A Confession

A faithful reader called me last night and mentioned he was shocked as he read my previous post where I proudly boasted of successfully navigating my way to my sister Jean's house in the hinterlands of the south county. I apologize to him and can only blame this lapse on my amazing ability to block and temporarily forget things that I prefer not to remember.

The truth is, as I prepared to leave on Thursday night, I realized my mind could not picture where I should go after taking the Harrisburg exit. I have multiple excuses for this. Sometimes we take Hwy 99, other times we go on I-5. The first time we went, even Will missed a turn. Having full confidence in his ability to find any given address, he did not call anyone for directions; instead he gave us a lengthy tour of the back roads.

Lacking any confidence that perhaps once I was in the area I would recognize and remember how to get there, I realized I needed to get help. It's a little embarrassing to admit I can't figure out how to get to my own sister's house, so first I attempted to get help from MapQuest. Since it was already time to go, I couldn't get it to do what I wanted in a timely manner. So I dashed out to my car and called my baby brother Doug while I was enroute. Doug did not ridicule me for needing this advice. He gave me very clear and simple directions. What he doesn't realize is that for me, it is quite a triumph to go directly somewhere even with clear and simple directions.

So I apologize for not giving credit where credit is due. Without Doug's directions, I would have driven aimlessly around in the dark, become completely discombobulated, and missed all the fun, games and food at Jean's party. It was just one of many times he has cheerfully used his skills to rescue me. Several years ago, he made a house call at 10:00 one Saturday night on his way home from a Beaver's game to solve a puzzling mystery of why water was pouring out of our kitchen lights when Nick was taking a bath in the bathtub above. He has always been there for us to demystify and easily correct all the minor but puzzling plumbing issues we've had over the years.

So here's to my helpful, talented, cute and fun to be with brother Doug. Thank you, Doug. (If only I would have also asked you for directions to return home!)

Update at 7:52 p.m.: Speaking of giving credit where credit is due, I realized upon reading the comment below that I also failed to do that for my other baby brother. I so admired Tom's use of the word "discombobulated" on his blog "Iced Tea Forever" last week that I vowed I must use it soon. Thank you, Tom, for the inspiration and entertainment you provide with your creative use of the English language.

And to all my other brothers, Galen, John, Mark and Dave: space does not allow me to adequately thank you for all that I owe you also. Thank you.