Tag: Florida

Good Morning Boynton Beach

We headed to the Boynton Beach municipal beach first, then after sunrise down A1A to Boynton Inlet where a fisherman cleaning his catch attracted some pelicans who were interested in a sharing.

My schedule’s so screwed up now there’s nothing I can do to make it worse! With that in mind I asked my former Connecticut buddy “Big John” Fowler if he wanted to head to the beach to catch the sunrise. Like so many inland Florida residents he never goes to the beach.

We headed to the Boynton Beach municipal beach first, then after sunrise down A1A to Boynton Inlet where a fisherman cleaning his catch attracted some pelicans who were interested in sharing.

Here’s a feel for what we saw on this coolish morning. Click on a photo for a much larger view.

I’m going back to bed!

The Birds Of Boynton Beach

There is a tree near my parents condo which is a magnet for birds

There is a tree near my parents condo which is a magnet for birds. Later tonight it will be filled with egrets. Right now there are just a few flying back-and-forth. The light’s bright so I snapped off a few quick shots.

On My Way To Florida

The word shattered when used to describe a body part is never good!

I’m heading down to Florida Monday. Helaine and Stef will be staying in Connecticut. Unfortunately, my mom fell and shattered her elbow.

The word shattered when used to describe a body part is never good!

A few days ago, after her accident, my mom dropped some nuts on the floor. She got on her hands-and-knees to pick them up. With only one working ‘wing’ she couldn’t stand. She finally had to call our friend John to lend assistance.

The good news is she says she’s not in any pain. The bad news is she’ll need the elbow surgically repaired, probably with a few pins inserted for good measure. Surgery is scheduled for Tuesday morning.

A full recovery is expected and my mom should be back on the mound pitching before the All Star break.

Harold And Betty – How We Met

More than anything I’ve ever produced I am proud of this video because I think it captures my parents true love, even after 60+ years of marriage.

This was originally on my blog’s old site, but with the change of structure it needs a newly defined home.

This video was made about four years ago at my parent’s condo in Florida. I asked them separately to tell me how they met. Some of the story I knew. Much of it I did not.

More than anything I’ve ever produced I am proud of this video because I think it captures my parents true love, even after 60+ years of marriage.

Stef Gets A License… Again

“It’s really not that hard,” she asked as she approached the examiner. She was expecting him to minimize her angst. Instead he told her a lot of people flunk!

DMV_thumb.jpgStef is getting settled in California. She called yesterday to relay word she’d gotten her California driver’s license. She had to take a written test! In California that’s the law.

  • It’s ALWAYS good to hear from your child
  • The test was hard

“It’s unfair,” she said.

Her point was she needed to take the test while her grandfather, who until yesterday couldn’t see to the end of his outstretched arm, gets automatic renewals by mail. Oh Stefanie. What you don’t know about Florida politics, seniors and driving&#185!

This was her second trip to the DMV. The first time through she waited 45 minutes to be told her Connecticut license not only isn’t good enough to get a bye on the written test, it isn’t good enough for identification either! She needed something like a passport… which she had… just not with her.

Back yesterday and fully documented Stef made her way to the station where the written test was administered. She sat and watched as the two people in front of her took the test… and failed. Oh crap!

“It’s really not that hard,” she said (though she said it as a question) as she approached the examiner. She was expecting him to minimize her angst. Instead he told her a lot of people flunk!

“I checked it over more than any test in college,” she said on the phone yesterday. This didn’t give me the warm and fuzzies over her college career, but I understand.

  • A driver’s license is very important
  • No one wants to make three trips to the DMV

Administered on paper the test runs 35 questions. She was asked about the age and height necessary to graduate from a car seat and where to sit for maximum airbag efficacy.

Would you pass?

Luckily Stef had visited the DMV website and looked at some sample tests. She got 32 of 35 right. In return they punched a hole in her Connecticut card and gave her a piece of paper to hold her the month or two until the real license comes.

Life seems good for Stef in Cali. Even from this distance I’m watching her adapt and grow.

For the remainder of her life she will avoid the DMV like the plague!

&#185 – The point is now moot because at this moment my father can read without glasses–something his son cannot do! I can’t mention that enough. It’s an amazing event and I am thrilled for my folks.

The Car Moves To California

A move like this isn’t one master stroke, but a series of smaller events. If you do it right all the pieces come together at your destination. It has to be coordinated like a ballet.

Her upcoming move has become reality to Stef. All of a sudden everything she does has real consequences. There’s more than deciding which pair of jeans makes the cut.

Nine boxes are being tracked while being trucked to California via FedEx (Thank you secretive California friend to whose home these boxes are headed… and who just found out there are nine).

Later today Stef’s car leaves (to his house too). An auto carrier will save us the trouble of driving across the snows of January.

A move like this isn’t one master stroke, but a series of smaller events. If you do it right all the pieces come together at your destination. It has to be coordinated like a ballet.

This is so exciting and so scary.

Stef will be far away. There are family and friends she can lean on… just not us.

She is moving where there is opportunity for her, even with California’s economy currently on life support.

When I left my family in 1968 and moved to Florida I was only excited–no apprehension. I was a naif. Stef is much more worldly and mature than I was. She’ll do fine.

The Golden Grandchild Returns From South Florida

Stef and I have discussed the reality show potential of my folk’s condo. The show writes itself!

Stef just came back from visiting my folks. Where they live having your 22 year old granddaughter visit and visibly spend time gets you rock star status! She and they had a fabulous time. Harold and Betty, my parents, are not kids but they’re sharp and active and have lots of friends.

Stef and I have discussed the reality show potential of my folk’s condo. The show writes itself!

“She doesn’t have a mirror?” That’s my mother asking Stef is she noticed a neighbor walking by.

It’s just like Real World or The Hills, except everyone’s a lot older–but it’s really the same.

They all have money without working, spend lots of time in social situations and… well let’s just say sexual freedom and Viagra have hit South Florida and it’s singles! And there are lots of yentas to supply the narrative.

This is an exciting and scary time for my dad. He totally lost the use of one eye while here in Connecticut. Now the good eye is awful courtesy of cataracts. I know it’s awful because he’ll have surgery in a few weeks to correct it. When you only have one eye you don’t go into eye surgery lightly.

One of the good stories Stef told me was of her time with my friend John who recently moved to Florida. I’ve probably known John for 15 years–maybe more.

John came as a team the day I met my friend Kevin. Like Kevin he’s a ‘shirt off his back’ kinds guy.

Stef has seen John but never really spent time with him or Alyce, his wife. That changed this week. There are good stories from the dinner the five of them had.

It was John who drove my parents to pick up Stef at the airport and drove them back earlier today. I’m not sure how I could ever repay that kind of dedicated friendship.

It’s no surprise John dd this, because it’s simply what he does. In South Florida a person like John is called a mensch.

Mensch (Yiddish: מענטש mentsh, German: Mensch, for human being) means “a person of integrity and honor”.

So, Stef is back. My folks can recuperate as we begin the process of getting Stef ready to ship out.

Now There’s More Snow In My Forecast

Storms seldom live up to these massive forecasts. There are so many things that can change and nearly each of them will mean less snow.

So, how was your day? I began by making a forecast then around 7:00 PM upping it! This looks like a really large storm… unfortunately.

The 00Z NAM has arrived (not totally complete, but at least through the storm hours). It’s interesting in that it starts the accumulations in the evening, not afternoon. Not sure I can buy that. I’m sticking with afternoon.

This model also brings around an inch of liquid equivalent to the Connecticut shoreline. Each storm is different, but my rule-of-thumb calculations favor ~15:1 snow-to-rain this time. That’s about 15″ of snow for the math challenged.

Storms seldom live up to these massive forecasts. There are so many things that can change and nearly each of them will mean less snow. Still, 8-15″ on the shore (which is what I’ll say) seems reasonable right now. I’ll go for 5-10″ for most inland sections.

Back to that 15:1 for a second. That also means powdery/fluffy snow. With strong winds overnight Saturday/Sunday drifting seems likely. That’s about as unusual in Connecticut as 15″ accumulations, but again reasonable this time all things considered.

My friend Bob in Florida just IM’ed Roanoke, VA has been getting 3″ of snow per hour! That’s way more than plows can handle. Too much to keep up with here is reasonable too.

I’ll check back in later tonight. Writing about these storms is helpful to forecasting them. There will be more data to absorb.

There Are Three Of Us In Bed

Roxie is now our charge. Thankfully, as she’s gotten older she’s become less puppylike and more Geofflike

roxie-resting-in-the-vestibule.jpgStef is down in Florida. When Helaine spoke to her she was sitting by the pool watching water aerobics. Seriously? Where is the justice in that?

Roxie is now our charge. Thankfully, as she’s gotten older she’s become less puppylike and more Geofflike. She’ll sleep anywhere at any time! Even with her tiny legs she manages to hoist herself onto the sofa where she can nest in an afghan.

In the past we’ve had a problem getting Roxie to sleep with us as she does with Stef. She has bolted from our bed. For a dachshund jumping off a high point like a bed can cause back problems. Obviously we’ve tried to be as cautious as possible.

The last time Stef was gone Roxie slept in Stef’s bed… with Helaine. That’s not good.

Last night we tried again in our bed. Helaine and Roxie went upstairs around 12:15 AM. I joined them a little before 3:00 AM.

roxie-carries-a-patriotic-toy.jpgAs I walked in the bedroom Helaine started to speak. Uh oh. That’s not a good sign. Roxie was restless. She was staying in the bed but she was stirring and moving which meant Helaine had to stay ‘on point.’

I laid down and a strange thing happened. Roxie decided it was time to go to sleep. She crawled deep under the covers and curled into a little furry ball.

Over the course of the night Roxie did move a little. At one point she and I were spooning–though she is demitasse spoon size!

One would hope Roxie will happily sleep in our bed tonight, but who can really predict this kind of thing? In the meantime for the time being there are three of us in bed.

Trophy Grandchild

You want me to say superficiality doesn’t exist in South Florida? Please.

Stefanie is in Florida. She flew down this afternoon to spend a few days with my folks. This, of course, makes her a trophy grandchild in a place where that’s a big deal!

You want me to say superficiality doesn’t exist in South Florida? Please.

This isn’t to say there isn’t a massive amount of love passed back and forth between Stef and my folks–because there is. She grew up minutes from them. They have always been a strong presence in her life. It’s not a stretch to assume she has shared confidences with them and vice versa.

All I’m saying is while she’s in Florida they will take every opportunity to show her off. A bright, attractive, well dressed, well mannered grandchild who wants to spend time with her grandparents is much desired but seldom achieved in the land of perpetual warmth.

Preps Underway For Stef’s Move

“I’m taking grandma’s silverware,” Stef said, referring to some casual utensils that didn’t make the trip to Florida with my parents. I made believe I remembered them. I don’t have total silverware recall.

I came downstairs this morning (OK–it was this afternoon, but I don’t want to sound quite that spoiled) to find Stef and Helaine on the sofa. They were populating lists–deciding what Stef has, needs or wants for her move to California.

“I’m taking grandma’s silverware,” Stef said, referring to some casual utensils that didn’t make the trip to Florida with my parents. I made believe I remembered them. I don’t have total silverware recall.

There’s a lot she needs, some of which we’d saved for this day. It seemed so distant… so theoretical when it was moved to the basement. Now it’s real.

Already Stef has arranged for a company to pick up her car then deliver it a week or two later to my secret friend in the Valley. At one time we thought of driving it out west, but it will be January. Imagine if we went this week!

Slippers and pajamas still on I walked outside to her car and popped the hood. 50 State Emissions Certified–yay! That’s a day and a few hundred dollars saved.

Stef has little that’s heavy. She’s mainly moving clothes. The USPS will be her moving company there.

We’re still nearly a month away. The lists will grow longer. Helaine is a valuable person where lists are involved.

It’s all so complex.

Good grief. Imagine some day when Helaine and I move!

Stef’s Going To Leave

We loved the Berenstain Bears Vacation, but Stef would never let me read Berenstain Bears Jobs–too short.

Stefanie is moving to California. She’ll be going in January. It is sad and scary and exciting.

Helaine and Stef were in the attic today. They were looking to see if there was anything there to take and (more importantly) to see what could be thrown out.

We’ve lived in this big house 20 years. That’s a blessing and a curse. Three people in a big house have lots of room to squirrel stuff away–and we did.

“Do you remember this?” Stef asked while holding up a shirt. The shirt pictured preteen Stef sitting with a few of her friends

With an iron-on kit I had taken an early digital photograph and created souvenir t-shirts for the girls. I would not have remembered it had she not held it there today.

stef-books.jpgBeing the strong brute of a man I am&#185 I was called on to carry down large plastic bins filled with books. Those I recognized right away. When Stef was a little girl I read from those book… in character. If it was Big Bird or Oscar or one of the Berenstain Bears I did the voice (poorly). Stef was less of a critic then!

We loved the Berenstain Bears Vacation, but Stef would never let me read Berenstain Bears Jobs–too short.

When I left my parents to move to Florida back in 1969 I packed everything I owned in my VW Beetle and still had room to pick up a hitchhiker who let me spend the night on a Georgetown University dormroom floor.

That’s not happening here.

&#185 – Hey, it’s my website. If I say I’m a brute I am.

That New Computer Smell

A few days ago my desktop computer at work spontaneously changed its screen resolution to 1440×900 and would not let me revert to 1280×1024. Grrrrrr. I spent a few hours online going through other Linux related resolution questions before I finally said, “Screw it.”

I know–how totally nerdy to use Ubuntu Linux as my desktop. Contrary to popular belief there isn’t anything much I can do with Windows I can’t do with Linux. As long as my bosses don’t object I’m happy–and always virus free!

That being said Linux isn’t quite as user friendly as Windows, though it’s gotten a lot better over time. Today’s install went very smoothly with sound working immediately and Internet access (which is non-standard to my desk) taking just a few minutes more.

There’s not much I store on this machine. In fact I was surprised to see this box is running with a 20 Gb hard drive! That’s a thousand times larger than the first hard drive I owned butt still around 1/10th the size of the smallest drive you can buy today.

Before I reformatted this machine I transferred all my configuration scripts to a memory stick which I promptly left home! Oops. With a little Internet magic Helaine plugged the memory stick into Stef’s laptop and I plucked the files.

All I had to do was install them into the correct directory and set up the “cron” (a program which fires off certain tasks at specific times). What could be easier?

The scripts, which worked perfectly in the old machine, were dying a gruesome death in the new one! It took a phone call to my friend Bob in Florida to get them running. Why his solution worked is totally beyond me! Scripts which were working yesterday should have worked today.

So, my resolution is fixed and I’m up and running with a clean install of Ubuntu 9.04. Clean installs always work better and have that new computer smell.

Ubuntu releases a brand new Linux distribution every six months. October, next month, is the next scheduled push. I’ll probably do all of this again.

It’s Hot And Sweaty

Other than taking the dog for a walk or riding with my convertible top down I have little contact with the great outdoors.

Maybe I don’t mind the heat and humidity because I am shielded from it? Maybe that’s why this is my favorite time of year? Is summer only loved by the spoiled?

Other than taking the dog for a walk or riding with my convertible top down I have little contact with the great outdoors.

Winter on the other hand isn’t as avoidable. There’s still a lot of prep work necessary to deal with winter even if you don’t have to be in it for long.

Historically winter has been easier to deal with. We mastered heating long before cooling. That’s why, until recently, this country’s population was centered to the north. No one wanted to live in Florida or Arizona until air conditioning arrived.

Does the reason really matter? I’m loving the summer. I wish it would last longer.

The Tropics Are Open For Business

After a non-existent early season the tropics are open for business. In a few short days we’ve seen Ana, Bill and now Claudette.

tropical storm bill sunday.jpg

My folks are on their way to Milwaukee tomorrow where my niece is expecting their first great-grandchild. Her first child too, but I’ll see it through their eyes right now.

In Florida where they live there is special preferred parking for great-grandparents.

OK, I made that up, but there might as well be! It’s the Florida condo equivalent of receiving the Congressional Medal of Honor.

Anyway they fly out tomorrow. I called them yesterday.

“Get the hurricane shades rolled down.”

I’m glad they’ll be out-of-town.

After a nonexistent early season the tropics are open for business. In a few short days we’ve seen Ana, Bill and now Claudette. Ana fizzled. Claudette will cause problems on the Gulf Coast, but probably as a tropical storm of minimal hurricane. Bill is the big worry.

I am actually more worried about Bill than Claudette even though Claudette will surely make landfall while the track of Bill is nowhere near as well defined.

ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS APPEAR FAVORABLE FOR CONTINUED INTENSIFICATION DUE TO LIGHT SHEAR AND WARM WATERS. SSTS BEGIN TO RISE MORE SIGNIFICANTLY IN A COUPLE OF DAYS AND THE NHC INTENSITY FORECAST COULD BE CONSERVATIVE AFTER THAT TIME. ALL RELIABLE GUIDANCE SHOWS THIS SYSTEM EVENTUALLY BECOMING A MAJOR HURRICANE. – National Hurricane Center discussion

bill track sunday.gifI don’t disagree. And since this storm seems to be destined to turn parallel to the East Coast I worry–not just for my parents.

As storms get closer to land the ability to monitor them improves. Hurricane Hunter flights don’t go out into the mid-Atlantic. Buoys and remote sensors are limited in the middle of the ocean. Radar only covers a few hundred miles from shore.

This will not be my last entry on Bill.