Continuing our series of “colors” posts, today we’re focusing on “green.” We know it’s Dub’s favorite, as well as Matty’s and BillS’s. Bill, these dudes aren’t all in forrest green, but there are some hot guys here. For some reason, I thought of you when I ran across #08. And, bw, I included #16 as a test your new cataract-free eye. So happy you had that done. Dub’s Pop-pops had both eyes done last fall and he said it was an absolute miracle. Oh, and Denny… #30 is for you. Hope you like him. In the interest of maintaining a harmonious relationship, you probably better share him with Dave 🙂 Jingle, babe. There’s a special pic for you in every URD post, and you always know which one it is. This is our 6th “colors” post and we have six more in process. Stay tuned.

From David:
It’s been a week since our last post, and in that time, it seems like the World has been turned upside down. I’m posting this from my laptop here at the Lake. Ben and I and all six of the kids have been here since yesterday evening. I’ll let Ben tell you about it.
I want to thank you guys for your birthday wishes (for both Dub and me) and your kind words on the 7th anniversary of the blog (OMG. Can it really be seven years?). UnrulyDude is a family kind of thing and it’s for and about our on-line friends. It would never have existed without the understanding, help and friendship of our amazing friend, Lee Keels. Lee, you’re our hero and we love you.
xoxo David
From Ben:
Things have been pretty screwed up since this coronavirus thing hit us. At one moment we were at the lake celebrating Chad and Raef’s wedding and then we got back and I learned that the board of directors had assigned me the task of writing and implementing a “coronavirus response plan” for our school. I had no idea how to go about it, but “Dr. C” and I worked together and we had the plan put together in two days. Essentially, the plan says that if (when) the first case of COVID-19 is (was) diagnosed in Missouri, we’d cancel classes and go to entirely on-line instruction. Of course, the first case was soon announced and we cancelled in-person classes. Every student at our school has either a laptop computer or tablet, so on-line learning is a part of our every day lives. The problem is that most of our students have parents who work and depend on our school to take care of their kids during the day. Then, there are a few of our students who don’t get good meals at home and depend on our school for a major part of their nutritional requirements. So… we asked for volunteer teachers – and divided our students into groups of six and arranged for them to meet daily at individual teachers homes. The kids would be learning on-line, but they’d have the support of an instructor… plus, their parents could still work… and our volunteer instructors would see that they had plenty of good food.
I, of course, volunteered… and chose my six students carefully… Surprise! They’re Dub, Austin, Bella, Chance, Travon and Matty. We started in-home instruction on Tuesday.
Then, on Wednesday, Dub said “Dad, since we’re doing on-line classes anyway, why don’t we do it at the lake? That way, we’d be there ahead of time for Dad’s and my birthday party this weekend.” I thought it was a great idea… so yesterday we loaded up both our cars and came to Table Rock. We did on-line classes today and the entire gang will be here for the weekend birthday celebration. At this point, we don’t know how long we’ll be down here. It’s a great atmosphere and gets the kids (and us) away from the insanity that’s taking place in the City. It’s a tough time for everyone – but we’ll get through it.
xoxo Ben
From Keon:
Monday, when I picked Tra up at school, we needed a few things from COSTCO, so we stopped by on the way home. I was completely unprepared for what was going on there. It was NUTS! People were running around with carts overflowing with food and bottled water and stuff. COSTCO had zero paper goods available. No paper towels, no toilet paper, no Kleenex. Many of the shelves were bare. I swear, it was full-on panic. We grabbed a rotisserie chicken, some hot rolls and a few other things and checked out as quick as possible.
When we got in the car and headed home, Tra looked at me and said “Dad. Are we gonna die?”
I drove on a ways not knowing what to say. Then I saw a sign with an arrow saying “Platte Purchase Park.” So I pulled into the park and turned off the car and looked him in the eyes and said “No, Tra. We’re not gonna die. There’s this virus that’s causing people to get sick, and it’s possible you and me and your Dad might get sick, but we’re NOT gonna die. We’re family and we’re gonna love and take care of each other.”
He said “You sure?”
and I said “Don’t worry, little dude. I promise. We’re gonna be fine.”
xoxo Keon