Christmas 1999

By Odell Sneeden Hathaway, III

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Christmas 1999 By Odell Sneeden Hathaway, III Dear Friends! I want to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and a happy year 2000. It is hard to believe that another year has pass and we are looking at the end of the millennia next year (the new millennia starts in 2001). This has been an eventful year for me. I spent most of it working on the Y2K problem. Fortunately I have completed all my upgrades and all my customers are safe to start the 2000's. This spring I did have a rather serious accident. I was mowing the lawn in my backyard, I have a stream back there and have to lower the mower over the edge to cut the grass. While I was doing this my left leg slipped out from underneath me and my body pivoted around my right knee. It was very pain full to say the least. I managed to avoid going to the doctors but could just barely walk for weeks and could not go upstairs using that knee. I had to use my good leg to lift. This has really put a crimp in my year. I am still limping (a little) and have only recently started using both knees When going up stairs. I do have better news on the medical front. Last Fall my Dr. put me on the Zone diet. Well, I have lost nearly 50 lbs. I am below 200 for the 1st time since I was in High school. In September I took my 1st trip to Scotland. (I do not know if I will be going back). It seems that they do everything backwards over there. I mean I knew they drove on the wrong side of the road. But when they walk they pass each other on the wrong side as well. Crossing the street was a nightmare because the cars come at you from the left not the right like they do here. They even turn on there lights upside down. Here we push the switch up to turn on the light. There they push down? The worst part of the trip was the two hours I spent driving. That was a huge mistake. I do not know if it was my dyslexia or if there crazy over there but I could not drive on the wrong side of the road. I got my car and started driving. It went ok for about a block. Then I needed to turn right. Well my instinct took over and I pulled all the way to the right. (Wrong). Suddenly people were honking at me, I looked up to the right to see the rear view mirror but it was not there (it was on the left). Some how I managed to get out of Edinburgh with out killing any one or getting killed. But the high way was no better. I kept bumping in to the curb because I Thought there should be more cars on my left then on my right. I know that if I really wanted to work on it I could have learned to drive there. But I was there on vacation. I was passing beautiful countryside and not seeing any of it. My hands were shaking and I was almost in tears. So after 2 hours I gave up and got on the train for the rest of my trip. The Brits have great trains. Do not get me wrong I did have some good times over there. I got to visit the surgery of James Herriot the writer. They have a wonderful exhibit there. This was the high light of the trip. I have been a big fan of his for years and to finally see the places I had read about for so long was a real trip. I visited the school were Capt. Cook went and I got to take a boat trip on Loc Ness (No sighting though). I also visited a community Called the Findhorn Foundation were I stayed for a week learning about there way of Life. I got a very interesting piece of E-mail this year (among several). In July a wonderful and beautiful woman name Linda responded to my add on the inter-net. We exchanged a few letters and then had our 1st date. Well we Have been together every chance we get since then. I wish I could tell you that the course of true love always runs true but in this case it runs to Astoria, OR on the coast about 90 miles away. This makes it a long distance relationship and it can be very difficult at times but we are working on making it work and having a good time in the mean time. She is a Medical Transciptionist at the moment but is studying to be either a nurse or an environment lawyer. Well I hope that the year that is ending has been a good one for all of you and that the year to come is filled with love and joy. Love Odell

Thank you for Surfing by. If you would like to write to me press = osh@teleport.com

Even on the NET I can't spell Tree, updated 06/29/08.