Unexpected Surprise.

Back in the seventies when I was heavily involved in politics I was given the opportunity to attend a conference in Windsor regarding parks and recreation. I attended with my fellow alderman Wally and our wives. This conference used to highlight the latest in equipment used in managing community parks. Seminars and displays took up most of the time but the ladies were entertained by the host city and companies wishing to make sales had hospitality rooms for the community reps.

There was one company which was a major player in the business of providing equipment to the province and some major heads of the civil service lost their jobs because of their inappropriate involvement with this company. Newspapers like to report scandal so everyone attending this conference was well informed about the problem. This company and its owner invited people to attend their display and have some refreshments. Wally and I asked our wives if they wished to come and the opted out for a flower show at the famous Windsor  Rose Garden. Windsor is known as the city of roses.

Wally and I weighed the consequences of attending the display as we had before. We actually were good friends of the owner and now famous person connected to the scandal. We went anyway and arrived at the hospitality room and found that we were the only two there except the four reps from the company. The host, Duke welcomed us and showed us the line of equipment while drinking a a new cocktail made from a yellow liquor being imported from Italy that year. It was good but not as good as the next entertainment.

Our host always had a large following and to that end he rented the bar at the Elms Hotel, a few blocks away for drinks and entertainment. A lemo drove us the quarter of a mile to the Elms along with the company reps and we entered the large bar. Prepared for a hundred or more but seeing only six the bar owner quickly set up one table in front of the stage. Food and drinks were served and with little fanfare the curtain was drawn and a small band played lively music as the band leader introduced Ann Margaret.

Tiny in stature but a great dancer she entertained us for about twenty minutes to a grateful audience of six. She came and met Duke and he introduced us and he thanked her for her talent. For all the disappointment and embarrassment you would never know it as Duke said it was all part of doing business. Wally and I thanked our host and were driven back to our hotel. When our wives saw us they questioned where we were. We told them we were to see Ann Margaret and they laughed thinking we made up the story to cover the possibility we had been visiting all the hospitality rooms.

We attended the banquet that night and when we told the friends of our adventure they were upset but still were skeptical. Next day as we were leaving Windsor I drove past the Elms and there in bold letters was the name of Ann Margaret as the featured entertainment. Pretty good surprise and entertainment for a couple of Valley Boys.

Fishing For Grouper

When I was invited to go out on the Gulf to catch Grouper I was delighted and excited.Grouper is a wonderful white fish which has become a favourite of many people here in Florida and across the nation. They are caught in many places but the Gulf of Mexico is the main source for most commercial fishing. Because of the desire for this fish , close controls make sure that the stock is protected. The season closes for two months every year and the number and size is controlled by wildlife management.

My friend and golf partner has a great fishing boat and he knows the good fishing spots. He marks the good reefs and fishing holes on GPS for future use.Yesterday was a perfect day for fishing as the Gulf was calm and we were preparing to travel some 40 miles out into the gulf. When we left the dock we made our first stop some ten miles out to catch bait fish. Within a few minutes we had plenty of sand perch and grunt. Pin fish were captured as well and after we had enough bait we headed out to deep water for Grouper. The Gulf is really quite shallow by open water standards and you have to travel well out to get deep water.

Travelling at 30 + mph we arrived at our first stop some twenty five miles out. The water depth was 50+ feet deep and we had instant luck.I caught three fish quickly but none were the  right size for keeping. We moved every half hour and travelled even further out. Land was not in sight but dolphins, birds of every kind and other fishermen seemed to be everywhere as this was the last day for grouper fishing for two months.

Octopus must have been  migrating as we caught dozens of these little fellows, They are hard to handle and can escape easily from any container which does not have a good cover.As we began our day at 7am and sailed, fished and enjoyed the environment until late evening we decided to call it a day. Any day fishing is a good day but this day was perfect. The weather, the crew and the fish all co-operated in making this day special for me and I cannot wait until the next chance to go back out on the Gulf.

Home Economics.

Being an educator who worked in the years when Home Economics was a course taught to girls beginning at grade seven and continuing. Later the course was integrated and boys and girls both enjoyed taking both home economics and manual training. Since that day courses have changed names and curricula updated to reflect the needs of the present day.

I would like to see a course called home economics which would teach students the value of money, budgeting and planning. With our world in crisis because of deficit planning, deficit budgeting and sinking further and further in debt it would be prudent to teach our youth how to live without huge debt. Because our leaders are totally irresponsible when it comes to budget maybe if we as individuals could somehow influence them by example.

There is so much written and reported about our population being so far in debt the reason must be obvious. Most people spend more money than they have.If we could teach our youth to live within their means it would be such a boon to our society. There are reasons for the problem and most are right before our eyes. Credit used to be a means to have necessities which cost too much for people to purchase them with cash. Rules were established by the lending institutions which made it difficult if not impossible to buy something without a large down payment. Yesterday Hyundai Auto sales advertised on TV and in the paper the following deal. Purchase one of their vehicles with no down payment and they would give you $7,000 to pay your personal debt. How is that for helping folks to really get into debt.

This type of consumer advertising is all too common. Here are a few. Buy now and make no payments for up to three years. Bad credit or no credit at all,,come in and drive away in one of our new cars. There are dozens of these adds out there beckoning people to become slaves to the credit interest. The USA government now uses over 40% of our taxes to service the debt. Individuals  have the same problem. I worry that the crisis we narrowly escaped is not over and a larger demon is in the wings.

Everyone  wishes for fiscal responsibility  and it must be taught and the example starts at home.Education cannot be responsible for everything but it could be a marvellous tool to help develop young responsible citizens.

It's Only a Number

Recently I celebrated my birthday. I am now living in my 75th year. It's only a number some would say, but it represents in a numerical way that your life has added up to to a series of events and happenings with dates. The day you were born, your first steps or your first word are all in that list. After that memories take the place of dates. Knowing what year or month becomes secondary to that incident imprinted in your inner mind's eye.

You better remember the date you got married and the birthdays of your wife and children but the thousand other things that happened along the way get shuffled in order of memory. We have a way of bringing events into focus triggered by stimuli. Sometimes it is a piece of music, a picture or just a sound or smell which causes a rush of energy to flood your mind, and we are able to relive those precious moments. Our memories are not all pleasant as life doesn't work that way, but time does modify our perceptions and in some cases, shape an event to better serve our needs.

Some people who are not satisfied with their history according to the facts will re-write it and it will give them a better status until they meet people who know the truth. In my years of a busy life, my memories pile up in a confusion of reality and modified memories. Most of my early childhood thoughts and memories come from repeated stories and if there are different versions from different memories of our family that is fine as memories are just that, memories. While attempting to complete a book of my memories I find a certain pleasure in day dreaming about events that occurred many years ago. Somehow my reality makes a better picture than the actual true account and for this reason I have many more pleasant thoughts than negative.

Since most of my memory is about relationships, there are people who influenced me, shaped me and gave me reason to recall them and their impact on my being. Today as I write,  many thoughts rush through my mind and as I try to recall important landmarks I find that the further I go back in history, the clearer the images appear. I trust this is because these events have been cleared through countless recalls  and are actually fresh in my memory.  It might also be the reason older people are able to remember events from years ago,  but not know where to put the jar of peanut butter after using it.

I look forward to counting my future age by events and memories rather than numbers, as memories are forever - and numbers remind us of too little time left to do all the things we wish to accomplish.

Feeding Time

Although there are many birds about they don't seem to need feed from our feeders. I purchased food for wild birds but after a visit or two they never  returned. Yesterday I dumped the food and cleaned the feeders in the hope that we will be treated to some of our feathered friends. Last year we had cardinals who made a habit of tapping our tinted windows every morning at daybreak. I have seen these birds around but they changed their habits and come only for food.

The bird seed I bought this time is black sunflower seed and if that doesn't attract them nothing will. Every year or two we have an infusion of robins. They come in huge flocks and stay for only a few days and they all disappear. None of them stay for the winter. The Canada Goose which is such a nuisance in the north rarely comes this far south so it was a news item that one was sighted here last week.

Our bald eagles are under attack again with construction firms wishing to change the rules set out to aid the eagles raise their young. At the present time the operation of construction equipment and building is prohibited within 1100 feet of a nest. They want to change it to 660 feet but biologists say that is too close. Council votes on this on Tuesday and there will be a big turnout . Local residents love their Eagles. Our pair of eagles are on the nest again and we hope for another couple of eaglets to be born soon. We visit the sight nearly every day. So far this pair have added to the eagle population by 15. The female had an accident nine years ago and had a broken wing. It was repaired and she flies fine. We hope the vote goes the right way.

Various individuals take care of certain populations of birds but the best one is a man who lives near Sarasota and nurtures Sand Hill Cranes. Every day a large population of these birds visit at feeding time. He buys chicken necks and backs from a local butcher and feeds them at the same time every day. I don't think the neighbours are very happy with these huge birds hanging around the neighbourhood but he continues the feeding anyway.

Our favourite bird at the present time is a yellow bellied sapsucker who feeds on our white bird of paradise trees.They have a ritual whereby they peck holes in the soft portion of the trees and when these holes fill with sap he eats to his hearts content. We all enjoy feeding time and so do the birds.

Out With the Old, In With the New

At this time of the year I start my second crop of beans, cauliflower, lettuce and carrots. This year in spite of the frost we had 100%  success with the cauliflower, beans and lettuce. The colder weather was good for the cauliflower as it was the best yet. Our tomatoes are coming in great numbers and should produce until we leave in May. I am not used to having two crops and it is a pleasure to have fresh beans and so forth during the winter months.

What amazes me is why more people do not have a kitchen garden. With little effort we get good results and we know what goes into the produce. Our citrus is the same, as we do not spray harmful chemicals and fertilizers and the product is green. My friend who sells citrus fruit trees at the market said that this because of the frost the product would be sweeter and so it is. Our trees are a little stressed and have not yet been in full bloom for next years crop so we could have trouble next year.

Local people here are called crackers and are proud of the name as many people who live here now are from all over the states. Their knowledge is invaluable and they are anxious to share. I love my time at the market and mingling with the locals who make their living from the land.

When I buy beets, I really buy them for the beet tops. The locals are wise to this and sell the beet tops for $.50. This is a good deal as greens cost $2.00. With the second crop in safely I can now water, feed and wait  55 days before I can once again eat our own fresh grown produce. Until then we buy at the local market.

Lazy Friday

This morning started off much like all Florida mornings with the temperature around 70 and bright sunshine. With my cup of green tea I made my way to my favourite reading area on the lanai and searched the sports news to see how Mike Weir was doing in the Bob Hope Classic. Much to my surprise his name stood fourth last in the group of 120. Next I checked to see how Detroit Red Wings made out and they won. My morning was better already.Most of the news after that was about shootings, crime and the housing market which is improving.

Theresa joined me and on this quiet morning a Ra-ta-ta from a woodpecker hammering on the eave trough made any conversation impossible. We have two wood peckers living close by and they love to wake everyone up by pecking on metal surfaces. We both got up and observed the bird which was joined by its partner. Double the pleasure. With nesting in full force we suddenly have the mocking birds coming forth with a variety of melodies all day long. We usually are lucky to have at least one pair nest in our trees. Without a doubt they take the prize for the best songs. They have this habit of sitting on our fence watching for their food to appear. Any flying bug or insect becomes their prey. They have the ability to spot and catch nearly every time. They never eat off our feeder but take regular baths in our bird bath.

In the dry season our bird bath becomes the watering hole for a variety of birds and feral cats. We keep it clean and full of water. So on this lazy Friday morning we are entertained by the creatures who share our little spot in paradise.With no warning heavy fog rolls in and in a matter of minutes the sun disappears and we are blanketed in a surreal environment. If this keeps up I shall be forced to do the list of little jobs posted on the refrigerator. So much for my Lazy Friday.