j a c k

Emily's cool new bike!

It was great way to kick off my families Summer 2011 visit with me in Austin, TX... visiting Mellow Johnny's and picking up Emily Jane's new Trek 20" Cruiser Bike.

For d a d, it was planting seed day in the hearts of his children; cycling is cool and it's good for you.  And there's great bike shop staff (Kyle Davidson) to share in the cycling culture fun of brand new bike day.  

I hit it off with Kyle upon my inaugural visit to Mellow Johnny's. He noticed my 2003 Hilly Hundred tshirt and enlightened me that he had been a founding father of Revolution Bike and Bean in my home town of Bloomington, IN.  Small connected world I'm blessed to operate in.  My kids and cycling roots reside in B-town; this summer we're all together for the first time in Texas.

Special special thanks to my Mom for her help making the Summer 2011 visit happen.

Oh, and Mellow Johnnys 'tweeted' the following-

@ mellowjohnnys 

Congrats to Emily W. at MJ's all the way from Indiana for her birthday present 

Cool stuff!

d a d d y's little secret

I have a secret place in Indiana that I like to slip off to unannounced and without reservation.   I’ve spent many PTO days chillin and/or fishin at what I’ve come to call Hoff Lake.

The most recent visit to Hoff Lake included my son, his gal and my daughter for a day of fishing over Spring Break 2010.

As always Aunt Pat listened as I filled her in on my life in Texas, the job and relationship stuff.   She owns the gift of unconditional love!!

Several times Patrick and Kelsey stated how darn cool it was to have a fishin rod in hand and the cares of the world at bay.  It was music to my ears. 

With a bit of coaching/teaching Miss Emily out fished everyone by landing 12 fish.  She's going to be a fine fisherwoman.

Later as my visit to Indiana was winding down, I asked Emily which activity we did together over Spring Break was her favorite.  Her response, “Fishing”! 

Take Me Fishing

@Take_Me_Fishing 

Peacemaker

Patrick,

One of my fondest memories of you dates back to your days in grade school.   We were living in the old beat down house on Fairfax. We’d clear the kitchen table/chairs out of the way on TNT NBA Friday Game Night and play Nerf basketball.   

We were pretty snaz with our warm up routine as we dragged your jambox into the mix to play WWF introduction CD music before our competitions against each other.  Stone Cold Steve Austin was your guy and I was an Ultimate Warrior fan…  And neither liked the smell concerning what The Rock was cookin’.

And you had a host of NBA ‘jerseys’ to chose from to wear while we played indoor hoops; Fun, very fun and special father/son time we shared. 

But while that’s a fond trip down memory lane, the memory that stands tall today is simply this one-

About 2nd or 3rd grade after completing homework early one evening we had a pretty mature conversation about a desire you had.  Do you remember?  I’m going to leave you with one word, one song, and some pix from our recent visit with each other.

Peacemaker

I love you,

d a d