The Picnic

[Guest guest]

The picnic was wonderful! The weather could not have been better.

There were post-ops, pre-ops and just folks wanting to talk to those

who have had surgery. There were lots of children and lots of

spouses..sisters...etc etc.

It was wonderful to get around and talk to everyone although I would

have liked to talk to many more people and for much longer..but I

noticed that most of us circulated and got to talk to lots of people.

Cameras were everywhere and whereas we used to hide when a camera

came out...that was not the case today.

The food was wonderful but there sure was a lot left. Ginny did a

wonderful job, and so did , Eileen and others (whose names I

don't know and I don't meant to slight them) and was just an all

around great day. I don't know who the gentleman was that was cooking

the burgers but he worked very very hard and the burgers were delish.

Our own cooked the chicken and I heard reports it was great too.

Don't know who made the pink " stuff " , kind of a fluffy pink colored

dish..but it was awsome and I wish whoever made it would post the

recipe for those of us who like to cook.

Dr. Rutledge was there with his beautiful wife. She is gracious and

friendly and yes, thin. It was nice to see him again and it was very

nice to see and chat with his lovely wife. She was genuinely

interested in talking with us and to hear about our new lives. He was

in wonderful spirits and it is apparent he loves to see the results

of his handiwork.

Lots of before pictures were whipped out and there were many, many

oooo's and ahhhh's about how much weight folks have lost.

This was just a fun, fun day. The commeraderie is so apparent. It is

quite moving to see folks meet each other for the first time but

" know " each other so well. This medium through which we communicate

and touch hearts is truly awsome. See you all next year!

Flo from land, still in Raleigh

[Guest guest]

Hi Debbie: Sorry you couldn't make it. You might want to email

V..her email is Valmaboyz@... She will probably know if there

are any activities going on tomorrow. I usually miss very

little...but tomorrow I'm heading home so I'm not aware if the " gang "

has anything planned. Next time Debbie!

Flo from land posting from Raleigh

> Flo,

> Thank you for posting a report on the picnic. I am just sick that

I didn't

> get to go. I had to be out of town for work all day. Is anyone

planning on

> getting together tomorrow anywhere? I would love to meet with you

guys.

> Have fun!!

> Debbie form Raleigh