Happy New Year!

We here at our house hope everyone has a full and happy 2009.  Don't forget to make your new years resolutions and keep them for at least a week.  Let's make '09 a great year for the family!  

Cool picture by the way, isn't it?  I may have to use is for a Christmas card next year.  

Christmas update from our house:  I (Dad) got the Band of Brothers DVD collection, the Bourne trilogy collection, a cool pocket knife that I have cut myself with twice already, an apron, and a leather hat.  We also got ourselves the Valley Forge prayer painting to keep up with everybody else.  I might have forgotten a thing or two, but that's pretty much it.  Thanks everybody for your gifts.  Mom will have to list her own loot if she wants too.  Christmas felt more like Christmas when we went over to Travis and Rebecca's house and watched Lorelai open her presents.  She had a blast, and so did we!  Too bad we couldn't watch the Groves kids open their stuff too.   Would've been fun. 

So long everybody.  Love ya!

For Joe, to make him homesick at Christmas

We want to post our sentiments during the holidays without you here.  While Christmas is a time of joy, and should be for remembering the birth of our Saviour, even if it really isn't his birthday, a lot of the joy is gone because you are far away.  We will be thinking of you throughout the holidays, and we offer our support for Ashley while you are gone.  She's strong and a trooper, but we know she can't help but miss you more at this time of year.  You guys are in our prayers always.  See you soon!  Lots of Love,  from Mom and Dad.

Here's a little something for the Groves family

It should remind them of where they used to live, and of the recent days in the mountains.  Snow is a wonderful thing, and so are Canadians.

I couldn't get the video to upload, so go to Google and type in "Canadian Police Chase," and enjoy! Then tell me what you think.

my cloud picture, and random thoughts

I lost my cloud picture for a while.  Don't know where it went, but it disappeared, and it took me a few days for it to upload again.  I'm ignorant of the magical inner workings of Blogger regarding uploading photos.  I always wonder when the triangle with the little flashing bars around it is really doing anything or not, and when a picture takes minutes and minutes to upload and then never does, I think I am just being teased.  

Tomorrow is Sunday and Jennifer, Erik, Ethen, Mia, and Kendall are going back to Denver.  Naturally, it is snowing in the mountains.  I hope the roads aren't too bad, or I hope the wait until the snow clears and they are better.  

On a happy note, the Sooners won tonight vs Okie State.  Now tomorrow will tell if they get to play in the Big 12 title game against Mo.  There's a three way tie and the BCS ranking will decide.  I know nobody cares but me, but I care enough to post it in my blog.  Texas is practically begging to get picked over OU.  Maybe they will, maybe they won't.  Tomorrow I will know.  Either way, life goes on.  

I want to finish the Book of Mormon by the end of the year.  I'd better get my posterior in gear, because I am still in Mosiah.   

It's Lorelai!!

Here are a couple of shots of Lorelai that I used my new portrait software on.  I think they are great.  Of course I'm the photographer so my opinion doesn't count for much.  I took them when her other Grandma Cathy was visiting from Iowa and we all went to Bananas Fun Park.  Tell me what ya think!

They're teasing me again

The department got this cool 2008 Jeep Liberty especially for the Traffic Unit PST (me) to drive around during the course of the day.   So far, they are just teasing me with it.  I have driven it for about a day in the past two weeks.  They are making me drive the old 98 Ford F150 traffic truck, and they keep mumbling about needing to add some equipment and stuff to the Jeep but so far it just sits in the lot and my sergeant drives it to work and home every day.  The old truck is a dog.  The Sarge says I can't have the jeep until it is ready.  I know it won't get the radio and mobile computer until Nov 17th.  I will have to drive a dog until then, and probably longer depending on how long it takes them to add the stuff.  Sigh.  

Well, my guy (not really my guy but you gotta go with who's in the race) lost the election.  Now I know how the democrats felt for the last 7 elections or so.  Sorta bummed. 

I surprise myself sometimes

A few weeks ago I submitted 5 photos for consideration for the City of Grand Junction 2009 calendar.  I got a letter today telling me that the above shot was accepted, and I am to be paid $200 for it.  I think that's cool.

Hello my children!

Yes, I still blog sometimes.  

My parking enforcement days are over.  Now I can experience the joy of not being hated by everyone in Grand Junction.  I can have friends again!  I can walk down the street with my head held high.  No longer will I drive the Glorified Golf Cart of the Gods.  Now I will drive a regular internal combustion engine equipped vehicle, and I can pollute like everyone else.  Life is good.

I am in the midst of training for my new job.  Today I responded to my first accident, in a car that goes over 25 mph.  I almost got a nosebleed from the speed.  I gave one poor sap a ticket for following too close.  Instead of $10 for a parking violation, he got a ticket worth $112.  That's 11.2 parking tickets (we don't have .2 tickets, but you know, it's a comparison thing).  I got another accident call 35 minutes before it was time to go home, and after that dispatch tried to give me a third one with only 7 minutes left.  After they were reminded of their error, they apologized and gave the call to someone else.  

I think my new job is going to be fun.  Love to everybody! 

I just realized something...

...every time I whip out my camera when I am around Joe and Ashley, Ashley seems to disappear.  I was looking through my photo archives and I don't have hardly any pictures of her, except for her wedding.  Does she fade into the shadows when I take out my camera, or am I too busy taking pictures of Joe and everybody else?  I love her as much as I do the rest of the fam, and she is a pretty girl, so I dunno.  I will make a concerted effort to frame her in my lens more often though, now that I realize what has been going on.  Get ready for it, Ashley!

Hola, Mensos!

I just finished a week of pretty intense Spanish for Law Enforcement, and one of my favorite words that I learned is "menso."  It basically translates to "dumb ass" so I will probably use it a lot.  My class was a 40 hour class that covered basic spanish, verbs, interviews and investigations in spanish, vocabulary, and arrest and control in spanish, the last of which I won't use because I don't arrest people.  I suppose I could be called upon to help another officer with the language when he wants to arrest somebody though.  You never know.

OU plays on TV again today.  They play Kansas.  I hope I'm not disappointed again.  It would be nice if Missouri could beat Texas too, but that is probably too much to hope for.

The NBA preseason has begun, so who do we get to watch here in GJ?  The Nuggets?  Nope.  We get to watch teams like Golden State, Milwakee, Detroit, etc.  The Nuggets are nowhere to be found on my TV.  Mensos!

Our Denver trip to see Joe

Here are a few photos from our weekend trip to Denver.  Joe is on leave from Kuwait, and we met him and Ashley there.  We had a grand old time.  On Saturday we visited an old farm that has been converted into a tourist trap, and we got trapped.  It was good fun.  The best part for Cathy and I was seeing our grandkids and Joe and Ashley.  Jen and Erik, you count too, so don't feel bad.  

I had to come back on Sunday because I am in class all week.  Cathy came home today (Monday) with Travis and Rebecca.  Marian came home with me.  It was a bad football weekend for me.  Both the Sooners and the Broncos lost.  Seeing family overcame that so it was a good weekend.

I'm sitting here waiting....

For Cathy to get home so we can hit the road for Denver and Jen and Erik's place.  It's about 1:44 p.m. and we will be leaving as soon as she gets off work and we get packed up.  We are anxious to see Joe and Ashley again, especially together, and the rest of the fam that will be there.  It's cool that Travis got 4 tickets to the Bronco's game, that I won't get to go to, because I don't get one.  No matter.  It will be a good weekend anyway.  I hope I can tape the Red River Shootout to watch when I get back.

Congrats, Erik for passing the bar!

The picture above is the second one that I hung in City Hall today.  The first one is the aspen grove photo that some of you voted on on a previous post.  I didn't get to use the evergreen shot because my trusty printer decided to be not so trusty  at just the wrong time and ran out of ink.  I couldn't find replacement cartridges in time because, true to form, I had waited until the last minute to get things done.  So, I had to browse through some of my earlier prints and found this one.  I like it and I think it will work fine.  So far, people like it but they also say the aspen grove shot is better.  I agree, but in a pinch you gotta go with what you got.

I wanna move to Australia

I'm a bit of a political junkie, heavy on the conservative side, and the recent goings on in congress makes me want to choke something.  They are the ones who got  us in the financial mess we are in, and the democrat leadership  in lockstep pretend that it's the current President's fault.  They aren't looking to help fix anything, they are looking to score political points.  This crap began with Jimmy Carter and got worse with Bill Clinton and George Bush, but most of the damage was done with that bill back in the Clinton administration, the Community Rehab Bill or something like that, that forced lenders to lend mortgage money to people who weren't qualified and couldn't afford to buy, so we could have more minorities owning homes.  Now that things are falling apart, the fox is guarding the henhouse.  Luckily there are a few sane brains in congress (house republicans).  I don't support any bailout that doesn't include incentives like lowering the corporate and capital gains taxes and that also adjusts the "mark to market" accounting rules that are exacerbating the whole mess.  I have heard those things talked about on the internet, but not in congress. I hope my 401K isn't eating it right now, but it probably is.  Maybe I should hide all my money under the bed.

The Blue Angels are in town!

This weekend is the bi-annual airshow.  Lots of cool military planes and antique biplanes, etc. are in town.  I was at work from 0815 until 1930 (7:30 p.m. for you landlubbers) and didn't write a single parking ticket.  Most of the day was spent hanging around the airport watching the airplanes.  I got to see the Blues practice, and also saw F-15s, F-16s, Korean War era Migs, C-130s, and some acrobatic planes.  There was even a WWII B-25 Liberator there.  Worst part was that I didn't have my camera.  Bummer.  Since it was such a long, although unproductive, day, I will compensate by taking off three hours early tomorrow afternoon.  That'll give me a little longer weekend. 

By the way, Jen and Becca, do you remember the airshows in Pensacola we used to go to?   

The Obama Lady

We were watching the Bronco game after  church when someone rang our doorbell.  It turned out to be a little old lady wearing about three Obama buttons and carrying a clipboard.  She asked if Cathy was home and if I was Grant.  I told her yes to both and then mentioned that we were republicans and were voting for John McCain.  She wished us good luck and left.  I guess she didn't get the memo about getting in people's faces.  Our next door neighbor has McCain posters in his front yard.  I wonder if she stopped there...

Me! ER! Chest pains! Noooooooooo!

Actually, yes.  And I lived!  The courageous nurses and doctors at St Mary's ER knew just what to do when I showed up unannounced at about 11 a.m. last Sunday, saying I was having chest pains.  The angel at the receiving window first told me to go wait in the waiting room, but then she looked at my sign-in sheet and saw the words "chest pain" and decided that maybe I could come in immediately.  They made me take off my shirt and undershirt, had me lay down on a gurney, then stuck a lot of electrode launch pads on me and did a quick EKG, then left.  I guess they must have been studying that EKG for a long time looking for who knows what, because nobody came back for about two hours.  After a while I looked at Cathy, who was dumb enough to come along, and said, "I don't think I am having a heart attack."  

"How do you know that?"

"If I was having a heart attack I think someone would have been back by now."  

She laughed.

They did send a nurse (male, but a nice guy) to get a bunch of blood, bringing back nostalgic memories of an engine failure at night in the training command where I had to land my broken helicopter in a field.  After taking 20 or 30 vials of blood he said someone would be by to take me out for a chest x-ray (in a couple of hours). 

There was an old dude and his old wife in the next gurney over, and he was about ready to leave, but the ER doctor wanted a nurse to walk him around the halls a bit to see if he was ok because his claim to fame was that he fainted in church.  So, a few minutes later a nurse came and had me get out of the gurney and started walking me around.  I thought she was taking me to x-ray, but then she turned me around the wrong way, and then everybody realized that she had grabbed the wrong patient.  We all had a good laugh then she took the old guy for a walk.  I got back in the gurney and when I went to get the picture taken I rode in the gurney.

The whole thing proved that my heart was ok, (no heart attack) but the doctor wanted to exert some more authority over me and make me wait some more to justify the outrageous ER bill that was going to go to my HMO, so he ordered a gall bladder ultrasound because he figured since the pain wasn't from my heart, it must be from my gall bladder.  That turned up negative too.  Boy, did he look silly!  

We finally got out of there at about 4:30 in the afternoon.  Best anyone can tell, I had some kind of esophagus reflux or something.  Now I'm told I can't eat fast food, especially if it's fried. I might as well be dead.  Today, which is Thursday and Cathy's birthday, I had to go back to the hospital for a treadmill stress test, that again showed that my heart is healthy.  I might have that heart attack when I get my bill from HMO though.  That is gonna hurt. 

Wow!

The font in the previous post isn't blue!  But it's still underlined.  Go figure.

Ethen's Birthday/Baptism

I was going to let Jennifer and Erik get first crack at posting pictures of Ethen's birthday and baptism extravaganza, but the haven't seemed to find that round 2-it thingy that almost nobody seems to be able to find in a timely manner.  Notice that the pictures are in reverse chronological order.  Also, I have no idea why I am getting a blue underlined font.  Anyway, here goes:

Another day that will live in Infamy

President Roosevelt described December 7, 1941, the day of the attack on Pearl Harbor, as a day that will live in infamy.  Today is the 7th anniversary of another day that will live in infamy, the Islamic terrorist attack on the United States.  Those evil men killed 3000 innocent people who had done nothing to them, and brought down two mighty buildings that were American landmarks.  Seven years later, they have not been able to mount another attack within our borders, although I am sure they want to.  President Bush has kept us safe.  Whatever else he may have done, right or wrong, he fulfilled his duty to protect our country.

What a difference a few years make.  Politics is more personally destructive than ever before.  It is not enough to disagree, there are those who must discredit or destroy the lives of those they disagree with.  People have willingly forgotten God.  Those who still remember Him are mocked and ridiculed.  I think we are like the Nephites in the Book of Mormon days; we as a nation have become divided into classes with those who are lifted up in the pride of their hearts and those who are looked down upon and reviled.  We live in perilous times and the world is ripening in iniquity.  Now as never before we need to listen to the Lord, listen to his called and set apart leaders, and hearken to what they say.  If we do, we will not be moved out of our place.  If we don't, we will not be blessed.  As the prophet Joseph Smith said, "When the Lord commands, I obey."  It's that simple.  

Please vote!

I have posted three images on my blog.  Next month I have the opportunity to have two works of art displayed in city hall.  Please double click on these pictures and comment on whether any of them you think are good enough to display.  Be honest.  Negative criticism won't hurt my feelings.  Thanks.

Cathy and I went up on the Mesa this afternoon, just for a ride.  Here are a couple of pictures of the area around the Visitor's Center.  We had quite an adventure on the way back.  Coming down the mountain we saw a big moose in the trees just off the road.  That was cool.  Also, coming home we hit some rain.  I was passing a semi just before the bridge over the river east of Palisade on I-70, and the truck hit a big puddle just as I was going by, totally submerging my windshield in water.  The wipers couldn't keep up and for a few seconds I was blind with a semi on one side and a concrete barrier on the other, while going around a curve at 60 mph.  Luckily the wipers finally got the water off so I could see.

Then, just before Horizon Drive, the rain hit so hard that visibility went to zero for everybody.  I had just passed a semi, again, and the only way I could see the road was to follow the taillights of the semi in front and keep my eye on the semi behind.  Some people pulled over, but I was not that bright.  By Horizon Drive the rain had slowed enough to see.  Just after the interchange we saw an accident where an SUV and a truck had gone off the road in the center median.  Quite a drive home.

I have been watching the Olympics pretty much every evening during the games, and haven't taken the time to post.  I didn't post when the grandkids were here either, so I think I have 1 post so far this month.  Do they kick you off the blog if you don't post?  Don't wanna find out.

Not much new to report.  I went to the Monticello temple last Saturday and did a bunch of initiatories.  I was going to stay for a session too, but another member of our group had some names to take through and wanted me to take one with him, and he had gone to the earlier session while I was doing the initiatory thing, so when I was done I waited for him to come out of the celestial room so we could go in for the next session, but he came out after the next session had started, and I was not dedicated enough to wait another two hours for the next one, so we changed clothes and left.  Was that a long sentence or what!  It was still a very good experience.  Cathy could not go, but maybe she can go next time.

I get to change jobs in about 4 weeks.  As soon as another PST is trained up, I get to move into the traffic unit job, which means handling accidents instead of writing parking tickets.  7 or 8 years of parking enforcement is enough.  

Not this weekend, but next, we go to Denver for Ethen's baptism.  Congratulations Ethen!!    

Our amazing grandkids

After Erik finished his frantic study for the bar exam, he and Jennifer went to Las Vegas and we got to watch the grandkids for a few days.  I will be honest and admit that by the end of a day I (Cathy too) am frazzled and aching for some peace and quiet, but I feel blessed to be able to spend some time with them.  Of course, now that Travis and Rebecca live 2 miles away, we get to see Loralei a lot too.  It's when the four of them get together that life gets interesting!

Ethen is smart as a whip, and has an overdeveloped sense of right and wrong.  He really believes the rules should be obeyed, whether it's no shoes in the McDonald's play area or if you are playing a game you should finish it.  He's a sensitive soul who is also growing into a mischevious (is that spelled right?) little boy.

Mia is a sweetheart.  She likes to socialize and get along, and is reluctant to force her will on others.  She has a strong sense of fairness, for herself but for others too, and is patient and friendly with others.  She is kind and loving and a joy to be around.

Kendall is a hoot.  She is having a bit of a hard time with Mom and Dad being gone, but has warmed up to her grandparents and provides constant moments of enjoyment for us.  She likes to push her limits, loves to be outside, and wants to be a big kid.  She is developing a real personality right before our eyes.  She is not afraid to stand up for herself with the other kids too, although she is too small to win any arguments.

Loralei is learning how to have siblings.  She likes to push her limits, and it doesn't matter if it's with an adult or a kid.  She can be hard headed and can be very loving and concerned too.  She doesn't know she is only 2 1/2 years old; she thinks she is at least as old as Mia.  She is beautiful and smart and is a handful.  Her smile can melt your heart.

Taken individually, each grandchild is a masterpiece of God's creation.  Taken together, watch out or they will drive you crazy!

Some photos...

Loralei inticed Patrick into the playhouse the other day, June 17 to be exact, and I caught a nice picture of him being a good uncle.

Here are two shots of Mia after her last dance recital, in costume of course. She is such a photogenic model. It's hard to take a bad picture of her.

If you click on the picture of the electric car, you should be able to see Ethen in the passenger seat. This was the Fourth of July parade. I lead a group of six other electric vehicles in the parade. This parade, by the way, was officially judged as "lame" by the rest of the family. I accept their judgement. I was only able to see a little bit of it, which was the politician ambling along in front of me.

I'm a jogger..

Jennifer and Rebecca talked me into running with them two or three days a week.  Yesterday morning was my first time, and I had to get up at 0530 to get ready.  Nobody should have to get up at 0530, for anything.  We were supposed to run at 0600 though, so what could I do.  

They showed up at 0613.  I was about to start badmouthing them, but I forgave them when they walked in the door.  I ran for 20 minutes and they went longer.  I figure it's because they are young and I am an overweight old wuss.  Today I have been in pain all day.  My thighs are tight and they hurt.  I rode my bicycle to work today too.  You'd think that with almost 1000 miles logged on the bike this year (it's 1010 after today), a 20 minute run wouldn't make me sore but it did.  It's bedtime and my legs still hurt, and I told them (my daughters, not my legs) that I would run again tomorrow morning.  I know, I know, I will have to get up at 0530 again.  What is wrong with me? 

Good day today

Cathy spoke in sacrament meeting today, and gave a good talk on the atonement.  She was the second speaker and she did a really good job.  It was also my last day in Primary (not necessarily a good thing).  I got a phone call from Brother Peterson from the High Council today and he asked to meet with Cathy and me at 12:15, before church.  He called me to be an assistant to the new high priest group leader, Vern Howell.  Vern is a great man and I am excited to be working with him.  I got set apart after church, and after Vern got set apart.  President Dean was there and he also gave me my temple recommend interview before he had to leave.  

Dinner after church was at Rebecca's.  We had hamburgers and hot dogs.  

Maybe I won't get more flat tires for a while

Last week I rode to work about three times.  From the Friday before to last Wednesday, I got three flat tires.  I have had about 5 flats in the last month.  So, to do something about it, I spent about $100 on the back wheel of my bicycle this past week.  I spent $70 on a new wheel and $30 on a new tire.  I got a wider tire with a thicker tread, and one that has a puncture resistant belt inside the rubber.  Then I put my kevlar liners in it.  After that I added a slimed thorn resistant tube.  If I keep getting flat tires, maybe I should just give up.  I might have to get one of those solid tires.

My truck gets at least 20 miles per gallon, as does Cathy's Jeep.  Both are probably closer to 25 mpg, but for my purposes I just figured 20.  When I ride my bike to work, it's a 30 mile round trip.  That would be about a gallon and a half of gas per day, for the commute.  At $4.00 per gallon, I am saving myself about $6 per day each day I ride the bicycle.  That's a good incentive for me to ride.  The other incentive is fitness.  I have a long way to go to reach the level of fitness I want, and riding the bicycle really helps.  It's about an hour and four or five minutes one way, although one morning I got to work in 57 minutes, and on another day I got home in 55 minutes.  I ride fairly hard when I am on the bicycle, trying to give the legs a good workout and improve my cardiovascular endurance.  It's slowly working.  Now, if I can just keep from getting flat tires for a while...

Druids and Wiccans and Pagans, Oh My!

I read a Denver Post article today that was waxing eloquent on the exponential growth of paganism in the United States.  Like from 8000 or so in 1999 to 375,000 in 2007.  Paganism is a broad tent that includes those that call themselves Druids (not quite sure what a Druid is), Wiccans (a cooler name for Witches) and about every other brand of nature or idol worshiper.  There are those that worship the old Norse gods, like Odin (but not a real God, like Heavenly Father or Jesus Christ); those that worship forests, or at least their favorite places in the forests; and some even believe in witchcraft, fairies, magic, and about anything else except Satan worship.  Apparently they don't "do" that.  The article talks about how everybody that wants to be a pagan can do about anything they want, as long as it doesn't hurt anybody else.  They emphasize the spiritual side of being a pagan, and they even have accredited priests.  I wonder what you have to do to become an accredited Druid priest.  Is there an online course?  

Since it was a Denver Post article they had to speculate on how many Coloradans are pagans.  Probably lots, and most probably live in Boulder and Aspen.  What a great thing it must be to be a pagan.  No more organized religion, just do what you want and tell yourself that you are spiritual and let go of all of your guilt, put flowers in your hair and wear a robe occasionally.  Guys can let their beards grow and maybe get a pointy hat to go with the robe for pagan rituals.  It goes to show, at least to me, that people have an inherent tendency or yearning toward spiritual things, and when they don't find what they're looking for in today's churches they go out and make up their own "spirituality."  Problem is, paganism won't do much to get you exalted in the next life.  You might make the Terrestrial Kingdom, if you are a good and gentle pagan, but that's about it.  You can get that far just being good and gentle, without the paganism.   

We need to get all those people a copy of the Book of Mormon!  Maybe that would get them off all those forbidden paths and back on the straight and narrow path with the iron rod alongside it.  

Today is Bike to Work day here in Grand Junction, so I did. I pretty much do anyway, but today I get rewarded with goodies. The city provided breakfast and a free t-shirt. I got a second free t-shirt, this one long sleeved, from Brown's Cycles. I talked to Chris, Bruce, and he asked about you. I told him you were not coming back, because you committed to a new house in Indiana.

I rode in with another city employee named Randy Keller, who also rode a recumbent for the occasion. He usually rides a road bike, but since today was "special" and I ride a bent, he rode his. He has a big long one (longer than mine) with under seat steering. Long story short, he couldn't keep up, so I had to slow down. It was a nice leasurely ride in from Fruita this morning. He wants to ride with me again, and next time will probably ride his road bike, so I will probably be the one who can't keep up.

Happy Birthday Joe!! Your gift has been ordered and your card will be on the way tomorrow. We love you!

One True Church

The doctrine of one true church is as offensive to much of the Christian world today as was the testimony of Christ anciently that he was "the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6).  Yet some reason as did the youthful Joseph Smith:  "If God had a Church it would not be split up into factions, and that if He taught one society to worship one way, and administer in one set of ordinances, He would not teach another, principles which were diametrically opposed." (HC 4:536).  "There is no more self-evident truth in this world, there is nothing in all eternity more obvious than that there is and can be only one true Church.  A true Church does not create itself any more than man creates God, or resurrects himself, or establishes for himself a celestial heaven.  All churches may be false, but only one can be true, simply because religion comes from God, and God is not the author of confusion."  (Doctrinal New Testament Commentary 2:506-7)

I took the above from Volume 1 of Doctrinal Book of Mormon Commentary, page 109.  I was looking for something uplifting after some disturbing articles on the Foxnews website today that brought home to me the wickedness of people in the last days.  I was saddened by one story in particular, too disturbing to re-tell here, and so decided to publish something simple but true to make myself feel better.  

The Hounds of Hell are Grey

Cathy went up to Denver in her Jeep this past Thursday, and I was supposed to go up Saturday and drive back with her so she wouldn't have to drive back by herself with Loralei, which would have been difficult.  Originally I was going to rent a car, but in the interest of saving money, I decided to Go Greyhound instead.  After all, it was only a 4 1/2 or 5 hour trip, and I could sleep through that, and I would be saving 20 or 30 dollars plus the price of gas.  I look back now and I realize what a fool I was.

I started to get my first inkling that the trip was not going to be fun when the bus was 30 minutes late getting started.  The extra half hour gave me a chance to study my traveling companions.  The people in the bus lobby were a cross section of middle to lower class America, and Mexico.  There were a lot of people that only spoke spanish.  That was ok, I try not to be prejudiced, but with the illegal immigration problem and all, I couldn't help but wonder how many were in the country illegally.  Those that didn't speak spanish or weren't black mostly seemed to have a lot of tattoos.  Most races were represented, but I don't remember seeing any orientals.  I would say the bus passengers were 30 percent black, 40 percent hispanic, and 30 percent white.  I know I sound terrible here but I really am not trying to, I am just trying to give an accurate representation of my fellow travelers.  Without exception everyone I talked too was friendly and courteous, and everyone seemed to have a great deal of patience.  There were more men than women, but not too many more.  

The bus finally left the station, and I found myself in the very back of the bus, sitting right next to the door to the latrine.  At first that didn't bother me, but after a steady stream of people going back to use the facility the smell and the disturbance began to become annoying.  I put on my Ipod headphones and tried to doze off, to pass the time in unconsciousness.  We stopped in Glenwood Springs at a Mexican tienda and twice along side the road, the first time to get people's food out of the overhead bins and the second time to open the roof vents for cool air.  Then I dozed off....and awoke to find the bus stopping along side the road again, this time at the beginning of Vail Pass.  This time we were broken down.  Most people, including me,  piled out and wandered around waiting to see what would happen next.

What happened next was that another Greyhound bus stopped.  This one was from LA and had stopped in Grand Junction about an hour after we left.  They had room for 11 people so the women and children left the sinking ship first, then there was roof for 2 more, and I lucked into the last seat on the other bus.  Wouldn't you know it, it was right across from the latrine this time instead of right beside it.  Not much improvement, but I was just glad to be on a bus that would move, and didn't care about he seat location, but when I sat down, the seat was all wet.  Someone had spilled something in it, and I rode the next three hours into Denver sitting in a puddle with my left thigh pressed up against the right thigh of a total stranger.  The only thing that took my mind off my misery was a chance to watch a semi burning to the ground in the opposite lanes as we neared Denver.  The tractor of the semi was totally engulfed in flames, but the trailer was still untouched as we went by.  That at least took my mind off of my soggy rear end for a minute or two.  I got to Denver about an hour and a half late, which was probably way better than the other stranded passengers back on Vail Pass.  I am never taking a bus again.  

...if the creek don't rise...

I took my camera with me on the bent this morning and took a couple of pictures of the flooded over part of the Riverfront Trail.  It's kinda hard to see where the trail enters the water but if you blow up the picture you can see it better.  This afternoon the river started to go down a little.

I got all wet because it rained all morning, so I rode in the rain all the way.  The rain quit in the early afternoon and the sun even came out for a while, so I was expecting a nice ride home.  It was not to be, because another storm cell rolled in from the northwest and caught me at about 19 Rd.  It started as a sprinkle and by the time I got to 18 Rd it was a pretty steady rain.  I got pretty much drowned.  Cathy came looking for me and found me just as I was turning north at the Dos Hombres in Fruita.  I was only about 5 blocks from home but since she came looking, I threw the bike in the back of the truck and rode in comfort the rest of the way.  Tomorrow is supposed to be sunshine all day but I won't ride because I have to bring home all my dirty uniforms and they won't fit anywhere on the bent.  Figures.

I saw the great picture of Joe in his uniform on his and Ashley's blog, what with him looking all cool and confident and military-ish.  He was the very picture of a self confident, mature young man.  I am so proud.  Still, I thought it would be fun to publish another picture of Joe, to contradict the one he published. Just for the heck of it, of course, and to add a little humor to things.   It took me about 5 tries and 20 minutes to get the picture uploaded, but it was worth it.  As Ricky Ricardo used to say, "Joe, you got some 'splainin' to do!"  Only Ricky said "Lucy" instead of "Joe".  But you know what I mean.  Hard to believe both pictures are of the same guy, huh?  

I'm not trying to be mean or anything, but hey, if you can't make fun of your kids, who can you make fun of?  Cathy and I love all you guys lots.  We hope this blog entry finds all you fruit of our loins well and happy.  Especially you, Joe.  And, by extension, Ashley.  Well, not by extension.  Just you too, Ashley.  You're adopted, like Erik and Travis.

Dad.

The Fruita wards are dividing again

There will be four wards instead of three. The information is supposed to be put out next week at church, and of course Cathy and I will be in Denver for Mia's dance recital so we will have to call someone second hand to get the scoop on what happened. We have no idea yet what boundaries will be or anything. We should probably lay low for a while until all the callings are over. Like that could ever happen. As Drudge says, "Developing..."

Hello, Everybody!

I took a couple of pictures the last time Bruce, Mari, and fam came to visit.  This was at Ann's house.  Katie Rose is a very photogenic person.  Bruce, not so bad either.  Me, well, lets just say I look better on the other end of the camera.  I'd rather take the shots than be in them anyway. Tonight I seem to be having a few problems getting any other shots to upload into Blogger, so I will save them for another time.  I really like this picture anyway.

If you all will permit me to get sappy for a minute, I just want to say that family is what's most important in life, or at least very near the top.  In a world spinning slowly into the craziness of the last days, we need to keep in touch with each other and support each other.  I hope everyone is doing well, in all our families.  Travis and Rebecca, I hope your closing glitches all work out in your favor.  Joe and Ashley, hang in there.  There really is an end to what you are going through.  Erik and Jen, we hope Kendall gets healthy soon and stays that way.  Bruce and Mari, congrats on your new home.  Blessings on you all!  Cathy and I love all you guys.  

Here's our house

What to say when you lose a two person race:  "I came in second, but the other guy came in next to last."

Since there are a couple of people and families who haven't seen the old homestead, namely Bruce and Mari and Reed and Marie, and maybe others, I decided to put a couple of pictures of our house on the blog.  Bruce is building a new home, and closes on June 14th or so, and Travis and Rebecca are buying (see pictures on the previous post).  S0, here's the home be bought last September, for those who haven't seen it yet.  For those who have, you will probably recognize the place.  Both pictures are of the front, just at a little different angle.

Rebecca and Travis' new house

Here are some photos of the new house the are buying in Fruita.  Actually, they are more pictures of the lot around the house than the house itself, I guess for landscaping purposes.   I have been trying to email the pictures to them without much success, for some reason.  So, here they are on the blog and hopefully they can copy them from here.

Siskel and Ebert give it two thumbs up!

Cathy and I went to see Ironman this evening.  I have been wanting to see it for a while now, and everyone I have talked too said that they liked it, so we finally went.  I add my cudos to the list, and Cathy's.  We definitely liked it too.  It lasted over two hours and I was sorry to see it end. Looks like they left it open for a sequel or two too.  Or, is that a sequel or tu-tu.  Whatever.  You want to see a fun movie, go see Ironman.  You won't be disappointed.

The playhouse is finished!

The only thing left to do is paint it with wood sealer so it won't weather and crack due to rain and weather related stuff like that.  I have the sealer, but, naturally, it rained this afternoon so I couldn't put it on.  Now I will have to wait until it dries out.  We are looking forward to a visit from the grandkids and their parents so the kids can check it out and play in it.  I think they will have fun.  

We love you all and pray for each of you daily.  

Dad.

The grandkid's playhouse

The playhouse is almost finished.  It looks pretty cool, and I am sure that Jed Clampett would be proud!!  I have to attach the door and window shutters and then it will be ready for waterproofing, and after that it will be ready for grandkids.  I have a gallon of the stuff (water sealant), and hopefully it will be enough.  If not, I will get some more.  It was fun and pretty easy to build, except for the back pain I got when Pat and I carried the box into the back yard.  The wood should have been packed in a couple of boxes, instead of one big heavy one.  I'm on Vicadin and some muscle relaxers until my back gets better, and I'm not riding my bike until I'm all better.  

On another note, Pat was in an accident today.  He was in his work truck and was stopping at a red light, and some old man rammed him from behind, pushing him into the car in front.  He was the filling for the sandwich.  Nobody was hurt but Pat said his neck was a little stiff.  The guy behind him got the ticket.  

It's been quite a day.

This Saturday was full of "projects" or "honey do's" as they are called.  Cathy and I went to Ace Hardware and got another new sprinkler head to replace the one we discovered last night was broken.  I was watching TV at about 10 p.m. and heard water coming off the roof of the house in the back.  I looked out the door, and it looked like it was raining hard.  I checked the front but no rain.  My steel-trap mind realized that I had a problem.  I couldn't for the life of me figure out where the water would be coming from on the roof.  I went into the bedroom to get a flashlight, and told Cathy about the mystery.  We went outside, dodging the water, and learned that the pump was on and a sprinkler head had blown out, and water was geysering up about 30 feet into the air and was falling onto the roof.  I turned the water off, and this morning we got a new sprinkler head and a pair of channel locks, because all I have for tightening the sprinkler heads is an old pair of vice grips.

After that we went to Sam's Club and got a wood playhouse to put together for the grandkids to play in when they visit.  It came in a big box and was really heavy.  After I dropped Cathy off at her friend Dorothy's house so she could help paint, I went to Wal Mart and got some tomato and pepper plants for the garden.  Then I went home.  

Pat was still home and he helped me unload the big heavy box.  He told me that it was a dumb purchase, but he doesn't have grandkids so what does he know.  Well, after we got the big heavy box into the side area on the west side of the house, just before putting it down, I tweaked my back.  I got a sharp, shooting pain across my lower back and knew immediately that I was in for some pain.  It has hurt all day.  That didn't stop me from fixing the sprinkler, planting the tomatoes and peppers, watering the trees, mowing the lawn, and pulling some weeds.  Now I am relaxing and my back is hurting.  I wonder how I will sleep tonight.  I probably won't be riding the bicycle for a few days.  Pat will have to ride his motorcycle so I can drive the truck.

If I feel better tomorrow I will start building the playhouse.  After church.

The last couple of days...

...have been really nice, except for quite a bit of wind.  Actually, the wind is nice too, it keeps things from getting stagnant.  Today though, after work, the leading edge of a front started to reach this area, and the wind really picked up.  It was nice temperature wise, around 80 degrees, and partly cloudy so the sun didn't beat down, but it was WINDY!  I think half of Utah blew by while I was out doing my work thing.  I knew I was in for a hard ride home on the bicycle, but I learned from my last post not to whine.  It was a challenge though.  About 5 miles in, with 10 miles to go, I checked the bike computer and I was going about 9 miles per hour.  I didn't want another hour more of riding so I kicked it up to about ten and a half, but not much faster.  Whenever a gust hit, I slowed down.  Still, I made it home in about an hour and 20 minutes, only 15 minutes or so over my regular time.  I was really tired when I got in.  My legs are jelly.  Tomorrow it's rainy, because of the front, so I will not ride in.  It will be a nice rest.  Yay!

We should have bought a house in Palisade

We should have bought a house in Palisade, I think.

"Why?" You question me with awakened curiousity.

"Because when I ride my bicycle to work from Fruita in the morning, the wind is coming out of the east, every morning. And when I ride home after work in the afternoon, the wind has swung around and is coming out of the west. I get a headwind both ways, and the sun in my face both ways, every day," I whine.

"Oh," you say. "There's an easy solution to your problem."

"What's that," I inquire.

" Don't whine."

"Oh. Yeah."

I rode the bicycle to work three days last week

My distance for the week was 105 miles.  Tuesday was the worst.  I had a headwind going in, then during the day the winds picked up to about 50 miles per hour, and I had to ride home in a gale.  I rode kinda slow going home.  Wednesday was bad weather, so I didn't ride.  I rode on Thursday and Friday, the first time this year back-to-back.  Going in Friday, I felt like I didn't have any energy, but I felt surprisingly strong on the ride home, and even upped the weekly average speed to 12 mph.  This week I am hoping to ride every day.  There's another cold front going through tonight but it's not supposed to bring any rain.  My ride averages a little over 15 miles one way.  

Our irrigation water is on, so I have to get the pump and sprinklers figured out.  It's about time to get the swamp cooler ready to go too.  The days are pretty long and getting warmer.  And, the garden needs work.  Grandma Haines always said that you shouldn't plant until May 10, because then you wouldn't get a freeze and lose everything, so I have a few days yet.  The joys of being a homeowner.

We have tomatoes in the Aero Garden now.  We never used the herbs, just watched them grow.  I know we will use the tomatoes.

Later, everybody.  We love you all.  KTF! 

We had the grandkids over for the weekend

We had the grandkids over for the weekend.  They liked our back yard, and were out there a lot.  In the picture above, Ethen, Mia, and Loralei are taking turns trying out Pat's skateboard. I dug out some bike helmets so they wouldn't crack their noggins.  
Kendall didn't get to go out as much as the other kids, because she liked to try to taste everything and had to be watched like a hawk.  This picture is one of the occasions she got to go out.  When she had to stay inside, she would stand at the screen door with a sad puppy dog look on her face until someone felt some pity and took her out for a while.
Loralei and Mia, two camera hams.

By the way, their parents came along too, but that was incidental.  Mostly we were glad to see the grandkids.  Here's another one of Loralei.  They seemed to like to throw dead leaves on their Grandpa when he was outside with them, for some reason.  Maybe I look like I need some decorations on me.

2 quotes from a great article

I found an really good article on American Thinker.com today, titled Vanities of the Warmists.  It was written by Jon Caruthers on April 7, 2008, and here are a couple of hilarious quotes:

"In the grand scheme of things are we supposed to believe that we humans are actually better than Mother Nature at 'managing' the global environment?  For some reason, the enviro-nazis of the age seem to believe that Mother Nature is some kind of octogenarian Alzheimer's patient and they're the designated colostomy bag."

And...

"The enviro-nazis are no better than the medicine man of lineage ancient during a lunar eclipse who could claim that the great night spirit was eating the moon goddess, and if only the tribal elders would hand over the virgins he'd perform his incantations and make him spit her out again."

It's worth your time to go to American Thinker and read the whole article.  It's a fun read.  Love ya, everybody!  CTR!

Here's a story somone sent me

This story is called:  A Good Attitude

The choices you make affect more than just you!  John is the kind of guy you love to hate.  He is always in a good mood and always has something positive to say.  When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, "If I were any better, I would be twins!"

He was a natural motivator.  If an employee was having a bad day, John was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.  

Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up and asked him, "I don't get it!  You can't be a positive person all of the time.  How do you do it?"

He replied, "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, you have two choices today.  You can choose to be in a good mood or, you can chose to be in a bad mood.  I choose to be in a good mood.  Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or I can choose to learn from it.  I choose to learn from it.  Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or I can point out the positive side of life.  I choose the positive side of life.

"Yeah, right, it's not that easy," I protested.

"Yes, it is," he said.  Life is all about choices.  When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice.  You choose how you react to situations.  You choose how people affect your mood.  You choose to be in a good mood or a bad mood.  The bottom line:  It's your choice how you live your life."

I reflected on what he said.  Soon thereafter, I left the Tower industry to start my own business.  We lost touch, but I often  thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it. 

Several years later, I heard that he was involved in a serious accident, falling some 60 feet from a communications tower.  After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, he was released from the hospital with rods placed in his back.

I saw him about six months after the accident.  When I asked him how he was, he replied, "If I were any better, I'd be twins.  Wanna see my scars?"

I declined to see his wounds, but I did ask him what had gone through his mind as the accident took place.

"The first thing that went through my mind was the well-being of my soon-t0-be born daughter," he replied.  "Then, as I lay on the ground, I remembered that I had two choices.  I could choose to live or, I could choose to die.  I chose to live."

"Weren't you scared?  Did you lose consciousness?" I asked.

He continued.  "The paramedics were great.  They kept telling me I was going to be fine.  But when they wheeled me into the ER and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared.  In their eyes, I read 'he's a dead man.'  I knew I needed to take action."

"What did you do?" I asked.

"Well, there was a big burly nurse shouting questions at me," said John.  "She asked if I was allergic to anything.  'Yes,' I replied.  The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply.  I took a deep breath and yelled, 'Gravity!'"

"Over their laughter, I told them, 'I am choosing to live.  Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead."

He lived, thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude.  I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully.  Attitude, after all, is everything.  

"Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.  Each day has enough trouble of its own." (Matthew 6:34) 

After all, today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday. 

Good story.  It kinda fits in with my philosophy of life.  The Matthew quote isn't King James Version, but the meaning is the same.  Everybody have a great day!  Love you guys! 

Does anyone know how to import text?

I've got something in Word that I want to import into a post but I don't see how to do it.  Does anyone know?  Let me know if you do.  It seems strange that I can upload video or pictures but not text.  What am I missing?

I have been a falluto!

I haven't posted in a while, which makes me a falluto (Spanish for no-load, loser, waste of space, etc.).  I have had writer's block, making me a block  head with nothing to write about.  Now I am repenting of my great evil and will blog again!  

I have begun riding my bicycle (the big heavy one that is an easy chair on wheels) to work from Fruita, which is about 15 or 16 miles one way.  The routes are limited, and I like to go down Hwy 6 & 50 on the shoulder, which is very wide, but also very dirty.  I don't mind the dirt, but the dirt hides goat heads, which attack bike tires and give you flats.  I have ridden three times and gotten two flats, both times the front tire.  Both times at about the same place on the road too.  I am tempted to find a broom and sweep the dirt off the shoulder in that area, but that would be too much like work.  I got a CO2 pump to blow up my flat tires and a couple of spare tubes to keep me from being stranded, so now that I am prepared I will probably not get a flat again.  That's usually the way it works for me anyway, if I am prepared nothing happens, if I'm not, then something does.

Now that I am riding, I am having the uplifting experience of being sore.  My knees, and inner thighs especially cry out after the riding is done and I have been sitting still for a while, then get up.  My legs say "Hey!"  They get back at me for moving by giving me pain.  I will show them, though.  Soon they will be like the Nephite women journeying in the wilderness, and will be able to bear their exertions without murmuring.  Then I will be strong.  Oh, by the way, the ride home today got me sunburned and wind burned.  The wind was blowing 20 to 30 miles per hour, in my face, and by the time I got home I was bushed and really, really hungry.  I will need to start taking some granola bars or something along to snack on.

Sunday is a double whammy for me.  I have to speak in Sacrament meeting and I have to give the lesson in my Primary class.  I have begun preparing.  At least for the talk.  I haven't even looked at the lesson book yet.

Later, everybody!  

There's hope for the world

In a week when the church is in the news because of three missionaries being brain-dead idiots on their day off, I found an article in the Village Voice by some dude named David Mamet, who is I guess an american playwright.  He wrote an article titled "Why I am no longer a 'Brain Dead Liberal.'"  He's a pretty good writer, although I think he likes to show off his knowledge of big words and clever phrases.  I will not hold that against him.  He has seen the light, and is now a recovering liberal.  I quote from his article:

I'd observed that lust, greed, envy, sloth, and their pals are giving the world a good run for its money, but that nonetheless people in general seem to get from day to day; and that we in the United States get from day to day under rather wonderful and privileged circumstances -- that we are not and never have been the villains that some of the world and some of our citizens make us out to be, but that we are a confection of normal (greedy, lustful, duplicitous, corrupt, inspired -- in short, human) individuals living under a spectacularly effective compact called the Constitution, and lucky to get it.

For the Constitution, rather than suggesting that all behave in a godlike manner, recognizes that, to the contrary, people are swine and will take any opportunity to subvert any agreement in order to pursue what they consider to be their proper interests.

To that end, the Constitution separates the power of the state into those three branches which are for most of us (I include myself) the only thing we remember from 12 years of schooling.

The Constitution, written by men with some experience of actual government, assumes that the chief executive will work to be king, the Parliament will scheme to sell off the silverware, and the judiciary will consider itself Olympian and do everything it can to much improve (destroy) the work of the other two branches.  So the Constitution pits them against each other, in the attempt not to achieve stasis, but rather to allow for the constant corrections necessary to prevent one branch from getting too much power for too long.

Rather brilliant.  For, in the abstract, we may envision an Olympian perfection of perfect beings in Washington doing the business of their employers, the people, but any of us who has ever been at a zoning meeting with our property at stake is aware of the urge to cut through all the pernicious bulls**t and go straight to firearms.

I edited the bad word on the last line.  There's hope for the guy.  I especially like the imagery of the last paragraph, because it hits the nail on the head as far as the real world is.  

We love you, Joe!  Hang in there, Ash!  We love everybody else in the family too, especially the grandkids!   

Can you caption these pictures?

Call the one on the right #1 and the one below #2.  See if you can come up with a clever caption for each one.  Maybe I will award a prize but don't hold me to it.

Not everyone gets to be a blueshirt

Blueshirts are the guys on the flight deck that wear the blue shirts.  Duh.  Greenshirts wear the green shirts, redshirts wear red shirts, yellowshirts wear yellow, it's really all very color coordidnated.  There's a method to the madness, too.  Blueshirts handle chocks and chains, greenshirts do the maintenance, redshirts are the ordinance puppies, and yellowshirts are the plane captains and launch controllers on the flight deck.  There are also purple shirts that do the fueling.  I just don't have pictures to post of all the other guys.  This blueshirt is relaxing before he has to hump chains and chocks, samples of which are lying on the deck behind him.  

I just watched a show on the television that told me it took four million years to evolve my butt.  I want my money back. 

I got brave today

I decided to ride my bike to work.  Last night I prepped all my gear that I could think of and went over the bike again.  I went to bed early (for me) at ten o'clock and woke up at six.  By six thirty I was on the road.  A friend of mine who lives down the street, and who wussed out on riding with me, told me that the way he likes to go is down K Rd (east) to 18 Rd, south on 18 to the diagonal and down that to J Rd, then east again on J Rd.  After that, it's a turn south again on 20 Rd to I Rd, east on I to 22 Rd, south on 22 to H Rd, east on H to 24 Rd, then south on 24 to the overpass at the mall.  After the overpass, it's onto the bike trail and in to work.  Ok, is everybody with me so far?  My friend, whose name is Randy Keller if anybody cares, told me that this stair-step route avoids the traffic.  He was right, but it doesn't avoid the dogs.  There were at least ten dogs that at least made me nervous, and one that was downright belligerent.  I thought for a minute I was going to follow in my brother's footsteps.  It was on 20 Rd between I 3/10 Rd (how's that for a road name) and I Rd.  The dog was a salt and pepper bob tailed mutt, probably mad at the world because it was bob tailed, and because it's owners lived in a trailer.  It came at me the first time, and I saw it coming and stopped and yelled at it, and it stopped at the edge of the road.  When I started to move it started forward again, so I stopped again and so did he ( a female dog wouldn't be mean, would it?).  The same thing happened again.  After that I got off the bike and pretended to pick up a rock, which finally discouraged the dog and he backed off.  He tried to save face by barking a lot but didn't charge again.  There were more dogs after that but they were more civilized, basically they just told me to move on and stay off their turf, which I did.

It took me from 0630 to 0813 to get to work.  Randy's zigzag route sucks, in my opinion.  I think he was just suckering me into riding extra miles.  And, all my careful preparations came to naught when I realized after a few miles that I had forgotten the most important items for riding any distance -- my water bottles.  I was glad to get to work without fainting so I could quit spitting dust and could guzzle a quart or two of water.

Since this was the first ride of the year, of course it kicked my butt.  I was dragging all day, and then I had to do it again going home.  I made the wise decision to ride on US Hwy 6 & 50 on the way home, which is a straight shot from Grand Junction to Fruita, with a wide shoulder and no dogs.  No water either,  because I forgot the one bottle I had at work that I could have used.  Overall today I rode over 30 dry, thirsty miles.  No riding tomorrow because I'm not a total fool (I have to take Pat to work because he's leaving from there for his Vegas trip) and Sunday starts daylight savings time, so it will be pretty dark in the mornings for a while.  We shall see if I'm dumb enough to ride in the dark.