“I don’t recall”

Posted on 03/15/2010 by RLW3

My wife has never visited our oldest daughter in Dallas. I think she might be the only member of the family who hasn’t.

So, for the better part of a month, she has been looking forward to this week since her school is out on Spring Break. 

I too was looking forward to this week but for a different reason… 

I wanted to surprise her by going somewhere for a 3-day weekend as a belated anniversary celebration. 

Well, the surprise was lost several weeks ago. And it wasn’t until this weekend that we realized that we could make the trip to Texas. 

This morning, my manager very graciously granted my last minute request to get this Friday off. I then had to find a place to stay. 

Last week, I had contacted a resort about 90 minutes north of Dallas to see where we might stay IF we actually were able to make the trip. They had ONE villa with a mini kitchen available! The lady offered me a 40% discount to the normal rate: $103.20 per night. 

That is a great deal but it is still $100 per night… 

I left a message on her phone this afternoon. She called me back just as I was parking my car at our apartment. After I reminded her of last week’s call, she asked me if I remembered what she quoted. 

I knew it was north of $100 per night but since I couldn’t recall the exact figure, I said, “Not exactly. It is written down on a pad on my desk at work.” 

“Was it $87 or $71?” 

“I honestly don’t know but that $71 sounds really good.” 

“All right…do you want to book it now?” 

“Yes!!!” 

How nice is that? A small suite for the price of an average hotel room!

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Who is she talking to?

Posted on 03/14/2010 by RLW3

I realized a new benefit of having children today…

I have someone to help me stay up to date technologically!

I awoke from a nice nap this afternoon to my youngest daughter’s voice in her bedroom. She was talking to someone on the phone. After about half an hour, I decided to find out who she was talking to for so long.

I opened the door to see my son’s face on a computer screen! They were “Skyping” (that’s Internet phone software) each other.

Talk about cool! I mean REALLY cool.

I just sat down in front of the camera and joined in. It was great to both see and hear him.

I knew those rug rats would pay off someday!

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True Confessions

Posted on 03/13/2010 by RLW3

This blog is in danger of becoming a confessional…(tongue firmly planted in cheek!)

I have written about my own mid-life crisis.

I have revealed that I have been involved in several long distance relationships for quite some time.

I have written about the possibility of my wife having a mid-life crisis.

But this post might top them all.

Let me get right to the point…

I have been seeing a college chick for the past few months…and she is hot!!!

As is so often the case, it happened so gradually that I didn’t even notice at first. Then it gradually dawned on me what I was doing!

I have done more than a little reading on the subject of the male “mid-life crisis.” I knew that trying to recapture lost youth by sleeping with a college girl was a dead end road. But, I had to experience it for myself.

Sadly, I can now say that it definitely DOES NOT answer all of the doubts and insecurities that confront a gradually aging 50 year old male. But, with that being said, it is fun!

Do you want to know the best part about it?

I don’t feel the slightest bit of guilt! Most men in situations similar to mine are racked with guilt. Not me!

In fact I am going to keep seeing her for as long as I can. That will probably be when she graduates in two years.

Then I will go back to being with my “old lady”…

She will have her nursing degree by then! Gotcha!!!

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I’m the only one???

Posted on 03/11/2010 by RLW3

My wife and I went to our Life Group last night…

You talk about feeling sheepish…As soon as I walked into the living room, I started getting cotton mouth!

I was the only man in the room!

I was going to leave but then my wife would not have stayed, so…

It turned out that it was good that I stayed. I think I said some things that actually helped the woman whose son was shot.

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You talk about committment!

Posted on 03/10/2010 by RLW3

I realize that I frequently post about something that I find surprising, amazing or confounding. I don’t know if it is because I lead an interesting life or am easily impressed. It is probably a combination of both.

Well, here is another one…

I went to the mid-week church service last night. I decided to sit in a different section. I figured I better branch out before I get stuck in a rut.

Changing seats in church is a little like moving to a new neighborhood. I met several new people and actually got to talk to a few people that I had previous just greeted.

Last week, while sitting in my usual seat, I met a man who drives an hour and fifteen minutes from St. Joseph, MO to come to our church (that sounds funny to say) because the youth group is large enough for his adolescent son to get involved with.

I was impressed with that until this week.

We have people who drive from Topeka, the capitol city of Kansas (1:15), Emporia, KS (1:45) and Junction City, KS (2:15)!!!

I have heard stories like this in Africa or the Amazon or somewhere in Asia where people walk for hours to attend the ONLY Christian church in their area! But, not in the United States!

“Why do people drive so far? Aren’t there Pentecostal churches between here and there?”

The general answer always goes back to the pastor. Like the St. Joseph man said, “You just don’t find men like brother (everyone is brother this or sister that) Gleason very often.”

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Not quite ready for prime time

Posted on 03/08/2010 by RLW3

You have probably noticed some changes to the blog recently…

I have been warning you that they are coming.

However, if you have clicked on any of the new buttons, you have probably learned that I am not quite finished. If I knew how to program…

But I don’t.

My ignorance forces me to employ the “let’s try this and see what changes…hmmm, that didn’t work” methodology, which is even slower than “hunt and peck” typing.

Soon, soon…

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An unexpected treat

Posted on 03/07/2010 by RLW3

We went to a concert last night…

a dance concert…featuring the Groovaloos.

You may not know it but you’ve seen them, whether in a music video, movie or commercial. Their website is here.

I am not a big fan of hip-hop, rap, and the like. In fact, if my friend wasn’t the founder of the group, I would not have gone.

And I would have missed a night of great entertainment! The dancers, particularly the men, were electrifying! The story was really well done.

I am SO glad that we went. Fun, fun, fun. If you can see them perform, you will not be disappointed.

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A trip down memory lane

Posted on 03/06/2010 by RLW3

About two weeks ago, Lane, the guy who is going to do the paint and body work on my project car, gave me an ultimatum…

“Am I going to start working on your car or are you going to move it out of my driveway?”

I don’t want to paint him (pun unintended but it is a good one!) as the bad guy. After all, the car has been sitting in his driveway for a year and a half. He let me store the car there for free, IF I we gave him the go ahead to work on the car.

We have delayed it as long as possible because the price to finish the car is pretty steep.

My wife has repeatedly questioned me about it.

“Can’t someone else do it?”

“Honey, it’s a custom car. It’s not just throwing some paint on it.”

My wife has repeatedly questioned me about it.

“Can’t a regular shop do it?”

“Honey, it’s a custom car. It’s not just throwing some paint on it.”

But, since she suggested it several times, I decided to check just to “make sure”. I would hate to find out after the fact that I could have gotten it done much cheaper.

The shop across from the place where I work has a pretty good reputation so I took pictures of the car and took them in for a quote. After checking a few times, I realized that he didn’t really want to even quote it!

So, when Lane called, I had a choice: let him start working on the car or pay for a year and a half of storage, sell the car and lose all the time and money that I have invested over the past 13 years!

I chose the former.

 I cringed a little inside when he called me today. I hoped that he didn’t want money already…

He needed me to remove all of the stuff that I jammed inside of the car before I left California.

As I removed, box after box, I was once again struck by the enormity of this project! I can’t believe that I actually tackled this! What was I thinking?

I am not one of those guys who always dreamed of building my own car. It just kind of happened…

When I pulled out the magnetic tail lights that I bought to tow the car from California, memories of “The Trip” came back to me. That was the signature event that really got this blog going.

Lane already has about 15% of the car down to bare metal. As I looked at it, I was really impressed with what I have done. I REALLY like the design!

While I don’t have a burning desire to finish the car, I have a feeling that I will glad that I did once I start driving it. I certainly have a lot of life invested in it!

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On high alert

Posted on 03/04/2010 by RLW3

I picked the Toyota up from the mechanic today.

The smell of fear is in the air…the fear of having made the wrong decision in rebuilding it.

My senses are working overtime.

“Was that noise there before?”

How should I know?

I wasn’t listening! I bought this car for $1,150! If it was there, it was NOT a problem!

However, now that I have spent another $1,700 to replace the engine and transmission, I wonder if this little noise or that little noise is a prelude to potential disaster.

I ask my mechanic, “Do you hear that belt turning?”

“No, not really.”

“What does that small tapping sound mean?”

The engine is warrantied for 6 months. That means that I must identify any significant problems fairly quickly.

My mechanic thinks it sounds great. I probably should take his word for it. But then the voice of paranoia starts whispering…

“What if he’s just saying that because those small sounds mean future income for him?”

Whoa, horsey, whoa!

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I have not had ANY problems!

Posted on 03/03/2010 by RLW3

Been a busy week…

Monday, anniversary date…

Last night, midweek meeting at church…

Tonight, my wife and I attended our weekly Bible study.

Typically, the Bible study is started with a generic question to break the ice and get people talking. This week’s topic was “Name one thing that is (or was) hard for you to do.”

The answers were pretty typical…speak in public, wait in lines (me), stay on topic in a Bible study (my wife), lose weight, etc.

Eventually, we came to a woman who visited the church for the first time on Sunday. All I can say was that she picked a good day. The presence of God was incredible!

This was also her first time at Bible study. She started to weep…

“To come to church…”

She then explained that nearly 13 years ago, she woke up in the middle of the night with her son on her mind who lived 11 miles away. That very night, his girlfriend shot him and killed him. She had been blaming herself for not driving over to his house to protect him for nearly 13 years!

Talk about changing the atmosphere of the Bible study…

The facilitator then started comforting her by saying that he could relate to her. He then shared how he had married his high school sweetheart and came home one day to find that she had killed their 3 year old son and then committed suicide! That incident is what started turning his heart to God.

I just sat there dumbfounded…What do you say?

The last item for the night was to tell of something good that came out of your adversity. The another woman shared how God had taken care of her and her children through the years. When she was a young wife with three young children, ages 2, 5 and 7, her husband, the pastor of the church, was diagnosed with leukemia. He died three weeks later! He had been given a clean bill of health by a life insurance company just a few months earlier!

Folks, I try to write about the difficulties that I encounter in life in a humorous or insightful manner, but, let me be clear, after listening to these people’s stories, I have not had ANY problems! NONE!

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