The Honda Saga

I went over to Tampa on Monday and took the car into Tampa Trans, the shop that charged me $2000 to fix the transmission when I got to Florida. Funny, but the car ran really well all the way over there but I wanted it checked out by them anyway. Shelley met me at IHOP which is just a short walk from the shop and then drove me to her house. If nothing else, the trip was worth having a couple of days with Shelley.

Nicole was at the dentist but got home in time for all of us to go out and meet John for lunch. Then it was back to Shelley's to just chill until dinnertime. Sometimes it seems like my life revolves around meals.

On Tuesday, Shelley and I stopped by the shop to see about the car because we hadn't heard from them. The shop owner told me they'd checked the transmission and it was fine but he thought I might have a problem with the head gasket or the fuel injector. He said he didn't have the equipment to check those things, though. All I understood was that it was going to cost a lot of money to have the car fixed if either of those things were malfunctioning. I let my mind shift back to the possibility that I'd be flying home instead of driving.

We left the car there so we could go shopping and Shelley got some terrific buys at Kohls. Then we went to TJMax and she got some more great buys. I only bought a big mug all day. Now, Shelley doesn't like shopping and only went because I asked her to but she ended up saving a fortune on the things she bought. Shopping can be good.

One more sleep at Shelley's and then I left for 3W this morning. The car drove very, very well. Now I'm back to thinking that Mickey was right all along and all the car needed was the additive in the gas tank to clean the fuel injector. It really does seem to be getting better every time I drive it. Also, the local shop who put in 2 sensors (haven't a clue what for) and said it might take some driving for them to kick in...maybe that's why the car is driving better. I don't know but I'm going to have the whole winter to test drive it.

It's cold today for Florida...low 60's and a strong wind. Shelley loves this kind of weather but I'll be happier when it's around 75 degrees. I don't need pool weather, just comfy weather.

Oh yes, and some excellent news. Faye's rental is all settled and she and Gary will be here for 3 months. I'm so happy because I'd about given up hope on them finding a place here. They'll be right across the road from me!! Now to hope she enjoys it enough to come back next year...she'd said this winter would be her last one in Florida.

Well, now maybe I can squeeze in a nap before dinner and Bingo.

March 12, 2004 Thoughts

I've always been a writer of sorts, often emptying my soul with pen and paper, so it didn't surprise me to find the following article hidden inside an old notebook. I assume I'd had another of the ongoing fights with my husband...I'll never know why we fought so much but that's the past, over and done.

"There is beauty here. Even in the mounds of stinking, rotting garbage piles you can find a perfect healthy dandelion that has taken only the good from the depleted soil and managed to thrive.

Even in the most crime-ridden, poverty driven gettoes can we see the shining, smiling face of a child still innocent..for a while.

Even in the rat race of movers and shakers can we see one human being in repose, one who has stepped outside the frantic pace for just a moment to lift his face to the sun.

Funny how easy it is to see the beauty in life. We only have to look beyond the ugliness.

I am a watcher, a seeker of truths but everywhere I look I see untruths. Maybe the truth is not in us.

Do you see what I see? Do you hear what I hear? Then why do we still have hope?

Today is Saturday, March 12, 2004. I'm sitting on the patio of my Florida trailer enjoying a warm, sunny, peaceful day. Saturday afternoons are usually quiet here because many of the residents go shopping. I'm feeling very introspective but will accept what comes. Life is too short to be unhappy but somehow I've managed to..."

And there it ends. At that moment I had no idea that the man I'd been married to since I was 17 would soon begin his year long struggle with esophagus cancer, one he'd lose on July 20, 2005. I do know that, on March 12,2004 he was a strong and healthy man.

I was right about one thing...life is too short to be unhappy. We could have done better if we'd only known how.

It's Heaven

Today is what I bet it feels like in heaven. The sun is shining, the air is lovely and warm and there's a nice fresh breeze blowing. Neighbors walk by as I hang my clothes on the line and stop for a friendly talk. My crisp white sheets are going to smell like heaven when I put them on the bed tonight.

It's hard to understand how some people need money and excitement to consider themselves in heaven when all they really need to do is move to my park.

That's Life

I phoned the shop where they've been trying since Tuesday to fix my car and was told the car wasn't there...he was joking. Then he told me they'd set fire to the damn thing...he was joking but I understood his frustration with "the damn thing". Those good people had inspected every part and test driven it numerous times all without success in finding out what was wrong with it. And they never charged me a dime because they said they won't charge if they can't fix. They are my favorite car repair shop in the world even if they couldn't find the problem.

I'd had my coffee morning and was jabbering away to the ladies about the car and that I was waiting for Sylvia and Mickey to get back from shopping to take me over to pick it up. I got 2 offers on the spot for a drive over and took Myrna up on her kind offer. She and her husband, Wendell, drove me first to the post office and then to the shop where I got my car and they made inquiries into having their brakes fixed. They'll be in good hands!

Since I needed to get gas and then drive the car a bit to see how it was running, I made my way to the internet casino where I spent about 3 hours relaxing. By the time I left for home, I was up $5. The car, by the way, sputtered a couple of times during the drive.

I am so happy to have my faulty little car back so I don't have to depend on others to drive me around. Sometimes I just feel like taking off by myself, too. I'll take the car to Tampa on Monday to the transmission shop and let them take it apart again... this time I hope they get it right. To be honest, I'm almost accepting that I'll be flying home in April but my biggest problem with that is I'm not sure what the legal status is for leaving a Canadian car in the States. I'm wondering if I can just donate it to a tech school for kids to learn how to take cars apart but I won't worry about that until it either stops working or until March. I've got enough to worry about without burdening myself with "what ifs". I'll also need to contact the insurance company back home if I leave it here. Oh well, all in good time.

Life is...well, maybe not perfect but it is what it is.

American Thanksgiving

Today is the American Thanksgiving and I'm here in my little trailer park in Florida all set to celebrate it. We're having dinner at 2 P.M in the clubhouse where everyone will congregate with their culinary contributions...the park management provides the turkey. I can't wait!

I know I've said it before but this park is like a little village, full of some of the nicest human beings you'll find anywhere. How wonderful to get to be with them for a holiday feast! Our table was set last night after Bingo and so far we have 6 at our table so there is room for at least 2 more to join us. Normally, our table is full but some of our close buddies either aren't going to be here this year or just haven't arrived yet.

Every holiday makes me stop to think how lucky I am to be in this space and time with the people I care about and Thanksgiving is no exception. I am very thankful to be spending it with such good friends who have come to be almost like family to me. I'm thankful for many things today and I know how fortunate I am even if the bloomin' car isn't working. Maybe it will be fixed tomorrow and I'll have even more to be thankful for, though. Just hoping!

The Car

So the car was running very rough on Monday when we went to the casino and it made me think it might not make it all the way over to Tampa on Monday so yesterday I took it into a local shop to have them find the problem. They were very kind and seemed to have my best interests at heart, especially when I told them I'd already paid $2000 on the transmission. They all said that I'd been robbed because the problem didn't sound like transmission trouble.

I waited in their waiting room for a couple of hours while they scanned it, ruling out one after another of potential problems. They suggested I go home because it could be a while before they found anything so I phoned Mickey and Sylvia and they came right over to pick me up. I can't help but wonder about the people who have no-one to help them out.

The car was kept overnight so I phoned this morning and was told they still can't find the problem but to give them a bit more time and they'd call later. I stayed off the computer even though I had lots of work to do and waited until 3 P.M. before calling the shop myself. Guess what? They closed early for the American Thanksgiving and no-one was there. Damn! I don't mind being without a car for a few days but they really should have called to tell me they needed it longer.

Mickey was kind enough to drive me over to Publix so I could get the things I need for the salad I'm taking to our Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow in the clubhouse. My friends here are more like family and I wish so much they all lived closer to me in Canada.

My lip is continuing to heal but I still have discomfort from the swelling. It's not the worst thing in the world!

Tonight we play Bingo and I'm still playing on winnings right now so the fates are being kind to me since I spent all that money getting the car fixed. At this rate, I'll need to continuously win at Bingo and the casino for the next 3 or 4 winters, though. And I'm not sure the car will ever be fixed!!

On Being Overwhelmed

My car is still an ongoing problem but not bad enough to keep me off the roads. I thought about what Kim had told me I should have done...fly home, buy a new car and drive back to Florida...and then thought about how I was feeling when I first made it to the park. I was so overwhelmed with stress that there was no way I could have done that.

I do love the 2 day drive to Florida but I was still recovering from the treatments to the skin cancer on my bottom lip, 6 months of stress from that alone. Then there's the normal stress of preparing to leave home for the winter. Add to that the car problems which worsened on the trip down. Then the stress of paying $2000 to fix it and finding it wasn't fixed.

Now comes the arrival at the trailer, the unpacking and finding out that a metal strip had somehow become dislodged from under the back door giving access to who knows what. Mickey had fixed it and came in with me to make sure no snakes had come inside but the ensuing stress of wondering if something was lurking in a dark corner.

Then the normal stress again of just becoming settled in a different home...I was happy to be here but I'm an old gal who doesn't handle any kind of stress well so, considering all I'd been through, I really just wanted to sleep for a week and try to repair myself.

No, Kim. I didn't have the gumption it would have taken to arrange a flight home, settle in again and start shopping for a car. My emotional resources were tapped and I knew it.

So, what did I do? I hugged everyone who welcomed me back and drew strength from that. I joined into activities with buddies who made me laugh so much I could feel the stress fading away by the moment. I took time to sort my feelings and make some decisions. I decided that I'll enjoy this southern winter I've been so fortunate to have and, if the car can't be fixed, I'll fly home in April. All I needed was a bit of time to gather my strengths and now I'm okay again.

Today is Monday, gambling day, so Joann, Barb, and I will go to the internet casino. We'll have our $2 Wendy's lunch and gather as many casino freebies as we can. If we're lucky, we'll win a few bucks. Life is what you make of it!

Scammed

I heard a sad, sad story today about one of our park residents, an 84 year old lady, who fell for a scam perpetuated by greedy, unethical, and ruthless people. She received a phone call telling her that her grandson was in jail and needed $4,000 in order to be bailed out. She was instructed to take the money to a local restaurant and leave it on the seat of her unlocked car. The recipient would then come into the restaurant to talk to her.

It may seem unbelievable that anyone would fall for such a ridiculous scam but this isn't a new trick. It's one that's been inflicted on the elderly and the gullible for a long time.

This lady has a daughter she could have contacted and who would have told her to ignore the call but she chose to deal with this herself (along with an acquaintance who could be involved in the scam but we don't know for sure). She foolishly followed the instructions she was given, the money disappeared and the recipient never came into the restaurant. Pitiful.

How do people like the scammer live with themselves? Where is their conscience and their honor? It makes me sick.

To any of my readers who happen to be elderly, please don't be too trusting. There are people in this world who prey on us simply because we can be vulnerable.

Nolan and the Dust Particles

One of the sweetest things in this world is to watch a child as they are discovering. Kim told me the cutest story about out sweet boy, Nolan, who was 2 years old last July.

Nolan doesn't remember seeing snow last winter but he did see it once this year. He was at Kim's house and standing in front of the patio doors where the sun was shining brightly through when he picked up one of the sofa arm covers and shook it. Kim watched as this dear little boy looked at the dust particles floating around in the sunshine with wonder on his face.

"Snow?", he said in confusion, wondering what it was doing inside the house. Then he stuck his tongue out to catch the "snow" in his mouth.

These moments are so precious. I miss being there to catch them all.

Occupy Wall Street...Good or Bad?

I am all for non-violent protests because it's sometimes the only way the masses can get their points across to the tiny minority of leaders in this world. But as soon as I see cars overturned and burned, windows shattered, police officers stoned, or any other kind of violent protest, I refuse to support their cause.

Today's protesters seem to be behaving themselves and acting mainly in a civilized manner but the day is still young. It's an unfortunate circumstance that small businesses in the area will be hurt by their streets being clogged with protesters. It will also make it impossible for any citizen to conduct their personal business during the protest. It's too bad but we must protect our freedom of speech at all costs.

Without the public's freedom to protest, we would all be completely at big business's mercy (they have none) so, as inconvenient as it is to accept these protests, they are necessary for our well-being.

I've been astounded at the numbers of people the protest organizers have managed to bring together. If nothing else, these massive numbers should convince big business that we've about reached the end of our patience and are fed up with being enslaved by this tiny oppressive minority.

Penn State Shamed

I just listened to some Penn State students who are fearing their future might be a little bleaker because of their affiliation with Penn State University. I find this awfully hard to believe because the actions or inactions of their administrators in the ongoing criminal accusations of child abuse on school grounds should never be blamed on the students.

One student said he'd heard that some companies were saying they wouldn't hire any more Penn State graduates and would fire any already working for them. This can't be true because it makes no sense.

On the other hand, the school administrators have an awful lot to answer for because there were rumors going back to the 1990's about Sandusky. They were told in no uncertain terms about Sandusky raping a child in their shower room in the early 2000's so why was this man not stopped before now? How many children lost their innocence to this pervert needlessly because Penn State administrators protected him?

Penn State is indeed a place of shame but not because of it's students. The shame belongs to any and every one who knew Sandusky was abusing young boys and chose to protect the monster instead of the child.

Lovin' Florida

Every year when I arrive at the trailer, the first step to settling in is to make the inside livable. I pre-arrange to have the trailer cleaned inside and out (except for the Florida room) so it's near done when I get there.

My next step is to clean the Florida room myself which takes very little time unless I'm doing the windows but I only do them every two years. Then I can do the fun stuff! I plant and arrange planters around the patio and front of the trailer...I still have a few plants to buy and the geraniums I brought down might or might not live so there's little color yet. Any color you see in the pictures is from plants that survived the Florida summer heat, god bless them!

Once I put out the patio furniture and place tablecloths and plants on the tables, I feel at home. This year I plan to clear out the little garden in front of the patio, lay down mulch, and then put potted plants there. It's been almost impossible for me to plant anything in the Florida sand and have it live.

I got to my park on Friday and have had some great welcomes from old friends. We've played cards, done the casino, and tonight we have a birthday party for one of my best friends, Joann. Life is good for this old gal!

The "Lip" and the "Car"

Life isn't the best for me right now. I should get my car back today but the cost is high...about $2000 to have the transmission fixed. I felt I had no other choice because i need a reliable car to get arounbd while I'm in Florida and then I need to be able to get back home in April. I'd planned to get a new car next summer anyway and the Honda would be sold but I don't want to sell a car that has a serious problem so the transmission had to fixed at whatever cost.

All this stress has brought out a few rashes on my face (this always happens to me if I'm stressed) so, combined with the big scab on my lip (now only half size, though), I look like I've been in a terrible accident. I really need a good rest!!

If the car is ready early enough this afternoon, I'll be heading to the park but if it's too late in the day I'll stay another night with Shelley. It's no hardship staying in this lovely house with lovely family, one of whom is a great cook. I guess I'm lucky in most ways so I'd better stop complaining.

I'm looking forward to getting to the park and meeting up with old friends again. My trailer has been cleaned inside and out so all I need to do is clean up the garden and plant the geraniums I brought down with me...if they're still alive. They're in a clear bag, wrapped in wet paper towels, in the back seat of my car. I can only hope they survived. Oh well!

Now I'll just relax at Shelley's until I know about the car. Not a bad life.

We Made It!

Shelley and I got to her house in Tampa about 7 P.M. last night and I was able to take a quick look at her gorgeous yard just before it got too dark. It's like a dream yard...tiled patios, pool, hot tub, and lush Floridian foliage. The house is huge with tons of latin character.

John, who's growing a beard, mustache, and longer hair, and Shelley gave me a tour of the house which was built in 1925 with a large addition built on some time later. I love the old world charm of this place and hope they won't modernize it too much. If there's any flaw with this house it's the fact that it sits at the corner of a busy street and the traffic noise is bad. There is a line of tall, thick bushes between the property and the busy street but it doesn't seem to help much so the plan is to build a high wall there.

They have a houseguest named Rachel who is a sweetheart...she and I went to an estate sale today while Shelley took Nicole to the dentist to remove her wisdom teeth. John was off to work and Jake was off to school for the day. Jake is getting so tall! I asked him if he'd be embarrassed to go out for dinner with his "barnacle face" Gramma but he said he didn't mind at all. I hope he's not just being polite. I removed the scab today and it still looks awful but slightly better than the last time. I am one of the few people who can honestly say I'm getting better every day...at least in some ways, right?

Being in Florida again is so comfortable for me because it's like coming home again, only it's to my southern home. I'm anxious in a way to get to the park to see all my buddies but I'm very happy to be spending time at Shelley's for the next week. It will give me a chance to become familiar with her house and the surrounding area. I don't venture too far but I still like to be able to drive around and then find my way back.

Well, I still have no appetite and haven't eaten yet today so I'd better get something into my stomach. I'm wondering what will happen to my weight when the appetite returns. That's a scary thought!

Final Preparations

Shelley and I leave early tomorrow morning so today is my final day for cleaning house, packing, and finishing the yard. I've left an awful lot to the last minute but, in total, in won't take much time to complete it all. My lip hasn't healed up as much as I'd hoped it would but I think I had unrealistic expectations.

I'm doing laundry now and then will get the packing done. I need more clothes to take with me because I'm staying at Shelley's house for a week. I'm also taking the large suitcase because I'll need it for the cruise in January so I have lots of room to pack whatever I take tomorrow.

We're having a big family dinner at Kim's tonight so I'll take the food I have left in the fridge to her. That's another thing that's different...my fridge is fairly full so I haven't been careful enough in limiting my food shopping this past month. The problem with my lip has clouded my thinking in every other aspect, not letting me concentrate on the things that need doing before I head south for 5+ months.

Anyway, nothing lasts forever, not even this bloody big scab on my lip. It won't be long before I'm basking in the warmth of Florida and hanging out with fun friends. It will be a nicer world for me once the damned lip has healed.