Monday November 12, 2012

I did not have anyone wake me this morning so I slept in until 0720. It was raining this morning and the temperature today is suppose to drop to the high 20s. Snow maybe tomorrow. I drove the C2 to the MAC. After the MAC I headed to the Kava House. The Kava House gave me a free coffee because I was a veteran. I hope congress solves the fiscal cliff problem because I am tired of reading about it. I am also tired of reading about Greece. I had a quick lunch and then headed upstairs to pack. Debbie can pack for a two week trip and only take a carryon. She never checks a bag. We know another couple that was on our Eastern Europe trip that also never checks a bag and they go on a lot of long trips. I took extra pains when packing today and I did get the weight of my checked bag down to 25 pounds. Nancy's bag weighed 30 pounds. We are getting better but we must still check a bag. After packing I took a 2 mile walk. It was windy and cold with the temperature near 32. I hope it does not snow tonight. Nancy is fixing Scottish oatmeal. It is a good night for a bowl of hot oatmeal. We will watch some TV before turning in. I got my 30 in today, did you?

Sunday November 11, 2012

I am writing this at 2033 on Sunday Nov 11. I had a great weekend. Friday morning I took Ms P out and then after the at home routine I pedaled to the MAC. I am going 1/2 speed today because I have a long drive this afternoon. I did get to the Kava House and had time to read the WSJ and DFP. I got home about 1300. Kim was just finishing cleaning the house. She took Ms P with her when she left. Nancy and I are going to be gone 18 days and Ms P will spent 9 days with Kim and 9 days in a Kennel. This will be the first time we have boarded Ms P. I hope things go well. About 1400 I get in the C2 and drove to Ann Arbor. Steve, Lucas and I are going to the UM/NU football game tomorrow. It will be three generation of Scott men out on the town. Steve and Lucas are flying in from Long Beach, CA later tonight. I checked into the Holiday Inn on Plymouth in Ann Arbor. For dinner I had a hamburger and beer in the bar. Steve and Lucas got in about 0130 on Saturday. They went straight to bed. Saturday morning I quietly get up and head downstairs for coffee. I took my Kindle and read the WSJ. About 0900 Steve gets Lucas up and we all have the Breakfast Buffet offered at the motel. It was really good. It was dark and gloomy at 1000 but we did not think it would rain. We all wore layers in case the weather got bad. If the sun came out we could take off a layer. The motel had a shuttle to the Big House. However, bridge construction made it difficult to get to the game. We stood in line for about 45 minutes and we missed about 8 minutes of the game. This is Lucas's first college football game. I think he was overwhelmed when we walked in the stadium. The attendance was 112, 500. We sat in the south end zone 4 rows up. We had good seats. The sun came out during the game. This is my first time in the Big House since their major renovation. I liked the improvements especially the gigantic TV screens at each end of the field. Since the 1950s I have attend two UM/NU games at the Big House. Both times UM has lost. What a game! It was very exciting. We stood most of the game because the folks in front of us were standing. Everyone around us was very nice and Lucas stood on the bench in front of us to get a better view of the game. We saw a kickoff return that went 100 yards but was called back. We saw some great catches and of course the tying field goal with 2" remaining. This is the first time I have seen, in person, an overtime game. It was exciting. Steve, Lucas and I were really hyped. When the score was tied Lucas was high fiving all the folks around us. The same true when UM won the overtime. We took the shuttle back to the motel and then took a ride around the campus. We had dinner at an Applebee's near the motel. It was filled with UM fans. Sunday morning and I get up and get a coffee and read the DFP on the Kindle. Steve let Lucas sleep in. We had the motel's buffet and then got in Steve's rental and headed to Campus. We walked around Campus. Steve showed Lucas the dorm he stayed in, West Quad. I showed him South Quad where I resided for two years. We also saw the Women's dorm, Betty Barbour, where my Mother stayed in 1924. We walked through the MI Union and stopped in several stores selling UM apparel. Steve bought several items for his girl's in LB. I liked the improvements to the campus that have been made since I attended UM. The campus looked nice and well maintained. We got back to the motel about 1400. I told Steve and Lucas what a great weekend I had with them. I headed home about 1400. I got home at 1730. Nancy fixed soup and hot dogs for dinner. It was good. Today is Veteran's Day so make sure you hug a veteran. Tomorrow when I go to the MAC I will ask all the Vets that I know if they can remember their serial number. About 99% can remember. Also on November 11, 1955 I played my last football game for AHS. It was a home game and we played Hamtramck. We won a high scoring game and finished the season with 6 wins, 1 tie and 2 loses. It was a good season and I was named the team's MVP. I cherish to this day that honor.

Thursday November 8, 2012

The lethargic state that Ms P was in has gone away. Apparently it just takes time to get over the shots she had yesterday. It was in the 20s when I pedaled to the MAC. Thursday is a tri day. Both the track and pool at the MAC were empty. It took me almost 2 hours to read the WSJ and DFP today. Everyone is trying to analysis the mistakes made by the Republicans. Enough already. When I got home it was almost 1400. I had a quick lunch and then headed to Berger Chevy to get the oil changed in the C2. While waiting in line someone pointed out that I had a headlight burned out. I got a new headlight in addition to the oil change. I spent some time in my office reading mail and packing. About 1630 Nancy suggested we take our 1 mile walk early. It sounded good so we grabbed Ms P and took the walk. It was dark and gloomy. A typical November day. I can remember bridge inspecting in November and the flash on my camera would go off. This was in the middle of the day. Such is November in MI. Today I was watching CNBC and they had a list of places where you don't want to retire. MI was #1 because of the bad economy and weather. I, of course, disagree. We had dinner at Great Lakes Shipping tonight. It was empty when we arrived but soon filled up. I had a French Dip and Nancy had a prime rib sandwich. Tonight we will read a paper copy of the GRP and then watch "Person of Interest" before retiring. I got my 30' in today did you? Since we will be leaving for SE Asia in a couple of days I thought I would report on some November letters that I wrote to Mom, 50 and 51 years ago. On Nov 27 1961 I wrote Mother that I arrived on Midway Island on Monday the 25th. It was a 4 hour flight from HI to Midway. My tour of duty on Midway was 12 months. On 18 Nov 62, 50 years ago, I wrote Mom that I hoped this would be my last letter from Midway. I wrote that I did not have orders yet but hoped to get them soon. The delay in orders was caused by the Cuban missile crisis. All vacations were cancelled and everyone was staying where they were. I was in a panic mood. I did not want to stay on Midway any longer. I can remember my boss sending a message to the CEC assignment desk asking that I get some orders. They wrote back that they could not get me a Stateside assignment because of the crisis but they had an immediate opening at the construction office in SE Asia. I sent a message back saying get my ass to SE Asia. I had my orders in 24 hours. I had to go to the library to find out where Saigon was. I was glad to get off Midway. I left about the 2nd week in December and got home around the 17th of Dec. It was 75 when I left Midway and -17 when I arrived in Alpena. And that was the life of Ensign Scott, CEC, USNR 50 years ago November.

Wednesday November 7, 2012

I could not stay up to watch the final election results. I did check some results at 0300 on my itouch. MI had 6 ballot proposals and I was happy with the results on 5 of the proposals. The presidential election was a disappointment. I guess we should not worry because the sun came out this morning and we are experiencing a wonderful fall day. Today is my easy day so I pedaled to Bill's for breakfast. The WSJ was loaded with election stories. I was surprised that the DFP did not have very comprehensive results. Maybe they went to press too early. Like in sports it appears that successful politicians have a rough time coming back after they have retired. The Senate races in WI and NE are good examples. I was glad to see the Hetch-Hetchy proposal to remove SF's water storage dam was defeated. Maybe the folks in SF are smarter than I think. After breakfast I rode around Reeds Lake. Spell check corrected me when I wrote that I "road" (rode) around Reeds Lake. I think that the digital versions of the WSJ and DFP have many grammar errors. The WSJ reported that an Englishman working in China was "an" MI5 agent. I think it should be "a" MI5 agent. Nancy, the English teacher, said in today's world it doesn't matter. When I got home I had just enough time to grab Ms P and take her to the Vet. Ms P had her shots updated. After the Vets we stopped at the Woodland Animal Hospital to finalize Ms P's reservation. She will be boarding from Nov 17 to Nov 26. Kim will pick her up and then deliver her back to us on Monday Dec 3. We get home on Dec 1. I also stopped at Costco to get gas, $3.35 per gallon, and pick up a prescription. Nancy is working at the Gardens this afternoon. It is now 1447 and I am heading outside to rake some leaves. I picked up all the leaves in the front yard. I was done in about an hour. Ms P was outside with me but she was very lethargic. I think it was the shots she got from the Vet. I talked to our neighbor, Allen Benet, about last night's election. Allen is fun to talk to because his political views are 180⁰ from mine. He has a good sense of humor and likes to point out the error in my views. Allen has a new beagle named Lillie. Surprising Ms P gets along with Lillie. Nancy has been on the Volunteer Board at Meijer's Garden for two terms (6 years). Today was her last meeting and the Garden's Cafe gave the board a carrot cake in honor of her service. We are going to have wine and chips before our light dinner. We will watch some TV before heading upstairs.

Tuesday November 6, 2012

Another cold night and it was very cold, 23, when Ms P and I went out at 0400. Today is my tri day so I did not leave the MAC until 1130. Several people asked me if I had voted and I told them that us old folks can vote absentee. I was surprised that not many folks knew that this privilege was granted us seniors. Speaking of voting the first presidential election I voted in was 1960. I voted for Nixon. Because I was going to college in Ann Arbor and could not get home to Alpena (a 6 hour drive) I was allowed to vote absentee. The WSJ wrote several articles on the political change over in China. It is a very secretive operation. The EU seems unable to solve their money problems. I hope that today's election will set in motion a pragmatic solution to our money problems. I don't think it matters who gets elected. The USA just need some stability. Nancy and I took Ms P on a 1 mile walk and then at 1600 we headed downtown to a paper sale at Design-Design. They make greeting cards and paper products especially for the holidays. The lines were very long. I stood in line while Nancy collected what she wanted to buy. I was in line for over an hour. Tonight we will have a light dinner and then spend some time watching the election coverage. I think there are some interesting races especially Senate races in MA, WI and MO. We have a senate race in MI but the Republican ran a terrible campaign and will lose. MI has six referendums on the ballot. They are very important and I hope cool heads prevail. The San Francisco ballot proposal on the Hetch-Hetchy water storage dam is really interesting. I think only an idiot would vote to remove this water storage dam. But it is SF so who knows. It should be an interesting evening.

Monday November 5, 2012

It was a cold 23 when Ms P and I went out at 0500. This is our first morning with a good frost. After completing my at-home routine I got on my bike and rode to the Kava House. I did not go to the MAC because at 1100 I have to drive Nancy to the doctor. I am glad today is the last day of election ads. The WSJ had a lot of stories on the election. Even a business article was skewed to the impact of tomorrow's election. Of course they also had several stories on Sandy. Did global warming cause Sandy? I got home in time for Nancy to get to her 1130 appointment. After the doctor we headed to the Dollar store so Nancy could by a measuring cup for Ms P's food. We need to provide a cup to the kennel so they can give Ms P the proper portion. We then stopped at the 28th Street Meijer's to get some supplies for this week. After a quick lunch we paid our last quarterly tax and the insurance on our two cars. I tried to pay the auto insurance using their phone system. It was a disaster and I gave up and wrote a check. I walked to the PO to mail the checks. I then went on a 3.5 mile walk. We will have a light dinner and then watch some TV (what's new). We are beginning to assemble some clothes for our SE Asia trip. This Friday I am going to Ann Arbor. Steve and Lucas are flying in and the Scott men are going to the UM/Northwestern game on Saturday. On 14 Nov 61 I wrote a letter to Mom from Port Hueneme, CA. I had been quite busy and I told Mom that on Veterans Day a group of us went to Disney Land. On November 12th I worked at an Air Show at the Pt Mugu Navy Air Base. I saw the Blue Angels. I am going to leave for San Francisco on November 22. I will fly out of SF to Hawaii and then to Midway Island. I have been spending some time getting ready for Midway. I asked Mom to send me some sporting goods that I had at home. Tennis racket, handball gloves and swim fins were several items. In retrospect I should not have asked Mom to do this work for me. The goods were readily available at any Navy Exchange for a reasonable cost. After all an Ensign made $222.30 a month.

Sunday November 4, 2012

It was snowing when I left Bill's but it did not last more than 5 minutes. I took a detour on my My weekend started Saturday morning with a cold dark ride to Bill's. I had their super breakfast. ride home by riding around Reeds Lake. I had 12 miles on the bike when I got home. My bike mileage this year is between 1600 and 1700 miles. In the last 4 months I have put more miles on the bike than my C2. My chore for Saturday was to rake leaves. Ms P was outside with me. The leaves are concentrated in our planter strip and the lower section of our front yard. We do have some leaves in our backyard under our flowering fruit tree. I raked the leaves in a big pile and then put them in GR Yard Waste bags. I still had some leaves scattered over sections of the front yard. So I put the leaf bag on the mower. My problem was that the grass has grown some since the last cutting. I could not leave the grass looking partially cut so I cut the whole front yard. The running mower is what fires up Ms P, as long as the mower is running she wants to play ball. I developed a sore arm. I spent 3 hour outside. After all the outside work I took a shower and then a short nap. At 1730 Nancy and I got in the Taurus and headed to Marco's for dinner. We met the Namey's. Marco's was very crowded. They have great food especially their butternut squash soup. After dinner we drove to the Namey's for dessert. It was a great evening. DST ended last night so in order not to get confused I set the alarm on my itouch and cell phone. They automatically change to the correct time. Sunday morning and the alarms go off at the correct time. We head to the MAC for our Sunday swim. The pool was not crowded today. Nancy was having a reaction to her new blood pressure medicine so we did not go to Meijer's. I bought gas at BP in Eastown, $3.55 per gallon and coffees at the Kava House. Nancy did fix her world famous poached eggs for breakfast. I took my nap and then walked Ms P around the block. It is now 1606 and I am going on a two mile walk. Tonight we will have a light dinner and then watch some TV and read the GRP. Presently the temperature outside is 41 with bright sunshine. 90% of the leaves are off the trees and it is a great time for a brisk walk. Remember to get your 30' in today.

Friday November 2, 2012

It started out as another cool November day. After my at-home routine I headed to the MAC in bright sunshine. I must take my car into a paint sealing place by 1300 so I hurried through my routine and did not have time to go to the Kava House. I had a small coffee at Starbucks in Breton Village. I got home at 1200 and had a quick lunch before heading to the car finish shop. It took about 1.5 hours to put the sealer on. I took my Kindle so I read all the time. After the car work I headed to Woodland Mall. I stopped at the Apple Store to see if the iphone can use the Sprint cell system. It can. I also stopped at Radio Shack to get an electrical converter for our trip to SE Asia. When I got home about 1500 I suggested to Nancy that we take Ms P on our 1 mile walk early. She agreed so we put on our walking shoes and headed out the door. It was a beautiful fall day for a walk. I spent the rest of the afternoon checking on relatives who served in the Revolutionary War. I found two. Mark Sanborn who is a direct ancestor 6 generations removed served in Col. Warner's regiment in Jersey, Captain Barron's company for defense of Connecticut River frontier and Col. Bedel's regiment, April 1778. Mark Sanborn was born in Hampton Falls, NH March 4, 1750 and died in Bath, NH July 27, 1821. I found his record in the Sanborn Genealogy book. In fact they had an appendix titled Revolutionary Sanborns. Captain Stephen Tucker, direct ancestor 7 generations served in Backus (4) Light Horse, CT. His card # was 37071857. I found this reference in a web site called fold3.com. I also have a photo of Captain Tucker's tombstone in Woodstock, CT. He was born 1732 and died Nov 8, 1808 all in Woodstock, CT. I also found two letters that I wrote Mother. This first letter was written Saturday October 28, 1960. It was near midnight and I told Mother that I was real busy with a lot of exams recently. I just got a letter from my Draft Board that I had to report for a physical. I transferred to the Ann Arbor Draft Board so I would not have to go back to Alpena. I remember the physical. We took a bus out of Ann Arbor to Ft Wayne near Detroit. The physical and testing took most of the day. I passed. 1960 was the first year I could vote and I had an absentee ballot. I voted for Nixon. The second letter, 30 Oct 61, was from Port Hueneme, CA the home of the Pacific CBs. I was attending the Civil Engineering Corps Officer School. The school was about two months. There were 39 officers in my class. We had 4 Lieutenants, 16 Lieutenant junior grades, 17 Ensigns and 2 Officers from the Turkish Navy. The Lieutenants and Ltjg were all Naval Academy graduates. All the Ensigns, like myself, were all graduates of a ROTC program or OCS. The Turkish officers were classmates of mine at UM. Classes ran from 0800 to 1500. We had about 1.5 hours of homework each night. After classes were over we all headed to the gym. Morning roll call was at 0600. We stood two inspections since classes started. On Friday we all headed to the Officers' Club for Happy Hour. Drinks were 1/2 price. Last Friday we had a dance at the Club and local girls were invited. Last Sunday I went into LA to see the Lions play. We got in for 1/2 price if we wore our uniforms. I went with five classmates. My spelling and grammar was really bad on my letters home. A portion of our training had to do with weapons of mass destruction. The Navy was really concerned about nuclear blasts and chemical and biological attacks. I think the Soviets had just exploded a big H bomb. We had a lot of classes on survival methods. I even became certified on design of blast proof buildings. It all seems kind of silly now but folks were real serious in the 60s. Nancy fixed chicken burritos for dinner. They were good. We will watch CSI, NY before heading to bed.

Thursday November 1, 2012

It was in the mid 30s when I went out at 0430. I will be glad when we change to Standard Time this weekend. I think I have been sleeping in lately because it is so dark in the morning. If I left home before 0800 I would need to use my bike lights. This morning I did the tri. I really like swimming but I am so slow. Today Stephen's kindergarten teacher was in the lane next to me and his time was much better than mine. It takes me 30 minutes to swim 1,000 yards. After the MAC I pedaled to the Kava House. Folks keep asking me if I get cold riding the bike and my standard answer is "layers". It's true layers of clothing keep one warm. Finally the WSJ started reporting on subjects other than Sandy. They really got fired up about the EU problems especially in Greece and Portugal. I did not read the DFP because I had to be home by 1300. The furnace man was coming to check out our furnace. He was right on time and said everything was ok. This afternoon Nancy has to work at the hospital gift shop. When she gets home we are going to Costco so she can pick up a prescription. We will have dinner at Great Lakes Shipping. Thursday is a good TV night. We watched "Person of Interest" and "Elementary".