What I Did This Summer - by Brian T.

The last time I posted, I was showing you pictures of our mailbox that was struck by lightning. That was April. Since then, we have put in a new mailbox (but it still gets junk mail) and put on a new roof due to the wind damage.

Our fish pond has all of sudden started retaining its water. Last year, I would fill it up and then the next day, it would be down 25%. This year, I haven't filled it once. I guess wherever the crack is, it finally filled in with enough sediment to seal it. We have two fish left. Last year we had four. I'm not sure what is getting them, but it's stealthy. For awhile, I didn't think we had any, but the two remaining fish must have kicked into survival mode and started hiding in the filter box where they get stuck. They spend most of the day hiding under the rocks now that I've put the Kibosh on them by blocking the filter.

Work has been extremely busy. The huge GE Volunteer Project is complete, but now my very small department is busy tying up all the loose ends while still trying to maintain the daily operation of the building. All this while we have 400 kids here for summer camp and the pools have been packed every day because of the heat.

Amongst all the chaos, my beautiful Fiancee and I have been planning the wedding with tons of help from Julie's mom and sister. Julie is on top of things...I am not. I help where I can, but my brain doesn't work when it comes to all the little details that need to be taken care of. But I'm trying. We are both extremely excited, but just want the day to get here.

We are taking dance lessons at Arthur Murray, but Julie's ankle has kept her sidelined quite a bit. We need to practice this week so we don't tick off the teacher Monday at our next lesson. I never think the first dance looks quite right when it's a set dance, but I guess it's just me. I come from the "sway back and forth until the song is over"camp, but then again, I have no culture ( I also don't know no Portuguese).

I've been playing softball with brother Kevin and the Yogi's on Sundays, which is fun. However, I do prefer Fall leagues. If I am going to be that hot, I'd rather be on the golf course. I usually pitch, but have caught a few times when I was having trouble finding the plate. I only feel comfortable at the moment at these two positions and first base, however I think with some practice I could be an outfielder. It's been years since I fielded fly balls.

When it comes to hitting, I feel like I've started games off well, but then start grounding and flying out in my last couple of at-bats. This is usually due to a lack of patience and swinging at the first pitch. I'm sure I'll get it figured out by the last game of the season.

I have tried to play some golf here and there, but it's been tough to get out. I'm playing Nevel Meade tomorrow night after work with some guys from the Bats, so that should be fun...but hot. I won't go into detail in this post, but I am going to post some self made videos of my golf swing and what I am working on. It is mostly for my benefit, but thought it may lend some direction to my sputtering blog posts.

Anyhow, I know it's not as fascinating as my brothers, God of Thunder, and Carlos Merriweather, Dr. Love & Tony Dollar$. Now that I think about it, I have never seen any of them in the same place at the same time. Hmmmm