Markus Randel's Blog

Dear Joseph and Lucia,

I visited a beautiful church here in Brussels today.  St. Michaels is one of the most ornate churches in the country.  It was magnificent.  I thought of both of you so much while taking pictures.  I took some time and said a prayer for you two.  It was very peaceful.

Tonight all the relatives and friends are starting to show up for tomorrow’s ceremony.  Michèle’s sister Elizabeth showed up with lots of decorations.  One of their cousins (Katherine) came over from England tonight.  It looks like tomorrow’s wedding is going to be a bit more of a production than Michèle and I planned on.

I’ve attached photos of the church.  I spent several hours there just taking pictures and praying. I miss you both, but just know I always keep a special place in my heart for you guys.

Love,
Dad

Dear Joseph and Lucia,

I don’t have much time to write right now. I’m in Amsterdam today with the ladies. When I get back to Brussels I’ll try to tell you all about it and post some pictures. Tomorrow we are planning to visit Bruges. Friday will be a day to catch our breath before the wedding on Saturday. I’m very excited.

Update from 07-10-2014:

We got back to Brussels around 10PM last night.  It was a very long day.  I just had a moment this morning to put a few of the pictures from Amsterdam up.

We visited St. Nicholas church. It was beautiful.  I had a hard time taking pictures there because flashes aren’t allowed.  We enjoyed the trip quite a bit.  Funny enough, Holland was playing in the World cup that night and there were tons of soccer banners and national flags all over.

Michèle had an opportunity to meet up with a friend of hers she went to college with.  They hadn’t seen each other in 22 years.  There were lots of tears and laughter.

We rode on a boat tour all around town, then got out and walked EVERYWHERE.  My legs are sore, but I plan to go visit Bruges today.  I’ll make sure to take plenty more pictures.  I’ve got about 400 to sort through today before we go.

You both are always in my thoughts.

Love,
Dad

Dear Joseph and Lucia,

It’s been a very busy past few days. It has taken several days to get used to the new time zone in Belgium.  There’s a 7 hour difference so as I’m writing this at 1pm in the afternoon, it’s only 6am where you are. 

After resting the first day on Friday, we made our way downtown to the Grand Place.  We had real Belgium Waffles.  We also saw the Manniken Piss.  It’s a famous landmark here.  I remember seeing it when I was young and giggling that they made a statue of a little boy peeing into a fountain. 

The day we toured downtown, the Belgium national football team was scheduled to play Argentina in the quarter finals of the FIFA World Cup.  There were tons of people dressed in costumes and blowing really loud horns running around town.

There were so many things I saw.  Once I get back home and have the time, I’ll try to post all of them.

Everything here is much smaller.  The elevator in the building here is only 1 meter by 2 meters.  There’s just enough room for three people if they stand real close.  The kitchens are tiny and the bathrooms are even smaller.

I really hope I can bring you here one day. It is such a great experience.  Below are some of the pictures I’ve taken so far.

Love,
Dad

Dear Joseph and Lucia,

I’m writing today’s post from the B terminal in Charlotte, NC.  I’ll be waiting here for the next 6 hours waiting for the flight to Brussels.  I just talked to Michèle.  She and the girls are at the DFW airport.  They won’t be leaving until another hour and a half.

On the flight here I listened to the soundtrack of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.  It’s a fantastic movie and the music is extremely supportive and upbeat.  It brings out a desire to explore and do the things you always thought were impossible.  Much like the journey I’m on today.

Another person that has greatly affected me was my high school physics teacher, Charlotte Wiggins.  She comes to mind as I sit here in the town of her namesake.  She let me teach a freshman class by doing a demonstration with various musical instruments.  It was a great way to introduce wave theory to them. I’m still friends with her and she supports these letters.  I actually cried when I got a comment from her.  She’s been reading these.  I hope you can have teachers as engaged and passionate as she was with my class.

Well, time to watch a movie or three while waiting for the ladies.

Love,
Dad

Dear Joseph and Lucia,

Today’s letter is going to focus on your Momma Mickey. She was very smart and pretty. I see a lot of her qualities in both of you. While she was in college, she even won a few beauty contests. After she met Pappa Gene, she became a full-time mother to my brother (Martin) and me. This was a good thing considering the places we traveled.

Here is a picture of Momma Mickey while we were in Turkey. The photo suffered a bit of damage, but now that it’s scanned, it will never age. Her smile reaches out to me through all the years. And after having you two as children, I understand even more what that smile means.

The next few pictures are from a time I wasn’t with her. I was starting a family with your mother and you guys. Your mother preferred that I didn’t talk to them. Eventually, that is what caused us to separate. I missed my mom and dad so much. I wanted to see them again. That is why your mother took you away.

Here is Momma Mickey with two of your cousins: Sydney and Melynda. It was one of Pappa Gene’s favorite pictures. It’s a different smile from the picture above. Here she is playing horsey with her two grand-daughters on her lap. She just laughed and laughed.

You have another cousin named Nicole. She’s Martin’s first daughter. She lived mostly with her mom in Houston, but would visit regularly in Caldwell as she grew up. Here is a wonderful photo of Momma Mickey and Nicole at the Renaissance Festival while she was still young. At that time we only lived 5 miles away from where this picture was taken. Nicole is now almost 30 years old and has two children of her own.

The last picture I have for you today is when Pappa Gene and Momma Mickey vacationed in Europe. He used this picture as his wallpaper on all his computers. Eventually, he used it as the picture for her obituary. They toured Tuscany with her parents, Gommie and Bill Bill (your great grandparents). There were lots of pictures they brought back, but this was the only one of her. My dad had to use a disposable camera since she wouldn’t ever let go of hers.

Lastly, I’ll leave you with her obituary as it appeared in the Bryan-College Station Eagle. Please read it. You come from a family larger than you think. Momma Mickey shaped so much of who we all are… even you two through me.

Love,
Dad

Dear Joseph and Lucia,

I had a wonderful weekend in Dallas.  I spent most of Saturday afternoon and evening binge watching the latest Doctor Who episodes on NetFlix.  It was a blast.  I used to watch the old Doctor Who as a kid in England.  The recent versions have really improved the story lines and production value.

After my lazy Saturday, I spent most of Sunday morning cleaning and preparing for the trip.  That was the last time I’ll see Michèle until we meet up in Charlotte for the connecting flight on Thursday. By noon, I was ready for a break and jumped into the pool.  The water is still a little cool, but it was refreshing.  There were a couple of dragonflies about.  Did you know if you are deep enough in a pool and hold your finger up, they will land on it and just hang out for a while.

I showed you a picture of Casey Anne last week. Well I dug up a few more to share with you.  In the first one she is on the back patio watching for squirrels.  That is one of her favorite things to do.  The second picture was a hilarious moment I had to capture.  I was home alone and was suddenly aware Casey hadn’t bugged me recently.  I went through the house and finally found her.  She had snuck into Melynda’s bedroom and accidently closed herself in.  This is how she looked when I found her.  She ran to the office and just sat there.  You can almost read her mind in the picture… “I’m so embarrassed. Will you please take these underwear off me.”

That’s all for today.  I’m not sure how much I’ll be able to write over the next few days.  It promises to be hectic getting my car out of the shop and making final preparations for everything.

Love,
Dad

Dear Joseph and Lucia,

I’m at home and have access to more pictures from my hard drives here.  I promised you pictures of your Papa Gene and Momma Mickey.  These were taken in Ardmore after you went to Lake Charles.  They came to visit on a vacation.  Dad helped me finish installing the toilet and bathtub in the bath room.

Your Papa Gene was a Lt. Colonel in the Air Force. He was very wise.  He had many “suggestions” on how to do things.  You can find his obituary here. Momma Mickey was very caring and smart. After they retired, she worked at Dillards just to occupy her time. She and I would stay up late in philosophical debates.

I’m having a quiet day with Michèle.  We worked on the pool for a while (a never ending project) then went swimming.  At least I did. The water is still too cold for Michèle.

Off to make dinner.

Love,
Dad