I'm Baaack!

Been gone from the blogosphere, as far as posting is concerned, for a while. I have, however, logged onto some of my favorite blogs occasionally and even made a comment or two. I have noted a couple of things: (1) Blog entries are, for the most part, getting less frequent...has the charm of blogging lost it's luster out there, or is it just those among the sites I visit? (2) While I still have a few visitors to my blogsite each day, the number has dropped off a lot as I have not posted in a while...understandable since why should one waste time visiting a site that does not offer something new?

Reasons not to blog lately:

(1) Really have not had the urge to write or "vent" lately (see previous blog).

(2) Been doing other things:

A: Went on a mission trip to the Mississippi coast doing habitat type work for an elderly woman whose 800 sq. ft. house was almost destroyed by Katrina. A year later and she is still in a small FEMA trailer. An eye-opening experience and one I suggest for anyone interested in doing some good. There are numerous groups that have programs that allow persons, skilled and unskilled, to help out. I was, for instance, an electrician's goffer for a week: "punchin' (drilling) holes" and "pullin' war" (wire), completely rewiring the house.

Of course, there are some unexplained sights among the devastation. This is not a cut and paste photo. This is not some fictional Welfare Cadillac, but a true FEMA Trailer Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud. This was not the home we were working on for a week.
B: Been studying my Spanish in anticipation of planned mission trip to The State of Tabasco in Mexico in October and trip to visit Number One Son in Costa Rica in December. I actually remember quite a lot from my high school and college Spanish courses, but have forgotten even more.

C: Now my bride, my mom and I are spending a couple of weeks at Kill Devil Hills on North Carolina's Outer Banks. Have enjoyed preparing seafood and other dishes here at the house, dining out, sitting around and reading some novels between Spanish Lessons, taking afternoon naps, vegetating a lot, and visiting with friends and family. Our Miss Em was able to come down from the Windy City for a few days, too few, before she returned to enroll in Physical Therapy School at the University of Illinois in Chicago. She has called back about her first day, including her introduction to her cadaver in gross anatomy lab. Brought back memories of my first day of med school. I think they are starting out with the upper extremity and the brachial plexus, one of the most difficult areas to master.

We were planning to go back home Friday, Sept. 1. Now Tropical Storm Ernesto is heading our way. If it remains fairly weak and comes to this area the end of the week, we'll probably stay till Sunday after it has passed to head back home. If it picks up steam, we'll head out earlier, before it gets here. Will definitely keep track of this one.

I go back to work after Labor Day for another 5-week stint at the clinic. If I have time, and something rattles my cage, I'll be back again.