Simple Pleasures

This morning I decided to see what options were available at the heretofore "too pricey" Starbucks wi-fi. To my surprise Kokomo S-bux is offering ATT internet. Since I'm ATT at home all I had to do was type in my email address, password and VOILA--free internet!!

Another simple pleasure smile ;-)

Latest Talk

Click here for a pdf of my latest talk at Oakbrook.
Or click here to download the podcast.
Check out the pictures from my Brown County bike trip.

Indians Ride Again

The Indian Motorcycle Company is back...again. The legendary American motorcycle is back from the dead.

The company began in 1901 and reached its height in popularity from 1922-1953. Sadly they declared bankruptcy in 1977. They were resurrected from 2001-'03; known as "Gilroy Indians." This latest incarnation finds its home in Kings Mountain North Carolina. (More about Indians)

Sticker Shock:
MSRP on the Chief ranges from $31,000 - $35,500. Dare I say it makes a Harley look like a bargain. As much as I'd love to have an Indian, this price point makes it nothing more than a "when I win the lottery" pipe dream.

Good luck Indian--long may ye ride!

Brown County Bike Run

Wow--just had a GREAT weekend riding bikes & camping with my brother, Jameson, in Brown County IN. (This pic is taken in Brown County State Park.)

Click here for all the pictures.

We loaded our bikes down with all the camping gear they'd hold and made camp at The Last Resort, that was just 2 miles outside of Nashville.

We road into Nashville Sat afternoon & stuffed ourselves with the ridulous biscuits, applebutter & fried chicken of the Nashville House restaurant. Seriously, you can't believe there aren't a bunch of 60-70 year old grandmas in the kitchen making this stuff!

For dinner we drove about 30 miles to Seymour IN. The restaurant wasn't anything special; it was just an excuse to ride some more & say we'd been to John Mellcamp's home town.

We ended the night with a camp fire and a bottle of cabernet that we drank from paper cups that Jameson talked our waitress out of in Seymour.

To his utter dismay, Jameson missed the event of the day Saturday. We were riding through Brown County State park--thru winding roads, up & down. I was behind him as we came upon a sharp right hand switch back turn on a very steep incline.

As I came into the turn I saw a pickup truck coming down the turn. I instinctively (& WRONGLY) let off the gas. On that steep sharp turn, that was enough to cause me & the bike to fall over to my right on the inside of the turn.

I felt the bike going and did my best Chris Farley Beverly Hills Ninja side/backwards summersault off the bike. (Ever see a bear tip over on a tricycle??)

I was up instantly with my cat-like reflexes & the guys from the truck were right there asking if I was alright. They helped me pick up the bike about the time Jameson was returning to the scene of the goofy crime, "What the heck happened?!"

I did notice afterward I had a fairly significant gash on my helmet--that probably would have been more than a detail had I not been wearing it. Helmets are good even though they make for bad hair.

And for the rest of the trip I'd ocassionaly look over & see Jameson's shoulders dancing as he laughed, imagining me tumbling into the grass. Brothers ;-)

I used a duffle bag stuffed with sleeping bag, clothes etc strapped to the passenger seat. It made the most wonderful backrest. I had ZERO back fatigue on the non-stop 2 hour trip down and back.The only two things they would have made the trip significantly more enjoyable would have been a chair & a bed roll. After riding the bike so much, the "plank" of the picnic table wasn't exactly what my backside had in mind. And a little something between my sleeping bag & the ground would have made for a better night's sleep.

Jameson did make some great java Sunday morning. Nothing like a cool autumn morning in the woods, and piping hot joe perking in a pot that looks like it came from the Clampett's kitchen.

Biking & camping in Brown County----definitely something to do again ;-)

Best School Pic Ever

Ok, there's a little bias here---but I LOVE this pic of my beautiful sophomore daughter, Meghan. It's so good it's almost hard to believe it's a "school picture!"

Ah, she's so "folksy" ;-)

Please enjoy her answer to the question to give one example of McCain pushing for more government regulation in his 26 years of service. Check it out. (It's really short--& cute.)

1M2L

We're in the 2nd week of this campaign at our church. At a blush the book is reminiscent of Making Room for Life or similar to Wide Awake and several others that aren't coming to mind. So as I read 1M2L it's easy for me to think, "Heard that before," or "This isn't that original." BUT...

It's hard. It's really hard to slow down enough to read it, think about it and internalize it.

I confess that a few days I've blown through the reading, more or less, just to get it done. And it's very different to read just to get it read vs. reading to get something out of it. A world of difference actually.

And no, the book isn't the most original thing on the planet and I feel the temptation to get caught up in that dynamic. But I sense my own pride in that response--as if originality is the end game in life. (It's certainly not.)

The book read is simple. Really slowing down enough to engage the book and re-examine my seemingly too-busy life is very difficult. But I will keep slugging away & pushing pride aside. Because what the book is about, is indeed profound and eternal.

So that's me. How's the book going for you?