There's a bend coming up in the Road, I can FEEL it.

Perhaps it might be a fork, but I feel that change is about to enter my life and I'll have some small choices to make.
 Over my half century plus on this earth I have been able to do quite a few different things because I develop an interest, do some study, and apply myself. Somewhere between 5 and 10 years into a particular 'hobby' I get bored or have learned everything I want to about the subject and I 'find' something else.
 I sense that time is coming around again. I know the signs. This time it could cover several activities that I am currently involved in.
 First, this blog has seen it's readership and posting activity drop in the past few months. I realize that reading about my personal life is not very fulfilling for the readers and I have less and less Fire & EMS stuff to post. I can see I am losing the fire in my belly on that score. There have been a lot of frustrations involved in my participation lately and my activity is dropping off. It may be time to consider how much of my time and yours is being consumed by this blog and wonder if there isn't something better we both could be doing. I do not make any sort of contribution to the community that would be missed.
 Second, my paying job has some changes in store. We have a new boss starting in a couple of weeks. You may recall that I put in for that job. However there were some politics at work and the internal candidates never really had a shot at the job from the beginning. They never followed through with the selection plan and hired the outside guy they liked in the first place. I am bummed about that because I was told by a couple of the interviewers that I scored very well and would have been their choice. To make it a bitter pill, we are hearing lots of stories about the guy they hired from some who have worked with him previously that he is a hardass and does some irrational things to piss people off. He is all about power, they say. This ain't gonna wash in our environment and will take a lot of work to correct.  Having been in this business for 40 years and having broken in new bosses for 35 years, I don't really have the energy to play games with another jerk. I am hoping the stories are false or biased and the guy turns out to be OK. None the less, I am stressing over how this guy turns out because I am directly in the line of fire. The JOB is going to be demanding a lot more of my time for the next 6-8 months while we learn to work with the FNG.

 Third, and possibly most significant, I have realized that I have spent a long life working hard and spending every free minute volunteering my time in other venues. This has taken me away from wife and kids a bit too much. They have always been supportive of course, but it's time I changed that. I ain't gettin' no younger. My kids are all growed up and I don't have as much opportunity to be with them. I'm thinking it's about time I rearranged my priorities and made it my job to do some fun stuff with them more often, even on a regular basis. This week, with all the stress at work and gross disappointment when I found out that I was screwed over once again and probably for the last opportunity I will have in my career, I looked for some distraction and found it in music. We went out on Wednesday night, met with some old friends and listened to my son-in-law play with a band he frequents. On Thursday night we went 5 minutes up the road to a joint I have been meaning to go to for over 5 years and listened to my Bluegrass Legend friend play with his band. As luck would have it, they were short a fiddle player that night and asked my son-in-law to fill in. It was a double bonus. My wife got introduced my hero again and we had a nice chat during a break discussing upcoming gigs, etc. They're head lining at the end of the month at a new festival and I expect to be there either working or listening.
 I have also gotten my banjo repaired, re-strung, and tuned and have been trying to teach my fingers to behave in preparation for taking my first lesson. Those half hour practice sessions every night are painful, but they take my mind off the days troubles. I can sense this is good for me whether or not I actually learn to play.

 So I can feel a bend in the road coming up and I hope it's not a fork. We'll see what happens.
Be Safe, Be Sharp,
UU

Grey Fox, In a Nutshell

 Well, first I have to apologize for not posting from the festival as I had hoped. The wireless connection did not work for the first day or so and by the time it got fixed, I was into full festival mode and didn't have much time available. I took only a few quick pictures, but this might give you and idea of the site size.

 What you see here is a shot from the main amphitheater looking out over the camping area. That large tent on the right is a shade tent so you can watch the main stage (off to the left) while staying out of the sun. The large tent in the middle is a food concession tent, and beyond is the camping area.
 Here's a shot of the main stage taken in the early morning before anybody is up and about:

Off on the left side you will see a large tent where they feed the staff and the entertainers. The Green Room is also over there on he left.
 First let me start out by saying that on this particular weekend I collected several memories that will last me into the nursing home phase of my life, and I don't say that flippantly, I had a sore jaw from smiling so hard for so long.
 As it goes with these things, it started off slow. At the initial briefing I could see we had an ample staff, many returning from last year and some new faces. Many were from the clinical side of the health care business and I knew that the tent would be well staffed, but I also knew we wouldn't have a lot who would easily go out roaming and looking for problems or patients, which is what I prefer to do. Clinical folks like to stay in the Clinic, EMS folks like to be out on post. My partner from last year was doing an overnight and we wouldn't be working together much this year, so I found a FNG and we walked around as I gave him a tour, explained what to look for (folks doing dumb stuff) and some of the tricks (you can sit in the VIP section while you are walking around) and how to scout for the good parties to return to after the duty period. He learned fast and when my daughter arrived I left him to his own desires. I was looking forward to spending some time with my little girl who was also volunteering this year with the drink stand crew. Since she's been married we haven't had much time together. Little did I know we would wind up just having a blast together.
 Medically speaking we saw just what I had predicted in a prior post. Each night we had one or two hopelessly drunk folks that required some attention because they were puking too much, dehydrated, or unable to ambulate. In one case we arranged a transport for an old gent that was incontinent after ingesting a lot of alcohol and THEN deciding to try some pot after 20 years of abstention.  He did some puking too. OK, a lot of puking, and all that stuff combined with his meds to wreak havoc with his system.
 My turn on the overnight looked to be quiet even though it was Saturday night (the last night to party) We had buttoned up the Medical tent and I was just settled into my chiar to doze when a guy came in all frantic stating that "We CAN'T wake her up, we don't know what's wrong, it looks REALLY BAD!" I poked my head out back and told the boss we had a worker. He came out an asked a few quick questions while I and my partner collected the bags and loaded the golf cart (the preferred mode of transport in dense population areas). The 4 of us got off in the cart and were moving as fast as we could follow directions, part the crowd, and see where we were going. I was riding backwards and was trying to don my gloves as we flew over the hillocks in the hayfield that was now home to about 6,000 people. We arrived and found our patient in a tent which was filled with a full sized air mattress. This was a new sensation for me, like working on a waterbed. The Boss went in first with my partner and realized all at once that a) this patient was critical, b) this patient was a friend of his, and c) we needed ALS right away. He crawled out and gave me the nod as we switched places, he went into ICS mode, calling security to get a rig on the road and giving a quick Sit Rep. My partner and I worked on the basics: Breathing adequate but shallow, pulse 126, b/p of 135/88, posturing, possibly post-dictal, jaw clenched HARD, blood residue on the cheek, possibly bit her tongue, and she had paticial hemorrhaging, which we took to indicate a possible brain bleed. All in all, things didn't look good. We could not get a med list from her drunken husband, but we knew that there was a list somewhere. What made us really concerned was that we were repeatedly assured that she had no been consuming and alcohol or drugs. She was very health conscious and did not drink. It took 2 of us to do a B/P, one to hold the arm straight and the other to take it. Her arms would fold right up when we let them go. ALS arrived, we extracted her on a long board and we loaded quickly.
 Turns out she had hyponatremia (look it up, you should KNOW this) and was in a coma. In her efforts to avoid dehydration, she had hydrated herself right into a seizure and coma. First time I have ever seen that. 48 hours on I got word that she had come out of the coma and was expected to make a full recovery with no neurological deficits.
 After I went 'off duty' at 0700 we were headed back down the hill form breakfast when a call came over the radio for a male, unconscious, at the main gate. We were already mobile, so we took the call. He had had a seizure and was incontinent to bladder and bowel. He was embarrassed and denied any LOC, but the witnesses said that he was out for a full minute. He had a lump on his head where he hit the side mirror on his car (and broke it clean off) but wanted to RMA (AMA). It took us a half hour to convince him to go in, but we finally succeeded,
 All in all a fantastic weekend with wonderful music and people. I got to have dinner one night with a Bluegrass legend (look for a future post on this, funny story) and build on our friendship. I had some priceless time hanging out with my little girl and my son-in-law, and I witnessed some events that I will remember for a long time. As a bonus (as if I needed one), my Bluegrass legend friend has offered to take me on as a personal challenge to teach me how to play the 5 string. He offered me 4 or 5 hours of his time and promises he will have me playing the darned thing before he is done with me. Now I LOVE this man and have listened to his music since I was a kid. There are thousands of people around the world who would give anything to have just one hour with this guy. I fully understand what has been offered me. But on the other hand I realize that after 32 years of varying attempts, I couldn't carry a tune with a wheelbarrow. I told him as much, but he seemed resolved. I also told him that if I were the one to break him and he failed, I would feel terrible. He seems unconcerned and has high hopes. I warned him. My daughter tells me that my son-in-law kind of set this whole thing up because he wants me to play with him. She says I'd be a fool to let it go by. Smart girl. OK, I'll play along. Even if I come out as the same idiot as I went in, I will still have spent a few more hours with someone who changed the course of Bluegrass music and I both admire and am amazed by.
 Here's a shot of Bill giving a workshop on Friday. He does one on Saturday also and a stint on the Master's Stage as well. Bill is around 73 and it still amazes me to see him light up when he sits down and begins to share what he has learned. 

 I returned home from the festival, took a shower and got a 4 hour nap (having only an hour of sleep in the past 36 hours. I was on duty with my Squad on Sunday night and hoped for a light night. The EMS Gods were against me. I went to bed at 2300 for the night and the pager went off at 0000. We had a fire on the mountain that kept us out until 0530. Normally fires are easy duty for EMS, but I was assigned as the EMT to stay with the crew on the fire. We had 800 feet of near vertical climb to get to the seat of the fire. It was so steep that we went up on hands and knees, clawing all the way. You could not stand, nor could you sit. you would either slide or fall down. Three quarters of the way up. when I got to a point that I could keep an ear on the crew, I dug in. Somebody needed to hold onto the hose to keep it from sliding back down the mountain. I dug out a seat belay and settled in for about three hours and helping relief folks climb up the hose line, watching fire progression (below us, above us, and to the west of us).
 When we finished up, I had enough time to grab a shower before heading into the paying job, where by the way, I was a little useless during the day. Somehow I figured out that I had gone 60 something hours with only 5 hours sleep.
 So now you have an idea of why I haven't posted in a week. Aren't you sorry you asked? I should have been working on my pick rolls tonight, but instead I thought I should get this one up for you. Also, for Linda, I got your message and I understand how life changes direction. We'll get it together, just a little further down the road. Right now I just need some recovery time. Oh BOY do I need to recover.
Be Safe, B Sharp,
UU

Grey Fox, the 4 day duty crew

 So let me give you a little background on this Bluegrass Festival and why I am back for another year. I am not very good at counting heads, but I believe the gate for this event is about 10,000 people, for 4 days. Most folks come and camp right here at the site, which was, just two weeks ago, a working hay field. The last cutting was done just last week, before they cut the roads and laid out the site. There are a LOT of people and campsites. They come in all manner of vehicles, from cars to campers, to buses, and they set up some weird stuff in the interest of having a good time. Some have been making this trip for 20 years. There are lots of kids running around, it's family time for many. It's drinking and picking time for others. You can find some photos here to give you the flavor.
 The Festival (music) starts on Thursday, but the gate opens on Wednesday morning at 0700 sharp. There is a line to get in. I would love to go up early, but can't get the vacation time. EMS Staff are required to report by Wednesday evening (we have a briefing at 1900) and the shift assignments are roughed out. Each volunteer is required to give 4 hours a day to earn their keep, but many of us work more because it's easy work and we are having a good time. In my case, I mostly do a walking patrol with a partner to keep an eye on the folks in the camping areas, the 4 other stages, or the Main Stage. With an assignment like that what difference does it make if I am on duty or off, that's what I would do anyway, walk around. Plus, while I am on duty, nothing is off limits except the Green Room. Backstage, VIP seating, and every place else is open to us.
 What we receive in return for our highly skilled and professional services (I know you're wondering) is a full pass for the weekend which includes camping and normal access when we are not working, as well as 3 square (and incredibly good) meals each day we are there. I have never been treated better as a Volunteer than I have at Grey Fox......never.
 So how busy can we expect to be? Not much, considering the demographics. We call ourselves "The Stinky Foot Patrol" because mostly what we get are foot injuries from folks who are not used to walking on a freshly cut hayfield. We get folks who have the wrong shoes, or old shoes, or no shoes. We get folks who arrived with an open foot wound and now it's become really ugly because they are walking around in sandals. We get a LOT of 'foot stuff'. Fortunately, we have on our staff a number of kind and caring RN's who easily and compassionately clean, dry, treat, and dress all these wounds. They offer advice to get the patients through the rest of the weekend. We give a lot of advice to people on how to enjoy the weekend and take care of their own medical issues at the same time. We also get the occasional 'true emergency' like anaphalaxis, diabetic issues, and the rare chest pains. Mostly, it's feet, dehydration, and sunburn. But the people are very nice and appreciate the help, so it's all good. The work is fun if nothing else. We average about 7 people transported during the 4 days. Al transports are handled by local EMS, which we work well with.
 Our staff is composed of EMT's, Ski Patrollers (OEC), a couple of CFR's, several RN's, a PA or two, a few Paramedics, and other odd medical disciplines. Of course, many of the folks carry multiple credentials like Wilderness First Aid, Wilderness EMT, OR Nurses, and we even have an EMT who is a Dentist. It's a neat crew. The RN's like doing the wound care but back off when an emergent case comes in because they don't have the tools, facilities, and drugs they are used to having. On the other hand, the EMT's shy away from the wound care and foot washing, preferring to work on 'something with a little more meat'. Infection control is not something EMT's deal with very often. So we have a very nice symbiotic staff that works well. In addition, we come from all over the northeast, so we don't see each other more than once a year. We enjoy getting to know each other and share tricks and techniques.
 So that's a little about how things layout her. Now lets see what the weekend brings.
UU

I'm Thinking

Yeah, I know, it's scarey.

 So when I read TOTWTYTR latest post tonight titled "A Real EMS Post!" I thought 'Hey Great, I miss those because they're always good'. Then I relaized that I haven't written one myself in quite a while.
 I should do something about that, I thought.
 But nothing much has happened and there are few (OK, NONE) burning issues on my mind. In short, nobody has pissed me off lately. Pity.
 But then I remembered "Hey, I am about to take off on my favorite EMS duty cycle of the year, why not write about that?"
 So tomorrow, when I leave the paying job and head up into the hills, I will try to keep YOU, both of my readers in mind. I'll bring the laptop and see if I can't manage a post or two from the biggest Bluegrass festival in the great Northeast.
 Of course, if you are coming to Grey Fox (you probably are on the road as I write this) please do drop by the medical tent and ask for the handsome EMT with the long mustache. Most likely I will be walking foot patrol because that's what I like best, but I will have at least one of the overnights. So look for me.
 I have no idea how it will come out, but it will give some sort of Festival EMS perspective that might be interesting.

 Let's see what develops.
UU

The rest of the Story

 Well, you've waited long enough, here are the details missing from the previous post. But first, I neglected to mention that this patient had nothing between him and the Lord except a pair of boxer shorts. No Shoes, no shirt, (no service) nothing.
 Turns out our hapless patient made a phone call at about 0300 from the residence where he was staying. At 0330 he was found in the living room of a house about 2 houses down. The homeowner asked the patinet to 'please leave', which he did. At 0350 he returned to the same house, whereupon the owner threatened to have him arrested. Fearing the threat, the patient took off in haste, apparently into the woods and stumbled around for a while and somehow lacerated his leg.
 Bleeding profusely, he looked for another place to get help and found a house which was unoccupied. He broke in and soaked several handfuls of paper towels with blood trying to stop the bleeding. He tried laying down (on the Judges bed) to see if that would help. Apparently, it did not, as he left several very large puddles of blood on the bed which soaked into the mattress and had still not congealed several hours later.
 He then left the house and began walking up hill, down the middle of the driving lane in the opposite direction he had started from. After a half mile, the blood trail wanders around for quite a bit, then heads back down the road, this time mostly along the double yellow line until he passes the house he broke into (the second one) by a few hundred feet. At this point he is running out of juice and he sits on the side of the road in the cool tall grass. Someone driving to work sees him at 0500. He was found by a woman out taking her two small grandchildren for a morning walk at 0800.
 Two counts of Criminal Trespass and one count of Burglary has him being held for bail in the County Lockup.
 Now the thing that surprises me is that if you find somebody in your house, without your permission in the wee hours TWICE in the same night would you not call the police?! I believe I would have (right after my hearing came back from the shot I fired). I would also like to think that if I saw a mostly naked person sitting in the grass at 0500, I would most likely call a cop for assistance. But that's just me. Some folks might see it differently.
 You just can't make this stuff up.
UU

Did you ever .... ?

Did you ever have one of those calls where you found yourself saying "I can't wait to hear the rest of this story!"
 Sure you have, and we had one today. No I don't know the rest of the deal yet, but I'll share it when I find out, you will have to wait, just like me.

  We were banged out for a 'adult' male, severe laceration to the leg. According to my GPS, I was 30 minutes from the scene because I was returning from dropping my wife at the airport and I knew there was no way I would be of any help unless it turned into something more. So all I could do was follow the city fellar down the two lane at 45 MPH and listen to the chatter on the radio.
 Follow-up information during response included that it was a 40 Y/O Male with a severe laceration to the right lower leg. He was found on the side of the road by a passer-by. HMMM, I'm thinking, "Must be a cyclist, we have lots of those on the holiday weekends, we live in a paradise for bikers." Then I heard the LEO on scene ask his back-up unit to continue in and that the scene was secure for EMS to come on in, he also confirmed the previous medical information and added that the bleeding was controlled. "What? 'Scene secure'? They didn't mention the scene was NOT secure with the dispatch or to stage away at any point. What the hell is going on?"
 So I arrive on-scene after the ambulance has carted the patient off to the hospital and my guys are just getting ready to leave.  The young Lt. brings me up to date "Wow, major lac 12 inches long and down to the bone, bleeding pretty good. No, he wasn't on a bike or any vehicle of any kind. He had four different stories that all ended with 'but I don't really remember', and the police are following his blood trail up the road now." I smiled and had 'that thought' I mentioned at the top of the post.
 Turns out we wound up having about 5 or 6 LEOs doing the 'investigation thing' and we lent them a hand by closing the road to preserve evidence and the scene, which turned out be to nearly a half mile of blood trail that included the inside of one home the patient had apparently broken into and bled all over the place. Apparently the homeoners were away for the holiday, at least I hope they were.
 It gets better: the home our patient choose to do his B&E on was a prominent local figure of the Judicial persuasion. He's gonna be ticked when he returns, and this patient may very well wind up in his Court.
 The patient was found not knowing where he was or how he got there. He said he was from Baton Rouge, which is around 1,000 miles from here. He was staying at a house down the road and remembers A) Going out for a walk, or B) Going to buy a bottle of wine (5 mile round trip), or C) Being dropped off. He either was, or was NOT in a vehicle at any time. He either was, or was NOT partying with friends. He either was out for a couple of hours, or all night. But whatever it was, he doesn't remember.
 I'm not real good at assessing blood loss when the trail is a half mile long, but I figure that this guy lost a fair amount since we had little trouble following it on a road that was still wet from the previous night's rain. We also had little trouble finding where it started (in the middle of the driving lane), without the aid of a dog or a CSI team.
 I can't WAIT to hear the rest of this story!
 And the Holiday weekend isn't even over yet! We still haven't done our 'Drunk stumbles into the campfire' call, or the 'Deck fire secondary to a barbeque experiment' job.  Last night it continued to rain as it had all day, so today should be the big day for us. More blog fodder, if nothing else.
Be Safe, Be Sharp, and Please Don't be Stupid,
UU

An Explaination of Sorts

Not that I really owe anybody and explanation, but I thought one was in order because my posting has fallen off as of late. Yeah, I noticed it too.
 I mentioned a couple of posts back that I applied for my Boss's job when he moved on. I confess that I threw my hat in the ring at the last minute for what might be considered some poor reasons. I did not apply at first because the list of requirements included a BA, which I lack and they preferred a Master's Degree, which ain't gonna happen at this stage in my life. What I do have is 38 years experience doing this sort of work. When I found out that 3 others who also lack major parts of the requirements also threw their hats in, I followed suit. At the time, I thought "What the Hell?" I also thought that I wanted to be on the 'inside' of this show, and not on the outside as one of the interview committee, which I had been asked to join.
 I mentioned earlier that I thought they were just giving us the courtesy of an interview and would cast us aside citing the fact that we missed a 'Major Requirement'.  Today, as I write this, I'm not so sure. They flew an independent HR guy halfway across the country to give the first round of interviews as an unbiased pair of ears. That part went as expected, but then they changed the game and we were all interviewed by the internal team which is made up of people we work with. These interviews were a lot rougher because these people know us and we can't 'skate the truth', we have to be honest, and in some cases explain decisions we have made in the past that didn't work out so well.
 They have a tough job making a selection, and the final two or three will board a plane and go across the country to interview with the Division President. Did I mention that this is a Staff Level Manager's position? Actually this position is responsible for around 70 production level folks and has about a half dozen supervisors reporting to it. There is also a union contract to negotiate every few years as well as $40 million in annual production to get out the door on time. So I think it's fair to say that a lot rides on this guy's head.
 So this is why I haven't written much lately. I have been getting the impression that I might have a (slight) chance of getting this job. My interviewers have made some comments that indicate I surprised them. They haven't taken anybody out of the running yet, and we have some heavy hitters applying from the outside with the shiny MBA's falling out of their front pockets. Still, I have been struck by the idea that I 'might' just have a chance, which never occurred to me before. My grapevine works pretty well, and I know that a few guys didn't do so well in the interviews. That's no surprise to any of us. However, my grapevine, in this case includes one of the interviewers and he is understandably not telling me details of any importance, just things that I had already guessed and we already knew would happen. It would be unprofessional for me to ask, or him to offer, anything that would betray the trust he holds.  I'll just have to wait like the rest of the group.
 This has had me thinking all night, every night. Can I do this job? What will be my first mistake? How will I handle this [major problem] or that [major problem]? How do I get through the interview with the President, who I have only met once, in a hallway, as we walked? How will I stand up against 'the other guy' who has the college, the $800 suit, the fancy shoes, and all the current catch phrases?
 I admit, I don't work in those circles, but I have been advising people in those circles for a long time now. In many cases I have snatched them back from the brink of a catastrophic decision based on their college education, no doubt, many, many times.
 I am a trench guy. I run the job like we run fires. Find out EXACTLY what is going on from the people that are doing the work. Meetings take too long. Get off your ass and go SEE what the problem is. That's me and that's how I get things done faster than anybody I know. I would really love to have a shot at this job and show them how a working man can run a company based on what he has learned over many years of actually 'making stuff' instead of reading about how it is done and having meetings to discuss it.
 The other consideration is that none of us wants to break in a new Boss. That takes an awful lot of effort and we have too much work to do.
 Knowing my Company as I do, I think it's gonna be another 4-5 weeks before we see anything close to a decision. I've had 3 interviews so far, and with folks taking vacations, I suspect things will slow down now. I am anxious to get this over with because I am not the only one that has had to pick up the slack left by not having a Boss. We're all trying to make things happen but it takes a lot more effort and time when you have to go and search for a Staff member to give approvals.
 Just give me the damned job and I'll show you how it's supposed to be done.
UU

Still Catching up .... Apparently

Well, once again I have been remiss in my duty to keep you all entertained with some sort of offering. More on the reason for my distraction in the next post, but first I did promise to tell you about my meeting with The Lonely EMT and her daughter.
 I'll dispense with any explanations about how it can be that two 'anonymous bloggers' actually find each other and have a meet up, let's all just accept that a method was found to make it happen and we arranged a meeting while I was on the road for business. It is no small irony that we selected the State Fire Academy as a meeting place. "Neutral territory", you might think, but in fact, it was directly on my route (honest!) and not a long drive for Hilinda. I needed to stop at the bookstore there anyway and we thought we might crash the palce for lunch.
 Well, lunch was not gonna happen. There was a State Propane Response Conference in session as well as an Electrical Fire Cause and Determination class. Neither Hillinda nor myself can ever recall seeing so many folks in the Dining Hall and there was no way they were gonna 'squeeze' us in. Actually that worked out ok, because my traveling partner and I had to get to an extra stop on our trip and I had precious little time to visit. I promised my partner just a 30 minute stop, but I think it went longer.
 I walked into the bookstore and although I had never met Hillinda, I picked her out almost as fast as she picked me out. I think she was just a second faster actually. We fell right into an easy conversation as she finished her chat with the manager of the bookstore who she has known a long while.
 We found a quiet spot in the un-used lounge and grabbed a table before it began to fill with the overflow from the dining hall. You would think we've known each other for a while, and we talked about all the same things that vollies in the Fire and EMS services talk about. Call volume, bad jobs, Agency issues, and other stuff.
 We also talked about a newly found thing we have in common of enjoying volunteering at large summer music festivals. We are working on arrangements to work together in 2012 at my favorite venue, and she has invited me to join her at hers.
 Funny how you never expect some of the connections you create when you venture into something new. I never expected that my blogging, as poor as it is, would lead me to meet new, interesting and stimulating people. I expected to just spend my time at the keyboard. Just goes to show you, you never know.
 Thanks Hillinda and Sara, for driving over and spending some time. I really enjoyed the visit, even more than you might guess.
 Be safe, Be Sharp,
UU