Monday, June 07, 2010
Back to Reality...
06/07/2010
Heading home, Southwest flight #182, The Nancy and I having positioned ourselves in the very last row, seats F and D. Fortunately the flight is not booked full, so the seat between us remains unoccupied giving us extra room for all the crap we brought on board with us. I love having the middle seat open, especially on this flight given the number of anchovies The Nancy consumed last evening.
We were to depart Tampa 11:45 for the two-hour flight to Baltimore. Since we just had our breakfast around 9am, and being a brilliant and keen observer of feedback given by this machine I call my body, I recognized very quickly I was not very hungry as we approached Chili’s Two near our departure gate. After intensive discussion with my flying partner, we – meaning The Nancy – made the “unilateral” decision to just purchase a little container of cheddar cheese cubes, some carrot sticks, along with a few grapes and ranch dressing. Just to add a little variety to this epicurean delight, we also purchased a yogurt and granola concoction and two Diet Cokes for the extremely fair price of a mere $15.79. What a deal! I told the lady that took my hardly earned money (that was a joke), I was glad we really weren’t hungry.
Anyway, BS aside, we had a fabulous visit with The Nancy’s sister and brother-in-law. I think they are two of my most favorite people in the world, and we are looking forward already to plan another visit to Tampa to spend time with them. They are both gracious to a fault and a hell of a lot of fun to spend time just talking and relaxing. I could sit with them for hours.
I really like Tampa, but unlike Jane and Grey, have little desire to live there. Don’t take this the wrong way, it is a beautiful area. For a very long time in my nutty, youthful days, I always thought I wanted to retire to the coast of North Carolina overlooking the water, breathing in the salt-scented air and living the laid back lifestyle of a coastal retiree. The problem with that, after living on The Farm amid the verdant hills and valleys of my beloved West Virginia, I think the boring flatness of the coastal terrain and the never changing blandness of the waterside would eventually drive me wacko more so than I am now.
There is just something about those hills that draws me back when I am gone. While I love to go places and see things and visit with relatives and friends, there is an incomparable feeling that overcomes me when I see those hills and drive up that gravel road to The Farm. Even as I write this my emotions run high in anticipation seeing the first of the mountains as I drive westerly from Thurgood Marshall BWI International on I-70 toward the West Virginia line. This is truly The Best Day Ever.
And that is all I have to say about that…
Saturday, June 05, 2010
I Was Going To Tamper With Her...
06/05/2010
The title of this post is actually the punch line to a very old joke about a woman sues a guy for breaking a promise he made to her. The judge asks her what the promise was, wherein she promptly told the judge the man said he was going to take her to Florida. The man told the judge what he said was…
The Nancy and I are on Southwest flight 1197 heading for Tampa for a long weekend of fun in the sun. Actually we are going to attend, though it may be just an excuse to get to Tampa, a niece’s high school graduation. While there we may have to eat some good victuals, drink some fruity drinks with little umbrellas in them and dress like senior citizens in god-awful plaid shorts and shirts that don’t in anyway match or work together, and white shoes with black knee-socks. Perhaps we can spend some time hanging around the pool with me in my Speedo and The Nancy in her own age-appropriate poolside attire. Of course we know in Florida there is no such thing as “age-appropriate” attire. We may also have to pretend to drive like Florida seniors – no signals, have at least two tires either over the center line or half way off the road on the right side, never check traffic before changing lanes and drive at least 10-15 miles below the posted limit or at light-speed above it. We are thinking about having a blue tint sprayed on our hair for effect, well, The Nancy is, at least. Blue spray on mine would look more like a yarmulke, which might make me look even more like a resident of the state. This is going to be a blast.
All seriousness aside, we plan to eat, drink, be merry and cause a raucous wherever we go. We will be loud and make fools of one another and seriously disturb the peace. I plan to hang chads everywhere I go and wear my “Buchanan for President” t-shirt.
On the serious side, we will have a really great time with some people we love. If we get a little loud it will probably be in the midst of other party goers and heavy drinkers doing much of the same.
And that is all I have to say about that…
Tuesday, June 01, 2010
The Return of "The BLack Phantom"...
06/01/2010
May 24th I made a trip to Richmond, Virginia with the purpose of picking up Stella. Stella is back.
Stella is a mixed-breed black Labrador, more mixed, I think, than Labrador. She is about twelve years old and is extremely docile. As I sit here and type this she is plopped down on our very light beige carpet here in our family room spreading tons of black fur all over the place. It leaves her body in clumps. The hair thrills me.
This is one laid back dog, that is, until a car comes up or down our driveway. She even barks at The Nancy or me when we drive up. Sans the cars on the drive, she makes little noise except for snoring when she is in a deep sleep. Sometime she lay so still for so long I have to ask her if she is dead. But at the mention of her name, her head usually pops up, and that is a good sign she will be with us a little longer.
Yesterday The Nancy and I went for a walk in the fields of The Farm. There are walking paths cut in them that may add up to two miles or so, if you walk them all. We did, Stella did, too. I had to cut mine short a bit and bring the old girl home – Stella, not The Nancy. She huffed and puffed for quite some time after she got in her favorite spot on the ceramic tile in our foyer. No worry! She is fine, and it didn’t take her very long to calm down and resume her position as a big black lump that moves from one location to another in our house on her mission to spread as much black hair as she is able to do.
The hair drives me crazy, but the dog is really no problem. I am not now, never have been, nor will I probably ever be a pet lover – dogs or cats. I do enjoy seeing this dog and our cat interact. They like one another and it shows. Stella lived with us a couple of years ago for almost two years. I enjoyed waving at her when she left that time and probably will this time in a couple of months when she goes to her home. In the meantime, I will continue to feed her, bath her, brush her, talk to her as if she were a two-year old, and try to keep her alive.
Stella hasn’t moved in fifteen minutes, time to do the check.
And that is all I have to say about that…