Taking the FF Outta the DDFF?

Good news and bad news, folks.
I've done some checkin' on fishing charters.
We have two, actually three choices:

1. We can fish in the Choctawhatchee bay.
These boats rent for about $600. There is a problem...
they are limited to use by no more than four fisherpersons. If more than four folks want to fish, we have to fish the Gulf.

2. We can fish in the Gulf.
The boat I checked on charged $200 an hour for a party of six.

3. We can go out on a "party boat".
These are large boats that cruise out to where you can no longer see land, then drop anchor and allow 40 or so folks to bottom fish. They charge a per-head fee, and I have not yet checked to see what that fee is, but I'm guessing it'll be $50 or less.

So we do have choices, but they are not what I expected.
I think we'll choose up sides and decide what to do when we get to Destin. Personally, I'm not much of a fisherman, so it won't break my heart if all we do is work sand up between our toes and see who can tell the biggest whopper!

It'll still be fun.

Vandy

VANDY UPDATE – I AM SMILING AS I WRITE THIS!!

Mr. Vandemeer is doing much better. No longer in the hospital, he is now at The Villages Rehabilitation Center in Greenwood. (Across from K-Mart on 31 near Smith Valley Road.) He has received many cards and PT’s care package. He loved it…you all made him smile and he remembers each of you. Lots of Center Grove alumni have been visiting him.

As I got there, Vandy was not in his room. Instead I saw his son Bill in the hall. I would never have known Bill, except that he now looks so much like Vandy, only more hair. Bill has picked up some weight and I had not seen him since high school. Bill flies out tomorrow (2-21-07) at 11:00 AM to go back home. His wife will be here next weekend. Mr. & Mrs. Tumey was also there.

Vandy was in physical therapy. He had told the physical therapist he was sleepy, but the whip was cracked and he was soon walking with a walker. He had two young good- looking girls working with him. I saw them walking with him and later playing volleyball with a balloon with him. The girls rubbed lotion on his arms as he told them stories about fishing in Canada. The story was about his being trapped in an outhouse by a black bear. The bear was finally shot in order for Vandy to be rescued.

Medical news: No conclusions for the internal bleeding from the doctors as yet. I did notice butterfly bandages on two places on his arms. Someone assisting him had damaged his skin.

New address: Village Pavilion Health Care Center
Melvin A Vandermeer, Room 109
283 S. Smock Dr.
Greenwood, IN 46143

His phone number is the same as when he was at Country Charm

Bill Vandermeer’s E-Mail address: vandermeer@sugar-land.oilfield.slb.com
On other news, OJ has gotten a pace maker and his wife Lorene has fallen and fractured three ribs.

Week 8, The Fat Report

Last week I was lookin' at 199 for the second week in a row, so this week I was hopin' for 197.
No joy.
This morning the scale reads 198 pounds. It's just tough... too easy to sit and watch TV... too easy to stuff an apple fritter in my pie hole.

Spring is on the way, so "walkin' with Sara Jean" weather is just around the corner. We walk a little over two miles a day when the weather permits. I also use my bicycle instead of the car to run errands around town. I'm hopeful that will make the forthcoming struggle against those last few pounds easier.

So I'm still a pound behind on my schedule. But I'm glad there's one less mile of blood vessels my heart has to struggle to pump blood through.
This week, more exercise and fewer calories, I promise!

Open topic time. Give us your news!

Stairway to... ?

You'll have to excuse me...
I'm sometimes given praise here for the help I have given others with computers and blogging, but I'm unworthy of that-
Hawkeye sent me this pic months ago, and I'm just getting around to figuring out how to post it here.
By my count, that's 19 smiling VK's on Indy Echo's stairway.
(Thank God Shifty built a strong one!)

Thinking of Vandy

(I moved this topic so it didn't get lost)

Thinking of a Vandy memorial and all the great suggestions from everyone, I had a couple of ideas

1. I wonder if the current CG principal would have any ideas on a way to donate to the school but make it special for Vandy

2. Maybe the Clements' or the Tumeys know of a CG artist who could paint an oil painting of Mr. and Mrs. V. ?? Or maybe someone from Butler, Purdue or IU? There are lots of artists in Brown County (I don't know any of them but my brother might)- if they couldn't do it they might know someone who could.

3. What was the name of that trophy place we used back in the day? I wonder if they have a way on making a bronze bust or maybe a 3D plaque?

4. I understand Bill is visiting Franklin this weekend; maybe someone could call the hospital and
A) Ask him for a photo of Mr. and Mrs. V.
B) Get his current email
C) Ask him if there is something he knows Vandy would really like.
(Please don't mention to Bill what a fashion plate I turned out to be. It will hurt his feelings to remember how cruelly he dumped me so he could have more study time! Like a 4.0 in Engineering wasn't going to happen anyway!!)
**** Remember, being Reality Based was NEVER in my Skill Set.

GB's Email to Mr. Shockley:

Mr Shockley:
You may or may not be reading at Vandy's Kids and know about our concerns that Mr. Vandermeer is in the hospital. Discussion lately has been that although we are hopeful Mr V. will return to his home, at some point we will lose him. We are discussing a memorial in the form of a painting, bronze sculpture, or memorial plaque... and where such a memorial would be placed after we have it at hand.

We would appreciate your input sir. What form do you think the memorial should take? Would there be a proper place in the school for such a memorial?

We are also discussing founding a scholarship so kids that are being denied access to extra-curricular activities because of lack of funds could be granted the necessary monies to participate. We are in the very early "chatting" stages about this, so any advice you might give would certainly be appreciated.
Thanks in advance for your help.

Vandy's Kids

Snow in Paradise? I don't think so!

As I watch the snow fall in Indiana, adding four inches to the fourteen inches already on the ground, I am inspired to move forward with our VIP planning. I have found several lodging alternatives to Hotels on the Islands. It is all about location and price. I have found beachfront properties that accommodate up to 14 people. Some of these homes are estate type w/ all of the niceties. The costs per person compare favorably to beachfront Hotels. I have found prices that range from $65. - $95. per person per night. There are several on the North Shore/Sunset Beach area that would fit. The one in Ewa Beach that would fit may or may not be available as it is currently for sale. Some of the places that we are currently considering are #’s - 68236, 109663, 9475, and 39353. If you are interested, go to the link below to view these listings.

There would be some particulars to work out and I am willing to coordinate this to make it happen. One important key here is timing. Some of the properties are booking up quickly. In order to reserve our dates, we would need to make a deposit with full payment due in September. One question sure to come up is "What happens if I need to cancel?” You may want to consider ‘Trip Cancellation Insurance’. The main website that I am looking at is here and this link deals with trip cancellation insurance. Check it out. I would like to hold to the core dates - Nov.1 thru Nov.8 - for the VIP 2007 regardless of lodging preference. Please continue to consider this, but with some sense of urgency - if this type of accommodation will suit your needs. Questions/Comments?

As Golden Girl would say,

Mahalo

GBFR, Week Seven

Well, I hafta provide a couple excuses!
I'm still lookin' at 199 this morning.
My excuse, and I'm stickin' with it, is Valentine's day...
Sara Jean and I went out to dinner, and we all know, dieting is tough when you are eating out.
So no loss this week. I think I'm gonna have to add a little exercise to my program in order to stay on my "pound-a-week" schedule. It's been tough to exercise the last couple weeks, what with the trip to Arizona, and the weather has just been horrible here lately.

Anyway, my goal next week just got kicked up a notch... I'm shooting for 197.

On other topics... I've made the initial inquiries about chartering a boat for the DDFF.
TwoDogs will be posting about lodging for the VIP.
We both are hoping more of you will decide you want to attend, and will declare your hopes to do just that.

Got something to share with the rest of us? Push the "comment" button!

Vandy Update

I went to see Mr. Vandermeer today, unfortunately it was not at Country Charm where he lives. He is at Johnson County Hospital. He has been there 2 1/2 or 3 weeks.

When I got to the hospital, Dorothy Clemmens and Bill Vandermeer's wife (I think her name is Carol) were there. Bill is to be in next weekend. They caught me up on what is going on. Vandy has been given 4 units of blood so far for bleeding internally. The surgeon hopes the bleeding will take care of itself without surgery. Gallstones were also found, but the doctors feel they are not giving him pain. No surgery is planned for anything due to his heart condition.

Mr. Vandermeer knows everyone who is there, but he was very sleepy. He apologized for being grumpy. I stayed about 45 minutes and told him I would see him in a couple of days. He thanked me for coming.

I do not see Mr. Vandermeer moving back to his room at Country Charm any time soon. I know Mr. Vandermeer can sure use our thoughts, prayers and maybe a card.

His address is: Johnson County Hospital
1125 Jefferson Street
Franklin, Indiana 46131
Melvin Vandermeer Room 283A

Hawkeye

GBFR, Week... What Is It, Six?

Anorexia...
Yeah, maybe that's the ticket!

No, I really shouldn't even joke about such things.

I was worried about getting on the scale today, post-Arizona trip. But Fly's admonition that I might be surprised by what I find was insightful-

The scale read...
199.
This is the first time in years that I'm below the 200 mark.
So, help me VK's.
Doesn't that put me back on my "pound-a-week" schedule?
(Still recovering from the Arizona trip, and my mind is too tired to do the Math!)

Okay, the floor is open for comments-
What's on your mind?

Drive!

I like to drive.
I started "Driver's Ed." when I was 14. I often wondered how I pulled that off until recently- reading others comments here at VK, I'm realizing I may have been one of the older guys in our class, and maybe there just weren't others with an interest.

Anyway, I got my learner's permit when I was 15, and proceeded to chauffer my family almost everywhere we went together for the next year. When I turned 16, I may have been one of the most experienced 16 year old drivers in the world! (Our family made a trip to California later that year, and I drove most of the way to L.A. and back.)

But the enjoyment of driving obviously has it's limits. Plunking your butt behind the wheel, looking at a view similar to the one above for 14 hours makes flying mighty attractive.
But ya can't move the junk necessary to furnish a two-bedroom apartment in a Boeing 737. (Well, ya could, but $$$$$$, you know!)

So we just finished driving approximately 31 hours... more than 20 hours of it staring at a sign that said "Interstate 40 Westbound".

Some thoughts about this trip:
-No matter how fast you go, someone always needs to go faster.
-Where the pavement is concrete the heavy trucks, in many places, have turned the right lane into a brain-liquifying experience. Where traffic was light enough, I spent most of the time in the left lane.
-Tumbleweeds really do tumble in the panhandle of Texas.
-From the New Mexico State Line West, this Hoosier Boy wished someone else was driving so I could gawk at the passing mountains.
-This Moving Van had no cruise control. 31 hours of driving without cruise control is cruel and unusual punishment!
-Pull off and buy gas, and the very next station you pass will be selling fuel for 2 cents cheaper than you just paid... irritating when the tank you're filling holds 40 gallons!
-Moving Vans should have either a CD or tape player for those of us that enjoy "reading" a book on tape while we drive.
-The Penske truck we rented was dramatically cheaper than the U-Haul or Ryder trucks we priced. This is our second experience with Penske Truck Rentals, and I heartily recommend them.
-Flagstaff Arizona is breathtaking. Go!
-There was snow on the ground in Flagstaff. Two hours and 5000' lower in Phoenix... we encountered nearly perfect "late Spring" type weather.
-Phoenix Arizona in February... a perfect 80 degrees.
-Phoenix Arizona in July... bake your Duncan Hines Yellow Cake on the front seat of your car.
-Car horns get a workout in Phoenix. With me, blowing your horn achieves the opposite of the desired result.
Cell phones... what would we do without them? They're indispensable on these trips!

Enough bits and pieces for now. I'm sure there's more to come later.
Your thoughts?

GBFR- The Week That Got Away

I awoke to a strange noise...
More a vibration than a noise, really.
A kind of mild thrumming that I felt deep in my chest cavity.
Coming from my back yard- I cautiously went out my back door to investigate.
Odd.
It was coming from above. I looked up, and suddenly I was surrounded by an intensely bright light and felt myself being sucked up in this shaft of light.

No... that's crap of course.

What a week this has been!
My son met me at work Wednesday morning and we drove an hour to rent the 16 foot moving van. We drove it home and I hit the sack, having to work Wednesday night/Thursday morning.
Bright and early Thursday I left work, drove home, and helped load the things Sara Jean and Big Bubba hadn't been able to load during the evening. We were on the road by about 10 A.M., me driving the Van, Sara Jean and BB following along in his car. We drove South to I-40, then West through Little Rock, Oklahoma City, and finally stopping in Clinton, Oklahoma after 14 hours of driving. We had a fitful night sleeping, then back on I-40 Westbound.
The Texas panhandle disappeared fairly rapidly, but in New Mexico the wind picked up and began to blow my moving box around pretty badly. Snow started drifting across the road in the heavy wind, and we saw Semi-trucks on their sides in the median. I ain't dumb... I slowed dramatically.

By Albuquerque the snow was gone and the wind was light. We pressed on as the sun disappeared, putting another 14 hours beneath our wheels before stopping for the night in Flagstaff, Arizona... a full moon, ground covered in snow. It was beautiful, even for three nearly dead-tired movers.

Saturday dawned clear and sunny. We started South on I-17 and had our breath taken away-
At about 6200' elevation when we started, beautiful mountains in the distance as the signs alongside the road advised truckers of "runaway truck lanes", and announced our descent into the valley and Phoenix... 5000', 4000', and so on.

We arrived at Big Bubba's apartment complex at 2 P.M. and got the key to his apartment. After a quick look-see, we began the process of unloading the van. In my mind there's no way to make this job enjoyable... you just do it and keep on truckin' until the job is done.

We spent Saturday, Sunday, and Monday unloading boxes and constructing bookcases, file cabinets, dining room table and chairs... much of the furniture Big Bubba had bought required "minimal tools" to assemble for use. Ol' Greybeard got mighty tired of twisting a small Allen wrench before the job was done!

But BB is comfortably situated in Mesa, Arizona, and we are home safely as I write this at 10 P.M. on Tuesday night. There was no weigh-in on Saturday... I couldn't find a scale, and since we were on the road eating whatever we could get our hands on, quite frankly I didn't want to know what the scale would say!

Thank you all for your kind thoughts and words of support.
I wanted to throw this post up quickly to answer the big question...
I also want to tell you more about the trip in a soon-to-come post, after I've had more time to recover.

Two things right now, though...
It was 85 degrees when we left Phoenix, 33 degrees when we arrived home.

And when I showed Sara Jean the above "empty nest" photo, she commented:
"Where are the two fat parents in that nest?"
I'm glad after all we've been through for the past week that she still has a sense of humor!

More later y'all.
Thanks again.

Where's the Weigh-in?

GB, there are some of us out here struggling to lose weight right along with you. I'm not doing as well as you are but I still need an update.

OH, one other thing: Won't you have to go through Texas to visit Arizona? Yep, I think you do ,,, well if you take the long way. Purple Tom Cat and I would love it if you and Sara Jean stop by for a visit.