All the factors seemed to be working against me this morning on run #4,950 – eye patch, heat, humidity, headache, and a malfunctioning GPS. A voice kept repeating “Pausing workout” and then “Resuming workout” to the point where it consumed a half-mile of recorded distance and in the end what should have been 3.1 miles showed only 2.6. It was annoying and the headache persisted but I completed the course, watered some plants, won for the 65th straight time at Wordle, swam a few laps in the pool, and started the laundry.
We’ll pick up my grandson at his mother’s house later this afternoon in Sarasota and take him to dinner. I’m also looking forward to watching tonight’s Home Run Derby and tomorrow night’s All Star Game. The White Sox finally came through in their series against the first place Twins, winning three of four and moving to within three games of the lead just behind the Guardians. Injuries continue to be an issue with both Luis Robert and Eloy Jimenez nursing problems. Liam Hendriks was finally named to the AL squad and will join teammate Tim Anderson. Former Hoosier, Cub, and Nationals Kyle Schwarber, now with the Phillies, is favored to win the Derby, but has fallen short in previous attempts.
I’m watching “Black Bird” on Apple TV, a Dennis Lehane production. A friend and I went to one of his book signings years ago, so he has become a favorite. He’s written A Drink Before The War, Shutter Island, Mystic River, and Gone Baby Gone, among others. I have a personally autographed copy of Shutter Island on my office shelves, but have only seen the movie. Other author autographed books in my library include those by Pat Conroy, Michael Connelly, Richard Price, Sue Grafton, and Kirk Eichenwald. A new episode of “Black Bird” will be released on Friday, so something to look forward to watching before we hit the road.
A blinking cursor is driving me nuts but I tried the suggested tutorials and still can’t get it to stop. I wish I had some computer skills, but instead I’m at the mercy of this machine. It flashes pink like my eye that has only shown marginal improvement after three days of medication. The biggest problem is light sensitivity, solved with an eye patch when I run. The temperature was actually pleasant this morning as day #4949 of The Streak came and passed. I still have my sights on that 5,000 day mark that will happen in September – if the creek don’t rise.
We’re headed to the movie theatre this afternoon for the 50th anniversary of Caberet starring Liza Minelli, Joel Gray, and Bob Fosse:
What good is sitting
Alone in your room?
Come hear the music play
Life is a cabaret, old chum
Come to the cabaret
Put down the knitting
The book and the broom
It’s time for a holiday
Life is a cabaret, old chum
Come to the cabaret
Come taste the wine
Come hear the band
Come blow your horn
Start celebrating
Right this way your table’s waiting
What goods permitting
Some prophet of doom?
To wipe every smile away
Life is a cabaret, old chum
So come to the cabaret
I used to have this girlfriend known as Elsie
With whom I shared for sordid rooms in Chelsea
She wasn’t what you’d call a blushing flower
As a matter of fact she rented by the hour
The day she died the neighbors came to snick her
Well, that is what comes from too much pills and liquor
But when I saw her laid out like a queen
She was the happiest corpse I’d ever seen I think of Elsie to this very day
I remember how she’d turned to me and say
“What good is sitting”
“All alone in your room?”
“Come hear the music play”
“Life is a cabaret, old chum”
“Come to the cabaret”
And as for me, huh
And as for me
I made my mind up back in Chelsea
When I go… I’m going like Elsie
Start by admitting
From cradle to tomb
It isn’t that long a stay
Life is a cabaret, old chum
It’s only a cabaret, old chum
And I love a cabaret…
Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: John Kander / Fred Ebb
Cabaret lyrics © Trio Music Company, Alley Music Corp., Times Square Music Publications Company, Trio Music Company Inc., Trio Music Co., Inc.
It’s another hot, lazy Saturday with little on my plate. I’ll continue to stay inside, out of the sun, as I continue to nurse my red, itchy eye. This mysterious case of pink eye is getting better thanks to the antibiotic drops that my doctor prescribed. Yesterday, I decided to take a home Covid test to see if maybe there were some other issues involved. I tested negative but still don’t feel great, opting for just the minimum mile on my run this morning. I struggled to get out of bed, spent too much time talking with neighbors, and messed around tying to get my ear buds working. By the time I was done stalling, the outside temperatures rose another five degrees.
I booked our cruise shore excursions yesterday afternoon, another step in Alaska vacation planning. Spa and dining reservations aboard ship are next. There are just 66-days until the Viking Orion sets sail with 930 passengers, including my wife and I. It will be my longest time ever on a ship – three weeks. One of the challenges will be getting in my daily run. I’m currently on a pace to exceed a thousand miles a year but between flights, travel deadlines, and weather conditions it will be tough to maintain my 3.1 mile daily goal during the course of this cruise.
First up, however, is our 3,000 mile drive in two weeks. We have a tight schedule of people and places to adhere to during this multi-state mission. It will be a welcome disruption to our boring daily routine here in Florida. We’re at the mercy of weather, time, and potential mechanical problems trying to navigate the 16-cities we plan to visit over 22-days. There isn’t much room for flexibility, but by the time we get back home we’ll be grateful to embrace the boredom.
We began to stock up at Costco on Diet Coke, Gatorade, and water for our long drive north in a few weeks. We also confirmed lunch with old friends in Ludington, Michigan where they own a wedding venue on Lake Michigan. It will be our first trip back to that area since their wedding a few years before ours, nearly 25-years ago. I was married to someone else at the time but we all rode on a bus together up from Indianapolis. Relationships changed after that adventure and my first marriage ended after 27-years.
There will be many friendly reunions on this Midwestern loop. It starts in Tuscaloosa where I meet with my half-sister and the next day in Huntsville for lunch with her son. Another friend will join us in Nashville, Tennessee where we’ll get together with his eldest daughter and meet his grandkids. In Indianapolis, we’ll stay with my wife’s sister while a no-host event will bring together many former media acquaintances. I’ll also meet a DNA cousin for lunch while we’re there. Next, we’ll head to Decatur, Illinois for lunch and dinner with more friends we haven’t seen in years on the way to the Ludington reunion.
Once we get to the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, our ultimate destination, it will be just the two of us once again. Stops in Cleveland, Canton, and Asheville on the way back south will fulfill several bucket list items, including the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, NFL Hall of Fame, and the Biltmore Estate. The final stop will be all about relaxation for six days with Mother Marriott at Hilton Head’s Barony Beach Club. There we will have time to unwind and recap all our get togethers before driving home.
I feel like a pirate, with an patch over my right eye. It’s really just an oversized Bandaid but an eyepatch sounds so much sexier. Yo…Ho…Ho. I pick up some medication at the pharmacy this morning for my crusty, red peepers, a victim of pink eye. It’s very sensitive to light, so I found the patch very helpful during my run and swim this morning. I know someone else in the neighborhood that had this infection, but I was never around her or anyone else for that matter. I’m guessing that my much more socially active wife brought it home as a gift.
I would love to sit at home all day and recover but the cleaning people are coming. As a result, we are vacating the house and making our monthly trip to the Sarasota Costco. Last night, we also went there for gas on our way to the theatre. It saved about 10 bucks a tank so we’ll fill my car today. We also went to Der Dutchman for an Amish-style turkey noodle over mashed potatoes dinner, then only lasted up until the intermission of the two-person play “Maytag Virgin.” I’m not sure it would have been any better watching with two eyes.
Today is also our neighborhood Summerfest event and our hot dog lunch is prepaid. Bands and activities will surround the resort center but contagious me will stay clear of any crowds. Funds are low since we had an unexpected visit from the plumber yesterday afternoon after I discovered a leak in our back-flow system. Water was gushing out of the valve that required a $500 replacement. It’s the second month in a row after our home warranty had expired where unbudgeted repairs have been necessary. I’m concerned that I don’t have enough in our retirement funds to sustain living here for the twenty years we’ve planned. The market has taken another beating, while maintenance costs continue to escalate. I’ll keep my one remaining eye on the situation. It’s utter piracy!
I just called my doctor with symptoms of pink eye or conjunctivitis. Hopefully, I can get a prescription for antibiotic eye drops to help with the redness and itchiness. I realize it is quite contagious so I will be careful with any social contact, although I have a chiropractor appointment this morning and a play to attend this evening. People will probably just think I’m stoned. Sweat pouring into my eyes during this morning’s run was quite painful at times.
I’m watching the season finale of Skinwalker Ranch as I write this today. It’s a show that has never captured my full attention with discussions about UFO’s and portals, an attempt to fill the Curse of Oak Island time slot on the History Channel. I am, however, intrigued with the upcoming Colosseum series. In the evenings, we started watching White Locus, an Emmy-nominated series on HBO that takes place at the Four Seasons at Wailea, Maui. The sights are very familiar having stayed in that area or at that hotel all these years.
In a few days, we make our excursion choices for the Alaska/Japan cruise. We’re thinking a wildlife/sightseeing boat in Kodiak, highlights of Hokkaido, and an Evening in Tokyo, outside the included tours. It will be a long journey, 25-days including a Tokyo extension, plus a week in Portland/Vancouver prior to stepping aboard. It also looks like there are a lot of required forms to fill out, particularly involving the Canadian government. Once I get over this Pink Eye it appears that my eyes will be bloodshot due to reading and completing all the necessary forms.
Often times retirement is not so much about getting ahead in life but rather maintaining what your have. I’ve completed about 80% of my bucket list and have no career aspirations, even though a little extra money might add some additional security. My health is good, and I’ll be content as long as I can keep running every day. It’s getting a little monotonous but soon I will spend my morning jogs through nine different states over a three week period – Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, North Carolina, and South Carolina.
I mention maintaining what you have because that’s where a majority of our income outside of the mortgage payment goes each month. Pool, pest, HOA, dog, furniture, insurance, medical, food, security, house cleaning, gas, heating & cooling, and repair. Another chunk goes to entertainment like movies, streaming, cable TV, travel, recreation, tickets, phones, and collectables. Over the past year, we’ve been buying lots of furniture, lighting fixtures, and home accessories but that is hopefully slowing down. Travel will be heavy the next few years but that too will settle down in the future. It will then all come down to upkeep on what we have, occasional dining out, and travel to see family.
It scares me a bit to think that the world around us will shrink in the years to come. I’ll have to be content with life in the neighborhood, as the hassles and expense of travel will no longer be desirable. I’m sure my younger wife will continue to push me but I’m preparing myself for the prospects of a good book and an easy chair (if the dog will let me sit in it).
“Man, it’s a hot one” – another day in the 90s. Thankfully, there was a bit of a cloud cover during my 3.1 mile jaunt this morning, and man did the pool feel great. I was joined on my run by neighbor Chuck who tolerates my slower pace and keeps me entertained with his constant chatter. I put my ear buds away and listened to him talk until he pulled out of hearing range and circled back to rejoin me. Without his companionship, I would have likely been listening to Carlos Santana – certainly his duet with Rob Thomas would have been appropriate:
Man, it’s a hot one
Like seven inches from the midday sun
I hear you whisper and the words melt everyone
But you stay so cool
My muñequita, my Spanish Harlem Mona Lisa
You’re my reason for reason, the step in my groove
[Pre-Chorus]
And if you say this life ain’t good enough
I would give my world to lift you up
I could change my life to better suit your mood
Because you’re so smooth
[Chorus]
And it’s just like the ocean under the moon
It’s the same as the emotion that I get from you
You got the kind of loving that can be so smooth
Gimme your heart, make it real, or else forget about it
[Verse 2]
I’ll tell you one thing
If you would leave it would be a crying shame
In every breath and every word
I hear your name calling me out
Out from the barrio, you hear my rhythm on the radio
You feel the turning of the world so soft and slow, turnin’ you round and round
[Pre-Chorus]
And if you said, “This life ain’t good enough”
I’d give my world to lift you up
I could change my life to better suit your mood
Because you’re so smooth, and
[Chorus]
Oh, and it’s just like the ocean under the moon
It’s the same as the emotion that I get from you
You got the kind of loving that can be so smooth, yeah
Gimme your heart, make it real, or else forget about it, yeah
[Guitar Solo]
[Chorus]
And it’s just like the ocean under the moon
It’s the same as the emotion that I get from you
You got the kind of loving that can be so smooth, yeah
Gimme your heart, make it real, or else forget about it, damn
[Outro]
Or else forget about it
Oh, or else forget about it
Oh, let’s don’t forget about it
(Gimme your heart, make it real) Let’s don’t forget about it, hey
Let’s don’t forget about it, no, oh, no, oh
Let’s don’t forget about it, no, no, no, oh
Let’s don’t forget about it, hey, no, no, oh
Let’s don’t forget about it, hey, hey, hey
I hope 74-year old Carlos Santana is feeling better and that he’s up to singing on my birthday. The tour has continued without him after his bout with dehydration and heat exhaustion. Friends reported that they saw the band along with Earth, Wind, and Fire recently, but no Carlos. He has 47-days to recover before we hopefully see them in Tampa for my 71st birthday, the concert that has taken three years to happen and maybe won’t. Here’s to cool ocean breezes that will create a pleasant birthday evening – not another hot one!
It’s “Trash Day” again after the short holiday turnaround. For once, my bins are not overflowing. The fire alarms woke us up last night, once again choosing the middle of the night to malfunction. I just changed the batteries but once again wondering why it can’t sound its shrill alarms in the daylight hours? They have been a nemesis since the very week we moved in and replaced many times over. Oh, the joys of home ownership.
When I finally got back to sleep last night, it was too quick before the morning light woke me up. It was already 85 degrees, feeling like 95, so I shortened my run to the minimum mile. Naturally, after I got done, a nice cloud cover cooled things off a bit, but the heat is getting to me. My sweat drenched running clothes have become an issue with my wife, who seems to offer a suggestion for improvement to me first thing every morning. We were, however, able to get the covers over the couch cushions back on with minimal disagreement, after running them through the wash. I then took the ladder back in the garage that I left out at 3a, thinking I might need it if the alarms went off again. ‘What if someone drops by?” my wife fretted. I don’t seem to be as worried about these things as she is.
With running, sweating, laundry, home maintenance and swimming out of the way, I can focus on this blog for a few minutes before the next interruption. There’s always a project to do when you own a home, thankfully she’s now in the swimming pool. I removed the bloated frog before she got in. She was just over at a neighbors spraying weed killer on their paved driveway, as if she can’t find enough to do here. She then dropped a loose screw on my desk that she found on the ground. I it doesn’t mean to imply “screw you!” I’ll certainly be in trouble if she ever reads this. Love you, dear!
This morning’s routine was interrupted with a trip to Schnauzerville for a trim. Tally will be spending most of her summer with these folks and their house full of schnauzers. She seems to like to go there but would rather just play rather than get a bath and cut. I had to add some air to my tires and the way back home since it’s been simply sitting in the garage. My wife has driven us in her car for dinner dates like last night at Pop’s and to the movies. She’s currently at an aqua-fit class, part of her active daily routine. I’m pretty much done for the day once I finish my 5k run and do a few laps in the pool. Once again, my GPS failed to record my running distance this morning with an unexpected “pausing workout.” The Nike app shows my total mileage to be a few miles off every month due to these technical glitches.
The interruptions continue as I try to work on this post, There used to be an hour of quiet before the dog park closed for repairs. This was the time when I could work in peace as no one else was home. Over these past few weeks I haven’t gotten this alone time and my concentration has been often disrupted. See, I got totally sidetracked and spent the afternoon reading “The Man in the White Sharkskin Suit,” showering, and watching “The Umbrella Academy.” I’ll cut this crap short and continue my blogging tomorrow, on what hopefully will be a quiet Sunday morning without many interruptions!
