Monthly Archives: February 2008

Keyless

This morning, the planning committee for the 2009 US National Conference met at a coffeeshop in Bryan, Ohio. It’s been snowing a lot since last evening, and not wanting to drive my truck over there, I hitched a ride with Chris Kuntz. He picked me up about 8:15. I went out through the garage door, hitting the button and ducking before the door came down.

As we headed down the road, I realized I had left the house without any keys. Including no house key. Stupid, stupid me.

And so now, I’m sitting in a public library, killing time. Pam’s leaving work a bit early, around 5 p.m. She’ll swing by here and pick me up in another 90 minutes or so. I’ve never locked myself out of the house before. Pam will enjoy giving me a hard time about that.

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Just One of the Villagers

Before the 9:00 service on Sunday, Jesse came running into the sanctuary and beamed a big smile at me, seeking reaction. Jesse is three years old, the son of a very young single mother, Lee, who attends regularly. The two of them came to the Super Bowl party last week at our house. Standing there in the sanctuary, smiling, he looked a bit wired. Like he’d had too many sugar cookies.

He was still wired after the worship team finished the song package. I sat down in the back pew, and could see Jesse being very fussy, didn’t want to sit still. Lee stood up to take him out, but I rushed over and opened my arms. “I’ll take him,” I told Lee.

I’m certainly no child-raising expert. But I thought I knew what Jesse needed. He needed to run. Burn off energy. So we went down the hall toward the offices and Sunday school rooms, and for the rest of the service, we mostly did the “I’m gonna get you” mock-chase game. He was in high heaven, loving the attention of a guy and someone willing to play with him. Sometimes he screamed in delight, and I had to tell him to be quiet, which never worked.

About a half-hour later, I heard Pastor Tim ask the worship team to come up for the final song. That was my que. I had to get to the keyboard. So Joanna, who was in the hall, said she’d take over with Jesse. And I rushed into the sanctuary.

There really is something to this “it takes a village” stuff.

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Shaq a Sun?

On the way to work, I learned that Shaquille O’Neal had been traded to my favorite team, the Phoenix Suns. Who saw that coming? The NBA’s premiere run-and-gun team opts for a hobbler like Shaq? Is this purely a move for the post-season, to combat the mighty Spurs? It’s just doggone interesting and unexpected.

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Scenes from Our Really Big Bowl Party

Seventeen people, all rooting for the Giants, attended our party on Sunday night. I took some photos, but only got some of the people. Anyway, here’s some of what I snapped.

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Two photos of pretty much the same people.

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Here’s Connor. It’s been two months since he and his parents moved from our home into an apartment, after a year at our house. He’s changed so much. Two months, at that age (he’s now 16 months old) make a big difference.

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Here’s Carolyn with Connor and Dennis, who was born in mid-December. Dennis doesn’t seem very happy at the moment.

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Whatta Party. Whatta Game. Whatta Spread.

Pam and I hosted a Really Big Bowl Party (need to avoid trademark infringement) last night. Had 17 people, all from Anchor. All rooting for the Giants. So bedlam erupted in the last minute, as you can imagine. We’re all on our feet, fists pumping the air. Loving it.

I’m sure ad agency creatives are going nuts imagining clever campaigns using two brothers/Super Bowl MVPs. Hope this shuts up Tiki Barber, the crybaby.

One of my goals for 2008 is to master the crockpot. Last night I had all three of our crockpots going–meatballs in one, sloppy joes (Pam’s homemade recipe) in another, and cheese dip in the mini-crock. Chopped four onions for the sloppy joes. Man, that’s hard on the eyes!

Favorite commercials: the eTrade baby who barfs at the end; the carrier pigeons; the Rocky-inspired Clydesdale, the Doritos monster mouse, the Pepsi Max ad with the people nodding off (which is exactly how I feel right now, after a late night). And I just love that jumping robot guy, who got beat up a few times by a Terminator.

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The Website Comes Through Again

Met a really nice family yesterday, visiting our church for the first time. Five kids. I usually ask first-timers, “How did you find us?” Because Anchor isn’t exactly located on a thoroughfare. We’re on a secondary street in a residential neighborhood.

“The website,” the mother told me. “I was on for about an hour last night.”

Being the webmaster, comments like that always make me happy.

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What Happens to Unused Gift Cards?

I always assumed that stores and restaurants just pocketed the money when gift cards went unused. You know, like that $5 Starbucks card you got for Christmas but misplaced, probably amidst a bunch of wrapping paper. It’s estimated that of the nearly $100 billion in plastic gift cards issued in 2007 (half of it in November and December), nearly $8 billion will go unused.

But a Businessweek article told what happens in half of the states: unused gift cards are subject to unclaimed-property laws. Shoulda known the government would want a cut. The state must wait 2-5 years to collect, but they’re patient.

I’ve got an Applebees gift card in my wallet. Started at $25, and I’ve got $1.67 left. If I lose that card, it’s just unclaimed property, and in a few years, Applebees will need to write the State of Indiana a check for at least part of that $1.67. Interesting.

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My Hessian Heritage

Learned something interesting about my heritage today. We’ve known that on my Mom’s side (the Welkers), we are German and Irish. Some of Mom’s cousins, doing geneology research, discovered that the German part goes back to a Hessian mercenary who fought for the British during the American Revolution, but deserted and settled in southern Ohio. A window into my heritage.

Pam’s heritage include the British Tarletons. Major Banastre Tarleton, the son of a slave trader, was a British officer in the Revolution who fought in the Carolinas. In the movie “The Patriot,” the ruthless Colonel Tavington (Mel Gibson’s counterpart) is based on Tarleton, who was every bit as ruthless as portrayed. So Pam and I both have Revolutionary War roots, and on the British side in both cases. But I doubt that Major Tarleton would have approved of a Hessian deserter.

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