Date: Sun, 16 Mar 1997 Subject: The Saga of a Steel Magnolia in Silicon Valley

Hi All,

Wow, an entire month evaporated! Don't know where it went, but I'll try to convey some of what has been going on in the last few weeks.

Let's begin with our net site du jour.

http://www.mindspring.com/~inthewind The Home Page Of The Steel Magnolia

YES!!! Roswell's own Steel Magnolia has her home page up on the net at long last. I had no intention of this project being any different from any other one...however, it took on a life of it's own in the process. I think I'm ready for valium and a dye job, but the initial work is done. Now...I have to finish up the loose ends before the tinkering begins. Let me know what you think. Compliments graciously accepted, complaints/criticisms deleted. :-))) The back editions of my travel log are on the site in case you missed them. BTW...be sure to check out the photos of my travels before you move on.

'Star Wars', 'The Empire Strikes Back', and 'The Return of the Jedi' have been a major success one more time. Katherine wanted to see the movies on the big screen so off we went to the local theater, three times. I have to say that I enjoyed the movies although the new THX, ???, whatever sound simply meant that they turned the sound up as far as possible. I sat through all of the movies with my fingers firmly planted in both ears. During 'Empire' the noise coming from the speakers was augmented by the noise produced by the herd of teenage boys who took the rest of the seats in our aisle. They had a backpack with them and as soon as the lights went down, out came bar-b- que, chow mein, sodas, cookies, chocolates, and I don't know what else. Between the blasting on the screen and the munching next to us, it was indescribable. Well, Katherine was sitting closest to them. She politely told them to get quiet. They looked at her, fell in lust, offered her bar-b-que, cookies/chocolates and a soda and everybody became best friends on the spot. They also munched quietly after that. My oh my. Hormones and Blasters. What more could you ask for in a dark theater?

We went to Sacramento to meet my friend Carol a couple of weeks ago. Carol was gracious enough to go out on the river with us and demonstrate how to pan for gold and not take a bath at the same time. Since the water was freezing and the wind not much warmer, keeping warm and dry was a priority. We had major fun. Katherine even got a few flakes of the good stuff. I picked up some interesting river rocks for later inspection. It was hard to not go bonkers on the river bank. All of those roundy quartz rocks just laying there, exactly hand sized and waiting for me to take them home. Temptations, one after the other. I got several neat stones with a reverse crystal impressions. Whatever had originally formed the crystal was gone, but the indention in the rock remained. Fascinating.

Sacramento was a neat town. We didn't get much time to drive around, but the old town section had a flavor of the old west with city parks dotting the area. The new sections of the city were filled with modern, glass plated buildings. An interesting combination.

Well, they had two earthquakes out here this last week. We didn't feel them, but it was bad enough to have to hear it on the news. In Florida we had a hurricane closet, now we have an earthquake closet. What's in it? Start off with canned food and camping gear. My reaction to all this? Get me out of here! Now!!! Then sanity set in and I had a cup of cocoa. Everything got back into it's proper perspective. Warped, but functional. Bent, but not crazy.

Katherine is driving now. My cocoa consumption has tripled. Sometimes there is even cocoa in the cocoa. :- ))) I need all the help that I can get. I did ask at the driving school if they would consider a deal to keep her until she was old enough to vote, and drive well, but they declined. Oh well.

The weather is getting warmer and we are starting to plan our camping trips for the coming months. I'll let know what comes of it.

Until then, enjoy! Write when you can.

Jan Noble

The Steel Magnolia

steel_magnolia@mindspring.com

inthewind@mindspring.com

>From Roswell to Sunnyvale and beyond.

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If you would like to trade stories, email me at steel_magnolia@mindspring.com

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