Muchas Gracias

Muchas Gracias

I do not know how much you took in – if any – of the farewell the Tigers gave to Miguel Cabrera this past weekend, but I felt that they did an incredible job … and our Lord Jesus (who is not just The God of baseball, but the God of all creation who sits at the right hand of God the Father ruling over the universe) complimented the activities with some fantastic weather.  I was blessed to attend the games on Friday and Sunday.  The theme through it all … and in the publications and events surrounding it … has been Muchas Gracias … Many + Great Thanks, Miggie, for the many joys provided over the years.

Caught between Two Worlds

Caught between Two Worlds

Way back in February Monica said to me, “Mark, as my gift to you for your 70th birthday and your retirement, after the dust has settled from all the planned activities, let’s get away – just the two of us – to see the Creation Museum and the Ark Encounter.”  Well, this past weekend the dust finally settled – at least a little bit – and we made the trip.  Thursday afternoon we drove to Florence, KY and checked into our hotel.  Friday we toured the Creation Museum.  Saturday morning, we checked out of our hotel and drove to the Ark Encounter.  That evening we drove a little farther south for a couple nights in Georgetown, KY.  Sunday afternoon we made a few stops on the bourbon trail in Lexington, and then returned home on Monday.

My Beautiful View

My Beautiful View

I spent last night at Weber’s Inn of Ann Arbor.  No – Monica did not ask for a “little space” or a “little time for me to be away.”  Retirement is going very well.  We (at least, I – I probably should not be proclaiming an assumption here … though we often complete each other’s sentences at home, I try to limit how often I do it in public) are enjoying our extra time together.  We are finding a pleasant balance of time together and apart.  We even enjoy going grocery shopping together – though we do not do it every time.  In other words, my view of retirement at this time is “beautiful”.

Lost between C + E

Lost between C + E

I am finally giving in – whatever that means.  My laptop, which has been warning me for over a year, now completely refuses to type the fourth letter in the alphabet!  This makes typing something like this – along with virtually everything else – nearly impossible.  Talk about frustrating!  The three options I have come to are a) an over-reliance upon spell-check (which, unfortunately will not help every time), b) copy the letter from a previous document to be pasted in place whenever necessary, or c) insert an “x” every time I should be using that letter between C + E.  A fourth option, which I could not include in the previous sentence for obvious reasons, is to consistently use vocabulary options that will not require the use of that certain letter.

Losers

Losers

It is difficult for me to use the term “losers” these days without thinking of our Detroit Tigers.  While I have not taken the time to actually look up the statistics, I believe their main problem this year has been losing streaks.  How many times have they gone into a funk and then lost 5 or more games in a row!

Well, Well

Well, Well

Well, well, all is well … now!  However, things were not so well one week ago today.  How suddenly and quickly things can change … and how important it is for us to be flexible and patient … and trusting that our Lord will provide – even when things are not lining up as we had hoped.

Port Passing

Port Passing

Birth Certificates?  Check.  Identification with Picture?  Check.  Official Photographs?  Check.  Completed Applications?  Check.  Checkbook?  Check.  We had everything we needed as we drove to the Mount Clemens Post Office for our 11:00 a.m. appointment.  The line was short … the process was efficient … all of the people were exceptionally friendly … and there were no surprises or hiccups.  We were back in our van headed home by 11:15, and in something like 10-13 weeks we should be receiving our first-ever passports.

Timing

Timing

Ever since we moved from our home in Eastpointe to the condo (7 years ago), we have been in regular contact with the Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA).  In particular, we place unwanted and slightly used items in boxes and bags, go to their website to book a pickup date, and then appropriately place the items on our front porch.  There was a time when they seemed to be coming weekly for up to a dozen boxes each time.  Now the visits are much farther apart and the number of boxes smaller.

Another Trade Deadline

Another Trade Deadline

The MLB Trade Deadline each year is somewhere around July 31.  This year it was 6:00 p.m. on August 1 … and, just as happened a few years ago, Justin Verlander was traded to the Houston Astros.  Max Scherzer is now with the Texas Rangers, Jamer Candelario is back with the Chicago Cubs, and Michael Lorenzen will finish the season in Philadelphia.  Edwin Rodriguez used a clause in his contract to nix a trade, preferring to remain a Tiger, at least for the rest of this season.