Say What?

My brother-in-law, Jerry , lost his job a few months ago. It was a job he began in 1970 with Northwestern Bell as a cable splicer. It morphed over time and he spent the last few years in a supervisory position with Qwest. Qwest has been struggling for years but I don't think Jerry was overly worried about losing his job. He was always so busy with not nearly enough time in the day to do all that was expected of him. Nonetheless, he was terminated and given one year severance pay. I suppose some would say that's great but Jerry would much rather have put in another 7 years and taken his full retirement. They still have 2 kids, Kelsey and Cole , at home. Jerry didn't sit idle very long. He decided to take the leap and begin his own company wiring new construction homes. Jackie, who has always been a stay-at-home mom has also stepped out of her comfort zone and taken a job at Cub Foods as a cashier. Sometimes when I'm talking with Jackie I find it hard to know what to ...

I've been listening to a relatively new band from Canada named, Starfield. This song is excellent. Ordinary Life Take me and invade me Make me someone new Wake me from the dead And break me with the truth Move me and disturb me Interrupt my peace Tear open my heart And pull me to my knees There's a world outside That is burning While I'm turning blinded eyes While I stand by I won't survive To live this ordinary life I'm not alive To live this ordinary life And I will try To see this world I live in With Your eyes To love this world You've given With my life To see this world I live in With Your eyes To love this world You've given With my life

I knew Tammy had been working on a photo album of my bicycle ride to Babbitt in July but I had no idea how nice it would be. She gave it to me yesterday as a birthday gift. I think it's probably the nicest gift anyone has ever given me. She put so much time and thought into it. I had tears in my eyes as I was looking through it at the thought of her doing this for me. She used my blog entry of my ride to narrate the journey and included some photos I hadn't seen before. The little doo-dads and phrases she added to the pages gives it a very nice and thoughtful touch. I've got the best wife anyone could wish for—oh, and the best daughter, too. I love you guys so very, very much.

Happy birthday to me! Wow...where is my life going so quickly. I turned 47 today but I still think my outlook on life is about 20 years younger. I went out for a 100-mile bike ride then came home and cooked some steaks on the grill with Tammy, Rachel, and Mom. I'd invited Tim over but he couldn't make it. I'm sitting here with a glass of wine as my day unwinds. Oh, I also reached a milestone today when I went over 6000 miles on my bike for the year. I'm thinking that 8000 miles isn't out of the question before the snow flies—we'll see. Usually, I'm glad to have 4000 miles in by my birthday so I'm running quite a bit ahead of my regular pace. We had an interesting event happen last Thursday over the Minneapolis area. Tim called me to see if I'd seen the UFO in the sky. He'd heard about it on the news. I stepped outside off the front porch to have a look and spotted it right away. It wasn't as though you were looking at an obvious spacecraft ...

I think my weekly total of 517 miles is the most I've ever done in a seven-day stretch. I sort of thought I'd get several good days of riding in during my week off but this is probably more than I'd hoped for. I rode 60 today, 111 yesterday and 108 the day before. My right knee is a bit sore so I think I'll go easy tomorrow. I think the only riding goal left for me this season is 6000 miles by my august 25th birthday. That's a reasonable goal and about 2000 miles more than I'd initially set when the season began. I'll need to average 40 miles per day to reach the 6000-mile goal. That's only 280 miles a week and well within reach. We went to see Irobot last night. I think we all liked it even though I'm not one for sci-fi. The media has been on my mind lately. The double standard with respect to network news programs is important for the average Joe to realize. It's one thing to tune into Rush or one of the cable programs where you have a mode...

I was out on my bike today and without even realizing it I had reached that surreal state where the endorphins take you where the fast-paced world is all around you but you’re really not aware of much other than some obscure thoughts and the sun on your back. I’d just finished climbing out of the Minnesota River bottom and I was coming up on the approach path for runway 29L, east of the MSP airport. Coming into view from the right I noticed a 747 with its wheels extended on final approach. At first glance it looked to be a KLM flight arriving from Amsterdam but then I noticed the American flag on the tail. As I got directly off to its side from about a quarter-mile away I could see the word ‘United’ and I thought that maybe United Airlines had a new paint scheme I wasn't aware of. I watched as it descended off in the distance and then it struck me that it was Air Force One. It did seem odd that there was very little air traffic in the area and now I understood why. President Bus...

I found a wallet on my ride yesterday. It was a red, woman's wallet with all her important stuff but no money, a credit card but no cash. I put it in my saddlebag and continued on my ride. I gave it to Tammy when I got home and she tried to locate the owner—no luck. Her phone was disconnected and the only link we found was a card for a doctor's appointment. Tammy called the doctor's office this morning and gave them our number so they could relay it to the woman. I found it on Hwy3, across the road from a bar out in the country. I was thinking that someone lifted it from the woman's purse while they were in the bar and threw it out once they took the money and left the bar. As it turned out, the woman's fiancé called our home shortly after Tammy called the doctors office and said it's possible that the woman's 3-year-old son threw it out the car window. Anyway, we were glad to find the owner. When I spoke with her fiancé, Ron Collins, on the phone I ment...

Okay, I've got stuff to do today and the rain is getting in the way. I shouldn't have slept in so late as I would have at least gotten my ride in. Mowing the lawn can wait till tomorrow but I'd really like to ride. I did manage a longish ride yesterday of 121 miles when I rode out to St. Peter along Hwy 169. I was intending to go to Mankato but I cut it short. Tammy is working and Rachel is with her dad. She didn't sound all that happy to be going to see him yesterday. She called me around 11:00am and said her dad was picking her up around 12:30. I told her I'd see her tonight and that we'd all do something...I think that something is going to be dinner at Hard Rock Café in Minneapolis. We'll pick her up around six and head over there on the way back. Rachel has been disappointed with her visits with her dad and step-mom for quite a while now. They speak Vietnamese around her and so she's not a part of their conversation. Her stepmom's English is...