The Gallerita!

Coronal Mass Ejection

Solar activity is shown in an image made by NASA (news - web sites)'s SOHO Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraph (LASCO) instrument at 6:30 a.m. (1130 GMT) on October 28, 2003. The cloud, known to astronomers as a coronal mass ejection, is the one of the strongest ever detected since scientists started measuring these phenomena a quarter-century ago. When that cloud of particles gets here, perhaps by midday Wednesday, it could have severe effects, such as affecting some modern electronics and navigation equipment. (ESA Soho/NASA via Reuters - Handout)

Oh Mamma!

Thursday night I went to see the fourth and last of the musicals for which I had tickets. It was Mamma Mia. It seems that after each of the shows, I would say that is the best one yet. This one really was the best one. We really had a wonderful time. The cast was excellent. Dianna Haley and Donna Bently proved to be very fun people to do this sort of thing. We need to find another series of shows to attend. One of the neat things that happened Thursday night is that Donna and Diana presented me with a photo of the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders. Several of the girls had autographed it. I now have a football and a picture autographed by Charlie Waters, a framed piece of turf from Texas Stadium and the cheerleaders photo. Heck, I almost have enough memorabilia to open a sports bar!

Okay, I am going to tell on myself. Our meeting place for the musicals was the Midcities Central Office parking lot in Grand Prairie. Midcities is the office where I worked before I joined COEI. I got there a bit early and decided I had time to go to the ladies room. The first stall I entered didn't look all that sanitary, so I went to the other stall. I readied myself for the task at hand, was about to "touch-down" when this really enormous amazingly huge cockroach ran toward me. I screamed and ran out of the stall. It ran out as well. We were both very scared. It finally seemed to stay still. To not complete the task at hand was not an option. So, I entered the other stall, in a hovering state completed the deed, all the while keeping a close watch on the ogre. At last I was done, caustiously washed my hands and high-tailed it out of there. Now that it is over, I look back on it and laugh.

I am watching the Yankees and the Marlins in the World Series. Florida is winning with a score of 2-0 in the bottom of the 8th. Go Marlins!

Success!

I am listening to a new CD. It is one that I burned. I started out all wrong. I became very frustrated. I called Jennifer. She got frustrated with my lack of know-how. Also, she was at work and had work related tasks to complete. We hung up and I took a look-see at the help section of the software for the burner. I still had this really frustrated feeling, so I walked away. I went shopping. There is nothing like a good little shopping trip to clear ones mind. Keeping in mind the bit of information that Jen had given me about the progression of burning a CD, I came home, closeted my purchases and went back to burning. It felt as if I were succeeding. I called Jennifer to let her know what was happening and she indicated that things looked promising. So, I now have a CD of some of my favorite music; and this new found knowledge. Thank you Jen for all your help.

The Rest of The Story

My candidate for the handsomest reunionite showed up Saturday night with a date. Mid-event, she and I were talking and she confessed to me that she was his ex-wife and definitely no longer interested in him. She even wanted to "fix me up" with him.

The rest of the story on Wyatt: Mother, a few years after graduation, told me that Wyatt had married a national news person named Jessica Savitch. She was killed in a car wreck and mom said that Wyatt as a result had commited suicide. At the 20th reunion's friday night ice breaker, Kathleen and I were mingling, checking out name tags. When I noticed Wyatt's tag, I nudged Kathleen and told her to look-see. Kathleen knew the Wyatt story as well. We were surprised at the very least. We both walked up to him and asked him if he remembered us. He said yes and we laughed about our past. He mocked fought me the rest of the weekend. Before the 20th reunion, I had a bit of guilty feelings about the supposed demise of Wyatt. I was very relieved to find that mother had her facts wrong. Wyatt married his high school sweethart, Judy, and is still very much married to her.

I also got to chat with Herman this weekend. He and his wife live in Denver Co. They have 5 children. They own a bee removal company. He is a very nice person.

Herman and Wyatt

Reunion Picture

Both of these fellows shared youthful memories. They are pictured left to right Herman Schultz and Wyatt Payne. When I was in high school, I needed to borrow a typewriter. Herman said I could use his. When he came to pick me up to go back to his house, I was wearing slacks and a shirt. He asked me to change into a dress. Although it irritated me, I changed into the dress because I needed to use his typewriter. He was concerned because I would be meeting his aunt.

When Kathleen and I were about 10 and 11 a bunch of us were down at the Morningside Park playing baseball. I was at bat, Kathleen had batted before me and had made it to 2nd base. Wyatt was covering 2nd base. I could see that he was picking on Kathleen, so I threw down my bat and ran out to him and got into it with him. He got the better of me so, Kathleen, Susan Hood and I marched ourselves over to his house and told his mom. That afternoon, we got a call from Wyatt. He wanted to drop by our house. His mom made him go to English Pharmacy buy me a box of chocolates, put on a suit and tie and the two of them came over to give me the candy and an apology. There is more to tell, but that I will do later. I believe that this is as fond a memory for Wyatt as it is for me. He gave me his mother's telephone number in Dallas. I told him I was going to call her and tell her that he beat me up again. On a sad note, our childhood friend Susan Hood died within the last couple of years. Additionally, her younger sister Kelly has died as well. Their parents, Betty and Frank, live in Fort Worth. I may try to visit them

The saturday night function was held at the Elks Lodge. Some of the Elks came in to watch the first game of the World Series. John Pastusek was one of them and he said to tell Patrick HI. So, Pat, consider yourself told.

Fame & Fortune?

...is our fate, Senior class of 68. This weekend I am attending the 35th anniversary of my high school graduation. There were a few people that I was really looking forward to seeing. I saw some of them at the ice breaker tonight. People like Ruth Gonzalez, Jim Hart, Anita Sosa were in attendance. A very pleasant surprise was seeing Dusty Minton. She and her husband use to do stuff with me and Benny when we were all too poor to do anything but stay at home and play cards. We still had loads of fun back then. She is still a very attractive lady and we renewed our friendship instantly. There is an attendee who is some big wig in the film industry and lives in California. I think I might vote him the handsomest reunionite. I am really looking forward to tomorrow night. Tim Reed, Ruth's husband, has promised to dance with us. Ruth is not a dancer so between me and Dusty we should keep Tim very busy.

Cowboys 23/Eagles 21

...and I was there to witness it. The game bagan with Joe Diffy singing the National Anthem. He has a very nice voice. At that point I had still not quite made it to the correct section. So, on my way to my correct seat, I stopped at the ladies room. I did not see the opening play, but I did hear it via the live broadcast aired in the ladies room. And no, I did not stand up and cheer, I was busy. But the Cowboys did score on the opening play. Evidently the Eagles tried an on-side kick, which we covered and ran in for the points. Half-time was bittersweet in that Tex Schramm was inducted into the ring of honor. Several other inductees were present, as was Tex's daughters. I did spend more time in traffic before and after the game than I actually spent at the game. But I would do it again. I had a wonderful time. Thanks to Teresa and Scott for having an extra ticket so that I could join them there.

Rita at the AARP triathlon

Here I am at the finish line. The picture of Kathleen is one of two I found and this of me is the only one.

Kathleen at the AARP triathlon

Here is a picture of Kathleen from the AARP triathlon

Jen's Seaworld Pics

Some of the pictures in Jen's pictures are the same as mine. Some are not. Check them out here.

I am looking in the lost and found section of the photographer's site and found this picture.

Seaworld Pictures are IN

Brightroom.com took pictures during the Seaworld tri. You can see my pictures by double clicking here. Jen and I stayed together for the bulk of the race, so she is also in most of my shots. I have not checked her pictures yet. I will do that in a bit.

What A Day

This has been a good day. It started for me at around 5:30am. That is the time I had set the clock to wake me and Kathleen so we could go to the triathlon we were doing today. It was sponsored in part by AARP. To be eligible to win an award you had to be at least 50 years old. The race was organized very well. The swim was in a 50 meter pool. We did 4 laps, which equaled 400 meters. The bike was in and around the Northlake College Campus in Irving. It required each participant to do three loops which at the end of the bike a person would have riden 12 miles. The run was another loop around in the campus. This required that the participants do 2 loops. It was amazing to me how the volunteers remembered who had done the 2nd loop and who still had to do the 2nd loop. The run was 5K. Anyway, I finished 7th and Kathleen finished 1st. This is the first tri in which I particpated and it rained for the entire race. Everything was so soggy. The rain was predicted, so Kathleen and I took huge plastic shopping bags to leave our gear in during the race. The two times I went into transition I took extra care to position the bag to allow the least amount of rain into the bag. This extra care is evidenced by my lengthy transition times. My stuff was relatively dry at the end of the race. Kathleen, on the other hand took no such care, which is also evidenced by her much shorter transitions. Her stuff was soaked. She got cold, so I let her borrow my dry windbreaker---but that is what sisters are for. And when it comes to sisters I am very very blessed. Kathleen did take a nasty spill during the bike. She has a nasty case of road rash. Jen told me that is what it is called and rightly so because it looks like a really bad rash and the road caused it.

My unofficial sport photographer, Stepan, was busy celebrating the first anniversary of his marriage to Jen so do not expect any links to well taken photos of this tri. There was a photographer there. I think it is from www,picturemyrace.com but I an not sure if that is the exact name. I bet I get an email from them.

Triathlon Photos

Here is a picture that Stepan took with his new camera. Between it (his new camera) and Step's amazing photographing skills he got some very nice shots. You can check out other pictures at the Seaworld Triathlon here.

Don't Mess With Texas

Jennifer told me about a site on the internet where you can report littering incidents from motor vehicles. Well, she really did not tell me about it, but rather she frantically asked for pen and paper so she could note the details of the incident and report it. I asked her what was going on and she explained that she was going to file a report via this site and the perps would receive a harsh letter and a litter bag for the car. I am tempted to turn myself in just to receive the litter bag and read this harsh letter. By the way, I filed my first offense today. It felt gratifying.

Seaworld Triathlon

To check the results of the triathlon that Jen, Kathleen, Felicia and I participated double click here.

Speaking of triathlons; I am not sure if everyone knew this, but Kathleen and I were trying to get a relay team together for the AARP Tri this weekend in Irving. I was to do the swim, Kathleen was to do the bike and we asked our mother to do the 5k walk/run. We called mother on Monday evening posed the request to her, asked her not to respond, but to think about it a couple of days. Kathleen and I called her last night and woefully she declined. She said things like; " I do not see traveling 130 miles to walk 3. It is our hope that next year, mother will do some light training and agree to participate with us. At any rate, Kathleen and I are registered as individuals...the last tri for this season for us.