Say What?

I was recently contemplating the twists and turns of my life and the what if questions that accompany those sorts of thoughts. Of all of the 'what ifs' I contemplated, probably none seemed more inconsequential to me as the time when my dad turned down my request for a 10-speed bike. But in reality, it was likely anything but inconsequential. I was 14 and still a couple years away from getting my driver's license. A few years earlier my dad had found an abandoned gold-colored Schwinn 10-speed bike in the field of what is now Hubert Olson Jr High. He brought it home and spent an entire Saturday fixing it up and making it ridable -- I was maybe 10 or 11. I remember being out in the garage watching him work on it, figuring it was for him to ride. When he completed the job he called me out into the garage to have a look. Before I could comment he turned to me and said: "it's yours." I didn't know what to say. Sure, he'd given it new life, the bes...

I received a response a few days ago from the police officer who did the follow-up on the close call I had with an aggressive driver two weeks ago. He wrote: "We do take reports like yours seriously. Unfortunately, sometimes it takes a little while for a follow up. I was able to contact the driver tonight and had a lengthy conversation with the person. Hopefully that was the last time that driver has done it. Seemed to be understanding. And I stressed the fact that while I cannot give a citation for this incident, it has been documented and will be on the driver’s record. Please let us know if anything else happens on the road. Thank you, Vadim Romanets" That's really all I was hoping for—that he'd have a talk with the driver and put a note in his file so if something like this happens again it may result in more serious consequences. I got some pretty cool fat-bike decals in the mail for the back of my car . You should get some too. Here's a link t...

I've wrapped all of my yardwork for the year and I have my mowers washed and put away. I even took some time to sharpen their blades so I'm good to go in the spring. It's nice to have it all done. Normally about this time each year, I'd spend nearly an entire day stringing Christmas lights, but not anymore. I started the tradition 17 years ago in my first Christmas together with Tammy and Rachel. I got a lot of enjoyment from it but Tammy has the final say and she would prefer I no longer put myself at risk up on a ladder for such a frivolous thing. It's been a good run but she's right. I suppose I could string some lights where using a ladder isn't necessary but I'm an all or nothing sort of guy when it comes to this. We're still enjoying some beautifully mild weather and I'm making the most of it—so much so that I haven't bothered to schedule any time for us to blow glass at Foci. It's just too nice out. The days are getting so shor...

My little-blog-that-could turned 13 last month and this entry marks my 800th post. I'm not sure what I envisioned when I embarked on this all those many years ago but it's been an enjoyable investment of time and I hope to keep tapping out entries for many years to come. I'll be honest—Tammy and I were saddened, ashamed, shocked and embarrassed by Trump's election to lead our country. Even when I was an ardent conservative a little more than 10 years ago I can't imagine I would've supported someone of his temperament and repugnant behavior and his total lack of preparedness for the job. I'm actually not surprised by the election results when you consider the amount of over-the-top hatred directed at Hillary Clinton by a republican smear machine that had been relentlessly pursuing her for decades. The party of God sure knows how to hate. That's one of the takeaways for me from all of this. They had abundant forgiveness for Trump and his endless list ...

How about those Cubs!? I'm not a baseball fan but I did manage to catch some of the play in the World Series. As my friend Steve says: "You get to watch the best of the best". I can't imagine more excitement in a baseball game than what game 7 offered. Fun stuff! We're sitting on the edge of our seats here in the US (and likely in some other places as well) as we anxiously await tomorrow's voting results between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton in addition to many other races. There's lots at stake for everyone and we've pretty much all settled into our camps to ride it out. The hatred being directed toward Hillary Clinton is unlike anything I've ever witnessed and it's concerning to watch. A relentless and all-out orchestrated effort by republicans to destroy Clinton along with the most unpresidential and divisive candidate in Donald Trump is, in my opinion, to blame for the great divide we're experiencing where family members won'...