I think he was in an accident....i saw the pictures on his website....

Hi Laureen ,

I had a hardware problem on my computer and had to send it back to the
manufacturer to have a new motherboard installed; it's in the pc hospital
right now.  They've had to reformat the hard drive and I've lost all my
emails and addresses along with all my other settings and information.
Bummer.  Right now I'm using an old laptop I've had on a shelf  for years;
you'd laugh if you saw it.  Windows 98, 2gb hard drive, 300mhz processor.
I've had to do a lot of tweaks to coax it to work with my cable isp,
including buying a USB/ethernet adaptor  and fooling with the settings, etc.
Then the keyboard went out on it so I went out today and bought a cheap usb
keyboard  to use for now along with a USB hub (the old clunker had one usb
port).  Then, I had to buy an external USB hard drive in order to have
enough space to install the software I needed  for minimal operation.  I
just now (at 2:30 a.m.) finally coaxed and stroked it into working online!
I should have my other computer back in about 2 weeks but can make do with
this in the meanwhile.

So yes I did get your reply to my email, but I'm assuming that it was lost
when they reformatted my hard drive.  I asked them to back up Outlook first,
so there's a possibility  some of my messages may be saved.  If you have a
copy of the email you sent can your forward it to me again?  Send it to
pmarengo@cox.net; that's my email acco unt I've been able to get working
with this tired old  'puter.

My sister and I have been talking more about our plans for a cross-country
Amtrak trip in 2006 to visit you and Larry in BC; it will be my best train
trip yet and will enable me to see the only part of thecontinental  USA that
I  haven't seen  yet by train:  the Northwest.   This year's vacation is
planned out already; this May I'm returning to Key Largo FL to try to
revisit the best vacation experience I ever had two years ago when I went
there.

Thanks Laureen, I'll talk to you later, it's alost 3 am and I'm a tired
puppy!  I also just got back today from a 4-day "retreat" sponsored by my
employer for all the Hotel GM's in  the company.  We went  to Wintergreen
ski resort in the Blue Ridge Mountains of VA.  It was absolutely beautiful
there; it snowed Wdenesday night and all day Thursday and turned the resort
and forests into a winter wonderland.

Peter