IT'S OFFICIAL !!!

I was going to put this in giant letters but decided, for the sake of decorum, to simply state that I am happy to announce the good Dr. Rubano has cleared me for the resumption of driving activities.

While next Monday is the official anniversary of D-Day, I am declaring tomorrow "Lee's D-Day" (short for Lee's Driving Day).

I would have gone out for a drive this evening, but was laden down with a bunch of work I had to deal with, and I think Janice still has my keys in her purse. Bummer. It's probably just as well, though - the ankle and foot took a bit of a beating over the weekend, and the swelling is fairly pronounced this evening.

However - I am thrilled, and feel a little like I've just gotten my license for the first time - it's a rather odd feeling.

I'm also happy for Janice and for all those who have put up with me and my needing rides here and there. It's going to be a lot easier on all of them.

I am also extremely grateful to have such a patient and caring and loving wife, who has been understanding of my impatience, tolerant of my griping, and willing to go that extra mile (literally) to make sure I got to appointments on time, to work on time, and to all those things I found myself having to rely on another person for. I'm going to miss the extra minutes in the morning with her, driving to physical therapy and then to work, and all the other times she's had to run me on errands. But, as the ankle heals further, I know we will make up for it in other ways. I'm hoping we can get down to New York soon - we haven't been there since last summer, and we're due a trip.

I'm also thankful you've all put up with my bitching and moaning about not being able to drive. I'll shut up about that now. :)

And Another Week Begins

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, we drove back out to the Stolfi's in Torrington, for a Memorial Day cookout yesterday afternoon. It was another good time, with all sorts of food. Hors d'oevres of chips and dips, grilled kielbasa slices (I guess there's probably nothing left if you try to grill sopresata), steamed littleneck clams and mussels, then hamburgers and hotdogs with Pat's redskin potato salad, a nice orange jello salad, a tossed salad, followed by a delicious dessert of home-made cheesecake. YUM.

The highlight of the day was my convincing Janice that since the Stolfi's live on a quiet street, it was time to test the ankle on the accelerator and brake pedals of the A6. Following the good Dr. Rubano's orders, she first drove me up to the empty parking lot of a nearby bowling alley which was closed for Memorial Day, and then we switched seats.

I happily drove around the parking lot, alternately testing the ability to depress the accelerator pedal and the brake pedal (both in soft and hard modes) without any pain, then off the parking lot I went. I drove around their small neighborhood streets, merrily tooling down streets, around corners, pulling to complete halts while stopping at stop signs.

I am quite pleased to report that no animals, small children, or other vehicles were injured or damaged in the testing of my driving, and that the whole experience was an unqualified success.

So I am going to call the good Dr. Rubano today and begin pleading my case. Wish me luck.

The Reason For The Title Of This Post

Remember my showing you an example of the Renault Odette V1R4 Transport Label, to illustrate some of what I do, at L**all? Well, this is why I refered to it then as the "Label From HELL". This is the content of an email reply I sent to my liaison at our Ste. Nazaire, France location, for whom that label was created. I wonder if he "gets" my humor?

Here is the content of Sylvain's email:

>>> Sylvain Le Nay 05/30/05 4:10 AM >>>
I have two news : a good one and a less good.

Firstable, the good one. Renault has homologated us for GPI organization. After 6 months of tests it's now done. Thanks to each of you who has participate to this struggle.

Labels can be moved to production and EDI generator code associated with also.

The bad news now: The winner is Lee ... Renault changes label format ... completely. Renault learn me that on friday.

Iam waitting for documentation and I will forward it you as soon as receipt.

Thanks again for the effort,
Sylvain.

After deciphering his cryptic English, here was my reply:

To quote Vince Lombardi: "Winning isn't everything ... it's the only thing."

Perhaps I should have written back "It's always good to be a winner, but that is something you French wouldn't know about." :: evil grin, here ::

Long Weekend Update – Lee

It has been a good Memorial Day Weekend.

Friday marked a great first step toward a resumption of driving. As you may or may not recall, the good Dr. Rubano said he wouldn’t clear me to drive until I was on either one crutch or a cane.

Last week the ankle was feeling a bit better, and I have been feeling a little less of the effects of the tendonitis in the Achilles and the old Peroneus Longus and Peroneus Brevus tendons. Last Thursday, I tried spending a bit more time practicing with a single crutch. Friday morning, the ankle wasn’t feeling terribly sore, so I started the physical therapy session by walking in on one crutch and holding the other one. I finished up by asking to try out the cane they had sitting on one side of the room.

Long and the short of it – I ended up buying a cane from the Medicine Shoppe just down the street, and I’ve been working with it, albeit slowly, and a little bit at a time. It’s more comfortable than using a single crutch, and since it’s a very stealthy flat black, I can bonk some heads with it and no-one will see it coming. It also has a nice little wrist tether, so no matter where I go, I won’t forget where it is. Truth be told, I’m not exactly sure why it has a tether … maybe it’s for the “Help – I’ve fallen, and I can’t find my cane” crowd?

My personal goal with the cane is to be able to call the good Dr. Rubano on Friday and say "Hey! Change me to 'Driving Capable' ... now!" We'll see, after my PT appointments Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday of this coming week. Keep your fingers crossed for me, folks! :)

This weekend was a nice celebratory weekend, in addition to the remembrance of all those who have fought and given the ultimate sacrifice for our country.

David Stolfi (Janice’s sister Susie’s fiancé) is from Torrington, Connecticut. (You may remember him as “Dave, Dave, The Dancing Machine” from the wedding) His mother Pat and his father Frank celebrated their 50^th Wedding Anniversary on May 21^st. David and his sister Tammy, and Susie, wanted to do something special for them in honor of their milestone, so a very nice party was held at the Venetian Restaurant in Torrington on Sunday. Cocktails upstairs in the private lounge, followed by dinner from a wonderful Italian menu, some funny stories and anecdotes, all accompanied by a terrific Italian accordion player and a vocalist … and a phenomenal time was had by all. I say this very affectionately, when I say I’ve never met a nicer bunch of goombahs and goomars in my life. It was great fun. There was sort of an “after-party” back at Pat and Frank’s house, in Torrington, for mainly family and we were included. It really was a wonderful time – they are terrific people.

Susie and Danny had flown into Bradley International Airport on Friday, for the weekend with us, and for the celebration with the Stolfi’s. We’re having a really nice time with them, and it is always nice to have family come for a visit (hint, hint, hint). Danny is getting a small apartment in Columbia, MO for his sophomore year at the University of Missouri. Since I had been telling him about the various pieces of furniture Janice and I have from IKEA, and how I thought he should think about some things from there because of the quality and better yet - the prices, we all made the trip down to New Haven to our new IKEA store, on Saturday afternoon. Danny was, as most people are the first time they go through one of their behemoths of a home-furnishing store, a sufferer of what I call “IKEA Overload”. I’ve found that shopping at IKEA is almost an art form, and something that takes some time to plan, and not just to go in there with open eyes (and a freely-hinged wallet) I was gratified to make a new “convert”. Actually, it was Susie’s first trip to an IKEA store, so that makes two converts! :: grinning, here ::

We did the whole “IKEA Experience”, which always has to begin with fortification by some Swedish Meatballs with the obligatory cream gravy and lingonberry sauce (priced at a value-minded $3.99 for 15 meatballs) from the store’s cafeteria. I, on the other hand, was the only one of us who did the post-shopping all-beef 50-cent hotdog experience. OK, so I did the two all-beef hotdog experience for $1.00 ... so I'm a pig, what do you want from me? HA HA

After IKEA, we stopped in at the Rusty Scupper on New Haven Harbor for dinner.

It was a really good day.

Today, I believe we are going back over to Pat and Frank’s house for a Memorial Day cookout. I’m not sure, yet, what the plan is, but I’m thinking there is the promise of some really good food, since Pat is a really good cook! She made me promise (more than once) that we would come over, and that she had made her famous redskinned potato salad. It’s hard for me to pass up potato salad of any kind, so I think we’ll probably go. It’s a beautiful day (warm and cloudless sky – so far) so a backyard cookout would be a lot of fun, and we'll probably take the convertible – making for an even nicer outing.

And one final thing about this weekend – how about that Danica Patrick? I was impressed. However ... she is still a long way from driving the ultimate - Formula 1.

Anyway, I hope this Memorial Day finds you all well, and enjoying some form of festivity to celebrate and give thanks to our many veterans.

God Bless America, and God Bless All To Whom We Owe This Gratitude.

Let's Not Knock Our German Heritage, Lori

I'm kind of encouraged by recent developments in the Catholic Church. It looks like Ratzinger has the right idea!

Note To Jane

The software you need is free ... it is called "Hello". Click here: Hello to read more.

Since you are already a "Blogger" member, all you have to do is download and install the software. You can do that by clicking here: Download Hello

After you've downloaded and installed the software, you should be able to just log in, using your current username and password for "The Brookhart Blog".

To upload pictures, click on "Send Pictures". There will be a little window that comes up that says "Locate Pictures using". Click on "Use Explorer".

Find the picture you want to send. Click on that file name.

Once you click on the file name, another little window will appear that says "Select the friends to send pictures to:" Click on "BloggerBot".

The "Hello" software will show you the picture you've selected on the left half of the screen, and in the bottom right is a little box that says "Enter a caption for your photo here". Put in a caption, or the entire text of your post, then when you are done, click the "Publish" button.

It's really easy! You might want to highlight this text and print it, though (remember to click "Selection" on your printer window) ... just as a cheatsheet.

Oh.......Blarthox!

How I giggled when I saw your post Eric! I'll never forget Dad popping you in the mouth at the kitchen table when you said that the one time. I've often talked with Devon about our fun with the Blarthox word or Blathonian Blarthox. I still love that word.

Sue

On A Very Much Lighter Note

I know I'm probably going to catch hell for this, but this was forwarded to me this morning. While I don't usually "forward" emails, this one truly made me laugh ... hopefully you will find it humorous as well.

Men Are Just Happier People

Your last name stays put.
The garage is all yours.
Wedding plans take care of themselves.
Chocolate is just another snack.
You can be President.
You can never be pregnant.
You can wear a white T-shirt to a water park.
You can wear NO shirt to a water park.
Car mechanics tell you the truth.
The world is your urinal.
You never have to drive to another gas station restroom because this one is just too icky.
You don't have to stop and think of which way to turn a nut on a bolt.
Same work, more pay.
Wrinkles add character.
Wedding dress $5000 - Tux rental-$100.
People never stare at your chest when you're talking to them.
The occasional well-rendered belch is practically expected.
New shoes don't cut, blister, or mangle your feet.
One mood all the time.
Phone conversations are over in 30 seconds flat.
You know stuff about tanks.
A five-day vacation requires only one suitcase.
You can open all your own jars.
You get extra credit for the slightest act of thoughtfulness.
If someone forgets to invite you, he or she can still be your friend.
Your underwear is $8.95 for a three-pack.
Three pairs of shoes are more than enough.
You almost never have strap problems in public.
You are unable to see wrinkles in your clothes.
Everything on your face stays its original color.
The same hairstyle lasts for years, maybe decades.
You only have to shave your face and neck.
You can play with toys all your life.
One wallet and one pair of shoes one color for all seasons.
You can wear shorts no matter how your legs look.
You can "do" your nails with a pocket knife.
You have freedom of choice concerning growing a mustache.
You can do Christmas shopping for 25 relatives on December 24 in 25 minutes.

No wonder men are happier.

And Yet Another Post From Lee

Well, I hate to be the bearer of additional "sad news", but this one comes with a silver lining. Cancer is never something anyone should ever encounter, and sometimes when the afflicted person goes quickly, it is a blessing in disguise.

Such it was, with a mainstay of one of our favorite haunts, Cavey's Restaurant, here in Manchester. Charlie Gigliotti, who was well-known as one of the best jazz pianists in the area, had a repertoir of standards like no other pianist I've ever heard. Charlie passed away on Monday after a battle with cancer. Janice works with his partner of many years, Carolyn Hartsfield, at Aetna.

Charlie worked with us, in picking some of the music for our wedding, by making suggestions to us on nights when we sauntered into the piano bar at Cavey's. He always made a point of segueing from whatever he was playing when we would walk in, into a medley of "Stardust" in honor of James Otis, "Deep Purple" in honor of Hazel, "I Can't Get Started" in honor of Joe and Joyce, and "At Last" in honor of us ... just as his little way of saying "Hi there ... it's good to see you again." Between each set, he'd always make a beeline to stop and spend time chatting with us, and we would talk about music or whatever else was going on at the time. He was truly a gem.

So, rather than the hellish event of last week, I am truly happy that Charlie is at rest, and is upstairs serenading Mom and Dad, Janice's uncles and aunts who have have passed before, and all our family members who had a strong affinity to music. I know he's up there doing what he loved to do ... playing the piano, and making it look so effortless.

Note To Eric

Kazo Kuniko was a male (well, mostly male) Ebony Oriental Shorthair, who passed away after a very long (19 years, 6 months) life ... and who was just an outstanding animal. He was at least partially responsible for Janice accepting me into her life, because from the day I met Kazo, he took a liking to me. He was, like me, fond of watching NFL action on Sunday afternoons, and Monday Nights, and even after he lost his eyesight and was blind as a bat for the last three or four years of his life, he knew the theme music for the various NFL pregame shows, and would get up from his heated bed and make his way across the living room to jump up and spend the next few hours in my lap, or lying next to me on the couch. Just like clockwork.

As I mentioned before, Kazo loved rotisserie chicken. Here's a shot of his wolfing down some for his New Year's Eve 2003-2004 feast, as served in his crystal dish given to him by Janice's mother, Joyce.



Note To Sandi

You know ... I haven't sent the cousins invitations as of yet ... I'd sort of forgotten about that, but will do that here in the next day or two. I think at least some of them might enjoy it. It will at least be interesting for them. :: said with a wry chuckle ::

Monday Update From Lee

Not a lot going on here ... I had another day at the office, and got another new assignment at therapy. I got more ultrasonic therapy today, and that did the trick with the "ring toe" on the right foot ... very strange how ultrasonic therapy hits some muscle that lets that toe release. Karen (PT therapist) hits one spot with the gizmo, and "boink!" out goes the toe. She admitted that she was happy to hear this, since she's not entirely sold on the whole ultrasonic therapy process. Me: "Well, maybe you aren't, but I can feel it unlock that toe!"

Anyway ... I thought I would share a couple of shots here.

Our "boys" are coming up on their first birthday, and I thought I would try to share a couple of pictures of them ... Hopefully some of you will meet them sometime. They are the most lovable critters I've ever met, other than Kazo Kuniko, who we lost 2/23/2004.

And no, Eric, we don't live near a Korean buffet, so it's not like we're farming.

You know we named them after a famous set of brothers from Joliet. Their mother was a Blue Point Siamese ... hence they are the "Blue's Sons".

Here are Jake and Elwood as we first saw them:



Here are Jake and Elwood as they are coming up on their first birthday, on July 22nd:




I think we're going to get them a rotisserie chicken as their birthday feast.

Kazo would have liked that ... hell, he loved it even when it wasn't his birthday!

Aha!

Because of the good Dr. Rubano's wishing me to "push things" a little, one day at a time, I was quite happy to have watered all 27 of our house plants this afternoon. I made the rounds, and our thirsty little friends are all quenched now.

Interesting, how when you use a 1/2 gallon watering jug only partially filled to prevent spillage, that you make a number of trips back and forth to some of the more gargantuan (over 8 feet tall) ones.

Funny tidbit ... in watering the one small philodendron upstairs, I noticed one of the closet doors was opened. So, I closed it. Fifteen minutes later, I heard a very plaintive "meeeow ... meeeow". Yes, I had closed one of "the boys" in the closet. I opened the door, and down from the fourth shelf up (on one of Grandma Hazel's quilts - hey he has good taste) he leapt out.

Hey folks, it's not like it's a steer, or anything like that ... but I've been able to identify where/what things hurt (see below).

I've outlined the areas that hurt, in red with dark black lines, and have outlined the areas that are "truly offensive" in a black rectangle. Please shield your sensitive eyes if you are offended like I was.

Trust me ... I am not afflicted with the "truly offensive" malady as shown.

I also apologize for my bad Latin.

A Few More Details

Thanks, Jane … I do feel bad about Mark. Yes, I’m still in shock, and trying to “get my head around” his issues with his life.

I had a pretty long chat with Diana (Aunt Maxine’s niece, our second cousin, and Melissa’s and Matt’s mom) last night, after she got back from the visitation at Cunningham Funeral Home in Bridgeport. She said the visitation went well, and that there was a pretty good turnout. A few classmates from RHHS turned out, as well as a few of the mothers of classmates who had moved away. She was in a bit of a “tizzy” (nothing new there) and said she remembered seeing our floral arrangement up at the front.

I got a little more information from her, as she had chatted quite a bit with Kim McAdow (Mark’s second wife, the apparent object of his issues). I also got more information from Diana regarding their divorce.

I’m no psychiatrist or psychologist, but it seems the problems Mark had centered around huge problems with co-dependence. With a capital "C".

Diana opened up about their breakup and said that Mark had exhibited signs of issues with this during that scenario, but Diana felt that the kids had prevented Mark from being seriously dangerous to either Diana or to himself at that time.

Obviously, he didn’t feel those same controls with Kim.

She reiterated that the Trim Masters lawn-chair-shotgun-strapped-to-chest incident wasn’t the first time he’d gotten in trouble with Kim … apparently he had broken into her apartment before that episode and had threatened both Kim and himself with a shotgun.

I asked her if this Kim was some “beauty queen” or something, and she said she wouldn’t call her a “great beauty … not bad looking, though”.

Odd thing she did bring out, that sort of cemented a diagnosis of a massive case of co-dependency, is that while he was living in a trailer or something on Ira Heath’s old place off Rte. 50, some younger area girl who had a crush on him had walked in, laid down across his bed (undressed) and had offered herself to him. He told her “I don’t want you, or anything to do with you, so get dressed and get out of here now.”

Clearly I didn’t teach him enough in our formative years.

I'm supposed to get a call from her again, later this weekend, to catch up on how the private family burial went.

Anyway ... I found his very simple and to-the-point obituary on the Vincennes Sun-Commercial website today:

MARK R. MCADOW

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ill. - Mark R. McAdow, 47, Sumner, died at 11 a.m. Tuesday on Ill. 250 east of Lawrenceville.

He worked as a carpenter.

Survivors include his mother, Nona Springdorf McAdow, Sumner; one daughter, Melissa Peters, Fishers, Ind.; one son, Matt R. McAdow, Terre Haute; five brothers, Bob McAdow, Chicago; David McAdow, Mooresville, Ind.; Mike McAdow, Lawrenceville; Jim McAdow, Bridgeport; Terry McAdow, Bridgeport; two sisters, Debbie Weiler, Edwardsport; and Cheryl Alexander, St. Joseph, Mich.

Visitation will be from 1 to 3 p.m. Friday at the Cunningham Funeral Home in Bridgeport.

Burial will be in the Bridgeport City Cemetery.

A Pretty Good Day

Since I had to actually be near a barcode label printer today (specifically to work on the aforementioned "Label From HELL"), I decided to "fudge" things a bit, and go into the office.

You see, L**all doesn't want me to "fall down go boom" on the premises, and then turn around and sue them for not having a 100% ADA-compliant building. Soooooo, when the doctor said yesterday he would suggest I continue a "work-from-home" situation, I told him I sometimes needed to go into the office. Our HR person of course needs written documentation saying it's okay for me to work at the office. That's not "exactly" what the good Dr. Rubano wrote.

So I told the HR director that "The bone is now healed." (not a lie) and that per the doctor, I need to start "pushing things a bit" (also not a lie) and that unfortunately I couldn't drive (also not a lie) and that I had worked things out with my boss to start phasing myself back into the general population downstairs in the land of the Morlocks that keep things running for the Eloi in Finance, General Administration, and Human Resources. Okay ... I didn't exactly phrase it that way, but I relayed my conversation with the boss, wherein he suggested "Maybe what you can do is start coming back in two or three days a week, whatever you're comfortable with, until you're all squared away." (Also not a lie) Basically, in other words, keep up the good work, and don't violate the "Fifty Simple Rules" ... which are #1 through #49 - "Don't do anything that prompts an email from any of our locations to the boss with a complaint" and #50 - "If the boss has to send you an email, drop whatever you are doing to make sure the subject of that email is addressed and finalized first". Rule #50 rarely happens to me ... I've learned Rule #1 through #49 all too well. So I told the HR Director "I think next week I'm going to go in on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and work Tuesday and Thursday from home." Her reply was "I think it's great that you 'IT folks' (code for "Morlocks") can work remotely like this. I think we're (L**all) making some great strides in getting connected." My immediate thought: "Yeah ... right ... connect me with some more moolah, and I'll really show you how things can get done." My second immediate thought: "Yeah ... just wait until you see my expense reports for business-call cell phone usage from home ... I think you'll want me coming back in here real quick-like." But then again ... I can't remember whether she drives a company-paid Lexus or a company-paid BMW ... so it probably doesn't matter.

Anyway ... so I made it a whole first day there, solely on crutches. And now? I'm pretty wiped, and the "right dog is a-hurtin'."

I had a really good therapy session this morning ... Karen used an ultrasonic deep-heat machine (which I could almost compare to a localized low-intensity microwave or something) that worked really well with the Achilles and the surrounding tendons. When I got my cast off, my next-to-little toe was sort of scrunched under the middle toe to its left. It's been like that until today. Today, when Karen hit whatever muscle or tendon that was keeping it there, it just went "oooooooohh ahhhh" and straightened back up. It was the weirdest thing.

Oh well ... that was my day.

An Answer To Eric's "So what do you do again, Uncle Lee?"

Among other things, the thing I think I enjoy the most, (unless it is the label shown below) is that I take customer design specifications of how they want their labels to be formatted, design those labels to be produced at our manufacturing plants all over the world, and then program them to accept data from our Oracle database.

Since we use barcode scanning in our manufacturing plants, I also program software that links handheld scanning equipment to our database. An example of an application of this would be when a vendor sends us raw material, we can scan the receipt of this material directly from the receiving dock, rather than have someone write it down, take it to a desk, and then sit down and make keystroke errors when entering the receipt into Oracle. "Beep, beep" goes the barcode scanner, and you could train a reasonably intelligent orangutan to do it.

It's better than working in data processing in a meat packing plant.

BEHOLD! The Shipping Label from Hell - The Renault version of the Odette V1 R4 Transport Label - with fonts specified in Millimeter heights, not font sizes

Thursday For Lee

It has been a very bizarre, sad, reflective, somewhat disappointing, and yet encouraging couple of days.

For Mark McAdow, my best friend in high school, to have gone from a basically good human being (although a bit lacking in ambition) to his tragic self-demise on May 17^th came as a huge shock to me. As much as I try, I still cannot get my head around what could have been so bad in his life to have ended it. I’m still not (and never will be) in even the same universe when trying to comprehend the “how”.

I’ve spent time thinking about what a loss, what a shame has been suffered here. Here he was, months away from realizing the birth of his first grandson. Here was his first chance to teach a grandson the finer arts of the free throw, the jump shot, blocking out when rebounding, and the importance of playing defense with your feet and not your hands. Here was his first chance to teach a grandson a general respect for timber, which he studied in post-high school years. Here was his first chance to see yet another “McAdow” grow up.

I’ve spent time reflecting on those heady high school years, when Mark was happy on the basketball court, playing with a joyful abandon, always seeming to have a smile on his face as he played, knowing he had his next move planned. He loved basketball … and always excelled at it. I’ve read, with smiles on my face, the challenges he threw up to me in my yearbooks, as we progressed through high school and his father Bob’s reflections that I would be an “All-State” selection before Mark would. I think Bob did that to light a fire under Mark’s ass. The record shows that strategy worked.

I’ve also spent time reflecting on and smiling about all those “not-so-scholarly” and “not-so-up-and-up” times we had in school. I had to laugh, the other night, when talking to Diana and she informed me the City of Lawrenceville Parks Department had installed surveillance cameras in the Lawrenceville City Park. They’re only 30 years late. I also think the western-most wall of Lawrenceville High School should be dismantled one brick at a time, to be preserved, unless time and weathering has been unkind to the work of art left there three decades ago. I’ve also wondered if Maude is still running, and if she could still land on all fours, after a 60 mile-per-hour railroad crossing jump, and if "Boob" Perrott still knows how to scream like a little girl from the back seat, “mid-flight”.

I’m also disappointed that the airlines don’t fly into “Lawrenceville-Vincennes Airport” or “Mid-American Air Center” or whatever they call George Field these days. Janice and I checked into our possibilities in going out for Mark’s visitation and burial, and nothing worked, whether to Evansville, Indianapolis or even Louisville KY … Price, schedule, and a number of other factors weighed heavily on our decision to forego attending. An unexpected requirement of me to install a software upgrade on Sunday also didn’t help matters.

However, we will be there in spirit, if not in body. I arranged a floral delivery to the funeral home today with Lawrenceville Greenhouse, and we are planning a visit to a local church on Saturday to put in a good word on Mark’s behalf, with the man upstairs.

The encouraging part of this post is that I had a second follow-up visit to the Orthopedist today, and another set of x-rays. The films confirmed that indeed, the break has healed - no more partial black line on the x-rays, indicating there was a bit of bone yet to knit. So THIS is a good thing. After further examination of the ankle area, the good Dr. Rubano did inform me I had a pretty good case of tendonitis going on with the Achilles tendon, assured me that this is common when someone has their ankle in a cast for six weeks, and suggested Advil, heat, and getting more aggressive with putting weight on it without the stirrup cast. Sooooooooo … at least I now have a better understanding of what all that pain is from, and a battleplan on what to do, and what to next work for.

Dr. Rubano did not, however, clear me to drive ... yet. He won't do that until I've mastered either a single crutch, or the use of a cane, and admitted to "liability laws these days" ... "blah, blah, blah." I’ve found it rather difficult to master the whole “use one crutch” thing, in part perhaps to my left-handedness and the concept of using a crutch on the opposite side of the body of the affected part. It’s a bit weird … but don’t go breaking your ankle to try it. I will be pushing Karen at physical therapy, to give me some more work. I am chomping at the bit to get back behind the wheel of my A6, dammit!

Anway, I did experience a momentous and another encouraging event this afternoon ... after letting some heat get to it, and time for the Advils to kick in, this afternoon I decided to “push it a bit” and one-crutch it to the bathroom. Maybe I hadn’t let the Advils kick in enough (it hurt like a b*stard), but I gingerly made my way in, and made it back. I think the old adage should be reworded to “When The Going Gets Tough, The Tough Do Whatever Is Necessary To Make It To The Bathroom.”

Sorry this post is so long … just had some thoughts to “put to paper” here. :)

A Letter To The Editors (just a thought here)

Dear (insert editor’s name here):

As one who left Lawrence County years before the closing of the Texaco Refinery, and its subsequent short-lived resurgence under foreign ownership, I have read with interest the accounts of the progress of the soon-to-be-completed construction of the new Unit 10 (Red Hill) High School, and of the debate that seems to be raging over what to do with the old structure that is the Unit 20 (Lawrenceville) High School.

Folks, it seems you are all too “up to your butt in alligators to know when you’re in the swamp”.

Unit 10 has built, and is close to completing a new structure which can house all the high school-age students in Lawrence County. Unit 20, on the other hand, can’t seem to figure out just what it wants to do with its crumbling structure.

Consolidation, while initially painful, has worked to the benefit of all the communities in Lawrence County since 1973-74. Yes, the “Indians” remained the “Indians” and not the “Sainted Indians” (although the import of the Leighty brothers should have actually qualified for a rename at the time). Yes, the “Bulldogs” and the “Arabs” became the “Salukis”.

It seems you have forgotten how well this works, and have fallen into that trap where your civic “pride” has exceeded your common dollars and sense.

Declining numbers in your post-high school population, should be a clear indicator to you that Lawrence County is no longer a “place on the move” … unless that “move” is downward arrow on a chart somewhere. Think of how many of your high school graduates have left and do leave the county to find success elsewhere.

Give some thought to putting those millions of tax dollars to work in a more constructive manner – find funds to reverse your current course by attracting new industry, new jobs, and thus raise the standard of living within the county, rather than razing and re-raising an edifice that will only last as a monument to a diminishing population.

If nothing else, just step back a bit and just think of the talent you could put on a football field or a basketball court if your high schools were consolidated.

Come on, folks … combine Unit 10 and Unit 20 and create a “Unit 1”.

Sincerely,
Lee Brookhart
Manchester, CT

Free Translation Service

"Verbrechen der deutschen Frau" = "Crime of the German woman"
"Du wirst zum Sklaven germacht!" = "You are germacht to slaves!" ("germacht" I am having some problems with)
"Trotz Stellenabbau." = "Despite Place dismantling" (gibberish)
"Tuerkei in die EU." = "Turkey in the European Union"
"Du wirst ausspioniert!" = "You are spied!"

Seems to me you've been hanging out on the "shopping" website too much, looking for a new outfit for Brad, Lori ... maybe try some anti-spyware or something.

Seriously ... it sounds like some German "spam".

A Happy Camper

I mentioned in a prior post that we went out to St. Peters for Mothers' Day, and to celebrate a few missed birthdays. One of the ones we missed was pretty significant, since it was Janice's brother Joey's official graduation into the "Old Fart's Club" - he turned 50 on St. Patrick's Day.

Since he is an avid hunter, and purchased a "farm" (to those of us who actually have ever been involved in farming, what he purchased was actually 160 acres of unused farmland near Clarksville, MO) that he intends to use for hunting, Janice asked for my advice for her to get him a birthday gift.

What hunter could be without his very own camouflage bathrobe (shown) for those deer that mistakenly amble into his bathroom at his farm, or a camouflage apron, oven mitt (shown) and pot-holder for those wildebeests that come too closely when he is grilling deer steaks on his grill? I'm sure none of those animals would notice the ruddy cheeks or the white hair and beard.

As you can tell, he was happy. Of course, this may have been after drink number 12. (hearty chuckle here)

If nothing else, perhaps if I ever changed careers, I could become one of those "personal shoppers to the stars" that you read about.

At Last ... Coffee Relief

I sit here writing this, enjoying the first cup of non-semi-handmade java made in our new Krups Coffee Machine FME4. On Sunday afternoon, I finally gave up on the repair of the former loyal servant, after discovering I had no way of getting past the diabolical Krups method of attaching the bottom access cover of the old machine. Plastic "nuts" melted in the center? Who ever heard of such a thing! Oh well, it served me well over the last six or seven years, so I suppose I shouldn't complain.

I think Janice was feeling sorry for her intestines after the past week of sometimes semi-crunchy coffee in the morning (I had named the semi-handmade brew "Morning Surprise") or perhaps she was simply feeling a bit sympathetic for me after yesterday evening's Physical Therapy session.

Karen (the PT technician) had, in her customary way, asked how I was doing when I arrived. I told her my wrist was feeling better, but I had some concerns with the amount of pain I have in the ankle when I put any significant weight on it. So the first five or ten minutes of the appointment consisted of her examining my ankle, while I put some weight on it, to try to identify the source of the pain, pressing on this tendon then that tendon ... and then ...

BLAM! A jolt shot through me as if a bolt of lightning from above ... I saw the oncoming blackness ... I forced myself to thrust out my hands to grab onto something, anything, to keep from going down. I grabbed the therapy table and steadied myself as the universe of stars slowly unfolded and receded from my vision.

"Lee? Are you OK? Are you still with us?" I heard her say, as if she were calling down from the edge of an abyss.

"What the hell did you just hit?!?" I exclaimed, not wanting to be mean to the poor girl.

"I think I pressed too hard on the site of the break," she explained. "I'm so sorry ... I shouldn't have pressed so hard. I think the break maybe hasn't healed 100%. I thought you were going to faint there."

"No kidding," I thought to myself. "You and me both."

I'll be interested to see the new x-rays I hope they will take in Thursday morning's follow-up appointment at the Orthopedist's. Damn.

I Apologize For The State Of Connecticut ...

... for this: "Maybe now, in the light of day, people will see what we've done and start to think about how it's changed us, and whether we want to continue on this path."

Michael Ross deserved to die, after freely admitting to the murders of eight innocent young women, then spending how many taxpayers' dollars on awaiting his final justice.

I'm sorry, but living in this state of "do-gooding" liberals, I feel very much like the Shelley family and the patriarch of that clan, when I say "Hey ... I'll do it."

There were notes in the local news, of "scores of convicts will commit suicide if the Michael Ross execution goes through." Personally, that to me would have been a GOOD thing. All the liberal whiners are always saying how we are lacking jail space and how we need to raise taxes to build new "detention centers". Sheesh! Why not let them thin themselves out? The first thing that came to my mind, hearing this, was ... "NEXT!!!!"

What a bunch of Nutmegging diaper-wearing nitwits I live amongst.

Sorry ... I know my last post was "cheerful" ... but this issue is bugging me a bit.

"First Execution In 45 Years In Connecticut" ... what the hell has taken them so long? Good grief. Get Eric out here, with his knife. We'll flip coins for who goes next. :)

Welcome Sue & Dave

And more of the "clan" joins in.

Today is day four of the "Krups Coffeemaker On-The-Blink" tour. Our coffeepot bit the big one a few days ago, and I keep telling Janice that I will take a look and see if I can easily fix it. I'm still waiting on the "Cold Heat" soldering iron "As Seen On TV" and am anxiously awaiting its arrival to assist in my repair of the life-giving machine. I understand that I can touch it to solder, then to my skin with no burning. You know ... I'm used to the old soldering irons, where you knew that if you touched it to solder and then to your skin ... well, you were just plain stupid and you deserved the resulting second-degree burn. And, if you believe their advertising, I think you can also touch it to delicate fabrics without damage. I think I'd probably be wearing a t-shirt or something other than a silk shirt, while soldering, but it does go to show that modern technology is amazing.

Trust me, dear readers, I have not forsaken my cup (make that 7 or 8 cups) of the rejuvenating fluid each morning. No ... I have followed the "James Brookhart Rule of Making Do, Or Doing Without". Each morning, I use our coffee pot in the way it was intended. Nearly boiling water, poured over fresh coffee grounds in a filter over an awaiting pot will indeed make coffee! Imagine that! And so, I use a teakettle to heat the water, and transfer this to the soon-to-be-brewed grounds, shut the basket into the coffeemaker, insert the carafe under the Krups "Pour While Brewing" valve, and away we go (repeat five or six times, and voila ... COFFEE).

In all seriousness, I doubt I can repair this thing ... but it's the manly thing to rip it apart, inspect each of the dissected parts that result, with some level of understanding its function, then after realizing that it is hopeless, utter that famous phrase "Well, I think this one is 'toast'! It's glingrods are all cross-mirved!" Even if it is an easy fix ... say a heater coil that's burnt out ... am I going to get parts on a Sunday? I think not.

And, to be honest, I did have my eye on a nice new model Krups has that is programmable (a must), and that now includes an indicator that tells you when your coffeepot needs decalcification. "Wow! How cool! It says 'CALC'! Hmmm ... where's the numeric keypad? I need to get some square roots!"

However, yesterday's forays out on crutches with Janice to do some coffeepot shopping and buy one, rather than repair, led to what I would almost call an ADD-driven adventure where we first hit the dry-cleaners (I stayed in the car). Then to "Bed Bath And Beyond" (I always feel like Buzz Lightyear, going in there) where they had the model I had eyes for, but alas no "Krups Permanent Gold-Tone Filter" that fits the pot. So then, to "Best Buy" on the small chance they might have the same model, but WITH the "Krups Permanent Gold-Tone Filter". No dice, but they did have a remarkable selection of new cell phones, new house phones, new CDs, newly released DVDs and a very nice little $19.95 Optical Notebook USB Mouse that Janice couldn't live without.

I was successful in dissuading Janice from the purchase of two new Motorola Razr cell phones and was unsuccessful in my review of all the "house phones" they had there ... I am really interested in a "house phone" with Blue-Tooth technology for hands-free (I think I've seen them, just not sure where)

So, Optical Notebook USB Mouse, a few DVDs ("This Is Spinal Tap", "The Audrey Hepburn DVD Collection" - including 'Sabrina', 'Roman Holiday' and 'Breakfast At Tiffany's' - and "Sideways") and a couple of CDs ("With Teeth" by NIN and "hotel" by Moby) later, we left "Best Buy" with a few "semi-decent buys", and went next door with the thought of getting "take-away curbside service" from "Outback". And alas, a long line of cars waiting for the very same thing. Sooooo ... we called in our order, got the wait time, and then decided to wait the requisite 30 minutes across the street having a cocktail at "TGI Fridays".

About the time we were ready to pick up our perfectly grilled steaks and make a bee-line home with them ... we realized "Hey! We forgot to pick up a coffeepot!"

Just our little way of stimulating the American Economy, in just over a three-hour tour. Plus, it was a nice day for me to get out of the house.

And ... a "PS" here ... "Sideways" is a pretty decent movie.

Just checking in..

I hope this is what you're supposed to do.....Just sitting here listening to Dave sawing wood....I just know he has sleep apnea . Considering taping it so that he knows how loud it is. Looking forward to an exciting day Tomorrow of weeding. I will get to go to Devons flag football game then to Mom and Dads for some mushroom dish they are making for Dave.

What Really Happened During The Bush's Russian Trip

There were some good "photo ops" from the recent trip the President and Laura Bush made to Russia. As you know, the former Soviet Union lost over 27,000,000 (yes, that's million) in their fight to repulse Nazi Germany in World War II. This week marked the 60th anniversary of the end of hostilities in Europe ...

But, according to these international news photos ... the hostilities may be continuing!

Also subtitled "Chirac Gets 'Shellacked'!"

Oh No!

There for a moment, a hushed silence fell over the Brookhart blog crowd, wondering if poor Tor's grandstanding was going to result in the surprised expression in little Zayd's eyes, because of this:

Creative License Idea #2

I'm just thinking here ... but I know there is an outlet for Eric's creative license.

I am almost certain that there may be a spot for his photo essay, in its entirety, in The Sumner Press's "Publisher's Guest" column.

I read "The Sumner Distress" (as Dad so often called it) every week online, looking for more cryptic visits by folks having seen things they have never before seen. I've almost sent an editorial comment to the "Daily Wrecker" as well, regarding their high school situation ... in fact I still may tell them to "get over yourselves" and beg for consolidation into Unit District 10 and their fine new facility.

But anyway, Eric ... I know they publish some of the strangest things there ... just mention a commercial involving cruelty to monkeys aired during the Super Bowl.

Ah Yes, There WAS An Item #4

OK, I knew there was an item #4 ...

4. While the Medford Meats tour may have been a hellish experience, at least it wasn't the tour that I attended of the assembly plant that made THIS monstrosity:

BEHOLD! The 1979 Chevrolet Chevette 4-Door Hatchback Sedan!

Schlachthaus Fünf - Neueste Informationen

Oops ... almost the wrong blog there. But, judging from recent content, perhaps not far from the truth.

Sorry to have been away from posting for a few days. I was out of town over the weekend - celebrating Mother's Day and a few birthdays at Joe and Joyce's in very sunny and warm St. Peters.

Flying was ... errr ... "fun". Well, the flying wasn't so bad, but getting from the cab to the gate and onto the plane "mobility assisted" was shall we say, "interesting", especially after having taken a spill last Wednesday night and severely spraining my right wrist. "Elwood" darted between my ankles while I was crutching it into the bathroom, and rather than crushing him, I put out my hands to catch myself on the way down.

I know, I know, many of you are probably thinking "Well, I would have just crushed the darned cat!" You see, that's one of the many differences between dogs and cats. Dogs have "owners". Cats have "staff".

Anyway, I just felt it necessary to say:

1. I'm not going to be an "editor" here ... I only ask that you do understand that there are folks in our family that may have more delicate sensibilities than others, and who may well be in the PG-13 market segment. Enough said on that.

2. I'm also not going to act as a referee here ... so "No fighting, kids!"

3. We're all here to have fun, to poke fun sometimes, to be informative and to keep each other up-to-date.

With that said I descend, crutches in hand, from my little soapbox.

Proclamation

WHEREAS, teachers make public schools great; and

WHEREAS, teachers work to open student’s minds to ideas, knowledge and dreams; and

WHEREAS, teachers keep American democracy alive by laying the foundation for good citizenship; and

WHEREAS, teachers fill many roles, as listeners, explorers, role models, motivators and mentors; and

WHEREAS, teachers continue to influence us long after our school days are only memories;

Now, therefore, I, Lee Brookhart, serving as administrator of "The Brookhart Blog", join many other communities and thus

Do hereby proclaim Tuesday, May 3, 2005, as

National Teacher Day

I urge that we observe this day by taking time to recognize and acknowledge the impact of teachers on our lives.

Lori and Brad - Enjoy Your Day!

Latest Boring Ankle Update

So ... here is the regimen for this week. Care to follow along, in your own homes? It's very "low impact". Hey ... it's "NO impact for that matter."

Towel Calf Stretch :

Sit with knee straight and towel looped around foot. (They had me use a strap, not a towel).
Gently pull on towel until a comfortable stretch is felt in calf.
Then repeat the exercise with knee bent.

Hold 20 seconds - repeat 3 times per set.
Do 1 set per session / 2 sessions per day.

Ankle Alphabet :

Using ankle and foot only, trace the letters of the alphabet. Perform A to Z.

Repeat 2 times per session / 2 sessions per day.

(Note: I keep writing notes on the floor, with this one. I won't say what those notes are, or to whom they are directed. LOL)

Plantar/Dorsiflexion :

With leg relaxed, gently bend and straighten ankle. Move through full range of motion. Avoid pain. (My notes - "Well duh.")

Repeat 20 times per set.
Do 1 set per session / 2 sessions per day

Inversion/Eversion :

With leg relaxed, gently turn ankle and foot in and out. Move through full range of motion. Avoid pain. (My notes - "Well duh a second time.")

Repeat 20 times per set.
Do 1 set per session / 2 sessions per day.

Christ, I am a bad patient! Me: "Can you just clear me to DRIVE?" The PT: "Uhhh ... no. We can't do that until your doctor approves." Me: "Well he says it is okay if you do." The PT: "I don't see it on your chart." Me: "Well you need a new chart ... let me sign it for you!"

AAAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH

I've done these several times today. Can SOMEONE call in and give me extra credit so I can get back behind the wheel?

Please?