Around Fairfield
Learning how to lean into life By Jackie Devine
It was one of those rare, golden mornings when the weather and the temperature merged to create a breathtakingly beautiful spring day. Feeling like a rebel hankering for an open-air expe-rience, I decided to take a drive west on FM 2920. My win-dows were open, and I anticipated something, but I wasn't sure what. As I sat idling at a four-way stop, I heard a small, still voice from the far recesses of my mind whisper, "It's time to learn to live a little." It was one of those rare, golden mornings in April when the weather and the temperature merged to create a breathtak-ingly beautiful spring day. Looking to my right, I heard an eruption of sound like an engine roaring toward me at full throttle as I watched a racy, black and red three-wheeler pull up to the intersection. Both curious and intrigued, I stared at the contraption, wondering what in the world it was: a car, a motorcycle, maybe a hybrid Bat-mobile? While their music blared The Eye of The Tiger, one of my all-time favorites, the couple sitting in the cockpit burst out in laughter, gave me an exaggerated wave, sped through the junction, up the road, and out of sight. Riveted to my seat, I leaned back and sighed, "Now, that's what I'm talking about! That's
6 Fairfield Community Gazette - July 2022
leaning into life not counting the days, but making the days count. What did I just witness, and where does someone find a toy like that?" Making my way back home, I was committed to discovering more about that nifty, little open-air roadster. Pulling on to Timber Trails, what to my wondering eyes should appear, not a little old driver so lively and quick, but a shiny new Slingshot basking in my neighbor's driveway! Tickled at my discovery, I thought, "Ask, and ye shall receive!" One minute, I'm wondering how to put more pep in my step, and the next, the powers that be have provided me with a perfect example practically in my own backyard. The following Saturday, I found myself sitting with Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District (CFISD) police officer Kurt Korenek and his wife, Karen, also a CFISD employee. I listened intently as they shared their exciting decision to kick their lives up a notch. Kurt explained, "We have four children, aged 24, 22, 21, and 17. Over the years, we've stayed pretty busy with our jobs, and, like many parents, our leisure time was spent raising our kids and keeping them in sports - whether it was baseball, football, soccer, or softball and volleyball."
"Once they began to take on new hobbies and became more independent," Kurt explained, "we started thinking about trying out some things that wouldn't have crossed our radar a few years ago. And we got creative." "Last summer," he continued, "our oldest daughter worked at Camp Lone Star, a Christian ministry camp in LaGrange. She had a weekend where parents could visit. So, I thought, how can we make that fun and memorable? I had seen Slingshots were available to rent in our community, so I decided that would be a hoot. We rented one, drove there, and had a blast." "On the way there, Karen asked me, 'When are we getting one?' I asked her if she was serious? 'Surely you aren't.' She said, 'I am. We need to have one.'" Kurt let it go for a couple of weeks, but he, too, was beginning to feel a stir of excitement. So, he asked her again if she was serious. She was. "Several weeks later," Kurt continued, "I took her at her word and started searching the Internet and found the Polaris Fun Center in Bryan, Texas." One day in August, after Karen got off work, Kurt surprised her with a spontaneous trip to Bryan. Karen filled in; "I asked him why we needed to go to Bryan and he said it didn't Continued to Page 7 Copyright © 2022 Peel, Inc.
