In the Cool of the Summer

August 1, 2017Life Its Own SelfPeggy1963

So, after more than a week enjoying North Carolina with two different sets of friends, we are back in Colorado for our annual visit. This year we were able to get here a few days earlier than usual and spend a couple of days with the friends who own the place where we stay every year.

In 2009 we told them where we stay for vacation every year, so they came to Colorado and stayed for a month. They had such a great time with their kids that they decided to buy a place. We have been the beneficiaries of their generosity ever since.

It was great to see them and to ride in a jeep up Montezuma with them and their kids. Their son is about to be a sophomore in high school and their daughter is about to enter junior high, so they are a lot of fun to hang around with. We were going to do a bike ride but it rained. The jeep trip was a great consolation prize!

Jim and Cindy left today, and tomorrow we have other friends joining us. Peggy and I spent today by ourselves walking and seeing the sights. When our friends get here we will do the (downhill) bike ride from Vail Pass into Frisco, CO. It is 13.1 miles of beauty and awe alongside Ten Mile Creek. I’m thinking about getting one of those “13.1” stickers that people are putting on the back of their cars to convince others they have run a half marathon. Surely 13.1 downhill on a bike is the same kind of challenge…

We love bringing folks up here with us. It is obviously a special place to us since we have been coming back for the thirty-two years since we got married, and it is a special joy to share it with our friends. And, it doesn’t hurt that we have been here for two days and the temperature has not gotten above 65 degrees. In August.

It’s a dirty job…

Lovely ladies luncheon in River Run Village

Stopping in Denver

July 29, 2017Life Its Own SelfPeggy1963

When Peggy and I come to Colorado each year we typically drive. It is about a twenty hour drive from Baton Rouge and we usually do it in two days. Since we are coming off the trips to North Carolina, and since I have to drive to San Antonio as soon as we get home from vacation, we decided to fly this year.

Now, you need to understand that the reason we usually drive is because it helps me acclimate to the change in altitude. In the past we have flown up to Denver and come immediately into the mountains. When we did that I seemed to get sick for a couple of days. It took us a few times to figure out that my symptoms were actually altitude sickness. The gradual change in altitude when driving does not seem to create any symptoms in me.

When we do fly now, the remedy has been to spend the first night in Denver and give my body the chance to acclimate in that way. It seems to work, and Denver is a nice place to spend a night. So we flew into Denver today and we are staying at a favorite hotel in the Arts District called, simply enough, Art. I assume it is because of the location and not the owner’s first name.

Denver has some pretty good restaurants that we have visited, but the food here at the hotel is also excellent. Additionally, the hotel has a really cool outdoor bar where we spend quite a bit of time on each visit. I’m sure an outdoor bar four stories up in the Denver air probably has fairly limited utility seven or eight months each year, but in late July it is primo (I have also been here in late September and it was pretty much awesome then, too). We enjoyed dinner and spent a couple of very relaxing hours sitting outside in the cool night air.

We will get up tomorrow morning and make the drive into the mountains, feeling confident that no altitude sickness will befall me. All in all, it’s not a bad way to travel.

We are looking forward to seeing two different sets of good friends up here on this trip, but really we are just looking forward to being back in Peggy’s happy place. I’m sure I’ll keep you posted on how it’s going.

Still Standing By Me

July 25, 2017ObservationsPeggy1963

I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was 12. Jesus, does anyone?

That is the final line of a great movie that was made when I was already an adult, but it captured my group of friends perfectly. I really have never had better friends than I had then.

That is what makes it so cool that we still get together every chance we can. Every year if we can make it happen, but always at least every other year.

It’s no small feat! The group consists of ten of us — eight who have been together since we actually were twelve years old and younger, one who came to our school in the tenth grade and one who moved into town our senior year. Those ten men live in Northern California, Tucson, Dallas, Memphis, Nashville, Tampa, Charlotte and Baton Rouge. We try to spread the wealth on where we congregate, but in reality the guys out west get screwed. And they still show up!

A majority of the group went on a senior trip together to celebrate graduating high school. A smaller subset went to Europe to celebrate graduating college. One of the guys married the wrong woman and disappeared from our lives for a while. When he figured out his mistake he was welcomed back with open arms, no questions asked. We have gathered single, with girlfriends, with wives, with children, and with new wives. Our wives love each other and have exhibited remarkable patience hearing the same stories for thirty-five years. To our credit the stories don’t change too much as we get older.

This week we met in North Carolina for our “NC-17” trip. Conveniently, Peggy and I were already in North Carolina for a work trip, so it worked out great for us. The gang member that lives near Charlotte was our host, and for the first time in a few years all ten of us were able to make it. It was just incredible. We played golf (mostly poorly), we went sightseeing (and are now mostly poorer), we rode on the lake, we ate, we drank, and we reveled in old memories and old friendships.

We ended the last evening with a screening of the movie that one of my friends is producing called “Beautifully Broken”. It’s the movie that Peggy was filming in Baton Rouge last Easter. It is almost finished now and we got to see it and see the story that our friends lived through. And cry and rejoice with them in the happy ending.

Three doctors, an engineer, a financial planner, a retired Air Force Colonel, a horticulturist, an athletic director, an insurance underwriter, and a COO. Seven different colleges. All from the same small town in Louisiana but now all over the country.

I know I am getting older, and I realize how rare it is to have a group of friends like this. I can’t wait for the next time we all get together.

Yeah, we all pretty much out-kicked our coverage with these ladies…

Job Stuff

July 19, 2017Life Its Own SelfPeggy1963

When I started this blog I made the conscious decision not to talk about work. First, I think I owe my employer my absolute best at all times, and talking about what happens at the office is not in line with that belief. Secondly, job stuff is never as interesting to other people as it is to the people at the job.

I’m breaking that rule tonight. I am leaving my current job with a fantastic company to pursue something completely different. I am not only leaving my job — I am leaving the industry in which I have worked for my entire thirty-three year career.

This was not an easy decision. In fact, I put it off for more than a year hoping it would go away. I have loved my job here in Baton Rouge, and I have loved the people with whom I work. They are almost like family to me. In fact, when I told the CEO I was leaving, I told her the only thing that could have made me leave is family.

I am going to be joining my brother in a business in San Antonio. As I told the CEO, the new situation has everything you could ever want — lower pay and in an industry I know nothing about! But my brother’s business is growing and he asked me to come help. So, I am.

We do not plan to leave Baton Rouge. Not only do we love it here but our first grandchild is about to be born next month. I will be working from home some, but mostly I will be traveling back and forth between Baton Rouge and San Antonio.

We are currently traveling with the Board of Directors this week, and it has been really nice to be able to spend time with them and let them know how much I have appreciated working with them and with this great company. I would love to someday maybe have the opportunity to come back, but right now I am doing what I need to do. But they are great people, and I will sorely miss them.

After this Board Retreat, Peggy and I are traveling to see my group of closest friends. We are very excited for that trip at the same time we are sad to be leaving this great group of folks. Life is funny that way.

After a week back in Baton Rouge, Peggy and I will make our annual trip to Colorado. Then, I will begin working in San Antonio. Here we go…

Heading to the final dinner with the Board. A great night.

Earlier at the Biltmore Estate. Cats always seem to find me…

What a Summer

July 6, 2017WTH?!Peggy1963

Five years ago. It is almost hard to believe it has been that long.

Peggy was in the beginning stages of dealing with her mother’s Alzheimer’s disease, and I knew it was going to be a tough summer. I decided to rent a place at Lake Travis for the entire summer so that we could go anytime we wanted to and relax. Man, did we need it and did we use it.

We joined a boat club where you pay so much each month and you get to choose from whatever boats they have available at the time. Since we really didn’t care what kind of boat we got it was a fantastic arrangement for us. Most of the time we got pontoon boats, even though it was just the two of us. It was perfect for us. We would find a spot in the lake to anchor and just lay there or swim until we felt like moving to another spot.

If Peggy wasn’t in Dallas with her mother we were there on the weekends. I was working on a special project in Austin for my company, so we were there on a lot of weekdays, too. We finished each day in the pool and then sitting on the back deck watching the sunset.

We took a million pictures that summer, but one in particular popped up today and it is one of our favorite memories from the summer. It wasn’t Peggy in a bathing suit (though those were several of my favorite memories) on the boat; it was us on the back porch one night after dark. We would sit out there having a drink and smoking a cigar and talking about all of the things that were happening in our lives. Every night Peggy would request to take a picture while we sat out on the porch, and every night I would tell her it is too dark for a picture. Finally, one night after we had spent all day on the boat, finished it off in the pool and were back home with a drink enjoying the back porch, I agreed to let her try.

We have laughed about that night ever since. Understand, at the lake after dark it is dark. To take a picture you need to use the flash. When you are in the dark and your eyes see a flash, what do they do? That’s right, they close.

The more pictures we took and the harder we tried to keep our eyes open, the funnier it got. If the neighbors had been outside I am sure we would have irritated them. But we still laugh about those terrible pictures. And that beautiful, awful, wonderful, terrible summer.

We finally got one picture where we both kept our eyes almost open and without too pained an expression on our faces. That picture was among the ones that popped up today as a “five years ago today”. There were awesome pictures of my gorgeous wife in her bikini on the boat, but this is the one that prompted me to write tonight:

I started laughing again as soon as I saw it. And I just laughed when I attached it.

Sometimes you just have to do the silly stuff. It helps with all the other real stuff.

Father’s Day at the Beach

June 18, 2017FamilyPeggy1963

I have written before that Peggy and I end up in Destin each year for Father’s Day due to a conference that I attend each year. It is becoming a fun little tradition that we really enjoy. Apparently, we were not the only people who thought Father’s Day at the beach sounded like a good idea. Here is the view from our table at lunch today:

It was a perfect day for hanging out outside. Not too hot. Bright sunshine. There are going to be a lot of sunburned people in Florida tomorrow.

The “tradition” we have started got me to thinking about the men in my family. Now that my son is married I have thought that it would be fun to try to get all of the Skaggs men together and get a picture of the event. It would be challenging since we live in several different places, but I think it would be a great thing to do while my father is still alive.

I wasn’t sure where the idea came from, though. Then I came across this picture:

All the Skaggs men — circa 1990. My brother, my cousin, me, my father and my grandfather.

I did not remember this picture being taken, but that is all of the Skaggs men. I know it was taken before 1992 because that is the summer my grandfather died, but I do not really know when it was taken. The length of the shorts — and the loudness of my shirt — makes me think sometime between 1988 and 1990, back when real men wore short shorts.

When I look at that picture and see my cousin, I realize how fortunate I am. Tommy’s father died before he was a teenager. My father did the best he could to be the “father figure” for his brother’s son, but I know it was tough. Tommy (he’s not called “Tommy” anymore, except by us) has two grown sons of his own, so a current picture would now have seven men in it.

I just think it would be something that one of the young men would look back on in twenty-five years and think, “I wonder what we were doing when they took that picture?”

I hope you still have your father to celebrate with this year. If you do, enjoy every minute — and take pictures of it!

Geaux-maha!

June 12, 2017Life Its Own SelfPeggy1963

LSU overcame Mother Nature and Mississippi State tonight to qualify for the College World Series in Omaha, or as we say in South Louisiana, Geaux-maha!

It was a long night — five hours due to the rain — but the end result was worth the wait.

When you are a college baseball fan there is nothing more important than qualifying for the College World Series. When you are the fan of a team that has qualified for the College World Series fifteen times — oops, make that sixteen times after tonight — it is possible to become a little bit spoiled. Six National Championships and 17 SEC Championships lead to the expectation that there is really only one way to end a season.

So, our last night hosting for the year was a big success. It’s pretty hard to screw it up when your team makes the World Series.

And maybe the best thing about it is we got to share it with our nephew, a proud LSU graduate who happens to be working as an intern in Baton Rouge this summer as part of his graduate program. He is living with us and putting up with old people who need him to house-and-pet-sit a little too frequently. So the LSU game felt like the least we could do.

I hope they win it all, but they did the most important thing. They got there.

Geaux Tigers!

I’m glad Bradley got to go with us, too!

What a Day!

June 11, 2017Life Its Own SelfPeggy1963

Today was an amazing day. And I am totally beat!

Peggy and I have season tickets for the touring Broadway shows that come to the beautiful Saenger Theater in New Orleans. We like to go down the night before and spend the evening in New Orleans, have dinner, stay at our favorite hotel on Canal Street, and go to the Saturday matinee before driving home.

This time, though, we had an engagement on Friday night. And an engagement on Saturday night. So we just made the run to New Orleans for the play and came back.

We have seen “Mamma Mia” before, and, frankly, it is not a huge favorite of mine. However, it was quite enjoyable and the cast was excellent. And the Saenger is always a treat. We managed to sneak into town early enough to enjoy lunch at one of our favorite restaurants, too. So, all in all, a successful artistic foray into the city.

Then we hot-footed it back home to change clothes and make the most important engagement of the day — LSU hosting Mississippi State in the NCAA Super Regional to determine who will play in the College World Series, with Peggy and I hosting clients at the game.

What a night! LSU was behind from the first inning until the eighth inning when the Tigers scored four runs to win 4-3.

Comedy and music in the afternoon. Drama, excitement and great friends in the evening. We’ll be back at Alex Box Stadium tomorrow night to see if LSU can punch their ticket to the College World Series.

But right now, I have to go to bed!

Broken Vows

May 25, 2017FamilyPeggy1963

Nothing means more to me than the vows I made to my wife. She is the most important human being in my life, and I pride myself on keeping the promises I have made to her for the past thirty-six years.

This week I stumbled. I have to come clean. I broke a vow to Peggy that I made almost exactly nine years ago.

I couldn’t help myself. She was so cute; a true damsel in distress. There was really nothing else I could do but stop to help. And that was it…

Nine years ago I went for a walk and came home with two kittens. Actually, I only came home with one. The other was brought to our house a day later because he had been returned by the kid who took him home. I had a feeling it might happen, so I had told the owner to bring him to me if they brought him back.

After that incident Peggy made me promise that I would not bring home any more animals.

This week I broke that promise. I had ankle surgery six months ago, and three mornings a week I go to rehab trying to regain the use of and strength in my leg. This morning on my drive to the facility I saw something in the road and thought an animal had been run over. As I drove by I saw that it was still alive and basically frozen in the road with fear. I turned around and went back, fearing that I would arrive too late. When I got back to the spot she was still alive, so I picked her up and took her home.

Peggy wasn’t expecting me back so soon, so she immediately assumed something was wrong with me. I told her, “I don’t want you to be mad at me, but I really need your help.” The kitten had climbed up behind the glove compartment in my car and I couldn’t reach her — I needed Peggy’s much skinnier arms. I told her to put on her gloves and come to the car.

The kitten was so young she still had her bright blue eyes. She was still scared but she let Peggy reach her and bring her inside.

She has now been at our house for a week. Her eyes have changed to their real color now that she is weaned. And she might be the cutest thing I have ever seen. After a couple of days of adjusting our two adult cats are playing with her.

I am still guilty about breaking my promise to Peggy, but I think she is going to forgive me. In our thirty-two years of marriage this is now the eleventh cat I have brought home (along with three dogs). Our animals live forever, so we will have plenty of time to get used to this one. Since I found her in the road in Louisiana we named her LaRue (but I spelled it LeRoux because all of our animals have names that are food-related — it’s weird, but deal with it).

Meanwhile, Peggy seems to be warming up to the idea…

Being a kitten with two adult cats is just exhausting

At the Box

May 13, 2017Life Its Own SelfPeggy1963

Peggy and I have a standing date night every Friday night. Sometimes we go out to dinner and then go back to the house to sit on the porch. Occasionally we go to a movie and then go back to the house to sit on the porch. In the spring we sometimes go to the LSU baseball game and then go back to the house to sit on the porch.

This weekend is Mother’s Day, and for the first time in many years we are not traveling anywhere for Mother’s Day weekend. We just got back from a trip to Scottsdale, so we decided to stay home instead of heading out again. Our dog and two cats appreciate the consideration.

Since we are in town we hosted a group of clients in the suite at the baseball game tonight. It is always a great pleasure to host our clients, and doing it in a suite in the best college baseball stadium in America just adds to the enjoyment. We have food, drinks, snacks, game programs — everything you could want to enjoy a baseball game. Oh yeah, and it doesn’t hurt that we have one of the best baseball teams in the country to watch.

I love to watch LSU play any sport, but there is just something about a baseball game that makes it the perfect way to entertain clients. The pace of the game is slower so you can have conversations with people and not miss anything. The noise at a football game makes it hard to relax and visit, but baseball encourages visiting.

Tonight the weather was perfect. It was cool enough that everyone was comfortable without being too cool to enjoy the game. We have had some rain this week but the field was dry and in great shape. The suite was full of excited people ready to have a good time. If this is work I’ll take it every day of the week.

The good guys won. Any guesses about what Peggy and I did after the game?

The Half Centurian

Everything Changes After 50