I upset the apple cart

Posted on 12/16/2008 by RLW3

I am a little fired up tonight.

This past weekend, I enrolled both of my children in Escondido Tutorial Service‘s Great Books class. They were both enrolled in the class two years ago while we were homeschooling in CA.

I had been considering it for several weeks and had already talked with a school administrator about this when I visited to one of my son’s teachers. Last Friday night, I noticed that the deadline for next semester’s payment was due on Monday (12/15)! I made my decision, signed them up online and mailed the check.

I went in to the school yesterday afternoon and cleared up all of the scheduling changes for next semester. An administrator said that we will need approval from the school district for my son’s last semester to count toward his graduation requirements but she assured me that it shouldn’t be a problem as they know that this program is very well thought of.

Now, keep in mind that the school that my children are attending is universally acknowledged to be the one of the best in the area. 90% of the students attend college.

However, that does not change the fact that it is a state school. And if it is a state school, then its ruling paradigm is that the state is god.

My wife and I (and our children) do not hold that opinion. We believe that God is God and that he has given parents the authority and responsibility to educate their children as they see fit.

Today, the two teachers learned of my decision.

My son’s teacher evidently talked with the wrestling coach. How do I know this?

For the FIRST time, the coach asked my son if he was thinking of wrestling in college. When my son answered affirmatively, he said that he might want to reconsider my decision “because the colleges are very strict in what credits they will accept. You might be jeopardizing your chances with this move.” Prior to this, he has expressed no interest or excitement in my son’s future. Now, out of the blue, he’s “concerned”???

My daughter’s Comm Arts teacher questioned the decision also. “As an educator, I don’t think that this is best for you. I’m concerned about your reading skills. (she scored in the 74th percentile on the PSAT while testing as a just turned 16 year old junior!) I think your father has made a mistake. Is sounds like he did this without talking to you. Are you O.K. with this?”

I find it interesting that in both instances they appealed to my children as though it were their decision to make. But that is understandable. That is one of the foundational tenets of public schooling in our formerly great nation.

I’m actually grateful for this conflict. My children are witnessing first hand what we have been teaching them all of these years.

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Should we? I don’t know…

Posted on 12/15/2008 by RLW3

Having FINALLY turned 16, my youngest daughter (Cakes) has been seeking work as a hostess at a nice restaurant across the street from our apartment. This past weekend she came home from her second interview with some delightful news.

The manager of the restaurant wants to treat my wife and I (and Cakes) to a meal! He wants her parents to get to know the restaurant!

Hmmm…Should we go?

Well, all right!

It was very nice. And the food was very good. The bang-bang shrimp appetizer was worth the trip all by itself. I got to have me some more of that stuff!

When our waitress learned that the manager was taking care of the bill and that Cakes had already had two interviews, she hinted that it is likely that she will actually be hired!

It is so exciting to see her grow up!

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A Midwest roller coaster!

Posted on 12/14/2008 by RLW3

The Los Angeles area has at least five major amusement parks that boast about how great their roller coasters are. 

Here in Kansas, we don’t need no stinkin’ amusement parks with no man mad roller coasters! We’ve got the real thing!

At 11:00 this morning, it was 59° with 25-35 MPH winds coming from the SOUTH.

At 1:00 P.M., just two hours later, we had 25-35 MPH winds coming from the NORTHWEST and the temperature had dropped to 45°!

At 4:00, it was 28°.

At 5:00, we were down to 21°.

At 7:30, it was 17° and SNOWING!

In my last weather post, I commented that people in Los Angeles don’t talk about the weather because it is nearly always the same. Do you want to know what they do talk about? How bad the traffic is!

Maybe its just me, but if I have a choice between talking about bad traffic or weather like this, I will take weather every time. This is fun! This is exciting! 

By the way, its now 10°! A 50° drop in 10 hours!!! Top that Magic Mountain!

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Son, we need to talk

Posted on 12/13/2008 by RLW3

My son just texted me from Mediapolis, Iowa.

He is there for a wrestling tournament. This is the second out of state tournament in two weeks.

He finished 3-1 for the tournament, earning the bronze medal in his weight class. His record is not 8-4.

I wonder how he could have done if he didn’t have to lose SIX pounds the DAY BEFORE the tournament started?

He has been eating like a horse. He’s been doing that for quite some time.

In the past, I explained it away by saying that he was heading for a growth spurt…

but he ain’t growing!

and I don’t want him cutting a bunch of weight.

I think we are going to have a talk.

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She passed!

Posted on 12/12/2008 by RLW3

I got a little older today.

I do realize that this happens every day that I live…

However, it was brought home to me with special force today because I took our youngest daughter to get her driver’s license.

Yes, she has been driving with her permit for the past year. However, now it is official. She can drive alone, without her mother or I in the car…LEGALLY!

I don’t know why it is such a big deal to me…but it is. Our little one is no longer so little!

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Helpin’ the little lady

Posted on 12/11/2008 by RLW3

My wife called me this evening to see if I was going to pick up the kids from school. I told her that I was just leaving the storage facility and couldn’t make it in time so she went to get them.

When I got home, I waited for her to return with my two younguns so they could help me unload the boxes from the truck.

And I waited…and I waited!

I figured that my son was probably late getting out of wrestling practice and decided to unload the truck myself. As I took the last box into the apartment, I remembered that I had left my cell phone on the front seat of the truck after my conversation with my wife.

I picked it up and saw 16 missed calls! At that very moment, my youngest daughter, Cakes, called. 

“Dad, the battery died on the truck. A man tried to jump start it and couldn’t. We’ve been trying to reach you for the past 40 minutes.”

“How did the battery die?”

“Mom left the lights on.”

“*&*%$##@!”

I got into our old F-150, Wild Bill, and headed to the school.

I wanted to be mad. I really, really did. My brain started working on the most pointed, sarcastic comment possible.

However, as I drove to the school, it began to dawn on me that it would probably bless my wife if I was nice to her; if I was understanding…helpful even.

But that feels so…WIMPY!

Then a bad memory from the past floated to the surface of my mind. I didn’t want to remember it but before I could stop it, there it was…

I had done the same thing just a few weeks earlier.

I was cornered. And I did it to myself!

Then, it got even worse! The parking lot was full! Everyone in Overland Park was there to witness me jump starting my nice truck with my old, beat up truck. Uuuggh!

As I drove over the speed bump in the school’s driveway without slowing down, a transformation occurred…

Suddenly, I was a cowboy back in the days of the Wild West off to help a lady in distress and Wild Bill was my faithful steed!

The school driveway is a one way road. I drove in, did a U-turn in the parking lot and headed back toward our truck.

I ignored the cop flashing his lights at me because I was driving the wrong way, hooked up the jumper cables, revved Wild Bill’s engine for about a minute, told the “little lady” to start her truck, hopped out, unhooked the cables, slammed both hoods shut, hopped back into Wild Bill, backed down the driveway, did a reverse U-turn and headed off into the sunset!

When we got home, my daughter said, “But Dad, three other people tried to help us jump start the car and couldn’t get it to start. How did you get it to work?”

I replied, “You didn’t have the right man!” as I blew the smoke off of the end of my revolver, spun it on my finger and shoved it back into its holster.

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Maybe couch potatoes are smart!

Posted on 12/10/2008 by RLW3

Today, I am struck by how everything seems to have worked out.

After all of the online applications, the networking, the house hunting in Overland Park, the house hunting in Blue Springs, the pastoral interview, the résumé to Honeywell…

We are living in the same apartment and I am going to work for a small machine shop.

It makes me wonder why I went through all of the gymnastics? We would have ended up in the same spot if I had just laid on the couch for the past 8 weeks and done nothing!

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Talk about the weather

Posted on 12/09/2008 by RLW3

When I lived in Southern California, I must tell you that I thought that people who talked about the weather were really lame.

I mean, come on…

Don’t you have ANYTHING more interesting to talk about?

Now that I live in KC, I understand.

Try this on for size…

When I picked my wife up from Costco last night at 9:00, it was 60 degrees.

Today, it is 28 and everything is COVERED in at least 3″ of snow!

Traffic was slowed to a crawl because the streets are covered in ice! I watched in disbelief as a Mercedes slowly slid into the right lane even though its wheels were turned all the way to the left. To make it more remarkable, this happened while they were waiting for the light to turn green!

Talk about adventure…

Meanwhile, people in Southern California probably had another BORING day of sunshine…just like the last 473 days!

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Boo-hoo

Posted on 12/08/2008 by RLW3

I received the call from the church. As you can probably deduce from the post title, they didn’t choose me.

They said that it was a treat to meet me, that my gifts were obvious and that I had much to offer.

It begs the question, “Well, if I’m so wonderful, what is the problem?”

The problem is that they see me called to youth. They said that is they had young couples, etc., they would have hired me in a moment. But, they don’t.

So, even though I was not ever certain that was the right place for me and even though I was trusting God to make His will known to them, I still have to deal with a little bit of rejection.

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It fits pretty good!

Posted on 12/08/2008 by RLW3

This morning, my wife and attended a meeting with the pastors in the KC area. We were invited by the man who recommended me to the church that is considering me for the position of interim pastor.

I must tell you that both my wife and I felt quite at home when I guess we technically shouldn’t have. I mean, we aren’t pastors!…yet!

Throughout the meeting, I couldn’t help but notice how good it felt: like a nice fitting sport coat.

I should hear from the church soon.

On the way home, I stopped by the machine shop in Blue Springs and signed all of the papers to “officially” become a new employee.

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