Happy Birthday, Son

Although it is almost midnight here in Missouri as I type this post , it is just after 12:00 noon in China. That means our son Jiang should be celebrating his second birthday with his foster family right about now. Rest assured, we will have a belated birthday party for him when we get him home where he belongs in a few weeks. In the meantime, we will begin attending intro to Chinese classes this Thursday. (I can barely speak 'Merican.) Wish me luck...

Travis's Book Club

This week I checked out two books: "When You Are Engulfed In Flames" by David Sedaris and "From Baghdad to America" by Jay Kopelman. Both are biographical/anecdotal in nature, certainly not novels. Neither are for the faint of heart. Both will make you throw up in your mouth a little bit, but for completely different reasons. Both will make you laugh out loud at times. Both are raw. Both are honest. And when combined, they felt like they almost completely reflected who I am as a human being.

Sedaris is not normal. He writes his essays in a fashion similar to the way I blog. He puts his life out there for all to see. He's neurotic, a little creepy at times, and hilarious. He's done things...things most people would never admit to doing much less write about. He is the "gay" me. Kopelman previously wrote "From Baghdad with Love" telling about his life as a Marine who broke all the rules by falling in love with a puppy in Iraq. (Against all odds, he was able to smuggle the dog stateside.) The new book takes up where he left off in the first, when he returned home. Kopelston bares his soul regarding life after the horrors of war and how Lava, his dog, helped him feel human again.

Both books are written in a style similar to mine. Neither are politically correct. Both aim to expose the reader to the inner workings of a slightly deranged mind. Both authors share experiences that at times remind me of situations or emotions I have experienced. Both are poignant, funny, and disturbing. So am I. If you like reading my blog, then I highly recommend that you check these books out. You'll be glad you did.

What will you be doing on Halloween?

This year, instead of Trick-or-Treating, Bethany and I will be in Beijing, China!!! We received travel approval from the Chinese authorities just the other day. We also re-submitted our fingerprints for an updated criminal background check and are applying for our travel visas. Then we will receive final confirmation of the exact dates for travel to China. While there we will be able to do some sightseeing in Beijing then we will fly to our new son's provincial capital. It looks like we will get to meet our little guy on November 3. Then we will have appointments at the American Consulate and other official places to finalize the adoption. Eventually, we will return home on or around the 15th of November. Hopefully most of our relatives can come to our home for Thanksgiving so Jiang can meet his new family. Perhaps by Christmas, every one of our friends and family will have had the chance to meet him. We can't wait.

Stay tuned for more updates as the time draws nearer...

R.I.P. Tailgate Truck #3

On Saturday, September 6th the Missouri Football Tigers played their home opener against Southeast Missouri State. It was not a contest. For the second straight week, the Tigers scored 52 points en route to victory. A perfect day in Tiger Town, wouldn't you agree? It would have been except for the fact that my beloved 1975 Ford F-250, the truck that I hand painted to be the magnificent tailgating truck that she was, died quietly in my driveway Saturday morning.

The truck that served dutifully as tailgate party headquarters at Mizzou home football games, as a royal carriage for my sister Karah who was Queen Soya in last year's Homecoming parade, as a fishing boat puller, and as our only means to escape the snow and ice that would have otherwise trapped us in our primitive driveway during the last two winters unceremoniously ceased to function. Oh, the engine still runs about as well as it ever has since I replaced the plugs, plug wires, distributor cap, fuel filter, and had the exploded AC condenser removed and had the carburetor and brakes rebuilt. All those repairs held up fairly well. On Saturday, however, the 33 year old four-speed transmission gave up the fight.

After I picked Alex up from school on Friday in the Big Black Truck, I smelled something unusual when I parked it in its spot beside our barn. It had not overheated, and I had just checked all the fluid levels a few days earlier. This was a new smell. Apparently it was the smell of a dead transmission. On Saturday morning I could shift it into any gear, but it simply wouldn't move an inch. I can only surmise that the main gear ring suffered a terminal failure which in truck owner's terms means "she blowed up."

I figure the tow bill to the nearest transmission shop would be at least $100 and a rebuilt tranny another $1000 or so. I don't think I can justify the expense on a vehicle that could find another 100 ways to die in the near future. Therefore, "Old Seventy-Five" has most likely seen her last tailgate party. Now I suppose the rusting hulk will sit beside our barn for the next few decades as a bittersweet reminder of what once was. If you want to pay your respects, I will leave the bottle opener mounted on the bedside of the truck and we can down a few brews while we sit on the bumper and remember the good times she provided. She would have wanted it that way.

We Are Family

I had one of those "once in a lifetime" experiences yesterday. When most people attend a family reunion, they get to see some relatives that they may not have seen in a few months or even years. Occasionally they meet someone new, but only rarely. I, on the other hand, got to meet half of my family tree for the very first time. I am having a hard time describing how that feels.

I have been vaguely aware that all of these relatives existed somewhere, but for reasons unknown and unimportant, fate waited until now to bring us together. And I'm not talking about distant relatives, either. I got to meet my mom's brother and sister, four of my five first cousins on the Keller side, their spouses, and their children. And what a group they were!

I am happy to say that my anxiety leading up to the reunion was unfounded. Everyone was very down to earth, genuinely interested in learning about each other, and a lot of fun. We quickly realized that although we were strangers for the years prior to our meeting, by the end of the day a solid and loving bond was formed. I could not have been more pleased with the way everything went.

Aunt Linda and her cousin Roz put together an incredible genealogy dating back to the 1700's and published a very well done report for all of us to take home. (I am the ninth generation in the Laws/Reagan lineage to live in this country and the seventh generation in the Keller line.) Linda also made t-shirts and kept the lines of communication going leading up to the reunion. Uncle TK (Tom Keller) helped plan everything and his daughter Tricia, who lives in Omaha, made the arrangements for our catered picnic lunch at the state park there. After we ate, we posed for some family pictures and turned the kids loose at the water park. Then we ate dinner at the lodge and ended the day at the putt-putt golf course where everyone consipired to convince me that I had been beaten by Meredith thanks to her miraculous hole-in-one on the 18th hole. (Bethany revealed today that I had in fact won by a stroke.) I can't believe I was denied my moment of glory!

On behalf of Bethany, Alex, Blake, Meredith, and Mom, I want to say thank you to all of the Kellers, Barrs, Arants, Ullrichs, (and Naughtons) who made this weekend one of the most special of my life. It was especially rewarding to see Mom having so much fun visiting with everyone. She has taught us all that life is too short and family is too precious to not have these types of get togethers from time to time. I hope to stay in close contact with my bigger and better family in the future. In the photo are the first cousins: Tina, Gregg, Larry, Me, Tricia, and some dork named Blake.

PS: A special shout-out to the Arant girls. You all rock! - "Fred"