Today, October 1st, marks 34 years since my brother Steve died from a drug overdose. October 1, 1992. I was 24. He was 33. Just two days ago was the 43rd anniversary of my brother David’s death. Nine years and two days apart. It’s strange how time heals these wounds. Every year, those two dates come back to back, and…
Category: Uncategorized
Keep Laughing, It Makes the Devil Mad
Back in February 2011, I wrote a little line that has stuck with me ever since: “Keep laughing, it makes the devil mad.” Let me tell you how that saying came to be part of my lexicon. The boys and I were down in New Orleans. The youngest two had appointments, so we loaded up the Suburban in Mandeville and…
Why I Say What I Mean (and Mean What I Say)
This Tuesday, September 29th marks 43 years since my brother David died from a self inflicted gunshot wound. September 29, 1983. I was fifteen. Suicide affects the living family members forever. The pain and questions dull over the years, but the scar leaves a mark for all eternity. That anniversary, plus a rough week, has me thinking about why I…
Canoeing, Weightlifting, and the Surprising Abs Discovery
From Canoe Lessons to Discovering I Have Abs (Apparently) Marty and I recently took canoe lessons and kayaking water-rescue training. Somewhere in the middle of all that, we discovered an inconvenient truth: Marty doesn’t swim very well. So we did the logical thing and joined the YMCA. He has to become a stronger swimmer before we go to the Yukon…
Two Days of Water Fun: Lessons in Canoeing and Kayaking
Two Days on the Water: Strokes, Capsizes, and a Storm Friday we put our canoe on Oak Hollow and finally let someone who teaches this watch us paddle. Will said we were paddling okay and gave us a bunch of pointers and tips. Will walked us through the strokes we have been guessing at for two lakes: the J-stroke, the…
Coming up: First Canoe Lesson
This weekend we will load the Dagger Reflection and drive to Oak Hollow Marina in High Point for a two-hour private lesson with Will, who owns Get Outdoors in Greensboro. We met with him at the store one day to discuss the upcoming lesson and he followed up with a detailed email. This will be our third time on a…
When the City Tap Needs a Trail Filter during a Boil Advisory
Last week Winston-Salem broke a couple of water mains and we all got that text: boil advisory. City crews did their thing and fixed the main fast, but I realized my backup was already sitting in our backpacks. Our home RO system? It needs pressure to work, and when mains break, pressure drops. It just quits working. Our Grayl Geopresses?…
Ready, Set, Go! Essential Gear for a 10-Day Backpacking Trip in Maine’s 100 Mile Wilderness
I hope you all have a very happy Independence Day Weekend! We head to Maine tomorrow after work. I returned from Chicago late Saturday and we spent the day after church on Sunday getting our backpacks packed. Mine comes in at 35.5 pounds total. If you subtract the food weight and the weight of 3L of water, my base weight…
Preparing for Maine: Natural Bug Spray, New Ear Tube and More
Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers out there! Recently, I have been getting into the Lego botanical sets. They are so much fun and very relaxing to assemble! They are available on Amazon! Sean got a Mother’s Day Bouquet for me and I got it put together this week. He was originally supposed to be out of town today,…
Farm to Freeze-Dryer: Fresh Strawberries!
71 days until we hit the trail in Maine! Things are slowly coming along. Marty got the bag that will hold his hydration bladder inside his pack. His tube wouldn’t fit from the outside pocket to the front of his pack when it is fully packed, so he ordered a pouch/sling to hold it inside his backpack. Hopefully it works…
