Dale Goes to the Golden Agers

For those of you who know my dad, this might possibly be my favorite post ever.  HAHA!  Now, let me start by saying that if my dad had done this when I was in high-school I probably would have been mortified.  Now, however, I just LOVE the fact that he is THIS COOL!  HA!  

My dad has always been a HUGE history buff.  For as long as I can remember, he has been fascinated by history, especially the Civil War.  One reason I know I love history as much as I do is because he always made it so interesting.  I would fall asleep listening to him tell stories about one of two things...what life was like when he was growing up on a farm OR about some type of world history.  (And maybe add in some football to the mix).  So...he has always been a Civil War junkie and this past fall he was asked to speak to the senior adults at our church.  They have a program once a month where they eat a pot-luck and have some type of program, and he was going to speak.  That was about the time he got really sick, and he ended up having to reschedule, but he did it later at our church.  Then fast forward to last week and my grandparents' church invited him to be their speaker for their Senior Adult luncheon.  It was on a Tuesday and since Ryan is off on Tuesdays and wanted to hang out with Brynn, I was able to go with my parents to visit my grandparents and watch my dad do his talk.  And as I told him, their pot-luck meal was a pretty big draw too!  HA!

So, Dale took his Civil War talk on the road and headed to Oran, MO to speak to the "Golden Agers."

CRACK ME UP!
He has a buddy who does Civil War reenactment and  lets him borrow the uniform.
I took a picture like this on my phone and sent this to my sister and to Ryan and said
"oh my goodness, and it begins!"

The old men were hanging out by the wall...

Then one of the funniest parts of the day...it was 11:00 and time for the program to start, so my dad says "well, do you all want me to begin?"  This older lady says in all seriousness "now hold on Dale, we have to vote for our Valentine King and Queen before we start!"

So of course I had to take a picture as everyone voted for their Valentine King and Queen...

Erika I took this picture for you...didn't Miss Peggy watch you when you were little?
She was waiting to crown the King and Queen.  =)

Barbara and Wesley were crowned King and Queen!
Miss Barbara is actually my grandma's niece, but they are about the same age.  

Then the man of the hour got up to share his stuff.  On the way there, he told me and my mom that we made him a little nervous!  HA!  You couldn't tell a bit.  He did such a great job!  Dad you are one of a kind!   I almost got teary at one point just thinking how awesome it was that he was HERE, speaking, making the older people laugh, etc.  I think God has a lot of stuff still to accomplish through him!

What a hunk!  HAHAHA!

A little audience participation...
my grandma is on the far right.

And of course one of the best parts of the day... the POT-LUCK!  Let me tell you, those Golden Agers CAN COOK!  It was so good.  We had asked my grandma if we could bring something to the pot-luck and she says "oh, no, we've got it all covered."  Come to find out, she had made a meatloaf, ham and beans, cornbread, potatoes, a salad, and a desert!  Clearly WE SHOULD have helped her out!

Me and my Grandpa
Yes, that smile may have had something to do with the enormous amount of delicious food I was
about to consume, AND getting to eat by one of my favorite guys!

As people were leaving, they kept coming up and asking my dad questions and talking to him.  It was
quite adorable.  And of course, Dale was IN HIS ELEMENT!  

It was just such a fun day.  I loved getting to visit my grandparents and also loved getting to hear my dad do his talk.  Of course, seeing him in that outfit made me crack up, but it is just who he is and I LOVE THAT!