Life Skill Genes....

Have you ever noticed that there are certain skills in life that some people are born with and some just aren’t? I call these the life skills genes....and there are tons of different ones...

Take my grandfather for example. He had the "fixit" gene. That guy could fix or build just about anything.
I can remember staying with them for a time one summer and everybody in the neighborhood would bring stuff to Pop to be fixed. From toasters to bicycles.
When my aunt and uncle bought their big house up on the hill Pop spent many a weekend helping install sprinklers, building fences, building a shed for the horses, running an electric fence, etc, etc.

I tend to be just like him in that aspect…except I usually tear stuff apart then take it somewhere to be fixed...mine's more of the "break it then keep other people employed" gene....

Then there's the "sense of direction" gene....you know, this is the one where no matter how lost you seem to be this person can tell you exactly which direction North is and how to get back to where you need to be...
I’m kind of like that. I usually have a pretty good sense of direction and can normally find my way around. My kids, unfortunately, are NOT those people. My son in law especially seems to be lacking this gene...

Now I’m not trying to bash him because he has many other very good traits. He has the whole music/rythym gene, the video game gene, the BBQ gene and many others. And, to be honest, I think if you ask him, he’ll freely admit he gets lost easily. It’s just not in his genetic makeup.

I remember the time he and my daughter were on their way to Yosemite. He had done the Mapquest thing, we had talked about the route and yet, about 2 hours after they left, I got a call asking if Ripon was on the way to Yosemite because they had just passed Ripon headed south on 99. um...no, that’s not the way...turn around.

Or then there’s yesterday, when all the kids were headed for Lassen camping for the weekend. They left about 8 yesterday morning for what should be a 5 hour drive to Lassen. The kids were going up early and Deb and I are supposed to meet them there this evening since we both had to work. Supposedly they’ll set up camp and have everything ready so all we have to do is show up.

Well, when I called him about 4:30 to see how the camp site was, I found out they hadn’t quite made it yet...
ME – um Chris, it’s been 8 ½ hours and you’re still not there?
HIM – Yeah, we had a slight detour to Chico
ME – But you don't go through Chico to get to Lassen
HIM – Yes, we realize that now
ME – So are you almost to camp at least
HIM – No, we’re going to that waterfall place first
ME – you mean Burney Falls
HIM – Yeah, I think that’s where we’re headed

Now, granted. It’s definitely not all on him since there are 3 other people in the truck and I know I have at least one map of California in there.

Unfortunately, although neither of my daughters has the "sense of direction" gene they both have an extra "here's my opinion" gene.

So, now you can imagine the poor guy driving is probably getting lots of conflicting and very strongly supported suggestions on the right way to go. (in addition to having strong doses of the "here's my opinion" gene, both my daughters are very smart and probably should have majored in debate since, even if they’re wrong, they can make you think they know exactly what they’re talking about)

Anyway, last night about 7:30 both Deb and Chris’s mom received collect calls from somewhere in Burney. Unfortunately, both calls were missed so we’re still not sure if they ever made it to Lassen or whether they’re up there driving around trying to find the camp site.

I guess if Deb and I get there this evening and they aren’t there, we’ll just have to find a hotel....luckily both Deb and I have and know how to use the "we want room s service" gene...