Thanks people. Actually, it was my (third) cousin, Mike, not my uncle. But, it's difficult even for me to keep up with my convoluted family. Sorry for the confusion.
Despite any rumors of the contrary, I am alive and well and FINALLY back home in NJ.
I left Florida on Tuesday and spent several nights at various friends & family members on the way north. I had to apologize to everyone along the way, that I couldn't stay longer than a night or two, because I was gone from home for over 2 months. Geez, I HAD to get home.
Nonetheless, I spent Tuesday night at my cousin Guy's with his family in the western part of SC. Guy has 3 daughters, the youngest is 18. I got caught up on what everyone is doing, while sharing breakfast with everyone and was back on the road at 3 pm on Wednesday. I had to promise Guy, that I would stay much longer next time. He promised a tour of the waterfalls in the area then.
Next, I drove to my cousin (really 3rd cousin) Cindy's place in VA Beach, VA, where I spent both Wednesday & Thursday night. There we both mourned the loss of my mom and her brother, Mike, who died last weekend. We spent Thursday walking around a VA arboretum, where we met some newscasters, who were doing a show on the bald eagles, that are nesting on the property. It turns out that she knew the broadcaster, as she was in a Vanna White look alike contest, which he emceed.
The bald eagles currently have 3 eggs in their nest. What was extra cool, was that, they have a CAM hooked up just above the nest, so you can watch in the visitor center or even online 24/7. I have a brochure for the place at home, but am at the library now. Thus, I will give you the link in the next few days. I also got to see my aunt (really my 2nd cousin) and one of my other cousin (really 3rd cousin), George. Wednesday night we watched The Bridges of Madison County, as it is one of Cindy's favorite films and she said that I remind her of Clint in it. I guess this is because of all the outdoor photography I do. I didn't ask her if she "felt lucky, punk". lol Cindy wanted me to stay much longer, but I was back on the road again on Friday afternoon.
Next stop was at my friend Robin's home in northwestern VA. She is someone I met a decade ago on AOL. We have shared a wonderful friendship since. She just got engaged on Valentine's Day and I wanted to stop by and congratulate them both in person, which I did. They still had their XMas tree up, so I took some pictures of the two of them holding hands near it.
After sharing breakfast together in the morning, I was back on the road again travelling though VA, WV, MD and PA. In PA I must have seen 40 red tail hawks soaring or perched and stopped long enough to take a few photos. Lastly, I stopped by a Designer Outlet mall in Lancaster PA and did some shopping. I got some great deals from Nautica and Wilson Leather.
Finally, I made it home on Sunday night. Ahhhhhh. My own bed ! "There's no place like home. There's no place like home." I don't have the phone or the internet on yet. I am currently in the local library on my laptop, where they have wireless internet access. Yipee.
I went to turn the phone back on yesterday via a payphone call and Verizon screwed up. Grrrr. I instructed them to turn my phone off TEMPORARILY, as I was going on vacation for a long while. Instead, they turned it off permanently. Grrr. Luckily, no one took my phone number, while I was gone. Whew ! So, I will get it back, but I won't be able to use the phone, until about the 10th of March (or perhaps a bit sooner). So, here on CS will be the best way to contract me, for those who had my number. Regardless, look out, "I'm back !"
Thanks to you all. I figured, that if I can get at least one person to take better care of themself because of the eulogy, then it was worth it. My mom's cousin swore to me that he would give up smoking after the memorial. We'll see, of course.
The following is the actual eulogy I wrote & delivered to the attendees to a memorial service for my mom last month. She died after a short term illness last month.
While someone close to my mom can only understand the significance of some of it, I am posting all of it here for your inspection;
Eulogy for my most favorite mom
Thank you all for joining us here to celebrate the life of someone very dear. Gloria ___ ____ was her name and life without her will never be the same.
Her heart was actually enlarged, to make room for her love and to her, babies were cherished gifts from above. Whether human or animal, it really didn't matter. Either way, she truly loved all the tiny pitter-patter.
So, as many of you know and others can safely bet, she and my father adopted children and many a pet. We all were taught discipline and to do things right and if you dare crossed her, you were in for quite a fight.
Gloria taught us to love thy neighbors, family and every friend and did so herself right until the bitter end. This depression-age lady could really squeeze a penny, but, when it came to charities, she paid so many.
She really loved music and truly enjoyed to dance and would frequently go swimming, when given the chance. Gloria hosted and organize many a party or other event and gleefully shared her smile, conversation and heart with whoever you sent.
I admit the truth is not always nice and unfortunately, she did not often follow health advice. Instead, she got lazy and made many an excuse. This enabled the grim reaper to tighten her noose.
Now, no one can change what has been done and all we can do, is to live our life from sun to sun. Mom, the suffering is over, you are in no pain. But, unfortunately, so is your life, which you can't regain.
Death doesn't care how special nor loved you are. It really doesn't care, if you're an unknown or a rising star. We are truly all treated as equals in our final demise. So, forget all the excuses and don't try the lies.
My wonderful family and dear friends, heed this warning, every afternoon, evening and morning. The lessons here can be endlessly cold. So, listen up to what you are about to be told.
People ! Your health should be of utmost concern, unless YOU desire to hasten your own cramatory burn. Please do all you can to continually improve your health, as it is far more valuable than all your wealth.
Please exercise at least three times per week and get your body from plump to sleek. Eat healthily, cutting back on sweets, pasta and white bread and by all means get plenty of sleep in bed.
See a doctor several times per year and what Doc tell you, really hear. Then, closely follow what your physician advises, especially if your cholesterol or blood pressure rises.
My god, if you are foolish enough to smoke, stop it immediately, before you get cancer or a stroke. If you don't get and keep healthy, my dear, death will steal your life from you, that much is clear.
Now, mom, your teachings and the wonderful times we've shared, are just part of the evidence of how much you cared. Countless times we've hugged, laughed and kissed. I couldn't possibly describe, how much you'll be missed.
Mom, I've seen you laugh and I've seen you cry. I've seen you really live and I helplessly watched you die. Faretheewell, on your journey into the great unknown and please even if they don't have long distance, write or phone.
Mom, your only son thanks you with all of his heart for giving our life such a wonderful start. You were the most terrific mother we ever had. I send all my love for infinity to both you and dad.
Hello gang. I just wanted to let all those that wondered, I arrived safely in Florida.
In the past, I drive straight through from NJ to Florida, or perhaps take two days at most . But, this time I decided to take a more leisurely pace and see some of the sights. Thus, I visited 2 swamp wildlife preserves in South Carolina and two in Georgia on the way to Florida.
In SC I ran into a Cottonmouth (Water Moccasin). I got some terrific photos of that fat venomous viper. Indeed, if I wasn't looking at my path at the time, I might have stepped right on him. There was a narrow dirt path and on either side was water. It was a crazy set-up for gator territory and perhaps helped explain why several buzzards chose to circle above me for quite a while. I also photographed some turtles and some butterflies there. I heard, but did not see, 2 alligators (different times) going into the water about 30 feet from me. That was more than a bit scary.
However, while I was in GA, I did get photographs of a female gator who was a mere 12 feet from me. She was in the water and I was on dry land. I had my route of retreat planned out, but thankfully, she did not charge. Now, how often do you know of a female not charging ? Visa ? Mastercard ? American Express?
I arrived here in Florida at about 11:30 pm on Saturday and am now attempting to download the drivers necessary for my compact flash card reader and my portable hard drive. My mom's old computer recognizes neither. This is a Windows 98 Dell laptop that I bought for her several years ago. She never could get the hang of it, despite hours of instructions and even writing things down step by step.
The weather here is gorgeous. It was 83 F. on Sunday and it's been partly sunny every day. I'm getting a ton of work done on my mom's home; repairs & maintenence. I am at the library now in an effort to post this thread to update those who care.
My sister and her family are supposed to meet us in about 20 minutes, so I'm going to sign off for now. I hope you all are doing well !! Big hugs & Merry XMas !! Jim
I would say not. Also, I think women are more concerned with clothes than men anyway. To most men the shape she is in is much more important than the clothing itself. To us, the less clothes the better.
Seriously, unless he does something that hinders you, or expresses the need for reciprocation, or the disappointment that you are not reciprocating, just enjoy him. It's the nasty ones you should consider avoiding.
It's very common for field mice to come into homes at this time of year to avoid the cold outside. They are brown, smaller, shyer and cuter than the typical grey house mouse.
They make small plastic catch-them-alive traps. It's a regtangular tube that is bent on one end. That end has a door/lid. You put peanut butter in the far end. You prop the door open which holds the bent tube down. When the mouse enters the tube, he walks towards the peanut butter in the far bent end of the tube. His weight causes the tube to rock up in the front and the door closes. As he races back to the front of the tube, now his weight is on top of the door. It's brilliant and I got 4 of them for $1.
In my old house I caught several mice at this time of year. I released them in a field about 1/2 mile away.
JimNastics Forum Posts (731)
I've been gone so long, I might as well be new. :)
Thanks people.Actually, it was my (third) cousin, Mike, not my uncle.
But, it's difficult even for me to keep up with my convoluted family. Sorry for the confusion.