September 30, 2019

Yesteryear
One year ago today: September 30, 2018, fourteen approvals.
Five years ago today: September 30, 2014, I bought that bass.
Nine years ago today: September 30, 2010, water shortage, my eye.
Random years ago today: September 30, 2016, Haines City.

           Away at 6:00AM to Miami. The plan is to be there and back by this evening, but I slowed down and took it easy. Other than gas, the only stop was for fries and gravy at the family restaurant in Lake Placid, Florida. They remembered my recipe and the place was empty but for a couple of old ladies. Monday mornings are apparently not big social events in that neck of the woods. My working an entire crossword over a coffee and refill are real attention-getters and undoubtedly grist for the gossip mill.

           I arrived somewhat later in the morning. My car has always had trouble with the A/C relay on high setting. It was a heat wave and the relay stopped just past South Bay, a truck stop at the southern end of Lake Okeechobee. Driving the last 60 miles with the windows down made sure I was covered in road dust. The clinic nurse is very well traveled and has been on the stretch of road I intend to travel next month up in North Carolina. It’s the next mountain path southwest of the Cumberland gap, an apparently dangerous road that even the locals avoid at night. Twisty mountain roads with no guard rails. But I’ve driven the East Glacier highway and know to take it easy.

           Expect some delays and out of order pics for a few days. I did not take a lot of gear along, planning a one day trip and forgetting that Miami would slow down Superman. Miami has long sunk to that Canadian-like political level where to get elected, everyone caters to the largest minority, even though that group are overall a minority. In Canada it is the Frenchies, in Miami it is the Cubans. The results are predictable, but it is clear that Canada got first choice.
           This pic is a fire hydrant, I think. There is some problem with my medical records and once again, the pharmacy does not have my very common Rx in stock. So, it was drive like a maniac down the Palmetto to wait for JZ to show up. He has not answered his phone in three weeks and still thinks I won’t show up for another week. I pinned note on his door and headed for the coffee shop.

Picture of the day.
German weather report.
Remember to use BACK ARROW to return to blog.

           He showed up in time that I was able to coerce him to head for that fashion show called the Pinecrest Library. This is your library designed by committee. People who think the electric car will be a boon to mankind should visit this place. Everything is there, but it is a revelation of what other people vote is right for you with your tax money. Take this park bench, can you see the charging panels? Great idea, don’t you think? If so, then go sit on it. Bare metal in the Miami sun with fifty feet to the nearest shade tree. Looks great on paper, hopefully you like third-degree burns.

           We got there on an off day. He likes the cafeteria there, I find it outrageously price. The lowest priced item were bite-sized cookies at $1.25 each. Mind you, they have real great-looking female staff. This is Pinecrest. And inside the library, it is hard to concentrate. As usual for this part of the world, and increasing America in general, there was one babe that was hands down ahead of the pack. This is different that my day, when all the women were so great-looking it was hard nearly impossible to play favorites.

           Once again, JZ has promised to show up and give me a hand on the yard work. He knows his landscaping and keeps saying to put in some banana trees. I know nothing of such plants, bananas not being my favorite. Actually, avocadoes are one of the few fruits I like that don’t ripen on the vine. As luck would have it, JZ has been picking them again and I have a boxful to take home. We followed the old plan, I buy the food, he cooks it, and we eat it. Baked chicken. Having stopped at the Thrift, I found a completely up to date atlas, a school text. It was unAmerican. Everybody knows atlases should have the USA as the first country on page one. This one had England, but was otherwise so fascinating even JZ read it.
           It took twenty years, but JZ is finally keeping coffee in the house. He watches those weirdo crime-scene shows on TV. Mind you, he’s also much more wary of TV news than before, now that I’ve pointed out many of the deliberate and dirty tricks employed by the media that they’ve turned on Trump. He is tepid on Trump, but now indignant at how the news people misrepresent him. That’s a good starting point. I’m exposed more to TV at the condo than any other point in my life these days. And I see the liberals are still trying that worn out tactic of pretending there is some big anti-Trump movement afoot. Then they cut off his speech short and redact his statements.

ADDENDUM
           JZ has, belatedly, expressed regret he did not learn the guitar or computers that I warned him to take up. Or face boredom at a stage in life most people are least equipped to deal with it. That’s the point where learning anything new practically means starting over, the old-dog-new-tricks condition. There is, I think, more to this expression. It’s not so much age, but that learning later in life very often involves backtracking to unlearn things that are wrong but which have become entrenched. Show me the man who refuses to learn anything new because he’s been doing things a certain way for forty years, and I’ll show you how the DMV operates.

           They give a license to anyone, as this picture shows. It is nearly impossible to have a head-on driving Highways 27. A sparsely used road, with the lanes fifty yards apart. I was wondering about all the ambulances and fire rescue vehicles on the drive today, thinking maybe it was some kind of drill. Nope, eventually I see this vehicle with a bashed in grill. No other damaged party in sight. This vehicle rear-ended somebody in broad daylight.

           The impact damage was consistent with less than 25 mph. Conclusion? Texting. Indeed, I’m getting close to Miami.

Last Laugh