I finished reading:

"Cancer Ward" by Alexander Solzhenitsyn.

-Richard

I finished reading the Second Book of The Bible : Exodus.

-Richard

Radical Celebration

Many people boppin'
With loud praises ringin'
God's name celebratin'
In the aisles dancin'
Roof raised with clappin'
Jesus' name up-liftin'
Leaving God's face a-smilin'
I can't wait to get to Heaven.

2nd April 1994 - Spring Harvest, Skegness, England.

-Richard

The Carolina RailHawks football team started their long awaited history yesterday in a pre-season friendly against the University of Wake Forest Demon Deacons. It's been a long time since we've had a professional team to go and watch regularly and we are really looking forward to it.

Unfortunately we were not able to make yesterday's game and will have to miss the second pre-season game next Saturday as we will be out of town, but, after that game on!!

-Richard

Score Update: International Cricket: England beat Canada by 51 runs. World Cup Group Group C.
England beat Kenya by 3 wickets. World Cup Group C. England finish the group in 2nd place and qualify for the Super 8 Second Round.

International Football: Israel 0 England 0 European Championship Qualyfying Group E. England are in 3rd place.

Football: Darlington 0 Hartlepool United 3. League 2. Pools stay in 1st place.
Carolina RailHawks 1 Wake Forest Demon Deacons 3. Pre-Season.

Ice Hockey: Carolina Hurricanes 4 Washington Capitals 3
Carolina Hurricanes 6 San Jose Sharks 4. The Canes have points and are still in 3rd place in South East Division, 4 points behind the leaders. Atlanta Thrashers.

Baseball: Toronto Blue Jays 3 Houston Astros 4
Florida Marlins 2 Houston Astros 4
Houston Astros 2 Tampa Bay Devilrays 9
Houston Astros 2 Washington Nationals 16
Cleveland Indians 2 Houston Astros 6
Houston Astros 5 Detroit Tigers 7. All games Spring Training.

Basketball: Philadelphia 76'ers 74 Houston Rockets 124
Houston Rockets 88 Indiana Pacers 76
Houston Rockets 91 Detroit Pistons 85. The Rockets are 44-25 and still in 3rd place in the South-East Division 13 1/2 game behind Division Leaders, Dallas Mavericks.

College Basketball: North Carolina Tar Heels 74 Southern California Trojans 64. NCAA Tournament Sweet 16. UNC advance to the Elite 8.
West Virginia Mountaineers 71 North Carolina State Wolfpack 66. NIT Quarter Final. State finish the Season with a record of 20-16.

-Richard

The next cats we fostered did not actually come into us straight away. They went to another foster home first. The story behind these guys is that we got a report of two kittens in a pick-up truck near Red Lobster in Raleigh. So, some of us went out there to try and trap them. However, it turned out that there were a lot more than two, there was infact eleven. We succesfully traped them and they went to two foster homes. Six to one and five to the other. This was the week of October 12th 2004. Some very cold evenings were spent getting these guys.

In January 2005 the foster home where the five where was not making any progress and they were still in some cases still semi-wild and still very, very shy. So, Jenn and I decided to take them and work with them. Four have gotten adopted and only one is still with us.

Comet (right) was the first to go the week of March 1st 2005. He was a black and white tuxedo male, who although was very shy allowed us to pick him up and pet him. He went to a young couple who saw him and fell in love with him.

Sunny (left with Comet in the background) also went the week of March 1st 2005. He was an orange buy, who was very sweet and very playful. His disposition and nature certainly matched his name.

The next to go was a very sweet, but she Calico kitten with the name of Syke (right). She found her home the week of March 15th 2005.

It took a long time after that before the 4th member of this group found a home. Star (below, with Nimbus in the background), actually moved to another foster home in September 2006. He was always the shyest of the group and although he had progressed very well he still did not like to be picked. Pauline, the girl who adopted Stella from us, and with whom we had kept in touch wanted to start as a small foster home for Snowflake, so we decided to try Star with her. He immediatly won her heart and settled in very quickly to her home. Although, still shy he is very happy. Infact so happy that Pauline adopted him in February of this year.

The cat that is left is Nimbus. He was the wildest of the bunch and for a while it looked like we would not be able to tame him. The photo to the left was taken if him the evening that we caught him. However, he has turned out to be one of the most loving and attention seeking cats. For us to actually adopt him out it would take a fantastic home and will still be very difficult as we have spent so much time and emotion into working with him to where he will trust us, let us pick him up and just lay around on our lap. When other people come to visit he still gets very scared and hides. Nimbus getting to where he is now (right) is definately one of my proudest achievments in working with Snowflake.

There are still four others from the group of eleven, know affectionatly as the Lobsters, that we trapped that week, looking for the their homes. They are: Monkey, Bunny, Foxy and Bobcat.

-Richard

The next poem that I wrote is about a wedding. However, that was not the main purpose. It was to have two themes. A friend of mine at the time was going through a tough situation, so one of the themes was "It'll never happen to me". The second theme was how selfish we are, always thinking about ourselves rather than others. Ironically the poem finishes off three years later... at the time I was single and had no idea of getting married...three years later from writing this poem I was only be three months from being married.

The Wedding

I arrived at the church
A few moments to spare
A crowd already gathered
With a mounting excitement in the air.
The groom's all alone hoping not to be left in the lurch.

As the minutes tick by
The bride is late again.
I'm feeling restless, read the order twice
And start to think about the bloody rain!
Suddenly a commotion. "She's here!" they cry.

All the heads turn in unison
To see the glory of the bride
Shining with radiance and beauty.
By her side her father swelling with pride
He's lost a daughter, but, gained a son.

At last it's over, legally wed.
As I sit there waiting, the organ is grinding away
A friend turs to me and says with a smile
"Just you wait, it'll be you one day!"
"I doubt it!". I said.

Outside the church the cameras are flashing
Picture after picture so that everyone is taken,
By now, it's raining again and is very cold
And I am so hungry that my belly is achein'.
I'm difinately not going through this kind of thing!

On to the reception I go.
I've never seen such a poss gaff
And to be welcomed as "Sir"
By a poked faced usher I had to laugh
And say "You only reap what you sow!"

There's so many people milling around
All seemingly some distant relative or friend
I don't want to drink, don't want to talk:-
I just want to eat. Will this waiting ever end?
Anyway, the toilets must be found.

Sitting down with food at last
An aroma so nice and pleasing to the eye,
But, it's been so long that I can only look
And say to my companion with a wry
Smile. "Don't mind me I'm on a fast."

The speaches start, some in prose, some in poesy,
I think again "I'm never going through this."
As the toasts go on I can only think
Of my fear of speaches. Yes, I'll definately give it a miss.
"Raise your glasses to the couple, for a future so rosy!"

Three years later and all alone
At the front of a church stomach all churning
So, despite what I said on that day above,
I look down the aisle, my bride now coming
And suddenly my stomach begins to groan!

23rd March 1994 - North Acton, London, England.

One of the best Vacations that we have taken was when we took a juant up through Northern California into Oregon. We took a week and drove up stopping at Medford, Astoria on the Coast and Newport Beach. It had many, many happy memories for us from the mountains, the coast with beautiful sunsets (above right - Newport Beach, OR), the giant Redwood tries on the way back home. However, I think the best two were the oasis it gave us, a chance to refresh after the stresses of a difficult couple of years in California and most inportantly it was the last trip we took with Oreo. She had a great time, espcially on the beaches. Some, very, very happy memories of this wonderful dog that still choke me up thinking about it. The photo below is me taking her down to the beach from the hotel we stayed at in Newport Beach.

-Richard

Score Update:

International Rugby Union: England 26 France 18. Six Nations Championship
Wales 27 England 18. Six Nations Championship. England finish in third place.

International Cricket: New Zealand beat England by 6 wickets. Cricket World Cup Group C. England are in last place in the group.

Rugby Union: Driffield 31 West Hartlepool 29. League 2 North East. West stay in 3rd place.
Washington 36 Raleigh 15. Friendly.

Football: Stockport County 3 Hartlepool United 3. League 2. Pools stay in 1st place.

Rugby League: Bradford Bulls 56 Salford Reds 18. Superleague
Harlequins Rugby League 22 Bradford Bulls 36. Superleague. Bradford stay in 1st place.

Ice Hockey: New York Rangers 2 Carolina Hurricanes 1 (Over Time)
Carolina Hurricanes 3 Florida Panthers 1
Carolina Hurricanes 2 New Jersey Devils 3
New Jersey Devils 2 Carolina Hurricanes 7. The Canes now have 80 points and are still in 3rd place in the South East Division 4 points behind Division leaders, Atlanta Thrashers.

Baseball: Houston Astros 3 Philadelphia Phillies 2
Tampa Bay Devil Rays 3 Houston Astros 5
Philadelphia Phillies 6 Houston Astros 6
Atlanta Braves 3 Houston Astros 11
Houston Astros 4 Atlanta Braves 2
Houston Astros 8 Florida Marlins 9
Houston Astros 4 New York Yankees 3
Los Angeles Dodgers 6 Houston Astros 5. All games Spring Training.

Basketball: Houston Rockets 103 Orlando Magic 92
Phoenix Suns 103 Houston Rockets 82
Houston Rockets 109 Los Angeles Clippers 105
Toronto Rapters 100 Houston Rockets 114. The Rockets are 41-25 and still in 3rd place in the South West Division 13 games behind Division Leaders, Dallas Mavericks.

College Basketball: North Carolina Tar Heels 71 Boston College Eagles 56. ACC Tournament Semi-Final.
North Carolina Tar Heels 89 North Carolina State Wolfpack 80. UNC win the ACC Championship.
North Carolina Tar Heels 86 Eastern Kentucky Colonels 65. NCAA Tournament 1st Round.
North Carolina Tar Heels 81 Michigan State Spartans 67. NCAA Tournament 2nd Round. UNC advance to the Sweet Sixteen.
Duke Blue Devils 77 Virginia Commenwealth University Rams 79. NCAA Tournament 1st Round. Duke are eliminated and finish the Season with a record of 22-11.
Virginia Tech Hokies 64 North Carolina State Wolfpack 72. ACC Tournament Semi-Final.
Drexel Dragons 56 North Carolina State Wolfpack 63. NIT 1st Round.
North Carolina State Wolfpack 69 Marist Red Foxes 62. NIT 2nd Round.

-Richard

I finished reading:

"One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich" written by Alexander Solzhenitsyn.

-Richard

I finished reading:

"Mao II" written by Don DeLillo.

-Richard

The Meeting

Sitting around a table,
Arguing to and fro
Meaningless waffle
Trying to get one over -
Where does it get us?
Back to square one.
What do I care?
I want to go to sleep!!

3rd March 1994 - North Acton, London, England.

-Richard

The next favourite places I am going to talk about in a way is an Oxymoron. California. When we lived in the Bay Area of California when we both worked there in many ways it was not a pleasant experience. The pressure, especially financial was tough and created a big burden on us and tell you the truth when I was given the opportunity to relocate to North Carolina we jumped at it with out even seeing the State. However, we still had some good times and memories. We made some very good friends. Oreo was very happy for the last two years of her life living in Antioch. I found a Church where I was very happy and had a great time playing in the Worship Band of Immanuel Baptisit Church and still listen to Pastor Dan's Sermons on-line.

However, there were two places we really had fun , enjoyed and miss. The first if Monterey Bay where we went several times including a great trip onto the Pacific Ocean on a Whale Watching expedition (left). If, for some reason, we had to move back to California it's the one place we would consider to live.

The Second is Spartan Stadium (right. This picture was taken at the 2001 MLS All Star Game, the player Joe Cannon, former Earthquakes and Colorado Keeper, who is now defiling himself by playing the enemy LA Galaxy), the home of the now defunct San Jose Earthquakes. We spent many happy hours at that Stadium cheering on the boys. Hopefully the team will be back soon as more and more positive news comes out. The old Spartan Stadium will no longer exist under the provisional plan, but the new Stadium would be on the same land. It's like the old Wembley Stadium the memories will always be there even if the old Stadium does no longer exist.

-Richard

The next cat that came into our homes to foster was Olivia. She came to us January 2005. As, she was so unhappy where she was living because she did not like other cats she came to us and Sawyer went to where she was. Olivia was very scared and freaked out and did not trust anyone and is positive for FIV. After a lot of work she is now a very sweet girl, although can still get overwhelemd if over stimulated. She is still with us, and very, very, happy.

-Richard

Score Update:

International Cricket: England beat Bermuda by 241 runs. One Day Internatinal. World Cup warm up match.
Australia beat England by 5 wickets. One Day International. World Cup warm up match.

Rugby Union: Raleigh 6 PAC (Potomac Athletic Club) 55. Friendly Match.

Football: Hartlepool United 1 Lincoln City 1. League 2. Pools stay in 1st place.

Ice Hockey: Atlanta Thrashers 3 Carolina Hurricanes 1
Washington Capitols 0 Carolina Hurricanes 3. The Canes have 75 points and stay in 3rd place in the South East Division falling to 7 points behind Division Leaders, Tampa Bay Lightening.

Baseball: Houston Astros 9 Washington Nationals 2
St. Louis Cardinals 0 Houston Astros 5
Houston Astros 2 New York Mets 7
Houston Astros 5 Washington Nationals 2
Washington Nationals 12 Houston Astros 5
Toronto Blue Jays 7 Houston Astros 9. All games Spring Training.

Basketball: Houston Rockets 74 San Antonio Spurs 97
Cleveland Cavaliers 91 Houston Rockets 85
Boston Celtics 80 Houston Rockets 111
Houston Rockets 112 New Jersey Nets 91. The Rockets are 38-24 and still in 3rd place in the South West Division. They have fallen to 14 games behind Division Leaders, Dallas Mavericks.

College Basketball: North Carolina Tar Heels 86 Duke Blue Devils 72. UNC finish the ACC regualr Season in 1st place with a record of 11-5. Duke finish the ACC regular Season with a record of 8-8 in 7th place.
Maryland Terrapins 79 North Carolina State Wolfpack 59. NC State finish the ACC Regualr Season with a record of 5-11 and finish in 10th place.
Duke Blue Devils 80 North Carolina State Wolfpack 85. ACC Tournament 1st round.
North Carolina Tar Heels 73 Florida State Seminoles 58. ACC Tournament Quarter-Final.
Virginia Cavaliers 71 North Carolina State Wolfpack 79. ACC Tournament Quarter-Final.

-Richard

I finished reading:

"The Tenant of Wildfell Hall" by Anne Bronte.

-Richard

I finished reading:

"The History of Henry Esmond" by William Makpeace Thackery.

-Richard

The next one of my favourite places is Nebraska. This is where Jenn's grandfather is from, a little town in called Kennesaw. We went for a weeks vacation and took her Grandmother with us. A kinda pilgramage in many ways. For Jenn and Grandmother time to go back and visit family and places of so many memories. For me, a chance to see some of the family roots. We visited the old family home (left) as well as other places. I really liked Hastings and Lincoln. Nebraska is a pretty cool State. Miles upon miles of flat straight roads. I certainly got a sense of what Lewis and Clark must have felt on their treck West. We visited a museum just over the Iowa State line which showed what it must have been like for these early pioneers and also trying to get a concept of the distances involved. Here is a picture of Jenn (right)next to a schematic of the landscape, which also showed the miles all the way to San Fransisco, which is where we were living (well, in the Bay Area not the City itself) at the time, taken at that museum.

-Richard

The next cat we fostered was Sawyer. Like Reagan he was only with us for a week. Sawyer was an FIV positive cat that we took from another local rescue. As our FIV home was full at the time we took him and moved Reagan to another home. However, we swapped with another FIV cat who was no doing well in her current environment. He did get adopted about a year later.

-Richard

Score Update:

Rugby Union: West Hartlepool 30 Old Crossleyans 20. League Two North East. West stay in 3rd place.

Football: Hartlepool United 3 Hereford United 2. League 2. Pools stay in 1st place.

Rugby League: St. Helens 34 Bradford Bulls 22. Superleague. Bradford stay in 1st place.

Ice Hockey: Carolina Hurricanes 2 Ottawa Senators 4
Ottawa Senators 2 Carolina Hurricanes 0
Carolina Hurricanes 3 Pittsburgh Penguins 2. The Canes have 73 points and are still in third place in the South-East Division falling 5 points behind Division Leaders, Tampa Bay Lightening.

Baseball: Cleveland Indians 13 Houston Astros 2
Houston Astros 8 Detroit Tigers 13
Atlanta Braves 1 Houston Astros 6. Spring Training.

Basketball: Orlando Magic 93 Houston Rockets 97
Houston Rockets 72 Boston Celtics 77
Houston Rockets 90 Toronto Raptors 106
Denver Nuggets 97 Houston Rockets 108. The Rockets 36-22 stay in 3rd place in the South West Division falling 13 games behind Division Leaders, Dallas Mavericks.

College Basketball: Maryland Terrapins 89 North Carolina Tar Heels 87
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 84 North Carolina Tar Heels 77. UNC are 24-6 on the Season and 10-5 in the ACC. They are in 2nd place in the ACC and ranked 8th in the Nation.
St. John's Red Storm 50 Duke Blue Devils 67
Duke Blue Devils 77 Maryland Terrapins 85. Duke are 22-8 on the Season and 8-7 in the ACC. They are in 6th place in the ACC and ranked 14th in the Nation.
North Carolina State Wolfpack 73 Wake Forest Demon Deacons 66. NC State are 15-13 on the Season and 5-10 in the ACC. They are in 10th place in the ACC.

-Richard

I listened to:

"Symphony No.2 in C minor, Op.17 "Little Russian" composed by Peter Tchaikovsky performed by The BBC Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Gianaandrea Noseda.

-Richard

The Church Goer

I go to Church every Sunday -
Aren't I good?
Looking good?
Singing hymns with a smile,
A beautific expression
Impressing those around.
"He is so Holy.
Look at his joy!"
That was a nice service,
But, what's it about?
Does anyone care?
I've had a good natter
Done my duty
As I walk out with pride
So others can see
That I'm a Church goer!!

11th February 2004 - Uxbridge, Middlesex, England.

-Richard