Who would you like to see as a Democractic President

This question is floating on Chris's website www.booktalk.org . You should come take a look. If you have a suggestion click on comment below and let me know who you think it should be. Hillary, Liberman, Teddy who do you think.

Everything here seems good. The weather is beautiful with the temperature around 80 for those of you who have just left and it was cold for you when you were here. Balmy breezes and warm weather. Could a person need more.

Might get a newer car and do a little traveling this year. Have not made up my mind yet. Just thinking. Talk with you again soon.

Time flies

Howdy, I am sorry for the delay in writting. things are pretty much the same. I am still hobbling around but I am getting better. My sister Bobbie is here in Florida this week with her daughter Lynette and son-in-law Gregg and the kids of course (Nataly and Nolan). They are over at Disney and Chris,Tina and I are going over on Sunday to visit them. I am looking forward to that. I have been posting on Chris Website called http://www.booktalk.org/. You should pay it a visit and join in on some of the discussion if you can handle it. It a very great site. I love what he has done there. If you have trouble in navigating let me know and I will be happy to show you the ropes.

Great day today

Today I feel great. Ankles and knees are doing so much better. The sun is shinning and it's a perfect day. Maybe I will get out for awhile. Chris and I want to take a look at some video cameras and I am waiting for his call. I hope everyone is doing fine. Send me a note and let me know how you are doing.

Heads Up information

Landed in the hospital last Sunday night with a breathing problem. Stayed there for 2 days and all is well again. They are going to be looking closely to figure this out but just now there is no prognosis. Of course I have emphysema as most of you know and I have been treated for Lung cancer but the sudden lost of breathing capacity is a real problem that we will have to figure out. I will go on a nebulizer machine about 4 times per day for about 5 minutes and that may be all I need. I will keep you informed.

Chris took me to the VA yesterday and spent an entire day wheeling me around from office to office because I am still unable to walk on my own from the sprained ankles and swollen knees. He has been a life saver for me and I would be in big trouble without him.

I feel so much better today.

At home with sprained and swollen ankles

I am staying home to recuperate from a fall that sprained both my ankles. I have been having this falling problem for over 2 years and we are not sure what is causing the problem as of yet. Well I fell at the airport when picking up my friend "R" last Tuesday night. He was very helpful during his one week stay but now he is gone. I am having some difficulty but Chris is helping me a lot. I hope everyone is doing good. I will be forced to lay low for awhile but thats okay too.

The place I go to relax

Visitor from the North

This is my friend Robert Eaton from Syracuse New York. He is know as "R" by his family and friends. That is why I call him Bobbie. He will be visiting for a week and I am sure he will drive me crazy and I will love it. He is a good friend and we have fun together.

My cousins Hal and Bob are in florida

I spent the day last Saturday visiting with my cousins Hal and Bob over in Haines City. I took a couple of pictures I thought some of you might enjoy

Changes

Chris has made some nice changes to my blog. How do you like the pictures of the restaurant?

Our weather down here has been cold once or twice and I don’t like it much. I do like warmer weather. Not hot, warmer.

I will try to get back to recording in my blog more often.

BT Bones Steakhouse open for business!

I'm adding some pictures of the new BT Bones Steakhouse for my father. More pictures will be added over time I'm sure. The place has been packed since the first night! Nice sign, eh?


And here is the front from a distance. There are benches out front for the smokers or for when the restaurant is on a wait. The parking lot is huge so plenty of room for customers.

Another Day in Paradise

Who is it? Well come on in. Good to see you again. Hope you are happy and well. Things are not as frantic these days. The restaurant is open and I will post some pictures of it for you soon. I feel very good, healthy that is. The doctor told me she could not distinguish any cancer on my lungs and that we will just continue to monitor them. That’s good news…….ehhh?

I will set about to begin the Franchising part of the restaurant now and I think it’s going to take me several months or more to put all of that together. Wish me luck, it’s very legal oriented and costly.  The attorney fees are hard to believe.

Weather here in Florida is good today but we have had a few weeks of colder than usual weather. Maybe in the 50’s a lot and to me that’s cold. Some of you are having a milder than usual winter and others are having a nasty winter. This is the best time of year here in Florida but not during the summer. Maybe some of you will come down for a visit.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year!

I hope all of you have had a happy new year. As you may have guessed I have been more than busy these passed 6 weeks with the restaurant and getting ready for the opening. I will post some pictures soon. We planned to open this week about the 4th or 5th. Most things are finished all we have to do now is some cleanup. It has been quite a challenge. After the restaurant opens I will have more time as I begin the franchising process which will take about six months. Most of that will be done from home.

Son #2 reporting from Clearwater...

This is Chris here. My father has been quite busy lately with helping start the new steak restaurant. He spends all day there ordering kitchen equipment, neon signs, furniture and the likes. I've stopped by several times over the past week and the place is looking incredible.

Last night they sanded the hardwood floors and put the first of three coats of that glossy stuff on it. I guess it is laquer. They won't be able to walk on the floors for a few days I suppose - as this stuff dries. From what my father says it is looking beautiful. Originally the floors must have looked great, but it is 25 years later and this is the first time they have been sanded and refinished, so I'm looking forward to seeing them.

The big question is whether or not the owner will have a full country band again. The day before yesterday he mentioned that the band might only be a 2-man gig - which is nothing like it used to be. In the past there was a full 5-man band that performed every weekend. People were line dancing, 2-stepping and getting fairly rowdy. I suppose he is wanting to get away from that sort of crowd, but I fear that he is not considering the big picture. There are a zillion steakhouses out there, but absolutely none that you can go to and hear live country music. The band was his niche and what brought people in, but I'll admit the food was far better than any other steakhouse. But good food is not always enough. People want the right atmosphere.

It is still early so we'll see. I'm really hoping that he'll bring the full band concept back in time. For the first month or two I understand that the priority must be on getting the place up and running. Systems need to be established and food quality consistent. This will take time.

Hey you! come out here on the floor and lets dance some more!

Hello everybody, Just a few thoughts.

I know you can be overwhelmed, and I know you can be underwhelmed, but can you just be whelmed?

If one synchronized swimmer drowns, do the rest have to drown too?

Yes I am a little silly today but I am having fun just the same. Hope all of you are well.

Better than ever

Hey! Hope all of you are doing well. I am better than ever and looking forward to a great year coming. Last year was a tester to say the least. I will know on Thursday if we have sufficient funds to start the restaurant as planned. I will let you all know. Thanks for the efforts of everyone.

Some questions of interest to me

How many of your friendships have lasted more than ten years?

Which of your current friends do you feel will still be important to you ten years from now?

If you had the choice of one intimate soulmate and no other close friends, or of no such soulmate and many friends and acquaintances, which would you choose?

Let me know how you feel.

John

Good news all around

The hurricane did little or no damage to our area of Florida. Thank you very much.

Today was my follow-up visit with the Oncology department at the hospital and it appears that the tumor has shrank even more and they will not put me on Chemo and they will wait for 12 weeks to check me again. Tim and Chris went with me and we were all glad about this result. Maybe now I can talk about something other than my lousy health.

Spent several hours with my brother Don and his wife Jan and their daughter Carrie and her husband Bob. It was a great visit as I have not seen Don & Jan in almost 10 years. I will see them again on Friday and I am looking forward to that.

I hope all of you are doing well and I'll talk with you again soon.

Here comes the rain

Hi everybody. We are going to get some rain or maybe worse. I got extra water in case I need it. The flashlights all work and I have plenty of candles. Maybe it won't be so bad. Here a problem for you to solve:

Aren't the 'good things that come to those who wait' just the leftovers from the people that got there first?

Bobby went home yesterday

I am going to miss her. We had great fun when she was here. It just wasn't a very long visit. She asked me a couple of questions before she left that I was unable to answer maybe some of you will know the answers. Please let me know.

Q: If a General is a higher ranking officer than a Major, then why is a major illness worse than a general illness?

Q: Do they put underwear on corpses?

Q: Doesn't a lightning rod on top of church show a lack of faith

Well the boys are helping me with this blog

I was not posting very often and I asked the boys to help out if they had time. You have seen their entries, what do you think? I think they are great guys and a little wacko too. It is good to have them helping. Some days I am just not in the mood, no what I mean?

My sister Barbara is coming to visit me on the 13th of October and I am looking forward to that. She and I always have great fun together. Don and his wife will be visiting there daughter Carrie and her husband Bob at their Florida home around the time of Don's birthday at the end of October and I am planning on seeing him when they do.

Went to dinner with Chris and Tina tonight and I had Snow crab and loved every bite. I enjoy eating out once in awhile and they are good company.

The O'Connor Menz

Here is a picture of the three of us taken within the past year or so. Can you properly end a sentence with the word "so?" Hmmm... I think so. I mean I hope so.

The scary thing is - none of us were wearing pants at the time this picture was snapped. Oh, and Tim was touching my butt, hence the smile on his face and the confused look on mine.

Chris & Tina - Greece 2005

As if anyone cares...

My father and I have been discussing the idea of adding pictures to his Blog as a means of spicing it up a bit. This is the first attempt so let's see if I succeeded in pulling this off.

Oh, this is me, by the way - Chris O'Connor. Tim has been sent an invitation to post on this Blog so maybe we'll hear from him too. He is much more computer literate than me, so adding pictures will be a breeze for him.

Note the receeding hairline. I'm not all that excited about this. But what can you do? Life is precious and focusing on trivial things is a tremendous waste of time and energy. With that said...I wonder if hair transplants would work? :-)

Looking for suggestions

I don’t post often enough. Sorry for the long delay. I’ll be honest and tell you that I have not felt like saying anything about anything. Brain is still working but I have not felt like sharing for whatever reason. Mostly it is my attitude and nothing physical.

I have thought about starting a bulletin board (chat room) where we could be on-line with whom ever. I don’t know if I will do that or not. I don’t know if I could stand the chatter of some people I know. Do you know what I mean? I have kept this blog mostly about current happenings in my life on a personal level just so that those who care will be up to date (since so much is going on) and also to give them an opportunity to say hello. I also like the ability to add other things such as the videos etc. Well not to many of you take the time to say hello or make any comment at all. I am not sure if you are even coming to the blog site. I am thinking of any other way in which I can engage you since so many of you live so far away. I thought this would be easy. It hasn’t worked out that well. I don’t know why.

I hate to discuss politics or religion and that leaves little else. Philosophy might be a good place but that gets confused with religion by some people and I don’t want that to happen. I am open for discussion on other subjects if anyone is interested in making a comment about that.

My day today

Chris went with me today to see the Oncologist. I learned that it is still too early for a determination about the tumor on my lungs. Although there was a 2 cm spot still there at the last scan, the scan was taken too early as the radiation treatments continue to work up to 90 days after the end of the treatments. The doctor who ordered the scan jumped the gun. So now we are going to wait until the 19th of Oct for another scan and after that a determination will be made as to the need for further treatment. The tumor may be gone totally. I hope that is what happens. I wanted to get this posted for those of you who are following my health problems.

I am still quite busy putting together the Limited Liability Partnership with my friend and also doing some computer work and keeping my self busy.

I am now watching the hurricane heading towards Galveston and I hope it is not as serious as it sounds.

Our weather here is great, still a little warm for me. My brother will be in Florida visiting with his daughter Karrie and her husband around his birthday on the 30th of October so I will get to see him at that time. Karrie lives on a golf course so maybe we will get out for a round. Chris tells me no way Jose because he worries about me out in the sun and even the little bit of walking that has to be done to play golf. I tried to tell him that we use carts (he doesn’t play) but he doesn’t listen too pretty good.

He actually thinks he is the Dad now.

Also, my baby sister will be down for a visit on the 13-17th of Oct and I will enjoy that.

Hello again!

Hope all of you are doing great. Everything is going well. I have learned that I will have to have Chemo therapy instead of an operation to get the balance of the cancer in my lungs. The lung doctor would not permit an operation because she felt I could not handle the effects. I see the Oncologist on Wednesday and let you know what they say i.e., how much- how long- what kind etc.

There have been several birthdays this past week and I was busy enjoying them.

I am, as most of you know, busy in a business venture and it is keeping me pretty active also. I feel much better when I am doing things.  Don’t you?

~ Best Little Steakhouse in Florida ~

I'm VERY excited about this restaurant starting up again!

For those of you reading this that don't live in Florida and have no past experience with Bridd or his steakhouse chain - you will have no way to know why this is exciting. But trust my father and I about this one!

I was the first male waiter to ever work at Bridd's steakhouse. It was absolute torture to be surrounded by good-looking young girls in tight jeans and t-shirts everyday, but I dealt with it. Every day was a challenge.

Bridd's restaurant had a major impact on my life. Let me start by saying that I only worked at one of 15 thriving locations. Knowing how big this was in the past makes me excited about the potential now. But anyway - I worked at only one location. The experience was rewarding and quite fun.

Back then I had only just begun to show an interest in country music. Working there and hearing the live country band playing every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night pushed me over the edge. Country soon became my favorite music genre and remains as such today.

The atmosphere was awesome. Good music, incredible steaks (not like anywhere else), and the biggest bar I'd seen anywhere. The bar was raised up so you could watch the band playing from up high. And everyone seemed to know each other. You've all heard the "Cheers" song that says, "Sometimes you wanna go, where everybody knows your name." Well, this restaurant and country bar was exactly that. It was a place for regulars to feel at home.

I know it will be a big success and am shocked it took Bridd so long to get back into the restaurant business. He is definitely a people-person whose personality played a HUGE roll in the restaurants success. I remember him standing at the front door greeting people, shaking their hands, and welcoming them to the restaurant. Everyone knew who the owner was and they appreciated his attention and obvious interest in their experience at his establishment. I sure hope he is as hands-on as before.

Now you guys need to get that massive stuffed bison back into the front window. That thing was huge and quite a conversation piece.

Oh, the good thing that I didn't mention is that this restaurant is opening up in the exact same location and building as it occupied previously. This is a big deal. A well-designed marketing campaign will bring loyal customers back quickly, and the same friendly and casual atmosphere will keep them loyal.

In my opinion there is NO real competition. I know of 2 country bars and neither compares to what Bridd's place has to offer. Bridd will have live country music, line dancing and the best steaks in town. The other places are VERY commercial. I've been to one, and have heard all about the other.

Good luck on this venture!

I'm excited for you guys and will be a regular myself. I'll also give all my clients gift certificates as closing gifts to get the business some exposure to new customers.

An odd couple to say the least

How could the couple who own the St Rita’s nursing home near New Orleans, abandoned their patients and go by themselves to higher ground. I would think they would rather die trying to get those people out than to leave them to die such a horrible death. I don’t even hear the charges being made as harsh at all. What the hell is going on in this world? They should be burned at the stake or something near to that. Can you even image lying in a sick bed as an invalid and the water is rising and there is no one there to help you. This couple should be punished as severely as is possible.

Very Interesting

I noticed a charge of $12.95 on this month Verizon phone bill and looked it up and it was for (Nationwide Voice Mail) which I never ordered. The company was ILD whom I immediately called and had the service cancelled and they said they would credit me with 2 months of $12.95 because they charged me last month also. I actually had to go back and look up last month's bill before I realized that I had paid for this service one month already. Now here is the primary reason I am mentioning this. This service was added to my phone bill (Slammed) without my permission and I was even so unattentive I never noticed it the first month. My recommendation is everyone should check to see if they may have been (Slammed) with an additional charge for a service not requested.

I have been told by my doctors that I am still not a candidate for surgery on my lungs to remove the balance of the cancer that the radiation did not remove. Instead they are going to put me on Chemotherepy. They will notify me when to come in to see the Hemotology/Oncology doctor for testing and recommendations on the chemo. Although I have to have this treatment I am remaining optimistic this will cure the balance. I have heard so many stories about the side effects of chemo I will have to wait to see exactly how it will effect me.

I feel better today than I have for awhile. I am busier and of course that has a good affect on me. I hope all of you are well.

New thing are happening

Well, my friend Bridd asked me to give him a hand installing some new equipment on his computer and also to install some software. It has been a major task as some of the software I have never seen before i.e. Bar Code Printing. He sells to about 2,000 Walgreen drugstores small items which they in turn sell to their customers. Each shipment must contain a bar code label to place on each item that can be scanner at the cash register. I had never installed a thermal label printer and it didn't go smoothly. I also have been attempting to install a scanner on his computer that I have been using on my computer for 2 years and I can’t get it install, Oh well tomorrow is another day and I will get the job done.

For those of you who may be interested, I am starting a business venture with my friend Bridd. He has a wholesale distributorship now that is very successful and at one time he had been in the restaurant business. The restaurant (12 locations) was a Country Western Style TEXAS STEAKHOUSE where you can watch the food being prepared out front and the best dam steak and sauce you have ever eaten in your life and they were successful for more than 15 years. For reasons which I will not explain here, he got out of that business and has been out of it for about 8 years or so. He has decided to do one again and I am going to be a minor partner. I am very familiar with his restaurants from the past and this is going to be a fun thing for me. I have needed to be busier than I have been these past few years and this is just what the doctor ordered. There are investment possibilities for any of you who might be so inclined. Send me a personal email or call me and I will take the time to explain. This is a winner. Should you decide to contact me please understand that I know a contact from you does not imply any commitment. There are questions to be answer but in private conversation not here.