I need a smaller camera, and here's why

Today, after buying a new pair of sneakers on father's day I went for my first of hopefully many walks in Durango, Co. Like most everybody in these parts, I live on a steep hill. And one should not discount this fact when deciding how far to walk. But that's not the meat of this post.

I need a small camera that I can fit in my gym shorts while going on these walks. That's because I 'met' two people that I would like another chance to meet.

First was the woman riding the Animas river rapids on a small kayak. Now the rapids are not of a high degree of difficulty, but definitely rough enough that I wouldn't try it. And after seeing her up river, I decided to stop and watch her go by. Evidently I was one of the few pedestrians on the trail next to the river to stop and watch. And I could almost read her mind as she noticed that someone was finally watching her display her talent. So just as she got even with me she decided to 'twirl' her paddle to kind of say 'Hi there and thanks for noticing my mad skills!'. Now most of you probably know what a kayak paddle looks like, but for those that don't it's a single paddle with whatever you call the flat ends of a paddle on both ends. And on about the second twirl of the paddle over her head, she dropped the paddle. Now I know everyone's probably heard that old saying 'Up the creek without a paddle'. Well, I think it holds for trying to negotiate a river rapid on a kayak without a paddle. She immediately let out a high pitched 'Oh No!' And then immediately dismounted the kayak into the water to retrieve the paddle. And this was no small feat as she had to simultaneously hang on to the kayak with one hand while reaching and kind of one-arm-dog paddling toward the paddle floating just out of arms reach. Finally she captured the paddle and started trying to get back on the kayak, while all the time floating down the river. And to my amazement, she seemed to maintain eye contact with me through the entire ordeal, almost to say 'I wonder if he saw that?' I wanted to yell out at her that I was still impressed, but I was afraid she might think I was being a smart ass. So I just gave her a thumbs up while she drifted out of sight. I have a feeling that this was a 'meeting' that neither of us will ever forget. And this is when I decided I needed a small camera to carry with me on my walks.

The second 'meeting' occurred near the river at a skate board park on my way back home. I decided to stop and watch the skaters a bit while resting for the trip back up the hill. Now this park is one of the finest I've ever seen. It has an obstacle type course that has some ramps and rails like you see the kids riding on the X games. Then there's what I would describe as a wading type swimming pool (with no water of course), and then what looked to me like a good sized swimming pool about 15 ft. deep. Now there were skaters showing their skills in every section of the park. But the most advanced skaters were located in the deep pool. So I sat near the deep pool to watch 'the masters' take turns dropping in to the pool on their boards. There were only 3 of them brave/talented enough to negotiate the big pool. Now the interesting thing about the next person I 'met' was that he was not only the most talented skater, but he had to be 50 years old if he was a day. I swear to you that he had as much grey hair as I've ever seen, and the youngsters taking turns with the old master were definitely giving him props. I didn't talk to him as he was wearing his ipod and no doubt had it turned up to 11. But the look on the teenagers faces let me know that he was the boss of the boards and when he decided to drop in they would make room. Everyone had a small fall during the 15 minutes I watched, except for the old man. He had a sleeveless tee-shirt on with crossed bones over the shape of an antelopes head. And below this figure was what I decided his nickname is or should be. 'BONES'. Bones wasn't wearing any protective gear, 'cause I figure that would be givin' up his freedom to The Man. I was mesmerized the whole time watching Bones, and I must admit that it made me feel a little bit like I've wasted my life. Not a lot, just a little bit.

Anyway, this is a cool place to live. And I hope all of you get a chance to get here sometime during your life. I can't speak to the winter months, yet. But the summers I can say are just about perfect. And hopefully by the time this one's nearing it's end, I'll be jogging up that hill to my place rather than seriously considering calling a cab. And if I'm lucky I'll get a picture of Bones and the Paddle Twirler to share with all of you.

Later dudes!

Waterland Land

Well, I bet you’re surprised to see this, huh? I don’t know why I haven’t written anything since the first entry. Maybe I was waiting for some inspiration or some wonderful event. The fact is, maybe I was waiting for a less lazy feeling to be overcome by a sense of ambition. Whatever, here goes…

I just spent a week at Waterland Land. For those that might not know where this land is located, it’s in a little town called Windsor, Colorado. About 10 miles from Fort Collins. My bro & sis in law Brad & Stef are raising their 3 children in this small former farming community. Brad & Stef spend their 14-hour days working as a team to ensure the 3 Waterland kids get a great education in and out of school. And on their breaks they run a very successful wholesale petroleum company Team Petroleum. If you ever need any bulk petroleum products, these are the folks to see.

Brad & Stef have had a standing invitation for several years to go out to Las Vegas this time of year, but this is the first time they could schedule the time. Now folks, when I say schedule, I mean SCHEDULE. When NASA schedules a shuttle launch I’m sure it involves a great deal of planning to include each and every minute detail. I’m here to tell you that the NASA planners don’t have anything on Brad and Stef. That’s because the Waterland kids are involved in life. These guys are not taking a sip of life every few days. It’s a big gulp every day. Let me explain by detailing a typical day while I was trying to run things:

7:20 a.m. – Leave the house to deliver Logan and Haleigh to their separate schools.
7:40 a.m. – Drop Logan off and head to Haleigh’s school.
8:00 a.m. – Drop Haleigh off at her school

(Ashleigh takes the bus to her school & catches a ride to gymnastics after school)

2:46 p.m. – Pick up Logan at his school
3:15 p.m. – Pick up Haleigh at her school
4:00 p.m. – Make dinner for Haleigh and Logan
5:30 p.m. – Take Haleigh to volleyball practice
6:00 p.m. - Take Logan to Hockey practice
6:30 p.m. – Pick Haleigh up from volleyball practice
8:00 p.m. – Pick Ashleigh up from gymnastics
8:15 p.m. – Pick Logan up from Hockey practice

Now I left out the work time, cooking time, homework time, cleaning time, washing clothes time, etc. as I am retired and no one expected Uncle Dave to do much of this.. But keep in mind that Brad & Stef are paying the freight on all this activity so they’re still holding down their jobs at Team Petroleum during their downtime. Not to mention cooking, washing clothes, cleaning house, homework, etc., etc., etc.

Also, don’t think that there’s going to be much of a break on the weekends. That’s when the tournaments, meets, and games are scheduled. I can’t imagine how they keep up with everything. I was there a week, and exhausted myself without hitting a lick at a job. These kids are loved, my friends. And it shows. And I’m so proud Brad & Stef asked Uncle Dave to lend a hand. After a brief rest, I’ll be ready for next time.

I hate Spiderman

OK. It was my fault.

Last night was the first Rockies playoff game that I've watched from start to almost finish. During their prior playoff sweeps, it began as kind of a mistake that I missed the start of the games and got interested in something else on TV. While watching whatever else I was interested in I would flip to the game occasionally and check the score. About 4 - 5 games into their run, I started thinking that maybe the fact that I'm not really watching the games start to finish might have something to do with their success. I know this sounds crazy…

Now much like Steven Colbert, I'm not superstitious…just a little stitious. So for that reason I decided that the sane thing to do was to dispel this theory and go ahead and watch WS game 1 start to finish. So I sat down and watched the pre-game, player introductions, etc.

Well, I learned my lesson.

And when I saw Toby McGuire celebrating during the middle to late innings I decided that I should channel my hatred of what was happening in the game into something more productive. Therefore, I swear from this point forward to change my feelings concerning a super heroes. Up to this point in my life, Spiderman was my favorite superhero. Not any longer. I shall never watch another Spiderman movie as long as I live. The Flash is now my favorite. (Specifically, The Flash #2 (Barry Allen, 1956 - 1986). This is the one my mother used as a model for my 1960-ish Halloween costume, complete with silver lightning bolts on the sides of my ankles and head to make it look like I was running real fast. And therefore defying many of the same laws of physics that Barry violated in the DC comic books.)

And I promise to go back to the way I was watching the Rockies during their incredible streak. Specifically, watching something else and using my 'channel back' button to occasionally check on the score.

Forgive me...

Guess what I'm about to do...

Well, in just 5-6 months I'll begin the next chapter(s) of what's left of my life. To prepare, my brother has been kind enough to recommend a couple of books. One by Max Lucado (a fellow Mighty Mustang from Andrews, TX) and another fellow whose name I forget. However, the title of this other fellow's book is the 4 Hour Work Week. I'm about half way through the book, and it has made me question why I've delayed my retirement as long as I have. I think he refers to this delay as deferring happiness. I don't have any explanations...maybe a feeling that I would run out of money, or maybe simply a fear of the unknown. Whatever the reason, I'm starting to dream a little about my post corporation life. And I am excited. I've already been doing plenty of dreaming about what the remaining chapter(s) might be like. And as soon as I pare them down to just a few, maybe I can start a coherent blog. Until then, if you're reading this we're probably related and I would appreciate all positive feedback you have to offer. Otherwise, please follow some advice from a previous generation...'If you don't have anything nice to say, wait until you do before you start talking (writing)'.