The Ties That Bind

        THURSDAY, MARCH 13TH

  Family members all gathered together for
our last day in Ruskin, Florida. We shared
spaghetti, meatballs, and family stories.
  We recalled a beautiful week spent
together and then worked together to solve
a family problem.
   My brother-in-law Bud and I have been
dealing with a frustrating situation that must
confront all men at one time or another.
   The shoe laces provided with our sneakers
are far too long for the foot ware! We now
realize why inmates have them taken away1
    Even when double knotted the ends stick
out far enough so that we eventually step on
them and untie our own sneakers while we
walk!
   The combined minds of three sisters, their
brother, and Bud concluded that the laces
should be shorter. Brilliant, right?
    So began a somewhat scientific process
which involved a scissors and the flame from
an ignitor. The laces were carefully....well
maybe not carefully.....but quickly trimmed
by several of the women and Bud while my
brother-in-law George burned the freshly
cut edges so they might be reinserted into
the empty eyelets.
    Minutes later, it did seem like a half hour,
Bud was able to place the sneakers back on
his feet and tie the lace with a much shorter
overhang of extra length.
   It seems to be working well. We'll call
later this week to see how many times he's
either fallen or had to retie the sneakers.
  The next step will be marketing the extra
lengths of shoelaces we trimmed away! 
  Hope everything fits for you and that all
your NEWS is good.