Trees

I think that I shall never see

A poem lovely as a tree.
A tree whose hungry mouth is pressed

Against the earth's sweet flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day

And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in summer wear

A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;

Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me,

But only God can make a tree.

- Joyce Kilmer

This is my favorite poem and planted in this pot is an oak tree that Tom received when he graduated from Elon University in May 2006. Elon is the Hebrew word for "oak." When students arrive at Elon in their freshmen year, they are each given an acorn. I guess the acorn symbolizes the ability to grow into something bigger and better. When they graduate they are given this seedling and Tom gave one to me and one to his father. I didn't plant mine in the ground because I wanted to be able to take it with me if we moved. It might be a few more years before we move but I'm already envisioning the UHaul we rent just to transport this tree! I love symbolism and this is a perfect example. The tree is thriving now but it wasn't always. I didn't think it was going to make it but it miraculously sprung back to life. And like the limbs of a tree, we learn how to bend. So read into it what you will. There is a also a great book by Shel Silverstein called "The Giving Tree." It's a book that can be read in less that five minutes but it illustrates how much a tree has to offer. A good read for children and adults - you should check it out. I suspect you already own the book, Mrs B! ;)

Postcards from the Edge...

Curt and I left Wednesday morning at 7:30 EST and arrived in Phoenix 9:30 PST. We rented a car and drove to Williams, AZ which is about a 3-hour trip (see map). Thursday we left at 10am aboard the Chief car for a two hour train trip through the Arizona landscape to the Grand Canyon. My grandfather worked on the Delaware & Hudson (D&H) Railroad for 43 years hence my fondness for trains. It was a gorgeous day and the perfect time of the year to visit the canyon.

While the temperature in Phoenix was around 100 degrees, it was approximately 25 degrees cooler at the canyon due to the rise in elevation. The heat in the canyon can exceed 100 degrees in the shade during certain times of the year. The Grand Canyon's elevation at the South Rim (where we visited) is 7,000 feet. Depending on the point in Phoenix, we experienced a change in elevation anywhere from 4,ooo - 6,000 feet to arrive at the Grand Canyon.

We covered an area of 7 miles via a bus tour west of the Train Depot with several stops along the way once we arrived. The bus driver's narration included many interesting pieces of information. The one that fascinated me the most was that the average time spent looking at the canyon is 15-20 minutes. The average time spent in the gift shops is 35-40 minutes. I think he was right. Curt would later quip that we played connect the gift shops the rest of the afternoon. He's a funny guy, I tell ya. After that we did a self-guided walking tour of the Grand Canyon Village Historical District.

Later I tried to descend the Bright Angel Trail which is a 7-mile descent into the Canyon only to discover I'm a rock hugger. Not until I tried again the next day did I realize I have a very, very bad base of acrophobia. I'm looking into a 12-step program for the cure. It was a HUGE disappointment not to be able to hike in the canyon. We spent the night in the Grand Canyon National Park at one of several lodges. Friday morning we covered the area east of the train depot by foot which was about a 5 mile roundtrip. We had lunch at the Blue Angel Lodge (see description in the Historical District brochure) before heading back to Williams on the 4:30pm train. But before we left we spotted condors flying over the canyon. The condor is a story in itself. Since the bird became extinct this was a sight to behold.

Before leaving Williams Saturday we made a quick stop in town to ride along historical Route 66. We stayed long enough to pose for a few pictures next to one of the markers and started making our way to south to Sedona, AZ to visit the Red Rock State Park. I was able to hike one of the trails in the park but Curt said the trails were like sidewalks in the woods. Ouch! But this is coming from a guy who swam 1.86 miles, biked 120 miles, and ran 28 miles while on vacation!! Everything seems like a walk in the park to him.

Since we were returning home on Sunday we spent our last night in Phoenix.We made it just in time to see the AZ Diamondbacks play the Houston Astros at Chase Field. It is a great stadium with a retractable roof. The outside temp last night was 95 degrees while the temp inside was 78 degrees and that was while playing under the stars. Incredible. The DBacks won 5-4 in 8-1/2 innings. Baseball, shopping, and trains, oh my. It was the perfect vacation.

Keep Tri(ing)

Today was the Madeira Beach Mad Dog Triathlon hosted by the St Pete Mad Dogs - the nation's largest triathlon club according to their website. It is a sprint triathalon (.5 mile swim, 15m bike, 3.1m run). It is where a lot of triathletes get their feet wet figuratively and literally. Such was the case for a friend of Mr and Mrs B who is visiting from Detroit. This was Jeff's first trithalon and I was fortunate enough to get a picture of him coming out of the water after the swim. You can just feel his exhilariation by looking at the picture I'm posting. His wife is sporting a Mad Dogs t-shirt (If you can't race with the MAD DOGS, stay on the porch and don't bark). Curt sported a quote by Mr B throughout the race on the cross bar of his bike (Oh, you'll never catch me on the bike). It was Curt's motivation - whatever it takes. I'm all for motivational quotes. I think my favorite is Eat Right, Exercise, Die Anway. One of the pictures in this post is of Curt, Mr B, and fellow tri (FT). Mr B did beat Curt on the bike by 7 seconds but Curt finished 1.25.01 to Mr B's 1.28.03. FT finished 1.24.25 with the best time overall but things have to be kept in perpective - these guys were all racing in different divisions. It was a fun day for participants as well as spectators. We all met after the race at a restaurant in Madeira Beach called Sculley's. I didn't get any pictures of Curt swimming, biking, or running because he is just too fast for me. They don't make shutter speeds for people like him. You can click on the link for actual race results and pictures that will be posted within a few days. When you look up pictures, you will need Curt's bib number which was 232. He got me up at 3:30am to leave for this race. He just left to ride 25 more miles. I'm going to bed. Scrabble tournaments vs triathlons. One uses your mind - the other your body. It works for me. Don't miss Di's and Bigun's blog for more pictures and race day commentary!

classmates.com

Whatever happened to...? Well, she's been at Niagara Mohawk in Syracuse ever since she graduated from college. Married. One daughter. She got Best Looking in Class Favorites when I graduated from high school! That's KB. I met her my freshman year of high school. It was in gym class and I was asking if anyone heard this new song by Elton John called "Your Song" and she starts singing the song. She knew the words and had a beautiful voice, too. It was friendship at first sight. We'll get back to her. C'mon, admit it - you've been to classmates.com! We've all been there! Even Curt went there and he NEVER does crap like that. He even sent me a message after he found my high school and the year I graduated. It was fun looking at all the classmates who registered their names. But then it got serious! The other day someone viewed my profile. OMG. Who was checking me out? Was it Pete, the soccer player? Dick, the football player? Ron, the wrestler? Jack, the guy down the street? I HAD TO KNOW!! But the only way to do that is to pay for a subscription. Geez. Well, curiousity killed the cat but satisfaction brought him back. I knew it couldn't be an old girlfriend because we all still keep in touch. No, it had to be some guy who broke my heart and wanted to reassure himself he'd made the right decision. Oh, was I ever going to surprise him! So I slapped down my $15 for the 3-month introductory offer. And now I can't wait, I can't wait, I can't wait. The excitement level is off the chart. One more click of the mouse and I'll know the identity of my mystery man. Jan Harris???????? Who the heck is Jan Harris? Is this a cruel joke? Time for reinforcements - I called KB at work. She'll know - she knows everything. She's been my go-to girl ever since she started singing the words to that song. And I knew I would feel bad after she told me who it is because I couldn't remember myself. I explained my yearbooks were buried in the garage or else I would check out the mystery chick myself. KB doesn't remember either - yeah!!!!! I feel much better now especially after the ego bashing I took thinking some guy from my past was trying to reconnect. So KB tells me her yearbooks are on a top shelf in a closet behind a tv and that she'll get a ladder that's out in the garage up in the rafters until I tell her I can't take it anymore because I'm laughing so hard. I finally decided to dig out out my senior yearbook. No Jan Harris, I tell ya. So who is this person? Did she accidentally click on my name? Or did one of those guys (Pete,Dick,Ron,Jack) put her up to this? Better yet, one of them just made up the name. Yea, that's what I think happened. I did send Jan an email to see if she was looking for me. If Pete, Dick, Ron, or Jack replies, I'll let you know.

Trash Can Slam!

Yesterday we drove to Boca Grande (located on Gasparilla Island between the Gulf of Mexico and Charlotte Harbor) to go tarpon fishing. We passed Cabbage Key and Captiva Island on our way out into the Gulf. Capt Bill was our guide and was accompanied by the First Mate (his son, Greg). It was a regular smorgasbord, I tell ya. Tommy hooked a shark first but he got away - no, seriously! He then caught (in this order) a trout, a catfish, a Lady Fish, and another catfish before hooking something really, really big! He struggled with this little monster for about 15 minutes moving from the front of the boat to the back while Greg pulled in the anchor and Bill maneuvered the boat - check out the arc on that pole! The anticipation was wild while we waited to see what he had on the other end of the line - the guys estimated it to be about 40 pounds. I wish it could have been the elusive tarpon but Tommy's great chase was with a stingray.

As you will recall, Steve Irwin (aka Crocodile Hunter) was killed when a stingray's venemous barb pierced his heart. The guys couldn't cut this sea creature loose fast enough. The day was very overcast largely due to winds carrying smoke from fires burning in Georgia. Nevertheless, it was a great day. I truly understand why guys love to fish and I was just watching! If you single guys who fish meet girls who don't understand this, cut her loose, too! See, Tommy, I told you there were more fish in the sea! ;) And just like the pelicans, it's all about family at the end of the day..

First stop on vacation...Get a Tan!

Pack bags...check. E-ticket...check. Tan...I knew I forgot something! Tommy B arrived safe and sound from Syracuse, NY for the week. All prayers for his safe arrival were answered. Since the airport is located ideally between home and Clearwater Beach, we headed for the beach. Of course, the boy was hungry (he's always hungry, I tell ya). My biggest expense this week won't be the chartered tarpon fishing excursion - it will be his food bill. No, seriously. So we walked about 1/4 mile down the beach to Frenchy's. And that was fine with Tommy until he saw the same restaurant on the other side of the parking lot when we were leaving. I needed the exercise. The seagulls had their way with my vette and I had to wash my car as soon as we got home. I wish I had thought to take that picture! Next time. No, next time, I won't drive the vette. Yeah, right. Five minutes away from the car and I'm lonely. So, here you have it - a picture of me hangin' ten, a picture of the beach from TB's camera, and our boy soaking up everything Florida has to offer. Sorry, girls, if you want to know what's he reading, you'll have to email me with your picture. LOL. We're off to see Damon Wayans at the Improv tonight after dinner at the Spaghetti Warehouse in Ybor. Stay tuned...

Back in the Saddle!

Headed out to Flatwoods tonight with LP. We haven't ridden in 6 months but that doesn't mean she's been sitting still. While I was enjoying my time off, she was hitting the gym as much as three times a week and it showed tonight. Man, she smoked me. She may want to find another riding partner. Well, I taught her everything I know about Scrabble until she beat me at my own game. I guess this was to be expected, too! ;)

Tuesdays with Tom

Okay, I'm not going to turn this into a public forum of how many games won or lost. I'm posting this game because it is such a sweet board - five bingos. Email me privately, however, and I'll tell you who won this game! LOL. Can anyone find the phony? Not to intimidate you or anything, Mr B, but three of the bingos are mine! ;)