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Darn Cold
The times that I was colder than I’ve ever been.
1964 Garden City Christmas Parade
I was five (5) years old. One of Dad’s childhood friends, Jim, owned a 1962 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible and Dad volunteered him to drive it in the Garden City Christmas Parade. We had the Parade Queen in the car with us sitting behind the front seats up on the convertible top boot. I switched between there and the floorboard at Dad’s feet with the heater blasting. Sixty years ago and I can still hear my teeth chatter.
Detroit Lions Football Game
Dad and his friend Jim took me to see a Detroit Lions football game sometime in the late 60’s. I was young enough and small enough that I didn’t even fill the seat. Dad and Jim were both big guys but that was the day I wished we didn’t have arm rests on the seats so they could sit closer together. We were in the upper deck and the winds were coming straight into our faces from the north.
Shakespeare Festival, Ontario, Canada
This time I actually was sick with pneumonia and didn’t know it. It was a school trip with our British Literature class after school let out in June. When we left, I felt fine but got sicker as the trip went on. We were staying in tents and I couldn’t borrow enough blankets. Went to the doctor after we returned home and he asked why they hadn’t taken me to the hospital.
I lump this with all of the other times that I was sick with a high fever and thought that I would shiver so hard my clothes would shake off. Including one Christmas in Florida when I was supposed to perform the Ava Maria on my trumpet for six (6) different services, but I had a temperature of 106F.
Maple River Duck Hunting
Imagine that you decide that for fun and enjoyment you would load up your vehicle at midnight and drive 2 or 3 hours through the night, to arrive at a boat launch on a river in the middle of Michigan in early November. Then you would put on a pair of chest waders and a coat, push of in your little rowboat and set up on shore in a place frequented by ducks, slip quietly into waist deep freezing cold water and wait for sunrise.
As the sunrises on a beautiful but freezing cold bluebird day you wait, and wait, and wait . . .
And you have to pee.
Easy enough to get back in the boat, take off your gloves, your winter coat and partially remove your chest waders. However, you hunting partner has taken his shotgun and left the blind to do a little deer stalking and you have no idea where he might be. I know that I don’t want to be a brown target standing in a rowboat waiting to be shot.
And to add to the misery, you are about as cold as you can be, standing waist deep in water close to freezing, with winds blustering through the trees and you still have to pee.
FUN!
Fort Jefferson Tour, Key West
Dry Tortugas National Park is west of Key West Florida in the middle of Gulf of Mexico. You can only travel there by Ferry or Float Plane. The seas on the crossing can be quite stormy. The wind and water can make the two hour ride even more miserable. And then sea sickness kicks in as well. I knew better and did not eat much for breakfast and I saved the bagel they gave us to eat for lunch later.
The trip back is equally as ugly. I found a little corner in the stern of the boat and had a very comfortable ride home. Except that I had two jackets to choose from. A fleece, or a rain shell. I chose the fleece. I stayed toasty warm all the way back. Until we stopped in Key West to disembark. Within moments I realized that the fleece had soaked up a tone of water from the waves and winds and was no longer keeping me warm.
Since I was in the back, I was the last to get off, and the walk back to my hotel was about eight (8) blocks. I stopped at the truck for an energy bar and headed for my room. Dropped my clothes and headed for the shower. I think it was 30 minutes before I could warm up and once I dried off I headed straight for the bed and slept until breakfast.
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Valentine’s Day
Some will ask me why I don’t take my girlfriend out to dinner on Valentine’s Day.
I respond that she likes to go out with her Husband on those nights . . .
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The Men That Don’t Fit In by Robert Service
There is a race of men that don’t fit in,
A race that can’t stand still,
So they break the hearts of kith and kin,
And they roam the world at will.
They range the fields and rove the flood,
And they claim the mountain’s crest,
There is the curse of the gypsy blood,
And they don’t know how to rest.
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Destination, How to Get There
A friend posted this today, now I can’t stop
- Nowhere. Road
- Anywhere, Midnight Train
- Georgia, Midnight Train
- Clarksville, Last Train
- Heavan, Stairway
- Hell, Highway
- Hotel California, Dark Desert Highway
Now for my contributions
- Don’t Care Where it Goes, Freight Train
- Desert, Horse with No Name
- Home, Country Roads
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BadAss Ranchcock
Should have been “Babcock Ranch”. Thanks to NBC-2 News. New Year’s Day 2022
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George Graham Vest – Tribute to a Dog
Historians consider it one of the greatest speeches ever written about a dog. US Senator George Graham Vest (1830-1904) was one of the leading debaters of his time, and offered this observation on dog greatness when he was still practicing law in a small Missouri town. He represented a man who sued another for the killing of his dog, and after offering the following summation to the jury, he won the case.
“Gentlemen of the Jury: The best friend a man has in the world may turn against him and become his enemy. His son or daughter that he has reared with loving care may prove ungrateful. Those who are nearest and dearest to us, those whom we trust with our happiness and our good name may become traitors to their faith. The money that a man has, he may lose. It flies away from him, perhaps when he needs it most. A man’s reputation may be sacrificed in a moment of ill-considered action. The people who are prone to fall on their knees to do us honor when success is with us, may be the first to throw the stone of malice when failure settles its cloud upon our heads.
The one absolutely unselfish friend that man can have in this selfish world, the one that never deserts him, the one that never proves ungrateful or treacherous is his dog. A man’s dog stands by him in prosperity and in poverty, in health and in sickness. He will sleep on the cold ground, where the wintry winds blow and the snow drives fiercely, if only he may be near his master’s side. He will kiss the hand that has no food to offer. He will lick the wounds and sores that come in encounters with the roughness of the world. He guards the sleep of his pauper master as if he were a prince. When all other friends desert, he remains. When riches take wings, and reputation falls to pieces, he is as constant in his love as the sun in its journey through the heavens.
If fortune drives the master forth, an outcast in the world, friendless and homeless, the faithful dog asks no higher privilege than that of accompanying him, to guard him against danger, to fight against his enemies. And when the last scene of all comes, and death takes his master in its embrace and his body is laid away in the cold ground, no matter if all other friends pursue their way, there by the graveside will the noble dog be found, his head between his paws, his eyes sad, but open in alert watchfulness, faithful and true even in death.” ~ George Graham Vest
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COVID-19
Social Distancing, Stay-at-Home Order, Reopen Business, These are all new terms that COVID-19 has forced upon us. The end result of which a lot of employees across the country are forced to Work-at-Home or Telecommute as it were. This is not a new concept, but one that companies were compelled to do in order to disperse their workforce.
I was one of the early adapters, based on a suggestion from my management team. The State of Florida (my employer) at the time established a criteria that if you were 60+ Years of Age OR had Heart Disease OR Diabetes OR Lung Disease then you were an eligible candidate.
I met three (3) of the four (4) criteria.
So with that said, this article is about the positives, or takeaways from my view about having to work from home.
- Weight Loss ~ I’ve lost at least 5 lbs. since starting Work-at-Home due to an improved diet
- Money Savings ~ I have saved over $500 in the first four (4) weeks of Work-at-home. It might have been more had I not had to stock up on a few items.
- Portion Control ~ When I do order out, I have reduced the amount of food eaten each time by half. Therefore I am eating less and getting two meals out of each order out contributing to the two (2) items above.
- Vehicle Maintenance ~ Eliminating at least 125 miles a week for commuting saves fuel, wear & tear and maintenance costs. Fuel costs have been reduced at least $50 and to date have yet to pay for any maintenance.
- Mental Health ~ Zero time spent commuting means zero time being tailgated, zero time being cut off in traffic and zero time having to be concerned with red light runners.
- Windows Open ~ Fresh air, a nice breeze, at least until lunch time when it starts to get too hot.
- Sounds of Nature ~ Sand Hill Cranes passing overhead. A Bob-White Quail chirping in the distance, a Pileated Woodpecker with his various calls.
- Neighborhood Watch ~ I thought that I lived in a quiet neighborhood. But between construction crews, lawn maintenance, repairmen and delivery trucks there is a lot of traffic here during the day. Not to mention the residents going in and out.
- Time ~ Less time commuting (90 minutes per day), and less time at restaurants (120 minutes per day) has given me more time to work on projects I am otherwise pressed to get done like my income tax, websites and organizing projects around the house.
- Coffee Club ~ The coffee here is much better than at work. The downside is that I have to make it myself.
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My Tropical Weather
A list of Tropical Storms and Hurricanes that I have sat through and their status when they passed me in Fort Myers/Alva.
1998
- 25 Sep, Hurricane Georges
- 5 Nov, Tropical Storm Mitch
1999
- 21 Sep, Tropical Storm Harvey
- 15 Oct, Hurricane Irene
2004
- 13 Aug, Hurricane Charley
- 6 Sep, Hurricane Frances
- 26 Sep, Hurricane Jeanne
2005
- 25 Aug, Hurricane Katrina
- 23 Oct, Hurricane Wilma
2006
- Tropical Storm Ernesto
2008
- 18 Aug, Tropical Storm Fay
2010
- 23 Jul, Tropical Storm Bonnie
2017
- 10 Sep, Hurricane Irma
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