Stumbled Upon an Old Friend's Creativity

I know a lot of tremendously talented people. And I keep waiting for one of them to actually achieve success.

And, so, it was with great encouragement that I stumbled upon the 7 Layer Studio blog the other day.

I used to go to school with Shelley WAAAAAAY back in our younger days. And I am so excited to see the creative ideas and inspiration showcased at her site. (this photo reveals just one of the MANY projects you'll find from Shelley there)

While it's not a topic I am really that interested in, I thought you might find some great ideas. There's plenty to see and enjoy.

Shelley, it's great to see you doing so well! I hope you keep right on going!
All the best,
Al

Great write up on Steak n Shake Knoxville

Check out the great write up on my amigo - Gary, and his Steak n Shake stores in Knoxville, TN.
While we don't venture up into his neck of the woods too often, we did spend some time with Gary a couple of years ago, and we ate at his Steak n Shake Turkey Creek location.

Being in Knoxville, he is right in the foothills of the Smoky Mountain National Park. That is exactly why we ended up in his backyard (see more from the Speer family's Smoky Mountain visit)

If you ever find yourself stopping into one of the most heavily visited free National Parks in America, you might check out one of Gary's restaurants in Knoxville. And, yeah, you can probably tell him I suggested you stop in.
But... I gotta warn you.
The last time I visited, he put me to work cutting up tomatoes... so I'm not sure if knowing me will help you out.

Nice one Gary!
Al

My Amigo, Mr. T, (aka Circle of Two) Going live in Downtown Lakeland

I've known Tim for a couple of years now. He is a rare type of person who always makes me laugh, and brings levity to conversations even when it's a heavy topic. And I love it!
Why?
Because we are in desperate need of seeing things in a lighter frame of mind. He never steps away from intense, and controversial, ideas ... but he's not afraid to take a light-hearted view of the situation.

Here were a few pics Chris took of him playing at the last show we saw.  In the middle of a blazingly hot October evening.

See details for his upcoming show ... below.  He'll be playing on June 16, 2010.
I can't wait to see him play live again. Catch you soon as Circle of Two.
Al

clipped from campaign.constantcontact.com  Tim Hutchins is "Circle of Two" Circle of Two Local musician Tim Hutchins, musically known as "Circle of Two", will perform on Wednesday, June 16th at the Farmers Curb Market over the lunch hour from 11:45 - 1:15. Tim, 31, is one of those rare things known as a native Lakelander!  He identifies his musical style as acoustic pop / folk /rock. He performs a mix of familiar covers and his own original songs. Tim Hutchins is "Circle of Two"

Grist Mill Model from the Smoky Mountain National Park

I realized I had a few good clips of this grist mill, and I wanted to share just this video with you.

If you've never seen it before, there's a website called Mill Pictures.com, and it's run by a family friend - Jim Miller.

I wanted to post this video in honor of him, for compiling so many amazing pictures in one place.

I thought some of the clips in this video were great examples of the historical heritage he is trying to capture with his website.



Thanks Jim! And I hope you are able to visit LOTS more mills in the future to share with all of us.


Al

A Tribute to My Uncle - (kinda personal)

Hi,

Some of you already know this news...

My Uncle Louis passed away earlier this week.

Unfortunately, he was really quite young, so he should have had MANY more years left ahead of him.

All my memories, and those of my family, remember him as a very funny, very intelligent man.

My Dad told me that Louis actually taught him how to play chess. And not only that... but Louis could play without having a chess board in front of him. I used to play chess for hours and hours - but I could NEVER play without the board.

The thing I'll miss most about him is... the way he would wiggle his ears, and make me laugh. Every time I saw Louis he had a great joke, or a funny comment, that would just crack me up. He had a fantastic sense of humor, and a sweet spirit that I loved being around.

Photo provided from Statesman Journal

Here's a little more about the family - Uncle Louis

I love you Uncle. And my heart, and prayers are with your family tonight. I hope you are cracking a joke with God right now - I'm sure He'll be glad to have you home.

With Love and all best wishes,
Al

A Brief Visit from Oregon

Hello,

I just wanted to drop a quick line, and say thanks...

To you!

For loving us, for calling us, for writing to us, for checking out our website, and most important of all - for praying for us.

This has definitely NOT been as easy a move as I was hoping it would. For all intents and purposes, there have been no positive indications, that say this was a good choice for us (just based on external factors).

But...

Sometimes you have to step out, and have some faith.
And I think that is what we have done by coming here.


It was an absolute pleasure to have the Miller's stop in the other night, and visit us for awhile. We have only known them, and visited with them, over quick periods of time. But it has always been a pleasure to see them.

Jim has a very cool website, which I am always thrilled to chat about.
You can check it out at:
www.MillPictures.com



I could probably spend hours just talking to him about that, and yet there is SO MUCH more to say and discuss.

So their quick, couple hour visit was not even close to long enough. But I was SO happy to see them. They were encouraging, and hopeful, and a gift to see.

Anyhow - Thanks Jim and Edith for stopping by, just to say Hi.

We hope to see you again!

The spare 'oom' leaves a standing invitation for you to come stay. Since we took away from your Cape Canaveral visit, you can stay here when you visit. And you simply MUST go to Clearwater beach. And who knows what else you missed to come see us?


If you're out there thinking...
I would like to visit Florida - email me.
It's a great place to visit - but I'm not sure about the welcome you'll get if you decide to stay permanently.

Anyhow...
Let's talk - and see what we can do.


All the best,
Al

Always a Dreamer

Hello,

It's strange for me to write this.

Have you ever had a lifelong dream, or goal, you wanted to achieve?
One that you laid aside as impossible?

Maybe touring Europe?
Maybe hiking across the Himalayas?
Maybe owning a Harley?
Or how about graduating from college?

Who knows...

Some dreams seem too big. Too improbable.

Maybe you have one inside of you?


I have been out of work for almost 6 months - Nov. 15 or so will be 6 months. Like so many people across America, we could be in a completely painful place. To be honest... it does hurt.

But - there is one thing this move has done for me.


It has birthed a dream I once had, that was totally and completely dead.


When I was a junior in high school, I took a class from Ms. Stribling. In that class, an idea was born inside of me to become a teacher. After college, I tried to take more classes and get back into teaching, but the timing and life circumstances just laid that idea to the side.

I thought... forever.


Amazingly...

NO

Miraculously...

About the only positive experience that has come out of Florida, for me, is a rebirth of that dream. I am saying this now, on the front side of teaching. I am NOT a teacher yet. I may not become one. But, I can truthfully say, if I am able to become a teacher through all of this -- that alone could be the entire reason we feel God has sent us here.

Strange? Yes! Miraculous? Maybe - depending on who you ask.

I can tell you one thing... if I become a teacher, it will be through absolutely ZERO planning and forethought by me coming here. It will come through purely outer circumstances that I had no idea were there.

I leave you with this...

My good friend - Rob Goodwin - wrote a song that embraces everything I've just said. I'm listening to it right now. I love it!

The song says it like this...

But unless the dream you're holding falls to the ground,
and it dies.
And gets buried up, just like a seed...
and you walk away forever.
You'll never know the wonder that this new life can be...

Listen to this song here:

Say You Will

I've travelled all over the U.S. now, and I've been to hundreds of churches. BUT I've still never met anyone who captures the spirit of worship, in music, like Rob does. Live performance - no one can touch him compared to what I've experienced during Rob's worship time.

Learn more about Rob here.


More to come...

An unexpected going away gift - from Komatsu

Before we left Oregon, on the 22nd of May, we had to swing back up through Hillsboro so I could say a final goodbye to some of my fellow workers from Komatsu Silicon.

Of course we started off the day running about 1 1/2 hours behind schedule because...

I lost the keys!

Not just anywhere, mind you. They were safely stashed just under one of the bags right there with all the rest of our stuff. So after going through every single bag twice, then checking over my Dad's place twice, and then pouring over every inch of the truck... TWICE, Christy simply lifted one of our bags and discovered the keys sitting right there.

OK, back to the story. We're running late to Komatsu to say goodbye, and we're super late when we finally show up.

Komatsu is having this big sales meeting, so I'm planning to just slink in real quietly, and say goodbye to a few friends.

But they had other ideas.

They stop the entire sales meeting, and have our entire family stand up at the front of the room, and they present us with a bunch of sweet camping and travel gifts, as a goodbye gift for me.

Bungee cords, pens and journals, and Swedish fish (which were super tasty, and are already gone - I might add).

Most amazingly, they gave us a KILLER Garmin GPS unit for our trip. This thing is absolutely cool. I would have never even considered buying something like it. It was a total shock, and really, really nice. Here it is in action...


Garmin GPS

Although Miss GPS and I don't always agree on directions, this has been an absolutely helpful tool for our trip. It knows exactly where we are, sometimes when we don't have the slightest clue. And it can tell you where to find almost anything you might need... like food, shopping, gas, camping, etc. For the road, this GPS gets my top vote.

Al

Our cross country inspiration... A Japanese tourist?

I'd like to introduce you to a good friend...

Taku


Love the 'Mug Shot'

While I was busy working, for the last 7 years, at Komatsu, I met this crazy guy from Japan. He liked to THINK he was working here in the U.S., but to be quite honest, mostly all he did was play.

- Snowboarding
- Fishing
- Mountain biking










- Driving his Ford over practically every inch of the entire west coast

Taku's amazing trips were one of the biggest reasons I even wanted to make this driving trek with Christy and the little Chits.

Here's a small sampling of some of his past adventures...

Thanks Taku-san, for all the killer snowboarding trips and the memories!