Notes from a quick trip to Utah –

I think Bryce is under the false impression that I have some inheritance money squirreled away. I know the financial demands of a young family – raising kids, buying a home, general expenses – can be tough at times. But is that enough of a reason to invite me to bike with him on Saturday morning along the “Devil’s Rock Pile” or “Slaughter House Run” or “Death to Older, Foolish, Bike Riders that Think They Know What They are Doing” run – whatever it’s called . I think he loves me and wouldn’t want to cause me any harm unless its for that inheritance money (which isn’t much).

Bryce isn’t in all that great of shape himself – he has a handicap sticker on his car, a splint on his arm from a broken wrist, and he is recovering from major neck surgery. He lured me into thinking that this would be a calm downhill coasting ride through the pleasantries and beauty of nature. He appealed to my idiot notion that I can do anything a 20 year old can do, and its wrong, wrong, wrong. I’m just glad I’m in one piece to write this testimony.

My estimate of Austin’s intelligence went up dramatically when he wisely declined to go with us and instead offered to drive the car. When we got to the top of Squaw Peak getting ready for our “dash of death” my helmet was mysteriously left in the other car – was that part of Bryce’s plot? He did give me his baseball cap to wear, was that a smirk he wore as well?

The trail actually started along a nice dirt road with very few rocks, but no sooner had we started on our journey when it started pouring rain. I started cursing under my breath and asking why am I doing this crazy thing? The wind was cold, the rain got us wet, I couldn’t see through the drops of water on my glasses, and I was left in the shivering dust as Bryce and Jake raced ahead. And this was suppose to be the easy part of the trail.

We finally got to the single track trail head and I starred in disbelief at this narrow little curvy path, going up and down, around trees, over roots and through the mud. OK Mark you can do this because there is no going back. Actually the first 10 feet was nice trail and then I would dodge a rock only to be face-to-face with a large tree. OK swerve left – no right – was that a big root? Dang my foot fell off the peddle! Oh my gosh, I can’t see a thing through these glasses. Ouch!!! That was a big rock. My butt hurts! Where are Bryce and Jake – is that them laughing up ahead? How long is this trail?

We were running along a nice sized stream on the left. Suddenly the trail wasn’t level anymore side to side. It was at about a 30 degree angle tilting towards a 20 ft drop down to the fast flowing creek on the left and a forest of trees rising sharply to the right. One or two inches of crooked driving and I’m in trouble – thank goodness I can’t see through the rain on my glasses or this would be really frightening. OK we made it past that bad spot surely the trail can’t get any worse. HA!

They didn’t name it “Rock Canyon” for nothing. We moved out of “quiet” part of the trail and started the death defying section of pointed, sharp, nasty, hard rocks. Sometimes loose gravel rocks, sometimes they were the kind of rocks that poke their sharp heads far enough above the ground to cause major bumping, or sometimes they were just big boulders scattered on the trail. The path is a steep decent and I was blazing along at a mind blowing 2 miles an hour because my hands were cramped tight around the brakes with that white knuckle fear of serious injury. It took a good half an hour after the ride to unknot the muscles and straighten out my fingers.

The rocks seemed to go on forever and then suddenly an oasis of a nice flat, smooth, wooden bridge. Oh thank goodness for that calm bridge, except as I peddled across the rain had caused the wood to be extremely slippery and I almost ended up in the drink. Is there no safe place on this trail? Well the next stream crossing was even worse – there was no bridge just a rocky crossing through the water. Bryce even had a hard time with this one and I figured if I went as fast as I could, I should make it through with dry feet. What a fool – half way across my front tire hit a large submerged rock and immediately stopped the bike, but I kept going into the water except a big boulder stopped my awkward tumble. Again I heard that funny laughter.

I survived to finish the trail with only minor bruising and cuts and Bryce’s chance at an early inheritance was thwarted. Just watch and be careful with any of his invitations to go on a fun and adventurous bike hike, he may have ulterior motives.

Other news of the trip: Austin is back at school in Provo and landed in a good apartment where his roommate had him delete WOW, got back on the boards, did some homework, scoped out his classes and ward for good looking girls, and filled his refrigerator with food. He seems very happy.

My 1031 court case made some progress this week as we completed the depositions and one witness really made our case very convincing. We had a great Father’s Day dinner at Bryce’s with Preston and Tiana.

We did suffer one casualty this weekend. After mom and I finished up a very pleasant and social bike ride along the Highline Canal the bike fell off the rack while on the freeway. We were lucky that the crashed bike didn’t cause an accident, but it is trashed and needs major repair before we can ride it again.

Bend it Like Barrand

My back has been killing me for about 6 months now and it especially hurts in the temple when I have to stand still for long periods of time. You name it: feet, hips, back, and neck all ache and it diminishes the experience. I couldn’t take it any longer and went to a chiropractor to get untangled. He did his thing and told me to do two things to help – take lots of Ibuprofen and take up Yoga. Well I have done both and am feeling better, but I must say that the Yoga experience is a unique one.
I’ve only been twice but my body feels like it has been a dozen times. Barrands tend not to be too flexible (just ask Bryce or Austin about their pike dives), and it was blindingly obvious how inflexible I am. These old ladies next to me are popping their legs above their heads balanced on one foot, this rather overweight woman was easily folding in half, and even the other guys in the class were able to sit cross-legged with their knees resting comfortably on the floor. I sat cross legged in Samoa for two years and even after that my knees still point up around my ears….and hurt. I found I can easily bend in half as long as my knees are bent in half a well. The instructor asked three times if I was alright because the blood had drained from my head. Then I got mixed up my rights and left to the point the instructor moved her mat right next to mine so I could follow the pretzel moves with a semblance of accuracy. But my worse exercise was surprisingly the balancing work. Trying to stay stationary on one foot while doing all these circles with my arms and stretching out my free leg was down right comical. It was like trying to balance on one leg wearing high heels – not in my repertoire. Thank goodness I only fell over once and only hit one person on the descent. The instructor asked me to find a space away from the other participants next time.
Austin’s friend Rebecca told me about her “hot” Yoga class where the room is kept at 90 degrees and you sweat your way through the class. I had immediate respect for her. I think it will be safer for all if I contain my Yoga exercises to home based TV shows. Then my Yoga won’t get a reputation like my dancing.
I has finally started becoming summer around here and we celebrated Austin’s last weekend home before school with a hike to Devil’s Head with Rebecca. The weather was perfect and a great time was enjoyed by all.

To Strong Finishes

We have been living in the land of excitement and dreams as the Nuggets have marched through the playoffs until the 6^th game against the heavily favored Lakers. The Nuggets didn’t show up to play and they had run out of chances and the lights went out, but it was a huge improvement over last year and gave us all hope in the future of an underdog. It also pointed out that the victor on the sports field or in life’s battles is one that can figure a way around obstacles, dig deep to find previously unknown strength, not get too heady with some success, and above all finish strong. That why I love sports; it isn’t who runs the fastest or catches the most balls, or shoots the most baskets it is the gritty determination in the face of adversity or the long patient painful practicing that pays rich dividends. Life is a long tough game and better is the man that can translate those admirable qualities into their life practices for he will be a winner.

This rumored question has been heard circulating through the temple in Denver this week, “Who ever promoted this idiot?” and they are talking about me. I was “promoted” last week to assistant veil coordinator and it was kind of fun with only small sessions the first week – but this week we had three huge sessions. Two sessions had 5 over the maximum limit and I didn’t have enough workers so it was critical to use patrons to fill in the blanks. Well I forgot to call them forward and so the wrong people got put in the wrong places at the wrong time and it was a crowded white clad circus where there should be quiet reverence. I wouldn’t be surprised if they put a block on my recommend.

We suffered an aborted attempt to have a fun Saturday afternoon activity, but caught the rebound and was able to finish with a great evening. Tracy and I started out to hike Devil’s Head and as we left the house decided to invite Dave, Danica & family along. Dave was sadly stuck in the deep dark basement with Austin and a few others caught in the web of a LAN party, but Danica, Jensen and Lily were willing participants. I foolishly choose to ignore the storm clouds, lightening and rain on the way to the hike. I thought, “it will pass and we’ll have fun,” but it didn’t. It was cold, dark and wet – Mom’s favorite elements. We did gather enough firewood for an impromptu campfire under a covered pavilion at Daniel’s Park – evening saved. Hot dogs, watermelon, s’mores, and raingear – is the Seattle all over again.

Tiana's Dream for my Blog

I've listened to my critics and have a blog this week of only pictures from Hunter Baillio, Newport Beach, and Jensen's birthday party - enjoy:

We are Blessed

It was a typical calm and wild week. Mom’s starting a new business and I’m trying to wrestle with the challenges of keeping mine going forward. It seems every sale requires that much more work and effort as the economy has sucked the confidence and trust from so many financial venues. We live in interesting and tough times, but this weekend I was embarrassed by my own complaints of hardship and woe.
Saturday I was lucky enough to dive the Sea of Cortez and it was my experience there that helped me appreciate all the blessing we enjoy. It wasn’t my opportunity to arm wrestle with a 150 lb 6 ft Nurse Shark who was trying to steal food from the Moray Eel. No it was the other people in the tank.
We were working at the same time A-1 Scuba had brought in a group of handicapped young adults and a couple of disabled vets. It was amazing. I’ve never seen anything like it. There were about 4 handicapped young men and 2 vets, all in wheelchairs and about 3 assistants for each person. These young men were missing an arm or leg and were paralyzed from the waist or neck down. One handsome young man in his early twenty’s had been hit in the neck by a sniper in Iraq. I thought of Don. This guy should be running around and tackling the life in front of him with all his limbs working. Unfortunately he sat in a wheelchair only able to move his head. But he got a wet suit on (it took a while). They put him in a crane hoist and lifted him over the water and gently lower him into that magical liquid environment. It took another two people helping out in the water to get his gear on – weights, tank, regulator, vest, fins, and mask. Then off he went.
He came alive without the confining bounds of the chair and gravity. He tucked his face in the water and with his two assistants started moving just like all of us divers. He had partial use of one arm and was paddling around the rocks and sandy areas like a champ. His body no longer a dead weight, he actually moved with some grace. You should have seen how happy and bright his eyes were as he swam along with the fish. You could feel his freedom and elation as he moved without pain or restriction. There was a huge crowd and they all watched the joy in the young man’s experience. He cried when they finished the dive and took him out of the water.
As I popped out of the water, able to carry all my equipment, showered, drove home and got ready for company and games last night I kept thinking about that young solider. We are so blessed in this life when we have our health and the ability to move and face head on the challenges that at times seem so overwhelming. For that solider, diving at the aquarium is just a taste of what we commonly touch everyday without thinking twice. It is good to stop on occasion to recognize how blessed we are and to say thanks.

Happy News from the Week

We were having lunch with Danica, Jensen, and Lily yesterday. Or should I say that the three adults had lunch while the kids played on the crawly toys, fought over French fries, and spilled cup after cup of water on our lunch. Anyway Danica asked about the highlights of the week and there were three I would like to report.

#1. Mom came home after two weeks of travel and training and I picked her up at the airport on Monday night. I didn’t realize how much I missed her and how empty the house was without her. Yes – Austin and I had run out of leftovers and groceries, but even more I missed her buoyant personality, creative ideas and companionship. I surprised myself by twisting her ear with meaningless stories from my day’s activities and wanted to hear all about the silly little things from her day. I realize how important it is to have someone that will listen to you and for you to love enough to listen to them. I love having her back.

#2. I’ve had a client for about 5 years now that is an ornery, cantankerous, old crusty dude that challenges me on everything. He lives in Golden and refuses to come to my office, so I have to drive to him. He doesn’t have email so I have to snail mail him everything special. He doesn’t attend the client appreciation dinners so he wants me to take him to lunch mono-e-mono. Every quarter I have to prepare a detail report justifying my advice and fees. He doesn’t like Scott and so I have to deal with all of his issues. But he has a good amount invested with us and so I smile and drive. Well he nominated me for the “Top Client Satisfaction Rep” of Denver from the prestigious local magazine “Denver 5280”.

I found out this week that I had won and will be published in the magazine as one of the top Reps in Denver valued with Top Tier Client Satisfaction…..You know Golden isn’t all that far away and every person is important, besides one of the sales to him paid for Tiana’s wedding.

#3. I was working on a financial plan for one of the client’s I have inherited from Dennis Graves. She is a sweet widow lady who has very little understanding about financial things. She recently lost a lawsuit against her and had to pay nearly $200,000. We had to take some major withdrawals from her IRA to pay the bill. She had $337,000 in one account and we could take only 5% from that one which was $16,890 dollars. That all happened in January. When I got her 1st qtr. statement she only had $190,000. She was missing $150,000. What had happened is that the 5% withdrawal maximum was $16,889.99 and the withdrawal was rounded up and took one more penny than was allowed. That one penny extra above the allowed limit caused everything to be reset and she lost nearly $150,000. I felt sick, how could this happen??? Well after battling with the insurance company and talking to a supervisor we got it fixed and the money was restored to her account. There is balance in the force and hope for the future.

I hope you all have a great week.

What I wouldn’t give for a camera….....

Please remind me that it is mid April and we are suppose to be out riding bikes and planting the garden instead this past Saturday found me donning a heavy winter coat, gloves, and a ski hat to fight the late spring blizzard that has descended upon Denver. The weather fooled everyone this year and we had days in Jan and Feb in the 70’s reaching as high as 76 with no snow and then comes late March and April. We had 18 inches of the heaviest wet snow I’d ever seen. Even the mighty Blue Spruce in our front yard was big time drooping with the weight of the 2 day snow storm. We shoveled 4 times over the 2 days to be able to access the street. And the melting snow today (temperature about 55) has flooded the roads with a gross dirty slushee mess. The elders found a purple toboggan in the garage and were sliding down the sidewalk by the vegetable garden until one fell on the hidden brick retaining wall and hurt his side. And I didn’t have a camera to record the bizarre blizzard…….

It has been a rough two weeks. Mom was in Florida for a weeks training in her new home care business, then I left for Utah hours before she return home. I spent the last weekend there conducting business and visiting family. I visited happy newlyweds, played a little racquetball, had a fantastic Easter meal with Bryce and Marcia, enjoyed a cultural experience attending the Portuguese ward, and played with ever exuberant Sam and Lucas. And I didn’t have a camera to record any of the happy happenings…….

Then this week Tracy was in Maryland visiting with Celeste after she gave birth to Cid Hunter Baillio our latest family addition. She has described all the pleasant sunshine, beautiful countryside, and of course a hansom new grandson. And the mystery of the camera has been solved; if you check out mom’s blog you will see lots of fun pictures taken with my Christmas present……a camera.