Overly Anxious in Busch Gardens 1980
Friday, April 20th, 2007
I guess if you had asked me yesterday if I had ever rode atop an elephant, I probably would have told you no – but here is the incontrovertible evidence that I did once sit astride one of our large, gray pachyderm friends. And this was just one of the fun distractions to be found in this magical land called “Busch Gardens” located in sunny Tampa, Florida. We apparently visited it during our Siesta Key stay in June of 1980. Read the rest of this entry »
Wednesday, March 21st was a special day for us in Myrtle Beach. It was Ashleigh’s 17th birthday. I still am in shock that I now have a daughter old enough to legally get into rated R movies! I had purchased a Funfetti cake at the store and my Mom baked it that morning. Then after eating lunch in the condo and snapping our family photos in front of the pond, we headed out for a day of fun and frolicking in the sunny city. 
This was my fourth time seeing Penn and Teller live, my second at the Rio in Las Vegas. I’m pretty sure no one was all that excited to see them again except for me. I’ve loved Penn and Teller since the mid-1980′s, so it is always a huge pleasure to see them perform live…even if their routines seem to seldom change. We had purchased discount tickets earlier in the day, and everyone decided to come along even though I would have understood if they didn’t want to. Our seats were up in the balcony and they were not all together – so Jimmy and I sat apart from Bob and Jimmy’s parents. 
This past weekend I spent a memorable period of just over 24 hours in Columbus, doing a variety of activities…and getting about one-hour of sleep. The adventure began on Saturday, April 14, as noon approached and I headed out alone to Columbus via motorcar. Ashleigh had left the night before with her friend Michelle. Mom had gone up on Thursday night and was staying with Denise. Christi, Joy, and Creed were traveling together about the same time that I was. And Briana…well, she lived there. 
I first met Kim Cummings on Friday, January 29, 1988 and immediately took a liking to her. She was one of a group of very attractive ninth-graders from Ferguson Junior High whom I, along with a group of my new high school friends, had met up with that night at Skateworld. I was sure to note in my journal from that era that Kim was ‘a fox.’ I always liked hanging out with her even as our crushes on each other waxed an waned over time. She always had a huge smile and a bubbly personality that was sure to cheer up anyone when they were down. She lived in Pebble Creek, the same neighborhood that housed many of my friends including Mark, Scott, Rusty, Chris, and several others.