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I have no idea of the pain involved with losing a child or grandchild. I know that when my brother Jack died my Mom said there was no pain like that pain. Folks at St. James who have lost a child or a grandchild will have an "evening of remembrance" on Dec. 12 at 6:30 at St. James Chapel. Human beings always get some relief when they can share their grief with folks who have experienced the same challenge, and my compliments go out to the Committee who set this up.
SOME GOOD NEWS FOR A BAD NEWS SITUATION
Remember I wrote about the new Hospice patient we were assigned to a few weeks ago? He has pancreatic cancer and lives alone in Boiling Springs and does not have long to live. His wife committed suicide and he has no children, just a sister with whom he does not communicate. Well, the good news is that a couple from his hometown in upstate N. Y. came down on Wednesday and brought him back to their home where he will spend his last days. What a blessing -- he will not have to die alone. When we were with him last Tuesday, he was in tears saying he was only 62 and did not want to die. He told us that he had been praying for help the last few months and his prayers have not been answered, that he is just getting sicker and sicker. We have had a couple of dozen patients over the past four years and I have never seen one of them pray themselves out of Hospice. But a kind couple, whom he hasn't seen in 10 years, came 700 miles to bring him to their home to care for him until he dies. Maybe this is how his prayers were answered.
POTPOURRI
We have to stop going down to the Comfort Inn for breakfast -- they're on to us. We have decided to start getting our free breakfast at the Hampton Inn. Shuttle service to the Hampton Inn will begin next week and will leave from the Sales Center every 15 minutes beginning at 7:00 A. M. No need to sign up for the shuttle, just show up at the Sales Center. Old people love free stuff.
There seems to be a real hatred coming from talk radio and talk television about "the elite" folks in the US. Fortunately, I don't pay much attention to these radio and TV folks and for years I assumed that when they were talking about "the elite" they were talking about rich people. But it's not that, everyone seems to love rich people, no, the hate is directed toward smart people. If you are smart and think things through on your own, then you are part of the hated "elite". I wish I was smart enough to qualify as "elite".
Last night was the last episode of the great show, Boardwalk Empire. Now we have to wait for the second season. Men of a Certain Age is coming back on TV tonight (Monday 12/6) at 10:00 on TNT -- if you haven't seen this show, check it out. Mary McCormack will start shooting season 4 of In Plain Sight in January and finish at the end of June and season 5 should start shooting in September. Don't know yet when it will start airing, but it will be sometime in the spring -- I'll keep you posted. Four folks bid and won walk-on parts on Mary's show at the Hospice dinner and we are now just starting to work on the logistics, dealing with when they will go to Albuquerque etc. Someone suggested that we put all four of them in a car and have a bus hit the car and we could watch all four of them sprawled out on the road, bleeding and dying. I kind of like that, but anyway it will be fun to watch your neighbors on TV - none of them will be as cool as the "coughing Rabbi".
College Football is coming to a close -- very sad. I know all you gals are upset. And we are told that Oregon and Auburn are the two best teams in the country and will play for the Championship. So, our National Football Championship is decided by people who select two teams and every other College sports championship is decided by playoffs. What an arrogant attitude -- they've got to be part of "the elite". We need to have a playoff with the eight top teams. Auburn, Oregon, TCU, Wisconsin, Stanford, Ohio State, Michigan State, and Oklahoma should be playing for our national championship. It would be very easy to set up(#1 vs #8, #2 vs #7, #3 vs #6, #4 vs #5). So, the first week-end you would have four games, the next week-end two games and the next week-end the Championship game. And all the Bowls would be included in the playoffs. Doesn't this make sense? Oh, and by the way, is there anyone who believes that Cam Newton had no idea his old man was selling Cam's services? Oh, you do believe Cam knew nothing? Great, I've got a bridge I need to sell you. Actually, I don't even believe his old man was involved in the money scheme -- he is man of the cloth and would never do anything like that.
Went to the annual sale on Saturday at Members Club. It had to be a huge success. It started at 2:00 and we got there at 3:00 and had to wait about 15 minutes to get in. It was packed. When we got into the ballroom where all the merchandise was displayed for sale, I was shocked. I was watching folks ripping through the clothes on the racks -- oh my God, it was like watching raccoons going through the garbage -- stuff was flying all over the place. I was a little overwhelmed, but I figured I better get into it so I went to a rack that had some good looking men's pullovers. I wasn't really even looking at the pullovers. With great vigor, I was just pushing the hangers around the rack trying to get into the swing of things, -- you know, trying to be part of the crowd. And after a minute or two, I said to myself, what the hell am I doing? I have about a dozen of these -- why am I even looking at them? I've got enough golf clothes to last me for 10 more years until I'm 70. But it's a sale. Old people love sales.
The Cannoli Queen strikes again -- or do we have two Cannoli Queens? When the Club has their annual sale they provide free wine, beer, and finger food and it is all set up in the grill room at Members. "The wife" and I only went into the ballroom where the merchandise was and then went home. We did not go into the grill room for the free booze and food but a friend of mine who was in the Grill Room reported that the Cannoli Queen stuck again. Last year there was a gal who was pushing a couple of dozen Cannoli on to some napkins and then into her purse. When someone from management asked her what she was doing she said she was bringing them home for a party. Makes sense, right? You see free stuff - you just take it home -- the hell with everyone else. Well it seems that the same thing happened this year. My friend reported seeing a gal loading Cannoli into napkins to transport home and we don't know if it is the same person or not. We could have two Cannoli Queens. Free stuff and old people -- God, I hate old people. I have a suggestion for Management -- don't give away free food or booze. Have the Grill Room open and folks who want food or booze can buy it.
Christmas present. It's time for me to start planning what to get "the wife" for Christmas. Nothing is too good for her. I have spoiled her the past few Christmases. Let's recap what I have gotten her. You talk about overwhelming, look at this list. I know of no other man who has given "his wife" gifts like these: A high temperature steam iron, a vacuum cleaner that is so powerful it will pick up small children, an solid aluminum 30' extension ladder providing her safe trips for painting and gutter cleaning, a back pack blower that has a 50cc, 2 cycle gas, 3.1 cubic inch, and a X-TORQ engine that blows air out of the tube at 173 miles per hour and last year I bought her a complete oil changing kit consisting of a Sears Craftsman 3 Ton Floor Jack, Jack Stands and a Creeper Set(and a case of engine oil). "The wife" got to twitching when she received each of these gifts. Is there any man in St. James who has been this thoughtful? I think not. Most men give boring presents like jewelry and cruises. Guys, you have to think hard before you buy "your wife" a Christmas present. Remember, she wants to please you so take your time and select a gift for her that will make her life easier and be good for you as well. I mean, how old is that vacuum cleaner she is using -- or that lawn mower? I have been thinking of this year's gift and there is one item I have in mind that is such a big gift it might have to serve as a gift for the next 5 Christmases. Not sure yet if I should buy something so expensive. Any suggestions?
God, I'm like Chatty Kathy today -- I've got about 15 more things I want to write about, so I better sign off now before I put you totally asleep.
Bill McCormack
Last edited by SunnyKayak; 12-13-2010 at 01:20 AM..
Reason: remove contact
Oh man.... and just when I thought I had all the free breakfasts lined up for our trip..... it just means another added expense now. Gotta go now...... picking up my wife's new Makita drill on sale at Home Depot..... I sure hope they gift wrap.
OK ladies and germs, landed at Myrtle Beach yesterday, Thursday, easy 1 hr 15 min drive up to St James ( gt there about 12:30 for lunch ), nice highway all the way, no traffic at all. Drove straight into St James Plantation and directly to Tommy Thompsons at the marina. Nice lunch, just beautiful salad bar with a fantastic vegetable bisque on the bar, nice people, nice service, very bustling place. Bright, sunny day albeit a bit chilly ( 45 degrees ). Nice view right on the marina just like the pictures online. Two different couples saw that we were new and came over, introduced themselves and proceeded to give us "their" lowdown on the place and offered to answer any questions.... just a bunch of nice, caring people !
Drove around St James a bit, just looking around on our own, the big tour is today with the realtor. Drove slowly down ( just about 15 minutes from Tommy Thompsons ) through Oak Island to the beach club, very nice shorey town, very nice oceanfront beach pavillion, absolutely gorgeous beach, they have an entire block on the beach, 4 building lots wide, looks to be about 250 ft beach frontage, very open around it, just beautiful. Note..... we were on "redneck patrol" while on Oak Island..... as per my friend Leroy..... however we did not see any, just a nice group of locals.... maybe they were hiding !
Southport is just as they say on the internet, a sleepy, litte ( actually not so little ) fishing village right on the ocean. Drove by all the shops and restaurants we saw online. Looks to be a really nice place. Breakfast at Eric's Grill ( if you google Eric's Grill, Southport there are online blurbs about the place ) early this am, Eric AND everyone there was friendly and spoke and joked with us, met yet another St James person ( from NJ ) at breakfast, also very eager to give info and answer questions. Had dinner last evening in St James at the Players Club..... must say it was excellent..... let me repeat.... EXCELLENT. Great atmosphere, immaculate, ( just like everything else here ) great food, beautiful bar area, again we spoke with several residents at the bar who once again were happy to speak with us about everything and their experience at St James and the area, restaurants, etc. So far it's the nicest place we have visited, hands down, in every way.
Meeting up with the realtor in about an hour for the "grand" tour of St James and Southport area. Also going over to Ocean Ridge tomorrow, Saturday, for their tour ( we passed it on the way in from the airport ), however, I must say at the outset, it better have something awfully special to offer to beat this place, but we are going over for a look see nevertheless.
Great stuff so far "Stoneman" and about equal to my first impressions when I toured the place a year or so ago. Appears very much like me, you don't miss a meal! Keep it coming.
More from the front...... cannot log on to the forum from this computer for some reason, biscman has been nice enough to forward these "live from" posts as promised.
Took the grand tour of everything with our realtor, all the clubhouses and facilities, which by the way seem to be top notch and VERY well maintained, the brand new Reserve Clubhouse is not quite finished yet but looks awsome from the outside, still working on it. An absolutely gorgeous day, 61 degrees this PM, lunched at the marina at Tommy Thompsons again, great again, another extremely nice couple at the table next to us ( from NJ of course ) chatted us up about the place and area AND promptly invited us over to see their brand new house tomorrow.... very friendly and giving people around here.... very sociable crowd.
And yes caco, we will never be accused of missing a meal ANYWHERE we live, that's what the chefs are making the stuff for.... don't want to insult them.
Walked down around the marina and out onto the long catwalk and gazebo out over the intracoastal watererway, sat for a bit and watched the boats going by, just beautiful. Going to get cleaned up a bit now, having dinner tonite with our realtor and his lady at Joseph's Italian restaurant right on the water at the Southport Marina..... breezed by it this afternoon and it looks like something out of a Norman Rockwell painting.... then I believe it's over to the Dead End Saloon on the other side of the marina, also right on the water for a little drinkypoo before retiring...... all in all this is tough duty but someone has to do it.
OK ladies and germs, landed at Myrtle Beach yesterday, Thursday, easy 1 hr 15 min drive up to St James ( gt there about 12:30 for lunch ), nice highway all the way, no traffic at all. Drove straight into St James Plantation and directly to Tommy Thompsons at the marina. Nice lunch, just beautiful salad bar with a fantastic vegetable bisque on the bar, nice people, nice service, very bustling place. Bright, sunny day albeit a bit chilly ( 45 degrees ). Nice view right on the marina just like the pictures online. Two different couples saw that we were new and came over, introduced themselves and proceeded to give us "their" lowdown on the place and offered to answer any questions.... just a bunch of nice, caring people !
Drove around St James a bit, just looking around on our own, the big tour is today with the realtor. Drove slowly down ( just about 15 minutes from Tommy Thompsons ) through Oak Island to the beach club, very nice shorey town, very nice oceanfront beach pavillion, absolutely gorgeous beach, they have an entire block on the beach, 4 building lots wide, looks to be about 250 ft beach frontage, very open around it, just beautiful. Note..... we were on "redneck patrol" while on Oak Island..... as per my friend Leroy..... however we did not see any, just a nice group of locals.... maybe they were hiding !
Southport is just as they say on the internet, a sleepy, litte ( actually not so little ) fishing village right on the ocean. Drove by all the shops and restaurants we saw online. Looks to be a really nice place. Breakfast at Eric's Grill ( if you google Eric's Grill, Southport there are online blurbs about the place ) early this am, Eric AND everyone there was friendly and spoke and joked with us, met yet another St James person ( from NJ ) at breakfast, also very eager to give info and answer questions. Had dinner last evening in St James at the Players Club..... must say it was excellent..... let me repeat.... EXCELLENT. Great atmosphere, immaculate, ( just like everything else here ) great food, beautiful bar area, again we spoke with several residents at the bar who once again were happy to speak with us about everything and their experience at St James and the area, restaurants, etc. So far it's the nicest place we have visited, hands down, in every way.
Meeting up with the realtor in about an hour for the "grand" tour of St James and Southport area. Also going over to Ocean Ridge tomorrow, Saturday, for their tour ( we passed it on the way in from the airport ), however, I must say at the outset, it better have something awfully special to offer to beat this place, but we are going over for a look see nevertheless.
More later,
The Stone and Stonette
Not trying to pick but there aren't many local "rednecks" on the beach in Oak Island in December. That 250 foot of beach frontage you referred to isn't owned by St James. It's all public beach and open to anyone that wants to park a chair out there. Drive one block from the "beach club" in the opposite direction and you'll spot those elusive doublewides everybody has been talking about. And I gotta ask, did your realtor point out the nuclear plant cooling lagoon when you drove over that bridge on your way into Southport and what did you think of that nice brown river, er (I mean) ocean water at the beach club?
We've been on the Oak Island beaches in April, July and August, visiting since 1989. I don't understand what you mean about "redneck" beach. I believe the person who originally divided up the island (Middleton?) meant for it to be a place where a working man could own a vacation place. The piers and the beaches always seem perfectly fine to us. I can't speak to the bar scene, we've never partaken.
One aspect of the area we've always liked is the chattiness of everyone--always ready to talk about something. We'll be heading down there in 2 years for retirement--St. James is lovely, but above our pocketbook.
More from the front..... OK, we had dinner last nite at Joseph's as planned... in a few short words.... absolutely fantastic ! We live 25 minute ( sometimes ) from Manhattan and get some of the best food in the world, Italian and otherwise, all the time.... Joseph's ranks right up there with the best we have had, service, atmosphere and especially the food, just wonderful. Ni ce bar directly on the water at the marina and tables with the same view..... magical. Went over to Ocean Ridge for the grand tour today.... in the rain.... got there at about 11AM ( 40 mins drive )..... to be up front, cannot hold a candle to St James ! Sorry.... that's our take on it. The real estate / homes are very nice, grounds very nice, but does not have that shorey, vacationy feel to it. Just a very nice upscale residnetial neighborhood with winding roads, very n ice, but not St James. The clubhouses were nice, but not like St James.... the clubhouses are nice, but smaller, the amenity center with excercise and indoor and outdoor pool is very nice, but it is the only pool in the complex, unlike the 4 at St James.... one at each clubhouse, small tennis center compared to multiple larger tennis courts at St James.... and of course it's not on the waterway, no marina, Tommy Thompsons, docks and walkways out onto the waterway, waterparks, amphitheater or dog park. Took us over to there beach house on Ocean Isle Beach, about a 15 mins+ drive. to be perfectly frank again, does not hoold a candle to St James beach facility, it has no oceanfront pool, because of the rules it is about 600 feet from the beach, a LONG walk, and it is a nice house that has a family room and a couple of front porches that you can sit on, once again 600 ft from the beach.... not our cup of tea. Now of course, the community that it is in on Ocean Isle is quite upscale and mostly new houses, but I cannot use those houses, nor is there ANYTHING else on the island but houses and one small deli/convenience store as you come off the causeway bridge... nothing, on Oak Island, which is admittedly not as upscale, there are MANY stores, restaurants/eateries ( some oceanfront ), bars, etc to go to. In my opinion, the beach club with oceanfront pool for St James is vastly superior. Ocean Ridge is a very nice place, but not for my money, just a large resdiential community reminiscent of several in New Jersey, while St James is completely diferent and much more resort-like ! Once again I must say that both plantations started at the same time and St James has almost 5 times as many homes built..... there must be a reason (s)..... and I just listed mnay them above.... of course it is only MY opinion. The agent also drove us about 10 minutes over to Calabash which has a central area downtown with quite a few seafood restaurants, pizza, etc and a few minutes drive down to the pier where the fishing boat come in, very nice, but I would not say it is any nicer than the main drag in Southport and Southport has all the same supermarkets, restaurants ( especially oceanfront ), Walmart Supercenter and everything that is needed for daily shoping necessities. Rushed back to Tommy Thompsons for a late lunch to be welcomed by a great crowd of residents watching the games and generally cavorting gently at the bar..... quite a nice social gathering.... very nice. Going to take a brief nap now and discuss tonites' activities with the Stonette..... more later. The Stones
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update from our buddys trip to St James this Week
update from our Buddy
whoops!! I missed Saturdays update. Here tis
