Home Again, Home Again...

And  just like that – the adventure is over. 

You may recall that our original plan for yesterday was to drive to the Tampa area and sightsee and have a leisurely lunch before dropping me at the airport for the flight home to California.  This, despite the fact that “B” was coming down with a cold.  I had had concerns, because I thought it might be detrimental to his recovery of his cold to schlep around, but he, the ultimate gracious host, discounted it.  Well, after all, it didn’t turn out that way anyway.

At perhaps 5:00am “N” received a call from her sister in England (her name would be “D”, if you’re really enjoying the letter designations I’ve been using) saying that their mom was having a major health issue. 

 Nothing was definite however so we spent much of the morning quietly at home waiting for phone calls.  During this interlude “H” showed me how to make big, fluffy pom-poms so I could put one on my luggage; making it more easy to identify on the airport carousel.  It was simple and fun so I made one for my luggage and one for “N”s.  At last the call came through that mom (or, "M2", if you want...) was doing better and things could continue as before.  Whew!

Finally we had a light lunch and set out for Tampa which is about an hour and a half from the Villages.  Well, you can’t see much of an area from a typical turnpike – just the road and the trees lining it so I can’t really tell you what the land between the Villages and Tampa looks like.

So at last I was dropped off at the airport and spent the rest of the day (until about 9:30pm) either in the air or at an airport.  How wonderful it was to see Al drive up to bring me home again!  Travel is fun but getting home again is really the icing on the cake!

Oh yeah, and the birds put up quite a vocal welcome when I walked in the door – I guess they were glad to see me, too!

The Florida Adventure Starts to Wind Down

Welcome back -

No pictures tonight - it's late and I'm tired and have a big day tomorrow.  Here's the recap of today's adventures:

Well, the party last night lasted until quite nearly 1am last night and we wanted an early start to the day today since four of us depart for home in the afternoon (“M” and family plus “H²” who has to go to work tomorrow).

So it’s yet another bright, sunny day in central Florida and I’m just waiting for “H²” to get ready so we can meet “M” “S” and “G” down in the lobby and return to “H”s house for a big, bagel and lox breakfast.  I don’t know what the morning will hold for us – I expect more of the same from last night unless “B” has found some exciting event that we really can’t resist.  At about 2pm “B” will depart with the gang for the airport and “H²” will leave late in the afternoon to get home to southern Florida – about a 4 hour drive.

At 3pm “N” and I have an appointment to see the “villa” model home – it’s the only (moderately priced) model we have not seen during the last week and “B” thought it would be good for us to see it; just to know what’s out there.  That should be fun – though we might miss “H²”’s departure – not sure yet.

So that’s what I expect for today – I’ll let you know how it all turns out.

Well, the preparation for our large breakfast was a symphony of controlled chaos – several cooks preparing or cooking everything from bagels to potatoes to scrambled eggs to every side dish that exists.  Those that weren’t cooking were washing what whomever was done with - a utensil or pot, pan, or dish.

Finally we all sat down and finished nearly everything over conversation and coffee (and juice and milk and water etc etc).  Some time after that we went to the community pool which is not even a mile from the house.  “G”, “M”, “B” and “N” went swimming while the rest of us sat in the shade and chatted.

By the time we returned, a quick lunch was called for so everyone grabbed some leftovers from the past day or two and cleaned out the frig and it was suddenly time to drive “M” and family to the airport.  The pandemoniusly noisy house was suddenly quiet since only “HHH”, “H²” and I are left.  They will accompany me on the appointment to see the “villa” style houses in about half an hour, then when we return “H²” will have to leave also to return to her home in southern Florida.

I expect a quiet evening after that – and perhaps another early evening.  Tomorrow I return to California through Tampa so we plan to take a trip to the gulf coast which “N” has never seen, then drop me off at the airport and I’ll be on my way home.

----- and time passed ------

I was right about the quiet evening which was very good.  “N” is learning to knit and is presently making a knitted stuffed toy bear that “H” makes for charity.  While “N” worked on it I read The Siliphore, Book One to her, which she really, really liked.  SO gratifying when someone likes what you create!

We had a late, very pleasant supper then back to more knitting and reading and before we knew it it had gotten late.

Tomorrow’s plan still stands to go to the Tampa area and tour around until 3pm when I’ll need to be at the airport for my 4:30pm flight home. 

I’ll need my sleep for the big day tomorrow, so good night, all!

Florida Adventure - Day 5

Today has been “Family Day.”  I woke early and met “S” and “G” down in the hotel restaurant where we had coffee and tea until “M” joined us.  At 8:30 “B” and “N” arrived and breakfast began.  “H” was once more at a meeting but this time she was voted the Secretary of her Democratic Party group!  “H” is very much a “take charge” person and no doubt she’ll be President of the group before you know it.

After breakfast “M” and “B” flew a kite over the water for a while (kite-flying being one of “M”’s hobbies)

then the group of us attended an Environmental Expo at one of the recreation centers.  The several meeting rooms were filled with vendors of all types offering products and services of maximum benefit to the environment. They ranged from hot tubs to lighting to tote bags made of recycled juice drink bags.  Very clever stuff.  We strolled around until we’d seen all there was to see, including a hybrid car that claims to get 100 miles to the gallon of gas.  We also saw a small tornado shelter they seat in one’s garage UNDER where you park your car.

After the expo we went back to the house where we got the happy news that “H²” was going to join us after all!  Her mechanic pronounced her car in safe condition after having been rear-ended yesterday, and she felt fine herself so at around 3:00pm she walked in the door and joined the conversations and good times.

During the afternoon I read the first 2 chapters of my new novel to the group, and received in return some very excellent feedback!  Changes to be made – they’ll improve the story tenfold!  I love when that happens.

So now it’s nearly 6pm and we’re preparing to have a home-cooked meal here at the house.  It’s more work but rather a homey and welcoming feeling.  “H” of course is setting up her camera to take family photos, and no crawling away to hide (this means you, “G”!)

I rather expect the evening to continue in this vein, being filled with conversation and laughter and making the most of the time together, as “M” “S” and “G” leave again tomorrow.

I’ll let you know what happens.

-----and time passed ------

Well, the supper was wonderful – not only was the food really good, the company and the laughter were fabulous.  We even sang some old-time songs, believe it or not! (remember the San Francisco Whale song by Burl Ives?)  After the meal and a spate of cleaning up we all got together and watched “UP”.  Now it’s about 11:30pm and the conversation has mellowed somewhat but getting us all in the same room is still like herding cats.

Still, it’s been the highlight of my adventure so far – and certainly will remain the day I remember best during my stay.

Florida Adventure - Day Four

Today started a great deal later than the prior three days, since I had no appointments or schedules to keep.  I stayed up late Skyping with Al and reading etc and slept through until an unheard-of 9:00am!  A leisurely shower followed, then a struggle with my hair which didn’t want to behave for any reason.  I strangled it into a high braid and twisted it into a semi-obedient circle, where it has so far remained.

Next I went down to the hotel restaurant where I sat out on the terrace and had breakfast overlooking the little lake with more golf courses on the far side.  It was cool and pleasant with a slight breeze so I enjoyed it for a long while until “H” phoned to say they were coming to meet me there and we’d go to that tram ride we’d been thinking of all week.

Well, sad to say, the tram ride that was usually a guided tour of the Villages turned out to be a special tram ride to visit the 16 model homes they really would like you to buy so we went along with it being that we’d already boarded the tram) and took a look at a few of the models.  They weren’t showing any of the smaller sized homes so we looked at a handful of the big ones. I felt they looked much like the smaller ones, only with the rooms stretched out.  By this time the sun had gotten quite HOT and we were glad to take the tram back and not go see the other 12 homes, thank you anyway!

Lunch was called for then, so we went back to the town square to a restaurant called “Urban Flats” which serves your sandwich or burger on flatbread.  It was pleasant and different and actually very tasty.

After lunch we walked to the Barnes & Noble where we hunted fruitlessly for a gift I wanted to get for “N”.  Darn! 

 She actually found a book she kindly bought for me called “At Home: A Short History of Private Life” by Bill Bryson who also wrote “A Short History of Nearly Everything.”  It covers all sorts of topics having to do with life at home and promises to be not only informative but very funny as well.   I’ll have to keep her shopping until I can find something for her!

So we’re about to leave in two vehicles for the Zydeco Dancing lesson that “B” and “H” are giving, during which “B” and “N” will leave to pick up my brother and his family at the airport.  “H” and I will stay at the lesson then return to the house to await the arrival of “H”s daughter, “H²”.  If my brother’s family are not too tired when they get to the Villages they’ll join us here at the house but if they’d rather just bed down they’ll be taken directly to the hotel, and once “H²” arrives we’ll end up back at the hotel where she’ll be sharing the hotel room with me for the weekend.

----- and time passed -----

As planned we went to the dancing class where “B” and “H” gave some lessons to some eager couples.  After a while “B” left with “N” to pick up my brother and his family and “H” and I remained, I watching and “H” helping another instructor teach some Cajun dances.  It was quite a lot of fun to watch, and I even had a lovely chat with the wife of the other instructor.

After the lesson was over we went back to the house where I read the first two chapters of my new novel to “H” who enjoyed it enough to start guessing what was going on and who was behind the evil deed.  Very satisfying to hear that happen!  

 Sad news came though when “H”’s daughter “H²” phoned to say someone had rear-ended her car half an hour into her drive up to join us, so she turned back home again. She wasn't hurt and her car mostly just got jolted but she felt it wisest to return home.   We’ll miss her!  I had been really looking forward to getting together with her but I guess it will have to wait.  L

Well, before too long the rest of the gang arrived and we went off to the hotel so “M”, “S”, and their son “G” could check in and we could all have a lovely dinner.  It was fun to meet “G” for the first time – he seems like a good fellow. 

After dinner we had a lovely walk along the boardwalk just outside the restaurant, during which “G” played a recording of himself playing the cello which I enjoyed quite a lot.   No doubt “M” and “S” are quite proud! 

 Well,  it was getting chilly down by the water so we all went back to “H” and “B”’s house where we Skyped to Al for a while but what with a full day of traveling, “M” and “S” were quite tired, and “G” had already conked out on the sofa, so we rang off and were taken back to the hotel.

Tomorrow morning we’ll wait for “H” to phone us all so we can get together and have a lovely breakfast before starting out to have a new day’s adventure.

Goodnight to all!

Florida Adventure - Day Three

Ah – I felt much better this morning, having had nearly eight hours of restful sleep.  I think the jet lag is over at last!

It was a lovely, foggy morning when I went outside to await the arrival of “N” and “B” for breakfast. 

The hotel in which I’m staying has a row of wicker rocking chairs in the front and it was delightful to sit down and rock and watch the fog.  The only detriment was a hotel staff member blowing away leaves with one of those noisy blowy-things that pollute the air with fuel fumes and noise.  He left after a while and peaceful tranquility returned, followed shortly by “N” and “B”.

Our breakfast was quite pleasant, enhanced by conversation and cups of tea and coffee. 

Afer this we went to one of the recreation centers where we quickly located “Sparky’s Strummers” by the sounds of banjos and guitars floating through the air.  There’s no instrument more intrinsically jolly than a banjo, and this group gets together regularly for the simple joy of playing old time songs, singing, and playing.  I counted 18 performers, some on guitar, some on banjo, and there was a tambourine and a washboard as well. 

Everyone who knew the song they were playing just opened up and sang along (yours truly included).  One of the musicians was extraordinary on his banjo and had a microphone pointed at it.  His riffs led the way with most songs, and a few microphones were passed around so people could sing the songs they were all playing.

We stayed there for perhaps half an hour then made our way to the car, with “N” dancing all the way; the music having really energized her (or maybe it was the several cups of coffee…I really couldn’t tell)

We spent the rest of the morning driving through the area (“B” should hire himself out as a tour guide!)  taking peeks at open houses to see what the local real estate market has to offer.  We looked at several in a handful of areas, and location really does make a difference – while they were all pretty much the same size range (from 800 feet to about 1300 feet) one of them, being in a new development, was priced far more expensively than the others (and somewhat outrageously, if “B” or I were to be asked).

We’ve now returned to the house and are about to have a lovely lunch, so I’ll sign off.

----- and time passes ----

So now it’s nearly 5pm.  After lunch we went out to look at another house or two – larger ones this time, the cheaper of which listed at $212K.  (“B” knew that this is beyond my means but wanted me to get an idea of what $$ purchases what).  These were quite nice houses with open, airy spaces and the kitchen entirely open to the living/dining area.  Spacious, fair amount of storage, and everything new.  One of these was the newer version of the house “H” and “B” live in, and it was different enough that I had difficulty matching their actual house to the floor plan I was looking at.

In all the homes we saw today I looked for places where we might be able to fit our 3 large birds.  One of the houses actually could have accommodated them; it was actually the first of the small houses we saw in the morning.  This was being sold by a couple who bought it, made upgrades themselves (and a wonderful job they did, too!) and wanted to “flip” it.   They had finished their enclosed lanai so it was a complete structure (as opposed to just a frame and a bunch of screening material) that stretched most of the length of the house. They were selling it furnished (beautifully, too!) with a hot tub for 4 included inside the lanai.  The birds would have fit quite well into that room.  The rest of it was pretty small; 2 bedrooms and 2 baths. Very clean-looking.  A nice showcase type place which did not look at all lived-in, which also meant it did look pretty but did not look welcoming.  Well, they dress these houses up to be sellable.  Still, the stuff they were including in the sale looked delicate and I felt sure I would break a lot of it inadvertently simply from being my own, klutzy self.

“B” and I chatted about the Villages and he mentioned that they really only use their house to sleep in.  Most of their days are spent out of the house doing activities, meetings, and so forth.  I pointed out that this was interesting because Al and I spend most of our time IN our house, so the comfort and amenities of our house are more important to us than they are to “B” and “H”.  “B” suggested that if this was the case, the Villages might not be the right place for us to settle.  He observed that our daughter and niece are important parts of our lives and wondered if it were possible for us to maybe buy a duplex with our daughter and son-in-law up in Oregon. 

I rather thought it would be greatly easier to keep peace in the family if we did not pursue that idea – both Al and our son-in-law are too dominant to peacefully co-exist for any length of time…but I really did appreciate “B”s input.

Well, after all that we dropped Heather off so she could sit attendance at the Democratic Party booth in the nearby Town Square.  We’ll eventually pick her up and go to dinner in one of the restaurants.  I’ll describe that for you later this evening, once I’m back in the hotel.

----- more time passes -----

…and here I am!

So we went back to the town square where “H” was manning the booth with several compatriots and she needed to continue working so “N” and I went to the nearby shoe store to find those sandals she had needed since the other day.  This store was having quite a sale – buy one pair and get two more pairs free so “N” found 3 pairs of sandals (same sandals, 3 different colors) and one of the salespersons handed her a coupon for an additional 25% off (or some such sizeable discount). She ended up with $120 worth of shoes for less than $50!  Excellent.

We went back to the “Vote Democratic” booth but “H” still wasn’t done (“B” was off chatting with a friend) so “N” and I took a stroll around the busy square.  See, this was Thursday night when every week the square fills with craft type booths and live music and people dancing and shopping and strolling.  We walked past people dancing or selling jewelry and caps and hanging decorations and glassware and oh, everything you expect to see at any street craft fair.  I helped "N" find a new purse, at one of these booths (evidently she decided that hers had gotten too old) so our stroll was a successful one.

At last all four of us gathered again and went off to the local deli to have supper.  The matzoh ball soup wasn’t as good as the stuff we get at home but the Chicken Florentine was FABULOUS!! 

After another quick trip back to the “Vote Democratic” booth to pick up the supplies “H” had brought I was dropped off back here at the hotel. 

Tomorrow morning I’ll just chill out here in the hotel until the afternoon when “H” will pick me up in the golf cart. 

See, everyone here has a personalized golf cart as well as a car because most facilities, stores, and services can be reached by golf cart in The Villages, and besides, there are about 87,492 golf courses here.  It appears that every square foot of otherwise unused land has been converted into a golf course so owning a golf cart is what everyone does and all the houses (and I mean nearly every single one!) have a small garage specifically for golf carts.  In fact, I neglected to tell you that yesterday when “B” first picked me up he did so in the golf cart.  There are special, slim roadways built everywhere for the golf carts to use, plus the major roads have golf cart lanes, and it was rather cool to take a scenic tour from within the little golf cart! 

Anyway, “H” will pick me up and bring me to a class in Zydeco dancing that she and “B” teach.  Halfway through the lesson “B” and “N” will leave in the car to travel south to Orlando Airport to pick up my brother “M”, his wife “S” and their son “G”.  That’s right!  Nobody in my family have real names – just initials!  My mother thought it would be easier that way if she had to sew labels into our clothing!  That’s the story I’m going with – work with me, here…

Oh, and I forgot to mention that at some point tomorrow evening the daughter of “H” and “B”, “H²” will arrive.  She’ll bunk with me in the hotel room over the weekend which will give us a wonderful opportunity to catch up, since I haven’t seen her in quite a number of years! 

Other than the above, there appear to be no other activities planned for tomorrow.  “N” had phoned one of the realtors we chatted with to see if he’d be able to show us some of the model homes but as of this writing he had not returned her call.  If they can arrange for someone to give us a quick tour of the more moderately priced models we’ll do that in the morning. Otherwise we’re on our own!

As I am this evening.  Nothing to do now but sit back, watch tv, and catch up on sleep – we got our exercise today!

The Florida Adventure - Day Two

Good morning, Jet Lag. 

After a false awakening at 6am local time, I successfully almost got back to sleep until 7am (remember, that’s still 4am as far as my body was concerned).  I staggered out of bed, found Turner Classic Movies on the TV (couldn’t locate the local classical music station on the radio) and tried to wake up with a shower.  Well, it nearly worked.  I got up early in order to finish and post yesterday’s blog before 8:30 so I could meet my brother-in-law downstairs in time to be taken to their house for breakfast and plan-making and to be given the tour of their Villages home.

Their house is about 1950 square feet and looks really spacious, in part because it’s airy and open.  They’ve a kitchen with a breakfast nook, a central living room with all the other rooms leading into or coming off it.  That consists of the master bedroom (compact but it holds all their stuff) with attached bath (nicely sized, two sinks, shower with built-in seat) and sidle-in closet.  I say this because while it’s technically a walk-in closet, it really isn’t big enough for two peoples’ clothing – if each has a sizeable amount of clothing… apparently my sister and her husband have no trouble fitting in their stuff (she DID say they don’t have a lot of clothing).  It still looks a shade claustrophobic, though.  Well actually, on second thought, maybe it just looks small because they've got a lot of stuff stored in it.  Fair's fair.

Then there’s a dining alcove attached to the living room, and past that is a guest bedroom with a non-attached bath and this has a magic, trick bathtub/shower.  The tricky, magical thing about it is that in order to turn it from a bath to a shower you need to manipulate the actual tap from which the water flows – sort of give it a gynecological examination to encourage it to change to a shower.  No doubt it’s very efficient, but you’d need the deductive reasoning powers of a Sherlock Holmes to figure out how to effect this magic! (Luckily there’s a little explanatory placard on the wall. Who thinks these things up, anyway?

There are also 2 offices and a workroom, as well as a small, enclosed lanai and a “family room” which is referred to as a Florida Room, since it’s got more than its share of windows and light.  All in all a nice house, happily cluttered with comfortable, pretty furniture, artwork of many types displayed on walls and in cases all over, and several simultaneous projects in various stages of progress scattered hither, thither, and yon. 

After a light breakfast brother-in-law “B” took my sister-in-law “N” and me on a brief but needed shopping mission.  See, the wonderful leather shoulder bag/briefcase I had used for this trip self destructed (SO sad! It was a really great bag in its day) so I seriously needed a new shoulder bag, and “N” said she needed some sandals.  “B” patiently took us to a place called “Beall’s”.  Remember that name – there’s a story coming… 

“B” showed us recreation halls, shopping areas, town squares, various clusters (or “villages”) of houses and we became cheerfully lost in one quadrant or another.  The Villages is a big place – 14 square miles of developments and still growing.   Nicely landscaped with intermittent sprays of wetland or ponds or fields with horses or cattle grazing in them.  There’s even a polo club.  It sounds rather picturesque but I have to say it’s kind of sterile-looking at the same time.  The artificiality of it is kind of reminiscent of “The Truman Show” – it has building and quays that have character but the character is fictional.  For example, there’s a building in one of the “town squares” that looks like it was built 100 years ago, and it has a plaque saying how people lived there so long ago and what they did for a living, and it’s all fiction.  The house was built just a few years ago but it’s there to create ambiance and character.  Very Hollywood on-the-set sort of place.  Perhaps there’s such as thing as too much civilization.

After the personalized, guided tour (“N” and I may take an actual “Villages” tram tour tomorrow) we came back, had a quick bite to eat (when was the last time YOU had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich?) and accompanied “H” to one of her photography club meetings (yes, she belongs to more than one photography club). 

This was held in a very professional manner with treasurer reports, agendas, suggestions, and votes which took about 40 minutes out of the two hour session allotted.   Luckily that portion of the meeting ended JUST before I fell asleep (I’m sticking to the Jet Lag excuse on this – don’t argue) and I stepped out to find a place to write this account.  The meeting is held in one of the recreation centers and luckily I found a water fountain and a table in the sunshine where I‘m writing this up while I wait for the meeting to end.

As expected, “H” is still quite the project lady and she and her husband are involved in so many activities and clubs that she prints up a monthly schedule for them so they don’t miss anything!  I doubt President Obama has this diversified a schedule!  Whew!   They showed me the weekly newspaper that announces the meetings for whichever clubs are getting together and invited me to choose some that I might enjoy attending.  Well, I’m not really a joiner and not good with crowds of people, so while I did peruse the enormously extensive listing I really didn’t find anything I felt I couldn’t live without.

Once the photography club meeting is over I don’t know if there are any further plans for the day – but I’m rather hoping not.  I’m looking forward to maybe a quiet supper and early back to the hotel to catch up on sleep.  I’ll finish this later tonight and see whether or not my wish came true.

----- and time passed -----

After the regular meeting ended “H” needed to have another mini-meeting so “N” and I sat together and had a long, sisterly chat about life the universe, and everything.  About another hour passed pleasantly before “H” returned.  It was about 4pm and “N” told “H” about wanting to go back to Beall’s.  We decided to do so and have a girlish hour of “SSHHOOPPPIINNGG”. 

Now, the way the logo for this chain of stores is written, the “a” in the middle looks like a stylized bell, and everyone we asked pronounces the store name as “Bells”. 

But we found an ad painted on the floor of the store itself spelled with that A in the middle, which would make it “Beal’s”, rhyming with “peels”.  Nope, everyone and their cousin called it “Bells”.  We were dissatisfied with this and protested to one another, though our honest protest did not impede our eagerness to shop.  “N” abandoned the idea of sandals and opted instead to look for jeans and shirts.  While “H” went to the “tiny-little-petite-sized-people-whose-shoulders-can-fit-inside-the-cap-of-a-two-liter-bottle-of-soda” department while “N” and I, who are the same generous size went to the “size-of-real-and-not-anorexic-women” department. Being that I didn’t want any clothing (and frankly didn’t see anything really I liked begin with) I suddenly became “N”s Personal Shopper.  See, for the longest time, “N” had insisted on wearing only black, and this had nothing to do with the death of my brother, her husband.  She just wears black all the time. She thinks she only looks nice in black.  Well, dammit, she’s wrong and I wanted to take her out of that little comfort zone and show her how she might add a little zing into her wardrobe and help her feel prettier (I know this problem SO intimately!).  First I found some V-necked shirts (in black, just to please her) and she agreed that she looked quite a lot better (she’s got a round face, like I do).  Then I found a nice grey and black one piece set with the top looking like a jacket. She looks splendid in it (I want to EASE her into new ideas here). 

 She had picked out a scoop-necked black top with pretty cutouts on the scoop.  It really did nothing for her but when I picked up the same top in purple and made her try it on she looked really good!  She was VERY uncertain but “H” helped out with her own, unbiased opinion.  She was busy trying on her “I’m-slimmer-than-one-of-your-thighs” clothes in the fitting room next to “N”s and came out to look.  She immediately agreed that “N” looked great in purple. 

Well, even three ladies can grow tired of shopping (eventually), and after an hour and a half we exited in triumph, picked up “B” at the house, and went to dinner.

Dinner was taken at a nice little Japanese restaurant. The food was pleasant (the miso soup was especially good) but we were all tired, so agreed that “B” and “N” will meet me in the hotel lobby tomorrow morning at 8:30 to have breakfast in the hotel. “H” has another meeting in the morning so she’ll miss the meal.  After that, the three of us might take that tram tour of the Villages I mentioned at the beginning of this blog, and then “B” is eager to show me the model homes.  It’s very heartwarming to see how much “B” and “H” want to share their joyous existence with me and mine – I only hope that if we ever do join them in Florida (a state we have never dreamed of living in) we can find as much delight in the place as they evidently do.

For now – a pleasant goodnight – more tomorrow!  J





The Florida Adventure - Day One

Like every good fairy tale, my adventure began early one morning in a land far, far away.  A t about 5:30 in the morning to be specific; when my eyes refused to stay closed and I reluctantly admitted I was awake.  Well, actually I did have a good excuse for waking up so early – beside having to visit the bathroom. 

See, the wonderful Cobra discount initiated by President Obama had just run out, and I had JUST received a notice in the mail that my new premium would be… (wait for it) $800 per month!  OUCH!  Great news to get on the day before you’re leaving town for a week!  Visualize me screaming through the house for a while until it occurred to me that they were quoting a rate for both Al and myself!  Well, he went onto Medicare in September, so with bated breath I phoned the administrator… who had already gone home for the day.  Their offices opened at 8am central time the next day and I was ready to get on the phone at 6am my time to be their first customer, so eager was I to correct this –ahem- little misunderstanding.  Okay, but first to dress, throw my toothbrush, clothes and whatnot into the suitcase, wake up the birds and feed them – you know – the ordinary morning stuff – except today it started before daybreak. 

Happily, I WAS the first phone call of the day for the Cobra people, who assured me it would cost me a far more reasonable $375/month for my health, dental, and vision insurance.  Whew!  Much better than the $611 the nearest competitor offered!  Plus, there’s a program called Cal-Cobra which will keep me with the same insurance for quite a number of additional months, thank-you-very-much.  So, I wrote a quick check and put it in an envelope, finished feeding the birds and getting myself ready, and lo – exactly on time the Shuttle showed up to take me to the airport.

The driver was a very pleasant fellow, and luckily for me, I was his only passenger!  Anyone who’s ridden airport shuttles knows that a trip that would take you 20 minutes alone can take nearly 2 hours when you’re sharing a shuttle with other bleary-eyed travelers.  So, the day started out luckily!  Airport security was a breeze for a change, and I even found a place that sold semi-edible food for breakfast.  On a roll, here!

Next, while waiting for the plane (I arrived at the airport at 9:30 for an 11:15 flight) I happened to sit next to a young lady with a teacup Yorkshire terrier in a little carrier bag and she and I and another lady chatted about animals until we boarded the plane.  

This being Southwest, you may already know that there’s no assigned seating, but having checked in online the night before, I was one of the first passengers on the plane and took an aisle seat (from which I’m typing this as we fly toward Orlando) in the 2^nd row. I don’t like the first row, despite the added leg room, because there are no tray tables on which to put my Netbook.

Resigned, I sat back.  Why resigned?  Because there are no direct flights between Burbank, California and Orlando, Florida.  Today’s flight actually started in San Diego, and from Burbank flew to Oakland (one hour’s flight), then to Denver (2.5 more hours) and finally to Orlando (another 3 plus-a-little hours). 

Despite rainy weather, the flight to Orlando was fine – a few bumps but nothing to spill your beverage over.  We spewed out most of the passengers and took on more.  Same basic story to Denver  - spew – re-board.  The main difference was that in Denver we took on kids.  A LOT of kids.  This plane was going to Orlando, after all.  Disney World territory.  Yeah.  Well, I have to admit that the flight attendant handled it well. He did this cheer-leader sort of thing, asking how many kids were on their way to Disney World, and they sort of groaned out answers, so he did one of those “I can’t hear you” things until the kids shouted out happily.  “Great,” he said.  “Now, that’s the last sound we want to hear from you for the next three hours.”  Now it was the adults shouting happily.

As I type, we have perhaps one more hour to go to reach Orlando, and though I haven’t done much beside read, nap, and write this, it’s been a tiring day.  Plus, my culinary experiences have lacked a certain luster…an egg and bacon sandwich for breakfast (minus one of the slices of bread), then some complimentary peanuts and crackers on the plane, followed by one granola bar, then a small bag of ritz cheese crackers, and TWO complimentary packets of peanuts (be still my heart!) and a few cups of water.  Think of the weight I’ll lose!

Well, so I’m looking forward to one final, draggy hour here on board the airplane – and then into the welcoming arms of my family!  And THEN the fun will begin!

----- and time passes -----

Okay – it’s now Wednesday morning in the hotel room and I can now finish telling you about Day One. 

As the plane taxied to the terminal the flight attendant sang to the kids, welcoming them to Orlando (and thanking them for flying southwest) in a Disney tune (I forget which one – hey, I was TIRED!)  Then he described how Tinkerbell would visit the kids in their hotels but they’d have to stay up ‘til midnight, and she’d only visit the kids who made the most noise.  I’m surprised none of the parents beat him up as they left the plane!

Anyway, once off the plane everyone sort of drifted in the direction of the baggage carousels and there I found my sister "H" and my sister in law "N" smiling at me!  What a nice sight – I hugged them both simultaneously, and then found my sister's husband, "B", who had already been watching for my luggage.  Thankfully, it DID arrive (whew) and off we went.

I had NO idea that The Villages was such a long drive from Orlando!  A bit over 50 miles, according to "B"! Yeow!  Happily the roads are very good and of course, it being after 11pm  there was no traffic.  They brought me to the hotel, came up to have a look at the room (decent, fairly typical room) and staggered back to their place (tired, that’s all).

As to the hotel, it has some amount of charm – lots of wicker furniture, very coarse TP and tissues (do NOT attempt to use if you have any conditions that leave your skin delicate!) and no complimentary mouthwash. Darn.  I had been looking forward to that – oh well.  The bed was large and fairly comfortable for a person who’s slept on a waterbed for 30 years…and naturally I didn’t sleep very well.  Of course, that’s typical of all travelers – first night away is the worst, and it gets better night by night.  Actually, since I didn’t get to bed until 1am (eastern time) and had to wake up at 7, I’m still kind of tired this morning.  Jet lag, no doubt.  To me it isn’t quite 5am as I type this…

So, in another half hour "B" will meet me downstairs and drive me over to their house where we’ll breakfast and figure out what else we’ll do with our time. 

The adventure has official begun! (why do I feel like Hewell Howser when I say that?)

A Kiss is Still A Kiss – Except When It Isn’t.

I guess I’m showing how old I am when I say that I think the kissing scenes in older movies were more passionate and real-looking than the ones I see in modern movies and on TV today.  Kisses used to be nearly a merging of two people into one – a yearning from one to the other, and those actors and actresses were really good at making you think the people they portrayed were seriously in love with one another. 

Take a look, for example at Errol Flynn and Olivia DeHavilland in that balcony scene from “The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)  They each lean into the other and you can nearly hear their teeth click together.  THAT’s a kiss.

Do you remember the embrace at the end of “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” (1961) where George Peppard gives Audrey Hepburn that lecture about love and then grabs her and gives her a lip-lock?  You could really believe that he couldn’t live another moment without expressing that passion and to hell with the rain.

And how about a show of hands for everyone who melted a little bit at the moment in “Gone with the Wind” (1939) when Clark Gable tells Vivian Leigh how she’s sending a soldier to his death with a beautiful memory and gives her the smooch of her life?

And yes, Harrison Ford lit up the theater screen when he kissed Carrie Fisher in “Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.” (1980)  You could really believe that they were in love.

And how about what is probably the most famous kiss ever filmed?  Take a look at “From Here to Eternity” (1953) where Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr are lying on the beach with the surf splashing up all over them. (yes, we all understand that water is symbolic for sex – it just made it all that much better).   They’re nearly eating each other’s mouths off and just their evident passion was enough to make the ladies in the audience sigh and go all dewy-eyed. 

That’s what kisses should be.  Steaming – Sizzling – Imperative - Uncontrollable.  Those on-screen lovers put their entire bodies and souls into their kisses and made us believe their very lives depended on the embrace.  In fact, on-screen kisses used to be so hot that during that era Bollywood filmmakers were prohibited from filming lip-to-lip kisses!

Now compare the above to what you see today.  Clearly this is the age of “I-really-don’t-want-to-get-too-close-to-you-because-you-might-have-a-DISEASE.”

Imagine taking paper cutouts of a guy facing right and a girl facing left.  Push the two pieces of paper together and that’s what today’s on screen kisses look like to me. Their faces remain perfectly upright, as though they really don’t like each other, much less want to be kissing each other but hey, it’s in the script.  There’s no leaning into each other – No moving the head to an angle to avoid the other’s teeth so you can get even closer to the other person.  I just don’t believe those kisses.  For me, seeing that artificiality; that lack of emotional contact completely breaks the scene for me.

I dunno; maybe their agents want their faces to show up more clearly so they instruct them to keep their faces upright while their lips are together so the camera can see as much of their bone structure as possible. Maybe it’s a constant fight to see who shows up more recognizably on the screen.  Hey, they get their percentage’s worth, I guess.

Whatever the reason, today’s on screen kisses leave me cold. 

For example, take that lovely scene toward the end of “Lord of the Rings: Return of the King” (2003) where the newly crowned King Aragorn kisses Arwen, his queen.  Their lips meet, yeah, but their minds, hearts, and souls quite clearly do not.  It was like siblings kissing; it was nearly platonic, as though the kiss was part of the coronation ceremony they were obliged to perform.  Oh, it sort of came close for a moment but – sorry – I didn’t believe this was an expression of nearly 100 years of passionate love.

And on TV – one of my favorite shows is Bones.  For season after season we’ve been watching for the underlying fire to ignite between Booth and Brennan, and when they finally meet lip-to-lip under some mistletoe, though the crusty prosecutor, Caroline Julian (Patricia Belcher) comments on how steamy it is, to my eyes and mind it was as sterile as an operating room.   Their clamped-shut mouths actually do touch but there’s no communication there at all – no feelings (yes, we understand that the basic premise has to do with Brennan’s disconnection from her feelings but Booth is supposed to be very  much in touch with his).  There was no expression showing that they even vaguely like one another.  It’s rehearsed, practiced, and about as spontaneous and believable as a report by Fox News.

Like I say, maybe it’s just me getting old.  Maybe it takes less pilot light for today’s younger people to get ignited and they’re seeing more in these chaste lip-pressings than I am.  Hey, maybe it just takes more fuel for my own fire to light up (though I rather don’t think so…).  But it makes me sad to imagine that actors won’t, don’t or can’t express that wild, uncontrollable passion we all so appreciated ‘way back when, when just the name “From Here to Eternity” would turn the average woman’s cheeks scarlet. 

So, hey, Hollywood producers.  You’re really big on violence and gore and creatures with stuff dripping off them.  You seem to WANT to deal in extremes.  How about some extreme emotions that don’t have anything to do with chopping people into small, icky bits?  How about focusing on REAL stories, REAL, believable characters, and REAL, honest-to-goodness, make the audience’s toes curl love WITHOUT having to show boobs, butts, or young men acting like 10 year olds?

THAT’ll sell some popcorn!

An Important Warning! No, REALLY!!

What a world we live in!  Dishonest people exist at all levels of society, from the ultra wealthy who make decisions based on the health of their corporation without concern for the welfare of the people who work (or used to work) within it, to beggars and pickpockets on the streets.

While it could be said that our present economic woes were caused by the first type of criminal, it trickles down to affect the actions and attitudes of the latter, who as they become more desperate, take bolder actions to ply their infamous trade.

I’ve now become one of the victims.

A minor attack, all things considered but one real enough for me to want to warn you to take action before you encounter a similar assault.

My mailbox has been pilfered.    

“Oh, big deal!” I hear you scoff, but before you turn away I need to tell you that the ONLY things that were stolen were my monthly bills for my VISA CARD (which is mailed around the 10^th of each month) and my AMERICAN EXPRESS CARD (which is mailed around the 20^th of each month).  I point out the mailing dates because this clearly shows that whoever has been thieving has also been watching and perusing my mail, because they stole contents on two different dates!!

I received all my other monthly bills.  Just the credit card bills were missing.  Suspicious?  You don’t have to be paranoid to think it is.

So yesterday I had a nice little chat with my Postmaster, who told me that mail theft is common, and WORSENS IN A POOR ECONOMY and that they run in waves.  These brash people are looking for anything that might mean money to them – credit card statements, social security checks, unemployment checks – ANYTHING!  They know WHAT you receive in the mail, and they know WHEN you receive it.  She told me she once saw two women in a car with children in the back seat blatantly driving from one mailbox to the next, pilfering!  (nice lesson to teach your kids – the next generation of jailbirds!)  Yes, she phoned the police but they arrived too late to catch the thieves.  She also pointed out that that mail theft is only going to get worse as jobs continue to be scarce!

And yes, I rented a P.O. Box yesterday after my conversation with the Postmaster, and have now directed all my financial-type mail to the box. 

Sad world, isn’t it, that these people are so selfish and uncaring they take money from the elderly and from people who are just as desperate as they are.  Talk about dog-eat-dog.  It’s like Lily Tomlin once said,  “The trouble with the rat race is that even if you win, you’re still a rat.” 

  

The point is that I encourage all of you to give business to your local Post Office and protect yourself!  A friend of mine who suffered Identity Theft with her credit card told me it took over two YEARS for her life to get back to normal, and that this was a relatively SHORT amount of time! 

So, go buy a Post Office Box.

Or a really BIG Doberman Pinscher.