Phillip Sherwood

My 17 year old nephew and I arrived here at Ocean Beach, AL yesterday afternoon. We have a great condo that’s fully accessible to me and is really comfortable. The kitchen sink, stove and cabinets are of perfect height and made so I can roll under them. The oven even has a side hinged door. I’ve never seen that before. The wekkend before getting here was great too. On Friday, my brother Daniel and his family stopped over and we had a nice visit. His three year old daughter had so much fun chasing Bob around the apartment and trying to pick him up, we all got a kick out of watching her. The next day after they proceeded on their way to the beach, my nephew Matthew stayed behind. I noticed the shoes he was wearing had the toe section missing out of the right foot that meant they were the same ones he was wearing several months ago when he nearly chopped his entire toe off when his foot slipped under the mower while cutting a hill. I decided to take him to buy some new shoes but little did I know how difficult it would be to find a size 14! After going to 3-4 shoe stores, we finally found a place that specialized in basketball shoes. Mission finally accomplished. As we were leaving, I got a call from friends of mine from Florida arrived early and were waiting for me to get back home to the apartment. When I arrived, there was Kim, her husband Cos, two children, a friend and pet bagle named Possum (half beagle half basset hound). We went out to look at my lot and found the roads had been put in, sidewalks up and lot leveled and ready for the foundation to be poured. Next we all went to Ruby Tuesdays for dinner and had a great time getting caught up. I had met Kim while stationed in Panama in 1996. She helped soldiers with their taxes and we’ve had a special friendship ever since. Her husband Cos is a retired Special Forces Green Beret and now works as a high school history teacher. He is a trip and has some of the funniest stories his transition from a snake eating Green Beret to a high school mentor to confused but impressionable teenagers. Their bagle dog Possom took a keen interest in Bob and would howl at him causing Bob to raise his back and hiss. The funny part is that they were just as frightened at each other as the other. Saturday night we had a massive slumber party and we all had a great time. Well, the drive to the beach yesterday was a long six-hour journey and I was so tired for some reason that it made the drive exponentially that much more difficult. My copiloy whose job was to keep me alert slept himself for about half the trip. Last night we all arrived to include my father and his wife so now the entire Sherwood Family is enjoying a beach vacation together and the first time since I was thirteen. The beach wheelchair was here waiting so I’m going to give it a test drive this afternoon. It has big ole balloon tires to navigate in the sand with. Tonight the photographer arrives to take the family photos. Thursday we are renting a fishing charter to do some deep sea fishing. Gotta go because the crabs that Dad caught in his canal and brought with him are ready and anyone who knows me know I do not miss an opportunity like this…Phillip