Sometimes, but not often:

(Posted by Ron)

Well, I let the 25 random things virus infect me.  You may notice that mine are much shorter than Gayle’s (and those of just about everyone else on Facebook.)  To answer the question above, if I don’t have conference calls to deal with I can usually give change on those 1,000 words.  Anyone need some extras?  So, here are my 25.  Short and sweet.

1.    I’m 66 years old and still not retired.
2.    I have no idea what I would do if I were retired.
3.    I don’t remember how those years passed so quickly.
4.    I’m listening to Gayle swear at the WII.
5.    I got Crocs house shoes for Christmas and hardly ever take them off.
6.    Until recently I had more than 600 science fiction books that I had been collecting since I was 13.  I donated them to the local library.
7.    I have the two cutest dogs in the world.
8.    I have 4 kids and 12 and ½ grandchildren.  Doing my part for global warming.
9.    I love being able to work at home.
10.    I wish it were as easy to lose weight as it was to gain it.  And as enjoyable.
11.    I want to live in Paris and soon.  Then retirement will make sense.
12.    I still cannot keep a hula hoop up (WII comment)
13.    I used to be a Republican but after Ronnie Reagan I just couldn’t stand them any more.  I’m now a moderate Democrat.
14.    I love to just get in my car and drive.  Sometimes for days with no particular destination in mind.
15.    I get cold very easily.  Even here in Texas.
16.    If I had to choose another city in which to live it would be Pittsburgh.
17.    I have four older siblings, all of whom are very active.
18.    I miss Discover.
19.    As the clothing line says, Life Is Good.
20.    I hate making lists.
21.    I now have 5 computers, three of which I use fairly consistently.
22.    If Kate Winslett comes to the door and wants me to leave with her I am immediately retired and out of here.
23.    I love to build things.  Storage buildings, shelves, decks, etc and I am not for hire.
24.    I would love to go fishing with dad just one more time.
25.    I would love to pilot my plane one more time.

So, don’t let the virus get to you, unless you want to use some of my extra words.

Aye, aye, eee aye!

(Posted by Ron)

I become a husband:

Before reporting to Norfolk, I had two weeks “shore leave” to spend at home. Soon after I got home my first wife and I announced to our parents that we were getting married.  In that two weeks we planned the wedding, were married, had our honeymoon, and then rode a train together to Norfolk to begin our married lives. It was a fun and exciting time for us. It was also a very trying time. We were two sheltered kids who had to learn to live on our own and together. We had to learn to handle money, pay bills,  buy food, and take of everything that comes with marriage. It was a stressful start and we added to all the changes by quickly becoming pregnant with our first child, Tracey.  I was barely nineteen, in the Navy, married, and expecting. Read the rest of this entry »

The college year (yes, that’s right, year):

(Posted by Ron)

Throughout high school I was sure I wanted to go on to college and study medicine. I couldn’t imagine anything more fun or lucrative than being a doctor. I was the first in my family to enter college and that was a fact of some pride to my parents. I received a shock to my system when I entered Marshall University as a freshman intending to follow a pre-med path. College was definitely not high school.  Not having to study in high school meant I never really learned how to study. Subjects that came easily to me before were suddenly challenging and I was not prepared for that challenge. In my first semester as a “college man” I earned a staggering 0.9 average on a 4.0 scale. Something had to change. Read the rest of this entry »

Nope, but he is a December in the making (and not just because he was born in December!)

In the Beginning:

(Posted by Ron)

On a December morning in 1942 I was born in the little town of Kenova, WV.  I remember living in only two houses during my 18 years at home.  There was a third home, but we left that when I was about 3 years old.  It’s worth mentioning here that another little boy was born the same day, in Chicago, IL.  His name was Nelson Paul Luster and he was destined to live only three days.  His sister would be born 15 years later and comes into my story many years down the road.

Life was easy for me as I grew up. I didn’t have a lot of restrictions. They weren’t really necessary because life was a great deal safer for a child then than it is today. Within a few blocks of my home we had hills to climb, caves to “explore” and creeks in which to play. It wasn’t much farther to the town’s swimming pool and the two rivers that bordered the town. It was an exciting place for a little boy. Read the rest of this entry »

First you start with sex.

(Posted by Ron & Gayle)

Lest you get the wrong idea, we’re talking about the conceptual kind of sex as in our parents procreated and made us kind of sex.   What’s interesting (another visit from Sarah N. Dipity) in our case is that both sets of our parents were procreating at roughly that same time.  Our mother’s gave birth to baby boys on the 10th of December in 1942.  Sadly, Gayle’s parents lost their child three days later.  This strange coincidence is part of our story and seems to have woven us together long before we ever laid eyes on each other.  Such is often the story with May December loves.  The inexplicable hand of fate can be found moving mountains behind the scene to bring the lovers together.

In the weeks to come, we’ll be sharing our “back stories” with you.   Subscribe to our RSS feed and newsletter now you will come to learn what mountains lady fate had to move to bring us together.