Say What?

(Going back to a little of what I touched on in my last blog entry .) When I was a boy in the late '60s, Jim and his family had a home built next to ours in our all-white neighborhood in Bloomington, MN. That was a big deal back then. This wasn't just any other family moving in next door, at least that was the impression I was getting. As a boy of 10 years old, I knew nothing of racism. I would see Mr. Barbour, our new neighbor, out in his driveway tinkering with his blue Austin Healey Sprite, preparing it for races at the track in Brainerd. Little did I know then that this man was as close to greatness as I'd ever get.  David, the author of the Jalopnik story about James Barbour III (mentioned in my previous blog entry) was able to spend several days with Jim two summers ago, and during that time he recorded their conversations and used some of those recordings for his podcast.  Tempest podcast: Living Legend  (I couldn't get the podcast to play in my Safari browser bu...

Since I last wrote in my blog, Rachel and Drew have become engaged. They've been together a few months shy of 4 years and we all knew it was just a matter of time before they made it official. They arranged a video chat with us two weeks ago and that's when they let us know. Drew was even able to work PJ into his proposal. PJ loves to dig in their backyard so Drew put Rachel's engagement ring in a box and set it in one of the holes PJ had dug. He was down on one knee when he called Rachel over to show her what PJ had found. I think she knew what was about to happen. He proposed while on one knee. Rachel cried and said "yes!" It was simple but so sweet and we're very happy for them all, including PJ! There's no wedding date yet and there's no hurry. In this age of COVID, it's a little difficult to make short or long-range plans.  Rachel and Drew complement each other really well. They're both creative, thoughtful people, busy establishing thems...

Five years ago to this hour as I write this, I was processing out from the best career I could've ever hoped for. It was also the day my mother passed away as well as the day I received the incredibly welcomed news that my hearing in my left ear had been restored. It was one very emotion-filled day for me.  My career as an air traffic controller was a career that I literally thanked God for each day I had it and sometimes still do. I had been a kid with absolutely no direction in my life and without direction, I had no goals when I graduated from high school in 1975.  It's the main reason I ended up in the Navy .  I have no idea how those five years got away from me so quickly, but they did, and I realize that the next 5 years are going to pass by even more quickly. I suppose that's part of the reason I have a difficult time staying still for very long; I feel as though I need to make the most of each day of my life. It would pain me to look back at the years gone by and...