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"World Class" Hospital

God bless all the people at Magee-Womens Hospital who took care of Giovanna.

Enough With The Rain Already

We have had twenty inches of rain in July. Since June we have had two days without measurable rainfall. About twenty miles from here six inches fell in one afternoon last week. So far only two Drum Circles  have been cut short by thunderstorms. The poor children haven't had any summer at all and school starts in another week. The crops are underwater, it's just a big old mess.

I'm Too Old For Retro

I had a chance to go full retro this week. I had a chance to drive a 2003 Ford Thunderbird.  It was the top of the line model with a 280 hp V8 and all the bells and whistles.  I was looking foward to this since my usual ride is a 2004 Honda Element (aka bread truck). A $47,000 280hp luxury two seater  versus a $18,000 160hp utility vehicle.  A nurse from work needed the Element to move since a pizza wouldn't fit in the T-Bird.

The T-Bird only had 60K miles on it yet it rode like the 58 Chevy Impala with 160K miles I had. It was like the old Chevy X frame Flexible-Flyer's I owned. I think it needed some front end work and tires but that couldn't be responsible for the stiff bouncy horrible ride.  The slightest pavement seams caused the back to do this little bunny-hop like my 92 Ram pickup.  The cabin was luxurious although I doubt anyone over 5'9" could fit in it.

Now the good part was the V8 engine that took up every square inch under the hood. In Sport Mode it would leave rubber in second gear.  It was like a jet engine strapped to a go-kart, too bad the frame and suspension came from the Edsel.  The car also is a great looker.  The styling does turn heads and get smiles; I'm sure it would drive the ladies in the assisted-living facility crazy.

It's not completely retro, it does lack the failing brakes, flat tires, flooded carburetor, overheating, stalling and sloppy steering of a true 50's car.  The nurse wants to sell it to me for 10K (that's 9k below Blue Book).  Then I would lose the luxury feel of an Element.  I would no longer blend in with the Carolla's and Accords.  When my neighbor saw it in my driveway she asked if I got a promotion at work. Like many things our desire for retro isn't based in reality.  Still the idea of my old 1961 Ford Falcon with a 4.3 liter V8 makes me tremble. Someone please stop me before I  write the check!

Five Months In The Wilderness With Larry Crabb

Since Feb. CP and I have been teaching Sunday School and using the book "Sixty-Six Love Letters From God".  Five months of surveying the Old Testament hasn't been a rollicking good time, not to mention the horrendous body count and genealogies. 

Today we went over the intro to the New Testament, which was actually a summation of the hard lessons we were supposed to learn in the previous thirty-nine "love letters".  Like Moses leading the multitude I felt it appropriate to summarize our five months in the Sinai.

I said, "These five months have been like going to a psychiatrist. We laid on the couch and rattled on and got impatient and discouraged. Like a patient we asked the doctor, how long would he take to find out what's our problem is.  The shrink says, "I knew what your problem was after ten minutes, I was waiting for you to figure it out".  That's where we've been for five months, mired in the blood the guts and the beer, learning what the problem is.  Five months is better than five thousand years, and instead of losing people we gained a couple.  It was some tough stuff but I think we at least see our problem.

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I'm Not Dead Yet!

"I'm not as good as I once was, but once I'm as good as I ever was." 

Supposedly, in September I am going to work per diem. I will work thirty weeks a year without benefits as a way to cut back. I checked what I would get from Social Security if I retired and it may be enough to live in a van and panhandle. Getting old doesn't mean you can 't work sixteen hours a day, it means when you do it takes two days to get over it. It's sort of like a hangover without the fun. After a few moments of deliberation I decided to work three more years per diem instead of one more year of full time.  

I just see what happens to old guys sitting in rocking chairs. Their world shrinks and becomes just one big quest for finding a BOGO on frozen yogurt. This is all made possible by my successful spouse who has a power job with a REAL hospital.  For some men their goal in life is to marry a "go-getter". In the morning they take their wife to work, then at night they "go-get-her".  

For now I'll remain the grumpy old guy at work. Someone has to stick around and tell the residents that everything they learn in class is crap. Plus we just hired two new guys. The fact that I won't be the only guy working with six women gives me pause for hope.