I have seen it all! I thought you had to watch out for the kids snooping around to find their presents. Well, now I know, You have to watch out for your spouse also.
Let's start the story out with this.... Stephanie has been Christmas shopping for a while. She tends to pick up a present for me here and there, which is wonderful. She also usually stores these presents in her closet and lets me know not to go looking around. So, knowing that there usually is a present in there, I stay out. Steph's closet is not some place I usually go, anyway. I would likely get lost or trampled by falling shoes. Anyway, let's continue.... Stephanie has been telling me of the "Past Present Future" ring that she wanted. Over the past few years, it had not been in the budget. However, last year, I wrapped a small empty ring box with a note stating, "Sorry, maybe next year". Steph did not find this too humorous. However, she understood. (I know you are on the edge of your seat) Well this year, I purchase this ring. Very beautiful ring, if I may add. I did this the Thursday before Christmas, because Stephanie keeps a very close eye on the bank account and I wanted it to be a surprise. So after making this purchase, I put the receipt and the warranty information in my coat pocket and laid it on top of the dog cage. That night, I had basketball practice, Steph and the boys stayed home. (Come On You Can Guess) That is right, she happened to go by the dog cage and notice a clear envelope in my pocket. Now, she knew I was out shopping over the past few days prior and Christmas was fast approaching, you would think that she would just leave it be. Nope, curiosity was way too much! She slowly tugged the envelope out of the pocket, looked right and then left, slowly pulled out the receipt and started reading. But she failed to secure the area, Austin BUSTED HER!!!! He said "What are you doing?" She told him, it was hanging out and that they should not tell me because I would be upset. GET REAL, I AM LOVING IT!!! So when I got home, I fixed me something to eat and Steph went to take one of her super hot relaxing bath. Austin pulled me into his room and told me about the BUST he made. But asked me not to say anything, because he did not want to get MOM upset. SOOOOO, if you know me, you know I am going to play this game. So while laying in bed, I rolled over to Stephanie and we got on the subject of presents. I told Steph, now you know I bought your present today (because I told her this while she was at work) so, don't go around and start snooping around. She stated, "I hope you did not spend too much money" and started a slight smile. So, I looked at here and said, "You snooped didn't you?" after a few seconds of teasing her, She owned up. Can you believe, she blamed it on me???? It was my fault for leaving it in my pocket. Go figure!
So, Christmas for Stephanie came a little early, without surprise, but it was sure fun for me!
Oh, A special thanks to Austin, if not for him, I could not have had so much fun. Steph, next time I AM CHECKING OUT THE CLOSET!!!
To all my family and friends, I wish you a Very Merry Christmas!
Remember, The best gift we have received is the Gift God gave us in His Son Jesus as our Savior.
May God Bless you and your family!
Jon
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Saturday, December 8, 2007
A Trip To Remember, Where will you go?
I know many of you have been wondering, WHERE THE HECK IS JON? Well that is the reason for my blog spot title. I know I haven’t blogged in a while, so I will try to make up for that within this posting. I want you to close your eyes and think about your last long distant travel. After thinking about it, don’t forget to reopen your eyes so you can enjoy the rest of this blog. Did you remember a wonderful trip, full of fun, excitement, and memorable experiences? Well, WAD IT ALL UP AND THROUGH IT OUT THE DOOR!!!! I am going to tell you about my trip to Fargo, ND and you will think I am making it all up. But, it is all true, no exaggerations included. So get some popcorn, an aspirin for the cramps you will get in your side from laughing at my expense.
It all started on Tuesday, December 4th. I had a scheduled flight from Louisville to Minnesota at 6:00 pm, so you know they always say get to the airport 2 hours in advance to make sure you can make it through security and reach your gate without missing your flight. Well, I arrived at 4:00 pm, get checked in and notice that my flight’s status is “ON TIME”. I get checked in and down to my gate with about an hour to spare, so I get on my computer and do some email and work. Well about 1 ½ hours later, I check to see about the flight and I am told that the plane had not left from the city it was flying from and it would be about a two hour delay. Well, I began to get worried, I have a connecting flight from Minnesota to Fargo and that delay would make me about 40 minutes late for my connection. So I walk up to the “ever so kind” attendant and ask, “How do I look on making my connection?” I was told that the connecting flight was delayed and I should make it. Well, I sit back down, make a phone call or two to my wife who is enjoying life’s finest dining with good friends of ours at Fazoli’s. At about 8 pm, I go back to the attendant and ask are you sure I am going to make my flight into Minnesota to Fargo. Well at this time the attendant had a peer with her, she stated “No, there is no way you will make your connection”. If you know me, you know I did not care for that answer, since I was earlier told there would be no problem. So I stated a little louder, so that the person I was talking to earlier could hear me, I said, “Well, about 30 minutes ago, I was told my connecting flight was delayed, what happen”? So the two attendants began a behind the counter debate and I was assured that I would make my connection. I was somewhat skeptical about it, so I contacted my hotel reservation and cancelled it, because if you do not cancel within a certain time you pay even if you don’t stay. I also contacted the rental car company and explained that my flights would be delayed and I did not anticipate arrival into Fargo until about midnight. I also inquired if anyone would still be there. The young lady, a college student, stated they normally closed at 11 pm, but she would stay later, but could not promise anything after midnight. I explained that’s fair. So, finally we get to board our plane to Minnesota, at 8:35 pm. That is right 4 ½ hours after I arrived at the airport. Does this sound like the get-a-way you had???? Well this is just the beginning. We get up in the air and finally arrive in Minnesota. We taxi into Concourse B at 9:35 pm (their time), I look for my departing flight to Fargo on the departure board, it shows the flight departing at 10:05 from Concourse C. So I start a brisk walk, just imagine that and you should laugh. I get to the gate and ask the attendant, “Is this flight on time and will it get into Fargo by midnight”? The attendant assured me I would be in Fargo by midnight. I KID YOU NOT, I turn, walk 8 steps, sit down, and look at the flight information behind the attendant and watch the departure time change from 10:05 to 11:30. So I start to think, well that is probably the arrival time in Fargo. Then another person who just sprinted for his life to catch the same plane checks with the attendant and I hear her tell him, “No it has been delayed, you still have time”. So at this time I do not feel so secure, so I ask, is that time the departure time or arrival into Fargo? As you may guess, it was the departure time. Well, as I did before, I said didn’t you just tell me that it was on time? Well, I guess someone forgot to tell the attendant that the flight crew for my plane was on another delayed flight inbound. Well at least I know I would be in Fargo at some point. So I called and reset my hotel reservations and I had to call the rental car company and let the college student know my plane would now not be in until 12:30 and I asked if she would still be there, she stated she would until 12:30, she had a test she need to study for. Now, we board the plane at 11:40 pm, I’m thinking “Thank Goodness”. We are sitting on the plane and there are a couple restless irritable children with an inpatient single parent. Need I say more? I snuck in a quick prayer for God to give the parent patience and to give me good ear phones with my portable DVD player. God granted the patience. One out of two is not bad. So after sitting at the gate for 55 minutes (12:35 am) the pilot stated that they had a clogged “something or another” and maintenance just took care of it. Prayers just got a little more serious. The pilot then stated we were waiting for the ground crew to push us back and we would taxi to deicing. So finally at 1:15 am., we’re taking off and headed to snowy Fargo. Of course, I thinking, I will have to catch a taxi from the airport to the hotel, because who would be crazy enough to stay an additional 2 hours for one person to rent a car, especially since the college student had classes the next day. Finally, we land in Fargo, YEAH, but don’t get tired of reading yet, it gets better. I get off the plane, run straight to the rental car company. To see, to my amazement, the light is still on. The only one in a line of dark rental car companies. I stepped up, the college student steps forward and says, Mr. Walls, your car is ready. I looked at her and said, Why are you still here? She said, well I knew your plane was in the air and it was on the way, so I figured I might as well wait and study. So she went through the paper work and she said, my name is Stephanie, if you find something not to your satisfaction about your car, let me know. I should have known, aren’t all angels named Stephanie????? Stay with me, we are in the home stretch….I go to retrieve my luggage to find, I am missing a bag. So I am waiting and waiting and waiting, the airport is closing and finally, an announcement, Attention all Northwest passengers arriving from Minneapolis, if you are missing any luggage, please see an attendant at the ticket counter. So, I walk that lonely, long, and dark walk to the attendant. I explained I have a missing bag, the one that has my tools needed to do business and without it my travel to Fargo was useless. So she told me my bag was still located in Minneapolis. So I asked if 2 ½ hours was not long enough to get all of my bags from one plane to another, how long do you need? We both laughed. I went to get my rental car, now keep in mind, I went to the airport in Louisville at 4 pm, it was in the upper 40’s. I step out of the Airport and it was -5 degrees.
My nose hairs froze instantly and I lost my breath. What a SHOCK. Stay with me we are almost done. So after getting the 3 inches of snow off my rental car, I pull out and go to my hotel. Well at this hotel, they do not have night staff, they check you in by using a kiosk. You slide your credit card, it spits out your room key, you slide the key and are able to enter the common area toward your room. WELL, I get there, It is 3:30 am, slide my card and the screen reads, kiosk OFFLINE. OH SNAP. Found a phone number to contact hotel personnel. I called 5 times before getting someone. They come over let me in the common area and his KEY DOES NOT WORK TO GET INTO THE OFFICE TO CHECK ME IN, Not Cool. So, luckily, another manager lives around the corner. So, I finally get in my room at 4 am. Coming to the end…. The next morning, I go to the
Taco Johns, the airport calls, my bags are in town, where would I like them delivered. I gave them the address of the Taco Johns. Two hours later, I have to call the taxi company to inquire about my bag. THEY DELIVERED IT TO TACO BELL, three blocks down the road. GREAT!!! I explained to them that it was important for that bag to get out of the hands of the competitor and in my hand NOW. So finally, I had my bag. Life is good.
It all started on Tuesday, December 4th. I had a scheduled flight from Louisville to Minnesota at 6:00 pm, so you know they always say get to the airport 2 hours in advance to make sure you can make it through security and reach your gate without missing your flight. Well, I arrived at 4:00 pm, get checked in and notice that my flight’s status is “ON TIME”. I get checked in and down to my gate with about an hour to spare, so I get on my computer and do some email and work. Well about 1 ½ hours later, I check to see about the flight and I am told that the plane had not left from the city it was flying from and it would be about a two hour delay. Well, I began to get worried, I have a connecting flight from Minnesota to Fargo and that delay would make me about 40 minutes late for my connection. So I walk up to the “ever so kind” attendant and ask, “How do I look on making my connection?” I was told that the connecting flight was delayed and I should make it. Well, I sit back down, make a phone call or two to my wife who is enjoying life’s finest dining with good friends of ours at Fazoli’s. At about 8 pm, I go back to the attendant and ask are you sure I am going to make my flight into Minnesota to Fargo. Well at this time the attendant had a peer with her, she stated “No, there is no way you will make your connection”. If you know me, you know I did not care for that answer, since I was earlier told there would be no problem. So I stated a little louder, so that the person I was talking to earlier could hear me, I said, “Well, about 30 minutes ago, I was told my connecting flight was delayed, what happen”? So the two attendants began a behind the counter debate and I was assured that I would make my connection. I was somewhat skeptical about it, so I contacted my hotel reservation and cancelled it, because if you do not cancel within a certain time you pay even if you don’t stay. I also contacted the rental car company and explained that my flights would be delayed and I did not anticipate arrival into Fargo until about midnight. I also inquired if anyone would still be there. The young lady, a college student, stated they normally closed at 11 pm, but she would stay later, but could not promise anything after midnight. I explained that’s fair. So, finally we get to board our plane to Minnesota, at 8:35 pm. That is right 4 ½ hours after I arrived at the airport. Does this sound like the get-a-way you had???? Well this is just the beginning. We get up in the air and finally arrive in Minnesota. We taxi into Concourse B at 9:35 pm (their time), I look for my departing flight to Fargo on the departure board, it shows the flight departing at 10:05 from Concourse C. So I start a brisk walk, just imagine that and you should laugh. I get to the gate and ask the attendant, “Is this flight on time and will it get into Fargo by midnight”? The attendant assured me I would be in Fargo by midnight. I KID YOU NOT, I turn, walk 8 steps, sit down, and look at the flight information behind the attendant and watch the departure time change from 10:05 to 11:30. So I start to think, well that is probably the arrival time in Fargo. Then another person who just sprinted for his life to catch the same plane checks with the attendant and I hear her tell him, “No it has been delayed, you still have time”. So at this time I do not feel so secure, so I ask, is that time the departure time or arrival into Fargo? As you may guess, it was the departure time. Well, as I did before, I said didn’t you just tell me that it was on time? Well, I guess someone forgot to tell the attendant that the flight crew for my plane was on another delayed flight inbound. Well at least I know I would be in Fargo at some point. So I called and reset my hotel reservations and I had to call the rental car company and let the college student know my plane would now not be in until 12:30 and I asked if she would still be there, she stated she would until 12:30, she had a test she need to study for. Now, we board the plane at 11:40 pm, I’m thinking “Thank Goodness”. We are sitting on the plane and there are a couple restless irritable children with an inpatient single parent. Need I say more? I snuck in a quick prayer for God to give the parent patience and to give me good ear phones with my portable DVD player. God granted the patience. One out of two is not bad. So after sitting at the gate for 55 minutes (12:35 am) the pilot stated that they had a clogged “something or another” and maintenance just took care of it. Prayers just got a little more serious. The pilot then stated we were waiting for the ground crew to push us back and we would taxi to deicing. So finally at 1:15 am., we’re taking off and headed to snowy Fargo. Of course, I thinking, I will have to catch a taxi from the airport to the hotel, because who would be crazy enough to stay an additional 2 hours for one person to rent a car, especially since the college student had classes the next day. Finally, we land in Fargo, YEAH, but don’t get tired of reading yet, it gets better. I get off the plane, run straight to the rental car company. To see, to my amazement, the light is still on. The only one in a line of dark rental car companies. I stepped up, the college student steps forward and says, Mr. Walls, your car is ready. I looked at her and said, Why are you still here? She said, well I knew your plane was in the air and it was on the way, so I figured I might as well wait and study. So she went through the paper work and she said, my name is Stephanie, if you find something not to your satisfaction about your car, let me know. I should have known, aren’t all angels named Stephanie????? Stay with me, we are in the home stretch….I go to retrieve my luggage to find, I am missing a bag. So I am waiting and waiting and waiting, the airport is closing and finally, an announcement, Attention all Northwest passengers arriving from Minneapolis, if you are missing any luggage, please see an attendant at the ticket counter. So, I walk that lonely, long, and dark walk to the attendant. I explained I have a missing bag, the one that has my tools needed to do business and without it my travel to Fargo was useless. So she told me my bag was still located in Minneapolis. So I asked if 2 ½ hours was not long enough to get all of my bags from one plane to another, how long do you need? We both laughed. I went to get my rental car, now keep in mind, I went to the airport in Louisville at 4 pm, it was in the upper 40’s. I step out of the Airport and it was -5 degrees.
My nose hairs froze instantly and I lost my breath. What a SHOCK. Stay with me we are almost done. So after getting the 3 inches of snow off my rental car, I pull out and go to my hotel. Well at this hotel, they do not have night staff, they check you in by using a kiosk. You slide your credit card, it spits out your room key, you slide the key and are able to enter the common area toward your room. WELL, I get there, It is 3:30 am, slide my card and the screen reads, kiosk OFFLINE. OH SNAP. Found a phone number to contact hotel personnel. I called 5 times before getting someone. They come over let me in the common area and his KEY DOES NOT WORK TO GET INTO THE OFFICE TO CHECK ME IN, Not Cool. So, luckily, another manager lives around the corner. So, I finally get in my room at 4 am. Coming to the end…. The next morning, I go to the
Taco Johns, the airport calls, my bags are in town, where would I like them delivered. I gave them the address of the Taco Johns. Two hours later, I have to call the taxi company to inquire about my bag. THEY DELIVERED IT TO TACO BELL, three blocks down the road. GREAT!!! I explained to them that it was important for that bag to get out of the hands of the competitor and in my hand NOW. So finally, I had my bag. Life is good. Not Warm, But GOOD. If you look close at the picture below, you will see the temperature in FARGO, ND as I type this blog. IT IS COLD!!!
If you know me, you know I have been blessed with patience. Even through all of this, I kept my cool and just remembered, God got me to Fargo safe, what else can I ask for. You know being a Christian gives you a totally different outlook on life. When you know at the end of life’s journey, you will live eternally in paradise with your Lord and Savior, you sort of find a way to enjoy the earthly bumps and delays. What about you? Is your life half full or half empty? (glass theory) Do you have what is available to you so you can travel through this world worry free about what is at the end of the journey? The plane is leaving, be early. Being late, you may find an eternity of hell.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
