September 30, 2002
I have not heard from anyone, Dad included. I guess they are having a good time in England. I was a movie star today, David Chitester had himself videotaped giving our company “Corporate Values” and I was one of three to be given a part!
I had fun last weekend, I helped Betty clean out under her deck on Saturday, then on Sunday she helped me start getting my home “childproofed” for Amy and Sarah’s visit!!
After years of hard work, an ambitious yuppie books himself on a Caribbean cruise. He has the time of his life until the boat sinks and he ends up on a deserted island. A month later the man looks out to sea and sees a gorgeous woman rowing to shore. He asks her where she’s come from.
“I was shipwrecked last year,” she says. “I’ve been stranded on the other side of the island.”
“Where did you get the rowboat?”
“I made it out of gum trees and palm branches,” she replies.
“But where did you find the tools!” he says.
“I used volcanic rocks to whittle the wood, and eucalyptus jelly as glue.”
The woman takes the man to the other side of the island and leads him into an elaborate bungalow with ceiling fans and furniture she made out of vines. The man can’t believe his eyes. They sit down, and she smiles at him. “Now, tell me,” she says, looking deep into his eyes. “Is there something you’ve been desiring while you’ve been alone? You know… ”
“Do you mean,” he whispers, “I can check my E-mail from here!?!”
September 27, 2002
Count how many you remember…. things you remember having – not just hearing about from your parents:
1. Blackjack chewing gum
2. Wax Coke-shaped bottles with colored sugar water
3. Candy cigarettes
4. Soda pop machines that dispensed bottles
5. Coffee shops with table side jukeboxes
6. Home milk delivery in glass bottles with cardboard stoppers
7. Party lines
8. Newsreels before the movie
9. P.F. Flyers
10. Butch wax
11. Telephone numbers with a word prefix (Gibraltar 7-5850)
12. Peashooters
13. Howdy Doody
14. 45 RPM records
15. S&H Green Stamps
16. Hi-fi’s
17. Metal ice trays with levers
18. Mimeograph paper
19. Blue flashbulbs
20. Beanie and Cecil
21. Roller skate keys
22. Cork popguns
23. Drive-ins
24. Studebakers
25. Wash tub wringers
26. Ice delivery to your home
If you remembered 0-5 = You’re still young
If you remembered 6-10 = You are getting older
If you remembered 11-15 = Don’t tell your age
If you remembered 16-26 = You’re older than dirt!
September 24, 2002
A Few Thoughts For Those Who May Take Life Too Seriously
1. Save the whales. Collect the whole set.
2. A day without sunshine is like, night.
3. On the other hand, you have different fingers.
4. Sorry, I just got lost in thought. It was unfamiliar territory.
5. 42.7 percent of all statistics are made up on the spot.
6. 99 percent of lawyers give the rest a bad name.
7. I feel like I’m diagonally parked in a parallel universe.
8. Honk if you love peace and quiet.
9. Remember, half the people you know are below average.
10. He who laughs last thinks slowest.
11. Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.
12. The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.
13. I drive way too fast to worry about cholesterol.
14. Support bacteria. They’re the only culture some people have.
15. Monday is an awful way to spend 1/7th of your week.
16. A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.
17. Change is inevitable, except from vending machines.
18. Get a new car for your spouse. It’ll be a great trade!
19. Plan to be spontaneous tomorrow.
20. Always try to be modest, and be proud of it!
21. If you think nobody cares, try missing a couple of payments.
22. How many of you believe in telekinesis? Raise my hand…
23. I almost had a psychic girlfriend, but she left me before we met.
24. OK, so what’s the speed of dark?
25. How do you tell when you’re out of invisible ink?
26. Ifeverything seems to be going well, you have obviously overlooked something.
27. When everything is coming your way, you’re in the wrong lane.
28. Hard work pays off in the future. Laziness pays off now.
29. Everyone has a photographic memory. Some just don’t have film.
30. If Barbie is so popular, why do you have to buy her friends?
31. Eagles may soar, but weasels don’t get sucked into jet engines.
32. Who is General Failure and why is he reading my hard disk?
33. What happens if you get scared half to death twice?
34. I used to have an open mind but my brains kept falling out.
35. I couldn’t repair your brakes, so I made your horn louder.
36. Why do psychics have to ask you for your name?
September 22, 2002
I am anxiously awaiting Amy’s visit with my granddaughter!!! David sent along some wood I can turn into things – THANKS a LOT Dave!
Betty and I have been having a lot of fun, Saturday we went to an antique show, then this afternoon she took me over to a friend’s home. The friend needs kitchen cabinet doors which I will make for her. More projects!!
September 19, 2002
QUOTE OF THE DAY:
“As if anyone ever doubted the inevitable result of a
merger in which neither parent company had a viable
strategy, it’s now official. Zero plus zero equals
zero: The combined company also lacks direction.”
–“Survival Guide” columnist Bob Lewis, writing about
the HP/Compaq merger.
September 16, 2002
I had a wonderful weekend with Betty Joe. Saturday afternoon we went down to Sarasota and a craft festival where we found some nice things, then on Sunday at noon I picked Betty up at her house and we spent the afternoon in Tarpon Springs! Some nice times.
I hear Dan is working hard at his two jobs; there are other things to do with your time, Dan than work!! At least nowadays I have found that to be true!!!
Dad and his Betty are planning their trip from Sept 24th through Oct 3rd.
………..Some people have no understanding of what goes on in the wild (deer [2]; bear [0] – or, What do bears eat?):
Twice in a two-week period, what authorities believe to be the same yearling bear was roughed up by tourists in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee because each time he had a fawn in his grasp and was about to have dinner. Floridian Michael Shaw, 38, was charged by park rangers with interfering with wildlife for kicking and roughing up the bear (even though he insisted that saving the deer was the right thing to do). In the second attack on July 7, a group of visitors drove the bear away by pelting him with rocks (until an animal researcher in the group explained to them the way nature works). [Orlando Sentinel-AP, 7-12-02]
David sent along the following:
September 13, 2002
Went to Duette this morning, quite a tiny town. Fiddlers tonight!
September 12, 2002
I am being sworn in as Secretary to Pinellas Chapter of FES tonight and Betty Joe is coming!
You know you’re living in the 02’s when:
1. You have 5 passwords, but can only remember one.
2. You haven’t played solitaire with real cards in years.
3. You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of three.
4. You e-mail your buddy who works at the desk next to you.
5. Your reason for not staying in touch with friends is that they do not
have e-mail addresses.
6. Your supervisor doesn’t have the ability to do your job.
7. Your supervisor gets a brand-new state-of-the-art laptop with all the
latest features, while you have time to go for lunch while yours boots up.
8. Being sick is defined as you can’t walk or you’re in hospital.
9. There’s no money in the budget for the five permanent staff your
department desperately needs, but they can afford four full-time management
consultants advising your boss’s boss on strategy.
10. Your relatives and family describe your job as “works with computers”.
AND THE CLINCHER IS..
You read this entire list, and kept nodding and smiling.
Nine 11, 2002
Some Americans, of course, have gone above and beyond the call of duty. These links are dedicated to the heroes of 9/11, and to all who died despite those heroes’ best efforts.
Old but great : http://www.politicsandprotest.org/
CNN: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Stories
Stories of nine ordinary people who behaved extraordinarily on 9/11 (and, in some cases, after).
A&E’s Biography of the Year
A tribute to the heroes of 9/11 that asks, fittingly, “how do you choose among heroes?”
September 8, 2002
September already, I have been having a great time with Betty Joe (in red above), we have seen a lot of sunsets and talked for hour on end (with me doing a lot of the talking of course!).
IF I KNEW
If I knew it would be the last time
That I’d see you fall asleep,
I would tuck you in more tightly
and pray the Lord, your soul to keep.
If I knew it would be the last time
that I see you walk out the door,
I would give you a hug and kiss
and call you back for one more.
If I knew it would be the last time
I’d hear your voice lifted up in praise,
I would video tape each action and word,
so I could play them back day after day.
If I knew it would be the last time,
I could spare an extra minute
to stop and say “I love you,”
instead of assuming you would KNOW I do.
If I knew it would be the last time
I would be there to share your day,
Well I’m sure you’ll have so many more,
so I can let just this one slip away.
For surely there’s always tomorrow
to make up for an oversight,
and we always get a second chance
to make everything just right.
There will always be another day
to say “I love you,”
And certainly there’s another chance
to say our “Anything I can do?”
But just in case I might be wrong,
and today is all I get,
I’d like to say how much I love you
and I hope we never forget.
Tomorrow is not promised to anyone,
young or old alike,
And today may be the last chance
you get to hold your loved one tight.
So if you’re waiting for tomorrow,
why not do it today?
For if tomorrow never comes,
you’ll surely regret the day,
That you didn’t take that extra time
for a smile, a hug, or a kiss
and you were too busy to grant someone,
what turned out to be their one last wish.
So hold your loved ones close today,
and whisper in their ear,
Tell them how much you love them
and that you’ll always hold them dear
Take time to say “I’m sorry,”
“Please forgive me,” “Thank you,” or “It’s okay.”
And if tomorrow never comes,
you’ll have no regrets about today.
| 2002 | Dad’s | February 2 |
| 2003 | John’s | 1st week in May |
| 2004 | Donald | |
| 2005 | David and Jean’s Housewarming party, Pocomoonshine Lake, Princeton, Maine | |
| 2006 | Darrell & Marilyn | |
| 2007 | Dan | |
| 2008 | Sue and Al |