With company in town, it’s been several days since I’ve contributed to this blog. I’ve been stuck on post number 2006 and events of that related life-year, as I shared memories with a hometown friend that has been around since grade school at Beardsley School 1962. He told me that the “Bombers” nickname was changed to “Bulldogs.” I was formerly a Rice “Krispie” before we moved to a new neighborhood. Rice was torn down years ago and Beardsley is in a new location. Everything has changed, even our High School lost its unique nickname. The “Blue Blazers” are now the “Lions.”

It’s “Matinee Monday” and “Patriot’s Day” but we can’t fit a movie into our busy schedule. I was pushed on my run this morning (more than a minute a mile faster) by a neighbor, as we talked about today’s Boston Marathon, something that he has run 15 times. I never qualified but ran the course one day when I was visiting another high school friend. I’m now sitting in my office watching the latest episode of “Winning Time.” I also won at Wordle this morning, after my first loss yesterday following 29-straight. 

I have to correct my Amtrak reservation that I made last week. I needed a means to get from Portland to Vancouver BC this September where we’ll catch the Viking Cruise to Alaska/Japan. We always enjoyed the route into Seattle for ball games. As it turns out, the train trip included a leg by bus from Seattle to BC and my wife objected. Apparently, with border restrictions and limited schedules, the train no longer runs directly into the Vancouver station. Instead, we’ll use Alaska points to fly, fitting more closely with the rest of this luxurious adventure. After all, we’re flying First Class from Tampa to Portland and have a suite aboard the ship. She’s right, stop the bus?