Rkl

[Woodwalker9]

Yesterday morning Ron Laster, aka rkl, was taken to the hospital in Clarksville after suffering a stroke. I received word this afternoon that the doctors are very encouraged and the plans are to move him into a rehabilitation program tomorrow. He did talk this afternoon with Max(poppy) and Max said that he "talked like Ron". From all the reports that I have received, I am optimistic that the prognosis is good. My thoughts and prayers are with him and his family.

[Team Panda]

I'm glad to hear he seems to be doing well. These days, if the Docs can get to you fast enough, they can do amazing things to prevent/reverse damage done by strokes.

I hope he and MB know we're all out here pulling for them.

Ron, climb on top of this thing and get back on your feet, there are caches calling and despite your numbers, you haven't found them all yet.

Stand by, panda prayers inbound!

[topkitty98]

Jim and I are happy to know that things sound good. We wish you God speed on your road to recovery and will keep you in our prayers.

God bless you,

Beth and Jim (& Mark always!)

[cachemates]

Hey Ron don't scare us like that. Not the kind of news we like to hear. You take care of yourself and I bet you will be back good as new. If there is anything we can do just ask. We are pulling for you Ron and you will be in our prayers.
Get well Buddy!

[BSA534]

Does anyone have a mailing address to send get well wishes to?

[Spice]

Woodwalker, thanks for letting us all know.

My family with be praying for Ron and MariBeth. We are just across the river if we can be of any help in any way.

[OldRiverRunner]

Thanks for letting us know. I will email them now. -- ORR

[AR-HICK]

It is so glad to hear that Ron is still able to tell his stories. :D
I will keep my ears clean for the good reports. I am sure that with the other half of Team "rklmbl" driving the wagon that it will be a speedy recovery. I am so thankful that he has not lost his gift of gab although MBL has told him to be quiet more than once. :P
Just let me know if I can HELP in any way. You are both good friends and I owe you both so much.

You are both in my thoughts and prayers.

[searcykid]

Sue (quiltingranny) and I are saddened to hear of your stroke , Ron , and are praying that you have a complete and quick recovery and can be back out Geocaching very soon.

I'm sure many of your other geocaching friends and acquaintances are praying for you also and as the Bible says, " The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much."

GET WELL SOON!!

Ted Roberts
AKA Searcykid

[SJClimber]

Maybe just a "mini-stroke" My best for a complete, speedy recovery. SJC

[flannelman]

My prayers go out for both of you. You are such great people and I'm sure you will pull through.

[oenavigator]

I'm so sorry to hear about this. Ron and Meribeth are really great people. It's wonderful news that the doctors are so optimistic about his recovery. We'll pray for Ron to have a quick recovery and for Meribeth who I know must be worried sick.

[rklmbl]

Thank you all very much for your care and concern. Ron has been moved into the rehab unit at Johnson County Regional Medical Center in Clarksville. He is in room 404 and will be there for most likely 30 days, more or less. Time will tell. His spirits are good and his sense of humor hasn't gone anywhere. He currently has very limited use of his left arm and leg and some problem swallowing correctly. All of these problems can be overcome with time and therapy, according to the docs. If anyone is in Clarksville and wants to drop by the hospital, visiting hours are 5 to 9 pm M-F and 1 to 9 pm Sat and Sun. Thanks again to all of you. You are like family to us. Maribeth

[GeoJeepers]

I checked the website right after getting home yesterday so I missed this post until now....the whole family was in shock to hear about it. We sure are glad to hear that initial reports look good. You are both in our thoughts and prayers and we wish for a speedy recovery!

[Gaddiel]

Ron and Maribeth,

Thank you so much for the report!

It really hurt me to hear this news. You guys are very special to us and to the rest of your geocaching friends here.

I hope you guys know that we are praying for you. I'm a firm believer in the power of prayer! Sometimes we really don't know what else to do, but I know that prayer is always appropriate.

As Ron continues to improve, I hope we can be of some help to you both in some way.

Wayne

[QuartzCachers]

Thanks to Woodwalker, for filling us all in on this. I am sitting here looking at my rklmbl geocoin, which was a very special gift for me. To anyone reading this who hasn't had the good fortune to meet these fine people, you owe them a debt of gratitude. They do so much for our great game, that it would be hard to imagine it without them. If you don't understand what I mean, you are either very new, or have not been paying attention! They have made me (a newbie) feel welcome, and even like part of a group. That is why it so shocking when there is news like this. I know you will join me in praying for Ron's speedy and full recovery.

[RGS]

Ron and Maribeth:
We're so sorry to hear the news. It's hard to believe we were there 3 weeks ago and now this happened. Our prayers are with you both and we're sure you'll get the best of care and be out caching again before you know it. You obviously have a lot of friends in your area and they are all pulling for you.

Rich and Charlotte
St. Louis

[4wheeling-1]

Just like everyone else we are sorry to hear about Ron and we are praying for you both. I can understand that your every thought is with Ron right now but don't forget to take care of yourself as well. I'm sure that almost everyone that has replied to this post knows how to mow grass, pull weeds, feed animals, mend fences, clean house, wash laundry or just sit and listen. You don't have to ask for help, just tell us what needs to be done. God bless

[Clark~Griswold]

The entire Griswold family is praying for you both. Hope you can get out and start racking up those caches soon.

Rich and Carla

[rklmbl]

I truly appreciate all the emails and phone calls and visits from the greatest people I have ever known in my life. It surely brightens my days. Ron

[cfd29]

I had not been on this site until today, I saw the new cache go up and was wondering what was going on.
You guys are in our prayers and if there is anything you need done around here, you know you can call us.
Get well soon RKL..

[Team_Pink]

Dog gone it Ron! I know you are too honery to keep down for long so I am looking forward to seeing you soon at an event sometime soon. You dig in there and work hard and I'll arm wrestle you when you're ready! Wait, my wife will arm wrestle you, I'll take Maribeth out on a cache run! :)

[AR-HICK]

I was lucky enough to make the drive to visit my friend today.
I have a bit of bad news to everyone in our community. :(
I was there when the Therapist gave RKL the results of his test. They have been testing his abilities to find out what he needs to work on during his rehab.
The Therapist told Ron that he would never play the violin again, Ron was heartbroken. :cry:
Of course he couldn’t play it before either. :lol:
Ron is in good sprits Maribeth is trying to keep him in line. He is in good hands.
Just as always it was good to spend time with the both of you and a speedy recovery to my friend.

[mbell72901]

Sorry to hear about the setback, but I know you will jump back in with both feet. I will try to get down there to say Hi.........AFTER I find the cache out front!!!!!!!! LOL

MBL, keep whacking him with his hiking stick to keep him doing his re-hab.

Mike

[OldRiverRunner]

I paid rkl a visit on Saturday. Here's an excerpt from my log from the new cache mbl and +1 hid outside the hospital:


I spent a good while with rkl, mbl, and +1. Rkl's first question to me when I came into the room was, "Have you found the new cache yet?" When I told him "No", he said "What kind of cacher are you???" Well, let's just say, one that's happy to see that his good friend still has his sense of humor and is able poke fun at others!

Ron was in great spirits and very alert, and we talked geocaching for a long time. When the nurse came in and asked if he needed anything to drink, he replied, "Yes, bring me a Pabst Blue Ribbon." I have a feeling Ron is already on the road to recovery and he may be taking the fast lane! Our prayers are with you, Ron, Maribeth, and KK! -- ORR

[Nukeworker]

When the Racquetball Girl & I first started this Geo thing, we saw RKLMBL everywhere and wondered, "Who is that?" We have since learned what great friends you are and how much you have influenced this fun activity in the area. We are praying for your fast recovery so you can get back on the trail of finding those caches. We want to see more RKLMBL smilies in the very near future. Ken & Sue (Nukeworkers)

[cachecrazies]

Oh my gosh! We have been so out of touch! We had a lightening strike on the house and lost phones, internet and satellite - talk about primitive!

And it's horrible to check into geocaching the first time we're back online and find that Ron has been ill!

Knowing Ron - at this point he's doing terrific and the nurses are plotting ways to get him to check out! Naw - they probably love him and baby him something awful! There's nothing in this world that rklmbl can't overcome! And there's no one in the world that more people are thinking about, praying for and caring about than them!

All our thoughts and prayers are with you. And anything we can physically help with please let us know!

Bob and Linda

[Woodwalker9]

I teamed up with AR-HICK yesterday and we headed to Clarksville to visit Ron and Maribeth. I could tell a considerable improvement in Ron's color and attention span. He appeared much more alert than at my last visit. He was joking and talking the way he normally does and it lifted my spirits just seeing the improvement. He still has a long way to go, but knowing Ron's determination to get back on the caching trail, I believe he is heading in the right direction now.

They now have Internet service at the hospital and I know they love to receive email. The email address is rklmbl@gmail.com and I'm sure they would love to hear from everyone.


http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd75/woodwalker9/arg-get-well-soon-bluebg-url.gif

[rklmbl]

Many thanks to everyone for their calls, cards, and visits. It means the world to mbl and myself. We have been amazed that geocachers have come from so many places to visit. I have also enjoyed the POEM :roll: that Mr. CacheMates wrote and mbl has printed it and placed in on the bulletin board to entertain me and nosy visitors. I thought this was to be a day of rest but part of the Catch-22 group showed up and since Diana is a therapist, she put me through my paces and made me work. Ready to start my second week of therapy. Ron

[rklmbl]

I found the ultimate way to go geocaching today. One of my therapists had been talking about geocaching, so yesterday we gave her a brief overview. Then mbl brought the GPS in today for us to find rkl's r and r cache here at the hospital. So, while one of the nurses pushed me in a wheelchair to the cache site, the therapist carried the GPS to find the geocache. She parked me in the shade of the arbor. After finding the geocache, they brought refreshments out to me on the patio area and I had mbl bring the computer to catch up with correspondence. No briars, no thorns, no mud, no ticks, no mosquitos....just a pleasant afternoon watching the world go by. The therapist says the next step is to see how we can get me loaded into a vehicle to go for a drive. We may say we are going to go see my brother but we may find a geocache on the way if we can find one around here we haven't found yet.

Again, thanks for all your expressions of hope and well wishes.

[cachemates]

OH NO! Those nurses are going to have you so spoiled we will never get you straightened out. They better get ready for some overtime, cause if they get you out caching no telling what time you will let them go. I can just hear you now, I don't want to go back just yet, there is another cache at .14 We have to get just one more.
Ron, be easy on them remember they are new at this! They can't hold out as long as you.
It is good that you have such great service (nurses) there that will do that for you. You are doing good Ron. Keep it up!
Sounds like mbl can retire her whip now!
http://bestsmileys.com/thumbs/2.gif

[Dentful1]

It is good to hear that you are doing so well. Apart from the Stroke I believe there are other issues that you must address.
It sounds to me that you have an ADDICTION!!! Perhaps the Rehab Unit will also take the time to bring you down from your "Geocaching High."

"Hello my name is Ron AKA rkl and I am an addict"http://bestsmileys.com/lol/1.gif

Or we can look at this ADDICTION as a good thing. Just like to junkies that smoke grass say it helps with the pain.http://bestsmileys.com/lol/22.gif

Keep doing whatever it takes to get you back on the trail.

Sending prayers for you,
Dentful1

[oenavigator]

I found the ultimate way to go geocaching today. One of my therapists had been talking about geocaching, so yesterday we gave her a brief overview. Then mbl brought the GPS in today for us to find rkl's r and r cache here at the hospital. So, while one of the nurses pushed me in a wheelchair to the cache site, the therapist carried the GPS to find the geocache. She parked me in the shade of the arbor. After finding the geocache, they brought refreshments out to me on the patio area and I had mbl bring the computer to catch up with correspondence. No briars, no thorns, no mud, no ticks, no mosquitos....just a pleasant afternoon watching the world go by. The therapist says the next step is to see how we can get me loaded into a vehicle to go for a drive. We may say we are going to go see my brother but we may find a geocache on the way if we can find one around here we haven't found yet.

Again, thanks for all your expressions of hope and well wishes.

I am in awe! I hope they don't charge a geocaching fee on the bill. :lol: Glad to hear your feeling better.

[Clark~Griswold]

Carla and I went by to see Ron this evening. He seemed to be doing very well considering all he's been through. We visited and talked geocaching (what else 8) ) for a half hour or so. We claimed the cache out front as our 1500th find which we will always remember.

Rich

[AR-HICK]

This was part of a log from rkl R and R


Had a nice visit with RKL, it was so good to see you, seems he had about 3 females serving him when we were there, he might just stay there seeing he has all the ladies waiting on him [;)] But we hope you are back on the geo-trail before long. We will check in on you again soon..Thanks for the cache

CFD29

I knew it wouldn't be long before he would be running the place. I also heard he has developed a taste for grapes, Emperor RON are you wearing a TOGA? :lol:

Don't let mbl get jealous or she might get you throwed out on your ear.
Best wishes we are thinking about you.

[rklmbl]

I left the rehab for a few minutes yesterday with the assistance of the therapists plus Maribeth. We went to see my brother, James. We first tried to get into the white pickup without success. :cry: Then Maribeth borrowed our niece's Yukon and we were able to complete the mission. :) Made me extremely tired :? but it was fun to escape for a few minutes.

Later on we enjoyed a visit with CFD29 and the Griswolds. Thanks again to all of you that take time to check in with us.

Ron

[oenavigator]

It's official. rklmbl are everywhere! I got my copy of the 2008-09 Arkansas Fishing & Outdoors Guide in the mail today and after being all excited about geocaching being mentioned look who I find. I'm going to save it and have it autographed :lol: .

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd117/oEnavigator/ronandmeribeth.jpg

[GeoJeepers]

Well now isnt' that something :D . We'll have to get one of those and see if we can manage to get an autograph or two.

Hey Ron, I was looking at the caption below the picture and I'm wondering......what the heck is a "retiree"? Does that mean professional cacher or something?

[rklmbl]

+1 made another trip to Clarksville this weekend so I am happy to have her around until Monday. It's a quarter to three and I am still waiting on my therapist to come take these :( electrodes off and let me show KK how I can walk and then load me up so she can drive me out to the farm to see how the hay harvest is coming along. poppy came by early this morning to visit. And that's all the news from Room 404 of the Johnson Regional Medical Center Rehab Unit for today.

Ron

P.S. I WILL autograph all pictures at no charge to geocachers. All others will have to pay a small fee. :wink: :lol:

[Spice]

I had the chance yesterday to go and see Ron and Maribeth. I also had the privilege of introducing a good friend and new cacher to them also. It was great not only to help my friend get started geocaching but to introduce him to a couple of great people.

It looks like that between Maribeth, KK, and the hospital Ron is in great hands.

When we left it appeared they might be taking a trip to the farm to see some of the hay being put up.

We will continue to pray for rklmbl and look forward to seeing them again soon.

[AR-HICK]

What a difference a week makes. :D
I was invited to a Pizza Party on the behalf of Emperor Ron.
It was a joyous occasion, Pizza one of my favorite foods was served to all (rklmbl and myself) and desert was cookies and chocolates from the far corners of his Empire. We enjoyed ourselves so much, we even talked of getting an apartment at this luxurious palace.
It was good to spend time visiting with the Emperor and talking with him on his throne.
One of his humble servants even bestowed upon me a gift, a cache container with his blessing.
:lol:
Glad to see you are doing so well and I hope the next I visit you are twice as improved as today.
Speedy recovery and keep up the hard work.

[topkitty98]

Okay now, Mike, I always heard that the Emporer needed new clothes? Would this be the case in Clarksville? http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys/shocked003.gif (http://www.freesmileys.org)

[cachemates]

We finally got a chance to go see rkl this morning. When we got there he was in the Weight Room Pumping Iron! Maribeth was getting out of her Tahoe just as we got there.
Les, Hunting4Cache got there just a few minutes later and then KK +1 arrived shortly after that. She had drove in from Dallas.
Just as AR-HICK has said rkl had the Ladies hopping around him all day.
I was glad to see that he has improved greatly and he has set a goal of getting to go "Home" next week. He is working hard for that and we are cheering him on.
They had him doing some sort of exercise, I called it over the rainbow but I think rkl wanted to play spin the bottle instead, Oh Yea, He is still the same happy smiling and polite guy that we all know after all he has been through.
We were encouraged with the progress that Ron has made and with his determination to get better and go home I know he will make even more improvements in the future.
Maribeth and KK still carry a whip and crack it every once in a while just as a reminder of who is boss.http://bestsmileys.com/whipping/2.gif
Remember Ron, There is no place like home! :D

[OldRiverRunner]

I stopped by the Clarksville hospital last night around 8 PM to pay Ron a visit. He was asleep and I didn't want to disturb him, so I left a short note. He sent me an email this morning to let me know he would be going home this coming Thursday! YIPPEE! Another milestone on the road to recovery! -- ORR

[AR-HICK]

It looks like the emperor is about to be dethroned. No party, none of the pomp and circumstance the nurses were not dropping grapes into his mouth. I went for a visit today and RKL is well, maybe a little too much. I must worry about his mental state in these days. All of the attention has caused him to become delirious and I think it is affecting MBL too.

He now has a pet not your average pet; it is a FLYING DOG as rkl calls him “Seemore” is a bird dog! Yes, his dog’s name is Seemore. Oh that is not the worst part his dog is invisible it is quite a site to rkl going down the hall with Seemore. Sometimes it is above his head and other times it is on the ground.
You ask how can I see an invisible bird dog walking or flying?
He has it on a leash! A blue leash and has been sporting his new friend everywhere all day. He even showed Seemore to his cousin who wears pantyhose for socks. This is when I knew the apples didn’t fall very far from the tree in the Lasiter family.

I asked the nurses if this was normal behavior and they were sure of rkl’s mental state had no doubts of him thinking he had an invisible bird dog before the stroke. He has even convinced mbl of his pet and she even brings him snacks and water. I am afraid they are both on track for another wing in the hospital, you know the one with the really soft walls. I am just hoping it is some of the medication causing him to act like this. If not you may not want to go caching with him cause, he might find caches that only he can see.

How would you sign the log sheet? With your invisible pen of course.

I was glad to visit, but I would not advise you to stay too long whatever is going around up there may be contagious. The next time I see them I hope it is in Harmony the community, not the mental state.

[rklmbl]

Well, the sad news is that we had to put Seemore down. He was making too much trouble for the rest of the inmates. I guess that's ok since I'd have to leave him Thursday and head home. :roll:

Again, thanks to everyone for your kind words, prayers, thoughts, visits, offers of assistance, etc. I have never met a group of people that is more generous than Arkansas geocachers.

See ya on the trails. Sooner than later, I hope. And, by the way, we made our hotel reservations for Geowoodstock VII this morning. :D

Ron

[AR-HICK]

Well the Emperor has been dethroned. MBL now has a slave. If I could do those fancy graphics I would show her cracking the whip across his back. He has more stripes than a steak from Sizzl’in.
Seemore was not allowed to ride home with them per MBL, and was turned loose. He is probably on his way to the rklmbl top secret training hideout located in Harmony. He does have a pretty good nose and I think he will be able to point rkl out, of course only rkl will see him doing that.

RKL's R and R is over, well not the cache anyway. It is all work and no play for rkl now.

MBL wants to go caching refuses to go until the team is ready. She doesn’t want to get accused of running the numbers. With her training they are on the road to BIG numbers very soon.

I was glad to see rkl walking under a full head of steam. I am amazed I have watched his recovery from week to week it has been a pleasant surprise each week. I should have known to expect GREAT things from such GREAT people. Both of you keep up the hard work and I am planning a cache adventure real soon! I am having trouble deciding what terrain to locate it at? 1 or 5
I don’t think either will be a problem very long.
:D
Ar-Hick

[Woodwalker9]

I talked to Maribeth(mbl) today and she told me that Ron is back in the hospital. He has an extremely bad kidney infection and is currently on some very powerful antibiotics. My continued thoughts and prayers go out to him, Maribeth, and his family for a full and speedy recovery.

[Team_Pink]

You guys hang in there. A little set back once in a while is a character builder! :)

Here's hoping you a speedy recovery!

[Nukeworker]

We are so sorry to hear of your setback. I had my second emergency surgery in 9 months on June 2nd, so I know how frustrated you can get being repeatedly in the hospital. :cry: I feel like I go one step forward and 2 steps back. We will pray that this is the only setback you have and that you can get out finding caches very soon. We hope to see you soon and have picked up a copy of the AR Fishing and Outdoors guide for you to sign. Best Regards, Nukeworker and Raquetball Girl

[jclaudii]

Man I hated to read this thread, but it seems like it had it's ups and downs. Wife and I pray for you to make a quick recovery and hope to see yall out on the trail sometime. Get Well.

[Woodwalker9]

Well good news. Ron is back at home. I talked to him and he sounded great and said that he was feeling good. Hopefully the doctors have him on the right track now and he will be back racking up the numbers again very soon.

[cfd29]

Thanks for the update, we are glad to hear this news...

[QuartzCachers]

Can't keep a good man down! Rock on! :D

[Gaddiel]

Great news!

[Nukeworker]

Glad to hear you're doing better. You are in our thoughts and prayers everyday for a speedy recovery. Nukeworker and Raquetball Girl

[AR-HICK]

Today I made the trip to Harmony to visit with RKL and I must tell you that the King has regained his throne. MBL is waiting on him hand and foot and they even had and extra servant working for them now. RKL was barking out orders running his kingdom with a iron fist and his servants were stepping and fetching to his every whim.

His throne is about 10 feet tall and covered in the finest cowhide from his kingdom. After he became bored with discussing the Geo situations of his kingdom, I was directed to drive his chariot and take him on a tour of his kingdom. A new cacher had placed a few caches within his realm and he wanted to seek them out and place his approval upon them. I gladly did what I was told (You don’t want to make the King angry). Before we left he ordered his chef to cook a feast to celebrate his return, which she promptly started to do. When we left I saw his poor cook out in the field slaughtering a pig for the feast.

I followed his directions to the caches and he found them and gave his approval upon them, I know because of the smile upon his face. He showed me some of the exotic beast of his kingdom and toured me thru his lovely lands with high mountains and lovely valleys. Yes, the king was happy and it was a joy to behold.

Upon our return his chef was finishing the feast for our enjoyment. She had placed the fine china upon the table and brought the main course and placed it upon the table, RKL smiled once more. I thought it must be good to be king. After our feast we discussed a few issues of the kingdom and I made my farewell. I had a smile upon my face and it was good to see everything good in Harmony and the king in such fine sprits.

My many thanks to the King RKL and his loyal servant MBL, I had a wonderful time today. Thanks for the memories and the fine meal.

AR-HICK

[idratherbehiking]

I noticed earlier this evening that you guys had been out caching. It's great to see that Ron is out and about. Thanks for the very entertaining description of your adventure through his kingdom.

[topkitty98]

Harmony rules in Harmony - excellent

[cachemates]

King rkl must be doing much better or extremely bored to leave his castle in 100° weather. Probably both. Way to go Ron..

[BSA534]

Glad you were able to get out and find some caches. If you can get out in this weather, once it cools off a bit you'll be back at full steam!

[AR-HICK]

Nothing but the best for the King RKL.
His chariot has that fancy store bought air in it.
You know the kind that is cool in the summer and hot in the winter.
Us hick's just have windows that go up and down.
It will even tell you the weather, I just have a “weather stone” that Paris1time gave me.
If I told you the other things it can do you would think I was telling stories.
I would never tell half-truths or out right lies, HONESTLY.

Glad to have the pleasure of the KING’s company for a little caching and riding in such a fancy chariot. I had a little trouble with that fancy chariot, but we got where we wanted to be.

[rklmbl]

Message from +1--daughter of rkl
Imagine my surprise...when I arrived today from Dallas I was greeted by dad (aka rkl) walking unaided! No walker, no cane, no hovering mbl! He said this great accomplishment just happened this morning during rehab. He wasn't quite up to walking a mile yet, but we're all thrilled for his baby steps. He practiced walking back and forth across the living room floor many times this afternoon, and he'll be happy to show you his new trick, too. :D

Thanks to all of the geocaching community for your support, kind words, thoughts and prayers during his recovery and rehab. I know you all mean the world to both rkl and mbl!

[Woodwalker9]

WOW!!!! That is fantastic news. I knew with rkl's determination that it was just a matter of time.

Okay guys, lets start planning our next trip. Mingo here we come???

[AR-HICK]

GO KING GO!
Glad to hear such good news.
I don't think the King will give up his scepter too soon!
A Hick carries a stick.

[cfd29]

This is indeed GREAT news, he will be running down the driveway and back up in no time. Just in time for cooler weather and some serious caching.....

[Spice]

This news has really made my day! So glad to hear it, but we will continue to pray for a complete recovery.

[AR-HICK]

I am constantly amazed at how much power he wields throughout the world.
He gave me a call and proposed for me to join him in a feast, I graciously said yes.
Once he hung up his phone he must have called whomever he has in charge of the weather brought Morrilton a welcome summer shower that cools everything down from 100+ degrees to the mid 80’s. It must be good to be King. Just as quickly as it started it ended just as he arrived, I don’t even think his chariot got wet, amazing.
That was not the only thing that amazed me today, I had the privileged of seeing him walk without the aid of a cane or on of his loyal servants.
FANTASTIC!
During our feast we discussed many things and I could see that he is feeling much better.
It was truly a joy and a privilege to take part in another fine feast and see him in such high spirits, yes it is good to be king.
When he left the sun returned and it has begun to get hot again, I sure wish he would come back for an extended visit. I could use a break from the 100+ degree days. RKL and his humble chauffer I wish you both a good trip home and I am looking forward to your next visit.

[rklmbl]

Update on king rkl (as AR HICK calls him--known around here as Ron):

Ron walked a half mile with his 4 am walking buddies Thursday morning...and he did it all without his hemi-walker and a lot of it without even having to grab the railing at the community center walking track. Friday morning, after getting the doc's permission, he drove himself to the little store for coffee with his buddies and will most likely do so today too. These are HUGE MILESTONES for him.

So, watch out...it's driving me nuts that there are now 1994 Arkansas geocaches we haven't found and we slipped from #103 in the United States to #131. We were trying sooo hard to have an Arkansas geocaching team in the top 100 in the US. If the weather ever cools off any, we'll we out there changing all those numbers soon.

[BSA534]

Thats great news! We look forward to seeing you guys at the meet & greet next week in Clarksville.

I'm pretty sure if it wasn't for Ron's setback, all those ParkCaches would've been found even quicker!

Tim

[Spice]

. Friday morning, after getting the doc's permission, he drove himself to the little store for coffee with his buddies and will most likely do so today too. These are [b]HUGE MILESTONES[b] for him.

This is a GREAT MILESTONE, even better than the numbers!

[cachemates]

I bet the guys at the Harmony Koffee Club was glad to see their story telling buddy! That is really good news. Look out caches here they come!!

[AR-HICK]

Hail to the KING
The personal trainer must be whipping the King into shape for his next conquest. Now that The King has rejoined his court.
He will be working out with much more energy, Koffee is good.
This will give his Chief Cache Strategist MBL a chance to plot how they are going to attack all those new and unfound caches. Her motto is "Get them ALL!" and they will.
Good to hear such good news, I will be seeing you next week and it will be like a coming out party. Just don't make rkl wear a dress. :lol:

[flannelman]

I'm so glad to hear about your adventure!! Good to see ya getting around again!!

[QuartzCachers]

Way to go Ron!! Pat told us the good news, while we were in Searcy on Saturday! We were so excited to hear of your progress! Keep up the good work, and I know you guys will crack that top 100 soon! :D :D :D

[Nukeworker]

We enjoyed seeing you Saturday in Clarksville and were impressed with how well you are getting around. Keep up the hard work! There's caches waiting! Ken and Sue

[searcykid]

The Searcy Cachers were honored on Saturday the 27th to Welcome the KING to our lowly event.

He arrived in his chariot with his special chauffeur and walked to the pavilion with a host of his humble servants bowing before him. We were so happy to see him walking on his own again and able to visit with those of us that have been hoping and praying for his speedy recovery.

Back on the geocahing trail here in Searcy , the team RKL/MBL were able to continue their quest to be in the top 100 geocachers in the country.

They are already the King and Queen of the Arkansas Geocachers

ALL HAIL THE KING AND QUEEN.

[rklmbl]

rkl is back on the move again. He decided it was time for a break from therapy, so we got permission from the doc and headed for Mingo, Kansas to find the world's oldest existing geocache. Now those of you who have cached with us know rkl usually drives and mbl navigates. Things have changed now. mbl is doing the driving and rkl is doing the navigating with a few lessons from her along the way. First the rain hit. That didn't stop us. Then, the beautiful fall temps began to drop when we hit Tulsa and dropped 20 degrees from one side of Tulsa to the other. We kept going. Got to Wichita and did some virtuals. Now rkl is always telling mbl to quit looking at the GPS and no more caches for awhile. This time he is on the "watching the GPS" side of the fence and he kept telling her to pull over and try this one. We got to a cache in Wichita next to that CANAL that goes through town. It was gravel except for the last 100 feet or so. Should have walked that. Didn't. Thank goodness nonnipoppy talked us into stabilitack for the Tahoe or we'd have slid into that canal...or close to it. But....we got that cache....slid our way back out....and ended up in Hays after 550 miles and 13 hours traveling.

Headed to Mingo the next morning and decided to detour to Nebraska for a Nebraska cache. Did a Blue Star Memorial cache in the cold wind. Got to Mingo and when rkl started to get out of the car, we realized we had left his cane at the Nebraska cache....didn't want to drive 250 miles round trip to get it so we used hiking poles and got him out to the Mingo cache. Got a new cane back in Hays.

All in all, we have found some wonderful virtuals....lots of 1 and 1.5 terrain caches that weren't 1's or 1.5's....but we found them.........THANK YOU CHUCK WALLA FOR ENFORCING TERRAIN GUIDELINES IN ARKANSAS....saw some incredible places....beautiful vistas....several flocks of wild turkeys, one pheasant, a herd of buffalo.....no lamp post or cemetery caches.

Best scene of the trip......driving I-70 west, there were about a zillion of those huge wind turbines on the hills and in the middle of them was one teeny windmill. The past meets the future! Where is nonnipoppy and HICK's cameras when we need them????

Having a ball and we'll be back in the Ozarks today unless we get sidetracked.

[cachemates]

I know you have wanted to go for this cache for some time, Glad you are able to hit the road again. How is the switching roles (driving & navigating) working out for you? Ron you keep Maribeth straight.
Sounds like you are having fun.
Thanks for the update.

[cfd29]

So glad you guys got that cache, we had much warmer temps when we were there in August, I think I might like the cooler temps, we also liked all the windmills, I can see why they have them, seems the wind is aways blowing on the plains.
You both have a very safe trip..
There are some pretty nice caches in Hays also, guess that can be another trip!!!

[TnT]

Awesome. Glad to hear you guys are out and about and finding them caches again!!

[jclaudii]

Sounds like a great trip and lots of fun. I'm glad you two were able to get out and go on a caching adventure again. How many did you all end up finding and was any one more memorable than the others?

[rklmbl]

We found 63 total...44 in Kansas; 1 in Nebraska; 13 in Missouri, and 5 in Oklahoma. That's really not a lot for us on a road trip but considering that we drove 1700 miles and mbl nixed quite a few after we got to the area and found she had to wade mud and water to get to them. We also DNF'd more than our usual share. Lots of rain in Kansas the day we went and the few days before. 20 of those were virtuals and it would be hard to pick out which was the best of the lot. Saw a beautiful cathedral on the plains built by early pioneers. Visited the Eisenhower museum in Abilene...a great place, by the way. Lots of cattle trail drive history. We did Missouri's oldest geocache too. And we only pulled 1 and 1.5 terrain in our PQs...but a lot of those were NOT 1 or 1.5 terrains. We were hoping rkl could do most caches with mbl but the terrain on many of them was higher than what we consider a 1 or 1.5 in Arkansas. Hope that answered your questions, jclaudi.

[jclaudii]

Yep, I just like hearing stories of finds, especially when it's on a 1700 mile journey. Hopefully we'll get to do something like that someday.

[QuartzCachers]

Glad you guys enjoyed my home state! Reading your post made me a little homesick. I can't wait for my trip up there in December. I will be grabbing some caches there as well.
It is really good to hear that rkl is well enough to travel! Thanks for the post! :D :D :D