It's official. I'm having my mid-life crises. Woo Hoo! I've waited for this for so very long! And the cool part is... I'm not miserable! It doesn't hurt! If this is a mid-life crises I STRONGLY urge you to have your own!

I found myself in Alton today. Had a nice lunch all by myself at Carver Southern BBQ. Yum. That's a great way to kick off a crises. With a virtual one man banquet! I sat and read Newsweek Magazine while munching on dead pig soaked in sweet and mild sauce. Add a bit of baked beans and some potato salad and life is gooooood. I learned while reading an article about MY president that he and I use the same devotional book each morning, "My Utmost For His Highest." Nothing quite like starting your day with the same briefing that the president gets, huh?

The next stop in my crises was to get back in my car and begin driving. Where to? That's the cool part! When you are suppose to be coming apart at the seams you don't have to have a destination in mind! You can go anywhere... or nowhere! And everybody will understand! So I cut back behind the mall and shot down Alby Street. That's where I noticed that the sign on the bank said it was 58 degrees. Now we all know that bank thermometers are lying dogs. But this was just possibly true. I was willing to give it the benifit of the doubt. So I pulled my green Mustang into the parking lot and dropped my top. Then I put it back on and dropped the top on the car instead. It was a tough decision but I think I made the right one. I indulged in several scenic (by Illinois standards) drives, culminating in Sieler Road while winding my way back to Bethalto. The stereo was up loud enough that my hair parted on its own. Sure it was cloudy but so what. This was my first top down experience in my own vehicle. No cloud was going to ruin it.

When I arrive in my driveway I put the top back up, opened the garage door, and warmed up the motorcycle. Mmmmmmm. You gotta love the smell of exhaust in the garage. The roar of the little engine warmed my heart even more. After a few minutes I put the headphones of my IPOD in my ears, hit the "play" button, pulled my helmet on, zipped the cord under my jacket in order to fool any law enforcement professionals (aka: Mike Hogan) and took off. I was only going to Amoco to put gas in the tank but it was just too darn nice. Amoco turned into Meadowbrook. Meadowbrook turned into Edwardsville. Edwardsville turned into back roads easing through the countryside and back into Bethalto. It was a 23 miles gas station run by the time it ended.

Now my crises took me to my mega-chair located before the fireplace in my very own den. I plugged the IPOD into my killer JBL "Creature Speakers" and listened to quiet praise music. Sweet. And then I did my duty. "God. I'm on the front end of a two week vacation. I just took a drive in my long awaited Mustang with the top down. Then I rode my Honda all over, hither and yon. And now I find myself sitting before you... worshipping... all alone... in sweats. God. Life doesn't get any better than this. Amen. And amen."