You Just Can't Make This Stuff Up

Report: Woman eating pig's feet in bed cuts friend

The (Rock Hill) Herald
Posted: Tuesday, Sep. 14, 2010

Rock Hill, S.C. -- A woman who was eating pig’s feet in bed accidentally cut her friend in the arm, police say.

The 52-year-old Rock Hill woman told police she accidentally cut a friend in the forearm with a knife around 10:30 p.m. Sunday. Both she and the victim, 50, were intoxicated, according to a Rock Hill police report.

He had a deep cut to his arm. The report did not state if he was hospitalized.

No charges were filed, but the incident remains under investigation.

As Good An Excuse As Any

We have to take a vacation. We don't want to but we have have to. Yeah, right.

A couple years ago I did kind of a dumb thing. I bought a time share in Duck, NC, on the Outer Banks. A second one. I bought the first time share in Kitty Hawk, NC, on eBay sight unseen. It's what they call a 'lock out' unit. There are actually two individual units separated by a locked door and in total it sleeps ten.

You can use either one side or both at the same time. If you only use one side, you can 'bank' a week in lieu of using it but they have to be used within two years or they expire. You can save it to trade for another week somewhere. Theoretically you can trade for stays all over the world, but it's easier said than done to find a place where you want when you want but it can be done.

Anyway, I bought the first one on eBay for a pretty good price considering the people we bought it from probably paid eight times the amount we did. It's the week of Memorial Day in May, and we've been three years in a row. We love it. We begin to look forward to it about the middle of winter.

After our first stay I immediately when to eBay when we got home to see what else was for sale in the area. There was another time share for sale in Duck at a resort right on the water, not quite as nice but a great location.

This is the second week of October. I paid $157.50 for another lock out unit, another possible two weeks annually. Seriously $157.50 for a deeded time share which means it doesn't expire like some do after 20 years. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but now we have four weeks and we can't seem to use them.

There is some flexibility. You can use them, or rent or give them away if you can't use them yourself. We have offered weeks to several people over the years but no one has taken us up on it.

A few weeks ago realizing we need to use it or lose it before the end of October, we started looking for a place to go. We don't really want to fly which limits us. I went to the RCI site, which is the company we use to bank and trade, and began to look for a place in New Hampshire, Vermont or Maine.

I found a week at Smuggler's Notch Resort in Vermont. It's costing us $179 for a week at a very well-rated resort with two beds, two baths and a fully-equipped kitchen. It's a big time share spot but you can rent there and a week could be as high as $1,000.

I think the fall colors will be gone but it's a nice location with nearby places to visit. It's near Burlington which is a college town. Stowe is close which is a pretty New England town. That's the home of the Trapp Family Lodge. Remember the vonTrapp family from the Sound of Music? It's an area we've visited many, many times but not recently.

So darn! We have to go away. It's rough but someone's got to do it.

I Blog Therefore I Am?

That's a question not a statement. Over the last few months I haven't been blogging much. This is due to several things; I've been busy, it's too hot, nobody cares. Pick one.

The main reason is that I started questioning why I blog. When I started 18 months ago I really had no idea why I wanted to write a blog. I don't have any definitive answer even now. But I know I enjoyed it and still do but I really began to ask Does anyone care? Does anyone really want to know what I think?

Then I began to miss it. And I realized I wasn't writing for anyone but myself. I did/do enjoy the comments people leave but because I don't spend nearly as much time visiting other blogs, my traffic has slowed down and so have the comments. That's okay. I like to hear myself talk.

I do know that some people are paying attention to my blog(s), there are four now. Seriously, I'm not kidding, four blogs. Recently the IT director for our agency, Tom, planned a tech panel for the quarterly company meeting. I was really flattered when Tom asked me to sit on the panel and talk about blogging.

There would be seven agents with certain knowledge of technology speaking about their areas of expertise. Tom actually called me a blogging expert. Whoa! I'm not an expert on anything but I have gathered quite a bit of experience with blogging recently. Despite being a little uncomfortable speaking before large groups, I said yes.

There were seven of us on the panel and the other six all had some really interesting things to offer. I'm sure we all learned some new things. I happened to be the seventh to speak. By then I saw that eyes had begun to glaze over so I cut my comments short.

I told them that Blogger is my format of choice because of its user-friendliness especially because I have no technology background. I talked about commenting and followers and about the difference (for me) between business related blogs (like my real estate blog) and personal blogs. I also spoke about the blogging community and about the blog Words of Wisdom that I was part of developing.

After I was finished Tom told the audience I was being modest about my blogging and that he thinks my designs are terrific. He also said that I have achieved some of the best search engine optimization he has ever seen. A year ago I didn't even know what search engine optimization meant. I'm not even sure I know now. Whatever it is, it was an accident.

Adventures on the Danube River

In July Paul and I cruised the Danube River in Central Europe. The cruise began in Budapest, Hungary and traveled west through Austria and into Germany ending in Nuremburg. It was our first time in this part of Europe, and the architecture and history are both beautiful and fascinating. Traveling through the countryside with castles, ruins and pretty litle towns along the river, it was most definitely a nice way to see a different side of cities and towns along the river.

We cruised with Viking River Cruises. They cruise all over Europe and Asia, and I would recommend this company to anyone thinking of a river cruise. This is not ocean cruising. The boat we were on, Viking Danube, only holds 150 passengers with a crew of about 20. It's a very relaxed and intimate atmosphere. That's our ship above docked along side the Chain Bridge in Budapest, Hungary where our cruise began.

Here are some of the photos I shot on the river between towns. We didn't have the best weather and consequently the photos aren't that great but they still show how beautiful it was. Don't ask where they are.....I knew when I shot them but I don't now.

We traveled upriver from Hungary to Germany. This is one of 26 locks we went through over the course of the cruise. Some were wide enough to accommodate 4 boats at the same time and some were so small and so narrow our boat had to go through alone and only cleared the sides by inches.

Roman ruins!

Because of all the rain, the river was high at the end of the trip and the captain was not sure we would make it under the last two bridges and to our final stop of the cruise. If the boat was not able to clear the bridges, we would have been forced to dock further down river and be bused to Nuremberg, Germany to spend the last night in a hotel.

No one wanted to do that. In enough time not to disrupt the rest of the cruise, the river dropped enough and we made it under the last bridge by just inches. Then it rained (again!) and this double rainbow came out just before we docked in Nuremberg. A fitting end to a really great trip.

Stayed tuned for more photos from Passau, Melk, Vienna (my favorite!), Regensberg and Nuremberg.

The Unofficial End of Summer

I am really sorry to see summer end this year. We have had such wonderful weather. Yes, it's been hot and there's been a lot of sweating going on but that is so much better than all the rain we got last summer.

Although I admit I'm going to miss this gorgeous weather the one thing I do look forward to at the end of the season is our annual family trip to New Hampshire. Four years in a row we have taken the family for Labor Day weekend. This year we had six adults, five kids and four dogs. It's a big house and you can imagine it gets pretty crazy, but we all love it and look forward to it all year.

Today I am going to feature Pam of Pam's Perspectives who just happens to be my stepdaughter and who wrote a fabulous post about the weekend. So I'm going to be lazy and just send you over there for a visit. Please take the time to stop by her post Labor Day Tradition. She's got some great photos of the weekend.

Happy Fall everyone!

Marketing 101

We went furniture shopping last weekend. I hate furniture shopping. I pretty much hate any shopping but furniture is the worst. The sales people hang around the entrance to the store clutching their clipboards and looking hungrily at anyone who enters. I hear them whisper "This one's yours, Joe." One store I went into literally had a dry erase board where all could see where they kept track of which sales person the next shopper belonged to. Tacky, tacky.

I make my living on sales commissions, too, but I don't pounce on people like a cheetah on an impala as they walk through the door of an open house. I might walk along with them but I don't keep a running babble pointing out the obvious. "This is a closet." "Really? I just thought they forgot to put the sink and toilet in there." Seriously, I've seen realtors who do that.

When we walked in Sunday there was a 'concierge' at a desk at the door. "Can I help you? What are you looking for today?" Reluctantly, because I know this means they will assign a haunt to us, I said living room furniture. "Leather or fabric?" To which I replied "Yes." He looked a bit confused. Honestly we don't know whether we want leather or fabric or a combination of the two. So my answer was truthful. I kept walking as he pointed in the directions where we could find living room furniture.

As we walked through, there were sales people strategically placed in different sections and each one piped up with some question as we walked along. I hate when sales people butt into our conversation as Paul and I are talking and walking along pointing out different things to each other. Quit asking me what I'm looking for. I don't know what I'm looking for! That's what browsing means.

Unless you want to be downright rude, it's pretty hard to avoid these people. I want to say "If I have a question, I'll find you." I know they work on commission and if someone that I don't find totally obnoxious begins helping us, I will be sure to find that person if I have questions and I'll tell them that.

Have you noticed the phrase they now have in sales (especially with furniture) called an "up charge?" One woman kept referring to an "up charge" as I asked about different fabrics and grades of leather. Paul had no idea what she was referring to. I had already turned the price tag over, which was huge, not so much to be visible across the store but to include all the"up charges."

As she kept saying things like "there's a $150 up charge for this" "a $250 up charge for that," and I could see he wasn't following her, I said "depending on what you choose, there's an up charge from $50 to $450 per piece." "You mean an extra charge? So why don't they call it that?"

I bet the marketing genius who came up with the "up charge" one day as they all sat around the table brainstorming got a big bonus. Or maybe an "up charge" in his pay.

Note: My apologies to sales people who may be offended. I make my living in sales, too, but you don't need to act this way to be good at your job and successful. These sales tactics only aggravate our customers.

Where Does the Time Go

Can you stand another "kid goes to college" story?

Our oldest granddaughter, Katie, left for college yesterday. That sweet, little dark-haired girl her grandfather thought looked like a papoose (I suppose that's not PC) when she was born. No longer that little baby that Paul and I flew to Phoenix to see when she was just a week old. It just doesn't seem that long ago. Of course, everyone says that.

Over the last few years Katie has been spending time at our house. At first she would call and ask, "Can I come this weekend? Will you pick me up Friday, Grandpa?" She would stay one or two nights every few weeks. The grandkids can never get enough of Paul, and I knew he was the big draw back then. I didn't mind, I was just happy to know that she wanted to stay with us. It felt very special.

When she got her driver's license she started driving herself here. Same question "Can I come this weekend?" Our spare bedroom was always set up and it became her room; as in "Grandma, there are some clothes on my bed." That made me smile. We gave her a key to the house.

Paul and I have five grandchildren and there's nothing that makes me happier then seeing them in my house enjoying themselves and acting like they belong here. Because they do.

These are not grandchildren born of my children. They are the children of Paul's son and daughter, my stepdaughter and stepson. As much as I love Pam and Paul, they aren't my children. But the grandchildren.....they are mine. Well, mine and those of five other grandparents. As Pam said one time, you can never have too many grandparents.

When Katie graduated from high school a couple months ago I nearly missed it. When I stressed about it, a friend said " You see her every weekend," as in "What's the big deal?" And I replied "You don't understand. These are as close to my own children as it will get. I couldn't miss her graduation."

When Katie began driving up here on her own, she was 17. About that time she seemed to be spending as much time with me as she did with her grandfather. She'd keep me company in the kitchen or we'd do a little shopping together, and I began to see a change in Katie. She was becoming an adult.

I am often amazed by how insightful and thoughtful both Katie and her sister Madeleine, who is 15, are. During one stay Katie set up my iTunes on my computer. I was struggling with it. Suddenly I've become the grandparent who needs one of the kids to handle something technical. Never thought that would happen but I kind of like it.

Katie stayed one night this week; two nights before she was leaving for school. I didn't expect her to have time this week since she was so busy getting ready to leave, saying goodbye to friends and doing everything else she needed to do. I was really pleased when she said she was coming Tuesday.

The three of us had dinner and just watched television. It was a very normal visit. But I kept thinking that the next time Katie comes to stay (who knows how soon that will be) she will be home from college.

So tell me, where did the time go?

Curious? Open This Pandora

Sometimes I forget just how much I love music. There are so many songs that bring me back to a particular time or place in my life. But I go through periods of time when I don't listen to music at all, and all I can do is listen. I can't sing. I don't play an instrument. I can dance but not very well and you're not likely to see me on television unless it's on America's Funniest Videos.

As I write this I'm sitting with my Bose headphones (love 'em, too) listening to Pandora. You know Pandora Radio, don't you? They call it Internet radio and so far it's free. I like free.

You get to play disc jockey for yourself and make what they call stations. Put in an artist or band and they create a play list of songs from not only that artist but others they think have a similar sound and style. Each station is given the name of the artist or band that you choose and it's saved for you to go back to. You can even choose QuickMix and they'll play songs randomly.

One very cool feature is an option to give a song a thumbs up or thumbs down. If you don't care for a song, pick the thumbs down icon and you'll get a little apologetic message saying Sorry, we'll NEVER play this song again. You can also ask why the song was chosen for you, get the full lyrics of the song, the bio of the artist or a list of similar artists that you can, of course, create another station for.

The do have ads every so often but they aren't nearly as annoying as regular over-the-air radio. I suppose they do need some advertising so that they can continue to be free. I imagine they may begin charging eventually but as long as it's free it's for me.

So what, I hear you asking, are some of MY stations? If you could log on as me these are some you'd see:

Buddy Holly
Frankie Valli
The Beatles
Billy Joel
Rascal Flatts
The Righteous Brothers
The Doors
Dave Matthews Band
The Fray
Coldplay
Eric Clapton
Nickelback

I'm listening to Jethro Tull now. I just asked for a list of artists similar to JT. Seals and Crofts was suggested. Huh? Really? Yeah, I know Ian Anderson plays flute on some cuts but Seals and Crofts?? I don't think so......



Just in case anyone is wondering, I didn't write this because Pandora asked me to.

Never Say Never

I wrote a few weeks ago that life had sort of run away with me. I had so much I could have posted about but I wasn't sure it was really anything anyone would care about. That continues.

You know that phrase: "If you want something done, give it to a busy person." That's me. The more I have to do, the more I get done. I can work at home but sometimes I shouldn't.

In real estate as long as you have a computer and telephone, you can work just about anywhere including your dining room table. When I do, it's not always pretty. There are days when I sit here in my sweats until 1 p.m. without having washed my face or brushed my hair. But I may have negotiated a deal to completion and prepared a sales agreement in that time.

There are days when Paul comes home early and I'm still sitting here. I think he's often wondering if I've actually been working or playing Jungle Jewels. It could be a little of both.

But I digress. I said I never would, but I bought a Kindle. I have been borrowing Pam's for the last year to see if I liked it. Despite being one who likes new gadgets, I put off buying one because I wasn't sure it was worth the investment. The only real issue I had with it is that you have to buy the books. I seldom buy novels. I usually get them from the library.

The average cost for the books on Amazon is $9.99 and it's a breeze to download them, usually in less than a minute. But it's still an expense I wasn't sure I wanted to have.

One problem with library books is that you may wait a long time for a hot book. Depending just how popular the book is, you might be 200 on the waiting list. No such problem with the Kindle. You can also download 50 pages of a book for free to see if you want to buy it.

When the cost of the Kindle dropped dramatically, I figured it was time. I like it, a lot. It's very easy to use and easy to carry. What I like most about it is that it's so comfortable to read with in bed. I read before going to sleep, and I could never get comfortable. I had to keep shifting as I turned a page. With the Kindle I fold back the cover (you buy a cover separately) which makes a little tent, and I can read on my side. Turning the 'page' is just a quick push of a button.

But it's not quite like reading a book. I miss being able to thumb back through the pages. You can go back with the Kindle but the pages are not numbered like a book and finding a particular passage isn't that easy for me.

It has a cool feature that allows you to change the size of the font. There is a progress bar on the bottom of the display which tells you how far you you have read in the book. I find I read quicker on the Kindle. Part of that I attribute to not turning a page. It's a very seamless read. It's not backlit like a computer, and that's supposed to be easier on the eyes. They sell book lights that fit it.

The Kindle is very sleek and compact; easy to take on a plane or slip into your bag to read in the doctor's office. There are lots of other features on it like a dictionary and a way to highlight passages and save them. You can also archive books on Amazon. I can see that might be worthwhile because they are in alphabetical order on the Kindle and scrolling through them after several have been downloaded would be time consuming.

Everything considered, I like it and am glad I finally bought one. As the title says "Never Say Never."

I Think Sam Would Be Disappointed

As I sit by the window on this crisp, clear, almost fall-like Saturday morning, I can hear the pile drivers, two miles away as the crow flies, at the site of the new mega-shopping center inappropriately named Dowling “Village.”

I am so sad and so sorry for the people who live even closer. And we are supposed to welcome yet another Super WalMart and to our lovely little town of 11,000 people. I can hear the sucking sound as it begins to take the life out of our town.

I'm sorry for my friend Ruth who owns Hi-on-a-Hill Herb Farm which abuts this disgrace. Ruth is the fifth generation to live on their 75-acres. Do we really need more roll-backs? Foolish, foolish people.

The Most Important Exercise

When I went to Google this morning there was an extra line that said:

Celebrating 90 years since the ratification of the 19th Amendment, guaranteeing women the right to vote.

What a great day to celebrate! The ratification of the 19th Amendment seems like something far more worthy of a celebration that lots of other holidays.

Ladies, can you imagine a world where you couldn't vote? You can't, gentlemen, because there never was. Although I need to qualify that because there was a time when only white, land-owning men had that right but you get my drift.

How many of us take the right for granted? Although if you are a naturalized adult American you may not. What a great feeling that must be to cast your first vote after becoming an American citizen.

The 1976 election was the first I voted in. I've never missed one since. Our oldest granddaughter Katie turned 18 last weekend. I called her that day and asked "What can you do today that you couldn't yesterday?" "I can vote!" was one of the first things on the list.

Again, no political commentary here, it's just something that made me smile and sit up a little straighter this morning when I saw that line. What a great day that must have been, August 18, 1920.

Great job, Ladies. Thanks.

Summertime and the Eatin' is Easy

Summertime…..The season for reruns and 4th of July parades, fireworks, picnics, and New England Clambakes.

This post was actually written last August after Paul and I went to a good old-fashioned clambake in his hometown. This is an annual event put on by a local fire department, and we were there again last weekend. Clambakes this good are a big deal in this part of the woods and tickets sell out quickly. In fact, you sort of have to know someone who has tickets to even get them.

We sat at a table of 26 near and distant relatives; some who traveled from several states away. This year Pam, Geoff, Katie and Madeleine came with us and Katie and Madeleine got to meet some distant (literally and figuratively) cousins they have never seen.

Here ya' go.....


There were over 750 people (not all relatives!) together for a traditional outing held every August. I took pictures of the ‘bake’ as it’s called for those of you who don’t have a clue as to what I’m talking about.

Here’s a picture of the bake when it's just about ready to be uncovered and served. Usually there’s a Bakemaster in charge. He's helped throughout the day by a couple dozen people. A multi-stage process, everything has to be done right or you've got a very expensive disaster and lots of unhappy people.

What you’re looking at is a concrete pad where early in the day they layed down a layer of round stones. You can dig a pit in the sand if you have the room but this is an established location for clambakes. Over the stones they spread a layer of logs which they burn down until they get the stones red hot so they can be used to radiate heat during the cooking process. At the right time, they pull the logs off and cover the stones with a thick layer of seaweed which was probably brought in that morning and soaked with seawater.

Over the seaweed are layers of wooden baskets filled with the ingredients of the bake: sweet potatoes, white potatoes, peeled onions, bags of seasoned white fish, hot dogs, bock wurst, chourico & linquica (Portuguese-style sausage), stuffing, fresh corn on the cob still in the husks and soft-shell clams or what we call steamers.

Then the entire mound is covered with canvas that has been drenched in sea water to seal in the heat and prevent the canvas from burning. The food is allowed to steam for several hours. It takes an experienced Bakemaster to get all the combinations of food, heat, seaweed & timing just right. For a bake this size you’re talking thousands of dollars worth of food and it’s not something you can stick back in the oven or back on the grill if it’s not quite done.

Here's last weekend's bake being uncovered.

The food is served right from the baskets and we dig in!

As you can see this is 'finger food' and the clean up can get messy........

....so I never travel to a clambake without my trusty Wet Ones.

We Eat Tonight

Just picked, these are the first beans I have grown in nearly 30 years, and they look pretty good. I usually just put in tomatoes, peppers and basil, but I saw a packet of seeds this year and thought Why not? I only put in two rows but I enjoyed watching them come up and now we'll enjoy them for dinner tonight.

What I didn't enjoy while I was picking them was listening to our neighbor's puppy yip and cry.

They brought home the cutest little terrier mix a few weeks ago. They call him Cooper and he's about 4 months old now.

They already have two dogs so they really didn't need Cooper but the breeder was going to do something bad with him. They said they couldn't let that happen. Very noble of them but why do they leave him outside alone to cry and cry? Why don't people realize dogs are pack animals? When puppies are left alone and know you are nearby, all they want is to be with you.

A couple weeks ago I had to go into the house because I was afraid I'd go over there and take him away. He had been crying for nearly an hour. Some people just shouldn't have pets.

What's Wrong With This Comment?

After being AWOL for almost a month I apologize for coming back on a rant. Well, not a rant exactly but I got a little excited about this. First of all, this is not about politics. I don't write about politics here ever and I don't discuss the subject often anyway.

There are apparently some ethics charges filed against Rep. Maxine Waters of California and Rep. Charles Rangel of New York. I do not live in either state so these people do not represent me. I wouldn't know either one of them if they walked into the room.

Yesterday I had the national news on while I was doing something besides watching but I was listening. They had sound bites from several people in Congress regarding the ethics charges. One of the men being interviewed made a comment that ended this way: "I really don't think Mr. Rangel intended to do anything wrong and I don't think Maxine did either."

Putting the politics aside, can anyone tell me what is WRONG with this comment? Please tell me it's not just me.



HINT: Does this sound a bit sexist to you?

Tenacious Terrier

Te·na·cious: \tə-ˈnā-shəs\adjective

1. not easily pulled apart, cohesive, tending to adhere or cling especially to another substance
2. persistent in maintaining, adhering to, or seeking something valued or desired
3. Lucy the Jack Russell Terror in pursuit of the elusive chipmunk. (which she did not get)



NOTE: This was taken with my iPhone which accounts for the poor quality. It was also the first time I ever uploaded anything to YouTube. I'll get better at it, I hope.

A Little of This, A Little of That

Once again I am tempted to yell "Stop! Let me off this merry-go-round!"

Lately the time has just run away with me. You may notice the gap between my last post and today. Or maybe you didn't. Summer is a busy time for most of us, and I notice many seem to spend less time here.

My real estate business has been keeping me very busy. That's a good thing. In my line of work we often work really hard NOW for commissions LATER.

Last week I spent a lot of time preparing for a presentation to a prospective seller. I was one of three Realtors they asked to speak to about listing their house. A really unique and beautiful "estate," I worked very hard on this and held my breath to hear their decision.

Yay! They chose me. I immediately got busy working on the marketing plan for the property. I am pleased to say that I had it in two multiple listing services, a virtual tour filmed and a dedicated website up in only THREE days! I didn't do this alone. I have a fantastic IT group I work with and an equally fantastic virtual tour company. Everyone worked quickly, and it all came together.

I'll tell you more about the property next week. It's a 12-room Colonial built in 1780. Think about that....it was built just four years after the Declaration of Independence was signed. I am very excited about selling this house, a true piece of history. Stayed tuned, I'll have more later.

Sunday, like lots of people, we are having a cookout with family and friends. We haven't had a Fourth of July party in a long time and I'm looking forward to it. The next couple days will be hectic getting everything ready.

Today I am taking a little time for ME and going to have a pedicure. Although I am addicted to my nail tech and my fingernails, I usually do my own toes. But today I'm going to sit for an hour and be a little pampered.

Oh, and I recently bought a Kindle. I haven't rushed out to buy one before this because I wasn't sure I'd use it, and I was hoping the price would come down. I've been borrowing Pam's occasionally (this time it's been a month....sorry, Pam, I'll return it this weekend) and have decided I like it. Plus the price has come down significantly.

Before I forget, let me suggest that you stop by the blog Pam and I put together a couple months ago...Words of Wisdom. In my humble opinion, today's Blogger of Note is one of the most amazing writers we have featured so far. I don't mean to slight any of our other Bloggers of Note, we were happy to share all of them, but something about Matthew's writing at AbodeOneThree really speaks to me.

I hope all of my American friends here and living as expats have a wonderful Fourth of July and the rest of you have a great weekend! Hope to see you next week.

I Think I Might Have a Problem

Can you have specific OCD or does it have to infiltrate your whole life? I wrote a while back about my OCD when it comes to my shoes and their care and storage. Generally I'm a little messy, I'm a piler (a piler, not a plier) of books, magazines, etc. It's fortunate for me, on so many levels, that I have a weekly housekeeper because it forces me to clear horizontal surfaces and put things away in preparation for Ana's Tuesday visits.

I'm pretty certain I'm not a germaphobe but I might be heading that way. I have never liked having my hands dirty for any length of time. I get to soap and water ASAP and always have wipes in my purse and car.

These are some of the habits that seem to be growing and which make me wonder.....

After ordering and closing the menu in a restaurant, I either use hand sanitizer, wipes, or head for the nearest restroom. Who KNOWS what was on the hands of the last diner? And I need AT LEAST two napkins; one for my lap and one for my hands and mouth. An extra one just in case is good, too.

I really don't care for finger food. I'm lucky I can eat a sandwich. When eating chips or nachos, I wipe my fingers off on a napkin or paper towel every two to three. Grease! Although I CAN pick up a slice of pizza, it's not uncommon to see me use a knife and fork. But I LOVE pizza so I struggle through. Chicken wings, another favorite, are a serious problem.

Shake my hand? (Remember, I'm in business and meets lots of people) There are wipes in the car. I even tend to wipe off the steering wheel of my own car before tossing it into the trash.

Remotes in hotel rooms? Wipes. Keyboards & mice in libraries, etc.? Wipes. There are more, I'm sure, that don't come to mind immediately.

But what brought this on this morning? The newspaper. I was putting yesterday's paper in the recycling bin and had to move a copy of our little weekly paper. I love it but the little paper is not clean; the ink comes off the newsprint and makes my hands black. Not to mention the ink sometimes comes off the paper and gets on your clothes. Good thing it only comes out once a week.

Our daily and Sunday paper is clean! I was so thrilled when they announced that change a few years ago. I'm one of those who still prefers to read the paper in its orignal form. Good thing it's clean, I don't think newsprint would stand up well to hand sanitizer and wipes!

A Broken Circle Reconnected

I have a new first cousin. Her name is Carol, and she was born June 16. That would be June 16, 1946.

When Carol was sixteen days old, her mother, my aunt, my mother's only sister, arranged for her to be adopted. My aunt already had one baby daughter, Betty, born one year earlier almost to the day. In between the births of her daughters, her husband left. Twenty years old, single and faced with raising two babies alone, she felt the best thing to do would be to give Carol up to be raised by someone who would be able to give her what she needed. That's our assumption, my aunt would never talk about it.

She eventually married again and had another two children, two sons. In the 60 years after Carol was born and until her death five years ago, my aunt steadfastly refused to discuss her. My mother was 13 when Carol was born. She saw her only once and knew she had been adopted by a woman she knew only as "Mrs. C." Shortly after Carol was born, Mrs. C moved. My mother never saw them again. Until a week ago.

Although I was close and spent lots of time in my aunt's house growing up, it wasn't until I was an adult that my mother told me about Carol. Or she told me as much as she knew about her, which wasn't much. Betty found out about her eventually, too, and talked about finding her sister. But all we had was that last name. No first name for Mrs. C, nothing. A few years ago, Betty's daughter did find some of their biological father's family but he had died and the family knew nothing about Carol either.

I've done a lot of genealogical research on the family over the years and have tried but never had any luck finding Carol. A long time ago I put a query out on a genealogy online bulletin board asking if anyone knew Carol "C" born 6/16/46. I never received a response.

Recently Betty called me again saying she really wanted to find Carol. This time I started going through records on Ancestry.com. Sure enough, within 5 minutes I had found an obituary of a man who died two years ago whose wife's name was Carol with the maiden name "C." He was about the age she would be and they lived in the same town that my aunt was living in all those years ago. Could it be? Could it be that Mrs. C and Carol were living right there in town all along?

A little more research and I had an address for Carol. I gave Betty the information and she sat down to write a letter. What should she say? Suppose Carol didn't know she was adopted? Suppose she did and didn't want a connection to her biological family? Betty sent the letter and it came back.....Addressee Unknown. A dead end.

I went back to the computer and found several people with her married name in the same little town. Before I had a chance to start making some random calls, Betty's husband called me and said, "I think we've found her." He had beat me to the random calling and found a relative of Carol's late husband who said she'd remarried and moved to another state. They had her cell number.

It was Carol, our Carol. She knew she had been adopted. Her birth date was right, and she had discovered her father's last name years ago. Her adoptive mother, who died 30 years ago, would never discuss her birth either. Carol wanted to know more but with nothing except a last name to go on, she could never find more.

Now here we were. Her family. She was excited to learn that she had a sister, two half brothers, nieces, nephews, cousins and an aunt. Several times she told us that she grew up happy and well loved but had always wanted to know more.

We sent her family photos and she sent some of her. Her resemblance to my aunt, her mother, is astonishing. If there ever was any doubt about who she is, once we saw her, it was gone. One of the grand kids looked at a photo of Carol and her husband and asked, "who's the man with Nana?"

Last week Betty, her husband, Bob, Mom and I traveled to meet Carol. After 64 years (almost to the day), several phone calls and a few emails, Carol had her family and Betty had her sister.

It's (Never) Too Late

Sunday night, Gisele and I, along with 9,000 of our closest friends, had the pleasure of seeing James Taylor and Carole King in concert at Mohegan Sun on their Troubadour Reunion Tour.

We've had these tickets since January. The morning they went on sale I was at the computer. The first show for Saturday night sold out FAST. I finally got to the point where I could choose and buy the seats. On Ticketmaster you end up in a queue online and only have so many minutes to pick and purchase seats or you get thrown out.

The seats I chose weren't exactly what I wanted but I was happy to get them. We ended up in the nosebleed section but what could you expect for $100 a ticket? (I know this is cheap for big shows now, but I'm a child of the 60's and 70's when I paid $4.75 to see the best concerts) It didn't matter. We've both seen JT several times but never Carole and to see them together was too good to miss. At the risk of sounding melodramatic, to me it was the chance of a lifetime.

We were far above the stage and couldn't see much clearly but it was a revolving deal so at least no one was behind it. We had to be satisfied with watching on the screens around the arena but the camera guys (and girl) did a great job. Although there were several times I wished I could see Danny Kortchmar's and Leland Sklar's guitar work other than when the cameras were on them. But the acoustics were terrific, and we didn't miss a word or a note.

I'm not sure I've ever seen a concert that started with a standing ovation. The emotion of the crowd continued right through their second encore when they finished the show with You Can Close Your Eyes which is a particular favorite of mine and takes me back to long ago and bittersweet memories. Throughout the show I was leaning forward with elbows on knees and chin in hand.

In some ways it was like seeing two different shows because they played many songs together but usually with one out front and the other singing and playing back up. They played most all the songs we wanted to hear....So Far Away, Machine Gun Kelly, Smackwater Jack, Country Road, Sweet Baby James, Fire and Rain and many more. When they played Up on the Roof, a song Carole wrote but which they both recorded, they each played it the way they recorded it, two definitely different interpretations. It was fun to see their two different styles on the same song.

The affection and camaraderie between the two was so clear. What amazed me was how spontaneous they made the show feel. The banter between the two as well as James' witty comments and stories (he's funny!) seemed so fresh and original. And when they played all the songs they have probably played hundreds, maybe thousands, of times, they seemed to be playing them the first time for an audience. I guess that's the mark of people who love what they do. The adulation of 9,000 fans probably didn't hurt either.

A few times Carole got up from the piano and danced around in her 4" heels and got the crowd clapping along. You'd never know she's 68 years old. JT is 62 and although he is beginning to look his age, that smile and sweet voice are still there. They both seem to have just gotten better with age. Or maybe I just want to believe we all do. They sure made me feel like the 16-year-old who wore out her first copy of Tapestry back in the early 70's. Is it really that long ago?

On The Road Again

Paul and I recently made our annual trek to OBX, the outer banks of North Carolina. The photo on the right was a stallion following along behind his mares and a foal on the beach one day we were there. We didn't see too many wild horses this year.

This is our third year at OBX since buying a timeshare in Kitty Hawk on eBay, sight unseen. Not only had we never seen the condo, neither Paul nor I had ever been to OBX.

During the week of the auction I did some serious Internet research but it was still a leap of faith when I kept increasing my bid in those last minutes of the auction and then won. It turned out to be a great buy. The condo is beautiful and in a great spot. We start looking forward to it every March when we've had just about enough winter.

This year we left a couple days early and extended our vacation. On the way to OBX we stopped in Ocean City, Maryland, for what we expected would be a quiet couple days in an oceanfront hotel. Here's the view from our balcony. This is peaceful but it tells you nothing about what was going on in front of the hotel.

We had no idea that the week we picked to stop in Ocean City was the same week that the 20th Annual Cruisin' Ocean City was happening. On the way down we kept noticing classic cars on the road. We figured there was probably a car show somewhere south but didn't know we were heading right into it.

Right into it is right. The town was full of hot rods, custom cars and street machines of every vintage, make, model, color and style. They drove up and down the main drag called Coastal Highway. And anywhere there was a parking lot along the street you would see cars parked with some people sitting in canvas chairs and others wandering from car to car looking under the hoods.

Plus there were people lined up on the sidewalks along the street watching the impromptu parade.

The show is open to cars built in 1979 or earlier. The formal registration is limited to 3,000 but a total of about 7,000 cars show up and the weekend draws 100,000 people. It's based at the local Convention Center but spills everywhere in town.

Paul was in his glory. A 'gearhead' in his teens and twenties when he built, rebuilt, raced and wrecked a few cars, it was a trip down memory lane for him. There's a '90 convertible Corvette in the garage now. And as much as I appreciate wandering around looking, we have been to many car shows over the years, this was definitely sensory overload.

Coastal Highway runs past all the hotels, motels, restaurants, t-shirt shops and other places that want your money. There are traffic lights every block which gave the hot rods and street machines just enough time to go through a couple gears and leave some rubber before they had to shut it down for the next light.

The noise was incredible but it was fun to watch. I much prefer to watch the cars moving rather than sitting in a parking lot with the hoods up. Yeah, that's a lot of chrome but how fast does it go? The smell of testosterone was everywhere or maybe it was just exhaust. I felt like I was in a scene from American Graffiti.

Here are a few of the many photos I took. Whether you care about cars or not, you have to admit that the work and money that goes into these machines is pretty awesome.

So it wasn't the quiet few days at the beach we were expecting but it was fun. We heard there is a Bike Week in Ocean City in September when about 10,000 bikes and 200,000 people show up. We'll skip that. I've been to Laconia, and Paul goes every year.

Maybe we'll make Ocean City Cruisin' an annual event.