Existing In BFE

On Vacation Until September 9th. Leaving palm trees and sunny beaches for corn fields and dark skies. 

Through the Years At Papa's Daycare It was a Hell of a Ride.

I have spoken many times over the past eight years about the Stockholm Syndrome.  That is the malady that bonds kidnapping victims to their captors.  Hostages express sympathy and empathy for those who have imprisoned them, even to the point of defending and identifying with them.  There is no evidence of reverse-Stockholm Syndrome.  Until now. Last Tuesday was the last day of sitting (neither are babies) for my two granddaughters.  It is a day I dreamed for, wished for, and pleaded for.  I began sitting for Norah when she was three months old.  I had just begun working at Publix Grocery Stores as a bag-boy when the current Mrs. Blythe received a call from Kenzie saying she was having a tough time finding a sitter as she re-entered her job from a maternity leave.  She said she would have to quit if she couldn't find someone.  Enter Papa.  I quit the job and began Papa" Daycare.  I remember the first day.  Norah was swaddled in her baby carrier. I was told to feed her or chan

Perfectly clear water.  Cool and refreshing.  This ends the kayaking adventure we enjoyed at Weeki Wachee State Park.  By the way, that's Drew climbing the tree like a hulking bear and jumping.  I'd do it again (and hope I do) without a second thought.  

Saw this old postcard on Ebay.  It depicts a trolley or some kind of rail car transport from Sunbeam, Illinois to Seaton, Illinois.  Folks, I'm from Seaton and the only rail-type transport between these two villages is inside the head of whoever concocted this card.  A couple other things.  First, there is no canal, stream or crick that size near either town.  And, second, that wind vane in the distance looks to be about 2 or 3 hundred feet high.  Wind vane's weren't anywhere near that high - 30 feet is closer to it.  Whatever hopes there may have been in 1909 for the future of these two towns, the reality is Seaton is down to a population of about 150 and Sunbeam is nothing more than a church. ++++++++++       ++++++++++ OK, listen up readers.  We are going to limp into a hiatus for Existing In BFE as we travel to Northlandia.  Friday will be it for a couple of weeks as we enjoy the dark skies, Midwest cuisine, and rumble of cycle engines.  Be

This was originally posted 4 years ago. Today I thought I'd let you see how the old homestead living room looked on a normal day back when we were home from school in the summer.  While Marj kept the place pretty spotless and most messes had to be dealt with when finished, she did allow a a certain measure of mess.  We see some knick knacks that were familiar when growing up.   Closest to the camera on the left was this really neat and surprisingly heavy glass blue duck.   It's kind of funny because I have no idea what happened to it but whenever I enter an antique shop I always see if I can find one just like it.  Pure nostalgia.   Over to the back around the fireplace it looks like the round wooden table has been removed for some reason.  It was a kind of wobbly antique so maybe it was being fixed, or maybe Marj was just doing some minor remodeling of the room.  The louvered doors leaning against the brickwork were used in front of the fireplace as

I've been on a found footage kick for a few weeks now.  More scientific study rather than cheap thrills, I have been watching as many as possible to see its possibilities as well as its limitations. Found footage is the genre of films that are hand held video documentation usually of the paranormal.  Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity are just two examples of this type of movie.  I watched Hell House LLC a few weeks ago and it was pretty scary, and who doesn't want a good scare, as long as it is safe and "over there", like watching snakes at the zoo instead of in your basement. Here is how 96% of all found footage movies go: 1. The opening scene is a police notice detailing case number, where incident took place, and parties involved. Can't be any opening credits like most movies since found footage, herein FF, is from someone's video camera, right? 2. A group of friends or business associates are packing for a trip, loading

Weeki-Wachi part two

Whizzbang, aka, Dumbstruck the Wonder Pup gets a Bark Box every month.  We recently sent away for a box of Bully make, BB's competition, and Bullymake may be better, but more expensive.  So far I have been able to keep Whizzy off the internet and ordering at her leisure.   ++++++++++ When you read this, if read this on Tuesday morning, I will have 1 day left and approximately 5 hours left of babysitting.  This is party day: swimming, making slime, having treats and ice cream.  Parteeeeeee! ++++++++++ Last week was pretty exciting for early morning 2 1/2 mile walks.  One morning we were walking the spooky section across from Datsko.  There are no street lights along this area so it is dark and the fewer the glances over into Datsko, the better.  All of a sudden Whizz starts barking and lunging.  I finally was able to spy a man along the lake, not far from us just standing.  No movement.  No rod and reel, no tackle box.  Just standing.  Think