One year ago today: May 27, 2014, a general crab.
Five years ago today: May 27, 2010, Carole Kaye, my hero.
Six years ago today: May 27, 2009, my gig anniversary.
MORNING
Here’s more Deland. A fishing party on the St. Johns and street planters that, in the culturally assimilated territory of Miami, would be stolen the first night. This is the corner of mainstreet in downtown. No turns permitted. They have a full-time cop handing out citations for those who miss the tiny sign. This was the final day of our tour, across from the bookstore. The classic scene has to be the fisherman. Um, it would appear all the big river specimens are long since fished out.
Next I’m reading about the new aircraft carrier, the 110,000 ton Gerald Ford. Isn’t that the president who couldn’t spell “potatoes”? Or his issue, same thing? The stated purpose of the ship is to “enforce the interests of the United States”. Oh goody, that’s just what we need. The military agrees, having ordered up a total of 11 of these monsters by 2058. The money is to be printed up in-house or to be borrowed from the people who are the intended targets. Nuttin' wrong with that, is there? Now?
And how do you like the government remedy to the “inadvertant” release of confidential personal data on 13,000 people last year? That’s twice. Last March it was 45,000 people. The solution is not to quit placing people’s identities on steal-able files, but to offer the victims “protection” in the form of free credit monitoring. Let me get this straight.
Then again, people who don’t actively oppose such things deserve what they are going to get. All this was predicted long ago by those who studied democracies. In a sense, the smart guy in Florida is the one in this picture, catching his own supper on the river. I hope he is fishing without a license, I really do.
NOON
“Bankruptcy is a legal proceeding in which you put your money in your pants pocket and give your coat to your creditros.” --Joey Adams, again, and it is clear he wrote a lot of quips specifically to be quoted.
Hey, nothing wrong with that. Yes, you can quote me.
Here’s JZ pointing out that Lake Okeechobee water is black. Shiny black. He says we were by this area ten or so years ago, but I barely remember it. Since he knows where to turn and what’s down the side roads, it’s my recollection that’s faded. I’ve been to Okeechobee so often, I plain forget the individual trip. This photo is the standard Pahokee photo for each trip through the town.
There is no provision to go back and verify which are still active. It’s not a big drawback, as the lion’s share of what you read here is based on fact and hence mostly original and new material. Now the point. When I travel like just now, I cannot keep up well with the pre-formatted sections of my posts. These pieces are recent inclusions, like Last Laugh and Yesteryear. When I don’t include them, my readership drops in half.
Ergo, half my current readership is here for the wrong reasons.
What more evidence is needed that a lot of visitors are arriving here for daily instant gratification? That’s the motive to use Twitter and social sites, not to read a blog that (at least occasionally) contains useful information. Yet when the metaphorical gossip column is missing, they don’t come back. This is a crossroads of some kind. Is this a shift of the paradigm or another passing fad?
My speedy conclusion is that of classical authors. Fads don’t last, but content does. Continue to publish through the lean times, for the hack writers of idle words will never last. Yes, but was that not written long before the Internet squarely provided an infinite supply of twaddle-mongers?
My favorite non-comment this week: “I never claimed I was smart, but a lot of people consider me to be so. It might be a good idea for my critics to remember that a lot.”
Last, I see that Snowden has been declared “the nation’s newest number-one enemy”. The source, ID magazine, does not specify who did the declaring. But we can presume it is some important department that has nothing in mind but our best interests. So important that, well, if they said so, it is wisest to go along with that. In fact, until Snowden spoke up, quite illegally I remind you, I maintain there was nobody in the land who even distantly suspected that the government was keeping secrets from the American public. They wouldn't do a nasty thing like that.
AFTERNOON
I promised JZ I’d take a look and here is a cottage-style place. Two beds, two baths, up near the Walmart on the north end of town. Quiet side street. And it has a workshed and around behind another cabin type residence. Sort of a detached ensuite, Wallace.
By chance, we drove right past this place, but it is in behind a lot of trees. The property is fenced in with oak trees in the yard. I can’t find if the listing is for the total or just the main house, but the worst scenario is each place is a one bed one bath. Taxes $524 per year.
Asking price for this property is $37,400. Once again, hell yes, I’d live in a place like that. I’d love a quiet spot like this for the little time I’ve got left. And it is only 200 miles to the Florida border, another big plus. It’s the sort of place JZ would love at first sight, but it is a fixer-upper on the listings. That’s what we are looking for, and we are not afraid of rewiring or replumbing the entire structure. Check back on this one.
I personally have no plans to buy anything in that area at this time.
EVENING
One more only for today. Deland has an historic district, but it looked fairly sold out to restoral outfits. The reason is the proximity to the university, that is, all of the houses are within walking distance. And they are refurbished so Animal House could have been filmed there. In reality, it is a quiet residential area. And I did find places for sale. This is the cheapest one.
Even then, I cannot be sure I have the facts. The ad is misleading as possible without overstepping the line. Yet, this remains the high point of the evening as I stayed home to drink tea and watch old Kevin Costner movies.
I’m in constant contact with JZ over these properties. Who knows where these things lead? I have not mentioned anything to Agt. M, but if you want the place fixed up cheap, send him up there for a month. Of what’s been examined, the first place, the two cabin-style spots are the more likely candidate. Both are livable, choose one and fix up the other. I zoomed in by satellite to notice the area is surrounded by a huge tract of undeveloped land. Next to that Walmart.
And what did JZ and I just see not an hour away from Deland? Acres of retirement homes on the outskirts of town. Hundreds of acres. You know, where Good Counsel Camp used to be. Now, if you just wait right here for ten or so minutes, I’ll find out what these places rent for in Deland. Just one unit, not the whole property. I’m back. Like I figured, there is nothing left for rent that near the campus. But from what I gather, a cottage in the area would rent for $700 to $800 per month.
Which raises the possibility of operating it at a profit. I'll run the spreadsheets tonight. Spreadsheets I designed myself thirty years ago that have never failed to be more accurate than the "fill in the blanks" type. Because my spreadsheets will allow for seasonal and market changes. Easily. You see, back in 1982, you had to program every cell yourself.
ADDENDUM
Assimilating this trip of the year (so far) finds me home in my easy chair. That short hop in the Toyota y'day, maybe ten miles, finally did have repercussions on me. Mild, but enough to show that my days of driving a vehicle are statistically over. The good news? Being a passenger no longer bothers me. This was a six hour ride each way. And you know, we never did find any pistachios or peanuts. You decide which is worse.
Why the sudden inspiration to slim down? I can answer that. First, it isn’t sudden, now way. Second, at the Deland ice cream parlor, everybody walks up to the faucets and gets a tub-full. I sparingly get one-quarter of the average serving. How do you think I felt? A tiny portion for me, so I love the ice cream but feel cheated I could not dig in.
No, I was not made the happier just because pretty well everybody else in the place was fatter than me.
