Would You Eat Here?

A car mechanic recommended this deli, just a few yards from his shop. He was right, it was pretty good. Still I'd change the name if I were the owners. (The explanation? It's located on Terminal Road in Springfield, VA.)

Car Talkers

(as distinguished from Horse Whisperers)

Over the past few months, I have had a strange problem with my car requiring two new sets of brakes and now, possibly, a third. I've been listening to NPR's Saturday morning laugh-a-thon, Car Talk, in hopes of hearing a solution. (I even tried to call in once, but didn't get through. I may try again soon.)

As a result, I've gotten hooked on their weekly Car Talk Puzzlers. I've figured out two of them so far, and just today entered the contest by submitting my answer to this week's Puzzler. Their response is so amusing, I wanted to share it. Even their P.S. is funny.

By the way, did you know that they actually have a company named  Dewey, Cheetham & Howe with a Shameless Commerce division?

Monday, November 14, 2011 12:32 PM

Thanks for sending us your answer to this week's Car Talk puzzler!

In case you were wondering, here's the process we go through to select each week's winner:

First, we have to be certain you have the correct answer. We start by sending your answer to Paul Murky, at Murky Research. Murky, working with our Statistician Marge Innovera, will place your puzzler answer in one of two heaps: "not even close" and "pretty much right."

Assuming it passes by Paul and Marge, your answer will then be zipped along to Central Processing, where it will be date and time stamped, and searched for attached currency. Next, it will be shipped electronically to our Correct Answer Verification Center, where our legions of lackeys once again search your answer for any lingering currency-- just in case someone at Central Processing missed it. Then, they make certain that your response fits the criterion we have established for correct answers.

Please note that since we're often unsure of what the right answer is ourselves, we have very wide latitude in determining what constitutes a correct answer. Incorrect answers, however, will be sent to Nigerian Email Schemers.

Lastly, correct answers will be sent to Ms. Shirley Wright, who operates under the auspices of the Committee for Reviewing Answers to Puzzlers. There, operating under complete secrecy, Ms. Wright will pick a winner.

If your response is selected as this week's winning entry, we'll announce your name on the air. You'll also get a $26 gift certificate to our Shameless Commerce Division-- but only if you catch us. Which means, what? You'll need to e mail us and mention that you heard your name on the air. If you're smart, you'll then trade your new Shameless Commerce Gift Certificate to an unsuspecting co-worker, for a cup of coffee and twenty-five cents. Why $26? Simple. It used to be $25... but we adjusted for inflation. About ten years ago. (No kidding.)

Cordially,

Tom and Ray Magliozzi
Click and Clack the Tappet Brothers

P.S. Got more time to kill? Super! Here are a few puzzler-oriented ways to lower your productivity:

Sign up for our weekly puzzler email:

http://www.cartalk.com/ct/maillist.jsp?puzzler_list=subscribe#psychic

Check out our puzzler offerings over at our Shameless Commerce Division:

http://www.shamelesscommerce.com/SearchResults.asp?Cat=30

Listen to Ray explain this week's puzzler:

http://www.cartalk.com/content/puzzler/

Peruse our puzzler archives:

http://www.cartalk.com/content/puzzler/

Suggest a puzzler:

http://www.cartalk.com/ct/3500.jsp

Job News 2: "Youth Reads" Reviews

In addition to working with children at Jill's House (see previous post), I am enjoying another of my favorite activities: reading and encouraging young people to read.

Many of you are familiar with Chuck Colson, famous for being one of former President Richard Nixon's top "hatchet men." Colson converted to Christianity in 1973 while imprisoned for his role in the Watergate scandal. He went on to found a world-wide ministry to prisoners, and has become an articulate spokesman for the accuracy and importance of a Christian worldview. (His 1987 book, Kingdoms in Conflict, introduced me to 18th-century British statesman, William Wilberforce—the leader of the abolition movement in England—eventually leading to my masters thesis, Legislative Compromise as Moral Strategy: Lessons for the Pro-life Movement from the Abolitionism of William Wilberforce.)

But I digress.

In September, I began writing reviews of books for the Youth READS section of Colson's worldview website, BreakPoint.org. These reviews are intended as a resource for parents as they pastor their children's reading activities. For an index of all Youth READS reviews, click here. To go directly to one of my reviews, scroll down (here on my blog) to view, in the right-hand column, a list of titles linked to individual reviews. I'll add new titles to this list as the reviews are posted.

Job News 1: Jill's House

After 18 months of full-time medical leave, I am finally well enough to begin working part-time.

Over the years, I have held a pretty wide variety of roles. I've found myself drawn repeatedly to several, often overlapping areas including (in alphabetical order): ethics, faith, music, teaching (both adults and children), and writing.

At present, I'm focusing on two of my favorite areas: working with children and freelance writing. In this post, I'll introduce you to Jill's House, a respite ministry for families of children with intellectual disabilities.

Parenting is a challenge for anyone. Families with special needs children face physical, emotional, medical, relational, and financial strains the rest of us can only dimly comprehend. The purpose of Jill's House is to minister to these families by giving them a regular break from the stress of 24/7 special needs care. The goal is to build a pattern of respite into these families' lives by having their children stay at Jill's House for a day or two each month.

Jill's House opened just over a year ago. It boasts a beautiful, 14,000 square foot, chalet-like facility with a full complement of activity rooms (music, art, games, a gym, a library, and even an indoor pool). There are also three large general activity areas ("pods") with bedrooms for those children who stay overnight. Two of the pods are open now. The third is scheduled to open next month, bringing our total capacity to between 30 and 40 children. (I understand that there is only one other comparable facility in the world, located in Israel.)

The building has a "camp" theme. Visiting campers join teams of one to three other children, depending on their level of independence, under the supervision of a Child Care Specialist (that's my role), with other staff, supervisors, and nurses always available for additional support.  It's a remarkable place to work. I'm impressed and amazed by the staff, and the commitment not only to the children, but to their families. It's hard work--physically and emotionally--and I'm still very much in the learning curve, especially with the multitasking required to meet the children's varying needs and capacities.

The good news is that families are really being served. One couple recently wrote that Jill's House allowed them to take their first break in 12 years! If you live in the Washington, D.C. area, and know families of children with special needs, tell them about Jill's House. (Don't wait--we are already booked almost to capacity all the way into February.) Have them check out the website (click here), which includes a short video, and written stories of several families already benefiting from the ministry.

Creation Captured

http://news.yahoo.com/photos/amazing-nature-photos-1316481432-slideshow/amazingnaturephotos-photo-1319754489.html

Go to this Yahoo/National Geographic link to enjoy some of the most stunning nature photos I've ever seen, all by amateurs. (See especially the first one, plus #2, and #8. Don't miss #9, #10, or #12(!). Oh, just look at all 24 of them.)

An Ode to Youth Passed

A store clerk asked
if I was 60
ending thereby
my illusion delusion
of youth.

Yes, Virginia, There is a Jay Sappington

I received a message on facebook recently from a friend who said he was relieved to find me there--he had gotten worried because my blog had not been updated in so long. I've been intending write an update--in fact, I felt almost a need to write several times this fall, but was too busy to get to it. It hadn't occurred to me, however, what not updating might imply. So let me state unequivocally and gladly that I am alive and reasonably well and living in Virginia.

Since only close friends are likely to find this blog, not to mention actually read it, I will give a medical update. Whereas a year ago, I required 12-14 hours of sleep per night in order to be functional the other 10-12 hours of the day, my health has improved slowly but dramatically since beginning treatment for sleep apnea. I'm down to about 9 hours per night, and am doing well enough that I have started working part-time. (More on that in a separate post.)

More specifically, I'm happy to report that I've had no recent episodes of visual distortion for some time now. Other symptoms continue to recur erratically. Digestive episodes accompanied by exhaustion were frequent for several weeks this fall, but usually less serious than in the past. My hearing and tinitis are worse these days (in loud rooms, it's sort of like listening through a tin can), and I had a knock-down, drag-out, awful vertigo episode on August 24, 2011, the day after our east coast earthquake. I've had several more since, but they have been minor, and I have slept them off in 2-4 hours.

I don't think we ever got to the root causes of all of this. Current suspects are hypoglycemia or food intolerances. My new insurance doesn't cover pre-existing conditions for another 7 months, so I've had to stop testing for now.

But I'm grateful that I'm so much better than I was even a year ago, not to mention when I first arrived back in the States in March, 2010. (One close friend in Virginia told me recently that he began a mental draft of my eulogy after he saw me shortly after my return here in June, 2010.)

I have lots of non-medical news, but it's time for my 9 hours of sleep. I'll try to write again this week.