January and February 2010
2010 has arrived and we found ourselves in Sebring Florida with 5 other couples driving the 90 or so miles south east in pouring rain heading home. Three days later a cold front hit the entire East Coast including southern Florida. Night time temperatures dipped below 32 degrees for the next 9 nights. After the fourth night of this I looked out my bedroom window and saw thousands of white floating fish. I went down to the docks and saw a nightmare of dead and dying fish, including the highly sought after delicious game fish the Snook. Fish were literally belly up, some of them would try to right themselves while most were already dead. This went on for another 5 days. We plucked out as many as we could from shore and off the docks in our little 100 boat marina. Some men got in row boats and filled large garbage bags with the bodies. We did this for 4 or 5 days and dumped them on an island where the vultures and pelicans filled them selves until they could eat no more. It was very sad watching the fish die as the river temperature plummeted.
One night Les spotted a tiny Gecko (anole) curled up near our elevator. I thought it was dead and was going to toss it off the balcony when it moved a leg. I handed it to Lesley and she brought it into the house and put it in a Tupper ware container. By morning he was walking around and she let it go in the sun around noon.
Citrus groves also suffered, luckily many had already been harvested, not so for the tomato crop, it was almost completely wiped out. There are literally thousands of tropical fish ponds down here. I always wondered how they were captured and shipped world wide. They are raised here in ponds and scooped out to order. Over 90% had complete fish kills to the tune of ten to twenty million dollars.
On Wednesday January 13 Les and I drove up to Melbourne Florida and met with Ian Kurka, and the President of the FLA, Bob Smiley. Dave Ross drove down from the Daytona area and joined us along with two local Speech path’s. We had a quiet but productive meeting at Holmes Regional Hospital.
On Sunday January 17 Tony and Laura Talmich invited us to the Broward County Lost Cord Club’s New Years Party (yes I know it was Jan 17, not Dec 31). We met with their new president Richard, Mike Rosencranz, Lenny Weinstein. Earl Mogk and many other long time Laryngectomees. I brought my EL and some new flex tubes and was successful in getting a newbie to speak clearly for the first time since his 3 month old operation. He and his wife were very happy and he left his pencil on the table.
January 21 a Thursday we flew out of West Palm Beach and landed in Lubbock Texas for the TLA. The TLA like the FLA, are two terrific Regional’s much like our AMVI only on a smaller scale. We had a Meet and Greet on Friday, Opening ceremonies on Saturday morning, and learning sessions all day and again on Sunday. I got to sit in on several sessions, helping to teach Esophageal, and EL speech. My favorite class was helping Jesse Hart do a visitation class. She laid out all of the what to do, and what not to dos in such a funny and positive way, that those of us that attended will never forget. Jesse is a Texas treasure. We had mix and match sessions with John Ulrich, Susan Reeves, Elizabeth Durand, Candy Moltz, Rev Tom Holcomb, Carla Gress and others. Pam Ulrich and Kay Yetter, and Florence Holcomb made sure every one got registered and knew where to send us. Most of our vendors were there Luminaud (Dorothy and Tom), Tom Dodson of Romet, Jim Lauder, and Rick of Lauder Enterprises, Richard Crum of In Health, and Tony Talmich representing the Griffins.
Sunday afternoon we drove to Carlsbad New Mexico. I had been there before but I wanted Les to see the huge caverns and the bats fly out at dusk. The Caverns were spectacular and Les suffered no claustrophobia. The bats on the other hand spend the winter about 700 miles south in Mexico and won’t be back until around May. Who knew? While we were standing in line to pay our $6 entrance fee the park Ranger behind the counter said to me “are you handicapped”? I said no, not really. She pointed at the sponge on my neck and said “is that permanent”? I said yes I had larynx cancer and I will forever breathe through this little hole called a stoma. She pulled out a simple form told me to sign it, and gave me an Access Pass. This pass allows me and three others with me, to enter any National Park in the USA for free for life. I was stunned and lost for words. I just kept mumbling thank you, thank you, thanks maam.
The next day we drove to San Angelo to visit Susan Reeves and WTRC (West Texas Rehab Center). The WTRC is a beautiful facility, in every way. They get much of their funding from auctions, grants, foundations, and individuals. They charge patients what they can afford and do not turn any one away. Susan and her husband Ben have both worked there for 30 or more years. I can now see why. WTRC notified a local TV station KSAN that the President of the IAL would be in town and available for an interview. A real nice news guy interviewed me for about a half hour, what made it past the cutting floor and onto the news I don’t know as I was again driving back to Lubbock for an early flight out on the 27 th.
Two days later I closed on a 3 bedroom condo unit in the same building that has been my winter home for 5 years now. The next day Jan 30 th my son Adam and his fiancé Amie drove down from Connecticut for a visit. We took them all over and even got in a round of golf (they have just started to learn) in Okeechobee. The course is in the middle of nowhere, $14 per person with a cart for 18 holes is unheard of. The course and surrounding area look like a segment out of a National Geographic special. We have seen sand hill Cranes, gators, black and brown wild boars, armadillos, herons, egrets, ospreys, turtles, long horn cattle, vultures and many other flora and fauna out there. I would pay $14 just to ride the course and look for critters. My son left to investigate southern Florida all the way down to Key West. They got off the beaten path in Everglades National Park and got to see hundreds of gators in the wild, and brought back spectacular pictures.
On Thursday Feb 4 th I was guest speaker in Port St Lucie at the tobacco free partnership of Saint Lucie County. Here is how it was billed. We will have a presentation from Bob Herbst with the NU-Voice Club that you will not want to miss!! Come and see what tobacco prevention and intervention activities that are happening within the county to lead towards policy change. An agenda will be forth coming. I showed my film and fielded questions, it was a good meeting with a lot of devoted anti drug and tobacco people from the county.
Sunday Feb 7 th was Super Bowl Sunday, Les made Chili, others made wings, salads, etc while we watched the Saints beat Manning and the Colts. Thursday the 11 th I sent 60 IAL News letters to one of our BOD members Torbjorn Bull-Njaa in Norway to be distributed through out Europe. Torbjorn is also the President of Norwegian National Association of Laryngectomees (NLFL).
On Friday the 19 th we flew out of West Palm to Cleveland and finally into Hartford Connecticut. Saturday we had 46 family members meet in a nice restaurant on the Connecticut River to celebrate my mothers 80 th birthday. Marie or “Mitzie” Herbst looked beautiful and younger than her 80 years would suggest. The next day Sunday we flew back. On Monday we played golf in Okeechobee again and got into a down pour on the 15 th hole and scrambled back to the club house like drowned rats. One of our Fellow golfers John Cusullo had just turned 85.
Four days later on Thursday we joined the Vero Lost Cord club for their monthly meeting and lunch afterwards. Two days after that we traveled to Hobe Sound with Russ and Wendy Buhl and Eileen all members of the Treasure Coast Lost Cord club to the annual play put on in their community trailer park club house (two kinds of wine ”red or white” a dollar per cup). The set designer and my favorite actor /comedian Frankie Bud Smith is also a larrie and member of the Treasure Coast Club. There were about 200 people in the audience including Charlie and Ellie Nail and two more laryngectomy club members. The play was mostly hilarious and ended up being quite patriotic. Laryngectomees were well represented.
On the last day of February, I took four garbage bags and a grabber tool and cleaned the streets for three miles (a mile and a half each side) of litter, plastic bags, cans, bottles etc. Most people think I work for the county or am being forced to do community service. Two more precious months gone. Bob
