October 29, 2017

Yesteryear
One year ago today: October 29, 2016, Ha, 11 months ahead of Irma!
Five years ago today: October 29, 2012, they’re surrounded by enemies.
Nine years ago today: October 29, 2008, reminds me of Noel Armstrong.
Random years ago today: October 29, 2010, nice, but over-priced.

           10:50AM You would be hard pressed to find too guys with money who were more broke than this morning. Between the disaster gig last night and that co-pay on my new driving glasses, I was peeling potatoes and my pal, well, he said I could tell you. He lost $400 on the pull tabs five days ago. Having money and knowing how to use it wisely aren’t congruent no matter what these dime-store MBAs will tell you. We had tea, yogurt, and mushroom squash omelets mainly because that is what was left in the fridge. I stayed the extra day to play the gig (a mistake) and to avoid the erroneously predicted tropical storm.

           11:50AM This put me in Hollywood still at noon. I’m still not used to the extra time it take to drive a car, or better put, the extra time Florida forces you to drive a car. Example, it can take up to 8 minutes to get out of a parking lot, which are absolute magnets for third-worlders. They’ll stop behind you and get on their cell phones while you have your back-up lights on. One time JZ and I got out and asked the guy to move and he started with the, “Chyou wont do fight mee?

           12:50PM Taking no chances, I was on Hwy 27 to Clewiston by noon. Here is a nonsense picture of the Weeki Wachee Live Mermaids. Sounds like it belongs in Hawaii. It was in the part of the Everglades that JP’s family once owned before the government expropriated the land. I dunno, the third one from the left looks worth sounding out to me, the rest are trying a little too hard. Here’s where I add that during this entire 613 mile trip, I saw only one good-looking babe. And she was at the ATM with her geeky boyfriend.

           [Author’s note: It’s nearly amazing JZ’s propensity to catch every flu virus making the rounds. We were discussing diet like a couple of New Agers at a rodeo. Neither of us eat properly but it was agreed we are not as bad as most people. So there. He naturally eats better than I do because of his cultural background, but you tell me why he catches every bug. The most bloggable event this AM was a documentary on early dirigibles on JZ’s fake cable channels. He was wheezing like a steamboat. Kept the building awake.]

Picture of the day.
Cape Verde.
Remember to use BACK ARROW to return to blog.

           1:50PM Mid-afternoon found me at Lake Placid, but the people were not at home. I left a note when I’d be back. The Palmdale Cracker store is definitely gone. The empty lot has a lot of double-wide trailers on display. Did it burn down? (Later, yes.) I’m only concerned if the big parrot got out of it okay. (Yes, it did.) I stopped at the Goodwill in Clewiston to stretch my legs, an ingrained motorcycle habit and replaced some of my dress shirts that were destroyed. I’ve been a Goodwill dresser since my heart attack, so don’t you laugh too loud. I had a few short years back then and now I’m glad I used them to get comfortable in case I make it to 65. Trust me, I wish I had more exciting things to tell you about today, but I live in Florida. Consider what I have to work with.

           2:50PM Just cruising along, way over my gas budget, light traffic with a choppy crosswind. Let me check this. Yep, $142.50 on gasoline this month. And no reliable motorcycle to take the pressure off. I stayed on Highway 27 all the way, with two short stops. I declare, car travel is downright boring compared to the motorcycle. It’s the difference between driving through something with all the adventure and just driving past it, looking out the window. There is no incentive to take off down a side road just to see what is there.

           3:50PM I’m in Lake Wales, deciding to stop for a cold one. Did I just drive down a street called ‘Wetmore’? Yesirree, looks like I did. Wetmore? No comment. I stopped again at the Phase III pub and learned they have an open mic every second Thursday. So that’s not this week, but the next. According to probably reliable witnesses, sometimes nobody shows up. Hmmm. Did you know I can increase sales by 15%? But only while I’m actually up on stage.

Quote of the Day:
“I was walking down the street wearing glasses
when the prescription ran out.”
~Steve A. Wright.
           4:50PM To lazy to cook, I stopped downtown for a bowl of chili, man that was good.

           5:50PM Still at the café, drinking a refill.

           6:50PM Home. Unloaded the car. Fell asleep like a log. Eleven hours.

ADDENDUM
           Once again, driving the car required an hour longer than the same trip by motorcycle. Most of the delay is again getting in and out of the southeast cities. Not one of them ever planned ahead adequately. They plan on their residents using the interstate system for commuting rather than for travel as intended. It can take five minutes to get out of a parking lot in car. On the motorcycle, you can cut between parked cars and zip between trees, or follow the drainage path around the ubiquitous third-world idiots. In a car, you wait your turn. And don’t think that is normal and nothing until you’ve got yourself behind some Cubans whose destiny it is to wait their lives in line. So why hurry?
           Did I say they are all like that? Nope. Just enough of them to give that impression.


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