Second Half Summer Tour 2017

I will be heading back to Northlandia this afternoon. As always, posts may be spotty in the next few days so be prepared.

I've now had the Cabin for 3 1/2 years and it has certainly been a treasure emotionally, if not financially. Reality has set in and I missed my permanent escape from Florida once the grand-kidlings entered the world. They are now as enmeshed in my existence as air itself. But man does not live by kids alone. He needs his diversions, namely a Yamaha Stratoliner that provides wind therapy, and a Dodge Custom 880 that embodies all that was at one time impossible. He needs a beer or Bloody Mary with friends, acquaintances or even alone if the atmosphere is smothered with comradeship. He needs a dark sky with twinkling stars and a gentle midnight breeze that rustles anything it touches. He needs to relearn the value of conversations peppered with thoughtfulness, insight, humor and a dollop of plain old silliness.

Upon entering the Cabin I will plug in the lighted palm tree and it will stay on until the day I leave. After that I will charge the battery to the camera. So begins another holiday in Northlandia. (Queue rousing music.) But, as always, nothing is as bad or as great as we imagine; while all looks rosy there will be a creeping reverse Stockholm Syndrome angst. The kids, of course, will be there when I return, but, what is it about our natures that as soon as we escape a place we soon begin to miss it.

To list the things I want to do seems at this point redundant. Time is short and I seem to have fashioned an enviable ability to extract the best of two worlds. It surprises even me when I think of the duality I have created. For as long as it lasts I will endeavor to enjoy all the people and the adventures each world offers. Life is short. Squeeze it like a goddamn lemon.

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Flashback Friday

Class, Or Lack Thereof The Dwight Vice gravestone in Oquawka, Illinois. I bring this old chestnut out every so often just to remind me that class is classless. Dwight Vice was killed in his home near Oquawka in 2001. It was one of those things that can generate crime: two guys thought Dwight had a lot of money stashed at home because of his pot-selling sideline to supplement his fishing job. Not really one of those big drug deals gone-bad things. Marijuana was, according to the trial, about the only stuff Dwight sold. But these two guys barge into the house and killed Dwight and attempted to kill his 11 year old kid, Darryl, before they took off with what money they could find. His son, now 23, was stabbed in the back and left for dead. He survived and is wheelchair bound and has undergone several surgeries to repair his wounds. He will be paralyzed for life. None of this is pleasant. Reading the facts of the murder and attempted murder are most unpleasant

Summer Swim

It's Monday and the start of another work week. Except for me. I have the week off because the parents of my daycare charges are taking the week off, too. This is one of those wordless posts I love on Mondays so I can put my laziness in full view of loyal readers. These pics need no words. Why muddy the waters? They were taken at the pool at Sinkhole Estates aka Death Valley. The nice thing about this pool is it is heated in winter. If one must find positives in one's situation, I suppose that is one. But, please, no more.

Florida Air Museum - Part 3

Welcome back to a pretty neat tour of the Florida Air Museum in Lakeland Florida. There's a lot to see and a couple of the old Geezer Gold Wing guys are already sitting down instead of walking around looking at the exhibits. That's John who is wore out and making a call to his wife. In all honesty, John was pretty well bushed before the ride. He told me his daughter's family was down from one of the Carolina's with the grand kids and he must have played with them too much. He's about to take off on his own and head for home, but he's going to miss a couple of neat things out on Hangar A. But, before we walk over there, we have lots yet to see here. If you saw The Aviator with Leonardo DiCaprio playing Howard Hughes, you'll remember that he went up in a plane during the filming of one of his movies to prove a point about flying. He crashed trying to execute a roll and this is a picture of the plane he crashed. Note the propeller

Existing In BFE

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