Got a Pet? or a New Car?

I love to hear updates on everyone's lives. Of course, I wish to know of health issues that we are sending good wishes and prayers to. I think JAMES HAYS and a crew of six recently met to discuss a class reunion in October. I will keep you informed as I learn more.

In the meantime, I can always count on DENNY HILL to answer my requests with something interesting from his home in New York. 

"I can easily understand how you might be thirsty for any news. For me it is like so; these days I am happy to get any news, or especially any juicy gossip, from my friends. This is of course because of the long isolation due to COVID. So here are some small drips and drabs from my rather uneventful recent life:

"I officially retired on June 1, 2021, at age 81. It means I do not have to teach any more! I was planning to take the option offered to me to become, after retirement, a so-called 'Toll Professor' {named after some guy named Toll who was the founding president of my university} for an additional 3-years. It would have meant that I would still be paid some small amount from university funds, but I would have to teach one course per year for the next 3-years, and I could keep my large beautiful office at my university. But COVID convinced me to not take that option. I was still working over the summer on an important committee, but now that is also over. I have not been on campus, or to my office for about one and one half years. Sometime this year I will have to clean it out, which will be an enormous pain, since I have had that office for 48-years, and a big part of my life is/was there.

"The result of all this, plus not being able to travel, is that I have been forced to rediscover my house, and actually enjoy living in it, instead of just using it as a giant closet in which to stash my stuff while I was elsewhere. It has been amazing; like discovering that all my plumbing needed to be replaced because it was old and leaking and neglected. And finding many things I had forgotten I even had that had never been used, or books and things I once thought about reading, but had forgotten even existed, etc......

"Another funny thing is that by retiring I no longer get paid by the state of New York; hence I was forced to start to tap my retirement accounts {the US government makes you take out some so called 'minimum disbursement' each year as soon as you retire, so that they get paid the income tax not yet paid on it before you expire and pass your retirement accumulation on to your dependents}. So I had to do that, and it meant before taxes that I got a $53,000 raise per year over my usual salary. [Isn't it a pi** that you get all this money only when it is much too late, and you are much too old to enjoy it!]

"As far as traveling anywhere, I do seem to be screwed completely. I have not been able to visit my place in Warsaw for a year and a half now, and was hoping to go around Christmas time this year; but now I am afraid that the Delta variant will be in full swing there then. At the moment it has not hit there hard yet, but I am sure it will arrive. Just look at what is now happening in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida, etc. Here in my Suffolk County the Delta variant is exponentially increasing, even when 58% of the total population has been fully vaccinated. I think it will take 80% or so to stop it."

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VIRGINIA EGAN answered my request as to how she and Mike are doing lately: "Mike is still going to dialysis in San Angelo and gets very tired of going. We have had the vaccines and will get a booster as soon as they have them. Be sure and be careful. I know two young men in their 30s who were fully vaccinated and did get COVID. One of them had a friend who was exposed at the same time, same source and wasn't vaccinated. Had a severe case."

I can only imagine making that trip to San Angelo two or more times a week and sitting in a chair with medicine pumping into my veins for hours. I hope you take a good book to read with you, Virginia! Here's wishing Mike good health and lots of patience for both of you!

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JIMMY COWLISHAW wrote that he and Betty have recently moved back to Paris. "Not doing any work at this time, but will start a job in Kerrville soon. Stay cool." 

I said that I hoped he meant Paris, Texas! He followed up with his new address, which I will forward to you all to put in your handbook.

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It's fun to use these photos --- some of which are several years old. I'm not sure about you, but I have aged considerably since we last saw one another. If you wish to have me post a more recent one, please send them to me. Of course, it's good to remember how we once were. In the case of those who send me new ones, thank you. 

Stanley

 

I also checked on my good friend TRUMAN CONNER as I had not heard from him in quite a while. I was happy to receive this: "All is well here with lots of well appreciated rain.  Have been playing some golf but not as motivated when the weather is hot. David and I have taken a few short trips just to get away. Stanley goes with us and travels well on road trips. Can't leave him at home, and the vet says pet kennels are more stressful on cats than on dogs. No surprise there."

How about an update from those of you with pets - and maybe some photos? I have really longed for a pet during 

Nimbus

these COVID isolation days. I've settled for occasional visits from daughter Carajean's dog Nimbus and son Matthew's frisky dog Nala. I do not have a fenced yard, and I'm no longer able to walk a dog. My oxygen tank is a wee bit too heavy!

Nala

Nimbus is getting older and loves to have his back rubbed when he visits. He is deaf, but looks you in the eye and watches for hand signals! As soon as he comes through the door and spies me sitting on the sofa, he trots over and backs his little rump up against my legs, looking over his shoulder with those expressive eyes as if to say, "Back rub, please." And of course, I comply. Touching that beautiful, soft fur is pleasing to me as well.

Nala, an Aussiedoodle, is still a pup. She will play "fetch" as long as you will toss a ball.. even catching it in the air. When she cannot get anyone to play with her at home, she drops a ball off the 2-story deck into the yard, runs down the stairs, "fetches" it, brings the ball back upstairs and does it all over again!

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(2020 Suburu Outback dashboard)

Are you looking for some excitement in your life? If you are one of those folks who love to ride dangerous roller coasters or the like, this may interest you. I'm not a big fan of carnival rides, so my recent experience of riding with my son Matthew on a trip to the doctor was a little scary. The photo looks like the dashboard of his auto. I think I had a television with a screen not much larger than that! The GPS on it proves to be useful in finding the address you are seeking, and of course, the voice giving you instructions when and where to change lanes and/or turn helps as well. However, this car has one feature that makes it dangerous in my opinion. Automatic driving! Imagine driving on a busy freeway, cars lined up in front and rear and both sides of you, and your driver takes his hands off the wheel! (I was wishing I had ordered some of those "Depends for Women"!)  

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The news is terrible as usual so I turn to some of my humorous authors for relief. One is Garrison Keillor. This quote was from an article he wrote today. (The World is Not My Home) You football fans reading this will get a chuckle. I think he is right on about the violence in sports. If it is truly satisfying man's (and woman's) taste for violence, I'm all for it.

"I’m an old liberal and I do think that America has been spared a great deal of trouble by the fact that so much hostility that might go into terrorism is expended instead on competitive sports. Christians aren’t influenced by the Sunday sermon so much as by the NFL game afterward, the sacking of the quarterback, repeated in slo-mo, his arm up to pass and three behemoths hit him amidships and the helmet flies off and he crumples to the turf, a broken man: thus our lust for violence is sated." Garrison Keillor

If there is something here that jogs your memory of a story or two you wish to share with us, please send it. We all need to keep our connection. Go Bearcats!

Peace and much love,

Marilyn 

PANDEMIC - YEAR II

The second year of the COVID-19 pandemic started off with a bang for those of us in Texas. The news coverage kept us informed -- that is, if we had electricity. Many lost both power and water during the "arctic blast" that lasted nearly a week and broke many records here, with temperatures dropping into the single digits. I spent a lot of time on my computer checking on family and friends. The ones I could reach. Fortunately, most of my family were lucky enough not to lose electricity or water. We did have to boil water for three or four days. Some suffered rolling blackouts, but said they didn't last very long. 

So many were without power that freezing pipes have created nightmares for hundreds, if not thousands, of residents here in Austin. Videos of broken water pipes flooding homes and even causing ceilings to collapse while doing so make me count my blessings again and again. 

(WFAA)

The lack of enough plumbers to make the repairs to the myriad of burst pipes has created long lines of people at sites that are providing drinking water. Being without potable water for nearly two weeks or longer presents great hardships for those affected. Thankfully, many volunteers and organizations have stepped up to assist with repairs and providing necessary food and water. FEMA is now helping victims and businesses as well.

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I don't always hear much from you guys, but there are a few I can count on for a little (or a lot) of news. The following are some of the communications I extracted during the past few weeks.

Somewhere I let it be known that it has been over a year since I visited my hair stylist. My hair has since grown more than the thirteen inches I had cut off at that time. Denny had a clever solution for his own hair.

DENNY HILL: (Feb. 4) "It has been a year since I have had a

haircut, but it grows rather slowly. I trimmed it a bit myself around the ears, looking in the mirror with scissors." (Of course, you could always wear a pony tail and that great beret!) (Feb. 16) "Looks like not very much snow around my house. The snow around my house has melted down somewhat, but is still from 1 to 1-1/2 feet deep. At the end of my driveway there is a snow hill formed by the snowplow that is as high as my waist. That is why I am snowbound for 2 or 3 weeks. But otherwise the weather is nice, the air is very clean, all roads are clear, which means that is you have managed to dig your car out, or get it out of the garage, then there is no problem to drive around. But I prefer to just leave my cars in my garage and relax and be snowbound."

TRUMAN CONNER: (Feb. 19) "It was tough going until yesterday morning when we finally got water and electricity. We had one 24-hour stretch with no water or electricity. HEB has been a mob scene though." 

TRUMAN gets his second COVID vaccination March 13th.

JUNE HASH CURRY: (Feb. 4) "I did manage to get my first COVID shot, and the second one scheduled. (Feb. 16) It was -17 (degrees) last night but we have not lost power, thank God. Chris finally got to work today without incident, so all is good."

MARTHA NORTHINGTON: (Feb. 19) "Ok now. No power or water until yesterday. Whole family went to hotel. Water flowing but still has to be boiled. Heat working. Anne (her daughter) just stood in line at grocery and got a few things for me. Had to toss everything in refrigerator."

NANCY THOMPSON BAKER is usually up-to-date on Ballinger news. On February 12 I sent her an article about the San Angelo water being toxic, and asked her how she was holding up. This was her reply, "Wow! wow! I am okay for now but not looking forward to ice, sleet and snow being alone. My dog is too little to keep me warm...nearly all my heat is connected to electricity, so concerned...very concerned, about the duration of cold weather." She told me about VIRGINIA EGAN and Mike losing power. She didn't lose power or water, but later told me, "I had someone call to check on me as there were no tire tracks (in the snow) leaving my driveway. I have everything I need. I learned to survive when Jake was traveling!"  At one time she stuck a yardstick into the snow off her back steps and said there was at least 5 inches.

VIRGINIA HARRAL EGAN: (Feb. 19)

"Finally got a dialysis treatment for Mike yesterday. The dialysis center had lots of problems such as broken generator and the contaminated water situation in San Angelo, which has been ongoing for 2-weeks. The machines use a lot of water. He went back for another treatment today because he had gone 6-days without one. We had the rolling blackouts, but have managed to survive and our water supply has been good. If it hadn't been for the worry about Mike's health I could have dealt with it better. Family has been checking on us constantly. My daughter, Carolyn came and stayed with us for 3-days. I am looking forward to normal, if there is a normal anymore."

I later heard from NANCY that some dialysis patients had to be airlifted via helicopter to treatment centers. VIRGINIA didn't mention this and I forgot to ask.

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Mallie Sue Vessel, sister of BARBARA CAMPBELL WITTE. (March 31, 1940 - February 15, 2021) I am sorry I missed this when BARBARA'S brother Grady's obituary was mentioned on the last blog post. I think their memorial was held on the same day. You may read her obituary and leave your condolences at Lange Funeral Home.

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I'm pretty sure many of you either had recent experiences as scary as ours or have had a good laugh at the predicament we here in Texas found ourselves in during the recent wicked weather we suffered. This on top of the COVID pandemic seemed almost too much to bear. At least in this part of Texas. We definitely are not used to it. Can you imagine that Del Rio recorded a record-breaking 11.2 inches of snowfall?

My front porch.

My back deck.

The bad weather? Well, Considering what we have been through in recent years, I think we all must admit that climate change is upon us. Hopefully, the Texas leaders will do whatever is necessary to prepare us for any future events such as the one we just went through. It was sad to think that so many of the Board members of ERCOT that nearly completely failed our electricity needs don't even live in Texas. They all received salaries of six figures. (Needless to say, they have since resigned.) Even though they were advised that our grid needed to be upgraded, they ignored doing anything, which left us at a point we were less than five minutes away from the whole state losing power and shutting down completely. 

I do hope most of you have been escaping the coronavirus and perhaps have one or more of the vaccinations under your belt by now. I would love to hear from you. Let me know how you are coping with the isolation the pandemic has forced upon us. Share some of the "good stuff" you have experienced as well.

Until next time..

Peace and love,

Marilyn

LATEST NOTICES

I have been waiting to hear from more of you before writing a new post.  Sadly, most of the news I've received has not been happy news. The latest was sent to me by TRUMAN CONNER in regards to the passing of HAROLD HUDGENS.

"Harold Hudgens, 81, of Ballinger, passed away Saturday, February 6, 2021, at Shannon Medical Center in San Angelo. A full obituary will follow." 

BARBARA CAMPBELL WITTE's brother, Grady Campbell, Sr., 78, passed away Thursday, January 28, 2021, at his home in Ballinger, Texas. 

JIMMY COWLISHAW's sister, "Emma Lou Cowlishaw Smith peacefully passed away at her home Saturday morning. (January 23, 2021) She was the first of seven children born to Herbert Cowlishaw and Marie Killingsworth; she was born August 17, 1933, in Ballinger."

I usually try to keep up with Ballinger news on their website, but I'm finding out they don't always list all of the obituaries. Each of the above can be located on the Lange Funeral Home website, where you may also submit your condolences. Lange Funeral Home

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Not all news from your classmates are gloomy or sad. Some have advised me they have gotten or have an appointment to get the COVID-19 vaccinations. My first one is to be on March 1st. Daughter Carajean is taking me to the drive-through, where she is also scheduled for her first shot.

MARTHA NORTHINGTON has had both of her vaccinations as her daughter is a nurse here in Austin. MARTHA made a quick run to the doctor's office where she worked when they ran completely out of appointments and had a few leftovers that were going to expire. 

JUNE HASH CURRY has gotten her first shot and the second one scheduled!

TRUMAN CONNER has an appointment to get his first one this month.

NANCY THOMPSON BAKER said she is scheduled to get her first shot in April. Lucky her, a home health nurse will administer it to her in her home.

DENNY HILL always keeps me up-to-date. Recently I received the

following email from him. It's always such fun to hear from him!

"Miracles do Happen!" .. "I can still hardly believe it, but I got my 1st COVID-19 vaccination shot today! Out of the blue came the info that on Sat & Sun, Jan 30 & 31, there were openings available for the first dose at Stony Brook. I found out about it on Friday afternoon, and by Saturday afternoon I had the shot. Nobody I know understands what happened.

"It was shockingly well planned, organized, and executed. The National Guard was there to direct traffic, and guide you to the site. It progressed in a simple, orderly but thorough fashion, and they signed you up for an appointment for the 2nd dose. Everyone was very polite and helpful.

"I do not know how to explain it. Maybe some goose flew over and dropped a golden egg."

When I asked if the last big Arctic Blast that hit the east coast had affected him, DENNY told me he currently had a foot of snow in his yard. Today I saw on the weather that a second Blast was to reach them again. I emailed him and asked if he had plenty of food on hand in case he got snowed in. He responded that it is already snowing.

One more thing before I close.. well, two more. First, please let me know how each of you and your family are doing. 

Secondly, please keep GENE ROUTH and his family in your thoughts and prayers. It is terribly hard -- as you all know -- to lose a loved one. And there are more than one way to lose someone dear to you. GENE's wife Lenna is in a memory care facility. Being away from a spouse you have been married to for over 50-years is difficult. And the added sadness when they are unable to recall many of those years makes it even harder.

Until next time..

Peace and love,

Marilyn

HOLIDAY NEWS AND UPDATES

I haven't written here in a long while. Mostly, due to the events happening in our country politically. They put a damper on my enthusiasm for the holidays, and for writing anything other than emails and Christmas cards.

Thanksgiving was held at my daughter Carajean's home on Lake Travis. Her daughter Ashlyn came from OKC with her cat, Olive. Olive had recently undergone surgery and needed medication a couple of times a day. Carajean's dad, BOB BURTON and his wife Ann were also there. Ann is highly allergic to cats, so I volunteered to keep Olive over here. I sent my sweet potato/apple casserole (which I'm now discovering very few in their family like sweet potatoes), was glad I didn't have to lug an oxygen tank over, and was delighted to get plates full of all the turkey and trimmings and desserts brought to me!  Meanwhile, Olive made herself at home.  She explored most everything she could jump on, and even slept on my bed briefly. I held my breath as she decided to check out my totem table (this is a little blurry). I really enjoyed this furry little companion! However I missed the domino games with the BURTONS.

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DENNY HILL usually spends the Christmas and New Year's holidays in Warsaw, so I asked if he planned to do so again this year. As usual, I got what I asked for -- interesting news from DENNY.

"Marilyn, you asked if I was spending Christmas with some Polish family?  

"Christmas in Poland lasts effectively for 3 days:
  24th is Vigilia
  25th is first day of Christmas
  26th is second day of Christmas

"So, for example, tonight, the 24th, I am invited to spend Vigilia with Aleksander Wysochi(*)...it will be the 3rd consecutive time I have spent Vigilia with him. He cooks a special dinner for us, which consists of a number of courses, starting with the mandatory shot of cold vodka, before the special marinated herring with his 7 spices which he has prepared 3-days before...then a soup most likely with mushrooms and small pierogi...likely a cup of borsch, then of course the carp, salad...and who knows what (there have to be 12 dishes...for the 12 disciples)...and one empty place setting for the unexpected guest...that is their tradition, even if you are an atheist.

(Me: I think most of us will agree that we prefer the traditional holiday dinner of turkey - or bird of some kind - and all the accompanying side dishes like dressing, mashed potatoes, and even green bean casserole! I freaked at the idea of carp!)

"Thankfully on the 25th I have a day to recover from the Vigilia. Then on the 26th it begins all over again, with a more or less normal Christmas feast, and I am invited to the Nurowski's along with the Trautmanns. Ewa and Kasia, Pawel's wife and daughter are already working on it. 

"There is a little interval to rest up to get ready to survive New Year's eve, but I will cross that bridge when I come to it. (Thankfully, if you recover from New Year's eve, then it sort of is over, January 6 being the next time to worry.)

"(*) He lives a few blocks down the street from me. Aleksander is a 67-year-old Polish actor, mostly on stage, but also in some movies. Now he is retired from acting, and makes his living by sometimes dubbing movies or computer games, but actually has his own business training people in the business environment who need to become better at presenting themselves or their products. He uses his stage acting skills to teach them how to get their message across. Interesting and nice guy, who helps me with my Polish by speaking very carefully and not too fast, so I can understand."

DENNY later told me he spent an enjoyable New Year's Day watching commercial-free concerts of classical music and operatic tributes to Pavaroti on Polish TV. He neglected to say how he survived New Year's Eve.

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JUNE HASH CURRY Family - Christmas '19

JUNE (the lovely silver-haired lady in the front row) celebrated Christmas with her family. Even sons Kevin and Michael, who have been living in Mexico for the past year. Kevin was kind enough to write an article last year about their experiences moving there for my other blog: "To Take or Not to Take". 

As some of you may know, JUNE has experienced back pain for many years, having surgery and many attempts by doctors to relieve the pain with no success. In December she wrote the following regarding a new device her doctor wanted to try:

"I have such good news concerning the device for my back. I am scheduled to have the wires inserted for the testing part of the procedure done on New Year's Eve. Then after 8-days of seeing and feeling whether or not this device will help my spine with the enormous pain relief I need from it, I will either go back for the full surgical procedure of installation, or we will know after the testing whether or not to take out the wires and call it a no-go. If this doesn’t work I will have to go back to the last surgeon and have more drastic surgery further up my spine, which he doesn’t want to do at my age and I really do not want to have." 

This past Saturday I asked her how it was working, and was delighted to get this: "I am nicely wired up and in the fifth day of testing the device. It is working beautifully and I cannot wait for the permanent surgical procedure."

Please keep JUNE in your thoughts and prayers that this is the relief she needs so badly. There might be some of you who experience back pain as well, and therefore, will benefit from knowing about JUNE's new device.

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Not everyone had the best of times during the recent holidays. A few days ago, NANCY THOMPSON BAKER called me and told me she had 14 family members for Christmas dinner. She then went on to tell me that since then, her and Jake's son Russ and his wife Kathy had a house fire that destroyed or damaged nearly all of their belongings. What a blessing no one was hurt. Thankfully, they had rental insurance. In the meantime, they are staying in a motel and wearing temporary clothing NANCY and daughter Phyllis picked up for them at Goodwill.

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While we all have counted our blessings in recent weeks, we must turn our attention and our prayers to the horrific wildfires going on in Australia. The devastation, loss of lives, homes, and wildlife should make us more and more aware of climate change; and urge our lawmakers to pay attention and do something in the way of laws or regulations to help the worldwide effort to curb it.

Our prayers must also be continuous for the thousands of U.S. military who are being sent to the Middle East to join others in protection against the terrorist organizations and the Iranian government's threats due to the recent attack carried out against their top General by our current president and his administration. 

May God bless us all in this new decade.

Peace and love,

Marilyn

WEATHER, ANTELOPE, ELK, AND GOOD ITALIAN FOOD AND WINE

Another "hodgepodge" of information from the BHS Class of '57.

To try to keep up with the weather across the U.S. lately is a big job (almost as hard as keeping up with politics!) I think of people - classmates, friends, and relatives who might be in the line of fire. (Pun intended.) Most of my family and friends on the West coast have moved East, but I remembered ROBERT HOLLIS and his family still live in California. Because of the deadly wildfires, I reached out to him, and received a welcome reply:

          "The closest wildfires to us (we live five miles from Disneyland) are about 75-miles away from us. We have only had hot winds and 95+ degree weather at our house. All is well with the Hollises. I am getting along walking more carefully with a cane, but the heart doctor says he will see me again in six months. [I wonder if he (Doctor) alerted the Lord that he expects me to live at least that long.] Take care. Enjoy your changing weather and thanks again for checking." BOB 

When I received that email, I asked BOB if I had missed something regarding his health. He responded thus:

"2002 heart problem. Three stents and a pacemaker. My second pacemaker was installed in 2009. I'm still upright and smiling...and riding a stationary bike 30-minutes a day--at least five days a week. Keep smiling, Marilyn. You are doing a good job with the class of '57 info."  I am happy that BOB is doing well healthwise, and that they are not near the terrible wildfires.

In regards to last month's post about the animals visiting DENNY's yard in Port Jefferson, NEIL BROUSSARD sent the following:

"Saw the pictures DENNY sent of his deer. Thought you might like to see what we have here in San Marcos. (Texas) These are more rare than albinos. They are not found in most places but we do have a few here. Haven’t gotten a picture of the Buck yet."

(This makes me wonder how on earth they see a "white tail".)

Then this morning, NEIL sent the following:

"I took it (the above photo) in my back yard. Wish I could get a picture of the Buck, but he’s too skittish. I have about fifteen or so show up in my yard. Here’s the only shot I got of the Buck. (Is this a black whitetail, too? He's a beauty.)  

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My son Matthew recently sent me news of antelopes (tan-and-white colored creatures with spiraling horns also known as blackbucks) spotted in the Austin area. This was taken in Lakeway, which also has deer roaming throughout the neighborhoods. They have become such a nuisance one can be fined a hefty amount for feeding them. It's not unusual to have a deer cross the highway in front of you. Officials believe the antelope (there are many) have escaped from a Hill Country exotic animal ranch.

(Blackbuck Antelope by David De Gendt for KXAN)

I found a cute blog written about the "wildlife" in this part of Texas. She has taken photos of the antelope as well. She is not a native Texan. A City Girl in Texas

And then there was this: "There is a large herd of wild elk in South Austin near Circle C Ranch. Yes, you heard correct: ELK. They have been out there for many years. They live in the Greenbelt near the golf course." A new toll road has gone in near there, and folks are warned -- even signs posted -- that elk may be on the road. I was surprised to hear that elk are native to Texas!

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I remarked in my last post that I hope DENNY HILL makes it back to the U.S. okay. Obviously, he did. And before he left Rome he sent me the following review of his week there.

"I was rather surprised when I realized that it has been 10 years since I was last in Rome! (On my last sabbatical in 2009.) Of course it is the "eternal city", so in some sense nothing has changed.

"On the other hand, I have noticed some significant changes: for example Termini (the main train station) has been modernized, and now there are many surveilance cameras, more police, and the pickpockets and scam artists, who were preying on tourists seem to have disappeared. Likewise those thieves who stole your luggage in the train from Leonardo da Vinci to Termini are gone...probably due to having cameras in the Leonardo Express, and now you have to pass a security check before getting on the train, and show your ticket.

"However, the strikes, general chaos, and struggle to live here remain in place.

"About food: as we know there are only two cities in all of Italy where you can pay high prices and get bad food...Rome and Venice. So since my hotel is only two short blocks from Termini, I was expecting to be ripped off by falling into tourist trap-type restaurants. But just around the corner from my hotel, only one and a half blocks from Termini, I found a small restaurant, claiming to serve 'local food', and went there almost every night. It is 'La Lvpa', Via Marghera 37/39. Very friendly atmosphere and Italians eating there. Really good food and wine at not so terrible prices.

"It made me wonder why it is that the exact same cannonical Italian dish is so much better here than the **** you get in the US, with the same name, passing as Italian food. Aside from the simplicity, which is the key to Italian food, my conclusion is that it is the liberal amount of good olive oil. For example a scalopine al limone which I just ate, after a primo of a true spaghetti alla carbonara was amazing.

"Hope to survive my Alitalia flight back."...Best, DENNY

Glad you did, DENNY. And thanks for the review for those who may be planning a trip to Rome!

Peace, love, and good eats,
Marilyn

No Such Thing As Climate Change?

You all have probably been watching weather reports across the country, and of course, saw the news about the tornadoes in Ballinger, San Angelo, and Abilene. I have been concerned about JUNE HASH CURRY who lives just north of Oklahoma City in Edmond. She and I stay in touch during these wild weather predictions. This morning after I texted her to see if they were missed by the storms, she responded thus:

"Thanks to God, all the damage we know of is three sections of our backyard fence. Thanks so much for your prayers. I know without a doubt they were heard." 

Last night I had asked her if she and Chris had a safe place to go, and she said "No special place to go other than a closet. All schools are closed and Chris’ dentist office called and canceled, so this area is really battened down. We are safely in God’s hands no matter what the storms do, so do not worry about us, sweet friend."

Sighs of relief. They were safe and so were three of my daughter's children. Ashlyn is in Amarillo. Their two "surrogate children" of whom she and her husband are guardians, Bruce in Amarillo and Annie in Stillwater, Oklahoma were all unaffected by the wild weather overnight.

I heard on the news last night that snow was predicted in Colorado. Surprised, but not thinking it would be in the area where GENE ROUTH lives, I was shocked when about fifteen minutes ago I received the following:

"I know you resident Texans have had tornadoes, rain, wind and floods but have you had a snow ‘Bomb' on May 21???"

Unbelievable, GENE! No snow bomb..no snow! In fact, I woke up hot this morning and checked the thermostat. My house temperature was still 78 degrees! I didn't think to turn the a/c down before going to bed.

GENE sent the following photos..

Beautiful pictures, GENE, but what is the temperature? Surely not freezing!

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DENNY HILL leaves tomorrow for his summer stay in Warsaw. He and I have had some pretty intense conversations regarding the Boeing 737 MAX planes that have had to be grounded. I said I would probably be hesitant to fly any of their planes after the horrible crashes and the resulting scandal about Boeing's management of their engineering and maintenance. DENNY said he assumes he will be flying on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, as that's the usual one he flies on. Happy summer, DENNY. (And safe flying!)

Anyone else have any photos to share? Graduations, weddings, weather, vacations? I hope to have wedding photos of my granddaughter's wedding coming up June 1st. Should be fun. Outdoors at daughter Carajean's Lake Travis home. I hear they are leaving the reception not by car, but by boat! 

Peace and good weather!

Marilyn

P.S.
Two more pictures from GENE:

I HEARD FROM YOU

I know some of you must read the blog, because some of you answered my request to let me hear from you. The first one is a followup to the climate change post. It's from my faithful reader, PAUL MOTA. He led an interesting life, but from the following I discovered it was also a little dangerous. At least to me.

"Just a quick story relating to earthquakes: 

In Japan we lived in a 3-story building, which supposedly was on rollers to absorb the impact of an earthquake. We could usually feel the movement, but we got used to it and it was hardly noticed after a while. After the third year we mostly ignored it, but at first it was scary. What was amazing was when we read the time of the quake, and sometimes we realized we had been on a railroad/subway at the time. It was amazing how the train stayed on the tracks."  It's amazing to me, too, PAUL! Lucky you.

While I was typing PAUL's story, I received the following from DENNY

HILL - another faithful reader:

"I distinctly remember, back in high school, when there was an enormous amount of water flowing over the dam in the park in Ballinger, much more than in your photo. The space below the dam was filled, and there were giant, very dangerous looking whirlpools, with uprooted trees, etc. And of course, some parts of the park itself were flooded.

"It is indeed strange...while I hear about the severe weather in parts of the middle of the country, here on Long Island we had almost no winter, in the sense of essentially no snow, except for maybe a couple of light ones that melted immediately."

I guess I neglected to give credit to the flood photos of Ballinger City Park. I found them on the Abilene Reporter News website, which had credited them to a photographer for the San Angelo Standard-Times. I did post some of my own flood photos when the park flooded during the time I moved back to Ballinger for the 50th reunion.

As for "almost no winter", DENNY, isn't that a pretty strong sign of "climate change"?

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On another note, my good friend JUNE HASH CURRY shared some news about her son Scott Curry's daughter Morgan. Her granddaughter Morgan will graduate from Oklahoma University in a couple of weeks with a degree in Public Relations. It really makes us grandparents proud - and optimistic about the future to watch our grandchildren grow and accomplish so much that will be beneficial to our country's welfare. Morgan is a beautiful young woman.. she could very well be a talented journalist in the near future..maybe on Television? She comes from such a kind, spiritual family that she would be a refreshing replacement for some of those in today's broadcast industry. 

Let me hear from more of you.

Peace and Love,

Marilyn

BOB BURTON CELEBRATES 80 YEARS!

Last weekend we shared a wonderful celebration at our daughter's Lake Travis home. Carajean and her husband Branch provided a welcoming venue for our big, wonderful, blended, extended, sometimes dysfunctional family! BOB BURTON, his wife Ann, their daughter Leah, and BOB's sister Emilie (also a BHS graduate and cheerleader for 4-years!) stayed with Carajean and Branch nearly three days. The 80th birthday dinner was on Saturday. Nearly all of our combined children/grandchildren were in attendance. BOB is affectionately known by them as Pappaw, and in one case "Daddy Bob".

Some of us took photos. I've been trying to get used to all of the changes Google sees fit to make on their photo apps, but they still manage to mix some up. ('Course, it couldn't be my fault!) I put together a few of the photos in the following video. I think you can see that everyone was enjoying themselves. Besides all the good food (thanks to BOB, Carajean, her brother Matthew, and his wife Amy), and great conversations, there was swimming (brrr) by some of the youngest and bravest, lots of games of pool, dominoes, and a bean bag toss game outdoors. BOB even got in some fishing while he was there. I heard through the grapevine that the fish were not biting!

Among the family members in the photos you will see Erick. He and granddaughter Audrey are planning an outdoor wedding (by the pool pictured below) June 1st.

Overlooking Lake Travis

I hear often from DENNY HILL. As you all know, DENNY spends his time in Warsaw when school is not in session. He's been learning Polish for a long time with private lessons. He sent this video to explain why it is a difficult language! All of the Polish words/names in it are real! You must watch it to the end. So funny!!

Can you imagine how difficult this language would be to learn? Yikes! I still have trouble with Spanish.

I have wondered how everyone has weathered the storms this winter. GENE ROUTH, MIKE FOY, did you all get hit by what they called a "bomb cyclone"? They said on the news that it hit parts of Colorado, Oklahoma, and Texas as well as many other states. Let me hear from any of you who experienced this. And send photos if you have them.

We've had 90 degree weather in recent weeks, 70s and 80s frequently, as well as breaking records with lows in the 20s just days apart from the highs! Who said there is no such thing as climate change?

Until next time..

Love and peace,

Marilyn