Well, here it is 2013!  I would have never guessed when I turned 21 that I would still be around to see it come around.  But, look at me, here I am!

 

When my high school class (Monahans High School) of 1965 began planning it’s 50^th class reunion, I thought I would probably not be there to participate with them.  But something funny happened at the last class reunion we attended in San Angelo a couple of years ago.  As we were getting ready to say our goodbyes to everyone, I happened to walk over to where Beverly Rowin Hartman was taking down the Memorial of Classmates who had already gone on.  I made the comment that there sure were a lot of our class gone.  Beverly looked at me and said, “No one else can go before our next reunion because we don’t have any more picture frames to place their photo in.”  I laughed and said, “OK, that seems like reason enough to stick around”.  I had no idea what the future held for me at that time but more than once over the next couple of years and during our battle with cancer I would think about standing there and hearing those words, “No one else can go because we don’t have any more frames.”  It always brings a smile to my face and lightens my spirits.  So if everything holds out, I plan to be at the 50^th MHS Reunion and NOT in a picture!

 

I have been checking quite a few things off of the “bucket list” this past year so I have had to be a little more realistic in my resolutions for this year.  As some of you may recall, one of my resolutions for last year was to use only one razor blade for the entire year.  Well, I did it!  Of course I started my chemotherapy in February and by March my face was as smooth as a baby’s behind.  It stayed that way throughout the treatment.  In July, it began to grow again and I let it grow through the end of the year.  Sooo… I’m just saying…. That’s one resolution I kept but not exactly as I planned to.

 

The other resolution was to have no agenda for the year 2012.  I want to say I kept that one as well but I did have a “sort of” agenda of driving Charlotte all over the western part of the U.S.  Other than that, I pretty well laid back and did what I pleased.  Man, why did I wait so long to retire?  This is awesome!!!

 

The last resolution I made was easier to keep.  That was the one where I took myself off of the list of candidates for the Ten Best Dressed Men in Dallas.  Yeah, there were the initial calls from the media wanting to know why and wanting a follow-up interview.  But once I put my foot down, they eventually backed off.  So I spent the year dressed in a lot of Tommy Bahama shirts and sandals and shorts.  Not a bad way to go!  I’m considering carrying that same style over into 2013!!

 

Now then….Lets get down to 2013 Resolutions!!!

 

As I said, this year I’m going to be a little more practical.  I want to start in the kitchen with my first 2013 Resolution.  It is…….(drum roll)……… I want to learn how to make gravy like my Mama.  I mean I want to learn how to make it right every time!

Mama would fry chicken in a cast iron skillet and then take the grease and cracklings from the chicken and throw in some flour and stir it until it turned brown.  Then I remember she would open a can of canned milk and mix a half a can of milk with half water and stir it into the skillet.  What would come out when she was done was magical.  It was just the right texture, and taste,  and it tasted great on everything, even ice cream!  If I can manage to learn how to do that, 2013 will have been a great year!

 

Resolution Number Two for 2013 is I want to start taking lessons on my squeezebox.  It’s a little bit like a small zydaco Cajun instrument but not as big. It is called a concertino.  It’s more like a little Italian squeezebox like you see in the old movies.  I got a bug to learn how to play it so get your earplugs out if you plan to come to the house!  You can start looking for me on America’s Got Talent later on this year!

 

As you can see, my goals are a little more practical this year but that doesn’t necessarily mean I’ll get them accomplished!

 

If you have some tips on the gravy receipt or you are a squeezebox “afinado”, let me hear from you in the comments!

 

It’s going to be a GREAT YEAR!!

Season Greetings to all our friends and family.  I hope this note finds you preparing for the Holiday Season with gladness and thankfulness in your hearts for another year of enjoying life in this wonderful country we all call home.  

For us here in Waxahachie, 2012 was one of those years that will go down in the record book of our life as one of the most exciting in a long time.  As most of you know, I retired from public education after 27 years on January 31, 2012.  Less than 30 days later, on March 1, I was diagnosed with cancer in my stomach.  It was an aggressive strain and was growing rapidly.  The doctors said because of the fast-growing ability of this type of cancer we would treat it very aggressively with chemotherapy and radiation treatments.  I began treatments immediately as soon as a port was implanted in my upper chest.

After 3 months of chemotherapy, I began 23 radiation treatments over the next month.  I was then given a PET scan and another biopsy was taken of my stomach.  I was pronounced cancer-free and treatments stopped at the end of July.  

I went back in for my six-month biopsy this past Monday and had my six-month consultation with my oncologist this past Thursday.

I want to take this opportunity to thank many of you for your thoughts, prayers and communications with us during this time.  I know my recovery was nothing short of a miracle.  I was never sick for a moment because of the chemotherapy treatments and I was able to take care of myself throughout the treatment time frame. 

While I was in the middle of my chemotherapy, I published the two books I had been working on for several years.  The first, On the Backs of Our Children, is a historical fiction novel based on life on the Rio Grand border.  I am now writing the sequel to it.  The other book, Calling the Right Play for Life’s Fourth Quarter, was a collection of posts from a blog on the 1965 Monahans High School website on the subject of retirement.  Both books are available on ebooks from Amazon.

As soon as I received the “All Clear” from the doctors in July, we took a 5,000 mile road trip west to eight different states with stops in California to travel through wine country for several days with my cousin Larry Padgett and his sweet wife Myra, then on to San Francisco for an international porcelain convention, then to Livingston, MT where our great hostess,Peggy Riggs played Yellowstone guide for us for several days. Then it was on to  Aspen, CO to visit with old friends John and Betty Jones in their lovely home there.  

Upon our return to Waxahachie after three weeks on the road, we attended a wedding of a family member in Cancun, Mexico for four days.

Returning from Mexico, we packed our bags for a three week trip to Brazil where Charlotte took a porcelain painting class from an artist in Rio de Janeiro, Rigaberto,  and then we went on to Campinas, Sao Paulo to stay and visit with several families we have been friends with for many years.

Then in November, we spent five days in New Orleans for Thanksgiving with our kids and grandkids.  Thank heavens we are staying home for Christmas!  But, we will be getting back on the road soon for another road trip this time to the east coast.  We will be going through several states as we head to Tybe Island.  This is a small island off the coast of Savannah, GA.  Charlotte will be attending a two week art seminar and I will be trying to sample every item on Paula Dean’s menu there in Savannah!  (I smell butter!)  We will also be stopping in a couple locations for me to get some research in for my next book. 

As if this wasn’t enough, I finished the remodel of my 1950 Chevy Panel Delivery Wagon!  After four years of rebuilding, it is finally done!  I entered it into one small show already and won so I’m happy!  It gets the stares when we take it out!

We also had an addition to our family this year.  We now have Toffee, a 10 month old Maltipoo.  She is the life of the party and a sweet puppy.  She helps fill the void left by Sophie, our little rescued poodle who passed away last year.

As this year draws to a close, we count ourselves extremely blessed to be on the receiving end of so much love, and friendship of so many wonderful people.  May your holidays be wonderful and all of your needs met.

Ted and Charlotte 

Living Large In Our Cancun Limo” We enjoyed the service of the limo and not having to worry about getting on the wrong van or tour bus. It took about an hour to get down to our resort from the airport. It was well worth the price.

Well, after three weeks in Brazil, we were ready to get back in our own bed!  We had an awsome visit.  It was a great trip in so many ways.  We had fun in Rio with Rigoberto at his studio.  Then we took a “executive” bus (with WiFi on board!) down to Sao Paulo to our friends.

We spent two weeks with several families we have known for many years and their families who have all grown up and have kids of their own.  It’s the Circle Of Life happening all around us.  I am glad I still get to be a part of it.

I became so frustrated with my computer during the trip because I couldn’t get photos to load up into my posts.  (I’m sure it’s an “Operator Error” but it still upset me.  So I decided to just wait til I got home to share the pictures and some details about the trip with everyone.  I am getting help with the picture problem tomorrow so maybe we can get back on track again.

I will talk to you all later.  Keep me “posted”.

More shots from our time in Rio.  If you double click on the photos they will open up and you can read the comments.

Charlotte is enjoying the modern touches Rigoberto uses in his pieces

Every morning and evening we took the subway for about 15 kilometers to class

Here are some shots I have taken and just haven’t had time to get them on the blog.

Yesterday marked the first day of class for Charlotte.  It was a great adventure just getting to the studio more or less on time.  I stand once again amazed at the whole Brasilian Culture!  These people have to go to work everyday just like you and I. (Oh, wait a minute, I don’t have to do that anymore!)  So I guess I should say like some of y’all still have to.  Anyway, my point is they ride for maybe 30 to 40 kilometers to work, taking maybe two or three forms of public transportation, (bus, subway, etc.) and still manage to get to work on time.  We won’t even carpool with anyone and can’t make it by ourselves in a car that we drive.

Anyway, we left the hotel at 8:00 a.m. heading for the studio.  First we walk three blocks down to the metro entrance.  Then we ride the metro about half of the distance to the studio.  We get off the metro and look for a bus going the rest of the way.  One passes us by, full. There are literally busses stacked in two lanes for as far as you can see but you have to look for the number on the front of the bus indicating the one you need and get your hand in the air in plenty of time or he won’t stop.  We wait for another twenty minutes for the next one to come by but I can’t stand the wait any longer so we get a cab.  We fight traffic that makes the  ones in Dallas look like a Sunday drive.  We pull up in front of the studio only five minutes late!. (10:05 a.m.)  It took us a little over two hours to get about 19 miles.  If I was in my Marathon running shape, I could have beat the time almost on foot.

We meet the artist face to face for the first time.  Charlotte had been following his work on Facebook for some time.  Rigoberto Barcos is originally from Chile but has been in Brasil for the last 23 years.  The first day is a one-on-one session with only Charlotte and Rigoberto exchanging ideas and planning what they will paint during these four days.  After a full day of class, we leave the studio at about 5:30 p.m. and head back to our hotel.  This time we get a bus that takes us to within about 10 blocks of our hotel.  The only problem was it wasn’t an express bus and we took two hours to get there!  Whe we got off the bus, we were in a sort of food court where there were probably 500 people sitting outside drinking beer and eating all sorts of fast food.  The night was beautiful so we found us a table and sat down and enjoyed the food and the culture.  Brasilians love to talk and drink beer.  I think they would fit in pretty good at the American Legion Post back in Dallas!

After a couple chopps, (drafts) and pieces of deep fried chicken that looks like it was chopped up by Ray Charles, we were off to our room where we fell in bed and passed out.  At 5:30 a.m. the sun was shining in our window so we got up and began the cycle all over again.

Going to painting class is not for sissys here!

As with any reputable journal, we will at times need to make corrections or better, clarifications, on stories we cover in our posts.

It was brought to this writer’s attention a couple of discrepancies were made in yesterday’s post on Brazil. (Which by the way had the most hits in one day of any post since I began this blog!  I had no idea there was so much interest in that popcorn story!

OK, here we go, correction number 1.

It was brought to my attention that the young lady shown in the first picture was not in the official uniform.  That was my oversight and I take full responsibility for not mentioning she still had her warm ups on over her uniform.  My bad!

OK, correction number 2.

This correction is actually a clarification issue.  For some reason, the text did not print underneath the photo of the second young lady.  She was showing up for practice late and still dressed in her work clothes.  It was first suggested by her coach that she be required to run two laps on the beach.  The trainer (yours truly) suggested instead she do 100 jumping jacks counted off by himself.  The coach liked the suggestion and so it went.  About an hour later, I woke up and as Edge says, it was just a beautiful dream!

OK, so our plane from Atlanta to Rio finally landed at 8:30 in the morning here in the beautiful land of Brasil!  We go through customs without a glitch and are met by a guy named Daniel who is holding up a little sign with our name on it there as we come out.  We get all our luggage into his car, (no small feat) and head for our hotel which we booked on line from our house in Waxahachie. (Aren’t we just the hi-tech globe trotters!)

When we give Daniel the name and address of the hotel, he looks at it and gives the typical Brasilian understatement.  He says, “I don’t think this is a very good area of town and I have not heard of this hotel before.”  What he’s really saying is “What the heck did you guys do!  This is going to be ugly!”  But his Brasilian manners will not let him be so….so……. so like me and just say it!  Instead he says he can take us there and we can decide if we want to stay.  We agree and we’re off through the roughest traffic in Rio.  There are stripes painted on the street for lane markers but they just wasted paint and labor to put them there because they mean absolutely nothing to the people behind the wheel.  You have actually about five to six lanes of traffic on a street marked with four lane stripes.  But just to keep things interesting, you have motorcycles traveling on both sides of the cars in every lane!  I can’t believe I used to actually drive down here!

Well, to get on with the story, we finally get to the hotel we had booked on line.  The name of the hotel was, are you ready?  It was Hotel Snob!  I figured a name like that would be blog material for a long time!  Well, this time I got bit!  In Brazil, you have hotels and then you have motels.  Now for us backward gringos, I always thought of hotels as being in the center of the city and motels being more on the outskirts of town or on the highway.  The Brasilian culture, however, has an entirely different take on this.  Hotels are for actual travelers and business people.  Motels, on the other hand, are where all the men take their “nooners” for their “afternoon delight”!  There is a reason the Brasilians take a two hour lunch and it’s not because they are lazy and want to sleep or hungry and just eat for two hour!

Anyway, as we pull up, I get the drift pretty quick and tell our friend I think they misled us in the advertisement on line.  We ask the guy if this is a hotel or a motel and he says they are making the transition from motel to hotel but at the time, they have both services.

Well, it was embarrassing for us to say the least!  I wonder what our final bill would have been if we would have stayed there for six days!  The rooms go by the hour!  We were able to get into a nice hotel here in the city center of Copacabana.  Not bad for a west Texas Wicketeer!

I would like to call today’s blog: Observations I Made Today About Brazil.

First:  I made the observation that with 18 band aides and a roll of dental floss, I could dress out an entire girl’s beach volleyball team! (See attached photo) And if Edge is counting, that’s for a team of 6!

Second: I have found a young man running a popcorn stand on the street in front of our hotel who just may have come up with this year’s best Super Bowl snack!  To heck with pouring butter over your popcorn!  This guy fries up bacon in about one inch pieces and then throws it all onto a fresh popped batch.  Yum mee!  I smell bacon!!  (See attached photo)

Third:  We did a trial run from our hotel to the studio where Charlotte will be taking classes starting tomorrow.  We didn’t want to go the sissy route and just call a cab.  We wanted some adventure!  We started off on the Rio Metro Subway for about half of the 30 kilometer distance then we transferred to a big new style of air conditioned bus that they fondly call “Frescao”, (translates as Big Cold One).  We got on and sat right behind the driver.  The windshield is about 6 feet high and 10 feet wide.  It is just like watching a big screen or IMAX.  I can honestly say I have NEVER been on a ride like this!  It was better than anything at Six Flags or Disney World!  That driver made it look like the distance Nascar drivers draft on each other look like a city block!  His bumper had to be touching the car in front as we winded through hairpin turns, through tunnels, merging through God knows how many lanes of traffic while pedestrians leap for safety!  It was absolutely horrifyingly WONDERFUL!  If you ever get to Rio, whatever it takes, buy a ticket on the Frescao and go to Barra de Tijuca!  You will never ever forget it!

There’s an old saying my mama used to always use when we would go on vacation back before the interstate highway system existed.  We would have to drive from Monahans, TX to Texarkana, TX going back east to Illinois.  We would start off early in the morning before it was good daylight so as to get as many miles behind us before the sun began to beat down on the roof of that old Cadillac with us riding inside with all the windows down to keep from roasting alive.

We would pull into some little local motel off of highway 80 somewhere close to the Arkansas line.  As we pulled in to stop for the night, mama would say, “Well, the sun has riz and the sun has set and here we iz in Texas yet!”

Well mama, I sure got re-acquainted with that feeling today!  With your permission, I would like to say something more along these lines.

Well, we got on the plane in Atlanta last night

They fed us some supper and everything was alright!

We covered up and fell asleep .cause just sitting there got boring

In an hour or so the whole plane was snoring.

I woke up at three, (as it’s my custom to do),

Not a light was on, just an iPhone or two.

I found my way to “the place”, (thank goodness no line!)

After a quick stop I’m feeling just fine.

So it’s back to my seat to my pillow and blanket,

My headset playing Eagles as loud as I can crank it.

In my flight booties and sleeping mask I’m really a cool sight

I strap on my seat belt and again say goodnight.

The two “pills” I had taken finally kicked in,

My mind shut down, face with a grin.

I’m trying to wake up, who’s hollering at me?

Where’s my eye drops, can’t find them,

Heck, I can’t even see!

Charlotte’s saying they’re gonna feed us again,

I need to wake up, what a night it has been!

Here’s the wet towels  to wake me and make me feel better,

Charlotte needs “to go” so, I get up to let her.

The stewards and stewardesses now rush down the aisles

Bringing our breakfast with “good mornings” and smiles.

The cabin GPS with it’s graphs and dials

Is indicating we’ve traveled over 5,000 miles!

The coffee’s not hot, the bagel is bland

Would somebody please tell me, will this plane EVER land?