Monday Morning Musings

Posted on November 8, 2015 under Monday Morning Musings with one comment

“The Bird Man”

All good things must pass and after a week of glorious sunshine in Florida, Peter and I hit the road yesterday with the car pointed west. Before leaving Florida, I wrote a short piece about the small community of people that I have come to know at our time share. They are very much like the wonderful friends I have back home. Here’s how I summed it up: “ People leave all pretenses at the gate when they arrive. There is no one upmanship. Quite frankly, no one gives a damn how rich you are or how smart you are or how important you are in your home community. Here, at The Islander, you’re simply one of the gang. “ One couple who have been going there for years and will celebrate their 60^th wedding anniversary next week ,said it best. Coming to Florida and feeling the warmth of sun and friendship, has extended their lives.

I’ll tell you, the combination of time zone change and winding the clocks back an hour has thrown my internal clock into a tizzy. It’s bad enough that I’m usually up with the birds but the last several days, I have been tapping away at my computer at 4:00 in the morning. So, it came as quite a surprise Saturday morning when I stared at the clock on the stove and it was almost 5:30. I checked my pulse to make sure I was alive. Betty and Ivory ( our granddaughter ) had flown in to Florida the night before and due to a lack of space, I walked across the pool deck and spent the night on my brother’s couch. I got up, made a pot of coffee and went and threw in a load of laundry. There are clocks on the stove and microwave and one that is old fashioned and of the wall mounted variety. I quickly discovered that the two digital clocks had not been changed with the time change last week. Can’t remember the last time I did laundry at 4:30 a.m.!

We spent some time with a sweet lady from St. Louis the other evening who has crisscrossed the United States many times in her life. Her husband has had multiple health issues over the years so she does all the driving. Last year, she drove nonstop from St. Louis to North Redington Beach Florida… quite a feat if you’re Peter’s age. She’s well up in her 70’s. Ahem. This is an 18 hour drive! In any event, Dot was immensely helpful as we mapped out the next leg of our trip. Our route will take us through Biloxi, Mississippi ( where we stayed last night ), Dallas, Amarillo ( Texas ), Albuquerque, New Mexico and Flagstaff, Arizona. We’ll spend some time at the Grand Canyon and then head north to Boise, Idaho and finish our trek in Victoria.

Dallas. November 22, 1963. The assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy remains one of the most significant events of the 20^th. century. I remember it as if it were yesterday as do many of you my age and older. I still shake my head when I realize that this was 52 years ago. This singular event, more than anything else, reminds me how fast life zips along. If everything goes as planned, I hope to stand on the grassy knoll this morning and stare at the spot in Dealey Plaza where JFK was killed. Apparently there’s an X on the road to mark the exact spot. There are tours of the Texas Book Depository where allegedly, the lone gunman, Lee Harvey Oswald fired the rifle that killed the president. I say allegedly because there are still conspiracy theorists who believe that there was more than one gunman involved. I plan to write a major piece about this in an upcoming story. Obviously, this will be one of my serious pieces.

I am still waiting to see if my editor will allow me to publish the story, “Resurrection.” It is the true story about a friend of mine who is convinced to have a pedicure. I wouldn’t exactly call the story racy or salacious but it has the potential to raise a few eyebrows from people who read my material on a regular basis. It is actually very harmless. As mentioned in my last piece, I “test drove” it at the book launch and it received a great reception.

Coming up later this week is my tribute to people who do shift work, especially my friends in the nursing profession. It’s called “A Seismic Shift. I will also be publishing the story “Borderdom” about the pleasant hour we spent with Customs officials at the St. Stephens crossing a week and a half ago.

A special shout out. My story editor has a birthday today. Please wish her well.

Have a great day.

“ They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn

At the going down of the sun and in the morning

We will remember them “

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