Pittsburgh Trip......Post 4 "Low Battery"

The night before our trip to Pittsburgh I didn't sleep well.  It's not unusual for me not to sleep well, but was one of the small factors that came into play.  I was up at 3:30 am.  Ate a small breakfast, showered, shaved, dressed, and watched the local news come on at 4:30.  Mary Lynn got up early, we finished packing and made sure everything was ready for the trip.  At 7:25 we headed up the street to pick up the rental car at 7:30.
As soon as we got home, we packed up the car, checked the house to make sure everything was turned off, and took off on our weekend trip.  I drove first.  We pulled over at a rest stop about 30 miles north of Cincinnati and Mary Lynn took over.  We arrived at Jit and Julie's house in Columbus about 11:00 am, enjoyed a tour of their newly remodeled home, and headed to Pittsburgh, stopping for lunch before leaving Columbus. Jit drove.

 I wish I'd had a symbol on me that would let me know my battery level, but I don't.  I know now that my battery was completely run down at that time.  I think my best explanation about a Heart Attack is that it zaps your battery and does not allow it to recharge.  That's what the Rehab does.  Slowly recharges your battery.  I believe my energy level is such that I can do most anything, but in short bursts with a rest in between.  Walking any distance at all is not something that can be done.  Also, heat pretty much cancels out any energy I may have to start with.
So, .....just traveling is taxing on your energy.  If you've ever traveled, you know how tiring it can be.  Yes, I just sat there, but I sat there tired.  Upon arriving in Pittsburgh, we checked into the hotel, parked in the parking lot, carried our luggage up to our rooms on the fifth floor, and unpacked.  It was about 5:00 pm then, and I'd been up since 3:30 am.  My activities thus far had already exceeded what I should have done for one day.
Checking at the front desk, we found out that the restaurant in which the rehearsal dinner was being held was only a mile and a half away from our hotel.  So the question put to me was "Bobby, do you think you can walk it?"  The response should have been, "No, don't think I should even try."  But my actual response was "Sure."  That was not very smart. Two weeks from a heart attack and I'm going to walk a mile and half, long pants, long sleeve shirt, tie, and in the heat. 
After about 5 blocks we decided it was a bad idea.  Luckily, we were able to hail a cab.  I'm exhausted.  Of course we get to the rehearsal dinner about an hour early, but they were kind enough to seat us back in the reserved area and we got a drink to nurse until people started to arrive.  I was able to rest.  Not really able to recharge, but able to conserve what little energy I had left. 
So, a couple of hours of socializing, meeting a lot of nice people, eating dinner, and then it's time to leave.  No, my battery has not charged.  It can't.  I can still do a little bit, but must follow it with a rest period.
Let's walk to the 'subway station', about 5 blocks way, catch the subway to about 6 or 8 blocks from the hotel, then walk the rest of the way.  "Bobby, can you do that?".  My response should have been "Are you crazy?".  However, I heard myself say "Sure.".

 Well, after about a block of walking, the temperature was a little cooler, but still warm, my battery was no longer low, but dead.  As we got to the Subway station, descending on an escalator, the lower levels were still holding the heat of the day and it was hot.  We had to wait for the car about 10-15 minutes.  In the meanwhile, I was completely exhausted, hot, and sweating profusely.  Even though I was sitting down, the heat wouldn't allow me to get rested.  I was done.  The car came, we got on, and rode it to the "Steel Plaza", which was the closest subway station to our hotel.  It was decided by the group that there was no way that I could walk the rest of the way.  I was in agreement.  We needed a cab.
So, up from the depths of the subway station and let's find a cab.  Yep, I'm still walking!    We found this really nice hotel, the "Omni William Penn Hotel", and went in hoping to find a taxi stand. There was a bar inside and the really nice lady helped them.  We were on the backside of the hotel.  So, we went through, through a nice restaurant, (very Ritzy), out the front door where there was a taxi stand.  A taxi took us the few blocks to our hotel and the ordeal was over.  Oops!  I still had to walk up to our room.  Still walking.
When I got to our room I was more exhausted than I've ever been in my life.  I've been tired.  Really tired.  But I know now that being tired is not the same as being exhausted.  When you're tired, if an emergency suddenly comes up you can can summon the energy to act.  I had no reserves.  DEAD BATTERY!
This was all my fault.  Nobody knew how I felt but me.  The problem was, I didn't know how I felt.  Sure, I can go another step.  How many?  I don't know.  I was asked repeatedly "Are you OK?".  "Can you do this?".  I just kept giving the wrong answers.
But I made it through the ordeal.  I learned a lot.  And, I had some people with me who took care of me and looked out for me.  Like I said before, this was all completely my fault, and I learned a whole lot from the experience.

Pittsburgh Trip......Post 3

A lot of you may find this hard to believe, but there are a lot of wedding ceremony traditions I know nothing about.  Yeah, I know, it's hard to believe.  Several new ones were discovered this weekend.  Now, I realize many of you out there may have heard of these things, but I only know the traditions I've seen at the weddings that I have attended.

Such as, at the Reception, when someone raps on their glass with silverware, this means the Bride and Groom are to kiss.  For those who have never heard of this, like me, what I mean is when someone raps on their glass, like you do when you want every one's attention so you may speak, a tinkling sound, you wish the Bride and Groom to kiss.  I heard this glass tinkling for awhile, thinking someone was getting ready to give a Toast, before I was told what the heck was going on.

Another tradition, I'd never heard of, was a Cookie Table at the Reception.  There was a large Cookie Table set up with an assortment of Cookies, I'd say 25-30 different kinds,  for guests to enjoy.  And, towards the end, the guest were encouraged to load up a 'to go' box, boxes on the table for you,  to help get rid of all the cookies.

This was one Julie fixed up.  As you can see, there were lots of varieties of cookies.  All of them tasty. 
Inside the little bag tied with ribbons, were pretzels dipped in chocolate.  These were at each place setting.  The 'Bride'  Pretzels were dipped in white chocolate with white sprinkles, and the 'Groom' Pretzels were dark chocolate decorated to look like a tuxedo with bow tie.  These weren't on the Cookie Table but were put in the Cookie Box to go.  I don't know about you, but I kinda like that tradition.

Pittsburgh trip.....Post #2

The trip to Pittsburgh this weekend provided me with at least a half dozen posts for by blog.  I'll probably let a couple of them slip by without putting them up, but a few 'behind the scenes' posts I thought should be made public.
After arriving in Columbus, Jit drove the rental car the rest of the way, and in around Pittsburgh while we were there.  I sat 'shotgun', and Mary Lynn and Julie sat in the back.  It was a weekend for pictures.  I mean, snap a picture as often as you can and look through all the photos and you'll have some good ones out of the whole mess.  So, I decided to snap a picture of each car occupant from my vantage point.  Here are the results of my cooperative crew:

Jit, who doesn't like his picture taken anyway, was even a little less willing to pose while driving.

Then Mary Lynn, doing her best "Jillian" impersonation.  We were on our way to the wedding at this time.   As usual, she was cold and covered with a blanket.

Julie was the only one who cooperated.  Of course, she was cold, too, and had Jit's jacket on to cover with.  She looks like she's wearing a "Nehru" jacket from the 60's.

I guess each of us had our picture taken 100 times over the course of the 2 days.  I just thought I'd show you a few of the pictures you probably won't see anyplace else!  At least I'm sure they won't be in the wedding album.

This is a late addition.  The 'Peanut Gallery' (Comment Section) requested I should have MY picture on here, also.  So, here it is.  I can think of at least 2 more blog posts that will come from the trip.  Stay tuned.

Pittsburgh Trip, First Report

Mary Lynn and I just got back from Pittsburgh to attend Brent and Mary Ann Wagner's wedding.  The trip went well, the wedding and reception was awesome.  My job was to provide a little Human-interest reporting.  You know, the kind of crap I hate when they show the Olympics!
We stayed at the Hampton Inn in Downtown.  It was a very nice place to stay and had a great Breakfast Bar.  Very Impressive.  And, we were pretty well located to get to all the events.  Well, the Rehearsal Dinner and Reception.  The Wedding was a pretty good distance away.
Back to the Hotel.  The rooms were nice, but trying to adjust the temperature in the room was impossible.

When we would get back to the room, the thermostat would show 75 degrees.  But, it would feel 80 and muggy.  So, I'd drop the thermostat one degree and the unit would kick on.  And run.......and run.........Brrrrrrr.  I know it would get down to the low 60's before it would kick off.  And then would stay cold all night.  It felt cold to me, so I know Mary Lynn, shown here under a large comforter, blanket, her robe, and a pillow stacked up on her feet, was freezing.  I always like to keep my room nice and cool, but this was a little much even by my standards.  But, she was a trooper, and hung in there.

Cousins you say?......Let me count the ways....

According to several posts on Face book yesterday, it was Cousin's Day.  It got me to thinking about my cousins. I don't think I've ever stopped to count them, so in this blog I'll try.

Let's start at the top.  I have double-cousins!  A lot of people don't have such a thing.  My Uncle Bill, my Mom's brother, was married to my Dad's sister, Mary Catherine (Skeets).  They had 10 children, all of which are my double-cousin's because we are related on both parents side.  Those 10 children, in order, are, Willie, Susie, Tommy, Melanie, Celeste, David, Johnny, Mary Dow, Daniel, and last but not least, Pat.  Other than brothers and sisters, I believe these would be my closest relations.  This photo had to be Circa 1951.
That was easy.  We'll go to another easy one.

Alice and Judy.  These are my Mother's other brother Jim's  2 children.  That takes care of my mother's side of the family.  That was the easy part.  We now total 12 cousins, 10 of them 'Double'.

My Dad's sister, Thelma Ruth, had a large family, so I'll put them next.  They also had 10 children:  Deanna, Janet, Carol, Mary, Theresa, Cynthia, Gary, Margaret, Thomas, and Nicholas.  As you can see, my Uncle Bob got a little worried with SIX  girls before having a son.  I pretty sure this picture was taken Easter, 1957.
So, keeping a total, we now have 22 Cousins, 10 of them 'Double'.

I don't have a family picture of a lot of my cousins, so I'll have to combine a couple of families into this one picture.  Of course, Tom Jecker is mentioned above.
Dad's brother, Uncle Jim, and his wife, Christine, had 4 children.  They are in order:  Bernie, Johnny, Darlene, and Tony.
My Dad's sister, Ethel May, married Bill Clemerson, and they had 6 children. In order:  Steve, Richard, Michael, Diane, Marilyn, and Edward.

I believe this takes me up to 32 cousins, 10 of them 'Double'.

My Dad's brother, Uncle Herman (Hank), married Regine Janik, and they had 2 children:  Regine and Stan. I met Regine when she was very young, 4 or 5 years old, but I've never met Stan.  We are friends on Face book, though.  My best guess would be this photo was taken 1964-65.

My total is now 34.







My Dad's brother, Philip, moved out west, Washington, State,  got married, raised a family, and I've never met those cousin's.  Philip married Lucy Fogelman and they had 4 children:  Wesley, John, Linda, and Robin.  I have corresponded with Linda, Robin, and Wesley.

This brings my cousin total to 38.

My Dad's youngest brother, Charles, married and had one son before divorcing his wife, Joyce.  Even though mother and son live in Jefferson County, as far was we know, I've never met him.  His name, Scott Tabler.My Dad's brother Tom (Turk) was married to Sylvia.  She had 2 son's from a previous marriage.  I have no idea if anything was done legally as far as adoption, so I am assuming these two would be no relation to me.

So, my official count would be 39 cousin's, 10 of them 'Double Cousin's'.  I don't even want to try and figure out how many 2nd cousin's I have or 1st Cousin's once removed.  That would be a job for a larger computer than I have!

My Sweet Jillian....Always the Joker!

Shakespeare said, "All the World's a Stage, and men and women merely players."     I believe Jillian thinks she is 'on' the stage at all times.  She is always joking and cutting up.  Here, as they got back from Girl Scout Camp on the bus, I took a picture of her and Erin through the bus window.   Erin can pose normally, but Jillian?  Noooooo!

You can get a picture of Erin, but it's hard to get one without Jillian doing something a little 'nutty'.  Here, she gives Erin the old fashioned 'Bunny Ears'.

Here, she puts on Kim's glasses and wears them around for awhile.  She's always in character, and always 'on'.  At the  Scout Camp she is in the group called the "Bumble Bee's".  And, of course, when I mention this she came around the table and bumped her back-end against me to 'sting' me!  She seems to always be thinking one step ahead of you to be able to pull off a joke.  Jillian, I've said it before, "You crack me up!"

Another pet peeve to write about.

Are there any drivers out there who know what those big, wide white lines at intersections mean?  As I drive around town there is no indication that they do.

For those uninformed motorists, you must stop the FRONT  of your car before crossing the white line.  I believe most motorists believe they stop the REAR of the their car on that line!

The reason they are there are so that other drives can turn left onto the street you are coming from.  If your car is sticking out too far, it becomes a little more difficult.  Also, many times just beyond that wide line begins the crosswalk.  I see so many drives stopped right in the middle of the crosswalk.  Really people, did any of you have to pass a driving test to get your license?

I know that at some stop signs you need to get out a little further to see if there is anything coming in order to pull out.  But you still must stop at the white line first!  But, there is no excuse to be beyond the white line at a traffic signal.  That's what the light is for....to let you know when it is clear for you to go.

Just to wind this up, remember, it's against the law to cross any SOLID white lines on the highways!  Solid lines mean,'DON'T CROSS', broken white lines means it's OK!  Check out all the solid white lines on entry ramps to X-ways.  Don't merge into traffic until you get to the end of the solid white line.  Come on people, you should know this!

Well, let's see if I get any flack over this or any agreement.

Myth Busters! Doctors make rare discovery.

There are many people that I played golf and worked with over the years that swore I didn't have a heart.  Well, I do!  And the Doctors at Audubon Hospital have proof!  Now, it may be as small as a grape, but it's there.
After suffering a Heart Attack this past Thursday, I spent about 3 days in the hospital while they determined that one of my arteries to the heart was completely 100% blocked.  They ballooned it and put in a stent to keep it open.  After that procedure I felt 100% better.  Even the 4 Nitro pills under my tongue didn't relieve the pain.  So, after that procedure Thursday and convalescing 2 more days, I'm back home.  Can't play golf for at least a couple of weeks, but I would think after my stress test on the 26th of this month I'll be released to do most anything.
While I can't play golf, I'm sure I can go to the Zoo and put a little time in there.  They have their 2012 Docent Class beginning this Thursday and Saturday so I think I just might attend those Orientation classes to see how the new recruits look!

It's been hot when weather in the 90's seems cool!

The weather finally broke.  I know it's still hot, but it's a good 10 degrees warmer than it has been.  It was actually cool enough that I would have walked today, but my knee won't let me.  I've got a Dr.'s appt Thursday and hope to find out the extent of my knee injury then.  So, I thought I'd better not push it today.   I played Shawnee GC today for round 36 of the year.  I scored pretty well, but didn't play well the front nine.  I thought I played better and hit much better shots on the back nine.  Although, my 39 - 39 = 78 wouldn't suggest that.  But, the par at Shawnee is 34 - 36, so I was 5 over on the front and only 3 over on the back.  Also, I saved a lot holes that I hit bad shots by making a very good shot, or making a putt.

I tried a different putter on the front nine.  I bought it at a yard sale Saturday for $2 and thought I'd try it out.  I really like the feel of it.  The only problem is it's about 2 and half inches shorter than the putter I've been using.  So, I have to bend over a little more and it's a little awkward feeling.  I went back to my old putter for the back nine.  I really like my old putter.  I've been using it for quite a few years now, and I bought it at a yard sale for $1.50.  The new yard sale putter is really nice.  Just too short.  I don't think I want to go to the trouble of re-gripping and extending the shaft when I like my old putter.  But, a shorter person out there who'd like to try out this great putter, it's available.  Listening OJ?

My goal of nothing higher than bogey was blown on the very first hole. I had a double bogey 7 on the par 5 first hole.  That took the pressure off!  But, I did accomplish another goal.  I didn't three putt today.  So, with a double on the first hole, and a bogey on the 2nd hole, finishing with a 39 was pretty satisfying.

I Hope They enjoyed it as much as I did!

I taught an 'Experienceing Animals' Class at Chance School Summer Camp today.  A major hitch in the plan developed when the extreme heat stopped me from being able to take many live animals to the class.  The only 'live' animals I could take was the Madagascar Hissing Cockroach, and the Bearded Dragon.  So, we loaded up on other Biofacts so the youngsters would have things to see and touch.  I think it turned out well, despite the animal shortage.

Here, Kim demonstrates our 'Orangutan Coat', showing them how long the arms are on a full grown Orangutan.

My two favorite girls, Erin and Jillian, getting to touch the Bearded Dragon.

All the kids were so well behaved and smart.  I was talking about the elephants tusks, and how elephants are 'right tusked' or 'left tusked', much like we're right handed and left handed. You tell which they favor because one of the tusks will be a little more rounded on the end and worn.  One of the young boys said, "Unless they're ambidextrous!".  Now, there's a word you don't hear from that age group very often!




We ran a little long and had to wrap it up.  We didn't even get to the Snake Skeleton, Snake Shed, Polar Bear Fur and Claws, Grizzly Claws, and Porcupine Quills!

A special thanks to my photographer, Judy Bowman(AKA Nana), who did me a favor snapping pictures during the class.  Thanks Judy, you did a fine job and I appreciate it very much.

This time even riding in a cart was hot!

I took this picture of one of the fairways today.....Oh wait a minute, that was my skin!
The past several rounds I've played it's been very hot, but riding in a cart the heat just didn't bother me.  Today, it was different.  It was hot!  The humidity has gone up, and there wasn't much of a breeze today.  So, when we were sitting still in the cart, or standing there waiting to hit or putt, it was really hot.  I'm not sure how it happens, but every few minutes I notice my glasses have a spray of small droplets of water all over them.  I think it's from when I swing my hair or maybe just from my sweaty face, sends a shower of water out into the air.  Anyway, I have to clean off my glasses every few minutes.  That gets to be a little bit of a pain.I didn't play bad today.  I did hit a couple of really bad shots, worse than I've hit for awhile.  So that didn't help my scoring.  I shot a 42 - 39 = 81 today at Iroquois GC.  One double bogey on par 4 #8, when I was just off the green in 2.  A poor chip and 3 putts.  That'll do it.  I do think that the heat caused a lack of concentration every once in awhile.  I've miss hit shots lately, but haven't hit shots like a couple of shots I hit today.  Even so, I'm  pleased with the 81 for 35th round of the year.

Birthday and 4th of July Celebration

We celebrated Mark and Kevin's birthdays, July 6th and 8th, along with Independence Day today.  It was a lot of fun, even if it was hot outside.  We stayed inside in Air Conditioned comfort most of the time, but managed to get outside for a little water gun and water balloon fight.  Then had a sidewalk Chalk Art Contest.

The water balloons went fast.  We only had about 50 of them!  A couple of the balloons busted in the bucket and somebody cheated and dumped a bucket of water on me!

The competition was really tough this year in the Art Contest.  An Honorable Mention was awarded Mark Wagner and Jillian Tabler on their really nice pictures.  Here, Mark Tabler puts the finishing touches on his 2nd place drawing of Lady Liberty.

THE WINNER!   Erin Tabler's flag.  With her careful attention to detail and use of the whole block, first place was awarded!

This just might have to become an annual event at the 4th of July Celebrations.





After the outdoor activity, we retired to the cool indoors and a nice dinner of corn on the cob, chicken off the grill, garlic potatoes, and last but not least, Birthday Cup cakes, homemade ice cream with homemade chocolate syrup!

Hot time, Summer in the City!

It's getting tough to play golf in weather this hot.  I can't afford to play as much as a do and pay for a cart, too.  If it doesn't cool off soon, I'll have to skip a few rounds, maybe just playing once a week.
It's really not bad playing in this heat when you're riding.  After each shot you get to drive along and get a nice breeze.  Even without driving, you can sit down, and in the shade.  I'm completely worn out when I walk 18 holes, but when I finish 18 in a cart, I feel like playing another round.  What a world of difference.
I didn't play bad today for my 34th round of the year.  I shot a 37 - 39 = 76 at Shawnee GC.  My handicap is still 6, so my net score of 70 gets me nothing.  Like I've said before, I won't win any money until my handicap goes back up.  I had a few shots and putts today that I would like to do over, but, overall, I was satisfied with my round.  I made a lot of nice shots, and sank a few putts.  I don't know what score will win money, but I wasn't low net in my foursome.  If you're not the low player in your own foursome, there's a real good chance you didn't beat everybody!