It's a boy! But we knew that months ago...

Well, it happened a little earlier than expected. Everyone was planning on January 2nd. But, December 17th will be his date of birth. His name is Rowan James Gonzales. He...is my first grandchild. My daughter Jenifer gave birth to a 7 pound (and change) bouncing baby boy at 8:22 the evening of the 17th in Seattle. All went well, albeit he decided to make his appearance a couple weeks early. Jenifer has always been a little impatient. I think she gets that from me. Maybe it is Rowan who is the impatient one in this case!

The first name was chosen by Jen and Roth totally unrelated to any family names - although Rowan does begin with an “R” like his father’s. The middle name - James - is my first name, as well as my father’s, and my son’s (Jen’s brother). How much cooler could that possibly be? Gonzales (with an “S”) is a Spanish surname. Both Roth and Jen have (had) blond hair, so it remains entirely possible the new “he” in our family may be a toe-head as well...at least for the first few years!

Knowing Jenifer and her propensity for the world of blogdom, the first pics will show up on her blog soon after she returns home from the hospital. Her blog has always been, is now, and will always be a microcosm of what happens in her life...verse and photos.

As far as this proud grandfather meeting the new addition in person...Loretta and I are planning on flying to Seattle for a few days the end of January. We decided to “let the dust settle” a bit before descending upon the new parents and baby. Jen’s mother, Anna, will arrive today to spend some time with and help Jen with the usual postpartum procedures at home. In the meantime, there will be a more than judicious use of our web cams to get up close and personal to Rowan, an experience he will only be able to understand and relate to later in life. Who knows what kind of communication tools will be available as he approaches adulthood?

What Rowan will ultimately become as a person remains to be seen. One thing for sure...he is destined to be a great cook! One can only hope his impending culinary expertise, both from environment and genetics, will be a hobby and not a vocation (it’s a rough business). His father, grandfather (yours truly), great-grandfather, great-great grandfather, and uncle all have culinary backgrounds. Not to mention his mother who has become quite the foodie/cook/chef apprentice the past few years. You can’t be married to a long time chef without a lot of that rubbing off.

Rowan James Gonzales has come into this world during tough times. He will not know of recessions, or wars, or money worries, or stress for many years to come. But, realistically, coming into this world at any point in time is tough. His world immediate, all that he experiences, will consist of simple motherly and fatherly love, warmth, and comfort. That is all he will need for a long time...and that is what he will receive. Jen and Roth are two of the most loving, caring, intelligent people I have ever known. And I am overwhelmingly proud to be able to call them my daughter and son-in-law. There are no words to express my joy at this point in time being able to say, “I’m grandpa to a little guy named Rowan James Gonzales. Welcome to the family!”

(insert tear running down grandpa’s cheek)

Greed...is good (?)

That and other rhetorical lines uttered by Gordon Gekko in the movie Wall Street...

Greed - for lack of a better word - is good. Greed is right. Greed works. And you are all being royally screwed over by these, these bureaucrats, with their steak lunches, their hunting and fishing trips, their corporate jets and golden parachutes.

***Here's a typical American story I've heard told to me many times of late...

The main bread-winner loses his job. Not a great job, but a good job in terms of workable income. During the good times leading up to the job loss, credit is over-used so the family can have a few "things" they don't need...fun things. Greed? Perhaps. Refinancing the house occurs (more than once). The homeowners mortgage adjusts as they are unable to secure a new, fixed loan as planned a few months later. The last refinance should not have been approved by the mortgage company. Greed? Perhaps. Homeowners are unable to pay the new exhorbitant mortgage. Home values plunge to less than half the amount of the last appraisal. Eight months pass with them working with the loan company in a modification program, ending with a stamp of DECLINED. Homeowners home is sold at auction for an amount significantly less than the total debt. A knock comes at the door the same day as the sale. Time to get out. Can you vacate the premises in five days? We'll give you a $1000. How about ten days? We'll give you $500. If not, we'll go through the sheriff, ie, the eviction process. Homeowners plan to move into a nice, older, smaller house on the other side of town. The rent: about 1/4 of their former mortgage amount. The rental house is a recent foreclosure of a longtime mortgage. The homeowners are starting over with less than desirable credit and an embarrassing, shameful cloud over their heads. All results from (their own) greed? Perhaps. They'll get over it. In fact, they already have. You gotta live your life. It's just a house now anyway, not a home any longer. The rental house will now be their "home". In the meantime, the government is doling out billions of our tax dollars to the companies whose mismanagement and greed led us to this point. The homeowners know that their choice of actions brought them to this. Greed? Maybe. But where is their bailout program? No one is being approved for these programs. The DECLINED stamp is everywhere. Why doesn't the so-called investment group that purchased their home opt for renting to the original homeowners? They will certainly rent to someone, and soon. The company wants the homeowners out ASAP so they can "move forward". Life goes on. Our home of ten years now belongs to someone else.

***This is not only a story told to me by dozens of people recently...it is our story. At least we're not alone.

Commiseration is the consolation prize. And, Wall Street is one of my favorite movies!

I remember reading books, do you?

I used to read books a lot more than I do now. Let's face it, besides newspapers and (paper) magazines, books were the only source for this kind of pastime before the advent of the WWW. Comic books you say? My Dad forbade me from reading or owning comic books. I can't recall his exact reasoning for this restriction, something about them being "silly, worthless, and non-educational". My friends' old copies of Superman, The Hulk, and Spiderman found their way into my hands on occasion, so I did get my comic book fix every once in a while.

My choice of reading material was the paperback novel. I read lots and lots of paperbacks in my pre-teen years. Most of these were adventure stories, war stories, Hardy Boys, and...James Bond novels. From 1962 (I was 12 that year) until 1965 or so, I read all of Ian Fleming's stories about the British Secret Service agent...double oh seven!

Beginning with Dr. No, I couldn't wait for the next one to come out. The order in which I read them corresponded to the release of the motion pictures. In other words, I read the book...then saw the movie (sometimes, the other way around). By the way, the Bond films (22 of them) were not made in the same order in which Fleming's books were published. In fact, Casino Royale was the first Bond book, published in 1953. It was made into a movie (the first time) in 1967, then again in 2006. The '67 version didn't resemble past Bond flicks as it was a comedy spy-spoof about an aging Bond (played by David Niven) coming out of retirement to concoct a plan to thwart the evil SMERSH organization. It also starred Peter Sellars, Ursula Andress, Woody Allen, and a host of other contract players from that studio. Orson Welles handled the part of Le Chiffre (one of the actual evil-doers from the novel and the 2006 film). Consequently, the 1967 Casino Royale isn't really considered a "Bond film" by fans (including yours truly). Dr. No, the first Bond flick, came out in 1962. Followed by From Russia, With Love ('63), Goldfinger ('64), and Thunderball ('65), etc, etc. In fact, the last line in the credits from those films always mentioned the next Bond movie, already in production.

Yup, I actually read 'em all. And, of course, I've seen all the films. Ian Fleming passed away in 1964. The James Bond book legacy continued on though, most written by a guy named John Gardner. Fleming's 007 novels ended with Octopussy and The Living Daylights.

My favorite Bond book? From Russia, With Love. My favorite Bond movie? , With From Russia, With Love? My favorite movie Bond? C'mon...let's be "real"!

Leaderbike Single Speed #1...almost done.

The bicycle thing - update

Like I said recently, this bicycle thing has become very gratifying for me. My biggest challenge: stop from buying additional parts and older bikes before "moving" finished projects. Speaking of finished projects, one is complete and one will be 90% complete today (after the UPS guy makes a visit).
The logo above will likely be the decal placed on the cross tubes...white on the darker color bikes.

Below are a few shots of the what my garage shop looks like right now. I don't realistically anticipate having a shop/studio space anytime soon, though that is certainly not out of the question for the future. I say "studio" because bicycle "studios" are growing, ie, small, custom operations designed to build a limited number of bikes by appointment only. In addition, an outside space will accommodate a photo studio as well. By that time, perhaps my 40 hour a week job with the major retailer I work for will not be necessary (or possible). Who knows?






That last shot on the right is the opposite of the garage. And, no, we don't keep our cars in the garage now...ever! The six or so bikes I have will eventually make their way to hanging on the wall and from the ceiling. But, I don't want to do anything very permanent as we will most likely be moving within a few months or so. Moving to a rental in another part of town. Fortunately, this "business" will be easy to move anywhere.

The Mother Road website won't happen until after the first of the year. In the meantime, it will have to exist soley on eBay. I hesitate to list any of the bikes locally as I have no desire to let people test ride these custom bikes I work very hard to build. Besides, Modesto is not a bicycle town by any stretch of the imagination. Many riders I've spoken to have told me horror stories of getting hit with beer cans, spit, and paint balls while riding around here.

One good thing about Modesto...the Fall weather. It's been very nice, mild, almost balmy in the afternoons. Great time for a short ride once in a while!

What dreams may come...

Dinner last night was Orange Chicken and Chow Mein Noodles...and this fortune cookie.

My first bike project heads to eBay this week. Four more are under "construction".

Stress...where did mine go?

It may be time for me to write a new Bucket List. Yes, I recently saw the move, The Bucket List...and, I've made these lists before. Heck, I made Bucket Lists when I was 7 years old! After all, I have the list gene. The reason why I should revisit this list of things-I've-yet-to-do-but-would- like-to-do-before-I-kick-the-bucket? Well, realistically, we don't have the funds that jack Nicholson had in that movie! And, most of my goals and priorities have changed drastically in the last few months. And, yes, I've changed a bit.

Loretta and I were chatting the other day about our wants and needs at this point in our lives. The subject of stress came up again...or lack thereof. "Honey", I said with raised eyebrows, "should I be concerned that I'm not stressed out any more?" She replied with her usual, casual reassurance, "No". I went on to remind her that my new job garners less than half the income I was making in a former career (albeit, half the hours and no stress). We owe lots of money that we can't repay. And I don't foresee any short or long term change in that situation. By the way, Loretta and I have had this conversation on numerous occasions. It seems in this state of unstress I manage to attempt to manufacture stress, at least when I think I should be stressed out! "Don't worry", she comforted me (again), "We're doing what we can. Besides, let me remind you of that little diddy your Mom used to say to you: They can't eat you!" Kind of turn on the question 'What's the worst that can happen thing', ie, answer: someone (or something) eating you. Sorry, you had to be there I guess.

Back to the New Bucket List. Well, gotta think about that one. Since things have changed so much in our lives, and will continue to change, er, I mean evolve, some thought must be put toward this. Perhaps I should wait until my birthday in January...I'll be 59. Maybe I should hold off until my 60th, that's an appropriate point in my history to re-establish goals...realistic goals this time. The only problem with waiting until my 60th birthday is that there are a few things I'd like to check off of that list before my 60th. Some of which I need to start training for now. Did I say training? Yes, I did.

So, the New Bucket List will take a little time to compile. It will be much more succinct that the last one I did a couple of years ago. I think it was 55 things on my 55th birthday. This time, I will do some judicious editing and come up with those goals and aspirations before January, probably next week! Gotta start training you know.

It won't be too awful disappointing to remove from that old list Flying in an F-14 or White Water Rafting in Nepal. Besides, we have some pretty nifty rivers close by. And, we also have several places to skydive! It's all good. I have my first grandchild(son) due in January!