When Dave Was Sky High

I suppose at some point it makes sense for Sky "High" Dave to talk about the sky and my love of having my head in the clouds. Like most young boys, I loved to build plastic models. My favorites were battleships, because they had so many guns and the gun turrets would actually move, and propeller driven military aircraft, especially those with retractable landing gear. Most of my paper route earnings would go toward the newest and most intricate model. I'm not sure why I chose the Army over the Air Force or Navy, other than that it was a great opportunity at the time.

As an adult, I often daydreamed about learning to fly. I was attracted to the adventure of it all, but a little apprehensive about learning such things as stalls and emergency procedures. The average human being is not at all attracted to a pastime that couples two of man's greatest fears - falling and being burnt up, only with flying they could happen at the same time. But the expense of it all as well as life's demands on a young husband and father commanded my full attention. However, the daydreams continued. But daydreams can be better than experiences, sometimes because you can create a fantasy that neatly omits all the difficulty.

But when I turned 40, some things happened that opened the door. I found myself in a consulting role that provided both excess income and excess time. Flying can suck up both. So as I rounded the corner of my fourth decade of existence, I decided to either do it or stop living in a fantasy of "someday". What sealed it was an introductory flight that demonstrated that certain things were not necessarily going to be as difficult as I thought. And I found an instructor more my age. Most were half my age and that was a little rough.

I was able to get my private, single engine, airman's certificate after an average amount of instruction and solo flight. Because of my military background, communications and navigation came pretty easily. My instructor was great about teaching me to control the aircraft, but you have to teach yourself how to land, pretty much. They say the instructor is along on the landings to keep things safe and to keep you from hurting the aircraft. But you have to get a feel for it yourself. This was my greatest challenge and took the longest to learn. There is a big difference between a really precise landing and a safe landing. I learned to make safe landings, but it takes a lifetime to make perfect landings.

I also learned that there are born pilots and mechanical pilots. Born pilots have an innate ability to fly well. They possess tremendous hand-to-eye coordination, unique spacial awareness, uncanny depth perception, and, each step comes naturally. Mechanical pilots learn the ropes and can fly safely, but they have to work at it more and are never as comfortable in the air. I was a mechanical pilot. It may also have something to do with when in life you learn to fly. The earlier the better. As you get older, your sense of mortality is more acute.

I loved to fly. I loved everything about it. I could read about it endlessly. I loved every phase from flight planning to continued training. It is the only avocation I'd found so far that fully occupied my body and mind and was truly recreational. Not to say that I didn't have some serious down moments, the worst being running off the runway with 4/5 of my family on board (0 injuries, other than ego) and becoming disoriented in the clouds which required a serious recovery.

But the highs were really high. Most notably were; my first solo cross country flight, a final requirement before your federal check ride, as well as flying to such places as Seattle (the prettiest) and Las Cruses (the farthest). The highs continued with the eventual ownership of a small plane and ultimately obtaining an instrument rating. This rating made me a much more precise flyer and gave me permission to fly "in the system" along with all commercial aircraft. I have always loved learning new things. Now I had discovered a whole new world within a world and it was exhilarating.

But the cliche of "all good things must come to an end" has to have a ring of truth or it wouldn't be a cliche. A bad back, coupled with medication that disqualifies one from flying put an end to things much sooner than I had hoped. I will confess that there are some things I don't miss. The expense of it all was ridiculous. Everything from aviation fuel to repair parts cost many times over what a sane human should pay for them. And there was always something to tend to on the plane, leaks, radios, tires, inspections, etc. Oddly, I even had a difficult time finding passengers. Again, I think it's that falling/burning thing.

Rather than dwell on a lost opportunity, I add in both reality of what I didn't like about flying, along with gratitude that I was able to do something that many people never have the opportunity to do. And Karen was incredibly supportive of it all. Now the challenge is to find an appropriate avocational substitute. Whatever it is, it has to involve lots of knobs and dials.

SkyHiDave

Brad Pitt, the Prophet

I don't read about celebrities very much, but a recent article in Parade magazine highlighted the current life and times of Brad Pitt. I do think he is a great actor. He has an unfair advantage though because he has a big head, anatomically I mean. Just look at it sometime along with the head sizes of many famous actors. Perhaps a big head is needed to hold the big head they get from all the attention. The head first begins to grow with fame, then really swells when people seek an actor's life philosophy, just because they are famous.

Anyway, if a magazine article's title is intriguing enough, I might proceed to the next level of interest - reading the captions over any pictures the article might include. The article's pictures are what reminded me of his head. In addition to the pictures, The Parade article had a section about Brad Pitt's spiritual journey.

Pitt said he had attended a Christian church and had a sincere emotional experience. Some time later, he was attending a concert and realized that the music produced the same emotions he had felt in church. This disappointed him because he thought he had a unique religious experience. Now he was confused. Was the church experience divine or relegated to just evoking intense, but real humans emotions? He stopped short of reconciling the conflict and moved on.

I think many of us have had similar experiences. This is why what we are feeling is not a good litmus test to determine if we are listing to Memorex or to just a copy. So if we can't rely on our feelings, what can we rely on if we are diligent pursuers of the truth?

I think we have to look entirely at what Jesus said, apart from what we are feeling or experiencing around us. Jesus claimed to be "The Truth" and validated His claim by doing exactly what He said he would do - die and then rise again. Jesus is trustworthy and we are not. Emotions are a good thing and can enhance our experiences. But emotions are an unreliable determiner of the truth.

I hope Brad Pitt doesn't totally give up on his search. Jesus said He rewards seekers of truth and will protect them from deception. The only thing He won't interfere with is self-deception. Cling to, trust in, and rely upon what He says and don't fool yourself.

Then you can truly enjoy the music.

Painting Another's Painting

Sorry, that's the best title I could think of. Email your suggestion after reading the blog if you dare!?

Designing your own home and then watching someone else build it makes me ponder what it might be like being a playwright. You have just written this entirely unique and deeply personal play. Yet, the public will never see your work-product unless you relinquish control of the script into the hands of others. You must find a good builder (or director) and the director and others assemble and guide the cast (subcontractors and laborers).

-

As you sit there at rehearsals, you hope and pray that the trustees of your creation interpret your vision as close to what you had in mind as humanly possible. It is very exciting when they finally sense your vision and not only adhere to the script but also insert their own personality in a synergistic way. The collaboration results in much better critical acclaim than if they were merely reciters.

-
Dave Matthews, founder and leader of the Dave Matthew's Band (that's original), once said in an interview that he lets each musician in his band play their individual instrument any way they want. They can come in and out at will, improvise and be creative in their area of expertise. They only thing they have to adhere to strictly is the lyrics. That gave way to individual expression and allowed great musicality and freedom of expression. But the meaning of the piece was not lost in the chaos if they stuck to the words. How does this relate to home building? Not very well I guess, I just wanted you to know that I liked his band.

-

All through his career, Alfred Hitchcock, the acclaimed director, required strict adherence to the script even though the actors could use whatever method they wanted to get the lines out. He remained this way right up to perhaps his last movie (maybe I'll remember the name by the end of the blog). In his last film, he allowed a great deal (a lot) of ad libbing. The end result, in my opinion, was like a long running inside joke where the actors were almost winking at the camera and each other. As a result, the strong story line suffered.

-

So at what point does the home builder/playwright insist upon strict adherence to the script/plans (do rhetorical question sentences need a question mark?)? The point when you look down the road and realize that you will really regret it if you don't interrupt the rehearsal and try to get the painters you have hired back on track in painting your own portrait.

-

The point is, it's fun seeing your creation come to life but a little scary too. After all, they will sign their painting with your name and then send you the bill.

None but the Brave

When we think of the word bravery, the most common mental depiction is associated with the kind of action that results in the award of a medal or a public citation of some kind. This is not the kind of bravery I plan to discuss here. Rest assured that I am not talking about myself, but rather, a state of mind that I really want to achieve. I can write about bravery because I have role models, you can't hurt me physically, and, it's my blog anyway.

Medal bravery is that unconscious, spontaneous response to a severe situation in which an ordinary person performs extraordinarily, often at great personal risk, for the life saving benefit of others. The act is even more significant when performed by a layman just going through life when, all of a sudden, he is caught up in great tragedy. Quite often when these people are lauded for their acts of bravely, they accept the recognition with modesty, even a little guilt, because they didn't really think about it, they just acted.

The bravery I am talking about is the kind where you have to think about things and then act. This is a very different character trait, and the one I most admire. Let me 'splane, and I'll use small words.

Virtually no one's life turns out how they expect it to. I'm not sure where we get the picture of what our life is supposed to look like, but I've never heard anyone say, "What a life, it's exactly as I pictured it!" The most unexpected and least wanted turn of events is when injury and chronic pain come into your life, physical or mental, and often times both. The bravery I really admire is where people have to think about the day and times ahead and can visualize the difficulty. However, they bravely face the future and are role models of about every spiritual fruit I can recite.

These people, if they're brave, know tomorrow it's going to hurt, yet they face it anyway. Day after day, step after step is taken, knowing that things may never be better for them, yet they find a way to live an exemplary life. Maybe some of the bravery is muted by simply not trying to get ahead of themselves. Jesus tells us not to fret about tomorrow, it's tough enough today. Maybe no one can withstand the agony of mentally running through every possible scenario and still being able to function. But even if they have a glimpse of the potential difficulty, they act nobly, and this takes guts in my opinion.

These people should be given a medal. They are my heroes.

"O perfect life, be Thou their full assurance of tender charity and steadfast faith, of patient hope, and quite, brave endurance, with child-like trust that fears nor pain nor death."

From the Hymn "O Perfect Love" - Dorothy Gurney 1932

Let Us Pray...

Blogging is a little bit like praying - at times you're not sure if anybody is listening. But all that matters is that the right person is listening. Also, blogging, like prayer, is better for the blogger than the bloggee. I am a little behind on my praying, I mean blogging, so I'll try to catch you up on a number of fronts.

And like prayer, occasionally you hope for a response that a human could recognize.

They began clearing our lot near the end of August and got permission to start construction on September 4th. We last visited the site on Sep 13 as they were roughing in the plumbing and installing other items that will go in the slab. With any luck (and prayer) they may pour the foundation, slab and walkways late next week.
---

To help monitor progress, we've set up a nested album in our gallery titled "(arbors) CIRCLE GETS THE SQUARE". We will have an Arbors Circle address and our house is mostly shaped like a square. We are using as many squares and rectangles in the design, stopping just short of compulsiveness, as a departure from all the curves and arches we had before. The top album will contain a nested album for each site visit and a "time lapse" album containing one picture each visit from generally the same spot.

---

After several weeks of adding pictures, it might be fun to view the time lapse album as a slide show using a one second interval between slides. Michael and Sharon are planning to do the same. We used to do this in commercial construction but with much greater precision and from a higher altitude. Here. we are at about 500' elevation and the next highest vantage point is some distance away. Tomorrow (Sunday the 15th) we plan to visit the site and compare our plan with what we see installed. Once the concrete is poured - you snooze, you lose.

---

Building your own home is a mixed blessing. It is a blessing to be able to have a house almost exactly as you would like it (cost not withstanding). Some people may never get that opportunity so we are humbly thankful for our current situation. I remember last year when my brother Doug was mentoring me on the design, I asked him if he built his own home does he have an idea of what it would look like. He immediately said yes and described a grand entrance, etc. I think many people have a mental picture of their dream home and we pray that for those who do, that you get the opportunity to build at some time in your life. Karen and I have had two fortunate opportunities.

---

But building your own home means taking quite a few risks by not being able to see exactly what things are going to look like. It means doing your best to collaborate with many new people involved in your life, with competing priorities and definitions of quality etc. And if something turns out weird, then you can only look in the mirror, assuming it's not crooked on the wall. But what I am most thankful for is that Karen and I have very similar tastes and she is very accommodating if I want to look into something that you'd never see in Architectural Digest. The best final choices have been those where we respectfully tried to accommodate the other's likes ahead of our own. Surprisingly, the outcome of these forays has been truly optimal.

*****

I see strangers on the horizon - get the Winchester! It was great fun this week to see familiar and friendly faces. Paul's mom Debbie and her husband John were Texas-hopping for fun and profit and wound up for a short time in Austin. We met briefly for BBQ of course and then took them out to the our future multi-family compound for a peek. They were genuinely happy for us and seemed to like what they saw. After too short a visit they were off to encircle Lake Travis before a week's encampment in the DFW Metroplex.

*****

Our first road trip here in Texas will also be to the DFW area to attend the Sunbelt Builder's show. But the main purpose is to reconnect and reunion with lifelong friends. Linda Madden nee Williams used to go to church with Karen before we met and was instrumental in praying for my salvation along with her brother Jerry Williams, mutual wedding best men and close friends since high school. Jerry and his wife Sandy will be coming down from Okla. to all meet at Linda and her husband Dennis' home in Ft. Worth. There may even be a moment or two to say hi to some college friends that left the Army for The Texas Rangers some time ago.

---

Before we leave for DFW, we'll have just a day or two to see the kids upon their return from their California trip - Anna's first return since she moved here in August of 06. Friends, family, weddings etc. fill their itinerary while Karen and I are left all alone 1700 miles away!

We are filling the time with more medical procedures. Next week I am really looking forward to a procedure where they are going to microwave four small nerves in my left SI joint. I just hope they use the "Defrost" setting" and not "Nuke". I will convalesce by finishing a great book "Literary Austin", the subject of my next prayer, blog I mean. The book is an anthology of written works done by authors with Austin roots or connections. The themes center on the main three Austin distinctions, beautiful geography, state government and progressive education.

Until next time, don't forget your prayers...

Dave's Top Ten - The Other Dave

It seems that list publishing has been popular ever since the Ten Commandments, or 15 if you have the Mel Brooks' version. Then David Letterman (the other Dave) perfected wacky list making in his nightly ritual. Therefore, since we've been here in Austin now coming up on three months, I thought it would be time for a few lists of our own.
x
Here is our list of the pleasantly unexpected experiences in Central Texas:
x
1. Intensely blue sky. I haven't come up with a shade but the skies are a deep, almost pastel blue. It's like taking a blurry picture and making it sharp and vivid. And with the absence of skyline obstructions (site easements my friend Bill calls them), the horizon is often a vast inverted blue ocean with white caps of -
x
2. Towering cumulus clouds of every shape and size imaginable. A trip up to the west hills yields green rolling hills (even in summer) with sharp contrasts of blue sky and pure white clouds. Maybe the clouds seem pure because of -
x
3. The lack of pollution. No haze or smaze here. Probably for a couple of reasons - no heavy industry, fewer cars and -
x
4. A welcome, almost daily breeze. So far we haven't been overcome by the prophesied stifling humidity. The regular breeze certainly helps but so does -
x
5. The vast number of water destinations. Swimming holes, creeks, rivers, lakes, water parks. What a surprise along with -
x
6. Vast groves of thick oaks and pines and almost tropical foliage that allows for green summers many years. With all the destinations it's nice that -
x
7. Very few things are crowded, actually nothing has been so far, even while school has been out. Maybe with so many venues it spreads out the people and makes those you do encounter -
x
8. Very friendly and helpful, possessing a real sense of community (especially at The Arbors). A community that is -
x
9. Wonderfully ethnically diverse, so important to us for our grandchildren to be exposed to other cultures than WASPs. This is highlighted by an almost endless schedule of festivals and cultural activities that makes you aware of -
x
10. A very vibrant community, but with its share of quirks and unpleasantness like -
x
A. Enough with the California bashing already, and why don't folks -
x
B. Return phone calls and emails? I know people here prefer the face to face but if that's all you did, you'd be stuck at -
x
C. The worst timed traffic light system we've ever seen, from red lights when no one's there to green turn arrows when nobody wants to turn. And what's with -
x
D. The unreadable street signage and off-ramps nowhere near an intersection? Thankfully there is a brilliant U-turn system that doesn't require waiting for a light. Not having to wait for a light is important because it allows you to escape -
x
E. Rampant, and quite unexpected, panhandling at almost all major intersections. Asking for everything from money to beer and even charitable contributions!? But at least there are very few eyesore billboards and the gas prices are great. What isn't great is -
x
F. The ridiculous price of bulk foods. We sure miss Winco, even in the home town of Whole Foods. Can Trader Joe's provide some relief? I guess as long as folks -
x
G. Get sliced white bread (think Rainbow Bread) and saltine crackers with BBQ orders it leaves very little of substance that can be listed as truly unexpected unpleasantness, weirdness maybe, but not unpleasantness.
x
Yes, white bread with BBQ. BBQ will be the topic of my next blathering as soon as I visit with Willie Nelson, a major figure in the BBQ scene. Until then, "all y'alls" (plural of y'all) will just have to rely on Alton Brown's "Feasting on Asphalt" series on Food Network.
x
Bye
x
p.s. Given both our sitting infirmities we are very thankful for a plethora of televised church services. We found one from Hyde Park Baptist Church that is nearly a complete service and the messages are free from the typical cliches and evangelistic stereotypes. We feel that we are both learning and worshipping while in the inclined supine position!
x
p.p.s. Why all the "x's"? I can't get the formatting to leave a blank line. I am bloggedly challenged it seems.

In The Beginning Dave said "Let There be Lot!"

We awoke this morning with our Google Calendar reminding us to attend our first annual homeowner's association meeting for the The Arbors, our new subdivision. After having met a few folks during many of our forays to the property, we were looking forward to seeing them as well as see some new faces and to get a feel for the aura of the Arbor's community.

Unlike our last HOA, this meeting was well attended and the atmosphere was one of like-minded people in a fairly close knit community of about 100 homeowners, on the way to eventually 260 some homes.

x

You can't go to wrong when you start with doughnuts, muffins and coffee (Mom only had one!). But the meeting proceeded with dispatch without people feeling too full of themselves. There was a good mix of folks sincerely interested in maintaining a quality community and those with the talents, experience and time to follow through and make it happen.

x

The common thing that attracted these families to this one particular subdivision was the desire to live in a safe, clean, responsible community without the pretentiousness of many gated communities. In our last association, people were badgered to be on the board, here they submit their resumes and give a speech before the election. The subdivision and community involvement is high with many active committees, from the needed architectural to the wanted social and welcoming. We were pleased and encouraged that we had come to the right place.

x

Even though we were looking forward to getting out to the property (we had not been to the lot since they started clearing), the meeting ended near noon so we had a quick lunch at one of the two heralded BBQ places in the "Capital of Sausage" town of Elgin before heading out. More on Texas BBQ in a subsequent blog.

x

But finally getting to the lot really made our day. The initial clearing for the driveway and building pad looked exactly as we envisioned and previously relayed to the builder. We took a couple dozen pictures to finally give you an idea of what our lot will actually look like. Go to the gallery to finally see - "let there be lot". After the lot purchase back in March of 2006, dirt is finally flying. Our house plans have been approved by the ACC and all we are waiting on is a final septic design and approval to begin seriously playing in the dirt.

Now we hope that Michael and Sharon won't be far behind as they closed their construction loan Thursday.