Life with The Swell Guy!

The Saturday Ride

It's great to have a few guys out by the lake that ride road bikes.   We had a good time spinning on Saturday.

Sunday Post Note:  Yes, we had waffles before church on Sunday!

Happy Waffle Iron Day!

The origin of the waffle:  The waffle dates back to the 1300s in Greece. Greeks cooked flat cakes between two metal pans. At the time, they topped it with cheeses and herbs. Pancake syrup wasn't around back then.

What?  You don't have time to make waffles today?  Go get you some Waffle House!

Speaking of Waffle House....you can listen to "Waffle House Songs" right here!  Who can forget "844,739 Ways to Eat a Hamburger"?  What a classic!

Photo:  Tarzan's Waffle Supper, Universal, 1938

It's great to have visitors!

 

Thursday defined a perfect road day....

Cool morning air
Open roads dappled with sunlight
Good music
Business completed
Home for dinner 

The Bug

I was out spinning around town during lunch yesterday and noticed an old VW Bug.  No, it was not one of the New Beetles with the cute looks and the little flower vase up front.  It was one of the old bugs that you still see now and then.  It was the same color, red, as one I once owned and it brought back a few memories.

The fall that I left home for college I sold a well maintained 1970 Pontiac GTO and purchased a 1970-1/2 VW Bug.  It's hard to leave 8 cylinders and 4 barrels of pure power and go to something that you hope can make the hills of Pittsburgh at 55 mph, but I knew I could not afford the gas and operating cost of the GTO while in college.  The bug had charm, quirks, and at times annoyed me to death, but it got me to graduation on time and through the courtship of my wife, so I do owe it a little homage.  Here are a few of my memories:

• It developed an electrical short so that high beam head lights worked on one side of the car and low beams worked on the other side along with a few other lighting quirks.  I could not figure out the problem and the local "European Car Specialist" could not, so he recommended a complete rewiring of the car which I could not afford, so I lived with it.  The local police pulled me over a few times late in the evening coming home from work or seeing Denine, but eventually they just flashed the lights as I passed and let me go on.  I'm sure they called me "Old One Eye".
• The gas tank which was in the trunk in front kept developing leaks and I could not find a replacement tank since it was a "half year" model (this was way before we could find anything in 2 seconds on Ebay!).  I kept pulling it out and taking it to a body shop to have metal patches brazed on, but sometimes the torch would cause more pinholes which drove the welder nuts.  The gas guage quit working during this process so I had to start figuring fuel consumption by "hours driven" which is not completely reliable.  This lead to a few walks at inconvenient times since I refused to stoop to carrying a gas can inside the car.
• Lots of things could be repaired with simple little kits from the auto parts store.  For instance,  the fuel pump rebuild kit was a gasket, an flat piece of oval shaped rubber and an oddly shaped stick that extended into the bowels of the engine.  It felt cool making these repairs.
• The forced air heat was almost nonexistent.  This is not good for winter in Pittsburgh.  On cold nights coming home from work I often iced the inside windshield because I could not drive fast enough between stop lights to keep the car defrosted.
• Things I could not fix myself included the brake lines which rotted out and had to be replaced and the body which began falling apart around me as the winter road salt took it's vengeance.
• It was great for parking in tight spots.  I had a "private space" near school because I could squeeze in under a bridge buttress next to the river.
• You have to admit, the sound was distinctive and kind of cool.  It almost felt perfect to be rolling along with the front windows down and the back windows vented when the weather was just right.

I asked Denine last night for her three favorite memories of The Bug.   Here is what she said:

Hmm, let's see.

1.  Knowing that my parents hated your noisy car and that you had to catch it in gear when you left late at night so not to piss them off...

2.  The time we drove to church in the rain, me wearing a skirt and water flying up through the hole in the floor board. I believe my legs were soaked/we laughed about that one.

3.  Making out in the very small back seat of the bug. No further comment. (Editors note:  We were married!)

So there you have it.  Good times.  Good memories.  Do I want another bug?  Nope.

Where I am supposed to be....

I loved this post from Beth's blog.  Denine and I miss her.  We look forward to each e-mail and post back home.  It's been quite an experience for her from the beginning.  Here are her words -

Sometimes when I find myself discouraged, tired, stressed, or lonely, I look at this picture. I remember why I am so very far away from home this summer. I am convinced that there is no where else I am supposed to be right now...no where else but Africa-Kenya-Nairobi-Mathare.

This will continue to be home for the next five weeks.
It is good to be home

"The Photo"

Several people have asked me where I was when this photo was taken for the newpaper at the Greenwood County Bee Buzzin' Bicycle Tour on Saturday.  See the guy on the left on a Trek bike and wearing the orange and white jersey?  That is my friend Tommy and we were chatting when this photo was taken.  I'm just off camera to the left.  Right behind Tommy in the black Shell Stockman Oil jersey is my riding buddy Eric.  He's riding a beautiful Pinarello bike that his wife surprised him with at Christmas. 

Scars

Each summer as the days grow longer I start to become more tan from spending as much time a possible outside.  My arms and legs get the most tan from wearing shorts & t-shirts or jerseys & cycling shorts.  Denine calls it my "Daddy Tan".

As I grow darker I sometimes notice several places that do not tan.  There are several spots like this on my left arm that I tend to notice.  I had them checked out and the reason for these spots is they are scar tissue that have lost melatonin and will no longer brown from exposure to the sun.

Thinking about it, I have a fairly blemished body.  I have freckles, moles, a few age spots & wrinkles starting to show up, and...scars.  I have no idea how some scars happened.  Others have stories connected with them like the one on my knee that was an early season football injury that would not heal until after the season was over.  Or the one on my hand that happened while cutting fire wood with my dad and resulted in a quick trip for some stitches.

This year as the scar tissue on my arm became more noticeable it got me to thinking about following Christ.  As we grow older the number of imperfections on our bodies will increase.  I'm OK with that.  It is starting to remind me of something that I want to remember often.

Christ was the perfect son of God.  Every part about him was perfect.  But, he chose to come live with man in order to show us a better way...the  way...to live.  To do that he had to deal with what we have to deal with and that included scars.  Christ began life as a carpenter.  What do you image the hands look like for someone who handles rough wood, chisels, and gouges?  Later the scars would go much deeper.  In fact, my scars are nothing compared the scars that Christ accepted when he was beaten and maimed for us.  For all of us. 

It is so easy to think Christ just breezed in and did life the way he wanted to do it.  I don't think it was quite like that.  His choice was to accept the dirt, the grime, the joy, the pain, the scars and all life sends our way.  My scars are nothing compared to those He accepted for me and you because of his love.  About all my scars can do is remind me.

But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our guilt and iniquities; the chastisement [needful to obtain] peace and well-being for us was upon Him, and with the stripes [that wounded] Him we are healed and made whole. - Isaiah 53:5

The Saturday Ride

I did the Greenwood County Bee Buzzin' Bike Tour today.  It rained like crazy for the first 30 minutes and I wondered if we had all lost our minds.  I was being a little too careful because I did not want to skid and go down.  Then it it got a little better and I rode really well.  By the end we saw a little sun.  That's cycling.  Plus, I got a stinkin' t-shirt!

Even Batman is dealing with the fuel crisis!

Wow!  It looks like even Batman has been forced to deal with the fuel crisis!  How else can you explain this baby?  This must be the first recumbent bike ever built that does not require a beard to ride!

Buy it here....if you have six grand or so in spare change.  Bullet proof shield, rocket booster, and Joker Finder are not included as standard features.