Cruise

Like I said in a previous post, our cruise was awesome. Warren (Kathy’s Dad) and Jean (his girlfriend) arrived at our house on Friday (Oct 15). As soon as he arrived, Warren had to take his Caddy to the dealership and get his power windows fixed. The motor went out on his power windows and he couldn’t roll his window up. His car just went out of warranty six weeks before, he wasn’t happy and I don’t blame him ($$$). Once we got that fixed we took them and showed them our new house.

On Saturday, Oct 16 we got up and drove to my parent’s (Butch & Rose Mary) house and picked them up. We all loaded up and headed for Diamondhead, Mississippi. I had reserved rooms about 45 minutes from New Orleans so the drive on Sunday would be short. The ride was pretty uneventful except for when Rose Mary was singing and Butch said “Rose Mary will you knock it off, you’re singing about two octane's to high!” I thought I was going to wet myself. We made it to Mississippi by about 3:00PM. Kiel called his girlfriend Liz who lived about a half an hour away and we made arrangements to pick her up. We went and picked Liz up and we all went to dinner at the Grand Casino in Bay St. Louis, MS. Kathy and I are not gamblers but the casinos have fantastic buffets. I know going to a huge buffet before you go on a cruise doesn’t make too much sense. We looked at it as a warm up for what was ahead. Any how we ate, lost our obligatory $20 on slots and went home. All except for my mom (Rose Mary), I came back and picked her up later on in the evening after she finished playing slots – she won as usual. Ate a late night ice cream sundae at the Dairy Queen next to the hotel and went to bed.

On Sunday, Oct 17 we began the day by looking for a Wal-Mart to buy anything we realized that we had forgotten. Let’s just say finding a Wal-Mart when you need one isn’t as easy as it sounds. It was a journey in itself but eventually we found one. Headed to New Orleans, found the pier and dropped off the bags. Warren and I parked the cars and made it back to the pier. Took about an hour to check in and get on the boat. By this time it was about noon, so we got on early. This ship, the Carnival Conquest was huge (110,000 tons) and beautiful. We got on in the center atrium which was all done in art. The theme of this ship was art. We’re talking Mannet, Monet, Renoir, Van Gogh etc. They kind of blended all the different styles together but it seemed to work. It was about one level below gaudy. Everywhere you look were pieces of art and murals. Of course the first thing we did was go eat (our rooms weren’t going to be ready until 1:00PM). When we finished eating we went to our rooms. Our room was nice and comfortable nothing fancy. Butch & Rose Mary’s cabin had a balcony and it was very nice. We checked the ship out and figured out what we wanted to do. We had early dinner at 5:45PM. We met our waiter and his assistant, Glenn and Natialjia. He was from the Philippines and she was from Estonia. They were awesome and took great care of us the entire cruise. They were by far and away the best wait team we’ve ever had. We got to know them quite well and enjoyed speaking to them whenever we saw them on the ship. I’ll talk more about them in a later post. We set sail about 6:00PM and spent about 4 hours on the Mississippi River before we made into the Gulf of Mexico.

Monday and Tuesday were sea days. These were great and we relaxed and all really did what ever we felt like. Some of went to the pool, some went to ship activities, some of us read. Rose Mary played in a slot tournament at the casino on the ship and won $500. Kiel played in the ship’s version of Family Feud, his team won. One of the questions he was asked was to “Name a famous brother and sister duo?” Kiel brought down the house when he said “Bert and Ernie”. He said “Well, they do sleep in the same bed.” (Kathy and I will sit him down and we’ll have a little talk). Anyhow days at sea are very relaxing and we really enjoy them.

On Wednesday, Oct 20 we arrived in Montego Bay, Jamaica at about 8:00AM. We all decided to do the Dunn’s River Falls. It was about a two hour bus ride over to the falls. Jamaica is a British Colony which means they drive on the right hand side of the road. Butch sat in the front of the bus behind our driver, Vincent. I’ve been in many scary taxi rides but nothing compared to this, it was awful. I promise you we almost bought it about a dozen times. It was fun watching Butch wince on all the near misses we had. Now he knows how we feel when we ride with him. We enjoyed the scenery along the way and had a guide to narrate and tell us about Jamaica. We got to Dunn’s River which is near Ocho Rios. The falls are about 600ft up and start at the ocean floor. The goal is to walk from the bottom to the top, it is very steep, slippery and wet. Kathy, Katlin, Kiel and myself did it, we had a blast. When we finished we went back to Montego Bay and shopped before we got back on the ship. I liked Jamaica, however while riding on the bus the shanty's and poverty really got my attention. I didn't realize what a poor country it really, really was.

Thursday was another day at sea as we traveled from Jamaica to Cozumel. We were supposed to go to Grand Cayman but it was closed to cruise ships due to the recent hurricanes. We made it to Cozumel on Friday at about 7:00AM. Cozumel is my favorite; I can’t get over how beautiful the water is. I could swim in it for hours; it’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen. We rented two jeeps and drove around the island. Kathy and I have been to Cozumel before and knew where we wanted to go. We stopped several places and hung out before moving on to the next spot. It was a lot of fun. Warren won’t soon forget the beach front massage (it was legal) that Butch and Rose Mary bought him on one of our stops. I thought he was going to cry when they told him it was over. With all the stops we made, it took us about six hours to drive around the island. We dropped the jeeps off and some of us went back to the ship to rest. The rest of us caught a cab and went into San Miguel (the city) and went shopping. I bought a couple of cigars and found Corona’s for a buck. I was a happy camper. It was fun but I was exhausted. So much so that the next day, which was another sea day, I was a waste. I had no energy to do nothing. It was major effort just to put one foot in front of another. So I didn’t, I slept. By the way, cruise sleeping is the best. It was so dark in our cabin that you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face. It was great, slept like a baby. Again, we all hung out and enjoyed our last day on the ship before we got off Sunday morning. We had no trouble getting off the ship and were off and on the road by 9:30AM. Security and customs were a joke, they were non-exisistent.

I know I’ve skipped over quite a bit and left a lot out. Let me think of anything else before I close. So prepare for a random stream of thoughts: The food was superb, best we’ve had. Service was exceptional; Glenn and Natalija really went of their way for us. We had two formal nights and we had lots of pictures taken. Rose Mary played bingo and won $250 - her and Katlin didn't miss a game.. She played a lot on the slots, so much so that the casino host sent a bottle of Champagne to our table a dinner! That’s a lot of nickels. Grandpa Butch taught his grandson Kiel how to play Craps in the casino. Whatever happened to taking your grandson fishing? Anyhow, Kiel went up and down before he eventually lost an undisclosed sum of money he couldn’t afford to lose. Ooops, am I sounding like a parent? Katlin found a group of kids his age and hung out with them. The movie ‘Napoleon Dynamite’ was continually on in our cabin drove me crazy. I just don’t get it. We enjoyed the shows and entertainment on board. However, some was stupid and really sucked. We liked the different singers and musicians they had a various spots on the shipped, some were very talented.

All in all it was great cruise a few minor things could have been better but nothing to get too bent out of shape about. I was impressed and very pleased with how everything turned out. I think everyone had a pretty good time and enjoyed themselves. Anyhow, no real problems and everyone got along fine. It was a great time, I highly recommend it. I'll try to post some pictures as soon as I can. There are some pretty good ones. Hopefully the ones of the fat Mexican guy in the T back turn out….

Our "Big" News - Kinda Like Quick Sand

Don’t Blink. Cause if you do, I promise you’ll miss something. That’s the way it is with us anyhow. Part of the fun in being in this family is that you never really know what is going to happen next. I don’t guarantee very much, but I do guarantee that our lives are never boring. There is always another project, another trip or another something….you fill in the blank. Things kind of just have a way of happening with us. And when they happen, they happen fast. It’s kind of like stepping in quick sand: you don’t realize that you’re in it until it’s up to your chest…and by then it’s too late. This is no exception.

It all started about six or seven months ago while we were visiting my parents. Kathy made an off the cuff comment to my dad “Have you ever thought about selling your trailer and moving into a house?” (Note: My parents a full-time RVers). It seemed innocent enough at the time. My dad responded by simply saying “Nahh”. The next day my dad calls me at work and says “You know Ron I got to thinking about what Kathy asked me. She’s right we need to sell this place and move into a house closer to town. So I called a realtor and have put my place up for sale.” We talk about them listing their house and I then I ask him “So where are you going to move to?” He thinks for a moment and says “I dunno we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.” I don’t think too much of it and move on.

Fast Forward to late August of this year, just a couple of days before the Labor Day weekend. My dad calls me again “Hey Son, you’ll never guess what happened today?” I think the worst. He continues by saying “Well, we sold our place today. A guy came by, looked at it and said he would take it. He didn’t even bicker with me on the price. We close on October 15th.” He’s excited, I’m excited and then I ask the same question I asked several months earlier “So where are you going to move to?” There’s a brief pause and I notice a slight hitch in his voice “Well…you’re mom and I have been discussing that and we want to talk to you and Kathy about that.” Uh-oh now I’m scared. I immediately think: they’re moving in with us. I brace myself as my dad continues “You know how we’ve always teased you about moving into your house?” Here it comes, I can feel it. “Well…we want to move into your house.” It's official: I just crapped my pants. Before I begin the clean up process, I think "What does he mean exactly?" Before I can ask he says “What I mean is, we want to buy your house and then you and Kathy can buy a new house. I’m serious Ron, your mom and I want to move into your house. ” I’m stunned, shocked and confused. I somehow manage an “OK…." Hey wait a minute, my house isn’t for sale! I like my house, I haven’t even thought about moving. I don’t need or want a new house; I’m perfectly happy where I’m at. Why would I want to disrupt my life like this? A new house have you seen how much those things cost?

I immediately call my wife and tell her “It’s all your fault!” She’s instinctively replies “No, it’s not!” I start my whining and say “Why did you have to say anything?” I can sense that her blood pressure is starting to rise and she says “What in the world are you talking about?” I explain to her that my parents have sold their place and want to buy ours. “See, I told you that it’s all your fault! Why can’t you learn to keep your big mou...” Whoa big fella! You better stop right there if you know what’s good for you. I catch myself before I cause any serious damage. My wife and I start laughing about it and then we say we need to discuss and pray about it. We decide to talk to my parents about it while we’re all at Mexico Beach over the Labor Day weekend. Labor Day weekend comes and my dad and I start to discuss it. I can tell he is serious because he is telling me all the things he is going to do to our house once he moves in. I take these pieces of information that I’ve gleaned from my dad back to my wife. She in turn has questions and concerns that I in turn take back to my dad. This process continues most of the weekend and until everyone is comfortable and a deal is made. It's settled: We are going to sell our house to my parents and we will buy another house.

We start the hunt for a new house but there is nothing to be found. We then start to talk to builders but that doesn't pan out. This is looking like it going to take quite awhile. Disappointment is just about ready to set in….Ok, I'll stop and spare you the details, but after much searching we have found a house - out of the blue. A new one that has just finished being built, it's actually very nice. We close on it Monday, November 1st - yes, that's this Monday. The movers come to pick up stuff on Wednesday, November 3rd and yes, that's one week from today. We have started packing a room every night since we have returned from our cruise. Tonight, the dining room. We've had a lot going on with getting ready for the close and preparing for the move - which is why I haven't updated the blog too much lately. Our telephone, cable TV and internet service are going to be disconnected this Saturday, October 30th. Our new phone and internet won't be connected until Friday, November 5th. So if we don't update the blog, you'll know it's because we are moving. I'll try to get a post or two in before we move to let you know how it's going. I still need to post about the cruise too. I'm so far behind and so much has happened that I can't even think of where to start.

So there you have it, our "BIG" news, we've sold our house, are buying a new house and we move next week. Now this not may big news for many of you but it is for us it's huge. I've waited to post this because there were some people we wanted to tell this to instead of having them read it on our blog. We've been in our house for twelve years and had no want or desire to buy another house, yet alone a new one. Buying a new house was the furtherest thing from our mind two months ago. But like I said, this is how things happen with us. Unexpected and Fast…Kinda Like Quick Sand.

The Best Laid Plans....

Well, I had every intention of updating our blog while we were on our cruise. However, I changed my mind once I saw the cost of internet time. It had increased significantly since the last time we went on a cruise. You could either get 100 minutes for $55 or go ala' carte for 75 cents a minute. Either way I felt it was a supreme rip off. Call me cheap but I just couldn't break down and do it. So sorry I didn't update even though I said I would, I just didn't feel the need to have a garage sale to pay for my internet time. Anyhow, it doesn't matter now cause we are home. We got home at about 3:15PM today. So now it's all about unpacking and doing laundry, which is pretty much what we are doing.

Let me say that our cruise was AWESOME. The ship was fantastic, the food was great, the staff was friendly and our ports were beautiful. I can't tell you how much fun we had being together for the last nine days. And we didn't even kill each other!!! It really was fun. I'll post more about it later and what we did and what happened. Just have too much to do right now and can't spend alot of time on this post. I just wanted to do a quick post and let you know why I didn't post while we were gone and that we are now home. Work tomorrow (bummer). Oh yeah, we have BIG news too - will post in a couple of days as well. Hope all is well and everyone is good. More to come...

Vacation Mode

Well this week is just about over and it can't end quick enough for me. This has been an incredibly busy week. It always the case the week before and the week after vacation. So here's the deal. Warren (Kathy's Dad) and his girlfriend (Jean) will arrive at our house sometime tomorrow (Friday). We'll eat dinner, finish packing and getting ready for our trip. We'll get up, leave and be at my parents house by 9:00AM on Saturday. We will then drive about 5 hours to Mississippi and hang out/spend the night. Liz (Kiel's girlfriend) lives about 30 minutes from where we will be staying in Mississippi. We'll go get her so she can hang out with us Saturday afternoon/evening. We are spending the night in Mississippi so we'll be close to New Orleans, we couldn't find rooms in New Orleans. Then on Sunday we'll get up drive about 45 minutes to New Orleans and then get on the ship, hopefully by 11:00ish. We set sail at 6:00PM Sunday night but we like to get on board, settle in and figure the ship out. We will be sailing on the Carnival Conquest on a seven day cruise. We will be going to Jamaica and Cozumel. We were supposed to go to Grand Cayman but it is closed to cruise ships due to the hurricanes. I called Carnival and they are looking for an alternative port for us to go to. The Conquest is so big that is difficult to find alternative ports to accomodate it. If no alternative port is found then it's an extra day at sea (no biggie). We get back in New Orleans at 8:00AM on Sunday Oct 24th, so we should be home sometime late Sunday afternoon or early Sunday evening. We are really looking forward to spending alot of time together. Hopefully there won't be a munity or we get sick of each other and try throwing each other over board.

I am going to buy some Internet time once I get on ship and blog the details of our cruise. I hope to put out a post everyday once we set sail. I believe this is going to be alot of fun and very interesting, I'm looking forward to blogging the cruise. We have an interesting group of personalites going, so who knows what is going to happen. So beginning Sunday keep checking on a daily basis to see where we are and what is happening....ya' neva know!

Hey! You Need To Move! - Part II

Okey Dokey, here is part two of my story. I didn't get it posted when I wanted, we just had too much going on. Anyway, here is the rest of it. What happened next was interesting (to me anyhow). If you ever had any doubts that I'm a freak, this will remove them...Ron

Hey! You Need to Move! - Part II
Now she has my full attention, as they say in poker “I’m all in”. I turn my body toward her and make sure we have locked eyes. I speak slowly and clearly so there is no misunderstanding what I’m about to say. “Miss, if you would have asked me to move, I would gladly changed seats with your friend”. What she says next is one of the most amazing things I’ve ever heard. She responds by saying “I did ask! I told you that you needed to move!” Did I hear her right, isn’t that something a four year old would say? I let her words sink in and I try to respond as calmly as I can “No, you didn’t ask, you told me to move, there’s a difference. If you would have asked, I would have moved.” I try best I can to put on smile, then turn away and go back to sleeping. I can hear her huffing and puffing as she dials her friend back on her cell phone. I hear the phone ring in front us, as the kids like to say "It's On Now". She tells her friend how she “asked” me to move but I refused. At this point I realize that she thinks I am evil and embody all that’s wrong with my generation. I briefly open my eyes only to catch her friend staring daggers at me. If looks could kill, I’d be worm food.

As I’m sitting there with my eyes closed, I think about what has just transpired. I would love to give her a piece of my mind. I would feel so much better if I could just let her have it, but I know I can’t. As I’m berating her in my mind, I’m interrupted by my own thoughts. This new thought says to me “You know Ron you do the same thing that she does. You’re no different than her.” What in the world, where did this come from? The thought continues by saying “Whenever you pray to the Lord you do the same thing. You don’t ask, you demand. You go before God with a plan of what you want, how you want it and when you want it. You tell God that you’ve got it figured out and that He simply needs to do as you say and everything will be just fine. When you do this you’re just as rude and arrogant as she is. Basically, you tell God what she told you: Hey! Y ou Need To Move!” I realize this isn’t my conscious, this is something much, much bigger. I know it’s not from me cause I’m simply not that smart. I open my eyes and I’m reminded of the scripture that says “You do not have, because you do not ask.” I sit and think of what this means. Lot of folks like to think this is a guarentee that means if I ask God for anything, I’m guaranteed it to get it from Him: If I name it then I can claim it. Personally, I don’t think that this is what it means. I think back to what just happened with my young neighbor. I think to myself that if only this young lady would have softened her attitude a bit, admitted she needed my help and been honest with me about what she wanted – I would have done what she wanted, I would have moved. In the same way, I now realize that’s what God wants from me. He wants me to humbly (but confidently) come to Him, admit my need for Him and be honest about what I want and why. If I approach Him in this manner then He will hear and answer my prayer. Wow - I wasn't ready for this. I wanted to rest and I got a lesson on prayer. I wanted to go home and I get spanked by Holy Spirit.

Now you probably weren’t expecting a Sunday School lesson but either was I. You’re also probably expecting something to happen between myself and the young lady sitting next to me, like me changing seats with her friend. I’m sorry to disappoint you but it doesn’t happen. I don’t move and neither does she, we don’t speak for the entire flight. I prayed to Lord and asked Him if I should move. I’ll be honest I didn’t feel the need to move. Nor do I feel guilty for not moving. Believe it or not but many times it’s okay not to feel bad when you tell someone no. I also don’t think by volunteering to move I would have done her any favors. I’m not exactly sure that what happened between us helped either, but I’m not going to reinforce her negative behavior by giving into her demands. I really don’t think God feels bad when we demand that He to do something and He denies our request. Nor do I believe we should feel bad when we're put in the same situation.

Anyway that's it, hope you're not too disappointed. No act of gallantry or chivarly on my part. I simply got a reminder that at times my attitude is really no different than those who tick me off......Later

K.C.

I'm bummed...bigtime. Katlin and I just returned from the vet's office. Our dog K.C. was very, very sick. The vet said she had a uterian infection. She was urinating all over herself and had a bunch of other nasty stuff. He tried running blood work on her but her blood was so thick that it wouldn't seperate when he tried to run a CBC. K.C. was nearly twelve years old, Kathy's mom and step-dad got her for us shortly after she was born. The doctor said that she could have surgery to try to fix this but it would be very extensive, she might not make it through and there was no guarntee it would be successful. Given all this and that K.C. was 12 yrs old we decided to have the vet put her to sleep. The vet said that Golden Retrievers live to be 10 years old on average so she lived a very long life. Kat and I got to spend about an hour with her at the vets. She was pretty latarghic and just kind of laid on the table. We said goodbye to her and didn't stay with her while they put her down, we simply couldn't do it. We also asked the vet to dispose of her as well.

She was a really good dog, she loved to chase tennis balls. She would pester you to death just to throw her a tennis ball. K.C. also loved to be touched. Recently during the hurricane we let K.C. stay in doors and gave her free run of the house, something I don't believe we ever did before. She would come up to me when I was on the computer and put her nose under my arm so I rub her. Once her nose was under my arm she would jerk her head up which would throw my arm on her back so I would rub her. K.C. had a great disposition, she was wonderful with the boys particularly when they were little. She never bit or snapped at any of us. She was just a sweet girl. My biggest problem I had with her was that she loved to dig. After trying to stop her from digging for about five years, I gave up. I finally realized that was just her nature and that's just what she did. Once I accepted that, K.C. and got along fine, especially over the last five years or so. When we recently evacuated for Hurricane Ivan K.C. went with us. It was her last road trip and she had a blast. She stayed in our hotel room, slept on our bed and got to spend a lot of time with us giving her a bunch of attention. I'm glad she went with us and we got to be with her. But I know now that we all will miss our 'K.C. Girl'.

By the way her name K.C. (even though we called her 'Casey') was because Kathy, Kiel and Katlin's intials are 'K.C.' and not because we are big fans of K.C. and the Sunshine Band. Sorry to ramble on about my dog. I had intended to post the second part of my story, maybe tomorrow night. There is alot going on with us right now. Perhaps I'll discuss that as well this weekend. Hope all is well and everyone is doing good. Later.

Hey! You Need To Move! - Part I

Okay, here we go. I am going to try something a bit different. I am going to post a two part story. I'll try and post the second part in the next couple of days. We'll see how this works out...Ron

Northwest Airlines – Flight 5771 – Memphis, TN to Panama City, FL – I’m finally going home. A week has never felt so long. The gate attendant makes the announcement and it’s now time to board. I get up from my seat, sling my computer carrying case over my shoulder, make my way to the attendant and give her my ticket. I then make my way through the jet way, smile half-heartedly at the flight attendant standing at the entrance of the plane and begin to look for my seat. My ticket stub says seat 9D, which is a window seat just like I asked for. I peer down the aisle of the airplane and see if I can see where I’m sitting. Slowly I inch my way closer to my seat. After what seems like several minutes I arrive next to where I’ll be sitting.

Sitting in the aisle seat next to mine, seat 9C, is a young lady about 18 or 19 years old. Her age makes me think of my oldest son. This is a very small commuter aircraft, so in order to get to my seat she’ll need to move so I can get by. She is talking on her cell phone and she’s not happy. Let’s just say her conversation is very animated. At this point she hasn’t noticed me hovering over her or acknowledged my presence. After several moments she looks up and we make eye contact. I seize the opportunity and say “Excuse me, but I believe that’s my seat next to you. Would you mind if...” Without saying a word she cuts me off – she raises her left hand and lifts her pointer finger upward and looks at me as if to say “Shhh – I’m busy here”. By now the line behind me is stopped and is growing longer. We’re not moving and I can sense the impatience of my fellow passengers. It’s like I can hear their thoughts - “What is the hold up?” – “Come buddy take your seat!” – “What is this guy’s deal?” From the front of the aircraft I hear the flight attendant say “Sir, you’ll need take your seat so the other passengers can get by”. Without looking I know who she’s talking to. I turn toward her direction, look past the row that has assembled behind me and tell her I am waiting for the young lady to move. The flight attendant now understands and tells the young lady “Miss, you’ll need to move so this gentlema…” Mid sentence she gets up but she’s not happy. You can hear her tell whoever she is talking to “Just a minute, there making me move so some guy can get by”. That’s interesting ‘some guy’ huh? I make my way past her seat and place my computer under the seat in front of me as quickly as I can. I sit down, she sits down and I turn and tell her “Thank You” but she ignores me.

I can’t help but hear her conversation – “I can’t believe they won’t let us sit together, it’s so unfair. This is going to be the most boring flight ever!” I then notice that her gaze is fixed in front of us. I follow her stare and about six rows in front of us notice another young lady, same age, on a cell phone, staring back at her. You mean this is why we waited in the aisle? So two teenage girls on an hour long flight could whine about not sitting together? Unbelievable - I’m over it. I take the pillow that was lying in my seat, put it behind my head and close my eyes. I’ve been married for over 20 years, I know what you do in situations like these – you fake sleeping. Her rant continues and I continue to play dead. Now she starts to lay hints – “I don’t know, maybe they’d move”. I don’t bite. Her frustration with my inability to take a hint finally gets the best of her. She taps my leg and says “Hey, you need to move!” I’m shocked - “Excuse me?” I say as I awake from my feigned slumber. “Yeah, you need to move” she says again. Now I know exactly what she wants me to do but I do exactly as she says. I scoot my big butt away from her and towards the window. I act dumb and say “Is that better?” (I can be a real stinker at times) Now she’s really angry – “No that’s not what I mean. You need to move so my friend can sit there!”

To Be Continued.....