Existing In BFE

Brendan and Rachel bought a hedgehog. Why didn't they just buy a dog? It has spikes on its back and eyes like a bat, What do you expect from an uppity rat? 

The above handsome couple are Jeff and Carol Sutor.  Jeff and I worked at the Mary Davis Home for several years before he went off and became a counselor at Henry Hill.  If you are ever in a depressed mood spend a half an hour with Jeff.  He has a particular knack for seeing the good in things or at the very least the not-so-bad.  He and Carol are free spirits who have experienced the feast of life.  Carol made cement garden thinga-ma-bobs for a while and we had one in our back yard.  Jeff makes beer these days I think, and has since retired from the prison.   They stopped by a couple weeks ago after a cruise out of Ft. Lauderdale.  We had lunch at Three Birds and had a nice chat.  I had run into them on occasion up North now and again, and am planning on more in the coming months when I re-hab the house in Henderson.     While we were there at Three Birds I noticed that tattoo on a girl at the bar.  Man, that's a lot of ink.  Speaking of tattoos, Jeff has inked himself up pret

A couple of weeks ago Mackenzie or Drew told me they had ordered a small shed and asked if I could help put it together.  I said sure.   Poor stupid Mike.  I have put together, through the years, book cases, entertainment centers, gas grills, computer tables, an outdoor pergola, brick patios, and things that have blessedly been removed from my memory banks. The worst, absolute worst, was this project.  The instructions were abominable: a dearth of explanation or pictures probably prolonged the finish by 3 or 4 hours.  A run to Lowes to get more things to make it work, and back to the driveway to construct its skeleton.  Then on out to the back yard for its permanent home.  All in all, the building of this small 3'x8' shed was 11 hours, with anywhere from one to four people assisting at any time.   Now, this is what you say to someone who asks you if you could help building a storage shed:  "I parachuted this morning and my chute failed to deploy, I'm a little sor

                                                                          Saw a damn sparklingly interesting movie last night that was one of the most thought -provoking things I've seen in a while.  I say sparklingly because I have so few words that describes it.  And sparkling doesn't so it justice.  There are no car chases, gunfire, fist-fights, zombies or aliens.  It is an alternative history and takes place in England.  It is a movie of ideas.  Of course it made no money.  There is no money for movies of ideas, but if you've got an idea for an outerspace zombie who wrecks cars and blows up subways Hollywood will throw money at you. This is a quiet movie that will shake your foundation.  It starts quietly, ends quietly but every moment is fascinating.  Rent it. Here is Ebert's review, but he gives too much away.  Don't read it if you want the full impact.  Otherwise, read and note that he gave it four stars.        **************************************

Welcome to a new fairly regular feature called Flashback Friday. We will go through the old archives to come up with old photos of interest. For our first Flashback Friday we give you Missy whose 2nd year anniversary of her death was this week. As you can see she was a pretty good sport. Yeah, yeah, yeah I wanna have some fun. Where are we going? Oh no.  Uh. My dignity has left the building. Oh no, I'm a bag lady. Oh no you don't, I'm not going through that again. Believe I'll just have a nice nap.

Great day for painting. A little kid and the big world he occupies. Huge ship in the Bay. Hide and seek with the folks. Just relaxing and soaking in the sun.  Reading. Hang on.  One pooch can be trying, let alone three.  Squirrel! A one-legged bird.  I'm not sure what is going on here,  but it appears to be some kind of bongo backed martial art group.

A pretty neat looking tree in downtown St. Pete.  It looks like one of Dali's trees in his paintings.  It is reminiscent of his "Melting Clocks". Cinderella arrives for lunch. OK, so it's a duplicate.  The inside of Central Avenue Oyster Bar.  Love it, and love oysters, too. Nice name.                                             Cruise ship heading to Tampa.

It's been 2 years since I lost Missy Marie, and although it has gone fast, and I've made lots of changes in life since that time, something has been missing. You can't see it and it can't be bought, but it's there, I feel it; every time I step in a yard, every time I see someone with their dog, every time I move from one room to another. Everyone thinks their pet is the best, and that's why we buy toys for them, lavish them with our affections, track them down when they decide to go exploring, and spend unreasonable amounts of money on them when they are ill. Missy wasn't the greatest dog in the world, she hated adventure, had no ego, and didn't travel well. But she was the greatest dog for me.   I loved that I could pamper her, push her buttons so she would perform, and most of all her constant loyal companionship.  So, where are we?  Well, she gave me a legacy of love, and no dog can ever replicate her, but I am ready to find another friend.  Perhaps s

Taking a break and going one-legged. Interesting cycle/scooter hybrid I saw at the Park.  Apparently my motorcycle expert, Stewart, claims this is an extremely well-handling Vespa PIAGGIO MP3.  It comes in 150 and 250 cc and perhaps a larger one is in the works.  It has a great range with its small engine, doesn't need a kick stand,  and exceptional braking.  I might need to get one of these.    The guy who does this comes out every weekend to the Park and makes a sand castle.  He works in construction and does this as an advertisement for his business.  He figures if people stop and marvel at his work, then perhaps they will think his building job will be good as well.   Each one he builds each weekend is different, and he leaves his business card tacked to the tree.  Saw this on the street and as I suspected, it was a lady driver. Youth. A tiny school of minnows. Always stand by at your newly poured cement to prevent this.  I wonder how many kids asked their paren