Happy Birthday to Me

Well, tomorrow I'm turning Sweet 61 (selective dyslexia on my part). Currently I'm sitting in the kitchen of Jeff and Jen's new house, babysitting for them with Jan so they can shop and not have whiny kids dragged along with them. Jan is in the TV room honing up on her Beatles Rock Band skills, while I've been watching delivery room updates on FB from my friends Heather and Darren as they await the birth of their first child. We had breakfast this morning with 5 of our dearest friends, and the birthday wishes have been pouring in on facebook from new and old friends. Can life get any better? I've decided that it can indeed. For example:

Alicia, Joe, Amber, Angel, Brent, Billy, Laurel, Austin, Tamila, Aaron, Travis, Bob, Diane, Bonnie, Brandon, Sarah, Chelsea, Cody, Evie, Cindy, Scott, Connie, Bruce, Curtis, Kristi, Haley, Lexi, Dan, Martha, Dave, Dave, Dave, Heather, Don, Lyn, Elizabeth, Dave, Heidi, Kurt, Hope, Jack, Irene, Robert, Jessica, Jennifer, Joel, John, John, Jolene, Jon, Jordan, Kasey, Kevin, Kirk, Lilian, Mandy, Josh, Steven, Jagger, Michele, Dave, April, Paula, Sammy, Phyllis, Robbie, Scott, Tamra. These are the names of my facebook friends that I didn't know 2 years ago, just from my church. That doesnt' count the number of students I have reconnected with, who are part of my life again. I used to have a poster in my room with a quote from Bob Dylan: "He who isn't busy being born, is busy dying." I understand that so much more now than I did when I hung it up.

This spring I will be meeting close to 200 new tax clients, bequeathed to me by my retiring friend Don. We have a chance to go on a mission trip to Chile this summer, and have already booked a 40th anniversary Alaska cruise for August.

All our lives, we have friends who we say, "Can't wait to see them again." At this point in my life, I really have nothing stopping me from doing just that.

My sister once told me that I have trouble meeting new people, and for much of my life that was true. I don't know how, but that has changed so much that I actually think I would enjoy being (gasp!!) a GREETER at church.

So, while my life is better than it has ever been, I am struck by the thought that it is far better than I ever dreamed it COULD BE. So, logically, it is possible that it could get even better. I can't wait to see how God can make that happen. Especially with me asking all the time, "Why me?"

"Looking Good"

December means basketball tournament season at our house, and even though I'm retired, I'm assisting Jeff with his Cypress team, and this week we are in the Orange Optimist Tournament, being held, logically, in Westminster. This week also marks the 6-month anniversary of my official retirement.
Our first tournament game didn't go well, but I ran into a couple of old friends so the day wasn't a total loss. The first was Tom McCluskey, the coach at Trabuco Hills, and he was the reason the game didn't go well. Tom and I coached at the Tustin High School at the same time. He won a state championship with the boys in 1991, the same year my girls lost in double overtime in the quarterfinals to finish the year 25-4. As Tom and I were talking, he offered this statement: "You're looking good, you seem so relaxed." Before the next game, I spied Mark Lewis, who played for us at Tustin in 1981 when we reached the CIF finals--I was coaching boys then. Mark's son is playing at Laguna Beach High School, and we will play them tomorrow. Mark went on to play at Long Beach State, was City Engineer for Fountain Valley for awhile, and now lives and works in Laguna Beach. During the course of our conversation, he offered, "You're looking good, you seem so relaxed." That phrase is also repeated when I visit Foothill High School or the Tustin District office. So I joked to Jan that either I really am more relaxed, or that's just one of the things that's easy to say to old people. She said, "The last couple of years you taught, your brow was almost always creased." Wow, I didn't realize that, but if the change is so evident to so many people it must be true. I'm still getting used to being retired, still trying to master the idea that if I don't feel like doing anything, I don't have to (once I do master that idea, I'll be ready for my next career as a politician).
But was I really that miserable my last few years on the job? I started thinking of my facebook friends who are teachers, and some of their most recent posts. So many of them are counting the days until Christmas Vacation, rather than counting the days until Christmas. All of them are recognized as good teachers, and if you asked them, they would say there is no job they would rather have. Yet, for as much as they like their job, they seemingly cannot wait to not be doing it. My explanation for that feeling is this: With all of the outside input they receive on how to do their job, and the pressure to perform on standardize tests, much of the joy of the profession is neutralized. I have a friend who teaches at private school who said the last 2 days before vacation would be taken up with student parties. Such things are not allowed at public school--reminders are given before every date where there is danger of a party breaking out--and I really think the possibility of building relationships with kids, especially those in need of a significant adult role model, is sacrificed at the altar of testing. I know this is a recurring soapbox of mine, but being out of the profession for 6 months has not lessened the depth of my feeling on this subject.
So, what will the next 6 months hold? Well, the end of basketball season will be followed by tax season. Also--I'm going to occasionally substitute teach. I will be really interested to see if I really enjoy it, just being with kids, minus the pressure of performing. And, when I run into a former student on campus, I would much rather hear, "You're looking good, so relaxed," than, "Hey, Mr. Falk, I got Advanced on my Algebra 2 State Test."

Report Card

I've been asked by a friend to blog about my impressions of our president after nearly a year in office. Actually, I need to thank my conservative friends, not for their efforts to "enlighten" me about how evil President Obama is, but rather for putting into the spotlight how un-Christian my behavior towards George W. Bush. I feel rather hypocritical for emphasizing Romans 13 to my Christian conservative friends for this president, while basically ignoring that part of the Bible for the last 8 years.
I am not as enamored with the president now as much as I was when he first took office. It really is expecting too much of any person to carry through as much hope and change as he was proposing. At first the attacks on his office made me very angry, but at some point I realized he didn't need me to defend him, and friendships are more important than politics. I would suspect that the conservatives in my facebook friend list far outnumber the liberals, but if I had to choose between losing their friendship and becoming conservative, I would choose the latter. Fortunately, since they are my real friends, they would never ask me to make that choice. Perhaps an analogy would be two lawyers who beat each other up in court, and then go out for a drink afterwards. I must admit that sometimes I "hide" their status for awhile when the hate seems to overflow, but dropping them from my list of friends has never been an option.

Maybe I would make a good politician, as I've managed to fill a couple of paragraphs without really saying anything. I know it's early in his tenure, but I can honestly say I cannot think of a single thing that has happened in Washington the last year that has had a measurable impact on my life, pro or con. This puts him in the same category as nearly every president that I can remember. Probably the biggest personal impact came from GWB, for spearheading No Child Left Behind, and it was for that that he earned my antipathy. To me that was big government at its worst. I do have a conservative friend who says that Bill Clinton was actually more of a conservative than GWB, and NCLB would seem to support that statement. If I were still teaching, President Obama might actually make me angrier, in that he is a proponent of merit pay for teachers, again believing education can be measured by test scores. Following that logic, Foothill teachers deserve more than Century High School teachers because of their test scores, and there is no logic in that at all. I just don't know how merit pay would work, because all teachers have a different clientele with different abilities. It's interesting to me that President Obama was booed at the ultra-liberal NEA convention, for his stand on merit pay. Hopefully with all the other things on his plate he wont have a change to get around to that one, since I still have many family members who are public school teachers.
The biggest hot button is obviously health care. It looks like his plan will eventually go through, and far more people are talking against it than for it. To me, the argument that makes me the angriest is that people without health care don't deserve it. Conversely, those of us who do have it deserve it. That makes no sense to me. What human being doesn't deserve a chance to be healthy? The classic argument is that all of us do have health care because ERs are required to treat whether the person has insurance or not. The response to that is that many ERs are closing for that reason--they can't afford to stay open and not get paid, nor can we expect them to. So, my stance on that hasn't changed--I believe health care is a right, on the same level as police protection, fire protection, freeways, and other tax-supported institutions. I think I even believe--though I haven't thought this through, that health care is more important than a free public education. I have no problem with my taxes going up if it means health care for more people. I have already been blessed far more than I ever expected to be, and sharing is not distasteful to me. Having said that, I have no problem with those who believe the current proposed plan is not the best answer. And, the truth be told, I don't know enough about it to know if it is good or bad. Since I am now paying almost $700 a month for Jan's medical insurance, a plan that would reduce that is appealing to me.
So there are things about it I don't know. What I do know is that it is nearly impossible to get an unbiased opinion in the media, particularly with those stations who laughingly call themselves "News media." I believe to my core that any time the lips of the two most popular conservative "analysts" move, they are lying. They will say whatever they think their "public" wants to hear, and they are entertainers, period. There is as much hard news in their diatribes as there is in a Jay Leno monologue. (Decided not to use names just in case someone reports me!)
Since we are discussing lying, I cannot help but admit I am greatly disappointed in the falsehoods that have become part of the administration's "new job" figures. When BO spoke today saying that the job loss for November was the lowest since 2007, I didn't entirely believe him. It is no defense that he was just reporting numbers created by his staff. Harry Truman certainly had it right when he pointed out where the buck stops.
I have a friend (who asked for this blog) who pointed out the president's approval rating was down 7 points in the last 3 weeks. I poked him a little, saying I hoped he would report when and if the numbers spiked up. I think all of us are guilty of believing the numbers that support our point of view. Getting back to schools, if you believe public schools are failing, then you believe the comparisons of our test scores with other countries. If you believe, as I do, that teachers have never been better trained than they are today, then you will point out that America is the only country on earth that tests every student, not just those who are on the university track. Kids who "fail" the standardized tests in America at age 16 are kids that would have been weeded out of the system at age 12 in other countries. It's the same with politics. As Art Garfunkel penned almost 50 years ago, "A man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest."
As for Afghanistan, I'm not ready to support the escalation of troops. I think it's also a Catch-22 for the president. There are people, some very well-known radio hosts for example, who would actually welcome another terrorist attack on American soil, for then their predictions would be proven right. I think by unofficially declaring war on the Taliban, the president has almost guaranteed another attempt in this county. The only way he can "win" would be to destroy them without any loss of life in America. I don't see that happening, but with all my heart I hope I am wrong. Should we be there? I honestly don't know at this point. The cynic would suggest a closed door deal--"I'll vote for health care if you send more troops to the middle east." Logrolling is alive and well.
Well, there it is. You may never hear a more uninformed and baseless political opinion, but that's all I got right now. If you comment, it probably means you disagree. That's fine. I will still love you. No matter how wrong you are!

A Special Day

My family will tell you I'm not a big fan of "programs". I drag myself to ballet and gymnastics because my grandkids are involved, and would prefer that I could see their performances and go home. I was expecting kind of the same today at the girls' school, since it was "Special Persons" Day. I assume it's like grandparents day that I've seen at other schools, but a little broader.

I figured I would watch the girls classes perform--of course Jeslyn was near the beginning and Jolie was near the end--and took a book to read while the other classes were performing. I was also aware that this is yet another retirement perk--I couldn't have seen this if I was still working. To my enjoyment, I greatly underestimated the impact the day would have on me.

The kindergarten classes started off, with a performance of "It's a Small World" complete with the monotone kid who must have managed to sneak a wireless mike onto his/her person--at age 5 it's kind of hard to tell the boys' voices from the girls'.

Then the first grade, Jeslyn's class, was next, and Jeslyn had been chosen to recite one of the welcome announcements for the class, which she did with one of the broadest smiles of the day. Her smile continued through their singing of their two songs and choreography.

The fifth grade was marked by about 100 kids who all seemed to be on key.

The 6th 7th and 8th graders don't sing, but about 10 of them are chosen to read the essay about their special person, and I decided to put my book away for the time being. Moms and Dads were included of course, but there was one tribute to an inspiring teacher, another to grandparents who took her in, "because my parents couldn't take care of me," and an Uncle who was a Marine war hero. Then all of the middle school kids (Moiola is a k-8 school) came out and presented their special person with a framed copy of their essay. Since the Russells have moved into a new attendance area, I don't know if I will get to see the girls do this at their new school.

Jolie's 4th grade classes were next, and again she exhibited a big smile, was out front performing a french folk dance with classmates, and seemed to be thoroughly at home. I pointed out how happy both of my girls were to be there, because I couldn't help but notice a few kids in all classes who were not smiling, and spent most of the time looking at their shoes. Was wondering whether their parents even came, whether they didn't want their parents to come, whether they were afraid to go home, etc.

Then it was the 3rd graders to perform 2 songs. First was, "I'd like to teach the world to sing," which of course had Jen and I both singing the Coke commercial. Then they did a great job on "We are the World." I have to confess this really got to me. It's moving enough to watch the original performance in this year of MJ's passing. But when you see 60 8-year-olds saying,
"We are the world, we are its children, we are the ones who make a brighter day so let's start giving. There's a choice we're making, we're saving our own lives..." with such conviction, it's quite overwhelming.

Then the second graders also sang a couple of songs which highlighted the theme of the day, which was diversity. Each of the second graded classes listed the native countries represented in their class, and the total seemed to be about 20 different nations.

Then it was time for classroom visitations. Jeff and his mom went to Jolie's class first, so we went to Jeslyn's. She gave us a big hug, then set down to finish the picture she was coloring for her mommy. So Jan and I guided ourselves around the displays, finally getting to the part where each member had posted their special persons essay. Jan and I both teared up when we read, "My sister Jolie is my special person," with 5 or 6 sentences extolling the virtues of her sister, with whom she is frequently quarreling when at grandma's house. (I was reminded of a friend's facebook post. His 5 year old had his 2 year old sister's name posted on his wall as a reminder to pray for her. Daddy was so proud until he learned that the posting was a result of a Sunday school lesson on loving your enemies!) Jeslyn is very competitive and seems always to want to outdo her sister. Yet, Jolie was her special person, and my unbiased opinion is that she could not pick a better person to emulate.

Then we went to Jolie's class. As if to underscore how different they are, Jolie led us on a guided tour of her classroom, explaining each display, and making sure to point out which one was hers. Her "special person" was her entire family, which is fitting because for her to choose would be to possibly hurt someone else's feelings, which she is not willing to do.

I'm thinking Special Persons Day next year will be on November 19. I've already blocked it off on my calendar (or I would if I had one).

Moving Tunes (Pun Intended)

By now you've probably figured that music and athletics are a big part of my life. If I had any wishes for anything in my life to have been improved, it would have been more talent in baseball and music. Of course, I got an extra dose of ego, so God was smart enough to leave me with something less than professional talent in those two areas. But there always seems to be a song or two that speaks to my current situation and mood, and yesterday seemed to be one of those days. My "job" for the day was to be available to help Jen and Jeff with their move, and it promised to be stressful in that they had to be out of their old house yesterday and wouldn't be able to get their stuff moved into the new house until Friday. Plus, they had spent until the wee hours Monday getting ready for the movers.

The day started with my reading a post put up by my friend Don, who is music minister at our church. He mentioned that he had just heard "We've Only Just Begun" by the Carpenters, and it was popular when he and Lyn were dating. I told him that Jan and I had wanted that song to be sung at our wedding, but it was too contemporary for Jan's mom and we settled for "Whither Thou Goest." Ironically, Don said that was a selection at their wedding also. That led to a long discussion of wedding songs, some quite humorous, others quite touching. It also reminded me of the song sung just before I walked Jen down the aisle, which I've mentioned in a previous blog. Briefly, it was the Wedding Song, with a touch of "Where are you Going" thrown in at the last minute.

So I was already pensive as I headed over to the Russells, and a song came on my XM gospel station. No picture here, but the refrain lifted me up--"Even in the Valleys, God is good." This was followed by one of my favorite hymns, "How Long Has it Been." Again, not necessarily apt for the day's events, but served to remind me--I seem to need to keep being reminded--of how much Jesus wants an intimate relationship with his children.

I took a load over to the house of stuff they didn't want the movers to deal with, and when I returned Jeff was standing in the driveway looking so tired and forlorn that I went over and put my arm around his shoulders and muttered something brilliant like, "it's all going to be OK." Didn't move him, but made me cry!!

Took another load, the radio cue said that Styx was playing, switched to that, and didn't really fit the mood. However, the next song...

was New Year's Day by U2. This was especially pertinent, since Jeff had entrusted me with his most prized earthly possession, his guitar autographed by all members of the band that Jen had put in a case with all of their CD covers. So far, it's still in great condition.

I had to make a trip to Home Depot for him to buy a switch plate to replace the one in Jeslyn's room, got one that was too large, made another trip for a smaller one. Spent a total of 87 cents on the two trips. Coming out, feeling blue again, and Michael W Smith's version of

Bridge over Troubled Water was on, and it's always been one of my favorites, again liftin my spirits.

Jeff asked me if I knew the number for Empire Carpets, and I missed it by one, despite singing the jingle. Turns out they were able to come to the new house tonight and new carpets will be installed tomorrow. I pointed out that this would not have been possible if they had been fully moved in by today. Another example of God making our lemons into lemonade.

They got everything out, got the keys to the new house today and Jen and Jeff are sleeping on the floor there today while the girls are spending the night with us.

I found myself thinking of the refrain from "We've Only Just Begun.":

Sharing horizons that are new to us
Watching the signs along the way
Talking it over just the two of us
Working together day to day....together

When we first heard those words, they were full of the hope and dreams of starting a new life together. Now, almost 40 years later, they are a description of the rich life that I continue to share with my wife, the life my children share with their mates, and the priceless moments I sometimes share with my grandgirls. And we've only just begun.

A Day at the Mission

Today was Jan's turn to have a reunion with an old friend, and I went along, too, as I knew her friend Rita also. Their friendship goes back to college days and before, but we hadn't really seen her in at least 25 years. Once again, this was a Facebook-facilitated connection.

Rita lives in Nampa, Idaho, but was down visiting her son in Camp Pendleton. He had just finished with his second deployment to Iraq (thank you, Steven). We agreed to meet this morning at the mission in San Juan Capistrano, since it's about halfway between Pendleton and HB. Rita brought her 2 year old granddaughter, Sarah. (Sorry if it's spelled Sara, I forgot to ask). Sara is a very well-behaved little towhead, and clung to Grandma Rita's leg for much of the early part of the visit.

Admission to the mission includes a free audio tour now, so we had our headsets and were at about our 3rd exhibit when one of the volunteers came up, talked to Sarah, and said she would come back with some food for her to feed the fish. She wound up bringing back a 10-ounce Dixie cup filled about 2/3 of the way to the top with tiny fish pellets. She walked us to the pond, which was brimming with Koi (sp?) and told Sarah to start tossing pellets into the water. So she did--one at a time. I roughly calculated at that rate she had about 6 hours worth of fish food, and I was parked in a 3-hour zone. So I tried to speed things up. I showed her how to pour a little in her hand and throw it all at once, and she enjoyed the feeding frenzy that followed. By the time we were done, she was holding food out over the water and watching them bob their heads out of the water. I kept waiting for her to say, "speak!!" She then had me hold out my hand, and I got to demonstrate that I, too, knew how to feed the fish. We finally ran out of food, she wanted more but didn't throw a fit when told there was no more. Then (this is the best part), she held out her hands and said, "Carry me, Grampa Rick."

There are few greater feelings in the world than to know you have earned the trust of a small child. So I joyfully hoisted her up, fuzzy brown backpack and all, and we started off the view the next stop, the J. Serra chapel. (I was also thinking that this is why Jesus uses such harsh language when discussing those who would violate that trust). Sarah dutifully remained quiet inside the beautiful chapel, which contains paintings of the 14 stations of the cross, and a 300-year old gold altar imported from Spain.

This was my 3rd or 4th visit to mission SJC, but by far the best. First of all was my new friend Sarah, and secondly it was the first time that our visit was not shared with 200 busloads of 4th graders. After a couple of hours I realized this could not have happened just this way a year ago, since I would still have been at work (sorry, I'm really NOT rubbing it in. I'm just happy to be retired and genuinely sad for those of you who aren't but want to be.)

We visited their latest exhibit, a tribute to the California gold rush, and we played in a tent, played checkers and tic tac toe (sort of), occasionally stopping for Sarah to energize with another animal cracker from her backpack.

Went to lunch at Ruby's, which has the built in babysitter of a train circling the area on an elevated track. Finally time to go, and Sarah insisted on a kiss and hug outside the car and once again when she was buckled into her carseat. One byproduct of my friendship with Sarah is that Jan and Rita had plenty of time to catch up. They headed back to Pendleton and we to HB. Sarah's parents are trying to decide whether to stay in the Marines when their hitch is up or to get out and try the job market. It was great to have Rita share how these two met in the Marines, have returned to a relationship with God, and are doing a couples devotional in preparation for the rest of their lives together.

So, I had a great day with a little girl who, unless some pieces come together, I may never see again. There's a chance that her parents will move to Nampa, Idaho to be near Grandma Rita when their hitch is up, and that's the scenario that gets my vote. We now have at least 5 families to visit the next time we make it up that way.

On the way home we decided to run by Marriott's Newport Coast Villas, our first timeshare we bought 6 years ago and haven't visited since. We are booked there this summer and may actually stay there this time, so we were "scouting" which building we wanted to request. The facility is all built out now, though some units are getting some finishing touches, and we can see why it is so popular with out-of-towners.

On the way home, I was beginning to realize while this time of life is referred to as the Golden Years. My day was certainly golden.

Final Weekend

We left Salem on Friday afternoon and headed back up to the Portland area to spend the weekend. Since our friends are still of the working variety they wouldn't be home until about 7, so we had a couple of hours to kill. We first decided to visit Portland Central Church of the Nazarene because their worship arts pastor, Stephen List, used to be on staff at Garden Grove. Alas, Friday was his day off, so he wasn't there, but a bazillion ladybugs were, and about a dozen made it into the car before we left. We then drove out to Multnomah Falls, just south of the Columbia River, advertised as the 2nd highest year-round waterfall in the country. It was OK, but looking up at it didn't do much for my intermittent vertigo. Found an outlet mall on the way home, got a nice Eddie Bauer jacket/vest on sale, and was so grateful I left them my credit card. Finally got together with Bret and Paula, went to dinner with them and son Kyle and wife Elsa. Kyle and Elsa have two very large dogs whom we left in the house with the resident Italian greyhounds. The result was returning to a house that looked like it had been tp'd--on the inside. Titus-the 6 month old Great Dane-had found a new roll of paper towels, and his mates helped him shred and spread it all over the house.

Saturday morning dawned rainy, so of course we went golfing. Bret, Kyle and I were joined by my nephew Todd, who drove over from Vancouver. He was supposed to work, but very logically concluded he could work any Saturday, while Uncle Rick only was up there for golf on rare occasions. We played the Wildwood course, which is northwest of Portland on the way to Astoria, and if you ever are in the area and are a golfer, I highly recommend it. First of all, we played on a weekend, and it was $37 with a cart for 18 holes. The course is carved out of the mountainside and forest, resulting in many elevation changes and dogleg holes, and the par 4s are short enough for me to reach. Kyle and Todd had a lot of fun together, including the hole where they both managed to hit their drives into a treetrunk that was only about 6 inches wide.

Forgot to mention that their other son, Nate, brought their 15-month old grandson, Oliver, over to have gramma and grampa babysit while he went fishing. Oliver's mom works nights, so she was sleeping. Nate picked up Oliver before we went golfing, and managed to find time to put the Oregon State football website into my favorites list on my laptop. We were not amused!!

Todd and Meredith and their oldest son Mac came down Sunday morning for brunch with the 4 of us, and it was great to see them again. Drove down to Medford to spend Sunday night, trying to decide whether to spend one or two more days getting home. Two days was leading the voting at the time.

Had breakfast Monday morning in Yreka with our friend Kenny, who runs Grandma's House restaurant there. If you are driving I-5 on the way to Oregon, it is a must stop. We hadn't seen Kenny in a few years as he had gone through a divorce from another good friend of ours, so it was good to reconnect with him and see things are going well. He's a big Raider fan, and had gone to the game Sunday, so I'm sure he was in a better mood than he is most Mondays! We then hit the road and decided to just drive and see how we felt. Turns out we felt like coming home, so we covered the entire 725 miles and arrived home about 9:30 last night.

So our longest vacation is over, and we will have lifetime memories as well as a list of places we want to revisit. But it's great to be home. I've been retired since June, but until today we have always been planning for an event, ranging from Hawaii to my retirement party to our trip to Canada. Now it's just re-orienting ourselves, and making sure we are prepared when the tax business ramps up in earnest next year. Took care of renewing my license while on vacation, am in the process of finalizing my paperwork with IRS so I can e-file all of my clients, and am looking forward to getting back into regular attendance at FCC.

In My Life

There are no pictures to go with this post, because yesterday was unlike any day so far in this vacation. It was a day short on Kodak moments but long on memory lane and validation. I found myself thinking of the words below, which pretty accurately described my mindset when reflecting on the day.

There are places I'll remember
All my life though some have changed
Some forever not for better
Some have gone and some remain
All these places have their moments
With lovers and friends i still can recall
Some are dead and some are living
In my life I've loved them all

We are staying with cousins in Salem, Oregon, and through facebook I have learned that there are a few former students living in this area. So after lunch yesterday I took some time to visit with them at three different times and locations, and the result was one of the best days in my life.

The first was with Kimberly, a young lady I had in math in the late 80s at Tustin High School, and who graduated in 1990. Through an error in planning on my part, we only had about 15 minutes to chat, but they were rich as she recounted how she wound up in north-central Oregon. Hers is a blended family, having been married for 15 years and having children 13 and 8, plus 3 children that were her husbands from a previous marriage. So she's 37 with a 26-year old stepdaughter. She is able to stay home and has been doing childcare in her home for most of her married life. Since we had such little time, we made plans to get together some more if she is able to come down for her 20th reunion next summer.

Then I met with Terri, who was a 1984 (or 1983?) graduate of THS. Terri's story is quite different. She also was never one of my students, but was a member of the New Life (Christian) Club when I was a faculty sponsor. For whatever reason, she was quite "picked on" in high school, had very few close friends, and had things happen to her in high school that should happen to no one, but unfortunately are quite common. The self-image she developed from that caused pain for her for 20 years after, and she is just now beginning to realize what life has to offer her. She said the reason she "friended" me on facebook was that I was nice to her at a time when very few people were, including those in her own church. She has a daughter who is a sophomore in high school, and is engaged to a man she met 19 years ago who has basically waited all that time for her to be ready to spend her life with him. The story of her life to this point would make a very moving Lifetime movie. We talked for an hour and a half, bound by our familiar experiences and gratitude for God's guidance and protection in getting her to this point in her life. For those of you with a Tustin Meadows background, her dad was known as "Mr 4th of July" and was responsible for starting the tradition of adorning the streetlights of the Meadows with American flags many years ago, and residents have continued that tradition since his death.

Then I met with Barbara and her parents. I only really knew Barbara her freshman year, before the family moved to Oregon in 1983. Her parents were also there, along with her husband, 4-year old daughter and two stepdaughters. Our friendship was forged in tragedy, as the oldest son Jeff was killed on his motorcycle at the age of 19 in 1984, and they had asked me to speak at his funeral. Since then, tragedy has struck again. Barbara's twin brother Barry was murdered in Florida in 1995, and the killers are still at large though the authorities know who they are. Barbara endured being abandoned by her husband when her daughter Reagan was only 10 months old. But she glows as she talks about how God brought David into her life, and the joy the 5 of them have shared in the succeeding years. Her parents, Judy and Richard, were also there, and we had a wonderful time of fellowship together. There is still residual pain for them. I can't imagine outliving any of my children, much less two of them. One of the things I was able to do was to provide them with Jeff's high school transcripts, and also a copy of the eulogy I wrote, which I found while going through stuff getting ready for my retirement party. When we left Judy handed me a Thank You card, which will be a keepsake, and gives me far more credit than I feel I deserve for the role I played in her childrens' lives.

As I look back over this post, I realize it will probably have a pretty small interest level for most of you. It is impossible for me to convey to you the joy that the day in its entirety brought to me. Perhaps if you are a teacher who loves their kids you may understand, especially if you are one of those who look upon your job as one of building lifetime friendships. For me, I met with a very special group of people from my past. My relationship with them when we were younger had a different dynamic in each case. Each of of arrived at this point with a wide difference in the level of pain and heartache we have endured. The common thread? All of them seemed as genuinely happy to see me as I was to see them. All of them see the presence and direction of God in their lives, even when things were at their worst. All are enjoying a time of extreme vitality and happiness at this point, and look upward when giving the credit.

For me personally, it was a continuance of the message I have been getting since I made the decision to retire: "You done good!!" When you are a teacher who is also a Christian, there is always the question of whether you have done enough for your kids and your God. In these cases, at least, it appears the answer was "yes."

Oak Harbor to Salem

The view to the left is pretty much what can be seen from the bedroom window of the house where we spent the last 3 nights. It is in Oak Harbor, on Whidbey Island, in Washington's Puget Sound. We go there one or two times a year. Jan's cousin Ben is the pastor of the Nazarene Church there and she and Lisa have been like sisters their whole life. In the small world department, turns out that the sister of our children's pastor at FCC is married to the pastor of the Assembly of God Church in Coupeville about 10 miles south of here, and Ben and Mike know each other rather well. Coupeville is one of those quaint little towns that Hollywood loves, and has been the site of a few movies, the latest being "Practical Magic. You can see from the picture why it is not hard to get Jan and I to visit.

Ben and I went golfing on Monday at the Gallery Course, which is part of NAS Whidbey Island. It is now open to the public, and we played 18 holes with a cart for $30 apiece. I love the course, though it is pretty hard, especially the back nine which is cut out of the forest. This particular day was also very cold and windy, so for the first time in recent memory--if ever--I was happy when the round ended.

One further treat for us is that Lisa's father, Paul, has moved out to Oak Harbor from Kansas City. Paul performed our wedding ceremony almost 39 years ago, but we hadn't seen him in at least 10 years. It was great to meet with him and discover that after all these years, our worldviews were pretty much in sync.

We left this morning and the trip contained one of the things that is always a highlight for Jan, a voyage on the ferry system. We boarded at the southern tip of Whidbey Island and rode across to Mukilteo, on the mainland. We lucked out in that we got there just as the ferry was boarding. Sometimes the wait is up to an hour, but this was about 10 am so the morning commute was over. The ferry saves about 45 miles on the trip south.

One added bonus for this trip is that my nephew Jeff has recently moved to Seattle to take a position at B of A, and my sister happened to be up here visiting. So we went to his apartment in the Queen Anne section of Seattle to chat and have some lunch. Again, we love to eat at places on the road that we cannot experience at home and Jeff took us to a restaurant called Spot 5 (or 5 Spot) a few blocks from his house. This particular place changes it's theme and decor every few months, commissions local painters to provide the artwork for the walls, and has thematic offerings on their menu. Jeff said when he first moved there it was 50s Diner, and today it was Puerto Rico. At the end of the theme, the paintings are auctioned off. But the Puerto Rican paintings were beautiful, and included a picture of one of my favorite baseball players, Roberto Clemente. There also was a huge lifesize sea turtle suspended from the ceiling. We could have breakfast or lunch up until 3 pm, so I thought I would post a picture of my sister's breakfast selection.

Pictured below is the cinnamon french toast that she ordered, and tho this picture was taken off the internet, her breakfast looked just like this.

Jeff's apartment is very nicely situated. It's an "upper" of a renovated older home, and from his bedroom he has this view of the Seattle skyline. From his other window he can see part of Lake Washington, including Elliot Bay, which is where Tom Hanks' houseboat was situated for the movie Sleepless in Seattle.

Our drive today took us to Salem, where Jan's cousin Aletha lives with husband Les, and we will be here through Friday afternoon. Especially exciting for me are a few reunions with former Tustin students. I have an evening get-together planned for tomorrow night with a family that I haven't seen since 1983. The last time I saw them was when they asked me to speak at their son's funeral when his life had been cut short at 19. A bond was formed then that hasn't been dimmed by the years of separation, and I'm so excited to see them. There are also 2 more "kids" from Tustin that I will see here before we leave for Portland on Friday. Portland will involve staying with friends, seeing another nephew and his family, and at least one more Tustin high reunion. So even though the sightseeing part of our vacation is over, and Jan and I have decided we are ready to be home and will endure long driving days on Monday and Tuesday, I'm still pumped about what lies in store the next few days.

Kamloops and Whistler

Our fears of wet roads were unfounded as we woke Thursday to dry roads, 23 degree temps, and about 3 inches of snow on top of our car. We began what the GPS said would be a 7-hour drive to Kamloops in BC, our halfway point to Whistler. We arrived in Golden where we were to catch the Trans-Canada highway only to find it was temporarily closed due to an accident. After a half hour delay we were allowed to move on, but the road was understandably crowded. We were to go through a couple of national parks on the way through, but it turns out that most of the venues in Glacier and Revelstoke National Parks were closed for the winter. There were some spectacular views, but nothing close to Glacier NP in Montana. It really seems to be more of a hiking/backpacking place than tourist-friendly. We stopped for lunch in a little town called Revelstoke, a charming little railroad town, called "historic" for reasons we never figured out,

but we did find this cool place to eat called Bad Paul's, pictured at left. I had a spicy beef wrap, which wound up being nearly as hot as the shrimp at Giovanni's on Oahu. It was also very filling, so I still have the other half in our ice chest. As we have found in every stop in Canada, the waitress was very friendly and helpful, and after a short tour of the town, we moved on toward Kamloops. Evidently the GPS figures on your averaging about 40 MPH, and since it is off-season, there was not much traffic, and we made very good time.

We finally arrived at Kamloops around 4 pm, and this is an aerial view of the city. It has about 75000 people and the place we stayed was very nice, with a very good restaurant called the White Spot within walking distance. Jan was feeling poorly, so we got takeout and I endured another Halo win over the Red Sox.

Today was about a 4-hour drive to Whistler, which along with Vancouver will be the site of the 2010 Winter Olympics in a couple of months. Unlike the other places we have visited in Canada which are already scaling back for the winter, Whistler was in full swing, and the downtown parking lots were full. Turns out it was the annual Turkey Sale, which is held every Thanksgiving Weekend in Whistler. October 12 is Thanksgiving in Canada, and the turkey sale is actually the time when all the local merchants have their end-of-year sales. So skiers, bikers, snowboarders, etc, can find some great deals, so the place is packed.

We discovered all of this information from the clerk at the Residence Inn in Whistler, which we have decided is infinitely a nicer place than the Residence Inn in Costa Mesa. We are on the 6th floor with a view of the mountains from out back patio. The city of Whistler also operates a free shuttle from the hotels to the Village, so we took advantage of that. The Village is their eating/shopping district and is closed to auto traffic. It is really a place full of energy, reminding us of a summer evening on Main Street in Huntington Beach. We visited the Araxi restaurant, which is where Hell's Kitchen is currently being filmed. We didn't eat there, partly because I refuse to eat at a place when I don't understand the ingredients as explained on the menu--40 dollar entrees need to be understood for me to order them. My son-in-law said we would be sorry if we didn't eat there. I assume that was a prediction, not a threat. We did eat at the Mongolie Grill, which is one of those places where you fill your bowl

with food from the selection at left, add sauces and give it to the chef, who grills it in front of you on a round grill. There is a place like it in HB at Garfield and Brookhurst, with a much smaller selection of foods. It's a lot like Fire and Ice, which is in Tahoe and Boston. The difference is that the chef actually weighs your food, and you pay $3.50 for each 100 grams of food--thats about $17 a pound. Mine was delicious--since I picked out the food myself, and we got out of there for about the cost of one entree at Araxi's. We did a little shopping afterward, found gifts for the girls, I bought a couple of logo t-shirts. We didn't buy Olympic gear, because it's amazingly overpriced to get logo stuff for the olympics. I know, I'm cheap. Speaking of cheap, Jan wanted to ride the gondola to the top of the hill, but I disappointed her by not being willing to pay $44 per person for one round trip. Another cool thing for bikers--they may have this elsewhere but Whistler is the first place I' ve seen it--they have a chair lift for bicycles, they take you and your bike up to the top of the hill, and then you ride the trails downhill. I think an all-day pass for that is $53.

Here is a shot of Whistler Village. This is definitely a place on my "revisit" list, as are most of the sights we saw on this trip.

Back to the states tomorrow. A couple of days on Whidbey Island with cousins, a few days in Salem with cousins, a couple of days in Portland with friends and family, then home, probably getting in late on the 21st. If it is possible for a vacation to exceed expectations, this one has done so.

Banff and Lake Louise

I remember there was a Greek philosopher (don't remember which one), who theorized that he was the only person in the universe, because his awareness was the only reality he know. The function of every other person and thing in the universe was merely to complete his view and awareness of the cosmos. I'm sure I've butchered the essence of his philosophy, but as I understand it, if he were alive today, he would say that the AIDS crisis in Africa exists only if he actually witnesses it, and if he doesn't then it doesn't matter. For some reason I was thinking about this guy a lot today as we experienced another perfect day in Canada. It seemed as though God ordered the universe today, at least the part I was in, merely to please me. That's not as egocentric as it sounds. I just have a God that is powerful enough that, if He wanted to do such a thing, He could. We had early on decided that today would be the day that we visited Banff and Lake Louise, partly because the water in our condo was to be turned off all day (it's still not back on). But the weather was calling for snow all day today and tomorrow, and I wasn't feeling all that well, so we had kind of given up on that. Got up this morning and decided we would go as far as we could, until the Mounties or the weather told us to turn around. We did get some snow, but we also got a lot of sunshine--scenery so wonderful that breathtaking doesn't seem to do it justice. When we entered at the ranger station and asked if there was a chance of chains being needed, she said no, that it hadn't even begun to snow in the park. (Jan and I are phobic about driving in snow, dating back to a couple of mishaps when we were in college.). So as the day unfolded, I realized that when we made our reservations on May 1, God was setting things in motion so that we could have a perfect day on October 7.

When you enter the park, you are greeted by the sight at the top of this blog. It's called the castle, or castle cliffs, for obvious reasons. After about twenty minutes, you enter the town of Banff, a beautiful little alpine-looking city with a downtown pictured below.

It was snowing lightly, temperature was in the low 30s and once we found a restroom we began exploring and searching for a place to eat. We saw a subway, a Tony Roma's and an Old Spaghetti Factory, but we kind of rule out places that we could visit at home. (Hence the fascination with Cracker Barrel when we are out of California)

We finally settled on this place, the St James Gate Old Irish Pub. This must be a replica of one in Ireland, because those are the first pictures that came up when I searched. The interior is pictured below, and the place was just full of "atmosphere". The food was great also, and there was enough that is also serving as dinner tonight. Being an Irish pub, there were Irish sayings all over the walls. This was my favorite: AN IRISH CURSE:

"Lord, may those that love me, love me. And those that don't love me, turn their hearts. And those whose hearts you can't turn, turn their ankles, so I'll know them by their limping!" We ate at a couple of Irish pubs in Boston last summer, so this brought back memories of that great trip. When lunch started I had started to feel a little woozy again, and I told Jan that if I didn't feel better, we could get Lake Louise on the next trip. But after lunch and a trip to the drugstore for some more Advil sinus, I felt much better and we decided to go for it.

So, after saying goodbye to Banff, and realizing that it would be the subject of a much longer visit in the future, we headed back on the trans-Canada highway for Lake Louise. BTW, the roads were fabulous. The roads all the way into and through the park reminded me of the stretch of road from Bishop to Mammoth--not your typical, windy, narrow mountain roads that you experience at, say, Yosemite or Sequoia.

Part of the panorama on the way to Lake Louise is in the picture on the left, called the Ten Peaks. I didn't count them.

This picture is kind of blurry, (actually I accidentally deleted it, but Lake Louise is also in the picture at the bottom) but this is Lake Louise, at the northern end of Banff National Park. While it's blurry, the color of the water is exactly as pictured. Again, it was snowing lightly, just enough to entertain us Californians who never see it where we live. And since we aren't skiers, we usually don't even visit our local mountains when there is snow.

Finally, this is where we decided we want to stay next time we come!! This is the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, and we'll probably be able to afford it if my tax business reaches annual receipts in 6 figures!

What a perfect day it was, and I felt kind of guilty for worrying that it would be anything less.

Hoodoos, Golf and Vertigo

The natives call these formations "Hoodoos". I don't think it's the same as Creedence's "Born on the Bayou"--"Chasin down the hoodoos there." but they are quite impressive up close. Sandstone cliffs with erosion that makes the cliff faces look almost like human faces. These hoodoos are about 10 minutes south of where we are staying in Fairmont Hot Sprins, British Columbia. It was about a 3-hour drive from our motel in Whitefish, Montana and we arrived here Saturday.


This is a picture of the condos where we are staying, Fairmont Villas at Riverside. It's a nice, spacious 2-bedroom and probably the nicest non-Marriott we have visited. We have the whole place to ourselves since our cousins and my sister we not able to join us. (Aside to Ben, Lisa, Karen and Jay--you missed it!!!) There is a full kitchen, 2 jacuzzi tubs, the best shower ever, and spectacular views. We are here until Friday and then we head on to Whistler to see the preparations for the Winter Olympics. Units have barbecues on the back porch (which overlooks a river and a golf course) and I cooked some delicious top sirloins for dinner tonight.

To the right is pretty much the view greeting us when we walk out our front door. Those are the Canadian Rockies. Banff is on the other side of them, and we were hoping to get to go there sometime this week. Thay may not happen because of some health issues described below, but we are still hoping. If not this trip, the next one, because we have already decided this is a place we want to revisit.

There are 3 golf courses on the property, 2 full 18-hole courses, Mountainside and Riverside (names are self-explanatory) and a 9-hold par-3 course called Riverside. Jan brought her clubs, and since it's been about 4 years since she played, we chose to play Creekside. We had lunch at the Mountainside clubhouse. That course was still fairly busy even though it is obviously off-season, and in the pro shop I overheard the starter discussing (with a couple getting ready to tee off) how to deal with a brown bear sighting!

So we teed off at Creekside, and concentration was sometimes difficult thanks to views like the one to the left. The course itself was not that challenging, with most of the distances in the 110 yard range for me, but it was perfect for Jan's reintroduction to golf. Highlight of her day was sinking a 40-foot putt on #2. Since the course was not that crowded, I sometimes played more than one ball, with the goal of shooting a best ball of 60 or better--so I can say I've shot lower than my age. I struggled on the first time through with a 33, but had 6 pars and 2 birdies the second time for a 26 and a score of 59!! For you OC golfers, the greens were a bit slow--that's an exaggeration. The made Willowick seem lightning quick. Kind of reminded me of the greens at Ridgeline in Orange, which is no more. Though I played well, I began to get lightheaded and dizzy every time I reached down to tee up or pick up my ball. (I haven't included pictures of the next part, for understandable reasons). I think the adrenaline of playing minimized the effects, but once we were done and in the car, the dizziness and nausea set in, and I headed straight for the couch. Readers of my earlier blogs know how ill I have to be to allow myself to lose my lunch, but this was the closest I have come in many, many years. Actually had to crawl to the bathroom because the room was spinning so much. Dinner consisted of soda crackers and diet Pepsi.

Woke up a little better today, but not well enough to try to go to Banff. Ate lunch at the clubhouse and went from dizzy to tired, so came back and took a 3-hour nap. Jan found some Advil sinus at the store and that has seemed to help. Since snow is forecast for tomorrow and Thursday, and I have no desire to drive in the stuff, we may have to forego Banff and Lake Louise for this trip. Friday we head for Whistler with a stop at Kamloops Friday night, and that will include driving through Glacier NP of Canada. If it's even close in beauty to Glacier in Montana it will be a wonderful trip.

The Perfect Vacation

We've been on the road for 9 days now, and if it is possible for a vacation to be perfect, then that's what we have so far. Jan won money in Vegas, and we are still living on that. Utah was unbelievably beautiful, and I've posted pictures that kind of scratch the surface on that. It was our 3rd trip to Bryce Canyon, but our first to Zion, and we now understand what all the fuss is about. It's amazing how different they are, and beautiful in their own way. The night in Whitefish MT was great, tho we had such a long drive yesterday we wound up not going to Glacier. Also was hoping to see former students Janice and Brett, but they had parents weekend at, ironically my alma mater, Point Loma in San Diego. So I guess that means it wasn't perfect perfect.

Had one of those serendipitous moments yesterday on the way to our condo in Canada, that I thought I would share. We had been in Canada for about an hour, and were a little hungry, and the road we were taking didn't offer a lot of choices. We came down into a town called Canal Flats, which is very close to the Columbia River, and saw a restauarant called Fire Valley, so we stopped there. As I looked at the prices on the menu, I realized that since we were in Canada, I had no idea how much money we were spending! The waitress--there was only one to service the 8 or so tables--was in the middle of putting up Hallowe'en decorations, and seemed kind of put out to be interrupted. there were a couple of other groups, obviously locals, and they were chatting. We ordered, our meals were great, and as we were finishing up, 5 Dodge minivans pulled up, and people began piling out of all the doors, and it was obvious they were on their way in. The locals started laughing, and the waitress said, "Quick, lock the doors." The group piled in, and to add to the confusion, none of them were speaking English--or French. Turns out they were a group traveling together from Germany, and it was obvious their English was very limited. Since we were almost done, we just used the situation for entertainment!! (We did offer to help, but got a "no thanks"). For example, it took a couple of minutes for the waitress to get one guy to figure out she wanted him to choose between white and "brown" toast. There were about 25 in the party in all, and they filled every other table in the restaurant. One couple, obviously locals, walked in, surveyed the scene, and walked out. As we finally paid and left, she still hadn't gotten all their meals cooked and delivered.
Arrived at our resort, Fairmont Hot Springs at Riverside. It's a rather large timeshare development, with 3 golf courses on site. Our villa is very nice, 2 bedroom 2 bath, full kitchen, washer and dryer. Our front windows contain a breathtaking view of the Canadian Rockies, and out on our back porch is a river and one of the golf courses. We pretty much have done nothing in the day and a half we have been here, in fact I never left the villa today.
Tomorrow is driving range and maybe some golf. We will probably go to Banff and Lake Louise on Wednesday, especially after learning our water will be turned off all day. We'll also go through Canada's Glacier Park, which hopefully will make up for missing the one in Montana this time.
Still on tap a trip to Whistler to see their preps for the winter olympics (and Jeff told Jan to check out the place where Hell's Kitchen is being taped), then down the coast on a 2-week meander home.

This Was My Day

Figure I saved about 5,000 words.

Things I learned this Week

Been an interesting week as we get ready for vacation. I've learned 3 things I didn't know before.

1. When your refrigerator gets noisy, it's not necessary to go buy a new one. Sunday night our fan in the freezer got very loud, then stopped, and was then noisy again Monday morning. Then it stopped altogether, and the food in the freezer started to get warm. Called GE, scheduled an appointment for Thursday, and prepared for the worst. Had a brainstorm--called my friend Bret in Portland, who works with refrigeration for a living, and told him the symptoms. He said it was likely the seal on the door was compromised, the fan was drawing in moisture from the outside, and that was freezing. The noise results from ice encroaching on the fan. The coil then goes into defrost mode--thus the warming--until it frees itself of ice, then refreezes everything. Upon checking, I discovered a refrigerator magnet lodged into the rubber seal. Used hair dryer to melt some ice, noise stopped and I figured we were good. Noise returned next morning. Upon lifting some things, discovered inch-thick ice around the coil and fan. Thought maybe ice maker was leaking as well. Emptied freezer, used knife and blow dryer to get rid of all the ice, and she's been purring like a kitten ever since. Cancelled appointment, probably saving myself hundreds of dollars.

2. Malfunctioning toilet fill doesn't mean buying a new one. I probably would have just gone out and bought a new one, since it's about 5 years old and keeps leaking into the tank. Discovered this was different type than I was used to, so did some in-tank research. Discovered rubber seal had come loose, reset the seal, no problems since. Probably saved about 12 bucks.

3. If you plan to get fingerprinted in HB, don't do it on a weekend. Thought my clearance to e-file with IRS was done, but filed an extended return that got rejected this week. Spent a couple of hours online and on the phone, discovered there's an EFIN number I have to get from IRS, and to get that I need to be fingerprinted. So I moseyed down to HBPD today. Learned they only do fingerprints on Tue-Thur, by appointment only. My first though was, "So if I get arrested on a Friday, you keep me until Tuesday just to do my fingerprints?" Then I had a more rational thought--from Friday thru Monday they are probably too busy doing involuntary fingerprints to have time for law-abiding citizens such as I. They did have a list of places, and I found a place on Beach that did walk-ins on Friday--for $20 each. Went there, discovered he only does electronic fingerprints. He gave me the name of a place about a mile away--and she was out for the morning. I'm thinking now of just waiting until we have a few days in Brian Head, or even until we get back. Can't wait until I have to go through it all again to substitute teach. At least I learned what my options are.

So, for someone who has the goal of being a lifelong learner, it's been a pretty productive week!

Retirement Party Thoughts

Had my retirement party last night. We waited until September for a couple of reasons. First, as a teacher, not working would not really hit until school was back in session. Secondly, I figured more people would be able to attend once school was back in session. I was right on the first count, wrong on the second.
Thanks to facebook, I invited close to 400 people directly, and 700 indirectly. We got confirmations from about 70 people and a few more "maybes" so we decided to order food for 100 people. Wendy, one of my former students is a wedding planner, organized almost all of the event, and has a deathly fear of running out of food. My fear was ordering food for a large number and having the event attended by a small number. Turns out my fears came true. While not getting an actual head count, I think there were about 40 people total, and fewer than 10 of those were former students. Jan's first words when we got in the car were, "are you disappointed?" Honestly, yes. Also honestly, I had a great time with every single person who took the time to come. That's what I'm taking away. My spiritual Enemy was whispering the whole night, "Only 7? I guess the last 36 years of your life didn't amount to much." If I take the approach that the party was all about me and validating my career, he would be right. Had lots of time to think about it before and during the festivities (caterer was an hour late to boot), and decided that the Enemy, by definition, is a liar.
So I'm not going to focus on who didn't come. Many sent their regrets, and I cannot argue with their reasons--tho not wanting to drive from North Carolina or Mississippi seem to be pretty weak excuses to me!! I'm going to focus on who DID come, and what they mean to me.

First of all, every member of my immediate family was there, except Jolie, who had a sleepover, and I'll see her tomorrow and I have no doubt about how she feels about her grampa. Jeff and Jen came even though Jeff's 20th high school reunion was also yesterday. Tim and Anne drove in from Riverside to be there, even though they have to drive in from Riverside every day of the week for work.
My sister and brother in law drove down from Shaver Lake Friday, so we had a great weekend with them. My nephew Brian drove down from Fresno with his oldest and youngest, Hannah and Jacob, even though he had to drive back last night so as not to miss Caleb and Emma's soccer games. That made me feel really special, especially when Hannah decided to stay and spent the night with us, along with Jeslyn. Nephew Jeff came with Brian, making the trip from Seattle. The only one missing from that group was nephew Todd, and we spent an hour on the phone as he expressed his regrets at not being able to come from Vancouver, WA.
The Thorns, friends from our former church, took the time to come. Scott and Leslie met and married while they were members of our singles class, have 4 beautiful daughters, and we spent precious time with them, and look forward to attending the girls water polo matches at Pacifica and maybe Long Beach State if Kirsten makes the team as a walk-on. Leslie took care of Jolie when she was a baby and her sister Robyn took care of Jeslyn, so our girls have a strong bond that was still evident last night.
Eric, worship pastor at our former church came, along with Alyssa and Jacob. That was really meaningful, and further cemented an already strong friendship. It was good to watch the Thorns and Hendricksons interract with the Russells and Tim and Anne.
Cheryl Denio was there. Cheryl Denio was in charge of the attendance office for the 24 years I was Tustin High School, has been retired awhile, and planted a seed when she pointed out she went sky diving for the first time at age 70. I think she would win my award for "most surprising attendee."
Tom Tallman was another colleague that was there. Tom taught with me at THS until 1982, and is now subbing quite a bit in the district. He was my automatic sub any time I needed one last year and it has been great to renew our friendship.
There were 3 students from the Tustin class of 1980. Wendy, who planned the party and did a great job. She worked tirelessly to get things ready and running, stayed long after to tie up the loose ends, and did all without compensation as a "labor of love for my teacher." Cynthia, who I actually have known less than a year. She went to dinner with Wendy and I a few months ago, is one of my biggest blog supporters, and took the great pictures that she's posted on fb from last night. Feel like I've known her forever. Andrew, who played basketball for me in 1978, made a special effort to come, and we talked away quite a bit of the evening. Again, I haven't seen him since he graduated from THS, yet it was important to him to come to this event.
Lisa, Renee and Mark came from the class of '82. I've kept up with Mark recently through his FB posts, used to bowl with Lisa a couple of years ago, and Renee was the statistician for a lot of the teams I coached. Great to see them.
The only Foothill alum to come was Chloe. I had her for 2 years in math, she was a great softball player at Foothill and is now playing for Cal State Fullerton. She brought a card which told me, 'I wouldn't have made it through high school without you.'
Jerry showed up, in his sheriff's uniform, having just gotten off duty--thus a couple of pretty funny pics taken by Cynthia. Jerry was Tustin '78, and his daughter was in my Algebra 2 class this past year at Foothill, and will be a big player in the Foothill basketball program this year. Jerry is one of my heroes, having taken a couple of bullets in the line of duty for OCSD, and it was really special that he came.
Scott A, one of the Foothill campus supervisors and coaches, came after attending a funeral. Scott and I go way back, he having been in my sunday school class in high school and college and also on recent bowling teams. He and his family are very special to me.
Heather and Darren came even tho they have a new home and Heather is expecting their first child in a month or so. Heather was Tustin '89, and I've blogged about her before. Her presence made the evening complete. Good also to spend some time with Darren--they are still relative newlyweds, and the wedding was not a time for us to get acquainted. He's a social science major, which in the current climate means "no jobs available" but he's recently gotten a full-time non-classroom position at Tustin High, and is coaching football. It was great to listen to them testify to God's provision during this time of economic uncertainty in education.
Hope I haven't left anyone out. If I did, I blame a senior moment.
So, if you are one of the people who said they were coming, the only thing you missed was getting your name in this blog.
My friend Kristi has a phrase called Spiritual Spice, which I think means finding a spiritual interpretation for events that seem non-spiritual. I think it applies here. I could choose to listen to the voice that wants to minimize my career based on the number of people who showed up for my party. To do that would be the same as those who choose to judge Jesus based on the actions of some of his followers. Instead, I choose to be thankful for those who enriched my life by their appearance last night. Just as I choose to love Jesus based on the blessings he has provided, and the friends I have who demonstrate his love by their daily service. Yes, it hurt that some didn't value their commitment enough to attend (it hurt emotionally AND financially!). Again, such is human nature--we hurt each other. In this case I'm sure the hurt was unintentional, but nonetheless real. We are not perfect. If I choose to base my value on the quantity rather than the quality of last night's turnout, I would feel badly. I choose to base my value on the fact that my saviour loves me enough to die for me, as would many of the people in the room last night. And vice versa. And that's enough.

Fly 'til California

Welcome as we Fly 'til California

Not a lovely pace

(towards this lovely place)

No extra room on the flight to California

Seems it took a year

Just to fly us here.

The one thing I would have changed about vacationing in Hawaii would be the fact that our church had their "Summer with the Eagles" series while we were gone, capped by a cover concert this past Saturday night. Worship leader Kristi T listed Hotel California as her favorite song in the concert, and it's also my favorite Eagles song ever. So I was thinking of the concert on the flight home and as it turned out there were many events on the flight that reminded me of the song lyrics.

I WAS THINKING TO MYSELF, THIS COULD BE HEAVEN

Delta has followed Jet Blue in providing individual in-flight entertainment screens with movies, TV and music offerings. Since the TV option is not available on Hawaii flights, the on-demand movies are free. I watched 2 movies on the way over, and was all set to watch "Hannah Montana" on the flight home (so as to have a point of reference with my grandchildren). Alas, it had been 2 weeks so that was no longer an option, so I opted for "The Hangover". I had heard it was funny, and it was. I don't laugh a lot at movies and this one had me really cackling.

OR THIS COULD BE HELL

About an hour into the movie, the plane's entertainment system crashed. I was right at the part where Alan started winning at blackjack to try to get the 80 grand ransom for Doug. The system would remain down for the rest of the flight. For some reason, it also included the overhead reading light. I also was informed that the only item I wished to purchase from the menu was sold out (We haven't had that snack here since 1969). With no movie came no sound in my headset, so I then became aware of the rather large family occupying 3 rows across from us. There was mom, dad, 3 kids under 4, a few aunts, and grandma. (Her mind was tiffany twisted, more on that later). The two youngest were both screaming. The 2 year old boy was upset because daddy was holding him, preventing him from running up and down the aisles. Daddy eventually gave in, and aunt #1 spent some time chasing him after being alerted by Jan that he had escaped.

YOU CAN CHECK OUT ANY TIME YOU LIKE

Since it was Sunday afternoon, I decided to take a nap--even though I had no golf tournament on TV to help put me under. I think I was under for about an hour.

THIS COULD BE HELL, continued

Slept enough to take the edge off, so had to depend on the family across the aisle for the rest of my in-flight "entertainment". Jan made a circular motion with her finger, around her ear, and pointed to grandma. Evidently while I was sleeping grandma had escaped, running up to first class before being captured by the same aunt. I decided that the adults had flipped to see who sat by the kids and who sat by grandma, and this aunt lost the flip. Grandma was in her seat as I awoke, screaming louder than any of the toddlers, complete with hand gestures. She was speaking in a language not familiar to me, pointing to the ceiling. I'm thinking maybe she was saying, "Why is it I'm the only adult on the plane whose reading light still works, and I have no desire to read?" I also decided that the family was moving to America in hopes that all they had heard about national health care was true and they could put grandma in front of a death panel. Meanwhile the baby was screaming, the two year old was jumping up and down in his seat, and dad had gone to sleep. Soon the sun set, we could no longer read, and were facing another 2 hours of what flying used to be like.

UP AHEAD IN THE DISTANCE, WE SAW THE GLIMMERING LIGHTS

LA eventually came into view, and the lights of the city were outshone by the Altadena fire. As troublesome as the fires are, they provided a temporary respite from in-cabin activities.

BUT YOU CAN NEVER LEAVE

Momma eventually got the baby quieted down, first by changing her dirty diaper in-seat, then sitting her on the tray table and playing patty cake. She was actually giggling. Unfortunately, this also enterained the 4 year old, who was so overjoyed that his sister wasn't screaming, he decided it was his turn to show he could scream louder. It didn't matter that it was happy screams instead of sad screams. Dad woke up, pointed a finger at him, and went back to sleep. I decided that if I were still teaching 10 years from now, this boy would be in my math class.

BUT YOU JUST CAN'T KILL THE BEAST(s)

Finally landed, at a runway that must have been inside the Santa Monica city limits, so we had a 15-minute taxi to our aisle, followed by a 15-minute wait for a tow to the gate. Grandma escaped again, and aunt #1 just followed her trying to minimize the injuries. Lots of pretty pretty boys who apparently didn't understand English were ignoring the attendants' directives to remain seated, roaming the aisles as they had done for most of the flight. The attendant directed the boys back to their seats. She didn't even bother trying with grandma. By this time I had decided to blog about this experience. I also decided that the one thing that would have made it better would have been if my funny friend Heidi had been on board to write about it. These kinds of things usually happen to her.

HAD TO GET MY SPIRIT BACK TO THE PLACE I WAS BEFORE

In spite of all this, I was home. Vacation is nice, but home is nicer, especially since it has now kicked in that I am really retired. Since Jeff and Jen are working already, and the girls are not in school yet, I knew they were already asleep at my house and we would be spending the day with them. So,

LAST THING I REMEMBER, I WAS RUNNING FOR THE DOOR