Getting to Know the Neighborhood - Part II

We made a fresh, and successful, attempt to go in the service this morning and ended up in the same van as last Wednesday. This time the driver was the husband, Val. Carol was the petunia in the onion patch since the five others in the van were brothers. We had an absolutely great time with these truly lovable brothers, shown below ...

 From left to right: Val, Aaron, Jim, and Ken.

We asked each one for the story of how he learned the truth. Val, originally from Queens, N.Y. but who speaks with a delightful New Jersey accent, started studying when he was fifteen. A brother called on his parents who weren't much interested, but when the brother asked Val if he'd like to study the Bible he said yes. The brother said he'd need his parent's permission. They gave it. He was baptized at seventeen in 1972.

Aaron was more or less brought up in the truth. Jim always hid when Witnesses called. One day a brother called when he was outside the house. Jim recognized the brother's young son from school. So he politely chatted a bit and told the brother he was not at all interested. The brother said, "All right, but before I go, is there any question about God you'd like answered?" Jim did. He had an autistic daughter and couldn't understand why God would let a young girl suffer from that. The brother said, "Give me a minute and I'll show you the answer." He opened the Bible to the beginning of Genesis. Jim finally understood. He was baptized in 1995.

Ken was looking for the truth and joined a religious group called "The Way." It turned out to be a group of apostates who had left the truth. Ken learned enough to realize he had to find the religion that was actually out there preaching the good news of the kingdom. He did.

Later in the day we returned to the beach where I played with Nathan and spent a little time trying to get a good photo of a wave. The best I could do is posted below.

Another Sunny Sunday

We attended the meeting this morning at a different congregation from last week. It was the one we joined for service on Wednesday. Again we were treated to the outspokenness that characterizes the people here. It flavors the Watchtower Study comments which were plentiful. I liked one older sister's comment, "I'm not a good singer but I sing anyway because I know God cleans it up between here and heaven."

We had planned to go in service after the meeting but chose the wrong Sunday for that. The brothers and sisters had designated that day as 'Congregation Beach Day.' So there was no arrangement for us to attend. We were invited to join in that which sounded tempting but we came home for a quieter beach day of our own instead.

The weather of course could not possibly be better for a Beach Day. In fact I can't remember such a string of uninterrupted, gloriously warm, sunny days like what we've experienced since getting here.

This is the scene inside the Kingdom Hall after the meeting. All the halls we've been to in Florida have theater seats. And the grounds on which the halls sit are always very spacious. But no-window halls are definitely the rule.

After a quick lunch and a little rest, we returned to the beach, once the hottest part of early afternoon had passed. Here are a couple of photos of Nathan playing in the surf.

And here's a video of a hapless heron getting the Bum's Rush ...

Getting Warmer

According to my car thermometer the sun bore down at 30 degrees Celcius today. Not to get scorched, we left the beach alone and had a quiet day. We visited a couple of Flea Markets, the second one because the first one was so bad. Someone recommended it to us but when we arrived we entered upon the sorriest, dingiest, half-pint, wimpy specimen of Flea Market we had ever seen. We've been to more appealing garage sales on Maple Boulevard. The second one about a half hour away was bigger and brighter, with much more to offer, but still some aisles were vacant. It's a commentary on the dismal state of the Florida economy.

 Empty Stalls.

A souvenir T-shirt for sale. 

I didn't buy the above T-shirt which probably just made the situation worse. Which reminds me, I wrote something regrettably inaccurate in yesterday's blog. I said, "a financial monstrosity was gradually cobbled together, given a life of its own, and has now returned to destroy its maker." It merely threatened to destroy its maker who then deftly diverted the monster onto tax payers, who may look forward to feeling even more of its bite as inflation gathers steam. But of course this is not the time or place to discuss these things.

On the other hand, if people seriously want to know what's going on, what it all means, and where it's going, this Flea Market also offered such precious enlightenment. All the above literature is made available to browsers and bargain hunters without charge. Witnesses man this table every weekend at their own cost. (Okay, not 'man,' 'woman.')

Amazing Friday

This morning we all piled in the Jeep for a ride to the Country Hound Cafe, about ten minutes away, for a very fine breakfast. We'll likely do that again.

On the way back we stopped at a tempting Beach Boutique to check out their wares. I was with Nathan and he saw a magnifying glass that fascinated him. He always plays with mine when he visits, so he left with a magnifying glass of his own and I left with a T-shirt that says I didn't come here for a long time but I did come for a good time. Sounds about right.

Here's Nathan on the Jeep with his new scientific instrument.

Later it was time to return to the beach. Some folks there are really into sand sculptures using shells. There are turtles, sea horses, dolphins, and other creatures rather interestingly depicted this way. Below is an example ...

And here are two other beach creatures I encountered today ...

As for me, I've almost finished my book on the 2008 financial crisis, which of course continues to unfold as I type. It's been an interesting look into the world of big finance in which practically nobody knows what in the world is really going on. It reads like the story of Frankenstein where a financial monstrosity was gradually cobbled together, given a life of its own, and has now returned to destroy its maker. I could say more but, no, this is not the time or place.

One more thing ...

We were all very very happy to learn of Andrew's excellent win on a radio quiz today. Congratulations Andrew! Keep up the good work.

A Culinary Privilege

After being held back at the computer this morning by a few business matters, I joined the others who were already relaxing on the beach. Another perfect day poured down warmth and sunshine as I sat in my beach chair sporting my wide brimmed hat, dressed against exposure to sun burn, and continued reading my book.

Carol escorted Nathan on a major beach hike. The photo below shows them returning, Nathan in the lead.

Later in the day Robin took command of the kitchen and deployed his culinary arts in producing a delicious supper for us all. This being my first exposure to his talents in this area, I was seriously impressed and felt quite privileged. Who knows? He may even inspire me to enter the kitchen again. This is something I have been slow to resume ever since, as a teenager, I was asked to color margarine yellow and in a burst of creativity used food coloring to make it light blue instead. Why people get so hyper about blue margarine I never quite understood and I still believe a case can be made in favor of it. But this is not the time or place to do so.

The video below shows our chef in action.

Getting to Know the Neighborhood

This morning Carol and I left at 8:30 a.m., all dressed up, and drove to the Manasota Beach Congregation's Kingdom Hall ten miles away to a Field Service arrangement. We didn't go to one at the Hall we visited Sunday because we were told the midweek arrangements were less supported due to many in the congregation being elderly.

So we showed up at this hall knowing not a soul and were made to feel like part of the family right away. The arrangement was much more animated that what I'm used to. One thing Americans have mastered is the art of speaking up. They all certainly did so during the arrangement. They also seemed charged up to go set people straight in the neighborhood too.

Carol and I spent enough time at our first call to let the others in our van group of six finish both sides of the street. I could get used to witnessing to Floridians very easily.

The above photo is of our van group after we got back to the hall. Yes, I was the lone brother. The sister with the red belt drove the van. That's her mother to the left of her. The sister on the far right was visiting from another part of Florida. The sister far left is a pioneer who has helped many persons into the truth.

It really is very impressive that two strangers like us can show up at a hall a thousand five hundred miles away in a different country, where not a soul has ever seen us before, and be treated like long lost friends.

Following service it was back to the beach. The surf was up today. Much bigger swells crashing onto the beach. Nathan got used to it but at first he was cautious, as the video illustrates.

The Fog Comes on Little Cat's Feet

Today's Blog title is taken from Carl Sandburg's poem "Fog," a poem I've always kind of liked even though it doesn't rhyme, and as a rule I much prefer poems that rhyme. I have what I feel are compelling reasons for this view but this is not the time and place to discuss them.

 Despite a foggy day we still spent some very agreeable time on the beach. In fact I was eager to get there for the unique photo opportunities. Unfortunately, after three shots my wonderful new camera signaled its battery was dead. So back to the condo I strolled to exchange it for my other pocket camera. On the street a man passed me in what looked like a home-made vehicle. He was lying on his belly on a mattress perched about five feet above the four wheels. He was shaded from the sun by a surf board mounted as a roof over him. He was dressed for surfing. Taking one hand off the joystick he waved to me and said Hello. And me with a dead camera. I felt sure I'd come across a two-headed lizard next.

 Robin and Nathan made a sand-and-shell frog today. See above. Any resemblance to yours truly is strictly coincidental.

 We dined out this evening at the nearby Lock and Key Restaurant and were accorded a seat by their aquarium, much to Nathan's delight. Mine too for that matter. Dinner was good. Too much food as is the custom in this part of the world.

After supper we all went for a quick visit to the beach again before calling it a day.

Monday- Back to the Grind

 The grind in the title refers of course to the action of sand beneath our feet as we walk to our daily relaxation station. We all enjoyed another day of fantastic weather in our temporary career as beach bums. The ten-day forecast keeps showing us more of the same. If the young fellow in the photo below does not look like Nathan it's because he's not. He's Jayden, who enjoyed playing with Nathan today.

 

The above photo shows the two of them together.

 The video below also shows the two of them but mainly features pelican activity of which there was much today. My admiration for these big birds grows as I observe their expertise at what they do. Among the rugged individualists of this species I have discovered an unusual pair that act in greater unison than Olympic synchronized swimmers. It's pelicans in stereo. But the video is about a solo performer. By the way, capturing these fellows on camera is definitely *not* an easy task. Many tries may yield one success, or not.

In general I can say that so far this vacation is doing exactly what it's supposed to do.

Sunny Sunday

We drove off to the Lemon Bay Congregation this morning to take in the Sunday meeting. I enjoyed listening to the speaker deliver a talk same as one I've also given several times: 'Does God View You as Personally Important?' The Watchtower Study Conductor was an older brother whose black eye-patch gave him a slightly roguish look. He did an excellent job and his timing was flawless.

After the meeting I spoke with a blind couple who followed the WT in braille. Sister Danley approached and spoke to me for a while. She and her husband, now deceased, served in the District work in the Montreal area when I was about twelve years old.

We also met Moira and Ken Ngorny who, to my surprise, had served as special pioneers in Sept Iles some time after we left. Ken is the cousin of Steve Mazur who was in the Chateauguay Leclaire congregation with me for about 14 years. Small world.

On the drive home a lizard emerged from below my windshield wipers and, after exploring the windshield, took up a position to enjoy the ride.

Alas, after ten minutes he either lost his grip or jumped. I want to believe he made it away from the traffic. Carol says he's road kill.

 Here I am back on the beach with Nathan. It looks like a hoe-down but it's really a sand fight.

Here's Robin in a frisbee tug-of-war with Nathan.

Later, as I sat in my beach chair reading my book (it's the story of the financial meltdown of 2008 - quite interesting actually), a man twenty feet away noticed we were both reading the same book and came over to talk to me. He admitted the system had him very scared. That the Canadian dollar is stronger than the American one gave him great foreboding. He owns a house nearby and said, "Even if this area stops being the United States, at least my property will still be beachfront property." I made an attempt to steer the conversation onto a spiritual level but he was too pumped up with things to say to give me much of a chance. Well, he lives here. Maybe another day.

Five on the Beach

For Nathan, you're not really in Florida until you're on the beach. He got his first taste of it today. He's playing in one giant sand box and loving every minute. As for the other four of us, relaxation is the key word. The weather is putting out yet another spectacular day of beautiful sunshine from a cloudless sky and only more of the same is forecast for the coming week.

A person could get used to this very fast. Well, it wouldn't make for a perpetual life-style, but it's been a great break from the routine so far.

We have to get Nathan a sun hat. Today he borrowed Granny's.

Nathan getting his work station on the beach in proper order.

 

A game of Toss The Plastic Shovel.

 

A wave got Nathan and he went down. He was a good sport about it, but he preferred to run from this one.

Not yet ready for the Big Leagues.

The Arrival

The weather down here, so far, is on a roll. It could not be better. We relaxed on the beach this morning and, while Carol read the 2011 yearbook, I caught up on my personal Bible reading, completing the book of Job. Then we had an interesting conversation about things to be learned from Job, which seems to be limited only by one's curiosity. But this is not the time and place to elaborate on that.

I also did a little bird watching. The diving birds amaze me. They plummet straight down and some stay below the waves for a good thirty seconds before bobbing up again fifty feet from entry point. I also enjoy watching the pelicans glide 50 miles an hour three inches above the water. There are no amateurs among these creatures. Each one is a highly accomplished maestro at his business.

 

My curiosity about birds swimming under water moved me to find a Youtube video that shows how it looks. I found this ...  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CamsRoUADx4&feature=related

There is a lady in this area who takes her poodle for a walk every day - at least *she* walks. The poodle rides in a stroller.  The above photo is from the Web. She's obviously not alone in this.

At 7:45 p.m. Robin, Anna, and Nathan arrived in their rented Jeep. Nathan asked me, "Take a picture of the wheel," by which he meant the spare tire. We were happy to accommodate him.

Port Charlotte and Venice

We spent some time poking around in the above two towns today. The day was sunny and very warm reaching 29 degrees. We would have been baked on the beach.

In the Town Center Shopping Mall in Port Charlotte I heard some Québecois being spoken which was interesting. I have never been in a big Mall as sparsely populated as this one. All that space and it was almost like a ghost town.

On the way to Venice, while stopped at a light, a driver beside us called out, "So where's the nearest Tim Horton's, ay?" He saw our license and decided to joke with us about our country of origin. I believe he meant well so I did not take his license plate number and report him to CSIS.

We arrived back after sundown with a full moon gracing the ... um ... cloudless sky. A message on Skype from Robin and Anna was waiting advising us they expect to arrive here by tomorrow evening. Much looking forward to that. Soon we'll be hearing the pitter-patter of little feet. Not-so-little feet too.

Our condo and the full moon ...

Beach Day III

Still in rest up mode. We sat on the beach, did much reading, a little snoozing, went for walks, collected a few shells, took in a sunset - the Gulf side is great for those.Tomorrow we plan to do a little exploring farther out. We're close to Venice and Port Charlotte so we'll see what they look like.

Beach Day II

The weather is perfect. So it was another day of relaxing on the beach, reading, resting, meditating, composing a Psalm or two, and I've already got a pretty good tan. Yes, the skies were cloudless yet again.

At times there is something to see such as a pelican plunging into the sea, dolphins playing around, sandpipers darting back and forth. After eating an apple I thought I'd photograph a seagull up close by tossing the core onto the sand. It was gone before I could lift my camera. These guys are highly trained professionals.

Just saw the forecast on TV. The weather is expected to remain perfect for the next seven days. Temps around 80 F. This is definitely *not* a repeat of last year's chilly Florida. This is Florida eager to make good.

Beach Day

It was another day of cloudless skies and even warmer weather than yesterday - a perfect day to initiate relaxing on the beach and begin the first phase of acquiring a tan. We spent a few hours there with our books, then left, not to overexpose our sensitive northern skin to the strong southern sun on day one.

We found the local Kingdom Hall about six miles away, situated on substantial property, and took note of local meeting times.

Photos:

The tunnel of foliage, across the street from our condo, which we pass through to access the beach.

A fellow in an ultralight aircraft buzzed by, following the shoreline. I caught some photos using the zoom on my camera. Note the cloudless sky.

The Kingdom Hall we expect to be attending seen here on it's huge lot reposing under a cloudless sky. Did I tell you the sky was cloudless today?

Day of Rest

We didn't drive an inch today. Following a leisurely breakfast and a not-so-leisurely search for lost keys, which had a happy ending, we went for a walk to get to know the neighborhood.

We're on a pencil of land connected by bridge to the mainland and, since we're near the end of the pencil there's not a lot of territory to cover. The actual end area is a State Park with an interesting fee structure: $3 for a vehicle with up to eight passengers. People who walk in: $2 each. Of course if you just enter the beach from our area and stroll along for a while, you'd never even know when you are entering the State Park.

The beach itself is very long and we have it nearly all to ourselves. This is definitely a quiet and peaceful area. Today was a day of utterly cloudless skies, warm temperatures, and the forecast is for a week in the eighties. So we are pleased.

Below are photos from our walk. (1) Carol taking a shade break, (2) Me on the beach. The photo is over-exposed. Too much sun. Sounds so good: Too much sun. (3) an unusual tree by the beach that made a midlife career change. 

Arrival in Englewood

Here we are in our cozy Englewood condo as of 3:45 p.m. today. We stopped over in Largo to visit the Costco there and stock up on provisions. Costco is now selling 3-D flat screen TVs, the kind that requires you to wear glasses. I passed on that and bought a book instead. I'm more of a flat page kind of guy. Unfortunately in my case, glasses are required for that too.

We enjoyed smooth sailing to Englewood and while passing by Tampa I much enjoyed the high sweeping network of concrete overpasses they built here. Many seem new and are elegant works of art. It makes the Decarie interchange look worse than Stonehenge.

So we arrived and I parked our car in space number 4, directly beside a cream-colored 1965 Thunderbird in mint condition. I'm no car enthusiast but those old Thunderbirds were a real piece of work. Beautiful. The neighbor here who owns it has a For Sale sign on it. To sort-of quote the Beach Boys, He had fun, fun, fun till the gas price took his T-bird away.

Before heading over to the Sweetbay Supermarket (great name) to pick up items we didn't want to buy an industrial-sized case of at Costco, we visited the beach. A spectacular sunset was gathering but we were too hungry and tired to wait for it.

At the Supermarket I encountered a new All-American marketing initiative. As you walk down an aisle you suddenly hear a squawky and assertive voice say, for example, "Come over here so I can show you what I'm talking about! Nabisco Triscuits! Now don't pass up an opportunity for a treat like this. Absolutely delicious. I'm not kidding you!" All this from a tiny speaker attached to the Nabisco Triscuit shelf. I think a shopper walking by breaks a little beam from this thing which sets it off.

Photos: (1) Carol outside our condo - note the T-bird; (2) the nearby beach; (3) the impending sunset.

From South Carolina to Florida

Did you ever have one of those days when you put on your shoes and the shoe laces break, then you put on your jacket and the zipper jams, and you want to put scotch tape on something but can't find the tape's edge, and your toast is too light so you give it a few seconds more and it burns? It was that kind of day for us.

We got off to a late start due to some business I had to handle, the Hotel's breakfast was resoundingly mediocre, and when we stopped at the Georgia Welcome Center and inquired about the most beautiful area of Savannah to visit they recommended the historic waterfront. Put St. Lawrence Blvd. along the St. Lawrence River and you get the general idea.

We ran into a long delay near Jacksonville due to some accident two miles ahead. Not surprising. We saw ample evidence of people not looking where they're going including two incidents of vehicles suddenly coming into our lane when we were right beside them. So my car horn proved invaluable today.

Then we had difficulty finding accommodations at the end of the day because some car show has brought hordes of fans to this area (we're less than an hour from Tampa). We finally obtained a place at 8:30 p.m. then went next door to Sonny's Bar-B-Q for another walloping dose of culinary mediocrity.

Anyway, we're in another Microtel Inn and ready to call it a day.

The photos:
Carol under a tree outside a South Carolina Visitor Center. The house is a genuine specimen of antebellum architecture. (It's in the dictionary).

The streetcar is waterfront transportation in downtown Savannah.

North and South Carolina

Current location: Microtel Inn, Walterboro, South Carolina - about sixty miles from Savannah, Georgia. We didn't cover as much distance today because of a more leisurely pace and stops along the way. About halfway through North Carolina we spotted a small cluster of palm trees which is the furthest north I've seen them. They were only five feet high and having a hard time but the sight still cheered us on our way.

One stop was in Selma, NC. Highway signs advertised an Antique Mall and we took a look. It turned out to be a nondescript warehouse which we found thanks to an elderly gentleman manning the Tourist Information Center. He told me the sad story of Selma, once a bustling city which declined over time into a small one-horse town with many buildings boarded up and for sale. To spur business the town chose to specialize in antiques and draw customers from the I-95 traffic.

He said the initiative did not succeed and the town has dwindled to 7500 souls. Even the horse left. The gentleman asked me to sign the guest register which I did, and I noticed the previous signature was five days old. Manning that office must feel pretty much like solitary confinement.

Dinner at the Cracker Barrel, next door to the Inn, was excellent.

Photos: Carol outside one of many antique stores in downtown Selma, and the sunset while approaching Walterboro.

Snow in the News

The local TV news was full of talk about the snow fall here last night. Very unusual. So here we are back in the depths of a severe winter. Unlike a similar occurrence a few years ago, and unlike Toronto, there are no calls yet for the army to come in to handle this catastrophe. Just closing a few schools.

A photo of our car, taken from our hotel window, is attached.

A Driving Day

Day one is coming to a tranquil conclusion in the modest but pleasant accommodations of a Sleep Inn Hotel on the southern city limits of Richmond, Virginia. Our wheels began rotating southward at 4:00 a.m. and left all serious sign of snow shortly after entering New Jersey. No snow visible whatsoever in Virginia. We left with our car's thermometer registering -14 degrees and parked here with a reading of +5.

While traveling along the Washington Beltway I received a cell call from a customer, a branch of the Government, and conversed with him hands free using my GPS connected to the phone by Bluetooth. It worked well except for the fact that the sound was set a tad too low. So I crouched toward the GPS unit to hear better, accidentally setting off the turn indicator and the windshield wipers and I'm not sure what else.

We made a pit stop at a tourist info center in Occoquan, Virginia, a picturesque, antique-looking town, very beautifully maintained and with a distinct artsy flavor. I attach a photo of the Info Center and another of some buildings across the street from it.