This Friend I've Never Met

To be clear, this isn't my friend.  Well, that's not true.  This is Gwen and she IS my friend but I was there when my wife took this picture so the title is all wrong if the post was about her.

The post is about the bike or more specifically, about a guy named Paul loaned her the bike (more accurately, the trike).

Apparently Paul is generous, trusting and kind (I would make this a definitive statement if I was absolutely certain Paul really exists and wasn't actually Jay's invisible friend). 

I know Paul is trusting because these trikes are not cheap yet he loaned his to a complete stranger.  Granted I had vouched for Gwen but think about it, he has never met me (or my blog title would be worthless and misleading).  Truth be told, he has never met Gwen either and actually made arrangements for her to get the trike from a friend of his.  That should cover trusting.

Generous goes like this.  Gwen rode this trike over a hundred miles to raise money for Multiple Sclerosis research.  It worked.  She raised over $1,200.  When we offered to rent Paul's trike for her ride he would have none of it.  "You're raising money for a good cause so this needs to be a donation, not a rental".

Kind?  Have you been reading this post?  His friend Jay vouched for me.  He has never met me but I vouched for Gwen.  He has never met Gwen but made arrangements for her to meet another friend (who neither of us had ever met) at a business to pick up the trike and his efforts resulted in over a thousand dollars going to a good cause.

I'm absolutely convinced that if Paul actually exists he's the kind of a person I want to have as a friend.

There's nothing like a bunch of friends who have never met getting together to do good things.  I really love to surround myself with people like that because they are the best people on planet earth.

Who the heck are the Gilmores???

Ok, probably time to introduce you all to the Gilmores.   The Crawfords already know us -- and they say they like us.......kinda makes ya nervous doesn't it??   And here you thought you were going on this trip with sane people ?!?!?!

As Jim and Michelle mentioned, they have known us forever.  They say they first met us when I hit their son with a pitch at a Coach Pitch baseball game.  I say that Shane stepped into the pitch -- trying to get a walk.  If we didn't have a 9 year old as the umpire, he would have thrown Shane out of the game for such a blanket disregard for the rules and ethics of the game.....but he got away with it and my skills as a professional pitcher for 7 year-olds has been forever tarnished.  Instead, I had to go out and get an honest job (you know how few of those there are out there??!?!)

Deb and I were both born and raised in Ohio.   I was born and schooled in Washington Court House Ohio (yep....that was it's official name).   Small town USA.   Deb was born and schooled in the suburbs of Columbus, Ohio.

I was always one of the tallest kids in school -- so I always made the basketball team automatically when I was in grade school / middle school (of course, they didn't tell me at the time that EVERYONE made the team).  I discovered that my height was very impressive on the bench -- because they sure didn't want me to embarrass them on the court!!  By the time I got to jr high, they figured out that my height wouldn't do them any good if I couldn't catch the ball -- and I certainly couldn't jump and/or shoot the ball -- so I no longer made the team.  

I played football in 5th and 6th grade, but again, they decided that my 88lbs of skin and bone wouldn't support my continued participation as a middle school offensive tackle (who put me on the offensive line at 88 lbs anyway.   Sure, I couldn't hold onto the ball and run at the same time -- and I certainly couldn't catch the ball, but surely there must have been something else for a skin and bones 88 lb player to do on the football field.   Well......maybe not.  At least as an offensive tackle, I had the guard and the tight end to help me up when the defense ran over me during every play).

So at twelve, I decided to give up on sports and starting working for a living (if you want to call 50 cents per hour picking green beans / sweet corn and planting flowers at a nursery making a living).   Been working ever sense.

By the way, I did take up basketball again at the ripe old age of 25, and played pretty consistently once a week (with a few gaps in there) till I was about 50.   By then the 'ol knees had given out.   Some of my greatest thrills were playing basketball with my teenage boys.   I wasn't very good -- but I sure loved to feed them the "'ol rock".   Both played a pretty mean game in the mid and late teens.    When the school officials didn't let me get on the court to play with them during the school games, I sure enjoyed watching them from the bleachers.

I also did a lot of coaching (mostly assistant coach) for the boys in baseball, basketball and soccer.   Enjoyed that a lot as well.

Now one of the boys (Brian, the oldest) is married to a great gal.....and the youngest (Eric) is getting married to another great gal in July.

The boys learned how to pick'em from me.  I won the championship when I won the heart of my wife, Debbie.   Of course she says she picked me......but she is the sane one, so I think it must have been the other way around.

Deb and I met when we both worked for Kroger Supermarkets.   We both put in 15 years with Kroger.   Her running the front end, me running the Dairy Dept.

When I hit 28, we  both decided that the Grocery business probably wouldn't support us for the rest of our lives, and I went back to school to get my Electronic Engineering degree.   Raising 2 boys, with both of us working nearly full time, and me going to school full time was not fun -- but we both have always been willing to sacrifice for what we wanted.

We then moved to Dallas Tx while I went to work for JCPenney for 19 years, and Deb whipped the boys into shape (while she also had a few part time jobs along the way).

I'm now an IT Consultant, and enjoy the flexibility / variability of different challenges.

I still love sports (watching them), and playing Disk Golf whenever I can.   Also really enjoy Texas Hold'em, and just recently picked up bike riding again (after 40 years of not doing it).

Deb and I both enjoy watching movies, eating out, and playing with our pooch (a mixed breed black lab we picked from the dog pound).  Mia (the lab) is 60 pounds of pure muscle -- and constantly on the move.   She insist on playing ball 10 hours a day.   She never met a person with a reasonable throwing arm that she didn't love.

Deb also spends a great deal of time providing all kinds of support (both mental and physical) to her aging parents.   Notice I said "great deal of time"......not "a great time".   Totally different concepts.  I'd tell you more about Deb -- but she will probably be embarrassed with what I have already said.   You will love her when you get to meet her -- but she doesn't talk about herself much.

Our first cruise was for our 25th anniversary.  We must have enjoyed it, because except for visiting my family back in Ohio, it is pretty much the only type of vacation that we have taken since.    We have about 6 or 7 cruises under out belt at this point.

Yep, pretty boring life -- but we seem to be comfortable with it.   Our only real step outside of normal is our cherished friendships with the crazy Crawfords.  I use to think that Michelle wasn't crazy -- that just Jim was.   But Michelle keeps hanging in there with him so she must be crazy as well.

I guess that also says a lot about us doesn't it..........

Looking forward to the Cruise, and meeting you all in person. 

How Big is Big

The longest naval vessel in the world is the USS Enterprise Aircraft Carrier. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Enterprise_(CVN-65))

At a length of 1,123 feet (we're talking nearly 400 yards - over a 5th of a mile in length) and 93.3 thousand gross tons we could probably argue that the Enterprise is big.  REAL big.

The USS Enterprise, however is not the biggest ship in the world.  The Oasis of the seas, weighing in at more than twice the tonage (225.28 thousand tons) is heavier and with 1,186.5 feet of length she is also longer so in ship terms there is no argument she is bigger.

This ship is big (so big, in fact, that it doesn't even fit in the space allocated for this blog - yup!  That's big)

Not just bigger, but better (assuming you don't need to launch F-14s).  Looking at the back end you can see there are two flow-riders where you can ride a surf board.  Moving forward from the top flow-rider you can see a miniature golf course.  Moving forward from the bottom flow-riders you can see the sports court where you can play basketball or compete in a dodge ball tournament.  In that same area there is a zip line and a couple of rock climbing walls.  They call it the sports section of the boat.   

Forward of that you can see a number of swimming pools.  Some are specially designed for playing volleyball while others are architected to work well for smaller children.  There are hot-tubs for all and hot tubs for adults only - speaking of adults only, there is a whole section of the ship where you are not allowed unless you are older than 18 years of age.

Deep inside the ship there is a BIG selection of things to do.  Comedy clubs, shopping centers, dance clubs, karaoke bars, big show theaters, work out rooms, a spa and even an ice skating ring.

Big ship.  Big fun.  Big vacation we look forward to.

Texans in the Air

We Have a Hotel (and it looks like this)

and this

and this

Paul's second attempt at a blog post

The first attempt is out in the cloud somewhere, which is frustrating because I love to talk but hate to write. That being said, I hope this makes it to your blog. I don't know that I'm lysdexic, but interesting things happen when I type.

Mary and I have been more or less happily married for over twenty years. We managed to raise children without resorting to shock collars, duct tape, or threats of homicide, and we are reasonably satisfied with the results. They are all grown and gone, and are getting on in world. They have a useful purpose; they give Mary something to worry about. I expect that to continue for a long time.

As for my background, I'm a prime example of what happens when you don't know where you're going, and just start taking roads to see where they might take you. Jay likes to say that I have a degree; I just got my diploma from the school of hard knocks. I have more skills than Carter has little liver pills. I spent nine years in the Navy as a Hospital Corpsman, served as a medic with the Marines, trained as a diver, Became a Special Operations Technician, and a Marine Mammal Technician. I've worked as a logger, a sawmill operator, an oilfield roustabout, a pumper, and a water and wastewater treatment plant operator, to list a few. I have a head stuffed full to overflowing with useless but interesting trivia. I read constantly, anything and everything.

Mary is more modest about her accomplishments, preferring to hide her light under that bushel somewhere. I'll list some of the ones I consider stellar; she can discount them all later. She's an excellent mother, a great cook, and best of all, she can put up with me. Mary has been a high school math teacher (a damn good one), a loan officer, a realtor, and currently, a corporate controller. She's also worked as a Forest Service firefighter, run a marathon (with a bad hip), and several 30K runs (the most recent with her new artificial hip). Mary talked me into running another 30K with her, thus proving once again that I'm a slow learner with a poor memory. She is coming off of surgery for a torn rotator cuff, and was just pronounced as fit to return to her more strenuous activities like Yoga and Pilates. We'll hold off on the mud and jello wrestling until later. Mary also eats Lutefisk and professes to like it.

Jay and I have known each other for almost thirty years. We met on a volleyball court in Glendive, Montana, and have been sharing adventures and projects ever since. Mary and I are looking forward to meeting everyone, and to our first cruise. I don't count the two days I spent on an LST with the Marines in the Molokai Channel (memorable, but not to be repeated).

For the scorekeepers out there, I'm sixty. I'll let Mary divulge her age at the time and place of her choosing.

I had to laugh, Jim, when I saw the photo of you on your recumbent; I have a TerraTrike myself. Mary doesn't say it, but I think she finds it somewhat embarrassing to be seen with an adult on a tricycle.

I'm sure I've left out most of what people really want to know about us; I'll invent the rest of it later.

A Bit About Michelle

First I want to make it clear - I was more popular in high school than Jim. He was a lot more visibile and audible, but that was because he was weird. He definitely married up. Come to think of it, Jay married up too!

I met Jay in my German class. I didn't know him very well, but he and I were both very quiet. So to Jay I say
       "Ich wette, du hast keine Ahnung, was dieser sagt, aber nicht schwitzen Ich weiß es auch nicht."

I am not sure when I met Patti, but it had to be in high school when I was running around with Jim. They had been friends for a long time and I am sure our paths crossed at times. I do know that she is the reason that Jim and I went on our first date to the junior-senior prom.

I met Bruce and Debbie Gilmore as neighbors in 1990. Their son, Brian, and our son, Shane, participated in a lot of sporting events from a very young age. Jim says the first thing he remembers about Bruce is that he threw a no hitter in coach pitch baseball AND he hit my son with a pitch, but even that couldn't get him on base. Every year was baseball and basketball games for us. If you go to both driveways, you can still find remnants of the SBBL (Shane and Brian Basketball League) where each had their own home courts. Shane even bought an old IBM PS2, wrote software to create a scoreboard, and had a boombox playing stadium music during the games, including introductions of the players before the games. Brian played varsity all the way through high school and went on to walk on tryouts at a Division One university. Shane who wasn't good enough to play varsity ball, became the high school scorekeeper and went on to the NBA to be the head of the Boston Celtic's scoring crew and was still writing scoreboard software on a much bigger platform. In 2008 he received his NBA championship ring.

My daughter Mandy didn't have as much connection to the Gilmore's for 20 years, but now they have turned her into my neighbor. When Bruce and Debbie moved out of the old neighborhood 7 years ago, Jim and I bought their house and rented our house to our karate instructor. It turns out that he didn't want to move the pool table, so he married our daughter and stayed in the house. It is a complete joy to have Mandy and Jack as close as the Gilmore's used to be, however, Mandy and Jack might think we are a bit more intrusive than Debbie and Bruce were.

A bit about me:

• I was born in Casper, Wyoming in 1958.
• I played high school and college basketball.
• I played high school volleyball.
• I was a homecoming queen candidate.
• I used to love to ride mini-bikes.
• I used to ride snowmobiles.
• In my 20's I used to go snow skiing almost every weekend.
• In my 30's and 40's I used to go water skiing almost every weekend.
• I have snorkled in Cozumel, Hawaii, Cayman Islands, and I tried to swim to Tahiti once.
• I have travelled thousands of miles on boats.
• I am not now, nor have I ever been, comfortable in water.
• I went to bible college, but ended up with a business degree from a secular school.
• I worked in title insurance for many years, then left that career for my most important career of raising my two children.
• I now work in the accounting department of a securities firm.
• My hobbies include reading, playing disc golf, digital scrapbooking, crocheting, travelling, listening to live music.
• I love to play Kinect games on the X-Box.
• I have particpated in BikeMS for 8 years, riding 6 of them.
• I have been to 9 countries.
• I have been to 49 states with Jim. (He won't take me to North Dakota)
• I have been to Disneyland, DisneyWorld, NBC Studios, Universal Studios.
• I have been to the Grand Canyon, Grand Tetons, Grand Caymans and will soon be a Grand Mother.
• I once flew to London for a four day weekend.
• I once flew to Rio for a four day weekend.
• I have flown first class a number of times, but never bought a first class ticket.
• I almost had to spend the night at the feet of the Statue of Liberty.
• I have flown in two helicopters, once around the new bank in Gillette and once around the Christ the Redeemer Statue in Rio de Janeiro.
• I have ridden in a powered parachute and a hot air balloon.
• I have a black belt in Taekwondo.
• My husband is trying to talk me into going to Antartica with him, but he's psycho and I'm not.
• Jim and I wore jeans to a Broadway play. I was mortified, he was thrilled because he's psycho and I'm not.
• I once rode a zip line 10 stories above the deck of a cruise ship and Jim didn't because I'm psycho and he's not.

A bit about Jim



Hello.  My name is Jim.  Not everyone knows me so here is a bit about me.  As you can see, I still ride bikes at the age of 54 - oh wait, that's not a bike.  It's a trike.  I've ridden the MS-150 for the last 7 or 8 years.

· I met Jay around 40 years ago and became good friends with him 35 years ago when we were the only seniors on the swim team.

· I am sure there was a time when I didn't know Patti but I couldn't tell you when.  I just kind of remember her, well, forever.  I had a bunch of friends from school but 10 or 20 years later I found myself wondering what happened to her (and not so many others).

· I've  known Bruce and Debbie for upwards of 20 years.  When we moved into the neighborhood in 1989 they lived two houses down.  We play disc golf together pretty much every weekend and Saturday is always lunch with Bruce and Debbie.

· I met Paul and Mary in October of 2012 when we went on a cruise together.  That's all I've got right now...more later (I bet).

· I really like trying new things.  I try something new do it for a while and then try something else.  There are a few things that seem to stick with me.

· I have played disc golf for years and years and years.  It's one of the things that sticks with me.

· Photography is another one of the things that stays with me.  I really like the pursuit of that truly excellent picture.  I also love it when I capture it.

· Travel is another constant.  I've literally logged millions of frequent flier miles in my work travel.  Michelle and I have been taking cruises together for over 25 years.   We've been to 49 of the 50 states (I have a life goal to stay out of North Dakota but that's a whole new story).  I've worked on 6 of the 7 continents, vacationed on 4 of them and plan to get to Antarctica (the 7th) before I die.

· I've met (enough to shake hands with) two US Presidents.  I've met (had dinner with) Bill Gates. I once rode in an elevator with Art Linkletter.

· I have jumped out of an airplane (with a parachute).

· I've done over 100 Scuba Dives

· I have a black belt in Taekwondo and once won 2nd at Nationals in Sparring.

· I got mugged in Brazil (sort of - I was already a black belt and I taught the mugger that he needed
a new hobby)

· I climbed Devils Tower

· I have been stung by a sting-ray (in Mexico)

· I've walked on the great wall of China

· I have two children (a boy and a girl) both grown and married

· I've been on the Eiffel Tower in Paris

· I rode a camel to the great pyramids in Giza Egypt

· I've been to the Great Library of Alexandria

· I've been to a Superbowl (and watched Denver beat Green Bay)

· I've been to the Cathedral where Luke (yes, that Luke) is buried

· I've been in the Opera House (from all the pictures) of Sydney Australia

· I've been to an NBA final (and watched Boston win the world championship over Los Angeles)

· I've seen a Penguin in the wild

· I used to have an FAA flight instructor rating (but I'm not current anymore)

· I've visited a WW2 German Concentration Camp (in Michelin Belgium)

· I chartered a helicopter to fly around the Christ the Redeemer statue (Corcovado) in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil with my wife and daughter

· I lived in Saudi Arabia for 5 years.

· I once rode a cruise ship from Rotterdam Holland to New York

· I'm currently restoring a 1954 Chevrolet 3100 Pickup

It Starts With This

Countdown 43 weeks (yup, we've got a while to wait) until  we set sail.   The first reunion vacation will be a 7 day cruise from Ft Lauderdale Florida to Haiti, Jamaica, Mexico and back to Florida.

This trip will be four couples.  All of us know 3 or more of the 8 people who are attending.  None of us know all of those going on the trip - in fact everyone is traveling with a two or more people they have never met and more than half the people coming know less than half the people they are traveling with.  Probably not risky enough to be an adventure but packing potential for a surprise or two.

In the next week or two I will add some posts telling a bit more about me and a bit more about the boat...

They All Want to Then Nobody Does

Living in these United States, are you?  If you can answer "yes" and you are doing it "right" then you are probably too busy.  I think it is a rule. 

"You want to do it right?   Well, find a way to be too busy!  If you have time to do the thing you want to do then obviously you aren't busy enough!"

So a bunch of friends of mine wanted to get together on a cruise ship and spend some time talking about the old days and sharing what happened since.  The list of participants was fairly long and the job of finding a date that would work for everyone became quite daunting.  Once we finally nailed down a date and tried to get commitments, people started dropping out.  One by one they all learned they were too busy or had a conflict.  One by one they all frowned, felt sad, and wrote that message that starts with "I hate to have to do this, but..."

So I thought "Well, what if we just set dates and people could go or not go?"  That approach would kill all the need for planning.  You set it up, you communicate it, and you forget it.  I can set it up.  I certainly can forget it so the only thing missing is the "You communicate it".

Welcome to "You communicate it".