Joe Ragan

Well, I will be leaving for Kazakhstan later today (Tuesday).  It is a blessing to have such a comfortable place to come to when needing medical treatment.  However, as Dorothy told Toto, “There’s no place like home.”  I’m ready to sleep in my own bed, bundle up with lots of clothes on because it is [...]

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Monday I was standing at the bus stop near the house where I am staying when an ambulance or police car drove nearby with its siren on. Guess what I noticed? The dogs howl here at sirens just like the do in the US. I had never noticed this before, but of [...]

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I have never been a “HUGE” fan of tennis. I watched Samprass, Agassi, McEnroe some growing older. Then I really liked the Williams sisters and Roddick, but Roddick has never been able to climb to the top like the Williams sisters. However, their dad’s behavior caused me to lose interest in them.
A [...]

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Budapest is a beautiful city. Architecturally it is a place any who can should see. The Parliament building and the Buda Castle area are great sites. The city streets offer lots to see as well.
However, with this said, there are some real problems here. Last week I went to IKEA with [...]

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I was just waking up in my apartment in Fort Worth when my mother called me about the space shuttle breaking up over the Metroplex.  I immediately turned on the TV and began watching the reports.  It’s hard to believe that 5 years have passed already.
I remember reading about the leader of the crew, Rick [...]

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Last summer I played basketball twice a week (most weeks).  My left knee began swelling a little after playing and then the next morning it was a little hard to get going… (I know, I’m not so young any more…)
When I made the trip to Texas in August, I went to a doctor who performed [...]

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I am in Budapest right now.  On my way here, I was able to spend the night in Vienna due to the flight schedule.  I had about 36 hours in Vienna and I made the most of my time that I could.
I arrived and checked into the hotel across from the airport (it is convenient [...]

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It is COLD in Central Asia where the temps struggle to reach ZERO… However, there is some good that comes from the cold. The new capital, Astana, has been turned into a winter wonderland with some beautiful ice sculptures. The first photo shows the Batterik, a tall structure in [...]

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I went to Pavlodar over the weekend to visit friends and to participate in a new church’s first service. It was great to witness. On Sunday night, a group of about 15 went to visit people and to perform a short Christmas program of about 10-15 minutes. Here are a few photos [...]

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Been out of internet connection since last Saturday.  I got to watch much of the football game between LSU and Ohio State.  OSU was not prepared, just like last year.  Where do they need to get motivation???
I am sad that a 2 loss team is the national champion.  Don’t get me wrong, LSU is a [...]

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