This months News and Views (May 2000)

If you read carefully the first page of our home page, you'll notice that our anniversary is May 3.  And, since we were married in 1985, you can quickly tell that we just passed our 15th. wedding anniversary.

So, for those of you who thought it would never last, well, you were wrong, and we were right.  And, we knew it all along.   

To celebrate, we went to our favorite "special event" restaurant, The Meadowview Restaurant.  What a wonderful place; the food is marvelous, the atmosphere enjoyable, and the company was even better.  Fifteen down, and who knows how many more to go.  I'm looking forward to them all.

Yep, and a great Mothers Day it was for Paula.

First off, a home cooked breakfast that consisted of fresh, hot Gevalia Coffee, pancakes with heated (low calorie) syrup, sausage, and biscuits.  After breakfast, we presented Paula with her presents.  Several bracelets, a set of ear rings, and some very special home made cards from the boys.  

Then, off shopping we went.  As mentioned last month,  Paula's been dropping weight rather quickly, and it appears to have finally tapered off some.  So, off to Concord Mills for some clothes shopping.  Paula picked up several dresses, some shorts, a few shirts, and some accessories.

Later that day/evening, we ventured to Out Back Steakhouse for dinner to end a wonderful fun filled day.  I tell you what, when you're the mother of 3 boys, you certainly need more than one special day devoted to you, especially with a mommy as wonderful as Paula is to our kids.

As many of you know, Bradley joined the school band this year.  He chose to play the trumpet in the band, and has enjoyed learning.

Not very many days go by without Brad saying "Listen to this, see if you can tell what this is..." and he then plays something, like the Star Wars theme song, or something he just learned in band.

Anyway, towards the end of the school year, the band had their recital.  I must say, both Paula and I were truly amazed at how well the band sounded.  

Truthfully, I expected to hear something similar to the Simpson's TV opening sequence, where Lisa is in band.  You know, squawk, squawk, squeak, squeak.  Sounds only a mother could love.  That was far from the case.  

That's Bradley, in the upper right corner, and Mr. Hunt, the band director, in the fore ground.

We have certainly had our share of thunderstorms this spring.

Last Saturday evening, just as it began to get dark, a series of thunder storms rolled through the Charlotte area, and lit up the sky.

Well, after unplugging the computer, and home theater (Yes, they are protected by surge suppressors, and line regulators, I'm just over cautious), I took the camcorder outside and captured some interesting images.

To the right, see one of the many lightning strikes captured during this storm.  I didn't see this until I took it from the video camera to the computer.  I was then able to move frame by frame, and select this image, which is interestingly beautiful.

As the school year comes to a close, classes plan their annual end of school parties.  Of course, this year is no different.  

Clint's teacher came up with the idea of having a swimming pool party instead of the usual Chuck-E-Cheese, or simply a party in the class room with cake, ice cream and cookies. 

Since we have access to our community pool and clubhouse, we were asked to make arrangements to have the party.  So, with a few calls, we were in business.

Luckily, the weather cooperated (It didn't look good early in the morning), and everyone in attendance has a great time.  Pizza was brought in for lunch, and snacks and drinks were provided by parents.

In the picture to the right, 7 boys are jumping into the water at the same time, in an attempt to create a tidal wave.  As I mentioned earlier, everyone in attendance had a great time.  Clint was in bed, and fast asleep by 8:00 that evening.

Central Piedmont Community College (Also known as CPCC for those who don't have much time on their hands), is a local community college that has a large presence in Charlotte, and the surrounding area.  

Someone with whom I had worked before (Pam Gibson from Glenayre Electronics, who now works for COCC), inquired as to my availability to teach Oracle classes.  Well, being as Oracle is such a hot commodity here in Charlotte, I said OK.  

So, my first class, a Data Modeling class, is almost over.  We met two nights a week (Monday and Wednesday) from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. for three weeks.  This class was a prerequisite for the fall classes. In the fall, I hope to teach additional classes, more closely related to my skills, which is Oracle Database Administration.  Everyone in the class is really eager to learn, which makes for a fun learning environment.

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