This is Randy-- Get it?!

Hey, this is me, Randy. I got some feedback on my blogging. Apparently, no one in my family can tell Natalie and I apart on the blog. I keep telling them I'm the blonde one pictured above. I think that no one I know thinks I can type or something. Well, little known fact: I was on the Manti High School Type Team for 4 consecutive years. Maybe if you'd have put down that clarinet or tennis racket, you'd have noticed how cool I was. In my prime I could type 88 words a minute, and only about half of them were "as" or "a." As for my editing skills, I often tell people that I worked at the BYU writing lab (mostly so I can convince them to put that comma after the second item in a list) and even though I didn't work there, most people I tell believe that I did. I count it as a testament to my editing skills that this lie seems viable to nearly everyone I've told it to. At any rate, I will now be putting "This is me, Randy" at the beginning of each entry I post. (It was that or get a Google account, and I don't trust any companies that start with the letter G-- it's the reason I don't eat Lucky Charms).

So, if you couldn't figure it out, it was Randy that blogged all the Hawaii trips (Natalie added pictures and most captions) and;

This is me, Randy:

We just got back from Yellowstone today, and it was a great trip (more on that later). I had quite a scare while preparing to go, though. I think that my greatest fear is to have car trouble on a vacation far from home. As I'm driving, I feel the slightest wobble, hear the tiniest ping, or smell the tiny whiff of car trouble and I obsess about it and can't enjoy the trip. So I nearly had a fatal heart attack when I went out and started the van prior to leaving on our trip.

I wanted to back the van in so it would be easier to load, but as soon as I turned the key, I heard this horrible screeching sound. If you've ever driven a '74 Ford Pinto (I have) then you'll recognize what a loose belt sounds like, it's a high pitched screech that tunes down and levels out until it final disappears. This screech sounded similar, but far worse, and much louder-- almost like it was coming from inside the van. I covered my ears with my hands and shut my eyes tight (it seems like this helps in these situations). Unfortunately, the atonal screech wouldn't stop, and it was accompanied by a rhythmic thump. Have you ever had a blowout at 55 mph and heard the tire thump against the under carriage as you try to steer to the shoulder? It sounded just like that. My first impulse was to kill the motor. I reached out and turned the key to the Acc position-- you know, where the electrical components still work, but the motor stops. Sure enough, the van ceased idling, but the noises kept coming! I was at the edge of despair when I finally figured it out. I reached over and turned the radio off. I hate when Natalie leaves the Dixie Chicks cd in the player.