Choosing life, what a wonderful thing your daughter and her husband have done for your family and for that baby! If only more would do that and our country would mandate that how much more blessed by God would our country be. Of course we will pray for the best outcome and many happy years of life for "Esperanza" (great name - hope it sticks!) and all of your clan.
Yes, damn it, John really was the smartest guy in the class!
Bill Reid, John Roach, Jeanine Eilers, Steve Hodges, Teresa Zeyen, Suzanne Weber, Mike Yarborough, Chuck Couglin - all the rest were mere pretenders to the throne. (apologies to any ommisions)
Long live the king!
Mary Ann and I just had lunch together this past Sunday in Bluffton. We got to talk about all of you behind your backs. Oh Lordy what fun!
* Mary Ann, send some of these folks your fund raising page for your cancer survivors "Dragon Boat" race.
Enough of this - I’ve dumbed down a lot (age has a way of doing that to you). And besides, by now, I think we’ve all realized that life experiences, like Frank’s post tonight, teach us things that textbooks never can.
I am sufficiently admonished by the one person who was most responsible for me getting my weekend homework assignments. Without his help I might have fallen prey to a life of crime and deprivation.
And, I might never had learned what that dog gone 5-cent "Fremont on the Rockies" stamp was all about.
Tim, sorry about the friendly old grandfather but we are so thrilled about this baby it is beyond words but I knew I could count on you and the rest of the class for healing prayers. After all the praying I've done for guido and now Bonny I needed to get on the prayer list asap before someone else find themselves in need of prayer. Dan, I love you like a brother since we went to school together but you my friend are slightly off the mark on your political views. Let's forget about the false claims of being with the porn star, where did it go? If anywhere it went away, why, because there isn't anything there. For one second ladies I must be a sexist pig in asking the boys, would you rather have The Donald's wife as a bedmate or the skank. The skanks lawyer is a sleaze and a man that is giving lawyers a worse name than they deserve. The difference between a dead snake in the middle of the road and a dead lawyer in the middle of the road? everyone feels sorry for the snake. That includes no one in our class. Question dan that needs to be answered, why has the former president oblabla sealed all of his records of everything he is, was, or wanted to be? I'm not going to the birther mystery conspiracy. I love a good conspiracy theory. Why when asked of people who went to Harvard law school at the same time as him, no one knows him or ever saw him. He is supposed to a constitutional professor, where are the records. Where are the pictures of his marriage, where are the birth certificates for the children? He has admitted to smoking marijuana, nothing wrong with that but he was dealing it. Questions of his dalliances with people of the same gender and the list goes on. So Dan as you can see this holy angel that you are backing has some skeletons in there I'd like to know about.
Tim, yes he is bombastic, a little bit brutish and an orator he is not. But he speaks to the people. Yes our system has been working well for 250 or so years but there is a major problem going on with this system. TERM LIMITS. The founding father did not make being a senator or a congressman an occupation but rather as a representative of the people in his neighborhood. The reason for the breaks in Congress is to allow a congressman to go home to his crops, his law firm. Harry Truman was a haberdasher in Missouri, more on Harry in a moment. They were working men, they didn't get paid to be a congressman, they got expenses. The reason why the summer break is so long is, if anyone has ever lived in the DC area knows how miserable the weather is in the summer months. But none were politicians, worse than lawyers and a lot of them are lawyers,lol. We are tired of political double talk by these most liars as they promise you the world but give us nothing. Clinton trying to give the nation an english lesson on the question of " it all depends on what the definition of is, is. Oh he was a vile man. Read some of the books written by arkansas secret service and US secret service . No a pretty picture. Plus All the women who are his accusers have not gone away and he paid Paula Jones $800,000 for what. Bubba you bad boy. Trump ran on several points , abolish obama care, to costly and unmanageable, abolish nafta, the China trade deal and has cut regulations so far by 60-70%. Your 401k is incredible with the stock market setting daily records, North Korea and more. His preparedness is top notch because he doesn't go to a meeting where he has the answers already prepared to anyone's questions. His cabinet is a who's who in the business world. He's not polished , he's a builder and a real estate guy but his companies are huge. He has never gone bankrupt. He has had a few businesses' fail but that happens to a lot of people. Rather than complain and keep trying to find fault in the way he is running our country and the ridiculous idea of removing him from office because he is unliked, really> He is leading back to the top, not oblablas theory pf leading from behind which does't work.
I woke up this morning to hear my wife complaining about a dream she just had about a plane that reminded her of Sky King's. Well, this led, in a very roundabout way, to me finding out that she had never heard Jimmy Buffett's song "I wish I a pencil thin mustache." (Did I say, "roundabout" ?). If any of you are also suffering from this gaping hole in our collective conciousness, as was my wife, and are also unaware of this magnificent salute to our 50's -60's childhoods, please click the play button.
Frank, as the "Wonderful Grandfather" you can count on my prayers and positive energy for little Esperanza who will be the light of your lives. I will take a pass on commenting on your "Drunk Uncle" opinions.
If you did not receive my email about the passing of John Roach earlier this week please click the In Memory tab for obit. Funeral is Friday at St. Joseph Cathedral. It’s hard to lose a classmate. Our thoughts and prayers are with his daughter, family and friends.
Mark, I LOVE that song but the video is priceless!
Frank, prayers go out to you and your family. I’m so happy you are all so very positive. This is one of the heaviest of crosses but with everyone onboard it will lighten the load for each of you. I hope they actually do name her Esperanza. It is a beautiful name aside from the great meaning.
Between Grandpa Frank and his serious note and Mark with his fun post I hope this might break our string of very heavy and pretty contentious back and forth posts that have been going on here. I do love the fact that with between 55-60 years of friendship we seem to be able to take no lasting offense. Try not to make anything too personal though. Dave and Tim I also appreciate you jumping in to change the subject. Lol
And lastly please remember to pray for Bonnie and Guido. He isn’t really out of the woods yet with his cancer and her AML (acute myeloid leukemia) stage 4-5 is extremely serious and will take a lot of prayers.
I am sorry to have to break into all this frivolity with a serious message but I feel it is my duty. Just as before, when I sent a warning about Nina's violation of our national security, I have detected a new threat that I feel honor bound to warn you about.
A short time ago, we were reading what seemed like a perfectly innocent conversation between the Good Doctor Jim and the artist formerly known as LaVelle on the topic of photographpy, cameras, and the technology thereof. They spoke of lenses, apertures, shutters, depth of field, and eventually one of the hottest (and certainly most exciting to y'all) new techno topics of that science since the advent of "digital" cameras - "pixels" and "pixel shifing". A topic I myself can hadly get enough of!
Well I admit, I nearly let it slip by my notice and would have failed you all in my patriotic duties, but something hit me a few dozen Posts later that sounded an alarm in my brain. (And I shit you not - at my age, I don't get many alarms in my brain - let alone ideas of anything more complex than remembering to put the seat down in the bathroom).
So here it is in a nutshell;
J'accuse the artist formerly known as LaVelle of "Pixel Shifting" of the first degree! Yes. And as proof I offer the following. He began to appear on this Forum with his high school class photo, the dapper slender teenage figure in a sports coat. But then there was a switching, an out and out "Pixel Shifting" to a photo of a bearded old fart with a shirt bearing the moniker, "Old Guys Rule". Then later still, to a closeup of a tattoo with the words "The World". And just recently - like in the last day or two - back to the old class photo. Now if this isn't Pixel Shifting I don't know what it is, and on behalf of our National security I call for it to cease and desist immediatley!
As for kindly old Doctor Jim, we'll give him a pass because that third picture he used - the one with the two of them "dressed up" to go out (seriously!) - would have scared the kids so badly (even back then) that I feel he has probably already served sufficient time in his own private hell of regret and embarrassment.
Please be assured of my prayers for your granddaughter, Esperanza, and all your family. You have such a wonderful attitude about the blessing she will be for all of you. God bless you.
Since you're back in the room, I wish you would share a little bit about your "history" with the famed Columbus Boys Choir back in the day.
In fact I don't think I would have known anything about it had it not been for a few remarks from your Allergist, a gentleman I was rather close to growing up.
Frank I would like to add my thoughts for your newest grandchild.
And Dr. Jim I have two items for you. First, I know that the fires in Colorado are prently far from you, but in case you have family or friends in harms way I offer my deepest thoughts. And finally, I have a medical question for you. I have developed early period, not stages, "Trucker's Arm" disease. What do you describe for it?
"Wherever free men and women meet to doubt a presidents birthright or birthplace, I'll be there to make some snarky remark".
Sitting here, shifting my pixels, waiting for my trusty steed to get tuned up, I am agog with wonder. It occurs to me that Never, not once in 8 years did I hear anyone in 'Murica say, "I don't like him cause he's black".
Hooray! That means racism is truly dead and Obama was probably hated for being in good physical condition unlike most of us pasty faced Michelin men.
Although we are distant from the several wildfires in Colorado (and New Mexico) the wind blown haze has been with us for many days and, this morning, the smell of burning pine trees in our air is quite strong, probably from the Buffalo Creek fire in Summit County. Like your fires in Napa and Sonoma last year a lot of people have been evacuated from their homes. Our big fire was Waldo Canyon in 2012 when we were evacuated. I guess the good news is it left very little fuel (trees) to burn if another spark comes to that area.
Truckers' Arm - a common problem among truckers (duh!) and others who drive to Portland from California and across country to the midwest and east! No treatment is needed just prevention and watching for any skin changes that may occur indicating any of the types of skin cancer and which can happen even decades later.
Preventive measures are good SPF factor topical sunscreens, long sleeve shirts and something truckers use called "sun sleeves" which convey an SPF of 50+.
If you just want to "even up" your tanned arms, buy a car with the steering wheel on the right side and have it shipped over from Europe. Nah... a sun sleeve is cheaper!
To my fellow (non-sexist reference) classmates allow me to explain in"Layman's" language what I was asking Dr. Jim. "Trucker's arm" is a malady (read symptom) that anyone (but especially Truck Drivers) comes down with if they sit in a vehicle for long periods of time witth one arm exposed to the sunlight (read suntan), usually the driver's arm. It is especially noticable in people (that means female and male individuals) who have not yet tanned for the year or summer. It also effects people in the Northwest who driver Lawn Mowers on the few days without local rain.
Happy Father's Day to all Dads...extended to all Moms who might have had the duty of Mom AND Dad in raising a child. I know one thing we all share from down deep, is an appreciation of our own parents and I believe we paid them high respect in the way we raised their grandkids.
Makes want to share someting about my dad that I posted on Facebook last year.
Dad was a comlpex man, for much of his life a slave to his medical practice, and religious or patriotic causes. But his depth of character, never-ending good will, and great sense of humor finally sunk in with me. I had to "share" him with patients, neighbors, and often a visiting missionary friend or two. He missed a lot of ball games and events for which I wanted him to be present. But the times he spent with me and /or my two isters were quality times.
The man on the far right (below) is my father. He is also the first Veteran I ever knew. In 1943 he received one of those letters from the Department of the Army beginning with the words, "Greetings". He was a 32 year-old husband, and father of two little girls. He was a physician, and shared a full-time medical practice with his older (one-armed) brother in Columbus, Ohio. He was sent off to become a flight surgeon with the 468th Bomb Group of B-29 "super-fortress" units. They all trained together in Salina Kansas before going overseas - first to Kharagpur, near Calcutta, India (shown here), then over the "Hump" to southwestern China (near Chengtu), and finally to the island of Tinian - where another man from Columbus by the name of Tibbets would fly a plane named after his own mother, "Enola Gay".
Dad taught me many things. He taught me about God, and how to say my night prayers before going to bed. He taught me my first poem. He read to me from James Fenimore Cooper, Robert Louis Stevenson, Mark Twain, and Charles Dickens. He taught me how to push a lawn mower, how to rake leaves (millions of leaves!), and how to swing a golf club. And he also taught me something else.
He began organizing reunions with his Army Air Corps buddies and would drag me along most summers to the various cities around the country where they were held. I got to play with other kids and made some great "summer" friendships that I saw each year. I would sit and listen to their stories and watch their "slide shows" year after year. I eventually dawned on me that they practically walked on water! Dad taught me that someone has paid a steep price for the nice life I (we) have. Thanks Dad
Dad's practice was full of interesting patients. Some Amish people who always paid for two parking spaces on 4th street (just up from the corner of Broad Steet) to accomodate their horse and buggy. A man who always went only by his first initial which was "E" and his last name was Gadd. - yes, not kiding - Mr. E. Gadd! There was a littel old Jewish lady, Mrs. Margolis, who always brought in the most delicious baked goods you ever tasted. There were the usual assortent of crackpots and chronic complainers - wealthy patients who could never pay their bill anywhere near on time - a guy who lied about his allergy to penicillen and almost died right there in dad's lap - the steady flow of Catholic priests who were incensed that Dad was actually going to charge them (at least the $18.00 for the allergy shots). And there were the Catholic nuns who paid dad with the strangest assortment of "gifts" you could possibly immagine. We laughed for years over the dinner table at some of that stuff - especially our all-time favorite, a huge Bronze "Tibetan" Spoon, which seemed to have had no known use whatsoever.
Thre were a contingent of chronicly sick people with difficulties Dad was alwasy assisting with. And all the guys with Cerebral palsy who inspired Dad to buy, and operate an old house on Rich Street known as "Brother Martin's Home" (Martin de Poures ) - I told that story way back on this Forum.
But there was also this contingent of people who brough nothing but joy and sunshsine into the office with them. Several of those were classmates of ours. And one of those became one of Dad's nurses favorites. Her name was Bonnie and she became my own personal (like it or not) "Madame Butterfly" - (also told that whole "Pride and Prejudice" story way back on this Forum).
Once that incident about my play practice reached the girls in Dad's office, it was a year before I could live it down! Bonnie became thee favorite patient for quite a while.
She was pretty, bright, funny,,,,,and STRONG!
Now my "Madame Butterfly" is struggling. Many religious people will offer some spiritual "reason" for this. Well, as a wanna-be follower of Christ, I have trouble buying into some of that stuff. I don't have those answers. I still ask, Why God? I know many in our class have suffered with heavy struggles and losses, but I am having trouble understanding why Bonnie has to carry TWO CROSSES! Like, wasn't the first one enough already?
So Bonnie, my Madame Butterfly, I am asking God to send His Angel Army to be with you through this.
A live Chris Tomlin concert is a hoot (if you can deal with the volume! )
Dave, no one has any answers to any of these question except for Jesus. His answe , never question the Lord it is his business and He knows why. Why the sun rises in the east rather than the west. Unanswerable! The Lord promised never to us more than we can handle. This may sound as if i am praying against bonnie and guida , hell no ian screaming in the Lords ear hey whats up , a little rest for the weary. I have no doubt that i will see both at our 55th. Can i get an amen , at some point we will all once again rejoice with each other, not to soon i pray. So on this great day of celebrating the joy of fatherhood, i pray for our fathers, our sons who are father and pray for peace and health for all . Lastly a great us open finish . Great finish , made a major typo fixed about bonnie guido i will see you sorry i someone read it before i saw it
Appropriate for Fathers' Day the first fawn of the spring showed up this afternoon, all ears and ready for life in the neighborhood. The little guy (or gal) was safely nesting, its back (or "six" for you military types) protected against a short wall of rocks, just outside of our yard while momma went off to forage.
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