Pull over, son!

Posted on 07/07/2008 by RLW3

I have had a great 5 days today! The weather changes here about every two hours!

My son got pulled over by a policeman today! This is the second time in three weeks! Have I said that he was a fine young man in previous posts? Maybe I should reconsider…

The cop told him to get his hands in the air as he approached the car! But then he saw that cute, what-did-I-do-wrong-officer face and became quite friendly. He even invited him to sit in the passenger seat of his air conditioned (my son’s car is not!) car. Big A was pretty happy with that.

It turns out that our CA registration just expired on the car…

And he doesn’t have a KS driver’s license yet…

So, he got off with a warning AGAIN and we have 30 days to fix everything.

Come to think of it, I still use my CA drivers license too, so I guess I will be heading to the DMV real soon.

Posted in Children | Tagged | 3 Comments

There has to be a better way…

Posted on 07/07/2008 by RLW3

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you might get the impression that I am a “seat of the pants” type of guy. Few things could be further from the truth. Usually, I analyze things too much! I really am a responsible guy. Or at least I try to be!

After using Google maps to calculate the drive from KC to Detroit to Nashville and back to KC, I wasn’t too thrilled…

Nearly 2,000 miles!

Let see, at 18 MPG in our SuperCrew F150 that would be 120 gallons of gas times $4 per gallon equals $500 and a whole lot of driving!

My travel escapades are becoming legendary even here in KC. One of my wife’s co-workers at Costco is wondering if I will ever actually stay in Kansas for a whole month. I was just about to cross the threshold…

There has to be a better way…

I called my second daughter to find out what was actually wrong with her car. It sounded like tires, brakes and belts. That’s not too bad.

“Honey, take it to a mechanic and get an estimate. I will help you fix the car because you are going to need a car to get to work one you get to Nashville.”

The first guy wouldn’t give her a firm dollar figure.

The second gave her a price of $325 for tires and alignment and $700 for the brakes.

“The tires and alignment price sounds great but $700 for BRAKES…I don’t know about that”

She is going to take it to get another opinion and a price tomorrow.

Posted in Goals, Parenting, Travel | Tagged | Comments Off on There has to be a better way…

A Different 4th

Posted on 07/04/2008 by RLW3

This is quite a different 4th of July.

We haven’t really made a bunch of new friends yet so a BBQ picnic is out. And three of our children are in other states! We are down to three this weekend!

It is times like these that lead me to question my decision to move. I know that it was the right decision but that doesn’t mean that there is no pain or discomfort accompanying it.

Sometimes I am marvel at the enormity of the upheaval in our lives, in my life.

I was already reeling a little at the change of season that I am facing in my life before we actually moved.

In addition to that, I left the house that I had personally built and lived in for the last 19 years.

I left the church that I have attended since I was converted to Christ 27 years ago.

I left the state that I have lived in for 31 years.

All of the boundaries that helped to stabilize me are gone. I, we, are really starting over.

I did this once before when I left New Jersey to move to California. However, I was 17 then, very naive and oblivious to any possibility of failure. Now, I am 48, a little bit wiser and very aware of my limitations.

I suppose that I could look at the removal of the boundaries through the lens of being given complete freedom. However, the increase of freedom requires an increase in responsibility. In my weaker moments, I wonder if I am up to it. On days like today, I have more questions than answers.

How will we celebrate this holiday in the future? With whom? What are my plans for our family going forward in the future?

I am sure the answers will come when they are needed, but this morning I woke up with lots of questions.

Posted in Masculinity, Parenting | Comments Off on A Different 4th

Dad, am I flying Southwest?

Posted on 07/03/2008 by RLW3

Twenty minutes into the drive to the airport, my youngest daughter asked me this question! She is flying to Dallas to spend some time with her oldest sister.

“Did you print out your itinerary?”

“No.”

“Then how do you know what airline you are flying on?”

“Well, I know my verification number.”

“But you don’t know which airline. You don’t even know which terminal. Are you going to just walk around saying ‘My verification number is _ _ _ _. Is this my airline?”

She flipped open her phone.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m going online to check it.”

“Honey, we haven’t signed up for Internet access. That is going to be a very expensive call.”

She scrunched her face at the bad news…then smiled when she found the necessary information.

“Honey, after you pay for that call, I think you might be more likely to remember to print out your itinerary next time. I think that you will find that it is MUCH cheaper!”

We arrived at the airport in plenty of time. She got her boarding pass and was off to Dallas for some wonderful time with her sister.

I wonder how much AT&T charges to access the Internet…

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Alfred Hitchcock is dead

Posted on 06/30/2008 by RLW3

About 1/2 mile into my morning run this morning, I ran by a tree and was attacked by a bird! I mean I the bird actually made contact with my hair and then screeched!

When I turned my head to look to see what was going on, the bird let me know in no uncertain terms that this was not a mistake on his part! He flapped and held his ground about a foot over me and followed me to the next tree!

Someone evidently forgot to inform him (or perhaps it was a her!) that they are no longer holding auditions for the movie and that Al is dead.

I just kept running.

Posted in Physical | 1 Comment

The Last Breakfast

Posted on 06/29/2008 by RLW3

After service, our family ate The Last Breakfast at IHOP. Good food, fast service.

I am so full that I am actually starting to look forward to the fast…

I just have to eat that piece of cheesecake tonight and then I’ll be ready!

Posted in Family | 1 Comment

My next book?

Posted on 06/29/2008 by RLW3

I weighed myself first thing this morning, as is my custom.

I have gained 3.4 pounds in the last two days!

That would make a great book title:  

How I gained 3.4 pounds in just 2 days! You can do it too!

But, this is what I normally do before I go on an extended fast. Both my body and my emotions fear that I will never eat again, or that I will die on the fast so, like a bear before winter, I bulk up!
Posted in Physical | Comments Off on My next book?

Fresh doesn’t mean fresh

Posted on 06/28/2008 by RLW3

With the 40 day fast rapidly approaching, my wife and I went out to eat at our favorite restaurant for our last dinner date, The Cheesecake Factory. While she was figuring out what we would eat, I looked at the page on the menu with all of the different types of cheesecake on it in anticipation of my favorite dessert.

There it was…

Fresh Banana Cream Cheesecake!

The word Fresh really stuck out to me. Oh, my goodness, I could already taste it!

We ordered the appetizer, the main dish, our drinks and dessert all at the same time. 

When we finished our meal, our waiter asked if we would like any dessert. I politely reminded him that we had already requested Banana Cream Cheesecake.

He returned with BAD news: “It’s not completely thawed yet.”

THAWED??? Buy your menu says “Fresh.”

He apologized.

Crushed with disappointment, I let my wife reorder the dessert.

“How about key lime cheesecake?”

“That’s frozen too.”

My wife then ordered some really complicated thing…vanilla, macadamia nut, caramel something or other.

We ate it. It was REALLY sweet. And there was hardly any cheesecake in it!

The waiter returned with the bill and confidently asked how we liked the pie.

I chose to be honest: “I didn’t. I would have preferred just a plain piece of cheesecake.”

He said, “I feel bad. We didn’t have your first two requests. Would you like a piece of regular cheesecake on me.”

Now, our waiter was probably balding because he had shaved his head. When he said that, I could have resisted, but I didn’t. His words painted such a vivid picture in my imagination that I said “Won’t that mess up your hair?”

He burst out laughing and then went and brought us a piece to go for free!

Posted in Marriage | Comments Off on Fresh doesn’t mean fresh

The next BIG step!

Posted on 06/28/2008 by RLW3

Our second daughter called to inform me that she is moving to Nashville in two weeks!

The mother of the bride has a particular fondness for our daughter and has agreed to let her stay with their family until she gets on her feet!

She has already applied for and received a transfer to the Olive Garden restaurant in their neighborhood and has made an appointment to meet with the manager on the 14th of next month!

“That’s great!”

“But, Dad,…(long pause)…I don’t have any way to get there…I was wondering…if…you…could…

It was as if her mouth stopped working because the words barely made it out as she said “help…me…get there.”

It turns out that she doesn’t think that her car can make it.

“Yes, honey. I will help you get there.”

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Watermelon never ceases to amaze me

Posted on 06/28/2008 by RLW3

This morning, while eating a slice of watermelon, I had an epiphany. You can read about it here.

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment