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.
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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.
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We make the camp-ground at 5:30, setup, and get ready of the start of our new week. Week number 2.
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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.
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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.
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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