What a difference $10 makes

Posted on 07/12/2008 by RLW3

My second daughter’s boss gave her the night off. Instead of working until midnight and leaving in the morning, we decided to leave right away.

I took her to say good-bye to her best friend, to the restaurant to pick up her last check and say good-bye to more friends and then deposited her check at the bank. She was crying. She knows that this move to Nashville is right but that doesn’t make leaving close friends any easier.

We drove for several hours and got reacquainted. I had to keep reminding myself that even though she is making this change and I am helping her, she is still a young adult woman on her own. She doesn’t necessarily want my opinion on things.

After driving for several hours, I decided to find a place to sleep. I tried another Hampton Inn since last night went so well.

$153 per night!

“What about a AAA discount?”

“Not tonight. There is a big race at one of the tracks in the area and a big country music concert. We only have two rooms left.”

Back on the road until I saw a Super 8. I had a good experience with them in Wichita Falls, TX.

The first thing that got my attention was the price-$99 plus taxes. I thought “prices just must be higher in this area of the country.”

The room was clean, but then I started to notice things.

The toilet was so close to the wall that you had to slide onto the seat from the side so that you could avoid the toilet paper holder. When I went to turn off the light, I noticed that four 4″ tiles were missing.

The bed was comfortable but the pillows were lumpy. I fought with them all night!

When I awoke for the FINAL time in the morning, I was kicking myself for paying so much for such a poor quality room especially when I thought of my stay in the Hampton Inn in night before!

We got ready, jumped back in the car and resumed our trek to Nashville. In less than 10 miles, we saw many nice hotels advertising prices of $49.95!

Why didn’t I just drive a little further?

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OK I’ll take you in

Posted on 07/11/2008 by RLW3

Before I left Kansas City, I tried to schedule a tour the Chicago Board of Options Exchange but could only leave a message.

The woman in charge returned my call somewhere in Iowa and told me that they are not conducting tours during the summer.

“Is there an individual that can give me a short, mini-tour?”

“No. Everyone is very busy and held to a very tight schedule. I am sure that you are in Chicago often.”

“No, I’m not. In fact, this will be the first time and I am just passing through on the way to help my daughter.”

“Well, I’m sorry.”

“What if God gives me favor with a security guard and he takes me? Would I be doing anything wrong?”

“No.”

We hung up.

This morning, I walked up to the front desk and told the security guard what you just read. He asked, “What was the woman’s name?” I told him.

“Let’s call her.”

Now, I didn’t want to upset this woman so I volunteered to talk to her.

She answered the phone, “Is there some guy down there that wants a tour?”

“Yes.”

“I told him yesterday…”

I started laughing hysterically. When I could catch my breath, I told her, “I know you did. I’m that guy.”

“You just don’t get the message very easily, do you?”

“Look, let me tell you a story…(I then proceeded to tell her about meeting Dan Gable yesterday)…So, I’m here. I have to at least try!”

“Well, today is your lucky day.”

She came down and personally gave me the tour as well as some good, sound advice for my investing in the future!

The Bible says that “you have not because you ask not.” I am at least going to make sure that I ask!

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Surrounded by favor

Posted on 07/11/2008 by RLW3

I must have stopped in the nice part of town because the cheapest hotel I could find was $183 per night. I called my wife and asked her to see if she could find a cheaper place on the Internet and tell me how to get there. After much effort on her part, we gave up.

I called the Hampton Inn that I had driven past and asked how much a room would cost.

“$154 plus tax.”

“But all that I need is a place to sleep.”

I proceeded to tell him the nature of the trip and he cut the price to $109 plus tax!

I checked in and got a good night’s sleep.

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A negative mirage

Posted on 07/10/2008 by RLW3

The clouds caught up with me just as I hit the toll road. The state of Illinois was requiring me to pay for the privilege of driving slow on their road.

I had two $1 bills in my wallet and some change in the center console. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw that the toll was only $1.90!

My sigh of relief proved premature as 15 minutes later I encountered another toll both with another $1.90 charge! I managed to scramble up enough loose change to pay the toll.

When I paid the toll, I asked the attendant “How much more will I have to pay to get to downtown?”

“80 cents.”

I thought, “That’s good news! I KNOW that I had AT LEAST that much left in the center console!”

Sure enough, 10-15 minutes later, I hit the last toll booth and paid my 80 cents and took off for downtown Chicago.

They say that when you are dehydrated in the desert, you begin to see mirages, visions of watering pools that aren’t really there. As I continued driving, my mind began to imagine a toll booth that couldn’t really be there! I mean, the attendant had told me that there would be only one more!

I blinked and it didn’t go away. In fact, it moved closer and the cars in front of me slowed down and stopped! Evidently, this was not a bad mirage.

I looked at the sign to see that they wanted another 80 cents! I hurriedly gathered every last penny that I could find in the car and wound up with

forty three cents!

I notified the toll booth attendant of my situation and then she proceeded to make everyone behind me start cussing! She wrote up a missed toll card and took FOREVER to do it.

I pictured the guy behind me cussing up a storm at the stupid guy from California who couldn’t pay an 80 cent toll charge! I even thought of jumping out of the car and asking him if he could give me two quarters…

but then I didn’t want to risk getting arrested for some obscure law that I had never heard of…

and that would have been more than a little embarrassing…

so I just sat in my car and let them cuss…

and then decided that this was probably a good point to get off of the toll road, find a place to sleep and go to the bank in the morning! I mean, who knows how many more of these toll booths there really are?

And I will mail the state of Illinois a check for 80 cents when I get back to Kansas City.

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How was the weather?

Posted on 07/10/2008 by RLW3

If I am driving in the Midwest, it must mean that there is bad weather in the area. Sure enough, as I was driving across Iowa this afternoon there was a tornado warning in effect!

Of course, when they announce a weather alert on the radio, they cite the counties that are affected. I don’t know about you, but I was never required to learn all of the counties of all of the states in the Midwest. As the announcer continued reading the list of 10-15 counties, I tried in vain to remember the last county sign that I had passed. Then, by the time that I had reached the next county sign on the freeway, I couldn’t remember if that was one on the list! I didn’t see anything near me so I just kept on driving.

As I drove east on I-88, I saw the most ominous dark, black clouds in a formation that I had never seen before off in the distance directly to my left. Since they were way off in the distance, I just thanked God that they weren’t over me and kept driving.

However, over the next 1/2 hour, I kept looking over at those clouds. Are they getting closer? There was lightning flashing inside of them yet I was still driving in daylight. It was like looking at the set of a real live horror flick. I just kept driving.

After about 1/2 hour, it became very obvious that they were in fact moving our way! In fact, I was managing to just stay ahead of them. As I looked in my side view mirror, I saw the semi that I had passed some time ago. It looked like a little toy just engulfed in this huge black cloud. I just kept driving!

I managed to stay ahead of them for about an hour, like a surfer out in front of a wave until I entered a road construction zone with a 45 MPH speed limit. They caught me in Downer’s Grove, IL.

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The Little Car That Could

Posted on 07/10/2008 by RLW3

Our little 1990 V-6 Nissan Maxima with 96,000 miles on it is getting 34 MPG on this trip! Amazing!

I am really grateful since gas is $4.35/gallon in the Chicago area!

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A serendipitous meeting

Posted on 07/10/2008 by RLW3

I don’t really believe in serendipity. Things don’t just happen. I believe that God directs our steps if we will listen to Him. 

(If you don’t know what serendipity means, look it up in the dictionary! I have added a really neat feature to all of my blogs. Just put your mouse pointer over the word and right click [if you use a Mac, control click], select “Look up in Dictionary” and you will see the meaning of the word! Try it.)

As I drove eastward on US-80, I began to see signs for the University of Iowa. 

“Well, I have to stop there.”

Why, you ask?

As you probably know, my son is in his first year of wrestling and is doing EXTREMELY well. Well, the University of Iowa has been the epicenter for US wrestling, winning 20 national titles between 1975-2000! That streak of dominance started when Dan Gable became their coach. He has since become the university’s athletic director.

I got off the freeway and was immediately reminded that this was the area that was hit by the severe flooding about one month ago! The road was right next to the river and areas around it are still under water! I saw businesses tearing out their interior wood construction and pumping water out of their buildings. Seeing that quickly brought me out of my own little world!

I crossed a bridge over the Iowa River and drove onto campus. It is a very large, impressive campus.

It seemed that everyone that I asked knew nothing about the wrestling program or the arena, etc. I finally found Carver-Hawkeye Arena where all of the championship banners hang and called my son on my cell phone.

“Guess where I am?”

That was great but I wanted to find the wrestling room, the place where they practice, where the championships were actually made. After many more people who couldn’t help me, I finally learned that it was in the bowels of the arena. Back to the arena only to find a small room with no windows. It wasn’t really all that spectacular. In fact, the wrestling room at Blue Spring High is about the same size!

I called my son again, “Guess where I am now?”

As I left, there was an unimpressive man about 25 feet in front of me heading to the right to get into his car. I turned left to head to get back to my car before the meter ran out. As I did, another man loading a van called out to the unimpressive man, “Hey, coach.”

I replayed that little scene over in my head several times when a thought occurred to me!

I jogged over the the van man and asked, “Who was that coach that you called out to?”

“That’s Coach Gable.”

I turned and sprinted over the man’s car, convinced him to roll down the window and we talked for 10-15 minutes!

What are the chances…? It would be like walking onto UCLA and bumping into John Wooden! Not very likely! His jaw dropped when I told him that I just dropped in because I saw the sign on the freeway. He was only on campus for 10 minutes to check his mail!

I am going to introduce my son to him at the Nationals in a few weeks in Fargo, ND!

I called my son again, “Guess who I just talked to?”

I smiled about that for 50 miles. God is good!
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We’ve reached a decision

Posted on 07/09/2008 by RLW3

My wife and I have decided to surprise our second daughter. I will pick her up in Detroit and take her to Nashville. We will then give her our 1990 Nissan and I will fly back to KC. I will leave tomorrow morning.

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Surprised by what I already knew!?!?

Posted on 07/08/2008 by RLW3

Last night, I was surprised by something that I have known and been preparing for. I don’t really know how that can happen, but it did.

While talking with my son about our plans to help our second daughter, he told me a plan that he had to buy a nice car for himself. It involved him going back to LA, working as a lifeguard for the summer and then attending community college there.

Although he had said this before, I must have just discounted it in my mind. However, this time, I was struck with the reality that…

I could have LESS THAN 11 MONTHS with my son!

In two years, all of my children will have moved on with their life!

This wonderful season of my life is rapidly drawing to a close.

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Now why did I want another opinion?

Posted on 07/08/2008 by RLW3

I never ceased to be amazed at the power God gives other people to change my plans!!!

My second daughter called me to report the findings of the latest mechanic to look at her car.

“Dad, I am at the third mechanic and he says…”

She then went on with a hazy description of a long list of items and concluded with…

“He says that it will cost more to fix than the car is worth.”

I wasn’t ready for this…

“Is he there with you?”

“Yes.”

“Let me talk to him.”

When he finished describing the problems with the car, I thought “God really has been protecting my daughter!”

“What do you recommend that we do with the car? Can she sell it?”

“The only people who I would sell this car to is the scrap yard. They will give you $300 for it.”

“It’s that bad?”

“I would not recommend that this car be driven off my lot!”

“Sir, you don’t realize it buy you just changed my plans for the next week!”

Oh well, I tried. I really did. Back to the drawing board…

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