The Most Difficult Phone Call

Tuesday’s Blog Prompt: What is the most difficult phone call you’ve ever had to make?

I’ve had to actually make 3 difficult phone calls in my life. The first one was to call my sister and tell her that our mother had passed away.

The other two calls involved the same event and it is a long story so I hope I don’t bore you with the details but it seems like yesterday that it happened instead of about 15 years ago. I had to call a friend’s wife (whom I had never met) to tell her that her husband had a heart attack and then had to call another friend’s wife (whom I also never met) to tell her that her husband got hurt helping the heart attack victim. I was scared to death and didn’t know what to say to either wife.

It was in December and I was on Christmas break from teaching so I went hiking with about 12 other hiking friends (all who were over 60 years old). We went up to Looking Glass Rock in Pisgah National Forest in North Carolina. It was a beautiful crisp day with ice along the rocks in places. I was in a conversation with one of my friends, AD, who was proud that he was around 65years old and still hiking. When we reached the top of the mountain and prepared to eat lunch, I remember Jean saying, “AD doesn’t feel well, I think he is having a heart attack.” We got him laying down on the rock and I must have tossed my peanut butter and jelly sandwich over the side of the mountain without realizing it (because it wasn’t anywhere around later). We crowded around him and Ginny, who is a former flight attendant, took his pulse. She looked at us and said it was pretty weak and irregular and she thought we needed to get him help. When asked if he wanted us to get him help, AD said, “Get me help! I think I’m dying.” So Clint and I ran down the mountain to get help because it was the one and only time I had hiked without my cell phone.

As we raced down the mountain, we told people going up about our emergency as we tried to see if anyone was a medical person. Later we found out that one of the men was a preacher and when he arrived, he asked if he could pray. When they gathered around AD and prayed for him, AD said he knew then that he would survive and felt reassured even though he was in pain.

When we got to the bottom of the mountain to get my phone, we realized it wouldn’t get a signal so we got in the car and raced to the ranger station. At that time, there was federal budget cuts so the ranger station was closed. I saw a light on in one of the offices and didn’t realize that a TV station was actually interviewing a ranger when I banged on the window to tell them we needed help. He called 911 for us and told us to meet help at the Fish Hatchery so we left.

When help arrived in the form of firemen, ambulances, police, we told our story and a helicopter was dispatched to find AD. After about 3 trips, they couldn’t find him and kept making us repeat where they were when we left them. I started to think AD just had gas or something and then they all walked down the mountain since they couldn’t find them. But after searching, they found the group. Unfortuantely they had to land the helicopter a mile away and hike to where the group was. When they got AD in the basket and carried him to the helicopter, the group slipped on ice, and my friend Norm ended up breaking his ankle. Since there wasn’t room in the helicopter, he had to hike the 4 miles down the mountain in the dark with the firemen.

While Clint and I waited hours for AD to be rescued, I was told to call his wife on my cell phone. I called and called but couldn’t get any answer. Finally when they told me that he was being helicoptered to the Asheville Hospital, I left a message giving her the details. Around 11pm, when Norm finally walked out of the woods, we drove the hour long ride back home to Greenville. Norm still had another 90 minute drive to Columbia where he lived and asked me to call his wife and tell her to be ready to take him to the emergency room when he got there. I was never about making that call and she was not a happy camper when I told her. When I finally met her (and she is a super nice person), she told me this was like the third December in a row that Norm had gotten hurt. He is pretty unlucky in December I guess.

Well, those were the hardest calls I have had to make and I hope I never have to do anything like that again.

Baked Chimichangas

Baked Chimichangas

8 oz. cooked chicken, turkey, pork or beef (1 ½ cups)
1 8 oz. jar salsa
1 16-oz. can refried beans
1 4 ½ oz. can diced green chili peppers, drained
3 T thinly sliced green onions
4 oz. Monterey Jack or cheddar cheese, shredded (1 cup)
8 8- to 9- inch flour tortillas
Sour cream (optional)
Salsa (optional)
Thinly sliced green onion (optional)

1. Using 2 forks, shred cooked poultry, pork, or beef. In a large skillet combine meat, salsa, beans, chili peppers, and green onions. Cook and stir over medium heat until heated through. Stir in cheese.
2. Meanwhile, wrap tortillas in foil; warm in 350 degree oven for 10 min. For each chimichanga, spoon about ½ cup meat mixture on a tortilla, near 1 edge. Fold in sides; roll up.
3. Place in a baking pan or on a baking sheet. Bake, uncovered, in a 350 degree oven for 15-20 minutes or until heated through and tortillas are crisp and brown.
4. If desired, top with a spoon of salsa, then a drop of sour cream, and sprinkle green onions on top to make it look pretty.

A Dream I Never Achieved

Blog Prompt: A dream or goal you failed to achieve

When I graduated college I had a minor in French and had thought about working for the United Nations as an interpreter. I took four years of French in high school and loved it. For me, it was easy and I didn’t seem to hardly study. Even during college I was good enough to tutor others so they could pass the required course. My big problem was that I was shy and hated to speak the language. I was so afraid of how stupid I sounded and had a lot of problems with the accent. I was willing to fail the course if it required that I speak the language but luckily it never came to that. We have been to Paris, France and I was lucky enough to remember a lot of my basic words to get around and reminisce about what I had studied. Learning languages are fun for me and I’ve studied basic words in Spanish and Italian. Next month I will be taking a course in Beginning Chinese and I’m so excited. I hope that some of it will stick and that I won’t be afraid to speak it.

Childhood Things I Miss

Blog Prompt: Things I miss from childhood, teen years, young adult, or life as a single adult

I miss not ever having to worry about a thing like I did as a young child. I was the youngest of 3 girls and my sisters were ten and twelve years older than me so I never lacked anything, including love. I was probably the most loved child on the face of the earth. I remember always being happy and my family surrounded me with love. I’m not saying that I always got my way or got everything I asked for but I got the important things. My father worked in restaurant and my mother never worked or drove a car so I always had a parent at home with me who knew everything I did so I never really got in trouble growing up. Now I don’t know how my parents did all that they did for me but they did and I didn’t lack for anything important and I know I can never tell how much I appreciate it. Those were the good old days!

Words to Live By

Blog Post: How about words to live by...

“Be Honest.”
Honesty is so important to me. If I expect others to be honest to me, then I need to be honest with others. I lose respect for people who lie to me. Once I find out I am lied to, it is really hard for me to ever trust this person again. I forgive them but that doesn’t mean that I trust them. I believe that when you start lying, you start to set yourself up for many evil things and nothing good comes from lying. As a mother, I tried to instill this in my children and told them that if they were in trouble, it will be much better for them if they are just honest about it. As a teacher, I have told my students this many times and hopefully some of it has sunk in. My husband and I do not keep secrets from each other. There are times that I wish I could but I just can’t. He is my closest friend and I never want him to lose the trust that we have in our relationship. So, I guess these are two words that I really live by in my life.

(picture is a wordle of this post)

My Wedding

Blog Prompt: Blast from the past. Pick a story from your past.

We dated almost four years before we both agreed that the time was right to get married. It was scary to have to break the news to my parents because it was the first time that I ever defied them. They felt that I should only marry someone who was Chinese and that wasn’t going to happen. Luckily my mom was willing to make my wedding gown and veil which turned out beautiful. At first my dad didn’t even want to come for the wedding, but since I was his baby, he gave in.

My mom rode a Greyhound bus alone from FL to SC at Easter time to pick out material and a pattern for my gown. She also met my future in laws and had a wonderful visit. Since my mom had made most of my clothes all my life she was able to make my gown with no fittings. I never saw my gown until 2 days before the wedding and it fit perfectly. After seeing the brick walk up to the bell tower, my mom realized that we needed aisle cloth so my gown wouldn’t get snagged on the brick. So she sewed up yards of aisle cloth just days before the wedding and we spend 2 full days ironing it and rolling it up on a broom handle so it could be rolled out along the path.

We were to be married at the Furman Bell Tower which was one of my dreams come true. The night before the wedding, Don wanted to get tents set up in case it rained and we had a big fight. The only tents I knew of said “Mackey Mortuary” on them and I didn’t want any funeral home tents at my wedding. I told him that it would NOT rain and if there were tents at the scene, I would turn around and leave. I even told him that I wasn’t sure I wanted to marry him if he was such a jerk to think it was alright. I didn’t know until years later they make tents without words on them!

It rained all night long and when I woke up the rain had stopped. It turned out to be a beautiful sunny day (and very humid!). I was supposed to start walking down the aisle at noon right after the bells rang in the tower but my dad and the driver (Don’s uncle Calvin) wouldn’t let me be on time because they said it was bad luck. Don got nervous and thought I wasn’t going to show up. By the time I arrived, he was about to have a nervous breakdown and all our wedding pictures are blurry from him shaking. A nice breeze also arrived and my veil covered his face in every picture. Finally married on June 26, 1982! We had a wonderful wedding and I never regretted a minute of it. We’ve been married 26 years and I look forward to many, many more years.

I Feel Safe

Blog Prompt: I feel safe when ...

· there is light at night time.
· People are round me are not mad.
· I don’t see any violence.
· My house is not having any problems.
· My car is full of gas and works.
· I have no flat tires.
· I have enough money to pay my bills.
· I am healthy.
· I am full of energy and feel like I could deal with anything.

(Sorry I haven't been around last week. I've had the blogging blues and just needed to take a break. I hope I'm back now! I've missed y'all!)

If I Only Had Courage

Blog Prompt: Feats I'd attempt if I had the courage.

I am usually a scaredy cat about a lot of things but lately I’ve been looking at these rock climbing walls. You know, the ones where they put the harness around your and let you climb up this fake wall. It is usually set up at fairs or in front of malls or fundraising events. I have been thinking that I might like to try it. As of right now it is still in the thinking stage and may never get to the actual doing stage.

Another thing I really want to try is to roller blade. I have the helmet, the knee pads, elbow pads, and the roller blades. I tried it one time on the side walk with my hiking sticks and made it down the sidewalk in front of my house and thought I wouldn’t make it back home. I think this fall that I might actually try it again. Surely I can do this. At least I think that when I see other people roller blading past me.

Rock wall picture: Original image: 'david in motion' by: Benjamin Chia

Note: I had a terrible day today. We planned to go hiking with our hiking group and I was so excited! The lunches were made and the car was packed but my hubby decided to use the bathroom before we left (like a good boy should!) when he noticed we had very little water pressure. I didn't know why we had little pressure but I checked in the house and decided to walk around the flower beds to check outside faucets. Sure enough, the one in the back yard, as far from the house as you can get, had a busted water pipe and that corner of the yard was ankle deep in water. Since we are supposed to have storms arriving soon (possibly Hannah), we called the plumber right away and didn't go hiking. Part of me wanted to just cut the water off and deal with this tomorrow but we had to cut the water off at the road and I know we couldn't go without water comfortably for a few days. Then what if the plumber couldn't come out and it took many days to fix, so I bit my lip and didn't even whine. We went outside to dig up the mud away from the busted pipe so the plumber didn't have to spend so much time doing that which would save us money. In between digging and letting the water recede, we decided to trim dead branches out of the tree and cut back others which were shading my rose garden. My wonderful hubby grabs a branch and pulls it back hoping it will break off at the dead spot and come down. Not only did it break off but it broke off close to the trunk and the limb was about 12 inches thick, knocked my husband over, threw him in the bushes and landed on top of him. At first I thought he broke his leg but his ankle has some abrasions and he is a little bruised but luckily in one piece. We will need to go out with the chain saw to cut this limb in pieces in order for the city to pick it up, but we will save that for another day's adventure. Needless to say, I didn't get anything done today because I just didn't feel like it.

Happy Teaching Memory

I was asked by TJ Shay from TJ On a Journey: It has been one year since your retirement... Looking back, is there one happy teaching memory that rises to the top of the list? (crossposted on my Successful Teaching blog)

I had a boy come to my ninth grade learning disabilities self contained classroom who didn’t even know the alphabet. He looked disgusted with school the first time I saw him and refused to do any reading or writing work. Of course I didn’t know how little he could do because the achievement test he took the previous year was a multiple choice test and he had a lot of lucky guesses, which elevated his scores. I suspected that the scores weren’t accurate and called home to brag about how I enjoyed having this boy in my class because he contributed so much to class discussions. This mother was so relieved that he wasn’t in trouble and shared with me that the student didn’t even know the alphabet. She went so far as to say the previous teacher had told her not to help her son because as a parent, she had no educational background and was confusing him. I was horrified and came up with a plan of action so we both could help him in school and at home. In fact, I had lessons for him to work on in the summers too. I didn’t see this as doing anything extraordinary because I felt this is why I became a teacher. By the time he graduated, he could read on a second grade level and fill out job applications. At graduation, he came up to me with a dozen long stem red roses and with tears in his eyes, thanked me for teaching him to read. His mother said that this was all his own idea and he bought them with his own money. I was floored by this because I never expected it. Since I had this boy for four years, I developed a strong bond with the whole family over time and we are still friends 25 years later. After graduation he enrolled in the literacy program in our county to continue working on his reading. He found a good job and even brought his first pickup truck to my house to show us. I was so proud of him. I have been thrilled to see his son go through school and graduate. My student told me that because I didn’t let him give up in school, he was able to encourage his son when times got tough. I will never forget the lesson that this family taught me: that I can make a difference by teaching and it doesn’t have to be anything spectacular or extraordinary and it is so important to work together to achieve success. (When I write this, I realize how much I miss the classroom and now live vicariously through other teacher’s lives by reading their blogs!)

Photo credit: Original image: 'Roses 20' by: Karl Eschenbach

The Dark

Blog prompt: Back on track with our journey of self-discovery. Spend time writing about your phobias/things you are afraid of.

I know this sounds silly but the biggest thing I’m afraid of is the dark. As long as I’m with someone, the dark is not so bad. When we go to sleep, the TV is on a timer so that we fall asleep before the TV turns off. When we stay in hotel rooms, I always leave the bathroom light on and the door shut enough so the light just barely lights the room. When we are camping, my husband starts the campfire so we won’t be in complete darkness but it still is creepy to me. When we camp, I can’t wait to go to sleep so I can get up and watch it get daylight. Since I wake up so early, I usually sit outside the tent with a flashlight and read a book until the sun comes up. I have big candles around the house in case the power goes off and my hubby bought this big portable battery (to jump the car off) which also has an outlet on it to plug in my lamp if the power goes out. I don’t know what caused me to be so afraid of the dark but that is also why I don’t like horror movies because all the bad things seem to happen in the dark.

Just Because

Blog prompt: Today is Just Because Day. What will you do today just because?

Today I’m going to help my friend who is a middle school teacher just because she needs me. I’ve been really missing the classroom and all the excitement that happens at the beginning of the year. This homesickness for school didn’t hit me last year but maybe because it was my first time in retirement. Plus this year I am more connected with educators online and doing workshops that I hear more about school. When I heard my friend all upset and frustrated about all that she had to do, I practically begged her to let me come help her. She is really great and hadn’t wanted to impose on our friendship but she sounded glad I was coming. I even promised not to talk during the whole time I was there so she could get work done during her planning. I used to hate when volunteers came and expected me to visit with them which really defeated the purpose of having a volunteer.

Are Women Equal to Men?

Blog Prompt: Yesterday was Women’s Equality Day. Do you think women are equal? Why or why?

No I do not think women are equal to men and never will be.

Physically I don’t think God ever intended them to be. Men can’t have babies and women will never be able to do some things men do. I believe we were meant to be this way in order for our species to survive.

Emotionally I don’t think we are because women are just more emotional than men but again I think that we are meant to be that way. Our children need the strength of a father (or father figure) to learn to get through tough times, and the softness of a mother (or mother figure) to learn compassion and empathy. Together, we become a unique member of society.

Intellectually I think we are but a lot depends on what kind of education we all are given, what kind of environment we grow up in, and what kind of support system we have. Whether we choose to use our intellect is totally up to us.

A Romantic Evening

Blog Prompt: Today is Valentino Day. Describe a romantic evening that you would love to have tonight.

My romantic evening would be getting dressed up and going out to dinner somewhere fancy where money was no object. I would get a nice juicy steak and hubby would get some kind of fish for dinner. Both dishes would taste fantastic and the service would be outstanding. We would even splurge for a dessert that is so tasty it melts in your mouth. There would be a candle and dainty flower on the table and soft music would be playing in the background. People would notice that we are so much in love, even at our age and marvel at how long we have been together (26 years). When it comes time to pay the bill, we find out that someone has already paid in as a tribute to our happy marriage. The glow of happiness follows us out of the restaurant and continues as we head for home.

New River Gorge

We arrived at the New River Gorge in West Virginia yesterday and it is still as beautiful as I remember it. We walked to a few overlooks and then took the scenic drive down to the bottom of the gorge so you can look up at the awesome bridge that goes across the gorge. This drive used to be the only way to get across before they built the bridge and there is video showing how the bridge was built. While we were there, we got to see some rafters going down the rapids and it was fun to watch them. We also drove to some historic mining towns that used to exist when this was booming coal mining area. Beckley also has a coal mine exhibit too that we’ve been to before. Then last night we went to the Cliffside Theater at Grandview to see the outdoor drama Cinderella (Rodgers and Hammerstein version) which was fun but Don says it was a chick flick! I was so exhausted by the time we made it back to the hotel that I didn’t even turn on the compute.

The Tooth Fairy

Blog Prompt: Tomorrow is Tooth Fairy Day. How do you think the tooth fairy has changed since you were little?

As a child, when I lost a tooth, the tooth fairy left a nickel under my pillow. When my children were little, the tooth fairy left a quarter. Now my friends tell me the tooth fairy has started leaving a dollar bill under the pillow. Isn’t it amazing how the tooth fairy knows about inflation and the cost of things today. Maybe we need to elect her President!

Original image: 'Wishing and Hoping' http://www.flickr.com/photos/50417132@N00/1218672079by: Gabriela Camerotti

Pittsburgh Zoo

This morning we left Lockport, NY and headed to Pittsburgh. I wanted to go to the zoo because it is a reciprocal zoo with my hometown zoo and with our passes, it didn’t cost us anything. I was really impressed with the zoo. There were a lot of animals and it seemed like they were close together so we didn’t have to travel far to get to the next exhibit. I enjoyed the penguins, polar bear, baby tiger cub, sea otters, beavers, giraffes, elephants, gorillas, and especially the aquarium. We spent about 3 hours there and decided to leave around 4pm before rush hour traffic. I couldn’t believe that it took 45 minutes just to leave the parking lot. There didn’t seem to be any method to the madness and cars were coming from every direction having to merge into 2 lanes. Of course, no one was there to direct traffic which amazed me. Then when we finally reached the road, getting on the interstates were a nightmare too. We had to cross over four lanes of traffic to exit for one interstate and then as soon as you merged with the traffic, other traffic merged from the right. Then immediately after that merging, you have to cross three lanes of traffic to exit right for the other interstate. Normally I drive in big cities and busy traffic but at 4pm, we didn’t think it would be a problem. Boy, were we wrong!

Once we got out of Pittsburgh, it was smooth sailing other than all the construction on the road. About 7pm we started to look for a place to stay and didn’t find a decent priced hotel until we reached Sutton, West Virginia by about 10pm. I’m exhausted so this won’t be a long post (besides putting you to sleep too!). I’m hoping we will spend tomorrow night in Beckley so we can go see Cinderella at the outdoor theater.

Effects of the Lousy Economy

Blog Prompt: How has the change in the economy affected you?

Since prices have risen so outrageously, we are changing the way we do things such as:

· Traveling in the United States instead of other countries.
· Doing errands all at one time to save on gas.
· Going grocery shopping once a week.
· Eating at home instead of dining out.
· Saving our money instead of just buying luxury items we want.
· Not buying clothes because we want it and not because we need it.
· Not hiking so much because the trails are so far away and uses to much gas to get there.
· Working on the house and yard more instead of going out all of the time.
· Cutting expenses to save money.

Niagara, NY and Lockport, NY

We left Canada early this morning and headed to Niagara Falls on the US side. The trip across the border was quick and painless because there were no lines and no hassles. We even found free parking along the side of the road and walked across to Goat Island. Then we decided Don was feeling well enough to do the trip to the Cave of the Winds ($10 per person) and it was awesome. Of course, we got drenched. I thought we got wet on the Maid of the Mist, but that was nothing compared to this. They give you little sandals to wear and you take off your shoes and put them in plastic bags. Then they give you this long yellow rain poncho to wear that helps somewhat. Of course the wind got so strong I thought it would blow me off the platform and it tour my hood right off my head. But it was awesome and I’d recommend this to anyone going there. Then we walked around the park and finally to Hard Rock Café for lunch. We are collecting bottle openers/magnets from every Hard Rock we visit but some of the places don’t carry them or they are sold out.

When we left there we headed up the road to Whirlpool State Park where we hiked on a trail along the rim of the gorge. Then we stopped at the Robert Moses Power Plant that we saw in the distance on our hike. The power plant was a neat place to bring students on a field trip and there was a self guided tour with a short video.

After we left there, we drove to Lockport which was about 30 minutes away and bought tickets for the 5pm cruise down the Erie Canal. We stopped at Denny’s to eat dinner and found a hotel room at the Lockport Inn and Suites, which is a really super place to stay. Check out the pictures in the gallery on their web page! First of all, the man at the desk was very friendly and welcoming, which makes a huge difference when I’m deciding where to stay. Sometimes I’ve met some really rude people and told my husband to drive on because I’d rather pay more than have to deal with a rude person. The room was only $72 which included a queen bed, table with comfortable chairs and a newspaper, cable TV/some movie channels, desk and chair, refrigerator, coffee maker and clean bathroom. There were chairs outside each room if you wanted to sit outside. Even the décor of the room was welcoming and cozy. When we got back from the canal cruise, someone had come in the room and left a vase full of beautiful pink roses. Wow! That simple gesture made me feel like I was staying at some expensive bed and breakfast. All around the buildings were hanging plants and flower beds full of flowers. You can tell someone really enjoys gardening and the entire place is well taken care of and loved. I expected this place to be out of our price range when I checked if they had a room available and was surprised at how reasonable it was. The Holiday Inn Express down the road was asking $89 with a coupon but I think we lucked out on finding this treasure. Another feature we really liked is that it was family owned because we feel that if a place is family owned, it is usually safer and better cared for. Besides that, these big franchises get enough money, and in today’s economic times, we need to take care of family owned businesses. (No, I’m not getting paid to advertise for them and they don’t even know that I’m writing this!) But if you ever get a chance to do the canal cruise, consider staying here for the night.

The cruise down the Erie Canal was really great too! With our AAA card, it cost $26 for both of us and it lasted 2 hours. There were only 11 of us on the 5pm cruise and the boat pilot gave a narrated tour which was great. They also served soft drinks, wine, and beer. It was really neat going through those locks and hearing him explain how it worked. We even heard the song about the Erie Canal that I learned when I was in elementary school (a gazillion years ago). This was magical for me because I remember studying about the Erie Canal in school but never imagined that over 40 years later, I would get to ride down it and see the locks.

Not sure where we will head tomorrow and it all depends on the weather. We might head for Pittsburgh to go to the zoo and the aviary. But of course all that is up in the air.

The Worst Movie

Blog Prompt: Tell about the worse movies you have ever seen.

The one that stands out for me is the The Mask with Jim Carrey. I’m not a big fan of this actor but I went to see this movie at the $1 movie theater by myself. I thought it was stupid and bizarre. I don’t usually feel that $1 is too much to pay for cheap entertainment but I don’t think this movie was even worth a dollar.

photo credit: Original image: 'thumbsdown' http://www.flickr.com/photos/97192694@N00/374733966by: Darek Šmíd

A Day at Niagara Falls

Since I am up at 5am every morning, I let my hubby sleep until 7:30 but I was starving, so I rousted his butt up. We made it to the Maid of the Mist by 9am when they opened and quickly got on the boat. Before we got on the boat though, we were given blue rain ponchos to wear and boy did we need them! The boat took us all the way up to Horseshoe Falls but my photos didn’t come out well since my lens got water drops all on it. This was well worth the money ($14.50 per person).

After that we walked up to the place where you buy tickets for Journey Behind the Falls but people were saying their feet got all wet and since we were drenched on top already, we decided to pass this up. Hopefully tomorrow on the American side, we will do the Cave of the Winds.

Then we walked all the way back towards our hotel, which is probably over a mile. We stopped at Hard Rock Café so I could buy a magnet (we collect magnets from the places we have been because they don’t take up too much room and are easy to display). We also looked at different souvenir shops and by this time, it was almost lunch time. At first we thought about Kentucky Fried Chicken but ended up eating lunch at the buffet in the Casino Niagara. After lunch we dropped our stuff off back at our room and then wandered around town some more. We probably walked about 4 miles total so my feet were beginning to hurt.

had walked all the way to the other casino at the other end of town (probably over a mile from our hotel) when my hubby suddenly got sick to his stomach. Do you know what it is like to try to walk back to your hotel with a gagging husband? I thought we would never get back but we did. He was pretty sick so I ran out and got some Coca Cola to settle his stomach. It must have helped because he is sleeping right now while I play on the computer. Of course, I’m getting hungry and it is 7pm so before long I will be waking him up to go get something to eat, or I will be bringing something back to the room for me to eat.