FIRSTS

Firsts - we all go thorugh many first times in our lives. Some are good, some are not so good... Some create life long memories, some create minor distractions and some impact your life dramatically. Charlie recently encountered a first meeting with death while on a short mission in Irag. He has responded well... Every situation, problem or first is as good or bad as how we react to it. You can be called an ass and hug the person or slap the person - it's all in how you choose to respond. Where does your mindset take you? Is your glass half full or half empty? Will you choose to live a life of anger or peace?

Jerry out from LaLaLand

Charlie New Years Day 2005 South Korea 

2 Kinds of People

Which Are You?

Ella Wheeler Wilcox

There are two kinds of people on earth today;

Just two kinds of people, no more, I say.

Not the sinner and saint, for it's well understood,

The good are half bad, and the bad are half good.

Not the rich and the poor, for to rate a man's wealth,

You must first know the state of his conscience and health.

Not the humble and proud, for in life's little span,

Who puts on vain airs, is not counted a man.

Not the happy and sad, for the swift flying years

Bring each man his laughter and each man his tears.

No; the two kinds of people on earth I mean,

Are the people who lift, and the people who lean.

Wherever you go, you will find the earth's masses,

Are always divided in just these two classes.

And oddly enough, you will find too, I ween,

There's only one lifter to twenty who lean.

In which class are you? Are you easing the load,

Of overtaxed lifters, who toil down the road?

Or are you a leaner, who lets others share

Your portion of labor, and worry and care

Mid-Summer in LaLaLand

Mid-summer update

August 2005 - and it's a hot summer, hotter than I can ever remember - but on we go! The Genungs are here for their annual visit and look great and Dylan is almost as tall as Bob. Courtney has met a new heart throb from Little Rock and seems more excited than I've ever seen her. More on her and Sam to come....Charlie has been in Iraq for 2 months now and we talk with him on IM several times a week. He is doing great, staying safe, eating good and working out everyday. Linda's property has been sold and she will have new owners next month - about the same time as last year. The pups are growing and are more beautiful each day. Obie gave us a scare last month with multiple trips to the vet and emergency clinic for urinary tract problems - hopefully he is almost back to his old self. We painted the dining room and the back bathroom and I used the new pressure washer on the deck - so we have been trying to clean the old place up. I remain thankful for all that I have in my life and excited about what is around the next bend!

Fathers Day

FATHER'S DAY 2005

Father's Day 2005 was an awesome one for me!
But, I have told many people on many occassions
that it is Father's Day for me EVERYDAY! I truly
believe that one does not knowwhat love is until
you have children. I have been blessed with the
2 best ever! Linda wasvery sweet all weekend and
wanted me to have a great Father's Day. Courtney
came over early to go to breakfast with us and brought
2 cards - 1 from her and 1 from all the critters. The 1
from the critters was "signed" by all the dogs, cats and
birds and included Steve Yerrid's tickets to the Devil Rays
for Father's Day! COOL! So Linda and I went to the game
and acted like the rich people - pigged out on the free food
and sat right behind home plate and was waited on as long
as we stayed. Of course I missed seeing or hearing from
Charlie, but he is always on my mind and he emailed me
early Monday and then called me Monday afternoon from
Iraq - cool - huh??? All's well with the 2 best children ever!

The Road King

The Road King

My Trusty Ride

My 2002 Harley Road King has brought miles of smiles and joy! My trusty friend has been with me for 3 years now and has carried me through the roads of Florida, the mountains of Arkansas, Tennessee and North Carolina. Never a problem, the King has been my faithful and favorite transport - not only down the roads, but has allowed my spirit to escape the ties to the mundane and let me exist where "now and here" are all that matter! I have never named this ironhorse because I have never found a name I considered worthy of my buddy - I shall endeavor to do just that. This is my 1st Harley and I don't know where my timeline will take me, but this bike will always be very SPECIAL to me. On our most recent adventure we encountered "the Dragon" in the hills of Tennessee and my steady ride carried me through on multiple runs with ease and grace. Whenever I am on this partner of mine I feel more alive, invigorated and free! I'll ride til I can't get on anymore.....

Word from Iraq

Charlie flew out on June 6 and we got email on the 8th - all is well, palace is "unreal and very secure". We were glad to hear so quickly. Monday night have left us with a very strange feeling when he called prior to boarding the plane. Our hearts were numb in our throats. Hurry Home Son!

Court & Charlie 

Mom and Charlie 

Come Home Soon Son!!!

Memorial Day was the worst!
The weekend had started out great! Charlie came in Thursday night and we all got to go on a 140 mile ride on Saturday - The were 7 Moores on 4 motorcycles and we had a ball. Charlie got to see some of his old friends and we got some more recuperation from the vacation. On Monday Courtney and Charlie went to the movies and we met them for lunch at PF Changs - it was awesome!
THEN came the dreaded trip to the airport..... My whole life I have tried to always protect my kids, sometimes OVERprotective! Now here we were putting him on a plane and he would be headed for Iraq and the war. I had known it would be tough, but it totally drained Linda and I of anything we had in us. I tried not to show Charlie my fears, but Mom was losing it fast and her son was fighting back the tears. We left the airport in absolute silence and I felt like someone had taken most of my stomach out. I know I don't have the words to describe this and only those who have been through the same can realize the shear fear at a time like this. I'm sure that not 1 minute will pass that I don't anguish over this until he gets back! I thank God every day for the wonderful family He has blessed me with and Charlie and I have always had a special relationship. I love and admire him!
Come home soon Son!!!!!!!

Linda at 5400 ft!

The chalet 

Lt and Dad 

JDM and the Road King 

Jerry at 5400 ft 

Linda ready to ride! 

Taming the Dragon!

Our long awaited vacation began to seem real as we worked into the early AM hours after a hectic Friday the 13th. Saturday found us both too excited to notice any lack of sleep. We got away about 8:30 and spent well over an hour at the Cracker barrel in Ocala, but we were committed to continuing our "enjoy the journey" mode that we have come to love. We left Florida and climbed Georgia with the Road King attached to the trailer following our every move. Our Yahoo map took us through all the scenic backroads and towns such as Helen, GA and Hiawassee and Hayesville, NC and on through Palmer and Murphy toward our cabin. We realized that this route would take us right over the Dragon - at night, in the rain, towing our bike....After safely maneuvering the 318 turns, we began to look for Happy Valley Trail and we looked for over an hour and drove by it at least 3 times - finally getting to our gorgeous chalet at 12:30 AM - tired. We awoke Charlie and unloaded the truck and heard tails of Charlie's 2 trips over the Dragon looking for the same road. Sunday was rainy early and that put off the Dragon. We went into Maryville for breakfast and a trip to the new Smoky Mountain Harley dealership - awesome shop and nice people. Charlie would have to head back to Ft Campbell early in the afternoon, so we were glad he had got lost and met the Dragon the day before. I rode with Charlie about 12 miles down to the closest gas station and watched him head back west toward his latest home - I still get a kick out of watching him. He is REALLY enjoying his harley!!! Linda and I kicked back and enjoyed the beautiful scenery and the QUIET - oh so quiet!!!! It was wonderful. Relaxation became the mandate of the day! We made a fire in the fireplace, laughed and played - and fell asleep early with anticipation of the day to come. I was up early on Monday as usual, made the coffee and headed down to get the bike ready! We left the cabin after breakfast about nine and within 5 minutes we were meeting the Dragon head on! The "tail of the Dragon" is an 11 mile stretch of US129 on the Tennessee/ North Carolina border that sees thousands of bikers and sport cars drive from all over the country to challenge the 318 curves. It is everything it is advertised - it is not for the weak at heart! It will challenge your abilities and hone your concentration skills. I truly enjoyed every minute of it and Linda seemed much more relaxed on the back of the harley than she did in the SUV. We made our 1st pass and stopped at Deal's Gap Motorcycle Resort for a breather, a bathroom break and some pictures. We headed off again down the NC side of 129 and aiming for the Cherohola Skyway about 20 miles away. The scenery and the clean air was beyond my ability to describe - we stopped several times just to stare at the water and the mountains! A stop at wheelers Performance Center found us with multiple Dragon souvenirs and on we rode toward the 5400 ft high Cherohola! Once again, it was mile after mile of beauty beyond description, cool, crisp air!!!!! There were observation points almost every mile on the way up and each one was unique and just as awesome as the one before... At the top, we sat and admired the handy work of our Creator and we were both very thankful to be there - it was 20 degrees colder, there was no leaves and it was brown - a big contrast from the bottom. We headed down and continued to be in awe of the continuous picture book scenery we rode through! An hour later we were sitting at Applebee's in Alcoa, TN very hungry and tired. We had rode 140 miles and had stopped about 8 - 10 times over the past 6 hours....Tuesday I got up and Linda stayed at the cabin while I took on the Dragon alone twice. I picked up the pace a little without Linda on the back and had a thrill all the way through - I MUST COME BACK - MANY TIMES!!!!!! What a major league rush! I drove back to the cabin feeling more content than in many years. We packed up and left our beautiful chalet - promising to return as soon as we can. On to Nashville and the "Great Surprise".... At the chalet, we were so far in the Smokey Mountains that we could not even get any cell phone service - so we got our messages as we headed out and Tom, my brother had left 3 messages wanting to know how it went and when we would be there...I called him back as we were heading west toward his house and told of our great adventure and all the beauty;I remember telling him that if he ever got into motorcycling, he had to go there because it was beyond words. When we got to his house, he was not there, only his wife. She said he would be there any time and he was driving an old classic and she wanted to get some pics. We head out to the driveway and notice Joan is pointing a video camera at us. As I turn around and look up the driveway, Tommy is pulling in on a new Harley Davidson ElectraGlide Ultra Classic! W O W !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They really fooled us! He had bought it 6 weeks ago and had hid it when Charlie came to visit so he could surprise me and all the folks in Florida - HE DID!!!! GREAT JOB BUBBA!!!!!!! Tom and Joan looked awesome on the bike and you could tell that Tom was more excited over this than anything in years - he deserves it! The rest of the week was riding and playing and visiting with Charlie - the best vacation ever. Linda got a surprise at the old place we used to eat - Mason's Motel. Jenny has another customer that is a Celiac and she fixed Linda 2 of the best meals she has ever had!!!! We picked up Charlie's bike on Friday afternoon and headed back to Florida.

Puppy Updates

Harley turned 8 months last week and weighed in at 82 lbs.
Lilly turned 6 months and is 57 lbs.
Both are turning into incredibly beautiful Labs.
They are both doing awesome in obedience classes and we are enjoying it all.
They are both sweet pups and the whole pack has jelled together as a close group.
Harley and Lilly are staying out of their crates now during the day and so-far, so-good.
YES - they have stolen our hearts!

Harley and his halo