Beach days should be fun

Picture a street abandoned by people. A traffic light slightly swinging in the breeze. The traffic light turned off along with the city lights. The electricity dried up waiting for Gustav. The sky darkens and the squalls and walls of rain flooding the street set in. The fairly calm street light turns and twist and is violently whipped around. The wind is howling like an army of freight trains barreling through the street of Louisiana. The wire holding the street light up snaps apart and the gravity drives the street light crashing to the ground. No one got hurt, because most people obeyed the get out of town warnings issued by the government. The lessons of disaster left by Hurricane Katrina are still fresh on the minds of many people. People stranded on roofs of houses, because the rest of their houses were covered be water. The pets were left behind. Some pets never got to see their owners again. Doctors made gut wrenching decisions about patients' lives without electricity or an escape plan. The Mayor of New Orleans promises this time would be different. There is supposed to be 700 buses ready to take people out of the city. The gridlock on the road is still there. I can only hope for the best with this storm because Florida is not out of the woods regarding Hanna. Hanna follows in the footsteps of Gustav. Creeping ever so closer to the lower part of Florida. Around the Keys and posing a threat to come into our state. Floridians are trying to recover from the rainmaker of Tropical storm Fay. Hanna needs to move on her way and follow Gustav to Louisiana or Texas.

Saturday will probablby be stockup day at the stores

Remember the show " Leave it to Beaver?" Beaver's problems would be solved in an hour and life would be perfect again. There were no Casey and Cay lee stories in "Leave it to Beaver. There were no hurricanes like Gustav or Hanna threatening the coastlines of Louisiana and Florida. In fact, I can only recall maybe one episode where Beaver talks with the guy at the fire station and it might have rained a little. The latest on Casey is that she was re arrested for stealing checks and using them. I don't know if Casey will get out again or remain in Jail. This is the next exciting episode in the made for television movie which will probably make someone very rich. I am glued to the TV to find out what will happen next? The storms also have both mom and I paying close attention to be sure we don't get caught without an escape plan. Mom and I stuck it out at home with Tropical Storm Fay who just hung around. The hurricanes would probably mean higher winds and possibly roof damage. Power usually goes out for a while. There is such a sense of isolation when the power goes out. I feel so out of touch with the world. I can not use the computer. I can not make the coffee or watch television. I go to flip the light on in the bathroom and nothing happens. Last time, I was glad it was daylight. It is much harder using a flashlight or one of those little light lamps to find my way around in the bathroom. After I exit the bathroom, I have to take the flashlight or little light lamp and find my way back to my bed. The air conditioning would be off and the ceiling fan would be dead as a doornail without electricity. I do have a tiny portable battery fan, but the batteries need to be changed out. It won't work without fresh batteries. I hear no outside chirping crickets from inside the house. It seems pretty peaceful right now. I hope it remains like this for along time.

The start of the Labor Day Weekend

It's Friday morning August 29, 2008 and I have had my first cup of coffee. Plus, I have talked with my sister using night minutes on my cell phone. Mom and I went out last night for a little ice cream treat. I got a waffle cone with some almond ice cream and a little chocolate dripped on top. The almond ice cream almost tasted like cherry ice cream. It all went down so well together. The beach was about the same as I have seen on other nights. I did see a few more pelicans flying over head on the beach. Mom and I didn't stay long. The storm clouds were coming our way and the Democratic Convention was on. Mom didn't want to miss Obama's acceptance speech. I considered the way he spoke a cross between a preacher and a football coach. I have seen on I forget which television show about the late night comics, making political fun of the Democratic National Convention. The part where Obama's little girl says" I love you daddy." The comic had John Edwards face posted with a little blond baby running up saying" I love you daddy." The comic was poking fun at Edward's affair and the child he said was not his own.

What is next for Casey and Caylee?

It is hard to swallow bad news when it catches up to you. Somehow it seemed the obvious was going to come around; even though, I was hoping for a better outcome. What I am talking about is the Cay lee story, which is almost coming to a closing regarding where she is located. It all has to deal with the solid evidence of the stain in the car and her hair samples. A lab in Tennessee says the samples are of a decomposing body and the DNA is matched to Cay lee. My first reaction wasn't so much of what the mother Casey must be thinking about the evidence and how she will talk her way out of the solid leads. It was on how the little girl must have suffered. The video shows a happy little girl at a birthday party saying "Momma and Pap pa." The truth lies when the video is turned off and no picture is taken. She ranked way down on the ladder of importance. The time lapsed between her last sighting and being reported to the authorities was not what I would consider normal. I would be crawling the walls, if I had lost a kid more than a day much less a month. I learned through the news media Casey had wanted to give up Cay lee for adoption before she was born. However, Casey's mom Cindy would not permit this to happen. I also learned through the news media, Casey was a party girl. She used drugs and had more than one affair with different guys. These were not the signs of a caring mom. Casey's love of self ranked over the love of her daughter Cay lee. The Bounty Hunter who put up the bail money said "this was a mistake." I am sure he regrets Casey's lack of honesty concerning her daughter. He bought into the theory Cay lee was kidnapped and that some friends were just looking after Cay lee. The friends who were suppose to look after Cay lee was doing this, because Casey was upset with her dad. The theory was unproven and was dismissed with the release of the solid DNA evidence which will stand up in a Court of Law. The Bounty Hunter from California was mislead and so were the hopes of the public for a better outcome of the results. I would strongly suspect Casey will go back to jail and the Bounty Hunter will go home to California. The storyline of Cay lee will change dramatically and I don't know what the end result will be. The story goes on until everything draws to a close.

Report to Bird Island

I never thought much of Ballet, but to me the pelicans flying through the air was a Ballet dance on the wind currents. What I saw were groups of Pelicans flying through the North draw bridge gliding around in loose circles in front of and over the raise the section portion of the bridge where the bridge tender stayed. I got situation on a park bench, where I could see the show of the pelicans gliding in towards me. They swooped in hard and fast. I wondered if I could get my camera ready fast enough to grab the shot. Three of the pelicans would glide in and out so fast. It was like playing my catch the bass game where when the bass came by too fast you just had to let him go. Try to catch him the next time, because I promised to my self, I would be better prepared.

The one drawback of being at the North park was my back facing the sun and I could not get the dynamite sunset shot especially with the pelicans flying overhead with golden sunlight reflecting on their wings. I also would have liked to taken a shot where the pelican was on a dock way where the fishermen would be fishing begging for a fish handout. It was reminiscing of the television series"Gentle Ben" where there would be a pelican following the humans around like a puppy dog. Throwing a fish to the pelicans was like a reward for being a good bird. The pelican did resent the humans, if he did not get the fish. He would fly away in a childlike tantrum, but pretty soon forget. He would replace those feelings with goals of catching a fish himself by sitting in the water until he spots one he could scoop up with his beak.

The sunlight gave a soft reflective yellow glow to the buildings across the Inter coastal Waterway. The wind kept the humidity down. I was only bitten once in the leg by a mosquito. Both mom and I figured the temperature was in the 70's. Mom saw a guy fishing out in the water up to his waistline. I missed the chance to take his picture.

There is a sunset tour put on by the Marine Discovery Center which cost 25 dollars a person. It is a wine and cheese tour which brings you up to bird island around dusk. There would be loads of birds trying to nest in the thickets. I did not pay much attention to where the pelicans hung out. I would only hope they would have a good little place to get tucked away for the night. Mom and I went on to the beach, but not much bird action there. It was more like a people beach with the drunk guys getting friendly with the little dogs which owners come to just find a bench to sit on. I went home with a prize load of pictures and I am glad I caught them on camera.

It is Primary Voting Day

The sun is coming up and my sister is at the voting place in Williston, Florida getting the booths ready for the voters. It looks to be a nice morning at the beach with rains in the afternoon. There is a summer bug outside bellowing a fast fluttery cha,cha,cha. There is another bug with a slower drawn out chi chi chi sound. These are happy sounds of after a rain storm summer. An orchestra of bug music mostly ignored by man.

Mom and I watched the Democratic Convention last night. I missed the part with Jimmy Carter, but I did catch Ted Kennedy's speech. Plus, I stayed to watch Michelle Obama talk about her husband Barrack Obama. Barrack Obama will be the Candidate for the Democrats on Thursday. Tonight is the Clintons. Hillary and Bill will be supporting Barrack and hopefully stirring the crowd up for support.

Just a lot of memories

Before I forget, special awards go to Placio Domingo for making Chinese music sound so good at the Olympic Closing Ceremonies. He took the shrill out of Chinese singing and replaced it with a sweet melody he tried to share with a lady Chinese singer. The lady's voice was typical Chinese shrill which would sound good in China. However, to me it lacked sweetness of a good Operatic tone which is usually associated with songs about love. I liked Placio's duet better than I liked Sarah Brightman's duet in the opening Ceremonies. Placio's duet was the last song of the evening and a nice way to close the show.

In other news, the blue skies have returned to the beach. It was nice to see sunshine reflected on the sand and in the water. The birds and beach going people living together on the shoreline until one gets annoyed with the other. The humans stretched out in their beach lounge chairs suddenly decide, the birds are too close to their territory. The male of the species starts throwing small packed pieces of dirt at the birds to get them to leave. The birds slowly take to flight with their long outstretched wings flapping on the small air currents making shrilling seagull noises. The bird sounds are alarms to let the humans know they are disturbed. They would gladly go away, if they had some morsel of food in their beaks. The seagulls are just hungry birds looking to fill their tummies and grow disinterested in humans after eating. No one at the beach including mom and I had a loaf of bread, we could feed the birds. Mom noticed a couple of the seagulls looking brown in color. There seemed to be more than one variety of bird at the beach. Mom and I noticed a surfer with a sail attached overhead. This surfer seemed to make good speed gliding across the waves with the greatest of ease. The sail helped give the surfboard direction and put a wind motor where non had been there before. It was an interesting sight to see and I regret not taking my camera along for the trip. I guess the reason for leaving it at home would be that I thought this trip was just going to be a shopping trip. I was reluctant at first to leave the comfort of my house to go on a shopping trip, I thought the trip would be dull and boring. I was wrong, I got to compare prices of a regular mop 1.50 and a squeeze mop which was 6 dollars. I wanted a squeeze mop, but I didn't want to pay 6 dollars. I thought maybe someone else would have the mop for a bit cheaper. Again I was wrong, the same mop was 12 dollars at Food Lion. Does this mean I have to swallow my pride and go back and buy the 6 dollar mop? I have not done this deed yet. I have also learned from Food Lion the frozen dinners are mostly in the 3 dollar range. There are specials like 2 for 5 dollars like Hungry man or 4 for 5 dollars like the small versions of Michelina's Swedish Meatballs. The gas prices at the beach are starting to make their decent from the 4 dollar plateau. They are moving not as fast as the prices in Sanford, Florida or Orlando, Florida. However, any drop in gas price to me is a good drop in gas price. Dinner was fried Salmon, part of a sweet potato, one ear of corn and a small salad. Afterwards, this was topped off with some chocolate sugar free cookies. The end to a fun Sunday.

Addicted to the next level

I don't know if it started with Pac Man or a simple game of TV tennis or even the big version of Pin Ball . I really noticed it, when I was introduced to Super Mario Brothers. What I am talking about is the spirit of competition. The drive to push myself to the next level. Competing against my current level of accomplishment to score a higher number. The inner rate of frustration which grows from being timed and getting the points is so against my everyday way of thinking. I am normally very relaxed and easy going. However, this reflects the job values I had with my last job. I had an inside rigid code of being on time and working harder and faster. I was in a constant fight with the fact that no one stood over me with a clock or sanctioned me for not meeting a quota. The computer games drive up the level of frustration, because I have to keep fighting to keep every point I get on the game. For instance, the bass fishing game, I would assume would be a nice easy toss the line in the water and catch the fish. The bass fishing game is timed and the boat moves back and forth with a motor only for a short time. Pretty soon there is a guy who has to use a paddle to reach the area where you toss the line in order to catch the fish. If I am down to the last second and have a fish on my fishing line, I still lose the point. The fish is on the line, but not tossed in the boat. The game says "He got away". I yell in frustration "Nooo!!" I feel like the kid who claims it isn't fair, because I really tried to get the point. I felt like I deserved the point. I even change games to see if my expectations were lowered, due to a different game. The game starts out with an acceptance, but grew to a I should have been able to do it better. Why didn't I get a better score?

The weather is improving

Last night, I believe was the tail end of the ruff sea waves and the tail end of Tropical Storm Fay. I don't know her current status, but she was leaving us with less wind and breaks in the clouds where the sun almost peaked through. I did not bring my camera, when mom and I went to the North entrance of the beach. I figured it was too dark to get any good shots. Plus, it didn't seem like we would be there for a long time. When I got out of the car, I went to the ledge in front of the park structure cover, I gazed more at the soft off color white sand. It was kind of wet from the rain and packed down.The sand did not have many people walking on it close to where the park structure cover was located. The people on the beach were mostly close to the water's edge. There were a couple of kids playing in the shallow water. There was one young couple venturing out into the churning ruff water battling the waves. There were surfers perched on their surf boards waiting for the ideal wave to bring them into the shoreline. The evening seemed pretty peaceful with the wind blowing against my face. Mom thought the young couple should not have ventured out in the water, after hearing about the 35 year old lady who drowned from being pulled under by a rip current. Fortunately, there were no tragic situations on our beach. The harmony was there between man and ocean. Everyone got along together fine. Mom and I even made friends with a couple of black shaggy rug looking New Found land dogs who enjoyed being petted and made over like they were special. I asked the owners questions like how much do they eat? The answer is 8 cups of dog food. How old were they? One was a raised from a puppy and the other 2 years old. Both dogs young in age, but intelligent looking adults with puppy eyes and a body like a moving shag carpet. When we were about to leave, I could hear the sounds of more barking little dogs. I never got to see their appearance, but I figured they were a lively bunch by the level of constant barking. When we arrived home, the power was on and the television set was there to greet us. Mom had a small glass of wine and I settled in at the computer writing to my online buddies. The end to a pretty good Friday.

Pizza and Pork Chops

Two of the best combinations anyone can ask for is pizza and pork chops. This came about by a power outage. Mom originally wanted to make pork chops for dinner. I wanted something more exciting. I like pork chops, but I felt slightly cheated at lunch with Healthy Choice Wedding Soup. Mom tried to dress it up with a little ham and onions. However, I still thought it tasted strange. The power went out around two in the afternoon before the pork chops were cooked. An hour later, I was wondering where we were going to get dinner. I thought the power could be out all night. I broke down and called Domino's. They had power and were there in 45 minutes. The pizza cost almost twenty with tips and price of pizza. However, it was worth not having to cook and the convenience of having it delivered to the house. This is not something I would do everyday, but it is great on special occasions like a power outage. The power did come back on right before the pizza was delivered. The pizza was nice and hot. We also cooked the pork chops on the stove and mom ate one. I figured I could have it for lunch today. Plus, there is leftover pizza for lunch. I hear night crickets singing away. All the water from the storm has made them quite active in song. I see the eye of the storm is moving away from the East Coast. It also looks like the eye will be back in the Gulf of Mexico by later on today. It will be nice to see the sun shine and to dry clothes on the clothes line again. As far as putting the porch back to a pre-hurricane state, it will depend on when the next storm will be in our area. I hope there is time between storms to return to a normal state. It is nice to have power again. I am back on line with the world through the television and the Internet.

Back to normal

Memories are what we as residents of Volusia County, Florida will be left with after Tropical Storm Fay has made her final track across the State. All five media trucks from the local area television stations will be gone. There will be no more reporter standing against the blowing wind with a drenched wet rain coat. There will be no more random interviews of what the long time resident or visitor thought of the storm. The beach erosion will still be there. The garbage services will be back to normal. All of the city services will be back on a regular schedule. There will be sunrises and sunsets on a regular schedule. Plus, the kids will finally have to go back to school. I feel fortunate to have kept power during the storm. I also feel thankful not to live in Brevard County. The one plus issue the reporters did bring out is how bad the sewer system is in Brevard County. I hope the officials seriously look at the issue not only as a matter of Health, but a matter of maintaining a good productive County. The residents have a hard enough time just holding on to a job in today's economy. The layoffs at the Space Center and the drive time to get to a job is enough stress placed on the local resident. The streets being flooded with sewage is not something anyone would want to encounter. If change comes about because of the news reports, then this would be a good thing. The water in Volusia has been good for the yards and makes things grow. It also will help in keeping down the wild fires at least for a while. I don't hear the howling wind like I did yesterday. I had a glass of beer with chili and rice which was my tropical storm celebration. There were no margaritas or Florida Hurricanes consumed by me this time. My little key lime tree can go back outside. Plus the garbage and recyclables can go outside for the pickup . The hurricane shutters never went up on our house, so we don't have to take them down. This was an OK storm, but I hope we can be excused from the next one.

Hairy, Scary, Weather

The wind has seem to diminish to a mild calm purring kitty cat settling down to sleep. It was whipping around with a slight wind howling with someone dumping sheets of rain down on the ground where a big splashing sound would have been made. This is what the weather TV people call a Feeder Band. I know once the daylight creeps in all the TV people will be down on the beach to point out how much sand erosion took place. I heard the dollar sign attached to the beach renourishment project and the statement saying it had been wiped out in the last 24 hours. I am glad the storm isn't hanging around here. The latest path has it moving up the East Coast and crossing over Jacksonville back into the State of Florida. I like the water this storm has left here. Plus the fact, all our trees are still standing. Non has fallen during the storm. The water is needed for our Aquafer and to water our yard.

I wonder where the birds go when the weather is totally wet? I have heard and have seen bird island. Do they all huddle there in the wet weather? The pelicans, seagulls, and Egrets are doing what with their time? How about those gopher turtles? I bet they are pretty unhappy to have water gushing down their hole in the ground which is also their home. The gopher turtle which was next door did not want to be disturbed . The times I was too close, he would hiss at me. The neighbor moved the turtle when he put rocks in his yard. I assume this turtle built a new home and is happy at the new location.

It is a nice feeling to be safe and dry while listening to the rain outside my window. I also like the coolness from the air conditioner. It makes for a nice artificial environment while drinking my first hot cup of coffee. Mom gets the Daytona paper during the week. I imagine it may be totally soaked. I think of those kids in Orlando having to drag themselves out of bed and getting ready for school again while other kids in neighboring counties can sleep in. I heard the schools were already arranging makeup days.

Fay has arrived

Storm preparations have been steady and watching weather reports furious. This is worse than going to the horse races. It hasn't been hurricane party time yet. I haven't had that six different liquored drink which gives off a nice buzz feeling. One is my limit and nice limit to have. Margaritas are maybe two big glasses. I like the salty tortilla chips and some mild salsa with the Margaritas. The moon was out last night. I don't know about this morning. Today is suppose to be the day of the rain and wind. The day is starting off right with lots of coffee. The power still on and working. The air conditioning unit is keeping the house a cool 78 degrees. The porch was arranged this way in the picture so no stuff would be flying around and damage would be light. It looks like things were knock over already. However, this was only done by mom and I. The fun will be putting it back together after the storm is gone. I took a peak outside and it is really dark. I did not see any traces of a moon, but I did hear the night crickets singing a happy tune. At least, the crickets seemed happy to me. Fay, so far has not been like Hurricane Charley. There was a blanket of grey clouds which came yesterday and not a blanket of black clouds like Charley provided. I am hoping the storm lightly moves through the state and only leaves some rain behind. This is my wishful thinking.

Please pose for the camera

Mom took me to the North end of the beach long before sunset. We both sat on the same bench after we had been looked at the people playing on the beach. A pre-teen what mom labels a little girl showed up with her other buddy and started a high pitched squeal scream festival. Every few minutes, I would hear this high pitched squeal followed by my mom saying " quit screaming." The girls would give my mom a funny glare and return back to their screaming and spitting. Their mom even scolded them, but it was like talking to the wind. The two girls headed towards the water with boogie boards and when they got there, mom and I could still here them scream. However, they were off in a distance so it did not bother my mom as much as when they were close to her. This is a picture of the Walgreen's bird which I took several pictures poses. He was a little camera shy at first, but pretty soon just stood there still. After, I finish taking pictures, the bird disappeared.

Today is garbage day. Also, it may be put up the Hurricane shutters day. If the storm looks like it is heading our way. The path seems to switch back and forth. I wonder where the raccoons hide when the rainy weather comes pounding down? I stopped a raccoon from trying to open my garbage can the other morning. I walked out on the porch and the can was knocked over. However, there were two secure ties holding down the lid and the raccoon was not going to penetrate the lid. It was a lost cause for the raccoon.

Reflections of a family

This is a picture of my dad and my sister hanging up socks together. I feel like this picture is a real family togetherness picture. I like seeing pictures like this because it is harder to find this day. I have heard of family members feuding with each other. I have heard of affairs breaking up families. Affairs are not only hard on the spouse being cheated on, it is also hard on the children. Mom and Dad aren't united anymore, the children are splitting their loyalty by the absence of one parent. I had a babysitting job where I was told by the father that the mother never loved the kids. The mother did come around to see the kids like she still was apart of the original family. However, she had a boyfriend and would not stay for a long period of time. The kids put up a big front like nothing was wrong, but there were signs of a family missing the traditional structure. The kids would never eat a meal which was cooked on the stove. There dad bought them nothing but frozen dinners. If I tried to cook something on the stove, they would flat out refuse to eat it. The kids introduced me to Nintendo, which I got heavily involved like they were involved. The mazes were a challenge and it also took up time, until dad got home from work. The older sister Katie became the substitute mom over Billy who told me he did not need a babysitter. After I had left the job, I heard the father was dating a Spanish lady with kids of her own. I lost track of Billy and Katie. I hoped they turned out OK and are living productive lives.

Reflecting ahead to the John Edward's affair, I only hope he can turn his loyalties back to his own children and step up to the plate by being a full time dad. I feel for his wife Elizabeth who has terminal Cancer. She was asked to forgive her husband which she did. She said she did it for the sake of her children. She has shown a lot more courage than John Edwards could ever show in his life time. I hope John can put his affair in the past and not go back to his wild ways. This is not good for his young children. Plus, he needs to honor his marriage vows to keep structure in every one's lives.

Barefoot

I was asking mom about if she went barefoot as a kid around where she lived. She answered a firm"No." Mom grew up in Indiana where she always wore shoes. I guess to her it was unthinkable to stroll around without shoes. She was not the carefree Tom Sawyer or Huckleberry Finn type who would rather be fishing than doing the house chores. Mom always lived a structured life ; even though, she lost her own mom when she was born. My mom grew up under my Granddad's care . She also got to spend her Summers on a farm in Upland, Indiana. This was a farm with cows, chickens, barn, well, and big two story house. She never got to milk the cows, but she did carry buckets of milk to the house. I also remember there was a windmill by the house. Two pictures which I have lost track of is my mom tending to a herd of cows at the farm and I as a small child holding a cup under the hand pump over the outside well. I spent my childhood youth in bare feet. I went through a time when the dangers of the world were eons away. I do remember occasionally getting sand spurs in my feet which was no fun. I never got my feet cut by glass, but I did get punctured by a thumb tack. However, it did not penetrate deep into my skin. I liked the feel of cool asphalt on the bottom of my feet. I also liked the feel of cool mud shifting between my toes. I liked horseback riding and leaving my toes dangling exposed to the wind. I have heard going barefoot would make your feet grow. My feet widen a bit, but not to an outrageous size. I did spend more time in tight leather shoes, sneakers, and foot pumps. Plus, I would be wearing socks and pantie hose. My feet endured the feel of the closed up foot, where my feet would sweat. Now, I spend most of my time at home and I have returned to the bare foot inside the house. If I do go out, I will wear sneakers without the socks. I love the feel of the ocean water running over my feet. I also like the sinking cold sand below my feet. The other day, I retrieved a lizard out of the bathtub which crawled up through the drain. It got loose from the cloth that I was carrying and would glide over my arm and hand with it's frog like suction cup feet. I turned it loose outside and it fell on to a branch which I left for the coolness of the house. I know if I taken a shower with the lizard, I probably would have freaked out. This lizard did not bother me at all while I held it. It was like the coral snake which ran over my mom's feet when we lived in the Town of Oakland, Florida. It happened so fast, there wasn't time to react until it was over. Jodie from "The Yearling Movie" was running through the woods with no shoes. I know this wouldn't happen in real life. I don't think he could get away without getting snake bitten or getting stickers lodged in his feet. The foot is an important part of me. so I will do what I can to take care of my feet.

Time is just going to fast on Saturday

Somebody slow the clock down. I got up an hour later than I normally do. I took my medicine later than I I normally do. The coffee had to be made. The dishes had to be taken out of the dishwasher. The dirty dishes loaded into the dishwasher. I haven't opened the blinds to see if there is a sunrise. My routine during the week would be, I would be watching Star Trek now. Today, my sister goes for training on using election equipment. She is going to be a poll worker.This is fun for her, because she seems to learn new things every time. Plus, she likes the people she meets there at the polls.

I have put away my night clothes and replaced them with a black pair of shorts and a tee shirt from my Uncle in California. The tee shirt says Monterey and has a drawing of a seal on it. Mom is looking over the ads before she heads to the farmer's market and the stores. I will have a load of laundry to hang out on the clothes line.

Mom has also done some pre-hurricane preparations by buying a couple of gallons of distilled water, checking our lights and battery situation and watching where the storm is heading. I think my sister will be doing more of this on Monday. If it does come, the weathermen are saying Tuesday would be the day of it's arrival. However, the projected path keeps changing over time. The further West it goes the less likely Florida will be a target.

Waiting for the weekend

There is a helicopter flying around before dawn along the beach. It makes me wonder if anyone might be lost at sea? The buzzing helicopter reminded me of when I lived in a suburb of Orlando called Pine Hills and the Sheriff's helicopter would be buzzing around on a regular schedule at night. I found it annoying, because it disturbed my sense of peace.

The helicopter is gone now and so is my first cup of coffee. I saw a lot of cloud cover so I doubt there will be any sunrise this morning. Mom and I were supposed to have the yard cut, but the yard guy did not show yesterday. I haven't checked on the progress of Fay. Fay is supposed to be the next tropical storm if not Hurricane coming towards the Florida Coast.

I kind of like this picture, because it looks like an abandoned houseboat. I wonder who owned it? Is it there to be some kind of coral reef or oysters growing on it? I guess it adds to the scenery.

Life is like a slice of pie sometimes you get a bigger portion or a smaller one

I saw a little lightening outside my window last night before going to bed. I don't know what it is like outside this morning. I know I am feeling pretty good with a warm cup of coffee down me and the cool air from the air conditioner blowing on me. I have checked my e-mail and heard from my two friends. One of the friends had her neighbor pass away and the other is working enough for two maybe three people. They both live incredible lives which I deeply admire.

This picture comes from the island where the New Smyrna Yacht Club is located. This is a private house which shares the island. The Yacht Club is a place where both the local Democratic party and the Republican party have their annual party. The last time the Republicans advertised in the local paper, they were having a buffet. The Democrats were having the same time of menu, they have every year. You got a few choices to pick and they would serve you once you got there. Personally, I would chose the buffet for the variety of food. Speaking of variety, I haven't gone to a Sonny's Barbeque in ages. I have one in Port Orange and one on the way to Daytona on US 1. I see the all you can eat chicken with the garlic bread and think "Oh how good." This stems back in the days when I worked in Orlando and would go to Sonny's and they would have the all you could eat chicken. The all you could eat deal turned out price wise not to be much better than just eating a single portion. I would also say that Sonny's had one of the best t-bone steak dinners, I could eat in a lunch hour.

Two good TV shows I like are "Night Court" and "Becker." The show "Becker" comes on around mid-night, so I would rarely get to see it. The show "Night Court" comes in the morning, so I see more of it. Both have the raw humor which I consider a good laugh. I wish I could get them around dinner time back to back. This would make for some good TV watching.

Middle of the week yard trash day

Last night was a stay indoors night. The weather was grey outside and the rain showers would come and go. Mom had the Turner Classic Movie Channel on which was showing an old Fred McMurray black and white movie. Fred actually played a killer disguised as a cop on a stakeout. His girl friend in the movie Kim Novak played a little beyond middle age lady whom Fred had chosen as a get out of town partner. Fred ends up getting shot twice in the back as he had another squirrel looking lady for a hostage. The other cop on the stakeout was the one who shot Fred.

As Fred laid face down on the ground, his girl friend Kim walks up and Fred says" I thought I told you to get away." Kim turns around and is escorted to the back of a police car. The hostage walks off with the other cop and you assume Fred goes to his eternal reward inside the ambulance on the way to the hospital. The words "The End" pops up and my next response is " I want my money back."

I was mildly surprised Fred could play a bad guy when I associate him as the dad in "My Three Sons." He seemed like such a likable guy. I also remember Uncle Charley from the series. I remember Ernie the youngest. He had so much to prove to fit in with the other guys. The other two sons Chip and I can't think of the oldest were kind of high school yuppie kids. The upper middle class who dated pretty girls in dresses. They even had a lady in part of the series who dated Fred who's stage name was Steve. I also remember the mop of a dog who had the run of the house.

I never expected to be caught up in an old movie. Instead, I have been caught in the "Where is Caylee" soap opera. The reason I call it a soap opera, because something new and dramatic is happening every day. The latest is the Psychics who tell about seeing Caylee's body somewhere along a lake with wild flowers. The Grandfather George refuses to assume Caylee as being dead. Instead, he wants the public to believe she is kidnapped.

At the beach, we had the sixteenth shark bite. The girl from New York went into the water waist deep and was bitten in the leg. The doctors removed a tooth from her leg which she will keep for a souvenir. What a reputation our beach is getting from the sharks. If I did not have a television set, I would not know what was going on in my neighborhood. What a wonderful invention of communication.

A trip for fun

Mom and I enjoyed another glorious evening traveling from New Smyrna Beach to the City of Edgewater. We ran the air conditioning in the car, because it was too hot outside with no breeze. We looked at the fancy two story houses along Riverside Drive. The houses had two car garages, windows which would extend from the top of the room all the way down to the floor. Plus, they looked like they extended outwards. It was kind of like a dome car on a train extending sideways; instead of, upwards to allow more room to see everything. My reaction was one of I would not like to be caught in one of those houses during a lightening storm or a storm with a lot of wind. The house may hold up well, but looking out the window would make me quiver to see the bad stuff , so close to where I live. My one story house is where I can pull my blinds closed and shut out the world. The lightening goes away. It can not penetrate through the colors of the blinds. I can still hear the wind, but I can not see it blow tree limbs or other things which come loose during stormy weather.

When we got to Edgewater, mom pulled into a park along the water front which was also a boat dock. It had a dedicated name, but I forgot the dedicated name. Mom found a spot right next to the walkway which was close to the water. The wind was blowing pretty steadily. I could see the palm trees looking like the American flag with wind in it's sail. The wind kept the heat out and it seemed pleasant with not many people around. There were people in lawn chairs with fishing lines extending over the pier's railing. However, the lines did not look as if any fish were tugging on the other end. The people were pretty relaxed and care free in their lawn chairs. There was an elderly guy at the far end and a young couple closer to the part of the pier which had a gazebo with a park bench . I went with my purse and my camera case to the bench to soak up some of the wind. When I sat down, I discovered three young boys creating mischief with their fishing line all pull out and entangle around the pillars looking like a cob web. I was thinking how interesting it would be if they had taken up kite flying. The boys finally got the fishing line wrapped back up. They had part of a fish carcass on the floor with flies on top. A knife had cut a portion off for fishing bait. Fortunately, the wind masked any odor which would come from the dead fish, so this was not an issue. I had a hard time finding water birds down in the area. The fishing seemed pretty good, but I only saw one pelican flying around on the wind currents and a couple of egrets hiding in the bush brush along the outskirts of the island across from the fishing pier. There were a couple of nice sunset pictures, I took with my camera. Plus, I got a picture of mom sitting on the bench. However, the ones she took of me did not turn out. We were getting ready to leave as the dog population increased. There was a small grey dog with a red bandanna around his neck named Bailey. His owner kept stating he was harmless, but he kept trying to impress people with his mightily low pitched growl to show he was in charge. Bailey did not hold his growl for long once he checked me out as being OK. I did enjoy seeing a bigger dog's hair brussel up as Bailey made his big impression with the bigger dog. This was only for a brief moment when mom and I started back to New Smyrna. Mom was driving while I watched the houses. When we crossed the big South bridge, this was the best view of all. I only could watch for a brief moment as we traveled across the bridge. The view of the Intercoastal Waterway extending out for miles with sail boats and other boats parked in the main channel. The height gave a feeling of power over the massive view this bridge provided. I wonder how many people have taken photo's from the top of the bridge? We arrived home safely in time for mom to watch mom's history show on Elvis. I got a bit tired with the show. I played on the computer and pretty soon it was time to call it a night.

Will the garbage people be on time today?

Sometimes it is the small things that give such pleasure like the garbage people picking up the trash, small car rides in the evening just to look at the sites, a good Sunday dinner which I totally like, and a good TV show with a small glass of wine to finish off the evening. Mom took me to the North entrance park where she walked on the beach and I just stood looking at the people. I was more into letting the wind blow on me, listening to the seagull squawking with a piece of food in it's mouth, and watching the volleyball game. The volleyball game was rather small. There were only three people on each side of the net. The time before there were either five or six people on each side of the net. What got me sidetrack from the volleyball game were a group of Asian young people dressed in traditional Chinese outfits. There were three guys with shaven heads in grey outfits and two girls in black outfits. It wasn't Karate outfits. It was the kind of outfit you would see on the old "Kung Fu" show with David Carridine. The only thing missing were the beanie hats. The Chinese guys were kicking around a soccer ball. I seem to loose track of the girls. However, I did notice one had long black hair while the other had a really short chopped hair cut. I also noticed a couple of Muslim women on the beach with one guy. I noticed the head was covered with a colorful blue green scarf. They also had long loose pants like outfits. They found their place along the shore line sitting in beach chairs. I brought my camera along, but did not take any pictures. I guess I was more into an observing mood. The next observation I noticed, was a guy and a girl were doing hand stands in the sand. The girl would go up on her hands and come back down. She could not hold the upright position for any length of time. On the other hand, the guy would go into an upright position, but the lower half of his legs were folded over to the side. He was able to walk on his hands as longs as his legs did not stand totally straight up. There was also a middle age,beer drinking, bar going guy dress in a football jersey who looked kind of scary walking by me. While walking by, I overheard him talking about visiting some Adult night clubs. He seemed to disappear after he walked on. Mom came back from her walk which she enjoyed strolling next to the water. She said she liked looking back at the way the park entrance looked in the evening light. This was a paraphrase, because I don't remember her exact words. The light was getting darker. The sunset was an orange glow in the Western sky perched over the place where you buy beach stuff like towels and tee shirts. The people were flocking off the beach like birds going home to nest.

It had been a long time, since mom and I been to the beach after dark. I know when we stayed at a condo along the beach, we were able to go see the stars dome over the night sky with the sound of the waves crashing in the background. This is what I call a pleasant memory. I also remember the night launches where mom and I would go down to the end of our street and watch the shuttle go up like a sun rising over the water and reflecting instant light. It was almost daytime for a very short time. When the powerful light would fade out and the light on the water would dim to a blacken color. The waves would still be crashing in the background.

Mom and I went home to an air conditioned house. Mom started watching Doris Day movies where she sang her trade mark song which I can't spell. A little bit of it goes," what will be will be."

The future may not be for us to see, but I hope if something good happens I can write about it.

Sunday has more sunshine than rain

"Sunday has more sunshine than rain" is what the weatherman says. The weatherman also said" the weather would be more hot today." The mosquitoes were around yesterday evening. Mom and I went to the fishing spot under the South bridge. There were lots of want a be fishermen. Both young and old who had a line cast off the side of the fishing pier. There was very little wind if any at all. The pelicans would fly around, but not land close to the entrance of the pier. They were more like in the middle of the channel under the South bridge. The egrets were more of the social birds who would pose for my camera. It is nice to have a zoom lens, so I can get a better shot without scaring the bird away. The egrets were looking for small handouts of fish, if the fisherman would want to contribute. However, the egrets were on their own. The fisherman was waiting to claim his own prize and take it home for a fish dinner.

I believe the fish were there, but they did not seem to want to get hooked. I saw small swirls in the water which I always heard was an indication of fish swimming underneath the water. I understand the wanting, the waiting, the disappointment and the victory of catching a fish. It takes lots of patience and a willingness to come back another time, if this fishing expedition produces no fish.

If I had a nickel or dime for every time I would get my fishing line caught in the rocks, I would be a rich woman. There is nothing more disappointing to me than to be taken out of the game of catching the fish by the hook, than getting it snagged on some rocks. It seems to take forever to free the line. In the process, I usually would loose the hook. Sometimes, I would loose the bob er, the swivel and the hook. Plus some of the fishing line is lost in the trying to get unstuck. The one method which I used for freeing the line is to wrap my hand around the end of the line like twirling spaghetti around a fork and then pull, until I felt I was freed from the rocks.

The one tricky fish which would sometimes fool me is the flounder. It would sit at the bottom and not move for a long time. I would try and free myself like I had been caught on a rock and I would loose the fish in the process. Somehow, I knew I had a flounder, because it would start to give me a fight on the line which I thought was lots of fun. I never caught a flounder under the South bridge. When I caught one it was off a pile full of rocks next to the shoreline. I caught one once that fed five people. This was the one fish I was proud of catching. I also didn't mind cleaning it either.

The sun is sleeping in today

Have you ever had one of those days where things just don't work out the way you want it to go? I went for a car ride last evening and we went by my favorite Italian restaurant place at the beach where they were closed. I saw it had been replaced by DJ's Burrito Bar. Why a Burrito Bar? I thought there was enough bars on that street. Do they serve dollar Margarita's to wash it down? I was thinking if I had limitless amount of money(which I don't), I would open up an Italian restaurant called "I'm not Italian" with real good Italian dishes at a reasonable price. I would hand the operation of the place over to top notch professional people who make a successful goal of running the restaurant. This is what you call a lottery dream.

Right now my lunches are at home, at what I would call the establishment "The leftover lunchbox." The refrigerator has a crushed ice feature on the outside of the door. It is great for keeping my drinks cold. Plus, I like chewing on the broken ice. Mom has bought some deli turkey which is real tasty. The turkey makes nice sandwiches. I can also sack out on the couch after lunch. I catch a little nap and awake with a small burst of energy.

It is a stormy Saturday morning. There is a break in the rain at the moment, but I think we will be getting some more rain. Mom is going to the farmer's market and a flower show. I think I will stay home and maybe catch up on more sleep.

Glendon's dream picture pose

This is a nice picture of my sister Glendon and her horse Shooter. Shooter is actually behaving herself and is not cutting up. The last memory I had of Shooter was her fidgeting while being tied up. She could not stand still. She had mischief written on her face. She caused a small trauma injury to my finger while trying to make her lunge to take off the nervous edge. Glendon said she has improved and is not acting up. I would like to believe it, but I still have my minor injury to act as a doubting agent. I wanted the horse to be able to have fancy stuff on her back and Glendon pose on her back in a dress for pictures. I wanted to give my sister a real" Lady in Waiting" look. It is a work still in progress.

I went to the movies yesterday and saw the Mummy in China movie. It was pretty good. I would have to say I liked it better than "Swing Vote." The ending tied up better than "Swing Vote." The afternoon was pretty hot and it rained last night. I have a book I need to get back to reading, so I have my time occupied.

Venting on Thursday leads to peaceful Friday

The ultimate betrayal by the State is to have other water bottling companies in place draining our water supplies dry. At least this is what I believe I heard on the news last night. I believe I heard like five water bottling companies in Marion County alone draining the Florida aquifer. There were a few more spread out through the State. The news also told of the experts telling the Florida citizens, we would be in a crisis water supply mode in 2013.

Meanwhile, I had enough water to make a pot of hot coffee. I am enjoying a cup a cup now. I believe the weatherman said more rain by this weekend. I guess that would be nice. Our lawn is looking a bit dry. Also, the plants could us a bit sprinkling to perk them up.

Mom and I didn't go out on an adventure last evening. We stayed home and watched a repeat of "America's Got Talent." There is suppose to be a new episode on this evening. Maybe mom and I will go to look at sites earlier in the day, so we can catch the TV show on tonight. I like the host Jerry Springer and I sometimes like the judges.

I don't know what that is in the picture

I was watching "America's Got Talent" last night. I saw a couple of kids that I thought should not have been eliminated. There was a young Chinese girl who was a contortionist which was very good at it. She was either 8 or 12 years old. I am bad with guessing ages. The other contestant was a young boy that could dance. It just seemed without an audience his performance did not impress the judges. The little boy cried and the TV camera showed his heartbreaking tears. I don't know how the male opera stars panned out. I will have to watch the next show to find out.

I have another issue to cry foul about. This is selling Florida water out of Florida's Aquifer to a bottling company who will take it to California for distribution. The St. John's River Management should not let money rule. Instead, they need to preserve what belongs to the State of Florida. One of the arguments on the news is that it is legal for the water bottling company to petition the State to buy the water to sell outside the State. Our Florida Aquifer is not an endless supplying source of fresh water. It has it's limits. I don't know if the Florida Aquifer is subject to saltwater intrusion, but the State is surrounded by Atlantic Ocean and The Gulf of Mexico which is salt water. Plus, we are having growth problems with new developments and run off water. Plus, the demand for water is a lot higher when we don't have the rain we need here.

It seems to me a lot easier for the water bottling company to go to Tennessee or Alaska and ask for the right to bottle their water. It may even be a better grade of water depending on lab results. This company should leave Florida in peace and let the residence here enjoy what belongs to them which is The Florida Aquifer.

The beach in the evening

Mom loved the look of the storm cloud last night. It looked like a wing to her. However, I could have taken a better camera shot from the beach. I did not take the camera shot. My hand was greasy from the coconut oil in the microwave bag of two day old popcorn. I dumped the bag of popcorn on the beach for some sandpipers birds to eat. I had to dump it and leave it alone. The little birds did not like to explore new food when humans are around. I figured the sandpipers were looking for periwinkles which are small tiny slug like creatures in tiny shells. A long time ago Mom and I use to collect periwinkles in a bucket and she would make a soup out of the periwinkles. It was a long time ago, but what I can remember it wasn't bad soup.

Mom had noticed the sand on the beach had a flat appearance. The look of the beach has been changing ; ever since, the four hurricanes back in 2004. There has been two beach renourishment projects. The first one only held up for a short time when the heavy rains washed a lot of the sand back into the ocean. The second most recent one seems to be holding pretty good. It is making the shoreline easier for cars to drive.

Monday might be for the birds

This picture illustrates what it is like starting the walk on the circular peer. Sometimes there are Pelicans perched out there ready for a fish handout. There are a lot of boats anchored out in the channel. They all seem to face one way. I wonder is that due to tide? There was road work on the bridge where the traffic was cut down to a single lane. This wasn't fun and I was glad when the Department of Transportation finished. The cones were removed and we had two lanes of driving again.

August has quietly arrived. I have notice a slight change in the temperature in the morning. The temperature seems to be settling around 72 before the sun comes up. The humidity climbs as the sun penetrates the sky. I hung up clothes and would come in afterwards with my clothes soaked from sweat. It wasn't too long ago, back in July, I was driving back home and notice an Osprey perched on a electric line. His wings were spread out in a drooped position and the stare was one of somebody please turn down the heat. The bird looked like a bad television ad for a chicken eating place.

Speaking about places to eat, I am sort of disappointed The Sea Harvest isn't coming back to New Smyrna. Someone bought the building and cleaned out the inside of the building. Plus changed the name to Dolphin View. The Sea Harvest was fun, because you could eat outside and feed the birds the leftovers. Plus, I use to get the wine coolers which went well with a shrimp dinner. They always seem to know how to deep fry seafood well. They were also generous with the amount of fish in a fish dinner. There seemed to be enough for leftovers and to create another fish sandwich. The Sea Harvest verses The Boston Fish House was comparing Apples to Oranges. The Sea Harvest was good food at reasonable prices. The Boston Fish House was over priced food with outrageous fried onion rings and other fried things.

I just had a scary thought, if The Sea Harvest met with the fate of doom. I wonder what is in the cards for Vincenzo's my favorite New Smyrna Beach Italian restaurant? Will it turn into a Mexican restaurant? I have been dining at home and the food has been pretty good. Last night we had ribs, with sweet potato and a small salad. The only drawback is cleaning up the dishes after the meal. However, it was done in time for the next fabulous meal.

I settled in last night watching Roman Holiday with Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck. Audrey plays a Princess in Roman escaping the duties of Royalty to spend time with Gregory who shows her what every day life is like. It is kind of sad and Romantic. I would rewrite the end so that Gregory and Audrey would live Happily Ever After and her country would pick someone else as the leader.

There still is a little bit of driving Florida next to the beach between Ormand and St. Augustine. Flagler is a narrow strip of driving surrounded by water. This is old Florida as someone would remember in the old Florida brochures. On this route, Marine Land is still there and changes every time we visit. There is also Cresent beach where famous author Marjorie Kinnon Rawlings had a summer home.

birds like dinner

After a disappointing ending to the movie "Swing Vote," mom and I went to see the fishermen under the South Bridge. The fishing poles were overstocked along the pier leading out into the channel under the bridge. There were young families with small children and someone holding a baby in her lap. There was one young girl who wanted her Grandad to fix the bait on her hook, but he wouldn't do it. She had to grab the shiny little fishy squirming in her hands. It took several tries of picking up the little fishy and loosing it to the ground. She finally picked one up and hooked it through the tail. The job was done where I believed the little fishy could wiggle himself off the hook and swim away.

The water birds were interesting to watch. When mom and I first arrived, we noticed it was low tide. This meant the water was out exposing the oyster beds along the sides of the Inter coastal Waterway. There were a couple of small black birds hunting for food. I figured them to be related to the Egret. The first black bird I saw was hard to spot, because it blended in so well with the oyster beds. It was a tiny bird with a sharp black beak. It had a stalking like animated motion. The neck would stretch out like the Egret when it is looking for food. The little bait on the ground only a bird could see. The body changed shape from a round to almost a coke bottle look. I don't know if it found the food it was looking for, but the second bird came along and distracted my attention. I thought for a few moments I was still maybe looking at the first bird. However, the difference came with the red color of the neck. The second bird's neck was red and he stretched it out more like the Egret and was a bit taller than the first bird. There was an Egret posted along the walkway of the pier. No one seemed to bother the bird except for me. I was too much in his territory so he flew away. Later he and a smaller Egret would be out on the rocks catching small tiny fish.

Goals to achieve

Have you noticed that bad events and things get top attention and good things and events get pushed into the background. The local evening news is filled with stories of shootings, drugs, car chases, and people getting killed and becoming bodies. On the evening news, it is the body which was discovered in the apartment and not Mister or Miss Jones. The name and person is gone unless you are the criminal. Sometimes what I would consider a private matter gets national attention.

The missing two year old and her jailed young mother are known all the way out in California. The media has turn this private matter into a national circus hanging on each new event that pops out of the family involved and any news from the Police. Where are the nice television stories about small town events or places to visit?Where is the outstanding Citizen who volunteers at the local hospital or saves a life? Where are the positive role models that kids can admire?

I missed for awhile the three young girls which lived across the street from me. The house seemed more empty and not full of life from screaming and squealing young girls playing outside. I do realize now, the girls are in a better place where they will have more room to run and play and maybe raise a few animals.They moved to the small City of Eustis and there will be less contact with a lot of people ; except when, the girls go to school. They will be happier in Eustis.

I could only wish this good fortune to happen to the young mother trapped in a neighborhood of gang violence. Worried sick out of her mind about the welfare of her child and where the next bullet is going. I would like to see a more active role of churches and Community Centers turning the youth around through after school programs and setting positive goals for the young people to achieve. This would make for a safer community and a bright future for everyone there.

Friday before the sunrise

The trouble with time is when you oversleep, it tends to roll three times as fast as you want it. The storms really didn't come until late in the afternoon. I got the clothes out on the clothes line and back in around noon. The lawn guys came around three and the yard got sprinkled by mother nature without the lightening. The yard looks to be in pretty good shape. This is a picture of some purple flowers I took at the honey place in Olsteen, Florida. They have a few nice flowering plants that enhanced the image of the honey place. The hibiscus were small white flowers which looked like a small bouquet . There were bees buzzing around a small dark green sticky plant close to the flag pole in the middle of the yard. I wondered if the dark green sticky plant had like a sugar substance on it. I tried to capture a picture of the bees. It didn't turn out good. I think it was due to the fact my batteries was low on juice. My camera had a picture of a battery with not much juice in it. I changed out the batteries when I got home. It seemed to work much better.

Today is the first day of August and the weather seems to be pretty nice outside for 6:20 in the morning. It was also like this nice yesterday around this time. This may be a slight indication of a change of season.