Wednesday May 30, 2012

I have an elaborate schedule for taking my one prescription pill. I have to take it on an empty stomach and must wait two hours before eating or taking vitamins. I usually take it in the morning when Ms P gets me up around 0500. Normally I do not eat breakfast until 0800. This morning Ms P slept in until 0545. I have Breakfast Club today and we eat at 0700. I made the necessary adjustments. My life must be boring when I write about my pill schedule. Speaking of pills several members of the Breakfast Club take their pills at BC. They take at least five pills. I guess I should consider myself lucky. Today's speaker talked about getting your affairs in order before kicking the bucket. It was not a happy topic but I was surprised the number of questions his talk generated. After BC I stopped by Rylee's to get an anti fungal spry to clean up the green fungi we have on the side of our garage. It is a very small area but Nancy wants it cleaned up. I will start tomorrow applying the spry. I then stopped at the Kava House to read my papers. I only had an hour on the parking meter so I did not finish reading the WSJ. This afternoon Nancy is working at Meijer's Gardens. I walked Ms P around the block then I loaded the kayak on the car and headed to Reeds Lake. I paddled for 1h38' and covered 3.7 miles. We had a light dinner and then Nancy left to collect neighborhood dues and I started to take Ms P on a walk. Ms P sat down and would not move. I was not going to drag her around the block so I put her in the house and walked 1.25 miles. We watched Burn Notice on TV and then at 2100 we headed upstairs.

Tuesday May 29, 2012

Thunder storms rolled through after midnight. Ms P went bonkers so we headed to Debbie's room and I turned up the country western radio station and shut the door. After about 20 minutes she ran out of steam and fell asleep on the floor. We went out at 0500 and the storm had passed. I slept in until 0730. When I headed to the MAC the temperature was in the high 60s. Yesterday it was in the 80s. The weather folks say it is going to be a nice sunny day with temps in the high 70s. They were right. I did my tri today and did not leave the MAC until 1130. At the Kava House I read the WSJ and DFP. I spent some time reading about the problems in Syria and also the Greek financial mess. I got home about 1330. After lunch I loaded my AT bike on the rack and headed to GR Bicycle Co. I am having them remove a chain guard I had installed last fall. The chain guard becomes dirty and the dirt rubs off on the bottom of my pant leg. I have to wear a pant guard to prevent damage to the pant leg. The chain guard was useless. Nancy is grilling me a chicken breast for dinner. Tonight she is collecting dues from our neighbors. I will take Ms P for a walk. I have to be in bed early tonight because tomorrow I have breakfast club.

Monday May 28, 2012

I am combining Sunday and Monday's blog into my Memorial Day blog. The weekend began at 0656 when Nancy and Bob got up and headed to the MAC for a swim. The pool was jammed. Apparently not everyone in GR was at their cottage. After the MAC we headed to Meijer's for our weekly supplies. Helen, my sister, indicated that she and Don might come down this weekend to GR. We purchased some extra supplies in anticipation of their coming. Nancy fixed her world famous scrambled eggs for breakfast. After breakfast and a half hearted attempt to read the GRP I headed upstairs to take my Sunday nap. I slept for an hour. Nancy said that Helen had called and told her they were not coming. Don was not feeling well. The weatherman said it would rain today but so far no luck. We had a nice breeze and the temperature was in the high 70s. At 1500 I got out the lawn mower and cut the grass. I was done by 1830. Nancy fired up the outside grill and cooked hamburgers for dinner. We also had corn-on-the-cob. We sat outside on the picnic table and had a nice dinner. We finished reading the GRP and watched 60 minutes and Harry's Law. Nancy headed to bed at 2100. I stayed down and watched some movies on TV until 2030. The evening breeze was so nice we did not need the AC. Bob and Nancy slept in today. We got up about 0730 and decided to go to Saugatuck for breakfast. We loaded Ms P in the Taurus and headed west. We got to Saugatuck in time to see the end of the Memorial Day parade. Surprisingly Saugatuck was not very crowded. We had breakfast at the Pumpernickel. We walked around town and I bought a jar of rhubarb/strawberry jam. Nancy bought some kitchen spoons. We took US31 to Lake Michigan Drive on our drive home. We stopped at several nurseries and Nancy bought a hanging basket and some flowers. We got home a little after noon. I had a quick lunch. Nancy headed upstairs to take a nap and I soon followed. It is now 1516 and the temperature is 90⁰. When I was a boy we celebrated Decoration Day and it was on May 30. Alpena had a big parade and for several years I marched in the parade with my Boy Scout troop. The parade started downtown and we marched to the cemetery a distance of about a mile. At the cemetery a military ceremony was held complete with the playing of Taps and a rifle salute by National Guard Honor Guard. One has to remember this was in the late 40s and everyone still remembered WW II. In 1968 the name "Decoration Day" was changed to "Memorial Day" and instead of being on May 30th it was changed to the last Monday in May. Honoring fallen Veterans took a back seat to a 3 day weekend. The nice thing about Decoration Day was that my Mother declared that winter was over and I no longer had to wear my long underwear. Near Decoration Day in 1961 I wrote my Mother my first letter from Navy OCS, Newport, RI. It was a very short letter. I told Mom that my plane to OCS was grounded in NYC and I had to take a train and bus to get to OCS. I was 4 hours late. On the first day I filled out a form wrong (inattention to detail) and was put on report. My Company Officer told me one more offense and I would be out. I also got a demerit for not shining my shoes properly. Not exactly the type of start I wanted. I did walk to the post office after my nap to mail a letter. We had a light dinner and then watched some TV before heading upstairs at 2100.

Saturday May 26, 2012

Today is my blog # 1,275. This is the longest I have ever stuck to a project. Ms P and I went out at 0500 but it was raining too hard for her to do her bidness. Nancy got up at 0630 and I slept in until 0700. It had stopped raining so I pedaled to Bill's for a pancake breakfast. On my way home I swung by Gas Light Village to use the ATM machine. I had planned on going on a long bike ride but the weather man called for thunder showers. Instead of a long ride I just rode around Reeds Lake. Nancy was busy doing outside work today. She cleaned the grill getting it ready for summer. She also trimmed some flowers and shrubs and planted the tomatoes she purchased on Thursday. We got the picnic table out of the garage and I cleaned off the breezeway. I spent over 2 hours trying to get a universal garage door opener I purchased from Radio Shack to work. I read the instructions, watched the video and changed the dip switch settings and it would not work. Finally I quit and took the device back to Radio Shack. They were real good about it and gave me my money back. Sears was close by so I went to their service center and was shown an opener exactly like the one that was broken. I came home set some dip switch settings and I was back in business. Nobody said I was smart. We had dinner at Olga's. I tried to walk Ms P around the block but she wanted to stay home with Nancy. I took a 1.5 mile walk. Being Memorial Day weekend I will watch some WW II movies before going to bed.

Friday May 25, 2012

Ms P went out at 0530 and I got up at 0700. I did not row today instead I got on my bike and pedaled to Ada. It was a great day for a ride. The total trip was 19 miles and it took 1h45'. I got to the Kava House a little after 1000. This is about 1 hour faster than if I had gone to the MAC. I read the WSJ and DFP. The DFP reported that the Detroit City Council and Mayor have agreed on a budget. The budget includes substantial cuts. Maybe, finally Detroit will get its house in order. I got home about 1200. After a quick lunch Nancy and I headed to Costco. We left Ms P with our cleaning lady, Kim. We needed paper products and peanut butter. Nancy also is getting some film processed from our trip to NYC. We stopped at Aldi's to get some strawberries. Tonight we are going to an OHNA TGIF and Nancy was making a dish with strawberries. The party starts at 1830 and it is a perfect night for a party outside. This time of year the sun does not go down until after 2100. (continued Saturday evening) The TGIF was well attended. The food was very good. Nancy and I got home at 2130 and I stayed up and watched an old James Bond movie on TV.

Thursday May 24, 2012

Ms P slept in until 0530 this morning. I slept in until 0700. The weather folks said it was going to reach the upper 80s today. However, it was only 60 when I left this morning. I over dressed because I was sweating profusely by the time I got to the MAC. Tuesdays and Thursdays are my tri days, row, run, swim. For the summer I am adding several Monday and Friday routines to the T and Th schedule. On M and F instead of going to the MAC I am going to either go kayaking or for a bike ride. Usually I only spend two hours kayaking or biking so I might actually get done earlier. Of course if it rains I will revert back to the normal schedule and go to the MAC. I got home at 1300 and the temperature had climbed to 83⁰. This afternoon Nancy and I with Ms P drove to the Countryside Nursery to purchase some hanging baskets and tomato plants. It is now 1508 and I just woke up from a short unintended nap. I fell asleep in my chair. This evening we are going to Great Lakes Shipping for dinner. GLS was nearly empty. We were told that several school districts had closed schools on Friday to give the kids a 4 day weekend. Maybe everyone is out of town. When we got home we walked Ms P around the block. We watched "Person of Interest" and then headed to bed.

Wednesday May 23, 2012

Last week Nancy and I spent a very enjoyable week in NYC. We took an Elderhostel tour. Actually it use to be called Elderhostel but they recently changed their name to Road Scholar. Apparently they thought the elder in their name scared off some potential customers. We went with Ed and Mary Namey. A brief summary of our trip follows: Sunday May 13: We left GR at 0830 and got to NYC via Chicago at 1200. We stayed at the "The New Yorker" at the NW corner of 34th St and 8th Ave. Our room was very small until Nancy found out that other members of our tour group had larger rooms. She complained and we got a much bigger room. We had dinner at the small restaurant in the hotel, Tic Toc. The tour leaders gave us a brief orientation and those that wanted could walk to the Empire State building. I wanted to see this building so I joined the group and we walked the 5 blocks to the ESB. We were all provided with red baseball caps with lettering that said "Road Scholar". It seemed kind of dorky but it was a great idea because no one got lost. I was kind of disappointed with the view from the ESB. They had a high concrete parapet around the viewing deck. But I can say I have been to the top of that great American icon the ESB. Monday May 14: We had a complimentary breakfast in our meeting room. We were given several lectures on NYC by John, I can't remember his last name, an Architectural Historian on NYC and its buildings and infrastructure. John was a great lecturer and tour guide. After the lecture we were taken across the street to purchase a subway ticket that was good for a week. A Senior Citizen weekly ticket cost only $18, a great bargain. About 1400 we were given ipod like listening devices and we headed for the subway. We were going to tour Brooklyn and then walk the Brooklyn Bridge. We also had dinner in Brooklyn. We walked through several neighborhoods. I liked Brooklyn Heights. We walked along the East River in Brooklyn Heights to the bridge. The sky line of lower Manhattan was just across the East River. We saw the new World Trade Center under construction and other buildings in the financial district. The bridge is amazing. It was early evening and the weather was great. We started in Brooklyn and ended up in Manhattan. The pedestrian walk was crowded with walkers and folks on bikes. We walked along the south tip of Manhattan and then took the subway home. One member of the tour had a pedometer and she said we walked 5 miles today. Tuesday May 15: We had breakfast in the Tic Toc and then at 0900 we boarded a subway and headed again to the south end of Manhattan. We boarded the Staten Island ferry and headed to the island. On the way we passed the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. I enjoyed the trip. A school bus awaited us and we ended up at a historical facility for retired seamen. It was called the Snug Harbor Cultural Center. We had lunch in a Sri Lankan restaurant. After lunch we got back on the ferry and headed to Manhattan. It rained most of the day but Bob and Nancy had their LL Bean raincoats. We walked to Ground Zero and saw the monument. Despite the rain the place was jammed. We took the subway back to our hotel and immediately walked down 8th Ave to a Greek restaurant, Uncle Nick's. The food and wine was good. After dinner Nancy and I went on a walk along an old elevated RR bridge that had been converted to a pedestrian bridge. Of course we took the subway to get to the bridge. The rain had stopped and the sun came out. In the 70s and 80s this neighborhood was not considered safe. We saw old factories and tenant buildings being converted to upscale rental units. Nancy and I liked the walk. Wednesday May 16: After a complimentary breakfast and a lecture on Queens we took the subway to Queens. We walked around an Italian neighborhood and had lunch at a pizza house. In the afternoon I took a tour of Forest Hills. I saw the tennis facilities and visited a museum that had a great scale model of NYC. The model had a 1:100 scale, vertical and horizontal. It was the size of a basketball court. We walked around an elevated walk and our tour guide using a laser pointer showed us where we had been and where we would be going later in the tour. Nancy spent the afternoon at the Museum of Fine Art. At 1700 Nancy and I took the subway to the theater district. We found the store that sold discount tickets. It is always risky buying tickets on the day of the play but if you are lucky you can get a big discount after 1700. We bought ticket to a musical "Nice Work if You Can Get It". Mathew Broderick was the star. The show started at 2000 so Nancy and I walked around the district. It was fun, the place was jammed. We found a small restaurant for dinner. At the theater. The theater was full. It was a great play. Nancy and I both thought it was the highlight of the trip. We walked back to the hotel. 8th Ave was jammed with folks wearing NY Ranger shirts. The Ranger had a game at MSG. MSG is very close to our hotel. Thursday May 17: We had breakfast at the Tic Toc and then after a short lecture boarded a bus, first time for a tour bus, for a trip around upper Manhattan and the Bronx. John was our tour guide and he did a great job. We had lunch in an ethnic Bronx neighborhood.. We also stopped and walked around a botanical garden in the Bronx. The gardens were located on a large estate on the banks of the Hudson. Of course we saw the new Yankee Stadium. We got back to the hotel about 1600. We had dinner at a nearby restaurant. After dinner we got on the subway and headed south to Greenwich Village. We walked around Greenwich and saw Washington Square Park and the NYU campus. After walking for two hours and then we got on the subway and headed home. Friday May 18: We had breakfast in our meeting room and then listened to a speaker talk about living in NYC. He had no car and lived in a 400 square foot apartment. He loved the city life. The tour officially ended at noon. I think all 49 participants would give the tour leaders high marks. I would highly recommend this tour. The Scott's and Namey's are staying in NYC until Sunday. After the tour officially ended we walked west to the banks of the Hudson River and boarded a tour boat that will take us around Manhattan Island. The tour lasted 3 hours. The weather was great and we sat outside on the top deck and enjoyed the sights. When the tour ended we walked up 42nd Street to Rockefeller Center. We walked around some and then Ed, Mary and I took the elevator to the top of the rock. The view from the top of Rockefeller Center is better than the ESB. For dinner we walked south to 37th Street and had dinner at Carbone. It is a hole in the wall restaurant but the food was great. It was a relaxing 2 hour dinner. Saturday May 19: We started at 0900 and took the subway to Central Park. We took a Carriage Ride around the park. A horse drawn carriage is the way to see the park. After our carriage ride we got back on the subway and headed to the Union Square Market. We walked around the market and also the financial district. In fact we had lunch in the financial district. For dinner we ate at the same restaurant as Thursday night. Sunday May 20: We said goodbye to NYC at 0700. Our flight home was uneventful. Of course we could not have perfect vacation because Nancy's bag was left in Chicago. They promised to deliver it later in the day (they did). When we got home I emptied my bag and then walked around the house to see if everything survived our absence. The grass was very long so I mowed all of the lawn except the back yard. Monday May 21: Monday and it is a back to normal day. We had some real thunder boomer roll through last night and I was glad Ms P was not here. I followed my normal routine except at a slower pace. In the afternoon I finished cutting the grass. I also trimmed and edged the lawn. We had cereal for dinner. Tuesday May 22: Tuesday was a beautiful day. I did my tri today and at the Kava House I spent at least 90 minutes reading the WSJ and DFP. I especially liked an article in the WSJ about the steel mill located in Burns Harbor, In. It appears that this plant can produce steel cheaper than foreign competitors. When I got home I was greeted by Ms P. She was a little moody. I think she thinks we abandoned her. In the PM I loaded up the lawn mower and took it to Rylee's for a PM. The repair man said it would be two weeks. I said forget it and loaded the mower up and came home mad. Nancy attended an event at Van Andel Institute. I stayed home and had PB and J's. I watched NCIS LA before heading to bed. Wednesday May 23: Wednesday is my easy day. I pedaled to Bill's for breakfast. When I got home I put my kayak rack on the car and loaded up and headed out. I put in at a landing located off West River Drive just east of the EBL. This was my first time in the kayak this year. It felt good and the weather was perfect. I spent 1h 40' on the water. This afternoon Nancy worked at the Gardens. We will have a light dinner before taking Ms P on her 1 mile walk. I hope to have an early bedtime.

Saturday May 12, 2012

The alarm went off at 0626 and Nancy got up but I slept in until 0700. It was sprinkling when I started biking to Bill's for breakfast. It was a very light sprinkle so I did not get very wet. I had the big breakfast today, eggs, toast, potatoes and sausage. It was raining a little harder when I left so I headed straight home. I immediately headed upstairs to start packing. I did get side track and spent some time rearranging the shelves in my bathroom. I threw out a lot of over-the -counter medicines whose expiration date had passed. I also got rid of all the free samples that doctors had given me over the years. I am getting better at packing. I even had room left over. I am carry some of Nancy's stuff so we only have to check 1 bag. American AA charges for checked bags. I thought I needed some more exercise so I rode my bike around Reeds Lake, a distance of 7.5 miles. This evening Nancy and I had dinner at Russ's. We both had the soup and burger. It will be an early night because we have to get up early to catch our flight. Happy Mother's Day to all you mothers out there.

Friday May 11, 2012

Ms P was up before 0500 today. I wonder if she senses that today she is going to Kim's house for the next week. I slept in until 0700. Today I am starting to wind down. I must be well rested for our big trip to NYC next week. I did all my routines at 50%. I did read the WSJ and DFP at the Kava House. I got home about 1300 and Kim was still cleaning. I think Ms P now knows that she is going to Kim's. When Kim was ready to go Ms P jumped in the car and away they went. I started cutting the grass at 1400 and was completed at 1500. I think the yard look good. In fact I took a walk around the neighborhood and I don't think the hood' has ever looked better. Nancy had some sandwiches left over from book club so we had them for dinner. We also finished the cheese cake. I took a short walk after dinner. I spent some time on google earth locating places of interest in NYC. We watched the NYC CSI show and tried to find some NYC land marks. 2200 and we headed upstairs.

Thursday May 10, 2012

Thursday morning and I did all my normal routine at both home and the MAC. It took me longer to read the WSJ today because I am trying to figure out what is happening in Europe. I still wonder if I should worry about what happens in Europe? The DFP has not been very active in reporting on the problems in Detroit. I think everyone is sitting back and hoping that cool heads will prevail. The problems are so serious that the folks in power have no wiggle room. This afternoon after lunch I headed to Meijer's to pick up my prescription. I am taking an anti biotic and Meijer's gives this medicine away free. I also went to Costco to get a box of eye drops. This evening Nancy has book club at our house. She was busy all afternoon getting everything ready. Tom Moleski dropped Linda off for book club and then I got in his car and we headed to Uccello's for beer and pizza. We got back home about 2000 and book club was still going on. Tom and I helped ourselves to some cheesecake and strawberries. It was great. Book club ended at 2130.

Wednesday May 9, 2012

Wednesday my easy but today Nancy and I are busy. I have a GRBA meeting at 1400, a Drs appointment at 1530 and this evening Nancy and I are going to Meijer's Gardens for their annual Auction. Also, Nancy has to work at the Gardens this afternoon. It was sprinkling went I left this morning so I put on my rain suit. I pedaled to Bill's for their oatmeal breakfast. After breakfast I pedaled around Reeds Lake. This afternoon the GRBA meeting was held at the Paul Phillips Gym. The city is renovating the gym for use as a youth center. The city has contracted with the Boys and Girls club to operate the facility. The Grand Opening is June 4. The doctor, Dr Sprik, I saw today is an ear, nose and throat doc. I have a sinus infection like I had last year. The Doc gave me a prescription and I headed to Meijer's to get it filled. When I got home it was time for Bob and Nancy to get dressed and head to Meijer's Garden for the annual Auction. This is a fund raiser for the Gardens. They are also having a sit down dinner. Nancy said 400 folks attended. We purchased two bottles of wine and a mystery envelope. We paid $25 for each item. In the envelope we got a $25 gift certificate. We did not know the value of the wine until we got home and unwrapped the bottles. Wine values varied from $10-$100. Our wine was valued at $11 and $18. We also bid on an African Safari. The trip was valued at $4,700. There was not much interest when the bidding started so I bid $3,000 and then $3,500. My last bid was $4,000 but alas someone bid $4,700 and won. A good time was had by all and all proceeds went to the Gardens.

Tuesday May 8, 2012

The rain has finally stopped. However, it was very foggy when Ms P and I went out at 0500. I did not get up until 0700. Tuesday and it is my tri day. I rowed 3267 meters in 15', ran 1.5 miles in 15'40" and swam 750 yards in 23'. These are average times for me. I did not get to the Kava House until 1200. I spent a lot of time reading about the new governments in France and Greece. Everyone likes to speculate but I don't think anyone knows the eventual outcome. I had lunch about 1400 and then had to run some errands. First to the PO and then to the bank. At the bank some young men wanted me to sign a petition for stopping the new bridge to Canada. I told them I supported the bridge and that voter referendums are not what representative democracy is about. We elect folks to make these tough decisions. If we don't like their vote we don't vote for them in the next election. They did not like advice from an old man. About 1700 we took our nightly one mile walk. Nancy fixed be a pork steak with dressing for dinner. It was tasty. After dinner I was drinking beer, reading the GRP and watching the TV news when I spilled my beer. I cannot multi task. Missy and AJ skyped us last night. It was good to see and hear them. We watched the NCIS shows and at 2130 headed to bed.

Monday May 7, 2012

We had thunder storms roll through last night. We gave Ms P a pill and it seemed to settle her down. Ms P and I went out at 0600 and it was dry. When I left for the MAC at 0830 it was drizzling. I put on my rain suit for the pedal to the MAC. I did not leave the club until 1130 because I spent 45 minutes talking to Wayne who I have known for about 15 years. It was raining hard on my ride to the Kava House. Today's WSJ had several articles on the elections in Europe over the weekend. I do not know the impact the changes in Europe will have on the US economy. This morning Nancy did not go to the MAC. She attended a Hospital Gift Shop brunch. She made a great poppy seed bread to take and luckily she brought some home. After a quick lunch I headed upstairs to pay some bills. I also had to write the IRS. A letter arrived today from the IRS it was addressed to Scott Grobard. The IRS had the wrong address for Mr Grobard. This does not inspire confidence in our tax collectors. Later in the afternoon, I ran several errands. I stopped at the 53rd bank to make a deposit. Then I mailed the IRS letter at the PO. Finally I stopped by the Kent County Credit Union to get some money for our trip to NYC. Tonight we will have a light meal. I don't think we will go on our mile walk because of the rain.

Sunday May 6, 2012

It has been a busy weekend and I am finally catching up. Friday night we had some rain. Today I have to cut the grass so I only do the aerobics at 66%. After the MAC I head to the Kava House. The temperature is beginning to rise along with the humidity. After lunch I get out the lawn gear. The grass is still wet so I edge and trim the lawn first. I cut the front and side yards. It is very humid and I really get tired. I stop work at 1700 and at 1730 we get in the car and head for Boulder Creek CC for dinner. We are meeting the Moleski's. The food was really good. We got home at 2100. It was a pleasant evening. Saturday morning and after taking Ms P out at 0445 I sleep in until 0715. I pedal to Bill's for their Oatmeal breakfast. On my way home I stop at the USPO to get some stop mail cards for our trip to NYC. I also stop at the bank and then pedal around Reeds Lake. I spend the next hour mowing the back yard. Our lawn really looks good. I spent about 2 hours working on my new kayak rack. I bought a grinder and I am polishing a piece of steel tubing for use in the rack. It sprinkled most of the afternoon. At 1700 I take a quick shower and then Nancy and I head to Forest Hills Inn for dinner. Ed and Mary Namey joined us for dinner. After dinner we came back to our house for dessert. We talked until 2100. Sunday morning and we get up with the alarm at 0700. We got to the MAC at 0750 but were let in early. Nancy and I did our Sunday swim. I swam 1500 yards in 47'. Not a great time but not bad for an old guy. After the MAC we head to Meijer's for our weekly supplies. I fill the Taurus up and gas was $3.81 per gallon. Nancy fixed her world famous poached eggs for breakfast. I took a long afternoon nap. Ms P and I started on a walk but it was thundering so we headed back home real fast. Tonight Nancy is fixing a special sandwich and then we will watch 60 Minutes and read the GRP before heading to bed. Letter from R. H. Scott, Ensign, CEC, USN to his mother dated 6 May 1962, 50 years ago. I updated my Mom on what was happening on Midway Island. The Island was crowded with folks getting ready to monitor the upcoming H-bomb test. I also mentioned that I had been in the Navy about 1 year and I had put on 20 pounds. I now weighed 158 pounds. I commented how mild the weather was and was surprised because Midway is the same latitude as Tampa, FL. My sister, Helen, had sent me two books to read, "The Organization Man" and Japanese Inn". I misspelled Japanese in the 62 letter but spell check caught it today. Helen was going to summer school at CMU. I said why did she not choose UM. The ratio of women to men at CMU was 3 to 1 and at UM it was 1 to 3. I asked about some family members and how their bridge and golf games were going. There are only two flights into Midway Island from Hawaii, Monday and Friday. The contractor that operates the flights for the military has just started using female stewardess. Now whenever the flight lands a lot of enlisted men are at the field to greet the flights. Sounds like "South Pacific".

Thursday May 3, 2012

We slept with the windows open last night. I did not get up until 0715. I had a tough time figuring out what to wear today. It was 58⁰ when I got ready to pedal to the MAC and it was suppose to be near 80⁰ when I head to the Kava House. I did my tri today. I did not get to the Kava House until 1200. It took an hour to read the WSJ and DFP. After a quick lunch I got my measuring tape and walked over to the gift shop at Blodgett Hospital. Nancy wanted me to measure up a display area. I walked home. It was in the mid 80s and it felt good. I did take a short nap. When I woke up I looked in a mirror and saw a very red face. I had gotten sunburned on my short walk to the hospital. I have to be more careful. Nancy and I had dinner at Great Lakes Shipping. We started with our summer menu. We each order a different light sandwich and then split it. The sandwiches were especially good this evening, When we got home we took Ms P on our mile walk. When I finish this blog I will head downstairs. I will have a glass of scotch and read the GRP. At 2100 I will watch "Person of Interest". I hope everyone got their 30' in today.

Wednesday April 2, 2012

I have read several of my recent posts and find them boring. Does anyone really want to know that I took Ms P out at 0500? I will discontinue reporting on Ms P's daily bowel movements. Today I had breakfast club so I set the alarm for 0600. I got to the meeting at 0655 and the place was empty. However, at 0705 40 folks had arrived. This morning they had biscuits and gravy on the menu. I had two helpings. The speaker today talked about epilepsy. The subject matter was very interesting. After BC I headed downtown to look at a new bike store on Monroe Center and also to vote. Us old folks can vote early. The bike store was not yet open so I could only look in the window. I will revisit the store later. I also stopped at Rylee's, Bill and Paul's and Groskopfs. I did purchase a wide brimmed hat at Groskopfs. I bought a metal grinder at Lowe's and a pair of summer pants at Gazelle Sports. I had coffee at D&W in Breton Village. I read the WSJ. I wanted to purchase a case of Bud that was on sale. The store would not sell it to me without their special card. I hate all these special cards so I left the case on the counter. I showed them! When I got home it was 1300 so I had a quick lunch and then took Ms P around the block. I then headed to Meijer's to buy a case of BUD. Meijer's price was the same as D&W's sale price. We were suppose to have heavy thunder showers and rain today. It did not happen. It was sunny with temps in the 80s. I needed some exercise so I strapped on my GPS and went on a 4.15 mile walk. I averaged 19'30" per mile. Nancy had to work at the Gardens this afternoon. She did volunteer us to work at several summer concerts. We like to work the concerts because the work is easy and we get to see the concert for free. We did purchase tickets for the Emily Lou Harris concert. After dinner we went on a one mile walk. I then headed upstairs to read the GRP. We will watch some TV before heading to bed.

Tuesday May 1, 2012

Both Nancy and I have been slightly under the weather this week. I think our stomachs are finally getting back to normal. I slept in until 0650 this morning. At the MAC I did my tri for the first time in 2 1/2 weeks. The swimming was ok but the rowing and running were a struggle. I did not leave the MAC until 1130. I did read the WSJ but not the DFP at the Kava House. I am very uncomfortable with the President praising his decision to send in the Seals. I hope the presidential race does not get into a "mine is bigger than yours" type of race. Military decisions should not be made to prove that you are the tough guy. The use of the military in Vietnam and Iraq were made to show how tough the President was. Not good. I did not get home until 1330. After a quick lunch I headed upstairs and took a long nap. After the nap I walked Ms P around the block. Tonight we will take our 1 mile walk and then watch NCIS. We are entering our long day time of year. The sunsets at 2044 this evening and at 2126 on June 23. I love these long days. April 30, 1961, 51 years ago I wrote a letter to mother. I was working in Detroit. I told Mother that on Wednesday I raised my hand and was sworn into the US Navy. I am leaving on May 15 for OCS at Newport, RI. OSC is a 4 month program and hopefully on September 15 I will be commissioned an Ensign in the US Navy. On Sunday I was going to go to Albion to see Helen. I must be thinking of taking a bus because I did not have a car. The previous weekend I had seen two movies. "Mein Kauf" on Friday and "Raisin in the Sun" on Saturday. When I leave for the Navy I will be debt free and have the prescribed amount of money for OCS. On April 22 I had turned 23. Despite having to go into the military, life was good for a 23 year old single guy.