"If stupidity got us into this mess, why can't it get us out?" - Will Rogers

Travel observations from our quick trip to the Pacific Northwest:

• Summer flights are expensive, crowded, and spartan. Even the tiny bag of peanuts is a thing of the past. 
• Airports are expensive, crowded, and harried. Nobody seems to be having a good time. 
• Budget rents a Chevy Spark as their cheapest option. Never heard of a Spark? That's because GM is too embarrassed to admit they make it, never mind advertise the thing. It's just barely bigger than a Smart Car, has no acceleration (go ahead, mash the gas pedal and experience the...nothing), and comes in second to a wooden church pew for seating comfort. Interior design was done my Mr. Wallace's 6th grade class. Who thought it was a good idea to attach the instrument cluster to the steering column? If the steering wheel is in the way of the speedometer, changing the angle of the tilt wheel only changes the angle from which you can't see it. 
• To say Seattle traffic is terrible is unfair to the word terrible. How do people deal with that day after day?
• People who live in the PNW should have to spend a month in the desert in August. I suspect they don't even notice things like the color green, morning fog, leaves, and rivers. They'd pay more attention to those wonderful blessings if they experienced the desert.

I went to one of the Starbucks close to our house this morning. At 9:30 every seat in the joint was taken and the line to place an order was six or eight people long. Turned around and came back home. I could have driven to one of the others nearby but it was already pushing 95 degrees and the humidity had the dew point at 74, not ideal weather for driving a '65 Falcon. Been home ever since. Nothing I would do can't wait. 

Until October. 

Tomorrow's sermon presents special challenges. Sometimes it's about explaining what is likely a new (to the hearers) and complex truth. Other times it's presenting a familiar but powerful concept in a way that reminds us of its great import. This is the latter.

I'm happy to be here, but it would also be nice to be in Monterey this weekend. It's auto week there, with all the major auction houses on hand and the Concours de Elegance at Pebble Beach. The best of the best. 

We got home at 1:00 a.m. this morning, so at 7:30 I'm already thinking about calling it a day. Maybe a cup of coffee will keep me going another 30 minutes.