6/7/11 IT'S A SMALL WORLD AFTER ALL!

Good Day so far! We started at Panera Bread for the usual sesame bagel. I made calls to MDACC to get Leukemia Department scheduler to schedule and order a full CBC with PTT so it will be ready for the Bone Marrow Biopsy (BMB) tomorrow AM. I had read on line late last night for BMB prep that a full blood test with PTT must completed within 48 hours of the test. The one Joe had on Monday as only partial blood test and did not have a PTT as well as it would be over 48 hours old. Thank Goodness I caught this since it would have created a mess and a huge delay. I ran into the grocery store to get Joe some OJ, Congratulation cards for the girls and a USA Today. When we got back to the room at 11:50 AM and I signed on to see if the CBC test was ordered. It was scheduled for 11:30AM. They must have thought that we were at MDACC when I had called earlier so we were already late before we even knew we were late. We hopped back in the car to MDACC and had the test done at the 8th Floor Leukemia Fast Track Lab. The Fast Track area was all brand new and so much more room than when we were last there in July 2010. They were efficient and quick. Next we headed to lunch at Luigis for a small pizza which was yummy good. Since we were so close to downtown, I drove over to Minute Maid Park and bought two Club level Baseball tickets 4th row, visitor side between third base and home. The Braves are playing the Houston Astros this weekend starting Friday night. Since it should be our last night in Houston, I splurged and got good seats. The Park is enclosed and kept at 72 degrees inside so it should be comfortable for Joe. It is a real treat for the both of us since we are huge Braves fans. Now we have a few hours of rest before we have dinner with some travel friends that we met in Valparaiso, Chile. It should be a delightful evening!

It is now 9PM and we have returned from our fantastic South American dinner with Don and Joanie Haley of Houston, Texas. They picked us up at our hotel. When we came out of the elevator, I recognized Joanie from her back since she was asking for Bonnie Evans but there was no Bonnie Evans at the hotel but there was a Kathleen Evans. I stated that I bet this lady is looking for “Bonnie” Evans but she could not find her at this hotel. Well, here I am. We gave each other a big warm hug and smiles and went to the waiting car. Don drove as we talked away a mile a minute catching us on news. They were amazed that we saw more of the Houston area than most Houstonians and we sure get around! The South American restaurant was called America’s and was decorated with unusual pizzazz and in bright colors. Our waiter, Salvatore, was from Palermo, Italy and did an amazing job waiting on us. Joe and I ordered steaks churraso and they were perfectly seasoned, hot, tasty and tender. All four of us shared one order of Tres Leche since so many of the reviews raved about it. It was scrumptious. As we were leaving the restaurant Joanie and I had to use the restroom. There were four doors. Three were marked Men and only one was for Women. This restaurant is nuts since it should be the other way around so Joanie went into the door marked Women’s and I went into the door marked Men’s. It was a beautiful well designed restroom. I came out before Joanie and I mentioned in the lobby to Joe that the restaurant had three men room and only one ladies room. The hostess heard me and said that I needed to open the women’s door and that there were eight stalls in there. You could have fooled me. She walked back there with me and opened the door. I thought I was in a Fun House with Mirrors at the Circus. The bathroom was a sight to see and each stall was like one of the Men’s Room. I was laughing pretty hard when Joanie came out of her stall. It was quite a surprise with the decorated black and white mirrors on all four sides and door stalls. I have not seen anything close to that since I was a little guy at the Fun House with all their wiggly mirrors. Upon leaving the restaurant Don and Joanie took us around the old grand part of River Oaks with all the Oil Magnets huge homes and walled lots with impeccable perfect landscapes. I love the Fig Ivy that they grow on the fences and sides of the homes. It is so flat and thick, lovely to look at. The immense old 100 year oaks that adorned the area were God’s gift to Houston. What a wonderful fun evening given to us by the generous Haleys. We have another wonderful memory to share on top of Chile. It is a small world after all!