What's in a name

What’s in a Name?

During our ride, we saw many usually names of places, people and bodies of water. The different names interested me. My curiosities lead me to look some of them up. Some of the names that we encountered were:  Susquehanna, Lumbee, Occoquan, Miccosukee, Pontchartrain, Okeechobee, Tchoupitoulas, Powhatan, Coley and Benton.   I included our last names because I looked up Coley.  (I don’t remember what I found. I will look again) I also saw a Benton, Tennessee and a Benton, Mississippi. The one in Mississippi was exit 124 off the road we were travelling.

Susquehanna is a river. Occoquan is another river.  Pontchartrain is a lake in Louisiana. Some of the other bodies of water that we saw were, naturally, the Atlantic Ocean, Chesapeake Bay, the Potomac, the Mississippi, the Florida Bay and the James River in Virginia. Jim said that this river was named after him.  As you know, we travelled Alligator Alley in the Florida Everglades.

The Lumbee Indians were discussed at my friend Vanessa’s house in Fayetteville, North Carolina.  This is the largest tribe in North Carolina and the 9^th in the nation. The name of this tribe came from the Lumber River.  They have been recognized as a tribe in the state of North Carolina since 1885, but are still undergoing the process of seeking federal recognition.  The Miccosukee is a tribe of Indians in Florida. This is a federally recognized Indian tribe residing in the Florida Everglades. Tchoupitoulas is a street name that we saw in New Orleans. It is named from an extinct Indian tribe. I also learned from the internet that there is a 2012 documentary about three (3) brothers who discover the scenes of late-night New Orleans.  I should watch it. We saw the name Okeechobee in West Palm Beach and then several other times after that.  It is a city, a lake and a street in Florida. There are Okeechobee schools, counties and a battlefield area.  It is the largest freshwater lake in Florida and the 7^th largest freshwater lake in the United States. The name comes from Hitchiti word Oki (water) and Chubi (big) and means “Big Water”

1, 000 miles in 24 hours

Jim and I met a couple on July 27, 2012 (Dahmir’s 11^th birthday) on our ride on the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia. This is a section of the Appalachian Mountains.  At this time, we were informed of an endurance ride.  It was 1,000 miles in 24 hours. This guy said that he wanted to do it. We told him of the “Hoka Hey.”  We heard about this during our 2010 ride.  In 2010, Jim also saw the information at one of the Harley shops he visited.  This is what was on a banner at a Harley Davidson shop in 2010.

HOKA HEY

. . .but not today

Key West, Florida to Homer, Alaska

13 days, 9,100 miles.

Finished 115 & 116 out of 683

E.B. Chester & Travis Metcalfe.

June 20 to July 3, 2010

I decided to look up the endurance ride and learn from online that there is an

 Iron Butt Association (IBA). They are dedicated to safe long-distant Motorcycle riding. They are based in the United Stated but have thousands of enthusiastic in the globe. One of their most popular slogans is The World is our Playground.  The website has “Archives of Wisdom” link. This is a collective wisdom and knowledge of some of the most experience, seasoned endurance riders in the world.

Three rides were listed:

SaddleSore ~ 1,000 miles in 24 hours

BunBurner ~ 1500 miles in 24 or 36 hours

50cc Quest ~ Coast to Coast in 50 hours

Can you imagine?

Road Songs

When we first started doing long rides, Jim would create CDs, sometimes with certain themes for the ride. The only problem is that from time to time, we would pull over to the shoulder of the road, open the Harley’s trunk to change the CD. I would hold the trunk top that has two pieces of luggage bungee corded down on it. (It was heavy.) Jim would take out the CD holder and decide which one he wanted to listen to. We did this on the 2007 trip to California. We also did this on some of the shorter rides.

In 2009, I gave him an IPod for his birthday. This makes listening to Road Songs much, much easier. He has over 700 songs on his IPod. Each night, we make sure that it is charged, (along with my IPhone, the still camera, the video camera and the GPS).  The IPod has a connection on the Harley Davidson Motorcycle so that sound comes from the Motorcycle’s speakers. It sounds fantastic now; we can ride & listen to great music for hours without pulling over and changing a CD. He has several genres of music such as: Oldies, Motown, Jazz and Rhythm & Blues. We listened to artists such as Bill Withers, Gil Scott Heron, Marvin Gaye, Whitney Houston, Earth Wind & Fire, Chicago, Boney James, War and Sade only to name a few. I like Peace at Least by The Rotary Connection and Grandma’s Hands by Bill Withers. Some of the other songs I like are: Walking in the Rain, Pieces of a Man, Happy Music, Harlem River Drive, Que Sera Sera and The Boys are back in Town by the Bus Boys. I have not heard the Double Dutch Bus song in years until this ride.  How many of you jumped Double Dutch in your youth? On our last trip, we listened to Pacific Coast Highway by Jeff Lorber, especially since we were there, and our theme song was, CRAZY by Joe McBride. Are we crazy? Who knows?

Elsie The Cow

During our ride, I saw several Elsie the Cow trucks. I have not thought about this cow that represents the Borden Dairy Company in years. As you know, this trip was a Coastal or Southern ride. I decided to look it up and I found out that according to Wikipedia,

“The Elsie logo has been used by the company since

1936. She was created in the 1930s to symbolized the

“Perfect dairy Product”

Elsie has calves and a husband.”

Jim informed me that her husband is Elmer the Bull.

“Elmer the Bull was later lent to Borden’s Chemical division

as the mascot for Elmer’s Glue.

The first calf was born in 1948 and then twins in 1957.

Elsie has honorary Doctor’s degrees and was named Queen of Dairy.

She has additional honoraries and the family was

Featured in theme parks and other family recreation

events.”

Back Thru North Carolina

We returned through North Carolina on July 27, 2012 but when we were there visiting Vanessa, her husband Earl and their daughter earlier in the month (July 10th), we saw a bridge named the Harriet Tubman Bridge. We also saw the Booker T. Washington Center.
The state legislature honored the Underground Railroad Conductor by naming the future U.S. Highway 17 bridge over the Combahee River "The Harriet Tubman Bridge" The bridge will be just South of where historians think Tubman helped lead a Union Raid on several Plantations that freed more that 750 slaves on the night of June 2, 1863,

We also saw the Booker T. Washington Community Center in the city of Rocky Mount, North Carolina. This is a 4.2 acre site located off Highway 64. The mission of the center is to provide an environment that promotes the quality of life, values, and the welfare of the community . . .

Booker Taliaferro Washington was born in Virginia to a slave on April 5, 1856. He was an African American educator . He founded the Tuskegee Normal & Industrial Institute in Alabama.

The Beginning of the End

 Sunday, July 29, 2012 marked the 4th Sunday of a four (4) week trip. On this day, we were in Richmond, Virginia. We may have three more family visits to make. Maybe we will not need to stay in any more hotels, however, this will still depend on making contact with family members, the weather and the condition of the Harley Motorcycle. We really enjoy staying at family homes, but I do miss my home and want to enjoy it a little before returning to work. We will see.

Wednesday's St John 7:00PM Pray& Pastor Sandy's Sunday Service E-mail

During this trip,I was able to pray with the people of St John. Every Wednesday at 7:00PM, we pray the "Saint John's Pray For Continued Transformation." This is a 4 paragraph prayer offering thanks to God, requesting a clear vision, confessing and asking for the Holy Spirit to guide us. The pray uses Isaiah 43:19-20 . . . about to do a new thing . . . will make a way in the wildness and rivers in the desert." At the end of the prayer it said, Here we are, O Lord send us. In the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ, we pray, Amen The first week, I was in a place where I was able to read the prayer. The next two Wednesdays I was still on the motorcycle at 7:00PM so I said The Lord's Prayer & prayed for & with the people of St. John. As I stated before, Pastor Sandy e-mails the Sunday Service. The first two weeks, I was able to print it out and read it once Sunday came. I try to read it about the same time as service. Today, I read it on my telephone much earlier. (Sometimes I can not get to a computer) This is the 9th Sunday after Pentecost. The e-mail includes: the theme, the Scriptures, all the readings including the Psalm, who is participating, the music, the setting and our after service forum. I can always get a CD once I return home. I read my "Christ In Our Home" and today's reading is the same theme as St John. Five loads & two fish.