# 35 Florida

I have been having a great time with my new in laws here in Florida on the beach. The other day when we went to Venice beach I decided to put the new relationship to the test. The women sent us to the closest shop to do some shopping. So when me and my father-in-law got to the shop I noticed that there was a bar and I said, “Hey hows about a beer?!?!” So Jack (or um-papa, pronounced “oom-papa”) reluctantly says “Ok”. So when we settled onto the bar we ordered some drinks and started to drink and chat while looking out at the beach. All of a sudden a huge biker came into the bar with his “woman” behind him. I sensed Jack tighten up and get somewhat uncomfortable. The big biker stooped over close to Jacks ear and asked “Is this stool occupied?” indicating to the seat next to Jack. I then chirped up and said “I don’t know, this guy is pretty dangerous!” indicating my father-in-law to the biker Then the big biker looks directly at Jack and says “So your dangerous are you?” At this point with a look of shock and surprise Um-papa said “I’m not dangerous, would a dangerous man be wearing pink neoprene deck shoes like these!!!” as he desperately tried to lift up his left foot to show a delicate dainty slipper. The biker just looked at the both of us and sat down.

In other news tomorrow is the fourth of July! As they say around here with a desperate sense urgency accompanied with festivity “’s-plosions!!!”
Have a great fourth of July everybody!

FeO2


July 7th, 2007
Disney World was an interesting time. Jack decided that the walker-scooter that he rented was not for him so he asked me to take care of it for him. I must say that it made for an interesting social experience. People would call me “Sir” and look at me as if to say “Keep on being brave and living life” sniff-sniff “we are all proud of you.” It was all going well scooting around the “Magic Kingdom” on te fourth of July until it was time for the firework show. I wanted to get back to the hotel to watch the show from there but as luck would have it the crowds empeeded us and we could not get out of the park. This would not have been so bad but I got separated from my pack by waves of sweaty humanity. At this time the amazing crowds started getting desperate and their charity dwindled. It was every body for themselves. I was a cast away on a little scooter with no way out with my face at rump level.
FeO2



July 10th, 2007
Well a few short hours are left on yet another whirlwind trip. I just got back from the Midwest where things went pretty well. I pulled into Muscatine for the annual weenie roast that Ron, Ginny and I have been having for 2 years running. One can never have enough “weenie” I have always said! Anyway I had to get up early the next day to head back to Chicago for a meeting. For some reason it does not seem to matter what time I have to get up my eyes almost always blink open about 30 seconds before the alarm goes off. This morning I set the clock for 4:00 am and I was awake at 3:59:30 . Hmm. So I preceded to put on the days combat gear which was the “armor plated suit and tie”. I then loaded the car as backed it out. On doing this I heard a rubbing sound of the car making contact with the Orud’s raised drive way. I started to panic. I got out and saw that there was this ugly little ding in the left rear quarter panel. Crap! Any way the rest of the day seemed to proceed this way. People were late for meetings, my back started hurting blah-blah-blah. Luckily I was able to corner Paula for an adjustment who was only a short drive from where I was staying. Thanks Paula I owe ya big. It was cool. She showed me her new adjusting tables of which I tried to operate. I found that it was harder than what I would have imagined. I was trying to get the table to come up but it just would not do it. Then Paula said “Just kick it.” I did this but still nothing happened. Paula then gave me a look that seemed to say “Put some quads behind it”. I will have to say I am not used to working with machines that were built to take intentional abuse. I suppose it is a good way to get out frustration and it is quite creative for the manufacturers of this particular type of equipment to think of the practitioner not only to give her/him a valuable tool for practice but also an emotional outlet. Either way, it still made me feel like a sissy boy.
I got to know the Lundmarks. This was really nice. They are really good people.
This am I got up early worrying what the guy at Enterprise Rent-a-Car was going to say about the dent in the Mustang. I spent about 20 minutes scouring the ding the evening before, which did clean out fairly well and left the paint undamaged, by the way. But I must say I was still quite nervous all the way to the airport as there was still an indention. You will all be proud of me with the ingenious solution I came up with. As I pulled up in the car to the return station I noticed that the attendant started his inspecting with the collection of the GPS unit. He seemed overly preoccupied with getting this particular apparatus back with all its pieces. This is where I applied what we in health care call the “gendrassic maneuver”. This is where you distract a patient in order to accomplish a procedure. Examples would be like when you go to the dentist and he grabs your cheek and starts flipping it back and forth while he is putting in the Novocain, or when a nurse asks you a question at the precise moment when the nurse on the other side gives you a shot or when a chiropractor tell you to wiggle your toes so you will relax for the adjustment. Or even perhaps when your father-in-law sneaks up to you and harpoons you with a tetanus shot. Wait, that’s not a gendrasic that is surprise assault and battery! From now on I shall refer to him as Mefistopholese. Anyway as I saw this guy inspecting the car I kept on bringing up the GPS unit and that I wanted him to be sure that the unit was complete. On every interjection that I gave on this matter he would quickly check to be sure that this valued object was ready to be handed back into the office. He kept the unit snug and cradled on his arm like a beloved little puppy. In this way he completed the inspection of the car and handed me a receipt that made no mention of auto body work.
FeO2
14, July, 2007
To wrap up the trip to the US I will say it was rather exhausting. We left Florida with all its hot humid weather to arrive in La Paz with American Airline only to be dumped off for mechanical problems. So there we were dressed for a Florida summer clothes at 14,000 feet in a South American winter with snow falling. The children performed well under the circumstances. About 17 hours later we were all shipped out finally to go home. So it is finally over.
In other news I watching MTV today and I think that I have finally found a solution. I just do not wear enough black eye make-up to be cool! So I figure that if I were to apply enough of this compound to myself my days of being a geek and a freak we finally be over!
I will send pictures.
I love all of you. Stay in love and I promise all of you will be blessed.
FeO2
18th of July 2007
So I just had my Cholesterol checked by the proddings of Mephistofolies (my new father-in-law). And I am happy to report that the following are my results: My triglicerides are 77, my H.D.L.’s are 98, my L.D.L.’s are 114.6, and my V.L.D.L.’s are 14.5. All these values render me at low risk for heart disease. Furthermore I have already lost 2.2 pounds of the 4.4 I gained while I was in the US from the diet which I started Monday. I guess the only way things could get better is if I would quit smoking. Which I almost have since I have not had a cig for almost a week for reasons of forgetfulness (stupid me). Even though this habit of mine is my way of thumbing my nose at mother nature I am sure that it will all catch up to me. Reality does have a way of making you pay for the bad things you do. For instance, I am already feeling me age. I have noticed that in my personal bedroom life I am starting to find it more difficult to wrap things up (if you know what I mean, and I think you do, wink-wink) It used to be quick (and I do mean QUICK) and easy but now I am finding it to be more work than before. To defend myself I can still say I am far from failing though. In truth this is probably giving me the excersize I need to keep my blood lipids low. The other thing that I have noticed is that the “posture” seems to maintain itself longer than it used to. The “posture” change used to come along more quickly than it does now. It kind of makes me feel like an old soldier. I guess this is all to say that I am indeed slowing down with age. I am not quite the young buck I used to be.
So keep me in your thoughts (or maybe not)
FeO2