Well here I am at the end of my third decade and I'm proud to say not a single grey hair in sight. Yes it's true that the last sentence would still be correct without the word grey, but let's not get bogged down in the details. Indeed David will be four this month and I will be forty. Both of these are to be celebrated. I believe that on David's menu we'll find a party, some cake and some presents. Jim's menu will consist primarily of Tequila, Triple Sec and lime and perhaps a phone call or two to some old friends. All things considered, I am proud of my thirties and bid them adieu with very few regrets. Cheers.
I'm sure some of you appreciate the Obama banner addition to the web site. I'm equally sure that some of you rest in other camps as well. I hope Obama wins because in my opinion he is the best person for the job. He's an intelligent, compassionate man that, to me, represents our best opportunity for change and reconciliation both inside and outside of our borders. He's demonstrated how easily the media and interest groups can direct, distract and divert attentions away from the critically important issues and focus the spotlight on side shows and the irrelevent. He puts a high value on accountability and that is one step toward real change. He also recognizes that poorly thought out ideas and instant gratification seldom contribute to a better tonmorrow. I'll be voting for Barack Obama because he represents sincerity in his call to action for change in our government which has so obviously forgotten its obligation of service to the goverened. But he'll also have my vote because I believe he'll guide us toward the restoration of the America the world once respected as much for its compassion as its might. And that's the America I'd like my kids to know.
When last we left our superheros Jim and Karen... They were headed down to Atlantic Beach for the weekend after dropping off David and Camden at Grandma and Pop-Pop Preis' to celebrate their 5 year anniversary. Yay! Despite getting the wrong room and the fire alarm going off at 3 AM and the gale force winds and the torrential downpour and the loss of TV service we had a splendid time. Yes all of those things really happened, but we were simply so happy to get to sleep in, the incidents really didn't matter. We watched TV, chilled-out, went to Hooters, had a couple of nice dinners and just decompressed in general for about two days and that was more than we could have asked for. Oh by the way, if you're ever in Atlantic Beach and you want a great dinner there is no beating Amos Mosquito's. We had dinner there both nights - it's that good. I'm not going to go into detail; either trust me or eat marginal food elsewhere.
After ol' Mom and Dad got their groove back in early March the entire family headed down to Vero Beach for vacation the first week in April. Aunt Mary Louise and Uncle Fred (AMLUF from here on) kindly offered us a week at their winter home in Vero Beach at a development named Sea Oaks and we accepted like Rush Limbaugh at a free Vicodin booth. The place was everything they told us it was going to be and so much more. Here's my top five things I enjoyed the most... (1) accomodations fit for a King (or a fat renaissance guy like me) (2) elevator into your house - how kewl is that? (3) perfect weather (4) running on the Jungle trail and (5) the whole family in the Ocean, at the beach and in the sand. We also got to visit with Karen's sister Joy and her husband Matt and family including Matt's mom and dad who were kind enough to extend their hospitality and feed us yummy and healthy food! I could just go on and on about how good this trip was, but suffice it to say that it really revitalized us and made memories that we'll share for years to come. This was a trip that the whole family needed and AMLUF made it possible with their generosity. For that they have our most sincere thanks and independent of their generousity, they have our love as always.
Well it's time for me to sign off now as my discretionary time is limited. The project I am working on at work has all hands on deck and a huge schedule challenge before us. It's 8 PM on the button now and my job requires that I worry from now until I fall asleep about how hard the team is working and that they know how much their efforts are appreciated. I know that really successful people do a good job at separating their personal lives from their work lives and to that I say hogwash. My BCBSNC Team and colleagues are my friends as well and if I had to sum up my anxiety over the concern for my team it would be that I simply care about them.
