| October 15, 1999 | Issue 20 | Orem, Utah |
In this issue:
Two to the Five
“So, how old are you, Eric?”
“It’s the big two (ahem, to the) five!”
“Wow, I thought you were older than that!”
Probably about 20 years ago, I calculated how old I would be when the year 2000 came. I think I decided that 32 wasn’t so old that I’d be over the hill, but I would be climbing fast.
I wasn’t really bothered by turning 30, but turning 32 last month made me feel old. Maybe spending so much time with computers has made powers of two more momentous than powers of ten. If that’s true, then at least I won’t feel old on a birthday again until I’m 64 (26).
I just think about all the interesting things I’ve done in my life, that I don’t do anymore, like be in plays, sing with Men’s Chorus, travel to different countries, and other adventures.
Sharing these thoughts with Shannon, she said, “I hope you don’t think your life stopped when we got married?” No, no, not at all. Though having very small children does limit your adventures, I guess.
But on my birthday, I had a couple of adventures. The first wasn’t too pleasant.
Birthday Adventure Number One
I stopped on the way to work to get some gas, and my car wouldn’t start after filling up. I turned the key and nothing happened.
I tried to call Shannon to come rescue me, but she was on the phone, so each attempt cost me 35 cents as it would kick straight through to our voice mail. I tried calling some of our neighbors to pass the message to Shannon, and even Kerry at work, but I couldn’t get anyone. Finally after about a half hour and a couple of dollars in change, I got through to Shannon.
We jump-started my car when she arrived, but it kept stalling. I considered trying to drive to a mechanic, re-jumping every time I had to stop or slow down on the way, but that didn’t seem like a very good idea. By the time I decided that, we were far from the gas station, so I borrowed a phone to call a tow truck.
They told me it would be a 40 minute wait, but it was more like an hour and a half. By the time he came, I had just 10 minutes to get to a meeting at work, so we sent the truck to an auto electric place I’d been to before, and Shannon dropped me off at work.
I got on the phone immediately to the mechanic, who informed me that their shop had moved to another location. So while my boss peeked in saying the meeting was starting, I had a panic attack trying to see if the tow truck could be reached (it could) before it dropped off my car (too late) and what the heck was going on with the repair shop since the tow truck company insisted that it was still running in its current location. I guess someone else had taken over the location, still doing electric repairs, and relaying through the tow truck driver I got a phone number of someone I could ask to fix my car.
Fortunately it just turned out to be a bad battery, and replacing it did the trick.
Birthday Adventure Number Two
Shannon is wonderful. After hearing my musings of adventure, she came and snatched me early from work that day (short day of work between the two adventures) and took me rafting on the Provo River. The place that rented us the boat called it a kayak, but it was really more like a canoe-shaped raft.
The river is pretty calm this time of year, so although we got splashed a few times, it was mostly a pleasant ride down the river. Fly fishermen dotted the banks and shallows, and the late afternoon sun shone off the water in front of us. A few trees had started to change for autumn, adding color to the canyon rock and greenery.
Another couple went down the river at the same time, in a raft with a guide. The rental place said that was a nice way to go because you don’t have to be responsible for anything. But we decided it would be more fun to be responsible.
We only crashed a couple of times — then we got the boat into the river. Ha! Just kidding. We ran into bushes hanging over the bank once, and nearly bottomed out once, but other than that we did pretty well.
How I Spent My Summer Vacation
I just got home from Moab this afternoon (September 15). It was great. Ethan loved it. The only reason he was willing to come home was to see his Daddy, otherwise I’d have had to leave him at the Archway Hotel.
My parents were vacationing in New Mexico so I convinced them that a few more hours of driving would be well worth seeing two of their grandchildren, so I took the kids and met my parents in Moab. Eric couldn’t come because issues at work were too pressing for him leave.
The drive down to Moab went really well. Gerrit slept a lot, and Ethan played, and most important we didn’t get hopelessly lost. The hotel was nice with a beautiful pool. That was probably Ethan’s favorite part. While we were in Moab my Dad was sick and so at times he had to rest rather than play, but that pretty much fit a two year old’s needs anyway.
We spent Tuesday morning in Arches National Park. Grandma, Ethan, Gerrit and I went on a trail in the park that we thought was supposed to be easy. We were mistaken. The trail was ranked “moderate” so it was a bit of a challenge but, it was really fun. I’m so proud of Ethan, he walked the whole trail and only stopped to play in the interesting red sand he found. Gerrit rode in a baby pack. He was really good sleeping and just looking around. At the end of the trail Mom and I felt like we’d really accomplished something.
Later we did some shopping and more swimming and before I knew it we were home. Well, actually the ride home was much more harrowing. Gerrit slept very little and although I stopped 4 different times he screamed a lot. But I would still do that trip again in a minute, just probably not tomorrow.
Giving Up the Sports Car
Shortly after graduating from BYU in 1993, I was drooling over a slightly used Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX while visiting a dealership with Kerry and my girlfriend Shannon. It seemed like a lot of money to spend, but I had a decent job and few expenses, so within a few days, I went from my sort-of-red ’77 Toyota Celica to a sweet white and black ’92 Eclipse.
It was definitely a car that you turned and peeked at after parking it. I was a little embarrassed that I had the hottest car in the lot at work, since I was the new guy.
But I look back, now that I’ve given the 8-year-old Eclipse up, and think about all I did with that car. It was the car from which I waved to Ethan when leaving for work each day, and the car whose growl he and Shannon recognized as I was coming around the corner back home. It was the car that Shannon and I took on dates, both before and after we were married. It was the car that carried many of our possessions when we moved into our first house. It was the car I drove my wife to the hospital in for the birth of both our children. And it was the car I drove to my wedding, and that I drove my new bride in home from the temple.
So it was a little sad to see a car salesman drive it away last Monday.
Easing the pain was the fact that he had left a hot 2000 Jetta GLS VR6 in its place. Though not quite as sexy as the Eclipse was when new, the Jetta is still a great looking car, and decked out with almost all the extras — leather, sunroof, CD-changer, 16 inch alloys, etc. And I only gave up 20 horse power from my turbo-charged Eclipse, so it is quite lively.
A couple of guys at work decided they needed a test-drive, so we went up the canyon a little ways. After driving it, and playing with all the nice features and amenities, they said, “Well, Eric, I think you’ve got the hottest car in the whole lot here.”