February 1999

February 24, 1999

Busy time with working on the Y2K problem for Hillsborough County and goin to school!

Don wrote:

I heard a couple of good Vermont stories on PBS a couple of months back:

  The story of Bucky.
   Now Bucky was a real mule fancier, living in the mountains of Vermont. One day he was walking past a farm and saw a beautiful white mule like he had never seen before.  “I must have that mule,” Bucky said to himself, and approached the old Vermont farmer to dicker.  After a while, they agreed upon a price of $250.  Bucky paid the farmer and told him that he would be back on Wednesday to pick up the mule.  On Wednesday morning, Bucky showed up at the farm but the mule was nowhere in sight.  “Where’s the mule?” Bucky asked the farmer.  “Well,” said the farmer, “he up and died right after you left.  At first, I felt awful about it, then I remembered  that you had bought and paid for him so it was your mule that died, not mine.”
   Bucky reckoned that the farmer was right and he decided to take the mule even if he was dead.  So the farmer dug up the mule and Bucky took him away.  Pretty soon Bucky had put up posters all over town advertising a raffle for a beautiful white mule.  Tickets were one dollar apiece.  A few days later, one of Bucky’s friends ran into Bucky and asked him how the raffle went.  “Real good,” said Bucky, “I sold 500 tickets.”
   “You must have had a lot of people angry at you when they found out the mule was dead, didn’t you?” said his friend.  “Nope,” said Bucky, “only one.”

  The story of the down-staters.
   Now a couple from down-state drove into a small town in the mountains of Vermont and stopped at the local gas station.  “I’ve got some time to kill,” said the down-stater man to the gas attendant, “I think I might like to see a movie.  Where’s the theater in this town?”
   “Ain’t got no movie theater in this town”, said the attendant.
   “That’s OK,” said the down-stater, “maybe we can do some bowling.”
   “Ain’t got no bowling alley in this town”, said the attendant.
   “OK, at least we can get something to eat.  Which restaurant would you recommend in this town?”
   “Ain’t got no restaurants in this town”, says the attendant.
   “This is incredible,” said the down-stater, “What do you people in this town do for excitement?”
   “People in this town don’t get excited,” replied the attendant.

   Well, I’d better stop before somebody starts making fun of us
left-coasters.

All for now,
   Don

And Sue & Al wrote:

INSTRUCTIONS FOR LIFE
1. Give people more than they expect, and do it cheerfully.
2. Memorize your favorite poem.
3. Don’t believe all you hear, spend all you have, or sleep all you  want.
4. When you say “I love you”-mean it.
5. When you say “I’m sorry” look the person in the eye.
6. Be engaged at least six months before you get married.
7. Believe in love at first sight.
8. Never laugh at anyone’s dreams.
9. Love deeply and passionately.  You might get hurt, but it’s the only way  to live life completely.
10. In disagreements, fight fairly.  No name calling.
11. Don’t judge people by their relatives.
12. Talk slowly but think quickly.
13. When someone asks you a question you don’t want to answer, smile and ask, “Why do you want to know?”
14. Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
15. Call your dad.
16. Say “Bless you” when you hear someone sneeze.
17. When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.
18. Remember the three R’s: Respect for self; Respect for others; Responsibility for all your actions.
19. Don’t let a little dispute injure a great friendship.
20. When you realize you’ve made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
21. Smile when picking up the phone.  The caller will hear it in your voice.
22. Marry a man/woman you love to talk to.  As you get older, their conversational skills will be as important as any others.
23. Spend some time alone.
24. Open your arms to change, but don’t let go of your values.
25. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
26. Read more books and watch less TV.
27. Live a good, honorable life.  Then when you get older and think back, you’ll get to enjoy it a second time.
28. Trust in God but lock your car.
29. Do all you can to create a tranquil, harmonious home.
30. In disagreements with loved ones, deal with the current situation. Don’t bring up the past.
31. Read between the lines.
32. Share your knowledge.  It’s a way to achieve immortality.
33. Be gentle with the Earth.
34. Pray. There’s immeasurable power in it.
35. Never interrupt when you are being flattered.
36. Mind your own business.
37. Don’t trust a man/woman who doesn’t close his/her eyes when you  kiss.
38. Once a year, go someplace you’ve never been before.
39. If you make a lot of money, put it to use helping others while you are living. That is wealth’s greatest satisfaction.
40. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a stroke of luck.
41. Learn the rules, then break some.
42. Remember that the best relationship is one where your love for each other is greater than your need for each other.
43. Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.
44. Remember that your character is your destiny.
45. Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon.

February 14, 1999

Happy Valentine’s Day!

We have had a good week, I taught in Orlando on Thursday and Friday. Each day I got up at 4 A.M., drove 2 1/2 hours to the hotel, got set up for the class, taught the six hours of required education in law for surveyors(on Thursday and Internet on Friday)(six hours straight with no break for lunch or anything), then drove back to take my class in TCP/IP from four till ten then drove home and fell into bed. The week was exhausting but Saturday we got up to see dry land out our window! The tide is at it’s extreme low of the year and, instead of seeing sailboats out there, we have puddles!
Denise decided that the cat had to use the garage for her food (and kitty litter), so we went to the store and got a little cat door. I cut it in and the cat learned how to use it immediately. She got up about 4 PM, went down the stairs, pushed tentatively three times, then pushed her way through and a few minutes later was back. No problem.
Denise saw all the possibilities that can be done with the kitchen and, when we got home, off came the wall paper. She and Nate went for a run, the weather turned cool last night, and they enjoyed running. We turned the heat on about 7AM this morning for the second time this year.

Al wrote:

Dear Family Members and those Wannabes, The results of the Stone Mountain Farm Lab Lotto are finally finalized. Shadow, nine pups, all black, 4 males and 5 females. Abby, five pups, all black, 2 females and 3 males. I know that you are all just chomping at the bit to know who the lucky winner is…… drum roll…… Mr. Ted Herrick !!!!!!! Mr. Herrick will soon be receiving this wonderful news by our special courier, this e-mail. Yes, that’s right, just as you are reading this e-mail so may he be at this very minute. Take a moment to think about how excited, or dismayed, Mr. Herrick must be to have won this fantastic prize vacation at this fabulous resort in the Green Mountains.  I am sure that most of you are envious of Mr. Herrick’s wonderful good fortune and are wondering how you could possibly be that lucky. Allow me to take a moment to tell you how to share Mr. Herrick’s good fortune. Just keep an eye on your e-mail for the next Lab Lotto and then just keep those dollars rolling in to Stone Mountain Farm. Just think, YOU could be the next winner of our grand prize. No purchase is necessary. For a free entry form, just send a self addressed, stamped envelope to Stone Mountain Farm in care of me.  

February 10, 1999

I seem to learn more and more every class I take! Every day I go back to work with new skills to try out with Windows NT.
We had a busy weekend with company both days, dinner with Dad H. and Denise going out with her friends. Dad and Mom L. came up twice, bringing his sister Irene and husband Buzz Carr the second time. We had a great visit.
We have clients in at work, must run!

February 4,1999

We have been busy, have not watched a minute of TV in two weeks! Nate and I had to get in our game of “Lords of the Realm” though, as well as continue studies for my MCSE. Tomorrow Mom and Dad L. will be coming down to stay the night. Sunday Shannon will be coming down for the week, with her parents coming soon after!
Next week I will be teaching surveyors in Orlando Thursday and Friday. The week of the 22nd I will be in Chicago!