$655.00

We will be shopping Sunday morning the 7th and here is the list of people we are shopping for.

Michael - the young man who in living with his Grandparents after his Mother passed away suddenly.

Family 1:

6 year old girl- size 6 pants, adjustable waist b/c she is little. size 7/8 shirts. Likes anything Hannah Montanta or High school musical.

5 year old boy, size 5/6. Likes spiderman, hulk and “furreal pets”

3 month old boy, size 6-9 months– appropriate baby toys

mom - size large shirts
dad size medium, button down polo type shirts.

They would really like a toaster and a kitchen utensil set that sits on the counter. They could use some towels and any other household stuff.

Family 2:

1) female, 5th grade, size 12 girls
2) female, 9th grade, size 10 misses

They just were placed with their dad recently and have nothing. Dad is very proud and will not apply for help( he does work), so they will not be getting any other gifts from anywhere, worker had a hard time convincing him to let her help with this. Both need comforters and sheets, size twin, they share a room. They both said that they would like stereo or boom box type things, and they both like movies and games. The older girl likes to read mystery novels. The worker really thought they would like girly things, nail polish, earrings, etc. Dad said they need a floor lamp for the living area. Like I said, They really don’t have a lot, so anything they get would be fantastic.

We have $500.00 and there’s still time to contribute

We’re kicking off this years Christmas Drive

We have a family, thekid’s sister, who works with social services, recommended a specific family for us from Farmington - 3 children (6, 5 & 3 months old).

6 year old girl-

• size 6 pants, adjustable waist b/c she is little.
• size 7/8 shirts.
• Likes anything Hannah Montanta or High school musical.

5 year old boy,

• size 5/6.
• Likes spiderman, hulk and “furreal pets”

3 month old boy,

• size 6-9 months
• appropriate baby toys

mom - size large shirts

dad size medium, button down polo type shirts.

They would really like

• a toaster
• and a kitchen utensil set that sits on the counter.
• They could use some towels and any other household stuff.

Michael’s grandparents are not wanting to be sponsored, though they are in need of some things. According to Steve, gift cards would be well-received, if they were sent anonymously.

See the background Story Sessions for Michael

At this point, I believe we should earmark at least $50 to go toward gift cards for Michael, and focus on the family provided to us through social services. If more is raised within the next week or two, we can boost the gift card total to $100 and/or take on an additional family needing assistance.

Our first cruise. We’ve been planning this for a while.

On Thursday the 8th, our daughter Rachael picks us up at 8pm. We’re staying at her house in Rochester for the night, and then she’ll drive us to the airport. Rachael and Suzanne immediately launch into a Mother-Daughter gabfest. Halfway to Rochester, Suzanne remembers she has a husband, and that he’s sitting in the backseat. “How’re you doing back there, honey?” she asks. “OK.” I answer. Rachael tells her: “Dad can sit back there and think about stuff”.

I do.
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{O N B O A R D}

This is our first real look at the ship. I was prepared for something huge, but this thing is a behemoth. The MS Norwegian Pearl is 995 feet long. It has five 100,000 hp engines that each consume 1 gallon of fuel per second. It cost over 500 million dollars and took two years to build. By way of comparison, the United States Navy’s Nimitz-class aircraft carriers are 1,069 feet long, just 74 feet longer than the Norwegian Pearl. The Nimitz-class carriers are the largest warships in the world.

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Our first morning comes, and we’re at sea. We have tea and coffee on our little balcony and watch the sun come up. Life doesn’t get much better than this. This is my first real vacation in over 20 years. We decide to head for the pool first, and then pick a restaurant for dinner. We won’t be in Mexico until tomorrow, so we have a full day at sea.

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Back on deck, I take photos of the lifeboats and other parts of the ship. We are sailing past Cuba, and I want to get a shot. Most areas of the ship have 6-foot high glass walls that are a little hard to shoot through, so I need to get higher. I’m up on the 13th deck, and see a sign that says Sun Deck next to a flight of stairs, so up I go with camera in hand.

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{S I D E B A R on N A T I O N A L S E C U R I T Y}

I use a messenger bag at work. Mine is just like this one. I carry notebooks, pens, pencils, business cards, etc. We brought it on the cruise as our carry-on for plane travel. We take it to the pool and keep Suzanne’s novel in it, sun block, etc. I’m rummaging around in the bottom when suddenly I find

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{M E X I C O}

We have an enjoyable dinner at the Italian restaurant and some wine. Up early tomorrow for a trip to Mexico to see the Mayan Ruins at Tulum.

Morning comes, coffee and tea, and then pick up a box lunch and we’re off. After being around me for a while, Suzanne has developed an extensive inventory of ‘What the hell’s the matter with you now?’ looks. This particular morning, she selects the What the hell’s the matter with you now? look #73 and asks me “You’re not wearing that into Mexico are you?”

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We get back on the bus and head for Tulum. Tulum is the third most visited archaeological site in Mexico. We get off the bus in front of… more souvenir shops! I deduce that the literal translation of Mexico is ‘Land of Souvenirs’.

We follow our guide down a long road through the jungle. It is very hot, and we hear all kinds of noises in the jungle, just like in the movies. The sides of the road are littered with trash and junk; lots of Corona bottles, bent and twisted rebar with chunks of concrete still attached, an old rusted truck almost overtaken by the jungle.

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