Several years back when we lived in Thousand Oaks, my wife celebrated the upcoming Mother’s Day with a few days away with a girlfriend, I figured to pop a surprise for her return: installing a new faucet for the master bathroom. Several complications soon arose. Previous owners had done some funky modifications to the old house over the years, and one was the drain trap, a strange conglomeration of plastic and brass and mismatched parts. The threads were stripped, and it took four trips to Home Depot to finally get the correct set up. Eventually I had to…
Read MoreI Rest
This wise yet anonymous quote helps me, “Complexity seeks you out. Simplicity must be sought;” I know it’s spot on. The added years merely increase the baggage to carry, in memories, stuff, even friendships to maintain. Our technology gives us tremendous power, but at the cost of having to learn to use the latest innovation or update. Fifty years ago, I knew southern California well, and felt content. Now I’m impacted by…
Read MoreOffer Help
The British Columbia coast can be pretty chilly and cloudy and wet even in the summer, so the sight of a Tim Horton’s restaurant in Vancouver, BC put smiles on all our faces. We parked our six bikes, walked inside, ordered coffee and pastries, and waited for the life-giving warmth the coffee would produce in our bodies.Yet we’d barely taken our first sip when…
Read MoreHope for Today?
Our times oppress us. The war in Ukraine wages on, with news of the first American joining thousands of civilians and soldiers. We’ve seen Mariupol flattened, hospitals bombed. Our country seems in free fall, with inflation and partisanship and violence growing.
Increasing secularism pushes the practice of faith to the periphery. Radicals killed more Christians, for being Christians, in the last century than all combined. A climate scientist just stated that some climate changes may be beyond the point of reversal. You can add your own personal list of concerns.
And many Facebook friends bemoan current conditions, conveying a sense that nothing can be done.
They may be right.
And I don’t…
Read MoreStructure?
I’m embarrassed. Deeply. Soon, you’ll see why. Some time back I posted how I got stuck spiritually, couldn’t figure out the cause, then God intervened in a very good Good Friday service. In looking back, I have some glimmers of the source. Know that I tend to…
Read MoreWhen Fear Cost Me a Beer
In God, a Motorcycle, and the Open Road, Chapter 3 told how I pulled into Groton, Connecticut, looking for a bar to view Nixon’s resignation during Watergate. If you have the book, pull out Chapter 3 to get the story in detail, but briefly, this long-haired hippie biker walked into what looked like a redneck bar, realized he better get out of Dodge, reversed course only to be accosted by a burly guy at the other end of the dark hallway, became VERY concerned, only to discover it wasn’t a burly guy, but my own reflection in a mirror. Yeah, one tough biker!
Then…
Read MoreI Know Boats
Some time ago I sat in a harbor-side café, watching the seals cavorting on the docks, the boats bobbing with the gentle waves. Identifying the various styles and types, enjoying their beauty and the functionality. It came to mind that I know boats. But perhaps true knowledge requires something deeper…
Read MorePlan for Plan B
Over the last five years or so, Brad proved himself as “the Wizard of Waze” on our Gray Hogs trips—he’d enter our ultimate destination, calculate in any traffic issues, add in some stops along the way, and we’d blissfully follow his lead, never worrying nor looking at our maps, just riding. We got spoiled, until…
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