The Moment of Truth

 We are at the gate now, the last door to our vacation.  I'm with my wife and my mom.  We are not allowed on the plane until we show a negative COVID-19 test result.  That confirmation will arrive within the next 4 hours or so.  At least, that is our hope.  The alternative is a quarantine period.  This is the moment of truth.

Although this process is tedious and time consuming, I'm thankful for this moment of truth.  It's my opportunity to be a lab rat for our three adult children who follow us in another week for the remainder of our trip.  There is a chance we may need to be deferred to a later flight.  The good news is we're close to the door.  I'm hopeful the final door will open.  Have a great day.

Hawaii Travel for the Green Mangos

 Are you thinking about a tropical vacation to Hawaii in the near future?  If you are, you may be considering how to deal with the travel restrictions due to the pandemic.  I'm crossing my fingers and saying a few prayers as I approach the 808 area code within the next 24 hours.  My hope is that tbe authorities allow me to proceed to the island of Molokai with my wife and my mom. For the first week of our vacation.  When it comes to Hawaii politics, I am what islanders call a "green mango."  

Here's what I've learned so far.  Keep in mind I'm sharing as I go as I attempt to ride the big Kahuna of government red tape.  An angel from Iowa who transplanted to San Diego agreed to help us get a test for COVID-19 at Walgreens after repeated failures to do this myself online.  This green mango had no clue a Walgreens account is necessary before setting up an appointment.  Once we overcame that obstacle, the next vital step was to get a same day appointment as we are flying to Hawaii in the morning.  This angel helping us promised she would give all three of us the drive thru test once we secured appointments even if the earliest time slot was outside our window of opportunity to get the results in time.

It's time now for us green mangos to ripen.  Our three adult children are paying careful attention to our progress as we uncover all the hidden challenges coming at us.  Stay tuned to learn more about this adventure we are on.  If all goes well, we will see our adult children in Maui for the second week of our vacation.  Aloha!  Have a great day.

Ultimate Trigger Test

 I'm writing this story the night before it posts.  There's a crying baby behind me and I'm near the back of the plane.  We're waiting to pull up to our gate.  We've been sitting for an hour due to the labor shortage.  The heat index is 106° outside.  The pilot announced he is beside himself.  

This is the last leg of my trip home and I'm keeping my cool.  So are the rest of the passengers with the exception of the 2yr old with the strong lungs. No trigger.  That's my story.  Vacation starts Thursday.  Have a great day.

Time to Say Aloha

 Aloha is the best word I know to express myself today.  Aloha (Goodbye) to my Springfield teammates.  I'm departing after lunch.  Aloha (love) to my family and friends who have been encouraging me while I'm on assignment away from home.  And finally, Aloha (hello) to my wife.  We will be reunited tonight when we begin our family vacation.  Thank you to my teammates for sticking together during this pandemic.  Until we meet again.  Aloha!  Have a great day.

Ohana

 Here's an important word to add to your vocabulary, courtesy of the Hawaiians.  The word of the day is Ohana, meaning family.  I would like to thank my new friend, Helena, for teaching me this word.  It goes well with Aloha, which means hello, goodbye, or love and fellowship.

Speaking of Ohana, I got the opportunity to spend a half day on Lake Taneycomo in Branson, Missouri with my day job friends from all over the Midwest.  Ohana is what drives our culture.  Always remember the power of Ohana and you will never be alone.  Have a great day.  Aloha!

Never Miss an Opportunity to Express Gratitude

 I sent her a Facebook friend request at 5am her time this morning.  She impacted thousands of lives during her tenure as an English teacher and coach of the girls tennis team at Sunnyslope High School.  Mrs. Nancy Porter was not my teacher or coach.  Great influencers can impact lives even when the coaching may be indirect as in my case.

Before I share my personal story, I would like to offer my condolences to Mrs. Porter for her loss of her twin sister to the pink cancer that struck both ladies.  As she did repeatedly coaching tennis and building champions, Coach Nancy tamed her cancer opponent.  Sadly, her twin was asked to exit the game of life a few years ago and meet the great umpire who determines our match schedules on earth. I'm sorry for your loss, Mrs. Porter.  

Tennis is and always will be an important part of my life.  It started the summer before high school.  The boys team shared court time with Mrs. Porter's girls.  Her girls were the best of the best.  Why?  I believe it comes from outstanding coaching.  I learned that Mrs. Porter got some coaching pointers from her time north of the border in Canada.  Near the conclusion of my senior year at Sunnyslope she asked me about my summer plans and offered a suggestion that changed my life.  "I can write a letter of recommendation and get you a job teaching tennis at the camp I worked at in Canada," she said.  I got in.  Yep.  Three of the best summers of my life were spent approximately 150 miles north of Toronto.  I was asked by the owner to stay for the fall season and teach at the the five star resort.  All of this because Mrs. Nancy Porter reached out to a kid who secretly needed a break in the game of life that sometimes kicks us in our butts.  I'm one of the lucky ones.  All of this because of great mentors like Mrs. Porter.  Thank you!  I hope the grammar errors are at a minimum should you find this story, Mrs. Porter.  Maybe your twin in Heaven can direct an angel or two to connect us once again.  Have a great day.  Thank you for your service.

Filling the Void with Jesus

 I believe there is a reason four men shared stories about Jesus instead of only one.  It's perspective.  If you look at the front of a house you see one thing.  The back side is another view.  Each side also offers something you don't see from the other perspective.  Study all four sides and you get a really good idea about the home.  When it comes to understanding the architecture of a supernatural home, four perspectives only scratch the surface.

I visited a church yesterday far away from my home.  Even though the pastor was talking about the same building, he offered his own unique point of view.  He blew my mind away.  His talk centered around something we humans don't usually see when we look at human buildings.  This was all about "the void."

Your body is a building.  If it behaves like mine, sometimes you sense something isn't right even though the outside looks okay.  The void is invisible.  The Gospel writers always concentrated on the void, like 5,000 men visiting Jesus and not having food except for some bread and a couple of fish.  Boom!  Jesus fills the void.  He stuns even his closest followers.  They all write about it from their own perspective.  We get a glimpse.  Perhaps we get the motivation to ask Jesus to work on our house.  Should we go really deep, we ask that the void be filled.  All I can say is this works.  Try it.  It works no matter what side of the house you are viewing.  Have a great day.