Hey, Number Two–Watch Your Back
Oh great, now a U.S. embassy warning. Fortunately, I think Number Two’s group is moving away from the big cities and toward less-populated areas this week.
Still–watch your back, son.… Read the rest
Category: Family
When in Spain–Or Vienna–Do as the Spaniards Do
Eyegal and I are back home from our D.C. excursion, a little exhausted, but full of stories and good memories of the people and places we saw.
But our travels pale in comparison to Number Two Son. He’s currently on a 3-week tour of Germany, Austria and Switzerland with a group of students from Huntsville. About a year ago he approached us with the idea of going, and since then he has worked hard to help pay for it, including a lot of 5:00 am lifeguarding shifts at the local YMCA.
All that hard work has payed off. From what we’ve heard, he’s having an incredible experience so far.… Read the rest
How to Do D.C.
Eyegal and I have been in Washington, D.C. since Wednesday for a little getaway plus a friend’s wedding, and we’ve compiled a list of tips on how to “do D.C.” I’ll probably have more to say about my impressions of this wonderful city and the wedding later in the week, but since we’re traveling back today this will have to do for now:
- For outdoor touring, pick the one day in the summer when the temperature tops out at a mere 75 degrees with only a trace of humidity and a few scattered clouds. Oh wait–that was last Thursday and probably won’t happen again anytime soon.
Good Vision
My heart went out to Brady and crew this week when I learned of the cruel fate of his beloved Nati at the hands of the Turkish National Team in Euro ’08. Losing in the 90+ minute is a terrible way to go. And with Federer losing too, it made for a very terrible, horrible, rotten Swiss cheese kind of day. Ouch.
But I did take great delight in watching the Azzuri fall 3-0 at the hands (or perhaps I should say “feet”) of The Netherlands on Monday. For those with long memories, you might recall my feelings about Italian footballers.… Read the rest
Like Bloodletting, Only a Lot Less Messy
I managed to make it through an entire winter of seeing patients with various upper respiratory infections, colds and flu without getting sick myself. I credit that to lots of vitamins, exercise, good diet, washing my hands like an obsessive-compulsive, occasionally masking-up if a patient is really cruddy and probably the most important factor of all–good ol’ fashioned dumb luck.
My luck has run out apparently, because I’m sicker than a dog this week. It started with a tickle in my throat Sunday night, progressed to fountain-like snot-works on Monday, and by Tuesday I was generally weak, lethargic and unable to breath beyond that which was necessary for minimal life support.… Read the rest
Wake Up and Run For Your Life
Numbers One, Two and I ran the Cotton Row Memorial Day Run in downtown Huntsville this past Monday. None of us had been running much lately (I’ve had a bad case of “turf toe” since February), so a 5K for fun (and to get the t-shirt) seemed about right. We were running late, so we ended up at the back of the pack at the start.
As we stood there waiting for the gun to go off, we suddenly heard the people around us applauding and cheering. We looked up and saw the very last 10K finisher (it had started nearly 2 hours before) crossing the finish line.… Read the rest
Thou Shalt Not Kick Thy Neighbor’s A$#
Once upon a time, just like the cell phone commercial, I fretted over how much time my kids spent text messaging their friends.
Then I tried it. And like Mikey, I liked it! There were many occasions and situations when a short text made more sense than calling. So we got an unlimited text message package and we all lived happily ever after.
But before the other night, I had never texted anyone except family members. But someone Lindsay changed all that…
… Read the restLindsay (texting from a number not in my address book): Hey its lindsay! Hope you guys are prepared to kick some neighbor in the a$#!
They Looked Like Royalty
Ladies and gentleman, I present to you the The Duke of Corley, Sir Harrison Hairbrane of Hockenspeil and the lovely Princess Diehard Batterea of Gobamastein:
Well, no, actually it’s Number Two Son and his girlfriend E. just prior to the prom on Saturday night.
But we sure thought they looked like royalty.
I Am The Spin Doctor
Each year between late March and early June is table tennis season at our house. Or, for the unwashed masses, “ping pong” season. During those months, the temperature in the garage is just right, so out comes the table and out go the cars to sit for a short while in the driveway, exposed to the elements.
It is a season when a 46-year-old man with a bad back and a nagging case of turf toe can shine. Cocky young men from near and far flock to the garage, gird their loins (what little they have), and try in vain to knock off the “old man.”… Read the rest
4/22/80
On Tuesday, April 22, 1980, the following events occurred:
… Read the restPennsylvania primary takes place today…..PA poll shows George Bush leading Ronald Reagan, while President Carter and Sen. Ted Kennedy are in dead heat…..European Community decides to support Carter’s sanctions against Iran…..State Dept. sends telegrams to hostage families urging them to abide by ban on travel to Iran…..International Olympic Committee, meeting in Switzerland, undecided about Moscow Olympics boycott…..Canada urges it’s Olympic committee to cancel plans to attend Summer Games…..In Liberia, officials of former government are executed…..Harold Brown (not Carter’s SecDef nor the inventor of the electric chair) dies in Roanoke, Virginia at the age of 47…..House
Dyslexia U.
This is why Number One Son chose Bama over Abuurn Auburn:
Any questions?
Roll Tide, Roll. And have a great weekend.
A Good Life
… Read the rest“I have lived through much, and now I think I have found what is needed for happiness. A quiet secluded life in the country, with the possibility of being useful to people whom it is easy to do good, and who are not accustomed to have it done to them; then work which one hopes may be of some use; then rest, nature, books, music, love for one’s neighbor – such is my idea of happiness. And then, on top of all that, you for a mate, and children, perhaps-what more can the heart of a man desire?”
– Leo Tolstoy.
We’re Moving to Durham, NC
I’ve known about this for several weeks now, but I’ve been waiting until a more opportune time to make the announcement:
We’re moving from Huntsville to Durham, North Carolina.
We’ve been here for 15 years, so this has been a very difficult decision for me to make. The boys have grown up here and our family has put down deep roots. But Duke made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.
I’ve always known in my heart that my destiny was somehow tied to Duke University, so imagine how I felt when I heard the athletic department was searching for a team optometrist to provide cutting-edge eye care to their “student athletes.”… Read the rest
I’m a Davidson Man
Duke’s done, but after the requisite 24-hour grieving period, I’ve done switched to another team. I’m now a Davidson Man:
That’s about how much my bracket is worth after week one: 15 cents
Number One and I visited Davidson’s lovely campus before his senior year of high school, so I feel I can lay somewhat of a claim. Also, I actually saw Stephen Curry’s dad Dell play when I was a grad student at Virginia Tech. That makes me old enough to be Stephen’s father, which, on this Monday morning, is just another depressing thought to contemplate.
Oh well. Go Wildcats!… Read the rest
The Eyeguy Was There
But he’s not anymore–he’s somewhere else, far, far away. But the Eyefam is still “there.” The story of why they’re still “there” and why I’m “here” is a complex, heartrending saga of trouble in paradise. One that features a stuttering, sputtering Audi A4 with faulty ignition coils, a tense afternoon spent on the phone plotting an escape, and then a mad, moonlit dash into L. A. (Lower Alabama) with a chain-smoking, Diet Coke-swilling insomniac tow truck driver named Keith.
More details to follow.… Read the rest