Swamp Coolers

I would like to say that I HATE swamp coolers. Oh, please excuse me, they are called evaporative coolers. Did you hear the sarcasm? I have changed the motor in my cooler 5 different times in the last 2 weeks.
I hate how everything soaks up the moisture, especially the sugar and salt. We have to turn it off to cook anything on the stove. I hate how it looks in the window. I hate how it leaks water all over the carport.
I do appreciate the cooler temperature. So...I guess I can put up with the I hates until it cools down. How does that send for a spoiled child?
The bishop of ward told me to go buy some Farr's ice cream mix, cut up some peaches and strawberries and pour the ice cream mix, unfrozen, over the fruit. This sounds very creamy, but fattening. I can almost taste it. This is what I want right now.
That's all I have to say for the moment.

OLD Man

The Question Continues

“Have you thought about my question, Brian?”
“I am not sure that I understand the question?”
“What’s to understand? Do you like my daughter?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Good what was so hard about that?”
“Duane is there a difference?”
Duane looked at me for a moment as if contemplating the answer. “It seems to me that people can love someone, but treat them poorly. However, it seems to me that people who like each treat them the way people should be treated. That’s why I asked.”
I thought about it a moment, but I guess my life experience hasn’t taught me that yet. I don’t want to learn it personally either.
“How did you and Melinda meet?”
Duane chuckled. It was nothing special. She was my sister’s roommate at college. My Mom wanted me to drop something off at her apartment. Monica wasn’t home. School had just started, so I hadn’t met her roommates yet. When Melinda answered the door I was speechless. You’ve seen the movies where the guy sees a cute and all of sudden can’t speak or move. That was me. I had to pick the jaw up off my floor. It was a good thing that Monica had family pictures on display or Melinda would have called the cops. After what seemed like an eternity I was able to gain enough wits about me to give whatever I had to Monica. Then I left. I was pretty sure that I had no chance whatsoever to get a date with her after my great first impression.

The Question

I went around to the back of the house, picked up a lawn chair and moved it away from the house. I wanted to enjoy the late spring/early summer cool air. I have always enjoyed star gazing. I took astronomy in jr. high, but don’t remember much. I can find the Big Dipper and that’s where it stops as far as the night sky goes.
While gazing at the stars I thought maybe I thought maybe I’d take an introspective look at my current circumstances. We both know that if someone had told me at Christmas that I was going to be engaged by May, I would have laughed out loud, pointed and said to the soul making this revelation, “YOU, are certifiably nuts!”
Up to this point in my life I have preferred to keep life predictable. Carly is not going to let me live a predictable life. I’m okay with that. She has been good for me and I suppose has brought me out of a shell, my shell.
I am amazed at how much love I feel for this woman that I barely know. She is many things that I am not. Though I know she does, she acts as if she doesn’t have a care in the world. She loves to read. We have been on a couple of dates where she has taken me to the park to read. During school I hardly ever read. While she was reading I pretended to read. I read enough to answer a question or two. Sitting down to read a book seems so foreign to me, but she loves to do it. We both love ice cream. That’s a good thing. It hasn’t happened very often, but I like the idea of being in the same room with her and not have to talk. There have been a couple of nights when I have called and told her that I don’t really need talk, I just need her on the other end of the line.
Sorry for the mushy stuff, but I needed to admit it openly.
I do know that I need to get back into school and make a plan for my life. We are heading that direction. I have been greatly blessed; there is no doubt about that.
I am nervous about going to visit my Mom next week. Actually, I may be more nervous about talking to brothers and sister.
The last few days have been wonderful. Carly’s family has been very accepting of me. They feel genuine in their acceptance of me. I had forgotten how much I liked open space. I am starting to feel clusterphobic just think about going back to the city. The quicker we get out of the there the better.
“Mind if I join you, Brian?”
“Oh, what?”
“Do you mind if I join you? You look lost in a world that seems like a nice place to be.”
“Sorry. Hi Duane. I’m just taking some time to think about all that has happened over the last few weeks.”
“I imagine it has caught you by surprise. Would you care to share any of your thoughts?”
“I was thinking how much I have been blessed. She is bringing me out of shell I’m not sure that I knew that it existed. I obviously had a crush on her for a while, but was too chicken to anything about it. I still feel embarrassed about running her over that day, but I am grateful that it happened. We have been very busy doing things together. I am grateful to have a running partner. She sets a pretty good pace.
“Brian, have you thought about the question I asked you the other day?”
“I have, but I don’t understand what you mean by it.”
“Think about it, do you like my daughter?”

Some more of Cube 5 and Me

Becca this is for you!!!! Here are my last 2 additions. If you missed something read the book when it comes out ;) hahahahaha!!!!!

Carly and I went for another walk. I really like here. I was not missing the sounds of the city. For a few moments I started regretting that I only had one day left before I had to return. Thanks to Carly I was pulled away from thoughts of returning to work.
“How do you like my family?”
“Well, as I said at dinner, I feel that I have known them for a long time. I hadn’t planned on asking your Dad if I could marry you within the first 2 minutes of meeting him.”
“Wait, you’ve already asked my Dad if you could marry me?” Carly said with a touch of irritation. “Why didn’t you tell me you’ve done that already?” This question came with a bit more irritation than I was comfortable with.
“I don’t know. It all happened so fast that I haven’t even thought about it since it happened.” I said with some regret.
“When and how did it come about?”
“Your Dad caught me out in your car cleaning it. He didn’t know you were coming for one thing and then to see a strange person rummaging through your car…” I walked quietly for a moment and then continued. “He’d said something about seeing if your family approved of me. I felt that your Dad likes things straight forward, so, I figured he knew why I was here and I came right out and asked him. We talked for a few minutes before we came into the house on Thursday. The wrestling was his idea. That surprised me, I didn’t take him for a prankster.”
“He doesn’t show that side of him very often, but he’s lots of fun when he does.”

“He asked me if I liked you, he said to listen the question carefully and I couldn’t answer him until Sunday morning when he and I are suppose to go for a walk.”
“You like me don’t you?”
“I love you Carly, you know that.”
“Brian you didn’t answer the question. Listen. Do you like me?”
“Yes, I do, but I don’t understand the difference.” I stated with more than a bit of frustration.
“Look Brian, you said yourself that my Dad seems straight forward. Answer the question and then tell you don’t understand the difference. Ask him to explain it to you. You might be surprised where it gets you.”
“Should I be nervous?”
“I don’t know I am the first daughter to get married; and unfortunately you are the guinea pig in-law.”
“Thanks.” With that being said I pulled Carly close and gave her a squeeze. The rest of the walk was done in silence; that comfortable silence that two people share.
When we reached the house I told Carly that I wasn’t ready to go to bed, and that I wanted to enjoy the night sky one last time before we headed home to the smog drenched city. With a kiss good night Carly headed to bed.

Thoughts on Dad

It was my turn to fix dinner tonight. I get to do that on Tuesdays. I fixed rice with hamburger gravy. I started craving some of Dad's rice pudding. There were several times that I asked for one of his recipes and all I got was, "...put a little of this, and some of that..." Did anyone else get this kind of a recipe from Dad? He certainly took some of his cooking secrets with him.
It has been strange to think of him as being gone. I still have to remind myself of that fact. I imagine that will get easier as time passes.
Another strange fact is that I saw a picture of Dad when he and Mom were on the beach. He had all of his hair then and was sporting something of a six pack. The strange part his that it is easier for me to picture him in the above description than with a bald head, etc. I never knew Dad when he had all of his hair, six pack, etc.

OLD Man

I'm Still Here

Hi All,
I am still here. I have been pretty busy with while working 3 jobs, baseball season, and plethora of other things. Brian and Carly are still hanging in there. I am thinking about finishing their story this summer, but it will still have to wait.
I played in a golf tournament on Tuesday. It was tons of fun. I played the best game I have ever played. My best scores are always when I play a four man scramble. The only requirement that I had to fill was to use one drive for each of the 9 holes. I accomplished that. I won some gift certificates to Cinemark and Mimi's Cafe in the raffle.
I've got to get back to work and the kids.
Bye!

OLD Man

Ah the Weekend Continues

"Hi Carly." A voice came from the sofa.
"Grandma Billy, Grandpa Doug. How are you doing? I wasn't expecting to see you."
"We're great, but it sounds like you're not doing too bad yourself.Your Mom said you had a surprise for us, but she doesn't keep secrets very well. So let's meet this surprise."
Grabbing my hand and pulling me, "Brian, this is my Grandma Billy and Grandpa Doug. They are my Mom's mom and dad. They live in Jackson."
"Grandma and Grandpa this is Brian Owens, my fiance." Carly's eyes were flashing with stars in them.
"Nice to meet you."
"Where are you from Brian?" This was Grandpa Doug.
"I was born and raised in Apple Valley; several hours north of here."
"I'm familiar with it." I wasn't sure what else to say. I really was not planning on meeting anyone beyond Carly's immediate family. I'm not sure why I didn't think I would be meeting grandparents. I couldn't even think of anything to say to make small talk.
"We want to hear the story Carly." Grandma Billy said.
"Oh, there's not much to tell."
"Carly, dear, don't lie to your Grandmother." she said with her own sly smile that looked really familiar. So, now I know where Carly got that smile.
Carly started in on our story. I excused myself and took our packages upstairs. I pulled out my camera and started snapping pictures. I interrupted Carly while she was telling her story to get a picture of her with her grandparents. Grandma Billy and Grandpa Doug were quite photogenic.
Grandma Billy was oohing and aahing, among chuckles.
I went outside and took pictures around the house. There were some pretty flowers in bloom. I was able to get some close ups of the trees in bloom, too. I wonder if Carly's Dad is going to like the candid shots I got of him while he was barbecuing. Oh well, he doesn't need to know that I took them.
I enjoyed dinner. I liked just listening to the stories being told after dinner. Because I was new to the family I was able to sit back and learn about this family's past. They all seemed to enjoy telling embarrassing stories. Embarrassing for someone else that is. I was able to sneak away and get my presents. When the family saw that I had presents all conversation stopped, and all faces were looking at me. Carly nodded for me to go ahead.
"Even though I have only met you two days ago, I feel like I have known you for almost forever. We have been so busy here that it seems I have forgotten what life was like before I met you. I can't really remember life without Carly. I wanted to give you these presents to say thank you. It's not much, but it's what I like to do. Juli here's yours. Mike that one belongs to you. Melinda and Duane these are for you. I apologize Grandma Billy and Grandpa Doug I didn't you know you were coming. If you want a copy of any of these I can get them and send them to you."
"Oh, Brian, these are beautiful. This one was taken the day you guys got engaged? That is a beautiful picture." Melinda marveled.
"Brian, I don't like to have my picture taken, but I will keep this one. Thanks." Juli said.
"Cool." was all Mike said. The pictures were passed around the table. Grandma Billy said she'd like a copy of all of them.
I hoped they liked them as much as I liked giving them.
After the dishes were cleaned up, food put away, and visiting was finished, Grandma and Grandpa Johnson headed home. Grandma Billy hugged me and kissed me on the cheek. Grandpa Doug gave me a warm, firm handshake. I couldn't wait to see the pictures I took of them.
Carly felt good as she stood next to me and held my hand.

Carly helped my put the pictures in frames and wrap them. I wasn't sure what Carly's family was going to think, I wanted this to be special. Her family had taken me in and accepted me. I felt loved and welcomed. Not unlike my own home. I won't contribute that to me even if it were possible. I saw that they trusted their daughter; loved her.
When we pulled up to the house and got out of the car we could smell the barbecue grill. My mouth started watering.
"I hope your like barbecued ribs." Carly said smiling.
"I have only ever had them at a restaurant." I replied
"Oh, these will be so much better. Trust me."
"I do."
"You do what?"
"Trust you." Carly stopped what she was doing and just looked at me. It seemed she was searching deep into my soul through my eyes. I hoped she found what she was looking for.
"Did you find what you were looking for?" I asked seriously.
"I did." Was her reply and she returned to what she was doing previously.
Okay I thought. I guess I don't need know what she was looking for. I didn't ask. Remember I trust her.

Just Me

My work environment has become extremely draining the last few weeks. It has become emotionally draining. It's not the students. I've got a good group of kids. It's the environment outside the classroom. As much as I try, I can't seem to keep myself motivated for the next 6 weeks. That's not good with testing coming up at the end of the month.
My students have liked hearing about Brian and Carly. I have had them write a story that we will put in a book for the classroom and each student will get a copy of everyone's story. It is going to be a lot of fun, I hope. I read one story today. It was good. This particular student really likes comic books. Actually, I have several that like comic books. This story will be great. I'm looking forward to hearing the other stories.
I work with some fantastic teachers and staff. They are hard working and dedicated to what they do. I am thankful for the support that I have received from them. They are life savers for sure.
On a completely different note. In the last month I have become more of a fan of prayer than I have been in the past. For so long I always felt that my prayers didn't make beyond 6 inches above my head and then sank to the floor. Most felt like they couldn't leave my head. Not that I was stalwart about it, but I did keep with it and prayers are much better now. They have become so much better that I have become addicted to prayer. Is there a support group for that? (Hahahahaha)
Our first game is Monday. We don't have much of a pitching staff. This will be a good season. I'm excited.
The age range is 9 to 12. Nathan towers over some of those 9 year old players. They are going to think he's 14 or something. I'm looking forward to seeing him hit the ball this year.
I had better head to bed. My day starts to early for me.
Love you all!!!!

OLD Man

Enjoying the Weekend Cont.

After picking up Mike and Juli we headed to the country. We came upon a cabin of sorts with a large barn. After getting out of the SUV, Mike was at the barn door opening it up. After a few minutes I heard an engine revving. Mike shoots out the door on a four wheeler.
I went into the barn and there sat 6 four wheelers. Couple of them were older than the others, but they all ran. I may not be too bright, but this day was going to be spent cruising the country side. I hadn't been on one of these for years.

I enjoyed the day. About 2:00 we stopped for some lunch. Carly showed me some trails that went through some of the mountainside. There was some beautiful scenery. I was glad that I had brought my camera with me. I think Carly's Dad got tired of waiting for me while I stopped and took pictures. I took several of her family. I can't wait to download them and see what they look like bigger than 2x2 inches.
When we got back into town we stopped at the local diner. Amy, one of Carly's best friends was there. Obviously, I was introduced as Carly's fiance. This was the first time that we had told anyone outside of either family that we were engaged. It felt strange. I'm not sure why.
Dinner was good. I love the small town diners. They seem to be the most friendly and taste great. It was a good day and I was very tired.
Carly and I postponed our run for 9:00 AM. I am not so sure that I wanted to get up then.
Surprisingly to me, I was up and ready to go running at 8:30. Again, Carly set a pretty good pace. She seemed to move slower however. She must be sore from yesterday's riding. It felt good stretch those muscles.
"Carly, would you mind if we walked and talked for awhile?"
"Sure, Brian, something wrong?"
"Not really. I just know that neither of us are where we want to be in regards to working. We both have a desire to be in school. Would you mind if we made some tentative plans that at least get us heading in that direction? We probably better set a date, hadn't we?"
"I've been thinking about that myself. I'd like to get married in July. That gives us about 3 months to plan. I always thought that I wanted a big fancy wedding, but I don't want that any more. I feel the smaller the better. If you don't mind, I'd love to have my grandpa marry us."
"He can do that? Well that takes care of one thing. That is pretty cool."
"Brian, I'd also like to get married in Jackson, which is about 30 miles from here. I know that is going to be a long haul for your family. I would however consider getting married closer to your family if you'd rather."
"I've never considered really where I want to get married, but I believe that it's our day and we should get married where we want to. Jackson would be fine with me." I got a kiss for that one. I need to make more comments like that, if that's the reaction the I get.
"I really want Sully to be at our wedding. Do you think he'll come, Brain?"
"When we get back home we had better make a visit to the park. Let's go on Tuesday and steal his bench.
"When we got here on Thursday I called Mom and asked if we could go visit her next week. We can leave on Thursday afternoon. We should be able to leave work early. She was okay with that."
"Brian, I haven't asked, I thought you would tell me when you were ready, but I don't want walk into this visit blind. What happened that was so bad that caused you to leave home and talk very little to your family?"
"To think about it now it seems quite trivial, but I said and did somethings that were really stupid. When I left I never got around to saying I'm sorry to anyone. The longer I wait to go back the harder it seems to be to go back.
"The basic story is this. The last couple of years I have been working at the store and keeping it going. I have an older brother, an older sister, and a younger brother. We were at Mom's house one night talking about the store. My older brother Sandy, my sister Jamie, and Mom were talking about the store. I don't remember what exactly, but it became apparent that those three assumed I wanted to run the store. They sat and discussed it like I wasn't even there. They also started listing things that they saw wrong with the store. Then they started directing that list to me and telling me how I was going to fix it. It was at that point I blew. I remember telling them 3 things: That staying at the store was not my life's ambition. There were other things that I wanted to do with my life. Second, was that if I wasn't running the store to their standards they could come and take over. And the third thing and for which I most regret is I told them all to go to...well that warm place that is suppose to never freeze over. I packed most of what I needed and left. They tried to convince me to stay. I drove to the city that night and stayed in a hotel for 3 nights, rented an apartment and found a job at Seaver's."
"I've talked to and emailed my Mom, but I haven't spoken to any of my siblings since. Mom told me that they asked her to forward my emails to them, but I haven't heard from any of them. Sandy took a few days off work to manage the store. Mom jumped in, too, until they found someone to manage the store. I know Mom works there a few hours a week. She does it to keep busy mostly. She gets paid a portion of the profit each month."
"What are you going to do when you see your family again?"
"I've already talked to Mom. She's told me that I don't need to apologize to her and she understands. I told her that I need to apologize if not to her for her, but for me. I honestly don't know about Sandy and Jamie. I've got a few days to think it through.
"Carly, I need to know if you'll feel comfortable meeting my Mom even with all this."
"I don't know Brian. It's not what I imagined it would be to meet my future in-laws. Let's talk about that later."
We held hands and walked more in silence.
It was 10:30 before we got back to the house and cleaned up for the day. I had brought my laptop computer with me. I decided to download the pictures I had taken before.
"Melinda, do you have a Walgreen's or another store in town I can send my pictures to to get developed?"
"Yeah, Brian we've got a Walgreen's in the middle of town."
I told Carly to meet me in Mike's bedroom, but to be sneaky about it. When she came up I showed her the pictures of the day before. I deleted several pics and sent the rest to be developed. I even sent the pictures that were taken the night I proposed.
Carly and I left under the premise that Carly wanted to go to the arcade. We did go and play some games. We didn't want to lie. I had picked 4 pictures and the picture of Carly that I took just before I proposed. Carly helped me pick out frames and wrapping paper for them.
Carly knew the librarian pretty well, so we asked to if we could use a table and some scissors. We must have looked funny. How often do you see someone wrapping presents at the library.
We went back to the diner. Carly told me to sit down and that she would order. When she came to sit down she was carrying the two biggest root beer floats I have ever seen. It was mostly ice cream with a little root beer. The ice cream was the hard ice cream, not that wimpy soft serve stuff. A few minutes later a waitress brought a mug of root beer to add to our floats if we needed it.
"Brian, I'd like to get married on August 3, in Jackson."
"What happened to July?" I smiled.
"August 3rd feels better." She smiled in return. "I'd still like to get married in Jackson. The also have a reception center there. We could have something here. I really don't want anything fancy. However, I think I want some dancing to be involved. We can go on our honeymoon and then have an open house in Apple Valley a week later."
"Maybe we're not going on a honeymoon." I tried to keep a serious look about me, but it only lasted until Carly looked at me with those big brown eyes. "I'm only kidding, I'm only kidding." I wanted to cry.
It was then she piped up and said, "I know." and flashed her pearly whites at me. Oh I hate when she does that. She gets me every time with that look. Just wait the next time she uses that look again she'll be serious and I think she's be kidding. That would be my luck.