Tom's Diary

Dear [Kandi],

That’d be so wonderful to spend time with you. It would give me (and hopefully you) some nice memories to carry into the New Year. You made my week. Looking forward to our time together makes it easy to forget the last lady. There’s definitely something special about you – something I hope you’ll allow me to know better.

Yes, meeting the right person can be difficult. But the rewards when it happens are so great that it’s worth all the hardship during the search.

On Djing: We’re doing a wedding reception this weekend in Clarion. Just talked to the bride last night to put the finishing touches on the schedule of songs at each dance (bridal dance, dollar dance, parents’ dance, garter toss, bouquet toss, and so on). And yesterday, we loaded the equipment into the van in preps for the 2-hour trip this coming Saturday morning. Today, we’re driving to State College to pick up a couple of wireless microphones (to replace the one I lost in the flood). Those mics are so popular at receptions, as people like taking them onto the dance floor and singing along with the music.

Upcoming gigs: New Years Eve party at my sister’s, and a sweet sixteen celebration in mid January in Bellwood.

Possible upcoming gigs: A fortieth birthday party for a lady in State College at the end of November, and a 1995 class reunion next August. Also, I’m hopeful that the camp will want me to do the dinner dances in July and August. I’m going to talk to [Mel] about it in December. That one in session seven last summer was a blast. My roadie really enjoyed meeting the campers and seeing them enjoying the music.

Wow, you’re going to get to see the great wall? Last I heard, that’s the only man-made structure that can be seen from space with the naked eye. It must be very big therefore, to be seen from the moon.

On homesickness: When I was in third grade, I left school here in Bellwood to go to a school for blind children in Pittsburgh. Every Sunday afternoon, the bus would depart for there and I’d stay at the school all week until Friday night, when it returned. There were lots of homesick days then. They faded though, once I made new friends and started doing fun things in Pittsburgh. Perhaps your trip to all those great China spectacles will help you feel better.

The other thing is that you have, what, a month and a week before you’ll be coming home? Who knows. By that time, you may find that you don’t want to leave China. I hope that’s not the case though.

Well, enjoy your trip. Take lots of pictures. And I’ll look forward to hearing from you when you return.

Later,
Tom Hesley

Dear sister Diane,

Thanks much. I’ll add [that song From this Moment by Shania and Bryan White] to [JayLan's] playlist [for her wedding].

There was another hole in the cellar where water was coming in that I noticed today. It’s patched now. The leak appears to have been stopped.

Our big problem [though] is this drain in the back of the cellar, in the north-east corner of the house. Sometimes, water actually comes back up through there.   Not sure quite how to deal with that yet. But I’m thinkin’ ’bout it.

Learned some interesting things about Windows today that should help with playlist management. This is fun reading, but there are thousands of pages of documentation. Windows is quite complex. But I did build and run a little COM program last night by following the wizards in the .NET environment. They make it so much easier.

Related Posts

• Cat Missing in 2004 Flood
• Flood Cleanup Update
• Flood Cleanup Update: 2004-09-20
• Flood Evacuation
• Leaky Cellar Walls: 2004-09-17

Later,
Tom

Dear [Lex],

Thanks for the offer of support, especially when I come to Philly. Won’t be there for a while. The DJ business is keeping me quite busy. I just did a wedding this month, and have another one coming up in November. Lots of preparations for each. So I’ve been quite busy.

Hope all is well with you.

Tom

Dear   [Ann],

Well, sounds like you’re making progress toward what (it seems) the both of you want – that [your daughter] not live there anymore. That’s probably for the best, as she seems to have gone beyond your ability to discipline. She does not respect you as her mother, and this is quite a dangerous thing. Hopefully, she can get somewhere where they’ll whip her into shape, and you can return to some semblance of a peaceful life.

Nope, no fence today. It rained on and off this morning, and I just heard a few drops hit the case of the air conditioner in the office here, a few minutes ago. So it seems like more rain is on the way. That’s just as well, for I’m very tired today. Even though I got close to 11 hours of sleep last night, I still feel quite worn-out. This would be a good day to just relax. I’m going to work on 2002 some more, and do the paperwork for the wedding this weekend.

Hope things go as you wish they would today. Take care and talk to you later.

Tom

Dear sister Diane,

I have 11 bags of ice in my freezer, and could probably fit 4 to 6 more. How many bags do you need me to get?

Thanks,
Tom Hesley

Dear [Lynn],

Hi there.

I’m home.

Just read through your emails and will respond to them all over the next couple days.

Lots of wedding pics, which I’ll send if you can view pics. And got some good ones of the family and of Mom’s house in the country.

Going up to the store right now to grab some supper. But will be back to respond to some of your correspondence in about an hour.

More soon.
Tom Hesley

Dear   [Lynn],

Here’s a pic of two of my sisters (they are twins) and me, at the church. I’m normally not a dress-up kind of person. But it was fun putting that best foot forward this weekend.

This is a shot of the table where they had the wedding cake and ice cream, along with these luscious strawberries . . .

Did those ramblings about the tubes really bore you? Mom and I discussed this a bit over the weekend. I used to be so interested in electronics as a kid that it was always hard to imagine someone NOT being, at least, curious about it. Anyway, she says that this illustrates the differences often found between men and women. Like you, she has always trusted in the fact that something works, and never really ponders as to why or how it works. In fact, I never met any women who loved radios and broadcasting concepts, until I went to trade school. And even there, only a small handful attended. So, at least back then (20 years ago) it must have been a guy thing.

It really was a nice trip. Lots of trees had turned all sorts of pretty shades. And even though their peak was about two or three weeks ago, there was still enough color left to qualify the weekend as a hue-filled albeit sunless autumn extravaganza. Here’s a pic of what was observed this weekend when standing behind Mom’s house and looking away from the house, toward the mountain (east). True, the leaves up on the mountain already fell for the most part (fall happens a week or two sooner up there). But the few remaining colors down below, speak of what was, just last week.

Seeing all the family again brought back that same warm, cozy feeling I used to get when arriving home from elementary school on a cold afternoon. Mom would be there with some cocoa, and the girls and I would all gather around the TV to watch the after-school cartoons. Timeless, some feelings are.

Watched the Rain Man movie on Sunday afternoon.

Played cards with Joann, Diane, and Roger ( Diane’s boyfriend) on Sunday night.

Did a little reading and a lot of thinking. Going back there now and then really is quite therapeutic. Answers that elude me here in this noisy city often come without effort at all, in the clear mountain winds of home.

Thanks for noticing my apparent organization. Guess I have you eating the chocolate off that ant. Hey, and guess what? I’m already unpacked after returning.

Hey, send me some pics, please. I still don’t know what you look like.

Yes, I ended up getting on here earlier than expected. Got everything put away and now am just getting ready for bed. Back to work at 8:00 tomorrow morning. Now that our release is installed successfully, things will be a bit slower for the rest of the year.

Anyway, sleep tight. There was just a news item on TV today about how getting enough sleep each night helps slow down aging in humans. I suppose that gives new dimension to the saying, “Get your beauty rest.” Plus, it keeps you healthy.

Going to the dentist tomorrow to have my teeth whitened. My sisters did it recently and the difference was quite pronounced. So, I thought I’d give it a try. Is that vanity? A bit of white chocolate on the ant? I know I know. You’re probably very sick of that metaphor by now. But you were the one who invented such an applicable one to the recent themes of our discussions. So it’s bound to come up often.

On your family pics, yes, please send them too. Put both your feet forward, not just the best one. Oh, and don’t put them both forward at the same time, lest you fall and break your nose. Ooops, there’s another old metaphor. We’d better invent some new ones.

Talk to you tomorrow.

Later,
Tom Hesley

Dear   [Lynn],

Hmmm. Sounds like you’ll be challenged. What is ‘high tea’ anyway? Never heard that expression before.

Will be looking forward to you filling my inbox. Will be back here on Monday night. So you may hear from me after 11:00 PM.

Beautiful day for traveling today. The leaves have turned their usual yet always intriguing colors. This trip is a five hour ride through the mountains this afternoon. Maybe I’ll get some good pics to email you.

Interesting about how / why leaves turn colors. I had a third grade teacher who said that in the fall, the chlorophyll – the substance that makes leaves green – drains from them, exposing their true, vibrant autumn hues. Her contention was that these colors are present all summer but are just covered up by the chlorophyll prior to September. But I don’t buy this totally, at least not for all species of trees and plants, because some leaves, once they turn colors, have very dark red patches on them, that pass very little light – almost opaque – if held up to a light and looked through. Yet take those same leaves when they’re green, and the dark patches are not visible. One would expect the patches to be apparent in this opaqueness test even in springtime, if her assertion is true. You seem to know something about plants. What’s your take?

Well, gotta go make lunch. Having split pea soup today. Then will be heading out. Take care and will chat with you on Monday night.

Later,
Tom Hesley

Hi  [Lynn].

I’ll also be going away Friday afternoon, for the wedding I told you about this weekend, and return on Monday evening. In the meantime, I’ll have no email access, but will be eager to write again, once I get back here.

Don’t worry about the length of your letters. Whatever you’re inspired to do, that’s what you should do. Hmmm. Sounds like Melanie again. I’ve really enjoyed reading them, short or long.

More later,
Tom Hesley

It’s about 8:30 on Saturday morning here in Philly. Just sitting here, planning out my day. My cousin is getting married next weekend. And so, I’ll be going to one of the malls later to find he and his bride a gift. Already have it narrowed down to two ideas. It will either be a pewter picture frame that has the text from their wedding invitation engraved on the front, or a fancy pendulum clock. Will probably end up going with the clock. We’ll see.

Yes, I feel that the time one spends socializing with friends and lovers must be balanced. Like you, I would need space also, for those outside-the-relationship activities. Software engineering requires lots of study time beyond the normal work day hours, just to keep up with the ever changing technology. Therefore, I usually spend two additional hours each day, just reading and playing on the computer. Plus, I enjoy dining with friends a couple times a week, browsing in the book shops and libraries, and spending some time alone, thinking and introspecting. Ideally, I’d like to spend two to three evenings with my special romantic friend, spend one or two nights with her each week, and talk for at least a few minutes every day on the phone. I am flexible on this however. Some weeks, more time would be spent together, while in others less would be. But yes, folks should avoid totally giving up their ‘single’ activities as you call them, even when they’re not single anymore.

More later,
Tom Hesley