Updated  Tuesday, August 06, 2002                 

May 31, 2002

Jim and I and Susan (Sooz) will be going out sailing on Saturday. I met Susan Wednesday (two days ago?!) and we hit it off very well. Sooz, as her brothers called her when they were young, lives in Tampa and works at the University (College of Business).

Jean and David sent along another picture:

A few more flowers and we are finished.

May 25,2002

Just stole this, thought it was cute:

May 23, 2002

"I'm living so far beyond my income that we may almost be said to be living apart."
- e e cummings (1894-1962)

David and Jean sent this:

Here is a picture of David's newest completed project. A new front porch. I
have to get busy now and do the landscaping. We will paint the porch white
to match the trim on the house.

Jean
This is Richard and Charles breaking my bridge at the YES program:
 

May 14, 2002

"If a man does his best, what else is there?"
- General George S. Patton

 

Donald wrote:

Something is weird about my dhmail email.  My sent mails
sometimes disappear and me received mails sometimes don't
show up in my inbox.  This mail from you was not in my
inbox for example.  However, there is a link to read
unread mail and I found it there!  For now, please send
all mail to both dhmail.net and ibm.us.com.
    Thanks,
      Don

A friend Dawn sent this:


I Believe


I believe- that our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, but we are responsible for who we become.

I believe- that no matter how good a friend is, they're going to hurt you every once in a while and you must forgive them for that.

I believe- that just because someone doesn't love you the way you want them to doesn't mean they don't love you with all they have.

I believe- that true friendship continues to grow, even over the longest distance. Same goes for true love.

I believe- that it's taking me a long time to become the person I want to be.

I believe- that you should always leave loved ones with loving words. It may be the last time you see them.

I believe- that you can keep going, long after you can't.

I believe- that we are responsible for what we do, no matter how we feel.

I believe- that either you control your attitude or it controls you.

I believe- that heroes are the people who do what has to be done when it needs to be done, regardless of the consequences.

I believe- that money is a lousy way of keeping score.

I believe- that my best friend and I can do anything or nothing and have the best time.

I believe- that sometimes the people you expect to kick you when you're down will be the ones to help you get back up.

I believe- that sometimes when I'm angry I have the right to be angry, but that doesn't give me the right to be cruel.

I believe- that maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you've had and what you've learned from them and less to do with how many birthdays you've celebrated.

I believe- that it isn't always enough to be forgiven by others. Sometimes you have to learn to forgive yourself.

I believe- that no matter how bad your heart is broken the world doesn't stop for your grief.

I believe- that just because two people argue, it doesn't mean they don't love each other And just because they don't argue, it doesn't mean they do.

I believe- that you shouldn't be so eager to find out a secret. It could change your life forever.

I believe- that two people can look at the exact same thing and see something totally different.

I believe- that your life can be changed in a matter of hours by people who don't even know you.

I believe- that even when you think you have no more to give, when a friend cries out to you you will find the strength to help.

I believe- that credentials on the wall do not make you a decent human being.

I believe- that the people you care about most in life are taken from you too soon.


May 13, 2002

Friday night was Fiddlers, we gave a performance at a University! Saturday morning seven of us homeowners got together at 6:30 AM and coated our driveway and the parking lot. It now looks much better. When we get new awnings the whole complex would look brand new! Jim came over and we played chess, he had beaten me 4 out of 5 last time and he beat me three games straight, then I came back and beat him 4 games straight!! 

I went up to dad and Betty's after that and we went out to dinner with the Hatches (Rev. and Betty Hatch were implemental in getting dad and Betty together). Then the five of us played dominoes till late. I went and stayed in dad's spare bedroom for the night. I went to church with them Sunday morning the out to lunch and back home later in the day. I made a wooden figure for Sue and went to bed! 

Quite a busy weekend. Amy had called but the phones were tied up so I could not get back to her.

Postcard from Donald:

May 10, 2002

Jacque and I went to Charlie W's for dinner last night and had a great time. Jacque sent this today:

Our President

Have you noticed a difference in the salute given by our military men and women as President Bush walks by? Most folks would not notice anything, but military people see it right away. Watch: When President Bush leaves his helicopter or Air Force One, the honor guards salute and face him as he disembarks, then turn their faces towards him as he passes by. They continue to salute his back as he walks away. This kind of salute has not been seen in the previous eight years, though it is customary courtesy to the Commander-in-Chief. You see, soldiers aren't required to turn and face the President as they salute. They are not required to salute his back. They are only required to salute. They can remain face-forward the entire time. And that is what they did during Bill Clinton's entire Presidency. Our soldiers were forced to obey Clinton's orders, but they were not forced to respect him. From their salutes, we can surmise that they did not. Why is such respect afforded to President Bush? He doesn't even know how to bite his lower lip and not get teary-eyed whenever he speaks!
The following incident from Major General Van Antwerp may give us an insight. Gen. Antwerp is president of the Officers' Christian Fellowship. He lost nearly all his staff when the Pentagon was attacked Sept. 11. His executive officer LTC Brian Birdwell was badly burned and in the hospital when President Bush visited him. Our President spent time and prayed with Brian.
As he was getting ready to leave, he went to the foot of Brian's bed and saluted. He held his salute until Brian was able to raise his burned and bandaged arm, ever so slowly, in return. The Commander-in-Chief never initiates a salute, except in the case of a Congressional Medal of Honor winner. The injured soldier did not have to return the salute. But he did, out of respect to his President - a Soldier's President.
Congressman JC Watts (R. Oklahoma) said, "Character is doing the right thing when nobody is looking." The nation and world learned some of what our last President did when nobody was looking. That President has been disbarred -- the worst disgrace (other than imprisonment) to a lawyer. CNN will have a difficult time shining his or his wife's tarnished images. In this time of war and danger, I am so grateful to have a President whom the soldiers salute --fully.
On Special Report with Brit Hume, (hosted by Jim Angle), at the close of the show when they normally have some funny video clip, they showed President Bush and the First Lady on their way to Marine One to leave for Camp David for the weekend. As the video starts, the First Lady is leading the way into the helicopter with the spaniel dog on the leash, and the president is right behind her with the Scotty on the leash. As the First Lady entered the chopper, the Marine at the gangway saluted and held his salute. The Scottie the president was walking decided it wanted to squat right when he got to steps. The president pulled on its' leash, but the stubborn Scottie persisted in squatting. The president bent down and scooped up the pooch and entered Marine One. After he entered, the Marine cut his salute and returned to the position of attention. Seconds later the president reemerged from the helicopter and out onto the steps. The Marine was standing at attention, head and eyes straight ahead. The president leaned over and tapped him on the left arm. The startled Marine turned his body toward the president and received his returned salute!
I was so impressed by this true act of respect for our military people by our president! He really does get it. Most any other person of his stature would have just continued his journey, disregarding the neglected return salute. Not George W. Bush. He is earning the respect of the military community, not expecting it -- as most have and would.
President George W. Bush -- The man who admitted to having a drinking problem in younger years, and whose happy-go-lucky lifestyle led him to mediocre grades in college and an ill-fated oil venture. Who mangled syntax, and whose speaking mis-steps became known as "Bushisms."
He came within a hair's breadth of losing the election in November. While votes were counted and re-counted, Bush quietly but confidently waited at his ranch. Make no mistake, his orders were carried out, but he stayed in the background, faithful and confident. Bush named Jesus Christ as Lord of his life on public TV. On September 11, he was thrust into a position only known by Roosevelt, Churchill, Lincoln, and Washington. The weight of the world was on his shoulders, and the responsibility of a generation was on his soul. So President George W. Bush walked to his seat at the front of the National Cathedral just three days after two of the most impressive symbols of American capitalism and prosperity virtually evaporated. When the history of this time is written, it will be acknowledged by friend and foe alike that President George W. Bush came of age in that cathedral and lifted a nation off its knees. George H. Bush the elder reached over and took his son's hand. In that gesture his father seemed to say, "I wish I could do this for you, son, but I can't. You have to do this on your own." President George W. Bush squeezed back and gave him a look of peace that said, "I don't have to do it alone, Dad. I've got help." What a blessing to have a professing Christian as President.
Please take a moment after you read this to "pray for him". He truly does have the weight of the world on his shoulders. Pray that God will sustain him and give him wisdom and discernment in his decisions. Pray for his protection and that of his family.

May 8, 2002

I have been very busy making wooden toys! Jacque came over last Saturday and we went to the FES picnic. The student that won the scholarship was great, she was very happy to get the scholarship and now has her first year in college paid for. On Thursday Jacque and I have been invited out for dinner, Friday Fiddlers is giving a performance, Saturday the condo has asked for volunteers to help coat the asphalt (what fun!), and Sunday I will be going up to dad and mom's. No time to veg!

Yesterday we had a virus get in, it was panic city here for a while. It was a virus  that picks at random an email address from one's address book and claims it is from that person (to get the recipient to open it I guess). Everybody in this office has received one. Each email has interesting (sometime compelling) subject lines and all come with one, two or no attachments. When you click on the email it tries to replicate but
if you cancel the "open or save" routine it cannot go any further. Finally I found the computer that was infected and killed it.

Amy sent the following pictures:

Jacque sent this along:

NEW School prayer:
    Now I sit me down in school
    Where praying is against the rule
    For this great nation under God
    Finds mention of Him very odd.

    If Scripture now the class recites,
    It violates the Bill of Rights.
    And anytime my head I bow
    Becomes a Federal matter now.

    Our hair can be purple, orange or green,
    That's no offense; it's a freedom scene.
    The law is specific, the law is precise.
    Prayers spoken aloud are a serious vice.

    For praying in a public hall
    Might offend someone with no faith at all.
    In silence alone we must meditate,
    God's name is prohibited by the state.

    We're allowed to cuss and dress like freaks,
    And pierce our noses, tongues and cheeks.
    They've outlawed guns, but FIRST the Bible.
    To quote the Good Book makes me liable.

    We can elect a pregnant Senior Queen,
    And the 'unwed daddy,' our Senior King.
    It's "inappropriate" to teach right from wrong,
    We're taught that such "judgments" do not belong.

    We can get our condoms and birth controls,
    Study witchcraft, vampires and totem poles.
    But the Ten Commandments are not allowed,
    No word of God must reach this crowd.

    It's scary here I must confess,
    When chaos reigns the school's a mess.
    So, Lord, this silent plea I make:
    Should I be shot; My soul please take!

    Amen

May 3, 2002

"A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

I am going to the FES picnic tomorrow to award the scholarship, Jacque is coming with me! The recipient is on standby so she may not make it though!

David sent an email:

Grampy and Payton. If this isn't the face of a proud grampy I don't know
what is!!!

 

May 2, 2002

"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former."
- Albert Einstein

AL wrote:

Wellie was born at around 8:00 PM last night, a May Day gift to us. She is a dark-reddish brown color and I hope will make good Wellington.  Al

Jacque

Me


May 1, 2002

"If you want to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the universe."
- Carl Sagan
 
Donald wrote from Europe (lucky dog):

Hi John,
    We're having a great time.  We have done Rome, Tivoli and Orvieto and are on our way to Siena and Florence.
    Had a problem with my laptop so I can't get mail at my regular address.  I also can't seem to pick up my voice-mail (touch tone problem).  If anything comes up please mail me at dherrick@dhmail.net that I can pick up from Internet cafes.
     Don

I had the same problems in Mexico and Grand Cayman, there is nothing like home, but it is great to get away!


2002 Dad's February 2 wedding
2003 John's 1st week in May
2004 Donald  
2005 David and Jean's Housewarming party,
       Pocomoonshine Lake, Princeton, Maine
 
2006 Darrell & Marilyn  
2007 Dan  
2008 Sue and Al