Tuesday==>New York Philharmonic Tonight

It is late afternoon in The Big Apple and Billi Pod is finally getting around to posting on his blog. Why is he so late you are no doubt breathlessly asking?

Well, without going into the boring details I had an appointment with one of my eye docs today and it lasted much longer than I anticipated. The bottom line is, however, very good because both eyes received thumbs up. Yeah!!

So, let me start by giving my report card on HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS-Part 1==>A-<==the mood is very very dark to say the least but the special effects are outstanding. If you are a Harry Potter fan I highly recommend it. If, however, you are not a fan or haven’t kept up with the earlier movies, then you will not have a clue about what is going on. You are warned.

After posting yesterday something “different” came up on one of my ticket services==>YOU ARE NOT ALONE<==a benefit concert at The Church of St. Paul in the Upper Westside. The performance was chaired by Lea DeLaria and featured Betty Buckley, Marc Kudisch, Max von Essen, John Tartaglia, Seth Rudetsky and others.

I immediately snapped up a ticket. It was an excellent program although I have to admit that even Billi Pod got a little squeamish when DeLaria kept spewing forth the f-word from the stage, which was located just in front of the altar. Seemed pretty much out of place to me and the folks seated around me. Oh well ...

Tonight-7:30==>NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA @ Lincoln Center. The program features violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter who will perform Mozart’s Violin Concertos Nos. 1, 2 and 3. Looking forward to this.

GO GATORS!!

Billi Pod

“Don't pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he'll just kill you.”

Monday==>Harry Potter

Good morning my loyal and faithful readers.

It is Monday in The Big Apple and so it is Billi Pod’s usual errands day, but I also have something special for the afternoon==>HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS-Part 1.

That’s right, I have an advance ticket for the 1:40pm performance at the iMax theater on 42nd St., 1 1/2 blocks from PHC. Awesome!! Really looking forward to it.

Report card on LINGUA FRANCA==>A<==excellent story line and ensemble acting. This is part of the Brits Off Broadway series at the theater on E. 59th Street, one of my favorite venues. It runs through November 28th so see it if you can.

Finally==>How Far Have We Fallen? What am I talking about you are no doubt breathlessly asking. Well, it’s simple==>in the USA Today Poll the University of Central Florida (#27) in ranked higher than The Florida Gators (#31). Now that is painful.

Billi Pod

“Don't pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he'll just kill you.”

Ahhhhhhhh==>Sunday in The Big Apple

Good afternoon my loyal and faithful readers. It is Sunday and a beautiful and very brisk fall day in The Big Apple. Gonna spend the afternoon watching football and then tonight I have a show (details below).

Let me start with Billi Pod’s report cards on:

TRAILER TRASH==>C<==every gay and redneck cliché known to man and then some. I wanted to like it, but the playwright just tried to touch too many bases to make it a believable story line. And, I disliked every one of the characters. Oh well ...

Funny side story==>in the audience was a 70s+ woman who was on a walker. She had caused a scene in the theater lobby when she got into a heated argument with a much younger woman who I took to be her “companion.” The "companion” wouldn’t buy her a Snickers Bar. They shouted at each other. Everyone just looked on in bewilderment. The woman finally persuaded the guy behind the lobby bar to bring her the candy, which she wolfed down.

Inside the theater the woman was seated alone in the rear of this small Off-Off Broadway gay-themed theater. The theater was full. Once the show began she began to burp loudly and kept on burping through the entire show. At intermission she refused the plea of her “companion” to leave. The “companion” left in a snit. Burp-lady, however, remained in her seat, burping loudly. When the show was over and the theater had emptied, she was still sitting in her seat because no one would bring her the walker. Not sure what happened because I just got the Hell out of there.

One of the weirdest things I have ever witnessed in a theater audience.

SQUIRM BURPEE CIRCUS==>C<==disappointing. Cast much less talented than I expected and I am certain the so-called story line was virtually unfathomable to the vast number of young kids who were in the audience. For example, receiving telegrams is integral to the plot and I heard this kid ask: “Daddy what’s a telegram?”

Tonight’s entertainment event:

7:00==>LINGUA FRANCA-“a fast-paced sexually-charged comedy that follows innocent abroad Steven as he travels from National Service in Southeast Asia to 1950s Florence where he finds himself working for a chaotically-run language school.”

Glad that the Gators finally came alive.

Oh, the signing war between Jeter and the Yankees is heating up. Will comment on it tomorrow.

GO GATORS!!

Billi Pod

“Don't pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he'll just kill you.”

Saturday in Billi Pod's Big Apple

Saturday morning in The Big Apple and it will be a great day for Billi Pod because he has two very diverse shows scheduled, one in midtown and the other way down in the West Village, so let’s get right to it, OK?

First the show down in The Village --

2:00==>TRAILER TRASH-“The story of a family from the wrong side of the tracks trying to find their place in America. Danny, who is struggling with his bisexuality, is taken aback when his mother's old “friend” Andrew returns to their trailer park home in Oklahoma. Things quickly go awry-nothing is as it appears.”

This evening’s show is at The New Victory Theater on 42nd Street, 2 1/2 blocks from PHC --

7:30==>SQUIRM BURPEE CIRCUS-“Mike the Handsome, Dashing Dave and Little Lolo make up the circus trio who must outwit the dastardly Baron Vegan Von Hamburger - a mustachioed villain committed to their demise.”

Billi Pod just couldn’t resist that title, could you?

Billi Pod’s report card on IMPENDING RUPTURE OF THE BELLY==>B-<==mega-creepy story line saved by superb acting.

As previously posted it is playing at a theater on my block, in one of the smaller venues. A good thing because there were only 7 people in the audience and that was creepy too. Felt sorry for the cast of 5. Was told that the problem is because the show was a last minute booking, resulting in almost no advanced PR.

Tomorrow I have a show in the evening and will probably catch a movie in the afternoon. No, not the Harry Potter one==>will wait at least a week to let the crowds die down, but I do intend to see it.

And speaking of Sarah Palin==>yesterday the thought hit me that she might indeed be The Antichrist (not joking the thought did cross my mind). Brilliant Bill, thought I, you are probably the first to have this idea. Then I went online to see what the internet had to say about it and was shocked to discover that there are already dozens of websites devoted to analysis and/or discussions of this very question. Don’t believe me? Just Google Palin Antichrist and see what you find.

And on that happy note --

GO GATORS==>beat Ocala Sr. High School!!!

Billi Pod

“Don't pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he'll just kill you.”

Friday in The Big Apple

It is Friday and a beautiful brisk fall day in The Big Apple. It feels so nice to be home in The Greatest City In The World.

Let me start with a report card on MISTAKES WERE MADE==>A<==loved it. The acting is awesome. It is 95 minutes of comedy, pathos, drama, inside jokes ... see it if you can!!

Tonight’s entertainment event --

8:00==>AN IMPENDING RUPTURE OF THE BELLY-“concerns Clays desire to fortify his house in preparation for both a new baby and the apocalypse he's convinced is just around the corner.”

This show is playing at a theater on my block.

Billi Pod has a very eclectic entertainment doubleheader for Saturday and I will provide details in the posting tomorrow.

Man, is anyone else suffering from Sarah Palin overload?

I mean, she is garnering more news space than The President and there is more debate over Bristol and Dancing With The Stars (whatever in the f**k that is) than, for example, whether Congress should retain middle-class tax cuts. What is going on?

I’ll say this, my loyal and faithful readers, the Democratic party better not fall prey to the idea that she is going away. She is not. She is a part of a steam roller PR champaign that reeks of Karl Rove.

Take her seriously people==>she is not going away==>she is seriously seeking the Republican nomination.

Well, on that downer, let me end with even a greater one ...

Can the Gators somehow manufacture a win against Ocala Senior High School ... oooops ... sorry ... Appalachian State ... tomorrow? Jus askin ...

GO GATORS!!

Billi Pod

“Don't pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he'll just kill you.”

Billi Pod is "Normal" ???

Good afternoon. I am happy to report that Billi Pod is back to “normal.” Whoa==>damn, there’s that word again. “Normal.” WTF! Somehow normal and Billi Pod don’t seem to be a good fit. In fact, it feels kinda scary ... but, hey ...

I just report and you loyal and faithful readers decided, right?

Anyway, my report card on DEVIL BOYS FROM BEYOND==>FF<==f**ing funny!! Need a profane, in-your-face, gross-out comedy? Then see it! Want great theater? Stay as far away as you can.

Tonight-7:30==>MISTAKES WERE MADE-“a B-list Off Broadway producer gets in way over his fast-talking head when he takes on a gargantuan epic about the French Revolution which he thinks is going to be his ticket to professional and personal redemption.”

Sounds to me to be like The Producers, without music. Reviews are mixed.

GO GATORS!!

Billi Pod

“Don't pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he'll just kill you.”

Wednesday - Billi Pod is Back

It is Wednesday and Billi Pod is back in The Greatest City In The World, having completed a wonderful time in Paris aka The City of Smelly People with my former college roomie David West an expat, formerly from Gainesville, FL.

Tuesday started in Paris at 6:00am when my iPhone alarm went off. Finished packing, had some coffee and then David and I left the apartment at 6:50am. It wasn’t raining. He walked with me to the metro station at St. Michel/Notre Dame to make sure I got on the right train to CDG. I did.

Everything went fine from that point on. Checked in, got an exit row seat (Thank you Higher Power), cleared passport control and security without any problems. Was at my gate at 8:15, meaning I had about 2 hours to kill before boarding. No problem.

The flight boarded at 10:45 and we were airborne at 11:20. The plane was only about 1/3 full, the emptiest flight I have been on in years and years. Good for us passengers in steerage, however, because we had plenty of room to spread out.

Time actually went by pretty fast. I couldn’t sleep, of course, but I did play plenty of solitaire on my iBook and worked crossword puzzles, all while listening to classic rock on my Nano.

We were at the JFK gate at 1:50pm NYC time or 7:50pm Paris time. I picked up my duffle, cleared security, passport control and customs (I had bought nothing, nada, zip) and caught an express bus to the Port Authority Bus Terminal, which, as many of you loyal and faithful readers know, is only is only a block and a half from my apartment building. It wasn’t raining.

It was exactly 4:06pm (10:06pm on my body clock) when I opened the door to PHC, loaded with my duffle, tons of mail and Tuesday’s 3 daily papers, which had been saved for me by the staff.

Fixed a Fresca, unpacked, chilled, went to the grocery store for fruit and stuff, and then got some pizza and wings.

Finally crashed around midnight, which was 6:00am on my body clock.

My sleep pattern is not quite back to “normal” (can that word be used with Billi Pod?) and I feel a bit blah but I’ll be over it soon because I am back to my usual entertainment frenzy.

Tonight-8:00==>DEVIL BOYS FROM BEYOND-“in the summer of ‘87 strange events are happening in the swamps of Lizard Lick, Florida==>missing people and giant spaceships-Oh My!!”

Now my dear loyal and faithful readers, take a deep breath because I want to give a brief (OK, now stop the clapping==>Billi Pod knows who you are) report on my activities on Monday, my last full day in Paris, done, as usual with David’s help --

************************

We had a late start because David had a bunch of stuff to do, like paying his rent, making deposits, transferring funds etc. etc. etc.

As planned and previously mentioned we had reserved the afternoon to view the Monet exhibit at the Grand Palais.

David’s French friend, Helene, joined us and with one bus change we are at the exhibition near the Boulevard Champs Elysee.

This is the exhibition the New York Times raved about a month ago and you can check it out if you desire at:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/05/arts/design/05monet.html

It was crowded at the entrance but our 2:30pm reservations helped us get into the museum with only about a 10 minute wait. No photographing was allowed inside the building.

It was also very crowded inside. We each got the audio tour and that added a lot. The exhibition was the largest ever for Monet’s works (177+) and it emphasized what a prolific painter he was, especially during his early and middle career.

The only non-Monet painting exhibited was one by Roy Lichtenstein of the Rouen cathedral (which we visited yesterday) which showed how he was influenced by Monet’s impressionist treatment painted 70 years earlier. (This is here at David’s insistence).

We spent almost 2 1/2 hours at the exhibit and it was worth every minute. IT WAS AWESOME!!

When we left the museum we found a bistro and had some coffee and then Helene left us and David and I returned to his apartment.

We had planned for a “goodbye/thank-you-so-much” dinner, at my expense of course, at 8:00pm but it began to rain and neither of us wanted to walk in the rain so we stayed in and David fixed some stuff and we chilled for the remainder of the evening, planning for an early wakeup call for Tuesday.

**********************

There you have it. Let me close this much-too-long posting with a final==>Thank You David for everything!

Oh, and David==>the check is in the mail.

Billi Pod

“Don't pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he'll just kill you.”

The Final Day of Billi Pod and David’s Normandy Adventure

Sunday - Well, my loyal and faithful readers, I am now about to give you a report on Day 3 of Billi Pod and David’s Normandy Adventure, probably best described as: “On The Road Again” ... so here goes ... ready or not ...

After an 8:30 a.m. continental breakfast at our Hotel Bayeux, we programed our GPS to take us from our hotel to the Cathedral Notre Dame de Rouen, about 60 miles away.

Interestingly, our hotel was next to the Notre Dame de Bayeux, which was consecrated in 1077 in the presence of William the Conqueror and his wife Mathilde.

Today it is generally considered to be 13th Century gothic. It is a beautiful structure but we did not go inside.

This trip, like the rest of the day, was totally unscheduled and unstructured.

Ninety minutes after leaving Bayeux we were in Rouen and began our exploration of the Cathedral Notre Dame de Rouen, which Monet had painted at least a dozen times from the same position, tracing the lighting patterns on its west wall.

Five of those paintings we would see on Monday afternoon at the Monet Exhibit now showing at the Grands Palais in Paris.

Over the years in my travels abroad I have found most gothic cathedrals to be similar in their dark dankness, but still stunningly beautiful.

We could tell the areas of Rouen that had been bombed by our planes, which leveled a great number of cities in Normandy in preparation for the D-Day invasion.

After finishing the cathedral we walked through the old city to an open square where Joan de Arc was burned at the stake.

A modernistic church has been built next to the spot, but it was not open to visitors while we were to be in the area.

So, we found ourselves at 1:30 p.m. with an unplanned afternoon. What did we do you are no doubt breathlessly asking? Well, we programmed the GPS to take us to yet another beautiful, dark and dank cathedral, this time in Chartres, 90 minutes away.

The Notre Dame de Chartres, in Chartres (of course), is generally considered to be the most beautiful of all gothic structures. It is on the pilgrimage route which ends in Santiago de Compostela, Spain.

Built in the 4th Century, it became a pilgrimage site when in 876 the chemise said to belong to the Virgin Mary was given to the cathedral by an ancestor of Charlemane.

It can be seen from miles and miles away, awe inspiring in itself.

At 4:30pm we had completed our visit and it was time to head back to Paris, a distance of about 60 miles. The trip back to Paris was rather unpleasant because The Frogs, who had been away for the long Armistice Day weekend, were crowding the highway.

Thank God we had our GPS device because without it we would probably still be looking for the rental car return ramp. We turned in our car at Gare Nord at 7:45pm and were back at David’s apartment at 8:15pm.

The 3 day adventure was over and every aspect of it exceeded my expectations and will live in my memories for the rest of my life.

None of this would have been possible without David’s willingness to plan and to be the designated driver.

Thank You David==>you are indeed a friend!

Billi Pod

“Don't pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he'll just kill you.”

Day 2 of Billi Pod and David's Normandy Adventure

Saturday - Day 2 of Billi Pod and David’s Normandy Adventure began early. We left the hotel around 7:30am, in pouring rain, to meet up with our tour group. We had directions on a small map that quickly became virtually unreadable due to the rain. We had to ask directions several times for a trip that should have taken less than 10 minutes. Not a good beginning we both thought. Well ... we finally located the pickup point==>whew!!

It was raining!

We were fortunate to have booked our Battlebus tour in advance because It was one of the last of their season. At 8:25 a.m. we, with six other Americans (two of whom were from Boston and are, of course, Red Sox fans) were loaded up and on our way to the American sector beaches and battle fronts along the coast of Normandy. David and I visited the British and Canadian sector beaches briefly on Friday and today we were to see the famous Omaha and Utah beaches.

It was raining!!

Our tour guide could not have been better. Alan, a British citizen in his early 40s, has been a serious scholar of the events surrounding the invasion for over 10 years. Four years ago moved his family to Normandy so he could walk the fields and beaches as he continued his research.

From the beginning he gave a very personal insight into the events of that historic day. He has written a book and has met and interviewed numerous veterans. He augmented his running narration with personal photos, maps, memorabilia etc he had collected over the years. He also did not hesitate to address some of the so-called “myths” that have come into being regarding the success and/or failure of certain aspects of the invasion.

One of our stops is very special to Alan. It was a very tiny church, Angoville au Plain, where two barely trained medics had parachuted nearby. For three days these two, who were 18 and 19, tended to the wounded soldiers of both sides and also treated civilian wounded.

Morphine ran out and all the pews were filled with seriously wounded young men who were in various states of dying. Both Robert White and Kenneth Moore were awarded Silver Stars for their efforts.

It was raining!!!!

Despite the now pouring rain everyone in the group walked down to and around the Utah and Omaha landing sites as Alan provided a nonstop narrative, personalized with names and photographs of some of those who survived and some of those who didn’t.

One of the most chilling comments from a survivor was: “2 years in training; 1 day in combat; 2 years in a hospital.”

And, speaking of D-day movies, Alan pointed out that of that genre which now includes Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers, only The Longest Day was filmed on the actual locations where the events took place.

I simply cannot go into more details about the landing sites because once I start, then there is no way to stop. It was very emotional for everyone, including Alan.

Our last stop was the beautifully maintained American Cemetery above Omaha Beach were, among thousand of others, Teddy Roosevelt’s son and David’s uncle are buried.

Being there helped us understand that thousands of young men had given their lives in a battle to defeat evil and restore freedom to The World. We must never forget them!!

It was raining!!!!!!

It was around 5:30pm when we got back to Bayeux. We were all soaked and emotionally drained. We said our goodbyes, paid and tipped Alan and headed back to the hotel to the new rooms we were given to makeup for the WiFi problems. Guess what? WiFi didn’t work in my room. WTF!! No matter, I wasn’t going to let this minor glitch detract from what had been a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

It was raining!!!!!!!!!!

We changed into dry clothes, found a nearby bistro and had a great dinner. It was around 10:30pm when we got back and officially ended Day 2 of Billi Pod and David’s Normandy Adventure.

It was raining!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Billi Pod

“Don't pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he'll just kill you.”

Report on Billi Pod’s Normandy Adventure - Day One.

Greetings my loyal and faithful readers. It is now 11:00pm, Paris time, on Sunday and David and I have settled back into his Paris apartment after completing a wonderful 3 day adventure going to D-Day landing sites and then inland for a scenic tour including some cathedrals.

I haven’t posted anything because at our hotel in Bayeax the promised WiFi service wasn’t working (no need to go into details ), so let me begin with Friday, aided immeasurably by David’s input --

**********

Armed with a Hertz rental car with a GPS guidance system (in English) Billi Pod and David were on our way out of Paris at 9:00am and headed to the Beaches of Normandy for our planned D-Day adventure. My first experience with a GPS system was fascinating in that when we left the Gare Nord (a major transportation hub) in Paris, with David driving, the system predicted that we would arrive at our programmed destination of the Memorial Center for History and Peace in Caen in 2 hours 37 minutes==>it proved to be only two minutes off. Awesome!!

The museum was like none I had ever seen. It traces through photographs, memorabilia, movies and rare artifacts the World's path from World War I, though the depression, the ascendancy of Hitler, the rearmament of Germany, World War II and the War Crimes Trials in Nuremberg. It has special emphasis on the Normandy D-Day Invasion.

We spent about 3 hours there and it proved to be an excellent way of orienting ourselves for the next 2 1/2 days in Normandy, even though we only had time to explore half of the museum.

When we left the museum, a 20 minute drive from Caen took us to the famous Pegasus Bridge about which I wasn’t familiar until I read a book, PEGASUS BRIDGE, by Steven Ambrose, as mandated by David in preparation for this day.

Very briefly, the capture of this very small bridge was vital to the entire success of D-Day because it held the key to preventing the German army from moving their tanks and troops from the east part of the French coastline where they had been concentrated to the Allied invasion sites on the Normandy Beaches. After capture it had to be protected for use by incoming Allied troops and equipment. 3 gliders were towed across the English channel and were released with a small detachment of highly trained British troops. Miraculously all 3 landed within 60 yards of the bridge a few minutes after midnight on D-Day, June 6, 1944, 6 hours before the invasion began. With this silent approach the troops were successful in capturing the bridge. They then repelled numerous counterattacks. It has been cited by British air historians as the most brilliant fete of aviation in World War II.

A newly opened Memorial museum is dedicated to the heroics of these airborne troops commanded by Major John Howard. We walked across the bridge and went to the glider landing sites. Because I had read the book as required, the whole scene felt alive to me, it really did. What an experience. One I will never forget, that is for certain.

Then we drove along the beach passing the "British sector” beaches, until it got dark. We then turned inland to our hotel in Bayeux, home of William the Conqueror and the starting point for our D-Day van tour on Saturday morning.

It was an adventure unto itself to find our hotel, gain access to the reserved parking area and check into our rooms. It was 8:00pm. We found a nice bistro and had a bite and then came back to our rooms. It was at this point that we discovered the WiFi problem(s) - as I said, I won’t bore you with the details.

Day One of our Normandy Adventures was complete. AWESOME!!

****************

Details on Saturday and Sunday will be posted tomorrow morning, Paris time.

Billi Pod

“Don't pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he'll just kill you.”

Armistice Day In Paris

On the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918 an “Armistice” was signed in a railroad car in a clearing in the woods near Compiegne, France. Over 1,397,000 French soldiers lay dead. (Later, the Nazi’s used the same railroad car to accept the surrender of France in World War II). Appropriately the French take the Armistice Day very seriously and it is a national holiday with reduced service on all transportation.

Nevertheless, around 11:00am Billi Pod and David made their way to the Cafe Deux Magots for coffee and Danish.

This cafe is famous for the “Lost Generation” of American writers, such as Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Joyce, Anderson and artists, such as Picasso, who made the cafe home in the 1920s.

Today a pleasant surprise awaited us. As background, David and I have known one another since we were roommates in 1962 while he was an undergraduate and I was in law school. As you can imagine, we have heard each other’s tales repeated ad infinitum (ad nauseum might also be appropriate) over the last 48 years and again for the last 96 hours. But, what a pleasant surprise befell us in the cafe when seated next to us were Dr. James Brookeman, Ph.D and his wife. She is a lawyer and he was a professor at the UF from 1968 to 1984 and is now a physics professor at the University of Virginia. What a surprise and blessing too! Neither had heard our stories before, of course, so basically David was off and running for about 45 minutes and, as usual, Billi Pod assumed the listening role, as is his want.

We had a very nice time with them and we are still amazed at what a small world it is ... think about it ... a cafe in Paris ... in the rain ... on Armistice Day ... and we make contact with a couple who have been part of The Gator Nation ... what are the odds? Oh, I forgot to add ... I was wearing my Yankee hat, not my Gator hat, and they spoke to us first ... what are the odds???

When we left the cafe we suffered the rain to catch a bus to the Louvre where we split. David spent some time in The Apple Store located in the Louvre Entrance Carousel and then came back to the apartment.

Billi Pod spent 3+ hours overloading on medieval art, artifacts and statues. Enough art for awhile, OK.

When I left the Louvre I walked back to the apartment. It was still raining. As a matter-of-fact, it is still raining at 11:00pm.

David fixed another great dinner - salad, fish, rice and peas. We decided to stay in tonight because ...

Early tomorrow we pick up our rental car at Gare Nord and head northward to the Normandy Beaches. First will be Caen for the World War II Museum (now known as the Memorial to Peace Museum), then on to the Pegasus Bridge (much more about that in the next blog) before spending the night at Bayeux - home to William the Conqueror.

Saturday begins early as we board a six person van for an all-day tour of the D-Day Beaches and some inland towns, i.e. St-Mere Eglise., St. Lo, etc.

Hope to be able to give a report tomorrow night after we reach our hotel in Bayeux.

Oh, as most of you loyal and faithful readers are no doubt aware ... David has been a major contributor in the preparation of these postings.

GO GATORS!!

Billi Pod

“Don't pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he'll just kill you.”