Day 18 – A Day With Cedric

Posted on October 8, 2016 by Jerrie Cate

I’m writing this the day “after” instead of the day “of” so please forgive me if I get things out-of-order, or, God forbid, forget something. I might even spell something wrong. It could happen because I’m going to write in present tense, pretending it’s yesterday

The first order of business was to see about connecting with Cedric in person. So far we’ve only been texting while things get sorted out about whether or not he can leave his barracks with us. Since he’s still new to the Navy, and currently stationed on an Army base, Army rules apply and they require that their newbies obtain a Battle Buddy to move beyond the bounds of their barracks. The Buddy System. Makes sense. Cedric had a Buddy lined up for last Thursday so we could see him but that Buddy backed out. When Jennifer heard about this she told Cedric, “Remember that when he wants help.”

That’s my girl!

That put Thursday out of reach so we arranged to meet him at his barracks this morning so we could hang out with him at the picnic tables on the Navy side of his barracks which is shared with the Air Force.

When we arrived there were about 10 Air Force folks, men and women, performing yard maintenance all across the front of the building, which is very large, sending grass clipping odors our direction in such a manner that Diane found it hard to breath. So, she departed for the safety of the car until they were done. Before leaving I captured them.

Cedric and I, who are not similarly affected by grass odors in such a manner, sat at a wobbly picnic table talking about his new life.

He said he actually liked Boot Camp better because it was a mindless (my word) existence that didn’t require decisions, just obedience. With the shift to Fort Lee he retained the obedience requirement, obtained more freedom, and was tasked with the added aspect of adopting unfamiliar Army regulations into his behavior pattern. I can understand his confusion.

We talked for about an hour during which time I learned a bit about how his daily life goes. He’s only been on the base for a week so really hasn’t had much time to assimilate. His school started on Monday and they already have them playing with knives, an unanticipated treat. And it wasn’t just a butter knife, but a really sharp one.

I learned that FC1 Clark is in charge of the Navy aspect of the barracks today. FC stands for Fire Control meaning his job is mainly on ships at sea dealing with guns and missiles. Being here, in this job, is a way for the Navy to give him a break from sea duty. Cedric calls him their baby sitter, which it is in a way. He approves all the standard requests for liberty so he’s an important person this day in the daily lives of the sailors in the barracks.

By now the lawn mowing had been terminated because lunch was looming on everyone’s radar. Food was becoming more and more important. Even our stomachs were beginning to sense the need for sustenance in order to make it through the afternoon to supper. So, Diane volunteered to make a run to Subway and bring it back for us to eat.

About that time FC1 Clark left the building on his way to lunch. He wasn’t gone long, and Diane was preparing to leave on her mission to obtain a sandwich when he returned. I stood by Diane, wishing her well on her quest as FC1 Clark exited his vehicle.

I timed my return to Cedric so it intersected with Petty Officer Clark’s trajectory so that I could thank him for his service, and to introduce myself. As I expected, he was a very congenial young man who was willing to explain the rules for Liberty Buddies for me. We just talked Navy, something I think he misses.

At this juncture I must profess that not once did I reveal my Navy rank in an attempt to coerce a desired answer to an unasked, but simply inferred request. That was, of course, was there any reason why I couldn’t be Cedric’s Liberty Buddy since we were not going to leave the base.We just wanted to take advantage of an unexpected opportunity to visit with Cedric.

He tipped his head to the side a little, pondering the situation, then he asked, “what’s his last name?”

“Walters,” I told him.

He turned, aiming his voice at the picnic table where Cedric sat and said, “Walters!’

Being attuned to the sound and tone of FC1 Clark’s voice Cedric jumped to attention and quickly assumed a familiar position in front him. I learned later that Cedric was seriously afraid that I’d said something to get him into trouble. Then FC1 Clark said, “go get that liberty request you filled out and bring it to the office.” Then he turned to look at me and said, “bring your Grandpa, too.”

Stunned, Cedric departed on his mission and returned shortly to escort me into the building.

The entrance is set up to mimic boarding and leaving a ship and proper decorum is maintained throughout the process – salute the flag, turn and salute the Petty Office Of the Watch (POOW) request permission to come aboard, permission granted, then proceed into the building. Very proper stuff.

At the office, Cedric stood to the side of the door, then knocked, asking permission to enter. I screwed that one up by just marching ahead of him into the office. Seeing my mistake, I backed out and let him go first. At the desk I signed him out and away we went to Pizza Hut.

Yes, we opted for Pizza Hut instead of Subway. It was a good choice. Lunch was really good. Turns out the Pizza Hut on base is typically populated by Army so we two sailors were pretty much a minority. It was fun to mingle with them and they were all very polite and respectful.

From there Cedric opted to just hang out in our hotel room for the afternoon. The deal about being his Liberty Buddy was that I had to sign him back in prior to 2000. So, we made a pact to be back before 1930. During that time, Cedric did this …

and this

Just hung out and watched a movie, ate popcorn, and visited.

Later we stopped by Subway to get Cedric a sandwich, then we stopped by his school on the way back to sign him in. I call it the Knowledge Distribution Center, or KDC since were in the land of acronyms once again.

That ended the day.

It was a good one.

Day 14 – Washington D.C. Chinatown

Posted on October 3, 2016 by Jerrie Cate

When we got up this morning we didn’t have a plan about where to go. Diane said I was to have made a decision about that last night, and I kinda did, but didn’t tell her. I thought it would be interesting to visit Chinatown. I didn’t have a reason why other than it was on the green METRO line meaning we could get there without changing trains. That was apparently a good enough reason, so off we went to the Anacostia Station.

The train was pretty much empty on the trip, and not many got on at other stations so it was a pretty uneventful trip to the Gallery Place station. The exits for this stop are under a gallery (oddly) of many, many, stores, shops, bowling alley, bars, and a HUGE Regal Theater that has 14 screens. It’s actually right next to the Verizon Center which is home to the NBA Washington Wizards. I’m sure that’s true, but if any of you know differently, please chime in. I’ll do my best to pay attention. It’s also in Chinatown.

The first order of the day, after leaving the METRO stop, was to find a bathroom. So, we went into a handy door that appeared to lead into the Gallery’s innards where we were sure we’d find a bathroom. We went up and down escalators (more up than down) until we finally encountered an access point into the Regal Cinema.

We knew they had restrooms because all theaters have restrooms but, as luck would have it, only customers could use them. So, we bought tickets so Diane could use the bathroom. The tickets we bought were for “Storks” so we thought we may as well stick around and watch it. It as 11:41 am when we got to the ticket taker and she said we had plenty of time because there were 20 minutes of previews before the movie started. It was all good.

We sat in the theater, all by ourselves, and could hear the previews, but there was no picture. So, I went back to the ticket taker and reported this incident. Finally, someone got it going just in time for the movie to start. We really enjoyed the movie and highly recommend it. We used the restrooms both before and after the movie. Then we walked outside and Diane once again asked me what we were going to do.

I struggled for an answer, but didn’t have one, even though I had a map in my hands with all kinds of places we could visit. Finally, we decided to visit the Smithsonian American Art Museum and National Portrait Gallery which is directly across 7th Street NW from the Verizon Center. Really handy. While crossing 7th Street I noticed some food trucks parked on the museum side of the street and thought it was a really feeble attempt to match the parking lot full of similar trucks you can find all over Portland.

I had to go back and take a picture of the last one in line because it was a new one for me …

Doughnuts and fried chicken. Who knew?

The museum was filled with incredible paintings some of which are incredibly old. Most of the first ones we viewed were formal portraits of famous folks from history. The only one that really got our attention was this one because of frame …

It’s actually General Ulysses S. Grant. You know, the guy that’s buried in Grant’s tomb?

After walking around for a couple of hours we started getting a little light-headed and, as luck would have it, we stumbled across a snack shop on the inner patio of the museum. Diane just wanted fizzy water and I chose an orange Fanta soda. Total cost was $7.22, the most expensive drinks we’ve had since the last Blazer game we attended. Apparently, if you’re a ‘member’, things are considerably cheaper. Had we only know. Probably doesn’t cost much more than a few thousand bucks to be a member. I’m guess because I didn’t ask.

I loved my soda and nursed it slowly while sitting in this very quiet area. An interesting feature in there are three horizontal water falls. Sounds dumb, I know, but that’s what they are. They are actually three areas of the floor that are slightly depressed, slightly more on one side than the other. Water is forced up on the high side and it flows slowly across the stones to the low side. Very unique. I wanted to run through them, but Diane felt that would be a bad idea. So, I didn’t. In the photo the water is flowing from left to right.

Then I took a photo of Diane, like I always do when I have a chance, and liked it so much I’m going to share it with you.

In addition to some terrific art, the building itself is actually one itself. It’s 3 stories tall and each floor is different. I only took a photo of the Great Hall which is pretty magnificent.

There there was this view from one of the windows that I couldn’t resist. Have I ever mentioned how happy I no longer have to get film developed?

We were in the museum for 3-4 hours and by the time we decided to call it a day we were pretty hungry. Both of us decided that Mexican food would be really good which was handy because Rosa Mexicano was just across the street from the museum, and the METRO stop we needed for our return trip was just across the street from Rosa’s. How convenient.

We entered the restaurant between the lunch and dinner rush hours so the place was essentially ours for a little while. It’s a beautiful establishment and it smelled really good inside. Both of us chose to have guacamole made at the table and that was a treat. Except for the cilantro. I don’t care for cilantro. But that was OK because everything was delicious anyway. And, it looked really good …

I had my standard beef enchiladas and Diane had her standard cheese enchiladas. The rice and beans were served in bowls so we could take what we wanted. Clever. We each had three enchiladas. I ate all of mine and Diane left only about one bite. She did good.

By the time we were finished eating the place had started to fill up which pointed out a glaring error with our timing … people were getting off work meaning that we were going to be riding back on the subway during rush hour. And that’s exactly what we did. Making it more difficult, the METRO masterminds, I learned, send 6-car trains during rush hour but use 8-car trains on weekends. Makes perfect sense, don’t you think? Well, here we are making lots of new friends on our ride home …

We stood the entire trip. It wasn’t bad because there really wasn’t much of a chance we could have fallen down. Everyone on the train was very friendly. I don’t think it was out of necessity. I think that’s just the way they are all the time. Really nice folks.

Finally we got to the car and I was, once again, very relieved to discover that it had been towed. It was still right where we parked it.

I’ve been wanting to report what I discovered across the bottom of Washington DC license places but keep forgetting. Until now. On the way home, at a stop light, I took this photo …

Don’t you love it? I mentioned it at Arlington yesterday to one of the tour folks and was told that’s their motto. Since it’s on their license plates, I suspect that true.

On a side note, with Hurricane Matthew heading for the East Coast, we’re having second thoughts about our trip to Myrtle Beach, SC. Tomorrow we’ll call the resort and see what they have to say. Diane’s checking the weather frequently and her last report was that by Wednesday, the day we’re supposed to be there, it probably won’t be a hurricane. Just a ton of water falling out of the sky. We’ll see how that goes.

Many of you know that our friend Jewel is dog, cat and house sitting for us during this trip. Last week she performed an old person’s trick by falling down and breaking her right arm. In her defense, she tripped over the goofy little fence I helped her install around some new plantings by the front porch. I’ve tripped on that thing, too. Today she had her splint removed and had it replace with a pretty pink cast.

As you can see by her comment, she’s doing much better now. We’re thankful for that. Thanks for hanging in there, Jewel. During her trial with a splint, and pain, Jennifer pitched in to help. Daniel also added his expertise to give Ziva a bath after she decided to, again, adorn herself with eu du deer poop. Regarding that, I have mixed emotions because she’s either rolling in it, or eating it. I don’t like either of those choices, but think I like her eating it best. That way there’s really nothing to clean up. Yea!

Gotta quit now because Dancing With The Stars is on now. It’s Cirque du Soleil night.

Day 9 – Beach Haven Reunion Banquet

Posted on September 28, 2016 by Jerrie Cate

Today all the attendees of this reunion gathered to eat a catered lunch by the hotel in which we’re staying. We already knew the food is good so the prospect of a cafeteria style banquet was not a scary thing. We embraced it.

The banquet was scheduled to start at 11:30 am so we all gathered in the gathering room, next to the banquet room, at 11:00 am to prepare. That, and to produce the gifts we were directed to bring for the auction for which many, many tickets were sold. Because Diane and I were sitting in the gathering room next to the banquet room door, we wound up selling raffle tickets by the dozens. To be precise, we sold $700 worth of raffle tickets. We were busy. One guy, Freddie, bought $80 worth of them.

After we sold all those tickets, we ate. Since Diane and I were the last people into the banquet room, we had to scuffle for a place to sit. That worked out, though, because just as we were heading to our table Ken stood up and ask the room how we should line up for the food. Since I was right behind him, I suggested that we begin with the row of tables next to the wall where Diane, Marvin, and I were sitting. My suggestion was accepted so I just turned around and got in line for food. It was pretty good, but I didn’t take a photo of it. Mainly because I loaded the plate so it wasn’t very pretty. Very good, but not very pretty.

Once the food was devoured it was time to start calling raffle tickets. Now, I gotta share some insight about raffles that I’ve gleaned over the years. The most profound one is that there are always one or two tables in the room that wind up with the majority of winners. It just happens that way Always. Perhaps you’ve noticed this. There were about 14-15 tables in the room, some longer than others and seating 10 instead of 4, so with each shipmate providing at least one gift, adding to those provided by the organizer, there must have been about 150 things to raffle off. Don’t question my math. It’s correct.

During lunch Diane hid the bucket of tickets behind her chair, in the corner. When Ken stood up to start the raffle, transported the huge bucket to his vicinity so he could kick things off. Simply by virtue of the fact that I transported the tickets I was sucked in to helping out with the drawings, calling out the numbers in a loud voice that everyone bu Ed could hear. Ed won a couple of times but only because when a number was called and no one responded, and it was evident that Ed wasn’t looking at his tickets, Mary gave him a hand.

The rule of raffles is that the person who wins must draw the next number. That worked OK until Freddie finally won and he drew three tickets in a row that matched three of the vast array of tickets he had spread all over his table. As the drawings continued I managed to remember the sequence of tickets Freddie had making it easy to know when he won. Which he did. A lot. He was that guy. He finally got tired of walking to the next room to pick out his next prize and started appointing people to do it in his place. Those around him were very happy.

Every once in a while we stopped calling tickets so Ken could auction off. He was doing a pretty good job, but George jumped in and caused bidders to go way higher than they had intended. George made the group a lot of money on those auction items. Finally, all the auction and raffle items were gone and we were allowed to leave.

I failed to mention that we had a group meeting after lunch, prior to the raffle, during which we talked about where we should have our next reunion. Since the last two were on the East Coast it was unanimously agreed that we should strongly consider the West Coast for the 2018 reunion. We do them every two years. That’s why I put 2018 instead of 2017. You may have wondered. The location discussed for the West Coast reunion was Bremerton. That will work great for us since we live on the West Coast. I wouldn’t be surprised, either, if Diane and I wound up taking care of all the details since we live there even though we didn’t volunteer. That’s how things seem to work out.

After it was all done, around 2:55 pm, Diane and I retired to our room where we sat on our balcony enjoying the breeze caused by bad weather that’s causing the waves to crash into the beach at an angle instead of coming straight in like they were doing yesterday. And the day before. It’s actually very stormy and the weather has turned cold making it uncomfortable to be out there even in a sweatshirt with a hood. So she went back into the room, but I stayed outside for a bit longer just to prove that I’m a man even though Diane already knows that. She’s seen me naked. A couple of times. When I felt I’d made my point, I also went inside.

Then I opened up one of the Xfinity apps on my iPad and discovered that I could actually watch TV shows that are recorded on our DVR at home. That’s amazing! So, I watched two episodes of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and one episode of Quantico. Since Diane was sleeping I used my handy ear buds so I would wake her up. Since I was reclined I managed to fall asleep a few times myself but, since I had the buds in, I’m pretty sure I didn’t miss anything.

Now for some photos for those of you who ventured this far even though I didn’t take very many at the banquet. Just a few. I’ll find some more to share just for fun.

Here’s Diane wearing my Scappoose hat. It fits her way better than me so it’s now her’s.

She looks good in any kind of hat.

Next is a photo of the head table at the banquet. I said earlier that the longer tables sat 10 people but I lied. There were only 6.

This next one Diane took of me helping Ken with the raffle.

Until I saw this photo I had no idea my right breast was lower than my left one. I guess I don’t usually notice it because of the sports bra. Should have worn it today, I guess. That or that new push-up number I found at Goodwill the other day.

Now, on a more serious note, here’s a photo from the Albany Democrat-herald. It was taken during the game when our St. Helens went all the way down there to whip East Albany 4-3. I guess it was nip and tuck throughout the game, but our girls persevered. That’s our Lydia in the yellow goalie shirt. Jennifer sent four other ones that were also in the paper, all of Lydia doing her thing.

I guess it’s OK to shove on the goalie’s face in Albany although it didn’t do them any good.

That’s about it.

Day 8 – Round About Beach Haven, NJ

Posted on September 27, 2016 by Jerrie Cate

It’s 10:00 am and we’re doing something different today. We chose to skip the trip to Atlantic City in favor of sticking around closer to our room in case we have a nap attack. The big motivator for me was when the bus driver said the reason the trip was so cheap ($10 per person) is that participants are required to stay at least 6 hours in Atlantic City. As the driver, he’s also the enforcer. I guess the reason for that is because someone did some complex calculations that revealed old folks are likely to part with their money if they stayed in the vicinity of casinos for a certain amount of time. Since neither of us gamble, that left the casino buffets which is pretty much the same as tossing money out the window because they promote a reason to eat far more than normal, and eat stuff you’d never try when sober. Even though we paid $20 for the trip, blowing it off is way cheaper than going on the trip. So, we stayed and the bus left.

This is Tom, our driver.

This is George, Ken’s left-hand man for all work done to organize this reunion. They both put in a lot of work to make it happen.

Our home until Thursday.

This is Ken’s car, the one he drove all the way from Ohio. I think the 808 on the side is there all the time, not just when we have reunions. The 808 is significant, of course, because that’s the hull number of the good ship Buckley. The fact that the car is gray is significant for the same reason. I think he special ordered it from Toyota in Haze Gray.

This is the parking lot for the Engleside Inn. It’s crushed oyster shells, I think. If were on the other ocean, that’s what it would be but I don’t know if they allow oysters to grow in the Atlantic.

I’m sitting on our little deck watching the waves roll in, listening to the soothing roar they make when they curl over and foam up. It’s peaceful. A couple of hundred feet off shore I can see the dorsal fins of the porpoises breaking the surface of the water as many dozens of them make their way south along the shore.

I had to stop and think for a minute there, a rarity if you ask Diane, because I’m used to having left being south and right being north when looking directly at the sea. That’s on the Pacific side. But, here we are on the Atlantic.

A big difference between the two coasts that we’ve noted from previous visits, is that Atlantic beaches tend to drop off into the water at a pretty steep angle compared to the gentle slope of Pacific beaches. On the Pacific side it’s not uncommon for us to walk for hundreds of feet before there’s danger of getting our feet wet, but on the Atlantic side when you get to the sand, and were to fall down, you’d be in the water before you quite rolling. That’s almost true.

For some reason there are many residents with dogs staying at the hotel with us. I’m not sure if there’s convention going on or if that’s just what folks do over here. One lady just walked her dog up a path to the beach that has a really nice pole fence defining the walkway and her dog, something I’ve never seen before, stopped and peed on every other post. Both directions.

After we decided navigating stairs from the third floor (no elevator) wouldn’t be all that difficult, we donned our shoes, Diane got the car keys, and we headed for the stairs. Oh, in addition to the shoes, we put on good outside clothes, too. It was the right thing to do. Then we just drove the length of New Jersey’s Long Beach Island. The road, Long Beach Blvd, is 35 miles long and drove the length. Since the summer season is over most of the folks are gone. We were told the year round residency of the island is about 40K but it swells a couple of K during the summer months. The room we’re in lists its maximum rate at $599.99 which is ludicrous and nowhere near what we paid. Vacations in New Jersey are serious business.

Here’re some photos we took during our tour.

The Who Hoo place caught our attention because it’s one of Jennifer’s favorite things to say when something pleases her. We didn’t eat there. Just stopped to take the photo.

Most of the homes on the south end of the island, where we are in Beach Haven, are huge very elegant, and appear to be built for multiple families. Also, they all look new with no signs of aging or degradation. Pretty amazing. We came across some very pretty beach rentals that are apparently part of a club. These are the only ones we found that appeared to be made from cookie cutter plans. The other homes all appear to be custom units with nothing in common except for their huge size and multiple garages.

We stopped for lunch at Kubel’s Too, an iconic restaurant located in Brighton Beach which is just a little north of Beach Haven on the island. We both had fish and chips and believe it was about the best we’ve ever had. The coleslaw was the best, too. A very satisfying lunch.

After all that food we felt the need to take a nap but as we drove the short distance back to our room we kinda rejuvenated and decided to spend some time sitting on a handy bench near the beach. Although it was overcast, it was pretty comfortable sitting there for a long time. Then it started to get chilly, driving us indoors. The following photos depict our view from left to right.

Apparently this is the end of Amber Street.

As you can see, if you’re from the West Coast, the beaches over here a little different both in color and in texture.

Tomorrow is our last day here and it’s been fun. Short but fun seeing all these old guys we’ve come to know over the years. We only see them every two years, but they have become fast friends.

Now, Dancing With The Stars is on so I must quit.

Good wishes to you all.

Day 7 – Camden, New Jersey

Posted on September 26, 2016 by Jerrie Cate

Before getting into the day’s activities I need to report that we didn’t sleep as good as we thought we would on our room’s softer mattresses. I guess there’s something about really hard beds, like Ruth has, that grows on you. We’ll see if we still feel that way after tonight’s adventure in sleeping.

This morning we were up early so we could spruce ourselves up for a fun bus ride to visit the USS New Jersey BB-62 in Camden, NJ. Turns out that Camden is a 2+ hour bus ride away from Beach Haven. Who knew? Diane and I finagled a front row seat by telling everyone that I’d probably puke if I had to sit anywhere else. That did the trick and we had the front row for both directions. Getting there first, however, played a significant part in getting those seats.

After sitting for over two hours on the bus we were all ready to get out and walk around and that’s what we did on BB-62. It was interesting, but not the first battleship we’ve been aboard the USS Alabama BB-60, and the USS Missouri BB-61. Most significant of those two was BB-61 which we visited many times while we were in Hawaii during our last tour of active duty 1986-1989. The Missouri was an active duty ship, having been recommissioned a few years before, and one of our old shipmates from Naval Communications Station (NAVCOMSTA) Okinawa, 1968-1970, was stationed aboard. It was very humbling to make those visits because the Missouri tied up across the harbor from the USS Arizona memorial. at that time and I took many photos of the Arizona from the Missouri’s surrender deck. A lot of history involved in that view – a photo of the devastation that pulled us into WWII taken from the spot where peace was secured to end the war. There’s a plaque on the surrender deck commemorating that event and it has a plexiglas bubble that covers it when the ship went to sea. The Missouri is now, of course, secured directly behind the Arizona on Battleship Row at Ford Island and is a floating museum.

A bit of trivia about BB-62 is that when I was stationed at Naval TeleCommunication Center (NTCC) Long Beach, CA Diane and I watched the USS New Jersey being pulled into port for overhaul in preparation for being re-commissioned. My boss, a female LCDR, was married to another LCDR who happened to drive a Fleet Tug boat, the one that was selected to tow the Jersey from Bremerton, WA to the Long Beach ship yard for the refit. A bit of history.

Sorry about going down that road, but it just jumped in my head and I had to get it out of there before it started rattling around.

As we arrived in Camden, near the road to the USS New Jersey, we were treated to a stunning view of the Philadelphia skyline. First time we’ve ever seen it. Apparently it’s a first for Barb, too, because she didn’t recognize it.

The New Jersey was interesting because we were taken in a small group of 14 with a dedicated Docent who knows the ship. We spent two hours following her up and down a lot of ladders. It was tiring and hard on old knees. I was tempted to slide down the handles of some ladders, on my hands, but refrained after briefly considering the consequences and the ensuing ambulance ride that was sure to follow. In the past, sliding down those ladders on ships was second nature. It was a quick way to get around. And, I was much, much younger. And I bounced when I fell down. The bounce is gone. I’ll save the words and just show some pictures.

Gathering under the forward 16″ gun mount to honor DD-808 shipmates who have passed the bar since last we gathered. We only have this reunion every other year and we’re all of advanced age so losing shipmates is not uncommon or unexpected. It’s good to remember them.

Another chance to practice taking a selfie.

It’s a big ship.

With big guns.

And pretty girls.

When leaving the New Jersey’s quarterdeck Larry Hennessy, the Docent Supervisor, was standing there looking very spiffy in his khakis. I shook his hand and we looked each other in the eye and we kinda stopped for a moment, then he said, “I know you!” I sensed a bit of familiarity myself and responded, “You look familiar, too!” Then we got to talking about which ships we’d been on and figured out that there’s no way we knew each other because he was an East Coast Sailor, and I was a West Coast Sailor. But, we decided that we each had a new friend and parted happy. It was a good visit.

By this time Diane and I were way past ready to eat something. Thankfully there was a handy candy machine in the gift shop area next to the Jersey and I got us a package of Peanut M&Ms. That got us through the bus ride to the aquarium which was our next stop. Our new friend Larry, from the quarterdeck, knowing a few of us were seeking tolerable sustenance, drew us a map to a place called Victor’s Pub. It was within walking distance of the Adventure Aquarium so Bruce, Mary, Ed, Diane, and I walked. We had a terrific meal. It was actually too terrific because none of us could eat all of what we ordered. Here’s mine …

After we finished eating, we trundled back to the aquarium and made a pass through the attractions, after going to the bathroom, of course. I always have to go to the bathroom whenever I get around water.

Here’s Mr. Hippopotamus. Big guy.

He’s big, but he can outrun a little kid.

I container full of pretty jelly fish.

Then these guys. They glide menacingly over the tube observers walk through. Nifty.

Getting ready to gather for departure, Ken works the crowd.

I found it interesting that Highway 30, the same one that runs through our town of St. Helens, goes all the way from Astoria, Oregon to Atlantic City, New Jersey. Tomorrow I will have seen both ends of that road. On our end of that highway we call it The Old Oregon Trail, the one followed by Lewis & Clark.

Through our entire visit to the USS New Jersey, the weather was absolutely perfect. Sunny and warm, but not hot. When we exited the aquarium clouds were moving in and the air had taken a decidedly cooler feel. As we drove, the clouds increased to the point that this is what we encountered from our room view upon reaching the hotel. Still pretty, but way more dramatic.

Tomorrow we don’t board the bus until 0915 so we can sleep in a little longer. Maybe. I’ll let you know how that goes.

Sleep tight, wherever you are.

Oh. I heard from Tiffany today and we had a nice text chat. At the conclusion I offered to adopt her, but she declined. Even so, I think we’re still friends.

Day 6 – Beach Haven, New Jersey

Posted on September 25, 2016 by Jerrie Cate

It was a tearful departure from Sutton Avenue as we left on the second leg of this trip. We almost made it all the way to I-91 before Ruth sent text that we needed to return and get my CPAP. We pulled over and discussed this and decided it would be a good thing to do since I don’t sleep well without it. Neither does Diane because I snore. When I’m wearing it I can’t hear Diane snore so it’s a win-win. We went back and had another tearful parting. But we got to see Ruth one more time.

We jumped on I-91 to New Haven then transitioned to the I-95 to New York then crossed the George Washington Bridge to New Jersey.

Getting across the Geo. Washington Bridge is a long involved process that begins about 10 miles before there’s any evidence of a bridge. The traffic just creeps along, except for those who find it necessary to jog back and forth in the lanes (like 10 of them) which is a large factor in the slow traffic. But, we finally made it over and the traffic magically sped up for the remainder of our trip.

By sped up, I mean the posted limit was 55 to start but everyone was going 70. There were others going much faster but we always seemed to catch them at the next toll booth. Yup. There’s lots of toll booths on this side. Thankfully, we have an E-ZPass unit that we obtained in Massachusetts on our trip in 2010. It’s a gizmo that’s tied to a credit card that is scanned at each toll booth. It resides on sticky strips inside the windshield so all Diane had to do was zip on through the E-ZPass lane and keep on going. Worked great, except for the first one we encountered. The speed limit through the gate was 15 but she was a little north of 20 so the digital sign that should have said “E-ZPass Accepted” came up with “Toll Unpaid”. I figure we’ll have a New Jersey State Cop tapping on our door before this part of the trip is over. The remainder of the many toll booths went by without incident. Some of the toll areas don’t require drivers to transit through a booth. They can just fly by at the speed of sound, like some do, and the high-speed readers seem to keep up.

We arrived at our destination 1550, checked into our room, and let Ken & George know we had arrived. Ken ticked off our names on his spreadsheet, gave me a new T-shirt and hat, took our pictures, then turned us loose. I reconnected with old shipmates I haven’t seen in a few years then we had to feed Diane because all she had to this point of the day was one banana and a yogurt.

At 1700 we retired to the on-site 5-star restaurant and had a glorious meal. I had Shrimp Scampi on Angel Hair pasta and Diane had Atlantic Salmon. Both were excellent.

That little yellow thing tied up with the green ribbon is half a lemon. Nifty touch.

Then we checked the DD-808 Conference Room to verify tomorrow’s itinerary to ensure we wouldn’t miss anything we’ve paid for. Looks like we’re catching a bus at 0800 for a trip to a USS New Jersey tour. There’s an aquarium involved with the bus trip, too.

Once we found out when we had to get up, we went back to our room to unpack for the stay, and enjoy the view.

So, from us to you, have a great night.

I just noticed when looking at that last photo that I have hair on top of my head. I thought it was all gone because I can’t see it in a mirror. Maybe it just grew back on the way down here.

Hmmmmm.

Day 5 – Windsor Locks Picnic

Posted on September 24, 2016 by Jerrie Cate

Today Ruth had a picnic for all her friends and family so we could meet everyone in one spot. It was very thoughtful and caused her a considerable amount of work. I know that’s true because I watched her the whole time (almost) and she didn’t stop often or for very long. When I got up at 0700 this morning I found her hard at work over a very large bowl of potato salad that was almost finished. Turns out she’d been up since 0530 and needed something to do.

I helped where I could, and as needed, spending the un-needed moments sitting at my computer putting the finishing touches on yesterday’s post. That’s the one I made the final changes to about an hour ago because I forgot to add one photo.

Now I’ll try to name everyone who was there. The purpose of this post is to document relatives for our family members so the names will have no significance to most of you.

Chris, Sydney, Becky. Chris is Todd’s son. Todd is Ruth’s son.

Valerie, Carol, Larry, and Cheryl. Carol, Larry, and Cheryl are siblings and belong to Ruth, their mother. Valerie is Larry’s wife.

Barbara and Ruth. Barb is Ruth’s very good friend. Allen, Cheryl, Ruth, Diane, and Marge. Allen and Cheryl are madly in love and have been married for a long time. Ruth is Cheryl’s Mom. Diane is Ruth’s sister-in-law and my wife. Marge is a good friend of the family.

Jay and Ovide are very good friends with Ruth. Jay is a female impersonator and Ovide is a caterer on the side. Ruth is Ovide’s sous-chef for catered events. They have a ton of fun together.

Jay, Ovide, Fern, Hugh, Marge, and me. I’m the only relative. The rest are great friends. Apparently I’m talking.

Ovide, Ruth, and Barbara.

Lilly, and Diane. Lilly belongs to Heather. Heather is Cheryl’s daughter, and Cheryl is Ruth’s daughter.

Heather and Lilly.

Laura, Ariana, and Jeffrey. Laura is Cheryl’s daughter.

Me and Diane. Laura took the photo. She said to look like we were having fun so we did and didn’t even have to pretend. We were having lots of fun.

Elena, Lilly, and Heather.

Diane, Ruth, and Susan. Susan is Cheryl’s daughter

So, to recap, for those of you who are interested in genealogy, Ruth is the matriarch here. Her children are Larry, Cheryl, and Carol.

Larry is married to Valerie and they both have children from previous marriages. The one I’m most familiar with is Sarah who is a nurse. She moved to Portland and will, one day, call me. She works at St. Vincent’s.

Carol is married to Martin and they have a daughter Alicia. Martin was in New Hampshire riding his bicycle and Alicia left the party before I could get my camera out.

Cheryl is married to Allen and has three daughters from a previous marriage – Susan, Heather, and Laura.

Susan is in a relationship with Jay (different Jay) who wasn’t at the picnic. He has season tickets to UCONN games and was watching Syracuse win. Julia, Susan’s daughter, wasn’t here, either because she was with her Dad in Boston.

Heather is married to Justin. They have two daughters, Elena and Lilly, and Justin has a son, Gage.

Laura is in a relationship with Emory who successfully avoided having his photo taken. Laura has a son and daughter, Jeffrey, and Ariana.

Todd, Ruth’s son, father of Chris, sadly took his own life many years ago.

Tomorrow we depart Windsor Locks heading for Beach Haven, New Jersey.

See you there.

Day 4 – New York City

Posted on September 24, 2016 by Jerrie Cate

Today was very special because we (Diane, me, and Ruth) rode a train from New Haven, CT all the way to Grand Central Station in New York City. The purpose was to visit the 911 Memorial in Manhattan. To make it more special, Ruth came with us because she’s never seen it in person, either. And, because she came with us, we had a scape goat in case we got totally lost because she lives on this side of the world and we’re just visiting. But, we didn’t get lost.

The first left started at 0740 when we bundled into our rental car and drove to New Haven so we could catch the Metro North line.

Going from Windsor Locks is possible but that would require a trip on Amtrak which is vasty more expensive. It’s like $66 for 3 round trip tickets on Metro North vs. $300 for Amtrak. No contest, really. The drive to New Haven took about an hour then we walked for about 20 minutes to the train station, got our tickets, grabbed our seats, and stayed in them for the next two hours. It was a nice ride and we met some nice folks, James & Millette, who were on their way to The City to celebrate their 27th anniversary. As we talked we learned more about each other and they learned that we were on our way visit the 911 Memorial. Turns out they’ve never visited it, either. For good reason. James works for the city of Darien, CT in public works. On 9/11 he was on an Amtrak with his 3-year-old son traveling to North Carolina to visit his parents. When the 1st tower was hit his train stopped in the middle of the bridge to Manhattan prior moving on to Penn Station. He was provided an unobstructed view of the towers when they collapsed and was stunned the same as every one else that day. He described how scary it was to not be able to contact his wife to let her know he and their son were OK, and that it was 8 hours before he was able to reach a pay phone and call her office. Because of that trial neither of them have found the courage to make a visit down town Manhattan and end their trip to The City in East Harlem. We felt that we had bonded with these folks and gained some good friends during that short ride. Sadly, I did not get a photo of them, but I have these:

When we got to Grand Central, Ruth led us to one of the exits then began walking along 42nd Street. Just before we got to 5th Avenue hunger pangs attacked us causing us to seek someplace different for lunch. We looked around and immediately spied some Golden Arches which seem to be everywhere. Like Starbucks. But, fast food isn’t what we wanted. Ruth spoke to a street person for suggestions about good places to eat and was directed to a place called HTH which happened to be right next to The Arches.

So, off we went.

Inside HTH we were greeted by some very friendly folks who advised us to look around before making a choice. Actually, they didn’t suggest that. We just did it. They didn’t care. The front counter was the source of some incredible looking sandwiches, pre-made and ordered, and the back area was a walk-around counter containing yakisoba, fried rice, shrimp wrapped in bacon, coconut shrimp, lots of other meat choices (but I only focus on shrimp), broccoli chicken, and many other things. Just take what you want then get it weighed at the cash register and pay $8.95 a pound. Sounds expensive but Diane and I ate hearty for less than $20 and I had milk! It was all very good and we highly recommend HTH. I tried to find a web site for them but can’t. We were told it’s a new venue. Awesome!

Once we were all fed and watered, we ventured out, once again, into the New York heat (pushing 90) thinking we’d walk to Ground Zero. But, according to our handy-dandy GPS systems on our phones we learned it was 3.5 miles away. Didn’t look that far on the map, but blocks in NYC are longer than even Las Vegas. So, we began the arduous process of flagging down a taxi so we could experience that aspect of the city. I did it once before, when I as 16, but I can’t remember back that far any longer. So, I needed a refresh.

We flagged and flagged and flagged but the drivers weren’t interested. Then a guy in a Lincoln town car pulled over and offered us a ride. One of those guys who cruise around looking for tourists so they can over charge them. He remained true to that belief by stating a trip to Ground Zero would cost us $45. I scoffed and he asked what I’d be willing to pay him. I said $10. He scoffed back, pulled over to the curb and popped the locks to let us out which I took to mean it wasn’t a valid offer.

Finally, a taxi pulled over to let someone out and Ruth inquired, politely, if he could possible consider allowing us to insert ourselves into the back of his bright yellow Prius for a ride to the memorial. He nodded yes so we got in. It was cozy with me in the middle, and away we went.

The driver, sensing that we were new to The City tested us by heading for the FDR which is on the East Side of Manhattan. We knew, however, that our destination was on the West Side. I called him on his choice so he changed his mind and decided to punish us by driving down every street in NYC where construction seems to be a never-ending evolution. Construction, vehicles triple parked, people walking all over the streets … it was pretty amazing. The result, of course, was that the meter clicked merrily away while we spent a great deal of time just sitting, waiting through each traffic light 2-3 times. That 3.5 mile trip took about an hour and cost $20.80. That $45 offer in a comfortable vehicle began to look pretty good. But, we made it.

The first thing we saw was the new $4 Billion, 350,00 square foot Oculus Shopping Mall. I know those numbers are true because I had to do a web search to find out what the heck it was called. There were no signs – just doors to get in.

Behind me, in the second photo, is the largest Apple Store I’ve ever seen. I suspect I should have taken a picture of it. It’s absolutely ginormous.

We wandered through this incredible structure and were kind of oblivious to our surrounding with the exception of being on constant alert for directions to the nearest restroom. Being old, that’s always our first priority after a long ride, find a toilet. You will be happy to learn that the Oculus has very nice toilets that flush and everything.

The views outside the Oculus are stunning. Words aren’t enough so I’ll just do this:

The memorial pools are located just outside the Oculus and are easy to find. Just follow the crowds, then look for a place where everyone is just kinda standing still. Quite impressive, and far more impressive in person. A very solemn place.

We visited both pools the left Diane in the shade as Ruth and I went on a quest to find a map so we could discover a cheaper way back to Grand Central, like the subway.

Turns out that nowhere in the vast array of information available at Ground Zero is there information about public transportation. So, I asked a couple of NYPD Officers who happened to be handy. They were very helpful, directing us through a maze of construction scaffolding to the nearest subway station. I must make a note here that we all had smart phones on which we could have easily found directions had all three of them not been stone cold dead. We started out the day with them all charged up but taking photos and running Google Maps, we just flittered all that energy away. I actually had a little power remaining, like 7%, but I wanted to keep it in reserve for possible Kodak moments on our return trip. It was distressing, to say the least. I hate being powerless.

This is Ruth pointing out the seat she was going to grab when the subway doors opened up. I believe, however, that no one got off the #4 Train which required us all to stand for the beginning of the trip. I had to stand the entire way, but it was OK. I didn’t fall down. I had an opportunity to get a seat at one stop because I was standing right by one that was vacated. I young man standing in front of it made a move for it, then looked up and offered it to me. I gave it to Diane. Chivalry is not dead in NYC. I was pleased and let him know how grateful I was.

We made it back to Grand Central with no problems or wrong turns and made it to Track 17 about 3 minutes before our train pulled out. It was pretty amazing because getting to METRO North from the #4 Train isn’t a leisurely hike.

We found three seats together and plopped ourselves down, and prepared for takeoff. I opened a souvenir magazine of the 911 Disaster and started thumbing through it when I heard a voice asking if I was prepared to give a detailed dissertation on all the information to which I had so recently been exposed. I looked up and discovered my new friend, Tiffany, who has never seen “Short Circuit”. I explained that she really needs to see it because it was filmed in Astoria, Oregon and the main character’s name is Tiffany. I’m not sure she was suitably impressed with this bit of trivia, but she was willing to continue visiting with me which was excellent.

I learned that Tiffany was in her second year at St. Johns University, in Queens, on her quest to become a Pharmacist. It’s a 6-year program at the end of which she will be christened as a bona fide Doctor. She spends most of Tuesday thru Friday at school then heads home for the weekends Friday afternoon. In high school she was a 4-year Varsity starter soccer player.

I was very happy to have her to visit with and regretted my loss when we arrived at the Fairfield stop where she deserted me. My life was improved by her presence and I have no doubt she’s going to be a huge success in whatever she chooses to do. For some reason she wanted my blog address, so I gave it to her. Therein lies a tenuous thread of contact.

This is the last photo I took before my phone permanently died. It’s looking up the aisle of our train.

On the way home from the train station we stopped to visit Susan & Jay and to pick up Julia who gave us a tour of their home and introduced us to her newly acquired base Fiddle, Jerrie. I was honored that she named it Jerrie, but not sure that she named it specifically after me. That’s OK. I’m still honored. This is Jerrie:

We took her back to Ruth’s where we played Polish Rummy until her father arrived from Boston to pick up at 2300. Then I fiddled with my computer trying to get photos off my phone until I was totally frustrated and went to bed. The hard bed. Where I slept like a baby until 0730 this morning.

There. I’m done.

Airplanes & Automobiles

Posted on September 20, 2016 by Jerrie Cate

Today was fun. We fiddled away most of it by Diane getting her upper and lower digits sanded and painted while I labored away in the yard fixing a broken pipe for the very last sprinkler on the line that feeds all the flower beds around the front of the house. Yes, I did that. But, I must admit that had Jewel not reminded me it was broken, I wouldn’t have done it. So, it’s really her fault that I had to do that. She did, however, save me a load of grief by reminding me about it. For that I’m thankful. I got it done, and I’m not in trouble.

After Diane returned from the paint shop, she finished packing her suitcase in preparation for her trip today. That was my clue that I better start wadding up stuff to put in my suitcase because I was going with her. She said I could.

Having traveled a lot during my life I consider myself a very accomplished packer. So accomplished, I might add, that I even helped Diane pack hers. I rolled up all her underwear so they would take up less space allowing her to include more shoes for the trip. I also rolled up all my underwear, and socks, so she could get more shoes in my suitcase, too. Regarding underwear, since we’re only going to be gone for about a month, I was going to use the old rule that one pair of underwear is good for four days. You know … wear them right the first day, turn them around for the second day, turn them inside out the third day, turn them around the fourth day. Then throw them away. That way, I could get by with only 4 pair. Diane overruled me on that so I packed 20 pair. That means the last 10 days of this trip I’ll be going commando. I’m toying with the idea of slipping a commando day in various places during the trip to ensure I have a pair to wear home in case I get strip searched at the airport. That wouldn’t go over well, I’m sure.

Anyway, we finally got everything together, took our bags down to the Walters’ home and loaded them into Lydia’s Envoy for the trip to the airport. We did that because we got a room at Embassy Suites next to the airport so we wouldn’t have to fight early morning traffic. That, and the Envoy would give the Walters family something to drive home in on their return flight from Illinois. Here we are getting the Envoy from Lydia. I’m not in the picture because I took it. In case you were wondering.

We arrived at Embassy Suites at 6:30 or so, checked in, had a great supper and scored a free cheese plate and a pony bottle of champagne, for Diane, because my linguine was cold. Yes, it was that simple.

After supper we sat in the room waiting for Jennie to let us know their plane was on the ground. Then we waited about 15 minutes and headed for the terminal which is just a hop and a skip from Embassy Suites. Sadly, everyone in Portland chose that exact time to make a run past the arrival area of the airport which made a normal 5 minutes trip last about 20. But, we made it, got them, and made it back to Embassy Suites in time for Dancing With The Stars and the kids headed home. It worked out very nicely, time wise.

That brings us to this morning.

First, Diane made an observation that the garlic in my linguine the night before was apparently seeping from my skin in a potentially offensive manner. This was caused, no doubt, because I found an entire clove of garlic under all that linguine, and really large shrimp, and ate it. I like garlic, but apparently eating an entire semi-cooked clove isn’t a good idea. She said that when I took my shower this morning all she could smell was garlic. All I could smell was soap. When I was done she could only smell garlic when I talked so she started feeding me Altoids. Lots of Altoids. And she did all the talking.

Our flight wasn’t until 10:45 am so we went down about 8:30 to get a ride from the shuttle van guy. We had two bags to check and two for carry on. My bag to check turned out to weigh 54 lbs which means it would cost $50 above the normal free bag check. Diane’s only weighed 40 so we dropped to the floor and moved things from one case to the other hoping to get below the weight restriction. When I put it back on the scale it came up 51 lbs which was apparently within the acceptable maximum and let the lady let it go on through.

Then we trundled our remaining two bags down to gate C2 to wait for our flight. Diane signed us up the the TSA pre boarding line some time ago which allows us to bypass the long lines because TSA has already done a background search on us and knows we’re not scary people. It’s pretty handy.

Finally they called our flight and we boarded the plane for Chicago. That’s where we had to change planes for the final leg to Bradley Field in Connecticut. Getting to Chicago required us to orbit the earth about three times in our Alaska Airlines 737 before they let us land. I must say, though, the seats were comfortable and we had plenty of leg room so it was quite comfortable. Then we switched to an American Airlines 737 that apparently had 20 more rows of seats than the Alaska leg. We were jammed into a row where my knees were almost touching the seat in front of me and it was not comfortable at all.

Enough said about that. American Airlines is off our bucket list.

While in Chicago I called Cedric, who is still lingering at Great Lakes RTC until October 1st. RTC isn’t very far from O’Hare International Airport, but getting up there wasn’t practical for the short layover we had. So, we talked. He’s done well and is on his way. We’re pretty proud of him.

The flight from O’Hare to Bradley was less than 2 hours but it felt much longer than the Portland to O’Hare leg simply because it was so uncomfortable. This is Chicago in our rear view mirror.

Now it’s past midnight here in Connecticut and I really should be sleeping, but it’s really only a little after 9 pm in my head. Tomorrow we’re going back to the airport to pick up our rental car that we will use for the rest of the trip here on the east coast and turn it in at the airport in Norfolk, VA next month. If the car rental is like those we normally have, I won’t be allowed to drive it because Diane won’t let me. She only puts herself down as the driver. That actually suits me just fine. More time to sleep.

Now I must quit.

Ahmed, Off to Chicago, A Wedding, Lydia’s Eye, & Golf

Posted on September 16, 2016 by Jerrie Cate

I just learned that Steph Curry, 2-time NBA MVP has endorsed Hillary as his choice for president.

I don’t know about you, but this is exactly the kind of validation I’ve been looking for to help me make an informed decision about the upcoming election. Though I didn’t know it, I’ve apparently been waiting for a very young, multi-millionaire sports figure to share his favorite candidate with the world so we can all make the correct choice.

Now my research is complete.

Yesterday we had to get up at 0430 so we could leave by 0530 to have Ahmed to the Cinema 7 at Eastport Plaza by 0630 for a bus that didn’t arrive until 0700. He and all of the exchange students were going to the Pendleton Roundup for their first rodeo. Pretty exciting stuff. It was fun watching all of these kids from all over the world mix and mingle as the good friends they have become, and it made me wish, again, for a more peaceful world where adults could do the same thing. Sadly, when some of us get older power becomes a narcotic-like addiction for a small minority that poisons of the large majority. Why is it, do you suppose, that we allow that to happen? It’s really sad. Everyone of us can look to our exchange students for the example necessary to change the world. That is, of course, an opinion. Ahmed will be back next Tuesday to resume his new life as a temporary Oregonian and will probably be wearing a cowboy hat.

After Ahmed boarded the bus, the rest of us, Daniel, Jennifer, Jeran, Diane, and I, sought sanctuary in a nearby eatery for sustenance. Seems like it was a iHop, but I just can’t remember. When we finished eating we learned that Jeran didn’t see the need for a jacket of any kind for their trip to Chicago for Cedric’s boot camp graduation. That required a trip to a nearby Wal*Mart for resolution.

Then we were off to the airport so they could catch their flight to Chicago so they could see this regal looking guy:

Then Diane and I returned home in time for me to join my friends, Larry, Larry, and Howard for coffee at the Kozy. It’s always fun at coffee. You should join us sometime.

After coffee I don’t recall doing anything of significance the rest of the morning, so I must have had a nap. That’s become an afternoon routine for us, it seems, whether we plan it or not. We just nod off for a short period of time, not to exceed 2 hours. The nap was necessary because we had to journey to the McMiniman Road House on Cornelius Pass road to attend a wedding for Jessica and Reece. Jessica is Jewel’s daughter, the one who flew in from Perth, Australia for that purpose. With her intended, Reece. He flew in, too. As did a contingent of his family. The wedding was very nice. The bride was extremely emotional and happy. The groom was solid throughout and walked out with a look of triumphant satisfaction on his face.

Jewel, I probably need not say, but will anyway, was a basket case. Over the top happy for her Jessica and Reece. So, we were, too.

While we were doing all that, Lydia was on a bus to Hermiston, Oregon to play another soccer game against another 6A school. All by herself. And the rest of the team, of course. She said it took 4.5 hours to get back home but it was a happy trip because they won 2-1. They scored their second goal with 6 seconds remaining on the game clock. Good timing. After Lydia got home she went blind in her left eye when taking out her contacts due to an apparent scratch on her cornea. I know how severely painful that can be from personal experience. Since she was home alone, Jennifer asked if we could look in a check her out, so I did. I did it because Lydia also has a nasty cold which Diane would catch in a heartbeat by getting near her. So, it was up to me. I took her to a local eye doc who said the main problem was a bad infection for which she prescribed drops. I got them, dropped a drop in Lyd’s eye then left her to rest in the dark house while I fried up some eggs (over easy) for her. I checked on her again this afternoon and found her in far better spirits. She can open her eye a little now, and she said it’s better already. Still, the drops must go in and she’s taking care of it as directed. While there visiting, I heated up a can of beef vegetable soup for her to ensure she ingesting something. We chatted for a long time while she worked on it. Then I had to leave, giving her strict instruction to text me “911” should she need me for anything. Then she melted my little heart, the way she always does, when she hugged me good nite and said, “I love you Papa.” Before I left I patched up her eye so she wouldn’t have to hold a rag on it all the time.

This morning I was forced to get up early in order to go golfing with the West brothers. I don’t know why it is that I always seem to go golfing with brothers. Unless, of course, I go golfing with Jim. He has brothers but has yet to invite any of them to golf with us. That would be OK. I did pretty good and will definitely be going out with those guys again because I beat them both. I suspect, however, that should we play on a regular basis that we will all fall into alignment and golf at the same level. Since we’re going to be gone for a while, I suggested that they hook up with the Peal brothers to in my absence. Turns out their next day on the course will be this coming Tuesday, the day we fly east.

Now it’s time to quit. My eyes burn.