How’s it going? I know all of you want to know what I did with Kong’s poop. Well, I walked up to my boss and told him the whole story. I apologized and I told him, “I’m sorry“. My boss was much happier because he found out that I was trying to work and no one was trying to play a prank on him. He said that the next time I bring Kong into the office, he should be on a leash. I felt a lot better after I confessed to him. I think May is going to be a fantastic month. I’m really looking forward to Mother’s Day and I have a big surprise for you guys, you just have to stay tuned!

The other day my sister Liz and I talked about Rachael’s first kiss. I told her about our conversation. We started laughing and giggling away reminiscing about our past. We used to have a lot of fights when we were kids, but we were also co-conspirators sometimes, too. Whenever I got some candy or treats I used to save some for her. I made sure she got a bit of whatever I got. We’d share our Halloween candy and Easter egg hunt treats. When I was really little, like when I learned how to walk around, Liz told me that I had a bad habit of following people. I’d think they were my dad and wander off. This was a regular thing when we went shopping for groceries, so Liz always had to keep an eye on me and made sure I didn’t wander off with strangers.

She kept that eye on me until I got into high school. I was one of those kids who didn’t have a growth spurt until later. When I went to Middle School, all the girls were taller than me, and that’s always difficult when you’re just becoming a teenager. The big kids tried to bully me, but before anything major happened, Liz always managed to show up. Hey, big sisters are useful at times! When I got to high school, it was easier because I was really active that summer and suddenly I was as tall as the other kids in a new school.

Rachael’s school had their last parent-teacher night before the big graduation. David was going to be busy at the firm so Liz asked me if I wanted to be there with her. I told her, “Of course Liz, I’d love to be there, but what should I say? I’ve never been to a parent-teacher night before.” Liz smiled and replied, “Oh, don’t worry Bob, just follow my lead,” then she winked at me. That was our signal when we were growing up, to just follow someone’s lead. We used to do that a lot when we pulled pranks on people.

I hadn’t been in a school in a long time, and boy, are East Coast schools different from the ones I went to! There’s not much space outside the school and the playground was really tiny. We met Rachael’s teacher who said that Rachael had developed a lot since she started 5th grade.

Visiting Rachael’s school reminded me of a parent-teacher night when I was in Middle School. My English teacher was the one who told my parents that I had a talent for writing. I used to get all A’s on my assignments in her class. She didn’t just teach me grammar, she also pushed me to explore the why and how of things, always challenged me to do more. She told my parents at the parent-teacher night that they should really nurture my writing skills. And you know when you’re thirteen; it was a really big deal. Not only did I take it seriously, my mom took it seriously as well. My mom said, “Ya, I always thought Bob was going to be a writer.” Life took a couple of odd turns since then, but I landed myself in this job where I can write to you guys every week. What about you? Did you have influential teachers when you were in school, or even college? If you’re still in school, who is your favorite teacher and why? Write me back and we’ll select a couple of interesting stories and publish them on our feedback section!

You know, the entire week of May 4th to May 10th is Teacher Appreciation Week, you can always drop by your old school, or call your teacher up and let them know where you’re at in life now. I’m sure they’d be really glad to hear from you.

I’m co-conspiring with the veterans at the hospital to throw a surprise party for Laura and the other nurses. We’re planning to get flowers and boxes of chocolates. I mean flowers shouldn’t be for just the patients–they can be for the nurses too! It’s going to be for this Nurses Day.

I know that a lot of my readers are also nurses, so a shout out from my side–Happy Nurses Day! You should really enjoy yourself the whole of next week–Nurses Week. Nurses Week ends on May 12th, which also happens to be Florence Nightingale’s birthday. Florence Nightingale a.k.a. “the lady with the lamp” was the founder of modern nursing. Most of us know about her because of the stories we learned in grade school of how she nursed the soldiers even at night. What we don’t know is that she was instrumental in establishing a comprehensive system for medical care–even in the time when women were not allowed to lead publicly. She made changes from the back stage. Nightingale made a huge difference, which all the nurses continue to make everyday.

Last year, we decided to take a cruise out around the Hudson with a bit of Latin dance and dinner for Cinco de Mayo. We started off at Chelsea Pier around 7 in the evening. It was a perfect night to be out on the water. The weather was really pleasant and the food and music was terrific.

Of course Rick started his drinking even before we were aboard, so by the time we left the harbor, he was sufficiently “tipsy”. His girlfriend dumped him just a couple of days before so he was still on that heartbreak roller coaster. I was still with Aaliyah then, Kate was with her ex-boyfriend. It’s funny how we’ve moved on since then and all the friends are still in touch with each other. By the time we came about Ellis Island, Rick started country line dancing to salsa music. I don’t know how the man does it, but he was drunk enough to do it. Somehow the beats seem to work to his favor. Soon he had the attention of the entire boat, everyone was staring at him dance!

When the music ended, Rick stopped dancing and the whole boat clapped to his honor. And he started bowing to them! It was a really funny sight, I tell ya. After he was satisfied with his ovations, he came back to our table and sat. “You know Bob,” Rick said in a thick Texan accent–another sign that he’s really drunk, “I think I can get used to the idea of going on a cruise every now and then.” As I was about to answer him, a blonde woman walked up and introduced herself. She wanted to dance with our man Rick. And off he went to another dance! They danced almost the rest of the trip, and the mysterious blonde disappeared right before we docked. When I looked for Rick, he was asleep, his head resting on our table. I woke him up and said, “Rick, we gotta get off the boat man, there’s hardly anyone left.” Rick looked up at me from the table, opened one eye and said, “I’ll get up when the boat stops. Wake me up then.”

Not wanting to disappoint him, I had to tell him the truth, “Rick, the boat stopped already.” That’s when Rick got up and looked around, “Oh, then we should leave the boat.” He replied, acting like he knew what was going on all along…

Well, I hope you have a happy and safe Cinco de Mayo. And that’s all I have time for this week. Before I go though I’d like to share this Zen quote from Florence Nightingale, she said, “I attribute my success to this–I never gave or took any excuse.” I think a couple of people in Megan’s old office could stand to read this quote, don’t you think? What about you? What’s your secret to success?