March 1, 2000, Wednesday- the start of a new month. Today Susan got her closet back. Last week the shear pin snapped and her closet slide was inoperable. She was a good sport about it, but it was a challenge to get into her closet, make the bed without getting to the other side, and impossible to get into the wardrobe and draws blocked by the slide. With the pull of Fleetwood, we were able to get into service on our first day here in Mesa, and not 6 to 8 weeks out- as all the normal service required. The technician did a good job. He disassembled the entire mechanism to check for any damaged parts. This involved lots of, shall we say, challenges to accomplish this and the reassembling. He could have just spent 10 minutes, and not 2 hours of inspection, by tapping out the sheared pin, and replacing it with a new one. He also took time to show me where everything went, and gave us two extra pins. Phil was nice enough to accompany me to the shop, and it gave us a chance to discuss the markets, portfolio strategies, and catch up on loose ends.
We met Karen, Susan and Lu for lunch, and then the guys went flying. I was the safety pilot while Phil flew three instrument approaches. We each benefited from the experience and fined tuned the "extras" of the flying. Dinner was with them and Geoff and Freddie and then we attended a computer class at their Venture Out RV park, and listened to the lasted on MP3 music. It's unbelievable what you can do on the web!
What also was interesting, of the 1500 or so people in the park, some 500 belong to the electronics club- which is the computer club. The people in this over 55 park aren't letting their shoes or brains gather dust. Great to see people looking to better themselves. Also, having the support group helps prevent throwing up your hands and quitting a project when you hit a wall.
Their park, Venture Out, had an unusual layout, similar to Washington, DC…whereby the recreation facility was the hub, and there were spokes to concentric circles, where the residential lots were located. Thus, every site was a short walk to the main facilities.
March 2, 2000, Thursday- after Phil & Karen came over at 8, so we could wish Phil a safe flight back to Vail, Geoff and Freddie came over from 9 to 10 to see the coach and schmooze. We then drove over to the Sky Harbor airport area to check out a kennel for Hobbes and found one to our liking, both for facilities and prices. Next, off to the south, to one of our membership parks, Desert Shadows, in Casa Grande, about 50 south from Mesa. As we walked to the office, we bumped into Ray and Lil- whom we last saw in Abita Springs, LA, in October 1998. So, off to their new coach and we saw Jerry and Susan, whom we also last saw in Louisiana, outside of New Orleans. They also had a new American Dream. Small world again and again.
 |
|
|
March 3, 2000, Friday- it was a long night with Susan feeling under the weather- and it took forever to get to the daylight hours. So, lots of TLC and by this evening she was back to 70%…just wait until tomorrow.
March 4, 2000, Saturday- what a difference a day makes. Today Susan is up to 97%. We drove up to Karen's and toured with her and Lu around Venture Out. Karen is looking for a lot that they can buy and set their motor home on for next year. As a renter, currently, they are skirting the issue of having pets. Only owners can have pets overnight. Since Lu owns a place- it sort of but not exactly, covers the problem. Having their own lot would make a big different. Then we looked at the woodshop and jewelry craft facilities. First class without a doubt. Many of the crafted items were on display, and caught lots of oohs and aahs. While they continued their searches, Geoff was nice enough to walk me through some of his web sites. It was an attempt so that I could get a better feeling of what is required…and after I learn more about the Claris program that I'm working with, I can then choose a new web host. It all sounds so easy….only the education remains to be acquired.
Next, over to the driving range- with Karen and Lu, and a few buckets of balls disappeared quickly. It was a nice facility with chipping, sand and many putting practice areas.
March 5, 2000, Sunday- a raining and blustery day. A good day to try to get the web page back into a publishable format. After spending a good part of the day getting the home page and the month of January ready, the potential free web host was off-line. We couldn't open an account and test out our "stuff", so at 3 we headed 30 miles north- to the closest movie theater- a 24 screen AMC complex. Cider House Rules was the movie- enjoyable- and thought provoking.
March 6, 2000- Monday- and the rains came during the night. Heavy at times. Steady at best. Started at 2 AM, didn't finish raining today. Susan went and got her hair done while I stayed in and tried to work on the web page. Frustrating problems with linkage. Everything works great on my machine- upload- and the links get lost.
 |
|
|
March 7, 2000- Tuesday- the rains stopped at 8 AM- about 30 hours straight. Haven't had that much rain since April/May 1998 in St. Joe, MO. It hadn't rained in Phoenix in some 130 days. Over 3 inches from this storm. And the waters rose. The catch pond two spaces over was getting awfully full by the time it stopped. It will take many days to empty. Hope that the next storm is a light one. More linkage problems with the web site….and they don't bother to respond to the e-mails, and no phone numbers to call on Lyco's Angelfire Web.
March 8, 2000, Wednesday- a quick drive up to Karen, and off to the Apache Creek Golf Course. An hour's practice on the range, putting green and chipping area helped get the swing back into right form. It was Karen's home course- it was great to play with someone who knew where each hole went, and the appropriate club selections. I chatted with Geoff- and he was as dumbfounded as I was regarding the linkage problems with Angelfire. The frustration continues.
 |
 |
|
|
|
March 9, 2000, Thursday- success, finally- I got the codes, the links, to work on the future web site. The problem was that the examples given on their help page was misleading. Long story short- a full label linkage worked, while the suggested short identification failed. Then, we drove to Karen's and then out to the Gold Canyon "Sidewinder" golf course. It was in beautiful shape and our fourth was a man that Karen had played with at her Apache course. Henry, was a former pro football player, and could he whack the ball a million yards. After playing linebacker for Kansas and Miami, his knees failed, and surgery didn't get him back into pro condition. What was amazing to me was the change that must have transpired- from having to be aggressive, confrontational, and angry, into soft spoken, gentle, good natured, caring person. The course was full of great fairways, and good rough- so more shots were off the green stuff then the brown stuff, like yesterday. But on the back 9- the greens were all elevated, polished like a pool table, and all sloped so severely, that in many spots, the ball would not hold! Lu, Karen's 85 year old Mom, who was again nice enough to keep Hobbes at her place while we golfed, still got out to hit golf balls, get on the treadmill, and work with some free weights. We should all be so lucky at her age!!
 |
|
|
March 10, 2000, Friday- more work on the web page. But, it seems to be coming together. The more that I work between the Claris Home Page on my computer, and the Angelfire web site- the more planning I can do to minimize the connect time and problems. Henry, the ex-football player from the golf course- said that when Adolph Coors IV comes to Phoenix- he only plays Francisco Grande. So, it's about 5 west of here, and off we went to hit some balls. We couldn't get on their "twilight" rate, and the regular rates were over our budget. Looked like an old property- the hotel from the 1960's- pre-stressed concrete, but good golf facilities.
Now, since we're hitting well- do we need the lesson that we scheduled for tomorrow?
March 11, 2000, Saturday- we drove up to the John Jacob's facility in Mesa- and had a lesson in the short game and the full swing. Great refresher and practice, and since it's with the same group that we took our golf schools in Canada and Florida over the years, it was reinforcement and not total changes.
 |
|
|
Lunch was with Sandy and Lois, our cousins from Oregon that we last saw in October 1997 (when we moved to Oregon). They are doing a cross country road trip from Oregon to Florida, and were visiting Mary Ann, another cousin that Susan hadn't seen since, maybe, Art's bar mitzvah. Now that's a few years. Sandy, has the exact same laugh, facial and hand expressions as Sue's dad, Howard had. It's uncanny!
Meanwhile, Karen was busy with Morgan and Patty and the "horse" crowd. They had their horse driven up from New Mexico, and were entered into three events of cross country, dressage, and stadium. With some finishes of 4th and 5th, Morgan was tickled pink.
March 12, 2000, Sunday- it's all coming together on the web page. Except for a few photos that need some more web storage space (which we've applied for), we are now up and running. The more that I worked with the system- the easier it's getting. The big key will be to get it done without a dedicated hardline. Now, August 1999 through February 2000, are ready for viewing.
Even Mom is now on line with her new web-TV. Paula is with her and walking Mom through the in's and out's of surfing, address book, and the like. Welcome to the 21st century Mom!!
We took a car ride to the "Casa Grande Historic Ruins". First we thought it must have been the downtown area, but it turned out to be an historic archeology site run by the National Park Service. In fact, it was the first such site in the county, established in the 1890's. From 400 BC until 1400 AD, this area was inhabited by a tribe which we name as the Hohokam, since there is no written history with their actual name. As many as 10,000 people inhabited the area between Phoenix and Tucson. At that time, the water table in the valley was just below the surface. As recently as 1930, it was 12' below the surface, but now, you must dig over 100 feet down. Man has again fooled with Mother Nature. HoHoKams dug, with sticks and rock, over 1000 miles of canals in the area, to water the crops and provide nourishment. Stone ground grain, filled with small stones, caused the teeth of the locals to be ground down by the age of 40- and few then lived passed that time. For storage, they built a "Casa Grande", and what a structure it was….over 35 feet tall, and 40 x 60 on the ground. The timbers used for floor supports, had to be hand carried, (it was before they had beasts of burden), from over 50 miles away. The caliche soil provided a firm material for the earthen structure, and the architects even added certain windows for the determination of the solar and lunar solstice. At the highest and lowest angles during the year and months, the light shined through the first window, and lined up with a second window. Thus, calendars were established and accurately kept for planting and harvesting. All in all, it was an interesting and educational tour.
 |
|
|
March 13-14, 2000, Monday-Tuesday- we got the web message out to friends and family- and the response has been gratifying. We are getting ready for our NY/NJ trip and put the coach into storage. Into the perfect open spot- between two fifth wheel trailers. Plenty of space between each of us. Next, up to Chandler, 25 miles north, for a good Italian dinner at a chain called Buca de Beppo (slang for Joe's Basement). Returned to Casa Grande- and the fifth wheel next to us had his slides out- almost to our door, and his generator on and putting out propane fumes and lots of noise. I decided that we needed to get to sleep early- with a 5:45 AM departure from Casa Grande- so that I would give our neighbor until 9 PM to cut the noise. As I was going out at 8:59- he came out and shut if off.
CLICK
HERE TO:
