Edited by author 07-13-2007 11:10 PM
Alison, I'm so sorry to hear that you've lost your brother my dear friend y amiga. Gosh, I'm 43 and will be 44 next month and that just shows us all how precious each day is. We can be here one day and gone the next. That's why being close friends and staying in touch is so important. We only have so long to party and be part of each other's lives on this planet.

I wish you and all of your family the most comforting thoughts and memories during this difficult time.

Alison, please tell me that you are going to ferment some of those grapes so Dominic and I can be proud of you :)

Edited by author 07-13-2007 08:19 PM
Alison: Sorry to hear about your brother,hopefully you will have a close relationship to his wife and son.

Scott: Still trucking in Texas.

Alison - My condonlences. May you find strength in your family during these trying times.

dominic are you still in texas

Hi everyone: Long time no speak. We've been incredibly busy since March finishing up house remodeling and getting our land ready to plant grapes.

Dwight: Sounds like you had a fun fishing trip.

Captain Loya: Congratulations on your promotion. Please be safe in Iraq.

Some news: My brother Jim Anderson died suddenly on June 15. He was only 45, healthy and very fit, but had an undiagnosed heart condition. He had no symptoms. He just fell to the ground shortly after arriving at our family cottage and couldn't be revived. I got home last week after spending two weeks with my sister-in-law Maggie and their 17-year-old son Christopher. It's all been so shocking and sad.
None of you would have known Jim (except maybe Cindy) while we lived in Mexico because he was going to school in New Hampshire at the time.

On a happier note, we finally got our grapes planted in mid-June and the vineyard looks good. Now we just weed them and watch them grow.

Edited by author 07-10-2007 01:58 PM
Conclusive proof that partying like a ROCK STAR is the way to go:

Sammy Hagar's tequila gets a big shot
The former Van Halen frontman is selling a large stake of his famous Cabo Wabo tequila.
FORTUNE Small Business Magazine
Ian Mount
June 28 2007: 5:44 AM EDT

(FSB Magazine) -- Former Van Halen frontman Sammy Hagar knows how to party profitably. In May he inked a deal to sell 80 percent of his Cabo Wabo tequila business to Gruppo Campari for $80 million.
Premium liquors, American companies

Starting as the house tequila at Hagar's Cabo Wabo Cantina in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, in 1996, the spirit grew into a popular premium brand, with more than 140,000 cases sold in 2006.

Hagar says the deal will lead to worldwide distribution, which would be difficult to accomplish on his own. "I don't like working that hard," he says.

The price, 11.8 times expected 2007 Ebitda, is a respectable multiple, according to Jim Carroll, a managing director of investment bank Hunter Wise (hunterwise.com).

And, he adds, Hagar is "astute" to retain a 20 percent stake: "Cabo Wabo will surely benefit from greater market acceptance and higher profitability as part of a larger corporation."

Alex. I am glad you had no problems finding housing at the base. Sounds like you have a full plate right now. Stay safe. You are in our prayers.
I have some good news to report. My wife Nina is a co-partner in a million dollar C.U.R.A. research grant that was approved last week. She rocks!!!!!!
Domimic. Que ondas con los portugueses?

Hello my friends. John M., I am now back in Louisiana, we spent all last week moving from Fort Bragg to Fort Polk. The Lord was good to us once again, watch this... usually it takes a few months for incoming soldiers to be ale to get a house on post, within the fort, and Army Reserve soldiers are not supposed to live on post, that was a miracle back in Fort Bragg because although I was on active duty, I was in the Army Reserve component. Well, now I am in the Regular Army or Active Component of the Army, but when we got to Fort Polk there was a glitch in the system and I was showing like I was still in the Reserve. Anyway, my wife and I prayed that we would be able to get a house on post as soon as we got to Fort Polk, which would be a miracle, well, guess what? As soon as I went to housing, I gave them my paper work (Leave and Earning Statement, Orders, the form appointing me to my new unit and what is called DEERS, has to do with dependants) which showed me still on Reserve status, but, lo and behold, the lady just took my paperwork and said "We have one house available on post."! So, we got that one house on the very first day of checking in, while still being in the system as a Reserve! That is a miracle buddy! We haven't stopped all week, we got here and then we went to New Orleans to spend the weekend with family, they held up the 4th of July bar-b-que till Saturday for us. We had a good time, we had not seen most of them for two years, we just drove back from New Orleans to Fort Polk, which is about 5 hours away.

Dominic, you gave me a shot of happiness saying you would drink some chelas in my honor on the 4th of July, thanks man!... Yeah, I guess I am kind of an emotional type of guy some times, or, rather, there are certain things about which I am emotional, God, country, family, heritage, friends... things and people I love I love intensely and deeply and I am willing to fight and die for who and what I love, and most American soldiers are this way... we need to be if we are going to face the enemy... American soldiers go to great lengths to avoid killing innocent women and children, it would be a tragedy if that would happen only by accident while I am there, our enemies know how we are, and they use that against our soldiers, they will lie on the ground and have women and children sit on them and around them and shoot at our soldiers from between two children because they know that American soldiers will not shoot back and kill the little children they use as shields, they will use hospitals and mosques as staging grounds to attack our soldiers, they will stash weapons in schools and park their armed vehicles in civilian neighborhoods because they know that the American soldiers won't let loose in those places, our enemies are despicable, cowardly, merciless and honorless, but every time we confront them, every single time, we mop the floor with them.

My buddy Dwight is right, my primary job is not to kill, but to support our soldiers, my job is to be there in combat to strengthen their morale, to sustain their courage, to keep their moral sense so that they will not commit attrocities while confronting the cowards, my job is to provide for their spiritual welfare because you can have the best training and equipment, but a broken spirit who can bear? The only time in which I may come to blows is if we are being overrun, like in "We Were Soldiers Once, and Young", the Mel Gibson movie when they are being over run and the photographer tells the Sergeant Major,"I'm a non combatant sir!" and the Sergeant Major replies "There ain't no such thing here today sonny!" and then he says "Gentlemen, prepare to defend yourselves!" and the journalist ends up becoming a Soldier for a day. If it comes to that, and it may given that the 4th Brigade 10th Mountain Division I am serving with now is a light ifantry unit, that is, a foot, hand to hand combat Soldier kind of unit, like they said in the movie, there will be plenty of rifles laying on the ground to defend my Soldiers and my self...

I fail to feel afraid... I examine myself, and I fail to feel afraid... I tighten up, like I said, but I don't feel afraid... hmm, maybe that is fear, tightening up, except that instead of giving into it I confront it... maybe it is because I really, truly do believe in God and that my life is fully in His hands, that gives me tremendous comfort and all the more as I see the day in which I will enter the valley of the shadow of death approaching...

Anyway, I am just rambling, I am exhausted! It is 1:20 A.M., and I have been going non-stop, I was going to share with you all an incredible historical discovery I made while doing research, fascinating stuff! Literally paradigm shifting! But I think I am just going to go hit the sack right now, I will share that discovery at another time, anyway, my eyeballs are rolling back I'm so tired! Good night... don't let he bed bugs bite.

Dominic. That will be an awesome game. I can actually get tickets from a friend of mine. A ver. Barrett has no preminition as to the outcome. I hope Mexico takes it. Los portugueses tend to get on my nerves. Se creen muy machos. Sorry Ponch.

Maroney: Just drive to the stadium and buy some tickets from other fans.
You will be surprised how easy it is. Today Mexico Portugal in Toronto, should be a good one!

Hope everyone had a nice 4th!

Dominic. It is very difficult to get tickets for the games. Not all the games are played in this area. Some are played in British Colombia. But I am going to try to get some anyway. Barrett is absolutely nuts about soccer. He is kind of bummed out today because his team lost 4-0 last night. That was the first time he has not scored in a game since last summer. His streak was 14 games in which he scored a goal or more. After the game he came home and did drills by himself for over an hour. Funny thing is that we are not pushing him. This is all self-motivated.
The Canadian team got its head handed to them on a platter by Chile. The score, 3-0, is not indicative of the actual game. The Chilenos did what they wanted. Canada's portero stopped about 7 that should have been goals. The problem with Canadians is that they approach soccer in the same way they approach hockey. It just does not work. I just realized that we did not send Angus his book. Se lo mandamos esta semana. It's called The Hockey Sweater. It's cool.
Loya. Donde andas?

Maroney: It will be difficult not to have a safe 4th in central Texas.
Got plenty of Tequila, Beer, BBQ stuff and couple hundred dollars worth of fireworks. The problem is it's pouring out there and we won't see any sunshine for 2-3 more days. Never seen central Texas so green in July in the 20+ years I have been living here.
Will you and Barrett go to any U-20 World Cup games? Mexico has a great team and so does the USA who killed Poland 6-0 yesterday.
Down in Venezuela with the pro's Mexico rebounded from the disappointing loss in the gold cup and downed Brazil 2-0 in the opener and then beat Ecuador 2-1, next up, Chile.

Have a safe 4th of July.

Well Shrub commuted Libby's prison sentence. Libby and Paris H. What a pair.

Happy Dominion Day Dominic!