|
When the bus stops, and the doors open, you will likely hear
a variation of the following speech (screamed, of course --
It's rumored that Company Commanders have forgotten how to
speak in a normal tone of voice). "Welcome to Cape May. The first thing you're gonna do is shut up, sit up and take your hats off ... and GET YOUR STINKIN' LEGS OUTTA THE AISLE — look straight ahead, don't look at me ... you're gonna do what I say, when I say it and how I say to do it....... You've got ten seconds to get off this bus, and you've just wasted three!".
The good news is that you will only keep this particular
Company Commander for about three days -- long enough for
the "forming" process. The
|
|
Steve and Connie's blog
Travel, Photos and Whatever
|
 |
|
|
02/27/07 Well, it looks the Thursday hike to the top of Quandry is off. It would have been doable last weekend, but it has been snowing a bunch up there since yesterday. We will have to go some other time. THIS is a trip report of someone that "bagged" it last weekend... His picture below.
Of course...maybe we could make it after all. But after reading THIS, maybe we shouldn't. Excerpt...“I am gonna die out here, this is it. My poor wife. Can I make a snow cave? I am gonna be one of the idiots that had all the tools to survive, but left them in the truck. I have enough food for a few days if required. Can I build a fire without any fire starting devices? I can’t eat enough snow for fluids. I won’t make it through the night anyway, better just keep going.” Still looks like fun....maybe next week. Link...HERE
Another beautiful day in the neighborhood....may go golfing tomorrow. But today...1/2 marathon time! Garmin data..9.24miles... 1 hour 25minutes.. moving avg6.5mph. 6.5mph is right at a 2 hour, 1/2 marathon. After the run....the trailhead of the New Santa Fe trail(just a few blocks from our house). That might be Mt Herman in the background.
About 4 miles out.... on the Air Force Academy grounds.
Ok....I am officially signed up for the St Louis 1/2 marathon...yikes! Looks like we are getting a little "running tour" of the Anheuser Busch Brewery, then a little tour of St Louis University. We almost run up to my old stomping grounds...St Louis College of Pharmacy...which is a block or two south of Euclid and Forest Park.
Looks like we are going to make an attempt at Spanish. This is what arrived in the mail the other day....Hola!
More old pics.... This is me and the cousins...probably Lake Superior in the background.
Dad in May of 55.... few months before I was born....check out the cigarette, couch and curtains!
02/24/07 Snow this morning and beautiful this afternoon(a little crisp, though). First time I have felt in shape for running, thank the Lord. 1/2 marathon update...Garmin data..3.4miles..moving time 29min22sec..moving avg 7mph..max speed 15.5mph. Course, very hilly.
A buddy of mine, Matt(Denver fireman). Open air preaching downtown to high schoolers at a lunch break.
02/23/07 Happy Friday! We got some good news today about our dog Abby. She has had some issues with a lymph node on her throat, and it looked like it was probably lymphoma or something bad. After a biopsy today, they concluded that it is not cancer! But still not sure what it is. Looks like Abby is going to have to have more antibiotics dropped down her throat, but it beats the alternative! Looks like I am getting my running partner back!
Ugh...guess what it is supposed to do this weekend... 50mph wind? Looks like it is back to the treadmill for a while.
Saturday, Feb 24
High: 36 °F RealFeel®: 19 °F
Winds gusting past 50 mph and much
colder with 2-4 inches of snow
Just for fun... a really old pic of the family. VG and Neil, Dave and Chris, Grandparents, Don and Carolyn, my folks and me and Karen. Must have been late 50's.
02/22/07 Another beautiful day in paradise...supposed to snow again this weekend though...UGH! Ran my 4 mile course...no Garmin, as the batteries crapped out... Sunset tonight from the office window
02/21/07
02/20/07 Trip to Ouray last year...lake by Molas Pass.
Ghost town outside of Silverton
02/19/07 Connie with our Compassion sponsored child in Ecuador(and her mother). Jesica Paola Alvaro Tituana.
Beautiful day for golf...Snow one day, golf the next. Garmin data...walked 5.35miles..moving avg, 3.3mph..moving time is 1hr,36minutes..stopped time...2hrs 31min. Hey, I shot an 85 with a "snowman" on the first hole. Not too bad.
02/18/07 Our whole group in Nicaragua..some of the country staff in the front left.
Almost every business and office building(including the Compassion office) in Managua has armed guards by the front door. Apparently, the business WILL get robbed if this is not done. Check out the shotgun this guy has.
02/17/07
Boy in a Compassion Project having lunch. Your sponsorship will provide meals at the Student Centers (Projects)
Helping with the laundry at home
Backyard of a sponsored child's house in Managua
Sunrise yesterday...purple mountains majesty.
Felt better today...beautiful day..sunny but cool ...around 40 degrees...
Garmin data 7.3 miles..max speed 11.1mph..moving avg 6.4mph moving time 1hr,6min.. Ran a HARD route. Kept going up to almost 7000feet..UGH. Started at 6200 and max was 6890feet. Pics of the route.
02/16/07 AJ Pujols and Red Schoendienst .................... Cardinal
past and future....Article
HERE
Red was decked out in his Cardinal uniform, and A.J. wore shorts,
sneakers and a T-shirt. The kid was pounding his glove and smiling. The
old man seemed to be smiling, too. They seemed lost in a delightful
baseball conversation, the Hall of Fame baseball elder and the wide-eyed
son of new baseball royalty.
1/2 Marathon update...Ran yesterday. UGH. Felt like I was running in sand, uphill all the way. Maybe this is not a good idea after all. My Garmin says... 3.72miles... moving time 34min.11sec...max speed 8.3mph..av speed 6.5mph..max elev 6700 feet. It was cold and windy..... Vindicator drive on the left and Allegheny on the right.
Timothy snoozing by "his window".
02/15/07 Why are we Advocates for Compassion International? We have experienced what Compassion does in the field...for the child. The local churches are also greatly encouraged and helped. God is glorified. The cycle of poverty can be broken with education, health benefits, food, safety, religious teaching and and encouragement from sponsors. Vocational training is done wherever possible too. One of the goals in Nicaragua is to teach all the kids English and get them into computer labs. (BTW, if you would like to fund a Computer Lab, let us know, and we will get you in touch with someone from Compassion). Just throwing money at a problem does not fix it. Compassion is a Christian organization of high integrity with outstanding recommendations from all charity reviewers. For example, check out THIS online reviewer..Charity Navigator. Over 80% of your donation will go directly to the child through the Compassion Student Centers(Projects). Every child will hear the gospel and have an opportunity to respond. Your hard earned $32 dollars/month (almost a dollar a day) goes a LONG way in places that families earn $1-2 per day. And it is tax deductible! We thank God for his sacrifice on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins. We thank Him for His salvation, and give thanks to Him in a way that He described. To the poor and needy, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, whatever you did to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did to me". Wow. Think about it, pray about it. The life you change, may be your own.
More Nicaragua pictures..............We visited the house of a Compassion sponsored child.
Boy at a Compassion Project getting a drink.
Just reading about what my new son-in-law, Josh, is doing right now in Coast Guard Boot Camp... Check THIS link here.. Excerpt :
02/14/07 1/2 Marathon update...Treadmill (because of cold and snow) 3.75miles..incline 5.5..moving time 45min..speed 5..cal burned 596.
Classroom at a Project in Managua. Kids come here after school for tutoring, a meal and a safe place to play.
Old Cathedral in the main square downtown... Looks like a bunch of bullet holes. There was another steeple on this church with most of the cross shot to pieces.
Tank in Memorial Park..must have been used in the Sandinista revolt in 1979.
02/13/07 Ben and I are still planning to hike Quandry on March 1st....let me know if you would like to join us. Bring your snowshoes. Check out THIS link to see a recent trip log.
BTW..Congrats to the Indianapolis Colts for winning the Super Bowl! We did get to watch it in Nicaragua, but the announcing was all in Spanish, so that is what we did...WATCH IT. I wasn't really pulling for either team, but hoped that both teams would win because of their coaches. Lovie Smith and Tony Dungy...what a couple of class guys. After the game, when all the reporters tried to make the coaches a racial issue...Tony Dungy said this.. “I’m proud to be the first African-American coach to win this,” Dungy said during the trophy ceremony. “But again, more than anything, Lovie Smith and I are not only African-American but also Christian coaches, showing you can do it the Lord’s way. We’re more proud of that.” AMEN Brother. Check out the Super Bowl trophy on the left after the game
Pictures of some Compassion Advocates meeting their sponsored children (and families). Solutions, hope and a future is possible.
Pretty sure this one is a pet.....not going to be dinner
02/12/07 Ok. Compassion Nicaragua Facts... Beginning in 2002, Compassion started with child sponsorship in Nicaragua. Since then.
Country Facts
City Dump has over 2000 people living and working it...for anything of value. Children work alongside adults, or just by themselves. What we saw was hideous, and was a reminder of the description of hell that Jesus described. In fact, He talks about hell more than about heaven. Hell is a real place...a place you do not want to spend a day...or eternity, in. Mark 9:44-48... If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is
better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell,
where the fire never goes out. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut
it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two
feet and be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to sin,
pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one
eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, where We wondered where the smoke was coming from in this downtown picture of Managua...it was the dump
Please consider sponsoring a Compassion child if you haven't already. A hope and future is possible...even in places like Nicaragua. For almost a dollar a day($32/month child sponsorship), you can make a huge difference. You will be a blessing, and be richly blessed. You may access the Compassion site by clicking on the picture in the right column of Connie with some Compassion kids from Ecuador. Or just click HERE .
02/11/07 Banyo......home visit outside of Managua
Hanging out in the front yard......
Security fence in a home in Managua....OUCH
Lunch at a Compassion Project....
02/10/07 We visited a few homes while in Nicaragua....Typical kitchen from a VERY middle class home in Managua. Nicaragua is the second poorest country in Latin America...worst is Haiti. These pictures are from a very nice(for their standards) middle class home in Managua.
Coffee is on
Typical middle class laundry area.
This is us at a Compassion project church in Managua.
Critters in our back yard this morning... Our constant buddies(mule deer) and, of course, Thomas the cat..sunning himself.
02/09/07 Back from Nicaragua!!! Tons of stories and pictures to blog on... This is us(and a few of some new little friends) in a Compassion Project in Managua
The neighborhood outside the Compassion church and Student Center(Project) about 10 miles from Managua..
Boys at the Project..
Girl saying 'hola" from her front yard
Church and Compassion Project(NI 129) outside of Managua
Connie and boy in a Compassion Project in Managua
Many more pictures and a bunch of stories to follow....ADIOS!
1/2 marathon update.... Garmin data... 7.79miles Moving time..1hour 9 minutes Max speed 8.8mph Moving Avg. 6.7mph.
02/02/07 Wow... 2 more weddings this year (Kyle and Sarah got married on 11/29/06) Anika and Josh on 09/16/07(date change) Click HERE for details and Matt and Jen on 11/24/07 Click HERE for details.
Christmas last year...
Sunset tonight.... Awesome snow rainbows all day...(did not have my camera with me to take pics of them..DRATS!!) That is Pikes Peak shrouded in the clouds.
Burning bush
02/01/07 1/2 Marathon update... 7mile day today.. ran the New Santa Fe trail through the Air Force Academy...thought it was a good idea at the time, but the trail was all ice and snow. Hard trudging through sometimes 4-5 inches of snow.
Air Force Academy gates.... at about the 2 mile mark from the trail head at Woodman Road.
Garmin data 6.75 miles.... 1 hour 12 minutes... Moving average 5.6mph....... max speed 10.7mph...... Hard trudging through the snow...
Running through the Air Force Academy grounds...
After our run.. me and pooch(Abby the wonder dog)
Thomas "helping" wifey work at home.
Wow..what happened to January? Yikes. We got snow again last night.. surprise! Pics of Garden of the Gods today.
You can see the Incline in the foreground. We walk up that thing every once in awhile...whew!
Got a shot of a bird in this sunrise.
Town waking up.... steam rising from power plant
01/31/07 A great message from Ron Hutchcraft...starts out like this. Titled...No Such Thing As Getting Away With It. She's one of those ladies with an infectious laugh and a lot of mischief in her eyes. Recently, she painted a word picture of an incident from her childhood that left us all really laughing. She was three, her brother was four; the youngest of eleven children. One day the two youngsters were watching ice skaters on TV, and that inspired her brother to suggest that they try to ice skate in the kitchen by spreading butter across the entire kitchen floor. And that's what they did - laughing all the way. They were having a ball, sliding across that floor like future Olympians, until Mom walked in. They "skated" over to the corner farthest from the door as their mother headed toward them with fire in her eyes. She didn't have her skates on. She fell to the floor. The kids laughed, and Mom couldn't get to them to punish them! Wrong. She went out and got a bucket of hot water and started cleaning the butter off the kitchen floor. She began at the kitchen door and steadily worked her way to the corner where two children cowered; their entire short lives flashing before them. There was no escape........................... Rest of article.. HERE
Don't miss Albert and Dee Dee Pujols interview Part 2 about Isabella (their child with Down Syndrome).... HERE
Church in the mountains
|
Archives... February 2007
Contact us Home phone# 719-380-5450 Toll free 877-630-2029
Comments and stuff.... Steve scj@selectravel.net cell#719-649-3190 Connie connie.johnson@selectravel.net cell# 719-649-2960
Click on the picture below to sponsor a child through Compassion International.
Check out Albert Pujols Family Foundation website. Click on the picture.
Click on the letter below to see what Carole Pierre wrote to us. She is one of our Compassion sponsored kids. I will be visiting Haiti next year, and hope to visit her.
Kent Carpenter and I hiked up Mount Bierstadt last year.... Although one of the easier ones...it still was a challenge.
Other blogs
Other Websites Calvary Worship Center(our church) And you can listen to recent Pastor Al's sermons HERE
Webcams Weather and Colorado Springs Webcam
Upcoming Events
|
bad news is that this three days does not count toward your
total seven weeks, and that the Company Commander you will
meet for your actual training will be ten times worse.
