I’m back!

“Doug, I was wondering if you would be willing to come with me on a short terms  missions trip with our high school youth group this Summer….”

                                    My sister Karen

     That’s how the whole thing started.

    Last year, Karen and our sister Kim went to Mexico on a short term medical missions trip.    They had a great time as siblings-  came home with lots of memories.  So that was in the back of my mind when Karen asked me about  tagging along this summer. 

     In 2008 Cedar Rapids Iowa was hit with a record breaking flood, left thousands of people homeless.  A year later  its old news, but  many are still living in FEMA trailers so Karen’s youth group decided to work closer to home so I said “Sign me up.”

      We reported for duty first thing Monday morning at the crisis management center, had a brief orientation and headed across town to meet our project manager Mike.  Our job for the week was to hang drywall.  

     I had several highlights.  Probably the biggest highlight was the good attitudes these  young people evidenced.   They had fun but knew  how to work- we kicked butt, once we got the hang of it.

      On one occassion we had to lift a 12 ft  by 4 ft piece of drywall over plumbing pipes,  another stack of drywall, then slip it into a tight corner.  Three young ladies, a young man, and myself grabbed it like it was a feather-  it slipped  in perfectly.  I told them  afterwards I felt like I was on an Amish barn raising crew- what a sweet feeling.

     Below are some pictures of our week:

Picture of our group on the last day- Karen and her hubby got it all new t-shirts to celebrate our week

Close up of some of the ladies

Karen is to my right w/ a screw gun.  My niece Emilee is in front of us.

Couple of the kids using a sheet rock jack

Having fun @ the DQ after day 3

    

Niece Hannah with a screw gun

Here is Mac- one of my team members

Picture of me inspecting something

Visiting with the neighbor

     Things have been busy the past 3 weeks between a family reunion,  another concert,  guests from California, and this missions trip.  It doesn’t look like it’s going to let up any time soon.   I start my new part time teaching gig in just a couple of weeks- a construction  program  for Jrs and Sr high school students.  I wanted to post something on the blog in case I have any regular readers who stop by from time to time.

     Nothing too deep on this post- mostly wanted to stay in touch.

Family Reunion

     “Remember, as far as anyone knows, we’re a nice, normal family.” -                   Homer Simpson

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      Wife  comes from a gifted family.  There is a plethora of  first cousins who are  Doctors  lawyers,  judges,   school superintendents, etc.   I suspect several of the aunts and Uncles are millionaires.    When ever we get together with the whole tribe there is a little voice in the back of my head reminding me I   have just  a high school diploma and I’m “just” a carpenter.

      My wife’s grandpa (the gentleman that sired all of this talent) was himself a blue collar man, worked for the post office, and loved to lounge around in his bibs.  They lived next to the railroad tracks.  I’ve heard stories about the hobo’s showing up at the back door because grandma would feed them.  

    Hobo’s used to mark the houses where you could get a meal. 

Here’s  a chart  I dug up on line:

 

     

     I love my wife’s extended family.  I have never  sensed any type of snootiness or “I’m better than you” attitude in all years we’ve been together.  I’m sure that is because  of the  kindness Grandpa and Grandma passed onto their children, and they to the next generation.

        Jimmy (one of the cousins who is a lawyer) told us this week he hates his job,  would move to Denver in a heart beat if he could.  I said it should be easy for him to find some type of job with all of his training.  He looked at me and said,  I don’t want to practice law..I want to do something completely different.  He  would just like to  find a good woman, find a job he could enjoy and settle down.   I thought to myself…Hey, I already have all of those    (good woman, good job,a place to call home)

         I’ve talked with other cousins and heard similar stories…sure they make a lot more money than I do, but it comes at a price…stress

      Our culture tells us in order to happy, you need to be ready to climb the corporate ladder and make lots of money.   

       Both of those ideas are a bunch of crock.   

       Status will not make you happy

       Having lots of money will not make you happy

     Happiness and contentment have absolutely nothing what-so-ever to do with money or status.

     You probably didn’t hear that in school and you probably won’t read it in the main stream media…but you did hear it here.

      Real wealth (in my humble opinion)  is measured in peace of mind, contentment,  joy, purpose,  relationships-      I want to thank those of you that stay in touch with me via the blog and e-mail for making me a wealthy man.   You add to the quality of my life immensely.  Your friend DM

 

PS…I had to include this cartoon- If you’re a regular reader you’ll know why

  

Jitters

     “What kind of hammer do you use?”   Ben asked.  My mind went  blank.  Ben was a  salesman at the XYZ tool store waiting on us yesterday.  In my mind I could see a  blue handle, but for the life of me, could not remember the brand.   It’s not an obscure brand either,  it’s been around for years, the kind I always buy.

      I was tool shopping yesterday with another instructor.  Our job was to purchase thousands of dollars of tools….a table saw, laser transit ,compound miter box, cordless tools, air guns, sawzalls, skill saws,  small hand tools,etc.   We were  outfitting  the new construction lab where I will be teaching in August. 

      I didn’t do a lot of talking, but I found myself getting tongue tied when I was asked a question- not every time, but quite a bit.  I’m thinking to myself…what kind of communicator am I?  These guys are probably wondering what kind of teacher is this guy?

        Word picture…back in the late 1970′s  some of my high school classmates would drive muscle cars…souped up Mustangs, GTO’s  Nova’s  etc.    When they started them up, they would idle rough..BRummmbbbbm…brrmmmmbmmmBBRRRm…just sitting there, they sounded sick.  but take them out on the highway and they would purr.       

     In a way, that’s what happens to me when I communicate.  I idle rough, there is no getting around it…but get me in front of a group of people I am teaching, and I can feel the energy.  I still stumble over my words, more often than I would like, but somehow, I seem to pull it off, the excitement and energy I feel inside  overshadows the incomplete sentences and learning takes place.

     I’ve been teaching part time in various settings  since the early 1980′s.   This sort of thing used to bug the heck out of me.

      I remember having a conversation with my friend Thomas about my stammering tongue.  He said to me, “Doug, Don’t worry about it, I understand you.  When someone is too smooth a communicator, they put me to sleep…when I listen to you, I have to pay attention.”

    The other ironic thing about me  teaching  is I  grew up with a fear of standing in front of people, just  like many of you.  I still get the jitters every time .   Sometimes my hands shake, sometimes they don’t.   The turning point for me was a weekend retreat where we watched a motivational film called “Pack Your Own Chute” 

     It was a 30 minute film about facing your fears.  Often times, people don’t  try new things in life because of fear.  The moderator in the film used the analogy of the fear we would feel jumping out of an airplane for the first time  when we step into new situations…that is exactly what it feels like for me when I  try something new. 

 I picture myself jumping out of a plane.  I think to myself,

“Here we go…. I step out the door of the plane , feel the wind in my face,

 the exhilaration…

The free falling sensation…you look around and realize you’re doing it.  before you know it, it’s over…until next time.

I saw that movie in  1981 or 82.

So what is fear keeping you from right now?   Let’s talk about it.

“Wake Up America- You’re sucking on the hind teat of a dead cow.” Thomas Paine

 

I (DM) saw this over @ Michael’s blog tonight.  He says it better than I could ever say it so without apology  I wanted to post it  too.

Bodhrán

      This past Saturday night,  the beat of a  Bodhran  drum cast it’s spell over young and old…. I watched as my granddaughter   got out of her stroller,  with child like abandon began to move  her arms and then her  feet to the beat of the Irish drum.

    If you’ve never heard one, take a minute  to listen to this  clip:

      

 

     Saturday night was our 2nd  concert in the 2009 Bear River Concert Series  we’re co-hosting with Camp Courageous of Iowa…It rocked.   Here is a picture of Jacquie Manning from Small Potatoes playing her Bodhran:

 

     Here is a snapshot  my granddaughter  dancing to the drum….

      Before I met my wife, I spent  2 yrs drink’n, smoke’n the wacky weed (I didn’t inhale), and trying various other methods  to catch a buzz.  Woke up a few times not remembering where I’d parked my car.  There’s  a good chance many of you reading this have done similar stupid things….that’s not my point.  If you’re still doing that sort of thing. or if you did it when you were younger, why do we do it????

I did it to fit in

 I did it because I was bored…

I did it for the  fun,  which it sometimes delivered short term, but I hated waking up the next morning, w/ a splitting headache  feeling like I was going to loose my cookies.

       There was a moment in a budding relationship w/ my future wife where I thought to myself…if she  finds out about some of this stuff, she is going to  drop me like a hot potato,   so I made an intentional decision to step away from the booze and drugs.    It’s possible you know….

   It doesn’t mean I don’t still have an occasional beer, but honestly, the rush I felt on Saturday night, listening to the Bodhran,  and watching Addison dance  is  so much sweeter, and I’m still living off of it, 96 hours later.

If you absolutely have to take something  for  a mood enhancer, I’d recommend a cup of coffee- black/ no sugar, it’s all natural, legal and in moderation can be good for you.

As always, I would love to hear your thoughts   DM