May 4 - john has opened the gate alittle to let Mom duck and her ducklings enter zenpond. The last two years they arrived on a Wednesday, so john told joyce that they would arrive today.

john and joyce had a garage sale and turned their old junk items into a new Japanese Lantern made of granite. john will post a picture of it shortly. It looks great in the garden!

May 6 - john and his friend Gene went to lunch yesterday and then went to see "The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy". The book is one of john's favorites. john warned Gene that the movie would be off the wall and zany. The photography was beautiful ... and indeed the movie is off the wall and zany. john will have to buy a copy of the DVD when it comes out!

Still no ducklings.

May 16 - Still no ducklings.

Yesterday john was driving along Metcalf Ave, just south of 104th Street. All of a sudden traffic came to a halt! There was Mom duck walking her ducklings across the 6 busy lanes of Metcalf Ave. Traffic came to a halt, several people got out of their cars and helped the ducklings get up on the curb on the west side of Metcalf. Traffic then resumed as normal.

Last Sunday john and joyce went with friends, Donna and Tim, to Powell Gardens. Here is one picture at the gardens:

May 25 - Here is the latest email from Basso (Honore) that john and joyce received this morning:

Good morning John,
Good mornind Joyce,
Good morning Tucky,



I have said in the past that Benin was not efficient in Internet or computer matters. We have an obsolete server that gets in failure from time to time and for many days. The week that followed the last message I sent to you, I went back to the Ciber Café to check my mail box. I noticed that you sent a message to me on 10th April. I did not succeed to read it, and I projected to getting in the next day. When I get back there, I could reach only my internet address, nothing more. The week that followed, even my e:mail address disappeared. Today, I come back to renew registering and surprise ! Everything was there with 05 messages in my mail box. I can read your messages and I am giving answer to some of them.

Here in Benin everything is going all right. I cannot complain about anything. I am not doing any job in order to add something to my pension. That is normal, if we consider that there are many young people running after some job. It remains for me agriculture and animal raising. But you need some financial investments to engaging those ways. I cannot afford it right now with my pension. So do I remain praising God to get something in addition to that pension.

How are you over there? I hope everything is going the right way.
I will respond correctly to your mails the next time. So, let me say good bye,

Honoré.

Still no ducklings. john and joyce may not have ducklings this year.