THAT'S A HARD PILL TO SWALLOW!

S2 will be here in three days!! We can hardly wait! We’re setting up for another crawfish boil, and may try some charbroiled oysters, as well.

This past weekend was my “duty weekend” as Big J puts it. I preached at all three services at our church. I think it went well, although Linda says that my homily Saturday evening was different from the one at 11AM Mass on Sunday. Same message, different delivery I guess.

I don’t know what’s going on, but Sunday afternoon brought with it a migraine that left me pretty much out of commission until Tuesday morning. I missed work Monday and part of Tuesday morning because of it. At least I was able to go to BB’s birthday party. She’s six years old, going on 60!

H2 went to see IDD1 yesterday. She says, “Let’s take out the PICC and put you on pills for a week to see how you do.” H2 responded with, “How about we LEAVE THE PICC IN while we see how I do, so we don’t have to have it put back later?!?” DUH!! I really have very little confidence in the IDDs we’ve seen so far.

It looks like the PICC will probably be removed next Monday. If so, Linda may be going back to Memphis in about a week and a half. I don’t relish that thought, even a little!! It’s been really great having her here for the past 10 weeks!

H2 continues to improve, despite the doctors. He is getting out more, has driven his truck a couple of times, and his appetite is returning (witness the Taco Bell bags in the trash!!). Thanks to everyone for their prayers.

We received news yesterday that the 14 month old daughter of a friend of H2 passed away. She had leukemia. She was also a twin, but her brother is ok. Please pray for the family during this especially hard time.

Rumor has it that H1/DIL1 will be back in NOLA for the weekend. One can almost feel the excitement mounting! Probably the single worst thing that has happened to our family, courtesy of Katrina, is H1/DIL1 moving permanently to Houston. They may not agree with that assessment. They both have good jobs and lots of quality time without family interference, but we miss them more than we can put into words.

That’s it for now. I’m outta here! TC&GB!

Remember man, thou art dust, and to dust you will return.

H1/DIL1/HF1 and my brother, like Mardi Gras, have come and gone. We had a great time with everyone here. I hope they enjoyed it as much as we did. Because of work commitments H1/DIL1/HF1 had to leave on Tuesday, but they got back safe and sound, and we look forward to their return in the near future. Perhaps when S2 comes to town?

The crawfish boil on Monday came off without a hitch. 80 pounds of mudbugs cooked in two batches. They were perfect! Good flavor, and they slid right out of their shells. MMMMmmmmmm!!! As it got dark, the kids lit a fire in a metal fire pit that we had received for Christmas. We sat outside for about 3 hours listening to music and socializing. It was one of the best boils EVER!

We were especially fortunate to have our very dear friends Keith and Chris and Aunt Bev and Uncle Mickey over for the boil. They were joined by Linda and Patrick from Christ the King, two people who were instrumental in making my short time there a pleasant memory. K&C brought California cousins who seemed to enjoy our New Orleans style hospitality.

As you may know, today is Ash Wednesday. It is a day of fasting (refraining from food and drink to some degree) and abstinence (refraining from eating meat). These activities of self-sacrifice are intended to help us grow in self-discipline and holiness. For lunch I went to a nearby Italian style restaurant, Café Roma, and had a small garlic cheese pizza and a glass of iced tea. The pizza was delicious, even without meat. I guess my sacrifice on this occasion was to not get the large pizza.

May your Lenten journey be one of self-discovery, self-discipline and self-improvement as we try harder to live our lives as our Lord asks us to do, acknowledging with heartfelt gratitude the ultimate sacrifice He made for us.

God bless you!!

Ah, the god of Wine, Women and Song

Happy Lundi Gras!! The sun is shining and it looks like a good day to "burl" some mudbugs!

Yesterday Linda, P&J, I-Buddy and BB, KenEllie, and OB went to the Bacchus parade. Actually there are four parades that run almost the same route on the same day. P&J and family and OB went early and saw three parades before Bacchus. KenEllie, L, and I arrived later and caught the last of the Krewe of MidCity, and then all of Bacchus. H1/DIL1 and HF1 went downtown to catch the parade closer to the end of the route, later in the evening. The crowds at the beginning were probably the heaviest I've ever seen for that early in the day, and stayed that way 'til the end, although everyone was pretty much in control and no incidents were noticed. All in all it was a great day! We missed Kong and Momma Kong, though. Don't know what happened to those two floats. Baby Kong was there.

S2 is coming to NOLA next month! We are SO excited. She's bringing 3 friends to show off our fair (although somewhat worn in spots) city. I hope they enjoy and can see how much has been done so far in our recovery, and, perhaps more importantly, how much is left still to do. People around the country need to understand that we here in New Orleans are NOT just resting on our laurels, that work is being done but the job is just so immense!

Well, that's it from Mardi Gras central. Y'all take care. God bless!!

THE TIME HAS COME, THE WALRUS SAID

The madness that is Carnival in New Orleans is in full swing!! If you need to get anywhere in the city in a hurry, you'd better be there already or you won't make it! What with parades, and moving floats, and masses of people going to areas that they don't normally go, traffic is horrible most of the time on the major arteries of the city. It's a real exercise in patience to go just about anywhere.

OB got in late yesterday evening, and H1/DIL1 and their Houston friend (HF1) arrived in the wee hours of the morning. Looks like we've got a great group for this final weekend leading up to Mardi Gras.

Tomorrow is "Bacchus Sunday". We normally go uptown to St. Stephen's Church on Napolean Avenue early in the AM. After securing our spot, we hunker down to watch three parades over the course of the day. One memorable year the Budweiser Clydesdales vans pulled up right in front of us and unloaded the horses. We were treated to watching as they were harnessed and brushed and prepared for the parade. The kids were thrilled!

Monday we're hosting a crawfish boil for family, friends and Uganda seminarians. Hopefully it won't be too cold. We'll be cooking in the afternoon, eating late afternoon to early evening, just as the temps begin to drop. Afterward many will head over to the CBD to watch the Krewe of Orpheus parade.

We wish you all a very Happy Mardi Gras which, by the way, is a holiday from work here in New Orleans. Because of the many parades that day, it is difficult to travel to and from work, so most businesses (other than restaurants and groceries) are closed.

Laissez les bon temps roullez!!!

BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU ASK FOR!!!

Well, I guess I asked for it. I got this response to my “scorecard”:
“Hey! What about the S2-PA, and S1-CT, S3-NY and S4-NY, etc. We never get mentioned here and are feeling pretty left out. Especially when some of us are coming to visit!!! Soon!!!!! Like in a few weeks!!!!! Only B-OH gets any mention. I guess I can safely be referred to as WB now, huh?”

So, allow me to add the following (and how could my sister EVER be WB???):

OB – Only Brother, (or Ohio Brother), # 1 sibling, lives in Ohio
S1 - # 1 sister, # 2 sibling, oldest sister, 4th youngest sister, lives in Connecticut
S2 - # 2 sister, # 3 sibling, author of above complaint, 2nd oldest sister, 3rd youngest sister, lives in Pennsylvania
S3 - # 3 sister, # 4 sibling, 3rd oldest sister, 2nd youngest sister, lives in upstate New York
S4 - # 4 sister, # 5 sibling, 4th oldest sister, youngest sister, lives in upstate NY

PLUS>>> I went to lunch with my usual lunch bunch today, and one of them would hardly speak to me. Seems that I also left Big J out of the list. So…

Big J – Big John, husband of Janet, longtime friend, coworker, avid golfer, fisherman, all around good guy.

TOTO, WE'RE NOT IN KANSAS ANY MORE!!

Tornadoes in Southeast Louisiana!! Apparently a twister touched down on the West Bank of the Mississippi in Westwego, then crossed over the river and travelled through Uptown New Orleans and out to the Lakefront. We managed to sleep through everything. No damage to our neighborhood at all, thank God! Our prayers are with the family of the elderly woman who was killed when her FEMA trailer was hit.

I just wanted to let everyone know that we are ok.

Who's On First? What's On Second? I Don't Know... Third Base!

Here's a scorecard, just for fyi. I added a couple for future reference.

H1 - Husband # 1, # 1 Son... lives in Houston
DIL1 - Daughter In Law # 1 - wife of H1
H2 - Husband # 2 (we tease him...), # 2 Son, lives in NOLA, not married
KenEllie - # 3 Son and his lovely bride
LDB - Little Drummer Boy, Ken of KenEllie
LE - "L" "E", Ellie of KenEllie
DIL2 - Daughter In Law # 2, LE
P&J - # 1 Daughter and her husband, # 1 child
Major Dad - husband of # 1 daughter
I-buddy - # 1 grandson, # 1 grandchild, son of P&J
BB - # 1 granddaughter, # 2 grandchild, daughter of P&J
Molly, MG, MMP (Molly McPharty) - Molly Grace, # 2 granddaughter, # 3 grandchild, daughter of P&J
FL1 - Foxy lady 1, friend of H2 and H2's family

NS - Neurosurgeon
NSR - Neurosurgeon Resident
IDD1 - First infectious disease doctor to be involved with H2's case
IDD2 - Second IDD to be involved with H2's case
IDD3 - Third IDD to be involved etc.
IDD4 - Are we seeing a trend here?!?!

SIL-NY - Sister in law in New York. Comes with BIL-NY.
SIL-O - Sister in law in Orlando. Comes with BIL-O.


I spent 21+ years in the Navy, and have worked for the Navy as a civilian employee for 10 years. Do you think the Navy's penchant for abbreviating anything and everything (a&e) has rubbed off on me?

Let me know if I've left any abbreviations out that warrant an explanation.

WILL YOU STILL NEED ME? WILL YOU STILL FEED ME?

We're not quite 64 yet, but it was 39 years ago this evening that I met the beautiful young woman who would become my wife and the wonderful mother of our children!! I love her more now than ever. Maybe it's because we met so close to Valentine's Day?

We're hoping to see The Last King of Scotland this evening. For those who don't know, it's about Uganda, and Idi Amin. Forrest Whitaker plays Amin and is getting accolades for his performance.

As Molly has grown, apparently I haven't been around enough. Patti and the kids came over this afternoon. Linda was holding Molly and brought her over by me while I was stuffing a turkey for dinner. Sure enough, just like last week , it wasn't long before she was crying, tears just streaming down her little cheeks!! I suppose it's the beard, but still... I guess I'll have to wait until she's old enough for Mickey D's french fries or cheetoh's.

Please pray a bit longer for H2. He needs help mentally. Having the IVs then not having the IVs then having them again, and taking pills that make him sick is wearing him down. At least the home health nurse (married... darn) is very nice, and cute, to boot!!

From us in New Orleans to you who are not, Happy Mardi Gras!!!

I CAN'T DRIVE 55!!

Quick H2 update. It seems that IDD1 wants to add an IDD4 to the mix! What is with these guys? I'm ready to tell them that they need to figure out which IDD knows the most, and THAT's the one we want to deal with! GEEEEEZ!!!

I gotta admit, though, even with all his pain and suffering, H2 is still a good lookin' kid!! Yeah!!

Me, H2, and Ian... Zephyr Stadium... Fridays... That ROCKS!

Did I mention H2's situation's silver lining? Linda has been home for 55 days!!! And she's not going away anytime soon!!!

IT AIN'T GONNA BE A GOOD DAY!!!

I ordered three portable air conditioners and accessories for work. Yesterday they arrived via FedEx, a day earlier than expected. This was great, because they are for extra cooling in one of the server rooms that can't handle the load since we added our servers to it.

Anyway, the packing slip on the pallet said there were 16 pieces. After unbanding and unshrinkwrapping the pallet, I counted only 13 boxes. I placed a call to the vendor who assured me that all was ok and that once I opened all the boxes, all the pieces would be there.

This morning, as we prepared to move the boxes from SSC, where I work, to the Port, which is across town, I noticed that none of the boxes weighed more than a few pounds. NONE of them! Each of the portable A/C units should weigh 110 pounds. I think I found out what didn't arrive yesterday! Let's see... 13 boxes + 3 A/C units = 16 pieces!!! OUCH!!!

Now I'm trying to get the vendor hot on tracking down the missing pieces. Everything has to be assembled and installed by tomorrow!

Life ain't easy for a boy named Sue... or Dean.