Mapping Booklandia

I'm a map geek.  I can't help it.  I love maps.  I buy a new Rand McNally Road Atlas every year and pour over it looking for all of the changes from the previous edition.  I have a collection of old atlases, some almost 100 years old, because I love looking at the old maps.  I have a collection of old globes, too.  And a few old gas station road maps.  There's something beautiful about a map.  Maps are a representation of actual places, and I love how the cartographer (the map maker) interprets how the map should be designed.  They are used for all kinds of purposes, to show us where to go, or how to get to where we want to go.  And they're all around us.  They are literally everywhere.

I love to plan a road trip, and so I will periodically start looking through my road atlas and pick a state, or landmark, and plan a trip around it.  I have a log of more than 20 different trips that I want to go on, all at various lengths and destinations.  My favorite trips were my two cross-country loops, one alone, and one with my wife.  I also drove down old Route 66, one of the most incredible drives I've ever taken.  But I honestly had as much fun planning these trips as I did actually taking them.  And it's all because of maps.

It's kind of sad that map reading skills are disappearing with the proliferation of GPS, or Global Positioning Systems.  These nifty gadgets are now everywhere; in your car, on your smartphone...they're everywhere.  You don't have to be able to read a map anymore.  All you have to do is ask it where you want to go, and it will tell you how to get there.  I guess they make things easier.  But for me, the fun is in trying to figure out on my own how to get to where I want to go.

When I was deciding on where I wanted to go to college, I decided I should be a computer science major.  Once in college, I discovered that I had a lot of other choices.  But I was surprised when I found a geography class.  I took it and I had a blast!  I had no idea I could be a geography major.  But that's what I wanted to do.  I became a cartographer, and began a career at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in Aeronautical Charting.  And I've been there ever since.  And I love it, even if I'm no longer practicing cartography.  Management isn't quite as much fun.

Anyway, my point is writing this is because my wonderful daughter, Melody, in her Geography class, was assigned a project where she had to design her own country.  She determined how it would look, what kind of topographic features it would contain, where the towns and cities would be located, what kind of natural resources it might have, and she had to come up with names for all of these features.  On the flip side of her design, she had to create a map of a city within her country, and what the street layout would look like, where stores, hospitals, schools, neighborhoods, police stations, fire stations, parks, municipal buildings, and so many other features would be located, and then she had to come up with names for each of them.  I think I was more excited for her to do this project than she was!

Mockingbird City, capital of Booklandia

The results were profound.  Her country, "Booklandia," so named because of her love of books and reading, is a work of art.  She named many of the features after books she has read, with names like Mockingbird City (named for TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, her mother's favorite novel), as an example.  I'm just so impressed!  She approached this project with gusto, and the result is inspiring.  And I didn't have to help her with any of it.  She designed the whole thing herself, with no input from me.  I couldn't be more proud of her.

So I don't know if my girl has a future as a cartographer.  As I mentioned, with the proliferation of digital navigation aids, there aren't too many needs for cartographers.  My employees are all called "Aeronautical Information Specialists" now.  Our tools are GIS hardware and software, not exacto knives and scribers.  We don't use paper much anymore, and paper charts are being replaced by digital files.  My boss recently asked our employees, "Who, besides Eric, still buys road atlases?" Not very many raised their hands, and there were chuckles that I was mentioned by name as someone who does.  But it doesn't change my opinion.  I love maps.

Have a great evening, everyone!  Don't get lost out there!  And don't get so dependant on technology that you forget, or don't learn, how to use a map.

Howl-O-Scream at Busch Gardens

Just about every year since I was a youngster my family and I have traveled to Williamsburg, VA, and visited Busch Gardens, one of the nicest theme parks in the world.  We go not just because we love the roller coasters, which are all world class, but also because it is so beautiful, the food is fantastic, the employees are friendly, and the setting is so relaxing.  Last Friday was one of those trips, and my daughter Melody and I, along with my parents, my sister, and my brother and his family, had a very nice time.  But it wasn't great.  Like all businesses, and Busch Gardens is a business, they want to make money.  In the Fall, the park is transformed for Howl-o-scream, their Halloween "celebration," and this is where Busch Gardens has changed from family-centric to anything goes.  And that isn't a good thing...for families.

We arrived in Williamsburg on Thursday evening after a hectic drive.  I left work a few hours early to get a jump on rush hour, but it became clear that the best plans don't always work out the way we want them to.  Hitting the road at 3:30, we met heavy traffic at every turn.  I-95 south out of Howard County usually isn't too bad in the afternoon, but traffic was already barely moving.  I decided to work my way over to US 1, but then decided to take Powder Mill Road across the Agricultural Research Center, eventually cutting over to Route 450.  We jumped on the Beltway here, and crawled pretty much all the way to Route 4, where we bailed and cut across towards 301 south.  Traffic in Brandywine was terrible, so we again took back roads around Waldorf.  We made it to La Plata at about 5:45.  Mom, Dad, and sister Angie had stopped at the Texas Roadhouse in La Plata for dinner, and we were able to join them just as they ordered their food.

Melody wanted to ride with them, so I drove alone in our Jeep the rest of the way to Williamsburg.  It was smooth sailing all the way down 301 into Virginia, and at Bowling Green, we took Route 207 to I-95.  I-95 is like a race track, and after some white knuckle driving, we took I-295 to I-64 towards the Tidewater area.  After about 5 minutes, traffic screeched to a halt:  road construction.  For the next 30 minutes, we crawled.  Then it cleared up and we had no problems the rest of the way.  We arrived at our hotel at 9 p.m.  Our typical three hour trip became well over five.  I was exhausted, and we quickly checked in, sorted out our room assignments (Mom & Dad, Melody & Angie, and me, with my brother joining me on Friday night), and went to bed.

Our hotel on this trip was a very well-regarded EconoLodge that we had stayed in the past.  It's old, but clean and decent, and we actually got to know the owner and his family from our previous trips.  I had stopped staying here a few years ago because, frankly, there are much better, more modern places to stay nearby, though not necessarily as inexpensive.  But because everyone is on a budget, we agreed that this would be a good place for us to rest our heads.  Friday morning, we were reminded why we don't like staying here:  the free breakfast.  I know it's free, but all hotels offer a free breakfast anymore, and this one isn't even close to being par.  We were offered hot or cold cereal, bread, and, at least according to my sister, terrible coffee.  After eating, we headed out to Busch Gardens.

It was cool and partly sunny to start the day.  We were looking forward to what was forecast:  60 degrees and mostly sunny skies, with 0% chance of rain.  As the day went along, however, we were reminded that, despite all of the technology available to meteorologists, the weather can't be predicted until you look out the window.  Within minutes of arriving, the skies grew dark and it began to spit rain.  We're optimists, so we hoped that the rain might keep the crowds down, but everyone likely saw the same forecast as we did, and wouldn't change their plans despite how it looked.

Brother Darren and his girlfriend, Erica, and her daughters, Brit & Cait, arrived soon after we did.  We got our requisite group picture, in England, and then we started having fun.  We headed to our usual first ride, on the Loch Ness Monster roller coaster, in Scotland, but it was our first hint that the crowds would be large.  So we mixed it up.  We all took the sky ride over to France and found no line for the Griffon.  We all (except Mom) hopped in line and rode in the front row for an exhilarating ride.  After it was over, the line was still short enough for a second ride, so we rode again.

We continued to ride many more rides as we walked through the park, then we had a nice lunch at the Festhaus in Germany's Oktoberfest.  We arrived in time to see one of the shows, which had a Halloween theme, a song and dance show with bad puns.  But the food was outstanding, as usual.  After a break, we headed back out, but the rain was coming down much harder now.  We decided to shop for warmer weather, since it was clear it wasn't getting out of the 50s, and would be chilly when the sun goes down.  Then it was back to the rides.  The crowds continued to be heavy, and we weren't able to ride some of our favorites without long waits.

Busch Gardens is a beautiful place, and it has an added mystique about it in the Fall.  The leaves have started to change, and the air feels great.  My family has always enjoyed Halloween.  We like the scary stuff.  We've always recognized it for what it is:  entertainment.  But it's also more than that for the park.  This is where things have changed.  Halloween was a subtle addition to Busch Gardens, and really, all amusement parks, a few decades ago.  Now it's an industry.  A money-making industry.  And the appeal is more than just for families.  The park has changed by adding risque shows, and "haunted houses" that take things much farther than rides and decorations.  And these changes bring in teens, many without any supervision, and young adults, who would much rather drink and party than just be scared.  And the park has obliged them.  When nightfall came, the park transformed, with an influx of hundreds of people entering just for the Howl-o-scream festivities.  The seven or eight haunted houses opened up, each a walk-through slash- and gore-fest scare factory, with waits as long as an hour to enter them.  In other places, the techno dance music is turned up to an ear-blistering level, and bars with beer and mixed drinks are available for all who want them.  The anything goes looseness comes with it.  The park has specific areas marked as smoking lounges, but I saw MANY people lighting up cigarettes everywhere.  Busch Gardens is NOT family-centric anymore, not for Howl-o-scream.  And this is where the park has sacrificed what makes it unique to us.  It just isn't fun.  And that's unfortunate.

We visited a few of the haunted houses.  One had a theme of lumberjacks who hack up unsuspecting guests.  Another is a cornfield filled with killers.  And yet another is a demon-possessed house.  Mom's knee gave out on her, so Dad and she went to the entrance to wait for the rest of us.  We rode the Loch Ness Monster one more time before heading out.  It was a fun day, but not at all what we expected, though we've noticed changes in the park over the last few years.  It's making us jaded.  And that's sad.

The park is celebrating 40 years of operation, and we've been coming for 38 of those years.  The problems we're seeing aren't limited to just Busch Gardens.  They're at all amusement parks. And they are very popular.  I guess we're just in the minority.  We're all getting older, and our disappointment stems from what we're used to, and what we would prefer to experience.  Things change.  Maybe the Christmas season will be better.

Have a great evening, everyone!

Pastor Mark

My wife, Teresa, and I were looking for a new church home.  My wife's church, where we attended after we were married, was a place Teresa had been attending since her teens, but after we moved to Howard County, it was just too far away.  So, in the Summer of 2003, with a little one on the way, we began shopping around.  We visited four different churches, but none of them felt comfortable to us.  Then Teresa remembered a family that attended Mount Hebron High School, where she had been teaching 9th grade English and Public Speaking before moving to Reservoir High School upon its opening.  The student's father was the pastor of a church in the area.  She had gotten to know the parents, Mark and Lu, at regular Parent-Teacher conferences, and since Teresa taught three of their children over the course of several years, they met quite often and got to know each other well.  Teresa also noted that she could tell which students at the school attended this church, since the youth program was particularly strong, and the students just had a way about them that made them stand out.  Teresa suggested that maybe we should visit their church.  That was enough of a recommendation for me, and the next Sunday, we attended Grace Community Church for the first time.

We liked Grace from the start.  Pastor Mark was very approachable, and his message was strong.  I liked his style and demeanor.  He was confident, knowledgeable, and humble.  And, man, could he pray!  The style of worship was very similar to our previous church home, so that made us feel comfortable.  And the fact that there were a few people there that Teresa recognized allowed us to feel a little more at home and less like visitors.  I told Teresa after the service that I thought we had found a new church home.

The only downside was the location.  While it was much closer to our home than Rockville, it was still a fair jaunt from our home in Laurel, and it also seemed very crowded.  The church was in an office park, and it really didn't feel like a church.  Parking was also an issue.  But it was clear that the church had a future building plan, and that was encouraging.  So we started to attend regularly.  It was great being in a new church family, and between the wonderful people we met, and Pastor Mark's messages, we started to feel energized.  It was nice to have a new church home.

Our daughter, Melody, was born in November that year, and we had to get our parenting legs under us.  It was actually a couple of months before we were comfortable enough to return to Grace with a baby and leave her in the nursery with "strangers."  But soon that was comfortable, too.  I remember that Easter Sunday, in April of 2004, Grace moved the services to Howard High School, and Melody was returned to us with a diaper change (with a sticker on the backside of her diaper letting us know that she had been changed).  We chatted briefly with Mark and Lu before leaving on that rainy Easter morning.

One week later, Teresa died.  It was the most horrible experience of my life.  She had suffered a fatal heart attack during a stroll that evening, and her death and home-going changed my life, and that of our little girl.  Melody was 5 months old, and I was still learning how to be a father.  Now I was a widower at the ripe old age of 34.  Mark showed up at our home the following morning.  He was such a pro.  It was obvious to me he knew exactly what he was doing, even if I didn't see it at the time.  He was so supportive, not just of me, but also my in-laws, who were grieving right along with me.  Mark was able to point us in the right direction of a funeral home and cemetery, as well as help us plan the funeral service at Grace.  And he prayed with us.  He was with us at the viewings at the funeral home, and supported us right through the funeral, connecting us with many people who were there to help, including the preparation of a wonderful meal after the burial back at the church that the people of Grace hosted for the family and a couple of hundred guests and loved ones.  I will never forget the incredible generosity and love that Grace showed us during that dark time.

Fast-forward one year, and I was in the midst of a deep depression.  I had been struggling with some health issues, and my faith was in a period of stagnation because I just wasn't allowing myself to find comfort in the Lord.  Grief overwhelmed me.  Prayers became rote and meaningless, at least it seemed.  I was attending Grace regularly still, but I found that I was breaking down often during the services, mostly upon hearing songs that I know Teresa loved to sing.  I hit rock bottom, but I was conscious of a need for spiritual help, and I poured out my soul into an email message that was sent to several of the pastors in my life.  While a few returned messages offering various degrees of support, only Mark called me on the phone and suggested we get together to chat.  And we did.

We met a few days later at Seibel's, a restaurant in Burtonsville, MD.  The first thing Mark noticed is that we were both wearing leather bomber jackets.  Then we talked.  Mark has this way about him that immediately put me at ease, and he really listened to me.  We talked about my health issues, and he told me about someone at the church who had a similar issue, and gave me that person's phone number so that I could talk about the procedure that I needed to have done, one that this person could give me the details about.  It really helped ease my mind about it.  Additionally, we talked about my daughter, and he suggested that I was really not going to be much good to her until I got help for myself.  This may sound like common sense, but I sure wasn't thinking straight at the time, and these were blockbuster suggestions.  We talked a bit about Job, and the fact that people still go through Job-like situations.  And then we prayed together.  We embraced as Christian brothers, and said our goodbyes, with Mark promising to check on me, and letting me know I could talk to him whenever I needed to.  And that day was the beginning of my healing road.  I don't know if he knows just how much he helped me that cold day during the Winter of 2005, but it meant the world to me.  God used Mark to get my attention.

Several years later, Mark and Lu set me up on a blind date.  They didn't just give me this young lady's phone number and send us out on a date; they set up the entire evening for us, including how to recognize each other at the Joanne Fabrics store in Columbia, to a bag full of conversation topics, to gift cards to restaurants for dinner, to instructions for each step of the entire evening of our date.  It was easily the most unique date I had ever been on.  While their attempt at matchmaking wasn't successful, it was a fun time and created a great memory, and I am so honored that Mark and Lu felt inclined to give us such a wonderful gift.

Grace Community Church is a special place.  And Pastor Mark is a special person.  I will continue to pray for him, and for his family, and as my friend.  Thanks, Mark!

Have a great evening, everyone!

Saturday Morning

Saturday mornings are so relaxing.  Even though I didn't sleep in, which was common before I adjusted my sleep schedule a few months ago, I had a lot of energy and was ready to take on the world.  However, now that my daughter has taken on the characteristics of a full-fledged typical teenager, my day doesn't seem to get started until 10 or 11 a.m.  I've been up for over four hours and not much to say for it, other than wiping out the backlog on my Tivo.

The other thing I get to do is catch up on my blog reading.  I read a few dozen blogs semi-regularly, and there are a lot of good writers out there.  I always find out something new, and I'm constantly updating the list of blogs on the left-side of my own blog.  There's a lot to recommend, though don't assume that just because I provide a link means I agree with the opinions they share.  I just find them interesting.

I've been challenged recently by a new work schedule, which places me right in the heart of rush hour, both morning and afternoon.  I hate it, to put it bluntly.  It is unreal to me just how horrible we have it in the greater-metropolitan Washington, DC, area.  My commute is now almost double what it used to be, yet it's the same distance.  I've tried every shortcut I'm aware of, and apparently everyone knows every one of them.  Traffic literally crawls.  It is maddening.  My boss said I should use public transportation.  That would be great if there actually was reliable public transportation that was anywhere near where I live.  Why Howard County doesn't have something other than commuter buses is beyond me.  The buses have to use the same route that I use to get to work, so I'm not saving any time, and co-workers tell me they've abandoned using the buses because, in the afternoon, those same buses, which originate in DC, don't even stop to pick up passengers in downtown Silver Spring because they're already full, so catching one becomes an uncomfortable wait, especially when the weather gets chilly.  Carpooling may be an option, but it won't get me to work any quicker.

My boss loves that I'm at the office later in the day, however.  Most of my colleagues are out of the office at 3, which is what time I used to leave over my entire 24 year career, until school started in August, which is why I had to adjust my schedule.  My boss, who works until 6 pm everyday, loves having one of her managers in the office to handle crises that could possibly come up but never do.  But I'm there.  At least someone likes my new schedule.

Dinner is a little later at our house nowadays.  This makes it more difficult to come home and do things before dinner.  No TV watching, no snacking, no errands, no cutting the grass, no resting... I come home and go write into food preparation.  And with our emphasis on eating better, I don't like to get carryout or go out to eat as often, even if that's easier.  It also means grocery shopping is more critical, as well.  Instead of shopping for 2 or 3 days worth of meals, I need a full weeks worth, at least.  Finding time to shop for groceries is a challenge, as well.  It's a bad cycle, but it's my life.

We haven't given up completely on going out to eat, though.  This past Thursday, with a slew of gift cards in hand, we made our way to our local Red Robin restaurant.  We realized, upon arriving, that the inside has been completely redecorated since we were last there, and that it has likely been three or four years since then.  The menu has not changed, though, and we ordered our favorites.  We then started to look at the staff to see if there was anyone we recognized.  For about five years, we ate at Red Robin on a weekly basis, with family and friends joining us.  It was a lot of fun, and a great opportunity for the grandparents to all get together with their only grandchild.  We also got to know much of the staff, and some of those folks, who have moved on to other work, school, or other Red Robins, remain friends to this day.  So we looked around, and sure enough, Lauren still works there!  We got to know Lauren when she dressed up as Red Robin on Kid's Nights, a long time ago.  And now she's one of the managers.  That's pretty cool.  She stopped by our table and greeted us, and it was great to catch up.

My daughter is finally up, so I'm off to continue my Saturday.  Have a great weekend, everyone!

Grace Fall Retreat

My wonderful daughter went on her first youth retreat this past weekend at Northbay camp in Northeast, MD.  Melody is in her first year with the Grace Community Church middle high youth group, and the youth go on a Fall retreat every year.  I went along as a member of the kitchen work crew, the first retreat I've been on since 1998 when I was counselor at my old church, Cheltenham United Methodist.  It was a first in a lot of ways for both Melody and me.

The weather certainly wasn't agreeable for a weekend away, especially since being in the great outdoors is a big part of the experience.  With Hurricane Joaquin bearing down on us, it promised to be a bit of a wash out.  We did not ride along with the rest of the youth group on the buses, instead driving up ourselves.  We left at around 6:30 p.m. and headed up I-95 in the rain.  The drive really wasn't a long one, and we arrived at the camp at around 8.  I thought for sure we would arrive after the buses, but we beat them.  We were completely unfamiliar with the camp, and it was dark, so we waited until the buses arrived, which was only about 20 minutes.  Several hundred kids unloaded, and I left Melody in the capable hands of the youth counselors to find her cabin.

The dorm I was staying in with the work crew was in a different part of the camp, and with a trusty map, I kind of figured out the general layout of the camp and headed up the path towards where the dorm was located.  The path was on a hill, and it was a substantial hike in the dark.  It was only after I got to the building that I discovered that there was a parking lot there and I could've driven instead.  A nice family gave me a ride back down to the dining hall for our quick tutorial of our jobs for the weekend.  We had a crew of about 30 people, most of whom would be serving food to the youth, counselors, volunteers, and staff.  After learning about how it would work, and setting up the tables for breakfast the next morning, we were released for the evening.  This time I drove back to the dorm.

The dorm itself was fairly nondescript.  It had a large open room with plenty of couches for the everyone to socialize, read, hang out in, or just sit.  Down the hall were several rooms containing bunks for about 16 people each, with an attached bathroom for each room.  The men were on the top floor, with a duplicate level below for the women.  I unloaded my stuff in the room furthest down the hall, and that proved beneficial when only 4 of us claimed a bed in there.  The rest of the men were in the other room, where I'm sure they had to double up.  I was soon snoozing.

I woke up several times during the night, unable to get comfortable.  The beds each had a mattress on a sheet of plywood, and they were made for someone not quite as tall as my 6'2" frame could fit on.  I just could not stretch out, and my legs kept cramping up.  It was a long night.  I woke up before my alarm went off at 5:30.  I was tired, but I grabbed a quick shower, dressed, and was out of the room before most of the others got up.

I drove down to the dining hall and got some coffee in me, then proceeded to keep busy getting things ready for breakfast along with the other early risers.  Soon, everyone was working, and the smell of bacon filled the air.  The work crew ate breakfast first, then we got ready for the crowd.  We all stayed in the kitchen as the room filled up, then, after a prayer to thank God for His provision, we went into action.  Each of us were assigned to two tables, each with eight place-settings.  My tables were on the opposite side from the kitchen, against the far wall.  There were 16 hungry young men ready to eat, and I served them scrambled eggs and bacon.  It seemed to go over well, and I made two trips back to the kitchen for refills.  I visited very briefly with Melody, who was at a nearby table, and she told me how much fun she was having.  In less than 30 minutes, everyone was fed and the room cleared out.  Clean up was messy but smooth, and it was great to see everyone work so quickly.  We had the room ready for lunch in no time.

We had a couple of hours before the next meal, but I remained in the dining hall and got to know some of the other volunteers.  They all went to Grace Community Church, and most had kids in the youth group.  I got to know one guy, Gary, whose grandson was there.  Gary and I planned on going out to explore the surrounding Elk Neck State Park later that afternoon.

Lunch was more of the same, this time with chicken quesadillas as the meal.  It went even more smoothly this time since we were becoming more and more familiar with our roles and what needed to be done.  The room was quickly cleaned and readied for dinner.  Then we had a nice 3 hour break.  I was sweating and tired, but Gary talked me into going on the hike anyway.

We drove down to the end of the peninsula.  The weather was cool and breezy, with a slight mist in the air.  We started down the trail towards the nearby lighthouse.  It ended up being a two mile hike, but the Turkey Point Lighthouse was neat to see.  We then headed back to the camp.  Unfortunately, we had to take a detour due to a tree falling down across the main road, but we made it back to camp in plenty of time.  I was able to change clothes and freshen up before heading back to the dining hall for dinner.  Another smooth serving and cleanup, and we were done for the night.

I had forgotten to bring a bar of soap, and I knew I needed to fill the tank on my Jeep, so I decided to drive back up into town to get what I needed.  I found a Wal-mart, and gassed up at a Sunoco, then drove back to the camp.  It was about 8:45.  I figured I would try to pack up a few things since we had to clear out our room before breakfast.  When I walked into the dorm room, it was already dark and I heard the sounds of lots of snoring.  I could hardly believe it!  Everyone was asleep!  I stumbled around in the dark, trying to be quiet, and decided to just go to bed.

The night was very similar to the previous night, and I was pretty miserable.  I just could not get comfortable, and I tossed and turned all night.  And again I was up before my alarm.  I lay in bed for a long while before getting up, and I prayed for a great day for everyone.  Then I showered and dressed, packed up my stuff, and exited the dorm, loading everything into my Jeep.  Then I headed back down to the dining hall.  It was a repeat again of yesterday.  This time, Melody and some friends decided to sit at my table, so I had the honor of serving my daughter.  It was fun!  There were a few food fights, and the kids all seemed to be getting along very well.  Then they all went off to a worship service.  We cleaned up, got a few pictures, then said goodbye.

I spent the rest of the morning wandering around the camp for the first time, getting the lay of the land, and being impressed with all of the amenities.  When I was a youth, I went on numerous retreats to Summit Lake Camp in Emmittsburg, MD.  It seemed a bit more rustic than Northbay.  Here there was a beach, a pool, zip lines, rock climbing wall, and so much more. I'm sure the kids had a blast.

I sat down and waited for the worship service to end, then Melody and I said our goodbyes and headed back to the Jeep for the long trip home.  Before long, we were back in our neck of the woods.  Melody and I stopped for lunch, and she shared with me her journal for the weekend.  It was really neat to see how involved she was, and, in particular, how much fun she had.  She wrote, "This is the most exciting weekend ever!"  I could only smile, and pray silently to myself my thanks to the Lord for His blessings.  She was filled with the Holy Spirit.  I can hardly wait for the Spring retreat!

Have a great evening, everyone!

Joy

I have a thousand things flying through my head right now, and I can't wait to write about them.  The past few weeks have been terrible, bearable, wonderful, and incredible.  I can't be more proud and impressed by my daughter, and at the same time be frustrated by the approaching teen years. Work is so hard, but it can be so fulfilling.  They make me mad at times, but I love my family.  Every high is met by an equally difficult low.  The roller coaster analogy fits so perfectly.  Life seems so out of control at times, and yet I know God is completely in control.  I'm scared and excited.  My faith is strong.  How can I not be filled with joy?

1 Peter 5:10 - "And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm, and steadfast."

In HIS grip...

Hope

I've made no secret here about my struggles with depression.  When you have depression, even little things can set you off in a downward spiral, and my kryptonite has been my sports teams.  I know it's just a game, but when my teams are doing poorly, it brings me down.  A few years ago, in the midst of a downhill moment, my Pittsburgh Steelers ended their season with a heartbreaking playoff loss that sent me into such a funk, it took Heavenly intervention to finally bring me out of it.

A day like today is another example of this, though to a much lesser extent.  The Steelers, who were riding high with their powerful offensive team, and a recovering defense, lost their ace quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger, to a severe knee injury.  Football is a violent sport (too violent, if you ask me), and injuries like this happen.  But the fallout is that this could completely derail the Steelers season.  "Big Ben" will be out at least for the next four weeks, and if an MRI tomorrow reveals more damage, he may miss the whole season.

I'm not the football fan I once was.  The violence outside of the game, given the lifestyles and money the players live with, is sickening to me.  The Ray Rice situation from last season, with him physically abusing his wife in an elevator, completely turned me off to the game, and was a horrifying example of the violent lives many, though not all, of the players choose to live in, and how far outside the law many of them are.  When the commissioner of the National Football League, who's the judge, jury, and executioner of the players when things like this occur, can't differentiate between abuse and cheating, the league becomes a joke and the fans lose respect and interest.  That's where I am.  Some habits are hard to completely break, however, and my interest in the Steelers is still there.  Despite my disappointment in the cheating scandal with Tom Brady of the New England Patriots, and the stupidity of players who figure they can use marijuana without consequences and then get suspended, I still care about the success of my team.  And their success took a major blow with Ben's injury today.

That takes me to the Pittsburgh Pirates professional baseball club.  The Pirates are in the midst of their third straight playoff season after 20 years of losing.  Read that again.  20 years!  That is a record for ALL professional sports teams in North America.  It was 1992 when the Pirates last had a winning season before "The Streak" began, and though you might think I would lost interest in baseball, or at least in the Pirates, I remained hopeful every season that they might just break out of it.  So, this year, the Pirates, my beloved Bucs, are finishing up a really successful season, one where they currently have the 2nd best record in Major League Baseball.  That's just incredible to me.  And that's where my hope is right now.  It's what keeps me from dropping completely into a depressed state.

This hope is barely comparable to the hope Christ-followers have in our Savior.  It may be hard to realize if you're not a follower of Christ, but it is an incredible feeling to know that the love that comes from Jesus, who died to save everyone, and you only need to open your heart to Him to receive this gift of eternal life, is enough to sustain us.  And while I struggle with depression, I know deep down that Jesus is there for me.

I'm such a poor witness for my faith.  You would think that Christ-followers wouldn't have any worry at all, and while much of what I worry about is just something created in my mind, there is a real struggle that takes place with depression.  My battle is rooted in the grief that I feel from the loss of my wife.  She passed away in 2004 from a massive heart attack resulting from complications from Mitral Valve Prolapse and an enlarged heart.  Her death was sudden, and she left me to raise my 5-month old daughter alone.  And I've struggled ever since.

I recently read a blog post from a man named John Pavlovitz who said almost perfectly what I've been feeling.  I don't necessarily agree with everything he posts on his blog, but there's enough common ground, mostly through the grief that we share and the love we have for Christ, that I find his writing worth reading.  Here's the LINK.

My reason for sharing all of this is to let you know that, even when everything seems hopeless, or when you're at your wit's end, or that you're feeling like it's the end of the world and you can't go on, there will always be Jesus.  There's always hope in Him.

Have a great week, everyone!

Six Flags America Concerns

Complaining always comes across as a negative, and that isn't really how I view things.  However, it seems recently that I'm becoming that typical Grumpy Old Man as I get older, and today may be an indication that I need to start thinking younger.

That said, my daughter Melody and I went to Six Flags America, located in either Bowie, Upper Marlboro, Largo, Mitchellville, or Kettering, Maryland.  Today seemed like the best day of the weekend, so we decided it would be a good day to visit the park after purchasing season tickets earlier in the month.  Six Flags had advertised a big sale on their season tickets, and a free upgrade to their Gold pass upon using them (providing admission to ALL Six Flags parks nationwide), plus free parking, all for about $60 each, and I grabbed them.  That's a pretty good deal.  When I got season passes two years ago, we took advantage and visited Six Flags America, Magic Mountain (in Valencia, CA), Great America (Chicago), and St. Louis (in St. Louis, naturally), dramatically increasing our roller coaster ride totals.

Here's the deal, though.  Six Flags is just not a very well run operation in my opinion.  Their parks just don't feel safe, and the peripheral stuff, like food, is outrageously expensive and not very good, particularly when compared to many of the top parks throughout the country.  For example, Busch Gardens is a beautiful theme park with great food, and is a better value based on food quality.  Again, my opinion, but one certainly shared by my entire family.  Today, we went to the Johnny Rocket's restaurant inside the park.  The selection was nothing like a "real" Johnny Rocket's, with the only items on the menu being a double burger, a single burger, and chicken tenders, with a side of fries & onion rings.  Melody ordered the chicken tenders and I got a single burger, plus a bottle of water and a "regular" diet coke.  While the burger came out very quickly, the restaurant staff was inadequately prepared for the small group of people who happened to be ordering food at that moment, and we waited for ten minutes while the chicken tenders were cooked up in the deep fryer.  Once the tenders arrived, the burger was cold to the touch.  Worse was the price.  $35 for our meal.  That included $4.39 for a 12-ounce cup of soda and mostly ice.  Both the burger and the tenders were as basic as they could be, and memorable only due to the price.

We saw a very ridiculous show called Monster Mash Bash, starring ridiculously costumed Dracula, the Wolfman, "Frankie" the Frankenstein Monster, and a "headless" Igor.  The music was a mix of pop tunes sung by the monsters, with rap-style lyrics.  Did I mention it was ridiculous?

I've very rarely ever felt unsafe on an amusement ride, particularly at a major amusement park like Six Flags.  Today was the exception.  The ride attendants didn't seem very thrilled to be working today, and their lapses in basic safety checks were jarring and disturbing.  One of my favorite rides at this park is the Wild One, an old wooden coaster built early last century and moved from New England to the park back in its Wild World days in the 80s.  It's pretty awesome, a rickety old thrill ride with lots of character.  Upon boarding the ride and landing in our seats, the lap bar was left unlocked.  The attendants breezily ran through their ride-checks without realizing that the lap bars were not locked.  When they got to our row, I showed the attendant that my lap bar wasn't locked, and she immediately looked back at the young man at the control panel and told him to press the lock button, which he clearly forgot to do, and which then engaged.  They went back to the front of the coaster and repeated their checks without missing a beat.  I was horrified by their carelessness and lack of concern over something so basic yet so vitally important, especially since they didn't even notice despite running through half the train before I pointed it out to them.  That's an absolutely egregious mistake.

"Plane crash" next to Apocalypse roller coaster at Six Flags America

Later, on Apocalypse, their stand-up coaster, Melody and I settled into our "stools" and I plugged in the safety belt into the shoulder harness.  I didn't realize that the belt had not engaged, and had fallen out.  When the ride attendant came by, she took the belt and apparently buckled it in for me again.  I said to her, "Wow, I thought it was already buckled in."  She just giggled and moved on.  I looked at the belt and it fell out of the buckle once again, without me touching it.  The ride was about to begin, so I quickly buckled it a third time, yanking on it to make sure it was engaged.  When the ride started, I was so paranoid that it was going to come undone again that I didn't enjoy the ride at all.  And when the ride did end, coming to a stop just outside the loading station, the ride shutdown and wouldn't advance, stranding us on the coaster.  We watched as the ride attendants announced to those waiting that the ride was out of service, and maintenance was called.  We were back in motion and off the ride in less than five minutes, but there was clearly some kind of technical issue.  Whether it was due to the the safety belts or not isn't clear, but I certainly didn't feel safe.  After one more ride, we called it a day and left the park.

I'm not sure how the rest of the day went for those visiting the park, but it was also the start of the Halloween scare season, and while it appears that many were looking forward to the haunted houses that would be opening up at nightfall, I wasn't interested.  I can't help but be reminded that a huge fight broke out at this very park two short years ago during their Halloween season, resulting in at least one major injury.  I wanted nothing to do with Halloween at this park, so I'm glad we left when we did.

Did I regret buying the season tickets?  No.  It was just too good of a deal to pass it up.  And since they are good throughout the entire 2016 season, it was worth it to me.  But I will be so much more vigilant and observant at every amusement park I visit especially the Six Flags parks.  I hope I won't have reason to worry.

Have a great evening, everyone!

The Muppets, The Pope, and The Pirates

I just watched THE MUPPETS, the new incarnation of the late Jim Henson's wonderful puppet troupe.  I'm old enough to remember THE MUPPET SHOW from the 70s, and it was a huge hit and favorite of mine.  This new show is really bad.  I wanted to love it, but it's sophomoric and not at all true to the characters I grew up with.  Kermit The Frog says "Hell," "Sexy," and takes the Lord's name in vain, and it's so out of character as to make it appear that the writers did it only for shock value.  The show is written like most sitcoms these days, with a documentary-like feel (The Office), and purports to show the "real," behind-the-scenes lives of the Muppet characters.  Zoot, my favorite saxophone player in the Electric Mayhem house band, comes across like he isn't "all there" in the head, which was kind of charming in a naive way in the past, but now appears to be a result of a drinking problem.  And Fozzy Bear is "dating" an attractive young lady whose parent's come across as "racists," unapproving of their daughter's new "bear-friend."  The whole thing is very un-funny, and my daughter and I don't approve.  The 70s version of the show didn't have to resort to these attempts at humor, and was hilarious for the characters and the crazy acts, as well as the wonderful performers (Jim Henson and Co.).  This script could easily be applied to any other sitcom on the air, and the format for the show just isn't appropriate.  It doesn't fit the Muppets.  They deserve better.

***

It was all doom and gloom for commuters this week with the Pope in town, and my office prepared by emphasizing telework.  It also happened to be National Telework Week, so the timing was perfect.  As much as I would have liked to telework, my responsibilities do not really fit the model, so I found myself driving in to downtown Silver Spring, expecting the worst.  Fortunately, I left the house early and encountered very few traffic issues, other than a little bit of stop-and-go on the Capital Beltway.  Either many people decided to heed the warnings about the disastrous traffic and stay at home to telework, or the commute really wasn't all that bad.  I think it was probably a combination of the two, but it certainly wasn't the disaster the media predicted.  And it was kind of nice at the office, with many of my employees at home.  It kind of felt like a Holiday, though with the Pope here, it was more of a Holyday.  The afternoon commute was even better.  I hope tomorrow goes just as well, though I'm worried that everyone who stayed home will hear that traffic wasn't bad, and they'll return to work tomorrow, making the predicted traffic a reality.  I'm hoping for a Pope-like miracle.

***

While it's much more low-key this year than the past two, the Pittsburgh Pirates Major League Baseball Club is 5 short innings away from clinching their third straight play-off berth.  After 20 years of losing seasons, Pirates fans are enjoying this new trend of winning, and I'm greatly looking forward to seeing if they can finally get over the hump and possibly make it to the World Series.  Their last World Championship was in 1979, when I was a wee lad of 10 years, and I am so hopeful of this opportunity.  I love baseball!  Go Bucs!

Have a great evening, everyone!

A Saturday Morning Adventure

My beautiful daughter Melody and I decided to take advantage of a rare happenstance this morning.  She has turned into a full-blown teenager, it seems overnight, and she sleeps almost more often than she's awake, particularly on the weekends.  But for whatever reason, she was up before the sun, and since I awoke at my more normal 7:30, we quickly got dressed and out the door for a Saturday adventure.

I had explained to Melody that I missed the days when we would awake early on a Saturday and go out to breakfast, so we headed out to Chick-Fil-A to eat.  The store on Johns Hopkins Road here in southern Howard County was not very busy, and we had a nice, peaceful meal, and we planned out the rest of our morning with some great conversation.

After eating, we drove over to our favorite park, Schooley Mill Park on Hall Shop Road in Highland.  The park was fairly packed, and a spirited game of Cricket was being played on one of the fields.  Melody and I took a fun hike down one of the series of trails that criss-cross through the park, and it was a nice workout.  The scenery along the trail is really spectacular, and we enjoyed the nice weather as we walked along through the woods.

After the hike, we took a nice little drive along the back roads of the county, finally ending up back in civilization to do some needed shopping in Columbia.  Without having much luck finding what we needed, we grabbed a couple of sandwiches at Jersey Mike's, and came home to relax for a bit.

Relaxing is exactly what we did, and I soon found myself snoozing on the couch for a good hour or so.  Work has been extraordinarily stressful over the past week, and I think the fallout has placed me in an exhaustive state.  The nap did me a world of good, and after a shower and change of clothes, we got ourselves ready for the Saturday evening service at our church, Grace Community.

After a great and meaningful service, with Pastor Mark at the podium, Melody and I grabbed a nice dinner nearby, then crashed at home for the night.

If was a truly memorable Saturday, and I'm so thankful that God blessed us with such a great day.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Revisiting My 9/11 Story

"9/11" has come to mean so much to Americans.  It's just a day in September.  It's also, ironically, the numbers that are dialed on the phone in the event of an emergency.  But it is and always will be one of those dates which will live in infamy...like the day Pearl Harbor was bombed, the day JFK was assassinated, or the day the Challenger shuttle exploded.  Two years ago, I wrote my 9/11 story here on this blog, and I'm reposting it today.  Today is a day of remembrance...

***

Today is one of those days where we remember.  We remember exactly what we were doing 12 years ago today, we remember those who lost their lives tragically on that day, and we remember those first responders who tried to help and rescue so many.  It will always be a hard day for Americans, as seldom in our history, and particularly in our modern history, have we been attacked on our own soil.  And it changed the way we go about our daily lives.

This is the first time I've had a forum to share my own 9/11 story.  It is hardly a compelling story, nor is it surrounded in tragedy.  It is just the story of how my wife and I dealt with what transpired on that awful day.

It really was a nice Tuesday, kind of warm, and bright and sunny.  We had been having mechanical problems with our Jeep Cherokee, and it was in the shop being looked at.  Teresa, my wife, was going to ride with a co-worker to Mt. Hebron High School, where she worked as a 9th-grade English teacher.  I had gone to work as usual earlier that morning, arriving at 6:30 a.m.  I was a team lead in the central section of the VFR (Visual Flight Rules) Charting office within the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in downtown Silver Spring, MD.  We worked on the 3rd floor of a 13-story building, part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) complex next to the Silver Spring Metro, the fourth of four high-rises on the southwest side of the tracks along East West Highway.

My boss was out of the office that day, so I was in charge.  I was sitting at my desk talking to one of our IT guys when I received an email.  It was from one of the employees in our airports division, and it stated, "A plane just hit the World Trade Center."  It had been sent out to our entire office.  Almost everyone assumed it was a small plane that must have accidentally hit the building.  I pulled out the New York Terminal Area Chart, a 1:250,000 scale VFR aeronautical chart, to take a look at that area of NYC to see if there was anything wrong with the chart.  At about the same time, one of the guys on the other side of the office turned on a small black and white TV he had in his cubicle, just in time to see the second plane hit the other tower.  Word got around the office very quickly that this was no accident.  I quickly sent my wife an email explaining what was happening, that both towers of the World Trade Center had been hit by planes, and that we were trying to figure out what was going on.  She called me almost immediately after she got the message.  I could hear the worry in her voice.  They had a TV on in the 9th grade team teacher's office and were watching what was going on.  We both prayed, said we loved each other, and I tried to concentrate on work.

About that time we received word that something had hit the Pentagon, and mass pandemonium took over.  My boss's boss came rushing past my cubicle and said, "Evacuate the building, let's just get out of here.  Please account for all of your employees."  There were false rumors and stories of bombs going off all over downtown DC, and that government buildings all over the area might be targets for more jets.  I rushed around my office and made sure everyone had a way to get home.  Some offered to take other's home.  There was a great amount of cooperation despite the panic many were feeling.  One of my co-workers lived downtown, and I told her to be very careful.  Very few Metro trains were running into the city.  Most were heading out only.  Silver Spring, being right on the edge of northern DC, was a hot spot of employment in the DC area, but still considered the suburbs.  I called Teresa and told her we were evacuating.  She said that schools were going to release early, and then she would try to get home.  She was still dependent on her co-worker due to her not having a car.  I told her to be careful, and she said the same.  She was very scared.  I said I love you, and started to head for the exit.

Then I saw Greg.  Greg was concerned about how he was going to get home, since he took the train from the northeast Maryland suburbs to Union Station in downtown DC, then he took Metro from there to Silver Spring.  I told him that I doubted he be able to catch any trains running that day, and I offered him a ride.  He took me up on it, and we headed out.

I had parked on the G1 level, which meant I was only one level down from the exit.  NOAA employees had apparently decided at the same time as the FAA to go home, so there was a huge line of cars trying to get out of the garage, and it took us about 30 minutes to get out.  Once on the road, traffic moved fairly well.  Greg lived near and on the far side of Fort Meade, which is also home to the National Security Agency.  We figured that we might want to try to avoid that area since the NSA might be a hotbed of security given what was happening.  I kept the radio on WTOP, the local all-news station, to keep abreast of what was happening.  Greg agreed with my course of action, to take the Capital Beltway over to the Baltimore-Washington Parkway, then to Rt. 32 which would take us right to Greg's car, parked in the commuter rail parking lot near Fort Meade.

Traffic continued to move well all the way up the parkway. When we got to Rt. 32, though, it was closed with emergency personnel blocking the exits.  Apparently, we were right about Fort Meade being busy.  So we took the next exit, Route 175, which would skirt just north of the NSA and take us right to the train station.  However, we his our first traffic jam of the trip just after jumping on 175 and we crawled the rest of the way.

The news on the radio was all shock and panic, with both WTC buildings having collapsed.  There were still many bad rumors flying around about incidents in and around DC, which didn't help.  We finally got through the traffic and I was able to drop Greg off at his car.  I wished him well, and he offered me a few tips on alternate ways home.  I lived in Laurel, which was only about 10 to 15 minutes away, normally, but with the traffic around Fort Meade, I had to make a big circle north of Fort Meade, and had clear sailing all the way home.  I turned on the TV and watched countless replays of the towers collapsing, which filled me with awe, but horror as well.  Within the hour, Teresa arrived home, and we hugged for a long time.  We had only been living in our house for a little over a month, so we really didn't know any of our neighbors, and we felt like we only had each other at that moment.  We sat in front of the TV all afternoon watching what was happening in New York, finding out about the other planes, the available details regarding the Pentagon, and the crash in PA.  Teresa made us a light dinner, but neither of us was hungry.

I can't really put into words what we were feeling.  There was this fear that gripped us, and immense sadness about all who had died.  We hoped we wouldn't have to work the following day so we could just be with each other.  We prayed.  We hugged and sat close to each other.  This was an event neither of us had ever experienced.  We weren't old enough to remember when John F. Kennedy was assassinated.  The only comparable was the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion, which occurred when we were in high school.

We went to bed that night knowing we would be working the next day, and it would be a challenge to try to attempt anything normal.  We didn't want to be apart, but we also knew we had to work.  We prayed for so many that night.  And then we tried to sleep.  I don't know what time it was when we finally fell asleep.  It was pretty late.  I just kept praying to God how thankful I was that my family was all accounted for and okay.  And I prayed that God would bless America.

Hug and kiss your loved ones tonight, everyone.  Make sure they know how much you love them.  You can't say it enough.

Light Company at Grace

This is a difficult time of year to commute to and from work.  With all of the area school systems in session, the roads are full of people, and traffic is heavy.  So heavy, in fact, that my commuting time is almost double what it normally is.  This makes for a long day, and this week, following Labor Day, the official end of Summer, has made for a long week so far!

My wonderful daughter, Melody, has successfully transitioned from elementary to middle school, and seems to be doing really well.  The move to a new school also coincided with a change in routine at our church, Grace Community.  The youth program, called Light Company for the middle high students, is such a great program, and I've looked forward to her being a part of it for a long time.  I remember my wife, Teresa, who was a 9th grade English teacher in Howard County, telling me that she could tell which kids at the school where she taught were involved in the youth program at Grace.  They were just different.  Good different.  That was inspiration enough to lead us to the church.  That, and the lead pastor, who Teresa got to know since she taught most of his children.

So Melody is attending the youth services at The Warehouse at Grace, and she is making friends and getting to know the ministry staff, and she's loving it.  And this is such a blessing to me.  The youth program also has a weekly Bible study, and Melody gets to meet with the girls in her age group at the home of one of the volunteers who works with them.  Last night was their first meeting.

It had been a hectic day, and I got home fairly late yesterday afternoon.  I took the easy route and picked up some Chick-Fil-A for dinner, then rushed home.  We had just enough time to eat, then we had to leave for the weekly Bible Study.  It was clear across the county, so we were late, of course.  We're rarely on time for anything anymore, but we were welcomed by the youth leader when we arrived at her home.  She told me how much she has been praying for Melody, and this touched my heart in so many ways.

You have to understand, I hate the stigma that is attached to Melody, as a young girl whose mother died when she was a baby.  People automatically feel sorry for her, and that sympathy takes on a lot of different forms, from prayer to kindness to sadness to empathy to pity.  I don't like receiving that attention, myself.  Even though I continue to battle depression as a result of her death, now 11 years ago, which is a lifetime, I don't feel like I deserve the sympathy that is shown towards me, and I hate the emotion that creeps out of me when I receive kindness from others as a result.  Life happens, and death is a part of life.  But Melody is different.  While she has no memory of her mother, and is as well adjusted as she can be for someone who doesn't even know what it's like to have a mom, I relish the attention she receives through the prayers of the youth leaders, because she is special.  And I'm so thankful for the Light Company youth leaders at Grace.

God is doing great things at Grace.  I am grateful for the care the leaders give to the young people that are a part of the youth program, and the way they bless the families of Grace.  We are in the right place for us right now, and I can't help but see God's hand in this.

Have a great evening, everyone!

An Evening At The Bengie's

Incredibly beautiful evening here in Middle River, MD, at the Bengie's Drive In!  It's the annual Labor Day weekend Dusk to Dawn show. They're playing a pretty decent lineup of movies:  SHAUN THE SHEEP, INSIDE OUT, RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (yes, the Indiana Jones movie!), MISSION IMPOSSIBLE 5, and ANT MAN!  I'm pretty sure we'll be snoozing by midnight, but this sure is a fine way to spend a Holiday evening! I hope you and yours are doing well.  Have a great evening, everyone!

Less Stress, More Fulfilling

For much of the past several years, I've really struggled with bouts of depression.  I'm not afraid to admit it.  It's something that bothers me a lot, and I've prayed about it constantly, that God would take the depression away, or take away what causes it.  Life becomes such a struggle, and while God never promised it would be easy, He does listen to our prayers, and I live with the hope that he will take this burden away and I can eliminate some of the stress that I feel.  I'm convinced God grants our requests, if it suits His purpose for our life.

So what is causing my depression?  Besides an all over malaise, I know that the main issues I face are related to my job.  I'm in a challenging position of management, with about 65 employees, and must make many important decisions on a daily basis.  I'm naturally a worrier, and a fear of making the wrong or bad decisions plagues me.  In addition, I have a boss who has high expectations, and constantly challenges me with tasks that take me out of my conservative comfort zone.  I'm always concerned about pleasing her.  I tend to be plagued by self-doubt, and I feel like I'm the weak link in my management circle.  This causes me to lose confidence in myself, which then feeds my depression, and I'm stressed out all the time.  The stress has caused a host of health problems, including hypertension, high blood pressure, and type 2 diabetes.  I'm really a mess.

To combat the stress, I've tried to make my personal life easier.  In this, I've been sort of successful.  My sweet daughter, Melody, who is on the verge of entering her teen years, is my biggest supporter, and though we disagree occasionally, like every parent-child relationship, she certainly makes my life easier.  She's a good girl.  I don't have to worry about behavior problems, and she is a fantastic student.  I wish she was more confident in herself, but given my own propensity to doubt myself, she gets this honestly.  She seems to have inherited only the best traits from her mother, and that outweighs the more challenging traits she got from me.  So, while I worry that she should have an easy life, she more than makes up for any worrying I do by her wonderful demeanor.  I love her so much!

We are blessed financially to be able to take fun vacations frequently, and that is another way to combat stress.  While I know my boss would love to have access to me all-day and every day, I do not bring my work home with me, and I definitely stay off the grid while vacationing, which my employees honor.  They know how to get hold of me if they absolutely have to, but the managers under me are very competent and are able to make decisions on my behalf.  And our vacations are always a lot of fun.  As I've noted previously, we love roller coasters, so we have set goals to visit many amusement parks every year and ride as many coasters as we can.  We also have a goal to visit all 50 U.S. states before Melody graduates from high school.  She has visited 34 states (and I'm at 41), so we're well on our way.

So, after a particularly bad Spring, I turned up my prayer life a few notches, and I started asking God to ease the stresses related to my job.  The Summer months weren't nearly as difficult, even though the amount of travel for work increased dramatically.  While I was outwardly frustrated about this, internally I found that I was worrying a lot less than previously.  After some personal vacation trips, and getting out of the office for extended periods of time, I found that I was less stressed, in general.  Then after getting some direct feedback from my closest colleagues, I suddenly found myself with a lot of confidence, and that easily translated into a positive outlook about work.  It would be very easy for me to chalk it up to the kind things said by my co-workers, and my boss, I can't help but see how God responded to my direct prayers to ease my work-related stress.  It is incredible to see God working in my life.  There is tangible evidence that my outlook has improved, and for that, I am humbled and so thankful.

I still have a long way to go.  Life isn't easy, and God didn't promise that it would be easy.  But I asked Jesus into my heart a long time ago, and that has made such a difference in my life and outlook.  Life is so much better with Him in my life.

Enjoy your weekend, everyone!

Once Again, Where is Eric?!?

It's time once again for another episode of, "Where is Eric???"  Or maybe the better question is, where WAS Eric?

Whew, what a Summer!  I typically take four or five business trips a year, but between Memorial Day and Labor Day this year already, I've been on four.  This past week was my fourth trip.  In June, I went to Oklahoma City for a conference with my colleagues.  Two weeks later, I was in Fort Worth, Texas, for a high-level management summit.  Immediately after returning home, my daughter and I went to Pittsburgh for a family wedding, and a few weeks after that, we went on our big Summer Vacation roller coaster trip.  We came home after the trip for about three weeks, then I went to Atlantic City for yet another high-level management summit, immediately followed by one more week-long adventure with my daughter to Williamsburg, Busch Gardens, and Ocean City.  This week, I returned to Oklahoma City for another conference.  All told, from June 8 thru today, September 4, I was on the road for 37 days, 19 for work, 18 for play.  I say again, Whew!

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Flying to Oklahoma City is never easy, but I'm fortunate (for those who like Southwest Airlines...I do) that I can fly on an airline that benefits me.  However, despite earning lots of points for free flights, Southwest keeps tweaking their schedules and now there are very few direct flights to Oklahoma City from Baltimore-Washington International, and vice-versa.  Gone are those Friday mornings when I want to rush out of OKC to get home as soon as possible.  Today was a long day of travel, beginning with a flight out of OKC at around 6:00 a.m., a layover in St. Louis, and finally touching down at BWI at around noon.  I know there are worse trips, but I can't help but be completely exhausted after a week of high-level meetings and decision making, then a day on the road before finally collapsing at home.  I just don't fly well.  Being over six-feet tall is a challenge on even the shortest of flights, with all airlines stuffing as many seats onto a plane as will fit, made for average-height people.  I'm never going to be comfortable while flying, and your Federal Government is not going to pay for me to fly in comfort.  Anyway, upon arriving at home, I was ready for a nap and some relaxation.

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I was very excited to be home and reunited with my daughter, Melody!  We don't like being apart.  It's just the two of us all the time, anyway, so these business trips really disrupt our regular schedule and daily routine.  I am so fortunate to have my parents nearby, and they were willing to move in to my home to take care of my girl while I was away.  Dad actually did a lot of work around my house during his time here, and for that I am so appreciative.  Mom always helps Melody organize her room and provide that motherly influence that I just can't provide, and I know Melody loves having them both here with her.  Between my parents and my in-laws, Melody is surrounded by so much love.  She's the only grandchild on either side of her family, and the assumption is that she is spoiled rotten, but the truth is that she is spoiled with love.  It's so easy for us to feel the challenges that circumstances have presented to us, but God continues to show us the way, providing us with love and support that family and friends give us.  Life is good.

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!