It is also a yellowed 15 year old negative. That should give you an idea of the fantastic volume of things I’ve never had time to publish here. These bus tours cost around $6,000 per person and go all around the continent. I believe it is two or three days on the bus and one day in a hotel. This photo is near the Orinoco River in Venezuela. Food and camping gear is stowed under the passenger compartment for about a week. The tour is around a series of base camps set up for the purpose. It is mostly European tourists who have been sold a six month package, or more.Today is my anniversary, it has been five years since I’ve had a “yob”, and frankly I don’t miss it at all. This is not to say I’ve done nothing or had no income in five years. I was originally going to celebrate by driving up to West Palm Beach to see that band “Whiskey River”. However, mapquest shows it was a 111 mile round trip. I’d rather use the car to go visit JP this weekend. So I called JP at work and everything is fine and Alaine got on the phone. Now I have to visit.
The days are decent [cool enough] to spend outdoors again so Wallace and I cleaned up the last of the patio area. Carlos left behind a weird barbeque made out of an old propane tank. Shaped like a torpedo, it is now set up near the garden. Wallace has got the vines moved away from the building. The trees now form a canopy making it possible to use the patio during the day. Also, that old table saw is gone, but we took the table part and are using it as a base for the barbeque. Carlos is in New York so all his stuff is here for a while.
I have never barbequed anything in my life. Seriously. I admit to having been only a barbeque guest. It looks like we are about the find out if I’ve got a knack for it. I’ll get myself domesticated yet. I’ll be looking into what else there is to barbeque since beef has not been big on my diet in close to a decade and ribs I can take or leave. Today we had tuna casserole and baby corns, so it is time for a change.
Finally, I got around to looking more closely at shoe polishing. There is more to it than it seems, just as I figured. A properly polished pair of shoes can last 35 years, and there are two types of polish, a cream and a wax. The cream keeps the shoe soft and the wax gives a better shine. You are supposed to alternate and doing a proper job takes good old practice.
I didn’t quite understand all the brushes and cloth in a shoe shining kit. The brush is to spread the wax and apparently a toothbrush works better than the fancy wooden models. There is a dust brush to clean the shoe before you start, and an “off” brush to work the polish to an even but dull consistency. Here’s the trivia. I did not know the reason the cloth buffs the polish to a shine is that it melts the layer of polish (on a molecular level) nearest the leather surface. I have to thank the Internet for getting all this information to me so easily.
ADDENDUM
Did I mention Roy Rogers? Wallace has a set of disks and we have been watching movies after supper, time permitting. The plots are weak and things can get corny, since they have to find an excuse for Roy to sing even when locked up in a cell. Some of the episodes are prophetic, such as the “Rough Rider’s Roundup”. Roy gets stripped of his badge when falsely accused of starting a brawl. Acting on his own, he disobeys orders, crosses the border and all is reinstated when he catches the guy in the black hat. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it, Bruce, Clint and Mel?
Great scenery, mind you. All the stagecoaches and such were rented, I think, because they are very careful not to damage anything during the chases. The women have 1939 hairstyles instead of the period portrayed. Like this one lady whose hair was tightly done up in curls. In black and white, it looks like you can see her brain.
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