The part 3 is because I've been nursing this damn computer to keep from crashing at the most inopportune times. I finally broke down and took it to a technician. It appears I have several sins to atone for; not the least of which is my lack of communication with y'all. Yes as I've mentioned before, my wife(borne in the South) has slowly and insidiously taught me many southern terms. Some of which I have incorporated into my vocabulary like "mash the button"; others like "I swan" which is an abbreviated form of "I Swanee" and which apparently means something like "I declare" I have seen fit to ignore.
Last fall and earlier this year Renae's dad fell into poor health. We made many trips to Melbourne as he was in the hospital quite sometime. He passed in January. I felt as though he was my own father since my dad died in '93. They both have left voids in our lives.
This spring I continued to supervise teacher interns for FSU. There were 9 interns all in secondary mathematics (all in middle school). I get a kick out of watching and coaching those young kids. I was saddened somewhat not to have any males in the group. I think it is so important for young kids to have male role models in the classroom.I have tried substitute teaching a couple of times. It is difficult to come into another's classroom and try to operate under someone else's rules after running my own classroom for so long. Hopefully there will be lots of interns in math and science in the future.
Renae and I flew to Portland OR at the end of April to see our son and daughter-in-law's first baby. We could hardly leave her alone for the whole week. We did manage to rent a car and travel to the Oregon coast for a day or so. Absolutely spectacular vistas. Particularly for us because we're so used to seeing Florida beaches.
Once we got back to Tallahassee we drove to spend the weekend camping with Steve Martin and his wife. They have upgraded to a nice motor home so it is hard to say it's camping. We went out to dinner with his sister Jenny and her husband then went back to their house to drink some more wine and play cards. All in all, a very good time.
Kip, Becky and the new baby are flying to the east coast(Melbourne,FL) at the end of June. They will be visiting us in Tallahassee at the end of June. Renae and I have rented a vacation home in North Carolina near Asheville. Our kids and their families will meet up with my brother Frank and some of his family and our mom for a small reunion. We all are so looking forward to getting together again.
Unless things change drastically, I won't be able to make the reunion in October. Thank you all for keeping things alive with the class of '66.
Jack M.
