As much as I've loved having them nearby and have reveled in being able to forge a closer relationship with them, I understand the need to be home.
as was evidenced by my move to and from Florida year and a half ago.

I'm going to miss 'em lots...

May 9th, 1999 Well, this is mother's day, and for many years I've received a card or a call from my daughter on this day. It's sort of a tongue in cheek comment on the part I played in raising her. Today, however, is different. I just received a call from Lisa's best friend Susan, telling me that because of a low platelet count, Lisa was hospitalized on Friday. She has not improved appreciably and is being transported to Pensacola as I type this. Doctors there may or may not choose to deliver the baby today or sometime prior to Lisa's due date in July. It's a hell of a way to become a mom, but, like many moms before her Lisa will come through this like the trooper she is. even if she is scared half out of her wits As usual, more will follow.

May 9th addendum After doing a battery of tests, Lisa's doctor in Pensacola decided that today is the day. A C-section was done and Savannah Noelle entered the world at 2:30 PM weighing in at 2lbs 13oz! Mom and Daughter are both doing well, but Jim and Lisa's best friend Susan are both wrecks after a long stressful day.
My congratulations to the happy new parents!

May 11th, 1999 I talked to Lisa this morning. She's still in some pain and sounded weak and kind of "poopy", but she's doing her best to keep her spirits up and will start feeling better soon, I'm sure. Talking to her Daddy seemed to help today. That's 'cause we know how to push the happy buttons! *grin*
Lisa said that she's had plenty of company the last day or so. Husband Jim spent the day with her yesterday and friends and the in laws have been with her a lot. My sister called her last evening and "granny", my mom, called too. Lisa said that she felt bad and became upset when she talked to her Granny because she had never heard her in tears before. Mom is understandably upset considering that this is the first great grandchild and she's worried about Lisa and Savanna. Given the fact that Mom just moved away from her kids, (and I'm not convinced that her heart was in the move) and is going through her own changes, I think she's justified in feeling worn out, frustrated and worried. But I just talked to Mom and Dad on the phone and they're doing OK and plan to call Lisa again this evening.
Lisa has only seen the baby once, so far, and hopes to see her again today. They won't let her hold her until her weight is up to 3 lbs. That means we have but a few ounces to go. I told Lisa to have the nurses up the buttermilk content in her formula! I'm sure Lisa will feel much better when she can actually hold and feed the young thing. As it is now, she feels very removed from the "process". Savannah is still on a ventilator, but it's breathing only one out of 12 breaths for her and Lisa says that the docs are very confident that she'll be breathing on her own soon.

SO taking a big breath that's the state of affairs this morning. Stay tuned for the continuing saga.

May 13th, 1999 I called Lisa yesterday morning. She was happy because they are releasing her from the hospital, but upset because she doesn't want to leave Savannah. These next few weeks are going to be difficult as Lisa lives 50 miles from the hospital and will have to commute daily. Here's hoping that the time passes quickly!
Savannah is holding her own. She had a platelet transfusion and a pulmonary embolism removed on Tuesday morning. She's a tough little trooper and all went well. Yesterday morning Lisa saw her and was thrilled when Savannah grabbed her finger and when she opened her eyes in response to Lisa calling her name! I think actually being able to interact with the baby is helping Lisa feel a little better. I reminded her that our motto is Tough and Strong and Brave. Easier said than done sometimes. Lisa just has to remember that soon, she won't be able to keep up with this little ball of fire!

My friend Jim and I laughed last night thinking about a commercial you might have seen during Winston Cup races, featuring Mario Andretti. In it, are a couple of cute little Andretti granddaughters who Jim and I can picture racing go karts soon. We thought about Savanna, being the little Florida water kid that she'll become, taking off in Dad's boat with a flip of her hair and a wave Adios Dada...ZOOM!

Hang on Lisa and Jim.... It's gonna be one hell of a ride!

(By the way, even with all of what's happening, I got my mother's day card in the mail yesterday. Thanks Honey!)

May 17th, 1999 I talked with Lisa yesterday for the first time since they kicked her out of the hospital. She's been visiting Savannah daily and says that all is going well. She had a surgery on Saturday to manually close a valve that apparently should have closed it's self after birth. Something about switching from being oxygenated in the womb to being self oxygenating. This could usually be done with medications, but because of Savanna's low platelet count, the docs elected to do the surgery. It all seems to have worked fine. kind of sounds like changin' over from heat to AC in the summer, to me. Otherwise, the little munchkin is doing fine...becoming a little more active and starting to look around a bit.

Lisa sounded much better when we talked yesterday. I think being home with her loved ones is doing her a lot of good. Hell, no-one likes to be in the hospital! Dad, Jim, is doing well and I suspect he'll spoil Savannah rotten when she gets home. Lisa says that he already calls her the Little Princess. *trying hard not to barf here, but I understand LOL!*

On the parental units scene, I talked to Mom and Dad yesterday too. All is well in the great white north. (Wisconsin) They're still looking for the right place to live, but are comfortable staying with old friends for the time being. Mom said that it's rained there all but two days since they've been back. I sure envy them that. This desert is dryer than usual and we could sure use some rain. Jim and I are going camping next week and there are already burn restrictions in the wilderness where we plan to go. If things get worse, we may have to switch to plan B. I.E.; go somewhere else. BUT, we're definitely gonna get the heck out of Dodge for several days. It's time for both of us!

May 26th, 1999 Hi all, I've just returned from 5 days of camping in the Gila Wilderness here in New Mexico. 70 foot pines, staggering mountains, clear streams, fish (we all caught one each), hail, rain, wind , cold, hot. That about sums it up for now. I plan to add a homepage link with some pictures as soon as I have them developed and scanned.
We had a great time and it was wonderful to get away from responsibilities if just for a while. My best friend, Jim and I were there for the 5 days and our old friend Gene (Of Gene Gene the Dancing Machine fame on my "Cookin' With The Fat Boys" page) joined us for two days before having to return to Silver City. We had 3 camp chipmunks, who were hilarious to watch and to feed crackers . We saw lots of birds, squirrels, assorted bugs, jumping trout and several elk.

I'm spending the morning unpacking the rest of the stuff from the car and doing all the laundry from the trip. Now that the clothesline is full, I'm gonna have to invent a place to dry the sleeping bag and blankets. The hood of the car looks like a likely place, I guess.

Lisa reports, as of last night, that all are doing well. Savannah is hangin' tight and they hope to take her off the ventilator today! Lisa sounded good and she has pretty much settled into the routine of driving the 100 mile round trip to see Savannah every day. She's just anxious for her to get home, but it's going to be a few weeks yet. I guess they like to keep them in the hospital until the actual delivery date would have been.

June 7th, 1999 I talked to Lisa last night, she tells me that Savannah is doing well. She's all but off the ventilator, her platelet count is fine and her weight is up to 3lbs, 2 oz. When she's up to 4 pounds, they'll let Lisa take her home!

I also talked to Mom and Dad on Sunday. They've finally found a place to live and have the phone hooked up. While their gracious hosts love them much and have enjoyed having them in their home, (and vice versa) I'm are all involved are quite happy to see them settled and getting back into the swing of things. As I said before, I've hated seeing them leave New Mexico, but I wish them happiness in Wisconsin. For those of you know the Florida story, I'm sure you realize that I, of all people, understand that sometimes, ya just gotta be "home".

July 15th, 1999 Wow, I haven't posted anything for better than a month. I guess that's because all has been going relatively well.

Savannah came home from the hospital on July 9th and is doing well. She remains on the heart monitor for the time being, but is as fussy and demanding as any girl...er...baby. I haven't seen any pictures yet, but did get to hear her squeak while I was on the phone with Lisa the other day!

Lisa, on the other hand is not a happy camper. We talked last night and she says that a molar pregnancy she endured a year ago is still trying to be active. The Doc told her last week that she was pregnant again already. Lisa says NO WAY, as they've been abstaining since the C section and tubal ligation. More tests have shown that she has a malignancy that will have to be dealt with. The Doctor says that chemo and meds should completely eliminate it, but of course, Lisa is scared half to death and I'm worried for her. We should know more in the next day or two.

On the New Mexico front, I had the chance to attend a Linda Ronstadt concert on the 2nd. with my friend Jim and his son John. This was the kickoff of the 150th birthday celebration of Las Cruces which also gave us the opportunity to hear War and the Iguanas free in the park on the 4th.

We found Linda to be as vibrant and wonderful as she's always been and we had a very nice evening. I was moved to write a letter to our local weekly newspaper to talk about Linda's concert. It started out as a letter to the editor, but got fairly lengthy. They liked it and printed it as a guest column. (With a little nudging from Jim, who is the production manager for the paper) If you feel like reading it, you can find it here. Ronstadt

July 21st, 1999 sigh I was awakened to a teary call from Lisa this morning. Following a CT scan and other tests, she entered the hospital in Pensacola. Her doctor has told her that not only is there the uterine problem I told you about, but the tests have revealed that the cancer has spread. There are now two BB sized cancer spots on her brain and several lesions on her lungs, also cancerous. Tomorrow, Lisa begins the first of two weeks of radiation treatments. She wants her Daddy there with her, So, I'm off to Florida for an undetermined period of time, probably at least two weeks. Your good wishes and prayers will be appreciated.

July 23rd, 1999 Ft. Walton Beach, Fla. Hi Gang, I'm spending quite a bit of time with Lisa and trying to learn more about what's going on. This is really scary and all began with the molar pregnancy I talked about earlier. Apparently, that in itself is a one in a million occurrence. To have it happen again has odds of astronomical proportions. Lisa was lucky that she went in to have her tubes tied or they might not have found the rest of the mess until her next PAP smear. Right now, they're treating the brain lesions with radiation. Monday, the plan is to also start chemo to treat the lungs and uterus. I've talked with the resident on her case, who was also her resident when she gave birth to Savannah. He paints a fairly bleak picture. The World Health Organization has created a risk scale based on many parameters including age, general health, recent pregnancies etc. The doctor says that Lisa is rated at 8.... a high risk and not a pleasant prospect. But, I want to talk to the oncologist who will return on Monday to be sure that the resident is correct and that I'm understanding him correctly. I'll let you know if there is a change in prognosis or the understanding level. Lisa has her radiation treatments in the morning and they only take a few minutes. When she's through, she feels nauseated, so they give her meds for it which are heavily narcotic . While the buzz was fun for a couple of days, she's not enjoying feeling dopey, cranky, low on energy and sleepy. Today, she felt fine after the Rad. treatment, so didn't use the meds. The difference is marked! She's more alert, more energetic, which is good for her own self healing, and she's more her usual self. She was up today, showered, did her hair and changed into another gown. She looks great and has a bit more color about her. She called this afternoon and asked me to send her nail polish stuff and her hair mouse' with Jim this evening. This is a good thing, as It seems her biggest concern is losing her hair when the chemo starts. She has another 11 of 15 days of radiation treatments left before they'll let her go home. They're holding her to make sure there are no hemorrhages in her brain. When I asked the doctor how they would know, he said that the signs of that might be the same as for a stroke, and is a very real possibility. My plan is to stay here at least until she's home and then a few days more. This is a real trial for all of us. Savannah was just released to come home on the 9th. Now, two weeks later, my baby is ends up in the hospital with cancer. I'm thankful that Jim and Lisa have good friends and family here. Their help is unmeasurable and their support is wonderful. I decided my job is to A, help Lisa any way I can, and B, to help keep the rest of the machine in motion. While Jim loves Lisa and Savannah very much, he needs some help and guidance. Enter Mr. bigmouth. So, having said all that, I guess I'll close. My best to everyone and I'll keep you informed.

July 26, 1999 Lisa is doing well this morning. She called a little while ago to say that the doctors are not going to start chemo for a couple more days. This is some relief to her as it's sure not a fun thing to think about, and it gives her a little more time to get a haircut. She's decided, with input from others who have been there and from cancer society information, that it's a good idea. It will be less traumatic than seeing long strands of hair on her pillow when she does start chemo.

She's had more visitors than she knew she had friends, and sometimes it's a regular circus in her room, but it sure beats being there alone with no-one coming to see her. Her room is filled with flowers, little gifts and cards and is a pleasant as a hospital room can be.

Other than that, all goes well. Jim and I are being Mr. Moms to Savannah and she's doing well. But it is strange to be doing baby stuff again after all these years. She's a happy baby and is as cute as she can be. And, like Lisa's friend Susan says, "she ain't no bigger 'n a minute. " Still pretty tiny, but eating like there's no tomorrow and putting on weight quickly. She remains on the heart monitor as a precaution, but has no major or obvious health problems.

I'll keep you filled in. And, by the way, thanks to all of you who have sent me email or called with support. It helps me keep my attitude positive which is something I must do right now.

July 30th, 1999 Hi all, here's a bit of info Jim found on-line about Lisa's malady
It may help you understand more about what's goin' on.

This week's good news is that they're gonna kick Lisa out of the hospital on Tuesday. She will be done with the scheduled radiation treatments to her brain and presumably will have another CT scan and/or MRI to see what the results are. They haven't started the chemo yet, as the doc wanted to wait and get a handle on the headaches the radiation has been causing. He's changed Lisa's meds and she's seen an improvement. Her spirits have been up and she's been more herself lately. It's encouraging. Getting out of the hospital and being home with family friends and her new baby will do wonders for her attitude, I'm sure.

I'll be heading back to New Mexico next week. I'd like to stay here a bit longer, but I have to keep my own life on track too. Knowing that Lisa is home will be comforting and it will easy to keep in touch via email and IM.

August 5th, 1999 Well, I'm home in NM after a long two weeks in Florida. It's wonderful to be here where it's relatively dry, the nights are cool and the sky is filled with stars. While I really like Florida and have a good time when I'm there, there's still no place like home.

Lisa is home tonight after spending two additional days in the hospital due to a screwup in scheduling her radiation treatments over the weekend. She's very happy to be out of the hospital and back with her new baby who, by the way, is a real cutie!. She says she feels fine and will know in a week or so what the results of the radiation treatments to her brain are. We're prayin' and hoping for the best. Chemo treatments started on Tuesday and have had no noticeable effects so far. Lisa said that her hair is falling out pretty quickly now, mostly from the radiation, but she seems more accepting of that consequence of the treatments. I figure this is a good sign as she seems to be getting past the less important things and getting on with life. Our good friend Lou, who dealt with a radical mastectomy and the ramifications thereof just last year, wrote a great email in which she told Lisa that there is life after chemo and that there are worse things than losing her hair. She said that without hair, one never has a bad hair day, windy days are not a threat, being bald gives new meaning to buying hats and that if you see someone in the mall who you don't want to see, there's a good chance that they won't recognize you anyway! I don't think Lisa picked up on or appreciated the humor at the time, but will realize where Lou was coming from and what she was trying to convey. Her closing line was "you can't just believe you're going to get well, you have to know it.

Amen.

August 9th, 1999 I talked with Lisa the other night via computer. She was up late, having a nice evening on-line while Jim was feeding the baby. She said that she's feeling OK and hopes that the trend continues through this week's chemo. Some folks seem to take better to it than others, so we're hoping for the best. It has to be hard, when the treatments make you feel worse than the disease does.

Savannah had a checkup on Friday and all is well. She's up over 5 lbs. now. I presume she's still eating like there's no tomorrow and will put on more weight quickly. If we can get her off her battery charger (the heart monitor she wears 24/7) life will be easier for everyone but there seems to be no hurry to relieve her of that burden. I guess it doesn't hurt anything to be darn sure she's chuggin' away the way she's supposed to.

August 14th, 1999 Not a lot is new today. Lisa has had another chemo treatment and goes in for an overnighter treatment soon. Some days she's feeling better than others, but all in all, she is in good spirits considering what she's goin' through.

Savannah is doing well and was squeaking' away to Aunt Susan in the background, when I talked to Lisa the other day. All is well with our little munchkin. She's growing fast and will soon have more hair than her grand dad, dang it!

By the way, welcome to the WSMR readers who may be dropping in for the first time. Your prayers have been appreciated and we're glad to have you here, following the continuing saga. And thanks to the Missile Ranger for printing my letter to you unedited. It was very nice of them, and now you all have the dubious honor of having seen my inimitable, or maybe illiterate, style of writing. (Hey, I never said I was a writer. But I can BS with the best of them!) I just have re-direct the thoughts that would have gone to my mouth, to my fingers. It doesn't always work)

August 22nd, 1999 As of yesterday, Lisa is back in the hospital. The "permanent" IV line in her arm led to a pretty nasty infection involving her whole arm. Lisa said that the chemo treatments on Tues./Wed.. went OK, but she was having a burning in her arm during the drip. The docs looked at everything and found nothing. Thursday, when the home health care specialist came to change the IV dressing, she took one look, called the doc and WHOOSH! Lisa was back in Pensacola. They're filling her full of antibiotics but the arm is still swollen from wrist to shoulder and gives her quite a bit of pain, as you might imagine. The plan now is to continue the treatment through Tuesday, at which time she may be released....or not. We sure hope so, as Jim is having to take off work to care for Savannah again. Savannah, by the way, is doin' fine and is happy and healthy. Susan had her on Wed. night and says she's smiling a lot and is getting cuter by the day. (But kept her up all night!)

You know, I sure wish that after all that these kids have been through already, they could catch just a little break. I know that these kinds of things are happening to young families every day, all over the world, but it really touches home when it's OUR loved ones. Somehow, all the remoteness is removed real quickly. I remember Jim telling me a story one day when I was in Florida. He said that one of the times he found it impossible to keep his tears in check was on a day early in the game when Lisa said to him, "honey, I know I've been bad, but I don't know what I've done to deserve this". (dang it, I couldn't even type that without tears coming to my eyes) I guarantee you, this girl, while a bit of a "challenge" sometimes when she was little, doesn't have an evil bone in her body and has never done anything to warrant what she sees as this punishment. Fortunately, Jim told her exactly that, because he believes it as much as I do. I hope that, if nothing else, Lisa will or has already recognized that in this life, s**t happens. God gives us the chance to take the ride and there are no guarantees. We make our lives and it's within our power to be happy or not. But believing as we all do, that He listens to our prayers, I'm hoping that He's hearing me this morning. I don't ask for much and I don't take my little day to day problems to him, 'cause I figure he has more important things on his mind. But in this case, I hope He will extend a hand to these kids who are fighters, but need a little more help than you and I can give them.

And that is Rev. Jon's sermon for the day.

In closing, I would like to thank a very special lady who dropped into the cafe the other day to speak to me. She read what I've written here and decided to tell me of her own bouts with more cancer than any one person should have to deal with. She is now healthy and happy and encourages me to stay tough and strong and brave. Thank you for taking the time to come to see me. I'm taking your advice to heart and will try to make every day a good one!

Sept. 10th, 1999 Not too much is new. Lisa got out of the hospital and her arm is getting better with daily visits from a home health care provider who treats her with antibiotics. Lisa said yesterday, that she's doing OK, but has days that aren't as good as others. I guess that's to be expected, all things considered. Savannah is fine and has put on some weight. She has a doctors appointment soon and I expect she'll get a clean bill of health.

More as it happens...

Oct. 1st, 1999 Well, here's the latest. Lisa has been feeling pretty crappy from the chemo. It makes her want to sleep a lot and she hasn't been real communicative. I hadn't heard from her for two weeks, but finally got her on the phone this morning. I told her she'd better not make me drive over there to kick her butt, and reminded her that good little girls call their daddies now and then. I think my point was taken.

The good news is that there are only three weeks of chemo left. The downside is that from Lisa's viewpoint, they will be the longest three weeks. She's pretty fed up with feelin' bad and I can't say I blame her.

Savannah is doing well. She's up over 8 lbs now. That's nearly twice the size she was when I saw her in July. I could hear her squawkin' in the background, waiting for mom to feed her. Lisa says she's eating a lot and is amazed at how fast she's growing. Funny how that happens! Other than that, not too much is new on the Florida front. Jim is working, but staying home with Lisa when he has to, and all the other crazies are doing OK. And so it goes.

Oct. 30th, 1999 As of last week, Lisa reports that the doctor has decided to continue the chemo treatments for another 4 weeks. Lisa is understandably disappointed. She had hoped that all of that would be done by now, but it's not to be. About all I can do is to encourage her to be tough and strong and brave, and to let her know that we all love her very much. She was in good spirits the day I talked to her and I'm happy that she was having a good day. Here's to many more!

I finally had the pictures I took in Florida developed. They all turned out just fine and we enjoy looking at them. Unfortunately, I haven't had them scanned yet. But, Lisa emailed me some newer pictures they had taken recently, so here's your chance to see to see the little bundle of joy of whom we're all so proud!

Savannah1 Savannah2 Savannah3 Savannah4 Savannah5

November 19, 1999 I called Lisa this morning, but got her husband Jim who is on baby-sitting duty. Lisa is back in the hospital for another chemo treatment. She was supposed to be in for two days, but they've kept her another two days for observation as her temperature was up. She's not a happy camper! She wants all the chemo to be done now! She'll have to be patient, I'm afraid. Other than that, she sounded pretty good. We chatted and laughed a bit and I'm sure both our days will be better for it. She'll be out and home in a day or so and I know being with Savannah will do her good. She's looking forward to Christmas shopping for Savannah and all the nieces and nephews and the step kids, so she'll have plenty to do!

January 28th, 2000 Gang, I've been informed by my daughter that I've become lax in updating the newsletter. She's right, of course. geez, give a girl some exposure and she gripes!
So, here goes. Before I start, I should tell you that the little word processing utility I've been using is telling me that It's running low on memory. As much as I hate to do it, I'm going to switch it over to MicroCrap Word. (can you tell I'm a MAC user?) Let's hope the transition is seamless and you don't see any differences.

Lisa is doing very well. We've talked often in the last two months and she sounds great. She's had no chemo treatments since Thanksgiving and thinks that she's done with them. She's put on some of the weight she lost, has some hair coming back and her energy seems to be up. It's good to know that she's feeling better. Tuesday will find her in the hospital for the expected hysterectomy. Let's hope that it is as routine as is anticipated.

Savannah is doing well also. She's off the heart monitor permanently, has two teeth, both on the bottom. Lisa says that sometimes she screams, seemingly just to hear herself scream. I guess she's figuring out how all that vocal stuff works and will probably be chattering away in no time. She's been scootin' around the house in her walker and it sounds like she's becoming quite a handful! It's time for grand dad to send her some teeny little baby ropers (for all you yankees, ropers are a style of cowboy boot) This is sort of a running joke. Lisa was always a cowgirl when she was young and has a multi-colored collection of ropers. She rarely wears them any more as Jim doesn't care for them. I told her to ignore him and drag out the blue ones for the next big party grin I see no reason not to help Savannah explore her cowgirl roots though. I can just see her clumpin' around the house in boots, making Jim crazy. the cowgirl hat will be next!

Mom and Dad have been here for a visit since mid December. It's been nice seeing them since they moved back to the great white north. We spent Christmas together and have been to lunch several times. They've been looking up friends and playing a lot of bridge. I'm happy that they are out of the cold and the snow, but they have to head back next week and I'm afraid they'll have to deal with some of it anyway.

Not a lot is new on my front, other than having done some more writing for the newspaper. So far, I've written a couple of music reviews, and article for the paper's Christmas Memories insert and a fairly long one about our local balloon rally and some thoughts on when I was doing a lot of flying. It's really fun honing a new skill and I have to thank my best friend Jim for his encouragement and help. I can run my stuff by him and get a fairly unbiased opinion. I was really impressed when he read the ballooning story. It was the first time he didn't say "it's not your best work but....". I guess I'm gettin' better because the paper, for lack of the intended front page story, ran my ballooning article. I even got paid for that one. Papa Hemmingway, move over!

Gang, Lisa has had the tubal ligation surgery. She's home recovering and, other than still being quite weak and still in pain, is doing fine. Jim and Savannah are doing well, and Miss Savannah should receive a little something from her granddad for Valentine's day.

Mom and Dad have arrived home to quite a bit of snow. I had all I could do to not smirk when I told them what the weather here has been like. However, they are considering moving back down. They've found that they have many friends here, and miss being away from the kids. I hope that they do indeed move back, but want them to be happy wherever they are.

This weekend will find me on the balloon field early Saturday morning. Our local cancer support services group and our balloon club will be sponsoring balloon rides to benefit local cancer patients. I find that I can't NOT be there. It should be a nice morning and I'll let you know how it goes.

December 19th, 2000 Gosh it's been ages since I updated! Where to start! I guess I left you with me heading to the balloon field for the cancer support flights. The morning was cold and crisp, ideal flying weather except that the wind was blowing. Wind of more than a few knots will stop us from flying, and the wind Gods were not pleased that day. We waited, hoping that the wind would die down, but it was not to be. A few balloons inflated, but were very unstable and deflated soon. The flight was rescheduled.

Mom and Dad have indeed moved back to New Mexico. They arrived in late May and began looking for a place to live. They ended up buying a large mobile home in a secured park which caters to seniors. The place is nice and they seem content there. They've found all their old friends, gotten back on the bridge track and are having a good time. Mom says that she doesn't know what the heck they do all the time, but they're always running somewhere or another. I'm happy that they're keeping busy. It's nice having them back!

All is well on the Florida front. Lisa and Jim are doing OK and Lisa is feeling well. She just wishes that her hair would grow back a little faster. Little miss Savannah is doing well too. She's better than a year and a half old now, and has gone from scooting around on her butt, right to walking. Lisa says that she's developing a vocabulary. She can say Mama, Daddy, can bark like a dog and meow like a kitty. She has also learned the concept of, and how to say, NO! Jim has taught her to shake her head when she says it. Lisa is not amused! She's become quite a handful, but Lisa loves it. In a letter from her just today, she told me that they have finally had the time and the situation to bond very closely. They spend all of their day together and have a great time. Lisa misses her immensely when she's off visiting the rest of the family for a day or two. I understand, but know that sooner or later, Lisa will treasure those moments alone. Shoot, we all need a break from full time parenting!

As for me, not much has changed. I'm still at White Sands slingin' pizza and sandwiches to the troops and the civilian employees. I've been told lately that my 15 year certificate is floating around the office. It's hard to fathom having been there for so long.

January 23, 2001 Here we are, into another new year. I decided to move the old posts to an archive file for the sake of simplicity and so I can sort of start again.
So, you might ask, what's new? Well, in November of last year, my dog and best friend, PJ, passed away. At 14 years old, she had led a good life and she passed with the dignity she always exhibited. I really miss her and find it hard not to look for her when I walk out the door or talk to her when I come home. Those habits are hard to change.

But, I won't dwell on the sad. It's already been an interesting new year. I've contacted family members whom I haven't seen for 35 years or better! This happened more or less by accident when I was trying out a new (to me) search engine and entered the family name. Many hits came back, some of them being from a forum on a genealogy site. That's where I found my cousin Debbie, and another woman in Texas whose great grandmother's sister was my grandmother's mother. (ya got that? I'm not sure I do)
At any rate Debbie and I have emailed and filed in some of the gaps, and Debbie was inspired to create a family homepage via the same genealogy site. It's a good page, but we need to inspire some of the others to participate.

I had email from daughter Lisa yesterday. All the folks in Florida are doing fine, but the really good news is this. Lisa has been going in for monthly checkups to keep a handle on her battle with cancer. All has been looking good and the doctor told her the other day that only 6 more months of monthly checkups are required, then they move to yearly checkups. It looks like she's going to beat this thing yet.

As to how the rest of the year might go, let me tell you this. My poor little car, an 88 Cavalier, decided to develop a rather serious new noise on the way to work. Now, I don't know if you have ever experienced a knock which emanates from deep in the engine or not, but if you have, you know the sickening feeling that gripped me. Noises like that are never a good thing! A trip to my neighborhood mechanic quickly determined that a rod bearing had gone south. This is one of those good news/bad news situations. The good news is that it will be fixed this week (after pulling the engine, turning the crankshaft and replacing all the bearings) The bad news is that I can kiss my squirreled away savings good-bye. Let's hope that this is not a sign of things to come!

June 11th, 2001 Well, I haven't done any better at keeping this newsletter updated than I did in the past. But, in light of nagging from my best friend to keep writing, and the fact that I recently contacted an old friend, former boss and now editor of an area newspaper, I figured it was time and it had better be good!

So, off to it. The car is now better. Further exploration revealed that the terrible noise was not a rod bearing, thank goodness, but a cracked flex plate (the flywheel on a sideways engine) The engine still had to come out, but did not have to be disassembled. It turned out that the engine is not the original and had been rebuilt by someone with limited knowledge. There are two flex plates for Cavaliers One is weighted and one is not. The unweighted one is for the 4 cylinder engine and the weighted one is for the 6's. Guess which one had been put on my car. Yep, the weighted one. It's a marvel that the poor little motor didn't shake itself to pieces. It still has an annoying little vibration, but it's running fairly dependably, so I'm happy.

I also got another dog. A small mutt who wandered, or was dumped into my friend's yard one day. He didn't need another dog so I decided to give it a try and brought her up to my house. She's been here a couple of months now and unfortunately, we're not bonding the way I would have wished. Time will tell, but I may have to pass her on to someone who can offer her more time and devotion than I've been able to muster.

Lisa called the other day. All is well on the Florida front. She is feeling well and the baby is doing fine. Here's the most recent picture of her. They recently had an adventure. They took a trip to New York where Jim's dad has built a new house. Following that, they went to Ft Lauderdale for time with Jim's sibs. The break was nice for all of them and despite being a bit under the weather for few days, Lisa's found herself refreshed and rejuvenated.

Not much is new with me. I'm still slingin' pizza and pasta at the Missile Range and trying to have a good time with the young soldiers sailors and airmen (and women). They're soooo young and, in some cases naive. For many, this is their first tour of duty. When they move on, they're in for a surprise. Our base is pretty much a 9 to 5 kind of place and not big on military drill and the like. One of these days, the newbies will move to a post that's part of the REAL army and things will change.

After another recent trip to Ruidoso and the tall pines, I'm more convinced that it might be time for a change in job and locality. I could live in the pines easily. It's cool and green up there. A big change from living on the hot stark desert floor. I'm told that jobs in food and beverage are plentiful there and the pay is good for full time professionals. I just haven't really pursued job opportunities yet. It would be difficult to turn my back on the generous benefit package offered by the government. I mean shoot, I have over 700 hours of sick leave, 190 hours of annual leave, health insurance and the usual 401K etc. At age 51, I think about those goodies! It would be damned hard to leave for a position where I couldn't take a day or a week off every now and then, or where I had no sick leave. I guess we'll see.

July 28th, 2001 Well, after being encouraged, again, by my old friend 101 (her nickname) I figured I'd better try to keep up with this chronicle. I have pursued the job search in Ruidoso. I contacted their Chamber of Commerce to ask if there was a way or means to get my resume in front of many eyes without having to make that 80 mile drive. A very nice woman there responded to me with the name of a local restuarant owner who is the president of the Chamber's restaurateurs association. A week or so later, she emailed me with another name of a local restaurant owner to contact. Frankly, I've been so darned busy at the Missile Range that I haven't had time to write or call either of them, but I will. This week! I hope to find something in restaurant management, and I might be inspired to write a few articles for the local newspaper. I find that I'm missing writing quite a bit, but find it hard to keep a journal as was suggested by my best friend Jim. Jim was, when he worked for our weekly paper here, a great inspiration. He found various concerts for me to attend and critique, and got me freebie copies of CD's which were sent to the paper for review. I also did a few more serious pieces. I'm considering making them available here for your perusal. Keep watching.

Sept. 7th, 2001 Well, it doesn't rain but it pours. About three weeks ago, Dad took a fall off the porch steps at his home. He busted himself up pretty well. Broke his glasses, stuck some of the glass very near his eye, needed 17 stitches and was darned bruised. He healed quickly, got new glasses and got over it. Now, fast forward to Tuesday the 5th. Mom and Dad were celebrating their 65th year of marriage. I got a panicky call from Mom saying that I had better come into town...something was wrong with Dad. She thought either a stroke or a heart attack. I told her that she should call paramedics right away. During this time, I was stuck 15 miles from town. My car was in the shop again and there was nothing I could do quickly enough. Mom called, the medics arrived and determined that Dad had indeed suffered a heart attack, so it was off to the hospital again. Mom called later to tell me that Dad was doing OK. He had been responsive to the ambulance crew and was able to answer their questions. He was awake and was eating his box lunch. I got a ride to the hospital yesterday morning to visit Dad. The docs had implanted a pacemaker early that morning and all had gone well. Other than needing to get some sleep following his breakfast, Dad was in good spirits. They plan to release him today and send him home. I hope that plan comes into play. We plan to meet this evening for dinner at Mom and Dad's place.

Then there's the car. It had been in town since Friday morning when I had it towed to the local Chevrolet dealership, and I didn't get it back until yesterday afternoon. It had developed an intermittent "failure to start" problem. Two weeks earlier, I had replaced the fuel filter, at the suggestion of one the dealership's mechanics. It didn't seem to help and finally, the car wouldn't start at all. It was time to get the car on the diagnostic computer. Now, if it seems like it took a long time for anything to be done on the car, it did. AAA did their usual good job of dispatching a tow truck, but all went downhill from there. I had given the driver the name of my best friend Jim, who works for the dealership. He had agreed to receive the car and act on my behalf. Well, the tow truck guy just dumped the car on the dealerships lot and left without talking to anyone. There it sat through the long holiday weekend. I was patient, knowing that without an appointment, my car would probably be relegated to a low priority. Wednesday came and went and I had still heard nothing. Meanwhile, I had talked to Jim on the phone earlier in the day and mentioned that I'd heard nothing. He took the initiative to check on the car and found that it had been lost in car lot hell and no-one other than he, I and the tow truck driver knew it was there. They got it in the shop Wednesday afternoon and it was fixed by 4:30 yesterday. Nearly $400 and a new fuel pump, strainer and fuel filter later, it runs as well as it ever did...not all that well, but it runs. Did I say fuel filter? Remember that I had replaced it two weeks earlier? I put that info in a note I sent with the car. The service consultant had either missed it or had forgotten about it. I called him this morning. He promises to make an adjustment.

It's been a week!

The big wheel keeps on turnin'