Pieces and Parts

Here are some items that ain't quite long enough for a whole post all by themselves:

Vacation:
Growing up with a Dad that farmed for a living, there were not many opportunities for extended family vacations.  Back when we were little we made the long journey to Dallas Fort Worth to go to Six Flags over Texas.  Most of what I remember were the lines......

This spring, I had the opportunity to make a trip to Waco, Texas with my parents and nephew Trey.  My parents have made the trip several times, and since they weren't driving, thought it might be fun to go a different route.  They told me of three, so I pulled out my handy dandy smartass phone, pulled up Google maps, and quickly determined that those other two routes would add over 30 minutes to the trip.  I told my Dad how many miles it would be and the number of hours each would take.  His response, "That phone can do all that?".  Yep, and more.

With the trip being as long as it was, there was plenty of time to trade zingers with my mom.  Mom being Mom, she got the last one in.  I mentioned that this was the first family vacation that I had been on in over forty years.  Mom's reply, "I am beginning to remember why!"

Cell Phones:
When my parents first got a cell phone, it was only going to be for emergencies.  They would take it with them on road trips, but once they parked the car they would turn it off.  They didn't want to run the battery down.  Now of course, its their primary mode of communication.  On trips like the vacation trip mentioned above, my Dad is responsible for holding on to the phone and insuring that it is charged up, etc...  We got to talking about phones, and my Dad says "we get to damned many calls on this thing"!  Suddenly, the phone rings, and Dad hands it to Mom to Answer!  Thank God I had my seatbelt on, or I would have fallen out of the car!


Bike Ramp:
Back when Matthew was a preteen, we had gotten him a Diamondback bicycle.  Doing tricks on those bikes had become the latest rage and ole Matthew wasn't gonna miss out.  Several of his friends had built ramps that they were using to get a "little air".  Matthew decided that he wanted one, so between the two of us, we got one built.  During the building process, Matthew kept insisting that the ramp be a little higher.  We finally settled on a ramp height, and tightened everything down. 

We set the ramp up in the middle of the street, and took every precaution.  Matthew rode down the street to get himself some distance, turned around, and took off.  I've never seen that boy peddle so fast,  He approached the ramp, up he went, at lease two feet in the air!  Suddenly the bike began to make its return to Mother Earth.  BAM! Both tires hit the ground!  Matthew quickly steered the bike into the grass an fell over, in obvious pain.  I ran over to see what was wrong.  The boy was holding on to his groin area.  Apparently his two little balls had gone up in the air and had not yet returned!  Apparently, ole Matthew had forgotten to use his knees as shock absorbers during the landing.  That was the one and only trip ever over that ramp!

Ikea:
Ikea is a neat concept store out of Sweden that has found a niche in the U.S. in large markets with an abundance of college kids and young adults that are attracted to new concept furniture and affordable prices.

My first introduction to their products occurred on a road trip to Atlanta to visit the sister-in-law.  We arrived at her apartment and caught her putting together an occasional table she had gotten at Ikea.  First thing I noticed, was that she had a shoe and a butter knife in the floor along with all the parts of the table.  Scratching my head, I had to ask, "what's with the shoe and butter knife?"  Her reply:  "The shoe is my hammer and the knife is my screw driver".

Next morning I was off to Sears for some Craftsman's tools for that Gal!