Well, I would have thought Detroit to be a city able to handle a sudden dumping of snow a little better than they did. It wasn't even that sudden, they knew good and well there was a heap of snow blowing in Saturday night/Sunday Morning. I got a call early in the morning saying church had been canceled, and it sounded like I would have had a hard time getting a cab anyway.
The next call that came was to say the concert was still on at 3pm. That was late enough in the day to get some of the main streets in the city cleared off, but it still made for a dicey ride from the hotel to the hall.
Then the word came in from those who don't live downtown saying the snow is still piled up on the streets and there is now way of getting into town for the concert. Sadly, this was one of the best selling shows of the series. The DSO said they had sold 95 per cent of the hall but only a small fraction of that actually made it in to see the show.
This was the case for all of my dozen or so DB participants to come to the event. Alastair (the conductor), Jenn (the soloist) David (with the DSO) and I all had dinner together on Friday night. David offered to let us use the DSO greenroom for our event. It is such a beautiful room.
Well, all is not lost. There is a good chance that Alastair will be conducting there again... maybe not in the holiday season and hopefully we can get an event like this organized again.
Keith and I were able to meet on Friday for breakfast. The snow is not keeping him from rallying the troops and some amazing event ideas are bouncing around for the Detroit Chapter.
Stay tuned!
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Snow!
I managed to dodge the snow in St. Louis, but it found me in Detroit.
I arrived here Thursday and was able to meet with Keith, the point man for the new DB chapter here in Detroit, on Friday for breakfast. Alastair was able to join us and as it turns out Keith's wife and Alastair knew each other at Prin in the late 80's. Go figure.
I went to the holiday concert on Thursday night and it is a great program. Alastair and the orchestra will do 7 shows before the weekend is out and we'll have the DB group all together on Sunday at the 3pm show.
Yes, "White Christmas" is one of the songs.
I arrived here Thursday and was able to meet with Keith, the point man for the new DB chapter here in Detroit, on Friday for breakfast. Alastair was able to join us and as it turns out Keith's wife and Alastair knew each other at Prin in the late 80's. Go figure.
I went to the holiday concert on Thursday night and it is a great program. Alastair and the orchestra will do 7 shows before the weekend is out and we'll have the DB group all together on Sunday at the 3pm show.
Yes, "White Christmas" is one of the songs.
Friday, December 14, 2007
Principia Planning
Gina and Sue were in town and we were able to catch up on how the road trip is going. I was also able to join the planning committee for the DiscoveryBound Leadership Conference (DBLC) that will take place at Principia next fall.
The DBLC (formerly known as the National Teen Leadership Conference and Chapter Workers Workshop... or something like that - NTLC for short) is a great opportunity for teens and adults alike to come together and explore in their role with the DiscoveryBound community, their local CS community and how the work they do blesses the world.
Last year, sessions addressed how to combat the onslaught of sensational media, developing team building skills and more.
This year proves to be another amazing event. Mark your calendar for Labor Day Weekend 2008!
The DBLC (formerly known as the National Teen Leadership Conference and Chapter Workers Workshop... or something like that - NTLC for short) is a great opportunity for teens and adults alike to come together and explore in their role with the DiscoveryBound community, their local CS community and how the work they do blesses the world.
Last year, sessions addressed how to combat the onslaught of sensational media, developing team building skills and more.
This year proves to be another amazing event. Mark your calendar for Labor Day Weekend 2008!
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
We're all pretty aware of Facebook, but I'm just getting to the point where I'm going really use it as a tool to get the word for DB events out.
The is a DiscoveryBound group on Facebook, it was started by a participant named Jeff who was kind enough to include me as an admin so I could help the group grow and to use the amazing communication facilities of the system.
Already by reaching out to the members of the group, I've gotten a few responses back asking questions about the events, expressing concerns regarding not having enough funds, and just elation that these events are on. The results have been amazing. One of the dialogs has inspired a participant to organize a fundraising concert to help her afford getting to the NYC event.
I've started some discussion threads on the group site where members can share how they are getting funds together, share gratitude and provide suggestions on how to improve the events. Check it out:
http://facebook.com/group.php?gid=2204864338
The is a DiscoveryBound group on Facebook, it was started by a participant named Jeff who was kind enough to include me as an admin so I could help the group grow and to use the amazing communication facilities of the system.
Already by reaching out to the members of the group, I've gotten a few responses back asking questions about the events, expressing concerns regarding not having enough funds, and just elation that these events are on. The results have been amazing. One of the dialogs has inspired a participant to organize a fundraising concert to help her afford getting to the NYC event.
I've started some discussion threads on the group site where members can share how they are getting funds together, share gratitude and provide suggestions on how to improve the events. Check it out:
http://facebook.com/group.php?gid=2204864338
Saturday, December 8, 2007
Mighty Mouse Fix
I would like to report today was very exciting. But it wasn't. It was a relaxing wet, cold, gray day. Which is good for getting things done inside.
An email from Kansas City today brought good news of strong support continuing to build for the DB chapter there. I sent along a pre-formatted spreadsheet to collect chapter worker and chapter contact details.
The Detroit event continues to develop. I head up there on Thursday to meet with the growing crew to serve on the DB board and for our event up there.
I forget if I've described it before, but here's what we're doing: Alastair Willis, a good friend of mine who is a symphony orchestra conductor is conducting a Christmas Pops concert series in Detroit. The newly formed chapter board (as a result of the TMC Youth Summit in Chicago) has been bustling and recruiting members to the board and promoting the event. We're getting folks to the 3pm show on Sunday, the finale. Afterwards we'll all head backstage to meet with Alastair and later Alastair will speak to the group about how he uses Christian Science in his daily expectation for harmony in his work as a conductor.
Oh, and the other 'exciting' thing is I took my Bluetooth Apple Mighty Mouse apart to fix the scroll ball that decided to get gummed up and not scroll down any more. I found a great site, www.mightymouserepair.com, that gave me step by step instructions. I had called Apple first (mistake) to get their suggestions but they ran me through all the crazy questions and whatnot about what OS I was using and to take the batteries out and put them back in and blah, blah, blah. I wish they would have just admitted it's a common problem (comon, someone built a web page around it all) and made their non-warranty cleaning suggestion - just use water.
Anyway, after taking it apart and not loosing all the small parts, my down scroll works again! And it'd brilliant.
It's too bad we had such a short turn around time, but it's likely we'll be able to do more of these events as Willis keeps me posted of his upcoming concerts.
An email from Kansas City today brought good news of strong support continuing to build for the DB chapter there. I sent along a pre-formatted spreadsheet to collect chapter worker and chapter contact details.
The Detroit event continues to develop. I head up there on Thursday to meet with the growing crew to serve on the DB board and for our event up there.
I forget if I've described it before, but here's what we're doing: Alastair Willis, a good friend of mine who is a symphony orchestra conductor is conducting a Christmas Pops concert series in Detroit. The newly formed chapter board (as a result of the TMC Youth Summit in Chicago) has been bustling and recruiting members to the board and promoting the event. We're getting folks to the 3pm show on Sunday, the finale. Afterwards we'll all head backstage to meet with Alastair and later Alastair will speak to the group about how he uses Christian Science in his daily expectation for harmony in his work as a conductor.
Oh, and the other 'exciting' thing is I took my Bluetooth Apple Mighty Mouse apart to fix the scroll ball that decided to get gummed up and not scroll down any more. I found a great site, www.mightymouserepair.com, that gave me step by step instructions. I had called Apple first (mistake) to get their suggestions but they ran me through all the crazy questions and whatnot about what OS I was using and to take the batteries out and put them back in and blah, blah, blah. I wish they would have just admitted it's a common problem (comon, someone built a web page around it all) and made their non-warranty cleaning suggestion - just use water.
Anyway, after taking it apart and not loosing all the small parts, my down scroll works again! And it'd brilliant.
It's too bad we had such a short turn around time, but it's likely we'll be able to do more of these events as Willis keeps me posted of his upcoming concerts.
Friday, December 7, 2007
Sunsets
Gina and Stodden from DB HQ are heading out this way so I'm camped out in St. Louis for a bit.
In that process, Kristin invited me to come and meet with and speak to the Upper School kids heading out on the Teton Science School trip. This is where the kids go live and play in the snow for a week and learn about science, art and life.
As we were walking back to the tuck behind the boy's gym (also where the US is being kind enough for me to store the trailer for a stint) we saw this sunset.
Sorry my little phone camera can't quite capture the deep red and orange... but just so you know, it was amazing.
Things are rolling along nicely with organizing an event up in Detroit later this month for DB and the STL and KC chapters are ramping up. Omaha should be getting going once winter break starts and Deb our lead there has a moment to breathe. Thanks all!
In that process, Kristin invited me to come and meet with and speak to the Upper School kids heading out on the Teton Science School trip. This is where the kids go live and play in the snow for a week and learn about science, art and life.
As we were walking back to the tuck behind the boy's gym (also where the US is being kind enough for me to store the trailer for a stint) we saw this sunset.
Sorry my little phone camera can't quite capture the deep red and orange... but just so you know, it was amazing.
Things are rolling along nicely with organizing an event up in Detroit later this month for DB and the STL and KC chapters are ramping up. Omaha should be getting going once winter break starts and Deb our lead there has a moment to breathe. Thanks all!
Monday, December 3, 2007
DB:STL
Saturday afternoon half a dozen of us gathered at the Napper's house. This was different than the meeting described before. This was not a meeting about building a DB chapter for the kids, but building one for the adults.
It's not a completely unheard of concept. I was involved with getting such a group going in New York City and others have sprung up in the Bay Area and LA. DB isn't really designed to have adult chapters but they are willing to accommodate the needs in the movement that are not being satisfied other ways.
As the NYC group has shown, these groups don't really need DB, but there are some perks if they choose to take them. It's more like the legal stuff of being under the DB 501(c)3 umbrella for fund raising and the like. But it is still a great resource for DB to find chaperons for various events. We have an event coming up in NYC and we'll likely have many of the members of the CS:NYC group helping.
It sounds like the crew in STL is good with being a DB chapter. We're still sorting out the best way for them to stay connected. There's a Facebook Group right now, but I don't think it's quite as powerful as the Yahoo! Groups system. Oh, I hope the new DB website will work as promised. Communication is such a vital key to all of this... and a close second is eliminating as much admin work as possible for the volunteers. They should just be blasting out an e-mail:"We're going camping next week. Come on!" and that's it.
It's not a completely unheard of concept. I was involved with getting such a group going in New York City and others have sprung up in the Bay Area and LA. DB isn't really designed to have adult chapters but they are willing to accommodate the needs in the movement that are not being satisfied other ways.
As the NYC group has shown, these groups don't really need DB, but there are some perks if they choose to take them. It's more like the legal stuff of being under the DB 501(c)3 umbrella for fund raising and the like. But it is still a great resource for DB to find chaperons for various events. We have an event coming up in NYC and we'll likely have many of the members of the CS:NYC group helping.
It sounds like the crew in STL is good with being a DB chapter. We're still sorting out the best way for them to stay connected. There's a Facebook Group right now, but I don't think it's quite as powerful as the Yahoo! Groups system. Oh, I hope the new DB website will work as promised. Communication is such a vital key to all of this... and a close second is eliminating as much admin work as possible for the volunteers. They should just be blasting out an e-mail:"We're going camping next week. Come on!" and that's it.
Saturday, December 1, 2007
Winterize
Well... ya know, plans are really just the foundation upon which change occurs. It's nice to think you have a plan, to make it appear to others as if you're all organized and you have everything sorted out... but change is the inevitable and variables are truly infinite.
In shot, I'll be in St. Louis a bit longer than expected. Gina, our National Director, just got back from Peru and was not around for the prep, buildup, launch and even the beginning weeks of this road trip. I got a call from her suggesting I stick around as she has a trip scheduled for mid-December to come to St. Louis to meet with The Principia as it is and wanted to catch up with the road trip as well.
Temperatures have dropped quite a bit here in the city of the arch and since the Serafini's have been so great to allow me to continue to stay with them and since I'll be heading to the Great Northwest for Christmas and New Years - away from the trailer it just seemed to make sense to set it up to be cold for a while and not to burst any pipes.
I found Howard RV south of the city and they had the best price after some calling around to compare. Mike and Dave took care of everything, including emptying my black tank (sewage) which I've not had to deal with... yet. Thanks boys.
They also pointed out a few tips about storing the batteries. There are a few systems that will constantly draw on the batteries. So, they suggested disconnecting them and storing them inside - on wood, not on concrete (concrete sucks the acid out of the battery). Clever.
It's all part of learning about life on the road... or rather, on and off the road in freezing conditions.
So, I'll head towards Kansas City in the New Year when I get back and then down to Oklahoma City and into Texas, where hopefully I can find warmer temperatures.
Phone calls and e-mails out to Kansas City and back up to Iowa and Nebraska have been abounding as well as connections to Detroit as we try to organize an event up there.
In shot, I'll be in St. Louis a bit longer than expected. Gina, our National Director, just got back from Peru and was not around for the prep, buildup, launch and even the beginning weeks of this road trip. I got a call from her suggesting I stick around as she has a trip scheduled for mid-December to come to St. Louis to meet with The Principia as it is and wanted to catch up with the road trip as well.
Temperatures have dropped quite a bit here in the city of the arch and since the Serafini's have been so great to allow me to continue to stay with them and since I'll be heading to the Great Northwest for Christmas and New Years - away from the trailer it just seemed to make sense to set it up to be cold for a while and not to burst any pipes.
I found Howard RV south of the city and they had the best price after some calling around to compare. Mike and Dave took care of everything, including emptying my black tank (sewage) which I've not had to deal with... yet. Thanks boys.
They also pointed out a few tips about storing the batteries. There are a few systems that will constantly draw on the batteries. So, they suggested disconnecting them and storing them inside - on wood, not on concrete (concrete sucks the acid out of the battery). Clever.
It's all part of learning about life on the road... or rather, on and off the road in freezing conditions.
So, I'll head towards Kansas City in the New Year when I get back and then down to Oklahoma City and into Texas, where hopefully I can find warmer temperatures.
Phone calls and e-mails out to Kansas City and back up to Iowa and Nebraska have been abounding as well as connections to Detroit as we try to organize an event up there.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Serafini Studios
Coming up on the end of the month, I had to get all my paperwork organized. Credit Card receipts, church contact lists, upcoming regional events, contacting folks in my next city, Kansas City, checking up on when I might get the license plates to my truck (I got very lucky when I was pulled over to have a totally legitimate story and being let go even though I had no proof of ownership of the truck).
Gabriel and Kristin have been very kind to let me hang at their house in St. Louis. They work for themselves in the home office you see, which also doubles as a dining room table when needed, or game surface (see previous flickr image post).
It was nice to sit around and work and organize all day in my sweats, but we did get dressed to head to the Layfette Square Christian Science Society for their Wednesday Testimony Service. It was great to see more folks I knew from Camp Owatonna and to meet new folks like Eric, who lived in Europe for some time and we were able to yak it up in German. Afterwards, Gabriel, Kristin and I were joined by Emily to have dinner at Bailey's Chocolate Bar and we just chatted it up until about 11.30pm! Hence the reason it looks like I missed a day in posting a blog, but it's only because it's after midnight now and it will look like there are two entries for 29 November.
Tomorrow looks like it will be more of the same as I start to get ready to head to Kansas City. I'm waiting for a shipment of Chapter Handbooks from HQ before I can move on... but fear not, there is plenty to do. Though, it might be a bit of a challenge in keeping the blog posts about all that interesting. But then, if you've read this far, my odds are good. Good night.
Gabriel and Kristin have been very kind to let me hang at their house in St. Louis. They work for themselves in the home office you see, which also doubles as a dining room table when needed, or game surface (see previous flickr image post).
It was nice to sit around and work and organize all day in my sweats, but we did get dressed to head to the Layfette Square Christian Science Society for their Wednesday Testimony Service. It was great to see more folks I knew from Camp Owatonna and to meet new folks like Eric, who lived in Europe for some time and we were able to yak it up in German. Afterwards, Gabriel, Kristin and I were joined by Emily to have dinner at Bailey's Chocolate Bar and we just chatted it up until about 11.30pm! Hence the reason it looks like I missed a day in posting a blog, but it's only because it's after midnight now and it will look like there are two entries for 29 November.
Tomorrow looks like it will be more of the same as I start to get ready to head to Kansas City. I'm waiting for a shipment of Chapter Handbooks from HQ before I can move on... but fear not, there is plenty to do. Though, it might be a bit of a challenge in keeping the blog posts about all that interesting. But then, if you've read this far, my odds are good. Good night.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
St. Louis Chapter
After a great stint in San Diego for Thanksgiving, I arrived back in St. Louis where Carol had arranged a meeting with a few folks to talk about getting a strategy together for the DiscoveryBound chapter.
As I mentioned in the previous post, it's a unique situation here with Principia and the development of CS youth activity. DiscoveryBound really is the perfect means of bringing the Principia and non-Principia crowds together.
The group also wanted to see if there was interest in the young adult age group in doing more activities together. I told them about the development of the CS:NYC group in New York City. How activities range from playing Frisbee in Central Park to Monitor Prayer Watch events where an article from the CS Monitor is read and the issue it presents prayed about. Then the group meets at a cafe to discuss what they each worked on.
So, folks got pretty charged and I helped them with specific tasks to grow the chapter. The next step is to work on getting the church contact network established in the area so when events are planned the word can get out about them. They're also keen on the Operation Testimony Meeting event to visit other churches and show what DiscoveryBound is about.
Tomorrow is looking like an admin day. Now that I have just enough experience in getting around to churches, connecting groups like eastern Iowa and figuring out how to keep track of it all, I need to set up my "office" to support that work flow.
I also need to figure out how to partially winterize the trailer. Some friends from college who live in the area have put me up and the trailer is parked at the Principia Upper School. There are still some liquids in the system, and while it hasn't gotten cold enough yet to make pipe bursting a concern, it is something I need to learn about. It's all part of the trailer life. Yee-haw.
As I mentioned in the previous post, it's a unique situation here with Principia and the development of CS youth activity. DiscoveryBound really is the perfect means of bringing the Principia and non-Principia crowds together.
The group also wanted to see if there was interest in the young adult age group in doing more activities together. I told them about the development of the CS:NYC group in New York City. How activities range from playing Frisbee in Central Park to Monitor Prayer Watch events where an article from the CS Monitor is read and the issue it presents prayed about. Then the group meets at a cafe to discuss what they each worked on.
So, folks got pretty charged and I helped them with specific tasks to grow the chapter. The next step is to work on getting the church contact network established in the area so when events are planned the word can get out about them. They're also keen on the Operation Testimony Meeting event to visit other churches and show what DiscoveryBound is about.
Tomorrow is looking like an admin day. Now that I have just enough experience in getting around to churches, connecting groups like eastern Iowa and figuring out how to keep track of it all, I need to set up my "office" to support that work flow.
I also need to figure out how to partially winterize the trailer. Some friends from college who live in the area have put me up and the trailer is parked at the Principia Upper School. There are still some liquids in the system, and while it hasn't gotten cold enough yet to make pipe bursting a concern, it is something I need to learn about. It's all part of the trailer life. Yee-haw.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
St. Louis
Here's a better photo I took of the dinner crowd with Gabriel's camera. See the previous posting for the details, or click on the image.
Today I visited the Creve Couer (pronounced 'core') Church and met with Carol who is keen to keep DiscoveryBound rolling in St. Louis. It's such a unique situation here with the huge Prin populous of CS'ers in the area. Principia has it's own schedule to adhere to regarding it's events over the course of the school year, but there are many CS folks, and their youth, who are not part of the Principia program. The mission of DB here will be to eliminate the concept of their being a Prin Crowd and a Non-Prin Crowd.
We will have to work around the Principia schedule for many things and there is a totally harmonious and progressive solution to provide a service to all.
Tonight there is rumor of another dinner party, this time in St. Louis at Gabe and Kristin's house (sitting at the end of the table in the photo above). I'm not quite sure what it will be, but I know it will be good and odds are they will blog about it on their flickr site (click on photo).
Tomorrow I'm off to San Diego to spend a week with my dad, brother and good friend Alastair. Then, it's back to St. Louis to meet with Carol and other DB chapter workers to devise a long term sustainable plan for DB in the St. Louis area. That is going to be fun.
Today I visited the Creve Couer (pronounced 'core') Church and met with Carol who is keen to keep DiscoveryBound rolling in St. Louis. It's such a unique situation here with the huge Prin populous of CS'ers in the area. Principia has it's own schedule to adhere to regarding it's events over the course of the school year, but there are many CS folks, and their youth, who are not part of the Principia program. The mission of DB here will be to eliminate the concept of their being a Prin Crowd and a Non-Prin Crowd.
We will have to work around the Principia schedule for many things and there is a totally harmonious and progressive solution to provide a service to all.
Tonight there is rumor of another dinner party, this time in St. Louis at Gabe and Kristin's house (sitting at the end of the table in the photo above). I'm not quite sure what it will be, but I know it will be good and odds are they will blog about it on their flickr site (click on photo).
Tomorrow I'm off to San Diego to spend a week with my dad, brother and good friend Alastair. Then, it's back to St. Louis to meet with Carol and other DB chapter workers to devise a long term sustainable plan for DB in the St. Louis area. That is going to be fun.
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Principia Visit
Friday and Saturday were the last days of the quarter at Principia College, my alma mater. It was great to pop up there for a visit, see some friendly faces, meet new people, tell them about DiscoveryBound (some didn't even know about our Labor Day event there!) and, as it turns out some friends of mine were having a diner party and I was absorbed into the festivities.
I ended up sleeping there for the night (hence no up date yesterday) and enjoyed a day of continuing to catch up, visit a farm share stand, move a work bench from a bike repair shop and enjoy a nice sunset walk along the Bluff Trail.
The love I felt for that campus came rushing back in a very unexpected way. I was suddenly thinking about how I could really enjoy figuring out some sort of teaching position (though, I have no idea what I would teach) to allow me to live and work on that campus again for a stint. It was really great to get away from there after graduation, but now I think the breathing time has done its deed and it would be safe to return for a bit. I think that was the way for many of my classmates. We all went off on our own adventures in the world, gained worldly experiences and can bring them back for the current student body.
Tomorrow I should be meeting many of the active members of the St. Louis DiscoveryBound chapter and on Monday I fly to San Diego to deep fry the turkey with my dad and bro. Good times.
I ended up sleeping there for the night (hence no up date yesterday) and enjoyed a day of continuing to catch up, visit a farm share stand, move a work bench from a bike repair shop and enjoy a nice sunset walk along the Bluff Trail.
The love I felt for that campus came rushing back in a very unexpected way. I was suddenly thinking about how I could really enjoy figuring out some sort of teaching position (though, I have no idea what I would teach) to allow me to live and work on that campus again for a stint. It was really great to get away from there after graduation, but now I think the breathing time has done its deed and it would be safe to return for a bit. I think that was the way for many of my classmates. We all went off on our own adventures in the world, gained worldly experiences and can bring them back for the current student body.
Tomorrow I should be meeting many of the active members of the St. Louis DiscoveryBound chapter and on Monday I fly to San Diego to deep fry the turkey with my dad and bro. Good times.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Southbound - Part I
It was quite the effort to get out of the skinny driveway at the Iowa City church. A big thanks to Molly, whom I met at church the night before, who came out to spot me as I backed this sucker up.
Once on the road, I checked in for our staff conference call and just as things were wrapping up, the ole red and blue light show came to life behind me. I knew I wasn't speeding, I had the cruise control set. But it was just as I figured: they had a hard time seeing the temporary plates taped in the tinted back window of the truck.
The boys in blue (well, one in blue, one in khaki and one fury friend) were very friendly and even let me get a photo with the pooch.
The rest of the day was very productive. George from Iowa City had provided me a nice list of folks around the state at other churches to contact and I made a few phone calls. Of note was my conversation with Dennis in Cedar Falls who has two teenage kids and as I was describing our NYC program focused on the arts he was amazed and sounded keen to get his kids there. His daughter has shown some interest in the theater so it sounded like a perfect match.
The Church Contacts are filling in and I think Iowa is going to be very well connected.
The sunset from I-55 was amazing over the vast flatland to the west and after night fell and I crawled through some traffic from some sort of hic-up in St. Louis, I pulled into the Creve Coeur church parking lot where Jim Andrews met me and we headed off to dinner. Another big thanks for Creve Coeur church for letting me camp in their lot.
Fallen truck bed leaves
Joyful gusty swirling
Southbound
Once on the road, I checked in for our staff conference call and just as things were wrapping up, the ole red and blue light show came to life behind me. I knew I wasn't speeding, I had the cruise control set. But it was just as I figured: they had a hard time seeing the temporary plates taped in the tinted back window of the truck.
The boys in blue (well, one in blue, one in khaki and one fury friend) were very friendly and even let me get a photo with the pooch.
The rest of the day was very productive. George from Iowa City had provided me a nice list of folks around the state at other churches to contact and I made a few phone calls. Of note was my conversation with Dennis in Cedar Falls who has two teenage kids and as I was describing our NYC program focused on the arts he was amazed and sounded keen to get his kids there. His daughter has shown some interest in the theater so it sounded like a perfect match.
The Church Contacts are filling in and I think Iowa is going to be very well connected.
The sunset from I-55 was amazing over the vast flatland to the west and after night fell and I crawled through some traffic from some sort of hic-up in St. Louis, I pulled into the Creve Coeur church parking lot where Jim Andrews met me and we headed off to dinner. Another big thanks for Creve Coeur church for letting me camp in their lot.
Fallen truck bed leaves
Joyful gusty swirling
Southbound
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Iowa City, IA
The winds of fall have made themselves known in Iowa City. The morning started with me strapping on my inline skates and gliding downtown to meet with longtime friend Japhet who is working here on the Edwards Presidential Campaign. Then, I scooted back to the church where I met with George Gregory who is the Sunday School Superintendent at the Iowa City Church. As it turns out, George is also the Committee on Publication for Iowa and travels all over the state, so it was nice to be able to connect with him here.
George was very appreciative of my coming through and was glad to see such an effort being made for CS youth. We talked about getting a chapter going here, but we still need to do some research to see if it could really be supported. We'd have to look well beyond Iowa City. He suggested the possibility of getting an Eastern Iowa/Western Illinois group going and my meetings tomorrow will contribute to that idea as I meet with folks from Davenport and hopefully Peoria and Springfield as well. Maybe we can rope in the folks from Des Moines.
We also have some stirring in Detroit. After attending the Chicago Spiritual Summit, I met Keith who is starting to ramp up some activity.
I had my first guests in the trailer tonight. I never managed to get a photo off, but Japhet took one. Hopefully he'll send that along and I'll post it when I get it. We also had Molly, who as it turns out has worked with Japhet in the past! Sara, who currently works with Japhet at the Edwards Campaign came over as well and we all had a nice cozy chat with hot tea and an Antarctic slide show. Go figure.
Tomorrow, I blow out of here. Molly has agreed to come back in the morning to spot for me while I try to back this trailer out of here. Oh boy.
George was very appreciative of my coming through and was glad to see such an effort being made for CS youth. We talked about getting a chapter going here, but we still need to do some research to see if it could really be supported. We'd have to look well beyond Iowa City. He suggested the possibility of getting an Eastern Iowa/Western Illinois group going and my meetings tomorrow will contribute to that idea as I meet with folks from Davenport and hopefully Peoria and Springfield as well. Maybe we can rope in the folks from Des Moines.
We also have some stirring in Detroit. After attending the Chicago Spiritual Summit, I met Keith who is starting to ramp up some activity.
I had my first guests in the trailer tonight. I never managed to get a photo off, but Japhet took one. Hopefully he'll send that along and I'll post it when I get it. We also had Molly, who as it turns out has worked with Japhet in the past! Sara, who currently works with Japhet at the Edwards Campaign came over as well and we all had a nice cozy chat with hot tea and an Antarctic slide show. Go figure.
Tomorrow, I blow out of here. Molly has agreed to come back in the morning to spot for me while I try to back this trailer out of here. Oh boy.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Gusts & Squeeze
Though I was up with the sun again this morning, I didn't rush in getting out of Omaha. I let the morning traffic clear and made a smooth, unobstructed departure. A slight headwind bummed out my already poor gas mileage. It also kept me alert when gusts from the side tried to force an involuntary lane change. Not good while being over taken by someone... especially a big semi truck.
Yes, most folks pass me on the freeway, but an informal experiment shows I get one whole mile per gallon better by driving 65 mph versus 75 mph. Oh yes, the truck has the power to do 75 with the trailer no problem... it even still has some pickup when I need it! The MPG experiments will continue.
But I like to savor my time on the road, so I'm in no rush. Unfortunately, it didn't work out to meet with anyone in Des Moines, but they were all very friendly and appreciative of my effort on the phone and they want to hear what Omaha gets up to.
Now I'm in Iowa City and when I pulled in I tried to back the trailer into the very narrow driveway of 1st Church. A poorly placed sign post caused me to go around the block to reset, but then I just pulled in head first and even that was a tricky squeeze. The true test will be backing this thing out of here Thursday morning. Here's a little video as I assume to take on the challenge:
Yeah. Right.
Tonight my good friend Japhet is taking me back west a ways to Grannell where he's giving some sort of talk to the college for the John Edwards campaign, where he currently works. More on Japhet at http://floatingark.blogspot.com/
Yes, most folks pass me on the freeway, but an informal experiment shows I get one whole mile per gallon better by driving 65 mph versus 75 mph. Oh yes, the truck has the power to do 75 with the trailer no problem... it even still has some pickup when I need it! The MPG experiments will continue.
But I like to savor my time on the road, so I'm in no rush. Unfortunately, it didn't work out to meet with anyone in Des Moines, but they were all very friendly and appreciative of my effort on the phone and they want to hear what Omaha gets up to.
Now I'm in Iowa City and when I pulled in I tried to back the trailer into the very narrow driveway of 1st Church. A poorly placed sign post caused me to go around the block to reset, but then I just pulled in head first and even that was a tricky squeeze. The true test will be backing this thing out of here Thursday morning. Here's a little video as I assume to take on the challenge:
Yeah. Right.
Tonight my good friend Japhet is taking me back west a ways to Grannell where he's giving some sort of talk to the college for the John Edwards campaign, where he currently works. More on Japhet at http://floatingark.blogspot.com/
Monday, November 12, 2007
Omaha Chapter
Today was a successful day of meetings and it looks like Omaha may soon have a DiscoveryBound chapter. Deb has been working on getting something together - including a summer program for the kids. When I handed her the chapter handbook, her eyes bulged and she exclaimed "this is all so organized!" Well, I'm glad she thinks so and I hope it helps her put a board together and gets things rolling.
We met at Burger King at 10.30 and I was still working on my breakfast, but shortly after the meeting was over a touch of hunger struck and I struck back by heading to the grocer "Bag 'N Save" to pick up some sandwich materials. Things were going so well in building my sandwich, I decided to video it for you!
The afternoon included making phone calls into Iowa and resulted in the invitation to park the trailer at the Iowa City Church. Sweet.
This evening, Fred, the would be Sunday School Super of 1st Church Omaha took me out for a great (world famous really) Omaha steak dinner and a tour of downtown Omaha with interesting historical sketches of what buildings have come and gone and the such.
Tomorrow morning I'll bid Omaha farewell and will continue east. Stay tuned!
We met at Burger King at 10.30 and I was still working on my breakfast, but shortly after the meeting was over a touch of hunger struck and I struck back by heading to the grocer "Bag 'N Save" to pick up some sandwich materials. Things were going so well in building my sandwich, I decided to video it for you!
The afternoon included making phone calls into Iowa and resulted in the invitation to park the trailer at the Iowa City Church. Sweet.
This evening, Fred, the would be Sunday School Super of 1st Church Omaha took me out for a great (world famous really) Omaha steak dinner and a tour of downtown Omaha with interesting historical sketches of what buildings have come and gone and the such.
Tomorrow morning I'll bid Omaha farewell and will continue east. Stay tuned!
Sunday, November 11, 2007
2nd Church, Omaha
Much thanks to 2nd Church Omaha who saved me from the Wal-Mart parking lot and set me up with power and water hookups in their parking lot. What luxury to have constant power (not having to set up the generator and run it with that drone in the background) and to have solid water pressure. My shower tomorrow morning is going to be a treat. Now, I have been showering most mornings already and though the little water pump on the trailer does very well the pressure isn't quite consistent. So, I'm not complaining, just appreciating the change.
It turns out there is quite a bit of interest here in Omaha to support activities for CS youth. I met the Clerk, Tom, and the Sunday School Superintendent, Gabrella of 2nd Church and the lot of us, including Gabrella's family went out to lunch together.
Tom then helped me with getting the trailer situated and even had a piece of coaxial cable to connect my TV to the antenna. He suggested I start a wish list which I might just do. Check the left column. He also offered me a white gas Colman camping stove after I mentioned I would like to get a grill. It was close but not quite what I needed.
Tomorrow morning I'm meeting with Deb and Renata who have spearheaded some local CS youth activity. Hopefully we'll be able to get something up and running for them.
It looks like I'll be heading to Des Moins, Iowa next. I'm not sure if I'll be staying there the night or just passing through. Such are the thrills of reckless ambition and blind adventure - much like this road trip.
Ciao!
It turns out there is quite a bit of interest here in Omaha to support activities for CS youth. I met the Clerk, Tom, and the Sunday School Superintendent, Gabrella of 2nd Church and the lot of us, including Gabrella's family went out to lunch together.
Tom then helped me with getting the trailer situated and even had a piece of coaxial cable to connect my TV to the antenna. He suggested I start a wish list which I might just do. Check the left column. He also offered me a white gas Colman camping stove after I mentioned I would like to get a grill. It was close but not quite what I needed.
Tomorrow morning I'm meeting with Deb and Renata who have spearheaded some local CS youth activity. Hopefully we'll be able to get something up and running for them.
It looks like I'll be heading to Des Moins, Iowa next. I'm not sure if I'll be staying there the night or just passing through. Such are the thrills of reckless ambition and blind adventure - much like this road trip.
Ciao!
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Admin Day
Today was fairly uneventful, but highly productive. I'm on this early rise kick, so I got to enjoy the full range of the sunrise with a cup of tea in hand. I miss the smell of wet prairie from my first night out (see map).
The productive elements include picking up a printer, organizing my files, (and filing system), setting up my expense report, entering all the data, the usual barrage of email's and a handful of other things. Nesting really. Getting used to life in a trailer. Granted, this trailer is probably twice the size of my old apartment in New York City and on average, the views are much nicer. Granted, it might be a draw looking out over the Wal-Mart parking lot, but the photo of the sunrise blows the brick wall view I had away.
Tomorrow is church and I'm looking forward to meeting folks. Today was a difficult day to get in touch with people as there was a big football game in Lincoln.
Now, it's time to steam some broccoli, warm up the rotisserie chicken and pour a nice cold glass of milk. Dinner along with some reading should set the day nicely to rest.
The productive elements include picking up a printer, organizing my files, (and filing system), setting up my expense report, entering all the data, the usual barrage of email's and a handful of other things. Nesting really. Getting used to life in a trailer. Granted, this trailer is probably twice the size of my old apartment in New York City and on average, the views are much nicer. Granted, it might be a draw looking out over the Wal-Mart parking lot, but the photo of the sunrise blows the brick wall view I had away.
Tomorrow is church and I'm looking forward to meeting folks. Today was a difficult day to get in touch with people as there was a big football game in Lincoln.
Now, it's time to steam some broccoli, warm up the rotisserie chicken and pour a nice cold glass of milk. Dinner along with some reading should set the day nicely to rest.
Friday, November 9, 2007
Omaha, Nebraska
Finally on the road! With what seems like months of prep time (not to mention that silly trip to Kilimanjaro which pushed the schedule back a few weeks) I'm finally rolling along in my new home: a 30' Keystone Sprinter travel trailer.
Sure, I've pulled a trailer before... like a canoe trailer, but never something this big. There is going to be lots to learn about life on the road, in the most literal sense ever for me. Take this morning for example.
Last night I was eager to get to Nebraska. Once I crossed the border on I-76 and merged onto I-80, I pulled off at Big Springs, tucked myself in the shadows behind an abandoned gas station and set up to camp. The next morning, I woke early (what a sunrise!) and the truck battery was dead. What? The trailer had plenty of juice, but the truck wouldn't start. I tried to send some power from the trailer back to the truck by starting up the generator, but no luck.
So... with some roadside assistance from USAA, I got a jump and was back on my way. Of course I had a nice cup of tea while I waited for my jump to arrive.
Once in Lincoln I met up with one of our trustees, Anabeth, who as it turns out was a very strong proponent in getting me the funding for this trip. Nancy from 1st Church Lincoln joined us as well and we had a good meeting about getting things going in Nebraska.
On to Omaha, where I now sit and write this in the comfort of the Wal-Mart parking lot. Ahhh... that and the pulsing sound of my generator to power and charge the very computer I type to you on.
Scratch that. The Genny just ran out of gas. Back on battery power.
Anyway, it's pretty clever of Wal-Mart to allow folks to camp in their parking lot. I'm not even much of a consumer and I just spent $130 there! Granted, I still had not stocked any food on the trailer nor did I have any office supplies. But hey, Wal-Mart got my business because they gave something of value to me away for free. I must admit... I'm still not a huge Wal-Mart fan. I know they have pushed themselves into communities where they were not welcome and force the closure of smaller stores. But for while I'm in Omaha I guess they'll do.
Moist prarie air
Flat, rounded horizon
Sherbet bars begin
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