scribbles

You Are Not So Interesting...

2009-11-04T20:01:00.000-05:00

I'm sure this comes as a shock to you.
Others have been so patient
With your constant blathering.
Not wanting to offend
They sit and smile.
They offer little in response
When you pause
And come up for air.
Undeterred
You launch into soliloquy.
Expressing your views
On politics.
On the price of petrol.
On the barman's watered down drinks.
Never once
Catching the pained expressions
Or the deafening
Wall of silence that greets
Yet somehow fails
To overpower your
Self-absorbed infatuation
With the sound of your own voice...

5.1.08
Battery Park
Charleston, SC

Twenty Years Later...

2009-10-16T06:19:00.000-04:00

Yes, I'm dragging out the anniversary thing a little longer. Can you blame me? Twenty years is a long time. Seems like I've been married forever. Then again, it doesn't feel that long at all. It feels like we are just getting started.

Twenty years ago I married the dark-haired beauty of my dreams. We were young. We were clueless. We were in love.

We had plenty of naysayers predicting doom for our marriage. Friends (so called) who were convinced I wasn't capable and that Juli had lost her mind. "Wise" adults who counselled us that "love" isn't everything. We were both stubborn and weren't listening to any of the negativity. The interesting fact is, they were right. I wasn't capable of having a long term relationship. I'm still convinced Juli must have lost her mind to be willing to marry me. Love isn't everything and it definitely isn't enough to build a life around. The good news is that God is enough.

Thankfully, we started this journey with God as the center and he has blessed us every step of the way. We've had plenty of challenges over the years. Many days where we didn't really enjoy each other's company. Many days where it seemed we were walking on sunshine. We've experienced sickness. We've experienced health. We've seen financial ups and downs. We have the two best kids in the world (yes, you should be jealous).

Twenty years later...
We are still very much in love.
More so than ever.
We have plenty of challenges still ahead of us.
We still have a great deal to learn about building a healthy marriage.
Fortunately, God is still walking with us.

J...
Thanks for being mine...
We are just getting started...

Much needed rest day.

2009-07-26T08:39:00.005-04:00

The only cycling for me today is happening in Paris. Final day of the tour is on the telly and the coffee is already in the cup.

Will be doing my best to crank back the mileage this week and relax in preparation for next weekend's ride. For those that don't know, Lenae, Gretchen, Chris and I have signed up for the 21st Covington Century Bike Ride. http://covingtoncentury.org The bicycle ride offers route options of 30, 50, 80, and 100 miles and is well known for being the fastest ride in Georgia.

Apparently they put out a pace car at 25 mph for the nuts who want to try to ride a sub 4 hour Century. We will be riding the Century but will most definitly not be shooting for the sub 4 goal. We will be shooting for a 15 mph pace and a 6 hour finish. I've been so focused on training to ensure I could actually finish, I had forgotten how crazy this ride sounds. Feels very much like the marathon David talked me into signing up for a few years ago. Due to a blown knee, I never made it to that marathon. I'm very excited about finishing this ride.

I will of course be taking along the phone and posting photos and updates from the ride. You can follow along on Twitter or Facebook if you are interested.

Wish us luck. Or more appropriately, say a prayer for us (several of them actually).

2009-07-07T18:44:00.007-04:00

So...I'm a little behind in my writing again. Surprise, surprise.

Father's Day at our house is fairly low key by my own request. I'm not one to request a day on the couch watching sports (unless the Tour de France is on). I don't need to go out to lunch with everyone else in the city. I do want to hang with the fam' and do whatever comes along. The kids went in together and got me the new Elvis Costello CD "Secret, Profane and Sugarcane". Great stuff, but not what this post is about.

No seriously...Great CD...you need to check it out.

So, if this isn't about music, what is this about? Hats, parenting and attitude. That's what this is about.

Included in a card from my lovely daughter, Jess, was a "Dear Dad" letter. She has this uncanny talent for touching my heart and inducing tears. The fathers in the room will understand. In amongst the mush she reminded me of one of the encouragements I've passed along in her search for her identity. "It's not the hat that looks good on the person, it's about the person looking good in the hat."

Sounds cryptic, I know. Oddly enough, I shared it about a straw cowboy hat she had to have but refused to wear in public. She didn't feel confident enough to wear it out. She said something about it not looking good on her. Harumph. Thus the comment, "It's not the hat that looks good on the person, it's about the person looking good in the hat."

Yeah, I know. Doesn't sound like much. It really had nothing to do with the hat.

It had to do with having an attitude of confidence. An attitude of not necessarily caring what anyone else thinks of you. It's about wearing a loud shirt, or goofy shoes or that hat that not everyone could pull off. It's about being yourself and not giving in to social convention and being anything less than who God created.

So...what's your hat?

...and when are you going to put it on?

2009-05-15T21:07:00.004-04:00

Ok...so it's Friday night. Chaos in Maysville as usual, then...all of the sudden...nothing. Found myself all alone. Home alone on a Friday night. How the heck does that happen.

Then, as quickly as it came...it went. The college-boy returned from nowhere with others in-tow. The storm blew in and the teenage daughter called. She was damp and in need of a rescue.

Just when I was settling in for a quiet relaxing evening, it was over.

Hmmmm.....

2009-05-07T21:25:00.001-04:00

Looks like I've been ignoring my writing duties again. Going to have to get busy and start being creative again. I suppose I could always write about food again.

Deck Season Theology

2009-02-12T18:25:00.001-05:00

One of the benefits of living in the south is the early arrival of "deck season." Got home from work to find my eldest, Brett, home from college and sitting on the deck reading John Piper's "Desiring God."

Of course this lead to a deep theological discussion that lead even further to...

Yeah well, you don't need those details. Sufice it to say, it was a very good start to deck season.

Mobile Blogging from here.

another food post...

2009-01-14T20:37:00.001-05:00

Urbanspoon application rocks!

Got into Asheville tonight and needed a place to eat. Fired up urbanspoon on the iPhone, gave it a shake and the first result? Nine Mile. Really cool Caribean joint on Montford Avenue.

Reggae on the hi-fi, punched tin candle holders, rich colors on the wall. Had the namesake dish, jerk chicken & veggies over pasta. Hot enough to make my nose run. Oh yeah, Pisgah Porter on tap. Couldn't ask for much better.

Well, the company of a certain hot brunette wouldn't hurt...

Mobile Blogging from here.

Pilon

2009-01-07T20:43:00.005-05:00

This one is for my buddy Howard...

One of the best parts of traveling for a living is the restaurants. Mind you, I work for a small family business, so I'm not eating at Chops/Ruth's Chris/Bones/Veni Vidi Vicci or anything of that nature. I do my best to find local places with great food and atmosphere. Lots of average joints with average food that could be found in any Chili's or Applebee's.

Tonight was a winner.

We recently upgraded to iPhones and I've annoyed my wife greatly playing around on Facebook or Twitter or iTunes or searching through the myriad of applications that are available for my new favorite "business tool." One of those apps was "Urban Spoon". The software finds your location via the internal gps, you give the iPhone a shake, and Urban Spoon spins up a dinner suggestion. Tonight's suggestion was "Carmen's Cuban Cafe and Touch Lounge".

Have no clue what the "Touch Lounge" is all about but I'm telling you...Carmen's Cuban Cafe is the real deal. Tried the Ropa Viejo (shredded flank steak cooked in onions & tomatoes) with moros (white rice cooked with black beans) and plantains. Absolutely wonderful.

The best part? The Cuban coffee of course! Intense coffee with lots of sugar (I usually have my esspresso sans sugar) so it made a great dessert.

My buddy Howard (also the senior pastor at our church) is originally from Miami and has a thing for Cuban coffee. He usually has a bag of Pilon around the office. When my cup landed on the table, I immediately thought of him.

Here's to you Howard!

1st Kayak Trip of 2009

2009-01-03T10:06:00.001-05:00

Johnboy forgot his PFD. Imagine that. Not the way to start off a trip. Cold day in January. Raining. Oddly enough, it was a perfect day on the water. The Cartecay was the highest we've ever run it. Great flow.

After picking up a child size orange floatie thing for John at the BP, we were on our way to the put-in. The nice thing about cold days on the river is that you have it all to yourself. No fighting for position to get on the waves. No locals with a cooler full of putrid yellow swill standing in the middle of the choice line.

Spent three hours getting as much joy as the river could provide. When the shivers set in we decided not to push our luck and bailed. Gave up the coveted only legal parking space at the takeout to the next batch of crazies who were braving the cold.

Incredible day in God's creation with two great freinds.

Thanks to John and David for the fun and to the Creator of it all for the river.

rainy afternoons

2009-01-02T16:45:00.001-05:00

The first Friday of the new year. Rainy and cold. Perfect opportunity to sit and quietly ponder all things quiet. Which usually lands me in a book. Managed a chapter in the James Lee Burke novel I've been working on before getting bored.

Moved to the rain soaked back yard with a glass of port and the new Billy Collins collection of poems, Ballistics. Collins takes everyday events, a walk to the mailbox, everyday items, salt & pepper shakers, and turns them into fascinating revelations about life.

If you are already a fan of poetry you are probably familiar with Billy. If you aren't, this is a great place to start.

New Years Day

2009-01-01T11:34:00.000-05:00

Started the new year with a trip to the gym. Had to do a little preventative maintenance for the pancake party Jess was planning for her friends. Now I'm just stuffed. Need to put in a ride to offset the excess carbs.

Then again, maybe a nap is in order.

Wind Up

2008-12-31T16:02:00.002-05:00

Last day of 2008. Slept in, had coffee with my wonderful wife, killer shoulder workout at the gym, 20 miles in on the bike (cold and blowing), Christmas decorations are back in the attic, glass of port in hand, dinner reservations at 8:00.

Definite feeling of accomplishment on this last day of the year. So...how are you ending the year?

a new mousetrap?

2008-12-30T17:00:00.000-05:00

Trying a new approach. Finding all kinds of cool apps for my iPhone. iBlogger is the most recent. Still looking for a way to get motivated on the blog. Maybe this is it. This would be the test run.

2008-10-02T08:09:00.001-04:00

Ok...
So I still haven't gotten off my behind and done anything productive from a writing standpoint. Hmmm....wonder if that says anything about the speed of life?

switching gears...

2008-09-23T09:22:00.001-04:00

Well, I keep trying to maintain my blog on my .mac site. Unfortunately, I have to be at home long enough to maintain the postings. Therefore...few if any posts.

With all the hotel time I carry these days, using this account may prove a little more consistent. Will give it a shot and see what it gets us.

Now... what to write about...