2001: The Odyssey Begins
Friday, November 30th, 2007
January 1, 2001 was the official start of the new millenium – and for me it was really the start of a new life. My marriage with Lisa came to a somewhat abrupt ending just a couple months before and I was now embarking on a new and serious relationship with Carolyn. With reckless abandon, we dove headlong into a new life together. In retrospect, of course, we probably moved a bit too fast. We were both so genuinely pleased to have a partner that we were so attracted to on numerous levels, that we overlooked most of our differences – both in our personalities and common interests. As time went on, we found we were polar opposites in so many things, it was almost outrageous: Republican vs. Democrat, Catholic vs. Protestant, health food vs. junk food, country vs. rock ‘n’ roll, teetotaller vs. imbiber, chick flick vs. anything else…you get the picture. But for now, all of this discovery lay ahead of us.
My batting average is 0 for 2 in getting a photo snapped with grandchildren of the Presidents this year. In August, I missed the chance to be photographed with 
The laziness continued. There were only three distinct events which took place in my life on Thursday, September 27, 2007 and none were all that exciting on the surface. In between all of them was the standard laying around, munching on snacks, and watching TV shows on my little DVD player – ones that have been amply described in previous postings from this vacation. But these three occurrences will surely evoke fond memories of spending time with my family in Daytona Beach. 
On Tuesday morning, October 4, 2005, Jimmy and I awoke bright and early and headed from his home in San Pedro toward San Diego. The traffic was murder even at the early hour, but the destination made it all worthwhile. For it was here that Mildred Kornman resided. Mildred was the younger sister of Our Gang leading lady Mary Kornman and the daughter of Hal Roach still photographer Gene Kornman. She herself had starred in the silent Little Rascals series as a baby and grew up to be a stunning fashion model. 
After a brief stay in