Midlife Road Trip

I had envisioned sitting at the dinner table and handing each of my daughters an envelope with $100 cash. They would open it up and ask, “What’s this for?”
I would reply “Pack your bags girls, we’re going on a cruise!!”
“When?” they would ask, excitedly.

“Our plane leaves in the morning!” I’d say. And they would squeal with delight and fight each other to give Daddy hugs and kisses before running off to their rooms to pack. Denise would kiss me and tell me how wonderful I was for planning this great surprise, revealing her amazement at how I was able to keep the cruise a secret. The look in her grateful eyes would promise a vacation filled with passion and romance. But…(more) 

Sure, we’ve all been inconvenienced by the increased airport security measures  since 9-11. And now thanks to the attempts of a wanna be shoe bomber, we now have to remove our shoes before passing through security. (Why couldn’t it have been a bra bomber?) I considered the inconvenience a part of my patriotic duty – until it began interfering with my sex life…(more)

one of my most embarrassing moments

Folks have been asking me, “What’s this ADDetourz business all about?”

Well, it’s like this – I have been certifiably diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder. I have a short attention span and I am esaily distracted.

Often on family trips, I would drive miles out of the way in pursuit of something piqued my interest rather than staying on course of our destination. For example; once when we were driving from Atlanta to Savannah down Interstate 16, I saw an exit sign for the town of Dudley. Well, our cocker spaniel was named Dudley, so I thought my daughters would enjoy seeing the town of Dudley. So we took, what my girls referred to as “another one of Dad’s ADDetours”.

The producers of Midlife Road Trip are counting on me taking some ADDetourz along the journey. So I’m sure that in future posts or blogs or whatever this is, I will be recounting the experiences of some of these unplanned excursions. At least now, you know what an ADDetour is.

Pictured below are the Dudley exit sign, Downtown Dudley (PO), and the most famous water tower in Dudley.

In 1991, on the way back to Atlanta from a Disney Vacation in Orlando, we took an ADDetour to the Alligator Farm in St. Augustine. Here’s a picture of me and Sherri… and a former alligator that surely enriched a local taxidermist.

One more thing, In case you’re wondering about the unusual spelling of ADDetourz, it’s because domain name “addetours.com” was taken. So rather than trying to track down the domain’s owner and trying to convince them to sell it to us for a song, we simply changed the spelling to “ADDetourz” for the purposes of graphics, video production and this blog.

People have been asking why when we will hit the road and begin full production of the series. Well, the truth of the matter is that Midlife Road Trip is stuck in traffic – figuratively speaking. The producers are still lining up sponsors (I think they’re still looking for a hotel chain or sports car sponsor to pick up the tab for the travel expenses for the cast and crew) Smart Car was interested, but we didn’t think they really fit the premise of the show – it’s not exactly a midlife crisis kind of automobile. Anyway, there is a lot going on behind the scenes to make sure that we come up with the most entertaining show possible. If you know of any money people who might be interested in sponsoring the show, let us know. Sponsors carry a lot of clout in determining where we go and what we do on the show.

What all of this actually means is that the powers that be are figuring out how to produce the show as inexpensively as possible with as much product placement as possible while appealing to as broad an audience as possible. There’s no telling how long that will take.

So in the meantime…

Since this blog was initially set up to chronicle the behind the scenes happenings of each episode and since we may not officially hit the road for a while, and since I’m going to have to get used to writing something each week, I figure I may as well get in the habit up slapping something up here for the world to digest on a semi-regular basis. So until we get out of this traffic jam and and can stomp on the gas pedal, I’ll be blogging on a variety of lighthearted and humorous topics.

See ya on the road!

Rick

“Hi! I’m Rick Griffin and I’m in the middle of my midlife crisis. I quit my job, bought a convertible and now I’m hitting the road. The world is full of history, adventure, and great places to eat; and I intend to check it all out – before I check out. So grab your camera and some cash and come on, because you’re invited to join me on my Midlife Road Trip.” Midlife Road Trip – pilot episode

That’s the intro to my Midlife Road Trip. It’s almost true. It’s as close to the truth as I could come in the thirty seconds I was allowed for the intro. So to keep it real, here’s the real scoop. I am Rick Griffin and I am in the middle of my midlife crisis but I didn’t quit my job. I actually sold my business. When you’re self employed, there’s no one to turn your notice in to so you have to sell your business.

For years I owned a small chain of day care centers. I had ninety seven employees – all women. I know, some of you guys are probably thinking, “Man, it must be nice being the boss of all those women… like being the lone rooster in the hen house.” Well let me assure you that the day care business is not all fun and games. I have been hit, bit, slapped, scratched, kicked, poked, spit on, cried on, peed on, puked on, pooped on, laughed at, yelled at, screamed at, lied to… and I have even had nose nuggets wiped on my clothes. And the kids weren’t much better.  So to relieve stress and lower my blood pressure, I sold the business. It’s a lot easier for me just to say I quit my job – but now you know the truth.

I also need to confess that I didn’t actually buy a convertible. I borrowed one from my friend, Jane. It’s an awesome little BMW convertible that’s a total blast to drive. The only problem is that Jane, in her own midlife crisis, had some super, mega, ghetto-blaster stereo system that takes up all of the trunk space, installed in the car. I could barely squeeze my tennis racket in the trunk, much less anything else. I think Jane’s stereo can actually be measured on the Richter Scale. Nonetheless, I am very grateful to Jane for the use of her little car. It looks great on camera.

The rest of the intro is pretty much true. There is so much to do and see and experience “out there” and there are so many interesting people to meet. I don’t want to get to the end of my life and feel like I missed out on something that God wanted me to experience – best not to tick God off. So, before I get too old, it’s time to hit the road.