Stupid happens!

Posted on 02/21/2009 by RLW3

Have you ever done anything that was just dumb? Have you ever said “I can’t believe that I just did that!”

Well several years ago, in the span of about two weeks, I realized that I said those very words about 5 different times. Then it dawned on me…

Why do I keep saying “I can’t believe that I just did that”? Evidently, I do stupid things fairly often. So I decided to stop being surprised. I came to terms with the fact that ‘I ain’t the sharpest tool in the shed’!

When I do something stupid now, I’m not happy about it but I just shrug my shoulders. With me, stupid happens! I am no longer surprised!

And I save so much emotional energy because I don’t spend hours and hours kicking myself! In fact, it has helped me as a parent. When my son does something stupid, I just look at him and say, “Son, don’t worry. You come by it honestly.”

With that being said, there are still moments that I still astound myself. I move out of the realm of just plain stupid to WOW stupid. And I had one of those yesterday…

I had taken the Honda back to the dealer so he could remove the after market security system with the remote starter. I did that for two reasons: he could sell the security system and make a little more money on the deal and I would get the car back closer to its original configuration to sort out the electrical problems. Besides, Accords came with an anti theft device built into the computer. Pretty smart, I thought!

We got the car back and I drove it to work the next morning. I pushed the button on the steering wheel to start the cruise control and it didn’t work…

It worked when I took it in…

I called the dealer who called the stereo shop and I took the car back in. They got on it right away.

It turns out that there is this BIG button on the lower part of the dashboard just above my left knee with the word “CRUISE” written on that has to be pushed in before the buttons on the steering wheel will work!

DUUUUHHH!

I apologized for wasting their technician’s time and promised to come back and buy something to make up for it.

And you know, I wasn’t really even surprised. WOW stupid happens!

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Almost eliminated!

Posted on 02/20/2009 by RLW3

My wife called me this morning to tell me that she took my son to see the doctor.

“Why?”

“Because the coach noticed ringworm on his leg and said he had to get clearance from a doctor before he would let him wrestle.”

Keep in mind that tomorrow is the Regional tournament. If he wins this, he goes to the State tournament.

“When we went in, he told the doctor that he had noticed it on Monday and started treating it with the medicine that he had from the last incident. The doctor said that if he had not been treating it, he could not have cleared him to wrestle. Ringworm must be treated for at least 24 hours before he could issue a clearance.”

His high school wrestling career could have been ended by a fungus!!!

I am glad he noticed it right away and glad he had the presence of mind to treat it immediately!

I think that I am going continue to pray for him!

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Our Honda is confused

Posted on 02/19/2009 by RLW3

I am sure that you are familiar with the expression that some people are morning people and others are night owls. It seems that our “new” 1998 Honda seems to be a “night” car.

I say that because when I drove it home from work, it worked perfectly. However, when I drove to work, the transmission didn’t shift properly and the engine wouldn’t go above 3,000 RPM’s. After that it would start bucking.

As I write this, it occurred to me that it is acting like one of those horses that you rent to go horseback riding. When they leave the barn, you can’t get them to move quickly. However, as soon as you start heading back toward the barn, you can’t slow them down.

Hopefully, the car will stop acting like a rental horse and be the reliable Honda it was created to be as soon as we get the computer problems figured out.

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What was I afraid of?

Posted on 02/18/2009 by RLW3

Before I left for work this morning, I asked my wife what time our son got home from his study session…

“1:00”

“1:00 A.M?”

“Um, hmm”

“On a school night?”

“Then, when he came home, he got on Facebook for a half hour!”

I woke him up at 6:00 A.M. to inform him that he was grounded for the next month and that we would talk about it tonight when I came home. I then headed off to work.

Now, if I just tell you that part of the story, I come out sounding like a tough, stern father, which I don’t mind. However, that would be quite a bit shy of the truth.

The whole afternoon, I was not looking forward to our conversation. While I was confident that I was doing the right thing, I had no idea how would respond.

It seems that this is a right of passage in our family. At about the same age, I had to ground each of his two older sisters for a month. One responded beautifully. One did not. I could see him going either direction. The thought of the latter response made my stomach churn.

Our culture tends to focus on the difficulties that young people face in their relationships. However, parents have their own difficulties to surmount.

What parent wants to discipline their child? We do it for their good, not for our pleasure. What parent wants to risk the pain of a breach in the relationship if their child rebels? None that I know. 

After inquiring about the previous evening’s events, I was reassured that it was innocent. However, it was still a violation of our family’s boundaries. 

As I laid out both the reasons for and the boundaries of his grounding, I was struck by his attitude. What was I concerned about? He was not only humble, he even seemed grateful! When I told him that he would have access to his cell phone for one half hour (for texting) and his computer for one half hour (for Facebook), he seemed surprised that I was giving him that much freedom.

All in all, it was a very rewarding experience. I can’t wait to see what happens in him over the next four weeks!

Posted in Children, Parenting | Tagged | 1 Comment

The steel trap gets stuck

Posted on 02/17/2009 by RLW3

As you know, I have had quite a time buying a fuel efficient car here in Kansas City. While you have read of  the twists and turns, the guys I work with have heard about them first hand.

One of the men that I work with drives a Geo Prizm with 109,000 miles on it. He informed me that it is actually a Toyota Corolla in disguise. When I looked for one online, I ran into the usual difficulties.

After looking for 5 weeks, I finally bought a 1998 Honda from a used car dealer. However, my youngest daughter actually bought the car. I will use it to go to work for awhile and pay for all of the maintenance that is needed. So, even though I just bought a car, I need to find another one.

The man with the Prizm came into to work this morning telling the man who sits near him about buying his wife a new car. Instead of trading his wife’s old car in, he decided to sell his Prizm online. He said the minute he clicked the button to post his add on Craig’s List, he got a call. The car was sold in an hour and a half! 

My ears perked up. Did I just hear what I thought I heard?

“What car did you sell?”

“My Prizm.”

“Did I forget to tell you that I am looking for a fuel efficient car?!?!?”

“I thought you already had what you needed.”

I laughed for the next 10 minutes at the irony of it all. Here was a nice fuel efficient car that had been well maintained by an honest conscientious owner. That is the exact situation I have been seeking for the past 5 weeks!!!

And to top it off, this man has a mind like a steel trap! I mean, he remembers every little detail about every event for the past 20 years. It is amazing. I mean he should be the city historian!

But he forgot that I might want to buy his car!

I thought he deserved to share in the irony so I told him that I would have given him $150 more than what he got for the car!

All that I can conclude is that car was not meant for me.

Posted in Cars, Work | 1 Comment

Back to real life

Posted on 02/16/2009 by RLW3

My daughter did very well in her role in the school musical…

My son went undefeated and won the league championships in wrestling…

And grandparents from both sides of the family were here to see it and had a great time…

So why do I feel like such a loser today?

It must be an emotional letdown.

I even wondered why I am writing this blog? I mean, who really cares about my life? Why am I wasting my time? They don’t call these things vanity blogs for no reason.

I actually remembered why I am writing this blog. First, it is a record of our life together. Second, I have wanted to write for over a decade and this is a good beginning. Third, perhaps it will encourage and entertain those who read it.

I actually am glad for unexpected introspection. I needed to get grounded again. While my children did perform well, they didn’t cure cancer. All across the country, there are countless other parents whose children did similar things. So, it’s great that they did well but really…it’s not that big of a deal.

I’m back to normal. Back to real life…

“Is your homework done?”

Posted in Parenting | Tagged | 1 Comment

Ho-hum

Posted on 02/15/2009 by RLW3

My son won the league wrestling title…

Add it to the collection…

If only I could handle it that well. The truth is that he is handling his success much better than I am. When he was the new kid on the block and was starting to win I felt comfortable. However, now he is quickly developing into the favorite and I find that I don’t quite know how to act when people compliment his wrestling to me now. Anyway…

He really did win! And he wrestled very well.

He usually does not wrestle very well in the first match of a tournament. However, in this one, he dove in and got the kids legs, picked him up over his head and put him on his back in the first 10 seconds! The match was stopped in the second period. (17-4)

In his second match, he wrestled a kid who beat him last year (14-4) and who had only lost 5 or 6 times this year and won! (6-4)

He then beat the third place finisher at the Husky Invitational. (13-6)

He won the last two matches by forfeits.

He is now headed to the Regionals with a record of 36-7!

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Things that make me go hmmmm?

Posted on 02/14/2009 by RLW3

I just watched my youngest daughter play Erma in the high school version of Cole Porter’s musical “Anything Goes”. She did a great job.

Now, before you ‘knowingly’ roll your eyes and mutter to yourself, “What father wouldn’t say that!”, I do not say that because I am her father. I am actually one of those “mean” dads who will tell my children what I honestly think of their performance, effort, etc.

She really did do a very good job. She was fun and funny. She pulled off the New Yawk accent very well.

Her solo in the scene before the finalé really came off well. While there are other songs that I wish the crowd could have heard her sing, I think they got a pretty good sampling of her beautiful singing.

But, you may be asking, why the title for this post?

Well, Erma is, shall we say, not a very virtuous woman. I doubt if she’s evah met a boy she didn’t like. In fact, she soaks up the attention of the sailuhs (read it like a New Yawkuh!), if you know what I mean (wink, wink, nudge, nudge)!

So how does my innocent daughter pull off this role so effortlessly?

Hmmmm…

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And the decision is…

Posted on 02/13/2009 by RLW3

Buying a used car is really an act of faith.

It is so hard to get accurate information. And, how do you KNOW who to trust?

I made several calls over the weekend to the used car dealer that I am hoping to build a long term business relationship with. Since I had not received a return call, I decided to drive by his lot on Monday night. The place was locked up but guess what I saw inside…

a certain 1998 Honda Accord!

The last time he and I spoke, he agreed to return my money and was going to return the car to the auction because they did not disclose that the odometer had been rolled back.

He finally called me back on Tuesday and I told me that he bought the car back for $600 less. I told him that I was still interested in buying the car at the previous price if he would fix the car’s computer and let me take it to the Honda mechanic for a thorough evaluation. He agreed.

The Honda mechanic is the best in the area…literally. I was really hopeful that he would tell me once and for all whether I should buy this car or the 1996 Accord that he had for sale.

We talked on the phone after he finished.

He didn’t check the computer because the “Check Engine” light was not on! That was the main thing that I wanted him to look at!!!

He said that the car should be selling for $6-7,000. The fact that it was being offered to us for less than $4,000 made him very suspicious.

“People don’t give cars away. There has to be something wrong with it. The car has been in an accident. You can see that it has been repaired.”

“Did you drive the car.”

“Yes.”

“Well, how did it drive?”

“It drove great! It could end up being a great car.”

Essentially, he said that the car could be a disaster in waiting or an incredible deal. So, here I am, right back where I started.

I decided to go with my initial hunch.

I called the dealer and offered to buy the car at a price that would give him a decent profit. The first time that we tried to buy the car, he sold it to us at his cost. I told him that I was never comfortable with that because I wanted him to make a profit. He was really taken aback at this as I am sure that he doesn’t hear that from too many of his customers.

But that is the way the free enterprise system should work. Both parties should come out of the transaction feeling like they are better off, that they have “won.” He has sold a car to a happy customer who thinks that he is getting a great deal!

Posted in Cars, Money | 1 Comment

My solution to a logistical nightmare

Posted on 02/12/2009 by RLW3

I had another one of those nights…

How in the world is everything going to happen tomorrow (which was today)?

Here is what I came up with…

I drove Wild Bill to work. All I can say is that I barely made it on time…because I had to pry my cold fingers off of the steering wheel! And it wasn’t even that cold! Ever since I started working, my wife has been driving this beast in 15° weather! I have to get another car!!!

My wife drove the kids to school in our ailing SuperCrew pickup and parked it in the school parking lot.

The car dealer agreed to bring the 1998 Honda Accord to the Kindercare across the street from the kids high school. So, my wife walked over to meet him, gave him our down payment and drove him back to his apartment.

She returned to the high school parking lot and met the AAA tow truck driver who towed our SuperCrew to the mechanic’s shop.

She then drove the Accord to the Honda mechanic who evaluated the car.

When she got back home, she learned that my mother’s flight was delayed two hours. So instead of arriving at 11:41 like we planned, she was landing at 1:41. 

Normally, this delay would have been a godsend. However, shortly after receiving this news, my son called to inform her that his doctor’s appointment for his semi cauliflower ear had been moved up from 3:30 to 2:00. As if she hadn’t done enough already, she now had to be at two places at once. No can do…

So, she asked her parents to take my son to his appointment while she headed to the airport to pick up my mother who had flown in to see her grandchildren perform this weekend, took her to her hotel and then to Enterprise to rent a car for the weekend!

Whew! It is amazing that it all worked out

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