Tonight I am going to GAG!

GAG is an acronym for Guts and Glory, a small group of unusual men that meet every week in my home. .  My GAG buddies are unusual in the respect that not one of them is satisfied with the status quo.  Each of these motivated men want to live better, healthier, more vibrant lives.  They want to live fully alive.

Today I began scouting out hiding places for the annual Easter egg hunt we hold at our home. I plan this carefully. My objective is to find hiding places that have never been used before. Evidently, my memory is becoming severely degraded. I put a little red flag in each new place I think will make a unique hiding place for this year. I poked a flag in four rotten eggs left from last year.

How could I forget a place where I stuck a flag and hid an egg only a year ago? Here is the worst part. I put out 30 flags, then I go to get the eggs. In the span of time it takes to go inside the house, get the eggs and begin placing them, I usually forget where at least five of the flags are. Just a few more years and I will be able to hide my own Easter eggs. Every egg will be a surprise!

When the starting gun goes off at the beginning of the hunt, (yes, we do have a shotgun start) the children immediately dash for the places they found eggs hidden the previous year. They have memories like elephants.

I finally bought a GPS. I fought the idea because I already had a wife. Didn’t need a GPS.  Diane was my GPS. “Turn left in 500 ft – Stay on this road for three miles – Stop! – We’re here!”

Diane was always right and she didn’t need batteries. I travel alone now and I’m not very good at getting to my destination.  On several occasions I’ve found myself in the middle of a corn field, fifty miles from where I wanted to be.  So I bought a GPS.  Named it Lulu.  Lulu has my destination locked in her memory and shows me the perfect way to get there. It’s kind of nice. Lulu doesn’t make me stop to go to the bathroom, she never asks me what I am thinking and she too is always right. But sometimes I deliberately, or by accident, turn right when Lulu says left…or left when she says right.  In those moments Lulu gently instructs me to make a U turn and get back on track.  More often she simply says “recalculating.” Then she comes up with a whole new perfect plan for me. A new beginning from my current position. How cool is that! The destination remains the same… the journey getting there has been adjusted taking into account my diversion.