DOG DAYS BEGIN

In the twelve years that Debra and I have been married, we have never had a dog.  We had two cats when Ashley was younger, but both cats had serious psychological disorders.  The experience was mostly negative.

 

The first cat abandoned us unexpectedly for no reason and the second cat needed to be restricted to Ashley's room because it consistently chose not to control its bladder when perusing carpeted areas outside Ashley's room.  Eventually, we had to get rid of the second cat because we were incapable of helping it to overcome it's emotional issues.

 

That was over ten years ago.

 

We've resisted pets ever since.  Dogs, especially, have been ruled out because they make it difficult to leave home on weekends and because they require unpleasant cleanup chores in the yard.

 

Lately, Debra has expressed interest in owning a dog.  A small lap dog.  Simultaneously, I have expressed disinterest in owning a dog.

 

Today, we have a dog.  Debra's dog.  Koda. 

 

 

 



 

Koda came to our home in a cage.



Debra places a collar on Koda in preparation for a walk around the neighborhood.

Our neighborhood contains a dog trail located across the street from our house.  Our house can be seen in the background directly behind Debra.

From the dog trail to the street.

Debra instructs Koda regarding authorized dump stations.

Sometimes when a dog is with a human, one of them will growl.

Finishing the day with a lap dog securely in place.

Our first pet, Bootsie, ultimately disregarded our love and provision by running away nearly twelve years ago.

WHEN A MAN HAS A SWEETHEART

Valentine's Day is meant to be celebrated with a sweetheart.  Fortunately, I have one of those.

 

This morning, I left a card on the seat where Debra routinely consumes her first cup of coffee at the beginning of each day.  Later in the morning, I discovered another card where I routinely sit and get my morning caffeine fix.

 

As the day progressed, Mexican cuisine at Si Casa Flores pleased our palates before we headed to the Camelot Theatre to finish the day watching a live performance of Driving Miss Daisy.  When the play ended, the actors received a  well deserved standing ovation from a sold-out crowd.

 



 

Ready to head out on a sweet date.

Reading material at coffee time.

Dinner at Si Casa Flores in Phoenix.

Completing a perfect Valentine's Day at the Camelot Theatre in Talent.

MY GARY FONG COLLECTION

A couple of days ago, Bethany posted a photo on her blog to commemorate what would have been her mom’s 61^st birthday.  The photo showed a 23-year-old guy and a 20-year-old girl who would one day become her parents.  She mentioned that she didn’t know exactly when the picture was taken because she hadn’t been born yet.  I informed her that the photo was taken in 1973 by Gary Fong. 

 

When I first met Gary, I had just attended an evening service at Chinese Grace Bible Church in Sacramento during the summer of 1971.  Following the service, I agreed to talk privately with one of the guys at the church.  Gary was my age, 21, and he shared with me from the Bible how I could be assured of eternal life.  I skeptically listened to his reasoning, left that night with many doubts, but became a follower of Christ by the time summer came to an end. 

 

At that time, Gary was a college student at San Jose State College.  He was majoring in either journalism or photography or a combination of the two.  I was between my third and fourth year at UC Davis, majoring in staying out of Viet Nam. 

 

After each of us graduated, Gary got a job at The Sacramento Union, a newspaper that eventually went out of business, unable to compete with The Sacramento Bee.  One day Gary invited me and a girl named Melanie to meet him at William Land Park for a photo shoot.  Melanie and I ended up on the front page of The Sacramento Union. 

 

Eventually, Gary left Sacramento and moved to San Francisco where he worked for many years for the San Francisco Chronicle. He founded Genesis Photo Agency and has developed an impressive resume over the years. 

 

Today, my longtime friend is also one of my many facebook friends, although he doesn’t post much.  He seems to keep quite busy with other things.



 

Clipping from the front page of The Sacramento Union in 1973.  Note the credit to the lower right of the photo:  Staff Photo by Gary Fong.

I taught a class at a college camp at Lassen Pines Christian Camp Ground in June 1974.  Gary was also there.  So was his camera.

Gary gave me a framed picture of a photo he took of a cross at Mount Davidson in San Francisco.  This photo has hung on a wall in every home I have lived in since 1975.

Bethany was only 6 months old when Gary took this photo at a winter conference at Mount Hermon Christian Conference Center in December 1976.  The ring on my left hand can now be found on Belinda's right hand.

This article appeared in The San Francisco Chronicle on November 23, 1979.  A reporter named Judith Anderson wrote a story about a shop in San Francisco that made tables.  When the reporter arrived at the shop to do the story, she was accompanied by Chronicle photographer Gary Fong.  Gary did not know at the time that he was taking photos of my brother, Dean, who worked in the shop.  Dean is shown in the lower photo.  Also, note the credit in the lower photo:  Photos by Gary Fong.

EXPANDING OUR CULINARY HORIZONS

If we choose to grab a quick bite after church, we usually stop by one of the big  fast food chains:  Burger King, Subway, Wendy's or Carl's Jr.  They're convenient, they're fast, and they're sort of healthy.  Sort of.

 

But we've driven by a local establishment well over a hundred times over the years and never thought to stop.

 

Until today.

 

Debra had mentioned yesterday that she couldn't remember the last time she had a hamburger.  She usually orders a grilled chicken sandwich at fast food restaurants.

 

Today we both tried something new: A mushroom burger for Debra and a guacamole burger for me.

 

We'll be back.

 

 

Big Al's Drive-In on our way from Ashland to Talent.

From left to right:  Guacamole Burger and Mushroom Burger.

The view from our romantic little booth.

BOLD POWER

Bold Power.



When Debra and I moved into our little house in our little 55+ community, we were immediately happy with the change.  Energy bills decreased, square footage cleaning decreased, yard work decreased and neighborhood noise decreased.

The only thing we didn't like were the two toilets in the house.  They were both two inches shorter than the toilets I had installed in our previous house and they both required three flushes to force the results of certain physiological functions into the pipes that run beneath the street.

Replacing toilets is not one of my favorite chores.  Properly placing the wax ring is particularly problematic for me.  If you don't get it right the first time, the toilet will leak at the base.  But you can't see if the wax ring is properly seated because you can't see it once you install the toilet.  You only know if you've done the job properly if the floor around the toilet is still dry after a few flushes.

So, disliking the task as much as I do, I called a plumber to ask how much he would charge to spare me the hassle.  He told me the first toilet installed would cost $485 and the second one would cost a mere $425.

The part of my brain that processes logic told me that $910 was too much to spend on two toilets.  I would have to make a trip to The Home Depot and surrender to doing the unpleasant task myself while wishin' and a hopin' and a prayin' that the wax rings would not misbehave on my watch.

I installed one toilet last weekend and the other toilet today.  And I paid a whole lot less than $910!  I was careful to use proper body mechanics when lifting.  So, my back is not sore and the floors around each toilet have remained dry.

The best part is that our new toilets need to flushed only once per physiological function.  That's because our new toilets have power.  Bold power.





Usually when an old toilet is removed, the old wax ring sticks to it.  Today, the wax ring remained stuck to the floor.

With the wax ring removed and the residue wax scraped away, the new toilet is ready to be installed.

Placing the wax ring is the trickiest part of the project.  At least, for me.

With the new wax ring adhering to the new toilet, the bowl is very, very carefully placed over the drain pipe before being bolted to the floor.

With the bowl secured to the floor, the tank is attached.

The new toilet is two inches taller than the old toilet, thus eliminating the need to do occasional deep knee bends.

The old toilets will either become landscape art or become land fill debris.

ESPRESSO IGNORANCE

Every Saturday morning, I meet at a coffee shop with Jeff, my friend and my accountability partner.  We check up on each other by going over a list of questions.  We pray for each other, we encourage each other and we challenge each other to grow as Christian men.

  

We also have coffee together. 

 

 

Jeff and I meet weekly at Noble Coffee.

 

 

I enjoy coffee and today I thought I'd try something different.  After glancing at the posted menu, I ordered an espresso.  I didn't really know how an espresso differed from any other coffee drink, but I was willing to venture out into new territory.

  

They called my name when the drink was ready.  I approached the counter to find a tiny little cup containing a few teaspoons of what appeared to be coffee.  Beside the tiny little cup sat a glass of water.  I was too embarrassed to ask the barista "What am I supposed to do with this?", so I just took the cup and the glass and I returned to my table.

 

One sip from the brown liquid reminded me of the meaning of the word "bitter".  I knew I would not enjoy another sip.  Not knowing proper espresso etiquette, I wondered if the cup of water was meant to dilute the bitterness.  So I poured some of the water into the miniature coffee cup and took another sip.

 

More bitterness. 

 

Jeff and I spent about an hour together and during that time my lips never again touched the bitter beverage. 

 

I returned home and asked Debra if she knew how you're supposed to drink espresso.  She said something like, "I'm not sure, but I think you're supposed to chug it down like a shot of tequila and quickly follow it with a glass of water."

 

Maybe she's right.  But I'm not going to order espresso again.  I'll stay away from tequila, too.

 



Been there, done that, don't want to do it again.

THE END OF AN ERA

A few years ago, Debra and I decided that we would both get cell phones after paying off a particular debt.  That debt was fully paid about three or four years ago.  But as I considered the number of phone calls I made and received at that time, I couldn't justify the expense.

 

Recently, however, we have revisited this topic.  Sometimes emergencies happen.  Like, for example, when I go to Walmart and Debra thinks of one more item to add to the shopping list after I have already left the house. 

 

That is serious.

 

So, last week we decided to get individual cell phones and to get rid of our landline.

 



 

Debra makes one last call before saying "Goodbye" to our landline.

The olden days.

Modern times.

Debra and I continue to build our marriage relationship by spending quality time together communicating by texting.