The Things We See

Oh, the places we go, the things we see and the people we meet!

Texas, Texas and Texas..we finally found a way out and off to New York we went. The weather was much cooler but the rain insisted on following us up. Driving through northern Pennsylvania was beautiful...lots of mountains with thick lush trees. Who knows where we'll be off to next...probably back to Texas. It just keeps calling our name. 

We never know what we will see as we're traveling about and this trip has certainly been no different. Last week as I was getting my 10 mile walk on...before I go any farther let me clarify for my parents. Before I walk Carl goes with me to scope out and time how long each lap will take. My lap also has to be where he can keep an eye on me. If he doesn't like the way things look...well... he has this special little look that says, "No walking tonight." Now that I have clarified that...back to the things we see. Most of the time when we see drivers walking their pets and it's usually a dog. This time it was a cute little calf...yes...a calf. A young couple with their 2 little girls got out of their truck and the next thing we saw was a calf on a rope. Not exactly what you expect to see walking around a truck stop parking lot. I think I walked more that night than any other night...you know....that thing called being nosy.

I know it must get lonely for the drivers that are by themselves but one man figured out how to solve that problem. He had his own little talking buddy...a parrot. Carl and I got to one of the job sites, turned at looked at the truck beside us and at the same time said "Look at that bird sitting up on the dash!" Certainly not your everyday riding partner. All I could think about was the mess that must be in his truck.

Then there's the little black dog riding on the back of a black Harley. We were cruising down the interstate and Carl says look at that dog. He had his very own little chrome box fixed on the back of the motorcycle. The cutest thing was his little black helmet that matched his owner's helmet. Carl said he wondered how many times he jumped out before he realized he better sit still and hold on. He looked like he was enjoying the ride as much as his owner. I tried to get a picture but we were going up a mountain and LC just couldn't keep up.

We are always meeting some interesting people but this week I think we met one of the Seven Dwarfs. At one of the job sites we were introduced to Grumpy. He was another driver and proud owner of the parrot. He was having trouble with his trailer and Carl offered to help him but he informed Carl right quick like that he didn't need any help. "I built this truck from the ground up. I put every nut and bolt in this truck. I know what I am doing." He was working on that trailer when we got there and was still working on it when we left. I'm glad Grumpy knew what he was doing or it might have taken him a while to fix it. 

Look real close through the window
and you can see Grumpy's parrot.

As I was thinking about Grumpy, I thought about how our attitude says a lot about who we are and our relationship with Jesus Christ. If we surround ourselves with happy people then we are more likely to have a happy attitude. But if we surround ourselves with grumpy, complaining people then that is the attitude we will develop. Carl and I have both been in separate situations where we were around people (for a long period of time) with negative attitudes. I remember Carl telling me one morning...after I had been griping, fussing, complaining about everything, stomping my feet, and slamming things on the counter...that I had a bad attitude. Thanks to a friend I realized that I had to remove myself from that environment...and I did! My environment was quickly defining my attitude and my character and that was not who I was at all. An attitude is like wildfire, it spreads quickly and affects many. I want my wildfire to spread because of a happy, joyous, enthusiastic love for God kind of attitude. As Christians we need to make sure our attitude reflects Christ Jesus. What kind of wildfire will you spread today? Daniel Goleman said "Smiles are the most contagious emotional signal of all, having an irresistible power to make others smile in return." 

You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Ephesians 4:22-24

Praise the LORD that Carl doesn't live with Grumpy anymore but bless his heart... he does live with Dopey. I have said before that I am always saying or doing something that makes him just smile and shake his head. Well, this week was no different. I had to file workman's comp....again and tried to file for disability but my "boss" wouldn't hear of it. Our trailer floor is open on one end and solid on the other. Yes, you probably already know what is coming next! Carl was driving a piece of equipment onto the trailer and I was directing him....just love when I can legitimately do that. Anyway, before Carl could say anything I stepped right off the floor....bruised and cut my leg all up. No, not really, I did bruise and cut it but just a little bit. After Carl made sure I was ok, he was like "Now I am going to have to listen to you complain for the rest of the week!" I tried to milk it but quickly discovered that wasn't going to work. He said, "You need to always pay attention to your surroundings and what you are doing." Yeah, Yeah, Yeah!!! Just for the record...I did finish chaining that sucker down before I tried milking my injury.

UPDATE on LC: Carl got the light bar fixed, had the front-end aligned and 2 new steer tires put on so no make shaking and rattling and squeaking...thank goodness! Our satellite tore up but Carl got it fixed...talking about withdrawals. That was at the top of the list of things to fix. He got the CB antenna fixed but guess what is STILL NOT fixed...the frig. You would know that our frig is "special" and not just anybody can fix it or can tell us what is wrong with it. Think about what it would be like going without a frig at home for 2 weeks...I know..that is exactly how I feel. It might not be so bad if we were eating good food but truck stop food...really!!!

My workman's comp culprit!

Don't think only about your own affairs, but be interested in others, too, and what they are doing. Your attitude should be the same that Christ Jesus had.   Philippians 2:4-5

'Til we meet again!

Only by Grace,
      Lynne