EL Presidente Es Aqui

Thanks to Mrs. V., I even know what that means!

Two Dogs and his Missus arrived yesterday afternoon, safely.
The weather has been as near perfect as you can imagine... 80 degrees and not a cloud in the sky.
So far, the Mahi-Mahi, grouper, shrimp, and crab population have been damaged by our being in the area. We'll see if we can do further damage tonight!

We now anxiously await the arrival of TC and Sharon early tomorrow afternoon, and we hope FlyGirl will magically appear with her Happy Cappy in tow tomorrow evening. There is still excited speculation that Jackie B and her hubby will be taggin' along!

TD says his last commo with Joker was that she was gonna try her darndest to make a showing over the weekend. Keep your fingers crossed and maybe that will also come to pass!
Those of you not here...
It's still not too late! Get started Southbound... we'll make room. Prepare to smile/laugh!

More later, with accompanying pics, God willin'.

Final GBFR

Tuesday morning weigh-in...
Done.
Thanks for your thoughts and support, and for putting up with my diet-babble!

DDFF/GBFR, Week 16

We're facing a busy, busy week...
A bunch of "honey-do's" to complete before starting South.
Our plan is to get on the road Thursday about Noon. Sara Jean will be working right up to that time. I'll have the car packed and ready to roll when she gets home. Leaving "Noonish" will put is in Destin around Midnight. While Sara Jean unpacks and settles into the Condo, I'll dash over to "Super-Wally World" for some necessities. I love going to Super-Wally during the wee hours of the morning... you can meet some "interesting" folks there at that hour!
Back to the Condo, my normal routine, no matter what the hour, is to grab a cold beer and take a seat on the balcony overlooking the surf, breathing in the warm, salt-laden air.
(It calms me now just to think about it.)

I haven't checked a calendar, but a bright moon should illuminate the surf during our stay, clouds permitting.
Flying last night it was clear, and the 1/4 moon (waxing) was bright enough to light the world up beautifully. I'm bettin' next week we'll have something close to a 3/4 moon, so the on-the-balcony or around-the-pool atmosphere should be mighty conducive to telling fibs and outright lies to one another.
Start your planning now!
If I've had enough to drink, I may tell tales about notes TD and Tools used to leave one another on their desks... but remember... only if I've had enough to drink! (Just kidding TD... did you EVER wear a cowboy hat?)

We will have Lucy in tow. Those of you who don't like dogs, plan on steering clear of Condo 3...
Little Lucy has poodle ancestors, so she is a licker.
Lick, lick, lick, lick, lick! Lucy LOVES strangers...
LICK!
Also, I'll be driving to Pensacola this Friday to pick up my Mom, and Sara Jean's brother and his wife are flyin' down from Chicago to spend a couple days with us. (They don't lick.)
They'll stay through Tuesday, about noon, when I'll take Mother and them back to Pensacola. The Chicagoans are our contemporaries... he's a former Marine Viet Nam Veteran... was at Chu Lai a year before I was there. Good people, both of 'em... they'll be telling lies with the rest of us in no time at all.

DDFF attendees, don't forget to bring:
-A great appetite and a smile.
-Swimwear, sunglasses, sunscreen, shorts, sandals, and "Hawaiian" tops.
-Digital cameras and the apparatus necessary to hook them up and download the pics to computer so we can issue intermittent reports and photos to less fortunate VK's.
-Some favorite CD's or cassette tapes (Oldies?) to share.
-Anything else we need to bring? Please remind us via the comments.
(Sara Jean says to tell ya the Super Wally is just ten minutes away, so if ya don't bring it you can buy it!)

Now, the GBFR:
You'll remember how disheartening last week's report was for me...
Coming home from Mesa I knew I was in trouble. The scale was supposed to read 190, but no matter how hard I tried it wouldn't go South of 193.
So not only had I not lost the scheduled pound, I had actually gained three...
a big detour on my road to success.
I resolved to do what was necessary... doubled up on my exercise regimen and tried to further limit my caloric intake. But then something occurred to me... something that should have been obvious-
Part of the reason it gets more difficult to lose weight is because of WORK. Consider this-
Park two identical cars at the base of a hill, both filled with gas. Then put 100 pounds of weight in one of those cars. Drive both cars to the top of the hill in exactly the same way, then refill the fuel tanks. Which will require more fuel? Of course the answer is- the one with the extra weight.
As we lose weight, our bodies have less work to do to motivate our mass. We naturally burn fewer calories to do the same job we did when we weighed more. So it's frustrating to go out and walk and walk, hoping to see big results on the scale, while our bodies are becoming more and more efficient at doing the work... there is just LESS WORK to be done.
The obvious answer was to force my body do more work. Not only did Sara Jean and I double up on our walks, I started wearing leg and wrist weights... adding a total of 7 pounds to my mass... not much, but better than nothin'.
So today I got on the scale, knowing it read 193 last week, in spite of wanting to look down and read 190. Today it read-
????????????????????????????????????????????
Click here.

So my 188 pound goal, (a loss of 18 pounds since 1 January), is still out there.
Next week's weigh-in will be two days early due to our Thursday departure.
Will......
GB.......
make it?
Check here Thursday!

UPDATE:
I just checked my datebook, and the Full Moon occurs on 2 May, honoring Sharon and TC's arrival. So when the sky is clear, we'll have a wonderful moon during our entire stay.

And one more thing-
If you find at the last minute you can come to Destin- COME!
I'll have my laptop with me, so email or leave a comment here.
We will make room for you.

Destin, The Place To Be!

A note from Hawkeye:

"I talked to JT and he is unsure about Destin."

Well, at least that's not a firm "NO". If you have JT's number and have any pull with him, give him a call and build a fire under that boy!

Time's a-wastin'!

Chopsticks Owa Fawk?

No foolin'... (I'll bring it for proof!)
I mentioned we went to the Chinese Buffet last night.
My fortune cookie said-
"Traveling to the South will bring you unexpected happiness."

I believe it!

Vinyl

I bet I'm not alone...
I have a ton of vinyl LP's stored in a closet.
I no longer have anything to play them on, so I have slowly but surely been purchasing CD's to replace the records I loved most. Some, like my favorite Beatles and Beach Boys, were easily replaced. Lesser known artists or more obscure recordings are sometimes hard to find.

But I wanted to share a story about the records...
Big Bubba noticed my collection and had taken an LP out of the sleeve.
He asked, "Dad, are both sides of this thing recorded?"

Ouch.
CD's of course are recorded on one side only.
Do you know the other big difference between CD's and records?

GBFR, Week Fifteen- RATS!

Well, I was afraid of this-
We've discussed this problem before... traveling, celebrating, going out to eat...
It's almost impossible to watch the calories. And man, I must have consumed a ton of calories!

To be on schedule, I needed the scale to say 190 today.
All the "body English" I could muster wouldn't make the damn thing say less than 193. I can't tell ya how frustrating that is! But...
In a way it proves what I've been thinking about what I have to do.
I know how quickly I can gain weight- I can add literally two or three pounds in a week if I'm not paying attention to the scale. There's no way I can ignore the scale for that long ever again if I want to stay within a certain range. I know now that the weekly weigh-in is a must.

Tonight, salt will be put on the wound... we're goin' out to eat with friends at our all-you-can eat Chinese buffet! I'm gonna try my best to cover my plate with vegetables, rather than Crab Rangoon!

Anyway, I need ya to put me back in a good mood. I need a distraction. Got anything goin' on that will put a smile on my face?

Mesa Report

We're safely home from Arizona.
Wow, what a whirlwind the past five days have been! I'm sorry we've been so busy, because so far, except for the drive from Sky Harbor International to Mesa, and our drive from Flagstaff with the moving Van, we've seen very little of Arizona. With all that's available in the State that's a shame, and is something we'll begin to change on our next trip out.

This Midwestern boy still doesn't care much for the fact that the main crop of the area seems to be ROCKS. I was also a little shocked by Big Bubba's admonition to keep Desi on a pretty short leash at night because Scorpion stings can be fatal to small dogs!
But there certainly is much to be said in praise of Phoenix in general and Mesa in particular:
The weather was as near perfect as it could be for our five day stay-
Temperatures during the day settled around 85 degrees... nights were in the mid-60's. Walking just after sunset was nothing short of delightful.
Rush hour traffic, like most cities this size, is bad. But around Mesa it seems to move pretty well at other times. There are lots of shopping centers and places to eat near Big Bubba's apartment... many within walking distance.

The Grand Canyon, Petrified Forest, Painted Desert, and many, many other attractions are within a day's drive of Phoenix, and we want to start reaching out to visit them. Sara Jean has never seen the Grand Canyon, so that is a priority during one of our trips West.
We are already planning a trip back to Phoenix in July, when the daytime temps will top 100 degrees. Thank God for air conditioning!

Back to the real world-
I got on the scale this morning and this trip has taken its toll on my weight-loss program. I've gained 3 pounds since my last weigh-in, so I have to lose at least four to remain on my schedule for Saturday. It's my intent to avoid having to lose more than a pound a week, so the fact that I've gained this much is disheartening...
We walked almost every day, and a couple days we walked nearly three miles. How much exercise am I gonna have to do in order to maintain a steady weight?
Jeesh!

It's a little more than two weeks 'til we leave for the DDFF.
I'm sure lookin' forward to it!

More News From Mr. Legan-

Another note from Mr. Legan that might be of interest to some of you:

"I received THE FRANKLIN COLLEGE MAGAZINE recently, and noticed another former CG teacher had passed away. His name was Carlie Cardwell about 72. As I pondered my memory as I went to bed last night trying to decide when Carlie came to CG to teach the sixth grade I think that he took the place of Mr. Hillenburg when he left to teach in Marion County. It had to be my third year at CG. We were still in the middle building, and he had taken Mr. Hillenburg's room on the SW corner of the building. Carlie was a Franklin College graduate. He only stayed a year or two, and I don't think his contract was renewed. I don't know why. He always wanted to be in competition with my class in achieving and doing better. I was never in agreement with those actions in which he wanted to pursue. I guess that he finally wound up as a teacher later as a principal in the Indianapolis School System. Our paths never crossed after he left CG."

I don't remember Mr. Cardwell, but thought some of you '66-ers might, so I thought I'd post Mr. Legan's news about him.

No Fat Report?

I'm dyin'.
No wait... these days someone might take that seriously. I'm not dyin' any faster than you are.
Lemme explain-

We are in Mesa, Arizona.
How we got here is why I'm complainin'.
It's amazing what computers have done for us. The fact that you have tuned in here at Vandy's Kids means you are at least partially aware of what I'm talkin' about. One of the wonderful things you can do with your keyboard is buy airline tickets cheap. I bought mine by bidding on Priceline.com. Those of you that have used Priceline will know the routine... you literally make an offer to pay a certain amount for your travel, and Priceline carries that offer to several airlines to see who, if anyone, is interested in carrying you from Point A to Point B for what you have offered. Before I go to Priceline I generally go to a couple airline sites to see what the trip would cost normally, then I'll offer half that amount on Priceline. Sometimes it works, sometimes Priceline will come back with a counter-offer. This time we ended up with tickets for about 60% of what we would have normally paid, but there was a catch- the flight took off at 6:30 A.M..
Getting to the airport takes two hours. I always plan for 90 minutes getting through the new security measures. So, working backward from a 6:30 takeoff, we started this trek at 2:30 A.M. yesterday, after about 3 hours of sleep.

All went without a hitch.
The airplane took off on time. We had a stopover and change of airplanes in Dallas. When we got to Mesa, our baggage was waiting for us. Hertz, (also reserved via computer), did their part and lent us a compact car.
But with three hours sleep under our belts, we were beginning to drag...
While our bodies were saying we had been awake for 12 hours, the clocks here in Arizona were saying it was only Noon.

Big Bubba had left us a key to get into his apartment, so we let ourselves in and closed our eyes for about an hour before he got home. When he arrived, he had the film crew in tow-
Director, cameraman, light man, sound man. They are on a mission...
They have an itinerary they are following in order to get the shots they want before they leave tomorrow. Time is short. The Director is barking orders, getting everyone in place to move his story along. Mom and Dad are gonna be part of this thing...
"Mom, sit next to Big Bubba and show him the things you have brought from home."
"Dad, can you comment on what Big Bubba has done to his apartment since you were last here?"
It's organized chaos.
All Sara Jean and I want is to get 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep.

After the film work is done, Big Bubba has planned a get-together. Several of his friends from work stop by. All the friends he has made in the area stop by. Finding a place to sit down begins to be problematic. I'm so tired I can no long stifle my yawning. I'm feigning interest in conversations. Sara Jean gives up and goes to bed. I'm trying to hang on and be the good soldier. After another hour, I fall asleep sitting on the sofa in front of the eight-or-so remaining guests.
I'm so tired I don't care... surely they understand I've had 4 hours sleep in 48 hours, right?

It's Saturday morning as I type this. Sunny and already about 80 degrees outside, it'll be above 90 degrees before the day is done. The film crew is scheduled to arrive at 9 A.M. to complete their shooting needs. When they're gone, normal visiting with our son can begin.

So, back to the Greybeard Fat Report.
There's not a scale in sight. I'm so tired, I still feel as if someone beat me up. After eating all that was available at the party last night, I'm unsure I'd want to get on a scale if one was available.

So my report to you is that there will not be a report this week.
Next Saturday I'll try and see if I can report a weight of 190.
Stay tuned- Let's see if I can make it.
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What's goin' on with ya?
Got any news?
Share it here, please!

From Indy Echo-

I got a note from Indy Echo today.

She relayed sad news...
Shifty's Mom passed away recently.
IE, as usual, is busy as a one-legged soccer star, and gave me no more info than that. She promises to update us when she has time to take a deep breath.
Until then, put Shifty and IE in your prayers, please.