Life in the Slow Lane

Contemplating life, faith, words, and memories

Hey Mom! — September 9, 2019

Hey Mom!

Hey Mom!

 
I knew immediately who was calling—the dinner hour, traveling for work, alone, no one else to talk to. It had to be our older son, Craig. At 48, he still called home when he needed to talk or ask a question. Your kids may grow up but in some instances, they never grow away.
 
At the dinner table, I put the phone on speaker so Bob could hear. 
 
Hey Craig! What’s up?
 
He began by reminding me he was in Eastern Oregon on business and happened to be in Pendleton. A town with which we have a little travel history from our trip moving to Portland. We drove cross-country with two dogs and a cat. Our itinerary had planned stops in interesting places. At age 12, Craig had much he could learn by traveling 2200 miles from Tennessee to Oregon. One stop brought us to Pendleton, a rodeo town full of cowboys and interesting places and people.
 
Mom, can you remember the name of the hotel we stayed in?
 
I couldn’t and neither could Bob so Craig continued with his description of the place in question.
 
It’s the place we stayed and when we went down to the restaurant for dinner, we sat by the window. There was a sidewalk there, and I looked out the window and saw this guy walk into a lampost. Then he turned around and walking in the opposite direction, he stopped and peed on the post! Remember how hard we laughed?
 
No doubt we remembered the story Craig was sharing. We had to work hard to calm ourselves down to stop drawing the attention of other diners.
 
Amazing as it seemed, Craig remembered that night. His recollections were detailed and as funny as the time it happened.
 
As a family, we have many memories from that cross-country trip in 1983. And it was gratifying to have your son call to share one with you. Maybe it’s one of those forever memories I talked about in a post several days ago. A memory you’ll never forget and have ready to tell your kids or grandkids someday.

 

Hey Mom!, memories, forever memories, Dr. Suess

 

Feature Image Attribution:  Rohit Tandon on Unsplash

Forever Memories — August 23, 2019

Forever Memories

 
 
Forever memories are those that stay with you for…well, forever. In conversation with others, forever memories trigger a certain response from you. You want to share the excitement, the reactions you felt, the way the memory has lasted. Almost as if whatever happened was yesterday.
 
A decade or so ago we took a vacation that has become a forever memory. And if you’ve read William Least Heat-Moon’s Blue Highways, you know what blue highways are. If not, the answer is simple. Older Rand McNally road atlases and maps identified the various types of roadways with color. Major highways appeared in red. Out-of-the-way highways running through small, almost unknown, rural towns appeared in blue.
 
Our trip was not as long as Heat-Moon’s nor was it circular as his was. But we did have certain restrictions that forced the use of blue highways:
 
  • The direction in which we traveled remained unknown until our morning of departure. This part of our trip was decided over breakfast. We would pull a direction—north, south, east or west—from a hat. Bob drew north.
  • A hard and almost fast rule depended on one condition. Travel had to be via blue highways unless there was no access between Points A and B other than a major highway. This forced a sense of nostalgia and relaxation as a major component of our travel.
  • We confirmed no reservations for overnight accommodations. And only once had a difficult time finding availability.
  • No time schedule was set for each day. Serendipitous activities awaited us. We visited attractions we’d never heard of and visited parks we’d never passed. Meals took place in some of the greatest eateries along the way.
 
As we headed out of Portland north on Highway 30, we had no idea where we’d end up that night or what we’d see along the way. By lunchtime, we found ourselves at Mt. St. Helen’s and enjoyed a brief visit there as well as had a picnic lunch we’d brought along. The rest of the day we wandered along blue highways. The casual drive presented beautiful farms with old barns and outbuildings. Another bonus was the beauty of the world around us, the peace and quiet of rural Washington state.
 
By dusk, we started searching for a place to stay. A look at the map showed we were not far from Centralia, WA. Centralia is 90.8 miles and 1.5 hours from Portland. It is clear we didn’t make it very far that first day. Yet, our plan was to relax and enjoy this trip, not worry about a schedule.
 
Over the next 10 days or so, we spent our time the same way. We visited interesting towns and places we’d never thought about or heard of. Our travel took us as far north as the Northern Cascade Mountains where we saw snowfall during June.
 
Our memories of this trip are quite memorable. Their uniqueness makes them unforgettable. We have talked many times about how much we enjoyed this trip and how we’d like to do it again.
 
We haven’t yet, but there is always tomorrow. And there are plenty of blue highways we haven’t hit.
 
 
Featured Image Attribution:
Methow Valley, WA in Northern Cascades
Lidija Kamansky/Getty Images
Must Look Fashionable! — May 1, 2018

Must Look Fashionable!

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Be the change that you wish to see in the world.

Duis nulla purus, scelerisque augue utixe tempus rhoncus manire. mane massa mauris, acumsana eget fringilla sed, placerate nec mauris. Mauris blandit odio sit ametia mattis ultrices. Fusce lucts porta mauris malesuada posre. Proinka sagittis pelenteue augue quis congue. Proin feugiat quam eget eleifend imperdiet. Maecenas commodo nulla et ipsum bibendum, idmina lacinia dolor varius. Pelentesnue idmina orci laoreet, sollicitudin ante vitae, aliquam mauris. Praesent in turpis tortor. Integer ac lacus orci. Nulla vitae felis urna. Donec at nune semper, efficitur felis tincidunt de kinibus tortor. Peletesnue necia astrerie suscipit vestibulume nulla convallisa.

Jump Shots Mood — February 3, 2018

Jump Shots Mood

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Pellentesque atria aliquet magna. Mauris velmi nunce lobortis, imperdiet velit, congue massa. Vestibulum ante ipsum primis in faucibus orci luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia Curae. Vestibulum pellentesque cursus risus, in ultrices odio. Morbi dui metus, fringilla quis urna vitae. Nulla lacus magna, mattis sed semper sed, tincidunt sit amet sapien. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Cras neque sem, congue eget iaculis eget, mollis sed lacus donec ante nibh, ornare aceros at, accumsan rhoncus lectus. Praesent finibus et quam id gravida. Donec eti velit idse arcun commodo tristique congue aceria ligula. Proin a tempus justo. In aliquet libero ac lobortis faucibus. Quisque facilisis tincidunt posuere. Aenean finibus tortor dictum nisl semper, ac sodales odio volutpat. Maecenas ultricies hendrerit nisi nec varius. Phasellus velia lectus sed mauris rhoncus tempor sit amet non risus enean eu fringilla diam. Mauris iaculis facilisis sem sit amet blandie tirimano namernire.

Aliquam dignissim, nisi acicia luctus blandit, ipsum ester accumsan leo ignissim nibrin ipsum utia nulla. Name sitamet arcu ligula. Morbi sed quam et sapien faucibus pharetra ultricies ac neque. Vestibulum quis pulvinar urna. Praesent sodales purus in accumsan fermentum. Etiam euismod, neque at tincidunt auctor, magna erat tincidunt nisl, venenatis tristique arcu massa sit amet exeria. Phasellus consequat placerat enimuri, vitae sollicitudin urna ornare atakerume eleifendin imperdiet laecenas im doreminki katarubice amista de mopreite.

Be the change that you wish to see in the world.

Duis nulla purus, scelerisque augue utixe tempus rhoncus manire. mane massa mauris, acumsana eget fringilla sed, placerate nec mauris. Mauris blandit odio sit ametia mattis ultrices. Fusce lucts porta mauris malesuada posre. Proinka sagittis pelenteue augue quis congue. Proin feugiat quam eget eleifend imperdiet. Maecenas commodo nulla et ipsum bibendum, idmina lacinia dolor varius. Pelentesnue idmina orci laoreet, sollicitudin ante vitae, aliquam mauris. Praesent in turpis tortor. Integer ac lacus orci. Nulla vitae felis urna. Donec at nune semper, efficitur felis tincidunt de kinibus tortor. Peletesnue necia astrerie suscipit vestibulume nulla convallisa.

Winter Fashion — January 15, 2018

Winter Fashion

Korem ipsum dolor sitna amet, no ectetur adipiscing elit. Curabitur laoreet cursus volutpat. Em iquam sat amet ligula eta justo tincidunt lam sreet nome vitae lorem. Aliquam porttitor tellus enim, egeta comade augue porta ut maecenas lobortis ligula veli teluna ultrices odio. korbi durie metus fringilla quisurna vitae, fringilla tristique nibhe. Donec ultrices est utria dapibus dapibus. Nuncia fermentum vinerra risus mollisa ante commodo sitse amete. Vestibulum enima necira lectuse volutpam dignissim velsitare ametus pulvinaruse. Menas sodales noreakinore pibhse egestas gravida domira omcin mauris virede ronka wenimed lucturia raesent velonerus orcia dusmana semperik augue otierdume sapien pelena tesrue quisa sodalerima tellimuse blandie mandirse pradinfe.
Pellentesque atria aliquet magna. Mauris velmi nunce lobortis, imperdiet velit, congue massa. Vestibulum ante ipsum primis in faucibus orci luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia Curae. Vestibulum pellentesque cursus risus, in ultrices odio. Morbi dui metus, fringilla quis urna vitae. Nulla lacus magna, mattis sed semper sed, tincidunt sit amet sapien. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Cras neque sem, congue eget iaculis eget, mollis sed lacus donec ante nibh, ornare aceros at, accumsan rhoncus lectus. Praesent finibus et quam id gravida. Donec eti velit idse arcun commodo tristique congue aceria ligula. Proin a tempus justo. In aliquet libero ac lobortis faucibus. Quisque facilisis tincidunt posuere. Aenean finibus tortor dictum nisl semper, ac sodales odio volutpat. Maecenas ultricies hendrerit nisi nec varius. Phasellus velia lectus sed mauris rhoncus tempor sit amet non risus enean eu fringilla diam. Mauris iaculis facilisis sem sit amet blandie tirimano namernire.

Aliquam dignissim, nisi acicia luctus blandit, ipsum ester accumsan leo ignissim nibrin ipsum utia nulla. Name sitamet arcu ligula. Morbi sed quam et sapien faucibus pharetra ultricies ac neque. Vestibulum quis pulvinar urna. Praesent sodales purus in accumsan fermentum. Etiam euismod, neque at tincidunt auctor, magna erat tincidunt nisl, venenatis tristique arcu massa sit amet exeria. Phasellus consequat placerat enimuri, vitae sollicitudin urna ornare atakerume eleifendin imperdiet laecenas im doreminki katarubice amista de mopreite.

Be the change that you wish to see in the world.

Duis nulla purus, scelerisque augue utixe tempus rhoncus manire. mane massa mauris, acumsana eget fringilla sed, placerate nec mauris. Mauris blandit odio sit ametia mattis ultrices. Fusce lucts porta mauris malesuada posre. Proinka sagittis pelenteue augue quis congue. Proin feugiat quam eget eleifend imperdiet. Maecenas commodo nulla et ipsum bibendum, idmina lacinia dolor varius. Pelentesnue idmina orci laoreet, sollicitudin ante vitae, aliquam mauris. Praesent in turpis tortor. Integer ac lacus orci. Nulla vitae felis urna. Donec at nune semper, efficitur felis tincidunt de kinibus tortor. Peletesnue necia astrerie suscipit vestibulume nulla convallisa.

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