I Digress

Well,it certainly has been a long time. I was inspired after reading my niece Shannon's page. Today Jimbo and I are celebrating our 33rd wedding anniversary. We celebrated by having pizza. REAL pizza. This is a big treat for me because I have been on Nutrisystems for two months. I have lost 12.4 pounds and looking for 7.6 more. But tonight is special so I had the real pizza.

Hooray! Yesterday Pat graduated from Flagler College. Really, he did. His name is in the program and everything. I saw his diploma. In fact, I am going to get it framed for him. Three cheers for Pat! Aunts Marie and Gail flew into town for the event. We had a great weekend. Jim and I drove to the airport on Thursday night (in a driving rain) to pick up Aunt Gail. Aunt Marie had made arrangements to spend the night with Sue, her friend from the old days. Sue and her husband Art moved into North Hampton in the fall. I have not seen Art for 30 years or more but he recognized me. He was in the airport waiting for Marie and he asked me if I was a Berger. I told him that I probably look like Marie because I am a Driscoll. I don't think either of us looks like a Berger---not that there's anything wrong with that. It was pretty funny.

The next morning Gail went to look at houses again. This time I hooked her up with a real estate agent. Every time she comes to visit we look at houses. She is trying to talk herself into buying something in Florida. Whether she ever actually will buy is a big question. At any rate, looking at new houses has not been my hobby. It may become a hobby though......more on that later. After about three hours, Teresa, the real estate agent brought Gail back. In those three hours, they had become friends. That is how it is with Gail. She and I drove to Caddyshack to meet Marie and Sue for lunch. Bill Murray was not there but we had a good time anyway.

After lunch we went to the mall so I could start my Christmas shopping. I bought presents for Pierce, May, Aidan and Declan (Marie's grandchildren) and for Brendan (Gail's grandson). I couldn't believe it but Disney was having a 2 for 1 sale. I have never seen them do that. Michael Eisner apparently would never have allowed that. After leading Sue to I95 (she is still a relative newcomer and needs good directions to find her way), we went back to the house to meet Jim and Pat for pizza. I invited Good Neighbor Debbie over to give Gail some advice on house buying in the area. Debbie has bought two houses. She is renting one. She will close on the other in a few weeks. She will have to move into that one and live in it for two years and then she will sell it. The value on the house has gone up considerably already and she hasn't even closed on it. After she sells it, she will move back into the house next door. Jim and I are now strongly considering buying an investment house ourselves....more on that in a later posting.

Saturday was a beautiful day, sunny and warm. The graduation was held in the gymnasium at Flagler College. There were 160+ graduates. Pat was wearing his new suit under his cap and gown. His buddies at FOX bought him the new suit as a graduation present. There is a chance he will become an on-air personality so he will need it. Gail attempted to take some photos during the ceremonies, but mostly she got the back of people's heads and some interesting shots of somebody's legs. Oh well, we got some good shots afterwards. There was a reception in the dining hall. We saw the Penningtons for the first time in a long time. Too bad Pat thinks Ryan Pennington is such an a-word. We do like his parents.

We went to South Hampton for lunch afterwards. Then Marie, Gail and I went and looked at another development (Sevilla) near the World Golf Village. Jim and Pat played golf. Later I took the girls to see my office and then we went to see the new Harry Potter movie. It was good, but dark and though I knew how the story ended, I still felt bummed. Poor Cedric. Saturday night Marie and Gail treated us to dinner at the Stonewood Tavern. Yum. The diet starts AGAIN tomorrow.

I am very proud of Pat. For his graduation present, we are covering his IRS bill (and maybe get him some black shoes to go with his new navy blue pin-striped suit--he was wearing brown shoes). On Monday he will negotiate his full time contract with FOX. Here's hoping all of his demands are met!

Five of us drove up to Atlanta on Tuesday for a one-day seminar on Wednesday. Mark rented a mini-van and picked everyone up. The others are Joe, the Claims Manager and Jerry and Stephanie, Claims Supervisors. We left at 9:30 and stopped around noon for lunch at a place called the Farmhouse Restaurant. All I know is we were still somewhere well south of Atlanta. The food was cheap and filling and it definitely wasn't a chain. By the time we arrived in Atlanta, we had about an hour to kill before it was time to eat again. I can see this is not going to be a good time to try to cut calories. Not a good way to follow up on myThanksgiving overindulgence. We are staying at the Hilton Garden Inn. My room is excellent. The good news is there is a good sized fitness center. I will need that because we ate at a place called 'Houstons' which is a steakhouse. I had prime rib AND dessert.

On Wednesday we got down to business. We took a shuttle bus to Bluelinx, the company that was hosting the seminar. I think they make building supplies. I know they are one of our claimants. The seminar's presenter is The Guru of transportation law and is known in transportation circles for defending the shipper's position. In this case, we railroaders are the enemy. We were the only railroad people in attendance. Most of the rest were shippers. There were a few truckers. The guru's name is William Augello and this is his final seminar. The fact that this was to be his last seminar was the main attraction for us. He has written five texts on transportation law. We purchased his 'Transportation Logistics and the Law' which is a huge textbook---really quite a load to lug around. It looks like one of Harry Potter's schoolbooks. It is that big. Mr. Augello is an elderly gentleman. To give you an idea of his age, he said he had his first experience as a lobbyist when he went to visit Senator John Kennedy in 1956. His efforts resulted in a new law. The young lawyer was amazed that it happened so fast. He couldn't believe it was so easy to make a new law. Senator Kennedy told him, "You will find it is better not to dwell on how laws or sausage are made." The man has got to be in his 80's.

The seminar covered rail, truck, airline and ocean transport of freight. It would have been better for us if it had only dealt with rail but I am sure we all learned something from it. Even though he discovered early on that we were from CSX, he never let on to the rest of the group. We would not have been popular. It was interesting listening to the perspective of the claimants and listening to Mr. Augello advise them on how to handle freight claims. He had such a good time with the attendees that he said he was reconsidering his "retirement." Actually, he still plans to work with the industry, but he is going to stop travelling. The mountain will have to come to Mohammed. Mr. Augello is based in Arizona. Now that would be a nice road trip. We made an early exit (as he was getting into ocean transport) and returned to the hotel for some R&R before our main event--dinner, of course.

I did walk on the treadmill for 45 minutes. It still didn't make up for what I had for dinner. We went to a place called Sal Grosso. It is a Brazilian restaurant. They have one restaurant in the U.S. and five in Sao Paulo, Brazil. It was very pricey but what an experience. It is a one-price buffet. You go and get your vegetables and there are many....some I did not even recognize. I got rice, peas, carrots, potatoes, pasta, asparagus, corn and bread. The wait staff seats you every time you come back to the table. They give you a card with Nao, Obrigado on one side and Sim Por favor on the other. If your Yes side is up, a Gaucho in full costume comes up with roast beef, chicken, lamb, sausage, pork roast, or filet mignon on a skewer. He will keep slicing until you tell him to stop. You have to keep your No side up or they will keep coming. Dessert was extra AND we got it anyway. I am still stuffed.

Tomorrow we are leaving just after rush hour. The plan is to tour the Coca Cola plant before we drive back to Jacksonville. In light of my dining adventures of the past couple of days, I had better stick with Diet Coke.

Later.

We left Jacksonville at 3:30 on Monday afternoon and drove nonstop (almost) to Statesville, NC. It was nearly 10 pm when we picked up dinner at one of Statesville's finer gas stations--Doritos and a 24 oz Bud Ice for Jim and Fritos and a 24 oz Bud Lite for me. Talk about your acid reflux. We were on the road again at 8:30 or so the next morning. No one was home when we arrived at Windy Hill Lane but a key had conveniently been left for us beneath a pot on the front steps. Being the first to arrive, Jimbo and I had our choice of bedrooms. We chose Chris's Pumpkin Room. The walls and bedspread are about the same color as Chris's hair. The mattress is extremely comfortable. Good deal.

Bobby and Gail were next to arrive. Angie and Andrew were scheduled to fly in from Texas on Wednesday morning. Michael, Tim, Mary and Joe would drive up together from Baltimore and arrive sometime late Wednesday night. The party started as soon as Mary and Matt arrived home from work. Mary cooked some killer chili which was not too spicy for me. The others who don't care for bland chili quite as much as I do, were free to add hot peppers, onions and cheese to spice things up a bit.

Matt and Mary have a mini-gym in the basement. Everyone has used the treadmill to "earn" the extra calories we have been taking in. Everyone except Uncle Tim of course. He arrived Wednesday night with flask in hand (and reportedly two more among his baggage). He fashioned a shot glass out of a McDonalds condiment cup. He even offered some Jack Daniels to me of all people, but I politely turned him down. His doctor told him to cut back on the drinking....I wonder how much he was drinking before he started this so-called cut back. He polished off one flask and 6 beers (by his count) by the time he was finished on Wednesday night.

Prior to the arrival of the Baltimore contingent, the rest of us went to The Winking Lizard, as has become customary on the Ohio visits. The wings were very good and a good time was had by all. Usually the trip is made on the Friday after Thanksgiving but since Jimbo and I are leaving on Friday morning, a concession was made and we went on Wednesday evening. Tim may talk everyone else into a return visit on Friday night but by then we will be well on our way through the mountains of West Virginia on our way back to 70 degree weather.

It has been snowing since we got here. There are several inches on the ground and an occasional squall blows more snow on top of what is already there. Ohio does a pretty good job of responding to snow situations so I don't expect we will have too much trouble getting out of here. I certainly hope there is not too much snow in the mountains of WVA because I don't think there is really any other way out. Andrew and Joe were the only ones who ventured out into the snow. Andrew was born and raised in Phoenix so he hasn't had a lot of experience with snow. Joe brought in some wood so we could have a fire in the fireplace.

Ahhhhh.

Dinner was wonderful as usual. Mary is such a good cook. Gail and Jim helped out by making the sweet potatoes and mashed potatoes respectively. Owen and Michelle gave us a bottle of California wine which we brought along for all to share. It didn't take long for it to disappear. I am cooling my heels, avoiding the after dinner dishes by updating my blog. By the time I finish, it should be time for pie! We have pumpkin, pecan and cherry. Yum. Traditionally, the womenfolk take an after dinner walk around the neighborhood. The snow has caused a cancellation to that particular tradition. We have joked that as a substitute for the tradition, one of us can get on the treadmill and the others could walk in place alongside. That way we could still get in our Post Thanksgiving dinner jaunt/talk. Well, I think it is about time for pie so it is time for me to stop rambling. Happy Turkey Day to all who venture here.

Bless me father, for I have sinned. It has been several weeks since my last blog. I have been very, very busy. I went to Tucson for the Annual EWGA Conference. It is a leadership conference AND coincidentally, a lot of golf is played. The most enjoyable part of the event is the annual talent competition. Our chapter won it two years ago but fell to second place in 2004. It may just be a coincidence but I was not there in 2004.

This year our leader, Bonnie, a talented singer-songwriter-choreographer from Tampa, decided that we would do a skit where we would play inebriated prospectors. Nine of us would sing solo parts to the tune of Clementine. Another 15 or so would be our chorus. I was one of the prospectors and I had a simple verse to learn. "At the 6th hole, it's a par 5, think it will eat me alive. I don't care though if I chunk it, 'cause I birdied number 5." I practiced and practiced that line and had it down pat. I drove my roommate crazy. She was afraid she wouldn't be able to remember her own verse because she had heard mine so often. During the business meetings, instead of listening to the speakers, I practiced that line in my head. That night, as we positioned ourselves onstage, I noticed that everyone else was using cue cards. I worked up a pretty decent look of disdain. "Amateurs," I said under my breath.

And so the skit began, each prospector passing the microphone to the next as her verse was finished. Finally, it was my turn. "At the 6th hole, it's a par 5, " I sang, and then NOTHING. I drew a blank. I looked at Bonnie for help. She whispered, "Start over." I started over. "At the 6th hole, it's a par 5." Again, NOTHING. At this point I looked at Bonnie and she said, "don't look at me!" The chorus then started singing MY verse while I slurred and hummed the tune. When we finished, instead of passing the microphone to the next prospector, I fell to my knees and then on my face in a pretty good impression of a drunken prospector passing out. The crowd loved it. The next singer was laughing so hard she could barely get her words out. As we left the stage, Bonnie, who only minutes before had wanted to wring my neck, hugged me and said, "You're the bomb!"

Bottom line, WE WON! Ya gotta be able to think on your feet.

You are the sun. I am the moon. You are the words. I am the tune. Play me.

Last night Jimbo and I and several thousand other fans ranging in age from early twenties to near death attended the Neil Diamond Concert at the Arena. All in all, it was not a bad way to spend a Monday night in J-Ville.

Before the concert, we had dinner at Mudville Grille. The place has changed since Pat's semi-glory days at Bishop Kenny. I had expected there to be some early arriving Georgia fans. The Florida-Georgia game, aka The World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party, is this weekend. The RVs have already started arriving. But I guess Mudville is a bit seedy for out-of-town visitors. There was a group of apparent redneck regulars at the bar. They were making fun of Neil Diamond, kidding each other that one or another of them was planning to sneak out and go to the concert. Then they started singing Neil Diamond songs. They knew all the words too. Could at least one or two of them be closet Neil fans?

We almost missed the opening because of the traffic. Jacksonville can handle the crowds for football games but they don't use the police for other events. Maybe Mayor Peyton is trying to save some money to bulk up the seriously underfunded Better Jacksonville Plan. We ended up parking farther away than we had planned, thinking it would be faster to get to the arena on foot. It was. Jim strode purposefully while I ran along beside him. It's the difference in height that makes a difference in stride. Whew. I know I got more of a workout.

Jimbo is The Neil zealot (having seen him in concert more than 3 times) but I must admit, I rather unexpectedly enjoyed the concert too. I know all the words to Sweet Caroline, I'm a Believer, Red, Red Wine, and most of the words to Cracklin' Rosie. It seems Jimbo knows all the words to all of the songs. Neil Diamond is 64 years old and surprisingly, the average age in the audience didn't appear to approach that. Some of the younger fans in our section were singing and clapping along with the old standards. While the band and the backup singers took a short break, Neil Diamond was onstage the whole time. Jim was disappointed that Neil didn't have any costume changes and the one outfit he wore was fairly conservative---just a smattering of sequins. Pat would have enjoyed the concert and, and in fact, he was given a credit card and instructions to buy the tickets and mow the grass while we were out of town. He did neither.

First they say they want you....how they really need you...........

Soooooo. He missed the concert. Maybe he'll make it next time if old Neil survives this tour. I know Jim would go again and...so would I.

I was reading The Life of Pi and I was so engrossed by the tale that I briefly considered skipping my planned golfing trip to Gainesville. I decided to go for the golf because the only way to play at The University of Florida course is to be accompanied by a student or alumnus and I didn't know if I would ever get the chance again. Besides, I had already committed to being the chauffeur. The book would have to wait.

Jimbo graciously granted me persmission to use his van to transport my friends Amy, Robin and Margaret to Gainesville. We left early in the morning so that we would have time for a leisurely breakfast at Shoneys in Starke. I wanted time to show them the Baughman Center where Owen and Michelle had been married and the Sweetwater B&B where the reception had been held. Along the way, I pointed out The Swamp where the rehearsal dinner was held and Durty Nellies where the under-thirties had repaired after the wedding. Robin is the Gator alum but apparently these establishments were established well after her graduation from UF. She was familiar only with The Swamp because she still goes to all of the home football games. She has had occasion to enjoy a pre-game drink or two there.

I enjoyed the day though I did not play well. The course is not difficult but it was unfamiliar and I think I approached it more tentatively than I should have. Once again I wondered how special it must be to feel so strongly about a school. Robin is an ardent Gator and she dressed for the occasion in the requisite orange and blue. While we were waiting to get out on the course, I saw an elderly couple approaching the first tee. Dragging their pull carts behind them, they both proudly sported the colors. They were very Old Gators. They looked at us as with some disdain, as if they found us wanting, or at the very least, not Gators. I envied them.

This evening I finished The Life of Pi. Wow.