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The “True Grit, Pure Grace” Lexus NX Press Preview In Nashville, TN

This week I had the honor and privilege of being invited by Lexus to the official reveal of their upcoming NX, which will not officially hit the showrooms until at least this November.

The “True Grit, Pure Grace” Lexus NX Premiere In Nashville, TN

The Lexus crew from Atlanta drove up to Nashville in eleven prototypes of their upcoming NX for their “True Grit, Pure Grace” press preview.

I personally only had to drive 12 miles to get to the classic Union Station Hotel from my house in Nashville. It seemed everyone else I met was from somewhere else on the eastern side of the United States; particularly the Detroit area or Florida.

I admit, it was pretty awesome to get to drive a luxury vehicle that technically doesn’t exist yet.

Out of the dozens of vehicles I’ve reviewed in the course of the past 3 years, largely the past 9 months, I’ve mentioned that the Toyota Rav4 was one of my favorites.

The “True Grit, Pure Grace” Lexus NX Premiere In Nashville, TN

Simply put, it was a vehicle that would be extremely practical for me to own, as a dad with one small child- and that’s perhaps the highest compliment I can gave in a review.

With that being said, the upcoming Lexus NX is actually loosely modelled after the Toyota Rav4. Actually, my initial thought when seeing the picture of the NX in the invitation for the reveal was, “That looks like an edgier, more luxurious version of the Rav4.”

The “True Grit, Pure Grace” Lexus NX Premiere In Nashville, TN

However, according to the presentation, I learned the Lexus NX has “20% more rigidity than the Rav4” and “90% new parts than the Rav4.”

(If the Rav4 is the cousin of the NX, then the Lexus RX would be the older brother; which I recently reviewed.)

After the presentation, we each immediately got paired up with another fellow journalist for one of three different driving routes.

I chose the longest route; to the Natchez Trace Parkway Bridge and back. So did Jason Muxlow of Automotive Trends. He was a really cool Midwestern guy and we had a lot in common.

The “True Grit, Pure Grace” Lexus NX Premiere In Nashville, TN

Continue this story by clicking on “2015 Lexus NX Review/Preview Across The Natchez Trace Parkway Bridge,” which is the title of next part of my 2015 Lexus NX review/preview.

You will get to see plenty of cool shots of the vehicle alongside the trek of the iconic Natchez Trace Parkway Bridge.

And there’s plenty more where those came from…

I now invite you to view the Lexus NX Press Release Flickr page, as well as the completely library of posts I’ve published on the 2015 Lexus RX:

The “True Grit, Pure Grace” Lexus NX Press Preview In Nashville, TN

2015 Lexus NX Review/Preview Across The Natchez Trace Parkway Bridge

Vegan Review Of The Farm House In Downtown Nashville

2015 Lexus NX 200t: 10 Professional Photos

2015 Lexus NX 300h: 11 Professional Photos

2015 Lexus NX 200t F Sport: 13 Professional Photos

Luxury Package of 2015 Lexus NX 200t F Sport: 7 Professional Photos

2015 Lexus NX: A Flickr Link To Professional Photos

Thanks for stopping by. Be on the look-out for more of my reviews on the Lexus/Toyota/Scion family!

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Dear Jack: Do You Remember The Times Of Your Life?

3 years, 8 months.

*Please play “Times Of Your Life” by Paul Anka while reading this one. I feel it perfectly captures the equal combination of sadness and goodness that illustrate what I am saying today:

Dear Jack,

Towards the end of my high school years, I remember suddenly becoming aware of those first couple of years of my life when things just seemed the sweetest and most innocent.

monster hat for boys

I had looked back though old photo albums, seeing the sincere look of joy on my parents’ faces as they lived in those moments, circa 1984.

My parents had made sacrifices for me, by default, simply because they became parents. But they cherished me for the sweet little boy I was.

It’s not something I had really thought much about until my later teenage years. Here we are, 30 years later. You’re now the sweet little boy in those pictures. Mommy and I are the parents in those pictures who cherish their son.

elevator ceiling selfie

As long as I’ve been a parent, I’ve always been mindful of the cliche warnings: “Don’t rush these years. Kids grow up so fast!”

With that being said, the older you get, the more I love being your Daddy.

So while I’m not trying to rush these years, I admit I’m always curious to see how much cooler being your Daddy will get. You become more of “a real boy” each day.

father and son nostalgia

As for now, these are the days when your stuffed animals still serve as the important equivalent of imaginary friends. It’s like they have souls. We don’t go anywhere without at least one of them, like your purple elephant, Ellie, for example.

I realize that a few years from now, those main characters in your life will fade to the background. What a strange thought!

Right now, these are the sweetest, most innocent years. It’s sadly ironic that I will most likely remember more about this time in your life than you will.

Good thing your Daddy is obsessed with documenting the whole thing for you! Granted, that “obsession” stems from my own wishes to revisit my past.

I enjoy you watching your world and I being a part of it. Perhaps being a parent is the most legitimate way to return to those nostalgic years of life I miss.

Love,

Daddy

P.S. The middle picture is an entry we submitted for a “selfie photo contest” for Joe Hendricks Photography!

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Nashville Man Mysteriously Rescued By Monster Trucks

This past Sunday afternoon as a Nashville man, Nick Shell, 33, was rounding the turn at Old Hickory Boulevard and Nolensville Pike in his newly restored 1985 Toyota 4Runner, he slid into a giant mud-filled ditch.

1985 Toyota 4Runner funny

“I had never seen mud that deep and thick before. It was all the way up to the windows. But then I looked up and saw a monster school bus and a big black monster truck with the phrase Crusader written across it. It was such perfect timing. How the monster trucks appeared immediately after my moment of need, I’ll never know,” Shell explained.

The giant monster trucks were able to nudge the 4Runner back up to the main road to safety. Perhaps miraculously, after all the mud was washed off, both the driver and Toyota 4Runner escaped the crash without even a scratch.

1985 Toyota 4Runner funny

However, the monster trucks mysteriously drove away shortly after the 4Runner was saved from the mud pit. One anonymous eyewitness who happened to be driving behind the monster trucks stated that the two vehicles had directly left from seeing Disney’s Planes: Fire And Rescue.

Did the new Planes movie help inspire the monster trucks to be on the look-out for smaller vehicles they could rescue? It’s possible.

1985 Toyota 4Runner funny

Some wonder if, in the likeness of the anonymous kindness of comic book super heroes, there will be more stories to come which tell of other monster trucks helping out drivers in need out there on the road.

It is also uncertain what exactly caused such a large area of deep mud so close to the main road. Large, asteroid-like clumps of rocky mud were also discovered near the site of the rescue.

We can only hope that where people are in despair, heroes continue to mysteriously appear to save them.

As for now, to the monster school bus and Crusader… whoever and wherever you are, your good works have not gone unnoticed.

1985 Toyota 4Runner funny

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A Dadventure Is The Father-Son Version Of A Daddy Date

May 2, 2014 at 11:41 pm , by

3 years, 5 months.

Dear Jack,

I am attempting to create a cool new phrase in the world of parenting. See, when a father takes his daughter out for fun, it’s called a “daddy date.”

But what’s a good phrase for when a daddy takes his son out for some good one-on-one time?

“Man-date?”Nah.

I got it:

Dadventure!

Last weekend you and I went to the zoo to check out a real red panda, so your matching stuffed animal could meet his relatives.

Meanwhile, Mommy stayed home and took care of some Spring cleaning.

However, when we arrived at the Nashville Zoo, it appeared that the red pandas were observing the Sabbath, because they were asleep in the trees.

That was no problem for us, though. Fortunately, the Nashville Zoo happens to contain one of the coolest playgrounds I’ve ever seen in my life. So we had a dadventure anyway!

You know that with me, there is no such thing as pushing you too high in the swing.

The way I see it, what fun is it for you unless I push you so high that your back is parallel to the ground, about 7 feet high in the air.

By the way, don’t be misled by the lack of a smile on your face in some of these pictures. A lot of times when it’s just you and me hanging out, we sort of space out and “think about nothing” together.

You actually said to me, “Daddy, we’re having fun right now!”

We both got a great work-out. I decided to challenge myself by not taking you in the jogging stroller; instead, I carried you the whole time, except when you were running around and playing.

As we spent quality father-son time together, we also were moving around, breathing in fresh air.

Like the animals at the zoo already know, this helps reduce stress, improves sleep quality, decreases the chance of depression, and improves the quality of learning. (See infographic below.)

It’s important that we get our special one-on-one time. I personally believe it’s important to also make sure there is some kind of edge or thrill involved, to make the event a true dadventure.

You’re a cool little boy and I’m a cool daddy, so we might as well have a good time whenever we have a chance!

Love, Daddy

How tall will your little man be?

 

Lords of the Playground: The Countdown
Lords of the Playground: The Countdown

 

Humans and Animals
Source: BestPsychologyDegrees.com

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Daddy, I Like The Dinosaurs That Don’t Have Gas

May 2, 2014 at 9:02 pm , by

3 years, 5 months.

Dear Jack,

I know it’s easy to forget this fact about your dad, but I do actually have a full-time job in HR at a trucking company called Paschall Truck Lines. It just so happens that my company was responsible for shipping the dinosaurs for the DinoTrek exhibits currently being featured in zoos across America.

Last Saturday, Mommy and I took you to go check them out in action at the Nashville Zoo just a few miles down the road from our house.

Though you knew up front they weren’t real dinosaurs, you still treated them with reverence.

You did have the nerve to pet the dinosaurs with me, despite the fact you saw the way they moved their giant mouths and you heard the way they roared at us.

A couple of the dinosaurs even spit water out of their mouths at us. (You spit back at them.)

Some of the “scarier” dinosaurs had machines behind them that caused fog to appear as we approached them.

After we finished our dinosaur tour, you expressed to me, “Daddy, I like the dinosaurs that don’t have gas.”

We had so much fun seeing the dinosaurs, you and I actually went back the next day to visit them again.

Not to mention, you’ve been telling your teachers and friends at school about them all week.

Yesterday on the way home from school, you told me, “Daddy, can we dig up some dinosaur bones? Maybe if can find some, we can turn them into real dinosaurs again.”

Until there’s a real Jurassic Park, our best shot of seeing resurrected dinosaurs is the DinoTrek exhibit at the zoo.

Sorry, Son.

I would love to ride a stegosaurus with you, if I could. Maybe in Heaven, who knows?

And if they have dinosaurs up there, I bet they don’t “have gas.”

 

Love,

Daddy