John K. Davis, Independent Distributor, SendOutCards

Emerald Isle

Janet and I returned from our trip to Boston and Ireland a few days ago. We had a wonderful time. Our time in Galway was especially pleasurable. We drank Guinness, explored the area, ate wonderful meals, enjoyed meeting interesting and friendly folks. It was a great getaway.

The adventure in Ireland began at the airport in Shannon. We rented a small Mazda just barely big enough to hold three adults (Barbara Cox was with us) and our luggage. It has been awhile since my last experience with a stick-shift, but choosing the right gear was nothing compared with driving on the wrong side of the road on narrow (teeny tiny) country lanes at 100 kph. I often slipped off the road surface trying to avoid a head-on collision.

We stopped at a little hotel on our way to Galway, not far from the Cliffs of Moher. Barbara snapped this image of Janet and me outside the hotel:
(you can click on thumbnail here to see a full-size version of the image).

Next stop was the Cliffs of Moher. It was too foggy to capture a good snapshot of the cliffs, so I am including an image of the cliffs I captured at Answers.com. I was able to catch Janet as she entered the arch of the small castle that sits overlooking the cliffs...

Uncle Kenny's Funeral

Another beloved member of our extended family has passed away. Janet and I were in Arizona last week to attend the funeral for my uncle, Kenny Keeth Gray, my mother's younger brother. I have many fond memories of Uncle Kenny and Aunt Hazel. They are together now and all seems right.

I snapped a few images at the graveside service. Here are some images of family:

Inette, Mike, Roxann, Cindy, Debra, Nancy, Janet and my aunt Nellie visit following the service.

Others seen in this next image include Bobby, Jimmy, Don and my uncle Jerry.

It was good to get many playmates from childhood together again. Jimmy, Bobby, John, Keeth, Don and Mike had a good time kidding one another about treasured memories.

Uncle Kenny was buried next to his wife, Hazel, who passed away a few years ago. Their marker sat waiting to identify their resting place.

Nearby sat the marker for Kenny's parents, my grandparents, Elmer and Ruby Gray.

It is good to share these moments of remembrance with my loving life partner. Janet and I have attended too many funerals lately, but in each case we did so arm-in-arm supporting one another. I am grateful to be loved by this beautiful woman, so attractive, capable, loving and wise.

The full-size version of each image will pop-up if you click on the thumbnail version displayed here.

Being with Family

We traveled to Iron Mountain, Michigan, to attend Janet's brother's funeral. John Frahm died recently during treatment for cancer. It was a sad time, but there was a lot of love shared by surviving family and friends. We will miss John.

We also attended Janet's niece's wedding. Lisa and Tyler had a beautiful wedding and fun-filled reception. Check out the Photo Albums I published of Traveling to Iowa and The Reception by clicking on the album titles in the column to the right (I purchased a new digital camera during our trip from Michigan to Iowa for the festivities).

I also took a few movies with the camera. The first is a windy video of the kids on a teeter-toter at a roadside rest area: rest_stop_teetertotter.wmv. The others are all from the reception. You will get a kick out of watching Sydney and Jamison with other little people warming up the floor before the dancing began: warming_up_the_dance_floor.wmv. Watch Lisa and Tyler cut the cake and eat it, too: cutting_the_cake_and_eating_it_too.wmv. Finally, there is this darling but short clip of Lisa dancing with Sydney: princess_times_two.wmv.

Feeling Better

Janet and I enjoyed a wonderful visit with Stephanie and her family near the end of March. A day after returning home I came down with a nasty virus that I probably picked up on the plane trip back to San Diego. The virus turned into a respiratory infection that really knocked me for a loop. A heavy course of antibiotics has finally got me on the mend and I'm feeling much better.

We celebrated my returning good health and our wedding anniversary this past weekend by luxuriating at La Costa Resort and Spa. We spent most of the three days wearing nothing but chenille bath robes and slippers. Our VIP suite, body scrubs and wraps, Roman baths, cool showers in the steam room, couples massage, gourmet meals, glorious grounds, relaxing music and our willingness to fully surrender to the sensual experience helped us to honor and deepen our commitment to one another and renew our spirits.

We found friends, Danny and Barbara Kieller, our first evening there when we arrived for dinner reservations at Blue Fire Grill. Danny was attending a medical conclave at the resort and they were extending their stay in order to celebrate Danny's birthday. The surprise encounter was duplicated the following morning at breakfast and the serendipity of the unplanned meetings added to the pleasure of our weekend.

We drove a bit further north on Sunday to visit Carol Bruch in Pacific Palisades. Carol has a beautiful condominium in a high-rise building on the corner of Sunset Blvd and Pacific Coast Highway overlooking the ocean. We enjoyed meeting a few of Carol's other friends at the gathering and sauntering through the grounds around her building.

It was a weekend we will not soon forget.

I Am Still Here

A few months ago things changed and posting to my blogs became a low priority, so I have communicated almost nothing in this forum since then. But just to prove that I have not fallen off the edge of the earth I am posting here to catch people up.

The middle of March Janet and I enjoyed ten days of vacation in Michigan and Illinois. Most of the time was spent with Stephanie and her family. We took care of our grandchildren for a few days while Steph was learning a new computer program to be used in her job. We were teacher’s assistants one day at Jamison’s kindergarten class. We also enjoyed visiting the Unitarian Universalist church that Steph attends in Muskegon.

Janet wrapped up the trip with a day in Chicago to promote the law school to prospective students. She has also traveled to Dallas and Denver over the past couple of months and will leave for London in a few weeks.

An unexpected trip to Iowa at the end of May for a gathering of the Frahm clan was added to the travel itinerary in order to attend a funeral for Janet’s brother, Jim. His tragic death was difficult for all who knew him. Suicide brings out strong emotions; anger, inconsolable grief, regret, disbelief… The ramifications of this heartbreak will linger for years.

My commitment to serve as attorney-in-fact under a durable general power of attorney for management of property and personal affairs for a beneficiary of a trust I once managed is the principal reason for my lack of attention to my blogs. It was an honor to have been asked to serve in this capacity following a devastating stroke that has severely disabled my client. I am handling all of his affairs and acting often as an advocate with medical providers and others who do not always respect my client’s wishes.

My health is good. I am following the recommendations of a friend who represents Body Wise. The company’s Reshape System is working for me. I feel great and have no desire to overeat. I also decided to take up racquetball again after almost twenty years neglecting the game I once played daily. Minor injuries and a demanding schedule keep me from playing as often as I would like, but my intention is to be on the court at least three times a week.

There is much more to say. I will try to post a few more specifics today when I can.

In Michigan

It was cold and a bit slippery when we landed in Chicago. Our plane fishtailed down the runway as the pilot struggled to keep us on the tarmac. First serious thought about Thanksgiving—I’m glad to be alive. We got our rental car, stopped for a late-morning coffee at a Starbucks on our way out of town and had a safe trip to Holland despite the inclement weather.

We arrived to find the Ray household looking a lot like a medical clinic. Jamison, Sydney and Clinton all had the flu. Steph was soon among the ailing. Janet and I spent three days nursing everyone through the virus.

Fortunately, we were all in good shape by Thanksgiving Day. We had a wonderful meal and enjoyed the day. By evening it was my turn to be ill and I was sleeping restlessly for many hours before others retired for the night.

I felt better the next day, so I was able to watch the kids while Steph and Clinton went to work and Janet spent the day in bed feeling miserable. I took Stephanie and her family out to dinner and to do a little shopping while Janet languished in solitude wrapped in blankets.

It is early morning now. I find myself having a hard time sleeping, so I thought I’d share the details of our misery with you instead of laying in bed trying to breathe (a stuffy nose seems to be the lingering symptom of the virus that has wreaked havoc around here).

Despite the facts, I have enjoyed our time here. Jamison and I spent a delightful three hours together—just the two of us—at a local park. Here are a few snapshots I took with my camera phone:

Traveling

I’m at 32,000 feet, flying to Chicago with Janet on our way to visit Stephanie and her family. I am looking forward to seeing her. It will also be good to meet Sydney—Janet was there at her birth, but this will be my first time with our newest granddaughter.

I will be using my wireless camera phone a lot during our trip to post photos here as soon as they are taken. By the way, if you did not catch the article at Gadget Blogger regarding T-Mobile’s great deal on the Sony Ericsson T610 phone, you really should take a quick look. Now that phone numbers can be easily transferred to a new service, it is a perfect time to take advantage of the offer.

She's Leaving Me!

I snapped Janet's picture this morning when I took her to the airport to travel to Vermont where she will attend a law conference. She will be representing the law school as its Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and enjoying the beautiful fall colors for a few days. I already miss her.

San Clemente Chic

Joan, Marlys, Jim and the back of Russ' head (he'll kill me when he sees this snapshot)...

Janet's brother, Jim, and his wife, Marlys, are vacationing in Laguna Beach. Janet's sister, Joan, and her husband, Russ, from Newport Beach picked them up and met Janet and me tonight at The Fisherman's restaurant on the pier in San Clemente. We had a wonderful dinner together and enjoyed a brisk walk to the end of the pier and back afterwards.

Wow!

Sunday was even more exhausting than Saturday. I left Stanford early on Sunday evening and arrived home in San Diego about 1:30 AM on Monday morning. Monday was all catch up and fog-brain. Today things are beginning to get back to "normal."

Day two of the Accelerating Change Conference (ACC2003) was even better than day one. Steve Jurvetson, a well-known venture capitalist in Silicon Valley, began the Sunday events with the Action Keynote address entitled, Venture Capital in a World of Accelerating Change. He is a high-energy guy, brilliant, grounded and a really pleasant person to hang out with. He confirmed two things for me. The big thing short-term is RFID. The big thing long-term is molecular manufacturing (nanotechnology).

Next, Robert Wright spoke about ethics. His book, Nonzero: The Logic of Human Destiny, was named a New York Times Book Review Notable Book for the year 2000. He argues that new technologies can create win-win nonzero results that have been, and will continue to be, the best indicators of progress. His presentation stood up well to questions from the audience.

Then, Mark Finnern represented a corporate sponsor, SAP, in a breakout presentation of SAP’s enterprise software and how they are now integrating RFID into the market supply chain from manufacturing to retail sales and beyond. View the online video showing Metro Group Future Store use of RFID.