Friends from Days Gone By

I was blessed to receive gifts of care bags full of toiletries and other items for our Homeless Ministry from Chino Valley Christian School on Wednesday morning.  The man from Channel 9 news station in Los Angeles finished the filming and editing and submitted it to the station for airing.  It was to be aired during the normal newscasts of both Channel 2 (CBS affiliate that most of Southern California from San Diego to Bakersfield have access to) and Channel 9 (independent station that is a "sister channel" of Channel 2).

On Thursday morning just before 12 noon, I got a call that this news piece was to be run that day (Thursday) at noon on Channel 9 and at 5 pm on Channel 2.  I set my DVR to record both.  I watched them both later.  There I was, receiving the donations and being interviewed on the news of the day.  Quite exciting.  Crystal and Shawn recorded it also at their house, and when they showed it to Bailey that evening she was transfixed and wanted to see it repeatedly.  Crystal said they showed it about 8 straight times in the next five minutes.  Bailey would point to the TV screen when I was on and say, "Papa.....papa.....papa..." as she knows me by the name of Papa G.

Also, I received an email from a friend that I had come to know while working at the Census Bureau in Riverside this past year.  He said he was watching the news and saw me!  He had to write and let me know.

Last night, we went to dinner at Cuca's Mexican Restaurant here in Rialto.  Some friends from the 1970s were in town.  Hayden McClung was an English professor at California Baptist College (now University) in Riverside for many years, with his special interest and study of Mark Twain.  Hayden and his wife (Lee) are in the area for the weekend, and they wanted to see my brother David.  David graduated from CBC with a degree in English, with some of that pursuit due to Hayden.

Since most of us Greenwalts attended Cal Baptist in the ensuing years, almost all of us had Mr. McClung at one time or another in his teaching career there.  Because of that, he and his wife have become wonderful friends over these many years.  In fact, our nephew and his wife (David and Charity) named their first child Hayden.

The McClungs are retired and now live in Prescott, Arizona, where he serves in a church as Associate Pastor.  Hayden served as pastor of several churches in the Riverside area while on staff at CBC.