21 July 2008

Congratulations

posted by Phil Johnson

This is where I was over the weekend:


Photo by Linda McIntyre

More pictures here, courtesy of Leila Bowers.


Mr. and Mrs. Pecadillo
18 July 2008
Photo by Bonnie Freeland




Time does fly, huh?
What I wrote when Pecadillo entered the LAPD Academy

(First posted 10 November 2005)

LAPDI spent all day yesterday (Wednesday [9 November 2005]) in an orientation seminar with the illustrious Pecadillo, who enters the Police Academy this month. The hiring process for LAPD is long and arduous. For every 1,000 applicants who are considered, fewer than 50 are selected. So I'm very proud of Pecadillo for all he has gone through to get this far. He won't want me to blog much about it, because one of the cardinal rules for a recruit is not to stand out or call attention to yourself in any way. (And this rule of thumb was stressed repeatedly. They are not kidding.)

Even the normally upbeat and jovial Pecadillo sees no humor in any of this, and I don't blame him for taking it so seriously. Every one of his training supervisors intimidated me, and I'm not easily intimidated. That includes a couple of petite young women who I'm absolutely positive could beat me into a coma in a matter of seconds without raising much of a sweat, take great delight in doing so, and yet never even crack a smile in the process.

Since some of my readers are also fans of Pecadillo, I thought I'd mention that he might be putting his blog on hiatus or posting very sporadically for a while. Life for him is not going to be all that funny for the next 8 or 9 months. Nor will he have a surplus of spare time. His mornings for the next few months will be starting at 3:30 AM. That's not a lifestyle that is very compatible with writing a humor blog. I think he'll blog at least once more before officially launching his new career. After that, I predict his posts will be pretty spotty and perhaps even nonexistent—at least until he gets back into a less stressful routine.

The Illustrious PecadilloIncidentally, when he was a little kid, Pecadillo was the least literate of all our sons. He hated every minute of school. He struggled with learning how to read. His two elder brothers loved Sesame Street and learned the alphabet and basic reading skills before entering kindergarten. Pecadillo's tastes ran to the Three Stooges, and he didn't read anything voluntarily until late Junior High, when someone gave him a biography of Curly. He was the least likely person in our family to blog. He started his blog quietly, without even mentioning it to me, while Darlene and I were out of town a few months ago. I have been amazed by his latent literary abilities. It took me completely by surprise. I honestly don't know when and where he developed his writing skills, but—wow.

I just wanted to put on the record how proud I am of him.

Phil's signature

45 comments:

takin said...

Congratulations!

Ephesians 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, (ESV)

DJP said...

That's so great. Congrats to the happy couple, and the happy parents.

My, he cleans up nice, doesn't he?

DJP said...

PS — he'd better not change his blog title to, "I Said WHAT?"

FX Turk said...

'k, this is a little thing, but I think it's telling that in the 2-dozen or so pictures of Mrs. Pecadillo I have seen, she is always naturally smiling.

Congrats, Johnson family -- who's the favorite Daughter in law now?

[/trouble]

Solameanie said...

Dittoes on congratulations to Pecadillo.

Does this mean he'll be posting something soon?

Nah. I thought not.

Tim Brown said...

Yes, a wonderful time of life!

Which reminds me. Our tenth anniversary is coming up this August 7th. I'd better get cracking!

Tim Brown said...

*My, he cleans up nice, doesn't he?*

A classic.

Kim said...

Darlene pointed me in the direction of those pictures yesterday. Such a happy looking couple, including the parents of the groom!

Congratulations, Johnson family!

Frank Turk, that was a rather naughty comment

DJP said...

Frank Turk, that was a rather naughty comment

BREAKING NEWS: Turk Makes Naughty Comment! Film at eleven!

Stefan Ewing said...

Congratulations to the bride and groom. May they find joy in sharing their walk with God together.

This happened in Snohomish, up here in the Northwest? Cool. That's, like, a 2-hour drive from Vancouver.

Daniel said...

Congrats as well.

David A. Carlson said...

The best, most classic photo is when they are announced (second page of photo's) - the bride is ecstatic, the groom, looking over sideways with a look that is priceless.

Best Wishes on their journey

David A. Carlson said...

http://flickr.com/photos/theebowers/2683549309/in/set-72157606264721178/

Gilbert said...

Pec, and the entire Johnson family...

Congratulations! Way to go! I'd pray for blessings, but they're already there!

DJP and Cent...

2 minutes for roughing. Get in the box! ;-) ;-)

HELP WANTED: Cutting-edge, yet traditional Christian blog seeks highly intelligent, Godly, yet deeply sarcastic mascot with superior penmanship. Previous one married and immediately became sane. Love of odd foods required. Replacing the irreplaceable. Apply within.

threegirldad said...

Yes, congratulations. And that picture of your son wiping his eyes...wow. What a marvelous testimony.

John said...

Congrats, Thank goodness he took after his Dad and married up.

David said...

The one of Pec hugging mom. Man. Tears in my eyes. GREAT PHOTOS.

candy said...

beautiful pictures! Congratulations to the whole family. She looks like a lovely, fun addition to the family.

Is that....product!?!....in Pec's hair?

Even So... said...

Yeehaw!

(Well, I do live in the South...anyways, congrats)

donsands said...

Super. Thanks for sharing the pics and your joy.

Congrats to the utmost!

Cindy Swanson said...

Beautiful...warmest congratulations!

Charles e. Whisnant said...

Yes sir, I like the person touch.

Thanks for sharing.

Rachael Starke said...

So this is totally going to age me, but I remember Pecadillo when he was a goofy seventh grader in the Jr. High group at Grace. Cleans up nice indeed!I guess he's MR.Pecadillo now.

And for the record, bridesmaids' dresses - GORGEOUS. (We girls care about such thing, y'know!)

If I'm not mmistaken, Mike Riccardi got married this weekend too. Must be in the air...

Anonymous said...

Congratulations!!

FX Turk said...

Kim --

Gosh, I'm just curious.
____________________

Dan --

Muhuahahahahahahaha~!

And I did that without any voice training.

FX Turk said...

J.D. --

yeah, speaking of "the south", when are coming this way to visit family again? What kind of Grampaw are you anyway?

Caleb Kolstad said...

CONGRATS! And thanks for my package.

Caleb

Andy B. said...

My wife is awesome! I am thankful she had the opportunity to serve the Zimmer's and Johnson's by taking these amazing photos. I am a little biased, but man they are awesome.

The wedding was amazing and very God honoring, and I know that Susi and Jonathan's marriage will be the same, especially with all the accountability that they have.

Susan said...

Congrats, Pecadillo! Phil, you must be so proud....

The pics are very lovely. Thanks for sharing them with us!

BTW, Phil, referring back to your vintage post--Curly wrote an biography?? Is that a joke?? I guess he could have written about his hair....

Barbara said...

Now, I rarely (if ever) look at wedding pictures optimistically, but that - it's obvious how much they love each other. That is one beautiful couple, and I don't just mean on the outside. It shines through them. God bless and congratulations to them both! I pray they always cherish what they have found together as the very rare and precious treasure that it is.

(PS I love the stop sign photo!)

~Mark said...

Yeah! Congratulations on the lovely and godly covenant! :)

The Fantastic Daughter-In-Law's Spouse said...

I suppose I'll have to retire the moniker in order to avoid the unnecessary awkward family strife.

FX Turk said...

I thought it was a better evil plan that that. Shoot.

Anonymous said...

cute!

wordsmith said...

Congratulations! Coincidentally, my nephew got married on the selfsame day. Great minds think alike ;)

Even So... said...

Cent,

Thanks for askin, but I is a good papaw...the great grands can't git 'round so good no mo, so we brought the yungins to FL for Thanksgiving and also saw 'em for a wedding in May, as our son in law is also trying to get on with another police force (he and Pec started about the same time, ours in OK, as you know) and was in town for testing to see if he can come back home, and things have been chaotic, but as far as we are planning, sometime between now and Turkey day (pun intended)...

Both our grandkids birthdays are this week...4 and 1...again, yeehaw!

Susan said...

Ok, I'm still awake at this hour, I'm nuts. One last comment before I try to sleep....

I'm looking at the pic in your post again, Phil, and your daughter-in-law has one of the friendliest and most endearing smiles I've ever seen. In one of your previous posts you praised her sweet temperament--these pics of her really speak more than a thousand words. You're a lucky (ahem, I mean, BLESSED) man, Pecadillo!

DJP said...

Susan, I thought you were going to say that Phil was blessed, to have a daughter-in-law with a sweet,loving spirit. Because that is also true.

J♥Yce Burrows said...

Isn't God good? His blessings to the family blended so wonderfully! :-)

Kay said...

Hurray! Many congratulations to all the family. That's put a smile on my face.

Connie said...

Yes, congratulations!!!!

Susan said...

Yeah, Dan, I know. Even I thought it sounded weird when I posted. However, since it did follow my train of thoughts, so I left it as is. Trying to fix that weird construction last night would mean more words, more time (already 2 AM), and less sleep! But you're right, Phil is blessed also, as well as the rest of his family.

DJP said...

Oh, I wasn't finding fault. Just the way I read it. A godly d-i-l/s-i-l is not to be taken for granted.

Chris said...

Awesome Accomplishment to both father and son!

"Raise up a child in the way he should go...."

you know the rest Phil, and the rest indeed!!

Congrats.

Anonymous said...

CONGRATULATIONS TO JONATHAN & SUSI!
will keep you two in prayer. What a bunch of happy folks! loved the "train track" kiss & jon's tender heart seeing lady love coming down the aisle. May the LORD give you both quick-forgiving hearts for each other and much, much understanding.