not ready for a review yet

Some things just do not go as scheduled no matter how hard you might wish them so. Take a look at what is not hooked up yet, set up yet nor finished yet and the list is either short or long depending which side of the glass and full and not quite full you see things.

the main dining area with Heidi waiting on an imaginary order

Jen waiting on an her imaginary customer.

the restaurant street scape one block off the main strip of big hotels on the ocean front and is quite nice and there is competition

some of the competition shares the same building front with them, in a mirror like fashion on the front of the glass five story office building. and the outdoor deck will be very nice like their neighbors.

Earlier today (Saturday) we met Eddie and Heidi at the El Panama, as they prepared to depart for the trip to the jungle

Stephen, Jeff, and one of the drivers, loading up for the ride to the airport, looked like a major expedition.

Goin' to a ball game and larnin' 'bout some football

This past Saturday, Eric, Mark and I took Charles and Linda's daughter, Kate, to see her first - yeah - you got that - first football game. The Wake - Elon game. (Charles and Linda are being investigated as you read this for depriving one of our'rn of knowledge of sports). Never fear, her Uncles pitched in with the able help of Alicia (daughter of Floyd and Bev) who were also at our tailgate picnic prior to the game. Kate is a bright young woman, able to quickly learn (despite her deprived childhood) .


In no time, Kate had realized that one of the main features at a tailgate picnic is laughter, and we do our share of enjoying ourselves, sometimes at the expense of others (all in good fun- if not good taste) and Kate is to be complimented as putting up those with whom she found herself on a somewhat overcast Saturday, but she has been around my brother Charles and sister-in-law, so perhaps she had some preparation.


By the time we were in our seats, game time preparation reached a crescendo as we began to drill Kate on finer points of strategy, tendencies of Wake in given situations, and if she had reached a decision as to what the plural of Elon was.

Here I digress a bit, on the ride to the game, the four of us discussed world events, philosophy, whether or not Shakespeare indeed wrote all of the poetry attributed to him or not and what the plural of Elon was. We quized Kate as to whether it was Eloners, Elonites, Elononians, Elons, and what collective noun referred to them, are they a clutch, herd, flock, pod, or what? Well, Kate, has her assignment now. We do know what members of our family are called, "escapees", as in from the asylum. But that is another story.



We had excellent seats, 45 yard line, row Z - really good seats !! and at this point in the 3rd quarter, I think I heard Kate say something like this to Mark, "If that dumb a_ _ coach of ours would blitz the weak side line backer, we would sack your sorry a_ _ quarterback you think so much of - he ain't worth a d_ _ _ by the way, and when you all line up on the far side hash mark you always split only one guy to the inside" Confession here, Kate did not actually say that -- we did not teach her the word hash mark, I think the said little bitty line


there were times when some in the crowd were not enthralled with the action on the field, even when the guy in the red shirt is on the side lines


For those who have never seen this before, it is a Wake Forester on the way to the longest pass touchdown in Groves stadium history.

Restaurant Review # 4 a Scottish coffee shoppe

This is the garden entrance to the delightful little Scottish coffee shoppe / bistro across the street from my office. Nearly every morning I go there for a "senior coffee - a very good cup for only .53. This bistro does quiet well though despite its Scottish heritage does not have staffing from Scotland


The majority of the staff are either Hispanic or from eastern North Carolina. The Spanish speaking staff have taken great delight in teaching me Spanish. I sometimes have to make sure I learn a word or phrase just to not disappoint them when I go over to place my "para aqui" order whether it is to go or not. I just like saying "para aqui", with a little roll to the "r" and emphasis on the second syllable of aqui.


One of the things that make this bistro so special is the people that frequent the place. You may find a table of retired high powered Raleighites that might include a former judge, a senator, or a doctor, (including the doctor husband of the physician who delivered Laura), high school kids from a near by high school, construction workers, street people, and everyone in between. Some of the most frequent regulars include this table I joined as it includes the famous character, Hattie.

Hattie is the retired hostess from the Country Club and knows anyone worth knowing in Raleigh according to her- and they know her – in fact last winter, she introduced me to the table of the judge, senator and doctor, not knowing that they go to the same church that I go to.. She got to know me as she makes a point of meeting the regulars – not from her former position “at the club” as she says. In addition to knowing people she has a ready and quick wit.
One day shortly after I returned from Stephen and Jen’s wedding Hattie spoke to me as I exited the coffee shop into the outdoor patio area, and said: “there you stand with all your money, just back from vacation and ain’t sent me no child support check for months” ----Well, the place went stone cold quiet.

Now I ask you what would you say? Have you stopped wetting your bed? Do you always pick your nose? I mean what do you say? Well for no particular reason, I said, “ Hattie, if you don’t hush up, I am going to have the sheriff bring papers by your house.” – and then with whatever dignity I had, I walked on through the patio.- smiling. (and trying not to laugh).

This is the front of the Scottish coffee shoppe. I just love the genuine name ---- McDonalds. Some one might want to really pick up on this drive through menu idea, it is really popular here. It looks like a keeper on an idea.

Stanford in town on a nice weekend

On a beautiful September Saturday in North Carolina, Patt and I went to see Stanford University come to Winston-Salem for a football game. The sky, seen here in the pre-game jet fly over, (it was military appreciation day), indicates just how pretty the day was. Clear, not to hot, and a just plain pretty day.




Patt and I were joined by Floyd and Beverly (friends from our days at Wake) (in fact Floyd was an usher at our wedding) and we were just a few of the many who were tailgating - fried chicken - potato salad seemed to be the order of the day. A little early for BBQ. (Perhaps later - we have lots of home games this year)

Behind our car - a group was playing parking lot horseshoes or something and the ACC camera crew came and set up shop and filmed them for a while. You can see Floyd, Bev and Patt under the trees behind our car. As I said it was a pretty day and we were in a very nice place for a picnic.




The game of course begins with all sorts of bands, flags and jets flying over and it is a real spectacle. Wake started real slow and fell behind by a lot of points and the natives (that would include me) were restless. We do have nice seats, notice the view, also we are blessed by the guy in the red shirt, notice lower right corner - that sorry so and so follows me to all the games I go to. You who stay at home never ever see him. But rest assured those of us at the game. We do. We love him.





Notice the ball to the right of the referees, it is like a foot from the goal. the score is tied. Two seconds left, one more play. Wake has moved the ball down the field like we have all half. Do not know what coach said at halftime but he should have said it pre-game and saved me some anxiety. Anyway it was very very exciting to see us move the ball at the end of the game, not the other team, and we lined up and ....? ? ? ? .... we won... and the day was saved.





After the game, Patt and I went to the field house where Dad and Bernice enjoyed so many pre-game meals when not tailgating. The view of the stadium was just as nice as ever and the new Deacon Tower was a "towering" addition.

can't wait till next week

ASU V ECU

That is me standing in the shadow of the Pirate of the East statute outside of the football field at ECU where Mark and I went Saturday afternoon to watch East Carolina and Appalachian State play football - and what an exciting game it turned out to be. We had great seats - 20 yard line, row D as in four from the front.


We were surrounded by Purple and Gold of Pirate nation and they were a loud, but friendly lot and we though in the minority, never felt threatened, harassed otherwise irritated except by the way the game started as ASU did not do so well in the begining

It was a very very hot day, and of course the game was on TV which means for those at home, you have commercials, when play stops and you at home can go to the bathroom, get the mail, fix a snack or what ever. All that happens while on one of the 20 yard markers a guy in a red shirt (sometimes white) stands on the field - if you go to a game look for him. When he is on the field nothing happens. This is one of the long TV time outs - how can you tell?-- the refs are standing around him too.


At the game --on the score board, the game "producers" (I guess they could be called that now) try to entertain those of us waiting through the commercials, with views of the crowd - here a cute kid - most often a pretty girl -(well duh) - the camera men are generally guys - This they do after they run out of commercials on the score board.


Back to the game, as they would say after a set of commercials, ECU would have been beaten and this picture illustrates why, they were not as well conditioned as the ASU guys and wore out as the game went on. Make the game a few minutes longer and the outcome would have been different. Here one of their guys was carried off with cramps. All second half down in front of us they were trying to work cramps out of their legs and the ECU players had their hands on hips and heads hanging and gasping for breath as ASU marched back down the field again and again to score 17 fourth quarter points.

And the place was full too, announced 10th largest crowd in ECU history.

and did I say we had seats on the 20 --

this picture also illustrates why when the commercial is over - you had best be back from the kitchen, as the play gets under - way quickly after most commercials. Next time you are at a game, watch the guy in the red shirt as he is really in charge of when the ball is in play (or some talking into his earpiece).

meet the new car

There was a reason the van was parked on the curb - it has been replaced. This is the car I now drive. Yep, this one. and it is not a van. no sirree, not a van -- . It is a 2008 Chrysler Sebring. (New to us, not on the car lot)



And for the record, I do like riding around with the top down. the radio on, shoot, if it is hot, the air conditioner on too.



this is not a van and it is not green , so it will not be called the green van, it does need a name. eventually cars get a name, especially cars that stick around for a while, and we bought the extended warranty. So any suggestions for a name would be appreciated. just keep them simple. real simple. you all know who has to remember the name. That would be me.