MIKE & LINDA’S NEWSLETTER^©

AUGUST 2000                                    In our 7^th year - Since 1993                       Volume 8, Issue 2

EDI Y’All ! From the Editor

Welcome to the new millennium. This is our first NEWSLETTER^© of the new century. Some would say the new century does not begin until 01/01/2001, but by then we will have forgotten all of this and we can once again claim that we are putting out the first NEWSLETTER^© of the new century…twice in 365 days.

Well, anyway, welcome. We hope you enjoy this issue. It is packed with old news. When we did three-month publications, our news was much fresher, but we had less to report on. Now, because of the time we have to work on things, a six-month publication will have to do, unless and until we can get more input from our readers.

This is our first attempt to publish the NEWSLETTER^© over the World Wide Web.  This first one is rather long, and has omitted a lot of data, but the next one will be more current, we hope.  

When you see a photograph (usually with a blue border around it) click on it to see a larger version of it. At the end of the NEWSLETTER^© use the link to our feed back page to tell us how you like it..

STEVE & BERNIE BAZZLE’S ANNIVERSARY

Saturday, January 8, 2000 found many of the Bazzle family and their kin at the Trinity Hall at St. Anthony’s Catholic Church, in Walterboro, SC. The occasion was the 25^th Wedding Anniversary honoring Steve and Bernie Bazzle.

A large crowd turned out for the occasion and a splendid time was had by all in attendance. Several of those in attendance had a more splendid time than the others, but it was all in fun.

The food was great and the music was fantastic. After the DJ played several CD’s and the group got warmed up on the dance floor, a karaoke machine was set up and many tried out their vocal chords.

  STEVIE BEACH HAS A BIG BIRTHDAY

Stevie Beach was asked, while attending the Bazzle 25^th, "Don’t you have a birthday this month?"  "Um, uh, yes." Stevie replied, almost as though he had to think about it in order to reply.  Mike said, "By golly, it’s next Saturday night, too, right? "Um, uh, yes." Stevie replied again. "It’s number fifty."

Well, that settled it. We had to plan a party, and plan one we did. Well, Jack and Jane planned it. Jack got oysters and Jane invited Stevie’s cousins. She invited Linda, Stevie’s sister, too, but more about that later.

The oyster roast went off well and Stevie was well pleased that his Aunt Merle’s children had the party for him. Cake and presents concluded the evening and Stevie went home with a smile on his face. So what else is new, right?

LINDA CRAVEN PRACTICES AN OPERATION

Linda Craven had two practice runs to the hospital to receive a new heart. She was hesitant when first called, saying that her pacemaker was doing a good job and that she thought she could do without the transplant.

The first run was the evening before her brother Stevie’s birthday party. Since the operation was not allowed to continue at that time, Stevie was available, but Linda and Dennis were not able to attend. Linda’s doctor convinced her otherwise. After two disappointing runs to Charleston, a good match was finally found.

Linda did real well with the operation and the recovery. She stayed in a hospital-sponsored apartment complex, convenient to the hospital and its staff.

A brief (?) seven weeks after her operation, she was allowed to return home to her family to resume a normal life. Linda is doing quite well now.  But don't stop mentioning her in your prayers.

CYBER DATING ON THE INTERNET

Mary moves to Florida…no, Atlanta, GA: Mary Ann Catherine Worden Frakes and Rusty have decided to each do their own thing and go their own ways. Rusty is staying in the log cabin they built together, and Mary has relocated to Atlanta, a change in the earlier plans to move to Florida.

Mary and Curtis met after several encounters on the Internet. They both seemed to be what the other was looking for. Curtis has taken a job in Atlanta, and Mary has found one in the same office.  She "fell" into this job by being available; and well qualified.

     MERLE WORDEN’S BIRTHDAY WAS A BIG..
..hit again this year, as always. Almost all of her children and parts of their families who lived within driving distance were in attendance.

A covered dish dinner was hosted at the home of Jack and Jane Lyons, a frequent location for family gatherings of late.

Miss Angela Bazzle, oldest daughter of Steve and Bernadette Bazzle married Mr. Donald Russell Beliveau at St. Anthony’s Catholic Church on Saturday, the twenty-sixth of February 2000 at three o’clock in the afternoon. 

Immediately after the ceremony, a reception was held in the church community hall. There was plenty of food, an open bar and a DJ kept the crowd entertained. Donnie and Angela departed around seven pm, but returned shortly afterward; they didn’t want to miss out on the fun everyone was having on their behalf. The party finally wound down around ten p.m. Angela was heard to say, "Any party that lasts seven hours HAS to be a good one."

FROM SANDRA WORDEN AND BRANDON

HEY, how is everyone? Everyone is Mississippi is doing fine. I got pictures of Brandon made at Wal-Mart. Besides the drool they turned out great. 

He cut two teeth at three months old. The pediatrician had to see it to believe it. And at five months he has said "bottle" and continues to say it every time he is hungry. He has said "Hi" and gave a slight wave (we think.)

We all miss you.        Love Always,            Sandra and Brandon

MUCKENFUS ROAD RAMBLINGS
By Amy Tice

On January 26, 2000 Cottageville got a good amount of snow. The roads were clear so it was all just a pleasant surprise. Christmas was not so good with out Timmy around but we are making one day at the time.

Not much is else going on in Cottageville. We are looking forward to the birth of Erica Hoff's first child. Said to be a HE; would be Timmy's first grand and Ma and Pa Hoff's first Great Grand.

Miss Jennifer Rose Worden, daughter of Henry Stephen and Nell Rose Hoff Worden [will] (has) wed Mr. Brian Crosby on April 1^st 2000. Plans are (were) under way for a very small wedding; only 20 people or so. But all you Aunts, Uncles, and others do not fear, when thing settle down we will have a big party for them.

Back in December, Gary Barr sent an e-mail to Mike and Linda saying they had made plans to take a trip to Florida in March. They wanted make a wide swing through Georgia to stop off on their way down, if we would like to visit with them for a while. We said sure, come on down.

They came through on the Friday before Mike’s surgery the following Wednesday. The stay was brief but a lot of catching up was done. Mike and Gary had not seen each other since 1959. Mike was thirteen and Gary was about four years old. Needless to day, about all they could reminisce over was their parents and grandparents.

Sue brought along some recent photos of their family, but Mike did not have time to scan them into the computer.

ALICIA SIXTOS TURNS 3 YEARS OLD

Katie and Juan Sixtos’ daughter, Alicia turned three years old on April 17^th. A birthday party was held for her at her parents’ home to commemorate the occasion. All of her brothers and sisters were there to help eat cake and ice cream.After the cake and ice cream, all the children ) went out in the back yard  to   enjoy Alicia’s new swing set and inflatable gym.( except for Juan Miguel, of course.)    

MIKE WORDEN HAS A GROWTH SPURT

Okay, here goes - - For a while, now, I have had a problem getting a good night’s sleep, waking several times during the night. Many times, when I awaken, I lie in bed, staring at the ceiling in the dark. Some times I couldn’t fall back to sleep for several hours. Usually, without fail, though, I did manage to drift off just before the clock went off, signaling me that it is time to get up for the day. These restless nights were affecting my ability to get my jobs done.

I finally went to our family doctor’s office one Saturday morning, after another restless night. I was armed with a whole list of problems I was experiencing: loosing sleep; itching rashes on my legs; sore shoulder (probably from the gas they pumped inside me during a recent appendectomy). I wanted to tell them what was going on in my life that might be causing the restlessness.

I actually saw a nurse practitioner. She wanted to set me up to see a "skin doctor" about the rash on my legs, to start with. When I left the office, it being Saturday, no one was available to schedule my appointment with the specialist, so I received a call on Monday morning, telling me when to go to the specialist’s office, and where it was.

On the day of the appointment, I left work early to find the office. Finding it, and filling out all of the papers required of a new patient, I sat and read magazines for one hour past my appointment time.

Coincidentally, while reading the magazines, I came across a photograph in the  back of a "Fortune" magazine taken in 1946, after the war was over and they began making metal toys and not hand grenades.

The toy shown in the photo, being made on an assembly line was the red pressed steel truck with the blue stake bed on the back. I recall a photo of my sister, Jane and me playing with one of these about 50 years ago. If you have one of these stored away in your attic, I’d like very much to talk with you about it.

While sitting in the lobby, I noticed several posters on the walls that advertised a brand of hearing aids. Having worn aids in the past, but not finding satisfaction from them, I am always watching for another opportunity to improve my failing hearing.

When the nurse finally called me to the back, she had me sit in the chair and proceeded to take my pulse, blood pressure, etc. Then she asked, "What are you here to see Dr. Zoller for today?"

I relayed the problem I was having with the rash on my legs that had persisted for perhaps 10-15 years. She then left the room, insisting that the doctor would be right in.

The configuration of this office is quite compact. The hall is rather narrow, and the offices, doors were left open, are easily peered into and patients overheard. Across the aisle, to my left, a teenage girl was having some packing removed from her nasal passage, much to her disagreement. That door soon was pulled closed.

To my right, I could see a gentleman and his wife. He was in the chair and the doctor was discussing how a particular wound had healed.

Then Dr. Zoller came in. He is quite an elderly but spry gentleman and a friendly doctor. He had a band around his head with a light reflector connected to it, as had I seen on several of the doctors in that practice.

After a few congenial greetings, Dr. Zoller asked, "What are you in to see me for today?"

"I needed you to look at a rash on my legs. Dr. Heneisen’s office wanted me to have a specialist look at it and make suggestions." I said.

Dr. Zoller’s response was, "You mean, you are not here to see me about a problem with your ears, nose or throat?" This is an ENT specialty practice."

I replied, "Well, I have a problem with my ears, but that was not the purpose of my visit today."

Being accommodating, the good doctor said, "Well, as long as you are here, let’s take a look at your ears. What problems are you having with them?"

I explained that my hearing had begun failing for about 10 - 12 years. I even went as far as to wear hearing aids about 7 years ago, but gave them up when they did not seem to make my situation any better. I continued to explain that the hearing in my left ear

was much worse than the right ear, to the point that I could not comprehend what was said on a telephone if I listened with my left ear.

He peeked, he probed, and he asked… He even got out a tuning fork and asked if I heard the sound coming from it.

After all of that, he suggested that since I was there, why didn’t his staff go ahead and provide me with a hearing test. With that, the receptionist walked me around to the audiometry booth and asked me to have (another) seat until the audiometrist could get to me.

When someone showed up, they began to discuss the situation. "We have a referral number (required by my insurance company prior to service being rendered by a specialist, in order for the service to be covered and reimbursed) for you to see the doctor about your rash, but we have no referral number for you to have a hearing test. And the office is already closed. You will need to reschedule the appointment."

Then they handed me the charge sheet for the visit. I paid my co-payment and drove home - - quite livid.

The next day, I made an appointment to see my family doctor, making sure He was available for the visit.

When I kept the appointment, I explained the problems I was still having getting to sleep at night. I had prepared a "Script" so I wouldn’t leave out anything that was causing me issue.

I mentioned the sleep disorder. I mentioned the rash on my legs. I mentioned the frustration over his office scheduling me to see an ENT specialist for a skin rash, I mentioned my work load and my concern over financial matters. I wanted to mention anything that could remotely be causing me not go get sleep.

He diagnosed my problem as possibly being a chemical deficiency that occasionally occurs in many gentlemen of my age. He prescribed me a new medication, but also set me up to see the skin specialist (the correct one this time) and also made an appointment for me to see the ENT again, officially this time.

After my hearing exam, Dr. Zoller was so concerned over my profound hearing loss in my left ear, he thought it best to have an MRI done to see if something was growing inside my head (that was not supposed to be).

Turns out, I had an Acoustic Neuroma on my 8^th cranial nerve. It is the one that controls hearing to my left ear. Also bundled in that canal are found the nerve that controls facial muscles on that side, and the nerve that controls balance.

I underwent surgery on Wednesday, March 29^th beginning at 7:00 a.m. It lasted for five to seven hours. Linda had lots of help waiting. Merle, Hank, Tommy, Katie and Audy Davis showed up and waited out the ordeal while I slept.

I finally awoke around 3:00 p.m., to Linda’s voice saying, "Hey, Babe! How do you feel?" After that, about every ten minutes, those who had hung around rotated in and out of the ICU center, but I was in no shape to enjoy their visit. But it did mean a lot to know they had been there.

Mike Worden – at home - four days Post-op!

When the doctors finally came in, after I was awake, they assured me that the operation had been a success and everything went as planned.

I spent five weeks at home, recuperating – sleeping – watching TV –  working on my  laptop computer – talking to my boss on the phone – wanting to be doing other things. Linda and Celeste made sure I did not over-do. Any time I forgot and leaned over to pick something up, Celeste would say, "Oo^o_o^ooh, (make your voice go up and down sort of like a police siren) Papa, you’re not supposed to be leaning over!" and down the hall she would go to tell her Grannie. 

About 9 days after surgery. Looks like about 20 stitches. 
I developed several complications during my recuperation. Cerebral Spinal Fluid (CSF) began leaking from the top of my stitches. The doctor ended up putting two additional stitches at the top of the incision and applying a tight compress bandage, similar to the picture on the previous page.

Then an incision that was made during surgery, on my lower belly caused a problem. The doctor had removed some fatty tissue from my side and packed it into the incision behind my ear to fill the gap he had made and to replace anything that had "leaked" out during surgery. [Believe me, many people, upon learning of this requirement, immediately volunteered to offer some of their own "fatty tissue".]

That incision began healing from the outside - in, leaving a sizable cavern in my "belly" that needed to heal from the inside - out. To combat this, Linda got up enough nerve to pack the incision three times a day with a product called "NuGauze" a sterile product that, when soaked in a solution called Deckins solution, promoted healing. This time it healed from the inside - out.

Now you know more about my condition than you ever hoped to find out. I trust I have not bored you with the details, but I knew, from the time I scheduled the surgery that I would be all right. After all, I had been accidentally misdirected to see the Ear, Nose and Throat Doctor to have a skin rash seen about. With the things going on in my life right now, I might have gone on another three or four years before I said anything else about my failing hearing. When I did say something, it might have been to someone else who would not have sent me to have the MRI scan done.

By the way, I lost ALL hearing in that left ear, but my skin rash cleared up. 

JACK AND JANE RENT A BEACH HOUSE ON HUNTING ISLAND

Jack and Jane Lyons rented a cabin on Hunting Island State Park during June and let it be known that visitors were welcome.  Mike, Linda and Celeste drove over one afternoon, after the sun had passed its hottest point of the day.  Jason, Angie and Chandler were there when the Wordens arrived.  

On the way to the cabin, following a narrow paved road, bicyclers were seen pedaling along.  Mike, not long out of the hospital, and not fully regained his strength, commented, "Look at those people pedaling their bicycles when they sell gasoline just a mile or two back down the road!"    

LINDA BEISE WEDS MIKE SCHMIDT

Ruth Beise sent us a wonderful article on , Linda Marie Beise's wedding to Michael Schmidt, son of Randall and Kathleen Schmidt.  The couple were wed in St. John’s Catholic Church in Seymour. on May 27, 2000, but unfortunately, the NEWSLETTER^© staff has shamelessly misplaced the article.  However, a photo of Linda has been provided and is shown here.

WORDEN'S BUSINESS TRIP TO ATLANTA

Mike and Linda drove to Atlanta on June 24th, the day after their 32nd  wedding anniversary on Gulfstream business.  One of the buyers in Mike's group had been nominated as "Buyer of the Year" and was invited to attend the Georgia Minority Supplier Development Council banquet.  ...black tie affair.  Mike and Linda went along as support, since Mike's boss was unavailable. 

Celeste had just had her tonsils removed on the Friday before Mike and Linda left for Atlanta on the following Thursday.  When they called Katie to check on Celeste, the phone rang once.  Celeste picked the receiver up and squeaked, "I want to talk to Grannie!"  She didn't even wait for me to say "Hello!" She knew it was going to be me.  C

Celeste felt so bad, we cut out trip short and came home the following day, after paying Maryann and Curtis a visit, mentioned earlier in this publication.

WORDEN’S BUSINESS TRIP TO MAINE

Early in July of this year, Mike was assigned to assist General Dynamics down select from a list of bidders, several choices for a new Office Supply Provider.  Bummer-a trip to Maine in July, when it was 106^o in Savannah and 71^o in Maine.  The excursion was planned for the week of July 7 and Linda and Celeste went along for the pleasure.  

The first thing we noticed when we checked in was how cool and crisp it was outside and how hot it was in our room.  No air conditioners.  There was a ceiling fan about 10 feet up, but no adjustments caused it to cool our room. We slept with the windows, curtains and Venetian blinds open. We were on the East side, overlooking the 9th green.  Every morning, Mike awoke around 5:30 am  with the full sun shining in his eyes. He got up, got dressed and went across the lawn to the lobby for coffee.

While Mike was working at the Bath Iron Works Purchasing facility, Linda and Celeste enjoyed the day at Sebasco Harbor Resort, a complex on Sebasco Bay, about 12 miles form town.

Meals were available and well prepared.  Activities were planned for the younger set to free the adults up to play golf, read books or whatever they needed to do.  

One day, Linda and Celeste went canoeing: just the two of them.  Another day, they climbed a mountain with a guide and a whole slew of other guests.  

One evening, the resort had a lobster bake on the lawn, with all the trimmings: salads (vegetable and pasta) boiled potatoes, hot fogs, steaks, open bar, etc.  That was a treat.

They also had a sun-heated Olympic size swimming pool, next to the bay.  We waited until late in the week to try that one out, as the water was about 54^o. 

At the end of that week, the three drove the 145 miles back to Boston to catch a plane.  There was a delay and no one left the airport that night, but arrived home safely on Saturday, about mid day.

After a week back at Gulfstream, it was time for Mike to return to Maine to negotiate the contract.  This time, only Linda went along while Celeste stayed with her Mommie, Katie.

It was nice to get off -just adults- but this time, we brought along a window fan.  Much better!

We were 12 miles from Freeport, a little factory outlet village, where the entire town had been converted to factory outlet stores.  L. L. Bean is there.  They kept a good deal of our money.

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Watch for these and other great articles in our next issue - probably some time in December 2000:

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Well, that's about it for this issue. We hope you liked it and will  tune in for the next issue.  We realize it was a bit long, but hey, what the heck...

We'll send out an e-mail to announce the next publication.  Thanks for looking. Y'all come back, now, ya hear!  And don't forget to sign out guest book on the feedback page.