Timmons Hollow

Towards the end of the evening, someone asked me where we got the idea to build "Timmons Hollow."  I answered honestly – “I’m not sure where the idea came from”.  The project had grown rapidly, but in steps, and its origin is not clear in my memory. It probably started with thinking about the typical big Halloween haunted trails.

I do recall having a vague idea in mind, and about that time, a neighbor lady came by with a gang of about 8 kids.  They were passing out flyers indicating they would be by to Trick-or-Treat, and if we wanted to participate, we should leave our light on.  At that moment, I knew we would turn that vague idea into a reality.

We tossed around a few thoughts.  The location was easy – we had worked on a path in our back yard for Sarah’s wedding – we could use part of that.  The path went by a section of fence that could be used as a backdrop.  Someone suggested we may be able to use our manger as something to set up and walk by.  (When the appropriateness of  doing that came up, Elias coined the expression “We celebrate Jesus in the front yard, and Halloween in the back”).  The manger morphed into the entrance to a “mine”.  The mine was elongated with some left over 2x4s I had from a job I was working on.  We covered the “mine shaft” with landscaping fabric left over from Katherine’s wedding.  Sarah and Tina painted the inside.  That’s where we started.

Every path needs lights, so we found string lights to mark it out.  Everything at night looks better with black lights and things that illuminate under that light, so we got spiders and spider webs, paint, and some handheld black lights to make everything pop.  We had trouble finding the right lights on short notice, put out a request on Facebook, and two friends supplied exactly what we needed.

A day or two before Halloween, we got the idea to create a pumpkin headed mannequin.  We set him in a chair at the end of our trail.

As we sat at the kitchen table on Halloween day, I said “We need a story to tie this together”.  So in a matter of a few minutes, we created this narrative:

“Few people are aware that a long time ago, there was a mine here at Collins Pond.  An old man by the name of Cooper Collins worked the mine digging out iron ore.  One day he discovered some gems, and worked feverishly to find more.

One tragic night, which happened to be Halloween, the mine collapsed while Cooper Collins worked.  He was never heard from again.  Tonight we are re-creating those events”

Tina would greet the trick-or-treaters at our back step and pass out the flashlights.  I would tell this story as we walked through the back yard, past the ghost infested garden Tina had built.  We would continue under the gate to the path, through the spider webs where, as far as I knew, most of the spiders were fake.

When we came to the mine, the trick-or-treaters would be handed off to Sarah, and she would continue the narrative.

“Folks, this is the entrance to the Jenny Rose Mine (Jenny Rose is the name of our new granddaughter).  As you walk through, use your lights to find things on the walls.  At the end of the mine, find the gem.  If you dare, stick your hand in the gem and you will find treasure” 

Upon doing this, the little ones would find candy behind the flap in the tunnel, supplied by Elias and Tyler.  At one point, Tyler was dubbed “Mr. Green Monster” by one of the kids when they saw the green sleeves of his jacket.

 

After exiting the mine, folks would be greeted by Wendell.  Wendell would review the story of Cooper Collins with them, which continued like this:

“The fate of Cooper Collins is unknown.  But some people say he continues to search for gems in the mine to this day.  Some people say he guards the mine.  Some claim to have seen him on Halloween Night.  So be careful as you continue down the path!”

A short distance down the path, the kids (and parents) would find our pumpkin headed mannequin.

            “Oh look!  That must be Cooper Collins!  And look – he has some treasure on his knee.”

 

Our mannequin had the ability to raise his arm.  Wendell would have previously sat a piece of candy on Cooper’s knee under that raised arm, and as someone would be instructed to grab the candy “If they dared”, Tyler would allow the arm to drop (it was controlled by a string which went back to Tyler).  A couple of the kids actually shook hands with Cooper. 

The whole thing was a spectacular success, on so many levels.  The “group effort” aspect is obvious - the ideas, the physical work, the provision of materials.  We had one family who said, “I see you need lights – get what you need and we will pay for them.”  One person borrowed some lights from her workplace.  The biggest surprise of all was when a best friend from high school drove up our driveway on Halloween Day.  He had been following my Facebook posts regarding the project, and decided to drop in.  C.P. and I visited until Katherine arrived and we set about carving Jack-o-Lanterns.  

Perhaps most noteworthy of all, we were reminded of how enjoyable it is to work together, to enjoy each other, and to create.

Can’t end this without a hearty thank you for everyone involved, a thank you for the encouraging comments, and a thank you for everyone who, in one way or another, shared in some light-hearted fun in a day when we could all really use some!

 

Boys

 

Our older son has been riding a motorcycle for a couple years now.  Before he returned to college this Fall, I mentioned to him that it would be fun if our younger son and I had motorcycles next summer so we could ride together.  He loved the idea, and I began to help our younger son search for one.

After a couple of months of looking on the internet, I saw something which had potential and decided to contact the owner. He was, literally, a little old man.  I sent him a message and didn’t hear anything for a couple of days.  I figured he was illiterate in the ways of the internet (turns out he wasn't). Then he messaged an answer to my question, and we began a conversation about what our family was trying to do. 

The gentleman was the type of person I like buying from. He seemed to have taken good care of the bike.  His listing information was voluminous, perhaps the best listing I’ve ever seen.  It didn’t take long to conclude this could be a win-win for all of us. 

Then I asked Asher what he thought.  His response was “If you think it’s a good deal and a good purchase, I’d be open to it, but I’m not super excited about the bike.”  That’s all I needed to hear.  I messaged the gentleman the essence of that conversation and that we were passing.  He said he understood.

That evening, I was looking at another bike Asher had indicated he liked.  The price was a little high and it had a few obvious but repairable issues.  Out of curiosity I messaged the seller (a local motorcycle dealer) and asked if the bike had other issues.  He said other than the carburetors needing cleaning and those problems I had seen in the pictures, the bike was fine.  Then he told me they had just lowered the price (significantly) because they didn’t want to have to do the repairs themselves. 

I spoke to our older son, who said if we didn’t buy it, he would - sight unseen.  He had been looking for this style of bike but hadn’t seen a decent one at the right price.  I spoke to another friend who has worked on our older son’s bike.  He actually volunteered to take a look at this one.

The following morning, I took off work and my boy and I headed to the dealer.  The bike looked as good as the pictures portrayed.  We chatted a while with the salesman.  The mechanic friend who had offered to come look showed up, and gave us the thumbs up.

We left with a motorcycle.

My boy smiled the whole way home.  He had found a bike he could be excited about.

Now the plan is to upgrade our older boy’s bike with something he would prefer, and I would take over his Honda Shadow. 

Boys.  You gotta love us.

Limited View

Our son came home for a visit from college a few weekends ago.  He seemed a little out of sorts – maybe a little down or discouraged – very uncharacteristic.  The following weekend, I decided to make a quick trip up to see him for an afternoon.

On the way there, I thought of what I could tell him.  I knew he was struggling with some of his classes and was even a little uncertain what the future would hold for him.  I knew all to well what that felt like.  He had heard my tales already.  He didn’t need to hear them again.

A current situation involving some work I do was also on my mind.  This particular work has had its ups and downs.  There were periods when it was more of a struggle than usual.  During those times, I viewed it as an annoyance, as something to get through, as one more thing to add stress to my life. After many years, that particular work is likely coming to an end, but here’s the thing – as I look back over the years, that work situation is currently in the perfect place to bring it to an end.  I can now look back and see how those years of struggle perfectly set up events to bring it all to a great conclusion. 

Of course, during the years of struggle, I had no idea of what today would look like.  I could not see into the future.  I was operating under my own understanding, which was extremely limited.  IF I could have had a glimpse into the future, of today, it would have changed my whole attitude during those difficult years and the struggles during that time.

THIS is the difference between our view and (if you believe in God) God’s view.  I can just imagine God looking at my frustration and thinking “If Brent only knew how this will eventually play out…”  There is simply no comparison between the two views.

We will never see as God sees.  But we DO have hope.  Our hope lies in trusting that one of us (either God or us) has a view of the whole picture.  Obviously, it’s not us.  But trusting the One who does have that view – well – that is basically the definition of faith.  Faith doesn’t necessarily change the circumstances (it seems it rarely does, and isn't meant to).  Faith gives us hope that it is o.k. despite the circumstances.

Practically speaking, what this means is that with our very limited view, it’s terribly difficult to know the best course in any given situation.  All we can do is apply good principles.  Even trusting God for guidance doesn’t always pan out as we want.  Sometimes His answer is completely vague.  Maybe it’s because what He is actually saying is “Well, first take this step, which will actually result in more stress, but it’s necessary. Then you will take another step – also stressful…” 

I thought of all this with our son in mind.  It basically meant that in advising him, I needed to remember that I had limited understanding of what God might be doing.  I could only give general principles.  Realistically, what needs to happen may be a long series of steps which I would possibly never advise or even consider in order for him to get to the exact place he is intended to be.

As a matter of fact, this was my all reminiscent of my own path.  Those feelings I had while going through this myself are vivid in my memory, which was partly what prompted me to make the trip to see our son.  I have often looked back and wondered if I got off the best path for my own life.  Perhaps I have been looking at it entirely backwards.  Perhaps where I ended up is exactly where I was meant to be. 

I arrived before noon, and with these thoughts in mind, my son and I talked for several hours.  I tried to relate all this to him. He listened intently.  I barely offered any advice, but stuck to sharing my heart with him.

After I left, he sent me a message thanking me for making the drive up to see him and that he enjoyed getting to talk to me.  I replied to him that the main thing I wanted him to know with certainty was this:

You are not in this alone.

You cannot disappoint me in the path you choose.

You will make it to your goal one way or another.

 

 

Glassblowing and other Creative Endeavors

 

Tina and I got to visit Elias this weekend on a quiet Saturday morning.  Before we left, we walked out on Rowan Boulevard and stood in front of this statue.  It's called "The Glassblower", and commemorates the history of the glass industry in Glassboro, NJ dating back to 1779.

 

 

This information was taken from the Glassboro.org website:  

Glassblower Bronze Statue

In 2018, the Borough of Glassboro commissioned a bronze statue of our namesake, the Glassblower, to be made for the Town Square.  Glassblowing is a glass forming technique that involves inflating molten glass into a bubble (or parison), with the aid of a blowpipe (or blow tube). A person who blows glass is called a glassblower, glassmith, or gaffer.  

Glassboro's early history was built on the manufacturing of glass. The town was first established in 1779 by Solomon Stanger as "Glass Works in the Woods.”  The sand in the area proved perfect to create glass, and the oak trees in the area were able to fuel the production. Glassboro's proximity to Philadelphia also made it an ideal location to be the heart of the Glass Industry in South Jersey and to allow the Glass Works to become a leader in the production of glass.

The choice of background here is intentional. 

When you read this brief history of glassblowing in South Jersey, you may be tempted to conclude that the Stanger's motivation was to create a business, and found the Glassboro area to be advantageous to meet that goal.   No doubt that played a part.  I suspect, however, that Mr. Stanger had an even deeper motivation which drove him to start his business.  It's a common drive we all share - the drive to create.

We easily assign the ability to create to certain artists - visual artists, dramatic artists, musicians.  Those are the obvious.  I would suggest that deep in our DNA, we all have a predisposition to create.  If you hold to the idea we were created in the image of God (by whatever means He chose to use), then part of that image must be that we were designed to carry on the work of creating.  It doesn't have to be an object - it may be situation, or an environment, or simply something that wasn't there before. It will, however, serve some higher purpose.  If you don't hold to that idea, you may still recognize the deep down craving to make something out of nothing. You may also recognize a deep sense of fulfillment when you do that, and a sense of loss when you don't.

Elias has always had the propensity to create. He is in Rowan Engineering to give him better tools to do just that. We are working under the assumption that this is the avenue for him to reach that goal.  The path may change, but the goal of finding a way for him to create will not.

My own goal of becoming a creator in my own right has certainly taken many avenues and many turns. I couldn't even clearly define the goal itself for much of my life. I aimed for the effects of the goal, like self-fulfillment, making a contribution to society, using my natural inclinations and gifts (shoot, I still get sidetracked by making those things a goal).  We may actually experience those, but as a side effect.  I've come to believe that getting the goal right is the first step.

I could phrase that goal exactly as I understand it, but I choose not to.  However, I will say this - it goes back to the beginning, to the core of who we were meant to be. We have to figure out what we were meant to create.