Looking back: 2014

Sari told me that I was supposed to write the "Christmas Letter" this year.... that did not happen.  So this is going to have to do.

Now, there is a good chance that you know a lot of the details of our lives (if you come by this blog regularly - and why wouldn't you???? - then you likely got the high points), so what I want to do is just reflect a bit on what happened and how I feel/felt about it.

2014 was a year of big changes.  Katie graduated from high school.  Megan got her driver's license.  Katie moved away from home.  Megan acquired "Fonzi" (her truck).  Sari was in the paper 3467496790459068907 times (actually - that is not a change).  Katie completed her first semester of university.  Megan got her first real job (at Pharmasave - or "Pharma - slave" as some of the staff call it).  :)   Sari did 367389469046 nice things for people.

I thought that graduation day would be harder than it was.... maybe the fact that I moped and pouted about it all spring helped (well - it helped me anyway.... I am not sure what it did for everyone else).  The day was fun though.  I really enjoyed it and I was really proud of Katie!  I miss having her around.  It has been great having her home this past week - laughing and being silly - talking and going on breakfast dates - but I also know that she is enjoying what she is doing and that is good!

I thought that Megan getting her license would be a big deal - last kid growing up and all - but it has been good too.  She is a good little driver.  It has been fun watching her get her independence both financially and in terms of more mobility and freedom.  Megan likes to make things and build things - she likes to know how things work - so I taught her how to change the oil in Fonzi.  She is also very compassionate (like her mom) and so it is interesting to watch her as she looks after her buddies and cares for them.  In a way, Katie not being here has allowed us to really get to know Megan too - and that has been good too!

From the time the kids were little, people told us (read this next bit with an old lady voice)... "Treasure these days!  They grow up so fast!"  and that is exactly what we have tried to do.  Every stage along the way has been different and every stage has been fun!  (Though I will admit that - once in a while - I miss having little girls with pig-tails running around the house)

So I could tell you all sorts of stories about volunteering at the stock car track, or Sari's craft projects, or the transmission blowing up on our SUV in the middle of our summer vacation, or freezing in Montana on my yearly bike trip... and it could be an interesting letter.... but that is not what I am thinking about - or even what really matters.

I often tell people that "Some things are valuable even if you cannot measure them in dollars and cents" and that is what I think when I look at my life...... I have a beautiful, kind, sweet wife.... I have two lovely, wonderful and funny daughters..... we have great friends both in the church here and in the town.... we get to see our parents and siblings more than most people do (and we actually like them).

Like anyone, I could complain about a few things.  Not everything went the way I would want it to and not everything has been easy...... but life is good and we are happy and blessed and looking forward to what is next.

Bring on 2015.  :)

A Christmas Song Rant

Can someone tell me why we are still playing "White Christmas" on the radio????  WHITE CHRISTMAS????  SERIOUSLY????  That song was recorded in 1942!!!!!   1942!!!!!   Bing Crosby has been dead since 1977!!!!!   Are you telling me that that no one in the past 72 years has written another song that we can play instead?????

Or how about "Have yourself a merry little Christmas"?   Written in 1942 with several popular versions recorded in the 50s.

"Rockin' around the Christmas tree" was a LAME song when it was the "girl's song" at my Grade 7 Christmas concert and it has not got any better since.

And what about "Boney M"?   Boney M lives off of the Christmas album that they released in 1981.  Quick, name a Boney M song that is not on that Christmas Album...... I thought so.

And don't even get me started on  "Frosty the Snowman" or "The Little Drummer Boy"!!!!

Now someone is likely thinking, "Come on, bonehead (not a very Christmas like spirit there but anyway....) it is tradition.  We play those old songs for nostalgic reasons.  The baby-boomers loved them as kids.... their kids grew up listening to them.... those songs are part of Christmas".

And you know what... I will give you that.  There is something to say about tradition.  I am good with that.

Why, though, do we need to be subjected to 6874896789457689 versions of the same song recorded by 904690456804586 artists????   I  could have lived without ever hearing Michael Buble singing "Let it Snow".  Are you really trying to tell me that "One Direction" is going to do a better version of "White Christmas" than Bing Crosby did???  Not a chance!  Not if you locked them in the studio and made them sing it until they were dead!  What is with that?  We have, literally, 30+ Christmas CDs and they encapsulate 14 total songs!  That is sort of like going to the store, buying a new pair of pants and then opening the bag at home and finding your same old pants!  They just keep putting the same pants in a different bag and we keep paying for "new pants"!!!! 

And then - when someone does finally come out with a new song - sadly - they write something like "Text me Merry Christmas".  If you have not heard this stellar gem, have a listen here......

Actually, I take that back.  I would rather listen to "Text me Merry Christmas" than "Last Christmas" by Wham (which gets played all the time and is 30 years old now too).  At least "Text me Merry Christmas" is actually about Christmas.  "Last Christmas" is just set at Christmas time.  It could have been called "Last Cattle Round Up" and it is still the exact same song.

So - please - someone..... somewhere..... write a new song about Christmas.  Just one!  I guarantee that you will be "Laughing all the way"..... to the bank at least!

Especially if you can figure out some way to get Bing Crosby to sing it.

Embracing Imperfection

Everyone is too uptight about getting things "right" all the time and doing their best.  So here is my new plan.... I am intentionally going to do things "imperfectly" in an effort to show everyone else that perfection is not required.  In doing so, I hope to free people from their overly extravagant expectations of themselves and others so that they can be free to enjoy the imperfect life that they are living.

Exhibit A:  My Christmas present wrapping.

It is terrible!!!   It looks like a drunken monkey on crack tried to wrap theses presents in the dark with his arms tied behind his back underwater in a 90 mph wind!

But ..... ummmm......  that was the look I was going for!

No really.... it is!!!!

Megan did not believe me either!  #dontlaughitisveryhurtful

Well there you go.....

Estevan's downtown shopping district had their big "Midnight Madness Christmas Shopping Kickoff" thingy tonight.  For the last few weeks, any time you shopped downtown you got a stamp in your passport.  Then you entered your passport in a draw.  To win, you had to be at the drawing downtown tonight at 8 pm.

Sari and Megs went just for the fun of it..... then wandered over to the draw just for the fun of it......

And Sari won the big prize....... a $500 shopping spree (just for the fun of it).

The only catch was that she had to spend it all in an hour and a half.  She had from the time of the draw until 9:30.

Now, with all the teasing I do about Sari spending all of our money all of the time, you would think that this would be an easy task for her..... but it wasn't!   I was at the hockey game so she called and asked "What should I do?  Should I buy practical stuff or just blow it?"   Of course I said, "It is found money.... just blow it!" and that may have been the problem.  I don't think I have ever told her to go blow $500 on impractical stuff in the 20 years we have been married.  In fact, she thought she had the wrong number.

Fortunately, she had Megan with her!  :)

Even at that though, Megan said that Sari would go into a store, look around and go "I don't know!"   In fact, one of the ladies who organized the thing said, "You don't selfishly shop for yourself very much, do you?"  :)

In the end (and in typical Sari fashion) she came home with bags and bags of stuff.... some practical stuff that we would have bought anyway, some presents for other people (just because she thought she ought to share the love) and a very few, small things for herself.

The best part, though, was the reaction of people when she won.  There were other prizes and when people won those everyone was like "meh"..... but when Sari won the big one everyone started clapping and patting her on the back and saying things like, "You do so many good things for others - you deserve to win this!" 

That may have been the best gift of all (but we are keeping the stuff too!!!)  :)

The Best Thing I have Seen in a While

What did I do that for????

Have you ever done something really, really dumb???   Like something so dumb that every time you think about it your stomach churns and you go "Arrrrrgggg!!!!  I am so ashamed of myself!!"

I did something like that yesterday.........  I got an Iphone! 

AN IPHONE!!!!!!!!

I know..... shocking, right????  Not so much??   Hmmm....  Maybe you need some background.

 1.  I HATE cellphones!!!!!   Seriously, I really do!  I hate carrying them!  I hate that they radiate what is left of my brain.  I hate that other people can't talk to me for more than three minutes without checking their cellph....... (Hang on!  I just got a text)..... cellphone!   I HATE that everywhere you go people are taking pictures and posting them all over the place (I don't care what you had for lunch!!!!  I know that is hard to believe but.......).

I will admit that they are nice to have for safety's sake (Driving in the winter, or being hundreds of miles away from home is much nicer because of the backup that the cellphone provides), but overall I hate them.  If texting had not become the primary way to communicate with people, I would not have a phone at all.

2.  I have made fun of Iphone users for years.  I don't know what it is, but there is a cult around Iphones that does not exist with any other phone.   You never hear anyone say, "What kind HTC Desire is that?"..... and if you did all you would hear next is silence..... because no one would know or care.

However, every time people are within 5 blocks of an Iphone they seem to have some strange compulsion to identify it.  "What kind of Iphone is that?  Is it 5C?"   You know what I mean??  Now I am going to have to learn an entirely new vocabulary because I have no idea if my phone is a 5C or a 6X or an E, I, E, I, O or what! 

"What apps do you have?" is another question exactly no one asked me when I carried an HTC phone.  NO ONE!!!!!   Now I am gonna have to learn about Itunes.... and Imovies.....  and, frankly, ...."I-don'tcare"!!! 

But I will say this.... I am happy that the church provides me with a phone (that is very nice of them).... and I will admit that this Iphone is super fast compared to my old clunky one...... and it is green (what is not to like about that)..... and I can even make it talk to me (which may come in handy.... it will make me feel like I have a friend).

Maybe I don't feel so bad about this after all. 

Text me sometime and can talk about it.  :)

Megan the builder.... and other stuff on a Friday

Look at what Megan built in Construction class at school......

Maybe she ought to go into business..... who wants one??????

As for me, this is what Dennis and I got done today......

I am not sure anyone wants to buy this Durango.... it has been a little frustrating..... but it has been fun anyway.  Now that the engine is out, we have options (fix it, put a different one in, etc).  #funwhenitiscoldoutside

In other news.... Katie came home for the weekend and Sari has very little to do (not "nothing to do" b/c she always has something good going on), so it will be nice just being together and hanging out. 

Have a good weekend everyone!  :)

Can I get a bullet-proof vest with that??????

At the end of the day today, I heard tires screeching on the gravel behind the church building.... so I looked out and saw three police cars there.

Now my first instinct (being a Pippus and all) was to run!   But as I have learned from watching my cousins, that is not a good idea.   Besides, the K-9 unit was there too.  I am fairly certain that I could outrun at least two of the three cops that were there.... but that dog looked really excited and hyper!

Anywho, they weren't coming for me.  They actually went the house across the alley and brought out two dudes in handcuffs.  They both stared at me as I was looking out of my office window.  I did not know what to do..... should I look sad for them????  Look angry so that they think I am on their side and don't come back and kill me?????  I thought about pretending I was blind, but they have seen me driving me truck (and besides, my office lights were on..... why would a blind guy need office lights, right??????)

In the end, I just shut off the lights and got out of there as fast as I could.

Maybe it is time to talk to the congregation about getting bullet-proof glass for my office windows.  Or maybe one of those really fancy bullet-proof vests the cops were wearing.

And here you thought being a minister in a small town was boring!

Speedway Surprise

This is Sara - guest blogging on our family blog...just wanted to post some news about Tim while he isn't hogging the computer :). This past Saturday, Tim was honored at the Estevan Motor Speedway Banquet for his volunteering and contribution to the speedway. If you know Tim at all you will know that he is
very passionate about racing, race cars and racetracks. He often, when planning trips with his brother, will include a stop at a new track or at a museum dedicated to cars and racing. He may even have talked his wife and kids into riding around the track with him at Indianapolis several years ago. :)  So when the track president came and told me he was being honored it was fun to surprise him with the 2014 Clint Prette Memorial Award, a visit from his entire family from Moose Jaw and some local friends too. This was the first time the award had been given to a 'non-driver' and so it was a really nice honor.  As usual Tim was really humbled by the whole thing and really felt like there were lots of people who had been out there working hard for longer than he had.  Tim flags the staging lane, conducts the pit meeting for all the drivers, and says the prayer to start the races. I am just super proud of him for getting involved in his community and being so willing to help out with anything out at the track. Congrats honey...and so glad we got to keep it a surprise until the night of the award....it was no small feat. Thanks family and friends who joined us to celebrate.

Another project

So here is another project for me to work on.  Not sure if it runs or not, but I am sure it is worth every penny I paid for it.  ;)

Some cool pictures (in my opinion)

At "Gas Monkey Garage" (from Discovery channel's "Fast N' Loud") in Dallas thanks to my buddy Jason.

And here is a shot that he took "creeper-style" on the way home (Chicago to Regina). Writing a funeral sermon at 35 000 feet. 

Montana motorcycle Pics

In early September, my brother (aka "Lenny") and I spent a week riding through Montana and Idaho.  It was cold and we had a few issues (see posts below), but I still got a few pictures.  Here is a sampling of some things that will make me smile when it is -40 in January.

Motel in Miles City.... our first night on the road (and the parking lot where I ran over my glasses.  Again, if you missed that story, see posts below)

 

When we realized it was going to be too cold and rainy to ride "Yellowstone National Park", we dropped down into Idaho and went to "Craters of the Moon National Monument".  Very interesting!  Old lava flows... caves... huge rocks.... crazy!

 A Lenny in his natural habitat.... a flea bag, smelly, cheap motel room (at least this is his natural habitat when he is touring with me..... I wish you could have smelled most of them... think less "daisies" and more "rotting mouse flesh")

 Motel in Deer Lodge, Montana.  The "Old Montana State Prison" here is very cool.

 

Virginia City and Nevada City are two old "Ghost towns/tourist traps" - most of the shops were closed but is was still a good place to stop too

 

And - again - the glasses that I broke and then zip-tied and duct taped onto the frames of some magnifying glasses that I bought.  Rode through most of Montana like this (story below).  These are now in the "Pippus Brothers Bike Trip Museum" (aka a shelf in my garage.  They will make a good sermon illustration of something some day)

Fast N' Loud

Last week I was in Dallas, Texas for a conference and while I was there I realized that I was only 10 miles from "Gas Monkey Garage".

For those who do not know, it is the hot rod shop from Discovery Channel's "Fast N' Loud".  It is one of my favorite shows on TV, so I convinced Jason (the dude I was traveling with) to run by the shop so that I could look around, buy a shirt in the gift shop etc.

These pictures may not mean anything to you, but they make me smile.

Anyone else watch the show?  Anyone????  (Top rated car show on TV - just so you know). 


Note the burnout marks in the parking lot.... evidence of past test drives after they get done a build.

The "Swag Van" that they take to car shows and stuff.... sell t-shirts and stuff.... I saw the episode where they built this van so that was sort of cool

 

And one last shot just to show the whole garage.... note the "Do not go past this gate" sign

A Canadian Moment

After this they broke into a spontaneous round of "O Canada" . Click on the picture

Best Video Ever

If you are a word geek, you will appreciate this.

Pippus Brothers Bike Trip (Part 5): Havre Home/Observations

The last day of riding was fairly uneventful.  Lenny and I split up at Harlem, Montana.  He went north and I went east.  Other than being sort of cold and being very happy to be home, there is not really much to say about this day.  So, let me end with a few final observations......

1.  I wish I had a better "glasses breaking story".... like instead of running over them myself that I had broken them in some biker bar brawl.  However, since the only bar that we went to was the gas bar, it was significantly harder to start a fight there.....

Me: "Hey buddy, what do you think about ethanol?"

Buddy:  "I hate the stuff!  It gums up carburetors and making it causes more damage to the environment that it saves"

Me:  "Oh ya????  What don't you try coming over here and saying that?   Huh, punk!!??   Huh????????"

I tried.... but it doesn't work.

2.  You can get some really cheap hotels if you just look for them.  Lenny was the man for this job.  Most places we stayed were under $75 for the two of us AND they usually included a continental breakfast of some sort.  Sometimes it was only toast and fruit, but it was something.  Now, many of them did have a very funny smell..... some of them had unidentifiable stains on the carpet (and a few on the bedspread) but overall they served the purpose.  Sari and I are never paying $120/night for a room again!!!!  :)

3.  Riding a bike changes things.  You smell the clover in field as you go by.  You feel the change in temperature as you drive from the warm plains into the cooler air of the valley.  You experience the trip more because you are not sitting in a box of steel and glass.  The biggest difference though...... people talk to you!   I am not sure why that is but they do.  From an older lady in the Wal-mart parking lot in Miles City ("You boys are a long way from home") to a big Harley biker dude in Rocker ("You guys are riding those metric bikes across the state??? Cool!!!" - turns out he had a ton of vintage bikes that he was restoring - An Indian, a BSA, etc.  Interesting guy).  I am not sure what it is but like Lenny said, "You could pull into a gas station on the interstate in a mini-van 3046743967 times and no one would say a word to you.  Ride in on a bike - any sort of bike - and suddenly everyone wants to know where you came from, where you are going and how long you are on the road".  It is weird, but true.  (And carloads of girls don't generally scream at mini-van drivers either.... just saying).

4.  Gas station hot dogs are gross!!  They are even worse at 12:30 at night, when they are 1/2 cooked and cold.  This is not an experience that I had, but I observed it.  Lenny has an odd attraction to late night gas station hot dogs.  Years ago when we went to a NASCAR race in Charlotte, North Carolina he bought one that was glowing red inside and he ate it (said it was good).  The one he got in Belgrade on this trip..... not so good!!!   Who would have guessed that though???  The thing has only been spinning on those rollers for 36970467 days (it was so shriveled up that it looked like a balloon with 1/2 the air taken out.  Fortunately, I think it also tasted like rubber so at least the experience was consistent).  Late night runs to the nearest gas station were a nightly occurrence on our trip because generally we ate breakfast, skipped lunch and then had a big supper.  So by midnight or so your body starts screaming for something.  Mine never screamed loud enough to make me eat a gas station hot dog though and I am not sure that it ever will. 

5.   It is nice that I get to do these trips with my brother. This is our third year now and each trip has been different, filled with challenges and fun.  We will have some good memories when we are 82 (if we live that long).  The credit for this has to go to our wives who graciously allow us to blow family holiday time and money on this silliness.  Sari and I have had a lot of unexpected expenses this past summer and so I (several times) offered to cancel the trip and stay home.  Each time she said, "No - you are going!"   Now, that tells you not only how nice she is but also how big the insurance policy on me is.  I think she was banking on the fact that Lenny and I would do something really dumb and she would cash in.  Unfortunately, while we did lots of dumb things, no cheque was paid out.  Sorry, Sari!  We will try harder next time.

6.  In the past, whenever something has gone wrong in our lives, Sari has said, "Well, it will be an adventure!"   Usually, I HATE when she says that!!!   It just makes me mad!!!!  But you know what???? It is really true.  Had Lenny and I left home and got back with no mishaps then we would not have many stories to tell.  Like life in general, the stories come mostly from the unplanned parts.  Like it or not at the time, those are the things you will remember and sometimes even laugh about later.

In the end, I think Chris Hadfield would have been proud of us.  We were good astronauts who kept solving the next problem and got ourselves home (see the first post of this series if that made no sense to you).  We had some help along the way (human and other I would say) but we made it.

I am already looking forward to next year's trip!

Pippus Brothers Bike trip (Part 4): Summed up in one word

COLD!!!!!

That is the entire blog for the rest of the trip!  One word - COLD!

As we sat at the visitor's center in West Yellowstone trying to read our map in the pouring rain, it was obvious that we were not going to "Old Faithful" or anything else in the park (though falling into a geothermal pond would have felt nice at the time).

Lenny said, "My phone says it is warmer in Idaho and the rooms are cheaper" so off we went.

It was warmer.  Like 19 Celsius warm.  It was beautiful!!  We stayed in the little town of Rexburg.   As we were walking to supper that night, this carload of teenage girls drove by and yelled, "Hey you have a nice......" and we could not make out the rest of it.  It started with a "B" though...... Beard?????  Boot?????  Butt?????   We were not sure (you fill in the blank!).   We were also not sure which one of us they were yelling at.  Lenny (being delusional as he is) thought they were yelling at him...... "butt" I think we all know better!  ;)
 
 The next day we rode out to "Craters of the Moon National Monument" which is an old lava field that looks like this.....

It was really interesting.  Caves.... ash piles.... lava flows.... very weird!!

We spent that night in the little town of Rigby (Just north of Idaho Falls) because Lenny found a super cheap hotel there. When we woke up the next morning it was super cold!!!  A storm that dumped snow in Calgary had dropped down to us, so we decided to stay put for the day and not go anywhere (that is how cold it was).   However, the hotel was booked solid for that night, so we were on the road - like it or not.

Since it was about 4 degrees Celsius and expected to warm up to only 7 or 8, we decided to head back north to Dillon, Montana.  North looked a little warmer than going south or east (the storm was going that way) and it was sort of back in the direction of home.

The three hour trip to Dillon ended up taking us almost 5 hours!  No we did not almost run out of gas again, but we did stop at every rest stop we could find so that we could warm up.  The wind was howling and being on the interstate meant riding 75 mph, so five hours was plenty for that day.

That night we ate at this cool 50's style dinner.  It is called "Sparky's Garage" and it has old trucks out front and the interior is decorated with old oil cans, automotive signs, old gas pumps, etc.  It was really nice.  Our waitress took our order and then said, "Y'all must be brothers.  Y'all look exactly alike"..... to which Lenny said, "That was rude!"   (He is a charming boy!)  :)

The next day we were kicking ice off the grass as we headed out to the bikes.  It was a little warmer (11 degrees) but the roads made up for the chilliness.  We rode north through Butte, then to Helena, Great Falls, stopped at Fort Benton (I like that place) and got to Havre that night.  I usually hate interstates on a bike.  Too many vehicles, too straight, too boring.... but this one was fun!!  Fast and curvy most of the way.

Other than freezing, nothing bad happened to us that day (which I think may have been a first for the entire trip). 

No, wait, that isn't true!  A couple of different times when we were in Idaho I ordered mashed potatoes with my meal, but I was told each time that they were "out".  Out of mashed potatoes in Idaho!!!  Isn't Idaho known for potatoes?????  Isn't September peak potato harvesting season????   HOW COULD IDAHO BE OUT OF POTATOES.... TWICE?????!!!!???

That ain't right!!!!  :( 

Pippus Brother Bike Trip (Part 3): A little help from our friends

When I last left you, Lenny and I were in Deer Lodge, Montana.  He had a completely worn out "corded" back tire and it looked like our trip was about to get worse than it already had been (and it has been plenty "worse" to that point already).

Now, before I go any further, I want to let you in on a "Canadian Secret".  It is one that no Canadian will confess to, but it is true none-the-less......

We sometimes think poorly of Americans.

I don't know exactly why that is (after all, we are not all that different), but if I had to guess I would say it has at least something to do with "the little brother syndrome".  The US is so big and so much more powerful and has so much more clout on the world stage that it is easy for Canadians to sort of look down our noses at them and (like the jealous little brother of the high school football hero) say "Bah, they aren't so great!"

But I have two stories that would dispel that myth.

First, Lenny and I limped our way on back from Deer Lodge to Butte.  A 45 minute trip that took us an hour and a half because we decided to stay off the interstate and just ride the frontage roads (lower speeds = less damage when the tire blows out).  Eventually, we had to get back on the interstate to get through the last pass, so we decided to risk it..... then when we got up the ramp and on the interstate we ran right into road construction and we were only allowed to do 35 mph.  Perfect!  Just like we planned it.  :)

Into Butte and over to "Redline Sports" the next morning.  Here we found the nicest, most helpful people I have ever seen in a bike shop.  No attitude.  No speech about letting the tire get that bald.  No complaining about having to fit us into their schedule.  Nothing but nice, helpful and good.... expensive .... but nice, helpful and good.

That afternoon, we found some of the nicest roads of our trip.  A winding, twisty, switch-backy road from Butte to Virginia City.  Super fun!  We looked around in Nevada and Virginia City (two sort of "Historic towns") and then we headed off to West Yellowstone.

Now the map that we had (a buddy of Lenny's who rides down in the States all the time made up a map telling us which roads were worth riding and where to get gas) did not show any gas stops for a while, so as we were leaving Ennis I said to Lenny, "Maybe we ought to get gas here" (In fact I said it twice).

He replied, "Bah!  There has to be something long the way".

There wasn't!

An hour later, it was cold (7 degrees), it was raining (hard) and we were standing on the side of the highway looking at a map and fork in the road trying to decide which way may be the closest to the nearest gas station.

Lenny walked back to look at a highway sign and as he was standing there a truck stopped.  Lenny talked to the driver for a bit and then got in the passenger's side!  They drove to me and he said, "This lady lives up the road.  She is going to give us some gas".

Now, when Sari retold this story in the staff room at her school, one of the ladies (a biker herself) came to her later and said, "I heard a story one time about a lady who would get bikers to follow her to her farm and then she would kill them and bury their bikes!!  They were never seen again!"

Somehow, that did not make Sari feel better about us two dim-wits riding around in Montana unsupervised.

Anyway, this lady was super sweet!  She introduced us to her husband and then, true to her word, she filled up Lenny's bike.  The only problem was that the handle on her gas hose would not shut off.... so she not only filled the tank but overflowed it so that gas was pouring all over the hot engine.  I thought to myself, "Lenny's bike catching on fire and burning down would be the perfect end to this trip" but nothing happened.

Then the guy offered to fill my bike too. When I told him that I thought I had enough he said, "Well why worry about it?" and filled it too.

We pulled out our wallets and asked her what we owed her and she said, "Nothing!  I won't let you give me anything.  You just pay it forward and do something for someone else sometime".   Then she gave each of us a big hug (I think she may have even patted us on the head in a "There, there, you stupid boys!  Go and have fun now" sort of way) and sent us on our way.

As I rode off in the cold and rain, I could not get the smile off my face!  It was the nicest thing to be in trouble and just to have someone step up and say "I will help you!"   It was great!!!  Southern hospitality in middle Montana.

Eventually we made it to West Yellowstone, but it was raining even harder and it was even colder, so we headed off to Idaho (and that is where the story will continue tomorrow).

But the moral of today's story is this..... there are some really good people in the world!

Or...... The time to buy fuel is when you see fuel!!

Or..... Lenny and I need to re-evaluate our decision making process (or lack thereof).

Pippus Brother's Bike Trip (Part 2): More mistakes and a day in prison

The third annual "Pippus Brothers Bike Trip" took place in Montana (sorry again Mindy) this year.  If you have not read part one below, maybe it would be best to start there.
______________
When I met Lenny (aka my brother Kurt) in Plentywood, Montana, the first words from his mouth were, "Look at my back tire and tell me if it is ok or not".

The answer was.... not!

It was worn right down to the wear bars and beyond in some spots which prompted the following conversation.

"Ummm, Lenny, I think you need to make an appointment somewhere to get that tire changed."

"Bah, it looks about the same as it did when we left for BC last year.  Who cares?  Let's go!"

That conversation prompted me to (a) envision him blowing a tire on the interstate and wiping out right in front of a semi (which of course would mean that I would no longer have anyone to share hotel rooms with and would have to pay full price myself!!!!) and (b) to start obsessively checking his back tire every time we stopped anywhere.  In fact, I was leaned over at the back of his bike so often that it looked like I was praying toward Mecca three times a day.

So there we were..... me without my glasses and Lenny with no tread on his back tire.... bombing across Montana at 75 miles per hour.  I was out in front so I was considering calling our trip......   "The blind leading the bald!" (and to those who say "Don't both of those words describe you?" I say .... ha ha... very funny!)

Eventually (after driving past Mindy's road - sorry again!!!) we made it Belgrade and Gallatin Speedway for the stock car races.  The races were good!  Tons of fun!

The next day we headed to Deer Lodge, Montana.  When we got to the hotel there, I again checked Lenny's tire only to find that cords were starting to show.  So it was completely worn out and we were a long way from anywhere that could help us (more about this part of the story tomorrow).

So that is where the "prison" part of our story comes in.  Now, it would not be unusual for a Pippus male (or female for that matter) to be found in jail (some of my cousins are regulars), but this time we actually got to leave of our own accord.

Our purpose for being in Deer Lodge was to go to the "Old Montana State Prison".  Think Alcatraz without the island.  It was very cool (especially to Lenny who works in corrections with young offenders) to look around the prison and to see how things were back in the early to mid 1900s.  In fact, the prison first opened its doors on July 2, 1871.  Here are some shots......

 It was very interesting.  If you are ever in Deer Lodge with a worn out bike tire and nothing else to do - I highly recommend it.

The other aspect of the prison was a car museum.  In fact, it is rated as one of the top 10 car museums in the states.  It, too, was very cool. (No pictures of that though.... you know what cars look like).

So, having been sprung from prison, we started to make plans to get Lenny's tire changed.

However, that story, a couple more bad decisions by us and some nice people who helped us along the way will have to wait until tomorrow.

Believe it or not, it gets worse!!  :)

Pippus Brother's Bike Trip (part 1): Self-inflicted wounds

So my brother Kurt (aka "Lenny") and I just got back from an 8 day motorcycle trip to Montana and Idaho.  The thing is.... when Lenny and I get together, we have a lot of fun, but we don't always make the best decisions (as you will see over the next few days if you keep coming back to the blog).

One thing before I carry on.... I need to apologize to Aunt Mindy!  If you are reading this, "yes" I did ride right past the road to the cabin and "yes" I passed through Bozeman and area without calling or stopping in.  I am sorry... but it is not really my fault.  The rules of the Pippus brother's bike trip are (a) No one else can go on the trip with us and (b) we cannot stop to see friends or relatives along the way.  I am sorry, but I did not make the rules (actually, I think I did make those rules, but I still felt bad about not at least saying "hi".  So, again, sorry!  :)

Ok - with that - on with the show.
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Over the summer I read Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield's book about his time on the International Space Station.  The one thing that I remember him saying (over and over), "Astronauts are not fearless or risk takers.  They are problem solvers.  When you are a long way from home you have to be able to handle set-backs and decide 'What is the next thing that can kill me?' and then deal with that".

Lenny and I were astronauts on this journey!  Every time we turned around something else was going wrong.  In fact, we decided that we should have a reality show.... but we would likely screw it up!

It all started on the first day in Miles City, Montana.  It was a bright and sunny.  We were anxious to get on the road, so we loaded our stuff up and got prepared to leave.

I took my glasses off, laid them on the gym bag that was strapped to the back of my bike. Then I put my helmet on, started the bike, backed up and proceeded to head out of the parking when I thought, "Where are my glasses?  I am not wearing them!!!"

I ran back to the parking lot only to find that I had not only knocked my glasses onto the ground, but I also stepped on them and then drove the bike across them.  Needless to say, it was not a good start to the trip.

Looking at my mangled, broken glasses, Lenny said, "Let's go to the Wal-mart and have them put your lenses in different frames".  A great idea.... if the Wal-mart dude would have helped us.  Instead, he refused!  He was all like, "If the lenses are not in the right place, then your prescription will be wrong".

I pointed out that I was 600 kms from home and that having glasses with the wrong prescription was a better option than no glasses at all.  He was unmoved.

Then Lenny had another good idea, "Let's buy some cheap magnifying glasses, take the lenses out of them and put your lenses in ourselves".

So we bought $9 glasses and some precision screwdrivers so that we could make the switch.... BUT the magnifying lenses were glued into the frames rather than held in with a screw, so I could not get them out.

Since we were now way behind our scheduled departure time, I just threw the broken glasses into my saddlebag and rode the next 5 hours without them.  It wasn't bad in terms of seeing the road, but reading the road signs were a challenge.  I could not see them until they were almost past me. "Next..... goat..... free..... toffee?????"  Wa?????

Anywho, in the end I decided to break the cheap frame, take out the magnifying lenses and then zip-tie and duct-tape my broken glasses onto the frame of the magnifying ones.  The results looked like this.....

Now I realize that this is not the most stylish look (and I only wore them under the helmet when I was riding), but at least it made me legal and allowed me to see.

I think Chris Hadfield would have been proud (even if my girls laughed their heads off at me!).

And that is only day 1.   :)