Mini-Reunion: 2nd St. North

This picture is posted first, just to get Marv and his shenanigans out of the way.

Ever wonder why all the ladies are so attracted to Marv, whether he's in Texas or in Michigan? I have, so I asked him. He told me that it was a combination of his good looks and intelligence and, therefore, there was nothing he could do to prevent the attraction and he just lives with it the best he can.

Just when I was wondering what all our friends were doing this summer, Dianne Carlson emailed an answer with pictures! Here's her note:

"Just want to share some news and pics of our recent Rockport 35 Second street mini reunion. Recently, Rick and I went to Grand Rapids to pick up our RV (some minor warranty work and kitchen island installation) which is 3 hours from where we leave and Dick and Lucille went along for a ride. Since Bev and Marv live in that area we decided to meet up with them for a visit. We talked with Bob and Gelene earlier that week and they were in Indiana for vacation/warranty work on their RV. Since they were only 100 miles from Grand Rapids, they decided to surprise us and meet with us also. We all had lunch together and a great visit. We’re all doing fine and looking forward to our return trip to Rockport in just a few short months. Take care and we’ll see you in Rockport."

Thanks for the update, Dianne! Maybe this will prompt others to report. All you have to do is click on the "Comments!" link below; that will address an email to me!

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Knee High by the Fourth

Today is the day for the annual corn-growth progress report. As you can see, the corn in our neighborhood has done quite well indeed!

In fact, I can never remember seeing it anywhere near this tall by the Fourth of July. I can remember many years when it was close to not making it to knee high on this date.

Earlier, we had plenty of rain, accompanied by hot weather. Corn likes that; I don't.

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Toyota's Good Fortune

The best thing that ever happened to Toyota was the oil spill!

Since the spill in the gulf, have you heard even one word about the problems Toyota owners were having with their cars accelerating spontaneously?

Neither have I.

It's an ill wind that blows no man good.

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Allison and the Bean Stalk ----whoops, Century Plant

Allison sent these pictures of the Century Plant at the park.

She suggests that it is about 40 feet tall. And it's only a few inches in diameter.

That makes the slenderness ratio huge! Did you ever wonder who engineered such a structure, how it was designed, ---or even why?

Stanley makes a big deal out of a tape measure which can be extended 10 feet without bending. This plant has that beat by a long shot! And this one withstands Texas winds!

As Allison related, most years the plant is just a "bush." But occasionally it grows a stalk, as it did this year, and blooms as shown here. Because of the infrequent blooming, it is often called a Century Plant—even though it does bloom more frequently than once every 100 years.

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There is a Great Alternative!

I just received an email announcing the availability of Microsoft Office 2010. I can get it for my "whole house" (up to three computers) for $149.95.

Those who have attended my Computer Help Sessions at Rockport 35 RV Park know that I am not likely to jump for that deal!

There is a great alternative to Microsoft Office. It's called OpenOffice.org.

It's available to anyone for any number of computers for free.

Yes, FREE!

Files it creates are compatible with Office-created files, so you don't need to worry about incompatibility. And it works! You aren't being hounded all the time to upgrade to solve a problem or two or three.

Did I mention that it is free?

Here's their website: http://www.openoffice.org/

If you have any questions, I'll be glad to try to answer them.

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Look What Popped Up In Our Front Yard!

Yep, it's official: our number one project for this summer is selling our home of 32 years in the country and purchasing and moving to a condo in the city.

And what a job it will be, we're already finding out. All of that stuff we saved because "we might be able to use it some day" is going—one way or another.

We already have "frequent flyer" cards at Half Price Books, Goodwill Industries, and the Hiawatha Library.

We'll hate to leave our nice, quiet acre. But we're looking forward to getting the urge to go someplace and just walking out and locking the door behind us. No lawn to care for, no snow to shovel, no house to paint. (Just send money, of course.)

So the cleaning-up process is underway. Thursday was both garbage day and recycling day. We contributed. And will for the next several weeks if our energy holds out.

We'll leave Pat's beautiful flowers for the next happy owner!

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Tornado Hits Rockport

...but not Rockport 35 RV Park, thankfully.

You might be able to read about it in the little news clips in the right margin of this page. But if that is gone, Helen, who spends summers about 50 miles west of us, reported it like this:

"Received an email from Allison saying all is well, didn't loose electric, cable, or wifi, not even a tree lost. Sounds good.

An email from a friend living in Rockport said it was official, a tornado did touch down around Market Street and the 35 bypass. Happy Camper RV park out that way had quite a bit of damage. Didn't think anyone got seriously hurt."

Thanks for the info, Helen.

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