I brought my little Poncho home from the Kokomo Humane Society in March, 2004 when he was 5 months old.  Isn't he the sweetest?  He has learned to sit, sit up, shake hands, bow, dance, play dead, "go to sleep," roll over, give a high 5, a low 5, and high 10's, stand tall, lie down,  stay, turn around, jump through the hoop, walk around me, jump over a bar, put his toys in his toy basket, shoot baskets, and bring in the newspaper.  (And I'm learning the trick of making him let go of the newspaper before it's shredded.)   He also knows the names of his toys.   We also play the hidden ball trick in which he guesses which hand is holding his mini tennis ball. 

I love to travel and have been to over 50 countries.  Since I am now a retiree (after 36 years of teaching), I dream of visiting Rio de Janeiro,  Guatemala, Morocco, and Timbuctu.  Of course, all excursions are just dreams.  But it doesn't cost a thing to dream.

   I'm a huge - huge - Pacer fan.  My cousin Phil sometimes gets free tickets and often shares them with me.

  It was a thrill to see the last game of the Play-offs and to sit on the first row (for 1 quarter).  Here are some photos I took from this prime seat:

I spent a few scorching days in Key West in '02 with my friend Cindy.  More than just a vacation, the trip was taken to investigate the Keys as a potential retirement spot.  But with rent for a tiny bungalow at $1000 a month, I guess I'll continue to endure Indiana's winters.

During my '02 visit to Kenya, one of my 18 visits to the Dark Continent, I visited Giraffe Manor where I climbed to the 2nd floor of a gazebo and looked eyeball-to-eyeball with an 18' tall giraffe.   

I've had many wild experiences in traveling.  I've started a book on these experiences, but I can't find much time to work on it.  This retirement life is too hectic.  I've also written a love story about this girl (ahem) who goes to Kenya (ahem), falls in love with her tour guide, and ends up in the middle of a Ugandan civil war.  Now I just have to get a publisher interested.  Any interested publishers out there?

I am a faithful member of the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church and encourage you to share Christ's love with others.  If you haven't accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior, please share your concerns with me.  Maybe I can answer some of your questions.
 

Below are some of my favorite links which might be of interest to you:

Primarily Primates               Nature Conservancy               WSPA             Save the Chimps

The Elephant Sanctuary               Wild Mustangs               Save the Manatee            Save a Sato 

Sheldrick Wildlife Trust        Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund