I'm Baaaaaack !! (PART 3) AGAIN

[Minnesota Fats]

I'm Baaaaaack !! (PART 3) AGAIN

Well fellow Gringos I'm Baaaaaack !! (PART 3) AGAIN which is the next in the ongoing mini-series by Minnesota Fats.

I hit a couple of minor snafus to get Colombian wife # 4 on track with the two lovely teenagers of hers. But me and my associate Gonzalo Zuniga (gonzaloservices@yahoo.com) 011.572.557.9056 (sorry for throwing in the plug Ray) were able to overcome them.

With us it ain't really about the money except to pay our bar bill for the few Poker's we swill at the local tienda AKA Nestor's.

No for us it is a continuing learning experience. Anyone heard from Father Timothy lately ? I want to find out if he can do an off the record wedding for Calena number 4 so after her and I get married here we can all go back to Cali around Xmas and really let the clutch out in front of her family. Since I am out of the league for extreme drinking just give me a hot water bottle and a heating pad and let the others wile away the evening while I go to bed in the backroom watching re-runs of Peg Bundy flipping her fat ass around on "Married With Children".

Oh well, seriously fellow Gringos I have learned a lot in this last romance. And it has gone from a romance to enjoying a serious life together and navigating through a serious challenge with a Cali soccer mom and her two lovely teenagers.

And that's it. I am in my mid 50's and I want to sit on the sidelines watching the ballet, the soccer game, and the hockey game here in Minnesnowta wrapped in a plaid Pendleton wool comforter looking at my watch wondering when my next dose of Metamucil is due. And my future old lady and the kids have no problem with that. And that is for real - real talk.

The Mrs. got a fine body and a lovely appearance but it ain't about that no more. Share the Haagen Daz with me baby and please turn the timer on the TV so that it goes off when the Jay Leno monologue ends at 11:00 P.M. CST.

Bottom line is we're getting old folks. Gonzalo and I started this 10 years ago and you know what "WE'RE STILL AROUND".

And how does it get done ? By always being honest with the authorities and having your documents complete and in order. That's it. (HINT HINT election year) If you have something you think you need to hide work through it because there is a strong chance that if you lay it all out there they (INS, Embassy, State Dept.) will work with you. Why you may ask ? Because right now and especially right now they are more interested in admitting those who stand in line and are willing to come here legally then those who sneak across our borders illegally. (Carrying sacks of coke and meth and weed.) BOTTOM LINE.

That's it you all for now. And for those like me who had to do an IMBRA waiver don't be afraid. Just lay it on the line and tell it like it was. We all make errors. My dad who was a well known music teacher in Northern Minnesota (worked w/ Bob Dylan often) once told me that if you don't make mistakes in life then you ain't learnin' ****.

And in closing I am trying to talk my fiancee and her brother (future brother-in law) to let me play Lynrd Skynrds song "Red, White, and Blue" at our simple wedding here at the Government Center in Minneapolis. Minnesota.

And sorry Lost Again but that's the way it is.

Carry on.

Fatso

[BIG E]

Honest... blunt.. and to the point. I LIKE IT!

Good evening from Paris

[Minnesota Fats]

TO Azjetpilot: Thank you fellow Gringo. My fiancee, who is still in Cali waiting for her Embassy interview to be scheduled, admires my honesty and getting to the point. And actually she is much the same way. This attribute and our mutually strong senses of humor is what has kept us attracted to one another since the first time we met in December, 2004. Plus she lives across the street from Gonzalo. When we all get together down there I swear to God one would think they just stepped onto the set of a "Seinfeld" show.

All the neighbors in this barrio are very chummy with one another. Plus my fiancee has lived in this barrio since birth. So everyone knows everyone else. And I've been familiar with this neighborhood for almost 10 years now.

She is 9 years younger than me, she has two wonderful teens who are still close to their natural father. And that's fine with me. They never married. She is the equivalent to an American "soccer mom" (here in Minnesnowta we call them hockey moms) and I doubt her son will be able to get involved because for that sport you need to start learning when you learn to walk. That's when I learned. But if we do go to any games just for fun we will dress warm - guaranteed. The temperature in my hometown in Northern Minnesota three days ago was minus 40 without any windchill factor included. I mean it was a straight, clear, crisp 40 degrees below zero and no wind.

But we won't be living there anyhow. My bones are showing wear and tear so I was serious about the hot water bottles and heating pads at night.

Anyway all for now. Again Azjetpilot it was great to get your input all the way from Paree, France.

[Sailover]

When 50 is old, it is time to think about leaving Minnesota. Old is very much a state of mind, (until your balls touch the floor). If you think young, and more importantly, if the people you are around think you are young, then the party doesn't have to stop at 11. (athough these DO go to 11) (well, that's one better, isn't it?)

[Minnesota Fats]

TO Sailover: As far as leaving Minnesota I'll be honest, I don't know where I would go. I am a native Minnesotan however during my life let's say after I graduated from high school I have lived in Hawaii (Oahu - North Shore, Kauai as an ironworker), Alaska (co-pilot on cargo DC-3 during the infamous pipeline), Colorado Springs (Digital Equipment) and Schaumburg (lead sw engineer for Motorola Cellular). The rest like college and grad school for instance was here in Minnesnowta. So that's my brief resume for GringoTalk.

I have been a frequent visitor to Cali, Colombia since 1998 so this is how I manage to keep falling in love with these Colombianas and then marrying them. But # 4, well she's for real and we have dated the longest, going on 4 years now. So her and her kids well we are all family now.

As far as Minnesota goes here it is. I live in Bloomington which is just south of downtown Minneapolis. I live 15 minutes from the MSP airport, the Mall of America, the local USCIS office. The world famous Mayo Clinic is an hour away. I have visited there often especially when I worked as an engineer for Medtronic, a medical device company.

Minnesota is always number one or two in surveys about quality of life, access to state of the art health facilities and health care, education, universities, low crime rate and also Minnesota is immigrant friendly. Although I have issues with the illegal immigrants here since my beliefs are you need to apply legally and stand in line like the others. Oh well. (Sorry Lost Again !! again)

The other thing I love about Minnesnowta is the change of seasons. This is spectacular here. My favorite seasons are spring and fall. Summers are nice too and we do have hot spells so my Colombian family will probably pick summer as their favorite season. I grew up in Northern Minnesota on the Canadian border. And when people would ask what do you do there in the summer our response was "if it falls on a weekend we have a picnic !!". LOL

As far as being immigrant friendly I'll put it this way. People here fall over one another to help them out, to help them adjust and matriculate. The state is mostly of Scandavian descent. All of my grandparents immigrated here from Finland so I am one hundred percent Finnish. When I was a kid my relatives used to tell me that I have blue blood.

So that's about it. But I will say this. My fiancee and I have made plans for our lifelong future together. And after the family gets established here and gets well in to their careers and education we will probably be making Cali our second or other home. They have their roots there and I do too. I have actually spent one-fifth or 20 % of my life there and for me Cali is my second home. I have many, many friends there.

I know that we will be traveling there back and forth a lot to visit their family and relatives and for me to visit my friends too. Besides my dentist is located in Cali and right now I have to have my bridge replaced.

So we won't be strangers to Cali after everyone gets situated here. It is their home and my second home.

You know I just remembered that when I lived in Hawaii for about two years in the early 70's the thing I missed the most and it really affected me was the change of seasons.

Well all for now.

Minnesota Fats (AKA tubbo)

[LastLion]

Welcome Back Fats! I have read some stuff on you in the past!

Originally Posted by Minnesota Fats

As far as being immigrant friendly I'll put it this way. People here fall over one another to help them out, to help them adjust and matriculate. (AKA tubbo)

Question? never visited Minnesota, but are you sure you all aint just happy to have people who want to live there , let alone visit !!! jajjaja

I mean that is **** cold, how about locking yourself up fo 4-6 months!

I lived in chicago and visited Wisconsin, at least chicago had a lot to do! But I still wonder why people choose to spend have their lives indoors!

Question, did any of your Calenas before like living there? I mean it is night and day between Cali, Colombia!

[BIG E]

Originally Posted by LastLion

I mean that is **** cold, how about locking yourself up fo 4-6 months!

I lived in chicago and visited Wisconsin, at least chicago had a lot to do! But I still wonder why people choose to spend have their lives indoors!

There is SO much to do in the midwest during winter outside or inside. I dont understand why people complain about the cold so much... if you dont like it... MOVE!

Besides, thats a hardcore workout. Get out and run 2 miles in the snow... good cardio for ya. Shovel some snow. Ski. Sled. etc etc

[LastLion]

Originally Posted by Azjetpilot

Besides, thats a hardcore workout. Get out and run 2 miles in the snow... good cardio for ya. Shovel some snow. Ski. Sled. etc etc

Yaa if you like hockey and skiing! Which I love! But other than the great sport of snow shoveling pathways and driveways and scraping ice off the car windows not much fun!

I guess being born in Hawaii, screwed up the old "giving a **** about the seasons thang"!

BTW , I did live in Chicago, & D.C. springs and falls are amazing, summer is bearable, but long winter are not!!!!!!!!

Fats, still curious on how the Calenas liked it up there! Was it an issue? For the gals?

[Minnesota Fats]

TO LastLion: Calena # 1 arrived here in the month of March with her 4-year-old son. The boy loved it. He loved trudging around in the snow all the time. I have an incline outside my back door that the kids sometimes use for sliding, It is fast and kind of steep. I'll never forget one time I put the boy on a toboggan and cut him loose. It scared the **** out of him. He went alone. He hit a bump, embankment at the bottom. His mother was watching. When he got to the bottom he burst out crying and screaming like you wouldn't believe. I saw all the lights come on in the other apartments. Plus my wife was yelling and screaming at me saying look what you've done. I went down to the bottom of the incline and snatched him out of the snowdrift. By the time I got there his cries had turn to a whimper. And when I got him on his feet he had a big smile on his face. When we got to the top his mother was doting all over him of course. Then I asked the boy if he wanted to go again. And all he said was jess, jess, jess. The mom of course said "ay no, ay no, ay dios mio". The boy made at least 4 - 5 more runs down the hill and everyday afterwards he begged me to take him out there again. He and I would be outside having snowball fights while mom was sitting indoors at a community center taking English classes. Three months earlier this same 4-year-old boy was sucking on a baby bottle on the airplane from Cali to Minneapolis. Once he got here that baby bottle became history. Go figure.

Calena # 2 didn't hang around long enough to enjoy our winters here. I remember we were at the Mall Of America one day and just for grins I walked her into the Human Resources office at Nordstrom’s. They hired her right on the spot. She was half my age and she was very beautiful. But she had that "Nordstrom's look" and they jumped on her immediately.

Calena # 3 I think is still around here. I have heard of sightings from time to time. One time I was driving through downtown and I thought I saw her throwing her hat up in the air on the corner in front of a major department store just like Mary Tyler Moore used to do at the beginning of her show back in the 70's or 80's.

So I'm not worried about the current crew or the cold weather in the winter. They are survivors. And actually the winters in the last 4 - 5 years have been extremely mild here. I have seen green grass on the lawns in January. Little to no snow. Result of global warming or el nino or la nina ? I really don't know. But this year winter came back with a vengeance. This morning it is 15 degrees below zero here in Minneapolis. And it is 37 degrees below zero in my hometown in northern Minnesota right now as I write this.

Here's how it is. You can put a pan or kettle of boiling water outside. The water will quickly turn to a solid block of ice but yet the outside of the metal pan will still be warm to the touch. Real talk. Go figure.

As W.P Perry of the New York Yacht Club once said "many are called but few are chosen'.

And this current crew well they are survivors as am I. That's why I like them. Plus my fiancée’s brothers have lived in Boston for many years and they have apprised her and the kids of the "climate change' here in the northern U.S.

And yes Boston gets cold and snow too in the wintertime, and sometimes worse than Minnesota.

Fats

[LastLion]

Originally Posted by Minnesota Fats

TO LastLion: Calena # 1 arrived here in the month of March with her 4-year-old son. The boy loved it. He loved trudging around in the snow all the time. I have an incline outside my back door that the kids sometimes use for sliding, It is fast and kind of steep. I'll never forget one time I put the boy on a toboggan and cut him loose. It scared the **** out of him. He went alone. He hit a bump, embankment at the bottom. His mother was watching. When he got to the bottom he burst out crying and screaming like you wouldn't believe. I saw all the lights come on in the other apartments. Plus my wife was yelling and screaming at me saying look what you've done. I went down to the bottom of the incline and snatched him out of the snowdrift. By the time I got there his cries had turn to a whimper. And when I got him on his feet he had a big smile on his face. When we got to the top his mother was doting all over him of course. Then I asked the boy if he wanted to go again. And all he said was jess, jess, jess. The mom of course said "ay no, ay no, ay dios mio". The boy made at least 4 - 5 more runs down the hill and everyday afterwards he begged me to take him out there again. He and I would be outside having snowball fights while mom was sitting indoors at a community center taking English classes. Three months earlier this same 4-year-old boy was sucking on a baby bottle on the airplane from Cali to Minneapolis. Once he got here that baby bottle became history. Go figure.

That's some good **** Maynard!

I have not seen you post anything new since I have been here 2 years ago! What have you been doin? Why haven't you posted? Just curious???