Charlie Wear’s Notes

Ridiculously dumb husband that I am, I didn’t take into account that my sweet wife would want to clean the house within an inch of it’s life! That was fine because I spent the last couple of days loading our minivan so that it looks like the excess inventory of a traveling caravan of gypsies! No offense intended to the gypsies. We got on the road this evening and pulled into our first stop in Gainesville, Florida.

This is an enormous accomplishment that couldn’t have happened without the help of a lot of people including my Dad and Stepmom, my friend Scott and new friend Blayne and our extra special next door neighbors Mark and Z. My luggage was lashed to the roof of the minivan by an authentic Ranger. I have a scout’s honor in knots, but all that means is that I can remember sheep shank and bowline.

I know that there are many friends who pray for us regularly and I thank each and everyone of you as well. Tomorrow, Cracker Barrell turkey and onward to Alabama or wherever we can make it.

For those of you trying to keep up on the adventures of Charlie Wear, a lot has happened since you last tuned in. I started my brand new law practice in Redlands, California on November 5, 2007. Signed the contract on our "new" home in Moreno Valley, CA. just last week. I have the U-haul truck in the driveway and hope to hit the road tomorrow night or Tuesday morning for our 4th cross-country trip since July 2006. I also had a chance to visit Steve Sjogren’s pre-launch Church gathering this Sunday morning. Great fun! Stay tuned for infrequent updates…

I love starting new enterprises. There is just nothing better. Right now I am immersed in starting a new law practice in Redlands, California. It is incredibly stimulating. Once the start-up becomes maintenance I am much less excited. The answer for me is to always be starting!

We unloaded the pickup and dropped the trailer off at U-Haul at about 4:30 p.m. The last drive was just a hop, skip and a jump from Laughlin, Nevada to Covina, California. This evening my dad and step mom took my brother and I out to Northwood’s Inn for a steak dinner celebrating my recent birthday.

I am trying to stay awake a little bit longer so I won’t wake up at 4 a.m.! Yesterday was a killer. We drove from Amarillo, Texas to Laughlin, approximately 786 miles. Tomorrow is a busy day. I have lots of work and a client meeting in the evening.

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So last night we made it to Amarillo, Texas.  We have had a very exciting, bonding, road-trip experience. Sort of a biker-redneck version of Through Painted Deserts without the deserts, yet. We are hauling my F-150 behind my brother’s Chevy Silverado with his Harley in the bed of his pickup. The only thing that might be better would be if the trailer was about six inches longer. My brother found this very amusing and I used my Treo to take a little video. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

We hooked up the trailer at about 10 a.m. and sedately began our journey. Fifty-five is about all we can do without some serious fishtailing. But we made it to Little Rock and are staying at a fine hotel called the Crowne Plaza, thanks to the ministrations of OnStar. Just finished an excellent meal at PF Chang’s and am about ready to get some serious sleep. All in all this was an interesting way to spend my birthday.

I got to have breakfast with Jim Palmer at the Bob Evans near Opryland in NashVegas, as Jim calls it on his blog. I’ve mentioned Jim several times on this blog. For a few weeks this year he was my pastor as I read divine nobodies. He is just as nice in person as he is in writing, and I like that. We talked about some ideas that have been floating around in my head for awhile, and we could have talked another couple of hours, I think.

Some of my friends are having fun in Seattle at Off The Map Live. I wish I could be there with them, but maybe another time.
Onward to Oklahoma, Texas and beyond tomorrow.

Ben came through his hernia repair with flying colors. Start to finish we were at the hospital for about five hours! His first words upon awakening were: “That didn’t hurt at all.” His pain medication ran out overnight and he was a little bit sore, but according to mom, he was in high spirits for the annual candy grab for Halloween.

I am on a road trip in my F-150 to California. Meeting up with my brother today in Nashville where we will load my truck on a trailer and hit the road. Hopefully we will be on the left coast by Sunday afternoon so I can get to work on Monday. One of the problems with moving across country and then moving back is getting the vehicles back where you can use them. I’ve heard through the grapevine that my employer is upset with my absence, so that may be a problem when I get back.

I am meeting with author, Jim Palmer, at 7 a.m. Looking forward to meeting him in person.

The last couple of months have been tough, there is no denying it. A few weeks ago my wife spent a few days in the hospital, and I was in California. On the first day of her admission, there was an hour when I didn’t know for sure who would pick Benjamin up at the pre-school he attends, and I was helpless. My favorite mentor had a special prayer for times like these, it was, "Oh God, Oh God, Oh God," uttered repeatedly with heartfelt passion. I think these are God’s favorite kinds of prayers. They are filled with too much hurt and pain to be very religious.

It seems to boil down to this. I just need to live through the next 24 days, then I fly back to Florida, we pack a U-haul and begin our cross-country trek back to California. Will that solve all of our problems? Not by a long shot. But at least our family will be together to help each other through the difficult times and to enjoy the good times. The last few days have been good, "Oh God, help us through the next 24 days…."

It has been great to spend a few days at the beach in Naples, FL just relaxing with the family. Saturday was cloudy and rainy, but even that was kind of fun. Yesterday was perfect. The right temperature, a Grisham book to read, and a great evening meal to top off the day. I was thankful all day…

I have a cold. I have been doing a lot of traveling on airplanes and that is a great place to catch something. I probably infected a bunch of people on my plane flight back to California on Tuesday evening. Sorry. No, really, I’m sorry. I feel pretty miserable and the cold medication one takes to relieve the symptoms make it really hard to do the kind of work I do (lots of reading, thinking and writing). But I have to keep trying to work, even though I am at about 50% efficiency.

It would certainly be great to always be “in the zone,” “in the pink,” “at prime,” or “at the top of my game.” I guess we spend most of our lives working in some other zone, some other color or in the middle of the game. This is one of those times for me. Feels like skateboarding up hill, but I am just going to keep pluggin.