If you’ve followed our discussion of our new home in the northwest, you know that the first trip out, I drove to work or Georgia dropped me off and picked me up… Or, I hitched a ride with Fuge, the CT tech who worked there at that time. I also demonstrated that if you stand on the railroad track at the corner of the vet school grounds, you can see the Poultry Building that houses our apartment while in Corvallis. It is roughly a mile. Last winter on our second trip, I decided to rent a bicycle for transportation to and from work. Got a bit more exercise, although I did have to buy a “skull cap” to keep my head warm on the trip. The present stint is only 2 weeks long and the weather is great (sans rain) so I decided to finally do what my doctors have been asking me to do for several years. Walk about 20 minutes at least once a day. Yesterday was my first day to walk to and from work. The weather was great. I enjoyed walking down the track and then on the bike path I had ridden last winter for the last 2/3 past the stadium where the Beavers play football as well as the basketball arena. In February, they were restoring the west (I think) side of the basketball building and now they are working on the other side. Looks like a massive undertaking. I also walked by the Naval Science building (hut) and the USMC playground as well as the tennis courts. While walking down the track the first morning, another of those random thoughts came zipping through my head. I was looking at the railroad ties as I walked along. Some full and solid while others were decaying. Why are they called ties??? Oh no, here we go again. Another word that I have used all my life, yet, I don’t know what it means. 
How many of these words can be left? As I walked on, pondering this new puzzle, I came to the conclusion that it was probably obvious. They tie the tracks down and at a specific distance apart… During the day, I asked a few people and I don’t feel so bad because it seems that many people never thought of it. When I got home I looked it up. I found all kinds of railroad ties for sale. Many uses for them, most of which I had employed in the past. Good old Wikipedia went into this whole diatribe with no definition. Finally I found a definition: “one of the cross braces that support the rails on a railway track”; the British call a railroad tie a sleeper; crosstie, sleeper, tie. Now I know; and so do you. Just after high school graduation, I worked at a feed mill (called an elevator). At that job, I unloaded lump coal from railroad cars and loaded cars with grain to be shipped away. Yesterday at work was great. This is the first week on clinic duty for the OSU class of 2010. It is the most fun time to teach because of the newfelt enthusiasm the 
students bring. This time was doubly great because this group of students are the first students I taught basic radiology to during winter quarter of 2008. The first time since I retired that the students were taught using my thinking processes. No “retraining” so to speak. This group did very well for the first day. It was also good to restore acquaintances and friendships I had made during the other 13 weeks I have worked here. There is however a hole left by the absence of Carol Coulton. Today was another great day at work. In addition, Greg had sent the link to pictures of their U2 tribute band. http://gallery.me.com/prezmcmahon#100213 At one point, I put up a picture of Greg in full dress at the mike and asked the students "Who is that?" One of them said, "Is it Bono" I said, "He would like to be, but he's my son." Greg; does that make your day????? Here are a few pics of flowers in our neighborhood and one of the veterinary college and some of the 3 rooms that I inhabit while working here.
How many of these words can be left? As I walked on, pondering this new puzzle, I came to the conclusion that it was probably obvious. They tie the tracks down and at a specific distance apart… During the day, I asked a few people and I don’t feel so bad because it seems that many people never thought of it. When I got home I looked it up. I found all kinds of railroad ties for sale. Many uses for them, most of which I had employed in the past. Good old Wikipedia went into this whole diatribe with no definition. Finally I found a definition: “one of the cross braces that support the rails on a railway track”; the British call a railroad tie a sleeper; crosstie, sleeper, tie. Now I know; and so do you. Just after high school graduation, I worked at a feed mill (called an elevator). At that job, I unloaded lump coal from railroad cars and loaded cars with grain to be shipped away. Yesterday at work was great. This is the first week on clinic duty for the OSU class of 2010. It is the most fun time to teach because of the newfelt enthusiasm the 
students bring. This time was doubly great because this group of students are the first students I taught basic radiology to during winter quarter of 2008. The first time since I retired that the students were taught using my thinking processes. No “retraining” so to speak. This group did very well for the first day. It was also good to restore acquaintances and friendships I had made during the other 13 weeks I have worked here. There is however a hole left by the absence of Carol Coulton. Today was another great day at work. In addition, Greg had sent the link to pictures of their U2 tribute band. http://gallery.me.com/prezmcmahon#100213 At one point, I put up a picture of Greg in full dress at the mike and asked the students "Who is that?" One of them said, "Is it Bono" I said, "He would like to be, but he's my son." Greg; does that make your day????? Here are a few pics of flowers in our neighborhood and one of the veterinary college and some of the 3 rooms that I inhabit while working here.
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