Swimming pool project

Midnight on the intercoastal waterway!

It was a busy week, last week. Jr. had company and we spent a lot of time visiting with them, eating out and also taking a ride on the boat one night to dock at a really neat waterfront cabana with live entertainment.

Saturday Linda and I started repainting her parent's swimming pool. Neither of us had ever done anything like this so we relied on a local supply house for material and also the gentleman there gave us suggestions on how to apply the urethane based paint. Linda managed to actually get some paint on the pool in between painting her legs, her feet, her arms, her hands, her eyes, and other body parts. We think it turned out very nice and hope it will hold up when the water goes in.

Today is our last day here in Fl. We are packing up today and will leave here early tomorrow morning for N.C. I am hoping the motorhome remembers how to move and I hope I remember how to drive it. Time will tell.

We are encouraged in this move by the weather reports from home which were 85 and sunny over the weekend. Talking with Glenn and Janet over the weekend and apparently they are taking advantage of the nice weather to get work done on their motorhome. It sounds like things are progressing and we are hoping they will take their maiden voyage over Memorial Day weekend.

Last night was bath night for the pups and today is packing day for the motorhome. Somehow we got all this stuff in when we left Ohio and hopefully it won't be like Christmas morning where you can never get the stuff back into the box it came out of.

An old adventure......

I'm kinda "dredging up" this old adventure due to "popular" demand. Sometimes it's the oldies that are the best. I kinda doubt that will be the case here but I will give it a try. Was that too negative? I'm sorry, I'll try to do better. :)

A couple of years ago, while planning a trip to Disney World in Florida, and while talking with my friend Jim, he mentioned that he would be at Disney before we left from Ohio, and during his stay in Florida, he was planning to drive to Blacksburg Va. for a Virginia Tech/Florida State football game. Further, Jim actually had an extra ticket. One thing led to another and we (Jim and I) ended up planning to meet in Blacksburg to attend the game. This was an interesting situation for several reasons and very complex arrangements went into the event. In addition, the way it played out, there was and interesting and humorous twist along the way.

Here is a little bit of the planning: Jim and his family traveled down to Disney in their motorhome, or actually Jim traveled and the family flew down to meet him when he arrived. Jim also towed his Jeep Liberty behind his motorhome. Meanwhile, Linda and her sister Rene' drove down to Florida in our Jeep, to visit with their Mom and Dad for a week. So, we have Jim, Donna, and Maddie at Disney world and Linda and Rene in Sarasota.

The day before the football game, I left Youngstown in the motorhome and drove to Blacksburg and Jim left Orlando in his Liberty to drive north to Blacksburg to meet me at the "Interstate Overnight RV Park" in Christiansburg Va. Planning ahead, Jim also brought his towbar with him in the Liberty so that we could tow it back to Orlando after the game. Jim and I met at the RV park Friday evening to spend the night, and then planned to attend the game on Saturday morning.

For those of you who don't know Jim, NO adventure with Jim is calm or normal. I'm sure I'll leave things out, but there was the issue with the tow bar in the parking lot where we had to literally hammer the tow bar into the hitch to get it properly attached. I was attending to this (in the dark) while Jim attended to Punky's needs. This, for Jim, took a GREAT deal of discipline as Jim is NOT a dog lover at all, preferring the feline over the canine. Of course that is a whole 'nuther story which we will leave for another time.

Then there was the thing with the shower room. Mind you, we are staying in my motorhome which has all the conveniences of home including a hot shower. For whatever reason, Jim chose to use the mostly inadequate campground shower room. Unfortunately for Jim he did not remember to take his shampoo with him and ended up washing his hair with bath soap. I won't even get into the "where I used it last and where he used it first" thing. Suffice to say that I have used bath soap on my hair and the results are less than wonderful.

Somehow we made it through the night and woke up on Saturday morning full of expectation for a great game. One minor problem, yes, it is Virginia, but it is also November and it is also COLD! Keeping in mind that we are on the way to a week in Florida and you can only imagine how poorly prepared we were for a cold football game. So, off to the RVers friend, Wally World, known to civilians as Wal*Mart, to acquire suitable attire for the frozen tundra. Remember that think about this being Virginia? Well apparently the local WM didn't realize it was November and had failed, for the most part, to anticipate the temperature, and their stock of winter garments showed that. Being desperate, we bought up two sets of insulated long johns, ear muffs and gloves, and hoped for the best. Personally I thought a down insulated parka was in order, but there wasn't a single one on the rack.

After this, Jim and I went to breakfast at the local Cracker Barrel, over Jim's protestations. I'm still not sure why Jim is averse to eating at CB, but I like it and that was that! We met up with my nephew Matt, who is my brother-in-law's wife's second son, and had a pleasant time getting caught up on things. Jim of course, was his usual effusive self, offending Matt withing 5 minutes after meeting him. But that is Jim and we love him despite his failings.

Well, time was fleeting and there was a game on the horizon so we made our way back to the campground to walk Punky and then don our newly acquired garments. Then we jumped into the Jeep and started down the road.

To understand what happened next, you almost have to know Jim a little better. I am fond of describing Jim this way, "he never lets the truth get in the way of a good story!" Meaning Jim is at his best, and seems most comfortable weaving a tall tale which he presents, with a straight face and sincere look, as being close to gospel truth. Most of the time it is harmless fun, but it is always a good idea to be on your toes when around Jim. Word to the wise, "be prepared!" Well, we jump into the car and head out to the game, and suddenly Jim shouts an expletive and announces, "I forgot the tickets!!!" I refer you to the above explanation to understand my response which was less than excited. Unfortunately, this was one of the few times I have known Jim to actually tell the truth. He had left the tickets back at the motorhome. So, we turned around and backtracked to Interstate Overnight RV park to fetch the necessary documents.

This we did and then drove to Pine Grove Elementary School where we picked up a shuttle bus to the game. Jim had done this before and assured me it was the best way to go. Unfortunately most of the folks on the shuttle were Hokie fans and our Florida State hats were a dead giveaway as to our leanings. Did I just use the word "dead"??? Yikes. Fortunately, most of the folks on the bus had not yet had a chance to become inebriated so the trip to the stadium was uneventful.

After arriving safely at the stadium we made our way passed the numerous turkey leg vendors and to our seats which were about 2 miles up in the stadium. The view was spectacular and a fresh breeze was blowing. Fortunately we were dressed in our newly acquired duds. Unfortunately, the wind took that as a challenge and even more unfortunately, the wind appeared to be winning the battle. Standing around corners or next to a wall didn't help and I gradually lost the feeling in my fingers and toes. Luckily the game started and there was a distraction from our pain.

On a more positive note, the spectacle of the game and all it's trapping was well worth the suffering. Unfortunately for Jim, FSU lost big time and the Hokies went on to win for old alma mater. We managed to stiffly limp down the steps to the bus and returned to the school where we climbed into our car and drove to the campground. We disconnected the camper umbilicals, connected the car and headed south to Florida.

There was more, but I will leave that for another time. Till then, thanks Jim for a good time.

Our family, Florida, golf outing.

Trying to catch up here. Monday this week dawned as a beautiful day with blue skies and a warm breeze. During dinner on Sunday we had discussed going golfing to take advantage of the weather and thus we did. We first went to grandma and grandpa's house to pick up grandpa, then off to Larry Jr.'s house to get him. Then to the golf course for our 1:07 tee time. Grandpa was driving Larry's cart and Linda was driving mine. About half way through the game Larry had convinced grandpa to try his hand at the game. What you need to know is that grandpa, in his prime, was a scratch golfer, meaning he would play a game and finish right at par for the course. Grandpa has not been on a golf course for about 38 years so it took some convincing just to get him out of his easy chair, but when he had the club in his hand, it was just like old times.















After selecting his club, Grandpa stepped up to the tee and clobbered the ball about 250 yards down the fairway. Ok, maybe that was an exageration, but still not bad for an 86year old who hadn't golfed in 38 years.
















All in all, the outing was a success and we had a great time. Just a word of caution: when playing on a course in Florida, it is probably a good idea to avoid water. While this is true for most golf courses, it is particularly true in Florida. Further, if you happen to hit your ball into the water, my advice, leave it there and let Al the Alligator have it!!

What has happened to all the good professions?

For just a brief minute, I am going to get on my soapbox and do a little preaching here. Please forgive me this moment of self-indulgence and then I will return shortly to my normal, cheerful self!

Many years ago, when I was young, I was taught to respect certain people because of their position. These people included our family doctor, the local policeman, the minister at our church, and of course, our school teacher. These people were looked up to in our community. They held positions of responsibility and in some cases, authority and when you encountered one of them, you greeted them in a respectful manner and treated them as you had been taught to by your parents.

The family doctor’s opinion was always listened to and his advice was followed, even if it had nothing to do with medicine. Policemen were addressed as “yes sir” and their instructions were followed without question. If they made suggestions, you listened and reacted accordingly. Our minister was respected for his position and his word carried a great deal of importance to our lives. Teachers! What can I say about teachers? Teachers were looked up to and in some cases revered. Their word was law and they commanded respect in and out of the classroom. Woe to the poor student who foolishly chose to transgress a teacher’s path for a swift trip to the office would result, along with a similar fate when arriving home from school.

This brings up another disrespected profession, that of parenting. We were raised in an environment where we simultaneously loved, respected and feared our parents and what they said commanded immediate action.

Fast forward 20-30-40 years to the present and ask yourself where is that respect of long ago and is it still deserved? Visit a doctor’s office and you will probably encounter a receptionist who does everything in her power to shield you from seeing the doctor. Instead you will be handled by a series of supposed medical professionals, none of which went to medical school, and most of which are aloof and detached from your personal situation. If you are fortunate enough to actually see the doctor, it is in your status as a number and certainly not for more than 5 minutes.

I will concede that there are probably a great number of policemen in uniform who perform their duties in a professional manner however, there is a malaise of corruption which pervades police departments and which is splashed across our TV screens seemingly on a daily basis with stories of dishonest cops. There is no personal relationship with police and very little if any respect.

There is so much negative news about churches and religion that it is difficult to find any respect left in our society for ministers. Churches have generally failed to provide the necessary moral leadership for our society and as a result we see a general decline in morality among our citizens, particularly young people who have been raised in this era of no respect. Add to this the frequent stories about ministers who have affairs with members of the congregation, or run off with the offering and this guiding light of our society has gone dim.

The sad situation that exists in our schools today is well documented in the news media. Witness how they grab onto every new story about yet another teacher who has a sordid love affair with a student and the resulting loss of respect throughout the country for the entire teaching profession.

Finally we have to look at parents and adults in general, and what we see is a sad picture. All too often the sad truth is that adults are far more concerned about their own well being at the expense of their children. There is little or no discipline exercised, and many parents believe the best way to raise their children is to give them everything they want and the children will somehow find their own way to adulthood. Just don’t bother mom and dad as they are busy enjoying life.

Life seemed to be a lot simpler back in “the good old days”. I liked doctors you could see, talk with, and trust. I respected policemen who were honest. I honored ministers whose lives you could follow and whose word presented truth. I learned from teachers whose presence in the classroom commanded respect and attention. And I loved and honored my parents for the lives and examples they lived.

We need to return to those lost values and resurrect professions and professionals with whom we can invest our trust.

A little bit more Webster

Webster has been working on his soccer dribbling skills and he can now block out his sister Kassy and dribble around her. We're thinking a contract with some european club may be in the offing soon!!

You have to look closely at this one. I took this about a mile from where we are staying and was fascinated that the state of Florida would be this elaborate with traffic controls leading from a dumpster. Notice the stop sign at the "end" of the road. I wonder if they get a lot of traffic coming from that particular dumpster?? But....at least after you drop off your trash, you have the choice of turning right or going straight ahead!

You may have to use your imagination on this one and I actually had several people say, "is that how you spell it?" Suffice to say that I no longer have to ask, "can you show me how to get, how to get to...........", because I have actually been there, and now I know the way, and I can show you.........."how to get to Sesame St."

By the way, if you are interested, it is in North Port Florida.

Attention span, Kassy

We have been spending time with Linda's mom and dad while we are here in sunny Florida and some of those times we take our pups with us because it gives them the opportunity to run free in the the fenced in back yard. During these times, Kassy has discovered the little lizards that are everywhere here in Florida.

They crawl on the window screens and they crawl on the fence and on the trees. I'm told they are harmless and they are fun to watch as they skitter up and down.

Anyway, Kassy has become aware of these little guys and is fascinated by them to almost to the point obsession and her attention span while observing them is close to amazing. She has discovered that by sitting on a wicker box located on the back porch of mom and dad's house that she has a strategiv view of the entire back yard, including the fence and the grapefruit trees. Naturally her perch includes an excellent view of the screens that enclose the back porch. All of these are target rich environments for lizard viewing and Kassy has taken to sitting for what seems like hours, watching for her buddies to appear. When that happens, she gleefully announces to all the world that the lizards have arrived by yelping excitedly. This, of course, is time for dad or mom to step in and quiet her down. This goes on pretty much for the entire time we are visiting with grandma and grandpa.





















There is, however, at least one lizard we strongly encourage Kassy to avoid irritating and that would be the 6 ft. alligator who recently went gliding by our campsite in the lake. I spoke softly to Mr. Alligator and encouraged him to just keep going. Hopefully he did as I asked. I've heard the attention span of alligators is fairly short.

Our family

One of the great things about this trip to Florida is being able to spend time with family, including my brother-in-law, Rik, and sister-in-law, Rene, and their family. We were fortunate to have them all here last week and we had some excellent events including a couple of really good meals at Larry and Krista's house, Linda's chicken paprikash at Mom and Dad's, a really good tenderloin at Larry's that was grilled by Chef Rik, and some good times at various restaurants. Of course there were the usual projects including new carpeting, an outlet repair, and several odds and ends to deal with. All in all, you can't beat this group for fun, pleasant conversation, and genuine caring and affection. Thank you Lord for my family.

high flight

Came across this while surfing the web and thought I would share it with you all. This is an old TV station signoff video, before they were called videos! :) By the way, turn up the sound.