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I have received many emails inquiring about my absence from the back page of the PWA and The Long View. I think this might be a good time to explain, catch up with friends, and wish all a happy holiday season.
There is much going on here and I will start by saying that I am still focused on helping Mom after the loss of Dad. I am staying busy with renovations to her home and yard, and have spent a great deal of time cleaning up the place and tending to all of those little things that Dad always took care of…the things I took for granted. All things considered, I have done fairly well at keeping mom’s eyes forward and her hands to the plow. When her hands are busy, her spirits are good.
Unfortunately, my writing has gone to the wayside. I look forward to reading the magazine each month, and often times I will read it many times over, but I am hardly able to contribute. However, Power Wagons still run through my veins and I can foresee a time coming when life may slow down a bit. Maybe then I’ll return to contributing whatever I can. I did enjoy it. I enjoyed the correspondence with Gordon. And I enjoyed the feeling of accomplishment that came when someone would mention that I had touched their lives in some small way.
Some of you met my son, Colt, when he was no more than 6 or 7 years old. He was always at the Iowa rallies with me. That was many years ago and, believe it or not, he will be starting his last semester of high school in January and has been accepted to attend Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The Wake Forest campus is a beehive of brilliance, a place where he won’t feel self-conscious about being smart anymore. We are very proud of what he has accomplished, especially since he has stood in the shadow of Tourette Syndrome for so long.
As parents we tried to cover the basic stuff such as Please and Thank You and why a man should hold doors for women. We told him to continue to be faithful. We stressed to him about the importance of choosing meaningful tasks and finishing them. The rest we left up to him. We were lucky and ended up with a polite, smart, athletic, and good-humored kid, despite the Tourette’s Syndrome. Wake Forest is a dream come true for him and an excellent reward for his perseverance.
When Colt leaves for college, Jany and I will be relocating to NC as well and will likely end up in a rural area where I can enjoy the kind of peace and quiet I remember from my days on the farm. Having a barn that I can convert to a woodshop would be perfect, as I have had a lifelong love for woodworking. It makes my time seem better spent.
We will, no doubt, miss the comforts of being so close to family, but feel as though it is time to move forward and do something different; something that makes sense for us, if only us. We have, for a long time, dreamed of retiring in rural North Carolina. It is a great fit for a retired man who likes to lay low, drive old trucks, build things from wood, and fish the clear mountain streams.
Overall, things are good in my life, always challenging, but always rewarding too. I am thankful that I have things to do. And I am thankful that there will always be a next thing.
And the next thing will probably take a lot of work. I suppose I learned that from Dad. I have a lot of mental pictures of Dad and most of them have a working scene backdrop. Factories, farms, garages and such; sleeves rolled up high and shovels and piles of dirt, sweaty brows, bulging veins, and a hot sun. That being said, I am moving forward in the true spirit of Dad.
I want to wish all of you Happy Holidays, however you may spend them and whatever your beliefs are. Take care of yourselves. As busy as you are, remember to sit back every now and then and indulge yourself. Could be reading the PWA or going to a rally or buying an old barn. If you don't take a moment now and then, you'll miss out. I know this to be true. I've missed my share. Don't want to miss any more. Happy Holidays.
There is much going on here and I will start by saying that I am still focused on helping Mom after the loss of Dad. I am staying busy with renovations to her home and yard, and have spent a great deal of time cleaning up the place and tending to all of those little things that Dad always took care of…the things I took for granted. All things considered, I have done fairly well at keeping mom’s eyes forward and her hands to the plow. When her hands are busy, her spirits are good.
Unfortunately, my writing has gone to the wayside. I look forward to reading the magazine each month, and often times I will read it many times over, but I am hardly able to contribute. However, Power Wagons still run through my veins and I can foresee a time coming when life may slow down a bit. Maybe then I’ll return to contributing whatever I can. I did enjoy it. I enjoyed the correspondence with Gordon. And I enjoyed the feeling of accomplishment that came when someone would mention that I had touched their lives in some small way.
Some of you met my son, Colt, when he was no more than 6 or 7 years old. He was always at the Iowa rallies with me. That was many years ago and, believe it or not, he will be starting his last semester of high school in January and has been accepted to attend Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The Wake Forest campus is a beehive of brilliance, a place where he won’t feel self-conscious about being smart anymore. We are very proud of what he has accomplished, especially since he has stood in the shadow of Tourette Syndrome for so long.
As parents we tried to cover the basic stuff such as Please and Thank You and why a man should hold doors for women. We told him to continue to be faithful. We stressed to him about the importance of choosing meaningful tasks and finishing them. The rest we left up to him. We were lucky and ended up with a polite, smart, athletic, and good-humored kid, despite the Tourette’s Syndrome. Wake Forest is a dream come true for him and an excellent reward for his perseverance.
When Colt leaves for college, Jany and I will be relocating to NC as well and will likely end up in a rural area where I can enjoy the kind of peace and quiet I remember from my days on the farm. Having a barn that I can convert to a woodshop would be perfect, as I have had a lifelong love for woodworking. It makes my time seem better spent.
We will, no doubt, miss the comforts of being so close to family, but feel as though it is time to move forward and do something different; something that makes sense for us, if only us. We have, for a long time, dreamed of retiring in rural North Carolina. It is a great fit for a retired man who likes to lay low, drive old trucks, build things from wood, and fish the clear mountain streams.
Overall, things are good in my life, always challenging, but always rewarding too. I am thankful that I have things to do. And I am thankful that there will always be a next thing.
And the next thing will probably take a lot of work. I suppose I learned that from Dad. I have a lot of mental pictures of Dad and most of them have a working scene backdrop. Factories, farms, garages and such; sleeves rolled up high and shovels and piles of dirt, sweaty brows, bulging veins, and a hot sun. That being said, I am moving forward in the true spirit of Dad.
I want to wish all of you Happy Holidays, however you may spend them and whatever your beliefs are. Take care of yourselves. As busy as you are, remember to sit back every now and then and indulge yourself. Could be reading the PWA or going to a rally or buying an old barn. If you don't take a moment now and then, you'll miss out. I know this to be true. I've missed my share. Don't want to miss any more. Happy Holidays.
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