The lead subtitle doesn’t apply to me… My Good Friend Bob, better known to many of you as The Cell Phone Policeman at many of Suzanne’s events, retired at 1600 (4:00 PM) local on Friday March 14th, his birthday. Normally right now, on a Monday morning, he would be hard at work doing planning and estimating for millwork (doors, windows, etc.) installations. I suspect he woke up at his regular time and went to his desk before realizing that he could have slept in… I know the feeling, Bob. We went out with Bob and His Lovely Bride Jan the other night for a celebratory dinner at Eaton’s Beach, on the scenic shores of Lake Weir. Most wives of newly-retired guys dread having their hubbies underfoot seven days a week for the first time, but since Bob has worked from home since they moved to TV seven years ago, Jan is probably hoping that he will get OUT of the house for a change!
I am looking forward to Bob’s retirement for several reasons: (1) we hope to go RV’ing with Bob and Jan now that he has weekdays as well as weekends available; (2) Bob has promised to give me pointers on fishing (he repeatedly gives me grief about my poor fishing skills); and (3) I hope to teach him some of the finer techniques of bicycling, like how to fall on your butt with only minor scrapes and bruises. Welcome to retirement, Bob!
My Lovely Bride has completed the first draft of her new book about the remarkable young Wolf Pasakarnis. Some of you have heard her Heart Gifts presentation; the book, titled Wolf’s Story, will provide all the background, details and additional evidence that has been revealed over the past two months. We broke out the Champagne on the night she finished that first draft, and Bob and Jan were right there to help us out. Fortunately, I didn’t hit anyone with the cork!
My Lovely Bride is a happy, Lusty cyclist. I should explain that last adjective… her new bike is a Giant Lust model. She certainly lusted after it, and is even happy with the color. That’s very important to girls. Coincidentally, it perfectly matches her new cycling outfit and new color-coordinated helmet. She asked me what color my new bike would be; I said, “I don’t have a clue. Is that important?” She sighed and shook her head.
Here is Suzanne lifting her bike’s 26 lbs – it’s very light compared to her old bike. She also has me researching the best mountain biking trails in the country to see how many we can visit during this summer’s tour… see, it’s not just me that’s crazy about bikes! (Did I mentioned she really likes the color?)
Our long-time sailing friend and retired airline pilot Jim (call sign Jet Jockey) visited us with his latest toy – a new, top-of-the-line BMW motorcycle, 800 lbs of raw power, all tricked out with the latest electronics, bells and whistles, not to mention the world’s most sophisticated motorcycle helmet available to non-racers. We almost didn’t know he had arrived in our driveway, because the BMW’s six cylinder, 1,600 cc engine sounds like a purring high performance sports car – it’s not loud like a Harley. Congratulations, Jim!
Finally, My Lovely Bride is away visiting Her Lovely Sister Janice in West Chester, PA, outside Philadelphia. They did the usual family activities – dinner, a movie, shoveling snow (oh, sorry, it managed to melt just before Suzanne arrived, but she was ready!), touring four wineries… “What did you say, Ty, wineries in the Philly burbs?” Yep, sports fans, you can go vineyard hopping in the Brandywine region (what great marketing, eh?). Suzanne took this photo of Janice’s daughter Lisa, soon-to-be-daughter-in-law Courtney, and Janice at either the second or third of four vineyards… no one could quite remember how many they had visited…