Suzan/Tsunami

Suzan and Ken woke to warning sirens this morning. They have evacuated their home in Ewa Beach and are now at Pearl Harbor. Waves are forecast to hit Hawaii at 11:19 their time, and there is evidence the warnings are valid.
Pray for them.
Her words:

What do you gather up to take with you in 2 hours time? Important papers, photo albums, food, water, some clothes, and off we go. On MSNBC they mention our town, Ewa Beach. Updates all the time, sirens went off at 6am, waves due to hit at 11 am and for hours there after. No one is taking a chance, be the waves 35 ft or 3 inches. Keep us in your prayers please. I am now sitting at Pearl Harbor hoping for the best.

Update:
At 3:30 Eastern time, The Weather Channel is predicting 1-3 foot waves at Oahu within the hour.

Another Update:
Apparently Suzan and Ken are on their way home... a little after 7 P.M. Eastern, major danger is gone.

Good News/Sad News. (Let's Celebrate Life!)

First, the GOOD news...
Today is Ferdy's birthday... her 39th I believe. (Ferd, I'll let you decide if you want to tell us how many oak-leaf clusters to add!) Trying to lie to our group is not fair though, 'cause we've all watched as mucho water has passed beneath the bridge, right? Still, it's in our mutual interest to keep her secret isn't it?!!
Anyway, HAPPY BIRTHDAY FERDY! Come to Alabama and I'll buy you birthday cake and ice cream!

Now the sad...
As you've read below, O.J. is gone. Shouldn't we hesitate to call that BAD news? He brought us all joy. We were blessed to have him as a teacher and friend. Godspeed O.J. and thank you...
My life is better for having known you.

April is just around the corner. You still have time to make your plans to join us in Eufaula, Alabama for the "Pilgrimage" there.
Those that want to fish, can fish.
Those that want to eat fish... will eat the FRESHEST fish, providing our fisherman have any luck at all.
Those that want to tour BIG antebellum homes can lay their money down and do just that. This is a BEAUTIFUL little Southern town that took my breath away just driving through it!
Those who are like me and just want a few days off the treadmill... will find like minds willing to help spark old memories of school, neighborhood, mutual friends, and shared experiences. Bring your cares and stresses and we'll iron them all out... I promise you'll relax, take a deep breath, feel your blood pressure drop, and be glad you came. This promises to be another of those events that bonds us all together stronger than we ever were "back when". And this time we'll be adding new members to our VK family. You know you want to come, so get off your backside and make it happen! We have great lodging scheduled there starting the week of 5 April I believe...
(Please correct me if I'm wrong, anyone).
This is one of the rental properties we've reserved, and it will sleep 8 in various beds. We had hoped to bring Lucy with us and this unit is pet friendly, so Sara Jean and I will be staying here.
This is the other unit. It has beds to sleep 12 so you can see, we still have lotsa room for more VK's. (Money is not a big deal here folks... if you can make it down and want to come, let me, TD, or H&C know and we'll make it work!)

If you have it, send H&C your deposit check for $200... it's not too late!
I promise... you'll be GLAD you did.

Another Friend Gone

O.J. Sloop, Friend and Mentor to many - will be missed

O.J. Sloop, 88, died Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2010, in Franklin. He was a resident of Bargersville.He is survived by his wife, Lorene (Baker) Sloop.Services are pending at Flinn & Maguire Funeral Home in Franklin. Information: 736-5528

Will have more information as it comes out.

Bonehead.

She called me at work...
"We have a problem."
"What's wrong?"
"We have no water."
"Uh-oh."

I pay the water bill in person. The water department is right along a route I drive almost daily, so why waste the postage? I pay the bill three or four months in advance so I don't have to do it often.
Most times, the bill comes with green printing indicating I still have a credit balance. This time the bill came in red with a "Disconnect!" warning...
If the bill wasn't paid within 10 days they'd shut our water off.

I extended my hands and fingers in front of me and counted...
When I was done, I figured I had until today to pay the bill.
I counted wrong.
I had until yesterday. Since I've worked straight days... a 12 hour shift for the past week, there was no time to drive past the office and pay the bill.

So I paid it first thing this morning, to include the $25 reconnect fee.
I ran a couple errands, came home, and flushed the toilet...
Having water pressure in the house is a wonderful thing, isn't it?

Anything exciting or irritating, (or both) goin' on in your life?
Surely I'm not the only bonehead in our group!

Not Just "Missy Cissy"-

Eyes wide open... it's still dark. What time is it?
I raise my head off the pillow to see the face of the alarm clock over the blonde head lying next to me... it's 2:30. Here we go again!

We push the doohickey on top of the thermostat all the way to the left before we go to bed, so the temperature in the house gradually drops to 50 degrees overnight. On top of this we have a floor fan stirring the air to make some white noise, so the wind chill in the bedroom could be even less than 50. At this temperature my 12 pound, furry, "living hot water bottle" finds it most comfortable to burrow beneath the covers and curl up in my crotch. So far she hasn't budged... another indicator that the room is mighty chilly.

Oh well. I'll lie here quietly. The waterbed is heated. My living hot water bottle is in place. I listen to Sara Jean snore... wait, that's a misnomer... HUM. It's actually a comforting sound, not irritating at all. Over the sound of the floor fan I hear the refrigerator motor kick on downstairs... my hearing surprises me sometimes... I'm not deaf to all frequencies quite yet.

We're half a mile from the railroad tracks. I hear the drumming of the big diesel locomotive idling. In the distance I hear the approach of another train. It reaches the crossing and blows the horn and I smile. In the wee hours of the morning the engineers cheat... they're supposed to blow "Loooonnnnnng, loooooonnnnnnng, short, loooooonnnnnng", sustaining the last long toot all the way into the crossing. At this hour, in deference to those living right next to the tracks, most of them pull the rope for their horns about halfway and get a half-volume toot. Sometimes their horns sound more like goats crying out for a mate. After this train passes, the engine I heard idling speeds up, then I hear another half-hearted horn bleating. He was waiting for the other train to pass so the track would be clear. Maybe one was going Northbound and the other South? I can't tell from my listening point, but I bet that was the case.

I gently raise my head and glance at the clock... 3:05.
The alarm to wake me will sound at 5:40... I have a dreaded day shift today. I lie and listen to the wind blowing outside and I'm glad I don't have to work in it. Twenty-five degrees with a 10 knot wind does not make me happy. Lying in bed next to this beauty with a loyal dog helping keep me warm is what makes me happy. The thought of having to get up while it's still dark outside is stressful to me, and is what is causing this insomnia.
Head raised... 3:47.

The last time I raised my head before dropping back into slumber the clock read 4:11. I woke five minutes before the alarm went off and took care of my bathroom needs before waking Sara Jean. She has a big day today and needed to be up early too.

Coffee.
Egg sandwich... yum!
Lunch bucket and thermos in the car, along with other work needs, I'm on the road a little after 6 A.M.. Flying weather this morning will be nice, but the forecast for this afternoon includes rain and snow... normal for this time of year.

At work my mechanic announces he has "phase inspections" to perform on the aircraft, and it will be "out of service" until Noon. We start the tug, attach it to the BK117, and carefully pull it into the hangar. When I finish this post and push "publish" I'll lie down and catch a nap...
Remember, "E.M.S." means "Earn Money Sleeping".
I hope you slept better than I did last night, but if not I hope you can make a little money today while taking a nap!

So let's hear about selling homes, giving away kitties, working out at the Y, doing the same old work for a "new" employer, recovering from the tragic loss last weekend, and anything else that might be happening to our beloved VK's.

Friday, 5 February 2009

I woke to a cool, gray, rainy day today...
The last two nights have pretty much been non-flyable due to weather. Wednesday night the risk was fog formation. Last night I got to work to find the helicopter already in the hangar...
Ceiling and viz too low to go, and the forecast was bad for the whole evening. Still, hospitals call to see if we can come transport some patient in desperate need and we have to tell 'em NO!
When I hired on for this job, one of the pilots that brought me on board here had a saying-
"Some days it just sucks to need a helicopter transport. Pick your days to get hurt or sick carefully."
The forecast for today and much of tonight is still schmutz. I'm taking my tax information to work with me to start getting it in order, and the neat part about this job is that I'll be paid pretty well while doing that.

I chatted at length via Facebook with Tools yesterday afternoon.
He's still doing well... sounded to be in great spirits. But his Dad is not so good. Tools indicated he could die at any time. The route Tools takes to come home brings him within a few miles of Casa Greybeard, and he has stopped to spend the night here before on his way home. I reminded him we have a perfectly good empty bed downstairs, and cold beer in the 'fridge. It's another of those situations...
I liked and respected his Dad, so naturally you hate to hear he's perilously near the end of his life. But when Tool's shadow darkens our doorway there will be good times and once again great memories will be shared. Again, even the dark clouds have a silver lining.

Echo has her home for sale. DJ has a cat that needs a good home. Hawk and his bride are safely in Florida enjoying weather that I hope is much better than what we're experiencing here at home. And let's see... seems to me something out of the ordinary is happening Sunday, isn't it?
(I get paid well for watching TV too!)

I'm sure I'm forgetting something.
Bring all of us to speed with your news!