My Father

My father was a very special man. Born in a log cabin in Decatur County, Iowa in 1900, he never lived more than 15 or 20 miles from there in his 85 years. Born to a farm family as the youngest of 4, he chose to be a merchant and worked in a general store until after World War II when he opened his own country store. I grew up living behind that store and working in it from the time I could see over the counter. We sold groceries, gasoline, feed, seed corn, fertilizer, etc. In addition we bought cream and eggs from the local farmers, fixed flats and did some trucking on the side.

My dad never met a stranger. His and my mom's home was always open to relatives, friends, and sometimes strangers. Dad's life was not an easy one and financially only moderately successful, but I don't remember ever hearing him complain. He was honest, soft hearted (gave credit to our customers too freely and was not a good "collector"), treated people and the environment with respect, and had a way with animals.

I could write a book about my dad, but for now I'll just express my thanks for all that he taught me, especially by example. He was a special man and I still miss him.

Gettin' Old Ain't for Sissies

Our afternoon thundershower has come and gone. Tuesday is usually an "off day" for me. Catching up on the websites I'm responsible for, projects in & out of the house, etc. Today I went to the lab to give them some of my blood to test prior to my annual physical. Afterwards I broke my 12 hour fast at IHOP. Around 10:30 I went to the Senior Center to get today's exercise by swimming. Yesterday was the 14 mile bike ride and tomorrow will be walking a couple of miles on the track and doing a few weights. All of this, along with Nancy feeding me a healthy diet and the body is still reminding me that it is wearing out.

I have been dealing with sciatica for 2 or 3 months now. Several trips to the massage therapist along with special stretching exercises undoubtedly helped, but it was my trip to Alaska and not getting all that exercise or doing the stretches that finally seemed to turn the corner for me. I was doing much better until last Sunday.

Saturday I landscaped a small area where the grass was having trouble growing and covered it in wood chips. This involved being on my hands and knees and squatting when I tacked down the weed barrier cloth, etc. Just working in that unique position did me in - at least that's what I'm blaming it on. Sunday morning my lower back was acting up and that seemed to bring back the sciatica in my right leg. I was so disappointed with this setback.

Monday I had another session with the massage therapist and as noted above rode the bike. Today's swimming felt great at the time but I'm still in pain this afternoon. As the bumper sticker we saw says, "Getting Old Ain't for Sissies".

Grandson's Weddings

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I have 3 grandsons. Matt & Josh Darnell live in Big Lake, Alaska and both were married earlier this year. Both weddings were small immediate family affairs that took place on short notice. I was not able to attend either but have pictures and as my last post indicated I have now met the blushing brides.

This morning I selected a few pictures from their weddings and posted them in a Flash show on my personal website. For those that are interested you can see them by clicking here.
The one on my website has a soundtrack and works best with DSL or faster connections. The one below is for 56k and has no sound etc.

Great Granddaughter

A couple of weeks ago I went to Alaska to visit my great granddaughter and meet my 2 new granddaughters-in-law (or is it granddaughter-in-laws?). Anyway, I had the privilege of meeting Samantha (grandson Josh's wife and mother of Angel - the great granddaughter or GGD) and Leona (grandson Matt's wife). Of course I got to see my daughter, Pam, and her husband, Daryl too.

Now I have visited Alaska 5 times since Pam & Daryl moved there in 1992, but this had to be the best weather I've ever seen there. I even saw Denali (Mt McKinley to some - but not most Alaskans) in all its grandeur. This 20,320 foot mountain is considered to be the highest in the world. What about Mount Everest at 29,000? Well it is the vertical relief of 18,000 feet that gives Denali that distinction. The picture above was taken from the Talkeetna Lodge which is about 60 or 70 miles from the mountain (the way the crow flys).

In spite of Denali's beauty and magnificence - it paled in comparison to Angel (the GGD). I present the picture above as evidence! Of course I could be prejudice. Great Grandfathers are allowed to brag a little - aren't they? For more pictures of my trip to Alaska visit 'My Webpage' and/or 'My Pictures' shown under "Cool Links"

On the road again

Yesterday was spent in the car a lot. Wednesday is my day as a volunteer driver for SAINT (Senior Alternatives IN Transportation). My first pickup was at 8:15 a.m. and the last was a little after noon. After lunch and catching up on a few chores around the house I headed down to Denver to have dinner at a Mexican restaurant with the Bill & Alice, Bob & Doris, Bill Goodwin and Clarke Ballinger. After dinner we went over to the Hyatts for a few games of spades. I got back home a little after midnight.


I have only been driving for SAINT for a month now but I really enjoy this volunteer opportunity. I had to give up my volunteering at the Food Bank after 5 years due to lower back problems. There I was required to stand at a computer checking in and re certifying clients for long periods of time. It finally took a toll on my back. I hated to leave the Food Bank but do enjoy meeting and visiting with the folks I chauffeur around Fort Collins. I'm also getting to know areas of Fort Collins this way.

My Personal Help Desk

My son, Kevin, is my personal 'help desk' when it comes to computer problems. It's a privilege to have access to such good support when the computer gremlins hit. If you have ever had the misfortune to contact support provided by computer companies, software companies, cable internet providers or hosting services, you know what I mean. First you have to decipher the accent (Pakistan? India? China? etc.). Before long you realize they are just reading a manual - probably no better than the one that came with your computer or software, etc. Of course to even get through the automated phone system and to a live person takes the IQ of an Einstein and the patience of Job himself. So I appreciate my son.

We spent 2 or 3 hours on the phone tonight working on slow cable internet problems I'm having with Comcast. We also worked on problems (part learning curve) on a new program we are playing with. Some of it involved "how to" issues right here on blogspot. Like adding this little slide show. Hope you enjoy it [if I get it added and working].

Jason leaves for Kazakhstan

I have 3 grandsons and 2 granddaughters. All are 'adults' now. Typical of a grandparent, I intend to talk about them from time to time. Tonight I'm thinking of Jason. Jason graduated from Eastern New Mexico University (Portales, New Mexico) in May of this year and spent much of the summer at a camp near Rolla, Missouri working as a camp photographer and counselor. Tomorrow he is leaving Washington DC for Kazakhstan as a Peace Corps volunteer. His training will be taking place in the city of Almaty and we are not sure where he will be after that. Jason is a theater major but will be teaching English as a second language. We are very proud of Jason and wish him well on this exciting adventure. Exposure to other countries and cultures will certainly be beneficial as he takes his place on this ever shrinking planet will all call home. Best of luck Jason! We love you.

Geocaching off to poor start

This morning Nancy and I took a bike ride along Spring Creek to one of our usual destinations, watermelon park. That's not really the name of the park but the sculptures there look like large watermelon slices so that's what we call it. I took the GPSr along since I had discovered there was a geocache very near the park. It was easy finding the coordinates but since it was early morning, we had rain last night, and the area was in tall grass and weeds I gave up pretty early. The mosquitoes were pretty bad and since we have had over 50 cases of West Nile Virus in Colorado this summer, I decided not to spend too much time looking. Will go back someday in the hot afternoon sun and try again.

If you are not familiar with geocaching you can learn all about it at: http://www.geocaching.com/