As the boys rushed out to meet Sam at the plate Sunday morning, my smile widened.

It was hot; the temperature would be 80 degrees in the shade by noon, and the sun burned the last bit of dew from the manicured field. It's day one of the Challenge League playoffs, and there's no doubt Sam has shown up with his A-game in tow.

It was oozing beneath his uniform.

Radiating from the tip of his bat as he readied himself for his first swing.

And it left a trail from the line drive to left field, driving home the first runner.

Sam was on fire.

The team was on fire…

Last Thursday, I left one of Sam's games early after he spent the first part of the game blaming rather than encouraging his teammates and then erupted from the field, having struck out, and began throwing his gear and declaring that the umpire sucks, baseball sucks, and he was quitting…

Last night was game one of the playoffs in my son's Little League. And before I get into this, I appreciate the coaches. They give a lot of time to these boys, and they do the best they can with what, at times, is seemingly impossible.

But there is a problem with the culture.

A BIG problem…

If you go to my website, under the section for R.W. Price Realty, you'll find this:

"We help people buy and sell property without relying on the doublespeak, bullshit, and smokey mirrors that are so common in the industry."

I hesitated to put it that way, but the phone calls from prospective clients who say, "I called you because I don't like bullshit either," have reassured me…

Yesterday, I poked a buddy of mine in the belly.

You know, like the Pillsbury Dough Boy commercials.

Only there was no "hee hee" like on TV.

Instead, it was, "I know, man, I know."

My boy has packed on some pounds, and I'm not the type to ignore that.

"I know," he said again.

"I really need to get back in the gym, but I just don't have the time."

Y'all know what I said, right?

Bullshit!

In meetings - at home or work - I like when people challenge my thinking rather than rubber stamp my ideas or tell me what they think I want to hear.

Echo chambers make me uncomfortable…

The first time I saw a Tesla, I was driving to Charlotte with my friend Joe.

This was in the early days of Tesla when they were still using Lotus bodies, and most folks outside of Silicon Valley, myself included, had no idea what a Tesla was.

The car was a black Roadster.

The driver was an attractive middle-aged blonde…

If there's one thing I don't understand, it's those folks who complain about their lot in life but refuse to do anything about it.

You know the type; they are easy to recognize.

They say things like:

"Man, I wish I could do that. . ."

"Yeah, but you had a head start. . ."

"Must be nice to have parents who supported you. . ."

These people drive me nuts!…

Earlier today, someone asked me how I stay focused.

"With everything going on in the Middle East right now, how can you focus on your work and family?"

Well, I have a secret.

I accidentally packed my travel food in my checked bag instead of my carry-on for today's flight home, so I was stuck with airplane food if I wanted to eat.

I was hungry, so I chose what I thought would be the healthiest thing on the airplane to eat: the fruit tray.

My logic was simple.

Fruit is good, healthy food.

I'm ordering a tray of fruit.

Therefore, I will have a tray of good, healthy food.

WRONG!

Yesterday I completed the Rim-To-River-To-Rim hike at the Grand Canyon, going from the top down to the river and back in a single day.

I was a little behind schedule yesterday when I stopped to watch the sunrise from inside of the canyon.

Even so, I was fortunate to be as early as I was. A taxi service will take you around the park when the shuttles aren't running for just $15. When I called at 4:30 to hitch a ride from Bright Angel (where I finished and wanted to leave the Jeep) to South Kaibab (where I started), I only had to wait ten minutes.

By the end of the 15-minute drive, the wait was up to 45 minutes.

And as soon as I hit the trail, I could see why…

It’s 3:00 AM, and I’m 5 miles south of the south entrance to the Grand Canyon.

Canyon. I’ll leave my campsite in about half an hour and return to the park.

I plan to be at the Kaibab Trailhead by 4:30.

With some luck, I’ll be resting at Skeleton Point, about halfway to the bottom of the canyon, when the sun rises…

It was 62 degrees and pitch black outside when we piled into the rented jeep this morning.

4:30 AM

There was plenty of time to catch the sunrise from the peak of Camelback Mountain near Phoenix.

I'd checked our route ahead of time on the Alltrails app, but only as far as the location of the trailhead and the distance.

I did not check the elevation…

This morning, I woke up in a tent on top of a Jeep parked in the driveway of a mansion in Arizona, which is not easy to explain.

Of course, the entire reason I'm in Arizona this week is hard to explain…

Generally speaking, I have a lot to say.

Too much at times, according to some folks.

Although not so much of late.

This was the question from a good friend who moved to Asheville a while back.

"Haven't heard much from you in a while," he said.

True story.

And by "heard much," he was talking about social media, mostly how he and I have kept up since he moved.

He's not the only person asking that question, in person and on social media…

Aside from having some fun, there was an underlying purpose for the Super Epic - Super Pacific road trip.

A test of sorts.

Could I effectively manage my businesses from the road for an extended period without being in my office and on the job sites?

Though some of my mentors cautioned against it, I was confident I could pull it off.

Most of my friends thought I was insane…

Driving from Mississippi to Louisiana, I felt a sense of accomplishment.

This had been my first cross-country trip, and I'd already been through ten states since leaving California. Counting my home state of North Carolina, I had four more before I'd sleep in my bed again…

Like so many other plans on this trip, my exercise plan has gone sideways. Between the distance we are trying to cover each day, learning the ins and outs of the new setup, and the mechanical issues, there has been less downtime than I'd hoped…

Outside of Warren Buffet's house in Omaha, Julia was getting nervous.

"Will you PLEASE just get on down the street before you start texting your boys your selfies in front of his house!!! Did you see all those cameras???"

To be fair, there were a lot of cameras, but surely I'm not the only person who drives 20 minutes out of their way to see where the Oracle of Omaha lives.

But I conceded, and we headed on to the Ozarks…