Let’s Roll, Again

In a previous post on Gospel Aircheck I wrote about one special summer when I hosted a roller skating party. That time was 25 years ago. Even then I questioned if skating was relevant to the 1980’s youth that rolled every Saturday night to Contemporary Christian music. Those kids now have children and—gasp—grand children of their own old enough to roller skate. Would this new generation find this pastime as appealing? Recently, I took a very informal poll and found that the consensus among teens of today is that the topic is completely alien to them. Roller skating to gospel music? “Could I text while doing this?” I imagine them saying.

That brings me to my idea: what if skating was re-introduced to this new generation? It would begin small with reserving a rink for a private party, say a church group. I’m developing the playlist of tunes, mixing current and skate-able CCM oldies on my laptop Ableton software. The selection process seems difficult due to the fact that the present crop of popular Christian music is impossible to skate to. The idea is incubating, but shows promise. I’m afraid these kids just wouldn’t be interested. Maybe this would appeal to those “40-somethings” of my generation. But, I’d hate to see any one of us break a hip.

Stay tuned

©2010 Neal Rhoden. Gospel Aircheck blog. All rights reserved.

The Holiday Road (to recovery)

Happy new year my friends! Wow, twenty ten; that just sounds nice and futuristic. Seeing that I have always been an early adopter of all things new this year has a good vibe to it.

My wife Angie and I have had a blessed 2009 and look forward to the good things in store for 2010. 2009, what a great year it was: Angie got a fantastic new full time job she loves while I was allowed the privilege of becoming Mr. Mom with my proudest achievement, my family. We all enjoyed a Myrtle Beach vacation with Angie’s mother and my brother-in-law and his crew. The ‘09 holiday season has been my all time favorite. Thanksgiving was a blast; then Christmas Eve at my house with my sisters, my mom, the nieces and nephews joining my gang at our house; another celebration in north Georgia with my dad’s sisters on Sunday and yesterday, New Year’s Day, we opened gifts at my mother-in-law’s. Whew! What fun we all had.

The Turning Point

Through a process that has taken about 2 years to fulfill I have discovered with self-taught study of the human psyche that I fit into a melancholy temperament.  I have fought deep depression my whole adult live through  introspection and will. I have not been very successful, especially in the will department. Introspection has been a heavy burden because I have had my head stuck in an unremarkable past thinking this was truly therapeutic. I was dead wrong. One day recently, during the holiday season, I had an aha moment. I had been going through the motions letting one day melt into another when I realized that have so much to be thankful for here and now. I have a wonderful wife and great kids. They are what I have always wanted. Angie is a companion in the truest sense of the word, she is the model wife. My kids are my most valuable education; I have learned far more from them than they have from me.  And I continue to evolve personally and desire a more positive forward thinking outlook. Now I have a more keen since of purpose that I feel was lacking before. A new focus on the present has emerged and our hope is for a brighter future.

Stay tuned

© copyright 2010 the Peanut Whistle. All rights reserved.

My Dennis the Menace

  Today's post is a departure for me. I feel it very therapeutic venting about one of my peanuts. My brilliant three year old Madison is a bit of a scientist. Today she was testing the destructive properties of H2O on electronics. It seems that water when poured directly on cordless phones and cassette tape recorders ceases viable operation of said devices.  Very interesting. How could I go nearly twenty years owning a Panasonic portable tape recorder without introducing 20 ounces of Aquafina to the circuit board? Both the phone and the tape recorder are drying now. The secret to preserving electronics when accidentally wet is do not turn them on. Remove batteries immediately and let the cases air dry thoroughly. I learned my lesson when I dropped a Nintendo DS game system into a bowl of water last year. I turned the game on after briefly blow drying it. That was a big mistake! If power is applied to a wet circuit board then you might as well throw it away. I repeat, immediately remove the power source and let the device dry thoroughly a day or two before powering up again. There seems to be no quick fixes. Auto parts stores carry a product known as wire drier and of course WD40 spray that work well on ignition distributors, spark plug wires and such, but I've never used these remedies on small electronics. I recommend taking the safe route.

 

  My life is far from being a cartoon strip but Angie and I believe we have a Dennis the Menace on our hands. She is smart but is into everything. My little bit has made more experiments than I can recall and presented more challenges than her other three siblings combined. Thank God for kids.

Stay tuned

©2009 The Peanut Whistle. All rights reserved.