Category: Life

Posted in Life

Now that’s a suit

Posted on by William Douthwaite

When my wife asked her brother, “Where should we go for a tenderloin sandwich?” both he and his wife responded, “Amazing Joes.”

My wife and I were in Columbus, Indiana, for our nephew’s wedding. He was the youngest of my brother-in-law’s four children, and the last to get married. The rehearsal dinner at the Brown County Inn was fun, delicious, and the first time we met our nephew’s fiancee. We were overdressed for the wedding in downtown Columbus. We assumed it would be dressy, but you know what happens when you assume. Oh, well, better to over- than underdress. The reception at the Abe Martin Inn in Brown County State Park was nice and we got to see a lot of the other side of the family.

On Sunday, we went to my brother-in-law’s church, and then headed out to lunch. As soon as we sat down, this gentleman, in a tye-died suit sat down across from our booth. I could not think of anything but, “Wow.”

After that initial reaction, the questions began flowing.

Where do you buy a suit like that? Go ahead. Say it. “Amazon.” Actually, you can get the “Mens Funky Fade Stylish 2 Piece Party Suit” at Vanquishe.com for under $200.

Why would you wear a suit like that? That’s a more difficult question. Since I can’t search for that answer, I can only speculate. Did he want attention? He got it. Lose a bet? Perhaps. Next time wager some cash. Make a statement? Could be, but I don’t speak that language. “My other suit was at the cleaners.” Happens all the time, right?

I must be out of the loop. He’s looking at me, in my navy khakis and blue button-down shirt, thinking, “Where did he get that outfit?” At his church, that was the rule, not the exception. His yellow shirt and pink tie announced, “This is how to dress.”

After we paid our check and got up to leave, I noticed his Marine Corps combat cap. I’m indebted to him for his service to our country. My wife noticed a Genesis commentary on his table. A pastor? At the very least, a brother in Christ.

When he walks into a restaurant, black and grey suits make him look twice. He’s asking the same questions. And he reaches the same conclusion. There’s an outfit for everyone, and everyone has an outfit. Be surprised, be amazed, be puzzled, but don’t be judgmental.

Posted in Life, Resurrection reflections

The Last Act of Love: Women at Jesus’s Tomb

Posted on by William Douthwaite

“But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared” (Luke 24:1).

I’ve never felt compelled to go back to the cemetery where my mother and father are buried. I know that many people do. Before his own death fourteen years later, my dad planted flowers at my mother’s grave at a church in suburban Philadelphia. Others return to talk to deceased loved ones. Some go to confirm genealogical information.

Those who went to the tomb were women who had come from Galilee with Jesus to Jerusalem. They watched as Joseph (from Arimathea) and Nicodemus (John 19:29) took Jesus’s corpse from the cross, wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a cave, a garden tomb cut in stone. That all happened late Friday afternoon, just before sunset, the beginning of the Sabbath.

These women went to the tomb to complete the burial ritual for Jesus. This includes washing the body, rubbing it with spices, and wrapping it with a shroud, before placing it in a tomb. It was a last act of love, a final goodbye, and part of their grieving process.

It probably wasn’t the first time they had done this. But death is death, and their hearts were heavy. Their minds were filled with horrific images of crucifixion. They had no thoughts about the future. They focused on the task at hand.

To catch the nuance of this verse, try to remember a moment when you had to say goodbye.

It was that kind of a morning.

This is the second in a series of reflections on Jesus’s resurrection as recorded in Luke’s gospel.

Posted in Life

What are you doing at dawn?

Posted on by William Douthwaite

“But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared” (Luke 24:1).

What are you doing at dawn?

Some of you reading this have never seen the dawn. You are night owls. It’s broad daylight when you open your eyes after a night’s sleep. You’ve seen pictures of the sunrise, but never the real thing.

Others are more like me. I wake and head out the door with my big dog when it’s dark. The sky embraces the dawn colors as we head around the block. Blue skies have taken over by the time we get home.

When the women set out for the tomb, had they slept at all that night? Did they anxiously await the end of the Sabbath at dawn to finish what they started when Jesus died? Did his words about resurrection rob them of a night’s sleep?

Jesus couldn’t have been clearer. Death, burial, and third-day resurrection. Did they hear it? Understand it? Believe it?

I doubt it.

But they loved him. They watched him die. They set out to do what you do when someone dies. There are rules, rituals, and respect. They loved Jesus. They took care of Jesus. They would take care of him one last time.

What are you doing at dawn?

I’m usually reading the bible at dawn. I’m not boasting. It’s just what I do. I get up. I feed the dog. I pour a cup of coffee. I read the bible. I write in my journal. Jesus loves me. He takes care of me. And he’s going to take care of me today.

What are you doing at dawn?

This is the first of a series of reflections on Jesus’s resurrection as recorded in Luke’s gospel.

Posted in Life

A little dent and a big discount

Posted on by William Douthwaite

The delivery guys with our new garage freezer arrived ahead of schedule. I didn’t have to spend my day waiting through the four-hour delivery window.

I watched as they lowered it to the ground and unboxed it. One of them called me out of the garage and said, “I need to show you this.” He showed me a small dent on the edge of the door, about knee height. He said, “You have two options. You can send it back to the warehouse. Or you can accept it and I will call in to see if there’s a discount.”

I called my wife out to take a look. If we sent it back, who knows how long we’d have to wait for a new one to be delivered? It took three weeks to get this one. We decided to keep it, especially it was just cosmetic and it was, after all, for the garage.

The delivery guy immediately called someone who answered, “Save the sale.” He gave her the information, and she replied, “We can give you $165 off the price.” I didn’t expect that much, so I said, “Sounds good. We’ll take it.” So we got a twenty-five percent discount for a little dent that I haven’t even thought about until now.

The freezer was packed in a styrofoam padded box, so who knows when or how it got damaged? I’m sure the company didn’t want it back, so this was a win for everyone.

Posted in Life

Chance Encounters at the Coffee Shop

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Priscilla Du Preez 🇨🇦 on Unsplash

After dropping off a dog at the groomer, I like to sit at a coffee shop and do a little reading and writing. It was such a nice morning to sit outside, eavesdrop on other conversations, and watch cars lining up at the drive through.

Suddenly, a man walked up to me, smiling, offering me his hand. I shook it, but he must have seen the puzzled look on my face. He said something, but I didn’t understand him because he had a heavy accent. I did understand when he said, “Are you waiting for someone?”

I chuckled, “Just for my dog at the groomer.” He apologized and went into the coffee shop.

Ten minutes later, another man came up to me and said, “Did someone come up to you, talking about a coat? He was looking for me! He said we look exactly alike, so I had to come meet you.”

I didn’t think he looked like me, other than having a gray beard. But hey, maybe we guys with gray beards all look the same. I shook his hand, too, before he went into the coffee shop.

Most people ignore you at the coffee shop, intent on picking up their order or looking at a computer. How fun to be mistaken for my double!

Posted in Life

Do not, I repeat, do not enter this driveway

Posted on by William Douthwaite

This homeowner has been carefully guarding her driveway for a year.

There are no houses under construction in this part of the neighborhood. No neighbors parking on the street overnight. It’s not near a school bus stop, so no one’s using it as a turnaround.

She just really, really doesn’t want anyone pulling in.

I find this curious. It’s not a great-looking driveway. If she really cared about it, wouldn’t she pressure wash it? And what an inconvenience. Every time she comes and goes, she has to get out of the car, disconnect the chain, and then reconnect it. I’d get tired of that routine in a day or two.

Two other houses beside her have a similar barrier at the foot of each driveway. It’s a very paranoid or protective section of the neighborhood.

It’s as bad as the many homeowners who put reflective sticks in the grass by the road so no one parks on their weedy front lawn where they stack discarded furniture days before big trash pick up. My neighbors need to relax.

Posted in cookies, Life

Everyone loves the cookie guy!

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Khalid Elkady on Unsplash

I love delivering cookies. Every box brings a smile to the recipient’s face. With a gasp, they get their first look and exclaim, “These are amazing!”

But it gets better. When I pulled into a driveway last week, a little dachshund-mix dog greeted me in the driveway. Her six-inch tail was whipping back and forth a mile a minute as I stepped out of the van. With happy squinting eyes, she sat while I scratched her chin and chest, ran my hand down her back.

After a minute of that, I told her, “Hey, I’ve got some cookies for your mom.” She led me up the walk to the front door and I pushed the Ring doorbell with my elbow. Our customer answered the door and I said, “I love your welcoming committee!”

“Oh, was she out here?”

I laughed, “She’s not supposed to be out here?”

Apparently not. I thought they had an invisible fence or something. But my new little friend was just enjoying a few moments of sunshine and freedom on a beautiful afternoon.

Even the doggies are happy when the cookie guy shows up!

Need cookies? Check us out: backseatgracebakery.com

Posted in Life, neighbor, neighborhood

Let’s tear this place up!

Posted on by William Douthwaite

The Great Dane and I walk by this recently built house just about every day. Lately, the owner has been methodically tearing out this large section of his lawn.

Built on a curve in the road, this house is either built on a double lot or a really big oversized lot. Just after it was complete, the owner tore out all the landscaping around the house. He removed all the shrubs and mulch, and put down sod in those areas. New home landscaping typically isn’t exciting. Once you’ve closed on the house, you can fix up your yard any way you want.

Next, the owner installed about two dozen lights in the yard. The lights were along the driveway or front walkway. They were all out in the middle of the yard. I’m sure there was a reason.

Next, he set up cinderblocks and two-by-fours as a makeshift fence. At first, I thought he might be setting up a little garden. But every day the cleared area grew bigger. I only saw him working on it one time. With nothing more than a grubbing hoe, he chopped away at his lawn. I took the above picture two weeks ago. As of this morning, he had cleared out that whole area. I should have stopped to ask him why he was tearing up all the sod.

Okay, so what’s going on? What’s the plan? What is he going to do with this thousand square foot area?

  • Maybe he’s going to pave this area and move the fence closer to the road. But that’s a huge area for a paver patio.
  • If he were putting in a pool, he would have let the contractor take all that out with heavy machinery.
  • He’s already got a large fenced-in backyard. It seems like that’s where you would put your pool or patio.
  • Adding on to the house? I’d see a permit.
  • Maybe he wants a different kind of grass. St. Augustine grass takes lot of water and care. Perhaps he’ll go with Zoysia or Bahia.
  • Maybe he’ll plant lots of trees and have a little park next to his house. That’s a creative idea.

I’m interested to see what happens next. Oh, and you know what else? All the windows are blacked out, so I see no light from inside when we walk by in the evening. Hmm. What do you think is going on in there?

Posted in Life

A Tire Blowout and a Stranger’s Help: Journey Reflections

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Sebastian Huxley on Unsplash
Daily writing prompt
Describe a random encounter with a stranger that stuck out positively to you.
View all responses

On our way to Texas, we discovered that the camper-trailer tires weren’t as roadworthy as we thought. Somewhere between Pensacola, Florida and Mobile, Alabama, we felt a thud that made us pull over on I-10. One of the trailer tires had blown, leaving a trail of rubber behind us.

Hey, it’s just one of those things you encounter on a trip. We had a spare tire, but not the tools we needed to change it. Not a problem. We had purchased roadside assistance, called them up, were assured that help was on the way.

We waited. And we waited. And we waited a little longer. The roadside assistance folks called to say it would be a while. The truck was in Mobile. There was a lot of traffic. It would be a long while before their arrival.

Another car pulled off the highway about 25 yards behind us. A woman with a few young children called her husband to come and change out a tire. When he arrived, he changed her tire and then kindly let us use his tools to put the spare on our trailer.

As soon as we had the new tire on the trailer and were about to head to our campsite, the roadside assistance truck pulled up to help, three hours since our call for assistance. We thanked him, and headed on our way.

Just a stranger. But a much needed friend.