Jan. 12, 2010

From Las Vegas, NV
I’ve been pretty bad about keeping up the blog. I could give a list of excuses but that is all they are.
My last entry was from the Rose Parade Rally with Adventure Caravans. On 12/27 we had another visit with Todd and family in Long Beach.
The Rally activities started on the 28th with a meet and greet at a room called the White House on the LA Fairgrounds. We were supposed to have a tram to the location but it broke down. After about an hour and a half it was decided to carpool over. It was basically just across the street but about a half mile drive because of fences. There were about 90 people for the rally. We learned that the Ravoli Review, Kay and Ron, were stranded in the Midwest due to weather.
On the 29th we were bussed to the Equestfest at Griffith Park. All the horses that are in the Rose Parade are shown and do some of the acts they can’t do on the street. There were booths and food court and an exhibit by re enactors of the Buffalo Soldiers. They had a mock camp with members that talked about weapons and tactics of the frontier cavalry units. That evening we attended a performance of the “Glory of Christmas” at the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove. It was quite a production and showcased a lot of talent. Especially some of the young soloists. Being members of the Church of Christ I think we sometimes forget that denominations place a great deal of emphasis on Christmas as a religious holiday.
My Mom came down with a cold and didn’t attend the first two day’s events.
On Wednesday the 30th we went to the float barns and saw the final touches being put on several floats. We saw ten being worked on in an area that we looked at from above from a catwalk. Then we went to a tent where we could see the old cars used in the parade and a few floats close up. One of the floats being completed there depicted the Tuskegee Airmen and would be ridden in the parade by sixteen members of the group. We were particularly interested in this one because we had met a Tuskegee Airman, Alvin Keith, last year at a rally in Tucson and seen him again at rallies this summer. Unfortunately he wasn’t there. It started raining and got colder so we opted not to go to the Battle of the Bands after a visit to the Huntington Museum. You all should remember railroad man Colis Huntington who with Leland Sanford, Mark Hopkins and Charles Crocker. These men formed the Central Pacific Railroad for the construction of the western part of the first continental railroad. Some consider them capitalists others consider them robber barons.
On Thursday the 31st we did a tour of Los Angeles and had free time for lunch at the Farmers Market, followed by a visit to the La Brea Tar Pits.
New Years was celebrated at the White House on New York time. The bus for the parade on New Years day was at 5:30 AM.
During the night I had an episode with my prostrate and didn’t go to the parade. By 8 PM on New Years day I was at the Pomona Valley Hospital. They inserted a catheter and I was much relieved.
Gerri and my Mom did go to the parade and evening dinner. None of us were up to the visit to where the floats were parked for closer inspection on Saturday.
On Jan. 3 we had a breakfast and goodbyes at the KOA clubhouse. We hooked up and were back in Las Vegas at about 3:30 PM.
The first week home was pretty much getting caught up with doctor appointments. One was with the urologist to remove the catheter. It was removed and then put it back in after about an unproductive hour, I get to do it again this Friday and still have the biopsy to look forward to.
Sadly on January 4th a gunman entered the federal courthouse in Las Vegas and killed an old co-worker of mine. San Cooper retired from Metro in 1994 and was working the federal courthouse security at the time of his death. He got off one shot, I don’t know if it was one that eventually killed the shooter or not. Stan’s funeral was Monday the 11th. I came down with chills and fever and wasn’t able to go.
That about catches me up, more doctors to see about some skin cancer and other stuff this week. Some slicing and dicing to look forward to.