"Those friends thou hast and their adoption tried, grapple them to thy soul with hoops of steel." (Hamlet)

Well, we pulled it off. A surprise party for Rhoda was actually a surprise. There were 21 people in the Piazza de Italia in a private room. Neighbors, some relatives, and some people from our show, My Fair Lady. Everyone was compatible and "three sheets to the wind"...so they say. The food and service was fabulous, and I left a 20% gratuity. When we got home, Rho had a great time opening birthday cards with gifts to various places like Macy's, Maggiano's, Chicos, Movico, and etc. Very imaginative people, and we are very fond of all of them.

This afternoon I had an appointment with my neurologist because I wanted to get a prescription for a motorized scooter so that I would save on the taxes. I told him I had tremors in my hands and that I had problems writing my name on credit card bills and also writing letters in the little boxes that come with xword puzzles. He said it was due to one of medications I'm taking and nothing to really worry about--and definitely not Parkinson's. So now besides getting some new wheels for Rhoda, we'll get some new wheels for me. A scooter beats sitting in a wheelchair as far as I'm concerned and it will definitely be required on our cruising of Scandinavia next July.

Today I also got some good news about my computer. The disease wasn't terminal after all. I'll pick it up tomorrow and my very good friend, Billy Berger, said he would hook it up for me. After all, he's a handy man and I'm merely a poet.

"New customs, though they be never so ridiculous,... yet they are followed." (Henry VIII)

Today we went to Costco to pick up a few things like pine nuts and lamb chops. When we got there we were fortunate to find a parking space as close to the entrance as we've ever been and right in front of the entrance was one of those scooters that you often see Methusala's riding like bumper cars on a hot summer

day in Coney Island. It sat there saying to me "Ride me, idiot, or walk painfully through the store". Not caring to be considered an idiot, and not too fond of pain, I got into the contraption and scooted around the store with Rhoda at my side directing traffic around the myriad of humongous shopping carts. It was indeed a learning experience. We might even buy one of those things for our cruise next July. We may even get one for our bus trip to Biloxi in April. A blue one. Not the bus, but the scooter. I'm partial to blue. I'm going to start collecting stickers for it.

As we made our way toward the pine nuts isle, we stopped at a long table, where some elderly guys were dishing out free samples of thin-crusted pizzas. They weren't bad at all, but the box was way too big to keep in our freezer, so we just munched on a few more pieces and went on our way. Every few feet there were guys handing out free food samples. You could come here for lunch any day and not spend a penny. I don't doubt that some King's Pointers might have to do that these days. Too bad there wasn't a place like this during the Great Depression. We finally got to the pine nuts and they were damned expensive as everything else is here in So. Florida. Every dinner out seems to cost $37--although we did eat at Wendy's the other night for $8.03. Pine nuts remind me of the days of my youth when my mother used to buy Indian nuts. Indian nuts were the same size as pine nuts, only you had to bite off the shell. When I finished eating about a dozen of them, I had a pimple on my tongue.

We're still without our own computer, and I frankly don't know what's happening with it. I haven't heard from the computer doctor. The laptop I'm using now appears to need a psychiatrist. It constantly freezes up and demands rebooting. Here am I pushing 84 and I have to learn a whole new language for machines--like viruses, trojans, spyware, uploads, downloads, booting up, shutting down, email...reminds me of WWII when we had "V-Mail"...a lot slower, but more American.

"As they say, when the age is in, the wit is out." (Much Ado)

I'm still using the laptop loaned to me, and it's kind of balky. Sometimes it won't let me access this blogspot, but here I am for the fan club. Don't remember if I wrote that my granddaughter, Katrina has joined the US NAVY as a "Senior Recruit". She is attending boot camp at Great Lakes, Illinois...same place I went to in 1942. What goes around, comes around. She is continuing the military tradition in the Ross family. Part of the family is the USS HIGGINS, the guided missile destroyer named for my son-in-law. It has been in combat in Iraq and is now deploying in the Pacific. No doubt that Katrina will some day be an Admiral.

On Saturday, Rhoda will be celebrating her 70th...she's not too happy about rattling that particular number around in her head...but what's the alternative?

Friday we'll be going out to dinner, and on Saturday we have tickets to a show at the clubhouse. My birthday also comes this month on the 27th and I'm only 16 years away from being 100, a number I'm looking forward to because no doubt I'll have a big party with balloons and stuff and lots of presents like viagra and cialis and levitra. A 100 is a big number...it wasn't too long ago that I won my 100th soccer game. Monday I went to the City of Hope's paid up membership luncheon in the clubhouse. There were about 100 women present and two guys. As it happened I won five dollars in the raffle. Boys and girls from West Boca H.S. came to entertain. They were terrific and made me wish I was back teaching every day. But that's not going to happen. There's no stopping ageing--it comes on like a tsunami, and you'd better be prepared to ride the waves.

"My eyes do itch; doth that bode weeping?" (Othello)

Hello out there! I'm using a neighbor's lap top in my den to check my mail and to write this blog. My own computer is in the hospital with a possible terminal disease. I'm sure it might be Aids because I had a gay computer. At any rate, just to catch up...and I have a lot of other things to do on here before I get my own back--it was like a death in the family--like a pet dog. My daughter, Bonny, came here for the weekend with grandson, Sean. Sean was hot to trot down to the beach to see if the waves were good for surfing. Sure enough, he rented a surfboard and surfed in the Atlantic. We also went to my mother's gravesite to pay our homage; to Green Cay to walk on the boardwalk and see some wild life. Sean enjoys flea markets, so we went to a big indoor one. When we were in St. Thomas Rhoda bought Bonny a Lladro which she had been wanting to do since last year: A boy holding a surfboard with a little dog at his feet. She loved it.

I want to share with you, Bob Fox's email to me following his visit. I wrote about that a couple of blogs ago if you want to catch up. He was a student of mine from 1960.

Doc, it was a highlight to see you and your matching sparkling eyes and spirit. Too bad we can't go out and play some golf together but, who knows, maybe next year. Thanks for the kind words in your blog...I sent it to my wife underscoring the comment about looking 45. I am back in CT and preparing for my first class day tomorrow. My school, particularly my department, is in chaos and I will be meeting with the president and his two vice presidents this week to see if they agree on my conditions for assuming the chair and athletic director positions. In the meantime, I mentioned chelation to you. It is controversial and I have no personal experience with it but EDTA chelation is a process that deminerializes (if that is such a word) the blood of excesses that contribute to blocking blood vessels from plaque formation. You can research it and make your own judgment. By the way, as a scholar, you can go to google, click on the top where it says "more." A menu will drop down with all sorts of interesting advanced searches. I click on "scholar" and get advanced research papers on virtually any subject.

Thanks again for the warm visit. I have your words and thoughts of wisdom. I will stay in touch and wish you good health and peace for '08. Bob

The part about chelation has to do with my "claudication"--I have a big problem walking, and we went to the VA recently to see if I would be eligible for a scooter. This is the best I can do today--don't give up--I'll be back.

Missing the Red Baron (Sonnet XLIII)

All days are nights to see till I see thee,
And nights bright days when dreams do show thee to me.
~William Shakespeare

It Ain't Me, Babe (Bob Dylan)

Here's a song to hum while you're waiting for Red Baron to return:

Go 'way from my window,Leave at your own chosen speed.I'm not the one you want, babe,I'm not the one you need.You say you're lookin' for someoneNever weak but always strong,To protect you an' defend youWhether you are right or wrong,Someone to open each and every door,But it ain't me, babe,No, no, no, it ain't me, babe,It ain't me you're lookin' for, babe.Go lightly from the ledge, babe,Go lightly on the ground.I'm not the one you want, babe,I will only let you down.You say you're lookin' for someoneWho will promise never to part,Someone to close his eyes for you,Someone to close his heart,Someone who will die for you an' more,But it ain't me, babe,No, no, no, it ain't me, babe,It ain't me you're lookin' for, babe.Go melt back into the night, babe,Everything inside is made of stone.There's nothing in here movingAn' anyway I'm not alone.You say you're looking for someoneWho'll pick you up each time you fall,To gather flowers constantlyAn' to come each time you call,A lover for your life an' nothing more,But it ain't me, babe,No, no, no, it ain't me, babe,It ain't me you're lookin' for, babe.

This Is Not Me (or This Is Not I !?)

.... anyway, this is not the Red Baron, so there will be no pithy statements or erudite quotations. The Red Baron had a terrific time with His Daughter, Bonny, and Grandson, Sean. They left. And now His computer is DEAD (oh, DREAD!) So, He's asked Me to step in and inform his Fans that He may be MIA (Missing In Action) on this blog for the foreseeable future. Bye for now ....