On the Road Again

I hit the road again tomorrow (Monday). I'll probably have two seven hour days, followed by a 10-hour day. Your prayers, which have been much appreciated over the past several months in this time of transition, are still needed. Thank you so much. I hope to post again sometime next week, once I get settled in Orlando.

Just a reminder, updates pertaining to my ministry with Wycliffe are available at my website.

The Car

new car
Originally uploaded by Chris Winkler.

As promised, here's a picture of the car. I parallel parked with it for the first time today and did a lot of jockeying around town, and it's becoming more natural.

Tomorrow, I'll drive when my parents and I go up to Sault Ste. Marie to visit my brother, so that should be lots of good experience. Plus, they can let me know what I'm doing wrong in my handling of the manual transmission.

A Piece of Baseball History

I'm feeling really good right now. I just bought tickets to the inaugural World Baseball Classic. It just so happens that one of the first round pools will be held in Orlando, where I am moving in a week. Two tickets to watch the Domincan Republic play Australia. The DR should annihilate the Aussies, but the DR team is stacked and since it's the first time it's ever happened, it'll be watching a piece of baseball history. Plus, tickets were really cheap (comparable to outfield plaza at the Oakland Coliseum).

The only bummer is that the DR/Venezuela game was already sold out (an hour after individual tickets went on sale). But I can live with that. The DR team tentatively has Vlad Guerrero, Alfonso Soriano, Sammy Sosa, Albert Pujols, Miguel Tejada, and a ton of other stars.

Back Home

Five hundred miles and only five stalled engines later, I am back in Michigan. The manual transmission of my new car (a '98 Jetta) is significantly easier than the vehicle I learned on (an old pickup) and by the time I made it home, I was able to drive fairly smooth. Some things are still pretty rocky (e.g. starting out in first from a stop), but I LOVE the feel of it and the control I have over what the car is doing.

If I'm ever able to master it, I don't know if I'll ever go back to an automatic. (Of course, most of the rest of my life will be spent living in countries where they've never heard of automatic transmissions.) I'll put up a picture of the car soon.

Another Mall Experience

A few weeks ago, I posted about my dislike--and fear--of big suburban malls. Yesterday, I was forced to spend time in the biggest of them all: the Mall of America!

Because of my need for a cheap flight, my plane landed in Minneapolis yesterday morning at 8 a.m., Central Time. This meant that any of my friends in the area wouldn't be able to pick me up for several hours. Since it was cold outside and the mall is just a short train ride from the airport, I wound up at the Mall of America.

Thankfully, I discovered that it didn't open until 10 a.m., so I killed some time in the airport before heading over. I also had the brilliant idea of how to kill a large chunk of time, cheaply, at the mall: seeing a matinee movie. So following lunch and watching the three-hour "Munich" (an excellent film, another Spielberg classic), it was time for my friend Andrew to pick me up.

Not nearly as painful a trip as it could have been!

Side Effect of Too Many Cop Shows

Last week, a friend took me out in his truck to give me a lesson in how to drive a manual transmission. I will be flying to Minneapolis in a few weeks to pick up my new car--which is a stick--and I figured it would be good if I knew how to drive it.

But I consistently did two things wrong. Like all beginners, I often let up on the clutch too quickly. The other mistake: slamming the gear shift around. I think my friend was worried about me going from first to second followed by the gear shift being ripped out of the floor.

As I thought about this in the days that followed, I made a realization. Perhaps it happened when watching an episode of Magnum, P.I., the show I watch daily during lunch. My slamming of the gear shift came from watching all these cop shows (e.g. Magnum or Rockford). Whenever there is a chase scene, and the cars have a standard transmission, the shifter is thrown around hard to stress the urgency of the situation. As I discovered at the high school parking lot last week, actually driving a stick is NOT like that.

Now if only I can pull a U-turn like on TV...

Global Address Book

As I was looking at the messages in my e-mail inbox, I felt a part of something bigger than my own ministry. I have e-mails from friends in China, Honduras, Israel, Cambodia, and Germany right now! It is exciting to partner with and pray for these friends (and others around the world), as they are serving the Lord as missionaries or tentmakers in a foreign culture.

Pray with me that God would continue to use them in their respective areas to advance His kingdom!

Want to Take a Trip?

So I've been looking at maps recently, trying to figure out my route from Michigan to Florida (it looks like the move will happen in about a month!). I'm beginning to realize that it's a really long trip down there and it might be good to have a traveling companion. Anyone know somebody who might be interested in driving from northern Michigan to Orlando...or at least making a portion of the trip?

Scary Big City? Worse...

I'm not scared of big cities. I'm scared of big malls. At the moment, I'm sitting in Woofield Mall in suburban Chicago, the largest in the area.

My thought is that they are built to scare people. Too many stores on too many levels, with too few directional markers and maps. It's like trying to navigate the streets of an old European city (curvey, narrow and confusing) with maps only at the major intersections where cars are careening at each other at 60 mph, and everyone crowding around to figure out where they're going.

Give me downtown Chicago any day, over this madness I'm experiencing right now.

Internet Connectedness

All day today, I've been listening to my favorite San Francisco radio station, KFOG. One of the beautiful things about the Internet is the ability to listen to stations that might be thousands of miles away. It allows me to reminisce a little (hearing about the traffic back-up on the Bay Bridge and the amount of fog covering the City) and also hear the music that was always on in our office and my car.

When baseball season begins, I'll probably renew my subscription to MLB.com Gameday Audio, which allows me to listen to any game, anywhere as long as I have an Internet connection. This means following my A's on KFRC. (I still haven't decided if I'll have to become a Devil Rays or Marlins fan when I move to Orlando. It seems unlikely, but it's sometimes nice to follow the "home" team, as well.)

It makes it difficult to imagine what people did before the Internet...how did people stay connected? Are we more connected now because of the Internet, or do people communicate less because of not using the phone? All random musings on another cold and snowy day in northern Michigan.

Fascination With Fire

Why is it that humans are so fascinated by fire? I know I'm not alone in my ability to sit and stare into a burning fire for hours. That's half of what makes sitting around the campfire what it is. (The other half is sharing with each other and being in fellowship.)

There was a major fire in our town today. I don't think anyone was killed, but a man reportedly had to jump from a second story window to the ground and was sent to the hospital. It was early this morning, but I happened to be up for a prayer meeting and I swung by the fire (we heard about it on the news) on my way.

Just like a campfire, it was captivating. Mine wasn't the only car that was just parked, staring at the flames leaping from the top and sides of the building. A large bucket truck was there, dumping tons of water from the sky, yet the fire raged. It's encouraging to know that the firefighters (from five different cities) are putting that fascination with fire, that we all have, to such constructive use: saving lives and property. It certainly is more productive than poking that stick into the campfire, moving around the logs and sending sparks flying.

A Great Place to Nap

Did you know that the library is a great place to nap? I'm sitting here in the Hope College library, site of many Winkler snooze sessions over the course of 1998-2002, reminiscing about those days. This is mainly due to the fact that I've been watching one guy sleep since I arrived, about an hour and a half ago.

No joke, I used to bring my alarm clock to the library, knowing that I would probably fall asleep. If you're wondering about the noise caused by both my snoring and the clock, I would make sure to get an individual "study" room. How silly--putting a nice, quiet room on one of the quiet floors, complete with a door. Depending on how my back was feeling, I would either curl up on the floor or just rest my head on the table.

Fleece jackets make great pillows.

A Different Thanksgiving

The past three Thanksgivings have been all been quite different from each other.

In 2003, I went down to hot and sunny Palm Springs, in southern California. It was spent with the family of a good friend from college, enjoying the hospitality of her grandma. Swimming, tennis, horseback riding, hiking, and fine dining were all on the docket for the weekend. It was something of a luxurious holiday.

Then there was last year. It started with a lovely dinner with friends from church in San Francisco. Following the turkey, there was karaoke upstairs! I made a bread pudding which would have made my mom and all previous holders of the recipe proud. The next day was my infamous Point Reyes solo backpacking trip. Well, I guess it wasn't solo if you count the coyotes and the kind folks who ran over to my campsite to help put out the picnic table fire. Long story...ask me about it sometime!

Today is another Thanksgiving, but instead of the heat of SoCal or the mild temps of SF, we are in a whiteout. Instead of the traditional Winkler-Dunn gathering of 20 people, there will be four of us (my immediate family) hunkered down in Boyne City, amidst a blizzard and prayers that a tree isn't blown over into our house. At least we can still watch the Lions lose! (Assuming the power doesn't go out, which is entirely possible.)

Porch Snow

Porch Snow
Originally uploaded by Chris Winkler.

A good indicator of how much snow has fallen is the snow level on part of our front porch, which is exposed. Here is a picture of it!

From the time that I wrote my entry Wednesday, I don't think it has stopped snowing for more than an hour. The sun was out for a brief time yesterday, but my guess is that we've gotten around nine inches. Not as much as near-by Lake Ann, which got 17" according to the national news this morning!

I don't think I've ever been so excited to see snow! Goodness knows I won't see much of it when I move to Orlando...

The First Snow!

snow on shed
Originally uploaded by Chris Winkler.

This one is for all of you out there who wish you were in snowy weather (e.g. home) while you're stuck in single-climate San Francisco.

The first snow of the year (to my knowledge) hit this afternoon. I looked out the window a few minutes ago and this is what I saw. It's not really accumulating, but with a couple more days with this cold snap, it will be.

There is a running joke in our family (although it's spreading outside the family now) that whenever a big snow hits, it's because my mom and dad are going to visit one of their boys. Maybe I'm cursed with this...I'm supposed to go to Traverse City tomorrow (hour and a half away), and the weather isn't looking good.

Sibling Look-Alike

My brother (Bradley) and I do not look alike. Or so we say. Everyone else on the planet, however, seems to think that we do. I've been to the post office here in Boyne twice in the last week. On one of my trips, a guy who actually knew both of us during our high school years (Bradley and I are over four years apart) called me "Brad."

Then this morning when I went in to the post office, the clerk says (in response to my "First class, please"), "Are you still playing?" Now, put yourselves in my shoes at this moment. When I lived in Boyne, I only played three things on a consistent basis: the saxophone, high school football and church league softball. None of them were especially notable, except for perhaps the music, but that was years ago. So in that first split-second, I had no clue what the guy was referring to.

Then it hit me. Of course, he was not thinking of my hitting skills in slow-pitch softball. He mistook me for my brother, who plays the banjo. The clerk had played in some open-mic events with Bradley, and had no doubt that I was that gifted banjo player.

I told my brother this week that this is just payback for him having to live in my shadow for so long; now it's my turn. And maybe it's finally time to admit that maybe we do look a little alike.

New Wycliffe Website

In case you're wondering why I haven't been writing anything about my new career with Wycliffe Bible Translators, it's because I've been working on a new website specifically devoted to that. There is a new permanent link at right.

So...if you want funny personal stories, this is the place for it. For updates on my ministry, including pictures and prayer requests, check out my "Wysite." I'll be updating it regularly in these next couple months, and there are also some syndicated stories which are always interesting and will change from time to time. Plus, you can even donate on-line!

Rain and Leaves Don't Mix

Backyard Leaves
Originally uploaded by Chris Winkler.

Yesterday, my parents spent the day raking leaves. I spent a few hours with them. I guess that's part of the price you pay for the beautiful colors we've had in the past month. Unfortunately, we weren't able to get everything picked up and it rained throughout the night.

Rain does two things that detract from the raking of leaves. First, it knocks them off the trees at a rapid rate. Second, it makes them wet and very difficult to pick up. This picture was taken this morning, after all the rain. I think life was a little simpler living in San Francisco, where noone had yards, much less leaves to rake!

Spider!

Spider!
Originally uploaded by Chris Winkler.

We found this spider tonight at my parents' house in Michigan. I had never seen one like it before, and couldn't find any helpful websites. Anyone recognize it? The orange thing on it was full of white pus, which turned to yellow shortly after getting squashed. :-)

The Price is Right

"The Price is Right" is just not the same without Rod Roddy, who passed away back in 2003. For the first time since his passing, I watched part of an episode today, and the flair of hearing Rod yell "Come on down!" and seeing him in his vibrantly-colored jackets was all gone. Whoever replaced him has a good voice and is professional, but I think it's one of those things that because Rod was such an icon, he can never be replaced.

Sports fans in the Bay Area recently felt a similar loss. Bill King, who at one point was the play-by-play announcer for the Oakland A's, Oakland Raiders and Golden State Warriors simultaneously, passed away a few weeks ago. Though I have only been a die-hard A's fan for a few years, I grieved his loss. As the A's announcer since 1981, he was the A's to many people. He was the main reason I purchased a package this season that allowed me to listen to any baseball game at any time, as long as I had an Internet connection--I never missed listening to Bill for lack of a radio feed. Much has been written about Bill's passing so I'll let others say it better than me, but I had to write about this great loss for the Bay Area.