Ducks, Doc and the Drive

What time is it? Update time! Not that anyone cares, but here are some recent thoughts, experiences and reactions to the world around me (and the world not so close).

Did you hear about what happened to the Ducks? They scored another touchdown! Ba doom, ching! Man the Oregon Ducks look good this year. Granted, the 1st half of the Tennessee game was crapola, but the 3 halves they have played thus far have been a) unstoppable. b) shutouts and c) exciting! I love watching the Ducks when they are in rhythm. It is one of Oregon's best qualities!! I'll be attending this weeks slaughtering, if you are interested.

How about some recent "Service Drive" experiences at work? Here are some typical conversations I have each day. In person, mind you.
- Hi there, how can I help you?
- MY BUMPER IS FALLING OFF YOU NEED TO FIX IT FOR FREE!!!!
- Well, I can certainly do my best. I noticed that there is some scrapes under the front bumper. Did you maybe run over a few curbs?
- (silence). Yeah maybe one or two. How much will it be to fix it?

- Hi there, what can I do for you today?
- MY CAR KEEPS DYING! ITS BRAND NEW! THIS SHOULD ALL BE PAID FOR UNDER WARRANTY!!!
- Ma'am (or sir), did you happen to notice that all interior lights are currenty on?
- YES
- Were they on this morning?
- NO THE CAR WAS DEAD!!!
- Did you leave them on possibly all nigth?
- (silence) How much for any oil change?

And lastly this interatction...
- MY WINDOWS WON'T STAY UP!! THEY ROLL DOWN ON THEIR OWN!!
- Ok ma'am, let me try to understand. You are telling me that the windows just fall down?
- YES! THE REAR ONES!!!
- Ok. When does this happen?
- Normally at the end of a day at my house. You need to fix this.
- I will certainly do my best. Tell me a little more about this condition. Do you have kids?
- Why?
- I am just wondering.
- Yes I do. They are 4 and 6.
- Do they sit in the rear ever?
- (silence).........yes.
- Is it possible that they are rolling the windows down and you might not notice?

Just another typical day on the service drive!

And now on to a more serious topic - Doc. For those of you who either live in North Carolina or have read my blog, you have met Doc Hendley with Wine to Water. He is an incredible man on an incredible mission. Currently, Doc is in Cambodia in the Sway Reign region digging wells so that these people have fresh water for the first time in their lives. 80% of the deaths in this region are directly related to poor water quality. Unbeleivable stat! So Doc is doing something about. Please check out their new blog, it is awesome. Video updates, great photots...go to http://winetowater.org/blog

Well that's all for now friends. I have uploaded some pictures from our recent adventures here in Oregon! Until next time, roll up your windows!

The Casebeers Went Camping!

Or shall I say, the Casebeers did nothing while our friends treated us to a great weekend in the wilderness. I have no idea how to set up a tent, no clue how to cook food outdoors, and did not know that I couldn't burn my Styrofoam cup in our bonfire. But you know what? Everything worked out OK.

Our good friends Molly and Will - freshly married 4 weeks ago!! - took us camping on the beautiful and scenic Oregon coast this weekend. We loved it! Will and I arrived a little late due to work and school duties, but when we got there Molly and Ashley has already set up the tent, had a fire going and had the wine open! Needless to say I was impressed from the get go. What was even better was the fresh pot of coffee on Saturday morning. I was expecting to have to drive 10 miles in to Starbucks (I'm lame) but nooooo. Coffee was fresh, hot and tasted as good as anything else! Ashley and I were in charge of breakfast, which consisted of eggs, bacon, toast and lots of coffee. We were aided by the help of a great grill and competent friends.

After breakfast we wandered down the coast to check out some local historical landmarks. Devil's Punchbowl, Cape Perpetura, and the 500+ year old tree hidden miles back in the forest, tide pools, and the like. It was a beautiful day to be hiking around! The afternoon was filled with Bocci Ball, beers, more fire and no showering by Will and myself. The girls opted for the public restroom. I opted for poor hygiene. As it turns out, this was not much appreciated by Ashley come Sunday afternoon. Annnnnyywaaay.

Another revelation about camping is that you don't have to eat hot dogs over a campfire for dinner. You can eat grilled salmon, asparagus, warm bread and wood fired corn on the cob if you camp with the Marra's! I was shocked at how great dinner was. But then again, I'm not that smart and my expectations were out of whack. We had a great meal, great games by the fire and a great time together!

Sunday morning - more coffee, eggs, and sausage. More goodness. We had a few more sights to see and the road to hit. But leaving the camp site made me want to do more camping! I love sleeping in nature. I love fires. I love the fact that all you can do is play games and have great conversation. And eat all of Molly and Will's good food.

A camper tip, from the pro Alex: Don't sit too close to the fire or else an ember may fly out and hit you directly in the eyeball, causing a scab. True story.

Other thoughts from the camping trip:
- sleeping under the stars and by the ocean is better than not.
- sleeping not in a bed sort of sucks
- showering is overrated
- brushing your teeth is not
- TV, phones, music, electronics, etc....also overrated
- Fires will forever be fascinating
- I still hate sand, but love the beach. Go figure!

Well friends, enough rambling. But I did want to recommend to go camping at least once a year. I know we will. Until next time, take a shower for goodness sakes!!

Perspectives

Oftentimes I am extremely guilty of being content. And being content with being content. I am also guilty of not being grateful for what I have and appreciating the little things. I recently listened to a Dave Barnes song and it just made me think of "the big picture" - aka perspective. Here are the lyrics:

"We will have love, we will have pain. We will have days and days and days that feel the same.
We will have fear, we will have joy. There may be little girls and little boys.

We will have friends, we will have peace. There will lights and nights and music til you sleep.
We will be strong, though we were still weak. We will live thru so much more than we could take.

Amen, Amen. With the dawn the love began again.
Amen, Amen. What is done and yet to come, Amen

We will have hope, we will have doubt. There will be memories that we could never live without.
We will have tears, but there will be grace. There will be prayers that we never thought we'd pray.

Amen, Amen. With the dawn the love began again.
Amen, Amen. What is done and yet to come, Amen.

In the sun or the storm, the flood or the flame.
When everything's wrong and I'm the one to blame.
When heartache grow old, I swear I'll say Amen.

Amen. With the dawn the love began again.
Amen, Amen. What is done and yet to come, Amen."

I like this song. In fact, I love this song and you should immediately to go iTunes and download it! But I really feel like it says a lot about perspective. Interpret it how you may as well, but I think it has a lot to say.

More thoughts on perspective...

- The sound of grocery carts rolling down the street in our neighborhood.....perspective
- The fact that troops have been in the Middle East for 10 year....perspective
- I still have 4 grandparents....perspective
- Marriage is all around us, as is new life.....perspective
- I talked with 1 of only 200 living survivors of Pearl Harbor yesterday....perspective
- I have a wife who loves me.....perspective

I don't even know if any of that makes sense to anyone but me. But I guess that is what blogs are for. To put things in perspective. Until next time, experience something. Reflect on it. And realize the perspective of it all!

Recent memoirs

Some highlights and lowlights as of late

From the last month:
- Highlight(s): Going to Cour de Alene with Toyota and "The Lion King" with Ashley
- Lowlight: leaving Toyota Service Department and starting all over at Chevy Service Department

From the last 3 weeks:
- Highlight: 4th of July in Neskowin. Duh
- Lowlight: Working on the 5th of July when everyone else had it off

From the last 2 weeks:
- Highlight: Running 16 miles on a Saturday morning with my Mom and Uncle
- Lowlight: Running 16 miles on a Saturday morning with my Mom and Uncle

From the last week:
- Highlight: A weekend in Cannon Beach with great friends drinking amazing wine
- Lowlight: Drinking too much amazing wine

From this week:
- Highlight: Getting to hit golf balls at lunch
- Lowlight: Realizing that I need to hit more golf balls to stay good at golf

From today:
- Highlight: Dinner tonight with Ashley (Spicy Mustard and Brown Sugar Salmon with Cilantro/Ginger Rice.....and wine)
- Lowlight: Pulling a 75 year olds dentures out from in between his seat in his Cadillac.

Looking forward to next week:
- Highlights: Heading to Laguna Beach for a wedding!
- Lowlights: Work next Monday

Looking forward to next 2 weeks:
- Highlight: Oregon Best Ball golf tourney with best friend Matt and the highly anticipated Marra-Harding wedding!!! Can't wait!
- Lowlight: Missing Oregon Brewers Fest this weekend

Looking forward to next 3 weeks:
- Highlight: Another great friend's wedding in Bend! The Robinson-Cowart Nuptuals. Can't wait!
- Lowlight: Another weekend that we are gone from beautiful and exciting Portland!

OK that should catch you up on what is going on in our lives. And what we are looking forward to. What are YOU looking forward to? Any interesting lowlights as of late? Would love to hear some feedback! Until next time, don't get caught like a deer in the headlights! Or maybe you should...maybe it would be a great story...

A Tradition Like No Other

We all have our traditions, whether it be breakfast in bed for Mom on Mother's Day, camping over Labor Day, the summer trip with just the guys (or girls) or just coffee every morning with your wife. Tradition is a strong word that for many can conjure up great feelings. For me (and now Ashley), there is one tradition that we were just involved in that will forever be something we look forward to doing again. That is the infamous Neskowin 4th of July weekend celebration.

Neskowin turned 100 this year. It started as a small community of houses on the Oregon Coast and is now a haven of fun, family and rest. They have a small golf course, Proposal Rock, long beaches and exquisite views of the Pacific. There is one restaurant - Hawk Creek Cafe, which has the best cinnamon rolls and wood fired pizza on earth. There are signs everywhere made by children asking you to slow down. Practically every house could be in a magazine and the feeling you get going there is indescribable. But when 4th of July rolls around, everything changes. Everyone shows up and everyone goes America to the gills.

On the morning of the 4th it is go time. We wake up and Uncle Chris makes his famous Blood Mary's - complete with American Flag stir rods. Lots of people have caught on to this tradition and they show up around 8:00 to cash in on the free drink. You then gather the crew and costumes and walk down to the Flag Pole where the entire community gathers. The judges, who can be persuaded by six packs of beer or bottles of wine, walk around to every float and talk to the families and begin determining who is going to win the prizes. We, of course, put on the full show in the parking lot to tip the scales in our favor. At around 10:00, the parade begins. The funny thing is we are just parading for ourselves. No one really shows up for this other than the people who are there for the weekend. I like that.

As the parade rolls thru Neskowin, people are dancing and singing, putting on a show, showing off their costumes or cute kids and dressed up bicycles. The Casebeers of course are drinking our Blood Mary's on the float and singing as loud as we can. This year's theme was "Glee" - we had 3 choreographed dances to 3 different songs and man did we do it right!!! Once the parade gets back to the starting spot, everyone gathers at the Flag Pole to sing American Songs a Capella. It is beautiful. Jimmy leads the crowd as we all sing and celebrate freedom. Then the Blue Angels fly over and thunderously rock the town and drown out our voices, but only for a few seconds. We are back to the singing until Kay Kay decides its time to hand out the awards. Her family has been around Neskowin for over 80 years so it is fitting that she decides the winners. There are different awards handed out - Slightly Inappropriate, Best Family, Most American, Best Superheros, and Best in Show. When the awards are over, people begin to disband and most head to Judge Barbers for a complimentary Gin Fizz. Not much is wasted however, because the Sand Castle and Kite Flying contest is about to begin.

Chaos ensues as people scramble back to the house for lunch and getting ready for round 2. As the day rolls on, most awards are given, and by the end of the day pretty much every family or kid ends up with one. Its a feel good story, really. As nighttime comes, various parties are hosted and dinners and drinks are had. We crammed about 20 people in our house that sleeps 4 and waited for the bonfire, cigar and fireworks to end the night.

Leaving Neskowin is a strange feeling. You leave wanting more, you leave feeling like America is the best place to live, and you leave loving family and friends and tradition. You already talk about going back next year. It is truly one of the best traditions I have ever been involved in.

What about you? Do you have unforgettable memories with tradition? I encourage you to be apart of one, or you know what? Go out and create one. I read a book ("A Million Miles in a Thousand Years" by Don Miller) recently that encouraged me to be a part of a bigger and better story, or just go around creating fun stories. That is what Neskowin is all about. That is what life is all about. Until next time, let your tradition live on.