Supafly.com

This afternoon the brood hopped on a boat with hopes of spotting a few whales. We ended up seeing so much, it was unbelievable:

• A huge hovercraft. I mean this thing was almost the size of a football field. This thing was so massive, but floated above the water…effortlessly crossing over our wake.
• Dozens of huge Naval ships. One of them had lots of military Hummers and helicopters perched on the deck. It was the ultimate G.I. Joe set up.
• Dozens of Navy Seals training in high-speed boats
• Two pirate ships. They were monsters made of wood, tall masts, multiple sails. I mean it was like Pirates of the Caribbean. All the needed was the skull and crossbones on the flag.;
• A;functioning light house
• Several different types of helicopters
• A;new stadium
• Several new stunning skyscrapers filling in the downtown skyline. They were beautiful!
• A brand new 2.3 mile bridge
• A;man-made island
• Sea gulls swooped down and snatched food from our fingers.
• Two submarines, one of them was powering through the bay. There were hundreds of birds sitting on it’s back, just hitching a ride.
• Two fisherman floating hundreds of feet offshore in rubber pants and floating chairs.

That’s what we saw on the float out of the bay and further into the Pacific. Once we made it out, we saw several grey whales push up through the surface of the ocean. It was especially cool to see a flipped tail or a puff out the blowhole. By law, you can only get so close to the whales, so there was no scratching the whale’s back.

What a great day at the beach.

I flew into San Diego tonight to join Candyce at “The Gathering”, a night of singing and prayer in La Jolla, California. It was good to see young Catholics from around San Diego come together for all the right reasons. At the end of the evening, Bob invited me up to say a few words. I figured out what I was going to say in the few steps to the microphone.

I met Bob this past summer at Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio. Bob is such cool, laid-back surfer dude. It meant so much to me to meet someone who is older and still cool. As I nudge my way through my twenties, I am deathly afraid of becoming irrelevant. Bob lets me know that it is going to be okay.

It must be difficult to be a youth minister in La Jolla. La Jolla has the most expensive homes in the entire country. It’s absolutely so rich it is out of control. I can’t even imagine having that much money. Most people feel like a god when they are that rich. It makes it difficult to make room for the one true God.

Tonight was splendid because I got to hang out with Candyce. Oh so good. It’s hard for me to walk next to her when all I want to do is scoop her up and take her home. But we are both sick, so I have to not kiss her. So I have to cool off and blow off energy by doing something else, like writing a journal.

I am going to be gone almost every weekend for the next four months. I have two off, then a dozen trips in a row. Wow. I knew my schedule was filling up, but I didn’t realize it was going to be like this. It goes right through the summer and into the fall. How much longer can I do this?

It’s not fun to burn out. If I think I am going to burn out, I’ll see it coming. Then I’ll slow down and adopt a normal life.

I was sitting in the terminal getting caffeinated when a tall man halted in front of me. He looked over my head to check the departing flights. I thought nothing of it until I saw a pilot’s hat resting on top of his luggage. All of a sudden I thought of him differently. So I got an idea. Actually, my brother had the idea first.

Paul inherited my cop outfit from high school. I used it to occasionally to direct traffic in front of my high school. That wasn’t my job, but I assumed responsibility. Then Paul took it to the next level. The day after Thanksgiving, my three younger brothers woke up at five in the morning and drove a half hour through the darkness to Wal Mart. You can’t miss the big Christmas sale when the doors opened at six. The parking lot was full, and the doors held back a line of hundreds of people. Paul had on his cop outfit, and he dutifully escorted my two brothers to the front of the line. Once the gates were open, Paul took it upon himself to enforce the law in the isles of Wal Mart. That’s a good man.

I’m tired of being “the guy from the Real World” in airports. I meet a lot of people, but after three years of flying, I am ready for something new. So I’ve fantasized about dressing up like the Men in Black when I fly. I’d have on a black suit, white shirt, black tie. I’d polish off the image with sunglasses, an earpiece, and I’d carry a metal brief case. I’d storm through the airport like a man on a mission. Sporadically I’d look down, my finger to my ear, and respond, “Yes, mister president.”

But why stop there? I could dress up like I was in the forestry service, or an off-duty fireman, or a soldier. I’d get my kicks out of it, and the other passengers would too. Because right now I am on the airplane en route to Houston, and there is nothing exciting going on in here. Most people are mindlessly flipping through SkyMall while the flight attendants pass out stale peanuts.

So Monday morning I’m going to look for some good outfits on eBay. Why not?

Candyce has been gone for almost three weeks now. Although I am happy she’s spending time with her family in San Diego, it’s getting annoying. I come home and have a whole evening free, and I have nobody to spend it with. Well, I do. I have dozens of good friends, but it sure would be nice to have a girlfriend again.

So I’m fighting the aloneness by getting projects done around the house. It started earlier this week, and I’ve made real progress. I finished painting my bathroom walls, and have moved on the cabinet doors. I’ll buy my hardware soon, then be ready to tile the floor. Then there’s my Civic. I know what rims I am getting, now I just have to find someone to lower it. I’ve been writing quite a bit for NoMoHo.org and PornDestroysWomen.org.

Could I be single for life? When I am productive and creative, I feel invincible and content. I think about Peter Parker, Spiderman. He can’t have a relationship because he has to save the world. He says that, “With great power comes great responsibility.” His sacrifice is heroic. I don’t think that I have to dump every girlfriend to be a hero. But, I love doing good things to help people. That’s my life.

I don’t know.