As I’m sure everyone knows, Flagstaff is a small town. Two of my former bosses live here in town. One I see every so often at Home Depot or Sam’s. The other, I never see. He and his wife have had a house here for 30+ years. They have moved at least three times in the last 10 years. They have the phone company answering machine on their phone. I’ve heard from others that Ray keeps running into people and asking how I am. I’ve been calling his number for at least a month, every few days. Always I get the message ‘answering machine is full.’ Well today, while wandering around Wal-Mart I ran into him. Turns out he lives just a little ways from where I live. He wasn’t avoiding me, but said they only answer the phone when they are home, and they are seldom home. And they never listen to the messages anyway. I gave him my address, my phone number and he gave me his cell number, so maybe, just maybe we will have lunch one of these days. It was good to see him. Like all of us, he has gotten a little older. He had some kind of blood infection a year ago, but has recovered quite well, considering he was in a coma for 2 weeks. Otherwise he is enjoying his retirement, and his wife has also retired, so they keep busy going to Cameron—her home, and Forest Lakes—his home area. Both of them really like garage sales, so that takes up much of their weekend.

I am always amazed at how you don’t see someone for a couple of years, and when you meet, it is back to those famous days of yesteryear. Most of my work related encounters are positive…I was never a bridge-burner. Those few who insisted on burning some bridges just get a friendly ‘hi’ and little, if anything else. I have never seen a reason to carry a work-related grudge. Actually I carry very few grudges of any kind. They just seem to eat on me, and certainly don’t have any positive change for me or them. It may not work well for others, but it seems to be working just fine for me.

It was a cooler day today…we only made it to 85°…and the cooler ran for a few hours, just to keep the house below 80°. It was cloudy, but we didn’t get any rain. Hope for some monsoons again tomorrow or maybe tonight.
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Random Fact
John Kerry's hometown newspaper, the Lowell Sun, endorsed George W. Bush for president. Bush's hometown newspaper, the Lone Star Iconoclast, endorsed John Kerry for president.

July is…

…Air Conditioning Appreciation Month…Blueberries Month…Cell Phone Courtesy Month…Family Reunion Month…Herbal/Prescription Awareness Month…Nat’l Doghouse Repair Month…Nat’l Grilling, Nat’l Hot Dog, Nat’l Horseradish, and Nat’l Ice Cream Month…Smart Irrigation Month…Social Wellness Month…Tour de France Month…Women’s Motorcycle Month…

Week of July 16National Ventriloquism Week

July 16—197 days so far this year…168 days remain in 2009

Get To Know Your Customers Day
Hot Dog Night

BIRTHS ON THIS DAY…
1704
John Kay England, machinist, invented flying shuttle
1821
Mary Baker Eddy founded Christian Science (Science & Health) 1862 Ida B Wells famous African
1872
Roald Amundsen Norway, explorer, discovered South Pole
1907
-Barbara Stanwyck Brooklyn, actress
-Orville Redenbacher popcorn king
1911
Ginger Rogers [Virginia McMath], Independence Mo, dancer/actress
1924
Bess Myerson NYC, 1st Jewish Miss America (1945), business woman
1958
Michael Flatley dancer, performer: Lord of the Dance
1968
Will Ferrell comedian, actor

IT HAPPENED ON THIS DAY…
622
Origin of the Islamic Era (Muharram 1, 1 AH)
1439
Kissing is banned in England
1548
La Paz, Bolivia is founded
1769
Franciscan Father Junipero Serra founds the Mission San Diego de Alcala in what becomes San Diego, California
1790
Congress establishes District of Columbia
1798
US Public Health Service established & US Marine Hospital authorized
1917
A short-lived uprising led by the Bolsheviks against the Russian government begins. Its failure leads to the arrest of Leon Trotsky and the temporary exile of Vladimir Lenin.
1918
The Bolsheviks, who took power in Russia the previous fall, execute former tsar Nicholas II along with his family.
1926
The first underwater color photographs appeared in National Geographic magazine. The pictures were taken near the Florida Keys.
1935
1st automatic parking meter in US installed, Oklahoma City, Ok
1945
1st atomic bomb detonated, Trinity Site, Alamogordo, New Mexico
1951
Novel "Catcher in the Rye" by JD Salinger published
1956
Last Ringling Bros, Barnum & Bailey Circus under a canvas tent
1969
Apollo 11 astronauts were launched into space on a Saturn 5 rocket launched from Cape Kennedy at 9:32 a.m. hoping to be the first men to land on the moon.
1999
John F. Kennedy Jr.’s plane crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard (Massachusetts), killing him, his wife and his sister-in-law.

Word Puzzle from NPR Sunday Puzzler…1987

Another OOPS…yesterday clue number 3 should have read ‘sty’ which then makes the answer ‘pigpen’ understandable.

Every answer below is a familiar tow-word phrase with the initials M-E

EX: slender tropical fish

Answers: moray eel
1. World’s tallest peak
2. Where Israel and Lebanon are located
3. TV’s talking horse
4. Person who performs autopsies
5. Person who runs a magazine
6. Expert on motors
7. Canadian baseball player
8. Geological period when the dinosaurs reigned
9. Something orangeish to mail documents in
10. What follows preliminary contests, as in boxing
• Bonus: Conflicted feelings

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Answers:
1. Mount Everest
2. Middle East
3. Mister Ed
4. Medical Examiner
5. Managing Editor
6. Mechanical engineer
7. Montreal Expos
8. Mesozoic Era
9. Manila envelope
10. Main Event
* Bonus: Mixed Emotions
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