Now What John?

Pike's Peak Epilogue

2011-09-27T15:47:00.001-05:00

There are some pivotal moments in your life that stick with you. Sure, there are some that are very significant at the time but then as time passes on their importance seems to fade. Stepping on the top of Pikes's Peak was a very significant moment in my life. It was a moment filled with relief, joy, elation and triumph. It was an affirmation of all the time and effort I had put into losing 120#'s. It was realizing that I was skinny enough, and in good enough health to walk up a 14,000 foot mountain. It was amazing.The previous Saturdays during our practice hikes Andy & I would break into a jog as we came back near the parking lot. Kind of a "manly man" thing. So as we topped the mountain it just seemed natural to break into an jog for the last little bit. I'm sure that convinced the tourists that had driven up or rode the train up that we were indeed crazy. Looking back, I agree - we were a little crazy! Blame it on a lack of oxygen.There was a family there that took our picture, they were adequately impresses that we had actually hiked up the mountain. We smiled, and then weariness took over. Joann had pushed hard on the last part of the 16 Golden Steps. (She later said that her motivation was twofold: #1 - She didn't want to have to walk back down all the way; #2 - She was not going to pay the $500 fee for Search & Rescue to get her off the mountain. It took some time, water, and Pike's Peak Donuts to get her back to "normal". As her fellow team members we bear the blame for not seeing the signs and helping her more. We'll do better.The train came up the hill and we went ahead and boarded the train as we had already seen the scenery first hand and were more interested in resting than anything else. Shortly after we got on the train we were joined by two ladies in their 50's to 60's range that had ridden the train up halfway, then hiked to the top. It was one of them's 37th 14er! We told her what we had done and after listening to the story she said, "Let me get this straight, on July 1st you were a flatlander couch potato and now you're a 14er?". Yep, you got it. "That's pretty amazing" she said. I agree. Pretty amazing.

So, some thanks are in order.
To Jim, thanks for taking the lead and losing weight, convincing me that if Jim could lose weight - anybody could! (I've eaten with the guy and know...).

To Joann, thanks for supporting me and loving me when I didn't lose weight and for supporting me and loving me when I did. And thanks for loving me enough to go on the crazy adventure of climbing a mountain.

To Andy & Kim, for the bold idea and all the pelim advance work that made it doable on such short notice. Thanks for letting us in on your fun!

To the guy at REI for convincing me to get synthetic underwear. Cotton kills.

To Phil for the hiking poles (invaluable), the water filter (life saving - hydrate or die!), and the bug repellent electronic thing (technology vs. Bugs - way cool).

To Brock and David for covering my duties at Heritage.

To God for giving me the strength and ability to make it up the hill.

In closing:
To my friends and family that are now trying to get in better shape/health. Way to go! I can't express what a tremendous difference it is in my life. EVERY ASPECT of my life is better. I know it's not easy to get there, but the end destination is amazing. Go for it!What's next? We're thinking about doing it again next year. Come go with us. You'll love it. I did my first 5k a week ago Saturday - turned in a 37:20 time. I didn't run the whole thing, this next Saturday I have another 5k and my goal is to run it completely. After that, who knows?I know that I am now a 14er and that accomplishment has been etched in my brain and body and will be significant for the rest of my life.

Pike's Peak Day Two (AKA – Can we quit now?)

2011-08-31T11:40:00.000-05:00

So, we’ve survived the night. Not eaten by bears or killed by a volcano. (My son Isaac had started a betting pool on when and where we would die on this trip. The odds of being eaten by a bear were obviously higher than a volcano but he was trying to cover all the bases. He was also auctioning off pall-bearer spots for my funeral as well. Ahh, the enduring love of a son.)

We had some anxiety about day two. Everything we had read and everyone we had talked to about this part of the trip said the same things.

· You’ve got to get to the summit before 1pm because you will be above the tree line for the last 3 miles and there are rain storms practically every afternoon. The only advice for what to do if you were caught above tree-line during a storm is to spread out so you all won’t die in one group. Wow, that’s great advice! I guess that way there is someone who can identify the bodies? We heard / read this advice numerous times. So, you can imagine our concern about getting started somewhat early.
· Take how long Day 1 took and add “X” to that. There are several factors at work here. One is that you are obviously more tired having done Day 1, second is that you are climbing further up to where the oxygen is in limited supply further complicating your ability to make it to the top. Various sources said that it would take 1 hour more than day one, or twice as long as day one, or some mathematical formula involving your weight, the lunar phase and the last eclipse of the sun.
· The last ½ mile is the very worst part of the trip. It’s called the 16 Stairs, it’s a series of switchbacks at the very top. The 16 is misleading, a switchback has two parts of it, the left and the right so it’s actually 32 parts! So, you are tired, out of oxygen and now you get to the worst part. Oh joy.

We debated skipping breakfast so that we could make sure that we got to the summit before any lightning storm killed us but finally decided that we couldn’t pass up the lure of Pike’s Peak Power Pancakes for breakfast. It was a good choice as they were awesome! If you’re feeling adventurous try the recipe. Pancakes devoured, we hit the trail.

It’s about 10 minutes in that I start asking myself several questions:

· What have I done?

· Why can’t I breathe?

· Can I make it?

· Who wins Isaac’s betting pool if I die today?

Breathing was difficult, the pack felt strange, the legs were tired. Talking about it later, I think we all kinda felt this way (well, maybe not the "who wins the pool" part) but we just kept trudging on. Before long things fell into place and you started to feel that you could indeed make it up the mountain. The first three miles of the day were much like the lower part, trees and trails, but then we made it to the A-Frame. WOW! We are now ½ way up the mountain. The A-Frame is in case you get caught in a storm above tree line, you can come back down and ride out the storm. The best part of seeing the A-Frame is knowing that you are ½ way there! From here you leave the nice shade of the trees and enter the barren rock-filled land above tree line.

For the next mile or so you keep looking up toward the summit. You’re not really sure how you can get there as it seems like one gigantic pile of rocks. You just keep putting one foot in front of the other thinking “I’m one step closer.” I was watching the elevation on my watch thinking “we only have another 2000’ of elevation and we’re there…). I celebrated the really large steps up on the trail as that meant that I was that much closer to being there. My fellow hikers started calling them “John steps”! We found the “2 miles to go sign”! There was hope! In no time at all we made it to the “1 mile to go” sign and looked back at where we had been and what we still had to accomplish. It was still just a big pile of rocks up there.

Then we found it, the sign that marked both the end and the beginning. The 16 Golden Stairs. You’re excited about the fact that you only have ½ mile to go. You’re scared because you know it’s the hardest part of the trip. Earlier that morning I was thinking about this part of the trail, thinking that we would probably have to go 5-10 steps and then rest, then force each other to go another 5-10 steps but it turned out to not be that bad. Yes, it was hard, yes the air was certainly thinner, yes it was steeper, but we just kept going. At this point we can see the Cog Railway coming to the Summit and people looking out from the top. I’m sure they were thinking “Why would someone walk up when there is a perfectly good train?”. Now the adrenaline is flowing and you know you can make it! Near the top we weave through some train folks who are wandering down the trail some and then BAM! You’re at the top. In a moment of sheer lunacy Andy & I jog that last 30 yards or so to the Summit House (on both our training hikes Andy & I jogged back the last little bit – just to show how manly we were).

From there it was photos and donuts and people asking “did you really hike up?”.

The answer is: Why yes, yes we did hike up Pike’s Peak.

Next – Epilogue

Pike's Peak - Barr Camp

2011-08-18T11:57:00.000-05:00

Barr Camp is an amazing place and I give them credit for saving my life. If they had not built this lovely camp giving me a place to rest, re-hydrate, eat and sleep I might not have made it!

As you enter the camp you cross over a small bridge that leads to the main cabin. Teresa welcomed us as we stumbled up the trail. We found our lean-to and took off the packs (ahh…). Rest is good. We got some Gatorade and a Pike Peak Power Brownie (made at Barr Camp), both were awesome.

We used the water filter (Thanks Phil Laster!) and refilled all our water bottles and just chilled for a while. Since we hadn’t really done much walking so far, we decided to hike over to a scenic overlook. I can assure you that walking without packs is much more enjoyable than with packs. Just my opinion. The Overlook was indeed scenic and worth the walk. Back at Camp we played Yatzee on the iPad. I even got email an email signal in there a few times.

The Camp cooks dinner, they served an awesome spaghetti with “switchback” garlic bread and “Tex-Mex” macaroni and cheese. After dinner we just chilled, read, played on the iPad and talked. It was getting dark when a guy came into the camp. He had come up from the bottom of the trail – getting ready for the marathon in two weeks. He was wearing shorts and running shoes and had one small water bottle. He rested for about 10 minutes and then hit the trail to head back down. Wow, what a man! Earlier in the evening we had seen “Shark-fin man”. He was dressed in shorts, no shirt, random bits of hiking “bling” and a helmet that had a shark fin on the top. He didn’t stay at the camp, the camp people said that he would stay on the trail somewhere. Sure enough we ran into him near the summit as he was coming back down. We made it until about 8:30pm and then hit the sleeping bag. It was cold, but not freezing. Overall we slept pretty good and Joann only got lost once coming back from the latrine!

Next…

Day Two (AKA – Can we quit now?)

Proud Pike's Peak People - Part 2

2011-08-15T11:38:00.000-05:00

First, you gotta get there! We left Friday afternoon and made it to Amarillo, Saturday found us on the road to Colorado Springs. The first order of business was to scout the parking situation. There is a parking lot at the trailhead of Barr Trail but it fills up WAY early in the morning. As it turns out, since we already had Cog Train tickets (Yes, we rode the train down – and our bodies thanked us.) we were able to get a parking pass to use their parking lot. It was kinda strange to look at the skyline, seeing the tallest mountain and realizing that you were going to walk up it!

So, Sunday morning at the crack of dawn we head out. By the way, Holiday Inn Express will do a “brown-bag” breakfast for you if you are leaving before the regular posted breakfast time. Nothing beats a cinnamon roll to get your exercise started! Car parked, one last restroom stop and we hit the trail. We have the essentials for the trip in our backpacks. Food (Cliff Bars, Medifast Bars), energy aides (Gatoraide G2 mix, GU Chomps), a sleeping bag, a change of clothes, and rain gear. Oh yeah, and my iPad. You didn’t think I would go anywhere without did you? Crazy talk! In my defense it is an iPad2 – lighter than the original.

Barr Trail is a well-marked trail, mostly smooth the first part with about 8 million switchbacks winding up the mountain. The first part of the trail was really pretty busy. Two weeks after our climb they will do the Pike’s Peak Marathon. Yep, people are going to run up and then back down the mountain. Makes you feel somewhat inadequate. There were lots of folks running up and lots of folks running down. Many of them had walked up the “Incline”, an evil looking set of wooden steps going straight up the mountain, and would then come down the trail. Wow, and people thought we were crazy! Excitement was high, energy was good, the 26 pound pack was a lot less weight than I had carried around with me before!

We did see some interesting things on the trail. There are some weird folks that walk up/down mountains (I’d like to think that they felt the same about us!). We saw the search and rescue folks heading down to take care of someone. They were carrying lot’s of stuff and moving fast. I thought that maybe they had heard about me and were coming to check on me but they went right past. This was encouraging! Lot’s of “scenery stops” (waiting to catch your breath!), stops to grab a Cliff Bar or some GU Chomps, to let someone pass. We trudged on. You would visit some with the folks heading up the trail. We got some water out for a guy that his pack was so full he looked like the kid on “A Christmas Story” that couldn’t get up because he had so much clothes on. Turns out he was heading to Barr Camp and we saw him and his sons there. There was an interesting variety of footwear – the standard hiking boots, running shoes, five-toes, and one pair of flip-flops. The most bizarre site of the day was the unicyclist. Yep, you read that right, a unicycle. He was coming down the trail like it was no big deal.

We did see the Search & Rescue Team heading down to check on someone. I was happy that they didn’t stop and check me, I guess I wasn’t looking that bad! Every now and then you’d get a brief level spot on the trail and occasionally even a downhill! Joann did not like the downhill as she knew that every step downhill meant you had to go back uphill sooner or later. I prefer the really big steps up, it’s all about gaining elevation. We had 8000’ of uphill, the big steps just got me closer to the top! On the second day we had lots of “John steps”. We kept going, step after step. Somewhere on the trail we met Scott and his dog Chaos. Scott had run a Triathlon the day before and was now hiking up Pike’s Peak. What a man! As it turns out, Scott & Chaos were the only people that we actually passed (overtook) on the trail. Of course it was because he was filtering water for Chaos! Andy & Kim had left us in their dust and had gone ahead somewhere in there. We kept walking. I tried some music, I started singing “Everlasting God”, I didn’t have enough breath for it so Joann and I traded phrases back and forth. I’d sing a phrase and then she’d sing a phrase. The words fit well for how we felt. You don’t really know where you are on the lower part of the trail, you know that you’ve been walking for a long time and you should be close to the camp but you’re not sure until you get there. We came up an incline and heard voices, then we saw the camp! It was a great moment, we’d made it half way up the mountain and were still alive! I love Barr Camp!

Next…

Camp Life

Walk to the top of Pike’s Peak? Hmm… Sure, why not?

2011-08-12T13:02:00.000-05:00

It’s not really my fault that we did this. It’s all Andy & Kim’s fault. (That would be Andy Jameson, Joann’s brother and his wife Kim.) They came up with the idea, had already planned it out and started gathering their equipment. When Joann first told me about I thought that they were crazy – 12 miles up the mountain? No way. But then they explained that it was over two days, that we didn’t have to carry food because we were staying at a camp where they fed you dinner and breakfast and there was a place to sleep. Oh, only 6 miles a day? Next thing you know Joann talks me into it! (Not true, she also thought it was a crazy idea but I wore her down!).

To fully understand why this is such a big deal to us you have to go back ten months. Andy and Kim started doing Medifast to lose weight. When I was in England last Summer Jim Hackney had lost a lot of weight on Medifast as well. Mid November I decided that it was time to get healthier so I started Medifast. Last month (July) I hit my goal of losing 120 pounds. Joann had also done Medifast to lose weight as well. Together, the four of us have lost an amazing 244 pounds!

So, the thought of walking 6 miles even on flat ground would have been crazy-talk to me before, walking 6 miles two days in a row up a mountain would have been insane! But being skinny makes you do crazy things evidently. On July 1^st Joann and I started working out at a gym doing 3-4 strength workout a week and 6-7 days of cardio so we convinced ourselves that we could walk 6 miles a day for a few days.

On July 17 we decided “we’re in” and booked the campsite on the mountain, three weeks until we climb! We started scrambling for gear, we hit the gym hard, we pondered the sanity of our decision. That next Saturday we met Andy & Kim for a practice hike at the Eagle Mountain Park (it’s a really nice place). We did 5 miles and lived through it. Feeling more encouraged we continued to gather the essentials for the trip. That meant trips to places like Cabela’s, REI, and Academy. Lots of time thinking through the details of how to make it with as little weight as possible.

We walked the same course the next Saturday with packs on. Sure, they weren’t full packs, but they were packs! Once again we survived. By golly, I think we can do this!

Next – we begin the epic adventure!

John

-----------------------------------------------

Joann's take on this crazy idea...

Proud Pikes Peak People

Ten months ago we needed to exercise, loose weight or do anything healthy. Today we are 14ers. October 2010 Andy & Kim started the journey to better health with Medifast and exercise, by Thanksgiving they did the 5K Turkey Trot. John started Medifast in November, while traveling every week to Las Vegas. On the weekends I ate healthy with him and ate ‘not too bad’ during the week. By the end of January I had lost 10 lbs and started Medifast. In June 2011we had all reached our goals having lost a total of 244 lbs. July 1st John & I joined a gym and started working out 5 days a week. 17 days later on July 17^th, our 29^th anniversary, we lost our minds completely and in a moment of weakness agreed to join Andy & Kim on a hike up Pikes Peak. We began to train harder, the next 2 Saturdays up @ 5:30 a.m. (John didn’t know life existed prior to 8 on Saturdays) to hike 5+ miles at Eagle Mountain Park, elevation 500ft, before it got too hot. (Ha! Ha! As if you can get up that early in Texas.)

Sunday Morning, August 7, 2011 we hit the trail in Manitou Springs, elevation 6400ft, before 7 a.m. Hiking 6+ miles to an elevation of 10,200 ft to reach Barr Camp. A lot of water, Cliff bars, GU and breaks. Hundreds of people were on the trail out for a Sunday stroll or training for the up coming marathon or riding a unicycle, all of whom passed us with great regularity. We did manage to pass 1 person; he had stopped to collect water for his dog. We arrived tired but in better condition than I dreamed would be possible. Upon arriving in camp we rested, filtered water, made use of the latrine instead of a bush. Made a short hike to the scenic overlook, yea no back pack required. Played Yatzee on the I-Pad & checked email, only the best hi-tech travel for us. Had a wonderful dinner of spaghetti, tex-mex mac & cheese and garlic bread. That night we slept in a lean-to and I only got lost once walking to the latrine in the dark.

Edinburgh Tattoo

2010-08-22T14:36:00.002-05:00

Nope. Not that kind. Are you kidding? They use needles to do that, they jab you repeatedly!

This is a "band" thing. One of my first trips while here in the UK was to Edinburgh. Awesome place. While there I saw lot's of info on the upcoming Tattoo, so I planned on coming back to Scotland for my last weekend.

I'm not if I can describe it adequately. It's a 60 year old event, staged at the Edinburgh Castle. They build stands in front of the castle creating a "stage" area. Watching 100+ bagpipers come out of the drawbridge of a castle in Scotland is an awesome thing. They had bands from all over the world, a large group of Highland Dancers, and more bagpipes than you will ever see in your life.

The event is sold out every performance for almost a month. The term "tattoo" is actually taken from an old evening call to tell the taverns to turn off the beer tap and send the soldiers home.

You can find info on the Tattoo here.

My photos of the Tattoo are here.

A short video of just a few of the groups...

The Stupid Things We Do

2010-08-15T15:52:00.004-05:00

First, you need to understand that I don't use the "s" word lightly. At our house the kids weren't allowed to use it and we didn't use it. Sure, there are some stupid things but we try not to ever call people stupid. It's just not very nice.

Second, I am sure that you already thought, "What stupid thing did John do?". Oh no my friend, not me - WE. WE as in people, society as a collective. I say this based on a recent field trip.

We went to Mountfitchet Castle.

It is a recreation of a Norman Village from the year 1066. (Those of you who are behind on your Norman history will need to Google the Norman Invasion and catch up.) It is a wooden fortification similar to the one in the movie Braveheart when William Wallace first attacks the bad guys for messing with his woman. Inside the castle walls are numerous "buildings" that house the different things needed to keep the castle going.

While we were there, the rain started falling so we ducked into various buildings to wait it out. I happened to be in the "Kitchen" building. It showed a lovely scene of cooking methods and ingredients used during those times. The description that really got my attention (and thus prompted this post) was the one talking about them baking bread each day to feed the people. To flavor the bread they used dove and pigeon droppings. Yep, droppings. Not dove, not pigeon - those might actually be somewhat tasty (I'll have a 12" dove-loaf meatball...).

Who came up with that idea? Who did the initial taste testing? What were the focus groups thinking? Did it accidentally happen and the cooks not bother to tell anyone and then everybody raved about the new bread flavor so they had to keep making it to meet the demand? Were they mad at someone and said "Hey, put some of this in that guy's bread"? I can't really imagine the process or motivation.

I guess what really bothers me about this is that it makes me wonder: What we are doing now that will be seen as bizarrely strange a thousand years from now??? Sure, we figured out that smoking was actually not good for us as early Doctors said, but what have we missed?

So, look around and see what it is that you are doing that will be laughed at years from now. I guess if nothing else we will provide humor for those people a thousand years from now who will post about those stupid people that lived in the 2000's.

The people from 1066 also rubbed goose fat on themselves in the winter to keep warm but who am I to judge them for that?

Conwy Wales

2010-08-09T12:07:00.004-05:00

With only a few weekends remaining here in the UK (Yea!) I started trying to figure out where to go last weekend. I was talking to a staff member and one of the youth center kids on Thursday and asked them where I should go. They both said that they really liked Conwy. That was enough for me.

I looked it up, saw that it is one of the best examples of a walled medieval city in the world and it had a castle. Plus it was on the coast! Who wouldn't want to go there? So, Saturday morning I headed to the train station at Ely (past the

Drainage Museum once again - I've got to get by there before I leave). Off I go on the train.

Train travel is a great thing but it's not always quite so glamerous as one thinks. To get to Conwy I h

ad to take four trains, stopping at twenty-five stations, with a maximum of nine minutes to spare between train connections. So, as your train comes into the connecting station you get your bag, stand by the door, get off that train, check to see what platform you came in on, start looking for a departure sign showing what platform your next train is leaving from, rush up the stairs (it never works out that you can stay on the same platform...) and then down to the correct platform and get on the train and find a seat. Whew.

To get off the train at Conwy you have to notify the conductor that you want to stop there or else the train won't stop. Then you have to make your way to the front of the train as they only open one door for people that are getting on or off there. I was one of four that got off there.

To get a perspective of the size of the town, from the station I walked two blocks to the hotel, past the hotel another block was the harbour, to the right two blocks was the castle, two blocks the other way from the hotel was the wall on the other side of town, four or five blocks the other side of the station was the wall. We're talking small town.

The castle is just what you think of in the movies. It was the royal castle of the King when he was in Wales.

The scenery was beautiful, the people were friendly. I spent the night an headed back the next afternoon. Overall it is the prettiest thing I have seen in the UK with the exception of Joann!

Castle Pics are here.

Town pics are here.

Perspective...

2010-08-08T14:26:00.002-05:00

So, I've been away from home for longer than I have ever been in my life, and I still have about three weeks to go! I'll admit there are times that I get that pitiful feeling of not getting what I want and I tell God that I want to go home!

Then He reminds me of some things. Last week, at the end of a long day I was dreaming of heading home to the states when one of the kids at the Youth Center came running up to me and said "Mr. John, Mr. John, my dad comes home tonight at 10pm, he's on the plane headed here right now!". I asked him how long his dad had been deployed, "A year, and he's coming home today!". Ok God. I get it.

This afternoon I was traveling back to the base from a lovely weekend in Conwy, Wales. I was anxious the hear from Joann, watching the time to see when she might call (remember, she is 6 hours behind me time wise). It seems that when I am waiting for a call that it makes me even more ready to head home. I changed to another train, looked around and found a seat with a nice lady and her two kids. The kids were 6 and 4, blond haired boys that reminded of mine. As we played games on the iPad I visited with the mother. She asked how long I had been in the UK. I told her I got here mid June, she said that it was about that time that her husband died. We were talking about that when Joann called and told me that she loved me.

I get it God, it's about perspective. I'll keep working on it, thanks for the reminder.

London!

2010-07-24T11:49:00.003-05:00

Without a doubt the very best attraction in London was Joann! Having been away from the love of my life for 30+ days I was very ready to see her.

She got to the Hotel before me and met me in the Lobby, I think that the Desk Clerks were somewhat embarrassed by our greeting - that's their problem! (Yes, we kept our clothes on...). We stayed at the Hotel Indigo near Paddington Station. It is a part of the Holiday Inn chain. The Hotel was marvelous, the room was great (air conditioned!), and the staff very friendly and helpful. We headed out that evening and wondered in a big circle looking for the place to pick up my London Pass. We found it about 10 minutes after it closed!

We walked through St. James Park which is near Buckingham Palace, we went across the River to the South Bank and rode the London Eye. It is the second largest observation wheel in the world (darn that Singapore). The pods hold around 15 people and give you a great view of London. We found some fresh donuts, wondered around some more and then headed home.

The next day Joann tried to walk me to death. We walked, and walked, and then we walked some more to another place where we could walk more! Due to the lack of oxygen in my system a lot of the timing of things is still fuzzy so I'll just hit some of the things we did in no particular order.

River Cruise...

We took the City Cruise which was really fun. They give a "guided tour" which was interesting and funny. We went all the way to Greenwich, that't where time is measured from (GMT - Greenwich Mean Time). The Cutty Sark was undergoing some remodeling so we didn't get to visit it but we did visit the Painted Hall. It was built as a Sailor's Hospital. An American painted it. It was truly amazing. We also viewed the Chapel there.

The Tube...

We did indeed master the London Underground. It's fast and furious but we got it down. Joann would consult her hard-copy map and I would use an App on the iPad, then synchronize our plans and head out. A few trains were those packed to the gills ones that you see in the movies. It is a very quick and efficient way to get around town. If only we still had the Leonard's Subway in Fort Worth!

The Phantom of the Opera...

As I sign of my true love to my wife I got her tickets to the Phantom of the Opera. We took a cab (the tube was kinda warm at times) and headed to Her Majesty's Theatre. The show was very nice and we had a great time. I can tell you the ending if you want to know it, just let me know.

London At Night...

Sunday night we rode a double-decker tour bus. It was neat to see London all lit up and from a higher level than street. We had to wait at the Tower Bridge as it was raised, that only happens 3-5 times a week these days..

Kew Gardens...

A trip out of the busy city to the beautiful countryside. The gardens were huge and awesome. they have the tallest indoor plant in the world (so they say - I didn't get a chance to measure it and check). You'll be glad to know that the lift (elevator) to the tall tree-walk was broken so I got to walk up about a bijillion stairs! Glad my legs weren't tired or anything like that. It was beautiful.

Overall, we had a great time and the time with the love of my life pretty much saved my life and gave me the ability to make it through the rest of the assignment. Thanks Joann!

If you want to see pictures they are here:

The Good and Bad of Half Way

2010-07-24T11:43:00.003-05:00

Wednesday marked a transition in my life here in the UK. I passed the one-half point of my 75 day stay. I have been very thankful lately that I am not here for 90 days as I thought it originally was.

The good is that I am now getting closer each day (sure, I was getting closer before but it feels like progress is being made now). The bad is that I realize I have a long time to go! Having a few days with Joann here has made my life so much happier! Thanks Baby!

I am reminded daily that there are many of our military troops that deploy for a year or more under considerably more harsh and threating conditions than me (although I am dealing with 9 - 13 year olds!). I appreciate their gift of service even more now than before.

So, now I have 5 weeks of Summer camp left. I'll make it, one day at a time...

Carved Walls of Green

2010-07-24T11:31:00.003-05:00

Yes, I'm behind on things. I'll try to catch up some today.

I went to Bury St Edmunds today, big shopping trip, I got a TV tray and some dishes that won't melt in the Microwave. (Unlike the plastic plate I have with a hole in the middle of it that evidently wasn't microwavable. I found that out when I finished the pizza and found the hole melted in the middle!)

I had lunch on the TV Tray. Wow, that sure beats holding everything in your lap and reaching down to get your drink over the edge of the seat. The tray came from Argos, you place your order in the store and the items magically come down the conveyor belt to you.

But back to the Wall of Green. I am in a very lush, agricultural area of England. As you drive often the roads are lined with greenery, shrubs / trees / etc. that are quite often very tall. The large trucks keep the greenery "trimmed" back which then gives you a carved wall of green. Well, really sometimes a carved tunnel of green!

The roads are very narrow and you hold your breath when you are meeting a large truck or a large tractor pulling a large trailer. To make things even more exciting people are passing each other left and right. The twenty mile trek to Bury is dotted with about a dozen small towns with beautiful small houses, pubs, and churches. One town has several thatched roofs as well.

I'm looking forward to dinner on the TV tray!

TDF Video

2010-07-08T16:34:00.003-05:00

Here it is, the stunning video of the TDF trip condensed into 4 minutes!

A waffle dream...

2010-07-05T07:01:00.002-05:00

No, not a dream about waffles, a waffle dish that was a dream! I'm back in Brussels with about a 4 hour wait for the Eurostar (I had considered trying to catch the start of the tour from here but after all the standing yesterday I'll just watch it on the iPad. My second option was to do some walking around but the combination of yesterday's standing and the rain here in Brussels staying in the station seemed like a good plan.) so I grabbed a sandwich, walked around looking at the shops and then I saw it. The Waffle Dream. It was at the Hägen Das ice cream shop, a fresh warm Belgium waffle with two scoops of pralines and cream ice cream topped with a thick gooey carmel sauce, nuts and cream from a large machine that serves to dispense a steady stream of goodness. It was awesome, the perfect end to a Belgium adventure.

Now, I sit (ahh...), and watch the Tour on the iPad!

TDF - Been there, done that and yep, got the shirt

2010-07-04T10:58:00.003-05:00

Like most sporting events, the Tour De France is much better to watch on TV than live. But having been able to be on the side of the road as the Peleton rushes by is pretty cool. When I realized that I would be within "striking distance" of the Tour while in England I knew that I had to make the trip.

It all started many, many years ago, long before Lance actually. Back then you might catch a few hours of the tour on a Saturday afternoon on one of the major networks, you mainly followed it in the newspapers, yep, that's how far back I'm talking about. I remember being excited when a young kid from Texas was going to ride, he didn't make a very good showing the first year but he had potential.

Since then the Tour has been a yearly ritual at our house. Thanks to TiVo we could record it and then watch it every evening. That young kid from Texas did indeed have potential, he is my hero. I remember when he was diagnosed with cancer, to see the images of a young man who had been in the prime physical condition but was now in cancer treatment were heartbreaking, and yes, I did cry when I saw them. But as you know, the story didn't end there, Lance came back and not only did he ride again, he showed them how to ride, and how to win. And yes, I cried when he came back and won!

I went to the town center after grabbing breakfast to see how the crowd was going to be. At 9:00am there were only a few people out and about. The barricades were already out and they were towing several cars that had been left on the road the tour was coming down. About 9:30am they turned on the large projection screen showing the start ot race, lot's of speeches and ceremonies. I went back to the room and took a nap!

I went back out around 11:30, the crowds were starting to gather but not bad. I sat and watched the big screen while watching on my iPad which rocked, I was able to track the location, get updates (in English!), and watch live video feed. You gotta love technology. Around 1:00pm I headed to where I wanted to watch the tour. I was just at the foot of the large church tower in town on the shady side of the street (very important). I sat on the steps of a closed restaurant and met a nice couple who lived about 40 miles away and had come in to see the tour. They had been to South Padre and Austin and liked Texas, duh, who doesn't? We sat there for quite a while following the tour status on the iPad. Soon the crowd started growing and we staked out a piece of barrier. We stood for almost an hour and then the caravan came through. You don't get to see that part of the tour on TV, it is made up of the sponsors in some very strange vehicles. They all have loud sound systems and throw trinkets into the crowd. Being on the front was actually not the best place to be for swag as most of it went over my head. There was one piece that was thrown at my foot, I quickly steped on it to secure ownership, turns out it was a candy bar. A now very squashed candy bar! I left it there.

All my new friends along the barrier were enjoying watching the video on the iPad and we kept the surrounding folks updated on the vital stats. Then you heard the noise coming from up the street, a growing crescendo of cheers and excitement accompanied a solo rider on a breakaway, my friends quickly informed me that he was a Belgium. They were very excited about that. Then very quickly the other breakaway riders came whooshing by. Another 45 seconds or so and the peleton came around the corner. I was holding the video camera with one hand, snapping pictures (blindly) with the other hand and watching at the same time. (Oprah calls it multi-tasking.)

The peleton goes by amazingly fast and then it's over. Wow. It actually takes a fairly long time for the team cars to go by, much longer than the riders.

So, I've been to the Tour de France. I'm glad I came, glad to experience it firsthand. I think that I will probably stick to the TV version from now on but then again I will still be in the area when it finishes in Paris!

Hmm..., where is that train schedule?

I'm not sure what I'm eating but it's pretty good!

2010-07-03T11:58:00.002-05:00

Saturday evening finds me in Mechelen, Belgium. Why you ask? TDF. But that's another post.

I walked around for an hour or so and managed to work up a pretty good appetite. I had a sandwich on the Eurostar while I was under the English Channel going 183 miles per hour, for future reference understand that chicken salad is not what we think it is, it's chicken with tomatoes and lettuce (the salad) but that was many hours and miles ago.

As I walked around I read the signs in front of the restaurants and realized that I was I big trouble as my French is not particularly strong (that would translate into non-existent) and there was no way I was going to successfully navigate ordering.

Since the TDF is coming through town there is a carnival in the town square. I studied the menu of the "snack bar", and found something that looked a lot like round funnel cakes with a liberal sprinkling of powdered sugar on top. I'm in. The nice carnival guy spoke English, French, German, and something else that I didn't catch, I ordered 7 of the hopefully tasty things, only 4 Euros. Then as I was headed back to the hotel I found a "My Kabob", how hard can that be?

It only took a few tries to order a "mixed kabob", the sticking point was whether I wanted it with bread or not. We got that figured out, added fries and a Diet Coke, good to go!

So, I just finished the sandwich, it was great, I'm still not sure what it is other than darn tasty. I just tried the things with powered sugar, mmm..., imagine funnel cake puffs drowning in powered sugar. Life is good.

Sure, I could've just gone to the Pizza Hut (they are EVERYWHERE), but I'm trying to live local. Bottom line, great meal.

Tomorrow, I see Stage 1 of the TDF, LIVE!

Scotland - Round 1

2010-06-27T09:54:00.001-05:00

Sitting down is good. Really good. I've walked around a bijillion miles in the last 2 days with way too much of it uphill! Now a 4 hour train ride, ahh, rest for the weary

Last night I told Joann that we need to sell the house and move to Scotland, you may want to move as well. It's cool, it's pretty, it's cool (did I mention that?).

I spent the morning at Edinburgh Castle. My "church time" was spent in a chapel built in the 1600's, it is the oldest building in Edinburgh. It's about the size of my hotel room.

Edinburgh is a very musical city. Streetside musicians are scattered about and range from bagpipe to violin to guitar and some kind of long wooden horn accompanied by a bean bag.

I say "round 1" because I'm pretty sure that I will find Scotland again before I head home.

Pictures in a day or two...

Signs on the road to Ely...

2010-06-26T03:40:00.000-05:00

Actual signs...

"Horse Manure - 50p a bag"

"Drainage Museum"

Says something about the neighborhood doesn't it?

Test Your UK English

2010-06-21T12:27:00.003-05:00

Yes, they do speak English here, but a different style of English! The items below are things that I have bought for my stay here. See if you can guess what they are!

1. Scottish Fingers

2. Washing Up Liquid

3. Honey Roast Ham & Cranberry

4. Melts

5. Still & Fruity Summer Fruits

6. Summer Fruits Squash

7. Best Before End (not an item, but on an item)

St Edmundsbury Cathedral

2010-06-20T13:47:00.002-05:00

A lovely place!

The joy of Toaster

2010-06-19T12:37:00.003-05:00

There are a lot of things that bring happiness. Health, friends, love, things like that. But today the source of my joy is a toaster. Yep, a toaster. To really understand my joy you have to think about your last hotel stay, now consider living there for 75 days with just those things in the hotel room.

No dishes, no silverware, no cleaning supplies, no toaster! Sure, I've got a microwave and a very lovely half-fridge but sometimes you need toast. Warm, crunchy, butter melting on it, honey dripping through it toast. Ahhh...

So, today on a day trip to Bury St Edmunds I bought a toaster AND silverware! Yes, you read it right, silverware! For the past week I have been using plastic stuff from the fast food place (and you know what fine quality those are). I ate lunch at a church rectory today and had a fleeting thought of stealing the spoon and fork but that really seemed wrong so I left them. (The lamb cobbler was so-so but the bread pudding with custard more than made up for it.)

The day also involved a market, the kind with vegetables & fruits and the vendors yelling out their specials ("fresh asparagus, two stalks for a pound - c'mon, give it a go"); A big fresh loaf of bread and some local honey found their home with me!

And now, the big event of the day looms before me. To the toaster!

A guarded existence...

2010-06-19T12:20:00.002-05:00

So, I work at the Children's Center here on base. It's a pretty typical Children's Center, lot's of color, fun things to do, pool table, ping-pong table, dance machine, the normal stuff.

The thing that is different is getting in the door. We've had kids in different day cares where you have to sign-in to get inside but this is a little different. To get inside the area you are greeted by an armed Military Police. Sweet.

It's an interesting view, the colorful playground equipment in the background behind the barb-wire and armed airman checking your ID. Now THAT'S the way you maintain control of childcare!

I'm all for it! (Hmm, the teachers who taught my kids probably agree!)

Low battery, high opportunity.

2010-06-15T16:15:00.003-05:00

So, it's Saturday night. I'm leaving Sunday evening for England for 75 days. (OK, for those who don't keep up, I am working in England for 75 days working at an Airforce base working with children trying to help them learn some financial things.)

I connect my iPad (yes, it is awesome and you deserve one) to the computer so that it can sync the movies and TV shows that I have put into iTunes. It's going to take a while so I leave it plugged in and head to bed.

Sunday morning, I grab the iPad to head to church and realize that it did NOT sync, that it had an error message that had caused it to just sit there all night waiting for an answer. And, no - it did not charge during the process. Hmm. This could be a problem. The iPad will last 10+ hours (I told you it was awesome) but the flight is 10 hours.

After church / lunch with my awesome family I plug it in during last minute packing. I charge it in the car on the way but only get it to 65%. Bummer. I get through security (did the new arm over the head machine - spiffy) and to my gate. I score a seat right by the gate door, sit down and catch my breath. I sit for a few minutes and then decide I need to charge the iPad some more. I wonder down a little to one of the marvy charging stations. I sit by a fairly unhappy looking lady (not really any choice as it was the only open plug). I sat quietly for a few minutes, she did so as well. She finally looked up at me and I asked her "how 'ya doing?". "Not good" was the answer. She was coming back from somewhere North on her way to San Antonio when she was not allowed to get through security. It was something about having shears with her. Yep, that would keep you the other side of security (for which I am somewhat thankful - even though they were only haircut shears). She ended up having to buy another ticket, $500 worth of ticket. To make it worse she was supposed to be working Sunday at an insurance company. She was really upset that she couldn't keep the commitments to her clients that she had made.

I tried to console her, reminded her that if you can solve it with money it's really not a big problem and that her customers would understand. I asked her if she was religious, she said that she was. I told her that now she needed to look around and see what God had in mind for her, that maybe this was His plan, that something could come from this. She agreed that maybe she needed to look at it that way.

I asked her about where she worked, she works for USAA insurance, currently in the P&C area but really wants to go into the investment side. About that time the guy sitting behind me asked her "what office do you work in?". Turns out that he works for USAA, in the investment area. Turns out that he is a director or something in that area. He talks to her about what she needs to do to get to the investment side. He likes what he hears from her. He looks her up in the company system, he sends a few emails and tells her to get her portfolio together. I told him "Rick, we've go to make this thing happen". He assures me it will.

The now nice happy lady tells me that she is going to cry, but happy tears not sad. I tell her that now I understand why my iPad didn't get charged last night. There was a reason. God had a reason. I left and wondered down to my gate where it was time to board. The iPad did just fine, I had plenty of battery to last the whole trip.

Thanks God for the chance to talk to someone who needed someone to talk to.

Give it try sometime, might surprise you.

Ceremony or Service?

2010-02-18T22:59:00.000-06:00

They call it a “briefing”, it’s a short overview on whatever the Subject Matter Expert is there pitching. I had a briefing today at the monthly Chaplain meeting. It’s a great group of people that provide so much for Service members and their families, from Spiritual comfort and advice to food if needed.

I got there at a break in the schedule so that I wouldn’t interrupt things and there was one presentation before the briefing. The Chaplain was going over Memorials, funerals we would call them. He talked about the difference between a Memorial Ceremony and a Memorial Service.

The Memorial Ceremony is just that, a ceremony. Everyone involved is required to be there, it is defined by the pomp and circumstance that only military can provide. The formations, the rituals, the dress, all are executed with planned and rehearsed precision. There can be some religious elements, but they are not really a big part of the Ceremony.

The Memorial Service is a voluntary function and will have a deeper emphasis on spiritual things. It is more of what we would experience in a civilian funeral.

This begs the question. Is church involvement a Memorial Ceremony or a Memorial Service. Is it just about being there because we are supposed to be there? Do we feel that it is requires our attendance, getting our card punched? Or am I there as a volunteer, because I want to be there?

I think that a lot of folks come every Sunday to a Memorial Ceremony, and as such they are pleased when the ceremony happens with the expected rituals and rhythms. I want so badly for them to come to a Memorial Service. To do so may require them to step out of the comfort zone, to become emotionally involved, to “dive in”. That can be scary, it’s hard to do, but the benefits are pretty amazing. Give it a try, forget the Ceremony and come the Service. (Yes, you still get your card punched!)

Straw Hats @ Walmart

2010-02-09T17:22:00.003-06:00

So, Tuesday finds snow on the ground in Tennessee and straw hats in Walmart. Not for sale at Walmart, on heads! It was time to restock the Diet Coke so I stopped by the Walmart that is so conveniently right beside the hotel. It's nice and cold today with about 4" of snow on the ground so as I walked into the store I figured that I would head to the restroom for a quick stop.

The door opened as I got close and it was held by a kid about 5 years old with a straw hat on, then right beside him appeared another young lad with a matching straw hat. One kid with a straw hat is somewhat unusual in my vast Walmart experience, two kids together in straw hats has now exceeded my expectations of any Walmart trip.

The hats are flat on the top, wide brim all the way around, I spot another hat, it's on Dad, he has a younger child with a "scarf" type hat on, turns out it's a young girl. Dad has a nice long beard. I flashback to a highway sign I saw the first day I was headed to the base. The picture on the sign showed a horse and carriage with a warning "Next 5 Miles". Putting it all together I have encountered either Mennonites or Amish at the restroom door of Walmart. It is certainly a clash of culture.

I ran into them several times as I shopped. It reminded me of "traditions". The nice folks at shopping at Walmart have held on to some very old traditions. You can argue whether they are better off or not, that's not where I'm going. I'm thinking about the fact that we often hold on to traditions just because they are traditions, not because they are of any real value. I was talking recently to a friend who leads worship at a church and there is someone there who dislikes an element of how my friend leads worship. It is not a question of whether he is leading in a scriptural manner, it's not a question of his "ability" from a vocal standpoint, it's not even about new music verses old standby music, it's about how he dresses while leading.

Sadly, when dealing with folks at churches the issue is not the real issue, "who's in charge" is the issue. The stated "issue" is just a means to say "I want things MY way". It's sad because what generally happens is the person who is concerned about being in charge ends up running off those who are giving their lives to further the kingdom of God. Sometimes it's because fellow elders don't step up and deal with one or two folks who want to be in charge.

I'll be praying for my friend, I'll be praying for his elders to do what God would have them do, not what someone wants them to do for their own sense of power. Maybe I'll buy my friend a straw hat. That should make it all better.

I tried to go to church...

2010-01-31T13:46:00.002-06:00

So, as a guy who doesn't have many Sundays off I was excited to be able to visit somewhere and see what they do and how they do it. Saturday evening I jumped online to start looking over my options. I started in the Nashville area, looked several over, decided which one I wanted to visit, looked at the map to see how far it was, went back to the church's website to check service times only to find that they had canceled services! I checked my #2 choice - canceled, #3 choice - canceled! So then I started checking locally, canceled! In their defense the roads are still very covered in snow / ice.

Plan B.

Ok, there are churches that stream their services. I'll try that and see what that feels like.

Sunday morning, sleeping late (don't get to do that often), planning on watching the 10:30 stream. Kevin wakes me up in a panic trying to get video on the front screens, we quickly figure it out and Heritage is good to go. Back to sleep.

I wake up in time for service, sure, I was a little late, but I got there. I checked Westover in Austin. No streaming today. Hmm, the website says that it streams the services, it lies. I head to Prestoncrest - bam - there is is, streaming church. You can only imagine my delight to find out that it's Budget Sunday! Joy, oh Joy. I can do a budget Sunday, but I can't do one that stops every few seconds while it buffers the video. Plus it doesn't pick up where it paused, it jumps ahead so you are hearing a few seconds, then skipping ahead a few seconds. Can't do this.

So, if I can't stream live I'll watch a service from the archive. Back to Westover, I'm now attending their 1/17 service. We sing together for a while, but I'm really hungry so I pause the video to start waffles in the toaster, hit play, listen for a while until the toaster pops. I find that I don't sing along very well with waffles in my mouth but a guy's gotta eat or die so I finish the waffles. Pause, rinse the waffle plate because nobody likes the smell of syrup when there are no waffles left over. I watch some more, Joann calls, I pause. We visit for a few minutes as she heads to lunch, then back to church. Communion was strange, not being there to have someone hand you a tray, not passing it to someone, not really Sharing The Lord. We move to the message, it's a good one. They are stressing "One More", that we need to constantly look for one more person to help, to feed, to bring into a relationship to Christ. It's a good thing. I even took notes! (The advantage of having a computer in front of you during church!). Two points that really hit home are:

In the hopes of reaaching "one more" we will continue to look at change, in how we do things, in schedule, in all areas.
Traditions can become the measure of how we judge others. We can't honor traditions above God.

I'll have to think on those for a while, we need to be willing to do the same to help "one more".

Church is over. Sure, I took another phone call or two during the service and opened a bag of socks. Surely that didn't distract me from the service? Distraction are so easy when it's just you and a computer. Well, I've tried the online church thing and it was indeed better than not doing anything, but it in no way comes near to what the real thing is. The smiles, the hugs, seeing others worship, watching God move in them, having someone hand you the communion tray, offering the body of Christ, sharing time with others, these are what make church work. These are the things I missed here in my hotel room.

Next Sunday should find me at my favorite place to be, Heritage. I'm looking forward to it.

John

A Close Shave...

2010-01-30T21:37:00.002-06:00

Literally.

Those who follow my hair length carefully (and there are so many) know that I am not the type of guy that has a regularly scheduled haircut. I understand that there are those who do so with predictable regularity but that is just way too mainstream for me. It just takes way too much time and time is so valuable! It's much easier to get a haircut and then go as long as possible until the next shearing.

The current assignment came with little notice, I knew that I had a possible assignment a week ago Wednesday but it was still up in the air. Then Monday noon I got an email that stated I needed to be in Ft. Campbell that evening! Yikes! Pack 'em up, move 'em out rawhide.

So, here I am on a Saturday with nothing major to accomplish, thinking that it would be good to get my beard trimmed up a little to meet the big-wheels on base Monday. So off I go in search of a barber. Remember, I am a guy and would not be caught asking for directions. According to the gps the closest ProCuts is Nashville. That's out, bound to be a local place, the small town barber. I head down the main drag. It is THE main drag, there aren't really any other main roads in town. I cover about 10 miles, nothing. I turn around and head back the other way, nothing. I turn around again (at this point I'm kinda like cruising the strip). Then I spot it, the traditional red & white barber pole. Sweet. I go inside and it's a little confusing because there is a reception desk but nobody is there. Then a guy comes around the corner and waves me back into the next room. It is a typical, small town, African-American barber shop. (Sure, like I know what the typical one looks like.) Four chairs, two barbers giving two guys a haircut. Hmm, what we now have is a Texas white boy in a Tennessee African-American barber shop. Bet that doesn't happen every day.

My brain is rapidly sorting through the options: run, pretend I was looking for the TV repair shop, tell them I'm there to check their licenses, ask them where the traditional small town white guy barber shop is, or sit down and get a haircut. Since I don't have a broken TV with me I sit down. I notice that both guys getting a haircut have hair shorter than a burr. Seriously, compared to them my son Aaron would have long hair and he keeps it short enough for me to not be able to grab it. I'm studying the big poster on the wall showing all the different styles of haircuts that I might be able to get. I really like the one with the lines shaved in the sides of the head but I'm not sure I have the hair to pull it off. But if it makes me look thinner...

A new barber comes in, he looks somewhat surprised to see me. I'm not the customer he was expecting to start the day with. He walks around a little bit with no real purpose I think his brain is rapidly sorting through the options. Finally he puts his barber cape on and asks me what I need. I tell him that if he has a weed-eater handy I need to trim my beard up some. Ha laughs uproariously, (not), I sit in the chair, the two guys are still getting a haircut. I'm trying to figure out just what they are trimming as there is not really anything long enough to trim, I don't get it.

My guy starts on me, he is a trimming machine. The man has serious skills with a trimmer, it's going here, there, under, over, around, I have never had anyone take the amount of time that he took trimming my beard. When he pulled the cape off I asked him what I owed him. $5.00. It honestly seemed like too little for the amount of work he did so I gave him $10. One of the original two others getting a haircut is still in the chair, I'm still trying to figure just what he could possibly be trimming, is he working by the hour?

In the car I look in the rear-view mirror. Wow! I now have the most carefully carved beard that I have ever had in my life. There is a part of my upper lip showing that I haven't seem in over 30+ years, I have this thin line of a mustache on my lip with what feels like a four lane highway between it and my nose. I've never felt this before. I also notice that one side is trimmed shorter than the other, I briefly notice it and then go back to looking at the lip.

I'm not sure that I will go back to the "Fade to Glory" barber shop again. I'm not sure they would want me to come back. I did my best to find a barber, I was in need, I think that they did their best to fill my needs but I'm not sure that they were prepared for me as a customer. So it makes me wonder, just how do people feel when they leave our church service? They were looking for something, they had a need, they came to us. Did we shock them? Did they shock us? How different from us did they feel? Did we know what to do with them? Were we OK with the fact that they were different? Did they get what they were used to getting or was their lip showing way too much? Will they feel comfortable enough to come back?

I'm different as a result of the visit, still a little uncomfortable with the change but I'll get over it. In just a few days the mustache will be coming back in and soon the visual signs of that experience will be gone. That makes me wonder, how long do those who worship with us feel the effects? Will they be happy when it "grows back" or will they grow to like it.

I'm not sure.

So much for the close shave.

John

Friday Night in Ft. Campbell

2010-01-30T00:51:00.001-06:00

So, some may ask "Why John, why are you in Ft. Campbell? or "What is Ft. Campbell?", or "Where is Ft. Campbell?". I'll answer. First, Ft. Campbell is an Army base, it is the home of the 101st Airborne a very storied and decorated group for sure. It sits on the border of Tennessee and Kentucky about 50 miles North of Nashville. Those are the easy answers. Now for the harder one.

Why? Bottom line, it's a job that pays the bills. It is a very rewarding, very fulfilling job and sadly it happens to require me to be out of town for now. I am doing Financial Counseling to Service-members and their families. Most soldiers have significant debt and our job is to help them learn how to spend less and save more (or maybe at least save something). The job entails training and presentations along with one-on-one counseling. Those who know Al Jameson will know that he has done a similar type of thing, just on the "touchy-feely" side. Ft. Campbell currently has 21 "touchy-feely" and 3 financial counselors, these are in addition to what the Army is providing in-house.

While this is not really where I would like to be this Friday night, I am thankful that I have a nice income stream to keep things like electricity. So, here I sit. By the way, it's snowing like crazy! It has been since about 3pm, won't be going far in the morning!