Hi . . . Look at your nose!!!!

For those who, like my young buddy Angela, et.al., have been fortunate enough to read "Three Men in a Boat," here's a web site with pictures along the upper Thames.

http://www.simplonpc.co.uk/Thames_Maidenhead-Marlow.html

In the forward of my copy of the book, there's an account of three men who decided to recreate the epic c. 1880 journey. As they were stowing their gear in their boat, a crusty, ill-dressed, old river man watched their progress, and as they neared completion, he yelled, "Don't forget your tin opener!"

Angela will understand this. The rest of you will have to read the book.

Lewis and Clark and I

On Friday I drove from Seattle—where I had been in a training class—to Portland—where I visited with friends. On Saturday, I drove in the rain along the Columbia River, past fishermen anchored mid-stream and up to the Columbia River Gorge to Multnomah Falls.

I stopped in the parking area between the east and west freeway lanes, and I parked my car facing the spectacular falls. What a view. It was raining, but I thought to myself, “What would Louis and Clark do in my situation?” and so I got out of the car and went over to stand in the tourist information gazebo. Drinking in the view, I saw a walkway under the eastbound freeway lane inviting me to a restaurant on the other side, so I braved the elements and went nearer the falls. There, near the restaurant, was a sign informing me that if I were to walk along the trail for 0.2 miles, I could reach the bridge above, where there would no doubt be a stunning view. So, I walked in the rain past beautiful moss-covered trees until I reached the bridge. It was a postcard view. The water fell from above into the pool below causing explosions of mist. The stream rushed below and cascaded down another fall.

A lady came up the trail with four small boys, futily telling them to stay out of the mud. She also stopped to admire the view, but with four small boys in one’s charge, admiring scenery has to be done quickly when standing on a narrow bridge above a raging stream. Small boys are attracted to water, no matter where it is or what it is doing. They left after about ten seconds. I stood and admired the waterfall for another couple of minutes, watching water fall from the top to the bottom. Then, I looked at the trail ahead. The sign below had informed me that if I were to walk from the bridge another 0.8 miles, I would reach the top of the waterfall. So I thought to myself, “What would Louis and Clark do in my situation?” and I figured that they would say, “It’s raining. Let’s head back to the car.” So that’s what I did.

I’ve seen Multnomah Falls. It was spectacular. Now I can check it off my list of things everyone needs to do before they die.

Marching Away From No Sugar

Both of you who read this blog have asked me to relate how it went—my goal of a sugar-free February. Well . . . (I do not mean it went well) . . . well, it was ok except for the incidents already noted. It is difficult, as already related, to eschew sugar when Wendys hands you a free Frosty. It is equally difficult to avoid consuming significant quantities of sugar when you are making chocolate chip cookies. I will here add that it is impossible to not scrape the bowl and consume half the batch when one is making penuche, especially when it turns out well.
There were, however, positive accomplishments. I sat, for example, in an all-day meeting in Washington DC with a bowl of miniature Hershey chocolates sitting in a plastic bowl in front of me, and they disgusted me. Both the chocolates and the bowl looked equally yummy. El Cheapo chocolates have disgusted me for a long time now, ever since I went sugar-free for several months in preparation for hiking up and down mountains at Philmont with the Boy Scouts.
And I was able, during the post-Valentine’s Day days of February, to withstand Easter candy, most notably those rich Cadbury eggs. And its funny, I ate one of those a few days ago in March, and though it was wonderful, it nearly killed me. It reminded me of the time I was in a training class in Phoenix and I bought a six-piece-box of Sees truffles and ate them all in one sitting—and then I couldn’t sit still in my class. My legs wanted to climb Mount Everest and then run the Boston marathon, but I was in class, and I had to sit still.
So, I’m still feeling the positive results of my almost-sort-of-totally-sugar-free February. Cake, the kind of cake they serve at awards banquets with Crisco frosting is disgusting. It always has been, but I hadn’t noticed. Both donuts and doughnuts are revolting. Jelly beans, though plentiful this time of year and quite appealing, can kill you if you eat more than six. And non-diet sodas taste like carbonated maple syrup. So it’s a good thing to cut the sugar. It takes away the craving for the worst of junk food. Tootsie Roll, anyone? Yuck!
But now in March it’s nice to be able to wolf down a few world class cookies and to savor some exquisite candy—as I had done when I stepped over the line a few times during my sugar-free February and then afterward had to look honestly at myself in the mirror and say, “Wow! That was delicious.”

Quit Your Job Now

So - please tell me what bugs you about working at your job - either as a Blog comment or as an e-mail - superbee70@hotmail.com

Reasons why you’re afraid to quit your job and strike out on your own.

1)Because the phrase “strike out” has two meanings.
2)You enjoy living in a house, wearing clothes, and eating food.
3)You love your job.
4)Number three isn’t true, but it sounds good.


Reasons why you ought to quit your job and strike out on your own.

1.Training meetings
I went to a six-hour training meeting. Let’s face it. Sitting through six hours of training is like being a galley slave. But, you might ask, “HOW is sitting through six hours of training comparable to being a galley slave?”

• You’re required to sit there from beginning to end.
• You're encouraged to participate.
• It's tempting to envision other things you'd rather be doing.
• They tell you when you can go to the bathroom.
• Someone up in front is talking to you, telling you how to work better.
• Your brain becomes numb. So do other parts of your body.
• If someone next to you passes out or dies, it’s understandable. It's even enviable.
• You begin to fantasize about the person in charge being eaten by a shark.
• You begin to fantasize about being eaten by a shark yourself. It would not be the most enjoyable way to spend your afternoon, but at least it would be exciting. And your butt would stop hurting—depending, of course, on where the shark takes his first bite.

2.Performance Reviews

3.Meetings