December 2009
The last month of 2009 and one of the craziest years of my life finally came to a close. It was also a time of upheaval in our nation. It seems the present administration is not a big fan of capitalism, democracy, or the Constitution. This group including thirty plus Czars ???, believe in big government and that government is more capable of running our banking industry, manufacturing, health care, insurance, security and car companies than the private sector. You might say, what does this have to do with Laryngectomees. Maybe a lot. Many of us are getting on in age, we have all had Cancer and may have or already had reoccurrences of cancer and other life threatening ailments. We will probably be last on their list for MRI's, CT, PET scans and all other expensive tests and future surgical procedures. I hope the Congressional and Senatorial Heath Care bills do not merge and get quietly passed in the middle of the night with our input from the American citizens. Ok, I am off my soap box.
On Dec first the IAL BOD approved the nomination of Wade Hampton as IAL Vice President. This move made room for a new BOD member to be appointed later, and filled the important vacancy of VP. Two days later Lesley and I attended a very nice lunch time Vero Beach LCC Christmas party with Jim and Janet Gilbert. Earlier that morning I was invited and attended the Children Service Council meeting in Port St. Lucie. The room was filled with people dedicated to keeping kids off tobacco, drugs and getting an education. I was there representing two LCC and the IAL. Late Tuesday evening my appointment of Dave Ross to replace the vacancy left when Wade Hampton was made VP was accepted unanimously by the BOD. Dave's primary assignment will be to work on gathering up to date materials and information so that all new laryngectomees will know what they can expect physically, mentally, and make their best choice in reacquiring a new speech method. Dave has been dedicating his time and efforts to this cause on his own, now he will be a great addition to our BOD and specifically the Community Outreach Committee. On Wednesday we were in Stuart, FL with the Treasure Coast LCC for their Christmas party with Russ Buhl, Charlie Nail, Bud Smith, Patty Smeds our resident SLP and others at the Prawn Broker.
On Thursday I put in a bid and a 10% down payment on a 3 bedroom condo with wrap around views of the Indian River, a Marina and the Atlantic Ocean. The unit is an end unit, one floor up from where we have been for six or so years. We currently have a two bedroom unit with less room and a much smaller deck. We are excited!!! Most Fridays and some Mondays we play golf (rough life). We are lucky to live in an area of Southern Florida where there is an abundance of inexpensive golf courses teeming with ospreys, vultures, wild boar, pelicans, huge turtles, deer, sand hill cranes, egrets, herons, armadillos and of course gators. It feels like Animal Planet, and National Geographic more than golf. On Friday the 18th we saw Avatar in 3D. The visual effects were spectacular and I highly recommend seeing it. On Christmas Day I made Les a surprise breakfast of coffee, tea, fresh squeezed grapefruit juice, toast, a pound of bacon and an omelet topped with two kinds of cheese and finished off in the oven. I guess it hit the spot because she is still talking about it.
Here is a true Christmas Story, written to my sister Julie in Connecticut.
We were going to stay home and take it easy, no Myrtle Beach or traveling this year. Les was going to make veal, home made sauce and have some wine and champagne. One of our friends at the golf course asked me if we were going to Myrtle, and I said no just the two of us were going to stay at home and have a nice dinner. Evidently one of our other geezer friends overheard part of the conversation, and called us later that evening. He is 84 and still works at the course cutting down trees, mowing fairways, fixing carts, etc in exchange for free golf (my son Adam med John when he was here, John was a ranger that day). Anyhow he felt sorry for us that we would be alone on Christmas and invited us to his trailer park to have Christmas dinner in a single wide with him and his girlfriend. How could I say no, so when you are thinking of us, picture a small kitchen table in the back of an old trailer holding hands and thanking God for our health, our friends, and the food on the table, ironic but nice. Happy Festivus. Tell mom I love her.
On Christmas Day we drove to Miami to join Laura and Tony Talmich for a fantastic cocktail party. We stopped in West Palm and I took her to Lion country Safari, It is just like going to Africa without spending thousands of dollars on flights, accommodations and hiring a safari guide. We saw tons of giraffe, lion, gazelle, rhinos, ostrich, impala, elephant, monkey, wildebeest and more from the comfort of our car. A rhino actually brushed the front of my car, no fences!!! Fantastic! The next day we were with Laura, Tony, and a very eclectic group of fun and intelligent people, eating all sorts of finger food homemade by Laura. It was a great trip, but per usual after leaving Miami the next day I got another speeding ticket. They said I was going 94 in a 65 MPH zone %$@!&*!$@%*. I was clocked by an airplane, that the officer pointed out above us.
For New Years we drove to Sebring for two days of golf with 5 other couples from our geezer league. New Years Eve was spent at the Inn on the Lake in Sebring with all of us geezers making it to midnight. 2009 is in the books.
Bob
