"Some people drink from the fountain of knowledge; others just gargle." Robert Anthony

Spring has arrived. The ice fisherman have just noticed.

The last couple of days have been very full, fascinating, and exhausting, only because this cold won't let go. In no particular order....

The wedding festivities went well. The rehearsal was easy and the rehearsal lunch fun. It was a buffet held at a very good Mexican restaurant in Mesa about 2 miles from the wedding venue. I sat across from Jacob, the bride's brother and enjoyed our conversation. That whole family - parents Lyle and Shirley, kids Liz (bride) and Jake - attended Pathway. They're as good as it gets, gracious and the Lord's servants. Shirley was born in India and her family, mom & dad and four daughters, moved to Phoenix when Shirley was a young child. But she grew up within the Indian community and so was culturally Indian...until she married Lyle, in opposition to the arranged marriage expectations of her family. (Her three sisters are all in marriages that were arranged by their father.)

We thoroughly enjoy that family. Lyle is a car guy, Shirley embodies hospitality, Liz is a brilliant high achiever, and Jacob is as relaxed and easy going as his dad. It was an honor to perform the ceremony and it came off as planned. Elizabeth was a beautiful bride, David will be a good and devoted husband, and the Indian overtones to the events of the weekend were fascinating. I had an extremely stimulating conversation with one of Shirley's BIL's and learned a bunch about Indian culture and the cross-cultural dynamics that come into play at a wedding.

As an added benefit, several Pathway families attended, so we had the opportunity to catch up with them after the ceremony. That was a blessing.

This is a picture of the rear deck latch from a vintage VW Beetle. I don't remember if it was the '67 or the '62, but I was working on one of them and lowered that deck lid which has a pretty strong spring that keeps it in the up position and then, at the half-way point, pulls it downward.
When the deck lid was coming down the bottom of that finger tab got caught under my wedding ring. In the instant that lid fell I was sure my finger had been at least dislocated if not ripped off. I couldn't believe it wasn't bleeding and hanging by a small strip of skin based on the pain I felt.
The pressure was sufficient that my wedding band was turned into an oval. I had to use channel lock pliers to squeeze it round enough to get off my finger which was very sore for a weeks. I haven't worn a wedding ring, or any other ring since.

At the wedding rehearsal I was showing David and Elizabeth how to pass a ring from one person to another (there's a low and high risk way to do it, and nobody wants a wedding ring falling to the floor). David gave me a band to use to show them and I'd never seen anything like it. Turns out several companies now sell latex wedding bands that are flexible and market them to mechanics, electricians (they're non-conductive), other tradespeople, and those involved in some more extreme sports.

I did some online shopping today and ordered this basic black latex band for $20. They come in a wide variety of colors and some have patterns engraved on the outside, or a raised ring. The engraving on the inside of this one is designed to keep it from spinning. It will take some getting used to, but if I do catch it on something again it will flex before it rips on my finger.

I'm starting the drive back home Tuesday mid-afternoon. That will put me going through L.A. at the tail end of the evening rush and up through the central valley in the middle of the night, the ideal schedule. I should get home 22 hours later, though if I get tired I'll sleep in the car until I wake up and am ready to go again. No deadline, and so no reason to take risks.

Pam gets to stay behind with the family until Saturday afternoon when she flies from Phx to Portland. I'll have to drive up to get her, a 4-hour round trip, but it's what has to be.

This is what I'll (and then Pam) will leave behind. This was taken after we ate Chinese take-out tonight. The cousins love playing together and the adults talk serious on nonsense. Mostly we have a great time and I think to myself how blessed I am to have a family like this. My greatest blessing is a marriage of almost 47 years, but this group comes in at a very close second.

Back row, from the left - son Steve holding their oldest, Jason (4). Then Michelle and their younger, Emily (2).
Front row from the right, Aubri and Josh, with Caedon (11). Behind Aubri their older, Megan (14).

Isn't it amazing how a two dimensional image can stir such emotion in a heart? We don't have magazine-cover good looking kids or grandkids, but on the inside, where it counts, I don't think they come any better in either of the two generations shown here. And the VERY best part: they love and serve the Lord.

"I have no greater joy than to hear my children are walking in the truth." - 3 John 4