All my life I’ve had two recurring dreams about my demise. One of these dreams involves being struck by lightning as I stand on the porch or patio of an as-of-yet unknown home.
Yet I go and chase storms every chance I get, loving every minute of it. In fact, we are now back home, I’m standing on the porch while the sky is streaked with the Lightning of an incoming storm.
Life is too short to live without risk.
My dad and I flew together in this airplane in 2001. Our “old school” photos have already been moved to Chicago, or else I’d be sharing some snaps from that first flight together in his Acrosport II. I do have a couple of shots taken on an old flip phone in 2005.
A couple of days ago I complained on Facebook about the litany of Father’s Day ads being shoved in my direction via email, social media, etc. You’d think with all the information they glean from my online activities, companies would be smart enough to figure out that I have no reason to buy a Father’s Day gift in 2017.
My dad passed on in 2011, nearly six years ago, but Father’s Day can be a little bit of a bummer. This year I’m choosing to focus on the countless great memories I have of my dad.
But I still miss him.
A couple of weeks ago I was musing about how great of shape our road was in. Well maintained, smooth, probably too much so because it encouraged folks from the housing developments up the hill to come speeding down well above the 45 MPH speed limit.
Yesterday the county highway department went through, slapped some oil down and put gravel on top of it.
The work crew went by pretty quickly. One minute we had a beautifully smooth road, the next minute we had a bunch of oil and tar flung about with gravel plopped on top. Some folks slowed down to prevent damage to their vehicle, as there was gravel flying around all over the place, but others just barreled on through above the 45 MPH posted speed limit, dust and stones flying everywhere.
The enhancements to our road have covered up any lane markings and I’m sure the county highway department is waiting for things to settle down before painting the yellow and white stripes. You can still eyeball the middle of the road without an issue but folks in this area are too busy looking at their phones, shaving and/or trying to be stylish in their ride to be aware of their surroundings, so folks are now flying down the road hugging the shoulder. The shoulder is no longer discernible from the main roadway because the county just put stone over everything.
Since I’m not riding my bike this year (due to surgery recovery) I’m doing a lot of walking, especially before work and during two short breaks during my work day. I’ve had to jump in the ditch at least a dozen times in the past 24 hours.
I get that we’re rapidly moving into a “every man for himself” mentality in the United States but when I’m driving a vehicle I still have empathy for pedestrians and cyclists, no matter how annoyingly placed on the roadway they may be. As a pilot we must give way to aircraft types that are slower and/or smaller than what we’re flying. I wish the same applied to the rule of the road.
In the meanwhile, I’ll keep leaping into the ditch as a Kardashian wannabe comes flying through the gravel at 60 MPH.
I really miss the days of Steve Jobs at Apple. While Apple is still the leader in the quality of hardware products, their Internet services can be a struggle at times.
I’m trying to manage my Apple ID two-factor authentication settings this morning. The resulting webpage looks like this.
I noticed this video on Facebook earlier today and I can’t agree more with Stevie Nicks on this. Honestly, I could be better at being present in the moment. Stevie makes some valid points.
After watching the movie “Wonder Woman” last night, I felt like watching a few clips from the 1970s television series with Lynda Carter. I’ve always gotten a kick out of the way Wonder Woman takes care of this woman trying to booby-trap a car.
So Earl and I looked at a couple of places to live today. One in particular caught our eye.
Now we wait.
My love of road trips and roads in general goes back to my elementary school days. I’ve always been fascinated with the view from a roadway. I vividly remember riding in the back seat of my parents’ vehicles. The first one I remember was a VW Beetle. I don’t remember where we went in it, as I was just a toddler, but I remember riding in it and watching the scenery whizz by.
Earl and I are currently on the Indiana Toll Road headed for Chicago. We’ve passed a couple of cars with video monitors installed in the backseat, movies or cartoons playing. I peer in the windows as we go by and see kids fixated on the electronic gizmo. The world is literally passing them by as they’re being entertained by electronics.
I find the surrounding world so entertaining. I am so happy these electronic gadgets weren’t around when I was a kid. I love discovering the world from the road just as much as I love discovering the world from the air.
Earl handles the drives to Chicago and back because he has more of a lead foot than I do, plus I worked from the passenger seat for the first 4 1/2 hours. Once we were out of New York and Pennsylvania I put the work computer away and started watching the world go by.
I nod to truck drivers. I smile to kids and parents. I see all the different types of utility poles and high tension wire towers. I spot difference in road signs, I compare fuel prices, I wave to cattle and I smirk at horse and sheep.
The world is out there waiting for us to explore it. Take the opportunity to see it whenever you can.
You might appreciate your surroundings much more when you’re in their presence.
Just a guy with a husband. We’ve been together 28 years and he still makes me see fireworks on a daily basis. Hiker. Storm Chaser. Private Pilot. Tech Guy. Hackerish.
Weird? Eccentric!
