OBT) in Orlando.  We would have four days at the Disney parks, including the brand new Disney/MGM Studios.  We couldn't wait to get there.

Getting there turned out to be a bit of an issue, however.  One of the Suburbans we were using for transportation, owned by Judy Rees and driven for most of the trip by Robin Thomas, took the wrong exit at one point.  This was before the days of cell phones, but we did have some walkie-talkie type radios, and we were able to correct the mistake with minor damage to our trip time.  We discovered later those radios didn't have much range. 

We made it into the Orlando area and were cruising down I-4 looking for the OBT exit, all of our vehicles together in single file formation.  I was driving the lead vehicle and keeping us in the center lane of traffic when I came to the exit and realized a bit too late that we would be exiting to the left, not the right as one would suppose.  I signaled and pulled over, and Butch Moran and my wife Marilyn did the same, blocking the lane and allowing our other vehicles to move over as well.  We took the left exit and headed for the motel, thinking all was well.  We were wrong!  Somehow (and to this day I don't know how) the Archdale van driven by Jeff Byrd did not take the exit with us.  They had been in the middle of the caravan, but somehow had continued on down I-4!  We tried the radios, but could not reach them.  We continued on to the Gold Key Inn, confident that Jeff had the address of the motel and would find it.  We should have been more worried.  In the years that have followed I have lived in central Florida and spent much time in Orlando, and I have NEVER been able to figure out exactly where Jeff went after we lost him.  Apparently he exited on to a toll road (the Florida  Turnpike or the East-West?) and then could not get anyplace he wanted to go.  He travelled up and down the highway until finally figuring something out and making his way to the motel, a good hour after the rest of us had checked in.  It was a joyful reunion.

Once we were all checked in we were ready to head over to The Florida Mall and visit the food court for supper.  But on this day nothing would be that easy.  The excitement was only beginning...

Because of Jesus,