Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Ft Myers visit

I went to Florida for a few days over the weekend. I wanted to see Dad and my sisters there but scheduled some teaching time, too. I tested Matt Walk for his second degree black on Friday, along with Bill Damewood and Genie Byrd. Matt passed after some hours of mental and physical duress. Congrats to him!
That same day I had lunch with Dr. Marc Rowe, who had taken over my tai chi classes at the hospital and is also now teaching on Sanibel. He's an interesting guy to talk with and I enjoy our time.
Saturday I taught a seminar on three extensions to a small group of Tampa and Ft Myers students. We covered both Defying and Returning Storm as well as Heavenly Ascent. Ed Cabrera was down from Tampa with two of his students. Always good to see them. I ran into Wendy Pollack and her husband, Corey as well as Peter Annazone, too.
On Sunday we had a CPR/AED certification course at Genie Byrd's studio. I taught, tested and certified six more lifesavers. They did well on the material and coped very well with the wrinkles I threw in. They handled two rescuer scenarios well, too.
On Saturday night I had dinner with one of my former Civil Air Patrol pilots, Alan Davis, out of Naples. He's a great guy and it's been too long since I'd seen him. 
I was finally able to meet up with another old student, Pete Miragliotta. Pete is one of my original Ft Myers students and holds a 4th degree. He's a gentleman and a professional. It was a pleasure to sit with him for a few hours and catch up.  
I spent some time with one of black belts (and good friend) who has been diagnosed with cancer. He's fighting and seems to be beating it. Good to see that.
Overall, it was a busy trip but enjoyable to say the least. Thanks to all who supported the training sessions. I plan to be back in April.

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