Gravity is working against me
And gravity wants to bring me down
 
Oh I’ll never know what makes this man
With  all the love that his heart can stand
Dream of way to throw it all away
 
Oh, twice as much ain’t twice as good
And can’t sustain like one half could
It’s wanting more that’s gonna send me to my knees
 
Whoa Gravity stay the hell away from me.
Whoa, Gravity has taken better men than me
Now how can that be?
 
Just keep me where the light is…
Come on keep me where the light is.

John Mayer “This is the most important song I’ve ever written, it's a time capsule song. I will listen to it every day of my life if I need to. It's honest to God the most important song I’ve ever written in my life…..”  ..though a musician, my full-time job is not screwing up….”
 
​ 

Not sure the first time I head this tune was but my feeling would be similar to John’s; probably appreciate listening to this song for quite some time.
 
The day leaving Washington, PA, heading to Washington, D.C, started as most ‘gypsies’- eating breakfast, packing, route planning, making sure the tires are still attached, oil exists in the engine and THEN convincing your wife she will be a o.k. leaving the van hooked to the RV while heading over the Appalachians. Can you say GRAVITY. Hahah breathe
 
Tiff has been fairly freaked out for this inevitability, for some reason. Actually I know the reason, it’s not the machine, it’s the man behind it. Tend to be a very offensive driver which is completely opposite from her approach. Whenever this guy is driving you can count on her grabbing the support handle thingy above her head no less that 1 time every 30 seconds and voicing numerous instructions. Again I have to laugh but here are some..ever heard any of these before guys?
 
“You’re too close to those cars, you’re making me sick, slow down!...cars ahead have their brakes on and your speeding up! ….we have precious cargo aboard!. You make me nervous driving…hands are sweating..” lol.
 
So yes I get it, understand, feel for her and get why she’s probably been a bit consumed by fear heading up and down 5% and 6% grades to get to our D.C. destination..with an offensive driver.  Smiling and chuckling about this actually. She’s a fairly good driver…. but . lol, so the hell am I darn it. Funny.
 
Well It was during this particular point in the journey where once again was listening to Pandora, while the rest of the world in the coach is doing their thing, and when GRAVITY comes on.

First had a chuckle when it did considering uh the gravity of the day.  let alone the gravity on a 14 ton rig pointed down hill. (By the way I did convince Tiff to keep the van attached to the RV..In fact I believe she even found some time to nap after getting more comfortable and realizing we might just arrive safely).
 
The song continued to sit on me the remainder of the day and honestly ever since the moment heading through the appalachians. Finding these words to have incredible relevance to all which has been happening over the past 6 weeks. every turn it seems gravity is trying to pull me back to the way things use to be at home; predictable, comfortable, consistent, changeless, recognizable patterns, similar sights, sounds, smells and spaces. doing all I can, in the words of John Mayer, not to screw this trip up or better yet give up on it. Avoid accepting the status quo and head home. Or worse Mess my kids up, make a mess of work/career, hurt the relationship between Tiff and I ….or or or.
 
So what’s been on my mind for the past 4 weeks? Well  GRAVITY!I ...fear of it. 
and unfortunately not on it was staying disciplined to blog activities. Focus has been spent thinking about surviving and not necessarily writing about it.
 
Over the past 6 weeks, there has a been a broken closet mirror, cabinet, Iphone 6, Ipad Air, 12v lighting, dent on the roof of a rental car they (enterprise) tried to blame me for. Then there's the  traffic in DC, Southern Maryland, Northern Virginia (crazy traffic), constant logistical planning for both work appointments but also the RV and making sure you pick a path which doesn't run you into a low bridge, helping you remove the roof. Wouldn't be good.

One of these appointments included a four and half-hour drive (one-way) and in one day no less. Then a bad hair-cut (from some place called the Mad Hattery or Hair cuttery lol)….. not horrible considering much of my hair is gone so why complain? and then to boot a severely sprained ankle and thus new crutches to add to our “stuff” (one’s I refuse to use...)
 
In the words of George Costanza..”Serenity Now!” Good grief “what are we doing?” is a constant theme. If you think this is a bunch of whining, you would be correct, if you said “this is what you said YES to” you would also be right. If you said “maybe you should just go home…back to its safety, it’s predictability, and where the pull of gravity seems much less?" I would be exceptionally tempted..at times..         

and Then one of these trying days, touched on briefly above,
I start to mingle in a different thought. A new perspective.
A thought about the pull of home and all which comes with
​such an alternative. And guess what the conclusion was…

​...very little difference exists between then and now. Still existing is the travel, the potential for broken “stuff”, bad hair cuts, and even the chance for sprained ankles. House repairs, back and forth between kids activities, collecting more stuff, remodeling this that and the other, keeping up with the joneses. Yes the list goes on and on....sure different but also the same.
 


What changed the thought?
 
Well a Long trip from college park, MD (our campsite) to Durham, NC.  The trip was essentially 9 hours in one day. 9 hours mostly spent in a car and another lunch at.. good ol'Subway. Typical order - 12 inch tuna on Italian, toasted, pepper jack cheese, red onion, banana peppers, jalapenos, pickles, 2 tomatoes and if they have  it....BBG sauce! Yup BBQ. But its not done yet...request to have it cut it in half, wrapped separately, eat half as the other half comes home to hear the kids say! "Subway again Dad?!". And they laugh. it's kinda cute
 
So Why do I do it? Why make the decision for this day trip? Well Because this is my portion of the adventure right? my responsibility, my cross I guess you would say. And  the need exists to take advantage of it and just do it. A great chance to meet potential clients, within their time frame and not mine, which was traditionally the case when scheduling travel from KC. Time was limited by air travel, hotel stays, and purely just limited opportunities because of the desire to be back home sooner than later and why the want to keep travel time short. Air Travel that is. The family was always on my mind but in a sad a distracting way sort of speaking. Constantly thinking about them and knowing I would not be coming home for a couple of nights. the feelings would tend to knock me a little out of focus and why maybe not always on my A game.
 
These responsibilities, challenges, were weighing exceptionally hard this particular day heading south to Durham. traditionally during such trips the radio is rarely on...just too much noise honestly. But for some reason it was turned on and not FM in this instance. what was chosen was AM. I guess you could say it was Some "thoughtful" listening to be certain. uh a little of the "Good News". tough to say this this is exceptionally rare for this guy..but again the radio is hardly ever on regardless of programming.  Well whatever, i did and it was and The message being spoken about was on "works" and specifically Proverbs 14:23. Basically whatever you are doing, the good, the bad, the indifferent, horrible jobs, etc. you should give it all to the glory of God.
 
Hearing the story line changed my thought pattern little by little over the course of the rest of the trip, And quite honestly ever since. What remembering this passage each day is doing is causing me to look at situations, things going on in my life, from a different angle.
 
Occurring is a different outlook? slowly going from a negative pull of gravity and instead moving towards it. releasing the pull. going from thoughts and focus on myself me(I) and have started to see the magnitude of the path we have been on. what we are doing and what learning is happening not to mention some pretty cool changes; events and sights not previously really thought about or recalled the way they should be probably.
 
What has been missed during the last 6 weeks as a result, and now remembered?

• thousands of miles of beautiful country-side

• incredible history lessons
• seeing my kids growing right in front of my eyes
• sunrises and sunsets in no less than 10 states in 6 weeks: Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina and one District of Columbia
• And the best of all, friendships have been started and feel some which will exist for a lifetime- this goes for relationships being built while working as well as during my off-time. Let me give you an example

• Betty, Nick, and Jake    Iowa- not even sure where to start. Love you guys.
• Lauren E                        VA - Wonderful person and family no less
• Scott and Angela-        Wisconsin - Incredible people and family! Lifelong friends
• Tiffany I-                       Wisconsin - just a real nice person
• Chris H -                        Ohio - Where do I start- Amazing guy. highlight him more shortly
• Dan and Tara,             Pennsylvania - Certainly lifelong new friends!
• Marc and Julie -           By way of Australia and Colorado. Super cool couple
• Larry -                            Virginia- Great mechanic I surmise
• Steve Ex-Marine-         DC - Hero
• Bob n daughter Erin  OH   Super Neat people. met at the Honor Flight Day D.C.
• Meg and Eric -            Pennsylvania. Neat neat family
• Greg H -                      North Carolina - He and his wife have the RV desire. Started with his wife!
• Leonard and Felisa -    Indiana - Retired entrepreneur and just wonderful people
• Amy G-                        Indiana-  Nice conversation with Amy about live concerts attended. Again just a nice person
• Zhacklina -       Buckle sales gal helped me spend $300. Incredible singer by the way.

                  Check her out  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-D6fdxMWsk

• Helena -           Virginia- Proud new mother. Wonderful person
• Ajay -               Virginia Great IP and Patent Attorney

eeing all of this from a different angle how can I not be grateful? Why whine as much  as I do? Pretty damn lucky to be where we are- with family and friends- new ones and old ones..
 
Because it's important, I wanted to focus a little further on both the Proverbs passage previously mentioned but also one of those new friendships. This someone was probably the reason for turning on the AM station that troubling day on the road.
 
quick shout out to one of my best buds, quite possibly it was you Dave that started it all. You on my mind offered me a reason for  opening up to Chris that day and 'witnessing' a bit. THANK YOU Davey C. For our friendship and continuing to not give up and "work" on me. Maybe finally figuring out I can't do this on me own and never could!!
 
So I met Chris H. on a business appointment in Ohio. Chris is the CFO for a sizeable and growing design/Architecture firm within the community. The conversation yes revolved around business but also our story as it was sitting at the time. Chris seemed to be genuinely interested in our conversation as it pertains to our travels and the situation with schooling the kids. so we continued. He highlighted  he and his wife Shawn also home schooled their children, how they enjoyed it and why it was determined to be the best decision for their family.
 
Furthering the homeschooling topic we talked about support structures around today, much different from when they embarked on such a challenge, and when it was highlighted Tiffany's support repository coming from some of the gals at church back home. Next thing you know we are talking about church in greater detail. Who would-a thunk...
 
This is when Chris opened up about his ministry outside of his role as CFO. It was an amazing story. See Chris ministers to men incarcerated for life! Some of them have never been free to be exact and never will be. One young man we talked about was actually born in a woman's prison and then transitioned to youth jails, because of bad choices, and finally into a full-fledge prison for MEN. Sad.
 
Tough to fathom the story of that young man. The tragedy of it all. It was like a story out of the Batman and the character BANE. It was a heavy discussion and also amazing coming from a guy whom I had just met. What an incredible person. What was even more amazing was his comment that many of these men are brilliant and just made bad choices much of what was modeled to them as young men. Sound familiar? for all of us regardless of whether or not we are in the federal pen; habits and traits learned.
 
Why mention all of this?  because it's important and has to do with this feeling of gravity in my life and the feeling of change around it.  In fact it was on this day, when listening to the message about our "works" , when I thought of Chris and his ministry.
 
It will probably serve best if I show you first-hand the dialog which started via email with Chris. No doubt it has roots in this blog discussion and it amazes me the depth of it all. Not like me...to open up and share such feelings let alone with such a fresh relationship. Somethings going on.....
 _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
 
From: Dawson Fercho
Sent: Monday, November 16, 2015 9:41 AM
To: 'Chris H'
Subject: Chris, Thinking out loud
 
Good morning Chris. Hope you and Shawn are well. We in fact are still in DC until Saturday and then onto Roanoke Rapids, NC until we move onto Charlotte for Thanksgiving. Had to reach out on a topic that resonated with me this past week.
 
First I had a business trip to Durham the other day to meet with a firm by the name of XYZ. It was a long drive back and forth in one day…9 hours to be exact and really took a lot out of me.
 
I traditionally don’t listen to the radio during my travels in that much of it is noise and quite honestly like to use such opportunities for thinking. This day however  happened to turn to the AM dial to pick up some thoughtful listening. The message was on “works” and specifically how to bring God into that which you are doing in your day to day career. The message was about ..your “works”..and how ALL of it should be gone into for bringing glory to God….. and if you look at in such a perspective the drudgery, monotony, the repetition will dissolve. The specific passage discussed was proverbs 14:23 “in all toil there is a profit. Yet mere talk tends to bring poverty”.
 
The discussion hit me pretty hard considering the morning started quite early on the road and did not start the greatest. It was exacerbated with traffic almost the entire way to Richmond. Was trying to find joy in that moment and was questioning  the drive and what I was doing driving so far from home sort of speaking with no clear understanding of whether or not the decision to do so would prove fruitful.
 
I then thought about your ministry and those incarcerated for life in many cases. The message had me think - how do these men release themselves from the reality they will, in many cases, never again breathe air as free men. How do they handle such a reality of confinement, locked into a daily routine with very little joy? I trust this passage is one of the only ways to serve their time with a perspective of joy.
 
Then thought, regardless of whether or not I/we as free men, not prisoners to the Fed/state system, are still in some sort of ‘jail’ if our perspective of daily works is focused on the monotony  of it all, focusing on just ourselves; if we do not go into our daily lives by giving our works to the glory of God.
 
So appreciative to have turned on the radio that morning. It put so many things back in perspective for me. Brought me some joy and comfort in my travels.
 
Have a great week Chris.
 
All the best,
Dawson
 
 ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
 
 From: Chris: Monday, November 23, 2015 2:54 PM
To: Dawson Fercho
Subject: RE: Chris, Thinking out loud
 
Dawson,
 
Sorry I am tardy responding to your email! Wow, your thinking out loud is coming across loud and clear! I hear what you are saying and it seems to come back to the question of our purpose in life whatever our circumstances. As a follower of Christ we do have a purpose which is to worship God and to learn to enjoy Him forever. (John Piper says we are called to worship God by enjoying Him forever.) Whether one is in prison or out in “free society” I have learned (and as you suggest) that we are all “in prison” to something. It is just much harder for those of us outside of prison walls to see the “walls” we place around our own hearts. Many times those walls are invisible to us, yet they do exist and constrain our sight and ability to find true joy in life which really only comes from faith in Christ. We have had these kinds of conversations with inmates many times. How does a person in those circumstances find joy and purpose? I like to be reminded of this saying: “Jesus gave His life for us, so that He could give His life to us, so that He could live His life through us”! If we can be reminded that God desires to work in and through our lives, then we can see there is a purpose regardless of the circumstances we live in (whether incarcerated or free). We all have relationships with people who need to see Christ in our lives. You are a terrific example of that. You bring great joy and enthusiasm and passion to your family, friends and even the people like me who just met you. That is a gift from God, to all who are blessed to be part of your life. So do not be discouraged. God is at work in a big way in your life. Keep on keeping on!
 
Chris
 
 
Wow what a perfect message for me at this moment. Something to carry with me for a lifetime.
 
Thank you Chris, thank you all who we have met during our journey thus far, thank you Dave C., thank you Thor-SEE, and Wags for your enduring friendships, Thank you Evan & Sarah, Thank you Kids, Mom,Dad, Haylie & Kass. And finally Thank you Tiffany Dawn. Incredibly grateful for all of you!
 
D

The first handrail was recognized in history when a French archeologist uncovered a ruin in southern Iraq in the city of Nippur. The handrail, and it makes sense, was/is designed to be grasped by the hands, no kids not slid on with your butt...though its fun, and to also provide stability and support. Im curious as to why such a simple yet, when you think about it intentionally, such a perfect tool grabbed my attention deeper this week.

After leaving Madison we headed down to Springfield, Il for the weekend. I would finally have a couple of days off and get to enjoy with the entire family a few days of exploring before heading to Indianapolis for the following week. Weather was perfect, campsite was also, and the weather...also..perfect. Started Saturday evening watching the Royal Blue win an incredible game 6 to advance to the World Series for the second year in a row. Pretty cool way to start the weekend.
Next day was pretty packed after waking to a nice and crisp saturday morning . Started with a work-out outside to include some jump roping. Really starting to like it. and then breakfast with the fam. honey bunches of oats i assume. Tiff has tended only to break out the eggs in the evening but it works then also. Our first destination is honest Abe and basically where he lived before his presidency. 20 years I believe. Also recall them having said all of his kids were also born in this particular house. 4 to be exact. 3 having passed away before he and his wives demise. Sad times for sure. couldn't imagine. 

I had been through this tour before but never really 'saw' it the last time I feel. it was on a business trip and believe something took in over lunch. kind of nodded my head. Similar to Chevy at the Grand Canyon probably. This time was different.

These tours are pretty efficient and they have to be. the close courters and the historic level of these house "things" means everything is roped of and you are reminded constantly to be very careful not to touch such items including the. the tour guides highlight how oils, dirt from our skin, exposure to the environment, etc. works against the longevity of such history...i guess is their feeling. maybe true. I know how my house looks with all the kid's "oils" on the walls, crown molding etc. destructors. haha.  So like any tour the experts try to bring you back to their time and not just ordinary people yall. We are talking one of the, if not the, greatest president of all time. honest Abe they say. The story this time around was rivoting to me. All the way down them highlighting how Abe really enjoyed laying on the floor. I remember because I myself love to lay on the floor. It's not unheard of me to not be able to fall asleep at nights until I make a bed on the floor. What is that all about? No idea. Ask Tiff and she will highlight I may have slept on most the floors and some point time in our marriage. Some not intentionally i would have to say if you catch my drift.

The simple nature, yet surely upper-middle class, of how they lived and survived was amazing. The things we take for granted like..uh..electricity for example!

There was a place in the tour however that really grabbed my attention, no not the bed pans or the outhouse. not even the view-a-matic machine . This was also the only time during the entire tour where the guide actually permitted, and in fact insisted, you could touch and use something in the house. For  the sole purpose of safety. Yup it was a handrail.... leading upstairs to his bedroom.

What gripped me are the memories of what must be embedded in that highly used piece of curved oak.
A support mechanism that our 16th president used on a daily basis through good times and bad. I think of the late nights, the weekends, days after work, evening after a dinner of social gathering, kids wife and guests also. Oh to be the proverbial fly on the wall. What an incredible and historic man yet using his home like the rest of us. then I think of today and those in politics. There is unfortunately no one similar in our modern realm.

Here is a guy who grew up in a 1 room shack in the country, taught himself to read, think he was even kicked in the head by a horse (wasn't listening then maybe). and all his "hand railings" supporting him through the years running upto the Presidency and achieving being one the most powerful men in the world at that time. And not a pleasant time to be such a person I should mention; no different than today. Makes me think about the politicians of today and privilege. Maybe why we haven't since such character in a man/leader because their "hand railings" in life. Brass instead of wood.

The memories and stories which must have flown through this man and at times leaving such historic marks on the path to his upstairs where he hopefully could find some normalcy, comfort...even if it meant the floor that evening. never really looked at a hand railing in such a way and never will again.

It got me to thinking about the hand railing in my new home- the RV and the marks we have already left on it. The excitement, the troubling days, the optimism of tomorrow. I trust it will continue to support us the rest of the way. brought a screw driver just in case.

The day was really a great day progressing through the Lincoln Presidential Museum. An really cool cool experience. Not short corners taken in its presentation. Again a tremendous learning and nostalgic experience. We then moved onto Frank Lloyd Wright's "The Dana House". Another design effort of his in the 'Prairie' Style of architecture. It was made that much more enjoyable having been through his museum in Madison. This work of art was actually one of his largest and most state of the art implementing electricity. Again a tremendous house, story and certainly many more hand rails but now in the hands of Ms. Susan Dana Thomas. I couldn't help but thinking about the parties she through being in high-society at the time and those that frequented her home.

The day ended with visiting the Lincoln memorial and burial site and then back home. The next day Sunday we were on our way to Indianapolis. Wonder  whos hand rail we will visit next.

Between the time "Story- What's Yours?" was written, and today, for some reason got to thinking about the island of Japan. what drove the thought was its size. more specifically what if we were Japanese and decided to travel around the island and in similar fashion to the current situation in front of our windshield? Well consider the area of Japan is just slightly smaller than that of the state of Montana. That means our "adventure" would be exceptionally short comparatively speaking and we would be back at home, in our beds, before the World Series is complete..... just thinking out loud [chuckle]

Last we I left I had just finished dropping Summer off with the Ahlman's and headed back to the hotel  for the day getting started for the girls. specifically Tiff, Franki. Mena, Sarah, Charlie (Chuck) and Kennedy (Chewey) nails, hairs, dresses etc. While Q, Evan, Brad and I chilled at the hotel. The wedding was to start at 3:00pm on the shoreline of Lake Kegonsa and the Kegonsa Country Club. Beautiful place and tremendously beautiful setup. One item very noticeable was the sun but also the "wind" out of the north (there that wind is again) and the temps?.... around 50 degrees not including the added chill. Chilly chilly chilly. And yes the wedding was outside under heavy shade from the trees. It was scarf weather! The week prior...80 degrees. Ouch.
​
Nonetheless the setting was beautiful. All those in attendance were sat and waiting on the bride to be. The younger attendants all came down first. Simply precious. my daughters and nieces..all 5 of them and deciding otherwise to wear their shawls. To see them fight through the weather, lips turning blue. clutched fists, eyes of inquiry to mom 'can I please sit down...' from a couple of them but man did they "girl-up" and fight through all 40 or so minutes. As did my sister the bride. She was so stoic and beautiful.  It was really a captivating service; thought about more clearly once we were all thawed out by the fire post-vows. Dinner ensued and the normal  accoutrement- pre-beverages, family pics (back outside mind you), dinner, dessert, dancing. To see all the ferchos, millers and New' Schmits' at one party was an exceptional.

For us the evening was a decently early one. We were quite a few miles from the hotel and had an early and busy day ahead of us. We needed to get back on the road heading to chicago. Q and I actually did  sleep in the hotel which was kind of nice. The plan was for me to get up early and relieve the sitters of our pooch though not as early as when I dropped her off the morning before; having been 7:45am. So I hit the road to get there by 8:30am. none of the family desired to rise and shine to go with me. I was a bit disappointed because I really wanted the entire family to meet the Ahlmans.

I get to their home about 25 minutes later and no one but no one is up...just buddy the dog and all he did was stair at me through the window. No barking. Amazing. And guess what...Scott's phone was going directly to voice mail and low and behold their home also did not incorporate a door bell! how nice. Kind of like phones use to be without call waiting; a busy signal. "you'll just have to call back. Well that is essentially what I had to do having no other way to notify them I was in fact at their front door. Quite honestly it was the best thing that could have happened. Now I would be able to go back to hotel and when ready bring with me the entire family and the RV.
So we said all our goodbyes and got on the road once again back to the Ahlmans.
 
The kids and wife were in awe of the drive and certainly the drive up to their home.  I believe we arrived at 11:30am or so. The plan was to meet, chat and then hit the road to chicago, only about a 2 hour drive, nice. It ended up we were there until almost 4pm! and oh what a time we had.

Their kids and ours were seen very little upon arrival and after first introductions. Girls went four-wheeling, Max showed Q how to play lacrosse, then they all switched activities, boys flying drones, 4-wheeling around the 20 acres, doing art work what have you. They had an absolute blast ...all of them. Tiff and I had no less a great time learning more about our new friends Angela and Scott. Truly neat neat people.

Through all of my years I have rarely met an individual who has said they knew, instinctually, from a very young age, who and what they wanted to be when they grew up. See Scott is a race car designer-engineer. A race car designer! he works  for the likes of Indy Car, Nascar, Mr. Andretti himself, Rousch Racing.  you name it he knows them and they know him. He highlights on numerous occasions the long work hours but summed it up profoundly how time passes quickly not feeling as if its "work". For him it was his dream and thus more fun than work. Pretty darn cool. At one point Scott and I were on the deck, over-looking their huge meadow, when we see Tiff and Angela walking the dogs down at the edge of the property 300-400 yards away. I can't tell you enough how at home we felt with the Ahlmans and in such a short period of time. It was certainly destined for us to meet them.

Next thing you know the gals are back and Angela asks of if we would like to stay for lunch. But of Course! I had honey bunches of oats it seems just the other evening. hahah. Lunch was wonderful and after, the tour of their home and having Scott talk through the intricacies and thoughts that went into the design were amazing. Scott and Angela actually both architected and engineered their own home-makes sense-their background and discipline).Further story and conversations ensued. Simply icing on the cake for the close-out of our week. I thought about this later....they actually missed the start of their beloved Packers game for our 'intrustion'! Sure they were taping it but....

It was now around 3:00 o'clock roughly 3.5 hours from our arrival time. Man time moved so quickly. Like we were destined to meet these amazing people and not stress ourselves with future destinations. Then Q jumps into the house "hey dad we got the drone stuck in a tree and its way up there!". Scott and I head outside and yup it was much too high to climb. We would chalk this up as a lost drone. Maybe it would come down some day. Then received a call from the camp ground in Marengo, Il. "Hey when were you planning to show-up today? The offices close at 4:00pm!". well there was no way we would make it but oh well. We did get the number of our temporary sight so we would get there when we get there.

It was still however a sad clarion call that we had to get going. Needed to say our good-byes and "hope to see you guys again". Count on it Scott, Angela, Mattie, Max and Buddy! Count on it. What an awesome wind that blew us in their direction. Couldn't have happened sitting home in KC.
​
We make the camp-ground at 5:30, setup, and get ready of the start of our new week. Week number 2.
​
I think I will stick to driving around our country--if it were Japan the 'story' would have ended to soon.  At times I have wished we were only traveling a border just smaller than the size of Montana.... the winds of change still working on me i guess you would day. BTW Scott emailed the next day and the drone and fallen out of the tree...but still could not be located. someday...someday.

The word story comes from the word history. Did not know that.  Furthermore originally all stories were considered to be historical or true. Essentially story is telling your history to someone. Pretty cool when you think about it. I heard it also stated that the universe is made of up stories not atoms.

Story has been on my mind lately mainly because most people ask us to tell them the story of why an RV, why a year, why such an adventure? How did and where did it start? We oblige all those who ask but what has turned into a story about us has turned into us learning about others, and their  STORIES, and in turn changing ours!. How fricken cool!! In fact the word "cool" isn't remotely close to how cool IT is.

Since the last I sat down to 'story' we had reached Wisconsin, conducted my weekly business travel, kids visited capital and other sites, as we moved closer to Friday. Friday for all intents was a day-off leaving the state park and heading to the hotel La Casa Holiday Inn.  When I entered our 'suite' I was firstly amazed by the size of...everything. Never noticed a hotel room could feel so large. Haha. Suffice it to say it was a nice break for the fam. The out-of-the-normal kid pool for a Holiday Inn was also a plus.

Again this holiday inn was the staging ground for my sisters' wedding the next day. upon arrival the Kids swam (all they could really do considering it was 11am - room would not be ready until 1pm) during which Evan (my brother) and I headed to the local liquor store [makers and some two-hearted], then best buy (for a second xbox one controller- necessary right?), gas station and then back to the RV. RV was in fact parked in the Holiday inn parking lot without all the electric, water and sewer-stuff. This is what you call boon-docking. The issue is that the weather for the next 2 early mornings was showing temps around freezing and nothing ever contemplated by us. To have the plumbing freeze now would set us on an undesired path. The solution? Dawson sleeps in the RV and keeps the generator and heat on.... oh the joys. More on that later.

Back to sisters evening. Rehearsal dinner. Was good to see familiar faces as well as new. I couldn't help but reflect that HaylieJo (the bride and my sister) was only 10 years old when Tiffany and I first met. Now I was looking and this mature and beautiful young woman about to change her 'story' forever. So so happy for her and Matt. Oh the tales they will build together. To say I was a bit distracted by the Royals game, first game of the ALCS (look it up if acronym confuses you), would be an understatement. Q and I continued to break-away to watch the game in the adjoining bar. At one point was so distracted I managed to have tabs at both the rehearsal dinner bar as well the adjoining...

night finished with some last inning royal watching in the RV with Q and brother Evan. Tiff and the girls slept in the "huge" hotel room while Q, Summer and I brave the RV. which in all honesty worked out pristine. Outside was cold however, with the generator rolling and the furnace pumping, Q, the dog and I knew very little the difference in sleeping arrangements.  
Saturday rolls around with much to do with girls playing a significant role in the wedding, hair, nails, dresses and the ilk. My responsibility? Bringing the pet to the 'baby sitters' for the evening. No this holiday inn was not pet-friendly. But you know what...it was the best choice we could have made...because our story just got that much better.

Other than Haylie Jo,  Tiff and I knew of no one in Madison who could potentially watch Summer for the evening. Yes we looked at doggy? however, part of my story, on an off between the years of 1992 and 2001 I lived in Colorado and where I had the pleasure of meeting life-long buds from the state of Wisconsin. Neenah, Appleton and Lake Geneva to be specific. Barts (jeff), Sweny(Chad) and Ebbers(Chuck). Who would have thunk the Vikes and the Pack could find common ground in frienship. Though we have all since moved on in our respective stories we stay in touch. Enough so for me to at least ask if some of them knew anybody close to where we would be and have the ability to sit summer. 

Well Bartley  came through in spades and in ways I trust he knew instinctually. His buddy Scott, and the Ahlman family, lived essentially 20 minutes from our stay at the holiday inn. Better yet they have a dog, 20 acres of land and two kids the ages of Franki and Q. Could it get better? you bet. I drive out early saturday morning, to meet Scott and his family, to hand over the family pet. The drive was really cool through farm-country, sun still low in the morning, and no one but myself, or so it seemed, on the road. honestly Wisconsin has such a feeling all over the state in my opinion. It was extremely enjoyable.

Turns out Scott is just one of those guys, at least in my case, where you feel like brothers from the git. Maybe its because we share common friendships and stories to tie all of us together tangentially speaking. Scott introduced me to his family- Wife Angela, Son Max, Daughter Mattie and dog buddy. Angela even offered me a breakfast burrito which happened to be off the chart delicious. I knew instantly, when we were to pick summer up the following day, the whole family had to meet this special one also. How much could we learn from their stories and vice versa.

I left feeling fully confident Summer was in great and caring hands. No doubt about it. I drive home down the same beautiful country road while patting myself on the shoulder having made the decision to stick with my gut, meet Scott and his family, and trust them in caring for our dog. What would have happened if I made a similar decision as my sister to change hotels, more dog-friendly, and missed out on such an opportunity? Not saying my sisters decision was of a lesser one, as I know they learned and enjoyed the decision and what it accomplished in their stories, but for us this choice will be transformative for our family in so many ways. Ways not yet known let alone contemplated. New Life-long friendships at the top of the list.

​.....STORY  to be continued...tomorrow..or the next day. Still so much left for Saturday. tired.

u


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Cassiopeia is a constellation in the northern sky, named after the vain queen Cassiopeia in Greek mythology, who boasted about her unrivalled beauty. Cassiopeia was one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd-century Greek astronomer Ptolemy, and it remains one of the 88 modern constellations today. It is easily recognizable due to its distinctive 'M' shape when in upper culmination but in higher northern locations when near lower culminations in spring and summer it has a 'W' shape, formed by five bright stars. It is bordered by Andromeda to the south, Perseus to the southeast, and Cepheus to the north. It is opposite the Big Dipper. In northern locations above 34ºN latitude it is visible year-round and in the (sub)tropics it can be seen at its clearest from September to early November in its characteristic 'M' shape. Even in low southern latitudes below 25ºS is can be seen low in the North.

Many years ago I first I learned of this constellation and probably in fact the word "constellation". Dad had just showed us his new toy and I thought it was one of the craziest contraptions I had seen and pretty cool also. As he taught us of the night sky, and these bodies called constellations, I paid close attention to this one so closely named to my sister (Kassandra). Over the years I could pick it out of the sky very quickly when asked or when offered to others as a display of my intelligence to those with "lesser" wisdom. Haha. As the years have rolled on I've lost such ability and in fact find very little time to awe and/or revel about the night sky; nowhere near like when I was a boy. Outside of the Big Dipper, such memories, knowledge and reverence, have been tucked far far away in the recesses of my brain.

So when Tiff asked me the other evening "have you noticed the stars in the sky the last few nights?..They're beautiful!" My answer was  ..ah no...have not seen them. What about the drive up to Prairie Du Lac to see Bryce and his family? ..did you notice  the trees changing colors?" Ah....not so much. I did notice the bath house at 6:45am this morning taking a shower. Noticed the cold. noticed having to leave for yet another 2 hour daily road trip. keenly aware of another subway lunch....

As this blog content started building in my mind I contemplated these questions from Tiff. Why was it my answers were "no" so quickly considering, since getting into Madison, I have seen much of the country side...well at least many miles of Wisconsin roads. See we arrived in Madison Monday, got the RV setup sort of speaking, and then Tuesday morning headed over to the local friendly Enterprise Rental car location. Why...because this guy has appointments in Lacrosse 2 hours NW from where we now sit.

So Tuesday afternoon I head north for appointments at 3 and 4pm. Then turned around and came "home". All said some 274 miles in one day! Then back working from the RV Wednesday and then Thursday appointment in Kiel and Appleton Wisconsin. All in one day, once again, and all told roughly another 200 mile day. We are talking close to 500 miles over 2 days of driving this beautiful state of Wisconsin yet did I notice more than road? the "stars" in the color of the leaves? Sure I noticed some of it having commented to its brilliance during my appointments. So yes I had to have seen right?...but did I really "SEE" it's beauty or just notice it occasionally and with a lack of awe and appreciation? I would guess the later.

But there was a prescient moment experienced during the drive into Kiel, this small and beautiful town in eastern Wisconsin, which set me back into an area of better perspective. Getting me close again to some wonder in my life maybe. Some necessary Awe

The morning sun was very bright and why I needed to use the visor in the truck to cut down the glare. The wind was blowing again pretty hard and why both hands were on the wheel in the proper 12-3 position. ok probably not the right position... Anyway all of a sudden notice a reflection on the visor coming off my wedding ring. A pattern looking almost identical to Cassiopeia! Close enough to have the memory of it so long ago hit me right between the eyes. It moved me enough to slow down, possible considering this was a remote country road with very few cars on the road but myself, and when I attempted to take a picture of it while on this remote county road MM, XX, AB, or was it MN?? Who knows. Again it amazed me and why at that moment I also thought of my wife and her question of seeing the stars, and thinking of her ability or better yet her alignment with beauty in the small things in her day. I thought of her the rest of the trip. More specifically thinking about how could I get away from the drunk monkey in my head, worrying about this that and the other, and to get closer with her and the kids on this journey both in mind and spirit...not just body.

Struggling a bit with this massive change I guess you might believe and you would be right in saying so. Man how comfortable I must have been in my day to day before.

After my last appointment in Appleton I headed to see a long time friend in Neenah..about 15 miles away. While driving through the city I saw a church and felt compelled to pull over. Why... I have no reason but I did and once parked, walked to the church and proceeded to go inside. The doors were open and upon entering felt no one but me was in the entire building. I proceed to walk into the chapel. Again dead silence, lights off, only the sound of wind from outside (there's that wind again).  Let me highlight quickly this is absolutely out of character for me..the pulling over and walking into a random church, let alone the time I spent there. I was like "what the heck am I doing..other then maybe trespassing...can you do that in a church ?!"

I proceeded to walk to the front of the church and kneel down to offer up some questions; some having been posed already in this blog. I knelt for awhile and then sat in one of the pews. Next to me were a hymnal and a bible. No I didn't start singing...lol. But I did pick the bible up and open to Kings something or nother. I thought maybe I would get some kind of message from Him as to what I was doing there as well as this crazy trip less than a full week in. I read very briefly Kings and nothing came to me. Then I flipped to another section and came to Matthew 21 18-22. The message was crystal clear.

18- early in the morning, as Jesus was on his way back to the city, he was hungry.
19- seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, "May you never bear fruit again!" Immediately the tree withered.
20- When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. "How did the fig tree wither so quickly?" they asked.
21- Jesus replied "Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, "go, throw yourself into the sea, and it will be done
22- If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer."

Ah ok wow. awe! I knew now exactly why HE pulled me over.

Thank you for the message of the STars Tiffany Dawn. Truly believe it set today and the happenings in motion. Love you. hang in there with me.
​
Signed- Faith.

Bridges of Madison County. Check. Field of Dreams. Check. Driving down our first dirt road un-intentionally. Check. Breaking bread for the first time with one of your “best man’s” parents having never met before and parking in their driveway for the evening in Bernard, IA before heading to Madison. CHECK CHECK CHECK!
 
Before highlighting the stops yesterday I need to talk about the wind in Iowa. Maybe you think about it when riding a bike or walking outside in the morning. Trust me when I tell you this guy was crystal clear noticing the push of such wind on a body frame let alone the realization of such a wind on a 11W x 13’H X 37’ (add on an additional 15 or so feet with van and hitch) behemoth. Lord watch over us today please! The wind was crazy as you can surmise and driving was nervous at best. Ultimately my wits needed to be about me in droves. Thank goodness it was only about a 2 hour drive north to Madison. In fact the trip was pretty straight-forward if you count dancing on the highway with a 24k+ vehicle structure thingy. “go to your happy place…”
 
During the entirety of the trip I kept Q checking the score of the Royals game. This was their final chance to extend their play in the American League Divisional Series against the Houston Astros. We started off 2-0 but then Q alerted me to the fact it was now 6-2 in favor of the Astros and late in the game…like the 7th inning. 25 or so minutes later Tiff asked if the game was over too which I stated
“ basically- they just did not have the magic they did last year. Dissappointing”. Then the next you know a buddy-co-partner texts me..”what a game!”. Im like what and ask Q to check the score. 6-6!!! Top of the 8th and still only 1 out with bases loaded.
I move into high gear, all while driving!.
 
Turn on the generator (so we have power), then instruct Tiff to turn on Direct Tv NEED to catch the game and fast. It takes awhile for the sat to be found, cable comes up, instruct Tiff to hit channel 219 and game is on!!! Driving down the road..still. Fortunately and unfortunately, now having processed all of my actions, there is a ,right up-front-top and center, a TV!! Yup game is on in full force and I am glancing at times to see what is happening [both on the road as well as the TV]. Cheering, Adrenalin pumping. Amazement. Telling myself how cool and what a fair-weather fan I am. They do have the magic…its me who does not…
 
Anyway, and rightfully so, Tiff is saying pay attention or pull over! Great idea. I do in fact pull over on an exit ramp. Perfect fit. We’re stopped and proceed to take in the rest of the excitement and including a home run  by Eric Hosmer, in the top of the 9th no less, to make the lead 9-6. Flippin nuts.
 
What a pretty neat and nervous experience. In hindsight my decisions, regardless of the blowing wind, was naïve at best. Should never have been so emotionally tied to such convenience (cable that is) to jeopardize such a precious cargo. Certainly a lesson learned. I did however learn another start addiction I will call it. Cable and the internet. Holy smokes am I jone-zing for such convenience. The camping spot where we are in (a state park) is either to overgrown with trees to reach viewing of the southern sky or its because its over cast, and thus NO cable! F.  
 
Now, because we absolutely need internet right, I purchased an ATT hotspot- the velocity, loaded with 30 gig of data. How much have we used in 2.5 days? 3.5 gig. That means we will be out in less than 7-8days (is that math right!?) regardless all I keep hearing is the sound of “Glug glug glug”..drinking data down likes its an IPA. Then the anxiety really sits in. Am I really that addicted to content? You damn right I am. We even talked about switching from a State Park to an KOA so at least we have a cable contingency plan if the satellite on the RV does not connect. LOL. Isn’t that horrible! What are we going to do is what I am thinking? A year with limited cable and internet? I’m seriously going to freak out.
 
These “winds of change” are going to be my demise; they’re going to irreparably blow me of course- Shoot they already have. The bloom is somewhat off the rose (is that how you say it?). But after getting a grip, starting with a Silver Bullet, I realize how profoundly chained down by these technologies I must be to be in such a state to have that part of my life and believer or expect that NOT to change at all; not a sacrifice I even contemplated. Why can’t everything just stay status quo a little longer? Ill do this when I am ready and only if I have cable and internet….  Yup a bit sad to say the least.
 
Then I think about where this “wind” thus far has brought me/us and when I start focusing on the “wagners”. See these Wagners (Nick, Betty, Alissa and “The Man-Jake”). What a great bunch of Americans. Just salt of the earth people with a very special SPECIAL gift. His name is Jake Wagner! And yes he was a gift to us and always will be.
 
I knew of the Wagners for many many moons having known their son Scott. We met in Denver and in fact Scott stood up for Tiff and I’s wedding.   Wags has been a pretty damn good friend. A friend I will know until I am 6 foot in the ground for sure and then lives afterwards if so blessed.
 
As a result of having met “wAgs” (again winds of change at work…maybe they’re not so bad after all) “ he made a comment when we were talking about visiting “the Field”. ‘Hey my parents are exceptionally close to Dyersville’ too which  I said “well then we need to meet them”. Balls in motion as they say. They would be our Sunday stay before heading north. RV parked smack in their driveway.
 
Sun going down, beautiful sunset btw, we reach our destination with jumping hands of joy. Flagging us down from this farm road, directing us in, was our very first joyous introduction to Jake Wagner!! Nope never met him before. Only seen him and the Wagner clan in pictures.  Not sure if I or my kids have ever met such a damn special person. At the ripe young age of 30 he has probably done more than most of us have ever thought or dreamed to have done in the vein of meeting people. People of all shapes and sizes, statures, pedigrees. Monastery monks, Bikers, Head coach of the Iowa Hawkeyes, not to mention having a hawkeye hat signed by all the players. He manages a semi-pro baseball team, holds down a job in ‘town’, helps on the farm but most importantly brings spice into their lives daily and in spades. Talk about a windy individual.
 
The man has done it all and all with a sense of joy and appreciation I know for certain. His parents in fact threw a surprise 30th birthday party for him and who showed up?...over 200 raving fans of Mr. Jake Wagner. You know what he proceeded to do before the festivities got on their way? Thanked every last one of them first. No kidding. What a fricken, not contemplated by most, genuine and appreciative jester. He is a man and a human all should strive to be. I trust he would win over hands down even ISIS.
 
He is Non judgmental, non confrontational, just love and joy. Why is it so hard for all of us lesser human beings? I surmise filters. Filters of “judging books by their covers”. Jake is not that guy. See Jake was born with Down Syndrome and what a force of “wind” he has brought into the lives of all those he has touched. Now including us!! The Ferchos. We are just that much more blessed by the change he has infected in us all. What a knock-out cool experience. The Wagners and Mr. Jake.
 
We have met long-time family In the Wagners for certain. In fact, having called Mom-Betty as to our successful arrival at Lake Kegonsa, I mentioned to her that we already MISS them. Genuinely. We are now in the mode of remembering to face time with her Nick and Jake. They brought some home and warmth to our trip.
 
Needless to say wind is just wind, not good not bad, just wind. But with the right perspective you can’t help but be blessed by it all, it’s force of nature. Just need to be aware of it and grab all of it. Add it to your story, good bad and indifferent.
 
Speaking of such an occurrence..the bath house (to shower and Shave) at the camps grounds. But let’s save that tale for  later. It was yet another learning experience for all of us. Man if I don’t keep the right perspective, just mentioned, I am going to fail miserably on this journey. Need to remember to put on my Jake super-hero uniform for sure. Thanks Wagners and ‘special’ Jake. You guys were a great beacon on our journey.
 
D

Left for the great beyond today, Saturday with some destinations known while others have yet to impress upon us I guess I would say. All in due time.

The morning was hectic to say the least when you consider we were still packing late Friday into the evening almost early morning. Was a festive Friday with friends and family pitching in for the last minute packing, kids out of school for the end of the first quarter,  preparing and eating food, which would have eventually gone bad had we not, All while celebrating my sister in laws birthday, Happy birthday Shanda Moon, and having a few beers and watching the Royals try and survive the ALDS a bit longer. Exhausted, shoot also forgot the festivities the night before at the Royals first play-off game- not an early night either and why at midnight, after everyone had vacated, we head upstairs. I mentioned to Tiff that so much looked to be left for the morning. She asks "how much time you giving us in the morning before you want to leave?" I say noon. Well Saturday, and noon Saturday, came like a flippin shot. Seemed just moments before Tiff and I were "game planning" to do just that - this was like 7:30am. I have to laugh at myself in hindsight as I recall mentioned to her that I was going to ride my bike and work-out first.  Whatever. Never happened. Not a chance. Again I laugh looking back at such a suggestion.

Saturday events. game planning with Tiff, blow out the sprinkler system, run to 10,000 auto parts for a spare light I see is out on the rig, load all the bikes on the rv, printer and office stuff, all the toiletry craziness, coffee machine, toaster, blender (have to have my smoothies), fishing poles, cooler of beer, nose trimmer, smith & Wesson, etc etc. Back out of the driveway, meet up at school, to hook up the van, say last minute good-byes, yes....pictures..goodness, and the off-go. Then it hits you! you have left the dock, hit the highway with it type of waves and look at each other and say "we are really fricken doing this...I mean really!" un flippin real. Katie Bar the door. But ya know what it was also really nice just to get going. After the first 30 minutes wore off I was as comfortable as I have been in months. Time slowed down, noise slowed down, concentration and dreaming took over (yes I determined you can do both at the same time). The right lane today was one of the best experiences I can remember before. You see I rarely ever drive in the right lane. Who the hell would? Its to damn slow..right. How fast can we can there? no stopping to pee, fast food, go go go...so we can get there. sound familiar? Sounds so familiar to my/our every day lives. Race to get going in the morning, race to get through the day, race to this soccer game or that baseball game, race to get some food..you get the picture I trust. Get into the merge lane and then get into the left one as soon as possible.

Well as luck would have it that was not my day from the minute we left all those great friends and family at the school. It all dissolved away, though not entirely because you do think and realize the fricken cool people we have in our lives, Wow. Blessings out the ying yang. But again the noise did abate. it  was really kind of nice just letting others fly by you, move out of there way, and their race to wherever it is they are going in their journey. Again not accustom to such a pace but it was nice. relaxing and therapeutic having just the last few torid weeks we have had. Shit two weeks? every week. Whew.

We are now setup for our first evening. Van did great, tiff made some egg sandwiches, we cracked some suds, walked the dog, friend from Iowa came to visit, still currently in our kitchen btw chatting like old times with Tiff (thanks for stopping in Heather! So great to see you and congrats on your engagement!), girls in their bunks chillin, while I sit in our bedroom, thinking of the day, drinking a goose island IPA, watching the Dodgers Met game, and writing of our first day.
​
I know it looks grand, and it was, but I am going to try and give you the authentic "us" this trip. Facebook, and I believe others would opine similar, never seems to crack the veil of exact truth. Not saying all the pics and memories viewed on facebook aren't authentic (they most likely are) but there are pictures and thoughts many care very little to share. I get it. On the other hand I want to be real and show you we are all broken at some level. we all have our demons, we all have our fears, we all have challenges, and inner dreams and why everything is not always a prestine FB moment. Heard it said once- honesty is not always synnonomous with truth. ...so in that vein I gonna give it the ol collage try and be truthful.

..?'s 'last' game was to be last Sunday at 5:00pm. before leaving Q dropped on us his buddy Brady wanted to come to the game. We sat and waited while he went home to clear it with good ol dad; mom was...who knows.. Getting hair colored or something worthy of being away. For some reason it was taking longer than I liked and started to ask myself "what the hell is going on? We got to go (southern accent inserted". Next thing you know Q comes back and says Brady is afraid to ask his dad cuz he's sleeping. He's afraid he'll get PO'd. And I'm like "po,d. Who gives a chit. He's a dad...we're supposed to be pissed off. Lol. Wake his ass up and ask him. Let him be ticked." Again.."we got to flipping go!"

Fear ultimately won in and good old Kent got his nap in I assume. So We take off for the game and I get to thinking about my comments, because I did voice to Tiff the above sentiments, and thought "do I believe that?"dads, are we wired to be pissed off all the time? So I dive into further contemplation and yup...I'm pissed a lot or complaing about something which also equates to the same (being PO'd). Shoot I feel like a younger version of Walter Matthau from Grumpy Old Men at many times. Or maybe more Jack Lemon. Or maybe even Scrooge himself and thus I'm getting weighted down by all these burdensome chains of life. 

So why? Is it nature? Is it nurture? Was it a meme I learned from my good ol dad or was the condition learned through trial and error? Meaning it's worked to my benefit being pissed. Try it here. Try it there. In this circumstance and this one. Then I think what could possibly be the benefit? Benefit of them understanding I am still Mustafa. King of this jungle..hear me roar? Encouraging myself that I'm still very much relevant? I'm kind of a big deal. I'm Mr Burgandy? 

So stepping back to the soccer game Schtuff, which started this whole train of thought, We get to the field just behind the coach.  Most the other boys are then showing up  early as usual. We find the field "number..cause there are like 76,000 fields...ticks me off"  and proceed to find our spot in the proverbial meandering lines of parents waiting to take claim to their vantage point for the game. Tiff and I then noticed some confusion with our coach, as the boys followed him to the players side of the field. Craig was walking back and forth and finally came back to our end. His comments were at first a bit funny and then yup I was pissed off again. You see we just learned Q's last game was to have been at 10am and not 5pm!! Craig inadvertently switched his two sons game around in the scheduling. Damn! Now his 'last' game is 10am the same morning we were to leave for THE trip. Good grief.  Pissed. haha

Craig was visibly and verbally ticked. I had to chuckle. I both resonated and felt pity for him at the same time.

Lol yes he was pissed. He's a dad. Should be.right? Welcome to the club..Dad. Get in line. 

Well I'll tell you what. If I act like Jack lemon our entire trip we will certainly hit an iceberg. And just like the character Jack Dawson(ironic huh), I will freeze and drown at the same fricken time. I need to find some inner peace..a better role model. Someone better to emulate. Maybe like Mr. Hand (relaxed "your eating pizza on my time."). Or maybe be more like Richard Simmons, ok not him...he pisses me off. but maybe Dustin Hoffman from meet the fockers, ok not exactly him either. But someone better, more consistently chilled.

Shit the best trips I have ever had in my life were because of intentionally tuning out the noise...the bitching and worrying about all the stuff back in suburbia. Actually being present and ok with it. Even just ok is better than being grumpy all the time! Not .

I know.. I'll do daily affirmations Stewart Smalley -style. Ok right to over the top. But I know this shit. You get back in return what you most think about during your day , ok not in all aspects of life..haha..no I'm not complaing  it's all about perspective and energy. Think good. Think Og Mandino- sure it's raining, which could suck, or I could take from it that such a day cleanses my soul. I think I will it that way again. I am getting tired being Scrooge and carrying all these made-up chains in my mind. 

7 days and counting. Serenity now.  

I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and dog-gone it, people like me! Thanks Mr. Smalley!

D

Never really gave much thought to the number 2…why would you. Certainly more recognized (and feared) numbers than ‘two’..right? For example “she’s a 10”, We’re “number 1”, party like it’s “1999”, unlucky “#13”, sign of the beast “666" and certainly Gods divine number “7” ( also happens to be Fletch’s street address some of you might recall haha). So with all of these superior examples why would you remember, or better yet, even notice the number 2?

Well, not sure why but this guy has! And I mean a lot. More specifically it’s the number 2, 22 and  three times over.. “222”. I believe the first I started noticing this sequence was a result of still being awake in the early hours of the morning, 2:22 am ugh!!

So the question I have is this.  “Is there an underlying meaning tied to noticing a certain sequence of numbers over and over and over again?”  If you ask My wife she would emphatically say “yes, you bet there is a real and distinct reason”. She would call such occurrences “divine intervention!”  “seeing Angel numbers- more importantly a message from your guardian angel.”

That’s all fine and dandy, is always my first reaction, but now it’s got me wondering… is she right”? Is there something to her point? 

As I mentioned I haven’t been sleeping well over the past 4 weeks or so..maybe longer. (Fairly easy conclusion now understanding I have been noticing 2:22 in the am consistently) . The issue is my mind. So many darn things on my mind these days running up to and preparing for this saga in front of us. Who am I kidding…I always have crazy things going on in my head so I can’t absolutely place the blame on our impending “adventure”. But the mind certainly has been exacerbated greatly as a result of this milestone fast approaching us. Things I’ve never contemplated before like a 12,000 pound vehicle sitting in my driveway, which I know very little about, 300 Square feet of living space for 5 humans and one 65 lbs canine for an entire year!  Working on the road during this quest, a fridge half the size of our in-home, let alone No BEER-fridge in the garage! 1 bathroom, 1 shower and the list goes on and on and on. Now that I think about it why couldn’t those numbers be “2”? So again I haven’t been sleeping well and have noticed the 2:22 am a number of times, enough times to seem extremely odd. But then I started noticing 222 all over the place. Invoice number 222, Our average electric bill over the last 12 months (and no I am not fibbing, Had to check for our friend and house-sitter during our excursion), and the average monthly bill you ask? Of course $222. Then I noticed a prospect I was calling on the other day and guess what? 222 Design Solutions (or something like that- the 222 was there for sure). Again this is starting to  get kind of weird; Enough so for me to take notice.

So is Tiff right? Is there something, someone, some THING, trying to point me in a direction of contemplation? As a result I started to further ponder Tiffany’s evangelizing these “Angel” numbers and decided to do a little investigation. She is so passionate about it so why not humor her. The investigation took me down a interesting rabbit hole. Again for the sole purpose of finding some reasonable answers as to whether there existed some importance to these numbers 2, 22 and 222. Things that I might just not know about the number 2; shoot how many unique “things” about the number 2 could there actually be? I’ll bet I would find only two….

Firstly, without any help from dear old www. I pulled off the top of my head some trivial utterings of the number 2. And lo and behold.  ‘ I Double-dare you’ ‘It takes 2 to tango’, ‘Like 2 peas in a pod’, ‘lock stock and 2 smoking barrels, ‘2 sides to every story’, 2 sides to every coin.  ‘2 eyes, arms, legs, hands, ears, feet and for the guys…..   But also what about ‘ying and yang’, only 2 teams in the Superbowl, World Series, Sumo Wrestling Championship, and just now, watching the Royals and Mariners, heard just announced Robinson Cano hit into his 22nd double-play for the year and guess what his player number is? Yep 22!!! Holy. See what I’m saying. Oh Oh and I almost forgot. Actually started writing this confounded blog post last night ( by the way this is not easy..it’s actually going to take me 2! Days), while again watching the Royals and  they flashed the teams magic number for winning, for the first time in club history, the Central Division in the American League. Guess what that magic number is? 2 ONCE again. Nuts.

So back to some serious investigation. Back to this Angel number stuff. I proceed to climb further into the proverbial hole (stop laughing Thorsen) based on Tiff’s recommendation and continued my investigation here http://sacredscribesangelnumbers.blogspot.com/2011/07/angel-number-222.html  And wow!

ANGEL NUMBER 222
Number 222 is made up of the attributes of and energies of the number 2 tripled, making number 222 a very powerful vibration. This number carries the attributes of the numbers 2 and 22, the Master Builder Number that resonates with ancient wisdom, vision, idealism and transformation. Number 2 lends its influences of faith and trust, encouragement, attainment and success, adaptability, diplomacy and co-operation, duality, service and duty, balance and harmony, selflessness, faith and trust and your Divine life purpose and soul mission. Number 222 has to do with balance, manifesting miracles and new auspicious and timely opportunities.  

When Angel Number 222 repeats in your life you are asked to take a balanced, harmonious and peaceful stance in all areas of your life.  The message is to keep the faith and stand strong in your personal truths.

The message of repeating Angel Number 222 is that everything will turn out for the best in the long-term.  Do not put your energies into negativity – be aware that all is being working out by spirit for the highest good of all involved.  Angel Number 222 is also reminding you to keep up the good work you are doing, as the evidence of your manifestations are coming to fruition.

Angel Number 222 is a message of faith and trust from your angels.  Know that all is being worked out for the highest good of all involved.  Remember that nothing happens by chance and everything happens for a reason.  Maintain a positive attitude and you will find that everything will have positive results and you will receive abundant blessings in Divine right timing.

 Angel Number 22 is a message from your angels that you are to take a balanced, harmonious and peaceful stance in all areas of your life.  Stand strong in your personal convictions and act accordingly.  You have a great deal to achieve, and with devotion and inner-wisdom you will be able to successfully manifest your desired results.

Upon finishing I sat back and scratched by head. Was pretty profound for a guy who has been fighting all these exact recommendations, insights, and thoughts. I have been the epitome of a grumpy old man lately. No doubt about it. So Is there really a guardian angel, one just for me, really telling me to chill out on this journey by showing me the numbers 2,22 and 222 constantly!!?   “Hey Dawson- ‘222’- “I’m trying to voice to you to relax, have faith, trust, all things will work out, stay strong, nothing happens by chance. 

Well…maybe there is some merit to this Angel thing.. and why not? All kinds of crazy things are happening, have happened, to others on this crazy planet. Why not this Fercho tjen?

Regardless of whether it’s real or not I think I'll take the advice. Can’t hurt. Why not go at this from a different perspective. It certainly can't make things worse.

Until later, and in the words of Chuck Woolery (remember him..the Dating Game dude), talk to you in “2 and 2”

Dawson