Author Archives: Jeff C

Seattle (and Puyallup)

September 12, 2011 by Jeff C | 1 Comment

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We had a fun little reunion in Seattle.  Greg Cook (a friend since second grade or so) was my college roomate all three years.   My last year of college, another good friend, Dondi Cupp, lived with us in an apartment in Norman.  Dondi’s (incessant) claim to fame is that he was the drum major of the Pride of Oklahoma back when Greg and I were in band at OU.  In fairness, he may have been the best ever in that role, but I’d never acknowledge that in his presence.  (And yes, that’s his real Mom-given name.)

Greg and Dondi hadn’t seen each other since Dondi moved to the Seattle area in 1992. I learned recently that Greg’s band, Ricochet (more on them elsewhere) was performing at the Puyallup Fair (which is quite a big event: www.thefair.com ), just outside Seattle.  So Greg and I both converged on Seattle and spent a few days with Dondi and his family.  Within minutes, we were all happily making off-color jokes and insulting each other, just like old times.  Great to catch up.  And of course we went to the Puyallop Fair and Rodeo.

Dondi’s the guy with no hair.  He promptly gave Greg the new nickname “Blackbeard” (thus the weekend was full of pirate jokes) for reasons the pictures will make obvious.  His old nickname was “Fatty,” so…  That’s me in the ridiculously-large black Stetson — feel free to laugh (I did).  The guy in the straw hat is Heath, Greg’s and my childhood Vian buddy who is the lead singer/guitarist for Ricochet.  Heath didn’t join us for most of the festivities — he was travelling instead in an RV with the rodeo clown from the Puyallop Rodeo (I swear I am not making this up).

Seattle was the furthest I’d ever flown myself.  Greg hopped in N3738R and flew back with me.  Icky weather spoiled our plans for an aerial sightseeing tour of the Pacific Northwest, but the silver lining was that it diverted us to an impromptu landing and overnight stay in Reno.

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Wild fire

September 7, 2011 by Jeff C | 1 Comment

Wow.  Last weekend (Labor Day weekend), I drove to Austin (or at least started that direction).  There were wildfires near Bastrop, and the highway closed — you could see the smoke and flames just a mile or so from where I had to U-turn.  Traffic was chaos as about 1,000 cars and I (I’m probably exaggerating) headed up a small road toward highway 290.  Soon, traffic was stopped again, and this time as I U-turned, my car was hit in the back right-hand side by a truck coming the opposite direction.  Not a huge impact, but a good thump that knocked the car to the roadside.  I was fine, and quickly hopped out to check with the other driver (who was also fine).

About 2-3 minutes later, as I stood 30 yards or so from my car talking to the other driver, a gawking passerby pointed at my car and yelled, “That car’s on fire!”  Indeed it was. (And completely independent of the wild fires that happened to be raging just a few miles away).  Standing there empty-handed in shorts and flip-flops, there was nothing I could do but watch.  It pretty much burned to a crisp.  Sadly, there are no pictures — my phone (the only camera I’d have had with me) was in the car, whose charred remains were towed away just as I left.  I wound up hitchhiking to the next town with the folks I’d had a wreck with.  I borrowed a phone to call my friend Scott, who heroically drove 2 hours to rescue me from the Smithville convenience store parking lot.

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Adding insult to the injury:  it had a personalized Texas license plate.  Red and white:  “SOONERS”. (Remember: this happened on the way to Austin).

 

Hottern Hell Hundred — lived up to its name

August 29, 2011 by Jeff C | Comments Off

Another summer means another trip to Wichita Falls for the Hotter’n Hell Hundred-mile bike ride.  For the one-millionth consecutive year, Scott and I sported the yellow G&B jerseys, based on the hopeful belief that the lighter yellow color would reflect the sun and keep us just a little cooler.  The temperatures were well over 100 degrees by the end.

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The lowlight of this year’s trip was the flat tire I had in the first 10 miles.  It was still just after daylight, and when I stopped roadside to fix the flat, I was swarmed (and bitten) by so many mosquitos I broke out in hives.  Worse, I thought the hives were more mosquito bites (like 1,000 of them!?!); I was a little freaked out.  Thanks to my loyal HHH team — Shane, Scott and Mike — for helping me with the flat, calming me down, getting me Benadryl, and letting me draft behind them for an hour or so while the symptoms subsided.

Leadville 100 Mountain Bike Race 2011

August 15, 2011 by Jeff C | Comments Off

First, you should know that less than a year ago, neither I nor any of my friends rode mountain bikes.   And you should know that the Leadville 100 is perhaps the most “epic” mountain bike race in the U.S.  Lance Armstrong won it a couple of years back.  It’s a 100 miles, and it starts at 10,000 ft. elevation.  And when I tried to ride just a portion of the course, there was a five-mile stretch during which I crashed (hard) three separate times (to say nothing of the thin-air climbs up bumpy trails).

There’s a lottery to get in, and Shane and Ned wound up getting “slots” in this year’s race; for better or worse (almost certainly better), I didn’t.   They trained like crazy, especially Ned, who spent about six consecutive weekends in Colorado (ask him about the oxygen tent over his bed in Houston – no kidding).  They both rocked it!  At least I got to tag along, drive the chase car and take pictures.

Oh:  And it all took place on my birthday.  So I got a nice present from the gang — a Payday (candybar).  Long story.

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The Parkers in the Virgin Islands

July 31, 2011 by Jeff C | Comments Off

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I got to spend ten days or so in the Virgin Islands with my sister’s family (Jana and Bill Parker, and their ‘kids’ Tyler, Caitlin (in pink dress) and Grace.  We stayed on St. Thomas and then St. Johnr.  In the middle, we took a sailboat trip to Jost Van Dyke (one of the British Virgin Islands, which gave the Parker clan a chance to get a real stamp in their newly-minted passports).

These few pictures surely don’t do the place justice, but since most of our activities were water-based and my camera isn’t waterproof, there weren’t many pictures except for a few on the sailboat trip and an impromptu photo shoot the final night’s trip to dinner.  The stranger is Captain “Hollywood” Joe, who owned the sailboat.