DMV

Last Wednesday Katlin, Kathy and I went to the DMV to get new driver’s licenses. Since we moved we needed to get new licenses that show our new address. Now here’s an interesting place: the DMV. It’s up there with visiting the Bus Station and the Dollar Store after dark. The DMV is one of these places, that at some point in time everyone has to go there – and eventually everyone does. This place was packed out with all different kinds of people (present company included). As I sat and looked at my old driver’s license, I realized that I hadn’t been to the DMV in 13 years. That’s how old my license was! They just keep sending me renewal stickers in the mail and I just kept slapping them on the back of my old license. I forgot what an experience this place can be.

There were some very interesting people to say the least. Since I love to sit and watch people this place was perfect (Airports are great too). What struck me about this place is that every person was there because they had a problem. I was sitting near the counter where everyone checked in at so I could hear all the conversations. First there was the guy who pleaded his case with the receptionist on how he lost his license due to too many tickets. She smiled, told him to take a seat and explained that he would have his opportunity to explain his situation. Then there was the guy who lost his license years ago in another state because of DUI’s. He hadn’t been driving for many years and now needed a license for his new job. He was frustrated by the dead ends he kept running in to and turned to his friend and said “They gotta know I’m not that person anymore, I don’t do that stuff anymore.” His friend patted him on the arm and reassured him by saying “Don’t worry, we’ll work through this”. Or there was the young Muslim lady who sat next to me talking on her cell phone to her insurance company. She was trying to find out how she could get her vehicle registration out of her estranged husbands name. The person on the other end of the phone must have said that she would need to contact him. The young lady became upset and said “That simply won’t be possible. The judge ordered that there be no contact between us due to domestic violence.” But what I enjoyed the most was watching the three little girls play. Stair stepped in ages from 1 to 3, they were poorly dressed, wore no shoes and the bottom of their white socks were black as coal. One had a hole in the end of her sock and her little toe was poking out. But they didn’t care they played and had a big time. Completely oblivious to their circumstances and environment they smiled, laughed and enjoyed each other to no end. The long wait to conduct our business went by quickly watching these three little girls have fun.

In between all of the activity we talked. We started talking about kids and responsibility. My wife is very passionate about this subject. So much so that when she started voicing her opinion, the pitch and volume of her voice started to rise. I looked around and noticed people were staring and that we had become the “interesting” people that you watch at the DMV. Once she realized what she was doing she stopped and I settled uncomfortably in my seat. After awhile we somehow got on the subject of candy machines. While were doing so I made a hand gesture as if I was getting something from a vending machine. But it wasn’t like I was getting something from one of the fancy new button type of candy machines. It was one of the really old types that were around when I was growing up. It was the kind that had the bar that you pulled towards you. (If you’re over forty I’m sure you remember them). After I made the hand movement Katlin imitated my motion and said “What was that all about?” I must have looked confused because he continued by saying “That thing with your hands and the candy machine, what was that all about?” Realizing that he had never seen one, I explained to him that candy machines haven’t always been push button. He sat there with a yeah-right look on his face and his mother chimed in and said “He’s serious Katlin, they haven’t always been electronic.” He then realized that we were serious and he was only able to manage a subdued “Wow”. After I finished looking at my son, I noticed that we had once again become the center of attention and all eyes were on us. I then realized that we were the freaks. The ones everyone watchea and warns their friends about. “I saw the weirdest family at the DMV today, they freaked me out.” If you hear anyone say this after a trip to the DMV then you know we were there.

Besides the long wait (well over an hour) I really didn’t mind going to the DMV. In a really weird way, it was kind of enjoyable. I don’t care to go back anytime soon but it was entertaining. What was interesting is what I thought about on the drive back to work. Here’s a place where everyone has to go, no one is exempt, that is if they want to drive. It’s a place for all types of people, color, income, social status, weirdo's, freaks, business types – none of it mattered and all are welcome. As I was driving I was thinking wouldn't it be great if our churches were as open and accepting as the DMV? Don't worry what you've done or how strange you appear to others, just come and bring your problem. Come on in and have a seat...Jesus will be with you in a moment. Church of the DMV? I doubt it would catch on...

Piece of Work

I’m a Jimmy Buffet fan. Normally I like most of his music. I bought a Jimmy Buffet CD several months back, that unbeknownst to me, were country songs and duets with country singers. I’m not much of a country music fan (Sorry Keith). Actually, I really don’t care for the CD. However, there is a song by Toby Keith and Jimmy Buffet that I can really relate too. It’s called “Piece of Work”. It’s about guy who feels...well…I’ll just let a couple of verses speak for itself.

I’m a piece of work, I’m iron and lace
I’m shy, I’m right up in your face
I’m dumfounded, stubborn as an ass,
Sharp as an arrow in a pile glass.
I’m a sweetheart, genius, reckless jerk.
Lord, have mercy. I’m a piece of work.

And…

I'm wicked, holy, full on fake
Best known for my big mistakes
I’m zen wise, peaceful, gone berserk
Good God almighty. What a piece of work.

Like I said, I can really relate to this song. Let me say that in our house the term “Piece of Work” is not necessarily what you would consider a term of endearment. Actually, we use it to describe someone who is usually a full-on disaster. Someone who doesn’t have a clue and that we just can’t figure out. “What’s up with (fill in the blank)? She’s a real Piece of Work isn’t she?” or “Why did (fill in the blank again) do such a boneheaded thing? What a Piece of Work!”

However, like the guy in this song I find myself feeling the same way. I am amazed at what a walking, talking, contradiction in terms I can be. How one minute I can be singing a song, happy as a clam and then I can stub my toe on the bedpost and cuss like an alter boy. Or how I can exercise extreme patience with "big things" and then lose it over the "smallest thing". How I can read a story that will just break my heart and bring me to tears, then I’ll turnaround and waste 3 hours watching something completely stupid on TV. My personal favorite is when I think of the human condition and feel compassion and empathy for my fellow man and then turn around and give the finger to the guy who just cut me off in traffic. Don’t misunderstand me: I’m not uncomfortable with who I am. I’m just amazed at who I can be. Good, Bad or Indifferent…I can be a Piece of Work.

I guess what all this simply means is that I am who I am. I’ve long since come to terms with who I am and am very comfortable in my own skin. I’m simply a dude whose natural side can get the best of him at times. Again, don’t misunderstand this is not a complaint, but what I am capable of doing does surprise me at times. I guess that’s the part I'm okay with - being real. Well at least as real as I know how to be. And in the pursuit of being real, I realize that…

I’m a piece of work, I’m a love sick boy
Cloth cap, caviar and corduroy
All over the map, just lost in space
With a filthy mind and a choirboy’s face
Heels up, head down, straight on through
Watch out woman, I’m a get to you
I’m a gladiator with a mind to irk…

I’ll see you later, I’m a Piece of Work.

Life or Something Like It?

There is a good reason why there is a picture of a tombstone with my name on it. I'll get to it in a minute, so don't be freaking out. I'm still here, at least for the moment. Like I said in my last post, Kathy and I went to church conference earlier this week. One of the speakers (Mark Balmer from Calvary Chapel Melbourne) had a lesson on Tuesday morning that has really got me thinking. He spoke about how we don't take time to reflect upon how we are living our life. He used the following scripture from Ecclesiastes as the basis of his lesson.

"It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of every man; the living should take this to heart" Eccl. 7:2

He then took this scripture and paraphrased it to say something like "It is better to go to the cemetery and think about your life and how you are living it, then to go to the best party." Again, that's not exactly how he paraphrased it but it captures the essence of what he is trying to say. He said that reflecting on our lives in a cemetery causes us to think about our death. And that thinking about our death helps us think about our life. I realize that many of us have spent way too much time in the cemetery saying good bye to loved ones. I'm not making light of death nor do I have some morbid obsession with death. Actually, it's my hope that it's the opposite, that I have a healthy obsession with life and making the most of it. Anyhow, he went on to say that there was a survey that asked the question "If you could live your whole life over, what would you do differently?" Keep in mind that this survey was compiled over many years and did not specifically target people of faith - it was taken by people of all different kinds of backgrounds (religious and non-religious). The number one response to this question is quite interesting. He said that the overwhelming majority of folks responded by saying "I was too busy and didn't take time to think about what I was doing with my life." Too Busy - Didn't Take Time - Didn't Stop to Think - isn't that the truth?

As I sat there listening to him I was reminded of something I had heard before. I was told that when you go to a cemetery to pay careful attention to the tombstones. If you look carefully at the dates on the tombstone, you'll usually see something you've seen but never really thought about: the little dash between the two dates. (I know my picture doesn't show one) The dash can be easily overlooked in favor of the two dates on either side of it. But the dash is the most important part because it stands for the life the person lived and everything they did and stood for. It's not the date we were born on or the date that we die that matters. What matters is how we live the dash in between. The challenge we all face is not to waste our lives on things that don't have any real importance or value. So what's important? What's of Value? What Matters Most? For me, it can be found in the words Jesus spoke when he said "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Love God and Love My Neighbor - This is what "the dash" should represent.

Now I haven't been to the cemetery to ponder my life...yet. Nor have I went and looked at the dash on any tombstones. However, I have recently spent a fair amount of time looking at the picture above this post. It is the tombstone of my Uncle Ronnie, my dad's brother. I was named after him, even my middle name. If you notice he was only 13 months old when he died and he died on Christmas Day. It's a very sad and tragic story. I'm saving his story and how it affected my life for another time. Anyways, it is a very strange thing to look at a tombstone that has your name on it. Perhaps some of you have had the same experience. I believe it has the same affect as going to a cemetery and thinking about your life or pondering the meaning of "your dash". It puts life into perspective and helps determine what's important. Looking at this picture helps me determine what's important.

Now as most of you know I'm not what you would consider a "Deep Thinker". My point is simply that I realized that I don't stop and take the time to think about what I am doing with my life. I can get so caught up in living life that I don't think about how and why I'm living life. All I'm suggesting is that we stop and think about our lives and how we are living it, think about your dash. Here are the last couple of lines from a poem entitled "The Dash". I find it to be very appropriate.

For that dash represents all the time
that he spent alive on earth, and
now only those who loved him know
what that little line is worth.

For it matters not how much we own;
the cars, the house, the cash.
What matters is how we lived and loved
and how we spend our dash.

Loooong Weekend

We got home last night from our trip to Merritt Island around 6:30PM. Let me back up in case you didn't know or forgot. Monday was a holiday (MLK) so I was off, in addition both Kathy and I took Tuesday and Wednesday off. So that gave us a rare five (5) day weekend!! It was great. We had a "normal" weekend on Saturday and Sunday. Then Sunday evening around 7:00PM we left for Merritt Island, Florida - Which is near Coca Beach (Kennedy Space Center). We went to a conference with our friends from our church. The conference ran from about 1:00PM Monday until noon on Wednesday. After the conference ended yesterday, we drove home. While we were gone, Katlin stayed with my parents and Kiel kind of split his time between our house and my parents (Thanks again for keeping an eye on them Mom).

I have got to tell you that the conference was outstanding. We have only been going to our new church for about a year and half. This was an excellent opportunity for us to see what the Calvary Chapel movement was all about. I must say that the teaching and worship at our church and the conference are probably the most relevant that I have experienced. The style in which The Word is taught is non-threatening and meaningful. There was one partlicular speaker at the conference who did the morning devotionals that really, really spoke to me. I'll talk more about what he said in another post but suffice it to say it's all I have been thinking about it since I heard it. It was awesome.

Besides the conference itself we enjoyed hanging out our friends, Rob and Robbie. It was the first time we had spent any real amount of time with them. I'm sure they are "Cravatta'd Out" and are probably in some type of 12 step program recovering from the time they spent with us. But we really enjoyed hanging out with them and getting to know them. We really enjoyed going to dinner with them (or eating lunch in their van) and picking their brain about the Lord and Calvary Chapel. They really love the Lord and are very knowlegable about His church and ministry. Plus they are alot of fun to hang out with, not the stuffy church type. I haven't laughed that hard in years as I did at dinner on Monday night. All in all, it was a great break with a great purpose and with great people. I hope that we have the opportunity to go again next year cause it is worth it.

Hope everyone is well and enjoying the New Year. I have several things that I want to post in the near future. I've had a few thoughts on my mind and since the conference I have a few more. So I'm going to try to be better about posting to my blog. I'm even considering giving this blog a face list and spicing it up a bit. We'll see - all depends how ambitous I'm feeling. Right now I'm not ambitous, I'm tried. The Tylonel PM is starting to kick in and I'm beginning to fade. That's enough for now, my bed is calling my name.

The Blur

Here is a picture of Katlin playing his drums. Kiel took this picture with his Palm Zire and then Katlin messed with it in Photoshop.

At a Loss

Kathy and I sit here thinking that we should probably post something on our blog. It's been a week since we posted last. But we don't know what to say. Nothing interesting has happened. Well...we did have grilled ham and cheese sandwhiches with soup for dinner...Does that count? The soup was "mystery soup" cause we're not sure what half the stuff in it was. It was Progresso Barley something Beef Vegtable....let's just say we'll see the corn again tomorrow (if you know what I mean).

My (Ron) dad's birthday is this Sunday, I believe he is going to be 64. We are going to go over to my parents on Saturday night and celebrate. My mom will be making Beef Stroganoff and a Salad Dressing Cake. Then on Sunday evening we (Kathy & Ron) will be heading to Merritt Island (near Cocoa Beach) for a church conference. It starts on Monday and goes through Wednesday and we'll get home sometime Wednesday night. While we're gone Katlin will be staying with my parents. Not sure what Kiel will do...I'm thinking that if he wants to eat he'll probably stay at my parents too.

(10 minutes later after being distracted)
Well Kathy and Katlin are wrestling so I need to go break them up. She keeps grabbing his thigh and yells "It's the other white meat". I won't even tell you what they are doing now...you wouldn't believe me if I told you.

This Just In...

Katlin has just announced to the entire family how sexy he is. He has informed us that he is by far the sexiest member of this family. Without him and his sexiness our family would only be a "two" on the sexy meter. According to Katlin a "two" is about as sexy as Liza Minelli or Bill Nye "The Science Guy". I for one am thankful for his contribution to the family and bringing up our collective average.

That's all. Just thought you might like to know what Kathy and I have to deal with. Any delusions we had on raising semi-normal children have disappeared. The picture beneath shows exactly why Katlin feels the way he does.

His Sexiness

Katlin demonstrates why he is the sexiest member of our household. I see what he means....

Back At It...

Well the holidays over and it's back to work and school. No more staying up late playing video games or sleeping in past noon...right Kiel and Katlin? The slugs, err boys are back in school...sorta. Actually Katlin went back today - new semester which means new classes. Kat seemed pretty pleased with his classes and feels his classes are a bit easier than the 1st 18 weeks of school. Kiel registered for school today and classes actually start on Thursday. This will be his last semester at Gulf Coast and he will graduate in May. He goes in tomorrow for a transcript review and to buy his books for his classes. Hard to belive he'll be finished and moving on. We are going to go check out UCF next month for a couple of days.

Both Kathy and I are back to work and are trying to get the family back into a routine. The time off from work was great but it sure is hard to discipline yourself when you haven't had to for a couple of weeks. Oh well, it was fun while lasted. Hope everyone is having better luck than me going back to work....

Happy New Years!

We just want to take a moment and wish everyone a Happy New Year! We had a pretty quite New Years eve, we went to an early movie, dinner and then our church for a bit. We were home and ready to watch the ball drop by 10:30Pm. We each had a glass of Bailey's an fell asleep shortly after midnight, I think we're beginning to show our age. The boys stayed at the church and got home around 2:00AM. Kathy and I went for a long walk this morning and when we came home she made breakfast for all of us. I don't think we'll do much today - watch football and piddle around the house. Pretty quite. Again, have a safe and Happy 2005!!!