Dents and Detours

The week is going well overall. I’m enjoying time with family. I’m spending more time in a hotel than expected. But I enjoy that too. I’ve been on some adventures. I’ve worked with AI on the new website. And I had an unfortunately event as well. But my heart remains happy on this trip.

The other day I pondered the thought that it might have been my last post using the old technique for maintaining this blog and website. I was wrong. I’m typing this up the old way still. The new site isn’t quite ready yet. But I am making progress with it. I’ve had a few disagreements with the AI. But I’m starting to see that it isn’t the AI that I’m fighting. It’s my understanding of things. I hope to land that plane soon and get the new website up and going. Since I’m traveling, I’ve had less time to focus on that. So perhaps that will be finished next week.

The unfortunate event I’ve experienced happened yesterday. Malachi and I had just arrived at Wing Stop to have lunch. We were having a look at the menu when someone came in asking if any of us owned the car they described as mine. I raised my hand and said it was mine. They said that it had just been struck by another car and that they had taken off; a hit and run situation. The witness had attempted to snap a photo of the other car. I can tell the make and model. But the license plate is too distorted to see it clearly. I took a photo of their photo just for my reference. I had a look at my car and there was a large dent in the driver’s side door.

This is a minor inconvenience. I’m grateful Malachi and I weren’t in the car at the time. Even a light accident like this can be jarring had we been in the car. My biggest concern is for who did this. I can’t imagine what is going on in their life that would cause them to do a hit and run. So I pray that whatever is going on in their life that God pours His favor and protection on them. They may need a Blessing. Life is rough and can be scary. Causing an accident can be traumatizing no matter how small it is. I’ve been the cause of a few accidents in my lifetime. I never left and I took responsibility each time. I’ve also witnessed a few and remained to give my account of the events. These things can make a huge impact on our lives; no pun intended. I truly hope they are okay and find it in themselves to forgive themselves for both the accident and also for leaving the scene. I simply cannot imagine what they are going through. The moment I heard the words hit and run from the witness, I immediately forgave whomever did this. God is so good! They are likely going through something that is far worse than this minor inconvenience I now have.

As for me, I’m so grateful to have the means to take care of this. God provided the means to have the car. He has provided the means to get it repaired. And since it is still drivable, I don’t even need to deal with the repairs until I get home next week. This is my third accident in the same city…LOL This place holds the weird record for things that happen to me in one place…Terre Haute, Indiana…the best worst place I’ve been…LOL j/k

On Monday, Malachi and I decided to have a picnic for lunch. We got some sandwiches and went to a nearby park that had a lake. It was a lovely time. We checked out a bridge that was near where we ate and it turned out to be someone’s Eagle Scout project from 10 years ago. So we got to talking about his Eagle Scout project. He had built 3 benches for a local mountain biking park. We ended up going there so I could see them.

I had no idea what sort of park this actually was until we got there. When he told me about the project as he was doing it, I didn’t envision a mountain bike park. I was thinking it was a simple park like the one we had lunch at…LOL This park was amazing. We had to hike to get to his benches. In total, we hiked 4+ miles that day. And the benches he built were very impressive. I’m so proud of him. Not just for the benches, but also for being able to hike for over 4 miles! Plus, he wasn’t actually awarded Eagle Scout. But he finished the project anyway. Finishing the project was more important to him than fully receiving the prize. There’s a lesson there for the rest of us.

I cannot stress enough how this was a hike…LOL It was no walk in the park. I believe we had a total elevation change of about 300 feet. That’s a little less than half the elevation I tackled in California in 2024. But for a guy with a chronic mobility illness, Malachi did an amazing job. We rested for a bit at each of the 3 benches he built. There were other places that it would have been nice to have a bench…hehehe But we rested as often as needed. I think it took us about 3 and half hours to go the whole way. The park was amazingly beautiful. These are memories we will not soon forget. I got a little chocked up as we were hiking because the weight of what the moment meant for me got to me. We hadn’t planned to do such a thing that day. And I’m grateful we have that as part of our journeys now.

We took it a little easier yesterday. But we still walked quite a bit at the mall. But before that, we went to a bookstore. He ended up getting a new cookbook and we enjoyed some lattes, coffee, and chocolate while we waited for a storm to pass.

Tonight, we celebrated his mother’s birthday. We all went out to a steak restaurant. We had a good time enjoying good food and pleasant conversation.

I’m not really sure what Malachi and I will be doing tomorrow night. But we’ll figure it out. We’ll at least have dinner. And maybe stare at each other…LOL j/k I decided to spend part of this week in a hotel near Malachi because I have to work a little this week and the drive between him and my parents is a bit much. I’ve already driven the route a few times and still need to again this weekend. But last night through Friday afternoon, I wanted to be closer to take the load off of my driving. I hadn’t planned to stay in a hotel this week. But I’m glad I did. It makes some of this much easier to do.