40 years of Sesame Street

While I can relate to Ernie by probosis is more like Burts

Hilton Head Concours d'Elegance 2009

Entered my Alfa Romeo GTAm into the 2009 Hilton Head Island Concours d'Elegance & Motoring Festival. It was one of 150 cars selected for this years event.

Here is my car in the GT Touring Class (actually it is between classes as it could also have been entered in the Mixed Racers class).

Medical Antique Collection for Sale

Dr. Saleeby's Antique Medical Instruments& Books

Sample of Dr. Saleeby's Antique Medical Instrument Collection. Photo by Paul Nurenberg, featured in Savannah Magazine in 2005

Over 100 medical antiques and books from 100 AD Roman instruments to Civil War Era (amputation kit, field surgical kit, etc.) to 1940's -50's equipment.

Currently for Sale (e-mail for price and viewing)

Remembering our Vets

On our way home from Greer, SC and a layover near Charlotte on Sunday our travels brought us through Rockingham and to a Veteran's Memorial near a VFW building. We stopped to pay our respects to the honored men and women who defend our freedoms. Pictured here are some memorial plaques (not tombs) and either a M48 or M60 tank facing the VFW building.

Meal of the trip: Trio - A brick oven cafe in downtown Greenville, SC.

EuroAutoFest 2009

A day (wet day) at the Euro Auto Fest in Greer, SC

Mike co-piloting the car as we drove up in the winners parade towards the podium.

The Euro Auto Festival 2009 in Greer, SC (held on the BMW plant). Despite the bad weather managed to capture a 1st place (Best in Class/Best of Alfa Romeo) and the Crowd Pleaser Award. Here "Ciao Bella" sits between some Farraris and a Maserati.

Accepting the trophy plaques from EAF official.

Car did great on the way up to the show. While driving back we hit a snag near Asheboro. Dead batter due to alternator failure. Had to have her flatbeded to Alfa Imports in Charlotte to have the folks there fix-her-up for HHI show end of month.

BrookGreen Gardens, Murrells Inlet, SC

Our second visit to Brookgreen Gardens at Murrells Inlet, SC
An open air 9000 acre sculpture museum. Awesome place to get lost for a day.

Scotland Highland Games - Laurinburg, NC

Today Sharon and I took the kids to the Highland Games. We spent much of the morning and early afternoon enjoying the singing, bagpipes and drum bands and the "heavy events"... Caber toss, hammer throw, etc. that make up much of the games. Food was good too... Had my helping of Haggis. Next year we all go in kilts.

Madison named Dancer of the Month in September

Madison who turns 9 years old in September is named "Dancer of the Month" by the Pointe Dance & Arts Academy in Durham, NC. (picture above is of Degas' Little Dancer)

9/26/2009

Sharon and I decorated our $1 with crayons and permanent markets (that was part of our waitresses tip....wink)

Working a string of shift at RH and off one afternoon in Lake Lure on our 3rd Wedding Anniversary. Well we had lunch and "left our mark" with a custom designed $1-bill. We had lunch at Larkins at the Lake's Bayfront Bar & Grill (*). There are hundreds of customized (yes defaced dollar-bills) hanging on walls, doors and the ceiling. We added one special one.

Thar she is... forever hanging on the wall in the Bar&Grill (or at least until she burns down or the Secret Service come in to retrieve all them ol' bills to pay off our national deficit).

Charleston Trip / USS Yorktown

Picture of the kids (Michael, Anna & Madison (L-R) on a Parrot Gun (cannon) in front of the USS Yorktown Aircraft Carrier/Museum)

Weekend with the kids in Charleston. The week prior I was in town doing some marketing for my new house call practice. Met some interesting people including a journalist from the local paper who interviewed me on the Rep. Joe Wilson outburst (will be written up in the paper). Met some nice folks at the compounding pharmacies and some local gyms.

Made it to some nice restaurants too. Santi's is always good, and their salsa is supreme. We had lunch at "Taco Boy" and the food and atmosphere was awesome! But the most special meal was last night at the Boulevard Diner. We had some awesome pork osso buco with collard greens and smashed potatoes and a pecan pie for dessert.

Top Blogger honors on Wellsphere

Dr. J P Saleeby, MD

General Medicine Community

Greenville, SC / Spartanburg, SC

Liberty Bridge at Falls Park on the Reedy River

We started our day the evening before... on 9.10.09 we came into Greenville, SC at the advice of a co-worker from Rutherford Hospital that just said we had to visit this very cool city center.

We geocached a bit the first afternoon taking us to the Confederate Museum http://www.confederatemuseum.org if you have a chance definitely stop by. While it was closed the curator was out back doing some construction to add parking spaces. He stopped what he was doing to give us a personal private tour... very accommodating. And I loved the Civil War era medical antique collection.

Later we took in the downtown and the inner-city park and walking bridge. Loads of shop and restaurants. Very pedestrian and no wonder it is listed in the Top 10 places to live in the USA (ranked 2nd).

We decided to stay overnight and continue our visit the next day. We had sushi at an eclectic Japanese-TexMex place called TakoSushi (http://tako-sushi.com/themenu.html) and for our entre we walked a block or two away for Indian at Handi (http://www.handiindiancuisine.com/).

Our stay was downtown a stones throw from the park where people were watching the Clemson-GA Tech game in the streets or dancing to a beach-music band or listening to a gangle of live musicians set up all over the downtown area. The Westin Poinsett Hotel.

Sculpture of Joel Roberts Poinsett (above)

Mr. Poinsett was a Statesman • Diplomat • Naturalist
Founder, National Institution for the promotion of science, forerunner of the Smithsonian Institution

• First United States Minister to Mexico •
• United States Secretary of War •
While serving as Minister to Mexico in 1825, Poinsett introduced to America a species of the Euphorbia plant later named Poinsettia pulcherrima in his honor.
We eventually left Greenville for Spartanburg, SC but found it not as pretty as Greenville. We did have lunch at a cool deli (http://www.grouchos.com) and met the owner who was a pleasant fellow.

Marine Falls in Afganistan.

http://www.livingstondaily.com/article/20090904/NEWS01/90904003

Ben “Stiggy” Castiglione was killed in September 2009 in Afganistan while on patrol by an IED that went off when he stepped on it. This news came from a patient of mine whose son is serving in the Marines and knew this young man.

Stiggy was everyone’s buddy and the Marines he served with loved him.

Please take a few minutes to think about this young man and his family.

A wonderful tribute to our injured and fallen heroes of the Armed Forces is represented in the HBO movie "Taking Chance" with Kevin Bacon. If you haven't seen the movie... go watch it and learn that the majority of American's do respect and admire the sacrifices our young men and women are making for our freedoms.

Trip to Greenville, SC... remembering a hero from 1962 (the day before the 8th anniversary of 9-11)

While in Greenville, SC we strolled through Cleveland Park geocaching and discovered this F-86 Sabre Jet near Ridgeland Drive. This F-86 Sabre Jet is a memorial, dedicated to Maj. Rudolf Anderson Jr. on May 19, 1963.

Commonly nicknamed "Dog Saber“, "Dog“ and the "Honey Bucket“ by its aviators, the Sabre Jet was one of the last military jets to be flown manually by a single pilot and Rudolf Anderson’s favorite airplane to fly.

Maj. Anderson, a Greenville native and Clemson graduate, became the only combat casualty in the Cuban Missile Crisis when his plane was shot down. While on a thirteen mile high reconnaissance mission over Cuba, Major Rudolf Anderson, Jr., a U-2 pilot, was shot down by a Soviet, SA-2, surface-to-air missile, during the Cuban Missile Crisis, on October 27, 1962.

He was the only man of any nationality to lose his life in the conflict. Some of the wreckage of Major Anderson’s U-2 can be found in two museums in Havana, Cuba.

Major Rudolf Anderson Jr.

Real "Royal Pains" Practice comes to your home.

A REAL "Royal Pains" practice come to NC & SC.

New Practice for JP

JP is now accepting new patients for his "house call" practice in Charleston, SC and the Research Triangle (RDU) area of NC.

For more info call toll free (800) 965-8482

Atlanta Trip

Atlanta GA's Stone Mountain with Confederate President Jefferson Davis, Gen. Robert E. Lee & Gen. Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson sculpture.

Had the kids for another week. Started out for Atlanta, GA for a few days... some work, some fun..I had to recertify my ATLS. We stopped for lunch in Madison, GA (near Lake Ocoone). Once in Atlanta we stayed with David my brother-in-law and got to visit with Christina and Victoria. Then it was off to Stone Mountain Park. We took the gondola ride up but climbed down by foot and around the base of the sculptured granite mountain. We had our obligatory German meal at the local Stone Mt. Village German Restaurant. The following day was pool time after my ATLS class. Afterwards we visited with the Casals and rested for our big day at the Georgia Acquarium.

The Georgia Acquarium.. the largest in the world (outside pic above and in the "tunnel" below with whale-shark swimming overhead. Some 6+million gallons of water in all their tanks. Wow.

Two little Mermaids... Anna and Madison at the GA Aquarium

July 3 - 10th

Second summer vacation week with kids. Splendid time at Lake Lure Rumbling Bald Mt. Resort. We did the 4th in style at the Lakes firework display not to mention the whole day of festivities. We also spent quality time hiking, sightseeing in and around Chimney Rock and Hendersonville, NC.

Need we say more......

New Campaign Poster for our South Carolina Governor

Sic Semper Tyrannis

Washington, DC Trip Day 5

Frank Lloyd Wright Design in VA.

Yesterday we started our long retreat from Washington, DC area toward Durham, NC. Taking the same routes that the Union Generals followed as they pursued the Confederate forces southward. We could not get out of Mt. Vernon without a stop at George Washington's Grist Mill. Then on to Woodlawn and the Pope-Leighey House (a Frank Lloyd Wright design). Afterwards it was on to Richmond to the Civil War Museum State Park and Gunnery there where Michael, Madison & Anna became Junior Park Rangers after completing some rather difficult tasks. Dinner was at a local Brew Pub in downtown Richmond. We stayed the night at the Kerr Lake in Clarkesville, VA

Washington, DC Trip Day 4

A solemn and sober moment as we silently attended the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Solider (Arlington Nat. Cemetery). Remember these dedicated soldiers from the 3rd Infantry Regiment (Old Guard) keep vigil here 24/7. As you read this remember one is valiantly marching in front of this tomb come hell or high water. Awesome to think about and what a tribute to our fallen defenders of freedom and democracy. [click on picture to see video of changing of guard on youtube]

President / General Grant statue in front of US Capitol Bldg.

Where the heck is Obama? We waited for him to open up the gate and let us in for some tea. Michael is on the mobile phone with White House security to straighten out the problem. VP Biden was blah blah blah... we didn't get anywhere..... given all the red tape. (wink)


We all took some time at the Jefferson Memorial. Shortly after this visit is when Sharon & Anna witnessed the chaos of the shooting in front of the Holocaust Museum just minutes after this picture was taken.

Sharon contemplating the sacrifices our American men & women made in the conflict in Asia.

Cool pick of the Korean War Memorial reflecting soldier statue images on the marble ghost images.

Approaching the venerable Lincoln Memorial

Dad, Michael & Madison on the Washington Mall trekking our way towards the Capital.

Day 4 in Washington started out with a not-so early departure from the hotel.... we learned our lesson the day before. We waited for rush hour to END.... getting downtown by 10AM or so we took in the Iwo Jima War memorial and Carillon first then spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon at Arlington National Cemetery (taking in ). Afterwards we took in lunch at the Dupont Circle and did the Smithsonian Castle and Air and Space Museum. Dinner was Italian at the Dupont circle again.

Washington, DC Trip Day 3

At the site of the FDR Memorial (~7 acres of space) there is a sculpture depicting the times of FDRs presidency. Here this one represents those standing on line for the soup kitchen during the Great Depression. We thought it apropos at this point where the economy is headed. So we took our places on line.


A great statue of FDR with his trusted dog "Fala" seen here swarmed by the kids.

A rarely seen statue at the FDR Memorial depicting the president in a wheelchair


WWII Memorial... each of the gold stars represents 1000 American soldiers who lost their lives in both theatres of war.
The Viet Nam War Memorial


The Korean War Memorial

Yesterday started out with an early drive in to the city.... trying to beat the rush hour traffic. Non the less it still took us almost an hour to drive 15 miles. Parking was another problem. We roamed the "mall" for most of the morning. Visiting such venerable sites as the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the Jefferson Memorial and the FDR Memorial as well as the little know George Mason memorial garden. The WWII memorial, the Korean memorial and the Viet Nam war memorials were also on our list and they were solemn experiences.

Incidentally, Sharon and Anna (while separated from me and the kids) was walking past the Holocaust Memorial on her way back from picking up a book left at the Jefferson Memorial when all of a sudden, people started running out of the building, DC police stormed the building with guns drawn. Curious Anna wanted to hang around for all the action. Sharon wisely grabbed her and quickly moved away. The incident... the neo-Nazi Von Brunn (88 year old bigot) shot and killed a security guard at the site in an act of terrorism and savagery. Sharon and Anna were witness the the chaos. More pictures to follow.

On a lighter note... we did spend the afternoon at the Spy Museum before heading out for dinner. We dined on Lebanese and Mid-Eastern fair at Zikrayet...... on 17th St.

Washington, DC Trip Day 2

George Washington's Mt. Vernon estate. This is the side facing the Potomac River.

The whole gang at Mt. Vernon

The Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson "Shrine" where the General passed away after his mortal wounds during battle.In the room in which Gen. Stonewall Jackson passed. This was the original bed and furniture in the small farmhouse annex in VA where he died.

Mount Vernon was on the agenda for today. Wonderful grounds and lots of history on the 1st Prez. Sharon was most intrigued by the set of dentures on display. After most of the day at that historic site, we ventured into Washington (downtown) but we were turned around after a hell of a thunderstorm. We will pick up tomorrow were we left off today....

Washington DC Trip

The kids enjoy the Petersburg, Virginia Civil War Memorial Battlefield park. This was home to the Crater site and this cannon amongst the rebuilt fortifications were as they appeared during the Civil War.

Setting out from Durham, NC after Sunday's performance by Madison on stage with her tap routines we came across Petersburg, VA first. This stop brought us to the national Civil War battlefield that was the scene of the famous "Crater" battle. We visited the site where the Union forces blew up a tunnel dug under Confederate forces to rip a hole in their defensive lines, but then blundered by rushing headlong into the crater only to be trapped under enemy fire. This was played out in the opening scenes of the movie "Cold Mountain". While Madison was trampling around the embattlements she must have stepped on a nest of ticks... she must have had 20 tiny little ticks on her socks that quickly infested our persons and vehicle.

We also visited Gen. Stonewall Jackson's shrine.

We spent the night in Fredricksburg, VA. Today on to Mt. Vernon.....

Rumbling Bald, Lake Lure, NC

View from one of the beaches on Lake Lure... Bald Mt. is in the background

(photo courtesy of Sharon)

Sharon and I enjoyed a few days in Lake Lure @ Rumbling Bald Resort only a mile from our place. After working 3-in-a-row at Rutherford Hospital a little R&R was perfect. Spent the day in Asheville hiking, sightseeing and antiquing. Ate at Salsa's

Trails galore we hiked a few in and around Lake Lure. Will be spending some face time with the kids up here come July.

Going Green... but

OK, so one tries to do the right thing by "going green". But.....

What really chaps my A$$ is the fact that anything with "Green" attached to it apparently gives license to the retailers, wholesalers, etc. to jack up the price on anything and everything that reduces the carbon footprint or is eco-friendly. Sad but true. Not that the technology necessitates this price increase.

Hate to see those that care for the environment and make the effort penalized in the long run. Besides what law states Green has to be more costly? An analogy would be whole grain rice (often times more expensive in the market despite less processing by the producers.) Just doesn't make sense.


Two years ago I thought it would be a splendid idea to make our own compost.... less mass to put into our local landfill and the byproduct we could use around the house to fertalize our plants. Read an article in a "green" magazine that touted the new in house automated composter from NatureMill. Well it seemed worthwhile. So I plunked down the $300 for the basic unit. 2 weeks later we get one. After only 6 months it went bad. Electrical problem, it took 2 months of tinkering with the unit (as per the recommendations of customer service and after sending me replacement parts and a new motherboard on 2 occasions) when the company finally sent a replacement unit (took almost 2 months for that to arrive). And the 2nd unit with obvious upgrades and re-engineered to make it a "new and improved" product only lasted a month before it went kaput. Moral of the story... don't pay too much and go too hi-tech for green living. Keep it simple and if it sounds too good to be true... well it probably is.

Pros of the NatureMill Automatic Indoor Composter:

Looks cool
Makes you feel good that you are putting less waste into our landfills
Great conversation piece

Cons of the NatureMill Automatic Indoor Composter:

Noisy
Smells like you have rotting cabbage in the house at all times (we move it to the garage)
Uses electricity
Short life expectancy for 2 units (each lasting less than 6 months)
Does not produce significant amounts of compost
Messy and Dirty
Expensive

A reasonable alternative would be the Frontgate Earthmaker Outdoor Composter (a bit less expensive and requires no electricity) or even a spinning composter by Gaiam

Little River Band @ the Rowdy Rib in Rutherfordton, NC

Blew into town after unloading 2 SUVs full of stuff in our new Lake Lure rental. For a bite to eat we figured on the new Rowdy Rib restaurant in Rutherfordton. At first turned away because we didn't have reservations for the big show... Little River Band was playing and we knew nothing of it. However, a gal overheard our plight and offered us 2 seats at her table since two in her party had canceled. In for dinner and a show... and what a show. Working on only 3 hours of sleep... it was a big treat for our first night in R-town. Worked a crazy 3 shifts in a row at the ED over the weekend.

Anna's B-Day and Storytelling Festival

Antonio Rocha, a native of Brazil, began his career in the performing arts in 1985. In 1988 he received a Partners of the Americas grant to come to the USA to perform and deepen his mime skills with Master Tony Montanaro. Since then he has earned a Summa Cum Laude Theater BA from USM (University of Southern Maine) and studied with Master Marcel Marceau. Mr. Rocha's unique solo shows of stories and mime have been performed from Singapore to Hawaii in ten countries on five continents. Some of the venues include The Singapore Festival of the Arts, The National Storytelling Festival, The Kennedy Center, The Smithsonian Institution, The National Geographic, The Tales of Graz in Austria, Dunya Festival in Holland as well as many other Storytelling Festivals and educational institutions around The USA. Mr. Rocha is a member of the Maine Arts Commission, The New England Foundation for the Arts and the National Storytelling Association.

http://www.sfoc.info/brochure/index.php

With Bil Lepp, the sorry, low-down lie
becomes a grand and glorious creation,
a verbal sculpture in which a hundred
small fibs, stretchers, falsehoods and
prevarications are piled together,
shaped and molded into one stunning,
awe-inspiring cathedral of flapdoodle
and bull.”
-Duke Divinity Magazine- Bob Wells

“Bil Lepp, a preacher and five-time winner
of "biggest liar" competitions, stars his
gun-shy hunting dog Buck in a tale that
grows taller and taller -- and then even
taller. Listeners are howling with the
hilarity, tears of laughter streaking
faces split with wide-mouth grins. When
the young teller wraps up his story in
one more burst of implausibility, the
audience leaps to its feet, cheering. All hail the king!

This weekend was Anna's 11th B-day and we all had a ball... went to Laurinburg, NC for the Storrytelling Festival and ended the weekend by tie-dying t-shirts.

More pics to follow.

click on pic for link

Futzing Around on the Computer

Druz women near Alei(Aley)

I was futzing around on the computer today and found Bktechstay, Lebanon (the village near Souk El Gharb in the Aley District). The Google.Maps link will give you an areal view.


http://maps.google.com/maps/mpl?moduleurl=http:%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Fmapfiles%2Fmapplets%2Fpanoramio%2Fpanoramio.xml&mapclient=google&gl=us&hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=33.797164,35.619435&spn=0.002046,0.003455&t=h&z=18%3E

Face Painting Earth Day

Madison face painting and playing the part on Earth Day.

Spring Break 2009

I had M&M for a week following Easter Sunday and after spending day one with the grandparents we took a trip up to the NC Mountains. Checking out our new rental in Lake Lure we had a day hiking and exploring Chimney Rock and Lake Lure. We managed to do a bit of geocaching as well. More pictures to follow.

Lost Tribes of NY City

Check out this very interesting video.....

The Lost Tribes of New York City



from Carolyn London on Vimeo.

Nervous about flying?

A buddy of mine sent me this video of a test conducted by air safety of a goose flying into an engine (in this case it was purposefully fired into the test engine). Pre-flight Xanax anyone?

Listings

Our place in Bennettsville is listed for house-swap, short term rental (via vacation-home-rentals.tk & www.docswop.com) and sale at: www.410lakeshore.blogspot.com

Our lot in Beaufort is listed for sale at: www.princestreetbeaufort.blogspot.com

Audi

This is an Audi produced video of their success at LeMans with the Diesel powered Prototype R10 http://www.truthin24.com check it out, some really awesome footage of the races. Glad we are driving a 2006 Audi A4 Quattro.

St. Andrews College Pipe & Drum Band

Scotland Co./ Laurinburg, NC St. Andrews Presbyterian College Pipe & Drum band performed and Sharon and I with my mother and father took it all in. We all had a "Scottish" good time.

California Trip 2009

California Trip 2009

* * *

Tony Horton's P90X workout... about wiped me out.

So Beachbody called and invited me to share in their launch of Shakeology at this years Coaches Summit. They didn't need to ask twice. The folks there (Jonathan, Erika, Julie, Carolina and Chika) were all swell and set us up right with first class accommodations at the Universal City Sheraton. Was a great experience talking before a forum of 700+ BeachBody coaches and meeting Carl, Jon & Michael. Even got in an aerobic class with celeb trainer Tony Horton (made the mistake of getting right up front and center... so I could not dog-it through the whole routine)

Cool Sushi Restaurant in Hollywood.

Prior to the kick off of the BeachBody Summit we got into LA a day earlier and visited with my cousin Carol. She introduced us to some folks down on Venice Beach and we did the whole laid back Santa Monica thing. We did a light dinner at the FigTree Cafe (www.figtreecafe.com) and proceeded to our hotel late that night.

Above, Venice Beach's "Art Wall".. where graffiti artists are free to put up their art work, this is adjacent to "Muscle Beach" where open air gyms are famous for the bodybuilders showcasing their buff bods like the "Arnold the Governor" most popular in the mid 80's.

Pics of the beaches of Malibu

Friday we decided to take in the J. Paul Getty museum (Center) for the exhibits and mostly for the architecture and gardens (a Richard Meier project). Art our architectural tour guide was great (a full time professor of chemistry and physics at UCLA). The place was awesome with great vistas of the city framed through the well thought out design of the center.

Grounds at the Getty Center.. Typical Richard Meier design... structures framing the LA vista

Returned to the Sheraton for a conference with the media people and then a one hour work out with Tony Horton. He kicked my butt... managed to hang in there with the other 200 or so in the class. Was what I needed to lose the stress of air travel.

Tony "X-ed me" and I was sore for days.

That evening we attended a reception for the top coaches and had dinner at a little Italian restaurant down the road (Ca Del Sole) with Carolina and Jonathan Gelfand. Talk over dinner ranged from BeachBody to Adaptogen herbs to Jonathan's family winery.

Kojio offered some good sushi but overwhelmingly good Shabu-Shabu.....

The following day (Saturday) I followed Carl Daikeler (CEO of BeachBody) on stage to launch the new meal replacement shake (Shakeology) and talk about "science" and research behind this new dietary supplement [see package listing ingredients below].


Following the morning sessions Sharon and I departed to walk along Hollywood Blvd and check out the Kodiak theatre, Chinese theatre. We took in dinner at the Indian's Clay Oven restaurant later that day.

We love our Indian Food (dot not feathers)... and felt this place's food was a bit too mild for our liking.

The Getty offered two venues... the Center which is the main large museum and the Villa which is the more intimate and classically designed museum and grounds... with the lovely garden and Pompey like structures below.

Above I am taking in the sun & sights at the J. Paul Getty Villa

Sharon finally gets to hold hands with Dean Martin one of her favorite singers... my what small hands and feet he had... Hmmm. I had my feet in the foot prints of Jack Nicholson and Clint Eastwood.

All that cacti at the Huntington Gardens... just be careful where you sit.

Some beautiful Japanese and Chinese gardens / lots of bonsai too

Sharon snapped the pic below... very artsy, nice composition.

Sunday was beautiful and we decided to enjoy the outdoors. We headed for the Huntington Library & Gardens (much bigger place than I ever thought). Spent the day enjoying the flora and some of the exhibits there. On the way up to Pasadena we could not help but stop in at an open house... this well done, but modest (by comparison) home featured 5 BR and 6 BR an inground pool and some nice landscaping (it was located in Beverly Hills on a 'garden of eden' like street). Oh the asking price... a mere $6.8Million.

522 N Foothill Rd, Beverly Hills, CA 90210

For sale for: $6,875,000 | Bedrooms: 6 | Bathrooms: 6&1/2 | | Lot size: small

OK... back down to Earth.........On Monday we visited the new Beachbody HQ in Santa Monica and were given the royal VIP treatment by the staff there... how nice. Then it was off to the J. Paul Getty Villa (in Malibu) and we spent the day wandering the exhibits and gardens there before heading out to Paradise Cove to hook up with cousin Carol and have dinner on the beach.

Here I am in front of the famous Griffith Observatory contemplating the Universe and the billions and billions of galaxies... Hmmmmmm. This was the ONLY star gazing I did in LA, because quite frankly they are the only stars that really matter.......

Tuesday marked our last day in LA and we went out with a bang. BIG BANG that is.... we headed up the hills towards the famous Griffith Observatory and Park. It was our only chance to geocache on the trip and we found one near the park. This lead us to another open house.. this time a literal "dump" (c.1950 home that needed everything updated)... and they were asking $1.3M... Crazy prices. Anyway, the observatory was Sharon's first planetarium experience and we glanced at the sun real-time via a dual laser sun telescope. That evening we tried to get in to see Jimmy Kimmel Live, but there were over booked on tickets (maybe next time, didn't feel too bad as the guest list was no one I would have cared to see anyway)... so on to dinner just around the corner from the Kodiak theatre on Hollywood Blvd in a place called Koji Sushi & Shabu Shabu restaurant... this was my first shabu shabu experience and Sharon and I agreed it was the best meal we had in LA this trip. We got in late despite a 3AM wake up call to get to LAX for our return trip to Charlotte.

near the Kodak Theatre got tired of waiting online for Jimmy Kimmel tickets.

Days were numbered for the beard... it comes off in the Spring.. but figured I would let my hair grow out for the trip (just kidding folks, this spiky quaff was part of the visor) But don't I look "LA Cool"?

Shakeology Launch at Beach Body Summit '09

Dr. Saleeby speaks to coaches on the "science & research" behind Shakeology in Hollywood, CA on March 14th, 2009 at their Annual Coaches Summit.

http://www.beachbody.com/category/video.do?bclid=6615764001 (click on Summit '09 Day 2 for video)

http://www.milliondollarbody.com/shakeology/index.htm

Yurt Experience

This write up on our "YURT" experience is to be found in "Diversion" Magazine's Second Opinion Column.

----
My wife and I frequent the mountains of Western North Carolina on a regular basis and on our last trip we decided to depart from the usual Bed & Breakfast experience. We were looking for killer mountain views, serene surroundings and a "green" experience.

We had heard talk about the Yurt as an alternative accommodation in our travels. A Yurt you may ask? Well this is the usual portable dwelling of those on the Mongolian steppes. Usually composed of wooden beams and animal skins as cover, a central access through the roof allows for stove pipes to exit and as a source of sunlight. The stove makes for the centerpiece of the yurt and as a gathering place on cold nights. The traditional flooring is hard compacted dirt and the furniture very simple and practical. The Mongolian herdsmen are a hardy bunch of folk and the plains in which they live are rather unforgiving. Yet over the course of some 2500 years they have developed quite a comfortable and cozy dwelling place.

The idea of yurt living has caught on in America in some circles and there are several outfits that manufacture "modern" yurts with conveniences that Americans are accustom (indoor plumbing, hard-wood floors, more conventional fireplaces and even air conditioning units). Our stay was in one of five yurts available for rent at Campfire Lodging in Asheville, NC (http://www.campfirelodgings.com/yurt.asp). ;

While this was the adventure we sought we would recommend Spring, Summer or Fall to others as the best time to stay in a yurt. Our winter stay was a little on the "crisp" side as it took nearly all night for the fireplace to heat up our yurt. A complete list of yurts available for rent can be found at the web site Yurt Lodging (http://www.yurtlodging.com).

http://www.diversion.com/forum_topic_details.aspx?pageid=1&id=31

March 2-4 2009

Well it was time again for the SG Med. Dir. Forum and this time we took 4 days off to attend in Atlanta (now referred to as ATL)... boy the city has changed since I was there last. And I now know why I live in a small rural town. But to be fair we stayed the first evening at an interesting B&B near 5-points/ Virginia-Highlands area. We stayed in the "Red" room of the Dudley Suite at the Laurel Hill B&B. Dave the innkeeper was gracious and James the cook was great... and what a breakfast. It helped us survive the dinner the evening prior at the Indian Restaurant at 5-Points.

Then off to the MDF at the Omni Hotel and CNN Center. Fast forward to skip all the meeting stuff and we had dinner on the Hawk's practice court before taking in an Atlanta Thrashers (NHL) game against the Jacksonville Panthers (Thrashers got thrashed 2 to 4 on the ice). Non the less... was great fun and we even got a kick at seeing Kip Schumacher riding the Zamboni during half-time.

After 5 hours + driving and a few hours touring Madison, GA (one of our favorite little towns near ATL) and a quick nostalgic drive thru Augusta & MCG (Sharon got to see where I lived with Adolph in the "hood" back in the day... the place has actually held up quite nicely on 3rd Ave and Telfair) we were back home to the peace and quiet of Lakeshore Dr.

Royal Governor Alexander Spotwoods' Bible Desk offered

The Bible Desk/Nautical Desk of Royal Governor Alexander Spotswood of Virginia

Royal Governor Alexander Spotswood's Bible/Nautical Desk

Bible Desk Box c. 1640 (English) with the stand added in early 1700s (most probably American). From the Spotswood-Cabaniss Family Estate. Acquired in Savannah, GA in 1995 at Auction.


History on the Royal Governor
Alexander Spotswood
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Born cir 1676
Tangier Garrison, Morocco
Died June 7, 1740 (aged 64)
Annapolis, Ann Arundel, Maryland
Residence Governor's mansion, Virginia, U.S.
Spouse(s) Elizabeth Butler Brayne
Children John M. Spotswood (1725 - 6 May 1756)

Anne Catherine Spotswood (1728 - cir 1802)
Dorothea Spotswood (cir 1729 - 23 September 1773)
Robert Spotswood (cir 1732 - 1758)
Parents Robert Spottiswoode and Catharine Maxwell

Alexander Spotswood (c. 1676 - 6 June 1740) was a Lieutenant-Colonel in the British Army and a noted Lieutenant Governor of Virginia

Alexander Spotswood was born in the Tangier Garrison, Morocco, Africa about 1676 to Catharine Maxwell (c. 1638 - December 1709) and her second husband, Dr Robert Spottiswoode (17 September 1637 - 1680), the Chirurgeon to the Garrison. Through his father, Alexander was a grandson of Judge Robert Spottiswoode (1596-1646), a great-grandson of Archbishop John Spottiswoode (1565-1639), and a descendant of King Robert II of Scotland through the 2nd Earls of Crawford [1]). Alexander's older half-brother (by his mother's first marriage to George Elliott) was Roger Elliott (c. 1655 - 15 May 1714), who became one of the first Governors of Gibraltar. Following the death of Robert Spotswood, his mother married thirdly Reverend Dr. George Mercer, the Garrison's Schoolmaster.

On 20 May 1693, Alexander became an Ensign in the Earl of Bath's Regiment of Foot, and was commissioned in 1698, being promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel in 1703. He was appointed Quartermaster-General of the Duke of Marlborough's army the same year, and was wounded at the Battle of Blenheim the following year.

In 1710, Alexander was appointed Lieutenant Governor of Virginia, under the nominal governorship of George Hamilton, 1st Earl of Orkney. He was the first to occupy the new Governors Mansion, which many citizens thought overly extravagant (its 20th-century reconstruction is now one of the principal landmarks in Colonial Williamsburg). A Tobacco Act requiring the inspection of all tobacco intended for export or for use as legal tender was passed in 1713. The next year, he founded the First Germanna Colony, and regulated trade with native Americans at another of his pet projects, Fort Christanna. In 1715, he bought 3229 acres (13 km²) at Germanna.



In 1716 he led the Knights of the Golden Horseshoe Expedition up the Rappahannock River valley and across the Blue Ridge Mountains at Swift Run Gap into the Shenandoah Valley to expedite settlement. The following year saw the foundation of the Second Germanna Colony and the Repeal of regulation of trade with native Americans. A Third Germanna Colony followed in 1719, and Germanna was made the seat of Spotsylvania County the following year.

Between 1716 and 1720, Spotswood built the Tubal Works which had a cold blast charcoal blast furnace and produced pig iron. It remained in operation for about 40 years and is possibly the first successful ironworks in the colonies (although Tinton Falls, NJ-late 1600s is another candidate). Pig iron from Tubal is in the collections of the Fredericksburg (Virginia) Area Museum and the NPS (Spotsylvania Courthouse). Tubal Works iron was exported to England by 1723 [2]. In May of the same year Gov. Drysdale reported to the Lords of Trade that Spotswood was selling "backs and frames for Chumnies, Potts, doggs, frying, stewing, and backing panns" at auction in Williamsburg. Around 1732 he built what may be the first purpose built foundry in the British North American Colonies at Massaponax. This was a double air furnace (usually used to make cannon) and was used to recast pig iron produced at Tubal into final shapes (kettles, andirons, firebacks, etc.). Neither of Spotswood's iron operations were at Germanna. Spotswood was not, as is commonly believed, involved in the Fredericksville Furnace.

Carving on desk top. Reveals the letters H S & E (unclear when this was added and what the significance). The bible/nautical box itself was manufactured in England c.1640's. The stand was added afterwards in America (by American craftsmen) in the early 1700's.

Desk hinge with hand hewn nails (rose head nails), notice the circular ink jar stain (ring)

It was in the fall of 1718 when Spotswood engaged in a clandestine expedition by privately hiring two sloops, Jane and Ranger, and a number of Royal Navy men to seek out the pirate Blackbeard, or Edward Teach. On 18 November 1718, Lt. Robert Maynard sailed from Hampton, Virginia to Ocracoke Inlet, North Carolina. On 22 November 1718, Maynard and his men defeated Blackbeard and the pirates. On 24 November 1718, two days after Blackbeard's death, Spotswood issued a proclamation at the Assembly in Williamsburg offering reward for any who brought Teach and the other pirates to justice.

A Treaty with the Iroquois was arranged in Albany, New York during 1721. Alexander completed the Governor's palace in 1722, when he was recalled from the lieutenant governorship and replaced by Hugh Drysdale. Throughout his career, Spotswood had maintained an adversarial relationship with the Virginia Council, especially its most prominent member, James Blair. As the Bishop of London's representative in the colony, the President of the College of William and Mary, and a councilman in Virginia's highest legislative body, Blair was arguably the most powerful man in the colony. He successfully orchestrated the recall of three royally appointed governors, including Alexander Spotswood, who entered private life with 80,000 acres (324 km²) in Spotsylvania and three iron furnaces.

Returning to London, he married Elizabeth Butler Brayne in 1724, but was back at the 'Enchanted Castle', Germanna, by 1729. He served as Deputy Postmaster General from 1730 to 1739, and died on 7 June 1740 at Annapolis, Ann Arundel, Maryland (MD).

His Family

In 1724, Alexander married Elizabeth Butler Brayne (known as Butler Brayne) in London and had four children by her:

* John M. Spotswood (1725 - 6 May 1756) married in 1745 Mary West Dandridge {a cousin of Martha Washington}, daughter of William Dandridge, Esq., of Elson Green, King William Co., Va, a Captain in the British Navy. Their son Brig. Gen. Alexander Spotswood of the 2nd Virginia Regiment married to Elizabeth Washington - a daughter of Augustine Washington, President George Washington's older half-brother - a niece of George Washington.
* Anne Catherine Spotswood (1728 - c. 1802) married Col. Bernard Moore, Esq., of Chelsea, King William Co., Va, a gentleman seventh in descent from Sir Thomas More, of Chelsea, England, the author of Utopia, and became an ancestor of Robert E. Lee [1] and Helen Keller.
* Dorothea Spotswood (c.1729 - 23 Sep 1773) married in 1747 Mary Dandridge's brother, Col. Nathaniel West Dandridge, who was a first cousin of Martha Washington, a son of William Dandridge, Esq., of Elson Green, King William Co., Va, a Captain in the British Navy, a direct descendant of Governor John West, and an ancestor of Edith Wilson. She later married Patrick Henry, and they had 11 children.
* Robert Spotswood (c.1732 - 1758), who was a subaltern officer under Washington. In 1758, while with a scouting party, he was killed near Fort du Quesne.

Front face with carvings and key hole

Inside desk top (mirror added in 20th Century probably functional and to help support structure), note original latch.

More recent history:

Several generations later a Robert Cabaniss moved to Savannah, GA and taking the family heirlooms of both the Cabaniss and Spotswood family. This bible desk being one of them. Robert was the son of Charles E. Cabaniss and Lucy Anne Spotswood (a descendant of Royal Governor Spotswood). He was born around 1884 in Victoria, Texas, and died on March 14, 1939 in Savannah, Chatham County, Georgia. He is buried in the famous Bonaventure Cemetery in Savannah. That is how this bible desk or nautical desk arrived in Savannah, GA from it's construction of origin in England. It remained in the Cabaniss estate until the death of descendants around the mid-1990s and many of the family belongings went on the auction block.

Inside desk. Notice compartments, wooden prop with notches in top to hold open, also 2 stickers featuring auction house provenance.

The desk was purchased by Dr. JP Saleeby and his wife Tonya for their Bed & Breakfast operation at 511 E. Broughton St., Savannah, GA in 1995. It remained a conversation piece in the Inn until it was sold in 1999. The Saleeby's at one time purchased 30 acres of undeveloped land adjacent to the Barboursville Winery in Barboursville, VA with the intention of developing an Inn & Spa and returning this artifact to Virginia. They eventually sold the entire 30 acres to the winery owners after only two years. The piece remained with Dr. Saleeby and currently rests in his residence in Bennettsville, SC.

Due to its uniqueness and rarity and as an example of early pre-Revolutionary War history this piece is offered for sale at $16,000.00 USD. Reasonable offers from collectors & museum curators are welcome.

Another offering by Dr. Saleeby is a Chapel Pump Organ (c. 1890's Cornish & Co., Washington, NJ) @ http://antiquepumporgan.blogspot.com/ for more information and pictures.

* ** *** ** *

Cornish & Co. Chapel Pump Organ

with History (Provenance) for Sale

This pump organ is no typical pump organ. You can probably purchase one at an antique store for $500 or even $400. But this one is a little bit special for those collectors who like a story.

This single keyboard foot operated church pump organ was manufactured in Washington, NJ by a company founded by a NJ state representative back in the day. Cornish & Co. Piano and Organ company produced good quality pump organs for the state side and European market. This organ is c. 1890s. The story goes that English manufactured organs were a bit pricey especially for small congregations and churches. So a smart pastor would acquire an organ made in America, far less expensive despite the shipping costs across the pond. That is the case with this organ. Once manufactured it left New Jersey on the first leg of an eventual round trip sojourn spanning a hundred years. In its early life she made her way to a small church outside Ipswich (Hadleigh) England. There she would remain the church organ for many years up until the death of the church deacon, and at that time the organ was sold as part of an estate auction.

The purchaser was an eventual antique dealer name Archie McNeil. At the time of the auction in England Mr. McNeil was stationed in Europe with the US NATO forces. He was originally from Savannah, GA. While in Europe with his family, his daughter started taking piano and keyboard lessons and he though it a good idea to purchase this pump organ as it was quite light and portable so moving it would be easy as they romped about Europe. The organ remained in his possession as he traveled throughout Europe on his assignments despite the fact that his daughter quickly lost interest in the keyboard instruments.

Story has it that while in Brussels, Belgium it was played on several occasions by a Jamaican organist that Archie hired from time to time for special events that called for this type of music. During one of these events in front of the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) HQ and again in the American Embassy in Bonn, West Germany it was played for such dignitaries as President George H. W. Bush (Sr.), Generals Collin Powell and Norman Schwarzkopf along with other top NATO brass.

A print ad for the Cornish & Co. Piano & Organ company from 1905

Once Mr. McNeil's duties were over with NATO he returned to the USA and Savannah, GA with his prized acquisition in tow. For years it remained in storage until one day he placed it in an Antique Mall on Broughton Street downtown Savannah. It would not sit long as JP & Tonya Saleeby, owners of the Broughton St B&B were scouring the city looking for fine antiques with interesting histories to place in their newly opened Inn. In December 1995 Tonya purchased the organ for JP's birthday and they placed it in the parlor of the B&B. On more than one occasion guests at the inn would play the little pump organ the the delight of all others around.

It remained there until the Inn was sold some 5 years later. Afterwards it journeyed to Hinesville, GA and finally to Bennettsville, SC where it currently resides. Another interesting piece that has accompanied this organ was a c.1640 Bible Desk once used by Royal Governor Spotswoot of Virginia (http://www.royalgovernorspotswoodbibledesk.blogspot.com/ for more on that one.)

Photo (from a postcard) of the original Cornish & Co. Organ plant in Washington, NJ

Despite the pump organ's extensive travels, all keys, pedals & stops work splendidly and she sounds as good as the day the organ was made. Along with the organ comes a stool (not pictured). It generally takes two strong men to move this piece, but it is quite portable and will fill any room with a cheerful sound.

This famous little pump organ that could is offered for sale. Due to its exceptional condition and play quality and for its unique history as a piece that served our nation's President & top brass in NATO by bringing smiles to their faces she is offered at $8,000.00 USD. All reasonable offers however are welcome. Call or email JP at (912) 656-2297 / jpsaleeby@aol.com

the YURT experience

pictures to come........

... but until then visit http://www.campfirelodgings.com/yurt.asp for pics and info.



http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g60742-d1103709-Reviews-Campfire_Lodgings-Asheville_North_Carolina.html

Kids Projects

Another fun filled weekend with the kids. In addition to the fun, movies, playing "monster", we learned some math and all about Stonehenge (like did you know there were originally 80 "blue stones" each weighing about 4 tons that were arranged in two concentric circles at about 2500 BC?) Well we have "no TV days" and on those days the kids have special creative projects. The first was the "egg" day where each child was issued a hard boiled egg and had to keep it from being cracked for 24-hrs. Madison was the last to crack here egg, but none of the 3 passed that mission. That was pretty tough for kids, but teaches them responsibility.

The following stay was to be as creative with a single sheet of paper... in the picture above Madison took 1st place and Michael and Anna tied for 2nd. Finally this week we issued 12 random pieces of Legos and let the kids use 10 of them to make a "creation"... the photo shows each holding up their own creation... Michael built a modern house, Madison a type of airplane and Anna make a synthetic robot cockroach. Kudos to all 3 for their creativity.

44 year old special

44th Birthday (Haffy Birrrfff Day)... spent with my mother and father and the Jones & Battistas (Tony's BD is the same day as well). We took in the Senior Circle's St. Valentine's Day dinner then walked over to the Marlboro Co. Civic Center for an evening of Broadway numbers sung by Mr. Franc D'Ambrosio who has the distinction of being the longest playing Phantom of the Opera and had a cameo role in The Godfather III (he was the opera singing son of Al Pacino's lead character Michael Corleone). Any the event was marvelous... that fellow can belt them out (and while accompanied by a Steinway Piano he even sang a couple of songs without the help of a microphone as the acoustics in the place are excellent).


source: http://francdambrosio.com/index.php

Happy Birthday

Hafffy Birrrfffday (inside joke)

Actually today marks JP's 44th Birthday and the 200th birthday of Charles Darwin. Also the great Abe Lincoln was born this day.

Dr. Saleeby writes US Senators from SC on Health Care issues...

Message sent to the following recipients: Senator DeMint & Senator L. Graham

Message text follows:

Yusuf (JP) Saleeby, MD
[ home address]

February 8, 2009

Dear Senator,

I am writing to ask that you co-sponsor S. 1003- "Access to Emergency Medical Services Act of 2007". I am an emergency physician and medical director of a rural emergency room in South Carolina for Schumacher Group, a provider of clinical staffing and management services to more than 140 hospitals throughout the United States. This year our affiliated physicians will care for over 2.5 million emergency department patients.

Emergency department physicians and nurses are the nation's healthcare safety net, treating everyone who walks through the door regardless of their ability to pay. A lack of adequate funding jeopardizes our ability to provide safe and effective care in a system that is overcrowded, understaffed, and stretched to the breaking point. Increasingly we are overcrowded with uninsured and selfpay that deplete our ED resources and make it difficult to provide good quality of care to all who seek it in the community. I am increasingly concerned about the impact today's health care trends are having on my ability to provide care to my patients.

Increasingly, hospital emergency departments are responsible for the care of the nation's 47.3 million—and growing—uninsured patients as well as insured patients without ready access to a physician. Between 1995 and 2005, the annual number of ED visits increased from 96.5 million to 115.3 million visits, up by 20%. With decreases in the number of Emergency Departments, the annual number of visits per ED increased from 23,119 in 1995 to 30,388 in 2005. My ED and Hospital (Marlboro Park Hospital in Bennettsville, SC) is at risk of closing down since we have lost $XM in 2007 and $X.xM in 2008. Should our ED close as a result of the hospital closure our 14,000 visits to the ED annually would have to seek care at a greater distance elsewhere and at the risk of burdening another department.

Your support of S. 1003"The Access to Emergency Medical Services Act of 2007" will make a difference for our patients and your constituents. Once again, thank you for your time and consideration of this important issue.

Sincerely,

Yusuf (JP) Saleeby, MD

Dr. Saleeby writes SC State Senators about Landfill issue...

From: JP Saleeby, MD jpsaleeby@aol.com
To: Cc: WILLIAMSK@scsenate.org TomDavis@scsenate.org PL@scsenate.org MALLOYG@scsenate.org MulvaneyM@scsenate.org BRYANTK@scsenate.org CCP@scsenate.org FAIRM@scsenate.org SBI@scsenate.org JLS@scsenate.org ShaneMartin@scsenate.org CLEARYR@scsenate.org RA@scsenate.org DJ1@scsenate.org EDU@scsenate.org FloydNicholson@scsenate.org JBL@scsenate.org SAG@scsenate.org CBH@scsenate.org set@scsenate.org MED@scsenate.org

Sent: Thu, 5 Feb 2009 11:13 am
Subject: Landfill Moratorium S324

Dear Senator,

Re: S324 Landfill Moratorium

I am contacting you regarding Senate bill 324, the landfill moratorium. I have noticed that it has been assigned to the Medical Affairs Committee, but not yet scheduled for the agenda. Those of us that are facing the threat of mega landfills in South Carolina are very concerned that this bill will move too slowly and allow MRR or Waste Management to file and receive a permit before S324 goes into effect. I would like to urge you and your committee to not waste any time in getting this bill to the Senate floor for voting.

My wife and I and the citizens or Marlboro County are counting on you to repair this situation and allow us to once again sleep at night knowing that toxins from out of state will not be dumped into our backyards. As a physician I know too well the effects of preventable diseases such as hypertension and diabetes which the county I reside and practice has high incidence. What we don't need are heavy metal toxins, environmental estrogens and dioxins, etc. entering our local environment (air, land and water).

I know well the dangers and pitfalls for the future if this is allowed and its effects on the health and well being of the residents of the state and in particular this county I live in. If you wish more information, I have written on the effects of environmental heavy metals such as mercury (Hg) and estrogen like compounds that would have untoward effect on the residents of the state of SC.

Please don't delay, pass this very important moratorium and help keep our state "clean." I would appreciate a response by e-mail or regular mail.

Warmest regards,

JP Saleeby, MD
Medical Director
Marlboro Park Hospital - Emergency Department

Quote.....

Another Quote from the bottle cap of Honest Tea....

"As I grow to understand life less and less, I learn to love it more and more."
-- Jules Renard

eTrade Baby ... cracks us up.

Know most of you have seen this before. Especially if you watched last years Superbowl, but every time Sharon and I see this one it just cracks us up. Click on the picture above to link to the video clip.

source: http://video.aol.com/video/video-category/2065929

Pine Crest Inn (Tryon, NC)

While hunting for the "perfect getaway in WNC" we stayed at the
Pine Crest Inn for the night.

Autumn & Winter in Bville

Madison and Anna hard at work raking up all those leaves. Ahhh, Autumn, that time of year when the trees shed all their pallet of multicolored years growth of sun catching foliage. It only took 30-minutes for the kids to rake them into two neat piles.

Then comes along Michael.. the little birthday boy... devil inside, runs through the piles of leaves, blasting them all over the yard.

If that were not enough, Sharon joins in on the mischief and elicits the help of Anna and Madison in redistributing all those little leaves as I stand by watching and recording the mayhem.

Well they are only having fun... the angles they are start making "leaf angles" in the grass... am sure their cousins in Minnesota are making "snow angles" right about now.

OK, fun is over... back to work, lets rake up all those leaves... hey has anyone seen Madison?

* * * * *

Winter in B'ville... Our home covered with snow. Sharon, Madison, Michael and Anna can't get enough of the Marlboro Courthouse water (ice) fountain. They were having icicle fights.

Eno Park... some geocaching and we came across this rustic tepee hut.

M&M piloting their respective sail boats around the pond at the Durham Museum of Life & Science.

Dad & Son doing P90X

In my 3rd month of P90X... Michael joins in for the 58 minute workout
And he doesn't dog it either.... call him little-Mr. X.

Stay in Waynesboro

Last week of 2008 found us in Western NC again. Can't seem to stay away from the place. Worked another uneventful shift at CHIA Hospital in Cherokee and then my first shift at Rutherfort County Hospital in Rutherforton, NC on new year's eve. In between we stayed at the lovely B&B in Waynesboro (The Yellowhouse B&B). Was home to work MPH on Day 1 of 2009 and then off we were to Durham to visit the kids for the weekend. Spent time geocaching and hiking the West Point of Eno Park. Also took in the Museum of Life & Science for the umteenth time (but still always something to learn).

Madison and the Bear at the Museum of Life & Science

No Madison is not on the surveillance camera at the outdoor wilderness exhibit at the Durham Museum of Life & Science. The camera was actually trained on Madison on "this" side of the fence. The black bear is seen in the background pacing back and forth. Madison would make a tasty morsel of food but she is just too darn cute to eat.

Pinewood Derby Car time again

Michael and Keith Farris (in his wood work shop) putting the saw to the pine block of wood to form the basic structure of Michael's third Pinewood Derby Car. Keith a long time woodworker had all the "toys" needed to make quick work of the project. Later dad would help him paint and detail the car (using some secrets to tune it up for the big race next month).

Bear Grylls

One of our favorite shows on TV (since we don't watch a lot) is on the Discovery Channel... it is Man VS Wild....

If people would like signed photos, the best way is to send a pre-stamped and pre-addressed envelope in a letter to ARG at the address. Michael Foster @ MF Management
55 Newman Street, London W1T 3EB.

News story on Bear... found out today he was injured (shoulder) in Antarctica, for more:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/TV/12/07/bear.grylls.injured/index.html?eref=rss_topstories

Al & Myr's place sells, then burns

Al & Myr's place finally sells.

12895 HIGHWAY 9, Boulder Creek, CA 95006 (San Lorenzo Valley) closed today.

Memories of us visiting the Leakes and having stayed in the vacation rentals and being the first to stay in the "new" cottage as a married couple. We did wed in their back yard under a few giant Redwoods.

The first room we stayed. Under the main house (Alfa Romeo 4-cylinder engine coffee table)

Deck over garage leading to the new 'cottage'


kitchen in the main house where Al, Myr, Sharon and I had such good times and conversations.


The garage and cottage above where Al did all his wonderful work on restoring Classic Alfa Romeo's.

Al's PMA garage...

*** Note: (added 12/20/2008) 2 or 3 days after new owners take possession of the property there is an electrical fire (presumed water heater) which burns most of the Victorian down.

Turkey Day was a blast.

Turkey Day was a blast at the Saleeby's this year. We had 13 mouths to feed. Sharon had most of her kids... Meridith (and Pat), Nathan and Anna (Ryan had to work back in Charleston), and I had Michael and Madison. Additionally my folks were down from Laurenburg, NC and Barbara (Sharon's best friend from Columbia) was down with her two kids. Food was exceptional and all had a great time visiting.

Fair Trade....

Well for the price of loosing my 2002 Maserati GT Coupe I gained two reasonable cars... the first (our green car... so I don't have to make excuses about my carbon foot print) is a 2009 Honda Fit-Sport. Nicely equipped, practical and fun to drive with a 5-speed manual. My daily driver to work and hauling the family on trips 1/2 way across country on only a tank of gas.

The second acquisition is a bit sportier and in the luxury class, not as exotic as the Maser, but for all practical purposes a more reliable, safer vehicle that can haul stuff with AWD traction and lets us have some fun with the top down for half the purchase price and cost to repair. She is a 2006 Audi A4 3.0L V6 Quattro AWD Convertible.

Our new Audi A4 3.0L V6 AWD Quattro Convertible

Back in Bennettsville after picking up our 2006 Audi A4 AWD Quattro Convertible (pictured here on the left), parked next to the only other European exotic in it's class in the whole town (pictured on the right). Yes an early model Mercedes-Benz (in pretty rough shape I may add) sporting a "Redneck" over Rebel Flag front license plate and a set of deer whistles. Gooooo B'ville. Needless to say the loss of my Maserati a few months ago is made up for by the new sporty German convertible with all the bells and whistles (no pun intended). ;)

Michael's B-Day

Michael picked out his own birthday cake (actually a selection of cheese cakes... heck he is just like dad.. a non-conformist / unconventional kid) We could only scrounge up 3 candles ... OK 3X3=9.

Make a wish.... oh and a little help from dad and sis....

Oh wait, there is a much more fun way of blowing out candles......
so anyone for seconds on the cake?

AdapTx Labs goes to market

AdapTx Labs' CardioFactor & PreFight Formulas
(formulated by Dr. Saleeby) go to market.
It is a formula of natural Adaptogenic herbals for endurance and strength in the MMA arena of sports.

Waynesville's offerings

After my first orientation/shift at CIHA (The Cherokee Indian Hospital, Cherokee, NC) Sharon and I took off to Waynesville where we stayed for the three days. Dinner was to be had Sweet Onion. Food was good but not great. The best part of the meal was the salad and the dressing, an unexpected treat for us that evening.

Two Restaurants to talk about

Hendersonville, NC has two wonderful restaurants that are worth mentioning on our blog. We have enjoyed the gastronomic experience on more than one occasion. Both are located a stones throw from each other in the pedestrian downtown historic main drag. One is of the Oriental persuasion while the other is totally home grown.

Champa (Sushi and Thai food) some of the best Sushi and Sushimi Sharon and I have ever had. The presentation alone is worth a hike on your hands and knees up Laurel Park to Jump Off point.
http://champanc.com/home

Square 1 Bistro is our other favorite restaurant downtown. Joseph Lewis the Chef/Owner does some creative magic in the kitchen. Additionally he is a very humble and personable fellow. His culinary wizardry is to die for.
http://square1bistro.com

Restaurants in Brevard, NC

A visit to Brevard, NC. Located just southwest of Hendersonville/Asheville area. This quaint little town has lots to offer. Scenic waterfalls and more. We stopped in at a local restaurant Hobnob and had lunch. The owner's parents happened to be at the table adjacent to us, and later joined us for the rest of lunch and conversations about the town, politics and the state of medicine in the region.

2008 Euro Auto Fest & Flat Rock

Went up to Greer, SC and then Hendersonville, NC for the day. Caught some cool cars and then natures wonders... leaves changing and the Carl Sanburg Home for some goat petting.

The "clan" in front of a row of BMW 8-series at the Euro Auto Fest

http://verdemotors.blogspot.com/2008/10/2008-euro-auto-fest-in-greer-sc.html
for more pics on the Car show.

The Grand Concours d'Elegance - Greensboro, NC

The Grand Concours d'Elegance in Greensboro, NC. Took the Alfa and Michael up for the day. Took Best in Class trophy. More Pics to follow.

Net proceeds benefit
Outrageous Courageous Children's Program
Brenner Children's Hospital
Wake Forest Baptist Hospital

http://www.thegrandconcoursdelegance.com

Richmond & Charlottesville, VA

President James Monroe's tomb in front of Pres. Tyler's monument
Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond VA

For a one day CME course at UVa & the celebration of our 2nd wedding anniversary we decided to spend a few days in Charlottesville & Richmond, VA. Driving up through NC and VA our first stop was Richmond Virginia. We toured the historic Jefferson Hotel downtown and spent several hours walking and driving though the historic parts of Richmond. Our explorations via geocaching also took us to the Confederate White House and Civil War Museum. There we learned about the lives and times of the Confederate soldier and about Jefferson Davis. We later toured the Hollywood Cemetery where he and several other notables were buried such as Presidents Monroe and Tyler.

Tomb of 1st Confederate President and notable statesman from VA Mr. Jefferson Davis. The monument of the angel is the burial place of his wife. Sharon snaps a pic with her digital camera.

Onto Charlottesville where we stayed in a cozy cottage hosted by a doctor and his wife.

We visited the very pedestrian downtown mall area, the University of VA campus, Monticello and James Monroe's home as well. We had intense history lessons on Jefferson, Monroe and more. On our way home we stopped by Poplar Grove (Jefferson's little know about summer home). More pictures to follow.

Sharon at the "Rotunda" on campus of UVa in front of Jefferson's statue.

Jefferson's summer retreat at Poplar Forest (his Octagon House). Under restoration.

JP and the statue of Prez. James Monroe at the Monroe Estate (Ash Lawn-Highland)

A Man Named Pearl

Today was something of a special day. We drove with Michael and Madison to visit a humble man from a small sleepy southern town in South Carolina. The town of Bishopsville may be known as the home of the Cotton Museum and also the birthplace of Heisman Trophy winner Felix "Doc" Blanchard. But today the town may be most memorable for a quiet creative gardner. His name is Pearl Fryar and after a career in the local soda can producing industry he retired six years ago to devote his full attention to the creative masterpiece in his 3 acre back yard.

Back in 1984 Pearl sought to win the local "yard of the month" contest, but what started out as a small project grew into this life long hobby and full time dedication. People from all around come and visit his garden. He charges no admission, but does accept donations. When home he seems unrushed and will chat it up with you as he did us today.

A feature film/documentary entitled "A Man Named Pearl" is currently playing at independent theaters around the country and for 2008 at the Heartland Film Festival he won the Audience Choice Award and was also awarded the Audience Award a the Salem Film Festival. For more on the movie visit: http://www.amannamedpearl.com.

For more on Pearl's topiary garden visit: http://www.fryarstopiaries.com
and
http://www.gardenconservancy.org

Video of Asheville Drum/Dance thingie

Asheville, NC trip

Sharon poses in front of the garden at the "Crooked Oak Inn" (http://crookedoakmountaininn.com) in Asheville, NC. This was certainly one of the nicest Inns we have stayed. Breakfast was amazing. Kudos to Patti & Bear our hosts. See our write up on TripAdvisor.com

No trip to Asheville for a first timer is complete without a visit to the Grove Park Inn. Probably wouldn't stay there are there are less costly accommodations that are a bit more intimate. We went just to walk the grounds, window shop and check out the classic car collection on site at the Estes-Winn Memorial Automobile Museum. A small museum with free admittance ( http://www.grovewood.com/car_museum.php) with mostly American made vintage cars. The collector had a Caddy/LeSalle dealership and pictured here is an early version of a LaSalle (1927).

For first time visitors to Asheville a few must sees are the Biltmore Estates (http://www.biltmore.com ) and the Great Smoky Mountain National Park (http://www.nps.gov/grsm). At the Biltmore you can tour the mansion and the winery. The Biltmore Estates winery boasts the busiest wine tasting room in the USA. The Smoky Mountains a great selection of outdoor activities from biking to camping and horseback riding to fishing. The Cherokee, NC entrance is only about a hour and a half drive from downtown Asheville. Just driving along the roads in the fall is a thrill. As we have been before we didn't make the usualy stops on this trip.

Places we ate: The Market Place Restaurant (http://www.marketplace-restaurant.com) which offered excellent fair and great service (thanks Juan). They also happen to be a bit greener than the average restaurant as they operate with solar panels atop the restaurant. Another place in the downtown to grab a quick snak, light lunch or cup of java is Green Sage Coffeehouse and Cafe (http://thegreensage.net). And they happen to be the ones setting the trend for being green, eating eco-logically with local organic & drinking fair trade. For dinner we ate at the Jerusalem Garden Cafe where we had a great view of the downtown area and goings on and the occasional belly dancer.

Because we stayed during the end of the week, we took a the weekly Friday affair... of drumming in one of the downtown parks. Here spontaneous and free style drummers (seen along the back row) make music in unison young and old from all walks of life, usually led by a single musician. Meanwhile, anyone who get the urge and feels the spirit can jump in and free-style dance (foreground). Yes, Asheville is a bit weird and wants to keep it that way. As the t-shirts & bumper stickers state in the novelty stores around town.... "If it's weird for Asheville, then its too weird."

"It's a Gas" Car Show

Michael's favorite "Stang" a 2008 Cobra GT500

The winning 1st in class in the European "mini" class.

Michael and I took off for a "Father and Son" day with a drive from Durham to Lexington, NC for the annual "It's a Gas" Car show. I was able to enter my 1971 Alfa Romeo GTAm in it's first official show and drive it there. One of 160 plus entrants and one of the few European classic cars in the event. We walked away with a 1st place trophy in class.

http://www.itsagascarshow.com/Show_Participants/show_participants.html

Big Sky MONTANA (7-29 to 8-3-2008)

View from the ski lifts at Big Sky Resort

Madison at the site where Gen. Custer's troops were shot at while they swam/bathed under Pompey's Pillars by Native American warriors. Later that month was the battle of Little Big Horn.

Michael & Madison with "Cowboy Jim" of Jake's Horses, our guide and instructor.

Horseback riding in Big Sky MT

Michael at the site where Wm. Clark "chiseled" his name and date into the rock outcrop (Pompey's Pillars). The only remaining evidence of the expedition.

Pompey's Pillars on the Lewis/Clark trail.

.... pics of our family vacation to Big Sky Montana/ Yellostone and Bozeman.

Flew out of Charlotte on 7-29 for a connector in Denver, Colorado then on to Billings, MT. Not too much to Billings, so we got underway to Pompeys Pillar NP (where Wm. Clark of Lewis and Clark Expedition) left his signature... the ONLY remaining evidence of this famous early 1800 exploration. The drive was beautiful, the outcropping named after the son of expedition member Sacagawea, whom Clark nicknamed "Pompy". His original name for it was "Pompys Tower". (pics to follow).

After an evening drive to Big Sky, MT the home of the Symposia Medicus conference for me I left Sharon to mind M&M until I let out in the afternoon. We took the ski lift to the top of the mountains, hiked Ousel Falls (never did find that geocache) and went horseback riding with Cowboy Jim and the Jake's Horses outfitters.

Most of our 3rd day was spent at Yellostone National Park. Only an hours drive from the resort. West Yellowstone offered shopping and some geocaching, but the park was amazing with all of its wildlife and hot springs... yes, we did hang at Old Faithful to watch her spout. Hiked up into some of the Eastern park (Lower Geyser basin areas) pics to follow.

Remainder of time spent in Bozeman the day before departure on Main St. and hiking through Burk Park. Sharon found two really pretty Native American designed turquoise rings.

The Western Entrance of Yellowstone National Park.....

The crew at one of the many geothermal elements at the park

We hit a geocaching site at Old Faithful / Yellowstone NP. Here I am holding the GPS unit in front of the geyser. Hundreds gather each day on the hour to witness this quite punctual geyser. While not the largest or the most regular to blow she is a natural wonder with celebrity status. Excelsior geyser was once the largest geyser in the world. However, the last known major eruptions occurred during the 1880s where boiling water shot up over 300 feet. Now it lays dormant last bubbling up 20 to 80 ft. of water in 1985 for 2 days.

Overlooking the lower geyser basin and Old Faithful

The crew on a windy day at Yellowstone's lower geyser basin in front of a steaming geothermal pool. (time for a bath?)


Madison felt pretty important, since we passed through the town of "Madison" and crossed the "Madison River" and even had a picture made in front of the Madison Hotel in West Yellowstone.

My Garage

My two babies... a 1971 Alfa Romeo GTAm Clone & a 2002 Maserati GT 4200

4th of July

Big family gathering for the 4th of July weekend and aftermath. Our 2nd annual cookout and fireworks display was held at the Battista's place again this year. Cindy with Christina and Victoria came in for a few days visit. David actually spent a day as he had to head back to Orlando for work. After the 4th... all the kids... Christina, Victoria, Michael and Madison as well as Anna played and enjoyed their time together. Cindy and I broke away for a Monday down in Savannah (I saw patients and my sis explored downtown). On the way to drop off Cindy and the kids, Sharon and Anna met me up in Durham to sneak in a few extra hours with M&M. Above is a picture of the 3-musketeers on a new installation at the Duke Gardens.

Summer with dad and Sharon & Anna. At the Marlboro Country Club Pool

Michael and Anna singing for their dinner.

Madison enjoying an evening on the Lake by the backyard chimney.

Madison Performs at the Theatre (Part II)

Up for Madison's second recital. She performed 2 routines... the first was tap... and she was up front and center. She nailed her routine... not missing a beat or a step. She was actually the lead, as the rest of her group cued off of her. She was "perfect". Here the day before her performance at a party with friends (Cameron, Anna) and Michael poking her head out of a truck. Water balloons were flying and water guns were blazing that afternoon. Sharon and I won our bid on eBay and drove home with a 2003 VW Golf TDI as our 2nd grease car. What a full couple of days.

Bed & Bike Inn Adventure

In great need of a getaway... Sharon and I slipped away to Gold Hill, NC.

We stayed with Tim and Ellen at the Bed & Bike Inn. Accommodations were the very comfortable Log Cabin (which we had all to ourselves). The first day was spent exploring the country side and the old historic town of Gold Hill. Afterwards we took a 20 mile bike ride around the countryside. Not used to all the hills (as Bville is pretty flat) it was a pretty good workout and we got back to the Inn at dusk. Time for me to cook a full Italian meal and pour a glass of Cab from a winery we visited that afternoon. The wine was from Uwharrie Vineyards

Sharon liked the Muscat while I the Cab.

Our biking (and geocaching) took us to Pfeiffer University, a small college near Gold Hill. It was a well manicured campus and a pleasure to visit.


After dinner we took in a bonfire and were joined by Tim, Ellen and Wooza-Wooza (the Inn dog, who was our best buddy the entire trip).

The following day we revisited Gold Hill, bought a "bottle tree" from an antique store along the road in the town and did a bit of Geocaching in the area. We even visited a beautiful home for sale in the middle of town. What a wonderful couple of days. Got home just in time to take a nap and then work a night shift.

Chattanooga TN

Chickamauga & Chattanooga National Park

A very sad era in American history. CCNP is a place to remember the fallen and reflect on the "war between the states." It is sad to think of all the fallen young men, but it is an honor to walk the grounds where hundreds of monuments honor their memories.

It is a vast memorial where both Union and Confederate families many years after the war ended erected monuments to their dead war heroes. When you wander through the woods you are always surprised by a monument or plaque in the "middle of nowhere".

One of my favorite which I have visited twice before is below. My first encounter was in high school in the 80's while a Boy Scout with Troop 909 and a trip to CCNP. I was intrigued and remembered this giant cross in the woods, that I made it a point to visit it some time later after Michael and Madison were born (early 2000's) and again this year.

Site Marker of Fatally Wounded Lt. C. Landrum (a Yankee Soldier felled by Confederate bullets on this spot in Chickamauga & Chattanooga National Park).

The Hunger Museum on the TN River
Night Vision.. the Old&New of the Hunter
and
Across the glass walkway....over the water.

3rd addition to the Hunter Museum

This was part of a visit to Chattanooga, TN. Off to visit an ER in Cleveland, TN. We flew in to Chat. and took in the downtown the first day. We had time to visit the HUNTER museum of American Art. They had wonderful permanent and visiting exhibits. Lots of sculpture which I personally am fond. We gazed down on the Tennessee River from the pedestrian walkway wishing we had our kayak in the water.

Madrid Spain

Nathan, Andy and myself at a fountain in the middle of Madrid's botanical garden and park

Madrid Spain. Geocaching. Here we have just found the cache. Andy, Mariam, Nathan and Sharon make an entry and I take a picture. Moments later a limo pulls up in front of this very church and an American military officer comes out ready to marry his bride. How cool was that and what timing.

European Trip (Italy & Spain)

Spanish Steps in Rome Italy

Our Host Hotel in Rome
(Actually met a former Patient there)

Il Melograni B&B (Empoli/Tuscany Italy) OUR Home away from home.
MORE PICS to follow.

Europe Trip Pics

"the Snail".. Geocaching in Venice.


The naval museum in Venice
Catching the train out of Venice for Florence... a bit of Old and New


A very cool house on the main drag in Venice.


The Vatican & St. Peters square.


The face of truth.... (Rome)

Europe Trip

3/31/08: Were we ever going to get out of town. Our Jeep had a nail in the tire. Fixed that... then after loading her up with biofuel... she would stall out after only a few yards. (had to leave her in Bville) and take Nathan's Ford Escort to Chucktown. Come to find out the last oil change... they used 10W30 instead of 0W50 motor oil. Ruined the EGD valve and cracked the fuel filter housing.

Anyway we were in Charleston for lunch with Ryan and then he took us in the Caddy (limo style) to the airport. Three times our flight was delayed in Charlotte. We finally got to Frankfurt, Germany via Lufthansa. Sharon had a fit with the "plane ride". Arrived in Venice and took the water bus to Arsenale and from there we walked with backpacks to our hotel Corte Contarina (and with the help of a very friendly local was able to find the place). We started the Bidet Chronicles after seeing the room and bathroom dedicated to that fixture. The room was nice and simple, but small... the bathroom was even smaller and with so much room dedicated to the bidet the shower was tiny. In fact we laughed that if you were to drop the soap you were hosed.

Holy Thursday / Good Friday

Lot happened end of this week.

Parents moved up from Melbourne, FL for good.  Left the house to the care of David as he started working for AirTram in Orlando.  So mom & dad have moved into their recently completed townhouse in Laurinburg, NC.  12 miles away from me.  

Had the kids this thursday & friday since they were off for holy week.  Assembled the drum set (Peace 5-piece set with hi-hat and cymbal) in the upstairs room (now known as the music room).  Along with my acoustic guitar and Michael's electric we are almost there.  Mom's electric organ will come and join the group soon.  Dad loves the drum set as much as Michael.... and he has pretty good rhythm too.  We took a trip to Florence the scenic route Hwy 34 and took in the movie THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICALS. 

On our last day, we stopped in Southern Pines on the way back from the drop off zone and walked the downtown a bit.  We stopped into a really nifty restaurant called Chef Warrens and had dinner.  Sharon went crazy over the melt-in-your-mouth fillet mignon 

Jhon Akers - Classical Guitar

Jhon Akers PhD, a professor of Spanish at Wofford College (www.wofford.edu) performed today at the SKYE Banquet Hall in Bville. He is a big Carl Sandburg fan and quoted poetry and played some classical guitar for the audeance. Dr. Akers earned his PhD in Spanish literature from UCLA and began his guitar studies as an undergrad at Middlebury College. He performed pieces from Fernando Sor, Andres Segovia, Leo Brouwer, Agustin Barrios and Jose Luis Merlin. Of course all in the OPIL club were in attendance.

Kids in Durham

M&M took in the Duke Homestead Historic Site. It was a fun self guided tour of how the Duke family started their enterprise and all the NC history about Tobacco (love it or not).

Michael and his pack studying BIRDS for scouts.

While Michael was building a birdhouse in scouts, Sharon and Madison read.

Picking up Laura DiNello's piece (4X4) in Savannah.
Loading it up (just barely) into our SUV.

Weeks end in Savannah, GA

Laura's Latest

Time for my quarterly sojourn to Savannah to work a few days at United Therapy on Broughton St. We usually check in at the Marshall House Hotel in the heart of downtown/Broughton St.

First evening we dined at the Casbah a local Moroccan restaurant. The food was great... several healthy salads and cooscoos with lamb, chicken and beef kabbobs. Sharon really liked the mint & rosewater tea. Of course the belly dancer picked her to get up and shake her thing.

The next day while I worked in the clinic Sharon shopped up and down Broughton St. We ate lunch at a place called Sweet Leaf Smokery and Eatery (a hippie dive with awesome food), and where plans were made in advance to pick up our latest acquisition from Laura Dinello (her daughter works there and left the 4'x4' piece of art there for us to pick up.) It was a hoppin' little BBQ place with awesome food and service. Laura is one of our favorite local artists and this makes our 2nd piece for the house. Her work is wonderful (picture above).

We visited with Vincent G. from Goldon Art Gallery who just put out a new book of his art and just so happened to have had rotator cuff surgery two days before. Rain check on the dinner thing. But he looked good all considered and engaged to be married too. Last piece of business for the day was a deposition in an insurance case downtown. After that we were free.

Back at the Marshall house we conversed with a lovely couple on the road for over a month from Sidney Australia, that evening we dined at Cha Bella (now under new ownership) and a fine upgrade. Gone is the annoying piano and in is the fresh local organic produce.
The last day in the clinic was light and we were out by 11:30AM in time to meet up with Michael & Sonya Ard-Kelley for a quick lunch at a new Tai restaurant on Broughton St. Then it was back on our way to Bville after making a few quick stops into some law offices to drop off business cards. Mission accomplished and successful.

Blonde Jokes

A trip to Myrtle Beach with the kids. Stopped by the boardwalk and ended the evening with a cool dinner and entertainment by the knights jousting at "Medieval Times".

Now that Sharon is no longer a blonde she is a brunette/red-head. I can unleash all of these:

Q: Why do men like blonde jokes??
A: Because they can understand them.

Q: Why do blondes drive BMWs?
A: Because they can spell it.

Q: Why don't blondes double recipes?
A: The oven doesn't go to 700 degrees.


Q: If a blonde and a brunette are tossed off a building, who
hits the ground first?
A: The brunette. The blonde has to stop to ask for directions.

Q: What do you call a skeleton in the closet with blonde hair?
A: Last years hide and go seek winner.

Q: What do you call a basement full of blondes?
A: A whine cellar.

Q: What do you call five blondes at the bottom of the pool?
A: Air bubbles.

Q: What do you call 15 blondes in a circle?
A: A dope ring.

Q: What do you call a blonde in an institution of higher
learning?
A: A visitor.

Q: What does a blonde owl say?
A: What, what?


Q: Why did the blonde scale the chain-link fence?
A: To see what was on the other side.

Q: Why did the blonde keep a coat hanger in her back seat?
A: In case she locks the keys in her car.

Poor White Trash

We had the kids today and went Geocaching. Found 4 really cool caches and on the way passed this "house" in Springfield. Holy Cow.... what a dump... can you imagine that people actually live in that place. Comes complete with a trashed out dirt track race car on blocks in the front yard. And it goes downhill from there. We laughed so hard we just had to stop and snap a picture.

43rd B-day

Big Birthday for JP... turned 43 today along with Bville pal Tony Battista (70). The OPIL club (Sharon & JP Saleeby, Dorothy & Bill Jones, and Doris & Tony Battista) celebrated the dual birthdays at Lucinda's Restaurant with entertainment afterwards with Mr. Steve Lippia at the Marlboro Civic Center. After-party was held at the Battista's for birthday cake and coffee.

Marlboro Civic Center
This restored 1917 opera house and former movie theater is in the heart downtown Bennettsville was the venue for Mr. Lippia.

Steve Lippia Sings Swing, big band and "Sanatra" tunes. Close your eyes and you would think Frank (Ol' Blue Eyes) was performing live.

Green Dragon

Michael had his Blue & Gold banquet and took a home made cake in the form of a Green Dragon to the affair with his mother and sister. It is part of the annual Cub Scouts events and this year the theme was the Chinese New Year.

Michael took home the award for the "Longest Green Dragon"...

REUSABLE Shopping Bags

Paper or Plastic?

Not any more..... Sharon and I are going "GREEN" with reusable recycled shopping bags....

-is 100% recyclable
-is made from 85% recycled materials
-is made from approximately 4 plastic soda bottles
-can replace 50 plastic shopping bags
-can carry the same weight as 2-3 plastic shipping bags

You should do the same to save room in our landfills and conserve our resources

Requiescat In Pace Al Leake

From: STEVE JENIK <COLFAM.2@ATT.NET>
To: jpsaleeby@aol.com
Sent: Sat, 26 Jan 2008 11:01 pm
Subject: Al Leake

Dear Dr.Saleeby,
My name is Steve Jenik. I and my wife Julie are friends, neighbors and caretakers
for Al and Myr Leake. It is with great regret that I must inform you that Al has crossed
the final finish line in his race against cancer. He passed away, quietly, at home,
amidst family and friends on Jan., 25, 2008 @ approx 2:45 P.M.
I am being presumptious by issuing this notice, as I have no formal family approval
to do so. Yet, after searching the web and finding many references to Al, not
only his racing prowess, but his restoration work and finding your name, I hope that
this takes some burden off of Myr. I presume that you know how to contact the family.
I found the picture of your son with the pinewood derby racer. That choked me up.
I printed it out, but, my printer is not the best quality beast in the world.
Nonetheless, I intend to pass it on to Myr.

Our regards sir,
Steve and Julie

Pax et Requiem Dear Al

_______________________________

PS: Published on Alfa Bulletin Board (http://www.alfabb.com/bb/forums/motorsports/54161-al-leake-notable-alfisti.html)

1/30/08, 07:48 AM

JPSaleeby Ciao Bella Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: SC Posts: 6

Al was like an uncle to me..... I may have one of the last GTVs Al restored. It was a special project car 2 years in the making before the first bit of sand hit the old paint. Narrowed Al out of a pool of a half dozen Alfa restorers back in 2003-2005 from the US and Canada. Flew up to see him race in 2005 at Watkins Glen. From there forward Al was not just the guy fixing up an Alfa for me, but rather a friend I would speak with almost on a weekly basis on all things Alfa and more. My wife and I made two trips to Boulder Creek over the years to see Al and his wife Myr over the course of the restoration project that actually ended just a week before Al passed. They would always put us up at their vacation lodge when we visited. In 2006 they put the finishing touches on a cottage right over the garage where he kept his race cars. On our second trip in September 2006 Sharon and I got married in their back yard under three large Redwoods. Al and Myr were our witnesses. And we spent our first night as a married couple in their cottage. Al who was an Alfa purist and was so focused on racing, car restorations, etc. on one occasion got a big kick out of something different. We took Al and Myr around town GeoCaching and Al actually go into it like a little kid discovering a new toy. My project was a one-off GTV to GTAm conversion with a European Twin Spark motor. I am to take delivery in a week as it is being prepped to ship to the East Coast. I know of one other fellow from Canada who is having an almost identical transformation of a '73 GTV done, but his project was lagging behind. So my car may be one of the last Alfas Al restored completely. Will be an honor driving that car. For more on the project visit: Alfa Romeo 1971 GTAm RIP Al, you will be missed, JP & Sharon Saleeby Bennettsville, SC Current inventory: '71 GTV/GTAm (Dream Car... occasional outings and car shows) '09 Honda FIT Sport (daily driver) '06 Audi A4 Quattro V6 Convertible (fun car) '05 Jeep Liberty CRD running BioFuel Past sport cars: '57 Porsche 356 '93 BMW 318iS '73 BMW 2002tii '94 Mazda Rx-7 (3rd gen) '94 Jaguar XJ-6 Vaden Plas '00 Acura 3.2 TL '04 Mini Cooper-S '02 Maserati 4200 GT Coupe (wrecked 2008) '57 Chevy 210 (unrestoration and sold end of 2008) list updated 1/5/2009

-----------

Al with racing legend Carrol Shelby

John Edwards comes to Bennettsville

Fuzzy pic (phone camera) of Sen. John Edwards at rally. Seated behind in yellow baseball cap is "Cooter". Got to shake Mr. Edwards hand as he came into the room. His hair was well placed.

Sharon wanted to go see Sen. John Edwards (Democratic presidential candidate) as he came through Bennettsville, SC on the kick off of his visit to SC for the primary held on Jan 26th in the state. He was to show up at the Sky meeting room at 10AM. We were attired in our work-out clothes as we were on the way to the gym.

Edwards had just been on the Late Night with David Letterman the night before and flew down to make this rally. It was well attended and we were entertained by "Cooter" (Rep. Ben Jones) from the Dukes of Hazard a former house of representative two termer was the MC and the Dr. Ralph Stanley one of the founding fathers of Appalachian Bluegrass music was on hand with his band to play some tunes.

Dr. Ralph Stanley

John looked a little tired... no doubt a late night with hair-tusslin' David Letterman. See footage below: http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/ver/251.6/popup/index.php?cl=6055615

Sharon was interviewed by two reports (one from Raleigh, NC and the other a Deborah Charles from Reuters).

John Edwards revisits roots, campaigns in South
By Deborah Charles Wed Jan 23, 5:25 PM ET

LANCASTER, South Carolina (Reuters) - Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards burst into a hall on Wednesday in an often neglected corner of the United States to say he hadn't forgotten the people who lived there.
"I see the struggles that are happening in rural America," said Edwards, dressed in blue jeans and a jacket with "John Edwards '08" embroidered on it.
"The truth is, much of this part of America has been forgotten," he said to shouts of "Amen!" from the crowd where, as the last twangs of banjos faded, he was introduced as "a country boy who's done good."
The South Carolina native, a millionaire lawyer, is playing up his humble roots during a two-day tour through rural parts of the state, promising to help impoverished Americans if he wins the November election.
The southern U.S. state was the only state Edwards won during his failed 2004 presidential bid. This year he lags far behind Sens. Hillary Clinton of New York and Barack Obama of Illinois in the race for the Democratic party nomination.
He needs to win the South Carolina primary badly on Saturday to keep his presidential hopes alive.
BACK HOME, BACK ROADS
He set off on a foot-stomping two-day "Back Home, Back Roads Barnstorm" trip with bluegrass music legend Ralph Stanley and his Clinch Mountain Boys.
Edwards joined in a sing-a-long with a few hundred people who held hands and belted out "Amazing Grace."
Speaking earlier in the once-prosperous agricultural town of Bennettsville, Edwards said it was time the country had a president "who understands about your way of life" and knows the dilemmas faced by parents whose children feel they have to move away for a better life.
Edwards, a millworker's son and the first in his family to go to college, said South Carolina lost 6,000 jobs last month.
"What we need in rural America is a little economic fairness," he said. "You shouldn't have to live in New York City or Chicago or Los Angeles to do well in America."
Olin Moore, a 68-year-old purchasing agent with a construction company, said he would vote for Edwards. But asked if Edwards might win, he answered: "No."
Sharon Saleeby, of Bennettsville, said she would vote for him anyway. "It's nice to hear a candidate that talks about things that Americans care about. It's refreshing."
At a motor parts and gun shop, staples of the American South, Edwards was approached by Chyrll Hurst, a frail-looking woman who saw his bus and decided to stop. Hurst has late-stage breast cancer and wanted to tell Edwards she was praying for his wife Elizabeth, who has incurable breast cancer.
(Editing by Patricia Wilson and Howard Goller)

-----------------

PS: Just to let everyone know we DID NOT attend Sen. Hillary Clinton's rally when she came through a month or so ago. She was seen at one of the Marlboro Co. middle schools and reported seeing "holes in the walls where rats could come through." Her focus on the "corridor of shame" left us dry... like so where are your answers to this crisis? Also it was reported (rumored) that they were "paying" folks to attend and hold up signs... NOT in MY America we don't!!!!

Smoking in South Carolina

-----Original Message-----
From: KENT WILLIAMS [mailto:WILLIAMSK@scsenate.org]
Sent: Fri 1/18/2008 12:09 PM
To: Coopersmith, Sharon K.
Subject: Re: Help reduce smoking in South Carolina

Dear Ms. Saleeby,

Thank you for contacting me about your concerns with smoking in South Carolina. The cigarette tax is indeed an item that the General Assembly needs to examine this session. I will keep your thoughts in mind and I truly appreciate hearing from you on this pressing issue.

Kent Williams
Senate District 30

>>> <cooperss@musc.edu> 1/15/2008 10:03 AM >>>


Senator Kent Williams
602 Gressette Building
PO Box 142
Columbia, SC 29202-0142

Dear Senator Williams,

I am tired of MY state being dead last on every thing. SC has
one of the worst educational systems. We are one the fattest and
unhealthy states. I am sick of this inactivity from our
legislatures. Please take the time to address this issue on
preventing our children from taking up the nasty habit of
smoking. We do not want our children to be fat, unhealthy and
smokers to boot!!!!South Carolina continues to have the lowest
taxes on cigarettes in the country, and spends very little to
help people quit smoking or prevent kids from starting smoking.
One of the best methods for discouraging kids' smoking is
increasing the cost of cigarettes. Studies show that when the
price of cigarettes goes up, youth and adult smoking rates go
down. Raising cigarette taxes has motivated thousands of
Americans to quit smoking. Half of our states have cigarette tax
rates of $1.00 or higher, and nine states will be at or above
$2.00 per pack.

Adequately funding state tobacco use prevention programs also
delivers a great return on investment. Youth smoking rates would
be 3 to 14% lower if all states funded tobacco prevention
programs at CDC minimum levels, according to a study published
in the American Journal of Public Health in 2005. South Carolina
spends about $3M on tobacco use prevention programs, the CDC
recommended funding level for South Carolina is $24M.

Fewer smokers mean significant health care savings for South
Carolina's taxpayers. A decrease in smoking rates means millions
of dollars in future health care savings. Raising the cigarette
tax could provide needed funds for health care programs and
tobacco use prevention programs.

Raising the tax on cigarettes and funding tobacco use prevention
programs offer many benefits for our state.

Please give this your full consideration and support.



Sincerely,
Sharon Saleeby
410 Lakeshore Dr.
Bennettsville, SC 29512

Snow in Bennettsville ???

Kids (Madison, Anna and Michael) enjoy a little snow fall in Bennettsville this weekend. We had a slushy-snow-ball fight and everyone had open mouths trying to taste the fresh snow. There was even enough on the ground to make snow-angles. Madison's face is blurred by a snow flake betting between her and my camera.

Some Cool Pics

Sight around the Beaufort, SC Naval Air Station

My uncle Gerry Cabot "clowning around" as a professional clown performing for children of all ages at local hospitals. He is really enjoying himself. Hey... found Uncle Gerry a car.............. how about that?


Sharon and I officially kicked off our new home business... Medical Legal Consultations. I had been doing it on the side since 1999, but we decided to make it "official" last month. Our business blog is found at www.saleebymedlegal.blogspot.com

A really crazy BIKEr Chick! (PS: like the horn)

Dr. Fagan and wife (Dottie) on the road this past winter driving all over on their Trike. Steve Fagan was my favorite science teacher at Stockbridge HS. He attended my hooding ceremony when I received my MD degree. We visited Steve and Dottie last year on a visit to Atlanta.

The awesome Maserati MC12... which has put Maserati squarely on the map in Sports Car racing again. This 12-cyl. monster took La Mans by storm and almost showed up it's parent company Ferrari. This fact and the road-couth of the Maserati prompted me to consider a 2002 4200 GT coupe instead of an earlier 308/328 Ferrari for my daily driver. In the picture above a 2008 Maserati GT Coupe (Grand Turismo) and the new Alfa Romeo C8 (both to be released in the US market in 2008) are featured.

Wow!!! nice frame.

M-B, Jag and Porsche pay homage to the new 2008 Maserati GrandTurismo Coupe

Michael wins at Pinewood Derby

Cub Scout's PineWood Derby Day

Michael holds up his Pinewood Derby car #69. It was named and numbered in honor of Al Leake (AlfaRomeoRestorations.com) who has been working on dad's GTAm for the past 2.5 years. Al was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in October 2007 and is undergoing treatment as of this posting. The car was painted a florescent yellow with red top and sported a lego driver with helmet and a tail fin.

We used Al's race car number (69) and wrote PMA and Al Leake Racing Team all over the car. This year was not as kind to Michael... as he swept the speed trials in 2007 winning every heat and taking home the 1st place trophy and earning a spot to go to the state meet.

This year however in the preliminary heats he placed mostly 2nd and 1st... with no 3rd place finishes. He made it into the semi-finals as one of eight cars. The semis were all age groups and packs. He ran a good few races pulling mostly 3rds and a couple of 2nd place finishes. Over all... he took home the 2nd place medal for speed in his bear pack.


Mike in front on the cars "impounded" as they have been checked and weighed by the judges. His is the one on the far left.

Cars were so fast everything was a blurrrr... including this picture of Michael in the semi-finals loading his car on the pinewood derby track.

Next year promises to be awesome... more time and prep work will go into the structure, performance and appearance of the car.

A 2002 Maserati 4200 GT Coupe

Technical specifications of 2002 Maserati 4200 GT

Carfolio.com ID		90970
bodywork
Type		2+2 FHC
Designer
Number of doors		2
dimensions & weight
Wheelbase		2659 mm	104.7 in
Track	front	1524 mm	60 in
	rear	1539 mm	60.6 in
Length		4523 mm	178.1 in
Width		1821 mm	71.7 in
Height		1306 mm	51.4 in
Length:wheelbase ratio		1.7
Ground clearance
Kerb weight		1670 kg	3682 lb
Weight distribution (Front)
Fuel capacity		90 litres	19.8 UK Gal	23.8 US Gal
aerodynamics
Drag coefficient
Frontal Area
Cx
engine
Code
Manufacturer		Maserati
Type		V-8
		DOHC 32 valves total 4 valves per cylinder
Main bearings		5
Construction
Bore × stroke		92.00mm × 79.80mm 3.62 in × 3.14 in
Bore/Stroke ratio		1.15
Displacement		4244 cc (258.985 cu in)
Unitary capacity		530.5 cc/cylinder
Compression ratio		11.10:1
Fuel system		Bo ME7.3.2 fuel inj.
Aspiration		Normal
Compressor type		N/A
Intercooler		None
Catalytic Converter		Y
Max. output		390.4 PS (385.0 bhp) (287.1 kW) @7000 rpm
Max. torque		452.0 Nm (333 lbft) (46.1 kgm) @4500 rpm
Maximum rpm
Coolant		Water
Specific output		90.7 bhp/litre
		1.49 bhp/cu in
Specific torque		106.5 Nm/litre
performance
Note:		A value of -1 means that the car cannot attain that speed.
0-50mph (80 km/h)
0-60mph		4.90s
0-100km/h
0-100mph		11.30s
80-120km/h (50-70mph) in top
0-Quarter-mile		13.40s @ 109.00 mph
0-Kilometre		24.70s @ 212.00 km/h
Top speed		285 km/h (177 mph)
Fuel Consumption
CO2 Emissions		430 g/km
Carfolio Calculated CO2 ?
Power-to-weight		230.54 bhp/ton

HINT

"My __blank___ does 185, I lost my license, now I don't drive."

- Joe Walsh (Life's Been Good)

Something New on the horizon

Something Smokin' Hot... 390 bhp.

Something in Hunter Green.....

Coming soon....

Thanksgiving Day left overs

No... it is not what you think... took Sharon's left over Thanksgiving Day sweet potato casserole to work and left it in the fridge for 2 weeks...... all moldy and everything... I had to dispose of it and fast.....

On the Road Again!

On the road again... drove down to Charleston to fly out to Orlando, FL to visit my folks on the 28th. Was to be a nice visit, except for the fact that I decided to pass a @#*@$* Kidney Stone! Five hours of misery and finally passed the stone the following day (was huge... ) Anyway, drove Dad's (was Cindy's) 1989 Ford Escort 2-door back to Charleston... to give to either Ryan or Nathan. Then stayed put in Chucktown as Sharon worked the weekend at MUSC. Took the time to catch up on my sleep and walk the Cooper River Bridge a couple of times (great way to kill time). Then back on the road back to Bville.

Charles Towne Landing Park

Naughty Sharon gets her punishment at Old Charles Towne

Only home for a day, we took Anna back on Sunday and stayed an extra day or two to pick up my BMW and take in Charles Towne Landing Park as well as do a little Christmas shopping. Picked up a new Schwinn Hybrid bike and some toys for the kids at Target.

Sharon with the "Chief"

This archiologist fellow at the Park dressed in a Colonial outfit hanging out in a log cabin was very informative. Could have sat and listed to him talk about the times and trials of the day for hours. One of the surviving artifacts after Hugo was the tall Native American sculpture (pictured above).

*-*-*-*

I promised Sharon I would not post this hideous picture of her.... she is playing around with some rather large "Billy-Bob teeth"... but I just have to. She looked totally outrageous.

My new bike!

This past week 800 miles roundtrip

For starters Sharon and I were split by the weekend. I worked 4 in a row starting Friday. She was off to MUSC for 3 days. I drove my BMW down for service at Autometrics Motorsports for a thorough servicing. After a quick stop in to visited Ms. Cline (Sharon's mom) we were off to Savannah. Staying at the Marshall House Inn on Broughton St. we had a light dinner in City Market at Wild Wings. The next day I stopped by United Therapies clinic to visit Dr. Mac and do some chart reviews. That evening we met up with the Eichholzs (Benny, Gail and David (Benny's son who recently joined him in practice). Thursday was all business with chart reviews and a few patients to see. We were invited to lunch with Alfredo (UT owner) and the gang from the clinic at Seasons of Japan recently taken over by new management... for some sushi and Japanese fair.


After 4PM we were off to Beaufort, SC for the evening and some business the following day before making our way back to Charleston. We stayed at the lovely North Street Inn. Joanne was a wonderful host. Sharon as do I love this little town. We had dinner at Pannina's and their Tapas platter was killer. Lunch was at the always reliable Plums (met the owner this time around Lantz Price.)
Overall a good trip with over 800 miles on the Jeep Liberty.

1931 Avions Voisin C20 Mylord Demi-Berline

What has got to be the most beautiful pre-war vehicle ever made, a 1931 Avions-Voisin C20 "Mylord" Demi-Berline. While I have never been a big fan of French design (the French unlike their Italian neighbors just didn't get it most of the time), I must admit this car exudes beauty... a lesson to teach even some of the period Mercedes-Benz and Rolls-Royce types. Hope you can appreciate the beauty of this Art-Deco automobile.

--------------------------------

There is no denying Gabriel Voisin's creations were far from conventional, but a closer look at the remarkable vehicles will reveal that they are a unique combination of technical and artistic excellence. An aviation pioneer, Voisin transferred the lessons learned in aerodynamics and vehicle dynamics for his unusual designs. In the second half of the 1920s, influences from the Art Deco movement saw an evolution to squarer designs, but the relatively low height was typical for all Voisin automobiles. Another trademark feature was the use of the Knight-patented sleeve-valve engine. Voisin reached a peak in both his artistic and technical performance with the V12 engined C20 launched in the early 1930s.

Up until 1930, the Voisin line-up consisted of very quiet, but not very powerful four and six cylinder engines. With the influx of more powerful competition from the likes of Hispano Suiza, Duesenberg and Rolls Royce, it was clearly time to enter the race for more power. Gabriel Voisin followed the path of the V12 sleeve valve engine, which was tried before in an experimental Voisin and more recently in the Daimler Double Six production car. With already a six cylinder engine available, it was a matter of constructing a new crankcase to accomodate the installation of two rows of cylinders. Displacing just under 4.9 litres, the new Voisin V12 produced 113 bhp, which was not a spectacular amount by any means, but the engine was very flexible with a large amount of the power available at around idle.

At the 1929 Paris Motorshow the engine debuted in the C18 model. Code-named Diane, it featured a relatively straightforward chassis and body; not quite what was expected for the new Voisin top of the range model. Both the engine and coachwork of the one-off C18 have since been replaced, although a V12 has found its way back into the car's engine bay. A year later Voisin set things straight with the underslung C20 (Simoun), sporting a spectacular two-door cabriolet body, code-named Myrte. In the following years Voisin displayed the C20 with a variety of coachworks, but is uncertain wether these were new cars or one and the same with new coachwork. Voisin also delivered a V12 engine to Bucciali for one of their front wheel drive models.

While the V12 Voisin is shrouded in mystery, it is clear that it never entered production and subsequent models again sported six cylinder engines. It is sad that Gabriel Voisin reached this peak at a moment when the rest of the world was busy coping with the global depression. Very few Voisins were constructed in these years and only a handful survive. There was also talk of the even more ambitious 5.8 litre engined C22 Scirocco model, but other than a few period photographs there has been no sign of the car in the last 70 years. Fortunately, at least one C20 has survived sporting a Demi-Berline style coachwork with the interesting code-name 'Mylord'. Historical photographs suggest that there have at least two other variations on the C20 theme including the original Myrte Cabriolet, but also a Myra four-door Berline.

After a recent restoration the Art Deco C20 Mylord Demi Berline was entered in the 2006 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance where Voisin was the featured marque. It was joined on the 18th fairway by both the Voisin engined Bucciali and one of the Daimler Double Sixes, which later won 'Best of Show'. Source: http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/car/2926/Voisin-C20-Mylord-Demi-Berline.html

Saleeby Medical Legal Consultation

Sharon and I are now partnered in offering medical legal consultations for review of medical records for merit in potential med-mal cases. For more information please visit:

www.saleebymedlegal.blogspot.com

Hilton Head Island Concours d'Elegance

A great weekend with Tony and Doris Battista and their 1931 LaSalle at the 2007 Hilton Head Island Concours d'Elegance and Motoring Festival. Alas, my 1971 Alfa GTAm was not ready for the show, so I went empty handed, but still managed to help out Tony prep his car for the show and take in 2 full days of automotive history and some damn beautiful cars.

Tony Battista and crew in front of his 31' LaSalle

A fine example of a Bazarrini (Class winner)

HHICE Peoples Choice Winner a well done Scarab

Even bumped into Dennis Gage from the Speed Channel

A fine restored Alfa... locally owned by a fellow in Savannah

Anna in front of one of several Micro Cars from the Lane Museum (TN)

Met some cool folks, Mario an Italian fellow who had an all original 1970s Maserati Ghibli, and a few Alfaesti with their well groomed cars. Met a nifty fellow from SLR who helped put together an awesome Aston-Martin for the show and even hooked up with Dr. Ron Finger (who was there with an early model Caddy). Took some time away from the show to have dinner with Mike and Debbie Cahoon at Flavors. See pictures below:

Nicely Restored c.1950's Caddy

W.F. Marriott's Ferrari & Maserati

A Ferrari Daytona (599 GTB) 2007

Exquisite example of a Ferrari Dino

Super nice Bugatti

Early model Auburn boat-tail

A great weekend with Tony and Doris Battista and their 1931 LaSalle at the 2007 Hilton Head Island Concours d'Elegance and Motoring Festival. Alas, my 1971 Alfa GTAm was not ready for the show, so I went empty handed, but still managed to help out Tony prep his car for the show and take in 2 full days of automotive history and some damn beautiful cars. Met some cool folks, Mario an Italian fellow who had an all original 1970s Maserati Ghibli, and a few Alfaesti with their well groomed cars. Met a nifty fellow from SLR who helped put together an awesome Aston-Martin for the show and even hooked up with Dr. Ron Finger (who was there with an early model Caddy). Took some time away from the show to have dinner with Mike and Debbie Cahoon at Flavors. See pictures above.

Charleston Symphony Orchestra in Marlboro Co.

Maestro David Stahl and his Symphony Orchestra from Charleston, SC performed today in Bennettsville, SC. We attended a "before party" and took in the show a few rows from center stage. We were there with select members of the OPIL club (the Battistas and the Jones). On the program was:

Felix Mendelssohn's The Hebrides, Op. 26,
Bela Bartok's Rumanian Folk Dances,
Benjamin Britten's Simple Symphony, Op. 4,
Mark O'Connor's Appalachian Waltz,
Gabriel Faure's Pavane, Op. 50
&
F.J. Hyden's Symphony No. 104 Finale.

We had an after party at our place to wrap up a wonderful evening.

Sharon, Dorothy, Doris & Tony

Dinner Party

Our first big official catered dinner party. Not the OPIL club mind you but a TSG dinner party with the MPH-ED doctors and their wives and a few administrators from the hospital and TSG's Atlanta office. Drs. Sandy Cooper, Rich Rogers & Andrew Summers with their spouses were in attendance. The function was catered by Franchisco at Bella Luna (in Laurinburg, NC). The dinner was preceded by a small business meeting.

On the menu was a wonderful Antipasti Tray, a Caesar Salad with homemade dressing, Entrees were a Herb Roasted Salmon and Baked Rigatoni with rosted peppers and sausage, roasted garlic rosemary potatoes and California asparagus finished out the sides. Deserts were assorted Italian favorite mini pastries.

Our new front landscaping was in place with it's oriental garden theme. New red door with it's lion's head knocker/pull.

Euro Auto Fest 2007

Michael & I take off on the 20th for Greer, SC (some 3 hrs drive from Bville) for a "guys day on the road" The drive along State Hwy 9 was beautiful.. sunny, cool and just a perfect driving day.

Romeo group, the Morris Mini group and a rather sullen fellow who owned a (guess he was depressed about how expensive up keep was). Anyway, lots of cars and more cars. Austin We met Bob Rennick at the Volvo exhibit and chatted with a number of folks from the AlfaLamborghini MuroHealey was the honored badge. Most folks were nice, the organizers were great! However amongst the crowd was the usual and customary "snobs"(Funny-looking, fat old men with Ferrari hats and jackets along with their high-maintenance "nipped-n-tucked" trophy wives/girlfriends[?]) and "know it alls" (pseudo-auto-affectinados) ... but they were not to spoil this father-and-son day. But no red-neck NASCAR types as seen at Lows Motor Speedway... TG.

Inside the BMW museum ... featuring the "new" and the "old"

Me in front of a beautiful Iso Grifo (my favorite car of the show)

Mr. Gerry Coker, designer of the first Austin Healey 100, who spoke at 2007 EURO Auto Festival Awards Banquet was on hand to sign posters and my t-shirt. Unfortunately my Alfa was in California (still) so I drove the BMW 2002tii up and got there after the officials closed the field because of the great turnout... so I parked in the "for sale corral" still good exposure for the "project car".

Bob Rennick's white Volvo P model next to an awesome restoration of a Volvo 1800S

Chapel Hill, NC trip

This weekend we visited M&M and took in Chapel Hill, NC. A lovely college town host of the first public University in the USA.... UNC. The picture above is of the "old well" where students drink of the water the first day of class for good luck and good grades.

Sharon and Anna hamming it up as they try on wigs and glasses in Dolly's at Durham's Brightleaf Square.

Recently acquired art

A signed in the stone, numbered Marc Chagall (appropriate for our 1st year wedding anniversary)

Signed nude by Henri Matasse

Lithograph by Keith Haring for a mid 80's nuclear protest gathering

1st Wedding Anniversary

Our first wedding anniversary was a fun filled day. To commemorate we planned for dinner at Abingdon Manor Restaurant in Latta, SC. And our means of transportation was a 1987 Ferrari Testarossa (on loan from our friend Tony Battista). Here is a picture of Sharon next to the car. I had two hot babes with me that night!

Cruise-In in McColl, SC

Tony & Doris Battista and Sharon and I took our cars to the 1st McColl Cruise-In. We had loads of fun at this well attended event. Here is a picture of my 1973 BMW 2002tii sandwiched between Tony's 1931 La Salle and Rick Harakel's Caddy. There were some 40 or so cars, motorcycles and golf-carts representing.

Charlotte Redux

Last thing we needed to find out after flying into Charlotte from the Big Easy was that our Jeep Liberty supposedly fixed conked out on us (or Sharon). I having rented a 2007 Ford Mustang and on my way to pick up my kids in Asheboro had to turn back to pick up a stranded Sharon.

The following day we managed to get Michael and Madison early and spend the bulk of the day at the Food Lion Lowe's Motor Speedway Auto Fest. Thousands of cars and many more people crowded the raceway.

Michael in front of his favorite muscle car

Sharon and Madison inspect some old cars up close.

All Car-ed-out... we decided to spend the following day at the NC Zoo.

Madison hangs out with the elephants (Bronze sculptures that is)

Kids had a ball as we walked all through the North American and African sections of this most impressive Zoo.

From Lafayette to New Orleans, LA

Cemetery Scene in NOLA

Ok, for starters we drove up to Charlotte, NC the night before our trip to Lafayette, LA so as to be "fresh" for our trip flying out that next morning. Our plan... to possibly do as much in the span of a few days as humanly possible. We dropped the Jeep Liberty off at a local dealership in the area (giving them the time we were away to fix the u-joint or motor mount problem). We hopped on the USAirways jet that took us into NOLA and from there we rented a car to make the ~2 hour drive to Lafayette for my Leadership meeting at the Schumacher Group HQ. It was to be a day and a half of very intense meeting with regional and corporate heads and a dozen other medical directors from other regions. Great stuff. Dinner was a Zea after our first day. Much good food and wine and conversation passed our lips that evening.

The dining room at Arnaud's

The "Gumbo Trio" performing for us at Arnauds.

After we concluded our meeting we headed back to the Big Easy for a couple of days to discover/re-discover New Orleans post Katrina. The drive was interesting as we saw remnants of the catastrophic hurricane of just a couple of years ago. Alone Interstate 10 there were areas of devistation that were amazing. Arriving at our Hotel Parc St. Charles across from Lafayette Square in the warehouse district just down St. Charles from the French Quarter we discovered a once proud boutique hotel that has shown the strain from Katrina.

The Elliott Gallery

We freshened up and took off up St. Charles to Canal St. and on to Royal, where we window shopped and took in Bourbon St. We wanted to taste a residents choice for dining... off the tourist strip. We found a quaint restaurant where New Orleans Jazz eminated from behind the walls. Our first taste (aside from the road side restaurant hole-in-the-wall we found between Lafayette and NOLA) of some good ol' creole food at Arnauds. I had some turtle soup with a main course of Shrimp Jumbalia. Sharon had some Sea Trout covered with an almond sauce. We took in the jazz sound of the house band "The Gumbo Trio".

Litho of Marc Chagall we took home.

After that we were in for the evening! The following day we spent much of our time visiting local galleries along Royal and St. Charles Sts. Actually we wanted to do a bit of geocaching, but never got our hands on a computer that day. After sleeping in we spent the afternoon looking for a well priced lithograph of Marc Chagall (that was my goal). Sharon met "Bobby" a lovable resident and full of fun stories about NOLA in one of the galleries. We had many lessons on art appreciation and Chagall. We finally picked out one and had it shipped back home.

The owner of Elliott Gallery Fred recommended K-Pauls and thus we dined there our second evening. Prior to dinner we toured one of the large cemeteries (getting through the gate after closing time) and driving up and down between the large rows of mausoleums. We did get to visit the beautiful Garden District if for just a few hours. Once we got our hands on a computer we did get to hit two geocaching sites before we made our way to the airport to fly home. One was the Cancer Survivors Plaza.

* * *

Making room in the Garage

To make room for the Alfa Romeo (should she ever arrive) in restoration for almost 2 years I have decided to sell my faithful BMW 2002 tii daily driver.... for more on that visit:

www.1973BMW2002tii.blogspot.com

Siler City

Siler City, NC a very quaint town between Charlotte & Durham

however... on our second visit... we viewed some 10++ acre lots/farms down some unpaved roads that were just too remote. Also there was not enough "culture" in the town for our taste. And to top things off we had a flat tire in the middle of nowhere 10 miles out of town.
The following morning we spent 2 hrs at Walmart having 4 new tires placed on our Jeep.
Bad omen!

Siler City & Pittsboro, NC

This weekend (the long Labor Day weekend) saw us drive up to Siler City, NC to visit Bee (Sharon's long time buddy (RT) from MUSC). Was also an opportunity to visit the kids a bit.
Lunch (x2) at Elizabeth's Pizza & Italian restaurant.

Sharon's Birrff Day in Beaufort, SC

We decided we needed a break from Bennettsville, Charleston and the headache of our busy life. It was Sharon's 47th Birrrrffffff Day so I wanted to plan something different. We planned a long weekend in Beaufort, SC the little historic romantic town that we would both meet-in-the-middle when we dated. So off to Beaufort we went. Spent our first night at The Two Suns Inn (pictured above) and had a very relaxed first day. Dinner was a light fare at one of our local favorites a place off the main drag called Breakwater.

Dinner was light and awesome as we walked back to our inn. The Mermaids were up and about so we visited as many as we could and picked out our favorite. You can visit the Beaufort Art Council's web site for more on the Mermaids. Our favorite was Beatrice by Hank Herring (see picture).


I even tried my luck on a Segway personal vehicle after stopping off for brunch at Blackstones Cafe. (the picture below is actually of the owner of Blackstones on a Segway).


The rest of the days were spent meandering through the shops along the retail area, walking through the historic residential areas. We spent some time across the river on Lady's Island and one of our favorite Gullah hole-in-the-wall restaurants for lunch.

Our lot on Prince St.

We also visited out lot (now on the market) and viewed dozens of lots and homes for sale. We met some new friends... Stanley and Sandra Bond... a most cute couple who live in a great house on Pigeons Point.

The Bungalow we hope to one day build on our lot...

Finally to cap our weekend off we ate at ALBERTO’S GRILL TEX MEX restaurant... in both of our opinions the BEST Mexican restaurant in the Southeast. Maybe it is because the owner (a young fellow) is actually Cuban. We did a couple of Geocaching sites prior to heading back north stopping along the way in Santee for dinner at Clarks.