Mike's Corner

Lee Earnest was born on August 4th, 1938, in Avon Park, Florida. He attended Florida State Univerity for a year on a music scholarship (trumpet). He then had the bright idea of enlisting in the Army, upon which he was sent to Alaska for a year. He eventually attended West Point for four years, then got transferred to Ft. Rucker, AL (which is where he met mom). After serving two Tours of Duty in Vietnam as a pilot (and Airborne Ranger), he got his Masters in Aerospace Engineering from Georgia Tech (I was born at Emory), then was sent to teach Thermodynamics at West Point. From there we moved to Kansas City, KS, then Colorado Springs, CO, then Burke, VA, then finally ended up in Dothan, AL. He had retired from the Army and wanted to start a new career. He bacame a Stock Broker for Merrill Lynch for the next 17 years. He retired about 7 years ago, and is currently working tediously at improving his golf game (I've never seen such tenacity). I hope you had a wonderful birthday, Dad. There is no one that I am prouder of. Love, Mike.

Shannon's mom is visiting Aunt Teresa in Birmingham this week, leaving Shannon's father, Al, to fend for himself. Worried that he hadn't eaten for a few days, Shannon decided that we would take him to dinner at our favorite restaurant (If you don't know our favorite restaurant by now, then you obviously haven't been paying attention. Gather your belongings and clock out). We started with the Antipasti Platter: Calamari, Bruschette of the Day and Mozzarella Marinara. I had the Tagliarini Picchi Pacchiu (an incredible pasta dish) and an Italian Salad. They had identical orders of a "Four Cheese" Ravioli and Caesar Salads. I can promise you that nobody left hungry. The food was great and the company was even better. (You can check out Mr. Hearn's web sites under my links: Leasing a Car? and Al's Photo Gallery.) After dinner, Shannon and I went to PetSmart (I want a Ferret) then Best Buy (I still have not used the Gift Card from my Outbackers in Opelika). Shannon got the new Faith Hill CD (who knew Shannon likes Country Music?). I bought a newer version of Microsoft Money (how exciting). Until next time... Mike

Jimmy was a little short on cash this week, so I suggested that he send some pictures of himself to a few magazines that might be interested in publishing them: Men's Health, Flex, Cooking Light, Muscle & Fitness, Yoga Journal, etc... No response yet, but I'll keep you posted. Mike

For weeks now, Shannon has been telling me that she often finds rabbits in her back yard. And for weeks now, I've thought she was nuts. But sure enough, when I came over to her house this afternoon, I found this little fella, just hopping around, having a good time being a bunny. Of course, the camera ruined all of that. One flash, and he was gone like Keyser Soze.