The Chief Has Left the Building. Wrong!!

I was wrong. See "Sioux.com" for the latest in industrial pressure washers and steam cleaners. Their web page shows that they have not abandoned the Chief. Long live the Chief - they plan to put his face on every pressure washer they continue to make.

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It seems that no one in Beresford, South Dakota, zip code 57004, wants to claim to be the manufacturer of this Sioux welder. (Google searching could not find anyone that lays claim to this product name in Beresford. Perhaps they have found religion, or perhaps the company went out of business before the internet logged this product name.) At any rate, this Sioux welder is still in the back 40 of the pipe mill. I dare say, no one is continuing to use this image on their welding equipment. Are we not so politically correct these days!

I Miss My Honey - Carol Left Me Last Friday - She Also Took My Dog - Boy Do I Ever Miss Honey

Well actually I do not have a dog but I do miss my wife. While I was working on my last day, she is sitting by the pool - right behind the short building in between the two condo towers past the bridge. (I watch her during the day from the back dock at the Pipe Mill. Note the pipe in the foreground of the picture. These are piling being welded up by Mike Wilheit's crew. The pipe will be driven into the ocean bottom near Pearl Island and will serve as support for oil protection barriers being spread across the inlet to the Bay. This will not help PCB though.)

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We went to Captain Anderson's the last night of her visit. We got a lovely table overlooking the beautiful sunset. Note the palm trees supported by guy wires all decorated up to look like power poles. At any rate, it was still a romantic evening.

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We posed in front of the big propeller that sits in front of the Captain's restaurant.

Skype - Where's the Baby? There she is!!

We are trying to figure out how to Skype so that we can see our babies in Germany and Nashville. This morning, we were able to get in touch with Michael, Erica and Amaya.

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Our granddaughter is so sweet, watch how she tenderly, lovingly brushes her mother's hair in the video. Isn't it so neat to see how well behaved children treat their parents?

Holy Moly, Thunderstorms in Panama City

Another Day in Panama: Working but not very hard!

Everything is pretty darn cool here in our condo development right across the bay from Berg Pipe. The only problem we have experienced is that sometimes the front gate does not work. At least several cars then line up while the first car calls the "Gate Does Not Work" telephone number. The gate then opens magically and everyone piles through.

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Pretty nice digs here in the condo. We are staying in the end condo on the ground floor next to the clubhouse and pool/grill/picnic area. The owner does not cook much so I secretly think she is almost as happy as I am to have Carol here. Doug has only two more days off before he might have to go to work... cross your fingers for him... hmmm, I wonder what I should be wishing for?

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Our First Days Together in Panama City, Florida. I am working at Berg Pipe.

Carol and I drove to Panama City after putting the kids on the plane to Frankfurt, Germany and with the help of Craigslist, we moved in with a very nice lady by the name of Margaret. She invited us to stay in her lovely furnished 3-bedroom condo near the plant. We are very comfortable. I went to my first work meeting, the day before production was to start and they gave us the good news/bad news: Berg is postponing the order (bad news) but you all will be paid during the several day waiting period (good news). I raised my hand and said, "Gosh golly, that sounds like good news/good news to me." (I am just kidding, I did not raise my hand and say that. But I did think that.)

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Carol and I went out on the 150 foot pier at the development and I took a picture of her going back to the shore. The pier is grounded at the shore end and floats up & down on the water pilings, depending on the water level. We were sitting comfortably at the 150 foot end and several kids started running out from the shore. We experienced 6.0 earthquake trembles - the ice was jumping out of my gin & tonic. It was a surprise but was kind of funny after we figured out what was happening.

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D & C with the twin towers behind us as we sat at the end of the pier.

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Today we went to the Destin Factory Stores. Carol did not buy much for herself but she managed to find alot of things for me to buy. I have practically a new wardrobe.

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A close-up of some glass ball jewelery at the Off 5th factory store.

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I took a picture of the advertisement of the $2.99 haircut that was offered by the new Great Clips Hair Salon on the west end of the beach. What a great way to end the day... a haircut for $2.99. ($6 with tip. I can hardly wait for my next haircut.)

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Last Days in Tennessee for Michael, Erica and Amaya

Michael and Erica took the opportunity to go to Valentino's on the last night of their Tennessee residence.

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Airport Faces...

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Airport Back of Heads...

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Airport Sad Faces...

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Airport Flying Hair Face...

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Another Airport Flying Hair Face - (note the 4-1/2 teeeth.)

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Final BNA Airport Family Photo

Carol Made Me Give Up My Plastic Suitcase

I have been travelling to both work and play sites (consulting and hangliding) since I retired a couple of years ago with my clothes in this yellow bin. Today, Carol informed me that my yellow suitcase was going to go to Goodwill. I argued and begged for 20 minutes to no avail short of tears. Once I actually realized that the situation was the choice of one box over the other, I chose to take my clothes out of the bin, it was then I found myself losing moisture. This post is dedicated to saying goodbye to my yellow bin. Goodbye yellow bin... Godspeed, I hope some day you are recycled into something that is not arbitrarily hastened to Goodwill by a heartless women, embarrassed to let her husband, who has a big, big heart, carry his clothes into motels, hotels and onto cruise ships in a yellow bin.

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Linda Made a Visit to Tennessee. Hi to Jim!!

Linda made a last minute visit to Clarksville before everyone left to either Germany or Florida. First stop, of course, is the best bar for Country Music in Nashvile: the Second Fiddle where Megan works.

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Carol and Linda outside the Frist - in the background two artists are giving a hot glass demonstration.

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The Nashville Center for the Visual Arts or the Frist as it is more commonly called. This was originally a Post Office, next to the beautifully restored Railroad Station.

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We went to the Frist to see the Chihuly Exhibit - it was quite nice. If you go, take time for the 90-minute video - a very creative, entertaining look at the Seattle Chihuly glass studio.

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A short visit to the Parthenon prior to Linda's flight back to the Denver area.

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Another view of the sun through the Parthenon pillars.

Baby Passport - The Baby is Getting Ready for Overseas Travel

First Aerotow Solo At Lookout Mountain Flight Park

Carol and I took a break between flying sessions on Friday to go to lunch at a cute place (Cafe on the Corner) in the town of Lookout Mountain - the owner was very cooperative in pointing out how the chef could prepare a glutten free meal. We ventured down the mountain and spent a couple of hours walking around in downtown Chattanooga - we really like the vibes of this little city.

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This picture is either my first tow solo or it is the tandem prior to my solo, not sure which. In either case it is me, either snuggled with Rex or flying by myself, which is much preferred as he weighs a ton and is hard to turn.

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Shawn and I after my 1st aerotow solo.

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Erik and Rex spent a couple of days working with me on tandem until I was ready to solo. Pablo gave me a great, patient ride up to cloudbase. (He later said I was a tad high all the way up. He also made sure that I knew all the tug hand signals. I now know that hand down means "get your butt a little lower, you is pulling my tug nose up.) I pinned off (at his excellent direction) under a wispy white layer of moisture forming a cumulus cloud. There was enough lift to stay up at the min sink bar position. It was so much fun to just boat around in big circles not losing any altitude. The extended flight was a first for me along with the solo tow. Thanks to everybody that helped me to have this great experience. It was especially fun to have Carol with me on this trip.

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Carol took a video of my second solo - see below...

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