Beneath the Wraps

Every year my family would go on vacation.   Mom and dad would sit us down and ask us what we’d like to do and we were allowed to give our input.   I think Corey was only eight or nine the year that we decided to go up through Canada.   We decided what Providences we would visit, what sites we would see and the route we would travel.    I think we hit Seattle, Washington the second day and Corey had added seeing the Space Needle to our agenda.   Corey had obviously researched it out.   Apparently he had a map in his head and kept on saying: “We need to do this.”   “We need to do that.” None of us had ever been there before and didn’t know what to expect – but Corey was determined and it was because of him that we were able to explore the shadow room, and the echoed phone, and the pulley and a bunch of cool stuff that we would have not even known was there – but Corey was well read.   He became our tour guide...

Biff does not have common sense about money management – but than it’s not as if he’s had fine examples to follow.   Roland and I have borrowed money from all four of our children.   We’ve also paid back with interest.   Except for Randy – who will constantly remind us whether we actually made a deal with him or not. Randy is a go getter.   He found someone to buy the reject truck that nobody else in the family wanted – leaving Biff carless once again.   Biff had enough money to for a down payment on another car and to build his credit back up again – only when the time came to purchase, he had considerably less money.   Randy was ticked.   Where did it go?   How do you spend that much money? I don’t know what Randy was thinking to co-sign for Biff.   Nor do I understand what Biff was thinking to let him.   But the car remains parked in front of our house – unregistered.   Biff still is not managing wisely.   I...

          My three boys love camping, especially my youngest.   I think I must have enjoyed it at one time – when I was a youth and had no concept of just how much work goes into it.   My current body is not designed for the discomforts of a frozen or hard ground.   Give me a motel room.           The first year the Roland and I were married we had purchased two pup tents just before Christmas.   We gave one to Tony on Christmas day and the other one to Randy on his birthday (which was just ten days later).           At the end of May we took our first camping trip together (and actually the only one I went on, now that I think about it).   Halfway there we learned that Randy had brought his blanket.   JUST his blanket.   No sleeping bag.   He thought a blanket would be all that he needed.   Serious...