As a positive side effect, using the Coleman lantern has encouraged me to study more. Puzzling for I never did study by gaslight back on the farm or anywhere else. I get motivated to curl up on a chair and read during the evening. Refer to the lousy but homey picture from my new camera. Reading non-fiction always turns out good making me hope there is some kind of connection here. If so, I’ll keep that lamp the rest of my life.
[Author’s note: this is not as uncomplicated as I put it. I also catch myself looking up every hour for the cat, another conduct with no precedent. I have to be in a small, warm room, facing westerly, and seated in an easy chair. I had none of those things during the years we used lanterns at home, so the association is indirect except my plodding realization it is beyond doubt the presence of the Coleman that triggers the behavior. Now how do you figure that?]Next, the too good to be true bicycle motor, my faulty Spanish to blame. Did he say “ciento cinquenta” or “quiniento cinquenta”? He said the last one and the difference is $400. Too bad, and that is another delay. The decision is a stickler since the difference between a bike motor and a used scooter is probably a couple hundred dollars. Add another few hundred and you have a motorcycle. I need some kind of transportation for trips over five miles.
It was not a good day, thanks to an irregular heartbeat—but don’t worry, it is not anywhere near the threatening condition it used to be. I know the signals and take it easy. Maybe today was a little too easy. Wait, I can explain. I biked up to the barbershop and while we were drinking coffee along came a guy with a huge bucket of M&Ms. One won’t hurt, then another. In an hour, we had eaten nearly a gallon. Good bye diet.
Then off to the library whence springs today’s trivia. The old tale that the typewriter keyboard was rearranged to slow down typists turns out to be false. That version never did make sense to me anyway. The real reason was to separate common combinations of letters, such as “ch” and “pr”. That also explains, to me anyway, why the Dvorak keyboard requires so little movement.
Another reason I need transportation is to get to the Ft. Lauderdale library. Now that is a library. The local branches have too many shortcomings, the worst being the lack of reference material. Not one book on mechanics or electronics. Instead, they have shelves of brand new junk that nobody reads. “The Encyclopedia of Black American Poets” and bank after bank of medical self-help nonsense, and don’t we love the thousand books on things Jewish. “This is not just a tree house, this is a Jewish tree-house but no, no, we are not asking for any special consideration.”
After that, I went over to Lucille’s, the French lady with the new Toshiba. I’ve warned about AOL and Outlook Express for years, sooner or later they will let you down. Sure enough, she will have to type in all her e-mail addresses by hand. That will keep her busy a week. Turns out System 7 does not include Outlook, an admission of failure by MonkeySoft. You like that? I made that up: “MonkeySoft”. Has a nice ring.
This also means we sat around Lucille’s in the afternoon drinking tea and snacking on high calorie French “swee-vawnts”, well, the closest thing I can match ‘em to would be Burger King chicken tenders. Since she made up a batch of a hundred, I think I must have had fifteen myself. Think breaded white meat deep-fried and cheese sauce. Now think early Thanksgiving. I was lucky I could ride the bicycle home. It was at least a 3,500 calorie day and I needed that. I promise to take tomorrow day off.
Return Home
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
