[djplong]

I'm still somewhat in shock at myself for everything I've seen, read and spoken about with my fiancee about over the past 3 days. The backlash started to hit ("how would we handle moving away from family and friends?", etc - Answer: Fly back to New England from time to time so long as Southwest airlines still exists) but we're more in the mindset of "how will we handle it" as opposed to "this is a dealbreaker".

Over the years, I've learned to be incredibly skeptical of "too good to be true", but I'm having a REALLY hard time finding naysayers out there. 90+ softball teams? (I played until scheduling conflicts made it impossible to be reliably at the games - still have my cleats, gloves, bats, etc) A *polo* stadium? Live entertainment EVERY night? 80+ miles of cart/bike/skate paths? Heck, I've never even HEARD of "pickleball".

Even when thinking of 'work', I was wondering how my skills could translate down there. (I've been programming computers since I was 3 in 1965, been building them since they got smaller than a refrigerator)

On a more serious note, I had a beloved grandmother who I can honestly say came to an early demise thanks to the climate here in New England (specifically, Boston). After surgery that was scheduled improperly, she couldn't get out of her apartment until ice covered the sidewalks. She wasn't able to do the kind of therapy she needed to regain her mobility and I watched this once-vibrant jewel of humanity slowly slip away as one problem compounded itself on another. I can't go without saying that, as I was seeing the pictures, watching the videos and reading all the different things to do, I *did* think "this could be a life saver/extender".

Talking this over with Susie (my fiancee), we're going to see if we can sneak something in before Christmas. We'll see what the DVD looks like and make our decisions then.

Again, thank you all all so much for how forthcoming you've all been. I think I'll be hanging out here for some time.