Destin, November 2017

We've now been back in Destin a couple weeks...
Good food; good weather; GREAT view.
My reclining chair is situated so that I can turn my head slightly to the left to watch TV, or slightly to the right and view the Gulf of Mexico.
Life is tough.

I've been wondering something for some time now and was reminded of my question this morning-
I watched as a Pelican soared by, then turned back, circled with his/her head cocked toward the inside of the circle and downward, then abruptly descended and crashed into the water with a big splash.
It sat on the water a few seconds, gathered itself up, flapped its big wings and paddled with big webbed feet, then took off to repeat this maneuver somewhere else down the coast.

To my good friend from Boeing-
Why can we not consult with the Pelican's designer and build aircraft to withstand these kinds of forces?
:>)

SR-71's, U-2's, And...

It's time to reveal a little something about myself.
Most folks are aware of the famous U-2 that caused a big kerfuffle during the Eisenhower administration (and is still being flown today in updated form).
Few know that I actually have flown the FABULOUS U-3 ! 
Please, try to contain your excitement.

Playing Cards, Balloons, and Vocalizations.

First question-
Did you ride a bicycle as a kid?
I did. 
I had a Newspaper route and measured that I rode at least 9 miles per day.

Second question-
Did you find ways to make your bicycle sound as if it had a motor?
Again, I did.
Our gang found that if we bought a bag of penny balloons, blew one up and attached it to the front wheel in such a way that it would rub against the bike's spokes, it would make a sound that surprisingly imitated an engine. The faster we pedaled, the more it sounded like a motorcycle going fast. Friction and heat would eventually fatigue the balloon and pop it, but for about three minutes we were pumping away with smiles on our faces.

Third question-
How many of you that answered affirmatively to questions one and two ended up actually owning a motorcycle as soon as you could buy one?

I did.

How's That Pudding Taste?

William Tecumseh Sherman.

I often wonder how Abraham Lincoln had to feel, hearing the news of Sherman's "March to the Sea".
Knowing the General was pretty much destroying EVERYTHING in his path; homes, businesses, railroads, crops... I'm sure he suffered some pangs. But he had also suffered while he watched ineffective Generals lead Northern Troops into losing battles, one after another.
"War is Hell"... Sherman knew how to fight.
And Sherman was succeeding.

Now comes Donald Trump. (Remember, I could NOT bring myself to vote for him last election... too liberal for me.)
I'm offended by some of his behavior in the past.
I cringe at some of his speeches.
His "Tweets" frequently are laughably adolescent.
But... "The proof is in the pudding", isn't it?

I've chosen French Vanilla.
And it tastes pretty good.

Millions. Billions. Trillions.

We (the U.S.) are now over TWENTY TRILLION DOLLARS in debt.
That's $20,000,000,000,000.00 when written down. Try to enter that in your calculator and divide that number by today's U.S. population, maybe 330 million(?). My calculator won't reach that far and right now I don't want to do the mental exercise by dropping zeroes on both numbers.

Someone educate me, please:
How do we survive this catastrophic burden?

HOME, James!

I'll take all bets.
It's pretty much inevitable.
In ten years, most people will NOT be driving their own cars.
Here's my thought process-

Our new Taurus can parallel park itself.
When it rains, the wipers turn themselves on.
The headlights dim and brighten themselves as cars approach at night.
Try to lock the doors with your keys in the car, "The Bull" scolds you with two beeps of the horn and WILL NOT comply with your security request.
Approach another vehicle at too great a speed and a band of red lights flashes across the windshield while an annoying alarm loudly sounds. If you don't react, the car applies its own brakes.
I'll insist the cruise control system on this thing is one of the greatest inventions of man...
Set the minimum distance you want to follow a car. In traffic, the system will slow as you approach a car, then, when you pull out into the passing lane, it accelerates once again to the speed you designated. (No clicking on and off of the cruise control system.) Amazing.
The Taurus also warns you when you begin to test the limits of your traffic lane. Approach the right or left limits and the steering wheel shakes. Do it too many times in a short period of time and a "coffee cup" appears in the warning segment of your instrument panel with a "rest may be necessary" comment... the damn car is nagging me!
And there are many things it does that you don't even realize while you drive... take a corner a little too quickly and it transfers power from outside wheels to inside to prevent a skid.

We've all read about "autonomous" cars.
Computers drive them. You simply get in and tell the thing where you want to go.
I think they'll be PERFECT for major city driving. Folks there won't even need to own their own car-
Just call for one to show up at your door at a certain time and direct it to take you to your destination.
You own no car, no insurance, no maintenance expenses, and no need to worry about the stack of "stuff" you have to move around in the garage to make room so you can park.
How do you feel about this future?

I don't like it at all.
I'm an enthusiast.
I have driven fast cars and motorcycles much of my life. I revel in the feeling of "turning into the skid" when I have applied so much power the rear wheels have broken loose and I have to correct the steering to keep the car headed in the direction I want... and having done it successfully, find myself pressed against my seat with a smile on my face.
But that's wasteful. And it's DANGEROUS too, isn't it?
Yeah, and that's the point.

Autonomous cars will be demanded by the public for that reason.
Computers don't make errors. Humans do. For "the public good", people will demand we drive them.
Those of us that want to be in control of our own vehicles will be scorned, shunned, and charged exorbitant prices until we see the error of our ways.
No more human errors.
No more loss of human life because of texting, drowsiness, or driving under the influence of... whatever.
It's coming, and I'm pretty sure we can't do a damn thing to stop it.

But remember this:
"Open the bay door, HAL."
"I CAN'T do that, Dave."

Yeah... Again.

What a revelation. Two years ago, while Sara Jean and I were in Destin, I bought a "Run to Wally World" machine... a  well-used 50cc "Tao Tao" Chinese scooter with a "Top Case", and a top speed of 35 mph and more storage space than you can imagine unless you've actually seen it.
Expert bikers, (I'm NOT one), have a saying...
"It's more fun to ride a slow bike fast, than to ride a fast bike slow."
I had an absolute BALL riding that little 50cc machine!

But with a 35 mph top speed I couldn't ride it from Destin to Ft. Walton Beach on the highway...
There was a definite possibility of getting run over, and a near assurance of John Law taking offense that I'd be holding up traffic.
I needed a faster machine.

On a lark, I stopped at a place that rented scooters and asked, "Got anything in the 150cc range?"
The owner gave me the "follow me" finger, and took a tarp off a used Piaggio MP3 250cc.
"Take it for a spin" says he.
And I was hooked. The price was right. I bought it the next day.


I've now had that machine 19 months. It goes 80 miles per hour if necessary, (not with me on it!), and gets about 80 miles per gallon of regular unleaded. (Oddly, it does NOT have the room the 50cc scooter had beneath the seat!)
My only complaint with the thing?
When Sara Jean is on the "bike" with me, we're crowded and uncomfortable.
I love much about this stupid thing... it attracts attention wherever we go. It goes more than fast enough, has plenty of room, and keeps me from having to start a four-wheel vehicle to go get a gallon of milk.
So I started a search.There's a 500cc version. The machine is bigger, not only in engine size. The seat is a full inch longer, which I think will make all the difference in the world when we are two-up.

So I bought one.
It's enroute to our home as I write this, and should be here in just over a day.
We're both excited about it.

Now, the question:
There are six bikes in my "Hangar" and one being used by my son in Phoenix.
This machine will take the place of several of them.
Which do I now sell?

Some folks on "real" motorcycles look down their noses at scooters.
I ain't one of  'em.
This thing is a GREAT tool, (and will outrun most of 'em up to 60 mph!)

Alternate History...

While watching historic movies of WW1 and WW2, the thought often comes to mind...
What kind of world would we now be living in if Germany and Japan, instead of spending all their monetary and human treasure on waging war, had simply devoted their efforts to making the products they make today... Hondas, BMWs, Lexus's, and Mercedes Benz's?

Germany's major cities were totally destroyed and had to be rebuilt before they could re-industrialize.
Japan's major cities also felt the sting, and LOTS of money had to be spent rebuilding.
What if that money, spent on waging war, then rebuilding infrastructure,  had, instead, been spent on producing quality product to sell to the world?
Would "Made in China" now be stamped on the base of all the products being sold in WalMart?

Seems to me a REAL leader should be out there asking that question today...
"Do you really want to go down this road? Wouldn't it be better to spend your currency feeding your people and making your country stronger?"
I don't see any leader asking these questions.

Someone should.

I Refuse!

I will not sit idly and be a slave. 
I will not allow my family to be abused. 
Prisons can only function with the cooperation of the imprisoned. 
The Jews in Germany walked calmly into the train cars, then into the chambers. 
Germans ALLOWED their country to become a tool of  Satan.

I refuse. 
I hope you will also.
Together we can change the world.

"War And Peace, (A Love Story)"

(This actually posted by accident earlier this morning. Sorry Ed! Comment again if you're so moved.)

Sara Jean is in Chicago. I wasn't at all sure she'd be interested in watching my 3.5 hour recording of Tolstoy's "War and Peace," so this weekend was an opportune time to watch it all by my lonesome.
It wasn't at all what I expected.
Henry Fonda, at age 50 or so was miscast as a 20-something pacifist.
Audrey Hepburn once again proved that you don't have to have "big parts" to be one of the most beautiful creatures on earth.
Well known for her big parts, Anita Ekberg has a pretty big part in the flick. I've always had a "thing" for Anita... she certainly IS eye candy.
Mel Ferrer and Herbert Lom  also have starring roles.

I've always been interested in Napoleon's DISASTROUS retreat from Moscow in the Winter of 1812, and the fact that Hitler learned NOTHING from that history. I hoped the movie would devote some attention to that story, and it does. BUT, surprisingly, I was very surprised to find how much of a "Chick Flick" this also is. There are several loves stories going on in the background as battles between the French and Russians unfold.

Ferrer's character at one point has a conversation with Fonda's character which struck me:
"War is the most horrible thing in life. If it were in my power I would not take one prisoner. The French are my enemies. They destroyed my home, caused my Father's death, exiled my Sister and my child. Now they hope to destroy Moscow. Why take prisoners? That's PLAYING at war. Take no prisoners. Kill and be killed. If there were none of this playing at war, we would go to war only when it was worthwhile going to certain death as now."

Is there a way to make war so horrible that man won't consider playing the game?
I wish it was so.
But watching the Palestinians and Israelis play at it says it ain't.
The Northern Irish and British also were at one another's throats for years, and neither cried "Uncle".
(And both those conflicts have/had their basis in religion! So much for "Love thy neighbor, huh?)

Whatever...
The movie IS long. But if you, like me, are a fan of the actors, even at 3+ hours, it's worth your time.
I give it 4 out of five stars.

Defacing God's Handiwork

I have NEVER understood the tattoo.
Growing up, there was the infrequent "USMC" tattoo on one of my Dad's acquaintances, generally added to a bicep in someplace like Manila when the bearer was soused.
I once saw one that read "When I die I'm sure to go to heaven, 'cause I've already been to Hell."
I'll let God make that decision.

But lately I'm REALLY perplexed.
We're almost in "Illustrated Man" territory with some people.
... Take a somewhat ugly set of legs and completely cover calves with equally ugly tats.
Or, like "American Pickers", cover the chest of a reasonably attractive woman with some garish artwork.
Why?

I've had this discussion with women I'm attracted to.
Some have revealed they have a tat discretely placed where only someone VERY special will see it.
(I'm assuming this will be a tiny butterfly or rose, and that it would normally be hidden beneath undergarments... a "present" for someone fortunate enough to unwrap the package!)
That means the bearer had to expose that part of her body to the artist... (how "special" was he?)... a thought that kinda turns me off by itself.

I fear those getting tats today are being affected by a fad.
And as age comes upon them, they'll regret the pressure they felt when they went under that needle.

But that's just me.

Three Dog Night

We are now doing our annual thing-
Friends are off on vacation and we are taking care of their two small dogs, both Shih Tzus. One of the two has been a guest at our house previously. We were a little worried about the other... he's a little "nervous". Last night was their first night with us this time.The dogs slept like the dead, all night long, even when my 70-yr old prostate forced me out of bed three times.But it wasn't a need to hit the John that woke me at about 3 A.M..
It was the feeling that something was crawling toward my armpit.

We had a mild Winter here in the Midwest. Mild Winters mean lotsa bugs in Spring and Summer.
It's been a bumper year for ticks. I've pulled several off Lucy already. I've even pulled two from Sara Jean's scalp. I'm lucky that I've nabbed a couple of the little suckers before they buried their heads in my flesh so far, like last night. But the rest of the night I had imaginary critters crawling over warm, tender parts of my body.

I'll be doing a VERY thorough investigation of canine bodies tonight before anyone with two, or four legs, climbs into the sack!

"God Will Provide"

Forecasters predict a storm and flooding.
The man says, "God will care for me".

Civil Defense comes by in a truck to evacuate.
"God will take care of me."

Water rises. Civil Defense comes by with a boat to evacuate.
"God is in control and will protect me" says the man.

High water forces the man to the roof. A helicopter comes by tor rescue but the man refuses help-
"God will provide for me".

The man drowns and shows up at the Pearly Gates.
"Why didn't God insure my safety?"

"We warned with a forecast. We sent a truck. We sent a boat. We sent a helicopter. What part of 'God providing' do you not understand?"

Are you watching the news?
God is trying to get our attention.

Space Junk

Some time ago I wrote on this subject. My concerns originated when a "fleck of paint" hit the windshield of the Space Shuttle at a closing speed of something like 17,000 miles per hour and cracked the windshield to the point that experts feared a heavier object would have compromised the Shuttle's survival in space.
Now I read this article, and it is comforting to know experts are also concerned and trying to come up with a solution to the trash heap we are building in earth's orbit.
Now all we need to do is figure out how to do the same thing with that Delaware-size pile of trash in the Pacific ocean!

God help us.

The Anti-Squirrel:

This is just weird.
For about 40 years I have been squirreling away money for our retirement.
Mutual funds, Annuities, IRA's, 403b's, 401K's, traditional and Roth, and for insurance, some precious metals...
I'm a minor "expert".
I just turned 70. I'm now getting notices from a multitude of places notifying me I MUST withdraw funds in the year I turn 70-1/2 years of age or suffer a penalty. I'm submitting the necessary forms.
But "squirreling" is such a part of my life that this REALLY FEELS WEIRD.
We are blessed.
But feeling this way is a form of mental illness, isn't it?

It's time to anti-squirrel.
Santorini, here we come.

Greed. Envy. Jealousy-

A quickie post, as I HAVE to get out to my disorganized "hangar" to sort out bikes, my desk, and other treasures:
I frequently wonder where Germany would be today if, instead of picking the scab that turned into World War Two, they had just continued on their path of excellence and sold the rest of the world Mercedes Benz's, BMW's, and other FABULOUS (and WAY ahead of time) technologies.
I think the entire world would have learned German because we WANTED to.

It's so simple, isn't it?
"Build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door!"
So why didn't Germany follow that path?

And then I remember Cain.
He lived in the Garden of Eden and had loving parents.
And he WAS NOT satisfied.

SANTORINI !

We've decided to pull the trigger on something we've wanted to do for years.
I had two "bucket list" items on my "Cruise" list-
The inland passage to Alaska, and an "Ocean to ocean" cruise through the Panama Canal.
We've now done both. (And I recommend 'em.)

Sara Jean wants to do another cruise, so I'm tryin' to figger out where I'm interested in cruisin'.
I'm a HUGE fan of the movie An Affair To Remember with Deborah Kerr and Cary Grant.
There's a scene in that movie that has Cary Grant hiking up the mountain in Santorini, Greece to visit his grandmother. At the top he stops to take in the view of the port below, and that scene knocked me out! I've wanted to go there ever since.

We called our travel agent today to start the process.
It just happens she herself is going to Santorini next month, so we intend to profit from her knowledge and get serious about our planning upon her return.

Any hints, prods, or warnings will be appreciated.
What was the name of that liquor they drank in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding"? :>)

My Brother's Keeper

He was a big man...
6'2" and probably about 220 lbs.
He had been my hoochmate in Viet Nam and we got along well there.
When I got home and found him searching for a place to live I bought a place and asked if he'd like to room with me.
"Sure!"

He was loud, brash, and unpredictable.
When he didn't come home Friday night I chalked it up to the probability he'd found someone he liked and chose to stay with them.
When he didn't come home Saturday night and hadn't called to let me know, I was mildly concerned.
By 2200 hours Sunday night, facing a normal workday Monday, I considered calling the police, then changed my mind.

Monday afternoon I came home from work to find his lemon yellow '69 Corvette parked in our drive.
I unlocked the door and entered the living room to find him watching TV with half his head wrapped in gauze and bandages.
"What the heck happened to you?!"

"I had a serious discussion with a guy at 'The Monster'. I didn't think much of it when he left on his own. When I left the bar he jumped me with a claw hammer and nearly took my left ear off."
And he wasn't kidding. The ear was hanging by a small strip of tissue and required serious expertise to reattach. The hospital kept him for a while because of the possibility of serious concussion.

Two 22-yr old single guys... prowling most weekend nights. Our unwritten rules were sort of- "you do what you do and I'll do what I do, so long as we don't foul one another's nest."
But three nights with no word at all?

I know today I'd be on the phone Sunday morning trying to find out if he was in trouble, or dead.

Prepping

It's inevitable.
Even during the most boring of conversations with friends and acquaintances, the fact we are trying to "hope for the best; plan for the worst" will come up.
You can probably imagine the reaction-
Some think we're just downright weird.
Some of our best friends agree with us but take the "God is in control" attitude and are leaving the future in his/her hands.
A few souls are also doing what they can to be prepared for as many permutations as possible.

Those that think we're crazy will frequently joke, "Well, if the worst happens we know where to go!"
We try to gently guide and educate them by mentioning this scenario.

We hope we ARE crazy in our thinking!

Dental Sticker Shock

Yes, I know... this is my fault.
I got a thing in the mail from a reputable company offering dental insurance for my family.
There are things in life I think are too important to ignore:
Brakes and tires on your car, for instance.
Dental care is another. 
My first mistake was not shopping around for price.
I now realize I could have done much better than $60/month.
My second  was not insuring our Dentist was an "approved provider".

The policy indicated an annual cleaning would be fully covered after the policy had been in effect for a year.
I scheduled my cleaning 13 months after the policy's anniversary date.

The bill from the Doc came yesterday-
My dental insurance covered $100 of a three hundred dollar bill.
I was shocked and furious.
It means I paid $720 for a year's coverage, and then another $200 to have my teeth cleaned and consult with our Dentist.
Total bill for the year: $920.00 !

I called and canceled the policy.
We take good care of our mouths.
Now I'm wondering whether or not dental insurance is even worth carrying.