Yesterday was a great day because our granddaughter Harper was admitted into the Honors Program at the University of Florida. I think any grandparent or parent is happy, even thrilled when someone they care about gets what they want, particularly when at least a semi impartial assessment leads to the conclusion that they deserve to attain their goal. What I am not good at, in fact I am terrible, is dealing with them not prevailing.
Decades ago, son Charles lost in the finals of the State Debate Championship. I can tell you there was no f——-g way he lost it was not even a close call. I screamed in my sleep for weeks. That screwing so permeated me that I am still writing about it about 40 years later and I still pissed off.
So yesterday Barbara and I cheered and cheered some more. Harper overcame a lot of adversity none of which was her fault. She is proof that a person who perseveres and finally catches some long overdue breaks can recover and create the opportunity to lead a quality life.
Congratulation Harper Valley (my nickname for this granddaughter). We have three granddaughters. The youngest is waiting to see if she gets into the high school of her choice, which I think she will. The oldest two Harper and Alanna have both hit the jackpot. Alanna is starting nursing school at the University of Miami which is one of the top programs in the country.
It is hard to articulate because both these young ladies are outstanding and 100% deserved achieving their objectives. However, somehow at least to me, they both did it quietly, matter of factly and in a way that brought minimum attention to the process
How fortunate Barbara and I are to have lived to enjoy what they call in Yiddish, the “nachas” of seeing two exceptional kids knock over all the pins.
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Got creamed in trivial pursuit but won in poker, then gave my speach. It went well I am told. Many passenger wil see it on closed circuit ship television and it is too early to get any feedback.
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We are off the ship today to travel to The Great Barrier Reef. Barbara will go in the water. I will coach from the catamaran. This is our second visit.
Our scheduled wine tour in Adelaide was cancelled. Not sure what we will do.
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Had a very pleasant dinner with Percy and Phoebe on the pool patio. Had no intention of going to the show which was five crew and five passengers in a dancing contest. However, one of the crew members who has been particularly kind to us put the program together, his Wife was one of the contestants and when he asked me to attend, I simply could not decline. So now, as I finish this post, it is almost 11 p.m which is not good.
Anyway, it was a great day personally. I could still speak extemporaneously for 45 minutes without stumbling which made me feel good, and, of course, the super highlight was our granddaughter’s acceptance.
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I think Fox News is in big, big trouble. They deserve to be.
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See you tomorrow. At least that is my plan.
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Go Ukraine
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