Feelin' Groovy

I'm sorry I haven't posted in a week. Not only have I been feeling a bit out of sorts with my personal life, but I've hired a contractor to gut and re-do one of my bathrooms. It's been a lot of planning and cleaning.

This bathroom is one that my son primarily uses. It is beyond disgusting. It should have been gutted out 15 years ago. We found the aftermath of a major Carpenter Ant attack.

The bathtub was plain gross. I know I hadn't cleaned it in quite some time....not my job.

Last night when I got home from work I noticed that someone had come by and taken the bathtub out of the pile of garbage. Now I'm really grossed out.

Change Stations Now(Curves lingo):

I love when my three children and I are hanging out together. It's very rare that we are all together at the same time. We had a great weekend....just like old times.

Saturday night my twins and I got to go out for sushi. Tom didn't want to come. We got to talking about how me and Dave want to try a dangerous sushi made from blowfish. Jen thought we were crazy and told us we will probably die if we try it.

No, the restaurant we were at doesn't serve blowfish...but a split second after I told Jen that if I did die she is the beneficiary of one-third of my life insurance policy she responded, Bon Appetite!!!

Yea, that's my Jen for you.

Change Stations Now:

I made an apple pie this weekend and I ate 2 little pieces. And if I do say so myself, it was one of the best I ever made.

I hate, hate, hate to throw away food.

This morning as I was putting away the last piece of pie (in tupperware, not in my pie hole) there was a little bit of the pie innerds leftover. I was about to scrape them into the garbage when I thought, "Mmmmmmm, wouldn't this stuff taste mighty fine on top of my oatmeal"? Yes it did! And now I'm wondering if the apple pie filling negates the healthiness of the oatmeal. What do you think?

Change Stations Now:

I woke up this morning with the song "Feelin' Groovy" in my head. WHAT IS UP WITH THAT?

Change Stations Now:

I really want the song, "Won't You Take Me to Funky Town" stuck in my head today because it sounds like a much better place to be instead of work.


Change Stations Now:

This is my 100th post.....just sayin'

Change Sations Now:

See, I'm back. And I'm off to work now. Drop me a comment, I'd love to hear from ya
'all.....

What I Overheard....

A tender Sunday evening conversation:

Boy (in the process of taking a shower): DAD!
Dad: Yes son.
Boy: Will I be with you this week ?
Dad: No son, you will be with your mom until Sunday morning when I pick you up.
Boy: Why won’t I be with you for the weekend?
Dad: I’m going to a conference on Thursday, Friday and Saturday and will be home late so I will pick you up early in the morning.
Boy: Where is the conference?
Dad: In Chicago.
Boy: Is that far?
Dad: Yes.
Boy: What kind of conference?
Dad: ADHD conference.
Boy: Did you set up the conference, Dad, you know, call everyone to be there?
Dad: No, I didn’t son.
Boy: Why are you going?
Dad: To learn more about ADHD.
Boy: Like what I have?
Dad: Yes.
Boy: Who else is going?
Dad: Hundreds of people, people who are parents with children that have ADHD and ADD, teachers....lots of us will be there.
Boy: Oh. (pause)
Boy: I love you Dad.
Dad: I love you too son.

Topless?

For your amusement, a cell phone to cell phone call last night:

Dave: "Hello Mom, I just wanted to call you, Fran and I are in Brooklyn in a tapas restaurant.

Me: "You're in a topless restaurant???????"

Dave: "TAPAS, Mom, TAPAS!!!!"

Me: "Dave, what are you doing in a topless restaurant?"

Dave: "It's not topless Mom.....Fran is just about on the floor laughing right now, I've gotta go."

I'm Bringin' Sexy Back

First of all, I love peach/blueberry pies. I used to make pies and sell them when my children were young for extra income. I do not like or eat pie, but for some reason I love peach/blueberry pies.

In the second phase of the South Beach Diet there is a yogurt smoothie recipe for breakfast. When the day came for me to enjoy one, I was ecstatic. I made a strawberry/blueberry one. It was delicious.

The next week I was going over to Connecticut to see Capt and I made sure I asked him if he had a blender. He assured me that he did. That's when I planned on trying a peach/blueberry smoothie reminescent of the pie I love so very much. Excitement filled the air as I carefully packed up all the fixin's for the weekend, including ingredients for the smoothie that I was so craving.

When I woke up the next morning in CT, I got out of bed and proceeded to make the Peach/blueberry smoothie. There might have even been a few dance moves to show my excitement. But alas, no blender. Capt looked for it and then remember that he left it at work. He was making protein shakes and forgot about it still being there. I was disappointed and ate the yogurt and blueberries separately without their delectable blendature. Still, I felt like I had been somehow gypped.

This morning, after Curves, I went food shopping. I planned some meals last night and needed the ingredients. This morning's breakfast was going to be a spinach frittata, but the grocery store was Too crowded and took longer than I expected. So I got this great idea - why not make my peach/blueberry smoothie? Yeah, I was excited again!

I got home, unpacked the bags and proceeded to formulate the most expensive (blueberries are not in season here), delicious smoothie ever created. The blender was whirling away. I took out a piece of Waterford stemware, just to make it more purdier.

When I lifted the glass off of the blender to pour, the bottom of the glass part stayed and all of my peach/blueberry smoothie went all over me, my dog, the floor, the counter, the cabinets, the throw rug and stovetop.

It took me an hour to clean it all up. Those blueberries stain stuff! Even after my shower, I still found some smooched blueberry behind my neck....yes I did!

I’m guessing I’ll never have the pleasure of enjoying a peach/blueberry smoothie. (But *ahem* I might have tried a few spoonfuls off of the countertop, maybe, and *ahem* if I actually did to that, it was *ahem* worth it. And if I did it while purply goodness dripped off of my hair and face, I’m so very glad that there was no one there to see me.)

***I would have taken a photo for all of you to see but not only would I have dripped all over the house to get the camera, the blueberries were staining my white kitchen cabinets so I had to work really fast, plus the dog was dripping with it too, and I didn't want him to move an inch.

Wordless Wednesday

Shhhh, it's 3am and the carpet is still in the foyer.

The Life of T

I've been feeling a bit lonely lately; sometimes I get like that. I came up with an idea, not a great idea, but an idea nonetheless. I'd like to bring you all with me for 24 hours so you can see the life I lead. I'm gonna start right now and see if I can keep adding onto this post for 24 hours.

Wanna come?

7:30pm - just came home from work and sitting on my bed typing away as the tub fills up for a bubble bath. This is my bed, I just got a new comforter:



Now if you will excuse me I'll take my bath:


And I'm in bed by 8:30. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

5:30am - GOOD MORNING! Excuse me while I go downstairs and get my wake up, Mineral water with lemon....yea, I know - boring, but I gave up my beloved Pepsi last month *sob* no more caffeine for YewNorkBabe.


While I was in the kitchen I planned out by breakfast - oatmeal pancakes, strawberries and grapefruit. For lunch I'll have chicken, apple and walnut salad. I marinated the chicken breasts in Italian dressing, when I get back from Curves I will broil them.

Making breakfast:


My yummy breakfast:


Oh yea, I have to plan dinner, my friend John and his kids are coming over for dinner so I might just make left over chili with cornbread....they are going to help me take out the carpets in my den and livingroom because tomorrow morning I'm having new carpet installed.

It's 6:30am, gotta get my butt out of here, my neighbor will be picking me up in 10 minutes to go to Curves.

Look: Kage wants a doggie bone before I leave.


I chose this shirt to workout in this morning:


8:00am back from Curves, made breakfast, made lunch, took shower and now I'm moisterizing....that takes a looooooong time.

Blogger isn't allowing me to post anymore pictures, I will try to upload them later.

I've got to get dressed and put my makeup on, lest I scare the co-workers. Made my bed and finished recharging the battery for my power drill. (People, I'm not all girly-girly!)

(If I don't put this in, Capt will bring it to your attention) After I'm all dressed and ready to leave, I get on my knees and clean up my bathroom, even wipe the white tile on the floor. He thinks I'm nuts. I just like a clean bathroom to come home to.

On my way to the bank, I've got to wire transfer $94,500 to a client....mmmmm, maybe I'll accidently put my routing number on the slip..... -just thinkin'

I'm at work now, it's 9:30. Hope your all having a great day.

12:30pm - eating lunch at my desk. It was a good choice to use Boston lettuce in this salad. It's buttery taste blends well with the apples and walnuts...yummmmmmmm.
I broiled a skinless, boneless chicken breast that was marinated in Italian dressing that I made this morning. I put chopped celery, chopped apple and walnuts together, added the cubed chicken and poured some of the dressing on top. Then I brought Boston lettuce in another container and when it was time for lunch, added the other ingredients and tossed.

Work is going well so far, not too much stress. But when the boss comes in after 1pm it will be insane!

3:30 and I'm taking a break. Last week I saw a new client, she was a mess, she looked like she was about ready for a nervous breakdown. She came in today and looked completely together. She is a believer. Last weekend she took a boating course and took the boat her estranged husband and her bought ($189,000 - so it must be more like a yacht) and took it, ALL BY HERSELF, to Connecticut! ALL BY HERSELF! She went for a job interview today and got a job earning $44 per HOUR! You see, her Christian husband left her for another woman 2 months ago, she is devistated, betrayed, broken. I remember that feeling. But I'm astonished at her ability to function like she is. She's going to make it, that I'm sure of. She's an amazing woman. Break over, back to work.

5:20 I still have a client in my office right now and everyone else is gone. John and his kids are coming over at 6:00 for dinner....I'm getting stressed!!!!!

6:00 Got home and started making cornbread. Heated up the chili. John, Kim and Dan came over at 6:30. We ate and started moving all the furniture out of the den and livingroom because my son forgot to do it before he left for work. Then we cut the old carpet in strips, rolled it up and tied them....they are still sitting in the foyer. Maybe when my son gets home he will bring them down the driveway. As for my daughter, she's allergic to carpets. When she came home at 7:00 she helped as much as she could. She gets asthma attacks if she has to be around dust.

It's 9:00pm and I'm exhausted. I'm going to take a shower and crawl into bed.

Thank you for sharing my day it's been fun.

Memories of the Way It Was.....

My friend Donna sent me this today. It brought back some great memories and feelings.

Close your eyes...And go back...
...Before the Internet, PC or the MAC......
...Before semi-automatics and crack....
...Before Playstation, SEGA, Super Nintendo, even before Atari...
...Before cell phones, CD's, DVD's, voicemail and e-mail....
...way back....
...way.....way.....way back.....

* I'm talkin' bout hide and seek at dusk
* Red light, Green light
* Red Rover....Red Rover.....
* Playing kickball & dodgeball until the first...no...second...no...third streetlight came on
* Ring around the Rosie
* London Bridge
* Hot potato
* Hop Scotch
* Jump rope
* Duck....duck....GOOSE!!!
* YOU'RE IT!!
* Parents stood on the front porch and yelled (or whistled) for you to come home - no pagers or cell phones
* Mother May I?
* Hula Hoops
* Seeing shapes in the clouds
* Endless summer days and hot summer nights (no A/C) with the windows open
* The sound of crickets
* Running through the sprinkler
* Happy Meals
* Cereal boxes with that GREAT prize in the bottom
* Cracker jacks with the same thing
* Ice pops with 2 sticks you could break and share with a friend .but wait.....there's more....



* Watchin' Saturday Morning cartoons
* Fat Albert, Road Runner, Smurfs, Picture Pages, G-Force & He-Man,
* Schoolhouse Rock
* Watchin' Sunday morning oldies (Abbott & Costello, Three Stooges)
* Wonder Woman & Super Man Underoos
* FONZIE.....AYYYYYYYY
* Playing Dukes of Hazard
* Catchin' lightning bugs in a jar
* Christmas morning
* Your first day of school
* Bedtime Prayers and Goodnight Kisses
* Climbing trees
* Swinging as high as you could to try and reach the sky
* Getting an Ice Cream off the Good Humor Truck
* A million mosquito bites and sticky fingers
* Jumpin' down the steps
* Jumpin' on the bed
* Pillow fights
* Sleep-overs
* A 13" black and white TV in your room meant you were RICH
* Runnin' till you were out of breath
* Laughing so hard that your stomach hurt
* Being tired from PLAYING
* WORK: meant taking out the garbage or doing the dishes
* Your first crush
* Your first kiss (I mean the one that you kept your mouth CLOSED and your eyes OPEN)
* Rainy days at school meant playing "Heads up 7UP" or hangman" in the classroom, Remember that?



Oh, I'm not finished yet...



* Kool-Aid was the drink of the summer
* So was a swig from the hose
* Giving your friends a ride on your handlebars
* Wearing your new shoes on the first day of school
* Class Field Trips with soggy sandwiches
* When nearly everyone's mom was at home when the kids got there.
* When a quarter seemed like a fair allowance; and another quarter a MIRACLE
* When ANY parent could discipline ANY kid, or feed him, or use him to carry groceries...And nobody, not even the kid, thought a thing of it.



* When your parents took you to McDonalds and you were COOL
* When being sent to the principal's office was nothing compared to the fate that awaited you at home.
* Basically, we were in fear for our lives but it wasn't because of drive by shootings, drugs, gangs, etc.
* Our parents and grandparents were a much bigger threat! And some of us are still afraid of em!




Didn't that feel good? Just to go back and say, "Yeah, I remember that!"
Well, let's keep going!!



Let's go back to the time when...



* Decisions were made by going "eeny-meeny-miney-mo"
* Mistakes were corrected by simply exclaiming, "do over!"
* "Race issues" meant arguing about who ran the fastest.
* Money issues were handled by whoever was the banker in "monopoly"
* Catching fireflies could happily occupy an entire evening
* It wasn't odd to have two or three "best" friends.
* Being old, referred to anyone over 20. (CRAP! I'm officially old!)
* The worst thing you could catch from the opposite sex was cooties.
* Nobody was prettier than Mom
* Scrapes and bruises were kissed by mom or grandma and made better
* It was a big deal to finally be tall enough to ride the "big people"
rides at the amusement park.
* Getting a foot of snow was a dream come true.
* Abilities were discovered because of a "double-dog-dare"
* Spinning around, getting dizzy and falling down was cause for giggles.
* The worst embarrassment was being picked last for a team.
* Water balloons were the ultimate, ultimate weapon.
* Older siblings were your worst tormentors, but also your fiercest protector If you can remember most or all of these, then you have LIVED!!!

Have a Blessed Day,

Silent Saturday

PookieBear playing basketball.....she's so cute!
The helicopter ride up and down the coast of Rhode Island that we went on last weekend.



NewPort, RI, where we stayed.

I LOVE MY LIFE!

Lessons Learned

My daughter and I were having breakfast this morning as we listened to a local radio station. The DJ’s posed a question to us listeners: “If someone offered you 3 million dollars for your baby and you were below poverty level, would you accept it and give up your baby?”

Then Jen asked me if I would take the offer.

“Absolutely not!”, I answered in split-second timing.

“But Mom, we were so poor, wouldn’t it have been nice to know that your children would grow up being spoiled?”, she replied.

The conversation got me thinking....I remember times when I was a single parent of young children and the struggles we had, the many nights of eating spaghetti with ketchup, the times we could only watch one show on TV in order to afford electricity, the near freezing nights without fuel to warm us so we kept the oven on.

And honestly, it was the best time in our lives...my children have told me so.

The reason is because when I did have enough money for something like a bag of bing cherries from the supermarket, the children were over joyed and cherished each cherry.

I remember renting a damp, musty 2 bedroom basement apartment when the children were young. I slept on the livingroom floor, the boys had one room and Jen had the other. There was a family renting the upstairs and the little girl, Jen’s age, got a portable stereo for Christmas. The next day this little girl took it out back and started to smash it with a hammer. My daughter was horrified and came downstairs crying. She told me that she wished that she would have something that nice and if she did, she would cherish it, not smash it with a hammer.

I told my mother this story and she bought Jen a boom box. Jen was so excited. She wouldn’t even let the thing down without putting a soft towel under it lest it get scratched. Jen had this gift for 20 years and always took good care of it.

There was a time when Dave, Jen’s twin, at age 10 would sweep a deli’s floor and in exchange would receive a few dollars. Dave would buy milk for us with that money. Time were tough, but my children learned valuable lessons during those hard times, lessons that gave them self-confidence and the apprechiation for all things big and small. Lessons that you couldn’t purchase for a all the money in the world.

To be honest, yes I thought about putting them in temporary foster care a few times when I would be overwhelmed with the lack of child support and income to support them especially while I put myself through college to become a paralegal, but God always provided and always was faithful.

Jen might have dreams of being filthy rich one day, but as for me, I wouldn’t have changed a thing about those hard years. The lessons my children and I learned are golden.

Thankful Thursday

Remember when I posted about the absolutely wonderful weekend I had? And that it was so wonderful that I could not express it in words?

Well, last weekend I took off an extra day and had a 4 day weekend with Capt. We went to Rhode Island and took a helicopter ride along the coast and saw the mansions in Newport. We shopped, ate a delicious gourmet lunch, stayed at a great hotel, went to Mohecan Sun Casino and gambled $20 away, spent the next day relaxing and doing nothing.

...and now THAT is the best weekend ever.

We were talking about all the things we’ve done and places we’ve gone over the past 1 ½ year since we started dating and were amazed. It’s gone so quickly and we have jam-packed so much fun in that short time.

It’s not only the fun we have, but the fact that we really enjoy spending time together. I’ve never experienced that before. Just going to the grocery store is a blast! Just holding on to his hand as we walk along is fantastic.

I guess this is what love is supposed to be like....who knew?

Our Time Has Come

I’m so sorry to have to break up with you over the internet and all, but honestly, I don’t know if I could have done this face to face.

I remember the first time we met, the way I cried for 45 minutes on the kitchen floor of the first house I’ve ever owned. Tears of joy they were, tears running down my face that I found you after all that time of longing, wishing, hoping and praying for you to come into our lives. There were so many of us that needed you back then. My hands were so tired and worn out....you took charge and made my work load easier....I have appreciate every minute we were together...even the times I’ve had to turn you upside down and squeezed you with my knees....I might miss that a little though. Oh, and spanking your little bottom, that too, but nothing else will I miss.

Yes it has been fun...but those embarrassing noises you made, the lumps and clogs...those I won’t miss one bit. Yes, we had our ups and downs but my new found love, well, he is smooth and shiny and “easy”.

The time has come, I’ve found someone new and I’m madly in love....and I’m never turning back. Sorry, but you'll get over me.

My new love:


You've got to try these.

Add another thing to the list

Add another thing to the list:

Today I went on a helicopter ride around the coast of Rhode Island.

Capt and I took a spontaneous trip to Rhode Island right after church yesterday. The weather was beautiful, the trip was amazing. We both never had been in a helicopter before.

I'm in Connecticut until Wednesday morning. Hope you all had a great holiday weekend too.

Have you ever....

My blog friend, Liz, had this fun thing on her blog (that she got from someone else) and I thought it would be a great idea to do on mine. After doing this, I was amazed at how much I've done with my life so far and how much more I am looking forward to.

The idea is to copy and paste to your own blog and bold the things you have done. (You can copy by highlighting and then pressing CTRL and C at the same time).

HAVE YOU EVER...

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said “I love you” and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game (and survived the crush afterwards)
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby’s diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Played touch football
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an “expert”
83. Gotten flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Kissed on the first date
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror
96. Raised children
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
98. Passed out cold
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Touched a stingray
110. Broken someone’s heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Touched a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad - and the Odyssey
135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone’s life

I Can Only Imagine

Capt sent me this email yesterday and it really hit me hard. I thought I'd share it with all of you too.


Take a look at the video at the end, after you read Rick Reilly's column.


Strongest Dad in the World

(From Sports Illustrated, By Rick Reilly]

I try to be a good father. Give my kids mulligans. Work nights to pay for their text messaging. Take them to swimsuit shoots. But compared with Dick Hoyt, I stink.

Eighty-five times he's pushed his disabled son, Rick, 26.2 miles in marathons. Eight times he's not only pushed him 26.2 miles in a wheelchair but also towed him 2.4 miles in a dinghy while
swimming and pedaled him 112 miles in a seat on the handlebars--all in the same day.

Dick's also pulled him cross-country skiing, taken him on his back mountain climbing and once hauled him across the U.S. on a bike. Makes taking your son bowling look a little lame, right?

And what has Rick done for his father? Not much--except save his life.

This love story began in Winchester, Mass., 43 years ago, when Rick was strangled by the umbilical cord during birth, leaving him brain-damaged and unable to control his limbs. ``He'll be a vegetable
the rest of his life;'' Dick says doctors told him and his wife, Judy, when Rick was nine months
old. ``Put him in an institution.''

But the Hoyts weren't buying it. They noticed the way Rick's eyes followed them around the room. When Rick was 11 they took him to the engineering department at Tufts University and asked if there
was anything to help the boy communicate. ``No way,'' Dick says he was told.
``There's nothing going on in his brain.''

"Tell him a joke,'' Dick countered. They did. Rick laughed. Turns out a lot was going on in his brain.

Rigged up with a computer that allowed him to control the cursor by touching a switch with the side of his head, Rick was finally able to communicate.
First words? ``Go Bruins!'' And after a high school classmate was paralyzed in an accident and the school organized a charity run for him, Rick pecked out, ``Dad, I want to do that.''

Yeah, right. How was Dick, a self-described ``porker'' who never ran more than a mile at a time, going to push his son five miles? Still, he tried.
``Then it was me who was handicapped,'' Dick says. ``I was sore for two weeks.''

That day changed Rick's life. ``Dad,'' he typed, ``when we were running, it felt like I wasn't disabled anymore!''

And that sentence changed Dick's life. He became obsessed with giving Rick that feeling as often as he could. He got into such hard-belly shape that he and Rick were ready to try the
1979 Boston Marathon.

``No way,'' Dick was told by a race official. The Hoyts weren't quite a single runner, and they weren't quite a wheelchair competitor. For a few years Dick and Rick just joined the massive field and
ran anyway, then they found a way to get into the race officially: In 1983 they ran another
marathon so fast they made the qualifying time for Boston the following year.

Then somebody said, ``Hey, Dick, why not a triathlon?''

How's a guy who never learned to swim and hadn't ridden a bike since he was six going to haul his 110-pound kid through a triathlon? Still, Dick tried.

Now they've done 212 triathlons, including four grueling 15-hour Ironmans in Hawaii. It must be a buzzkill to be a 25-year-old stud getting passed by an old guy towing a grown man in a dinghy,
don't you think?

Hey, Dick, why not see how you'd do on your own? ``No way,'' he says. Dick does it purely for ``the awesome feeling'' he gets seeing Rick with a cantaloupe smile as they run, swim and ride together.


This year, at ages 65 and 43, Dick and Rick finished their 24th Boston Marathon, in 5,083rd place out of more than 20,000 starters. Their best time'? Two hours, 40 minutes in 1992--only 35 minutes
off the world record, which, in case you don't keep track of these things, happens to be held by a
guy who was not pushing another man in a wheelchair at the time.

``No question about it,'' Rick types. ``My dad is the Father of the Century.''

And Dick got something else out of all this too. Two years ago he had a mild heart attack during a race. Doctors found that one of his arteries was 95% clogged. ``If you hadn't been in such great shape,''
one doctor told him,``you probably would've died 15 years ago.'' So, in a way, Dick and Rick saved each other's life.

Rick, who has his own apartment (he gets home care) and works in Boston, and Dick, retired from the military and living in Holland, Mass., always find ways to be together. They give speeches
around the country and compete in some backbreaking race every weekend, including this Father's Day.
That night, Rick will buy his dad dinner, but the thing he really wants to give him is a gift he can never buy.

``The thing I'd most like,'' Rick types, ``is that my dad would sit in the chair and I would push him once.''

Here's the video....http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryCTIigaloQ

I Musta Done Something Right

You know you raised a child to become a real true gentleman when:

You come home at midnight after leaving the house at 5am to go visit Capt with your neice and get stuck in a horrendous traffic jam on the way home, your hair is all messed, you've got bags under your eyes, your makeup is non-existant and you look like you are about to commit a crime and your 26 year old son opens the front door for you, looks deeply into your eyes and says, "Mom, you look great, you've lost weight and you're ageless."


Yeah, I must have done something right!