Day in the Life of the Millers: Odds and Ends Again

I am hoping that Jay and Sofie will post about their interesting weeks, so will decline to narrate about their adventures.

Luke went with Jay on a trip to Detroit. This is where Jay will elaborate...(right?)

Luke and I stopped at TONY PACKO'S in Toledo, which is one of my favorite road-trip eateries.   Luke had a couple hot dogs and chili and I had Chicken Paprikas. Very tasty. The next day we started a new contract at the Ford Stamping Plant in Woodhaven, Michigan, just a few miles south of Detroit. Luke had floated the idea of eating dinner in Canada, so we packed our passports. That evening, we drove to Windsor, Canada for dinner. As we approached the exit for the bridge to Canada we noticed that the right lane was backed up over a mile with mostly trucks, completely stopped. The other 3 lanes were moving at 70 mph. I quickly slowed down and pulled in at the end of the line, nervously glancing in my rearview mirror and hoping the vehicles behind me would also stop! I was relieved when several other vehicles and a truck were stopped in the line behind me after a few minutes. Then we heard a tremendous crash behind us and I saw that the truck had been struck from behind, and debris was flying out of the trailer on both sides and spreading all over the road. There was no warning, no screeching of brakes, and it appeared that the truck was rear-ended by someone going 70 mph! Another truck stopped, and I saw the driver get out with a fire extinguisher and start spraying the back of the truck. About a minute later the emergency vehicles started arriving and all of the northbound I-75 lanes were closed.

It took quite a while, but we finally made it over the bridge and into Windsor for dinner. Luke had found a wood-fired pizza place on-line, and on the drive there we went through quite the potpourri of ethnic neighborhoods. We saw a Chaldean Christian church (Iraqi?), Vietnamese businesses, some African establishments and many African-Canadians. There were a few others as well, it was much more cosmopolitan than I had envisioned. On our way back we saw that the truck was still there and the northbound lanes of I-75 were still closed. The next day we were back at the plant and heard from some of the workers there that a 25-yr-old man and his son had been killed in the crash, and that the dad was a drunk driver. How sad.

Detroit News story on the accident

We finished recording vibration data from many stamping presses, probably more than 40. The measurement locations were the drive motor bearings, the dynamatic clutch, the brake, the pinion (small gear) bearing, and split-shaft bearings (larger gears). We also acquired vibration data from some compressors and pumps in the powerhouse. The job went pretty well for the first time out there, and took about as long as I expected, which was a relief. It was good to have Luke helping me.

Luke and Jackson also went on a trip over the weekend as they helped plan the year ahead for the middle school youth group.

Sofie had an eventful birthday week. Here is where she will elaborate in her inimitable style..

Bridget and I went to a meeting about The Well, a ministry in Thailand for women in slave traffic. We drove out to Aurora to a studio tucked away in an alley. We were very impressed with the Godly passion expressed by the couple that heads the ministry. Bridget has had many opportunities lately to practice her highway driving and I have had practice clutching the door handle and pressing my feet into the floorboard. She is doing a great job driving; it's all me and my control issues. This week as she drove home in the right lane of traffic we came upon debris scattered across the road. She calmly maneuvered onto the right shoulder while I prayed loudly and fervently! No problem.

Jackson went to his first day of school...ever...a week ago. He is taking Calculus I. Though he is the youngest student, he is at the head of his class. His teacher subtly suggested that he was cheating. It seems that she now believes that he is doing his own work; says that homeschoolers are her best students.

Emma is in Minnesota this week with Jane Larson; they are mother's helpers for her 5 young cousins. The girls and I went with her to the airport yesterday. The authorities were not thrilled that Emma was accompanied by so many loved ones :) but they reluctantly let us all through security. Emma has never flown on an airplane and the girls had never been on an airport concourse. They ran from window to window trying to watch the planes taking-off. This was also Emma's birthweek. She took along her birthday gift camera.

Annaliese and I went shopping for shoes this week. She bought teal-colored Converse tennies with her own money. And I bought church sandals, on sale, after Annaliese said they were me.

Here is an excerpt from the Gallahast Times:
   This week will be the last week of Linnea's presidency. Last night in city hall Annaliese and Grace gave their speeches passionately trying to persuade citizens to vote for them. Though the speeches were surprisingly similar, they were also motivation. It was a close call, but Annaliese won by two votes. Jane and Emily cast their votes by e-mail, but Reeses was unable to vote. Linnea acted almost relieved to step down as president and resume a quiet life, perhaps as banker or city improver.
   To celebrate the election of the new president, a performance was held in Gallahana by the GAL group. They started the show by singing a calm song "Part of Your World", after which they ripped off their dresses revealing leotards, and started a gymnast performance. After much practice their show was near perfect and a success. The surprised audience was delighted at the impressive acrobatics shown by the GAL group. If the GAL group performs again, I'll be there to watch it.

Sonja began piano lessons last night. Melissa Kelsey will be giving lessons at our house. The girls thought she was pretty and nice; Sonja is "motivated" to learn to play like the pros. She is very excited.