Weekend Updates

• Patty reported that Charlie has been responsive for brief periods, and that the tube has been removed. He is still at Hopkins, no word on the cause of this latest setback.
• Today we were joined by future politician, Luke, who was receiving political advice from Don. (Sadly, this may doom Luke's career before it even begins). He was advised to keep a notebook to jot down possible slogans, such as "I keep my back against the wall". Luke returns to college this week, where hopefully he will learn useful information.
• Don's grandchildren, Chase and Cheney, visited us. I asked whether the new baby will also have a name beginning with "Ch- ". They are considering Chandler if it is a girl, but don't have any favorite boy names yet.
• Allison joined us for some chocolate milk. We miss seeing her daily now that her new job is located in Towson.
• Remember, anyone can leave a comment by clicking below on "Comment". Type in your comment, you can be anonymous or click on "Nickname" and type in your name. Comment on the comments too!

Don models Laura's gift, elf boxers with hat. Even came with jingle bells. (Laura, what were you thinking?)

How to Eat a Bagel

Many of us have been fascinated by Doug's weight-reducing method of eating bagels. He scoops out the middle of the bagel, then layers in the butter....and after consuming that, he eats the scooped-out middle with butter! Think his original intention was to discard the middle of the bagel, but he is usually too busy talking to throw it out. In fact, he was too busy talking to notice that this video was even being filmed!

Happy New Year 2008

• I'd like to take this opportunity to thank everyone at Sam's for their gift of friendship during 2007. I look forward to seeing each of you and hearing your stories. It is good for the immune system to laugh, and you always make me laugh! The intelligence, creativity, connections and kindnesses that unite this group of former strangers amazes me. So Happy New Year to each of you! Here's to many new memories and good health in 2008.

• Unfortunately, I learned yesterday that Charlie has had a major setback. He is again in Johns Hopkins, and has fallen into a coma. Tests are still being conducted. Please keep both Charlie and Patty in your prayers.

• When my computer was out of commission, we had an interesting occurence at home. Even though it was December, Harold was out raking leaves, and our Labrador Retriever, Sam, was with him. Sammy is ten years old and always chases squirrels and rabbits, but has never caught anything. On this day, he suddenly began to bark and dashed off into the woods. Several minutes later he came back, proudly wagging his tail, and gingerly holding a...... bagel. I kid you not. He would not allow the bagel to be taken from him and he ate it after parading around the yard with his trophy. Harold calls this the "Ballad of the Wild Bagel". We still don't know from whence it came (we don't keep bagels at home), so it is a pretty good mystery. None of our neighbors complained that their breakfast went missing.

• One of my faithful blog readers noted the many recent photos of Don, and perhaps was feeling left out. I promise to feature anyone on the blog who comes to Sam's in your underwear! This led to a lengthy discussion on what was overwear, underwear, or outerwear. Apparently what you wear next to your skin should be referred to as your underwear, even if it is a Speedo....... so if you wear boxers on top of that, it is transformed into overwear. I have no idea what outerwear is........ maybe the kilt?

• It was great to visit with former Sam's regulars, Gwen and Peggy, who moved to Florida last summer. On their visit, they found out that Sam's waffle iron broke after they left and was never replaced, so they had to settle for bagels. Gwen shared photos of her grandchildren, Jake and Faith. Glad they included us in their busy visiting schedule.

• Doug had promised to share the rockfish that he caught with several of Sam's faithful on Monday. They came with coolers to take home their New Year's Eve dinner, but Doug never showed up. They went home empty-handed, an experience I am sure Doug understands.

Our record number of tables linked so far.

New Year's Eve

A view from above......

Here's a contest......what would you call having a kilt placed over your head..... while being worn by someone else? ("Yucky" has already been submitted.)

Under a kilt, these boxers, under these, a Speedo. We took Don's word about the Speedo. There couldn't be boxers for Martin Luther King Day, could there?

It's "Donner", not "Donder" , you goofs at Bass's Pro Shop. ( "Donner" is the German word for thunder, "Blitzen" the German word for lightning.) Didn't Doug use to work there?

Great to see Gwen and Peggy on a visit from Florida. Cheers!

Boxing Day

Note to Don: December 26th is Boxing Day, commemorating when boxes of food were given to the poor in England and Ireland. Apparently you have confused this with "Boxer's Days". Having been treated to several pairs of Christmas boxers, we are all hoping that you do not own a "Happy New Year" pair of boxers.

Conversion Units (Courtest of Pat R.)



Ratio of an igloo's circumference to its diameter = Eskimo Pi



2000 pounds of Chinese soup = Won ton



1 millionth of a mouthwash = 1 microscope



Time between slipping on a peel and smacking the pavement = 1 bananosecond



Weight an evangelist carries with God = 1 billigram



Time it takes to sail 220 yards at 1 nautical mile per hour = Knotfurlong



16.5 feet in the Twilight Zone = 1 Rod Serling



Half of a large intestine = 1 semicolon



1,000,000 aches = 1 megahurtz



Basic unit of laryngitis = 1 hoa rsepower



Shortest distance between two jokes = A straight line



453.6 graham crackers = 1 pound cake



1 million- microphones = 1 megaphone



2 million bicycles = 2 megacycles



365.25 days = 1 unicycle



2000 mockingbirds = 2 kilomockingbirds



52 cards = 1 decacards



1 kilogram of falling figs = 1 Fig Newton



1000 milliliters of wet socks = 1 literhosen



1 millionth of a fish = 1 microfiche



1 trillion pins = 1 terrapin



10 rations = 1 decoration



100 rations = 1 C-ration



2 monograms = 1 diagram



4 nickels = 1 paradigm



2.4 statute miles of intravenous surgical tubing at Yale University Hospital = 1 IV League

Cheer for Charlie

Charlie is getting his strength and balance back after a nasty fall. He is receiving PT and dialysis at the Randallstown Center off of Liberty Road. A group of us went to sing carols to him. We were so bad he nearly bolted from the room, but we did make him laugh. Visitors and phone calls are welcome (he has his cell phone with him). Patty and his family threw him a delicious holiday party last Sunday, heard he enjoyed the homemade food. Through everything, Charlie keeps his sense of humor and remembers the holiday season. In fact, when he saw us enter his room jingling bells, his first words were, "Jesus Christ!"

Pat, Jack and Gladys with Charlie

Jean, Paul, Sue and Harold with Charlie

Holiday Pictures

Watch out, Santa Don sits on YOUR lap!

The Gang spreads joy (and cream cheese) to all

A Christmas Miracle: Don's stocking moves ever closer to Laura's

Doug treats his son, Scott, to breakfast. Must be Christmas!

Bill and Jean get a "Christmass" surprise.

Andrea tells Santa Don her wish. (However, he came back the next day)

Merry Christmas

John and Don spread Christmas cheer

For those of you who missed it, here is Pat Richardson's original poem. Enjoy!

With Apologies to Willie Shakespeare

With gloomy clouds and darkened sky,
The Winter Solstice doth arrive.
The snow hath dropped,
The wind doth blow,
We hear the bells and Ho, Ho, Ho.

A hearty few will brave the weather,
Embarking on another endeavor.
The bagels beckon, toasty, warm,
They draw us out into the storm.

Eating, drinking, with fervered glee,
We keep each other company.
We know who’s pregnant and who is not,
Our news is current and on the spot.

Some do not hold us so dear,
But we wish you all a happy new year.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Cheers

Here ye, esteemed patrons of Sam's (Samians? Samites? Samsters?): whether you celebrate the birth of Jesus, the miracle of the channuka minorah, the solstice signaling brighter days to come, or simply that Don usually starts wearing long pants in January, may the glow within each of our hearts reach far beyond the breakfast table and kindle the best in one another this holiday season.

Going Wireless

Shhh, we are now able to blog live thanks to someone nearby providing an excellent wireless signal in Sam's. We will enjoy it as long as it lasts! Alicia was able to prove her point today by looking up a website.

Welcome back, Don! He reported that the Gulf was boring, too shallow to swim in, and just good for sitting in while reading the paper. His daughters and grandchildren joined them for a hectic three-day visit between very late and very early flights. Don recalled one past Thanksgiving when he threw a roll the length of the table, hitting his sister-in-law in the head. Don's excuse was that she had asked for a roll! However, she left and never came back! Don credited his mother with enforcing a standard of family behavior, noting she she did not tolerate bad behavior and that it was dealt with immediately. He lamented that his wife's family has no enforcer in charge, so dysfunctional behavior occurs. Laura commented that every family has some degree of dysfunction to it.

This discussion left Alicia grateful for her functional family. Alicia put up her first Christmas tree this weekend. She recalled one gathering where all 75 of her extended family were celebrating the day after Thanksgiving. Apparently they were so noisy that their neighbor, Steven Tyler of the rock band Aerosmith, called the police for diturbing the peace. Luckily, Alicia's cousin was on the local police force. So the family just put on an Aerosmith CD and cranked the volume up even higher!

Mike came in with his Dad and confided in Doug that Andrea was his girlfriend. Here is a photo of you two together, Mike, plus a nice photo of you, your Dad, and Doug in black jackets.

Dr. Mike asked us what was our most extravagent purchase. Gladys said it was her grandfather clock. She had wanted one for a long time and even created a needlepoint to hang in its spot. It creates reverence for the past, and something the family associates with visiting Grandma and Grandpa. Dr. Mike said it was his classical guitar; he needed an excellent guitar because he said he didn't play that well! The rest of us are hoping to splurge in the future. Sue would like to bubble under the stars in a Jacuzzi someday.

Jean shared some jokes she heard on the radio.
What do the Ravens and Billy Graham have in common?

They both can make 70,000 people in a stadium stand up and yell "Jesus"!


What do you call 53 men sitting around the TV?


The Ravens watching the Super Bowl.



How do you keep ravens out of your yard?

Put up a goal post.


And on that note, may everyone enjoy the Ravens on Monday night football tomorrow!

Sam's Bagels in Real Time!

Charlie's back! We were so glad to see him drive and make it into Sam's for a bagel. Andrea told him he was still the sexiest man she knows!

Dr. Mike is taking his son snow boarding in West Virginia. Doug went to Lake Placid for his first skiing adventure, and became hooked. Dr. Mike recommends skiing in the west, where the peaks can be 10,000 feet and runs can last a half hour.

Operation Welcome Home 4-6pm Thursday

Submitted from Glenn :)

UPDATE – NEW TIME FOR TOMORROW…As sometimes happens, the time of tomorrow’s flight has been moved back by a couple hours. We are now looking at an arrival between 4:00-6:00 pm. Please arrive no later than 3:30 pm. The volunteer leaders for tomorrow’s flight are Bob and Arlise Cianelli, so please let them know if you will be attending just in case the flight time moves again. Let them know the best number to call you on. Also, if you have not already purchased a food/bottled water donation for tomorrow, don't worry about it. We have enough supplies for tomorrow, b ut will take items if you already purchas ed something that you planned on bringing. We don't want to turn away donations, but we also don't want you to make a trip to the store when we are already covered for tomorrow. Thanks again!

NEXT EVENT…Wednesday, December 5th with arrival by troops in the early afternoon – time to be disclosed closer to day of event

FREE TICKETS THIS WEEKEND...We have been given 20 free tickets to the Ft. Meade Officers' Wives Annual Tour of Homes this Sunday. Tours of about 12 officers homes decorated for Christmas occur between 3:00-7:00 pm. Normally, tickets are $10 each, but the Officers' Wives Club is so grateful for the work of Operation Welcome Home that they have given us these free tickets. They learned about us in the news. We still have some tickets left. If you can attend, please let John Flynn know by responding to this e-mail. Let him know how many tickets you need. Tickets are first-come, first-serve. For those interested, there is also a Craft Fair occurring from 10:00am-5:00pm at the same location. Thanks for all you do to support our troops!


OPERATION WELCOME HOME (MARYLAND)

Date: Thursday, November 29th

Time: Report by 3:30pm (troops are scheduled to arrive between 4:00-6:00pm – times are always subject to change) - Please let us know if you plan to attend so we can make you aware of any other updates on the time; please provide Bob and Arlise Cianelli with your cell phone number (or land line) as they will use the old-fashioned phone tree should there be any changes. Their contact information is below.

Parking: You have three options: (1) park in the hourly parking lot (cost is free for first ½ hour and $2 every ½ hour after that); (2) park in a private lot
($6.85 for daily parking with coupon at http://www.econoparkexpress.com/ or $6.90 for daily parking at http://www.airportfastpark.com/main/baltimore.aspx)
or (3) perhaps the easiest way is to drop off your guests at the airport (if you are carpooling) and park at the free parking lot for the light rail and ride it
to the airport - it drops you off right at the international terminal where our event is ($3.20 roundtrip or $1.10 roundtrip for seniors – more info and light
rail schedule at http://www.mtamaryland.com/services/lightrail/schedule/lightrail.pdf). If there are any developments on free parking, we wi ll let you know.

Gate: Come to BWI - International Flights/Lower Level at Customs

What to Bring: Wear something patriotic and feel free to bring handmade
signs welcoming our troops home and thanking them for their service. Please also keep bringing those thank you cards from children. Do not worry about bringing any food/bottled water donations for the goodie bags tomorrow.&a mp;n bsp; We have plenty of supplies for the bags. If you have already purchased items for the goodie bags, feel free to bring them. If you have not yet gotten anything, do not worry about it. We have a good supply on hand for the troops for tomorrow.

Call Bob and Arlise Cianelli: Feel free to e-mail Bob and Arlise at bobcianelli@comcast.net or if you are coming at the last minute, call them on their cell phone at (410) 299-0886. Again, please let them know if you intend to go and provide them with your cell phone number (or land line). They will be sure
to keep you looped in on any updates, but they cannot do that if they don't know you're coming.

Sincerely,

John Flynn and Kathy Thorp
Co-Chairs

Shopping Penguin

This is a nice contrast to the shopping frenzy Scott witnessed on Black Friday!

There's always a way out

Check out this video courtesy of our friend, Don. He's baaaaack!!

Bigger Pictures!

Well, blogging is a new experience and I am learning as I go. Found out that if you double-click on a photo posted here, it will enlarge to a full-screen picture. (It doesn't work on the sidebar "Who's Who" pictures). You can really see the ink stains on Doug's pants with this method! Enlarge Dana and Jeff below.

After Thanksgiving

Dana and Jeff

Hope everyone had a relaxing holiday! We were very grateful to be together and enjoyed seeing Katelyn, in from Columbia College of Chicago. Devoured my Mom's specialties including oyster stuffing, creme-de-menthe parfaits, and peanut soup in addition to the traditional favorites. We played a hilarious game of Balderdash where one makes up definitions for real words. What is your definition for "funting"? "Wikicup"?

Scott was in on Black Friday after his first (and last) experience with 6 am bargain-hunting. He realized he was way too late to carry out a new TV when a woman elbowed him in the back and yelled at him to get out of the way. He was happy to make it out alive with a new drill as a consolation prize. He also reported that his sweet potatoes were excellent and shared his recipe.

Lois and Gene finally had their construction project completed. See Pat, it may be possible that your project may soon be completed too!

Gladys and Jacks's tiny great-grand-daughter, Ava, said the last word of each line of the Thanksgiving blessing, ending with "We give thanks for everything"!

Jean came in limping after the holiday. She thinks she may have injured it while performing her lively version of the Soul-ja Boy dance for her guests. Sorry I don't have video documentation of this.

Doug reported eating three meals, ending up at Jeff's, his neighbor. He rode his bike on Thanksgiving morning in preparation for all those calories.

Laura's oil light turned on and she bought 3 quarts of oil on Thanksgiving. However, the gas station attendant said he couldn't put the oil in for her. So she drove to the Catonsville Fire Station and asked for Scott and Dana. Upon learning that they were transferred to another station, she persuaded some helpful men in blue to put the oil in for her. Our Laura is resourceful!

On Saturday, one of Sam's customers (who usually takes a table of 6 for himself) left immediately after his two small tables were pulled apart and another couple sat next to him. He did leave his newspaper for the couple. However, he didn't come back today to read his paper. I was wondering if this was just a coincidence or whether his sense of privacy had been violated. Although he has never joined our group or even smiled at us, he always sat facing us and was a fixture at Sam's. If he comes back, I decided it is time to strike up a conversation and at least find out his name.

Count your blessings as the holiday season commences!

Sam's open on Thanksgiving

Sam's will be open on Thanksgiving from 7 am to 2 pm.

Design by Alicia and Dr. Mike

Paul and Jean brought in some of their unique Deodar Cedar pinecones on Saturday and Sunday and shared them with the gang. One of their trees is recognized as the champion deodar cedar tree in Maryland and sports a plaque with that proclamation. As you can see from the photo, the pine cones resemble wooden roses. When glue is added, the cones can last as decorations for many years. Dr. Mike, Pat R. , Pat F. and Bill took cones home - bring in your crafty, creative efforts made with the cones and/or photograph them for the blog. Share your talents, and the talents of your loved ones!

Sue, Bill, Paul and Jack distribute cones on Sunday

Christmas music already?

Topping this morning’s conversation was the super gigantic fish – the bona fide whopper – that Doug caught. Its massive bulk was awesome. Its scales were heavier than roof shingles. It dragged his boat for forty-five minutes before he wrestled and reeled the beast in by sheer will and force.

Doug has a photo of himself holding aloft this magnificent creature but hasn’t shared it with his blog-mates because it’s from last year (or he doesn’t know how). He’ll post a shot of his next catch instead (via Mike if he can’t figure out how). We must ponder the precise prodigious proportions of last year’s prize pescado ourselves, but considering Doug’s modesty, my bet is it was two to three times whatever size he described.

Speaking of prizes, we at Sam’s are justifiably proud of the three dazzling examples of the majestic "champion" evergreen species presiding over the front of Paul’s and Jean’s beautiful home. Each autumn, their boughs issue a myriad of rose-like cones as delicate as Faberge Eggs. Stay tuned, folks, for this week’s Bagel Art, which I understand from good sources, will feature several of these special cones prominently.

Hello Ladies:

Pat, thanks for summoning Dr. Mike back, and may your cement settle and air be clear of sawdust soon.

Sue, I hope you made it through today well and derive some consolation from hearing you look mahvellous in black sequins.

Alicia, Yay – the sun and breeze cooperated this afternoon!

Farewell to Don

Bye Bye Don

Bye Bye Happiness

Hello Loneliness

I think I'm gonna die

Bye Bye our Don goodbye!

Our loss is Florida's (temporary) gain!

Hugs for Doug

Doug attempts to protect himself from Jeff's and Don's unwanted advances

Doug showed up on Thursday morning with blue ink all over the crotch of his khaki pants. Strangely, his hands were devoid of ink. Glenn posed with a blue cereal bowl on his head to commemorate this strange blue event.