My last blog was delayed a couple of days due to computer issues, so I apologize for the gap. I am writing this the day I depart for Englishtown, but Jenna won’t send it for a couple of days so it doesn’t fall right on top of my last masterpiece (or babbling, depending on how you read it).

I mentioned in my last entry that I had been away for eight days, so I felt like I was way behind in dad AND husband stuff. To make up on the husband items, I slept in, lay on the couch a lot, and yelled as much as possible (hey, it’s what I do). Then I started on the “honey-do” list.

DO NOT EVER RELOCATE YOUR MAILBOX. The postal service has spies, and crazy regulations to prevent you from receiving mail through your door slot once you’ve relocated the box, even if it makes their job easier. They are not allowed to exercise common sense, and are obligated to hide behind ridiculous regulations and ambiguous rulings. Whew, sometimes venting feels so good. So … I repainted and moved the box to a spot that doesn’t look so horrible with our new front yard. Jason wanted to help, but he really was disappointed with my spray painting (maybe I should have broke out the Wagner Power Painter) and let me know with several tears. I should have sent him to the postal manager’s office so they could deal with it.

Later my good friend Scottie Keough came over with wife Ilona and their daughter Phoebe. Scott and I raced together for years, and when we were bachelors we, along with friend Jeff Tildahl, spent most of our free time together. Now that all three of us are married and live far apart, it’s tough to keep up. Scott entertained the kids while we all chatted. Conversations used to be about cubic inches, nitrous vs. superchargers, and ET slips. Now, it’s kid’s height in inches, apple sauce vs. cottage cheese, and wiping slips.

For Father’s Day we (Cindy, Jenna, and I) took Jason to the L.A. zoo. He sees so many animals in his books that we felt he would appreciate them in real life. I think he had an outstanding time, but he wore us adults out. He is great at animal noises, and he even gave us the universal “P.U.” sign when he perceived an odor emanating from the zebra area. He dug all of the birds, and the chimps were a treat. The elephant wouldn’t come out of its’ shade enclosure, and the lions all were sleeping in the shade (it has been in the'90s here). No tip for those animals this visit!

After the zoo we went to one of my favorite places, Bob’s Big Boy in Toluca Lake. This is the place where guys like Tommy Ivo, Bob Muravez, and Don Prudhomme used to meet back in the day. They still have a cruise night there, but we came for one reason: the Big Boy hamburger! I bet if I had a couple of those we could have seen some lion action at the zoo, but life is always good after a combo plate at the “home of the Big Boy”. Before marriage, Jeff, Scottie and I powered down a bunch of those. Now we have to eat broccoli and chicken breasts … oh well.

Speaking of feeling old (roll with me on this segue), Bradley (or, Brad) Cannon just graduated from high school last week. Brad was younger than Jason is now when I first talked to Brent at the races, and we became friends shortly thereafter. Now he is 6’3” and getting ready to attend Cal Poly Pomona for their mechanical engineering school. I’ve known the Cannons for about 390 Big Boy combo plates!

Remember my eight-year fence project? Well, the new planks were definitely dry enough to stain now, so no more procrastinating. I was kind of excited to try out the Power Painter on the stain, especially since my results were less than ideal with the front shutters and paint. The jury is still out on spraying stain. The “stain” tip certainly wasn’t the way to go, and I want to see what things turn out like once the stain has soaked in. Perhaps the brush and roller are too underrated. All that I have left is about seven slats, so I have to exchange some split ones for new units, let them dry, and complete the project. The Sistine Chapel didn’t take this long! I think I started this project about 204 combo plates ago, but the end is near.

I made a trip to the optometrist yesterday for an overdue checkup. I went to three different laser surgery centers for evaluations in the past eight months. I have had issues with my eyes all of my life and am extremely cautious and sensitive to anything involving them. I tried glasses for a week, and it made me feel worse. Forget contacts-my eyes are so sensitive it took 40 minutes to get one in and felt very awkward. My eyesight checks real good in the left eye and so-so in the right, but it doesn’t feel that way to me. Some of you will know what I mean; the rest will think I’m crazy. You know when you get up in the morning and your vision is a bit blurry until you clear out the “sleepers”? That’s how I feel at times, but no one gives a reasonable explanation. I might try glasses again to see if there is any benefit. If so, I suppose I could try a contact in the right eye. The optometrist tells me my prescription is so small that no lasik center could perform the procedure on me and be in compliance with the FDA. Maybe that’s just what happens in a fuel Funny Car and I need to deal with it.

We took Jason to his Gymboree class and had a great conversation with his instructor. Seems Denise’ husband is a die-hard fan, his father used to race, and he has even heard of me. She may even come out to a race later this year. How about that, I’m a celebrity at my son’s playtime. It’s so cool how many connections you can find with drag racing, seems that everyone knows someone, or used to race themselves (I don’t mean they competed against themselves, I mean that they ALSO used to race, get it?).

We made our monthly Costco trip, and I was excited to upgrade our outside motion sensors to the new fluorescent energy-saving units. We also bought about 5,000 diapers for Jason. He now wears a size four, and I think if I can get a couple of Big Boy’s into him we can step up to the size five!

That’s it for now, but I’ll have lots of stuff to share after E-town, and I hope to have another Wally.

Stay tuned.