Hot. Bike. Ride. But fun.

Have reached 2,029 miles from home. Approaching the ND-MT border.

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Today I had a meeting in Maryville at the Blount County Red Cross. They have been a huge supporter of our severe weather spotter training program and so they invited me to their annual meeting and lunch. When I got there, they had Chick Fil-A nuggets, slaw, and carrot/raisin salad. Who thinks carrots, raisins, and mayonnaise go together? I mean, after lunch, the exec asked for a show of hands of who like it, and one hand went up. He cut his throat with his hand and said, "No more. Not next year". A rousing laugh went up. I asked for a couple minutes at the end to thank them and praise them for their support. Ended up with a contact at the Tennessee Air National Guard base. It was actually funny. I saw these two uniformed Air Force guys and knew one was an officer and the other a NCO. But I wanted to be absolutely sure about their ranks. So I texted Danny and asked if a bird meant colonel, and what did two stripes up and five down mean? He said, yes, bird is a full colonel and the other is a senior master Sergeant. So at least I could call them by ranks. Turns out the SMSgt is the one I need to coordinate with. Pay wise I am even with the colonel, but he is military and I am a cubicle worker in a little office in the middle of nowhere by comparison and I do not compare myself to him. Or the SMSgt.

BUT...I was trying to be so good at Weight Watchers. So I took and counted out 16 little tiny nuggets (all white meat, no ground up organs and talons like McD's), and 3/4 cup of slaw (which I drained the juiced off of). Then I even texted Cindy to ask her to write that down. Then I finished it and quit. When I got back to work I looked up the nutritional info on them. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Nuggets
Calories: 520
Fat: 23 (TWENTY THREE GRAMS OF FAT IN 16 NUGGETS!)
Fiber: 1.5 grams, whoopy ding dong
Points: 12 points

Slaw
Calories: 580
Fat: 50 (FIFTY) grams
Fiber: 5 grams (yawn)
Points: 15

I ATE A TOTAL OF 27 POINTS AND WAS STRANGELY UNSATISFIED WITH THE LUNCH. I only get 40 a day, and had eaten 12 for breakfast. This meant that when I got home at 4 pm, I have one point left. So I cooked up a small onion, some cabbage, mushrooms, and green pepper in fake spray oil and some soy sauce and wasabi. Not bad. Better than lunch. What a waste.

I rode my bike to Maryville and back a total of about 115 miles, on about half a tank. so I can probably get about 190-200 miles before I have to fill up. That's good, about 45-50 miles per gallon. BUT...I felt like a horse that had been ridden hard and put up wet. Temperature was about 93 when I rode home. The wind feels good, but then you stop at a light and the heat from the air, the pavement, and the engine hits you. It's about 110. And very humid. Still, I'm a Wild Hog. I need to get an Apple Computer tat at the mall.

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Book of Mormon thoughts:

Testimony of Joseph Smith

He starts off by saying ““On the evening of the . . . twenty-first of September [1823] . . . I betook myself to prayer and supplication to Almighty God . . . . “

What is represented by the ellipses, is that he was praying for forgiveness of his sins. He was 18. He was 14 when he received the first vision of God and Jesus. Since that time he had been hounded, persecuted, mocked by the mob and by pastors and members of other churches who had a vested monetary interest in making him look like a liar or lunatic. He also had, according to his own words, a temper, and would settle arguments “with my fists”. Being a big strong guy, he probably always won and this did not make friends, either. Also, according to his own words, he was quite immature and a bit flippant about life. Not about his vision or sacred things, but he said he did not take life seriously enough. So he’s praying for forgiveness of his sins. I’ve found this is often the way I have received answers to prayers. It’s when I feel the most humble. When we are not praying sincerely for forgiveness, then perhaps we, too, are a bit flippant or even uppity about ourselves. When we see our own weaknesses then we feel after God. THEN he can approach us.

I think that is all I’m going to say about that tonight. I’m in no hurry to finish the Book of Mormon. If I take one verse at a time and tear it apart word by word, then great. I had a companion who did that with me before we went to sleep. One of us would take one single verse and then we would take turns expounding on it, or asking about it for ten minutes or so before we turned off the lights. I grew so much in those ten minutes. It’s the little things.