My mom just called, making sure I will be at the 7:00 devotional at Pepperdine. The brochure says I’m speaking there.
Sorry, Mom. Larry Bridgesmith (chairman of the Zoe board, an elder at Woodmont Hills, and a good example of what Christ-following looks like in the world of lawyering) is speaking in my place.
I had to stay last night to coach. Our game lasted all of 12 minutes, when it was zapped out by lightning. Since the first inning wasn’t finished, it’s as if nothing ever happened. (Which isn’t bad since we were already behind!)
If the weather and AA cooperate, I will be there for the 2:00 class, though.
You may remember that I wasn’t going to broadcast my traveling (at Diane’s request) until after the trip was over. But for now, we have picked up another son and daughter — temporarily before they leave Abilene for their first fulltime ministry in Houston — so she feels safe.
Here’s another strange trick of travel. If I keep my rental car for four days, it costs me twice as much as if I keep it five days. Go figure. But at five days, I can get the one-week rate.
It’s going to be close, given my return schedule on Sunday. But I need to get my car as quickly as possible today and keep it as long as possible Sunday, making sure that I’ve had it at least 4 days and 1 minute. In which case, it’ll be a really cheap rental.
Is that crazy?
one thing that makes you such a powerful mouth piece for God is that you are a better coach.
Are you suggesting that travel out of Abilene International Airport might be a tad difficult? Surely not!
Let me know if you have a unplanned layover in DFW…
I know of a place with some guac that will make it worth the layover.
I have also found, being a road warrior these past several years, that if you are extremely nice (which I am – ‘usually’ to anyone) and ask, the car rental people will upgrade you and put you in some cool automobiles.
“Being upgraded”, that sounds kind of, like a pursuit man always looks for in life but can really only be found by asking God.
Mike blessings on your trip and to your family, I know the people attending the lectureship will be blessed by you being there.
Mike -
I hope you’ve got a good watch that’s keeping time accurately, or else you may slip up and only have the rental car 3 days, 59 minutes and 59 seconds. What a disaster THAT would be, hunh?! Tom often rents cars in his travels with work and runs into the very same thing.
It constantly amazes me in dealing with different businesses, retail stores, service providers (such as telephone companies, internet, etc, etc) - and I’ve been doing any extraordinary amount of that the last two months in trying to plan and execute the selling of a house, move to a new town and state, line up a rental while building a house, etc - how convoluted some of their “programs” are, incentive packages, the like, in totally confusing not only the consumer, but more so themselves!!
It’s really quite hilarious when you put it all together. And I happen to have done just that, not really intentionally, by starting out in the beginning with an 8 1/2 by 11 lined note pad that serves as my “command central,” which now has pages and pages, some scrawled on in minute detail with lines drawn through, changes made, input from different service sections of different businesses being marked out and reworked because no one section could agree with any other section about what their offers really were or how much it was going to cost me (us).
Hope you’re having a great time out in Malibu. What a wonderful event to be attending in such a lovely time of year. So - have you been to all your favorite eating places yet or had any great guacamole? We actually have a new little Mexican food place here in small town South Mississippi - Picayune - right next door to Tom’s newspaper that is authentic and VERY good. Including the guacamole. You’ll have to come try it out some day. You know - make a mecca to Picayune, Mississippi. Talk about being authentic!
Cheers!
That’s really weird about the rental car rates. Doesn’t seem like it would make a great deal of sense on their part. Business, business…
Bummer about the game. At least it wasn’t one of those “you played three and a half innings so you lost” kind of deals. Those are no fun. But I guess neither is getting struck by lightning. I digress.
Here’s my craziest “little league game cancelled” story. I was 10 years old and was playing for the College Station American 9 and 10 year old All-Star team. We were playing in the semi-finals against Bryan West in a part of town Bryan that was not the best. In the fifth inning, we were losing by 3 or 4 runs and all the momentum was with them. And then, out of nowhere, a man comes running from out of the woods behind the field, SHOOTING A GUN BEHIND HIM AS HE RAN. He runs past behind the bleachers on our side of the field and an off-duty police man that was there watching the game lept off the top row (probably around 6 feet tall) and takes the guy out. It was one of the the scariest, coolest, weirdest experiences that a 10 year old could have. Kids were crying. Moms were hugging. Dads were discussing. Sirens and lights were blaring and flashing.
The best part of the story is that they let us finish the game the next day and we came back in the bottom of the sixth inning (you only play six in little league for all of you non-little league folks) and beat them by a run. We were then hammered in the championship game like 18-4. But it was fun while it lasted. Scary, but fun.
I’ve often wondered what the rational is behind charging so much more for short-term car rental. Could it have something to do with business travelers who expense it and are less concerned about cost compared to regular vacation travelers who want to spend less and are likely to be needing the car longer? That’s the only thing I could think of as a possible explanation. I’m sure there must be something else, though.
Thank you for sharing your home with our children! Diane should feel extremely safe with them around - I taught Josh some great ‘warrior’ techniques! Say ‘hi’ to our other son and very pregnant (with file-in-hand pregnant) daughter-in-law in Malibu. Blessings!
In reference to Beverly’s comment, be sure to ask Josh about Amy. But don’t get him started on Will Smith or Barry Bonds unless you want to stay up all night.
On a one-way trip to Germany, our foreign exchange student ended up purchasing a round trip instead of a one-way due to the fact that the one-way was 40% more than the round trip.
Travel rules are funny sometime. I remember a couple years ago flying from Alabama to Ohio. We were about 1/2 way between Huntsville and Memphis. It was about $100 cheaper to fly from Huntsville, even though the Huntsville flight had a lay-over in Memphis….go figure….
My favorite rental car for Malibu:
http://tinyurl.com/s8l2f
Peace.
One of my favorite places in Malibu:
http://www.serraretreat.com/
Peace.
One of my favorite Malibu people:
http://tinyurl.com/gnrog
Peace.
My favorite Malibu University:
http://tinyurl.com/jxw8f
Peace
My favorite place to stay in Malibu:
http://tinyurl.com/jkqnz
Peace.
Mike,
Are you going to be able to minister to John “totally cool with it” Lackey while you are in California?
I bet Benny Hinn doesn’t concern himself too much with the 4 versus 5-day rental car thing when he travels.
Wow, the Steves are going crazy today.
Sounds like that car place is run by the government or something.
Mike, hug Gary and Tammy Selby for me while you are there. I miss them so much and wish that I could hug them myself…and talk with
Tammy and sing with Gary…that would be heaven.
Amy,
Has anybody suggested to you that we might be “crazy!”
Peace.
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