Subject: [No Subject] Received: Tue Sep 29 02:57:09 1998 From: djhammond@cyberdude.com --------Tear Here--------------------------------- ____ ______ / \~/ \ / ^ \ ___________________ | / \ | \(( === ))))))))/ Douglas Hammond |( @ )=( @ )| djhammond@cyberdude.com {| ~~ | ~~ |} __ __\ < / 9 Main St. / \ / \\ \___/ / Brantford, Ontario \ \ / / \_________/ N3R 3X3 \ _ V / | | Canada /\/ \ _ | ((((((((((( / | )/ _ \ __________________ \_/\_/(_/( ) \_ _/ \_ / Subject: Cable modem up and runnin'!! :) Received: Tue Sep 29 23:34:38 1998 From: "Travis A. Vowles" Hey Jacob! It's up and running! I am now the proud owner of a Cox Cable Modem. :) hehehe! It's so nice! It's fast and a permenant connection. It's cool!!!!! hehehehe!! I went to see Mrs. Pardue today. :) She was really happy to see me and said that I looked completely different! hehehehehe! And well...hmmm...that's really all that's up...just wanted to let you know...the commercial break for the season premier of Buffy the Vampire Slayer just got over, so I gotta run! I'll talk to you again on Monday. :) Su Amigo, Travis Subject: *hugs and stuff* Received: Thu Oct 1 17:59:08 1998 From: poohbear493@juno.com (Anna C Naylor) Hey cutie! I miss you so much. How are things going down there? Is it weird to have a new companion? It's good that he'll protect you. I want to have you come back in one peice. You will have to send some pictures. How are your hands doing? I finally quit Starship and I'm now looking for a new job. I'll let you know when I find one. I hope I find a good job soon. I need the money for school and normal living expenses. Mom is coming up to visit tomorrow night. I am so excited because I miss her a lot. She's bringing the boys, but Lizzie has to stay for school. Unfortunately, Lauren is coming up to do die-cuts, so I don't know how much of mom I will be seeing. I hope more than a few minutes in and out. Well, I should get off to bed. It's 3:30 am and I have school at 8:00. Well, I will write more later and I hope to hear from you soon. *hugs and kisses* Christie Subject: Hello. Received: Thu Oct 1 20:35:35 1998 From: Travis Vowles Hi again. I'm about and hour and a half early for my SAESO meeting tonite, so I thought I'd write to you. :) Let's see...what's happened since I last wrote to you... I think that Lauren and I are getting back together. She said the distance "Made her realize how much she missed me." We went to see a movie today and then went shopping (woohoo...umm...no). Oh well...it wasn't that bad shopping. But anyway, we'll see how that goes! I know that we are going to the Employee party this Saturday at the Wild Animal Park, so that should be a lot of fun. The theme is a Ho-down...don't know if I'll like that or not...you KNOW i'm sure a country fan...umm...whatever.... Anyway...there's really not much to tell you...not much going on here...oh well... I'll tlak to you later! Travis Subject: Your Choice...... Received: Fri Oct 2 03:02:52 1998 From: poohbear493@juno.com (Anna C Naylor) Read this, and let it really sink in...Then choose how you start your day tomorrow... Jerry is the kind of guy you love to hate. He is always in a good mood and always has something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, "If I were any better, I would be twins!" He was a unique manager because he had several waiters who had followed him around from restaurant to restaurant. The reason the waiters followed Jerry was because of his attitude. He was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, Jerry wasthere telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation. Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up to Jerry and asked him, I don't get it! You can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?" Jerry replied, "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, Jerry, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or you can choose to be in a bad mood. I choose to be in a good mood. Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life. "Yeah, right, it's not that easy," I protested. "Yes it is," Jerry said. "Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people will affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It's your choice how you live life." I reflected on what Jerry said. Soon thereafter, I left the restaurant industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it. Several years later, I heard that Jerry did something you are never supposed to do in a restaurant business: he left the back door open one morning and was held up at gunpoint by three armed robbers. While trying to open the safe, his hand, shaking from nervousness, slipped off the combination. The robbers panicked and shot him. Luckily, Jerry was found relatively quickly and rushed to the local trauma center. After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, Jerry was released from the hospital with fragments of the bullets still in his body. I saw Jerry about six months after the accident. When I asked him how he was, he replied, "If I were any better, I'd be twins. Wanna see my scars?" I declined to see his wounds, but did ask him what had gone through his mind as the robbery took place. "the first thing that went through my mind was that I should have locked the back door," Jerry replied. "Then, as I lay on the floor, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live or I could choose to die. I chose to live." "Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?" I asked. Jerry continued, "...the paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the ER and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read 'he's a deadman'. I knew I needed to take action." "What did you do?" I asked. "Well, there was a big burly nurse shouting questions at me," said Jerry. "She asked if I was allergic to anything. 'Yes' I replied. The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, 'Bullets!' Over their laughter, I told them, 'I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead'." Jerry lived thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude. I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully. Attitude, after all, is everything. You have two choices now: 1. Delete this. 2. Forward it to the people you care about. Hope you will choose #2. Subject: To all those friends important in my life Received: Mon Oct 5 03:04:52 1998 From: "Travis A. Vowles" Dear Lauren, Jacob, Antoinette, and Nathan, The four of you are the friends in my life that I feel closer to than any others. I love all of you greatly, and I wish I could tell you all this individually, but it hurts, so I'm going to type out the details once and let you all have it here... Some of you know, other's don't, that in 1991 by dad was diagnosed HIV+. He contracted the disease from a blood transfusion he received while having nasal surgery. Since then, he has had many health problems and has been in a great deal of pain. Last night, Saturday, October 3, dad was brought home from his usual Saturday night hang out at the races by some close freinds. He was barely able to walk on his own, and immediately went to bed, stopping only long enough to tell my mom that he loved her and that he promised to get better. The night went on, until about 3 the next morning when dad tried to get up to go to the bathroom. He collapsed on the floor and couldn't get himself up. Mom immediately came to get me, and the two of us tried to pick him up and put him in the car. He was like a rag-doll...he had no control over his body and lifting him was impossible. Mom called the paramedics and he was taken down to Scripps Memorial Hospital East County with a blood pressure of 60/20. Mom followed the ambulance down, and I came slightly later...only long enough to drop Brett off as my Grandma's house. I arrived at the hospital at 5 am to find him in the emergency room. He was completely incoherent and only said repeatedly that he wanted to go home. After about an hour in the Emergency Room he was moved to Intensive Care. There was when the hardest part came for my mom...which had the affect of being hard on me. Dad's living will stipulated that he did not want to be kept alive artificially, even so, the doctor's still asked mom whether or not she wanted him placed on a respirator. A question to which her head gave one answer and her heart another. Finally, after about an hour, and many tears, she decided to honor dad's wishes and refused the respirator. From about 6 am that morning, dad was in Intensive Care. He had about 6 IV's plugged into him as well as an oxygen mask. He was diagnosed with Pneumonia. The fluid filling his lungs caused his breathing to sound almost as if it were underwater. In addition to the Pneumonia, the other problems he faced included the possibilitied of Spinal Meningitis and Internal Bleeding. The fluid in his lungs caused the hemogloben in his blood to not carry the full amount of oxygen his body needed. I watched over the long hours as slowly he started to turn a darker shade of blue. Several times he came out of his sedated state and tried to fight against the restraints yelling "Let me up. I want to go home." All the family and close friends showed up, most staying for the entire days, over 2 dozen people in all. He continued into the night, then, at around 8:45, the fluid in his lungs caused Congenitive Heart failure and he passed. I am just thankful that his painful ordeal is over. I know that he was a good man and that he will always be with me in my heart. I wanted to make sure that you all knew about this, but it hurts too much to explain the details to all of you individually, plus, over the phone, I usually can't get much of anything out. I care about all of you greatly! I will let you all know when the service will be, thought I know most of you can't make it. Thank you all for you friendship and love! Travis Subject: Re: Received: Mon Oct 5 17:44:32 1998 From: Donna Pardue Hey Jacob, I don't know if you aware that Travis 's dad passed away last night. I could tell from your last message that you probably hadn't heard. I am so sorry to give you this terrible news but you really need to know. I talked briefly to Trav and they're pretty tore up. I don't know what else to say. Love, Donna Subject: After Death, Day 1 Received: Tue Oct 6 01:20:43 1998 From: "Travis A. Vowles" Jacob, We had to go to Pacific Beach Mortuary today to arrange the certificate of death and choose the urn for his ashes. I am going on Wednesday to be the witness for the cremation process. I think my cousin Laurie is going to go with me. If not her, Antoinette said she would be willing to. That I think is going to be the hardest thing for me between now and the funeral... The funeral though is looking like it will be fantastic! I can't believe the support that's been coming through! My phone's been ringing off the hook all day that I've been here...it's amazing. The service will be held on October 8th at 6 pm at Cajon Speedway. It seems a fitting tribute to dad...I will be sure to let you know how everything goes. You're going to have a lot of e-mail for me next week! I'm trying to be strong and be happy with the knowledge that finally all his years of suffering are over! Thank you for being there and being my friend! You mean so much to me! Travis Subject: Funnies Received: Tue Oct 6 14:53:14 1998 From: poohbear493@juno.com (Anna C Naylor) >><< In case you needed further proof that the human race is doomed, here >> are some actual label instructions on consumer goods: >> >> * On Sears hair dryer: >> Do not use while sleeping. >> >> * On a bag of Fritos: >> You could be a winner! No purchase necessary. Details inside. >> >> * On a bar of Dial soap: >> Directions: Use like regular soap. >> >> * Some Swann frozen dinners: >> Serving suggestion: Defrost. >> >> * On a hotel-provided shower cap in a box: >> Fits one head. >> >> * On Tesco's Tiramisu desert: >> Do not turn upside down. (Printed on the bottom of the box.) >> >> * On Marks & Spencer Bread Pudding: >> Product will be hot after heating >> >> * On packaging for a Rowenta Iron: >> Do not iron clothes on body >> >> * On Boot's Children's Cough Medicine >> Do not drive car or operate machinery >> >> * On Nytol (a sleep aid): >> Warning: may cause drowsiness >> >> * On a Korean kitchen knife: >> Warning keep out of children >> >> * On a string of Chinese-made Christmas lights: >> For indoor or outdoor use only. >> >> * On a Japanese food processor: >> Not to be used for the other use >> >> * On Sainsbury's Peanuts >> Warning: contains nuts >> >> * On an American Airlines packet of nuts: >> Instructions: open packet, eat nuts. >> >> * On a Swedish chainsaw: >> Do not attempt to stop chain with your hands Subject: Chatting Received: Mon Oct 12 01:08:37 1998 From: "Travis A. Vowles" Hey Jacob. I'll be on-line Monday around 11:30 Pacific Time. Hopefully I'll be able to chat with you then! I'll be waiting at http://members.tripod.com/~Naylorius/chat.html If that's not the right addy, let me know so that I can find my way into the chat room! I'll talk to you then Bud! Your friend, Travis