Barbara is a praying grandmother. She is up every morning, bright and early, praying for all of us. She goes to the church, at least 3 times per week, and lights a candle for herself and sometimes an extra one for any of us that is sick or having trouble. She prays for our church, the leadership, sick-and-shut-in and our neighbors and friends. Barbara has a daughter here, along with 6 grand children and a lot of great-grands. She has a lot of family to pray for.

I have gone with her to the church and lit a candle for myself, my children and friends. I say special prayers for our racing friends and the racers at the track, including the staff of any drag strip where we may be running. I pray for the leaders of our great nation, the state and local government. I also pray for my enemies, as it says in the Bible.

Lately, my health has been a big problem, so I pray for myself a lot. Prayer helps! I have been going to a Senior Low Impact Aerobics Class for the past year. This has been a big help to me, keeping my body in check. My weight goal was 193 lbs.. This was the weight I left the Navy in 1980. In the past few weeks, I have gotten down too 188.5 lbs.! That is great. My BMI weight is, 186 lbs.@ 5’11”.

Barbara and I have not had our family circle broken since 2011 when her brother, Huey Smith, was laid to rest. We have been very very blessed.

I have had some challenges in our church, but supported by the members and Barbara, I have stayed and gotten through the challenges. I was recently elected to the position of Head of the Trustee Board for 2020. My term will start on Feb. 2, 2020. The training class I attended in Nashville, TN last month will come in handy.

Sunday, I was given an award from one of the families of the church for taking some photos of her Daughter. I took the photos for free, and did not expect any payment, except, “Thank You”. I was completely shocked when they presented me with a plague for my efforts. This is a blessing to me.

My oldest daughter Cynthia, and her husband, George, came and spent a week with us over the Christmas Holiday. They lives in Virginia Beach, VA.. This was a blessing and a prayer being answered. Cynthia has been taking care of family members in her area for the past few years. It has been a challenge, and she has had very little rest or help. She was getting to the point of “burnout”. The week here in Baton Rouge, eating our good food, and celebrating Christmas, was the medicine she needed. She is a mother of two wonderful children and she is a grandmother to one fine young man. That makes me a great-grandfather!

While things are going well, I want to take the time to thank the Lord for the life He has given me. I thank Him for the wonderful wife he has blessed me with and the longevity he has allowed me to have. I am truly Blessed. I have four other wonderful children, all of which I am very proud of and I pray for all of them daily.

We (“Outlaw” and myself) raced my car for the whole year of 2019 and did not have any type of failure. We are hopeful for a good racing season in 2020. Racing being what it is, failure will happen, sooner or later. But I will continue to pray for a good racing season, with some wins along the way. I pray for Kevin “Outlaw” Gray, his family, and his new race car to be restored and for him to be very successful.

God Bless Us All.