The Gamble Family (.Net)

This past Friday night, I watched ABC’s 20/20 special on Randy Pausch and his battle with Pancreatic Cancer. While watching the show, I could not help but be moved by Randy’s seemingly positive attitude during his darkest hour. Following the program, I downloaded and watched his now world famous “Last Lecture”, which he presented at Carnegie Mellon University in Sept. 2007.

While watching the lecture, I couldn’t help but be amazed at how much Dr. Pausch has accomplished during his “short” (47 year) time on this earth. Dr. Pausch has touched (translated positively impacted) literally thousands of lives. He is a brilliant Computer Scientist, a motivator, a mobilizer, and a positive role model of such magnitude that it actually makes me ashamed of how little I have done in my 51 years of life.

As I reflected on my accomplishments, other than my immediate family, I can’t name anyone that I know for certain that I have affected or inspired. This embarrasses me greatly. But, more worse than not having any professional achievements to note is that fact that I fear that my life, my actions, and my attitude have not spoken loudly regarding my relationship with God Almighty.

Have I wasted my entire life? Has it all been for naught? When I stand before Holy God, will He be ashamed of me because of my complacency towards the lost, my laziness towards helping feed the hungry, or my coldness towards those in need? I can’t honestly name one person that perhaps is better off for having known me. This very thought shatters my heart.

So, what now? How do I reverse 51 years of non-service? How do I right this embarrassing wrong? The obvious answer is, “One day at a time.” Each day of my life should be spent in humble worship to God, in respecting those around me, in looking for ways to encourage those that are carrying heavy burdens, in lending a help hand to those that need one, in taking an extra minute to listen more carefully to what those around me are really saying, and in looking for ways to make the most of every precious moment that I am blessed to have.

Today truly is the first day of the rest of my life.

Today, I am so proud. Today, my son graduated from college. Today, my son became an engineer.

Chris has been attending Tennessee Technological University for the past four years. His major was Mechanical Engineering. During the past four years, Chris has taken 16-18 hour class loads every semester. This has allowed him to complete the Mechanical Engineering course of study in eight semesters (four years). This is quite an accomplishment. The average engineering student takes fives years to complete the cirriculum.

Today is a bitter-sweet day for me. I am so very proud of my son’s accomplishments. He kept his head straight and stayed heads-down at school for the past four years. He did not fail any classes. He did very, very good and I have made sure that he knows how happy I am for him. Today is also a sad day for me - sad for two reasons. First, I regret that my father could not be here to see Chris get his diploma. We lost my father on October 27, 2000 to cancer. My dad loved Chris and was so proud of him. If you talked to my dad for more than ten minutes, he’d eventually get around to telling you about his grandson. You could just see his face light up as he would tell you about him. I am also sad today, because it means the my role as a father will change significantly. Today, I exchange my role as protector, financial supporter, and teacher, to one that is more of an encourager and advisor.

My hope for Chris as he goes into the world to begin his new life and his new career, is that he will hold true to the values of honesty, integrety, and faith that my wife and I have tried so very hard to teach him. As a loving parent, I hold desperately to the words of Solomon in Proverbs 22:6: “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” I also hope that my son will find a job that he truly enjoys. It seems that this is so rare to do these days. I hope that his first engineering job will be one that teaches him solid engineering principles and practices, along with good work ethics. I also hope that God leads him through a life of joy and peace.

Chris, I am so happy for you today, and I am so proud to call you my son.

This past weekend, my wife, Cheryl, and I took a trip to Rugby, TN. We both took off work Friday so that we could ride the motorcycle, spend Friday and Saturday at a Bed & Breakfast, and ride back Sunday. This was our first long distance overnight trip together on the bike since we got it almost three year years ago. Neither one of us knew anything about Rugby prior to the trip, other than a friend of ours had told us that the area had some great roads for motorcycling.

Our trip up on Friday was relaxing and very scenic. Riding across highways 96 and 70 to Crossville provided beautiful scenery of the Tennessee countryside. The skies were overcast most of the day with heavy clouds, but fortunately we did not run into any rain along the way. Highway 70 has many areas of rolling hills and sweeping curves, so the ride was truly enjoyable.

We stopped in Crossville for lunch at Cracker Barrel. After lunch, a brief rest, and a full tank of gas, we continued up highway 127, and across highway 52 to our destination, the Grey Gables Bed & Breakfast.

The Grey Gables is a beautiful two story inn located in the farmland that surrounds Rugby. The inn sits in the middle of a large pasture and is surrounded by woods. There is not another house around for about half a mile. It is run by Bill and Linda Jones. Bill and Linda made us feel immediately welcome the moment we arrived. After brief introductions and a short tour of the inn, we unpacked and freshened up in preparation to ride around what we expected to be the town of Rugby.

Grey Gables Inn

Our Room

As I stated earlier, I did not know anything about Rugby, so I was expecting a quaint restored village with shops, cafes, sidewalks - all of the traditional “touristy things”. Although the B&B was only about half a mile from “downtown”, we decided to ride instead of walk. We were surprised when we arrived in the actual community of Rugby, because we saw none of the shops and builds that I expected. Instead, the community is comprised of 10 to 15 restored structures, scattered across an area of roughly a square mile. The schoolhouse, cafe, church, and other cottages have been preserved and beautifully restored. There are no sidewalks, only gravel driveways and parking areas. There is one small cafe, one general mercantile store, one church, and a few other cottages. The fact that Rugby is 15 miles from the nearest town gives visitors the sense that they have arrived at “someplace that doesn’t exist” (if that makes any sense).

Schoolhouse - Rugby

Church - Rugby

After a brief walk around downtown Rugby, we rode 15 miles to Jamestown, to visit the Highland Manor Winery. Highland Manor is the oldest winery in Tennessee. At the winery, we were given a behind the scenes tour of how wine is made. We saw everything that is involved in the wine making process. We saw where the grapes arrive and are cleaned, the storage tanks, and where the wine is bottled. We also got a special look at their beautiful wine cellar, which is a beautifully furnished rustic room. After the tour, we were able to sample several of the varieties of Highland Manor’s wines, along with two delicious cheeses and some summer sausage. We were allowed to taste several of their varieties of wine: Seyval Blanc, Royal White, Cayuga White, Chardonnay, Highland Red, Cabernet Sauvignon, White Riesling, and Highland Sunset. After our tour of the winery, we returned to Grey Gables for the evening.

Highland Manor Winery

Our evening meal consisted of tomato basil soup, salad, baked chicken, and raspberry custard for desert. The meal was delicious. The conversation with our table guests made for a most enjoyable evening. After dinner, we went outside to relax in one of two front porch swings.

We started Saturday with another great meal. Breakfast consisted of homemade biscuits, gravy, grits with cheese, bacon, sausage, fresh fruit, scrambled eggs, and some heavenly cinnamon rolls. After breakfast, we planned our route, and loaded up the bike for a day of riding and sightseeing.

We rode to the end of highway 52 to highway 27, so that we could travel north towards the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area. The roads were just as beautiful as the others that we had been on. There were lots of hills, sweeping curves, and overlooks. We continued on highway 27 across the Kentucky state line to Stearns. Stearns is an old mining and railroad community that was built back in the early 1900s. We walked around in the “mining company store” for a while and saw antiques and memorabilia from the early coal mining days. We left Stearns and then rode into the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area. The park is heavily forested with numerous walking trails and scenic overlooks to enjoy. We visited the Devil’s Jump Overlook and the Blue Heron Mining camp while were were in the park. While walking down the Devil’s Jump, we say a sign that said “Warning - Snakes Present - Stay on Pathways”. Since I am a “snake respecting” (translated - terrified of snakes) person, I was fairly apprehensive about walking around, so I kept one eye on the scenery and the other one on the ground at all times.

Devil’s Jump Overlook

Blue Heron Mining Camp

After visiting the mining camp, we back-tracked a little ways to Oneida, where we stopped for gas, a snack, and a short break. After our brief stop, we rode through the middle of Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area on highway 297. This 25 mile section of road is one of the most difficult roads that I have ever navigated on the bike. The fact that the roads were wet from a recent rain shower made it even more difficult. After about five miles, the road through the park begins a steep (13 percent) descent into the valley. Once the descent starts, the road begins to twist and turn as it winds it way to the bottom of the valley. There are three extremely difficult 180-degree right hand turns. What makes each turn so difficult is that they are very sharp, turning back with hardy any radius at all, and then they immediately transition into a steep upward climb midway into the corner. The rain-soaked roads and the treacherous turns made this a very difficult and nail biting trip for about 10 miles. The difficulty was more that offset, however, by the spectacular scenery along the way.

After exiting the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area, we returned to Grey Gables. All along the way back, the clouds looked like rain. We were fortunate not to encounter any until we were within about half a mile of our destination. We hurriedly covered the bike and went inside for a rest. Cheryl and I went out on the back porch and curled up in the large swing. We relaxed while listening to the waterfall in the goldfish pond, and the breeze rustling through the leaves in the woods behind the inn. Bear, one of the “attack watch cats” also took time out of his busy day for a nap in the swing with us.
Dinner Saturday evening was another delicious feast. Shrimp bisque soup, salad, beef brisket, and hot fudge cake left us quite full and content. We spent the remainder of the evening chatting with the other guests on the front porch again. Linda was also able to spend some time with us, talking about the inn and her past in Rugby.

Sunday morning was our time to leave. The temperature started to drop in the early morning due to a cool front blowing through. The front brought a steady rain with it. The worsening weather had me worried because I knew that Cheryl did not like riding in the rain or cold. I don’t blame her a bit. Rain and cold make for a very unenjoyable bike ride. There is cold, and then there is cold on a motorcycle. If you are not properly prepared, the experience can be quite trying.

In preparation for our cold trip home, we had another fabulous breakfast, which consisted of scrambled eggs, ham, biscuits, gravy, fresh fruit, and more of those wonderful cinnamon rolls. After breakfast, we said goodbye to some of the other guests who left before us. We stayed around a while to give the rain some time to move through, and to allow the temperature to warm up. We had another enjoyable time talking to Linda about our families and reminiscing about days gone by.

At 11:30, with the rain beginning to ease up, we put on our rain suits, said goodbye to Linda and Bill, and headed towards home. We encountered light rain for about 45 miles until we reached Crossville. Along the way, we saw a bank thermometer that said 46 degrees. Needless to say, we were quite chilly from the cool temperature and the rain. Fortunately, we finally escaped the rain at Crossville. We stopped for coffee, hot cocoa, gas, and some warmth before getting onto the interstate for the remainder of our trip home.

Our trip to Rugby was most enjoyable. Cheryl and I always enjoy getting out together and spending time with each other. It gives us time to talk and dream about where we would like to eventually retire when we finish work. We both enjoy riding through the countryside and seeing new things. This was Cheryl’s first experience of riding in the rain, the cold, and extended interstate travel. I was very concerned about her before we left Sunday morning. I don’t want her to be scared or cold when we ride. I have to admit that I was quite surprised at her willingness to undergo these conditions without showing any fear or uneasiness. She really has come a long way since we began riding two years ago.

Our stay at the Grey Gables was wonderful. This was my first opportunity to stay at a traditional Bed & Breakfast. It took me a little while to get accustomed to not feeling like I was staying at someone’s home. Bill and Linda made both of us feel like one of their family from the moment we walked in the front door. Their beautiful inn, furnished with lots of antiques, made us feel as though we had left the daily routine of work so far behind. Linda is a superb cook. She kept us well fed the entire time that we were there. The friendly conversation left me feeling as though I had known her and Bill all of my life.

Weekends like this are good for the soul. With no television, no newspapers, and no demands from work, they provide an opportunity to take time to look inside of ourselves and re-evaluate what matters most to us. They give us time to get to know our spouses more - to enjoy each other more - to simply sit and look into each others eyes and hearts. They make us question why we have allowed the demands of work and technology to steal some of the joy out of our lives. We all need weekends like this several times each year. They restore our joy of life and of each other. They remind us of a simpler time - a time when people knew their neighbors, when people cared about and help each other in times of need, a time when physical labor left us tired, but much more fulfilled, at the end of each day.

Parker Bradley Stem made his grand entrance into this world today. Parker was born at 8:37 PM in Panama City, FL. He weighed 7 pounds, 10 ounces and measured 20 and 1/2 inches long. Parker’s grandparents, Randy and Kathy, were fortunate to have the privilege of being there for the long awaited arrival.

Congratulations to Jeff and Kimberly, and welcome to our world, Parker. We hope that you like it here.

Our friends, Randy and Kathy, are on their way to Panama City, FL today. Their son and daughter-in-law are at the hospital, and they are about to deliver their second child. Kimberly has grown tired of being pregnant, so she’s more than ready for today to get over with.

Yesterday evening, Randy told me that her blood count was low, and the doctors were concerned that if she delivered now she might run the risk if excessive bleeding. We’re hoping that her blood count improved overnight so that there is no increased risk during the delivery.

Drive carefully proud grandparents. Your soon-to-be new grand baby needs you to get there all in one piece.