Sheltering in Place!

We arrived home on Tuesday after a 5 day slog from Florida to Fortress Woodlawn. Many Frenchies seen along the way fleeing the states at the last minute. Also lots of college students heading home after the party. We were able to keep to ourselves during the journey and only had to worry about using dreaded gas pumps. 

It was a good decision for us to cpme home as we are fine here with no worries about getting the infection if we are careful.

Today I finished cleaning up the motorhome and stuffing it inside the barn. Pipes drained and blown clear, head drained and cleaned, coach washed and all products emptied from storage. Whew!!!

Not too much to say about the pandemic except we knew something like this was coming. We are prepared! Many chores and projects to accomplish here at home over the next few months, and I will be getting the Wall Street Journal to keep me entertained. Missing baseball!

Here endeth the winter trip and all plans to go west in May look to be cancelled. Maybe next year we will get to Yellowstone!

Homeward Bound!

We left Ft. Myers on Friday after hemming and hawing for a week. When ping pong got cancelled, I was ready to get home and concentrate on social distancing. Don't bother to visit us for a while!

Met some rude Frenchies on the way yesterday. I got yelled at in French for not being quick enough at the gas pumps. Why did they wait until the last minute to head for home?

Lots of college kids clogging up the road also. Good times are over for now.  Roads jammed yesterday but not as bad today.

On another note, filled up the RV at $1.84 per gallon!! Not bad eh?

We are currently in Petersburg Va.  at the South Forty Campground. Pennsylvania tomorrow! Will the rest areas be open?

Theodore is chilling after a long day on the road!

So am I!

It's Cancelled!

It seems that life as we know it has been cancelled by the Corona Virus. Saturday was our long awaited trip with friends to see the spring training Mets play and now it is off. Darn! ACC tournament with Syracuse off to a winning start, canned! NBA is done (Who cares?) MLB has shut down everything.

I am OK with this decision as I think we should all act aggressively against this virus. Even before Trump's speech last night, Joanna and I headed to Publix to stock up! (Now I'm sorry I didn't get a key lime pie to soothe my sorrow). We wanted to beat the crush of humanity that I am sure is going on today.

We plan to stay anchored here in North Ft. Myers for a while to wait this thing out. We will hunker down and stay at home the next few weeks. (I will probably go to ping pong tomorrow).

Today we have Alex, the detail man from Shiny Apple Co., here making out motorhome sparkle like new. What a great job he is doing!!

Awww...C'mon!

I have been a fisherman for most of my life. I can remember riding my bike to fish Beaver Dam on Long Island as a kid, and later as a youth learning to fly fish 2 summers in the wilds of Canada (a story in itself). My more recent fishing has involved tens of thousands of casts for trophy salmon and steelhead trout on the mighty Salmon River in Pulaski, NY.

But alas, the human body is frail, and I am finding that the cumulative wear and tear for this lefty has taken a toll. I suddenly find that my shoulder has become "painful", to say the least ,when I attempt to do the things I love like fishing and table tennis. Today it was ping pong which lasted for all of 2 minutes before I had to quit and head home for a hot pack.

My doc has suggested I start my career over as a righty. I have tried this with only modest success. And really...how long would it take to turn me into a right handed sportsman? Is there enough time left in my athletic career for me to become a righty ping pong player??

I am stubborn and so I will rest and get back on my horse Friday. I do this while keeping in mind the possibility of having to watch a fishing movie sometime in the distant future. Until then, I plod on to the finish line, enjoying every step!

I have just finished reading a wonderful book passed along to me by my brother and titled: Beneath a Scarlet Sky, by Mark Sullivan. It is based on the harrowing life of a young Italian hero from World War 2, and is a must read in these troubled times. The book ends with a marvelous quote by the main character, Pino Lella, that I reproduce here in its entirety:

"You know, my young friend, I will be ninety years old next year, and life is still a constant surprise to me. We never know what will happen next, what we will see, and what important person will come into our life, or what important person we will lose. Life is change, constant change, and unless we are lucky enough to find comedy in it, change is nearly always a drama, if not a tragedy. But after everything, and even when the skies turn scarlet and threatening, I still believe that if we are lucky enough to be alive, we must give thanks for the miracle of every moment of every day, no matter how flawed. And we must have faith in God, and in the universe, and in a better tomorrow, even if that faith is not always deserved."

The above words are an inspiration to me.

Joanna chats up our neighbor, John, during the cocktail hour on a beautiful day here in paradise.

The Great Performance!

Friday night was the big talent show and I was front and center with my comedy act. I must admit that it went over really well. The Swan Lake folks have already invited me back next year. Who knows? I may be the new Rodney Dangerfield on the retired people's circuit of comedy.
So, here it is:

"Really Big Shue!"

Tomorrow night is the big talent show here at Swan Lake and I am set to perform my stage act. I think I have some funny stuff but we will see how it all goes! In a worst case scenario I can fall back on my Ed Sullivan imitation...the only imitation I have in my arsenal!
"Right here...on our stage...Topo Gigio!" 
I will report back!

"Kid games" (pool and ping pong) are going well and next week I may be going to a rival venue to play some pretty talented people. Should be fun!

Went to the local car show with my neighbor here in North Ft. Myers.

I used to have a '57 Chevy when I was a teen. I still remember picking up my Aunt Nancy and driving in to see my Mom in NYC when she was sick. We stopped at Uncle Donnie's and Aunt Nellie's on the way home through Queens. That was 1969. My 57 Chevy was midnight blue with a white top. Loved the car but the heavy duty clutch was too hard for Joanna so we traded up.

I just liked the looks of the 59 El Camino in the 2nd picture.

The last picture is a 56 Caddy, like the one my dad owned but a different color. Dad's was canary yellow and black. Many terrific memories of that car, especially trips to the drive in at Westbury on Long Island. Picture the 3 young boys in the back seat jabbing and needling each other!! I always got stuck in the middle!

Newsy news

On Monday we had the internment of Diana's husband, Gerhard, at the cemetery on a gorgeous day. Later in the afternoon we headed to Ariane's Rest. , a long time family favorite, to celebrate Gerhard's life with a dinner for family and friends. Here is a shot of nephew Ian and his wonderful young family. (I guess you would have to call it a snapshot)

Tuesday I took my brother, Rich, to the car museum in Naples. Lots of historical vehicles and also much about racing at the Revs Institute.

Lots of snow falling back home right now so we are in the right place. It has cooled down into the 60's so it was a good morning to walk and walk I did.

I have signed up to do a stand up comedy routine next week for the Swan Lake Talent Night. I'm going to do a ten minute routine and hopefully I will get laughs. Nervous about this but what the heck! It is something I have always wanted to do.

Observation: When I was 10, 11, and 12 years old I played ping pong, shot pool, and rode my bike. Now I am 70 and... playing ping pong, shooting pool, and riding a bike. Hmm....

We just purchased a water purifying pitcher. We are using way too many plastic water bottles so now we can reduce/eliminate them. Why? Because we are trying to lessen our carbon footprint. What are you doing to help protect our environment? Are you waiting for government to do it? I hope not! You can make a difference if you try. Ed Sanderson, Mike Tirrell, Phil Tippen, and others take note: Now when I put water in my adult beverage, it will be pure!

A lot going on!

I've actually been too busy to write anything the past week. Ouch! So here is a little catching up.  Lots of electrical projects here on the motorhome where we have replaced many fixtures with energy saving  LED's. Altogether I replaced 7 light fixtures. This is the old!

 And the new LED:

Over at Diana's house in Cape Coral I replaced four outdoor lights, also with LED.  Steve Young: cub electrician!!!
Table tennis and pool went well this week and in addition to ping pong workouts I have been walking and swimming.
Finally, Swan Lake had a big "trash and treasure" sale over the weekend and I helped with that.
Whew! 

Tomorrow is Gerhard's internment at the cemetery and Tuesday I am taking my brother to the car museum in Naples! So here are a few random photos:

Here is Teddy under his Mommy's chair. Why? Because it is close to feeding time and Teddy is all about food. When Mommy gets up, Teddy will be ready!!! Pretty cute, eh?

Here is the new look on Diana's house with energy saving light at night! Hey...her house is lit up like Luna Park!! That is what my mom would say when she would come home when I was a kid and we had all the lights on in the house! Too funny! Here is the real Luna Park on Coney Island in the early 1900's:

This 1939 Ford drew some attention here at the park this A.M.
One more of Teddy the lap cat:

Senior games

Friday was the table tennis competition. No medals for me but I held my own against some really talented opponents and had a blast. Here are some photos. The first is the venue.

 Here I am studying the board to see who my opponents will be

Above is me with friend Gordon taking a break from competition.

Finally, the cute picture below shows Teddy sticking close to Joanna, who will soon be making his dinner. He is ready to be fed!!!!

80 Bucks!

I think I am going through a second childhood... no wait...at my age make it third! Last week it was victory in the weekly pool competition. This week it is the North Ft. Myers Senior Games Table Tennis Tournament on Friday. Ahhh...life is good!

At age 70 I am playing my butt off and enjoying it. Great workouts on Tuesdays and Fridays and lots of fun! Now, how to get an edge in the upcoming tourney? I'd been thinking about it for a while and last week I decided...It was time for "the Raptor". Ahhh...so what exactly is the raptor you ask? Only the slickest ping pong paddle on the market! The only problem is that it costs quite a bit of money. I decided to take the plunge as table tennis is a game I love.

It arrived in the mail Saturday and as I unwrapped it I felt like I was unwrapping the Holy Grail. The fresh paddle gleamed, felt good in my hand, and made me smile. That warm fuzzy feeling reminded me of when I got my first Raven steelhead rod a few years back. Good times ahead!!

Today we had our last game session before the competition on Friday. and needless to say I was anxious to give the Raptor a try. After all, for 80 bucks it had to be better than the paddle I've been using. 

And so on a beautiful morning I jumped in my "new" truck with my paddle beside me and headed for the North Ft. Myers Recreation Center. (Conveniently located a half mile down the street). Ahhh...life was filled with possibilities!

I can confidently report that sometimes having the best equipment is the way to go! Speed and control with the Raptor are fantastic, and I found myself making shots today that I hadn't previously been able to make. I even managed to turn a few heads with my sparkling play. What a confidence builder the Raptor is for Friday when I will face some really terrific players!

In the meantime, I have pool tomorrow and a special "pong practice" on Thursday, organized by yours truly! It looks like Childhood days have returned! Pretty soon I will be back to watching Saturday morning cartoons!!

"Honey, do we have any peanut butter and jelly?"

Bravo

Joanna and I drove down to Naples yesterday to spend the afternoon with friends from home. We met Pat McDougal, her sister Kathy, and Annie Robbins at a great restaurant called Bravo. This is a place famous for its delicious "small plates" which come at bargain prices. We talked, we laughed, we drank, and boy did we eat!!!
Waiting for our friends on a warm, breezy day.

 And here we are! The ladies are staying on Marco Island.

And we ate!!!!!

Annie and Kathy in background. Terre missou dessert in foreground

WSJ

Last summer Charley Hinman began giving me his Wall St. Journals. He would drop them off at the house in a big pile and I would spend a few days going through them. Having been well over a decade since I regularly read a printed newspaper, it felt pretty  good to have "hard copy" in hand. I sort of got hooked as I really felt "informed" on the issues.

Now I am in Florida and the WSJ has a sale going on. Get 12 weeks of the paper for only 1 buck a week. I couldn't resist and this week I started receiving my hard copy of the paper. Great stories and coverage and editorials! I've even decided to keep a few historical issues to "plant" in the barn for future generations to enjoy!

Wednesday pool league update:
I am improving! Did better in singles competition and WON the doubles competition! (Yes, I had a good partner, but I made the big shots that won the game!)

Take a Hike!

Every day I try to take a long walk. My goal is 2.5 miles for better health but usually I only make it about 2. My route is around the Swan Lake Park. There are two sections to this park: The RV section and the modular home section. It's a pleasant journey each day as I get my steps in (and sometimes let some air out along the way!), usually in the morning when the sun is not so bright on my "pinky" skin. The RV part is on a large circle and the homes are on two streets.

 Above is Campers' circle and below is Main St. with the new truck

I try to be aware of sights and sounds and smells as I walk. I am amazed at what my five senses tell me each day.

Here is a list of some things I have noticed on my daily journey:

1. The Sunday morning walk is the best as this is a day when people tend to cook a big breakfast. I  long to invite myself in for one of these wonderful smelling meals.
"Hi! Don't mind me, just pass the bacon!"

2. Most of the people in this park come from midwest states like Ohio,Indiana, and Michigan. This is easy to tell from the license plates in all the driveways. There are a few of us from NY, PA, and Ontario.

3. People from the midwest keep their vehicles clean. Shiny cars and trucks are everywhere and on any given day, several men can be found washing/buffing them. If I could line all of these cream puffs up on a used car lot, I could make a fortune!

4. I am not the only person who walks. There are many people out pounding the pavement each morning, or riding a bike. It's certainly a healthy sign!

5. People are very friendly and like to chat. Lots of interesting conversations can take place along the way, which is good for me as I am a bit of a social butterfly.

6. They say if you own a pet it can add 7 years to your life span.  People are going to live a long time here at Swan Lake which is bursting at the seems with pets. They ought to recruit a vet to live right here in the park! I've seen everything from cats to cockatoos, but the main park pets are dogs. They are everywhere and they come in all shapes and sizes. The predominant type are what I call those little Foo Foo dogs! And so walking your dog, and picking up after them, is an important part of park life.
It's fun to see the different dogs and different owners and the walking styles they have. There are "Yankers"  dragging their dogs along,  and "Yankees" being dragged by their dogs, all in pursuit of that common goal. The vast majority of humans are admirably patient with their pets. It should be noted though that for a dog, there a real need for "sniff time". I applaud the owners who allow for lots of this. I do wonder a little what owners will do when plastic bags are increasingly banned.

This is Lily. She is my favorite dog in the whole park! So tiny!

7. I have noticed many monarch butterflies in this park. I thought they all went to Mexico for the winter?

8. People take good care of their properties. Pride of ownership is everywhere.

Overall I am in awe of all the loving kindness, wisdom, and sheer know-how that exists here at Swan Lake. If we could move all of these people directly to Congress, I'm sure They'd have the country fixed in no time!

The Weekend

 Headed to my brother's house this past weekend for a turkey dinner. Here he is checking out the new truck. Below is my plate in between bites. Dinner was terrific! Thank you Robin!

 Our hosts...Robin and Rich

 Clockwise it's me, then Rich and Robin's friends, Brenda and Mary Ellen. We have known Mary Ellen for years, but just met Brenda.

The Big Spring Plan

Time is flying by and I have begun to plan our spring trip to Yellowstone. Here is the plan so far:

In mid-April we are going to drive the new truck home and leave the car, the motorhome, and Teddy here in Florida. Teddy is going to stay over at his Aunt Diana's house while we are gone. By leaving the motorhome in Florida, we save a lot of driving miles and I don't have to winterize to go north.

We then fly back in mid May and hit the road on the 16th. We are heading west via Atlanta and a visit to my good buddy, Tom Moseley. Then on to southern Missouri to see friend Phil Tippen and his family.

Finally we will head for Yellowstone for a week with Brian, Linda, and the G-kids. Should be an epic journey indeed, with interesting stops on the way out and the return trip.

That Darn pool: Part 3

Pool today and although it is hard to believe, worse than last week. Got to play 2 games. In the 2nd game, I got off one shot. Gotta sign off now as I need to soak my chafed behind in ice water!

Pool Part 2

Pool Part 2

Fast forward to 2020 and here I am in Swan Lake Village competing in a Wednesday pool league. On the first day of competition they asked me if I thought I should have a handicap. Ha! me? A handicap? Don’t they know I was an NYC champion? I quickly replied that I wouldn’t be needing one. To say that was a foolish decision is an understatement!!!! What a dope!

Quite simply, I have been getting creamed!!! A genuine ass whooping each of the first two weeks. These people play all the time and I haven’t picked up a pool cue in forty years. What was I thinking? I will admit I’ve had a few brief flashes of brilliance during the first 2 weeks, but please emphasize the word “brief”! The rest of my work has been nothing short of mediocre! 

It’s bad enough that I play ping pong at the community center twice a week and get beat by 80 and 90 years olds (Yes, I said 90. 93 to be exact. You have to see this guy play to believe it.) Now I am getting my behind kicked by the seniors here at Swan Lake. It’s been an eye opening experience for me and I am humbled. But I also have pride and determination. Well, at least a little...

And so I found myself over at the pool hall here on campus Saturday morning for a little pool solitaire. This only served to reinforce the fact that my game is way off, but at least I got in some practice and learned a few things about playing the tables here. I am feeling modestly better about my game.

I am hoping for slight improvement this Wednesday. I need to be calm and play smooth and let my old game unfold. We’ll see! 

Ultimately I have to answer this question: Is being good at pool still of value to someone 70 years old? Am I actually willing to put in the necessary time to get better? After all, I really have nothing to prove. And yet the youth inside me calls me to compete and be better.

My life is a roll of toilet paper these days. As the paper gets low the roll turns faster and faster. Such is my life. With so many things to do and so little time left to accomplish them, I need to be selective about how I spend my time. The youth inside me says to go for it, but the aging grandpa says slow down pal, you can’t do it all. 

The bottom line: Life is good and I feel great and each day is a gift!!!  

A classic Grandpa moment!

Get Good at Something! (Part 1)

Sixth grade way back in 1960 was an extremely difficult year for me.  Don't get me wrong because I loved school. The problem was that my parents had recently split up and I was struggling mightily at age 12 to keep my feet on the ground. Few parents ever divorced back when I was growing up in the early 60's. It was a big deal for me and I was confused and hurting. I was very fortunate that year to have a kind, gentle and compassionate man for my teacher named Larry Prato. Always ready with a gentle manner or a kind word for a young broken boy.

One day something happened in class that helped to completely turn my life around.  Mr. Prato was leading a discussion when he asked the following question: “What are you good at?” He asked us to take a minute and come up with the one thing we really did well. I was dumbfounded! I actually felt panicky because I couldn’t think of a single thing I was good at. Did riding my bike count? How about watching tv?  Flipping baseball cards with my friends? Good Lord!

The simple truth was that I wasn’t good at anything and it made me feel even more like a loser.  I mulled it over in bed that night and decided it was time to turn things around. I secretly pledged that I would become the best at something over the next few months. The question was what?

I loved playing table tennis at my local boys’ club, but you needed a partner to play, and I wanted something that I could work on by myself. I loved playing baseball and was a really good hitter, but I lacked speed and was weak in the field so that was out. Besides, it is a team sport.

What I finally chose to excel at is laughable now, but my decision at age 12 was to become a terrific pool player. It made sense to me at age 12. My local boys’ club was a great venue for me to perfect my skills. I could go every day after school, grab a table, and practice for hours.  If somebody wanted to play against me, that was fine.  If there was no one around, I could play all by myself.  

William “Birdie” Kinnear was the game room supervisor at that time and was a mentor to me in my budding pool career.  I began to think of nothing else. I was consumed by the game. That was a good thing for a kid previously preoccupied with divorce. Every afternoon I rushed to the club and played my heart out. Birdie taught me to play "pool solitaire", which allowed me to compete against myself and work on a variety of shots. 
Below is the setup for pool solitaire with the cue showing the first shot. The object is to run the table. Ball positioning is crucial! 

Over the next few months, I buried my personal problems and devoted my life to the game. Soon my game and my self confidence grew. Birdie noticed and I was eventually selected to represent my club on a team sent to compete in the New York City Championship Tournament. That year we won the whole competition!!! I was extremely proud to be a part of that and to this day I treasure the little plaque I was given for being on our winning team. 

All of the dedication and hard work I put into getting good at pool helped me gain much needed confidence and helped to get me through a very difficult period in my life. An important life lesson was learned!

Italian x 2

A good part of Friday was spent over in Cape Coral getting keys and a new fob programmed for the truck. I only got 1 key and no fob with my truck purchase and that was unacceptable. Situation now remedied.The locksmith and his wife were an interesting couple from Israel.

Friday night was the Swan Lake Lasagna Dinner and Joanna and I volunteered to be servers. We actually had a good time and the serving work turned out to be fairly easy. Quite a large crowd turned out (175 I think) for this tasty hot meal which included salad and a cannoli for dessert.We love Italian food but Joanna is on a low carb diet so I got to overeat just a bit.

Saturday I got to watch the Orangemen whip the Pitt Panthers. This Boeheim team has gone from unwatchable to very entertaining over the past few weeks. Later in the afternoon we drove up to Punta Gorda and met Tom Widell for a dinner at his church. His wife Nancy is away for a few days so it was just the 3 of us. Guess what we had...spaghetti! Italian night part 2 you might say. This dinner included a cool basket raffle but I was unlucky. However, Tom managed to win two prizes so it was a good night overall. Dinner was great and included ice cream and mini eclairs for desert. They even served wine!!

Pollen season has begun and a yellow film is all over everything and making me wheeze. I had to wash the car today as it was getting pretty bad.

So I guess this is a pretty mundane entry on a weekend when Trump impeachment trial is ongoing but too boring to even watch.
The only other thing I have to report is that I walked 2.5 miles today. I have been walking every day but today was the most I have done in one session. Getting and feeling stronger!

When an old person dies...

This is Teddy. Teddy very much likes to eat. When he is hungry, he will pester and pester in hopes of getting something, but it never works as we make him wait. He was 22 lbs. at one point but we put him on a diet (which he hates! Too bad Puss!) He was 19.2 lbs. at his last vet visit and surely less than that now. Getting healthy!

In the above picture he has just eaten. That is when he crashes for a nice long nap, like a lion on the Serengeti after a good kill. He loves to sleep with his head propped up. I think this is left from his barn days when he needed to be alert for predators. 

I've been getting to know more and more people in the community here at Swan Lake, and I am impressed with the intelligence, wisdom, compassion, and love that these people show. It may be a community of old folks, but they know how to make things run smoothly and they know how to have fun. I'd like to transport all of them to Washington, DC to replace our rotten Congress. They could fix this country in no time!! Oh and don't forget the fact that these people can really cook great food!

Let me close with this worthy saying I read from Alex Haley: 
"When an old person dies, it is the same as if a library has just burned down." 
I find this to be true. Every person has a story to tell and a wealth of life experience to share. 

3 Trucks!

I live in an area where having a pickup truck is a must. Make that a 4 wheel drive pickup! Gotta have the ability to haul; a lawnmower, a load of wood, the 4 wheeler. fishing equipment...you get the idea! You also need to get around in an area where we measure the snow in feet! It's probably not doing much for my carbon footprint, but as you will see I am doing what I can. (Not waiting for big govamint)

I have only owned 3 pickup trucks in my entire life. Hard to believe eh? Yeah, quite surprising when most of my buddies trade up on a regular basis.  But I have tried to make them last...less stress on our environment and resources when we make stuff last!

My first pickup was a blue 1985 Dodge Ram with 4 wheel drive that I purchased brand new for 10K. It was like riding in a tin can and had a manual transmission, but was a real workhorse with a slant 6 engine.  I drove t for 17 years, almost 100k miles before moving up to a 2001 silver colored Chevy Silverado in 2002. It was like coming out of the stone age when I slipped into the comfy cab of my Chevy. Can you guess how many years I owned it? If you guessed 17, you are right on! I finally let it go this fall as my mechanic pretty much condemned it for being all rusted out. I got not quite 150k miles out of it. Here are some fight eyes I dug up of the 2001:

Gotta love this second one of me getting ready to go camping on Mad River in 2006.  The truck is in the background. That pack was so heavy I had to practice walking with it!


Since arriving in Florida last month I have been on the lookout for my "last" truck. Hey, c'mon...do the math! I'll be 87 years old in 17 years. Think I'll be driving a pickup? Think I'll be driving? Uhh...will I still be here?

Last week Joanna and I discovered a wholesale used car dealership near Tampa. Some nearly new trucks at bargain prices. We went up but couldn't score cause we needed cash or a cashier's check. Thanks to my bradda, Rich, who lives down the road in Naples,  we were indeed able to arrange a cashier's check and now we are the proud owners of  a 2018 Silverado.  Looks and rides like brand new. V-6 engine easy on the environment. (Well, easier!). I'm getting 22 mpg. We're gonna drive it up to Pulaski in April when we come up for a 1 month visit. Then we are flying back down here to begin our trip out west in the motorhome. 2nd half of May and into June we are heading for Yellowstone Park on a big adventure that you can follow right here!
And so here is my "final" truck! May it get old and rust out long before I do!!!