How Much BP Oil Has Leaked Into the Gulf of Mexico?

Sunday, May 31, 2009

Seven Squared Plus Two Equals an Awful Lot of Time

The aging process has you firmly in its grasp if you never get the urge to throw a snowball. ~Doug Larson


Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter. ~Mark Twain


Nobody grows old merely by living a number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals. Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul. ~Samuel Ullman


You are as young as your faith, as old as your doubt; as young as your self-confidence, as old as your fear; as young as your hope, as old as your despair. ~Douglas MacArthur


Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional. ~Chili Davis


In youth the days are short and the years are long; in old age the years are short and the days long. ~Nikita Ivanovich Panin


Age does not diminish the extreme disappointment of having a scoop of ice cream fall from the cone. ~Jim Fiebig


In a man's middle years there is scarcely a part of the body he would hesitate to turn over to the proper authorities. ~E.B. White


The years teach much which the days never knew. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson


Inflation is when you pay fifteen dollars for the ten-dollar haircut you used to get for five dollars when you had hair. ~Sam Ewing


Wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been. ~Mark Twain, Following the Equator


Youth is a wonderful thing. What a crime to waste it on children. ~George Bernard Shaw


There is no pleasure worth forgoing just for an extra three years in the geriatric ward. ~John Mortimer


Old age isn't so bad when you consider the alternative. ~Maurice Chevalier, New York Times, 9 October 1960


Old Time, that greatest and longest established spinner of all!.... his factory is a secret place, his work is noiseless, and his hands are mutes. ~Charles Dickens


Do not regret growing older. It is a privilege denied to many. ~Author Unknown


A man's age is something impressive, it sums up his life: maturity reached slowly and against many obstacles, illnesses cured, griefs and despairs overcome, and unconscious risks taken; maturity formed through so many desires, hopes, regrets, forgotten things, loves. A man's age represents a fine cargo of experiences and memories. ~Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Wartime Writings 1939-1944, translated from French by Norah Purcell


Live as long as you may, the first twenty years are the longest half of your life. ~Robert Southey, The Doctor


A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams. ~John Barrymore


How old would you be if you didn't know how old you were? ~Satchel Paige


Father Time is not always a hard parent, and, though he tarries for none of his children, often lays his hand lightly upon those who have used him well; making them old men and women inexorably enough, but leaving their hearts and spirits young and in full vigour. With such people the grey head is but the impression of the old fellow's hand in giving them his blessing, and every wrinkle but a notch in the quiet calendar of a well-spent life. ~Charles Dickens


The first sign of maturity is the discovery that the volume knob also turns to the left. ~Jerry M. Wright


When I was younger, I could remember anything, whether it had happened or not; but my faculties are decaying now and soon I shall be so I cannot remember any but the things that never happened. It is sad to go to pieces like this but we all have to do it. ~Mark Twain


Middle age is when your age starts to show around your middle. ~Bob Hope


Thirty-five is when you finally get your head together and your body starts falling apart. ~Caryn Leschen


Forty is the old age of youth; fifty the youth of old age. ~Victor Hugo


Years ago we discovered the exact point, the dead center of middle age. It occurs when you are too young to take up golf and too old to rush to the net. ~Franklin Adams


Everyone is the age of their heart. ~Guatemalan Proverb


There is always a lot to be thankful for, if you take the time to look. For example, I'm sitting here thinking how nice it is that wrinkles don't hurt. ~Author Unknown


Youth is a disease from which we all recover. ~Dorothy Fulheim


There was no respect for youth when I was young, and now that I am old, there is no respect for age - I missed it coming and going. ~J.B. Priestly


I still have a full deck; I just shuffle slower now. ~Author Unknown


Age is a high price to pay for maturity. ~Tom Stoppard


By the time I have money to burn, my fire will have burnt out. ~Author Unknown


There is more felicity on the far side of baldness than young men can possibly imagine. ~Logan Pearsall Smith


We are young only once, after that we need some other excuse. ~Author Unknown


The key to successful aging is to pay as little attention to it as possible. ~Judith Regan


The first half of life consists of the capacity to enjoy without the chance; the last half consists of the chance without the capacity. ~Mark Twain


It's sad to grow old, but nice to ripen. ~Brigitte Bardot


Grow old with me! The best is yet to be. ~Robert Browning


Youth would be an ideal state if it came a little later in life. ~Herbert Asquith


Old age is fifteen years older than I am. ~Oliver Wendell Holmes


Men do not quit playing because they grow old; they grow old because they quit playing. ~Oliver Wendell Holmes


I advise you to go on living solely to enrage those who are paying your annuities. It is the only pleasure I have left. ~Voltaire


There's no such thing as too late. That's why they invented death. ~From the movie Out to Sea


I was wrong to grow older. Pity. I was so happy as a child. ~Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Flight to Arras, 1942, translated from French by Lewis Galantière


Age is opportunity no less,
Than youth itself, though in another dress,
And as the evening twilight fades away,
The sky is filled with stars, invisible by day.
~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Morituri Salutamus


To be seventy years young is sometimes far more cheerful and hopeful than to be forty years old. ~Oliver Wendell Holmes (Thanks Janice!)


The soul's dark cottage, battered and decayed,
Lets in new light through chinks that time hath made.
~Edmund Waller


The great secret that all old people share is that you really haven't changed in seventy or eighty years. Your body changes, but you don't change at all. And that, of course, causes great confusion. ~Doris Lessing


There is still no cure for the common birthday. ~John Glenn


Does age poison us, or do we poison age? ~Astrid Alauda


Some people, no matter how old they get, never lose their beauty - they merely move it from their faces into their hearts. ~Martin Buxbaum

An archeologist is the best husband any woman can have: the older she gets, the more interested he is in her. ~Agatha Christie, news summaries, 9 March 1954


Grandchildren don't make a man feel old; it's the knowledge that he's married to a grandmother. ~G. Norman Collie


You can't hide your true colours as you approach the autumn of your life. ~Author Unknown


I don't believe one grows older. I think that what happens early on in life is that at a certain age one stands still and stagnates. ~T.S. Eliot


Whatever poet, orator, or sage may say of it, old age is still old age. ~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow


It's important to have a twinkle in your wrinkle. ~Author Unknown


When I can look Life in the eyes,
Grown calm and very coldly wise,
Life will have given me the Truth,
And taken in exchange - my youth.
~Sara Teasdale


None are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm. ~Henry David Thoreau


I recently had my annual physical examination, which I get once every seven years, and when the nurse weighed me, I was shocked to discover how much stronger the Earth's gravitational pull has become since 1990. ~Dave Barry


Old wood best to burn, old wine to drink, old friends to trust, and old authors to read. ~Quoted by Francis Bacon, Apothegm


To know how to grow old is the master-work of wisdom, and one of the most difficult chapters in the great art of living. ~Henri Amiel


We've put more effort into helping folks reach old age than into helping them enjoy it. ~Frank A. Clark


Age swallows our childhood. ~Jareb Teague


First you forget names, then you forget faces, then you forget to pull your zipper up, then you forget to pull your zipper down. ~Leo Rosenberg


The tragedy of old age is not that one is old, but that one is young. ~Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray, 1891


It is possible at any age to discover a lifelong desire you never knew you had. ~Robert Brault, robertbrault.com


When it comes to staying young, a mind-lift beats a face-lift any day. ~Marty Bucella


Give me chastity and continence, but not yet. ~Saint Aurelius Augustine


The years between fifty and seventy are the hardest. You are always being asked to do more, and you are not yet decrepit enough to turn them down. ~T.S. Eliot, quoted in Time, 23 October 1950


Regrets are the natural property of grey hairs. ~Charles Dickens


From forty to fifty a man must move upward, or the natural falling off in the vigor of life will carry him rapidly downward. ~Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.


You know you've reached middle age when a doctor, not a policeman, tells you to slow down, all you exercise are your prerogatives and it takes you longer to rest than to get tired. ~Author Unknown


We grow gray in our spirit long before we grow gray in our hair. ~Charles Lamb


It is autumn; not without
But within me is the cold.
Youth and spring are all about;
It is I that have grown old.
~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, "Autumn Within"


Life is one long process of getting tired. ~Samuel Butler, Notebooks


Don't worry about avoiding temptation - as you grow older, it starts avoiding you. ~Author Unknown


Old age is the most unexpected of all the things that happen to a man. ~Leon Trotsky (Lev Davidovich Bronstein), Diary in Exile, 1935


At 20 years of age the will reigns; at 30 the wit; at 40 the judgment. ~Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard's Almanac


The process of maturing is an art to be learned, an effort to be sustained. By the age of fifty you have made yourself what you are, and if it is good, it is better than your youth. ~Marya Mannes, More in Anger, 1958


What this country needs is radicals who will stay that way regardless of the creeping years. ~John Fischer


Everything slows down with age, except the time it takes cake and ice cream to reach your hips. ~Attributed to John Wagner


A person is always startled when he hears himself seriously called an old man for the first time. ~Oliver W. Holmes, Sr.


Old Time, who changes all below,
To wean men gently for the grave.
~Caroline Elizabeth Sarah Norton


Morality comes with the sad wisdom of age, when the sense of curiosity has withered. ~Graham Greene


When you're a young man, Macbeth is a character part. When you're older, it's a straight part. ~Laurence Olivier


As a graduate of the Zsa Zsa Gabor School of Creative mathematics, I honestly do not know how old I am. ~Erma Bombeck


You are only young once, but you can stay immature indefinitely. ~Author Unknown


They say that age is all in your mind. The trick is keeping it from creeping down into your body. ~Author Unknown


The other day a man asked me what I thought was the best time of life. "Why," I answered without a thought, "now." ~David Grayson


Like a lot of fellows around here, I have a furniture problem. My chest has fallen into my drawers. ~Billy Casper, about golf's Senior Tour


Life is a moderately good play with a badly written third act. ~Truman Capote


Time may be a great healer, but it's a lousy beautician. ~Author Unknown


A man is not old as long as he is seeking something. ~Jean Rostand


The great thing about getting older is that you don't lose all the other ages you've been. ~Madeleine L'Engle


Youth disserves; middle age conserves; old age preserves. ~Martin H. Fischer


One of the best parts of growing older? You can flirt all you like since you've become harmless. ~Liz Smith


Spiritual sloth, or acedia, was known as The Sin of the Middle Ages. It's the sin of my middle age, too. ~Mignon McLaughlin, The Neurotic's Notebook, 1960


We turn not older with years, but newer every day. ~Emily Dickinson


In a dream you are never eighty. ~Anne Sexton


Old men are fond of giving good advice, to console themselves for being no longer in a position to give bad examples. ~François La Rochefoucauld


Middle age is when a narrow waist and a broad mind begin to change places. ~Author Unknown


Middle age is youth without its levity, and age without decay. ~Daniel Defoe


There must be a day or two in a man's life when he is the precise age for something important. ~Franklin P. Adams


You can live to be a hundred if you give up all things that make you want to live to be a hundred. ~Allen


I don't do alcohol anymore - I get the same effect just standing up fast. ~Author Unknown


Men at forty
Learn to close softly
The doors to rooms they will not be
Coming back to.
~Donald Justice, "Men at Forty"


Age is a prison from which we cannot escape. ~Morrow Bourne


Middle age is the time when a man is always thinking that in a week or two he will feel as good as ever. ~Don Marquis


An aged man is but a paltry thing,
A tattered coat upon a stick, unless
Soul clasp its hands and sing, and louder sing
For every tatter in its mortal dress.
~William Butler Yeats, Sailing to Byzantium


I'm not 40, I'm eighteen with 22 years experience. ~Author Unknown


Age is a slowing down of everything except fear. ~Mignon McLaughlin, The Neurotic's Notebook, 1960


The older I grow the more I distrust the familiar doctrine that age brings wisdom. ~H.L. Mencken


Middle age is when you choose your cereal for the fiber, not the toy. ~Author Unknown


Before thirty, men seek disease; after thirty, diseases seek men. ~Chinese Proverb


Age seldom arrives smoothly or quickly. It's more often a succession of jerks. ~Jean Rhys


Wisdom doesn't necessarily come with age. Sometimes age just shows up all by itself. ~Tom Wilson


Age attacks when we least expect it. ~Carrie Latet


We are always the same age inside. ~Gertrude Stein


Old age ain't no place for sissies. ~Bette Davis


The last birthday that's any good is 23. ~Andy Rooney


Middle age is having a choice between two temptations and choosing the one that'll get you home earlier. ~Dan Bennett


I fear vastly more a futile, incompetent old age than I do any form of death. ~William Allen White


Like our shadows, our wishes lengthen as our sun declines. ~Edward Young, Night Thoughts


Don't let aging get you down. It's too hard to get back up. ~Attributed to John Wagner


As we grow older, our capacity for enjoyment shrinks, but not our appetite for it. ~Mignon McLaughlin, The Neurotic's Notebook, 1960


The first forty years of life give us the text; the next thirty supply the commentary on it. ~Arthur Schopenhauer


You know you're getting old when all the names in your black book have M.D. after them. ~Arnold Palmer


It's hard to feel middle-aged, because how can you tell how long you are going to live? ~Mignon McLaughlin, The Neurotic's Notebook, 1960


Inside every older person is a younger person wondering what happened. ~Jennifer Yane


Middle age is when we can do just as much as ever - but would rather not. ~Author Unknown

In the central place of every heart there is a recording chamber. So long as it receives a message of beauty, hope, cheer, and courage - so long are you young. When the wires are all down and our heart is covered with the snow of pessimism and the ice of cynicism, then, and only then, are you grown old. ~Douglas MacArthur


Is that a birthday? 'tis, alas! too clear;
'Tis but the funeral of the former year.
~Alexander Pope


To get back my youth I would do anything in the world, except take exercise, get up early, or be respectable. ~Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray, 1891


Zeal, n. A certain nervous disorder afflicting the young and inexperienced. ~Ambrose Bierce


The elderly don't drive that badly; they're just the only ones with time to do the speed limit. ~Jason Love


It's a mere moment in a man's life between an All-Star Game and an Old-timers' Game. ~Vin Scully


It seems no more than right that men should seize time by the forelock, for the rude old fellow, sooner or later, pulls all their hair out. ~George Dennison Prentice, Prenticeana, 1860


All diseases run into one, old age. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson


It is not by the gray of the hair that one knows the age of the heart. ~Edward Bulwer-Lytton


The number one factor in aging is burdens. Your burdens, or how you carry them, make you old. ~Scarlett Bene


The paired butterflies are already yellow with August
Over the grass in the West garden;
They hurt me. I grow older.
~Li Po


In dog years, I'm dead. ~Author Unknown


Middle age: The time when you'll do anything to feel better, except give up what is hurting you. ~Robert Quillen


If youth but know,
And old age only could.
~Henri Estienne


Old age puts more wrinkles in our minds than on our faces. ~Michel de Montaigne


Life would be infinitely happier if we could only be born at the age of eighty and gradually approach eighteen. ~Mark Twain


Thanks to modern medical advances such as antibiotics, nasal spray, and Diet Coke, it has become routine for people in the civilized world to pass the age of 40, sometimes more than once. ~Dave Barry, "Your Disintegrating Body," Dave Barry Turns 40, 1990


The true way to render age vigorous is to prolong the youth of the mind. ~Mortimer Collins


A man is as old as he's feeling,
A woman as old as she looks.
~Mortimer Collins


When the problem is not so much resisting temptation as finding it, you may just be getting older. ~Author Unknown


Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. ~Henry Ford


I am getting old and the sign of old age is that I begin to philosophize and ponder over problems which should not be my concern at all. ~Jawaharlal Nehru


Sometimes age succeeds, sometimes it fails. It depends on you. ~Ravensara Noite


The best thing about getting old is that all those things you couldn't have when you were young you no longer want. ~L.S. McCandless


I never felt that there was anything enviable in youth. I cannot recall that any of us, as youths, admired our condition to excess or had a desire to prolong it. ~Bernard Berenson


Middle age is when work is a lot less fun and fun is a lot more work. ~Author Unknown


When our vices desert us, we flatter ourselves that we are deserting our vices. ~Francois Duc de La Rochefoucauld


We thought we were running away from the grown-ups, and now we're the grown-ups. ~Margaret Atwood


There is only one cure for gray hair. It was invented by a Frenchman. It is called the guillotine. ~P.G. Wodehouse


Middle age is the awkward period when Father Time starts catching up with Mother Nature. ~Harold Coffin


You know, when I first went into the movies Lionel Barrymore played my grandfather. Later he played my father and finally he played my husband. If he had lived I'm sure I would have played his mother. That's the way it is in Hollywood. The men get younger and the women get older. ~Lillian Gish


Every man desires to live long, but no man would be old. ~Jonathan Swift, Thoughts on Various Subjects, 1711


It well becomes a man who is no longer young to forget that he ever was. ~Seigneur de Saint-Evremond, 1696


Age is like the newest version of a software - it has a bunch of great new features but you lost all the cool features the original version had. ~Carrie Latet


When I was 40, my doctor advised me that a man in his 40s shouldn't play tennis. I heeded his advice carefully and could hardly wait until I reached 50 to start again. ~Hugo L. Black


In youth we are plagued by desire; in later years, by the desire to feel desire. ~Mignon McLaughlin, The Neurotic's Notebook, 1960


Adulthood is when the ghosts of childhood appear. ~Holden Rinehart


When men grow virtuous in their old age, they only make a sacrifice to God of the devil's leavings. ~Jonathan Swift, Thoughts on Various Subjects, 1711


They talk about the economy this year. Hey, my hairline is in recession, my waistline is in inflation. Altogether, I'm in a depression. ~Rick Majerus


We are only young once. That is all society can stand. ~Bob Bowen


There are people whose watch stops at a certain hour and who remain permanently at that age. ~Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve


I am getting to an age when I can only enjoy the last sport left. It is called hunting for your spectacles. ~Edward Grey


The lost leaves measure our years; they are gone as the days are gone. ~Richard Jefferies, The Life of the Fields, 1908


Regular naps prevent old age, especially if you take them while driving. ~Author Unknown


I don't know how you feel about old age... but in my case I didn't even see it coming. It hit me from the rear. ~Phyllis Diller


Growing old is a bad habit which a busy man has no time to form. ~Andre Maurois


Youth is a blunder; manhood a struggle; old age a regret. ~Benjamin Disraeli, Coningsby


You can't help getting older, but you don't have to get old. ~George Burns


What most persons consider as virtue, after the age of 40 is simply a loss of energy. ~Voltaire


You can't turn back the clock. But you can wind it up again. ~Bonnie Prudden


The trick is growing up without growing old. ~Casey Stengel


It takes about ten years to get used to how old you are. ~Quoted by Raymond A. Michel in The Leaf


The answer to old age is to keep one's mind busy and to go on with one's life as if it were interminable. I always admired Chekhov for building a new house when he was dying of tuberculosis. ~Leon Edel


The older you get the stronger the wind gets - and it's always in your face. ~Jack Nicklaus


You're only as young as the last time you changed your mind. ~Timothy Leary


It takes a long time to become young. ~Pablo Picasso


The problem with beauty is that it's like being born rich and getting poorer. ~Joan Collins


I never dared be radical when young
For fear it would make me conservative when old.
~Robert Frost


The denunciation of the young is a necessary part of the hygiene of older people, and greatly assists the circulation of the blood. ~Logan Pearsall Smith


Our bodies are the burial grounds of dead time. ~T.A. Sachs, to "Time! where didst thou those years inter, Which I have seene decease?" by William Habington


Middle age is when your classmates are so gray and wrinkled and bald they don't recognize you ~Bennett Cerf


I am old enough to see how little I have done in so much time, and how much I have to do in so little. ~Sheila Kaye-Smith


There is always some specific moment when we realize our youth is gone; but years after, we know it was much later. ~Mignon McLaughlin, The Neurotic's Notebook, 1960


When grace is joined with wrinkles, it is adorable. There is an unspeakable dawn in happy old age. ~Victor Hugo


Youth is when you're allowed to stay up late on New Year's Eve. Middle age is when you're forced to. ~Bill Vaughn


True terror is to wake up one morning and discover that your high school class is running the country. ~Kurt Vonnegut


At sixteen I was stupid, confused and indecisive. At twenty-five I was wise, self-confident, prepossessing and assertive. At forty-five I am stupid, confused, insecure and indecisive. Who would have supposed that maturity is only a short break in adolescence? ~Jules Feiffer


Never lose sight of the fact that old age needs so little but needs that little so much. ~Margaret Willour


The idea is to die young as late as possible. ~Ashley Montagu


*****

Friday, May 22, 2009

Top Ten Beaches in America

I have only been to Cape Hatteras among the beaches listed here, but I believe many of my siblings have been to an additional number of these coastal treasures over the years.

1. Hanalei Bay Beach, Kauai, Hawaii: This spectacular white crescent-shaped sand beach is considered by many to be the most beautiful beach setting in Hawaii. The two-mile-long strand is lined by palm trees, with a backdrop of waterfalls and mountain peaks that range up to 4,000 feet high. One of the best views of the beach is from the Princeville Hotel, located on the high bluff to the east. The other end of this wide coral sand beach is anchored by a high lava point that extends into the ocean, a panorama that has been the inspiration for many paintings and photo shoots.

2. Siesta Beach, Sarasota, Fla.: With some of the finest, whitest sand in the world, this beach attracts sand collectors from all over. Siesta Beach has clear, warm waters that provide ideal swimming. The beach is hundreds of yards wide in the shape of a crescent, due to anchoring of onshore rocks to the north and a unique underwater formation of coral rock and caves.

3. Coopers Beach, Southampton, N.Y: Coopers Beach is located on the south shore of Long Island, shielded from the cold Labrador currents. As the first "Gold Coast" in the country, Coopers Beach is hundreds of yards wide, made of grainy white quartz sand. The beach is backed by large sand dunes covered by American beach grass, interspersed with large and extravagant mansions.

4. Coronado Beach, San Diego, Calif.:
Coronado Beach measures hundreds of yards wide and features lush subtropical vegetation, a Mediterranean climate, fine sparkling sand and mild surf. The local landmark, Hotel del Coronado, was built more than 100 years ago, offering spectacular architecture and Old World elegance. Kings, sheiks, actors, and actresses have stayed there, and the hotel is now a great location for celebrity-spotting.
5. Hamoa Beach, Maui, Hawaii: Rimmed by cliffs and covered by coconut palm trees and flowering vegetation, this crescent beach, a mixture of coral and lava sand, is the most famous of Maui’s Hana beaches. To get to Hamoa Beach, drive the "Road to Hana," the treacherous highway with drop-offs of more than 1,000 feet, sporadic guardrails and more than 50 one-way bridges. Ernest Hemingway once said that Hamoa Beach was the world’s best beach, but it’s only no. 5 on this year's list.

6. Main Beach, East Hampton, N.Y.: Providing a blend of nature and a built environment, the beaches here are protected by a conservation easement that dates back more than 300 years. Main Beach is a great place for star-spotting, since many actors and actresses frequently visit this beach for its idyllic setting in a small village. The wide sandy beach made of quartz has towering sand dunes and clean, clear blue water.

7. Cape Hatteras, Outer Banks, N.C.: Bulging far offshore of the mainland coast as a barrier island, Cape Hatteras was the first National Seashore. Cape Hatteras provides some of the best board surfing along the East Coast, as well as the most famous lighthouse in the U.S. It attracts beachgoers and nature lovers alike for its historic fishing villages, superb fishing and excellent beachcombing.

8. Cape Florida State Park, Key Biscayne, Fla.: Cape Florida State Park, located at the southern tip of Key Biscayne, provides clear, emerald-colored waters and gentle surf. This fine, white-coral sand beach is great for swimming, as any waves are knocked down by a large sand shoal offshore. In addition, the Cape Florida Lighthouse gives access to a breathtaking view of the beach.

9. Coast Guard Beach, Cape Cod, Mass.: Coast Guard Beach, accessible by bicycle or via shuttle bus from the Salt Pond Visitor’s Center, was formed where a sand spit attached to the eroding glacial cliffs. The sand is fairly coarse, so the beach slopes steeply into the water. The picturesque old Coast Guard station still sits atop the glacial bluffs, allowing for a spectacular view down upon the Nauset Spit barrier system and bay. During the summer, beachgoers tend to take quick dips in the ocean, as water temperatures only reach 60 to 70 degrees.

10. Beachwalker Park, Kiawah Island, S.C.: South of Charleston, Beachwalker Park is the public beach located on the southern end of Kiawah Island. Tennis and golf are featured here, as well as interpretative tours of the island’s fauna and flora. Visitors can pack their canoes and kayaks to paddle through the tidal inlets, or walk down to St. Sam’s Inlet to see thousands of birds. The water is not clear here, but it is clean and provides for fantastic seafood for low-country cooking. Visitors can also pack their bicycles, since the sand is compact enough to ride along the 10-mile-long barrier island.

*****

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Best of the Beatles: # 1 Fool on the Hill

My 31 favorite Beatles songs of all time, in order of preference...


Best of the Beatles: # 2 A Day in the Life

Best of the Beatles: # 3 In My Life

Best of the Beatles: # 4 Eleanor Rigby

Best of the Beatles: # 5 Across the Universe (Nothing's Going to Change My World)

Best of the Beatles: # 6 Nowhere Man

Best of the Beatles: # 7 Hey Jude

Best of the Beatles: # 8 Norwegian Wood

Best of the Beatles: # 9 Michelle

Best of the Beatles: # 10 Ticket To Ride

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Best of the Beatles: # 11 Please Please Me

Best of the Beatles: # 12 Yesterday

Best of the Beatles: # 13 Things We Said Today

Best of the Beatles: # 14 Do You Want to Know a Secret

Best of the Beatles: # 15 You're Going to Lose That Girl

Best of the Beatles: # 16 Got To Get You In My Life

Best of the Beatles: # 17 P.S., I Love You

Best of the Beatles: # 18 All My Loving (Close Your Eyes)

Best of the Beatles: # 19 Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

Best of the Beatles: # 20 I Feel Fine

Best of the Beatles: # 21 The Long and Winding Road

Best of the Beatles: # 22 I'll Follow The Sun

Best of the Beatles: # 23 Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds

Best of the Beatles: # 24 Twist and Shout

Best of The Beatles: # 25 I Should Have Known Better

Best of The Beatles: # 26 Magical Mystery Tour

Best of The Beatles: # 27 This Boy

Best of The Beatles: # 28 Eight Days A Week

Best of The Beatles: # 29 Back in the U.S.S.R.

Best of The Beatles: # 30 Paperback Writer

Best of The Beatles: # 31 Lady Madonna

From Kenny Chesney Greatest Hits II: Out Last Night

From Kenny Chesney Greatest Hits II: Livin' In Fast Forward

From Kenny Chesney Greatest Hits II: Young

From Kenny Chesney Greatest Hits II: Summertime

From Kenny Chesney Greatest Hits II: Down the Road

From Kenny Chesney Greatest Hits II: Beer in Mexico

From Kenny Chesney Greatest Hits II: There Goes My Life

From Kenny Chesney Greatest Hits II: When the Sun Goes Down

From Kenny Chesney Greatest Hits II: Anything But Mine

From Kenny Chesney Greatest Hits II: Be As You Are

From Kenny Chesney Greatest Hits II: I Go Back

From Kenny Chesney Greatest Hits II: No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problem

From Kenny Chesney Greatest Hits II: The Good Stuff

From Kenny Chesney Greatest Hits II: Never Wanted Anything More

From Kenny Chesney Greatest Hits II: I'm Alive

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

A Very Hot Tuesday

Lots of records have fallen today, on Tuesday 19 May, as a sneak preview of summer comes through the region. It will be slightly cooler on Wednesday, then the roof caves in on Thursday as most highs don't reach 65 degrees across the Front Range region and adjacent plains and mountains. In Cheyenne it won't reach 55 degrees on Thursday and 70 won't be seen until at least a week.

RECORD EVENT REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHEYENNE WY
0925 PM MDT WED MAY 20 2009

...RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE TIED AT CHEYENNE ON MAY 19TH...

AT 1011 AM THE TEMPERATURE AT CHEYENNE AIRPORT REACHED 83 DEGREES.
THIS TIES THE RECORD FOR THE DATE PREVIOUSLY SET IN 1992 AND 1886.

$

RECORD EVENT REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
138 PM MDT TUE MAY 19 2009

...RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE SET ON MAY 19TH...

AT 124 PM THE TEMPERATURE AT DENVER INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT REACHED
90 DEGREES. THIS ESTABLISHES A NEW RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE FOR THE
DATE. THE PREVIOUS RECORD WAS 89 DEGREES...SET JUST THREE YEARS AGO
IN 2006.

JK


RECORD EVENT REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO
0517 PM MDT TUE MAY 19 2009

...RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE SET AT COLORADO SPRINGS CO...

A RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 88 DEGREES WAS SET AT COLORADO SPRINGS
CO TODAY. THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD OF 86 SET JUST LAST YEAR IN 2008.

$

RECORD EVENT REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RAPID CITY SD
930 PM MDT TUE MAY 19 2009
A RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 95 DEGREES WAS SET IN SPEARFISH SD
TODAY. THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD OF 89 SET IN 1992.

A RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 92 DEGREES WAS SET IN GILLETTE WY
TODAY. THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD OF 91 SET IN 1992.

A RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 90 DEGREES WAS TIED IN SUNDANCE WY
TODAY. THIS TIES THE OLD RECORD OF 90 SET IN 1992.

$$

RECORD EVENT REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BILLINGS MT
925 PM MDT TUE MAY 19 2009

...RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE SET AT SHERIDAN WY...

RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 94 DEGREES WAS SET AT THE SHERIDAN
AIRPORT TODAY. THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD OF 92 SET IN 1992.

$$


RECORD EVENT REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTH PLATTE
501 PM CDT TUE MAY 19 2009

...DAILY RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE SET AT VALENTINE NE...

A RECORD MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 99 DEGREES FOR MAY 19TH...WAS
ESTABLISHED AT MILLER FIELD IN VALENTINE. THIS SHATTERED THE OLD
RECORD HIGHEST TEMPERATURE FOR MAY 19TH OF 95 DEGREES...WHICH WAS
SET IN 1992.

$

RECORD EVENT REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHEYENNE WY
0925 PM MDT TUE MAY 19 2009

...RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE SET AT SIDNEY NE AIRPORT...

A RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 96 DEGREES WAS SET AT SIDNEY NE AIRPORT
TODAY. THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD OF 93 SET IN 1996.


$$







RECORD EVENT REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
CHEYENNE WY
0130 AM MDT WED MAY 20 2009

...RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE SET AT SCOTTSBLUFF NE AIRPORT...

A RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 97 DEGREES WAS SET AT SCOTTSBLUFF NE AIRPORT YESTERDAY. THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD OF 94 SET IN 1925.
$


RECORD EVENT REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RIVERTON WY
0130 AM MDT TUE MAY 19 2009

$

...RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE TIED AT CASPER WY...

THE MERCURY REACHED 88 DEGREES AT CASPER MONDAY. THIS TIED THE
RECORD PREVIOUSLY SET IN 1992.


$

RECORD EVENT REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA, MT
140 AM MDT TUE MAY 19 2009

...RECORD DAILY MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE TIED AT MISSOULA AND
BROKEN AT BUTTE MT...

A RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 88 DEGREES WAS SET AT MISSOULA MT
YESTERDAY. THIS TIES THE OLD RECORD OF 88 SET IN 2006.

A RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 84 DEGREES WAS SET AT BUTTE MT YESTERDAY.
THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD OF 83 SET IN 1954.

$$




*

Meanwhile SE Texas is getting a little break from summer heat with four days of record lows in the Austin - San Marcos region where I just was just a few days past.

RECORD EVENT REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO, TX
731 AM CDT TUE MAY 19 2009

...RECORD LOW TEMPERATURE SET AT AUSTIN CAMP MABRY...

A RECORD LOW TEMPERATURE OF 52 DEGREES WAS SET AT AUSTIN CAMP MABRY TODAY.
THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD OF 54 SET IN 1900.


$$

RECORD EVENT REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO, TX
731 AM CDT TUE MAY 19 2009

...RECORD LOW TEMPERATURE SET AT AUSTIN CAMP MABRY...

A RECORD LOW TEMPERATURE OF 52 DEGREES WAS SET AT AUSTIN CAMP MABRY TODAY.
THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD OF 54 SET IN 1900.


$$


RECORD EVENT REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO, TX
0722 AM CDT MON MAY 18 2009

...RECORD LOW TEMPERATURE SET AT AUSTIN / BERGSTROM...

A RECORD LOW TEMPERATURE OF 51 DEGREES WAS SET AT AUSTIN /
BERGSTROM TODAY. THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD OF 52 SET IN 2006.


$$

RECORD EVENT REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO, TX


623 PM CDT SUN MAY 17 2009

...RECORD DAILY LOW MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE AT AUSTIN/BERGSTROM...

THE TEMPERATURE ONLY REACHED 76 DEGREES TODAY AT AUSTIN/BERGSTROM.
THIS SETS A NEW DAILY LOW MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE RECORD. THE PREVIOUS
DAILY LOW MAXIMUM RECORD WAS 77 DEGREES SET ON THIS DATE IN 1983.

*****

Monday, May 18, 2009

Quick Weekend Trip

The trip to Houston over this last weekend was much too short and fully filled with activity. I was in five states in a 54 hour period with the flight itinerary I had, and returned home quite fatigued from the busy exciting two plus days. But the experience and fun are ones I will always treasure and remember, and it was really beautiful to spend time with family.

Friday was the fly out day as I left the home unit very early around 2:30 am for the two hour drive to Denver International Airport. My friend of over 20 years Brant was kind and generous enough to help me out for the ground travel opening up the trip and he brought his daughter Claire along who is about age 11. The trip was blessed with good weather and we made a pit stop at the truck stop on the south edge of town before heading further south along I-25 to the E-470 tollway that took us to the western edge of the airport with an uneventful arrival at DIA around 4:45 pm. Brant dropped me off on the east side of the airport where Southwest Airlines customer services is located.

Check in was simple as I put one of my two bags into the system and then went through the inane superfluous process of security. It took about 25 minutes to complete the process which was largely spent standing in line until having to take off my boots, empty my pockets, and take my computer out of its bag. Following that, I got on the underground train to take me to embarkation buildings east of the main terminal. Then there was about a two hour wait until my flight which I spent reading the paper, doing the puzzles, and briefly surfing the net to check my email and headlines from the East Coast before boarding the flight at around 7:35 am MDT.

The first leg of my flight took me to Oklahoma City with about an hour and a half flight with another hour lost due to the time zone change. Skies were clear and sunny; I sat in the middle portion of the plane about 1-2 rows behind the wing and emergency exit rows. I had some peanuts and pretzels along with a coke on the flight. I killed the time further reading the papers. We arrive at Oklahoma City at 10:20 CDT.

I had an hour and a half layover until the connecting flight to Houston, so I got a burger and some fries to calm down my hunger from a Sonic inside the airport which cost me about $6.50
Oklahoma City's Will Rogers Airport is real nice and quaint and not too bustling at that time of the day. I spent about 15 minutes making avail of their free wireless Internet service before preparing for boarding which occurred at 11:40 am.

Both flights down were not too packed. I would estimate the first flight was about 75 % full, and the second flight was about 65 % full. The steward crew was very light and willing to joke and relax on the first flight, while the second flight saw the crew serious and all business. The second flight was about the same as the first, spent reading and doing puzzles in the airplane magazine. I had my little three seat all to myself on the second flight after sharing it with a woman on the first leg. Once again, on the second flight I got to enjoy some peanuts, pretzels, and a modest cup of coke.

We landed at Houston at 1 pm. The hard part of the day was starting now as I had to wait over 3 hours for my sister's flight. I also had to wait 35 minutes for my bad to show up in baggage claim which had me concerned the bag was going to be on its way to somewhere else, an experience I had in 1990 when I went to Phoenix and my bags ended up in Anaheim. But the worst case fear was fortunately unrealized and I gathered my bag up to wait the time out in a little so-so pricey watering hole.

There was no free wireless Internet at Hobby unlike in Denver and Oklahoma City, so the time dragged with no activity for the most part. There nothing on the TV in the bar except for golf. I did get to talk to a couple of people for about a half-hour including a 29 year old young man in from Fort Polk, LA, to pick up his girlfriend from New York where he was also from originally. We had a good conversation about the military, Iraq, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, where he has already done two 15 month tours and is scheduled to go back next summer for a third time. It is nice to talk to a serviceman like that and get his perspective on things since he in the middle of it all, and one's respect for our military men and women and the difficult challenging jobs and responsibilities in the face of constant danger is only reinforced and increased.

Finally the sister and her son and daughter arrived. After baggage claim, processing the rental car acquisition, and getting the car, we were on our way. We took the scenic route instead of the tollway but it was not bad at all. We got to see some of the older parts of Houston south of and in downtown. Traffic could have worse and fortunately there was no rain. It took about an hour and 15 minutes to get to the hotel in NW Houston. My impression of Houston was largely strongly negative for the parts we were driving in and seeing. The Houston transportation infrastructure is quite poor, antiquated, inadequate, and in need of major, serious, and extensive work and improvements.

After a small break at the hotel near the intersection of the 290 freeway and the 6/1960 Parkway/Beltway, we went about 5 miles west and south over to my sister's home for a great meal of fajitas and a variety of beverages. Surprisingly the weather was quite good: cooler as temps were in the low to mid 70s with less humidity and a nice cooling breeze as well. We all got to visit and converse for a couple of hours. My brother in law and sister have a beautiful and nicely furnished home that is quite warm and comfortable with a pleasingly attractive back and front yard. Fourteen of the twenty members of my generation and the offspring were there on Friday night, and the star of the weekend and the reason for the gathering, my oldest niece Lindsey would make it 15 on Saturday as she spent her Friday in San Marcos celebrating with her college friends and peers. We went back to the hotel around 10:30 pm.

Saturday was a long and festive day with a few snap backs thrown in. The weather forecast was for only a small chance for rain, but as the day got along that was proven to be an enormous error. We left the Houston area before 6:30 am after rendezvousing at the W residence for a light breakfast of English muffins and juice. The drive over to San Marcos took about three hours with a couple of stops along the way for beverages and breaks, primarily on I-10 and then TX Hwy 183 diagonally to San Marcos. But the clouds thickened and grew more ominous the further west we got. One small town, Luling, and the surrounding area nearly suffocated us with the stench of methane from oil refineries.

Upon arriving in San Marcos, which is midway along I-35 between Austin and San Antonio, we parked the car in the football stadium lot and took a shuttle bus over to arena which was about a mile a way. I was a passenger on both trips in and out with my youngest brother H and his two daughters, and while there were a few moments of flareups and conflicts, for the vast majority part the two young ladies were quite well behaved. We made our way into the area upon exiting the bus and after having to wait for about 10 minutes for the graduate processional to make their way in, we joined the others in our party on the north side of the arena behind the seating where the approximately 1500 graduates were.

The ceremony was a typical college graduation with both light and serious moments, a couple of speeches from the university and student body presidents, and the commencement address from Texas US Senator Hutchinson. Then came the long process of degrees conferment and the reading off of all the names of the graduates. My niece with her last name beginning with a "W" was nearly at the end, among the last two dozen names read off.

Immediately afterwards we all gathered outside and had a lengthy photography session as well as congratulatory words and hugs with both family, friends, and others peers of Lindsey. We then gathered for the bus ride back to the football stadium parking lot, and no sooner did we get on the bus did the skies open up and pour. My brother H got a good soaking gathering the car back at the lot and getting his girls secured in their car seats.

H, his daughters, and I opted to have lunch in San Marcos and we found a Cici's Pizza which hit the spot and filled us up with some good tasty food. The girls won a prize each from one of the concessionaire game machines, an orange monkey and a shark, whose size and huggability disparities resulted in some friction and tears until my brother came up with a reasonable solution of sharing and trading the toys which the the girls accepted and understood.

We got out of San Marcos before 2pm, the ceremony lasting about 2 1/2 hours. The drive back to Houston along I-10 was almost all rain the whole way and I figured about 2" - 3" fell all along the route. It was quite heavy limiting visibility for much of the trip. We made it back to city and our hotel by around 5:30 pm

After about a 45 minute break to take a shower and unwind a little, we made our way back over to the W home for the evening celebratory festivities. There was a great Southwestern BBQ dinner catered in with a great selection of tasty meats, vegetables, salads, fruit, and beverages; and a huge cake on a sheet that was about 4' x 3' in size. Although the continuing rain brought the entire celebration indoors, there was plenty of room for all the visitors which I estimate numbered over 50 through the course of the evening. We all go to converse and visit more and really celebrate the college graduation of Lindsey, who unlike many graduates this year, has a job already which she will start to work at full time in a matter of weeks.

My sister M and her husband D did a superb and beautiful job of opening up their home to all the visitors and a great time was held by all in a warm and relaxing environment. And the rain did not turn out to be an inconvenience as it finally stopped around 10:30 pm

This was the first time I had been back to Houston in over 15 years, so it was nice to spend time with people that I don't get an opportunity to do so nearly often enough. My other two sisters had been to Houston in the last year or so, and my brother had not been there in close to a decade if not longer. This was the first opportunity for the Houston nieces of mine to meet for the first time my young nieces from Castle Rock.

As would be expected it took awhile for all of us to break away to end the evening, but we finally all did shortly after midnight.

Upon returning to our La Quinta motel, we did experience an unfortunate and painful incident. After getting out of the car and stepping on to break with a tree and other vegetation separating parking places, unbeknown st to us in the dark me and my young niece J stepped on some fire ants in the area and the critters proceeded to assault us on our feet only shod in sandals. J received at least several bites on her foot and I suffered close to 20 on both my left foot and toes.
The pain was uncomfortable and stinging, and I washed my foot in soapy water to try to minimize the impact.

Sunday morning came a little later than Saturday but not later enough. My brother in law M, and my sisters L & K were in the car for the nearly 40 mile trip back to the airport for a 9:50 am flight to Albuquerque on Southwest for me and brother in law M, with my two sisters and their kids having return flights that evening. Youngest brother Hank and his daughters flew back to Denver on United from the airport on the north side of Houston, Intercontinental Airport. His flight was at about the same time as M and mine.

After a brief respite of about 40 minutes following check in and security hoop jumping, we boarded our flight before 10 am under fully heavy dark cloudy skies which dripped some rain on us on the way to the airport. But once we were airborne, the skies cleared west of San Antonio and clear skies greeted us in New Mexico upon arrival at the Sunport at 10:55 am, having regained back that lost hour from Friday. The layover in Albuquerque was short, and after saying so long to my brother in law, I only waited about 15 minutes before boarding onto the plane to Denver for the second leg of the Sunday flight.

The flight to Denver was packed with virtually no empty seats, unlike the first flight of the day out of Hobby which was about 70 % full. I had two seatmates on the way up for the shortest duration of the four flights I was on this weekend. I arrived in Denver around 1pm and got my baggage very quickly unlike the Houston experience

Brant was there virtually at the moment I was ready to be picked up, and his wife Sara, and once again daughter Claire joined us for the trip back to Wyoming. We stopped for about an hour at the Pro Bass Outdoor store near the junction of I-70 and I-270 in NE Denver where Brant and I spent some time looking while the ladies went next door to the SuperTarget for the time. We all then headed out back to WY making a pit stop at a Walgreens off 120th in Thornton for a beverage. The weather in Colorado was sunny and warm with temps into the low 80s. Once in Cheyenne, we made a stop at Safeway for some milk and potatoes 10 # bag for 99 cents !) and some dinner groceries for the Chesbros. I was dropped at home around 4:45 pm. The unit was actually comfortable and not stuffy as I feared it would be.

I put away most everything I brought with me, and read the paper before dozing off around 7 pm, quite fatigued from the trip and three nights of very limited sleep (maybe 13-14 hours for the previous three nights at best). I slept for about 6 hours before waking up hungry -- all I had Sunday was peanuts on each of the two flights -- and stayed up for a couple of hours before dozing back off around 3:30 am and sleeping until around 11:30 am, catching me up on my sleep from the three lacking prior days. But the fire ants sure did a nice number on my left foot as it feels and looks quite unsatisfactory.

I very grateful and glad to have been able to make this trip, and particularly for those who made this possible and helped me out in a wide number of important ways.

But most of all I was very happy and proud to be able to share in the experience of witnessing my oldest niece graduate from university, with magna cum laude academic honors and achievement, and be able to see her joy and deep appreciation for successfully completing this long difficult challenge with a broad smile and deep sparkles in her eyes, as well in those of her parents, sister, relatives, friends, neighbors and others, on this most special day of hers honoring and celebrating this extraordinary wonderful landmark and fantastic day.

The best is yet to come for her especially as well as for all those reveling in this magnificent moment and the following celebration, both there in person and in spirit.

Monday, May 11, 2009

Getting Slowly Crunched in May

I have not shared anything about my life on this blog in weeks, because, quite frankly, things are going very poorly and I am on the precipice of a world of hurt. Thing are getting increasingly grim as my unemployment goes past its fifth month this week.

Returning to my factory job looks to be a non-possibility for the time being, and perhaps even beyond the short term. I would not be surprised if I never get called back. I talked on the phone to the Personnel Manager last week and she painted a dreary picture. At this time the factory is running only one part time shift. The factory was closed for the first three months this year, re-opening the week before Easter and then closing for a full week the third week in April. The current staffing is about 20 % of what it was last summer and autumn when I was working. The work crew now only works 3 days a week and gets 24 hours with a four day weekend every week so far. She told me production demand is dismal and not projected to improve in the coming weeks. So there is little if anything optimistic about my most recent employment re-emerging.

Since the first of the year I have submitted around 20 -25 applications with resumes online to various businesses advertising for help that I found either in the paper or on internet job sites, but I have had no response to any submission. And the opportunities that I am finding are becoming fewer and fewer in the last few months. The economy here like everywhere else is frozen up and not offering many openings for those looking for work. I have only found about 2 -3 jobs to apply for in the last couple of weeks.

Well, that was depressing enough, but it only gets worse. My nest egg I built up lasted about what I thought it would: until around 1 May. I am basically out of money. I hope to find something to be able to pay May utilities (about $225) as well as pay for the next round of groceries. I am okay on food for most of the rest of the month, but I will have to replenish my stock around 1 June which will take about another $65 being careful and conservative with my choices to make it stretch a month. And then I have no money for rent for June which is very troubling. To say things are bad is an understatement. There is a big pack of wolves assembling to be at the door very soon.

All that being said, life has been quite boring and routine in recent weeks. Without transportation (both a blessing and an onus) it is difficult to get out. I stopped going to DQ about a month ago, and have spent money only on milk and bread in the last month. I spend most of my days on the internet and half-heartedly watching tv and listening to the radio or CDs. I only eat twice a day to keep the food supply from running out any sooner. I am drinking lots and lots of water to help keep any hunger pangs down. As a result, my weight has dropped to 247 lbs. This is the lowest that I have been at been since Autumn '03 when I had West Nile Virus and my weight plunged from around 300 lbs down to 233 lbs at the low point in about 2 1/2 to 3 months. Not that that was a bad thing. I have never returned to the weight I was before that sickness, as I probably peaked in the high 270s in the past few years. And being down to 247 lbs. is also a good thing. I think some of this is also due to not eating bad foods filled with sodium and fats as can be easily done when one is in a hurry and not be careful about where they are eating at. I expect to continue to slowly lose weight in the coming years as I age further into my 50s. At some point I very well may get down to around 210 to 220 which is ideal for my height and body style.

At least my connections with the outside world are very good to excellent. I talk with each of my three sisters a couple of times a month; and about the same with my youngest brother. I talk to my friend Matt who is in Denver several times a week via the phone, email, or text; and I have talked to and seen Brant about four to five times in the last month after not having any contact since before Thanksgiving. Contact with Todd has been scare however as I have only seen him twice or thrice since the Super Bowl.

Inside my apartment I am at about 95 % as being organized as I want to be, although getting the recycling out is long overdue. There are still a number of projects that need to be completed: such as finding vacuum cleaner bags for my two vacuums ( an upright Royal Dirtbuster and a handheld Dirt Devil); and getting the garage project done. After putting that off for a long time, I am looking to tackle that with the cold weather all but over with for the next 4-5 months.

I also want to print some pictures up from images I have collected on the internet of family members and their offspring, but I will hold off on that until I can buy some extra inkjet printer cartridges for my printer so I don't run out.

One of these days I will get my 36" Curtis Mathes TV fixed. There is a place here in town that will do it, but two obstacles exist: Having a $95 deposit on hand to start the repair, and physically getting the TV over to that shop which is about 3 miles away. Climbing down a flight of wooden stairs carrying a 250 lb hulking set is a two man job that has been difficult to coordinate. I will have to make a greater effort to get that accomplished later this year.

And then there is The White Knight. It has sat for over two months now without being moved. At some point I would like to conclusively find out what is wrong with it, but I need to have funds and time to get it to a shop to get a diagnosis made. I think right now its the worst case scenario -- the transmission -- but I could be wrong and I need to find out for sure. Another challenge -- coming up with replacement transportation in all likelihood. There are vehicles for sale here under $2000, but that may be completely unrealistic given my circumstances and unlikely prosperous near future. Any job I get will not pay enough to even consider getting another truck anytime soon if ever here in Cheyenne. I may end walking alot more than I imagine. That conversation about weight loss on my part may be understated. Walking may result in me dropping below 200 lbs in a matter of several months in the upcoming heat and then the returning cold this next autumn and winter. Not a pleasant prospect.

As for leaving Cheyenne, I have all but given up hope of being able to do that anytime in 2009. Even if my own circumstances were more ideal, relocating cold in the middle of the worse economic downturn in recent memory at my age is a recipe for disaster. It is probably much more logical and reasonable to wait things out for at least one year and maybe two or three until the time is much more right. And by then I may be able to be in a really good circumstance and better prepared for that immense challenge that would await me. I also very well could skip moving back to Colorado as is my plans at this time, and instead make the final move to a warm climate in the Southwest, or, as my sister has asked me to consider, the Houston TX area. That is a big step for me to contemplate. There are both positives and negatives to consider, and such a decision must be pondered and weighed carefully and not taken haphazardly. Only time will tell whether I decide to make such a profound jump.

Anyway, enough rambling. I have gotten to watch a lot of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs and the first five weeks of the baseball season which has been enjoyable. The days are now long (on a par with early August now as the Summer Solstice is now but six weeks away. So I get to see a lot of more daylight and I open the curtains and blinds as often as possible unless it is gloomy outdoors which has been the case more often than not the last seven weeks. It is supposed to climb to the upper 70s on Tuesday which means I get to open up the windows and door and let some ventilation in to keep the unit from getting stuffy. The space heater is about to be put away until at least late September and probably October to be replaced by my set of fans to provide air movement in the coming warmer months. The heat has already been turned off since late April and I have survive the last two cool weeks without it except for the space heater on occasion.

Trees and shrubs have come into bloom in the last week or so, and the bigger and more older trees are probably about to do the same in the next week or so. The long hard cold interminably windy winter is now over. Hopefully my disposition and mood can remain sunny and upbeat in spite of my challenges and likely looming hardship. They say life isn't easy, but sometimes it is worse than hard -- it downright stinks and sucks.

*****