Thursday, November 20, 2008

Life in the fast lane

My Mazda RX-8 finally got to go zoom zoom on Saturday, November 15, as Bill and David joined a group of fellows for a Road Rally. That's Grant 2nd from the left with his friend Shep who organized the event, saying he had wanted to do this since he was a child. Bill and David are on either side of my car which is 5th from the left. And, yes, that is a 1969 Corvette on the far right. I was proud of myself for identifying the Mini Cooper, 3rd from the left. The other 4 are (from the left) BMW M3, Lexus IS250, Mustang Roush, Nissan 350Z. And, by the way, for historical purposes, in the midst of this bitter recession, yesterday Ford Motor stock was trading at $1.25/share and General Motors at $2.79 although they are trading at $2.20 this very minute. They say that we baby boomers aren't going to be able to retire when we thought we would. That's pretty scary considering we already did.
Meanwhile, back to the topic at hand, the first stop was outside the Tennessee State Prison, the impressive building in the background. Currently closed to all but movie and TV sets (The Green Mile and The Last Castle were filmed here), this state prison was opened in 1898 and closed in 1992. Built with 800 cells meant to house 1 prisoner each, 1400 walked through the gates on day 1, insuring overcrowding conditions from the start. No heat or ventilation in the cells either. Ouch! Several interesting batches of escapees and prison riots.
The guys then went to the square in downtown Franklin, out onto the curvy Natchez Trace and on to Lynchburg, ending with a tour of the Jack Daniels factory located there. Finally back to Nashville. Winning the Rally had to do with getting cards at each stop and having the best poker hand at the finish. Bonus cards could be obtained by getting things like speeding tickets, etc., so I'm happy that Team Vandy didn't win. My rules had included the stipulation that REX come back in one piece for it ever to zoom zoom on another Road Rally.
Mojo missed Bill so much that he took 2 naps in his cage (something he has never done before - he doesn't dislike the cage, but I've never seen him just go in there). I managed to take my nap on the sofa as usual.

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Meet the parents: Martha and David

Meet the parents:  Martha and David
Aren't they cute?

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Christmas 2007

Christmas 2007
In Atlanta with the Pfaff's

Bill and I had a wonderful time with Dave and Erin at Erin's parents, Roger and Muriel Pfaff, in Marietta, GA. We drove down on Sunday and spent 2 nights at a Drury Inns & Suites, but ate all our meals (except the free breakfast at the motel) with the Pfaff's. Erin has one sister, Alison, and her boyfriend, Mike, were also in attendance. Mike is a med student at MCV, where Bill's brother Jim went (a few year's ago!).

We got hooked on dominoes, which we played when we weren't eating one of Murierl's wonderful meals. Of course, when we played we ate homemade cookies and candy, made by Erin and her mom. Dinner Sunday night was a wonderful chicken dish over pasta; Christmas Eve was 2 kinds of hearty homemade soups and homemade rolls; and Christmas dinner was prime rib. Wow! Were we impressed. Best thing to me: sticky pecan rolls at Christmas breakfast. Super yum.

On Christmas Eve we went to a candlelight service at 11:00 p.m. at the Pfaff's Lutheran church. It felt very similar to our Methodist candlelight service. I think the big Christmas present was something called a Wee, an interactive games thingy played on your TV. Like all playstation things, it's beyond me.


March 2008 Snowfall

March 2008 Snowfall
Our only snow this year which was with us for one evening and the following half day.


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Bill

Bill
Bridgestone Racing Academy



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Favorite Quotes

Art washes from the soul the dust of everyday life . . . Picasso

Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind . . . . . . . Dr. Seuss

The truth knocks on the door and you say, 'Go away, I'm looking for the truth,' and so it goes away . . . Robert M. Pirsig "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance"

The man who insists upon seeing with perfect clearness before he decides, never decides. Accept life, and you must accept regret . . . Henri-Fredric Amiel

What worries you, masters you . . . . Haddon W. Robinson

When we are young, the words are scattered all around us. As they are assembled by experience , so also are we, sentence by sentence, until the story takes shape . . . Louise Erdrich in The Plague of Doves

Queen Lucy . . . RIP

Queen Lucy . . .                  RIP
The great pleasure of a dog is that you may make a fool of yourself with him and not only will he not scold you, but he will make a fool of himself too. ~Samuel Butler, Notebooks, 1912

Princess Gracie . . . RIP

Princess Gracie . . .  RIP
black dogs aren't as photogenic

The girls

The girls

Sharing VandysView

Sharing VandysView
Dogs' lives are too short. Their only fault, really. ~Agnes Sligh Turnbull

Lucky

Lucky
Dave and Erin's lucky stray that walked into their front yard and got adopted - he's a very joyful dog

Magi when she was a puppy

Magi when she was a puppy
There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face. ~Ben Williams

Family

Family
The VandeWater boys - Bob, Bill and Jim

Bob Bill and Dr. Jim

Bill's mom Ann (DeLanghe) VandeWater

Bill's mom Ann (DeLanghe) VandeWater
birthdate: 6/3/1915

Jim and Bev

Jim and Bev
Bill's brother

The Women in my Life

The Women in my Life
Mom, Patti, and Cheryl

Dad's 83rd birthday

Dad's 83rd birthday
Our Christmas baby

Where is that other brother?

Where is that other brother?
Nina, Mike, my handsome older brother, and Bruce, my handsome youngest brother

There he is!

There he is!
Patti and Steve, my handsome younger brother

Sean and Mike - Lake Tahoe

Sean and Mike - Lake Tahoe

My nephew and his girlfriend

My nephew and his girlfriend
They're cute too

The whole Motley Crue

The whole Motley Crue
Aren't we cute?