Not to be macabre, but ...

I was talking to Robert this morning about his recent health scare and he was reminding me how important it is that we celebrate the gifts of life and family that we have and often take for granted. The point is certainly well taken and I'm relieved to hear that RK si on the mend! Being in hospital is never a good experience but the refocus it can bring on "what's important" can be a positive side effect.

In part because of what has been happening with Robert, I have been thinking lately about other medical issues.

Incredibly, I got Robert's email right after reading an article about advanced directives for health care providers. (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204044204574356423438598710-email.html).

The article makes reference to a GREAT website for creating your own advanced directive www.caringinfo.org/stateaddownload. It's free and legal in all fifty states. I downloaded and completed mine this morning ... took ten minutes. Check it out!

Happy Birthday Liam!!!!

Liam,

I can't believe that you turn NINE years old today!! Time has really flown by while we were watching you grow up and having so much fun all the while! We are so proud of you and the young man you are becoming. You are such a great person and a fine example for your younger brothers and sister(s?) to follow.

We love you more than ever this happy day!!

Happy Birthday Mister!!

Happy Birthday Rian!! Big 6 Today!!!

Happy Birthday Rian!

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You are such a big boy now I can't believe it. You are becoming a strong, caring and intelligent young man right before our eyes.

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Happy 6th birthday buddy!

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I love you very much!

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Daddy

Happy Belated Birthday, Robert!

Happy Birthday, RK!

747-100 ... NO PROBLEM!

Auggie and I went to the Hiller Aviation museum today. Like so many things, it turns out this is an awesome place that I drove by every day for nearly 10 years without giving it a thought. It is the brainchild of Stanley Hiller, a lord, and should be on the list for every fan of flight. For more about Stanley, go here http://www.hiller.org/in_memory.shtml

Why is it so legendary? In addition to about a hundred other exhibits, planes, helicopters, and flight simulators, they have the front 37 feet of a 747-100 which you are welcome to tour. Yes, only the first 37 feet. The story about getting it there is almost as interesting as going through it - it was a retired British Airway jet that last flew commercially in 1998. Sold to an aircraft dismantler, it was flown to the junkyard in Arizona. The owner of the scrap company donated it to Stanley, who raised the money from a bunch of retired Flying Tigers pilots to move it here. They cut it into three pieces latitudinally and loaded it on flatbeds! It was re-assembled at the mueseum - where Auggie "flew" it this morning ... cool thing to be in, learned a lot about flying these planes from the retired pilot we met there. For instance, until the mid-eighties, the navigator on a 747-100 took celestial readings through a clear glass port built into the ceiling of the cockpit! Yes, with a version of a sextant and a paper map!

Snow Day on Mount Palomar

A cold winter storm came in on Friday night so we headed up the hill to Mount Palomar for the day. It is only 30 minutes from our door to the snow but we went about 10 minutes farther to the Observatory. There was over a foot of snow with several inches of it only a few hours old. Powder! A great deal of fun was had by all. More pictures are at:


http://gallery.me.com/tomzo#100143

Happy New Year

We had a great trip to Mexico for the holidays. We spent Xmas in Merida and Tulum, Mexico. The Yucatan Pennisula is an awesome place ... in addition to being the home of the most important event in earth's history (.... evidence of the metoeor impact which wiped out the dinosaurs (ok, well, not everyone is sure this is how it worked) can still be seen in the cenotes, or underground caves which are virtually ubiquitous on the penninsula... ) the Yucatan is endlessly interesting with Mayan. Mexican, European, and middle eastern influences. Highlight of the trip - aside from chilling on the beach with no phones, no email, no CNN - was a cooking class we took in Merida. (www.los-dos.com) Great day learning about very unique food and tradition. The guy that runs it lives there, in an incredible house ... this is his center atrium pool. You need one there, too, as it is steamy, steamy hot. We stayed at a new place this year, which has room for three families - which is good luck, since that's how many were there. Think of it as a Mexican Camp High Sierra. With 24 hour power, an actual refrigerator, and working stove/oven, we were in true luxury compared to our previous digs in Tulum. And the best part is that the Caribbean was literally out the back door. The distance from the house to the water at high tide was probably the same as from Joan's front door to Las Palmas Dr. Auggie has a great time whenever he's in "Big Mexico", as he calls it, particularly in Merida - which has street musicians in nearly every square ... here he is cutting a rug to some drummers. Note excellent form ...