"Another Day of Adventure"

This past Tuesday, I arrived in Minneapolis to attend my niece's wedding and to get in some tennis playing with my now older tennis buddy, Jim. That's Jim in the tennis clothes holding up a tennis racquet. What is interesting and noteworthy about this trip is that my car broke down a second time. This time, however, we were "johnny on the spot" and jumped my vehicle and then headed out to buy a new battery. We were especially proud of the fact that we completed this unforeseen challenge in less than an hour and still had time to play some great tennis. The days are quite beautiful now in Minnesota.

"Michael Perry Memorial Marker in Tucson"

Recently a 35 acre park was completed in SE Tucson which includes little league fields, basketball courts along with picnic areas and playground. In addition to these facilities, there are also some special features such as a dog drinking fountain and an underground pipe where kids can use to whisper to one another.

There has been one problem with the new park, and that is VISIBILITY!!!! To answer this need a memorial marker has been created over the past two months through a $25,000 commission from the Tucson Pima Arts Council. Nine students, two artists and one project assistant have been building this new park marker at the corner of East Golf Links Road and South Pantano Parkway for the past several weeks, and are now about finished.

They're replacing a plain brown sign with a 7-foot-tall jackrabbit perched atop a 16-foot-long concrete baseball bat, a 52-inch-tall tortoise and an 8-foot-tall stack of metal blocks.

The animals were carved from large blocks of foam, which were then reinforced with a metal frame. A steel mesh was wrapped around the frame. The structures were sunk into the ground and covered in concrete.

Other parts of the marker drew inspiration from the park itself, which was named for a 12-year-old boy who was murdered in 1984. The group decided on a baseball bat because a Little League uses the park. The blocks were inspired by children's building blocks - each will be painted with a different letter, spelling out the word "park." The jackrabbit holds a basketball as a symbol of the park's basketball courts.

Included with my photos are ones of the whispering underground pipe and the the dog drinking station that are found within the park itself.

"Four Ways Your Cell Phone Can Help in an Emergency!"

Did you know the many ways that your Mobile Phone can actually be a life saver or an emergency tool for survival. Check out these 4 things that you can do and place a copy in your vehicle.

FIRST (Emergency)

The worldwide emergency number for mobile devices is 112. If you find yourself out of the coverage area of your mobile network and there is an emergency, dial 112 and the mobile will search any existing network to establish the emergency number for you, and interestingly, this number 112 can be dialed even if the keypad is locked. Try it out.

SECOND (Locked Keys in Car)

Have you locked your keys in the car? Does your car have remote key less entry? Then this may come in handy.

If you lock your keys in the car and the spare keys are at home, call someone at home on their cell phone from your cell phone. Hold your cell phone about a foot from your car door and have the person at your home press the unlock button, holding it near the mobile phone on their end. Your car will unlock. Saves someone from having to drive the keys to you. Distance is no object. You could be hundred of miles away, and if you can reach someone who has the other 'remote' for your car, you can unlock the doors (or the trunk).

THIRD (Hidden Battery Power)

Imagine your cell battery is very low. To activate, press the keys *3370#. Your cell phone will restart with this reverve and the instrument will show a 50% increase in battery. This reserve will get charged when you charge your cell phone next time.


FOURTH: (Free Delivery Service for Cells)

Cell phone companies are charging us $1.00 to $1.75 or more for 411 information calls. Most of us do not carry a telephone directory in our vehicle, which makes this situation even more of a problem. When you need to use the 411 information option, simply dial:

(800) FREE411 or (800) 373-3411

This can be done without occurring any charge at all. Program this into your cell phone.