How's the Weather?

How's the weather? That is probably one of the most commonly asked questions unless you live in Hawaii, where the weather is virtually the same every day. In fact, they don't even have news weather and sports. It's just news and sports. And when we do ask the question, do we really want an answer. Well, sometimes. When we run off to Arizona in the winter and we know that every one in Colorado is getting socked with a winter storm, we like to call relatives and ask, "How's the weather?" Then we sit and gloat while they are telling us they had a heart attack shoveling out.

But this year, asking how the weather is really means something. There is no sense to this cycle of 80 F one day and waking up to heavy snow the next. Back and forth. And in the mountains they are still chaining up. There might be something to that saying this year, that if you don't like the weather, just wait five minutes, it will change. You'd think the weather was invented by the Colorado Rockies. Which team will show up tonight. We know for sure it wont be the Nuggets or the Avalanche.

So, how is the weather where you live? Are you sure?

Chaw, Chaw, Chaw

The guy's name was Terry. He and his family had just moved to our town from another town and they attended our church.... for a visit. No matter what anyone else may say, i was not that bad of a pastor. I did my pastoral duty and went to his house for a visit. It's amazing what can happen when you don't announce that you are coming.

For some reason I drove down the alley behind their house, and there was Terry standing in the back yard looking busy about cleaning things up. So I pulled up, jumped out of my car and called out to him. He smiled and waved and i walked over to him. Told him that I appreciated seeing him and his family in church. We talked for a while and I left.

Sure enough they became regulars in church. They were a delightful family and I heard later that the daughter, Robin, had gone on to Bible College.

Then one day, Terry told me about it. He said, "Pastor, remember the day that you came up the alley and jumped out of your car, and we talked for a while?" I said, "yes, what about it?" He said that was the best day of my life. that was the day that I realized that I wasn't right with God the way I should be."

He went on to tell the story that when I drove up he had just taken a big chew of tobacco. Not wanting me to see he had it, he swallowed it. That night he was terribly sick, and throwing up. He said, I can hide it from the pastor, but not from God. That night he accepted Christ as his personal Savior.

I helped to save a soul and didn't even know it. In a way I still wish I didn't because I really don't want any credit. But it was exciting to hear about it. It's the first time I ever heard about tobacco having a role in saving a soul. One-two-three, Chaw, chaw chaw.

You Don't Know Jack!

I am trying to figure out a good reason for a single person with one kid, a freshman in college, to buy a two story single family house. Lot's of yard upkeep, lots of snow to shovel, needs painting, and fence repair. Oh, and the roof and siding need repair also.

Yesterday I was helping this neighbor. I fixed the fence, rerouted her sump pump drainage, and rerouted some drainage. That's when I pointed out some other repairs that she needed. I asked her why she bought this house. And she said it was because of Jack. Jack! Who's Jack? Well, it turns out that Jack is her big golden lab.

She said that apartment buildings, rentals, and town homes would not allow her to bring Jack, so she ended up buying this single family home..... which she might be stuck in for a while until housing prices recover. Now I've heard of doing a lot of things for a dog, but it seems to me that a good house for a dog is a dog house. And, it seems to me that Jack is a little decrepit.

As I was doing repairs she said, "Jack is going away next fall." " He belongs to my son and my son wants to take him with him to college." So, now this lady will be rattling around this big house, and even Jack won't be there. But all the damage he caused will be. Now, I admit that I might not be the sharpest knife in the drawer..... but am I missing something (other than a few marbles)?

Now, look folks, I don't mind helping the neighbor. I actually shovel her walk, edge her lawn, and give her free advice. I do the same for the neighbor on the other side. But somewhere along the line you would think these single women, rattling around in three bedroom, 2 story houses would eventually figure things out, like..... maybe a smaller place in an HOA might solve a lot of their problems. And, shoot.... I come home tired, too!

When Jack finally kicks the old bucket, will he be cremated and put in a box on the mantle. I bet there are a lot of wives that wouldn't even do that for their husbands.

Alone

This living alone thing really stinks! Ya, I know that there are a lot of things a guy can do alone that are fun and okay to do. Like fly fishing for trout, hiking a fourteener, going to and from work, watching a ball game, and..... showering. It's not the going to and coming home from work, it's the empty house once a guy gets home. That really sucks. So, should I join "Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club?" (Beatles).

But, who really wants to belong to a lonely hearts club? Who wants to be lonely? Belonging to a club of lonely people would be worse than being lonely by myself. For those of you who have never been lonely, it is accompanied by a deep ache and longing. There is a void that is not being filled. Call it solitude if you like, but it's not the same. Solitude is a contented aloneness.

So goes life, day after day, week after week. To me it doesn't make a bit of sense. But as Walter Cronkite used to say, "that's the way it is."

Good as Gold

There aren't many things that are as good as gold nowadays. But I know of one thing that is, I mean other than gold, itself. That one thing just happens to be My Starbucks Gold Card! Yes, sir! the card is gold. I had to buy 30 beverages to get this card. And the card does have benefits like, free refills with each visit. So now I can buy a tall (which is a small) for a buck-sixty-eight instead of a Grande (which is a medium) for two-oh-one. Then I can get the free refill (at no cost.... that's why its free). So I can get a hot coffee to go at no cost. Cool.

Hey, I also get a free beverage after 15 purchases, a free beverage for buying a pound of whole bean coffee, a free beverage on my birthday, and a free personalized gold card (the card is not free, I bought a lot of stuff to get it). But the card is as good as gold.... for Starbucks. I got a gold card, but they got my real gold. But the good thing is that coffee helps prevent colon cancer (so I'm told). So, drinking coffee (my favorite beverage) is like an insurance policy against colon cancer. Pretty cheap if it actually prevents colon cancer.

What else can I say? Visit your local Starbucks Insurance Company and buy a policy at $1.50 a cup.

What is it About Drivers Lately?

Yesterday, when I needed to get something done, it was really hard getting in done. I had a home owner who stayed home from work so my crew could finish up projects inside and outside his house. But, alas! My crew leader didn't show up on time. In fact, he was two hours late. And only one of the crew members showed up.... the slowest one, of course.

So, I called my crew leader to see what the hold up was. Well, he had to take his wife to the airport. Something he could have told me on Friday, and it is now Monday, and I need him on the job. A couple of hours later I called him again. This time he had gotten rear-ended as he was leaving the airport and he was waiting for the police. Finally, four hours after start time he showed up. We had some jamming to to to get the job done.

But getting the job done required about four trips to the hardware store at the cost of about $250 extra expense. Why is it the 90 year old guy always turns right in front of me. He's not in a hurry to get anywhere and I am. Boy is he not in a hurry! The other guy that gets in front of me is the guy who just bought a car and has one of those stickers in the back window. I know that he is convinced that the sticker says "must drive 10 mph under the speed limit." Because that is exactly what he does...... creating road rage behind him.

No, don't tell me you can talk on your cell phone and be a good driver. I think everyone thinks they can do that. But I average about 100 miles per day around this city and see lots of people yacking on their phones. None of them are good drivers. They swerve, hold up traffic, make turns without signals, and miss their turns. They try the one handed U-turn maneuver while still yacking and and are oblivious to the guy that is about to broadside them.... me. They also don't see the light turn green and they sit there just Yacking. At least the lady who was changing her baby at a stop light had a good excuse. But she still got honked at.

Well, I do admit that I get my share of speeding tickets. But folks, I haven't had an accident since I was a teen-ager, and that one wasn't my fault. I should get a safe driver award along with a discount. In fact, the insurance company should pay me to drive. All these slow drivers on their cell phones cause the accidents. Well, so do jack-knifed semis coming down Floyd Hill and all the idiots on their cell phones going too fast up behind them...... on icy roads. And also that guy from Florida who rear-ended me at a stop light. He couldn't understand how that happened because he had it in 4WD.

Remember when you could send in 4 Wheaties box tops and 50 cents and get a prize? Well, I think that is exactly how a lot of people got their drivers license. It's a fright, now cars are being manufactured with the ability to parallel park themselves because the drivers can't. What next? .... cars that you can talk to? Oh, yeah, I just read an article where Ford is coming out with those pretty soon, too. At least I won't be talking to myself in the car anymore. I understand those cars will talk to us, too. So, will there be a lot of heartbreak when a guy gets rid of his talking car? Who knows, maybe the new car will have sleeker lines, more comfort, and a sexier voice. His wife will be jealous.

Georgetown

Georgetown is one of my favorite places to go. No, I'm not talking about the university town, I'm talking about a little historic town in Colorado Rockies just about an hour from where I live. Take I 70 west of Denver, and before I know it, I am there.

Here there are some pretty rustic restaurants and cafes. There are rock shops, antique shops, clothing shops, a Christmas shop, an old time grocery store where you can actually buy fishballs (yuk), an ice cream and candy shop where they actually make candy, and a soda fountain shop. Today, I thought I came across and new tea shop. It said "tea" on one side of the sign. So I walked in only to discover a woman's boutique.

What I did discover, though, was a soda fountain shop where you could get gourmet coffee, Ice cream sundaes, a certain amount of candy, sweatshirts, tee shirts, blankets, and an array of other things. The hot fudge sundae with real ice cream, whipped cream, and a cherry on the top was really good. The coffee was ok, but the gossip was superior. The owner told us about various shops that were closed due to tax evasion, family feuds and the like. She told it all in soap opera fashion. Just a minor part of Georgetown history. I also bought a book which I would not have bought had I been anyplace else. You may get bits and pieces of that in future blogs.

If you need a place to relax, do a different kind of shopping, eat in a rustic cafe, or even have a cup of coffee in a different setting, Georgetown is a nice place to go. Bring your camera because you'll kick yourself if you don't. I can't promise you won't get any slivers when you sit down, though.