Monday, July 18, 2005

IT'S ALL SET NOW!!!

That's right!!! After all those months of planning and booking (all right, more like five months), everything's now ready, set, go for my two weeks in the Deep South. More on that later, but first...

As a suicide bombing killed 22 people in Baghdad over the weekend, the stage is now set for the real trial of the century (sorry, Michael Jackson): Saddam Hussein. The former Iraqi dictator will be facing trial for a massacre of over 150 Shiites he orchestrated back in 1982. Since this one won't be like Jackson's, it's going to be quite more interesting as it moves along. Then again, it's Saddam, so who cares?

Meanwhile, Sandra Bullock has married that tattooed biker from "Monster Garage", Jesse James on Saturday. Give it two months for that to last.

Now, on to a preview of what I could be expecting during my two-week vacation....

Week #1: This may be the last time I could be seeing my grandmother Mildred in North Carolina; she's in her eighties, but with diabetes and a stroke you know she ain't going to live on much longer. I'll be sharing with her some videos of the events I've filmed, including the 2003 Iditarod restart here in Fairbanks (I'll get to Golden Days in a bit). I'll also be visiting other relatives during the three to four days I'll be down there, and since New York is scrapped, there could be a chance I may hit Washington D.C.!

After spending the weekend in Atlanta for some family reunion, it's on to:

Week #2: My fifth time to the Mississippi Gulf Coast; the last four were in 1985, 1989-91 (when I lived there), 1992, and 2000. I know the first week will be more humble, but during the second week...who knows what's going to transpire! The coast has become more like Las Vegas South with casinos aplenty, and with poker becoming big, there could be a chance for me to either hold 'em or fold 'em? Will I go "all in" while trying to learn this? And who occupies our old home in Gulfport now? Find out during the second half of the trip!

Now while I'll be enjoying some southern comfort (no, I won't be drinking any Southern Comfort), back here in Fairbanks we've got the annual Golden Days festivities that'll be capped off with the big parade on Saturday. But don't worry; thanks to one of those buttons -- which usually prevents anyone without them from going to "jail" -- I'll be bringing a bit of Golden Days with me.

It's going to be a very exciting two weeks down there, so with that in mind...

SEE YOU IN THE SOUTH!!!

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