The Duke Joins Me on Route 66

On August 30 my husband----in BVG talk, The Duke-----joined six of his closest friends, including me, on Route 66. He is the last of seven of us, all members of the Class of '66, to turn 66 in this past year. He is four months younger than I am, and for four months each year he points that out to me. That only bothered me when I was in my 30's and he was still in his 20's, and then for each decade after. When we both turned 65 last year, it was our time to sign up for Medicare. This year we are journeying together on what my sister pointed out to me could be called Route 66. I took her suggestion and expanded it to the point that, in honor of my husband's 66th birthday, I threw a Route 66 party for him. Hence the cake pictured above, thanks to a friend of ours, a fellow traveler on Route 66 this year.

Both j and her husband are on Route 66 this year, and they were at the party to welcome my husband aboard. Cool and her husband were here, even though it will be a few years before they start their own journey on Route 66. Elletu, though invited, was unable to attend, but there were 13 partygoers, more than half of which are 66. Our motto for this year: It is better to be 66 than 666!

My Brain Quiz for this event was all about Route 66, and I could tell everyone had been studying all the information I e-mailed to them over the past several weeks. We all learned so much that now we want to get out there and travel that route from Chicago to L.A. But alas, it's not all still there. The parts that remain are designated as Historic Route 66. The U.S. Interstate Highway System replaced the route, but interest in this highway, which was established in 1926, has only increased.

So the party was lots of fun, and we did some reminiscing per usual. This same group of friends came to our house 27 years ago for another party, a Jack Benny Party, the year we all turned 39. We could not have predicted that 27 years from then we would reconvene for a Route 66 Party. But I will state this now: Here's hoping (and praying) we can all be together 11 years from now for--what else?---a 77 Sunset Strip Party!

The BVG's Take the Ice Bucket Challenge!

Last night was our monthly BVG dinner at my house. Elletu, reminding us that we are above all a 'service organization,' suggested we drive down to Napa Valley together and volunteer to help clean up after their devastating 6.0 earthquake early Sunday morning. We all readily agreed to sign up for this. Before you give us too much credit for wanting to help others, you should be aware that our talk quickly turned to bringing straws and sipping up the wine pouring out of broken $200 bottles of wine.

Looking for yet another way to prove our dedication to service and charity, Cool mentioned the current amazing popularity of the so-called Ice Bucket Challenge for raising funds for finding the cure for ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease). Athletes, movie stars, politicians and now citizens all over the country are braving being dumped on with a huge bucket full of ice--and writing a check for $10 to ALS research--or else writing a check for $100 and skipping the ice. We have watched many celebrities online, such as Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson getting dumped on outside on the top of the Space Needle. Once a person does it, they challenge someone else, and so on and so on.

And so on our BVG night of wanting to 'pay it forward,' we challenged ourselves to our own form of an ice bucket challenge (see above). The challenge? To open a bottle of wine and not finish it. We did it! We did not finish that bottle of wine last night!

It was another fun BVG night, our last of the summer, last one sitting out on my deck past dark, because soon it will be too chilly to do that. It was 85 degrees and sunny yesterday. Today it actually rained a little, and it is 12 degrees cooler and partly sunny now at 5 P.M. More clouds and rain are headed our way in the next few days. So much for the lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer.

And so much for the BVG Ice Bucket Challenge.

When Our Children Were Angels

This morning I came across this picture of my middle son as an angel at the Sunday School Christmas Program. Elletu's son, another angel, is to the right, and her daughter is also to the right though out of view. I sent this picture to Elletu at work with the same title as I put here, and she responded, "And of course they still are." I apologized for implying otherwise. BVGO's are PERFECT!!!

And look how angelic they look here, Elletu's three with my two oldest. They sure had fun playing together, especially in the forest behind Elletu's house (once she left Bethel Valley Lane).

And this picture from my previous post--I think I remember who the girl off to the right is. I think she is the daughter of my friend Gayle, and she is definitely not a BVGO. Too bad for her!

The Youngest BVGO

This picture was taken on October 15, 1984, when my youngest son---the youngest BVGO---turned one. He is surrounded by his big brother as well as Cool's younger son and Elletu's younger daughter. We can't any of us identify the little girl to the right there. She's an imposter!!!

I think it's past time to put together a BVGO Memory Book!

BVGO's: The Early Years

What Do Elletu and Janet Jackson Have in Common?

Elletu came for a visit Saturday afternoon, and I convinced her to stay for dinner. We had such a nice time sitting out on my deck on a warm summer evening, enjoying good food and conversation. I asked her if she had been checking this blog, and she had to admit it had been some time since she had, which surprised me because doesn't everyone hang on my every word? I pulled out my Smart Phone so she could read about our trip to the Harrison Spa a few weeks ago. I read the story to her, which she liked, but then I showed her the pictures I had included in the blog post. She caught something I hadn't even noticed. Now she is busy with Photo Shop so she won't be compared to Janet Jackson.

Truth is, I was hoping that picture would help us go bacterial!

The Philosophy of Ambiguity, and the Indiosyncrasies of the English Language

Every once in a while I receive something bye-mail that is worth passing on. This is one such thing:

FOR THOSE WHO LOVE THE PHILOSOPHY OF AMBIGUITY, AS WELL AS THE IDIOSYNCRASIES OF ENGLISH:

 

 

1. ONE TEQUILA, TWO TEQUILA, THREE TEQUILA...... FLOOR.

 

2. ATHEISM IS A NON-PROPHET ORGANIZATION.

 

3. IF MAN EVOLVED FROM MONKEYS AND APES, WHY DO WE STILL HAVE MONKEYS AND APES?

 

4. THE MAIN REASON THAT SANTA IS SO JOLLY IS BECAUSE HE KNOWS WHERE ALL THE BAD GIRLS LIVE.

 

5. I WENT TO A BOOKSTORE AND ASKED THE SALESWOMAN, "WHERE'S THE SELF- HELP SECTION?" SHE SAID IF SHE TOLD ME, IT WOULD DEFEAT THE PURPOSE

 

6. WHAT IF THERE WERE NO HYPOTHETICAL QUESTIONS?

 

7. IF A DEAF CHILD SIGNS SWEAR WORDS, DOES HIS MOTHER WASH HIS HANDS WITH SOAP?

 

8. IF SOMEONE WITH MULTIPLE PERSONALITIES THREATENS TO KILL HIMSELF, IS IT CONSIDERED A HOSTAGE SITUATION?

 

9. IS THERE ANOTHER WORD FOR SYNONYM?

 

10. WHERE DO FOREST RANGERS GO TO "GET AWAY FROM IT ALL?"

 

11. WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU SEE AN ENDANGERED ANIMAL EATING AN ENDANGERED PLANT?

 

12. IF A PARSLEY FARMER IS SUED, CAN THEY GARNISH HIS WAGES?

 

13. WOULD A FLY WITHOUT WINGS BE CALLED A WALK?

 

14. WHY DO THEY LOCK GAS STATION TOILETS? ARE THEY AFRAID SOMEONE WILL BREAK-IN AND CLEAN THEM?

 

15. IF A TURTLE DOESN'T HAVE A SHELL, IS HE HOMELESS OR NAKED?

 

16. CAN VEGETARIANS EAT ANIMAL CRACKERS?

 

17. IF THE POLICE ARREST A MUTE, DO THEY TELL HIM HE HAS THE RIGHT TO REMAIN SILENT?

 

18. WHY DO THEY PUT BRAILLE ON THE DRIVE-THROUGH BANK MACHINES?

 

19. HOW DO THEY GET DEER TO CROSS THE ROAD ONLY AT THOSE YELLOW ROAD SIGNS?

 

20. WHAT WAS THE BEST THING BEFORE SLICED BREAD?

 

21. ONE NICE THING ABOUT EGOTISTS: THEY DON'T TALK ABOUT OTHER PEOPLE.

 

22. DOES THE LITTLE MERMAID WEAR AN ALGEBRA?

                      (This one took me a minute)

 

23. DO INFANTS ENJOY INFANCY AS MUCH AS ADULTS ENJOY ADULTERY?

 

24. HOW IS IT POSSIBLE TO HAVE A CIVIL WAR?

 

25. IF ONE SYNCHRONIZED SWIMMER DROWNS, DO THE REST DROWN TOO?

 

26. IF YOU ATE BOTH PASTA AND ANTIPASTO, WOULD YOU STILL BE HUNGRY?

 

27. IF YOU TRY TO FAIL, AND SUCCEED, WHICH HAVE YOU DONE?

 

28. WHOSE CRUEL IDEA WAS IT FOR THE WORD 'LISP' TO HAVE 'S' IN IT?

 

29. WHY ARE HEMORRHOIDS CALLED "HEMORRHOIDS" INSTEAD OF "ASSTEROIDS"?

 

30. WHY IS IT CALLED TOURIST SEASON IF WE CAN'T SHOOT AT THEM?

 

31. WHY IS THERE AN EXPIRATION DATE ON SOUR CREAM?

 

32. IF YOU SPIN AN ORIENTAL MAN IN A CIRCLE THREE TIMES, DOES HE BECOME DISORIENTED?

 

33. CAN AN ATHEIST GET INSURANCE AGAINST ACTS OF GOD? WHY DO SHOPS HAVE SIGNS, 'GUIDE DOGS ONLY', THE DOGS CAN'T READ AND THEIR OWNERS ARE BLIND