Introducing.....

Here is Wes, very happy that I snuck a shot of him in between capturing cars, drivers, the track and what not. He and I are both a bit camera shy, so it is very rare to get one of us on our own. We usually have no problem taking a picture together. I guess we both figure the other person will take any attention to the way personally look in a picture.


Here "we" are at the all star race. For those of you living in the Seattle area, that is the sun shining in our faces.

So, this is Wes. Actually its John Wesley, but he's never gone by his first name and even often forgets that his legal name is John. The kids joke with him all the time saying they'll just call him John, but after the moment, they always forget. Anyway, I figured it was time those who haven't met him yet got to know a little bit about this crazy guy that I'm moving across the country for.

I wonder if I should just put his vital stats up here as if he were a profile I was doing for an athelete or something. But, that seems so impersonal. So I guess I'll try to stay more personal. When I first met him the first thing that struck me, to be a little shallow, he's tall. Not super duper tall, but taller than me. Often times I feel a bit like an amazon. I never considerd myself that tall. I'm no WNBA player or super model, but I tend to feel like I'm one of the taller people in a room. Then again, I can reach things on the high shelves. The second thing I noticed was an interesting contrast between being shy, but not being a wall flower either. He wasn't afraid to talk to me, a stranger, but he also wasn't going to presume to get very personal right off. As a matter of fact, I think I did most of the talking (I know, hard to believe).

What seems to be hard for a lot of people to grasp is that our relationship developed over the phone and over IM. I guess some people think that something like this leaves too many unanswered questions, too many places to "hide". BUT, while we have spent a majority of the time that we've known each other over the phone, we've each also had the chance to observe each other in our natural environments. We've each met the immediate family. I've met his friends. Not so much mine, but that's because most of mine live in other state's. And when he did come to visit me here, I didn't want to overwhelm him. He was already meeting my kids and my family in one trip, didn't want to over do it.

The thing about getting to know each other over the phone over a long period of time is, we really did get to know each other. We talked and talked and talked. We talked about ourselves, our former relationships, our childhoods, good things, bad things, silly things. A couple of times I even pulled out the good 'ol Book of Questions. We shared music over the phone, played name that tune. He has no appreciation for They Might Be Giants, but neither did I at first, so there's time for that. They're even a bit much for Joey. He kind of rolled my eyes at me the first time he heard me sing along to Birdhouse in Your Soul.

So what is there to know about him? He's sweet, stubborn, loyal, hard working, he snores, when he blows his knows it sounds like a cartoon. He's a Redskins fan, not really into baseball, but he tries to follow the Mariners for my sake. He's into NASCAR and convinced me to give it a try. He's a Jeff Gordon fan, but generally likes any of the Joe Gibb's racers for the Redskins association. (Joe Gibbs is the former head coach for the Redskins, he owns a NASCAR team) He plays basketball, but doesn't follow it as closely since Michael Jordan retired. Speaking of, he wears Jordans. He's searching for a pair of retro Jordans that he REALLY wants. I tried to get them for Christmas, but alas, I came up empty. He likes to dance, and can even find the beat. He likes country music, but not exclusively. He complains about the weather unless it is 72* with a light breeze, so that means all the time. He has 2 kids. Russell isn't his, but he is his. He's the only dad he's known, and he isn't treated any differently than his daughter. Brianna is the same age as Joey. I still haven't met them. Just wasn't in the cards the times that I've been out there. That and there are ex wife issues. He makes me laugh, knows how to act like a kid still, but also knows when not to act like a kid. He likes to sleep. Everyone does, I know, but he really likes to sleep. He's also a pain to wake up. Unless its a radio blasting in his ear for more than a minute, he won't hear it. Believe me, I've tried calling in the mornings, I know better now.

Last but not least, he loves me, and that proves he has good taste. :-)