Flying High

Monday included two parties, spontaneously combusted. "Hey! Do you want a cold drink?" is a dangerous phrase in my neighborhood. The Canadians are all healthy, fun-loving and seem to gather at Harold's for Vespers almost nightly. There does seem to be an unspoken time limit. Pretty soon people wander off to have some supper. Pat's husband Joe is progressing- just awaiting some biopsy tests but things look pretty good. Pat astounds me- I told her I want to be just like her when I grow up. I saw her riding across the park with a beach umbrella strapped to her bike. She bikes to the beach which is at least 7 miles. This route includes a good rise over a draw bridge.

The second party arose when I discovered Greg in my screenhouse, we had a couple here then walked over to their house. Had more. I thought I was lost a couple of times before I made it home. It's normally a two minute walk.

Tonight I stayed out of sight and rode off to the Grumpy Grouper before the earlybird menu ended. It was fine-sensible portions, good food and a complimentary dessert: red Jell-o with whipped topping- a senior dessert if I ever saw one but it was right tasty. I took a magazine to read because Greg and Lew had already dined-scarfed burgers on their way home from Pops. I caught enough light from the aquarium to read. My back was to the stage and a piano man started singing some great oldies. I formed a picture of the artist and was startled to finally see an old-timer like me- Ed Slater. The voice was young. Pretty good stuff for $12.45.

My camera arrived-on time. It is a dandy and I am learning all about it. It is a pretty hefty piece of equipment. It definitely is a "I am going out to take pictures," device as opposed to my more compact digitals which are more "I am going out and I might take some pictures," cameras. The airplane above was caught on the fly and was about the size of a fly to the naked eye.

The Internet terminal is getting some pretty good use. Since the first of the month, I would say about a third of the residents have changed. The variety of the campers has widened. Some pretty amazing units and some pretty marginal ones. But everybody seems nice and they are enjoying the park. Harold and other Canadians will start their migration in a couple of weeks- they will go to the west coast of Florida, then stop for awhile at several places on their way. Harold is going to Nashville. I have been duplicating CD's for the Canucks like crazy. They are trading their compilation CD's. It does strike me sometimes that we elders with free time are a lot like teenagers: swapping tunes, having a beer, playing games, swapping stories, hanging out, going to the beach. What, exactly, is wrong with a second childhood?

Memory Hook: Super Tuesday Primary elections. The newscasters are so inane, I gave up. It will all be on the Internet in black and white tomorrow- no fanfares, no partisans disguised as pundits, no interpretations so goofy they make me laugh.