[Gathnet] Update from Pilgrim Rest

[stuart g gathman]

Dear Gathnetters,
This is just a note to catch you all up on the family news from this end 
of the world.  I guess first of all I want to let you all know that Jim 
called us lastnight from Singapore with some terrific news.  As you know 
Jim recently made Chief and is on deployment in the far east.  Well he 
was summoned to the captain's quarters while in Singapore and told that 
he will be getting a commission as a Limited Duty Officer,  LDO.  This 
is the Navys way of commissioning outstanding enlisted men!!!! (of which 
our Jim is one of course!!!)     This will all happen next summer with 
the commissioning taking place on the USS Paul Hamilton in Hawaii  
giving us an other excuse to go to Hawaii.   I can't help but burst a 
few "proud" buttons on this bit of news.   

The next bit of news is that our Beth is now in Hawaii with Jim's wife 
Sue learning the ropes so that she can manage the household for a couple 
of weeks there in Honolulu while Sue flies to Thailand to visit her 
husband.  Sue has worked very hard earning enough extra money to make 
this happen.  What a great opportunity this is to actually make a visit 
while on deployment.  (The last deployment Jim made was with the USS 
Lake Erie in the Persian Gulf and I was able to spend a couple of days 
with him there.  This was before he was married.  This visit will be so 
much better!!!)

I hope that our string of "bad luck" is over here at Pilgrim Rest.   We 
had to replace the garage door springs and opener....  The refrigerator 
compressor, circulation fan and controller (Don't buy a Sub Zero 
Refrigerator) and new batteries and expensive controller for my golf 
cart.   This all made quite a dent on our ready cash !    I guess that I 
had to expect this as the house is now 20 years old which I find hard to 
believe.   The golf cart problem is probably my own as the controller 
went out before I put in the new road to the barn.  The old road was 
very very steep and require a lot energy to up it over ruts and thick 
dust.  The new road should take care of this problem.

The weather here has been quite cool.  This has been a blessing as far 
as the refrigerator not working.  It has been rainy and misty in the 
morning turning to sunny and in the low 70's in the afternoon.  My kind 
of weather.

Love to you all,     
   der alt Grossvater