Just a nice little story

A year ago this week, we were driving from home to Corvallis, OR and met a nasty storm in Lincoln, NE. At home they had around 20 inches of snow. So different from this week. Yesterday the weather was so nice that I decided that rather than driving the mile and a half to the post office, I should ride the bicycle. Nearly the entire bike route is on a concrete bike path that picks up in our addition, just around the corner, crosses 2 bridges, and dumps me out on Main Street. All but about a quarter mile is visible from the road. (This will mean something later.)
I decided to tuck the extra garage door opener in my pocket so it would be easier to get back in when I returned. I set out, enjoying the gorgeous weather and feeling good about the exercise for my knee (and the rest of my body). Arrived at the post office to pick up the mail being held because I had planned to be gone. My departure was delayed, so I wanted to pick up any held mail before paying bills. The only piece of mail was the water bill.
I finished my business there and headed out for home. As I crossed the second bridge I remembered passing a young man buried in his electronic device and earbuds. I decided to drop by the pharmacy to check on a couple of prescriptions before going back home. Having the good feeling of exercise and accomplishment, I arrived at home and reached for the garage door opener, but it wasn't there. Panic hit immediately. I pictured some unscrupulous person finding the opener and driving up and down the streets pushing the button til a door opened. I had carried a backpack for the mail, but it wasn't there. That opener was no where. The logical next move would have been to get back on the bike and retrace my route. I really wasn't up to that. The alternative was to get in the car and retrace as much as possible. I followed my route to the trail and found nothing. However, as I turned around and headed for the pharmacy, I saw that young man walking in our neighborhood. I pulled up beside him and said "Sir..... Sir"... Now I tend to bristle when younger folks call me "Sir" cause it feels old, however I couldn't think of anything else to call him. I guess I could have said "young man".... but that would have really made me feel old. I did get his attention and he smiled and asked what I needed. I explained that I had passed him earlier on my bike and lost my garage door opener. He said that he hadn't seen it, but if I would give him my number he would keep an eye out on his trip back to town.
I went on to the pharmacy and asked Jodi if I had dropped it in there. Negatory (Sorry I had to use that. That's from CJ McCall's trucking "songs". ) I went on to the post office. As I drove along, I scanned as much of the bike path as possible, taking care to not run into anyone or anything on the road. Asked Patty at the post office and left my number there. As I got back in the car to continue my search, my phone rang. I need to insert here that earlier, my prayer was, "Lord, here I am needing your help again. You know where the opener is and I ask that you would let me know where it is." I didn't recognize the number on my phone, but answered it. I think he said his name was Mike, but he was the guy I had talked to earlier. He had my opener. I thanked him and thanked God and we set a place to meet.
He was walking on that part of the path that was hidden from the highway and streets when a young lady pushing a stroller said, "did you lose a garage door opener".. He said, "No, but I know whose it is."... As I was heading to the post office, I saw this young lady and almost stopped to ask her about the opener, but there really wasn't a good place for me to pull over near her. Those who know me, know that I much prefer the country or small town to city dwelling. This little story illustrates my reasoning. I am so thankful for honest helpful people.
Another interesting little piece of this story is why that young man was walking. He was somewhat ill and was home from work because of that. In addition, he was trying to train for a 5K run on Saturday, but because of the illness decided to take an extended walk instead.
Then I think of the orchestration God used to answer my prayer. All of this was set in motion before I had even dropped the opener. This young man and I had noticed each other as I passed him earlier. As I was looking for the opener, he was right there where I couldn't miss him. When the young lady found the opener, there he was ready to take the baton and pass it on. That's my little story about a scare and salvation. Just in case I bored you and wasted your time, here's a link to help you understand the small town mentality.

http://vevo.ly/i07fHO

What's wrong with this picture?

I know you might think the oddity is that there is a fish swimming down the highway. I gleaned this picture via my friend Becki's comment on a picture posted on facebook by one of her friends in Oregon January 20 during their torrential rains. You literary folks can have fun with that sentence. Well that's not the strange thing I want to talk about. It's February and Georgia and I are in the Midwest. If you've followed this blog, you will know that it was started in January 2008 as we set out for our first ever trip to the Pacific Northwest; Corvallis, Oregon to be exact. Since that time, each year, we have spent February and part of March helping out and seeing the sights at and around Oregon State University. Many of the posts on this blog describe the amazing sights, people, and eating establishments we encountered either on our way to and from OSU or during our stints there. This summer after I had regained function of my right leg following knee replacement, I checked in to see what was up at OSU to find that they had hired their second radiologist and would no longer require my services. Although we were happy for them in this quest for acquiring perminant faculty, we were saddened that our fairy tale had come to an end.
We developed good relationships with Dave who manages the Corvallis Depot Suites where we stayed in Corvallis, Sherry and Juli who handled the fiscal issues at OSU, Dr. Cebra, who afforded us the opportunity, the IT folks who put up with my loss of memory and other inane requests. Too many faculty and staff members at vetmed to mention made us feel at home in their shop, especially those in imaging as well as 5 classes of graduate OSU veterinarians. This included renewing relationships with several former Illinois veterinarians who are/were at OSU.  In addition we made neet contacts with the folks at New Morning Bakery, Cirello's Pizza, the Lodge at Suttle Lake, and the couple in that cute little house along the track in Corvallis. (Seems her name may be Laura???
Although we hope to visit again, "just for fun", we're also hopeful that both of the Radiologists at OSU will be invited to give papers at the same time at some international conference, so we can be invited to fill in.
However, Dave; feel free to consider the stuff we left in your Speeder Shed as your own. Also, I hope the benches by the door remind you of us each time you lay something on them so you can lock or unlock the door.  Dr. Steiger, consider the teaching material on the web site as your own.
Our biggest lament is that we never got to see the Painted Hills of Eastern Oregon. http://paintedhillsvacation.com/  We came so close on our last trip, but had to make a quick trip and felt it was not feasible to swing by there. I'm sure there are other equally wonderful places we've missed, but we really got to see a lot of them. We thank all the folks in the Corvallis area as well as those along the way for some fantastic experiences, and for making us feel at home. Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!!!