Update 3 From Trey in Iraq!

Just a quick one for everybody!
We have been receiving some mild harassing indirect fire lately. Nothing serious. I think in the month that I have been in country we have gotten attacked 7 times. Most likely because of the Iraqi holy month of Ramadan. Our Iraqi contractors are fasting during that day as part of their religious beliefs so we have been asked to limit drinking and eating in front of them. We have some contractors that work outside in the heat all day and I can't believe how they do not drink a drop of water. Sometimes we have to force them to drink (especially when one passes out from dehydration). But other than that we try to respect their beliefs. I think seeing the other cultures around this area is good for the younger Soldiers...some have never been away from their hometowns or out of the states.
The Iraqi's are also very physical. They enjoy holding hands if you are walking side by side and putting their arm around you when you are having a conversation. It has been a shock to some seeing how close their society interacts. Definitely not like us Americans who desire "Personal Space."
Anyways, I am back to work but wanted to attach some pictures...
Me working in my office.
Making a speech.
Reciting the Oath of Enlistment.
Congratulating my Motor Sergeant for Re-Enlisting Enjoying some free time outside of the office playing cornhole.
Love and Friendship,
Trey

It's All Good!

Well, it’s been a few weeks since Trey left. He is getting settled in and I guess we are getting used to being real empty nesters. The home computer has just about died so I ordered an Apple Imac. It should be here this Saturday and then begins the transition of data between machines. I signed up for the Apple classes because they will do the data transfer as part of the fee. I am very much looking forward to getting the machine. I may reconfigure the Blog as part of the Apple transition.

Of late the cars have been requiring lots of maintenance and as I told you earlier, some repainting. Patt, our mechanic has a friend that has a paint shop in his garage and he agreed to do the entire bumper for $300. I considered that to be a super price, as the best estimate we got from the big body shops was in the $650 range. It’s just that all these bills are hitting us at once. Just when you make some headway, there are those standing in line to take it away from you. Such is life.

Red Sox Road Trip

The first weekend of August was this year’s annual trek to see the Red Sox play the Orioles in Camden Yard. After saying that I would never be trip captain for the Church Group again, I wound up being trip captain for this trip. Ah, what the heck. I am getting used to it. This was a particularly trying trip, but a heck of a lot of fun too. I rented a 15 passenger van from Triangle Rental Company. Got it for $310 for the two days, picking it up on Saturday and returning it prior to 7:30 AM on Monday. Got to my Mom and Dads house at about 8:30 AM and began to pack. We were using Dad’s car as the luggage conveyance, and the van was to be party central (as I learned). Greg was my co driver, so we got to sit up front and listen to the noise in the back. Everyone had made or brought something special to eat or drink and they were breaking out the food even before we left the driveway. Kyle drove my Dad’s car and Larry kept him company. We stopped every hour or so to take a stretch-break and to change drivers, but it took at least 20 minutes to get everyone back into the van. We stopped on Route 301 just after crossing into Maryland for a lunch break and then again where 301 and 5 split so my Dad and Mom could go on up to Baltimore. They had tickets for the Saturday night game. The rest of us headed into Tyson’s Corner as some of us (ME) wanted to make a pilgrimage to the Levenger’s store. For those who don’t know, Levenger’s is the Rolls Royce of office supply stores. Abby and I probably could have spent four hours there. We wound up getting a free Circa notebook and spent a good hour messing around there, but soon those that don’t share in the passion for good office supplies were getting antsy. Abby bought us a Starbucks and we met up with the rest of the crowd in time to move over to Tyson’s II for dinner. You see, we had made reservations for Legal Sea Foods (are you beginning to see a pattern?). What a wonderful meal. I had the lobster roll and a bowl of clam chowder. I wound up tasting some of everyone else’s meal and finishing two others as we got more than the average person could handle. Got in the van two hours later and took an hour driving to the hotel in Glen Burnie, Maryland. Stayed up an hour to smoke a good cigar and was in bed by 1130 PM.
Met everyone down stairs in the hotel for their contential breakfast and loaded up the van by 9:30. It was threatening to rain so we decided to go to the dollar store to buy some cheap ponchos – just in case. Went to two dollar stores, neither of which had any ponchos. So, got back in the van and went to Kmart where we found ponchos, but in the mean time, it started to pour buckets outside. I was absolutely sure that the game was going to be called. Half of us waited inside Kmart until it let up a bit so we wouldn’t get too soaked walking out to the van. We got to the train station and it began to let up. I was thinking that maybe the game would be a go! Got into downtown Baltimore at 11:45AM and everyone spilt up to find a place to eat. I still had all the tickets so told everyone to meet at 12:45 at the base of the hill below Camden Yard. Mistake! My small group took about thirty minutes to decide where to eat (Unos) and then our waitress was sweet, but about as sharp as a bowling ball. We finally got our food at 12:40 so Kyle got on the phone and got a hold of Heather who was with the other group. We asked her to come get that groups tickets and told her we would meet at our seats. We made it to our seats at 1:35 PM, just in time to see the first pitch thrown. Sat in great seats. We were under the overhang along the first base line. Protected if it started to rain again, or more importantly, we were protected from the sun which came out and pounded the stadium. It was a great day, the Sox put on a hitting clinic. Final score was 18-6 or something like that. The group wanted to leave a bit early, but one of us wanted to be difficult. It was not pleasant. We finally got the entire group out and on the train somewhere in the midst of the 8th inning so were not dealing with too much traffic or crowds. Got back to the train station and somebody had given Mom and Cindy a huge shot of Vodka each. They were not feeling any pain and made the trip to Waldorf (where we were going to eat dinner) a lot of laughs. There was even a rumor that they were swapping shirts! We stopped in Waldorf at 5 Guys and ate burgers and fries for dinner and got back on the road somewhere before 8PM. Greg drove till it got too dark to see and then I took over. Rolled into my folks house right around 1115 PM and got the van back to the rental place before Midnight. Got home, smoked a cigar and was in bed at 12:45 AM. Life is good.

Trey's Second Deployment

The Army works in strange ways. Trey was told he would be leaving sometime late July or early August. The problem is that he was told that up to a week before he left. Courtney’s Mom and Dad wanted to have a going away party for him so they held one on 19 July at their house. CE, Courtney’s Dad had built a great Cabana Bar in the backyard next to the pool. We used the bar heavily that evening. I was drinking shots of butterscotch and fire schnapps. I remember lying down beside the pool and putting my arm in the water. Thank God Ed drove me home.

Because the date of his deployment was so flexible, we had another going away party for him on the 26th! This time we did it at our house and there was much less drinking. Although, Bob, my neighbor, brought over some really great Ashton cigars to share after the meal.

The deployment ceremony was held on Tuesday the 28th of July 2009 and it was well attended by family and friends. Fort Story did itself proud. It was a class act, short, to the point and sincere. I scratched the front right underside of the bumper on the BMW pulling into the parking lot, but wasn’t going to let it bother me. Sure did look like a small scratch to cost $650, but more about that later. Anyway, the ceremony was at 9AM and we eventually got to the Sunrise Café for a late Breakfast at 12PM. I got home and was waiting to say good bye to Trey after 1PM and he still hadn’t arrived. So, I called work and said I was going to take the rest of the day as leave. Trey finally arrived and I got to spend some time with him until it was time to take him back to Ft Story to really say good-bye. They had to be back no later than 5PM to pack all their gear and go through some final deployment briefings. It was very difficult dropping him off. Poof, one minute he was there, and the next I was driving away. A very hard day.

Boston Bound.

Carol told me that it would be a good idea for us to take the long 4th of July weekend to go up and help Dave get settled in to his new digs in Nashua, NH. She suggested we take Trey with us and then we could have a real family get-together prior to Trey’s deployment to Iraq. So, we flew out of Newport News early in the morning Thursday. I noticed traffic on the eastbound side of I64 was stopped going towards the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel. This was at 5:20 AM. We were to find out later that day that the tunnel was closed because a pipe broke and caused the biggest traffic jam in Hampton Roads history. Whew, we just missed it. Anyway, we were to take off at 7 AM, but because of thunderstorms in Boston, we did not take off till about 9:45. Got to Boston in the rain and picked up the rental car. Got a hold of my cousin Joe, who is a tenured professor in the Media Lab at MIT and he invited us to meet him for lunch. It was pouring cats and dogs, but Joe got us into one of the MIT parking lots and we walked over to Legal Sea Foods. We had a great time getting reacquainted and then Joe took us on a quick walking tour of MIT. Joe has always been a serious walker, although he has slowed down somewhat from his early days. In fact, I believe he was in his mid thirties before he bought his first car. When Carol and I visited Boston when we were in college, he took us on a seven mile walking tour. We were beat! Needless to say, you have to be in great shape to keep up with him. On this trip he took us into the Media Lab where Trey asked for and got a demo from one of the other faculty members. He was working hard hived with several of his team of graduate students in front of a large computer monitor. They were working on an automated system that keys (via cell phone) HIV patients as to when to take their meds and provides monitoring by their docs. It looked like a very worthwhile research project. The faculty member was a physician who no longer practices as he really likes the Media Lab. He looked all of 25! He said that more than 60% of HIV patients have difficulty with their medication regimens. Joe took us to the child care facility on campus where we were going to see his daughters, but they were taking a nap. As we were leaving, we noticed the rain had finally stopped and we had consumed far too much of Joe’s time.

So we said goodbye to Joe and started on the trek to Nashua. It is about 35-40 miles north of Boston. Man, the traffic getting out of Boston prior to the start of a long weekend is something to behold. We endured however and met Dave at the Borders Bookstore on Daniel Webster Highway as soon as he got off work. The corporate apartment that his relocation company had rented for him was just behind Borders so we hit a grocery and moved right in. Trey claimed that he was going to go out on the town with his brother, but we all wound up going to bed early that evening with Dave taking off for his new apartment.

On Friday morning, Trey got up early and took the rental car to Dave’s place whereupon the two of them went to Gold’s Gym to lift and work out. Trey made the mistake of telling the guy at the desk that he was Dave’s brother from out of town so they made him pay a $10 daily use fee. He argued that he was “evaluating” the gym for a possible membership, but it was too late. Then he argued that he was a Soldier about to go to Iraq, but again, Gold’s held firm. That’s why it’s nicer to belong to a local gym. They will always cut you a little slack. Anyway, after they finished the workout, we all got in the rental and drove into Boston. We were looking for a MTA station that had parking. We had the name of one in Medford, but not the address. This turned out to be an issue. I had Trey’s GPS, but without an address, a GPS IS USELESS!! We stopped repeatedly to ask questions, even of a Medford cop, who talked to Trey for seven or eight minutes and could not provide good directions. Eventually we used Dave’s iphone and Google maps to find the station. We parked the car and bought MTA week passes. What a great deal. They are $15 per person for the week and can be used for unlimited rides on all the MTA conveyances. We rode in to down town and came up in the midst of a street festival. Found out that Quincy Market was another two stops down so got back on the train and then found ourselves in the North End of Boston. We went into Quincy Market and located a stand-up restaurant selling Lobster Rolls and Lobster Bisque. It was great!
We walked the Freedom Trail (Paul Revere House, Old North Church, etc.) so got our exercise in. Made it back to Nashua late evening and called it a night. Friday was also my Dad’s 75th birthday so we celebrated by calling him to wish him a long distance Happy Birthday!

Saturday was going to be an easy day. The boys worked out at Gold’s Gym, again with Trey having to pay $10 for a daily use fee. Then we went to the Eddie Bauer outlet, BJ’s, Costco’s, Lowes and a couple of other local shops Dave had discovered. Mostly buying stuff for Dave’s apartment. Even put some blinds up in his bedroom. That evening we went out to dinner at 99, a chain restaurant that advertises that kids eat free when the Red Sox win. My Mom had recommended it for their Lobster Rolls. Trey, Dave and I all ordered the Lobster Rolls. They were huge and fantastic. All along the trip the boys had been practicing their Boston accents and were getting pretty good at it. Well, when the waitress came to take our orders, Carol decided to try her accent. She asked, “How were the boogers?” when she meant to say “burgers.” The waitress didn’t skip a beat. We then picked up a movie at Blockbuster. It was titled Defiance and it was about a group of Jewish people hiding in the woods in middle Europe during WW2, what a great flick. Even Carol who said she’d only watch the first five minutes and then go to bed wound up watching the entire movie.

Sunday we drove into Medford to have lunch with my Aunt Mary, Cousin Lisa and Cousin Joe at my Aunt’s house in Medford. Wound up staying there till after 4 PM whereupon we drove back to the train station and rode into Boston with the intention of going to see the USS Constitution. Got into Boston and everyone said they were just too tired so we bolted back to Nashua.
Monday, I had arranged for an 8:30 PM flight home, not too smart. It really was a wasted day. Dave had to go back to work, so we wound up killing time all day. Returned the rental car at 6PM, made it to the terminal at 6:30, ate at Jerry Remmy’s restaurant in the terminal and waited for the plane. Got back in town early, and quickly picked up the luggage. Got on the interstate and was cruising home on I64 when I did it. I cursed myself in that I said to myself that I would be in bed before 11:30 PM and WHAM! Ran into a line of traffic, just after the Fourth View exit (which, had I taken, I could have gone home via Shore Drive and missed the traffic) that was not even crawling. VDOT in their infinite wisdom had chosen to do some road work on the Mason Creek Bridge and caused a horrific backup. It took well over an hour to get from the Fourth View exit to just past the Mason Creek Bridge. So much for trying to get home early and getting some sleep prior to returning to work.

Charlotte, NC Visit

I took two days of leave (Thursday and Friday) of the last week of June 2009 and drove down to Charlotte, NC to see Carol’s Mom. A fairly uneventful drive, but I continue to learn that any drive over an hour is something I have come to despise. It was hot, hot, hot in Charlotte that weekend. We wound up making our yearly trek out to Concord Mills (the outlet mall) and South Park (the upscale mall) where we outfitted ourselves with Polo and Vineyard Vines shirts and sweaters for at least the next six months. Oh, and Carol discovered the sale at the Brooks Brothers Outlet store and spent even more than I did. Anyway, a good time was had with Mum-Mah.

Dave Moves Out - 7 June 2009 (A sad day indeed)

My youngest packed up his new (2006 Volvo XC-90) car and headed off to Nashua, NH to join the ranks of the working world. While he appeared excited, I sensed a trace of his understanding that this was a major milestone in his and our lives. I helped him pack the car and he was ready to motor-on early. He left shortly after the clock struck 7:30 AM. He was there one minute and gone the next. We spent a tense day awaiting progress reports and wound up calling him just about every hour if he hadn’t already called us. Dave had planned to make the trip in one day as Mapquest told him it would take somewhere around 11 hours to complete. I advised him that it was a hard drive and he would probably be better served to make it in two days. Since his company was paying for the relocation, he had them make him a reservation in New Haven, CT very near Yale University for that evening.
Dave was making great time until he made it to New York City and got flummoxed by the George Washington Bridge. After an hour we called him on a routine check and when asked where he was, he replied in the Holland Tunnel. Now, for those of you who know the route, the Holland Tunnel is no where near where he was supposed to be. So, he was bummed and more than a bit stressed out. He eventually got back on the right route and then he hit Connecticut and the average speed on I-95 slowed to 25 miles an hour. He finally arrived in New Haven just after 5 PM. After a good nights sleep, he made the remainder of the trip in a little under two hours. He checked in with his relocation service and was put up in a very nice hotel for five days and then into a corporate apartment for up to 30 days. He wound up finding a place (the Clock Tower) about two weeks into his stay and was able to move in on Friday the 26th of June 2009.

The Backyard Project

Carol laid down the law to our two prime contactors. She told them that if they were not finished by the 25th of May (the night of Dave’s Graduation Party) she would kill them. I think that they believed her because I was looking at the yard on the 21st and could not fathom that they could get it done in four days. But they did. See the pictures that were taken an hour before the party started. There were still contractors there up to two hours prior to the party’s start. The finished up at 5 and the party started at 7. The sod was down and we had an instant lawn. Dylan brought the “corn hole” game and the UVA crowd showed up. And a great time was had by all. The kids (all newly graduated from UVA) finally went to bed at about 2 AM. Whew! I can call them kids as they are still in their 20’s.

Anyway, more about the back yard. What an absolute nightmare. We started this project mid-June 2008. Carol wanted to re-landscape the back yard; after all, it hadn’t been done in 20 + years. After much discussion, mostly on her part, I agreed to do so. But, I had a budget in mind that is around the average yearly salary of most Americans. We brought in a couple of landscapers to provide us with estimates. I had researched the local landscaping scene and found a number of reputable firms that had won awards and a few had even done the local HomeArama event. HomeArama is where the best builders in the area essentially start a new neighborhood by building a number of very expensive homes (usually 15-20) that showcase their talents and demonstrate the best in new home technology.

After two of the landscapers had visited and told me what I already knew (that I had a swimming pool problem) and would need be fixed prior to starting the landscaping, I then pursued getting a few swimming pool contractors to come over and give us an estimate. See, over the 25 year life span of our pool, the concrete foundation had broken on one side and the edge of the pool was now three inches lower in the deep end than in the shallow. I had a husband of a friend who owns one of the local companies come over to give us an estimate. For about $14 K he could fix the problem, but admitted that we would probably have to redo the fix in five to seven years. Then I had a vinyl pool contractor come and give us an estimate to replace the pool (actually replacing the broken foundation) and that would be in the mid to high $20’s. Then a fiberglass pool contractor came in and gave us an estimate of $43 K and finally we got estimates from the big guys – the ones who do concrete pools. Not going to say what their estimates were, but you can imagine.

Nevertheless, we decided to go with one of the concrete kings in the area, AAA Pools, Inc. We also contracted with them to put in extensive new concrete decking and cover it with very nice pavers. Great company, I would recommend them highly. One caution, while they are the best, they have the prices to match their reputation. My landscaper, lets just call him Tom, was a real pain though. I don’t want to name his company as I don’t want anyone to misconstrue that I might be giving him a positive endorsement. He is a very charming guy, very attentive, very creative, and a wonderful communicator – until the contract is signed. He was supposed to serve as the general contractor for my job, but did a terrible job of it. AAA Pools sub-contractor for the concrete work (a great guy named Buddy) finally stepped in and took control as the general which ultimately saved the job. But that isn’t to say that there were some pretty big issues that were caused by Tom’s lack of skills as a coordinator/general contractor. Buddy set me up with a carpenter who built the Pergola and redid part of the back deck. Nice, but again expensive. Tom subbed out the job of building the retaining walls and the stacked stone veneer to a couple of Mexican guys and they did an absolutely fantastic job. And we bought a prefab kitchen/grill from Backyard Dreams in Virginia Beach that a contractor had bought for HomeArama but didn’t want. So, Backyard Dreams gave us a really good price. It matches the job perfectly. Anyway, easy to rave about it now, but while it was going on, I was really stressed. Needless to say, when they finished my life was a little easier.

Dave's Graduation from UVA

I took a leave day on Friday 15 May 09 and we (my Mom and Dad and Carol and me) took a leisurely drive to Charlottesville, VA. It was threatening rain all day and actually did start to rain ever so slightly at 4PM and then continued through the evening. My brother John and his wife Erika and Ed and Cindy were driving up separately and they all got there late in the afternoon. Both Dad and I were able to reserve rooms at the US Army’s JAG School on the UVA campus for $40-50 per night. As I was apparently the senior officer to check in on Friday, I was given one of the VIP suites. Not bad considering most everyone else in Charlottesville was paying somewhere in the neighborhood of $700-$1000 for lodging over the graduation weekend. We all met at the JAG school shortly before 4 PM and wound up going over to Dave’s apartment and cooked a tenderloin we had brought with us. A good night was had by all.

Saturday the rain held off and we had a great time seeing the sights of Charlottesville. We started at lunch when Dave took us to the Belmont Bar BQ restaurant. AWESOME! We then went downtown and walked the mall until we all got thirsty and stopped for a beer at one of the cafes. We decided to go out to a Mexican Restaurant for dinner and drove into the parking lot just as the sky opened up. Man, did it rain.

Sunday, the day of Graduation, the rain was continuing to threaten. But first, let me tell you that it was like old home week at the JAG school. I ran into a retired Flag Officer I had worked with in the past at 6 AM in the elevator going down to get coffee. I ran into Dan from MITRE, and Steve from West Point, all in the span of the 15 minutes we were checking out of the BOQ. After driving away form the Q it did much more than threaten rain, it poured and it poured and it poured. It was a blast. We parked at the Stadium and got on buses that took us to the Rotunda. There were so many people all trying to get on the lawn (graduation site) at campus, it was almost comical. Everyone was wearing beautiful (or at least nice) clothes and the lawn was churned up so much that everyone’s lower half was red from the mud. Claudia’s Mom and Dad drove up to see Dave graduate as well. That was special. The ceremonies were wonderful, both for the University and the E (Engineering) School and the rain finally ended at 4PM, whereupon we all went back to Dave’s apartment and played corn hole until it was time to drive back to Virginia Beach.

Busy and Tough Summer!

Well, it’s been a few months since I’ve added anything to this blog. I know that there are hordes of folks who have been waiting with baited breath for my next entry – NOT! Anyway, this provides an outlet for my abysmally small amount of talent for putting the written word down on paper. So, I would ask that you bear with me should you care one way or the other.
Wow, lots of things have happened since my last entry. In no particular order, Dave graduated from UVA and was home for three plus weeks, the hugely expensive backyard project was completed after 10 months of frustrating construction, Dave joined the working world and moved away to New Hampshire, we visited Mother in Law in Charlotte, NC and then Dave in Nashua, New Hampshire, and Trey just this week, deployed on his second tour to Iraq. I really feel like an empty-nester now. Last year when Trey deployed on his first tour and Dave was away at school, it felt temporary, now it feels permanent. I was so bummed out this past Tuesday it was almost unbearable. Carol, usually very adept with dealing with my mood swings even didn’t want to be around me. But the day past, Wednesday was a new day and I even got excited about hearing from Trey. Thursday I did hear from him. He is at a location outside of Iraq acclimating to the region, time and heat and will shortly be moving in-country as part of his unit’s advanced party to make ready for their arrival. That brings you quickly up to today, so let me go back to each event and fill in a little detail:

Kids, Tough Regardless of Age!

Well, I am fit to be tied about my kids. While I thought this was to be a fairly stress free week, it turned out to be pretty stressful. First, Trey (1LT, US Army) has been trying to get back to Ranger School since he got hurt there a year ago. He called the other evening and told me that he had met with his Battalion Commander who told him he would not support sending Trey to Ranger School prior to their deployment to Iraq later this Summer. He did tell Trey that he would sponsor his going to Airborne School and contacted the Brigade Training Office on his behalf. The Training Office said no FORSCOM assigned soldiers were being sent to Airborne School at this time. Trey was angry. He called me, I guess looking for sympathy. I told him the Army was an Institution and one had to understand that an Institution had things happen that we don't always like, but have to learn to deal with. This was not what he wanted to hear. In fact, he told me he might not want to be a part of that institution. I said OK, its your life and I can't live it for you. He said he had to go and we haven't spoken since. Second, Dave was in a foul mood the other evening. His Mom called him to get the latest and greatest scoop from UVA and he almost bit her head off. Apparently his Thesis Advisor told him on Monday that a major draft was due this Friday. Dave mistakenly believed that he had another three weeks. Mom was just trying to be nice and Dave used the opportunity to vent some of his frustration with his Advisor directly at Mom. Anyway, somehow the blame for all of this rolls my direction. Ah well, when life throws you cherry pits, use them to grow trees.

What a Weekend!

Whew, am I beat. Started Friday evening with meeting at the Church to convoy down to the Harrison Opera House in Norfolk to see Tosca. While very long (three acts) it was an exceptional event and all fifty of us that went together enjoyed it. Home that evening just prior to midnight. Awoke early to quickly down some coffee, read the paper and walk the two mile route with Carol and Graham. Then at about 10:45 Chuck came over and we drove down to Virginia Beach for the 2009 Polar Plunge. Sat with Ed and Greg at the Fest Center while they cooked burgers for the Virginia Natural Gas team and it was sunny and warm...even warmer as we slowly built up our courage for the event by imbibing Captain Morgans and Diet Coke whilst enjoying a good cigar or two. Finally at about two, we meandered over to the beach and stripped down to our water wear and ventured over with about three thousand of our best friends to the plunge area. After the Special Olympians went in at 2:30, it was our (the crazies) turn to go in. They really try hard to make it an orderly event, asking that everyone enter the water to the right and exit to the left. The problem is that once they let us go, mob mentality and the effects of frigid water come into play. Everyone runs straight in, suffers the shock of 40 degree water coming in contact with the lower extremities and all sense goes straight out the window. Some, like me want to get our moneys worth so we try to get to water deep enough to dive into while others simply cant wait to get out and are running exactly in the opposite direction...back to the beach. Lots of collisions, lots of folks falling, very, very chaotic. Anyway, lots of fun. Finished up, got dried off and had one more Captains and Diet as well as another cigar before we headed for home. That evening we went to Pete H's surprise 60th B-Day Party at Keagans at Hilltop. A great time was had by all. Michelle had finger food and an open bar for us to enjoy. Great, but another late evening. Then on Sunday Ed decided that since he had the big VNG grill, he would invite everyone over to his house for ribs and to cook up all the burgers and dogs left over from Saturday. Another great time, but when I got home Sunday evening I was flat beat. Bed at 7:30 and out like a light!

Carol and Mom say the beard has to go!

This is the third time in my life that I have worn a beard. All three were the result of me having some kind of illness where I was just too tired to shave. After a few days, I kind of liked the growth on my face so I kept it for a while. This time however, it is showing a huge patch of white?? I can't imagine it has anything to do with age. Anyway, have been growing (cultivating?) it for about three weeks and am for the first time getting some grief from Carol. My Mom loves (actually hates) it! So, I am planning on cutting it this Sunday, a day after the Polar Plunge. I am using the excuse that it will keep me warm and toasty whilst I jump into the cold Atlantic Ocean. Good one, huh?

Polar Plunge this Saturday!

For the fourth year in a row, I will be subjecting my body to the frigid grasp of the Atlantic Ocean this Saturday in an attempt to raise money for the Virginia Special Olympics. A huge sigh of relief escaped from my lips this morning when Carol told me the weather report for Saturday was predicting a high of 65 degrees. Yea!! Even though the water temperature is only going to be 50, I can deal with anything if the air temp stays in the 60's. Wish me luck! If anyone out there in radio land is listening, here is the link to my pledge website. Maybe you can sponsor me with some money... http://www.firstgiving.com/rickparadiso

2009

Well, I haven't posted in a while. Lots of great things have happened since my last post. Trey came home from Iraq, we had a wonderful Christmas with Carol's Mom, Trey and Dave all here, not to mention including my side of the family. Went with the group to the Doubletree for New Years Eve and had a great time, despite Carol coming down with the flu. Dave had it first, then Carol and I believed (incorrectly) that I had escaped. Then on 6 Jan 09 it hit me like a ton of bricks. Had to stay home two days to the total dismay of Carol as I couldn't get off the couch. I'm better now, but it lingered for many days after. I'm including a few pics from Trey's homecoming and NYE.