I am back....

span style="font-family:arial;">Ok, so it has been a few weeks and I know I have a boat load of things to talk about, so here it goes:



1. When I came back from Lineman School a few weeks ago, I asked Bapple to marry me. For those of you that have known me for a long time, you will know that a few years ago, I was as far from ever wanting to get married as possible. Ahhh, how the seasons have changed. I am a very happy person (for the most part, I am still an a-hole on certain, stubborn issues) and it is largely due to Bapple in my life.





2. Father Time had his annual pig roast. Always a good time. I get to see alot of people I have not seen in a years time.









3. The Justin Rollins Memorial Ride was a great time and a huge success for the scholarship fund in his honor. I would say around 200-250 motorcycles were on this ride. It was great to see so many to turn out in honor of those who give their lives for our freedom.



5. Stormy weather..... for 2 weekends in a row we were hit by nasty weather. High winds & lightning that wreaked havoc with the power lines. Weekend 1 we worked from 8PM Thursday night to 9PM Saturday night for initial storm restoration. The following week consisted of 10-12 hour days cleaning up loose ends. THEN this past Saturday night, a nasty lightning storm blew through around 6PM....(mind you I had put on around 250 miles on the Harley, in the blazing heat during the day) so at 8PM, I was called into work and worked straight through until 2:30PM Sunday. I am ready for some rest.....for real! Oh yeah, did I mention that somewhere in all these days that I managed to get bit by a frigin dog while working....WTF?



I have also been fortunate enough to stay in touch with a buddy from lineman school. The guy made me laugh on a daily basis at school, so it is nice to be able to talk to someone who is in the same occupational level that I am currently on!! In 2 weeks I will be back at school for 2 weeks, and I am hoping that I get a chance to go out and smash back a few drinks with these guys!!





Ok, I have typed way more than I can usually stand, so.......



Remember to put the seat up, especially after 3 cocktails... 5:30PM 8/28/07

Coming to a close....

Well, after 2 months of hot, exhausting training here in Mass, my time here is over tomorrow. I am very excited and saddened at the same time. I have made some good friends down here as we all had to go through a very challenging regiment to see if we were capable of being linemen. If it wasn't for being away from Bapple & having to live in a hotel, this would be a great thing to have to do every day. I get to come back in a few weeks for 2 more weeks of 3RD Class lineman school, after that...2 years.

Oh well. It will be nice to get to the Harley on a daily basis again. Bapple will now be riding next to me instead of behind me now that she has bought her own bike. Let's see how she does, if she can run with the big dogs.

---8/10/2007 2:45PM

Hurricane Hudsons.....

My second Family....the Hudsons....were all in the area for the celebration of 'Big R's' life and what a wonderful person he was. Naturally, we celebrated like it was 1990 all over again. I had the privilege of socializing with all them all. I got to see Jen & Mike with their 2 sons TJ & Dylan, Darrell & Tina with their daughter LA, Gladys (who when seeing me gave me a great big bear hug!), of course Dad & Mom (Big D & Chris), and the Austin family in it's entirety...4 generations worth!! I was even privileged enough to meet some new faces, like cousin Zippy. This guy was right up my alley....biker, tattoos, warped sense of humor....he was great!
It was a good time to talk about the old days and the present days AND drink many beers. It is always nice to see how people have changed, and how they can be the same. It is too bad that it sometimes takes a tragedy to get us all together. I need to work on being in touch with all theses people a little more so than I do. Especially Gladys, she is such a sweet heart! I also got the chance to introduce all these people to Bapple (Angie). That was of utmost importance to me, that the people I grew up with and care about meet the one I care for now.
Ok, enough of this, too sappy.
Gotta run.

--smell ya later 4:44PM 8/2/2007