Some will flinch and cringe that I would post such data, but Barb has embraced the passage with her usual enthusiasm. She’s been wearing a rhinestone tiara for two days and is totally convinced she has yet to reach the half-way point in her life. Barb continues to drink deep from the beer bottle of life. Her sister threw a little bash for her last night and it was wonderful to be in the room with someone so loved.
Tag Archives: Barb
October 28, 1978
It was a Saturday. Barb and I got married in her parents’ living room just before kick-off of the Missouri Tiger game. There was probably less than a dozen of us in the room since we limited the attendees to immediate family only.
Reverend Paul Harlan rode his bike in honor of the beautiful fall day. The ceremony couldn’t have taken more than 15 minutes. The “reception” was held on the Miltenberger patio and featured Igloo coolers full of beer. Late in the afternoon, everyone when home to get into Halloween costumes for the big party. I persuaded Barb that sending out engraved invitations was a cheesy plea for a gift. Our Halloween Party invitation did double duty. It was a great wedding…a great party…and every day of the past 25 years with Barb has been great. [Larger image]
Barb’s new Lexus
Barb’s Camry died (after ten years) so it was off to St. Louis to shop for a new one this weekend. I spent two very comfortable hours in the waiting area of the Lexus dealership while Barb talked herself into buying an RX330. Hard to call something this nice a sport utility vehicle. I confess to being pretty impressed with the Lexus “experience.” A greeter met us when we arrived and introduced Barb to her “sales and leasing consultant.” Apparently, you don’t have to sell the Lexus. The consultant is there to “assist you with your purchase.”
Lots of nice touches. If you have a breakdown on the road, Lexus sends out a flat-bed truck (“…we don’t tow”), puts you up in a hotel and provides you with a loaner. I watched the switchboard operator for a couple of hours. When she paged someone from the parts department, they arrived as quickly as they could. If they tagged on “…for a customer” to the page, the person arrived immediately. Just lots of little things like that. The dealership provided lunch for all employees. So, we started with a Tercel, then a Corolla, a Camry, 4 Runner and now, a Lexus. Well over a million miles in Toyota’s.
Barb with Dr. Denton Cooley
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Long before she became a loathsome lawyer, Barb was a nurse. Specifically, a Surgical Intensive Care nurse. Following nursing school, she spent a year in Houston working in the long shadow of Dr. Cooley. He was famous way back then and she had the good sense to get a picture and Denton Cooley letter of reference. (PDF)
“A world-renowned surgeon, Dr. Denton Cooley pioneered many techniques used in cardiovascular surgery. He performed the first successful human heart transplant in the United States in 1968. In 1969, he became the first heart surgeon to implant an artificial heart in man. Cooley and his associates have performed more than 100,000 open heart operations–more than any other group in the world.”
(Reuters) Dr. Cooley died on November 18, 2016, at the age of 96.