Author: mikeljohnston1 (Page 60 of 267)

While many people start their day with coffee or tea, my first drink is usually now Gatorade. It seems to quench my thirst in this hot Florida sun. It’s become a new habit that didn’t exist in cool, rainy Portland or even dusty Texas. (See Post #1709) I drink in some water before I attack the asphalt each morning but head straight to the refrigerator when I get back for a cold bottle of G2. It is the only way to satisfy my thirst, having tried everything including beer throughout the day. 

According to Wikipedia, the beverage was first developed in 1965 by a team of researchers led by Dr. Robert Cade (It could have been called Caderade). The drink was originally made for the Gators at the University of Florida to replenish the carbohydrates that the school’s student-athletes burned and the combination of water and electrolytes that they lost in sweat during rigorous sports activities.

The product goes off the shelf quickly here in Florida, particular the sugar-free varieties, so it’s difficult to stock a favorite. You simply grab what’s left, regardless of the flavor, even though I do prefer either grape or orange. By afternoon, I’m ready for some caffeine, so I drink a single Diet Coke. When I was working, I developed a Diet Coke addiction, often consuming four or more a day, starting with breakfast. With the cooler Portland temperatures, I would even stop at Starbucks for a hot caramel latte to get me going. When I’m really in the mood for a boost, I’ll grab a Monster. This happened just a few days ago when I spotted one in the cooler next to the Lowe’s check-out. 

Sometimes, just a sip from a leftover, warm Diet Coke in the morning will settle my stomach. I no longer crave the flavor except at McDonald’s and other locations where it’s dispensed at the fountain. I should drink more water and will refill my empty Gatorade bottles with cold water from the refrigerator. However, I prefer the flavored drinks and right now Gatorade is my favorite. 

After Stormy Sunday comes Blue Sky Monday, at least for now. We’re all caught up on movies, with the exception of Jurassic Park that neither of us wants to see, so the theatre is not an option this week. There are also no grandfather duties this week with the kids all in Fort Wayne, and maybe even driving to Niagara Falls. My wife and I now exactly one month away from our long summer drive, as the year is now nearly half over with lots of adventures to come. 

Travel would be so easy with a portal like in the TV series Night Sky. Just push a button and you’re immediately transported into space or any other desired destination. Challenges like seeing all 50 states would be a cinch. We just heard from another friend that caught Covid on a recent cruise and was forced to spend the trip in their room, with the exception of two hours a day on an isolated deck. After all this money spent on the trip, they were treated like prisoners with the plague. It’s a nightmarish thought that this could happen to us somewhere in Alaska. 

Our friends down the street have tested positive with symptoms no worse than the flu. It’s been years since I’ve been sick and there’s simply no way to avoid exposure. Many people have just decided to stay home, but that is not in my nature – take it from The Animals. Regardless of the risks, from time to time, “we’ve gotta get out of this place!”

“In this dirty old part of the city
Where the sun refused to shine
People tell me there ain’t no use in tryin’

Now my girl, you’re so young and pretty
And one thing I know is true
You’ll be dead before your time is due, I know
Watch my daddy in bed a-dyin’

Watched his hair been turnin’ grey
He’s been workin’ and slavin’ his life away, oh yes I know it

And I’ve been workin’ too, baby (yeah!)
Every night and day (yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!)

We gotta get out of this place
If it’s the last thing we ever do
We gotta get out of this place
‘Cause girl, there’s a better life for me and you

Now my girl you’re so young and pretty
And one thing I know is true, yeah
You’ll be dead before your time is due, I know it

Watch my daddy in bed a-dyin’
Watched his hair been turnin’ grey, yeah
He’s been workin’ and slavin’ his life away
I know he’s been workin’ so hard

Every day baby (yeah!)
Whoa!
(Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!)
We gotta get out of this place
If it’s the last thing we ever do

We gotta get out of this place
Girl, there’s a better life for me and you
Somewhere baby
Somehow I know it, baby

We gotta get out of this place
If it’s the last thing we ever do
We gotta get out of this place
Girl, there’s a better life for me and you

Believe me baby
I know it baby
You know it too”

Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Barry Mann / Cynthia Weil
We Gotta Get out of This Place lyrics © EMI Music Publishing

Another sweaty, grimy morning with eventual relief in the swimming pool. I haven’t worked this hard in the yard for years especially since condos and apartments were our living choice. We even drove to Lowe’s yesterday afternoon for a trellis and some mulch that I used to finish up our tree project this morning. I was already drained from my run, but once sweaty why not stay that way. I used my new blood pressure monitor again this morning with a 120 over 76 reading. After sitting all day it seems to escalate, with yesterday afternoon registering 165 over 91. I’m supposed to keep a log for my next appointment with the cardiologist. 

Our “Meet the Neighbors” event last night went well, despite some thunder showers. About 30 people attended – about half the normal crowd. It was actually a better environment for conversation with so many neighbors away for the summer. Due to heat and travel schedules, we won’t schedule another one until September. I’m sure the rest of 2022 is now going to fly by. Storms are headed our way this afternoon. 

The week ahead is looking quite sedate, leading into the Fourth of July. We’ll probably head to the beach for fireworks like we did last year. This Thursday we’ll drive my son’s car down to Punta Gorda for some service work and have dinner before we pick him up at the airport. Sadly, there’s little else to write about on  this – Another Stormy Sunday (See Post #1922)!

Another hot and steamy morning of running and landscaping. Our new crepe myrtle tree should arrive sometime today, so I made final preparations. The bush that I took out a few days ago has been replanted. To do it I had to use our recycling bin like a wheelbarrow to move it to the side of the house. It was far too heavy for me to drag on my own, but with a little improvisation it’s “in the hole.” That poor bush has been the victim of a massive bee hive and harsh chemicals to kill them. It’s also been severely cut back and sat in the hot sun with bare roots for a few days during the transplanting process. Nothing would kill it so I had no choice but to give it a second chance. 

Once the new tree is in place I will need more mulch, but haven’t seen any bags sitting around the neighborhood. My wife wants to go to Lowe’s today for a trellis to support her Bougainvillea vines, so I might have to actually buy a few bags, if the right color is available. We also have my son’s car to haul bulky items like this. However, we’re already over budget for the week, month, and year – as seems to be the norm these days. 

We went to “Matinee Monday” on Friday, finally finding the time this week to see the movie “Elvis.” It was good, but there was better news when the phone rang as we were leaving the theater. My good friend who lost his wife last year has found true love again. He rekindled a relationship from 38-years ago with a visit to an old friend in Mexico. I haven’t heard him so happy for some time now after their week together. I met her all those years ago, but circumstances led them going in separate directions, and suddenly “they’re an item,” going to his 50th high school reunion in a few weeks. How cool is that!

It feels good to sit down after a sauna-like run, swim, and some landscaping work. I look over at Tally sprawled out in my office chair and feel like doing the same. They still continue to work on her dog park, so she’s sadly stuck at home without companionship and resists going outside in the mid-day heat. It will be a long lonely day for her. On the other hand, my wife and I have some time to catch a movie this afternoon. From what I understand, even the Presley family was impressed with the new Elvis film. 

We finished the Hacks series last night and started on the first episode of Sissy Spacek’s Night Sky. I also restarted Stranger Things, so I have something in common with my grandkids. I had started watching years ago after we attended an Outstanding in the Field dining event in Vancouver, B.C., our first international experience with this culinary group. The people sitting nearest us were all associated with the production of this show, The Man in the High Castle, and Teletubbies. I then watched them all out of curiosity only to find out that my grandchildren all want to portray Stranger Things characters for Halloween this year and want me to dress up as  Papa. At least they seem to have grown beyond their Harry Potter fascination that has dominated their costume planning for the past three or four years. 

I just sent out a few invitations for our get together when we pass through Indianapolis on August 2nd. We’re hoping to see all our friends at the Mousetrap starting at 3 p.m. It was the only way to see everyone in the day or two that we will be in town. It should turn out to be a great reunion of all our media friends throughout the years and one of the highlights of our long summer drive. Panama City, Tuscaloosa, Huntsville, Nashville, Indianapolis, Ludington, Petoskey, Mackinac, Cleveland, Canton, Ashville, and Hilton Head are all scheduled stops so far on this 3,000 mile tour. We’ll then fly to Portland a few weeks later for the second part of the journey. See You All Soon. 

I shortened this morning’s run to the minimum mile after wrestling with that bush that I removed yesterday. I was just a little stiff and sore when I woke up and saw it as an excuse for a bit of a break in my routine. I’ll do the same tomorrow because I have an early trip to the airport to drop off my family for their trip to Fort Wayne. The kids are going on to Niagara Falls with my first wife. While they’re gone, my son’s car needs some service work before I take it on the 3,000 mile drive up to the Grand Hotel in Northern Michigan. 

I’m next headed to the Chiropractor, Cardiologist, and Great Clips for personal maintenance. I’ve got a few miles on my body that needs some attention. My wife has a tap class this afternoon and is headed to the Ringling Museum with friends tomorrow while I make the airport run. She also has a lunch on Friday so “Matinee Monday” is still on hold, as we’re anxious to see the new Elvis release. Saturday night is our “Meet the Neighbors” get together, as I get back to the standard 3.1 mile running distance and surpass 4,925 consecutive days. 

We continue to watch Hack’s on HBOMax in the evenings, without much going on in our lives right now. There’s one more neighborhood gathering next week as more snowbirds head back to their northern homes, but otherwise we’re resting up for travel. Santana with Earth Wind & Fire are still part of my late August, 71st birthday plans and there’s only 80 days until our month-long Viking adventure to Alaska and Japan. We’re already starting to make plans for next year, mapping out our drive up to Maine, my last state to visit once Alaska has been crossed off the list. In the meantime, we’ll just enjoy our resort surroundings and continue the travel countdown. 

Throughout my lifetime, several trees have been planted to honor occasions. I watched a birch tree grow tall just outside my childhood bedroom window and I grew with it. My wife and I decided many years ago to buy a live Christmas Tree and then plant it in the yard. What was to be an annual tradition only turned into a year before we moved, while I remember naming it “Fat Albert.” My sister and I planted trees for our parents in an Elkhart park back in 2006. The Gingko is still apparently growing, with a time capsule buried underneath. Yesterday, we ordered a red crepe myrtle for our front yard for my wife’s birthday, and this morning I spent several hours removing the bush where it will be planted.

Fortunately, my neighbor had made a big deal out of removing a similar bush in his yard. It was a major ordeal involving careful digging around water and irrigation lines, removing a metal cage that protected its roots, and ultimately pulling it out with chains hooked to a pick up truck. I was expecting the worst, thanks to him, but instead it came out rather easily. I had to relocate a few plants, disconnect an outdoor flood light, and navigate around a water pipe in addition to my sprinkler system lines. I will probably need some help lifting it out of the hole once the new tree arrives, but it was not nearly the hassle I was expecting – at least so far!

I do anticipate some sore muscles tomorrow and my chiropractor appointment will probably require more adjustments than usual. However, this major project seems to be well under control despite worries about disrupting driveway pavers and alerting the HOA with a cracked water line. I probably should have gotten their permission in the first place, but it’s sometimes more fun to be a neighborhood rebel.
My wife is pleased with having palm trees in our yard for the first time in our lives. We thought about adding another but ultimately decided on the red crepe myrtle to add some more color and coordinate with our red fountain and urns. It helps our home to stand out a little bit in a neighborhood of similar construction styles.

We have not done holiday tree decorating for many years now, as we were never able to compete with my wife’s sister who always insisted on celebrating the holidays at her house. We grew content with visiting Rockefeller Center every year to get our holiday fix or going to local celebrations where we lived like the Grotto in Portland. Last year, we went to Disney World on Christmas Day, and enjoyed the colorfully lighted palms that line our downtown Venice streets every December. This year we’ll put a spotlight on the red crepe myrtle, along with the palm trees, and not just for the holidays. 

My wife’s 66th birthday is over, however the afterglow will last for a while. No one savors a birthday like she does, and there’s a lot of pressure trying to make the day special. It was easier in the working days when price was no object, but on a fixed retirement budget it’s challenging. There were, however, several birthdays celebrated between jobs and with multiple homes that made glitzy gifts and elaborate vacations impossible. This was good practice for our retirement years when birthdays will likely be less elaborate as time goes on. 

I spent some time yesterday afternoon reading all the poems that I’ve written for her birthdays. Last night’s tribute was number 23 in the series dating back to 1999 when she was just 43. It brought back a lot of great memories and some laughs before we went to dinner. After dinner, we went to the beach and saw the most beautiful sunset, capping off the evening with pralines & cream ice cream at Kilwin’s. 

I think we would both agree that her best birthday (60th) was spent in Bora Bora. On the other hand, I ruined her 50th birthday celebration on Coronado Island with a kidney stone. The very first we spent together turned out special because of some unexpected fireworks during dinner. The second was in New Orleans while I was on business, while others were spent in Chicago, Indianapolis, Decatur, Austin, Portland, New York, San Francisco, and now Venice, Florida. Covid pretty much spoiled  2020 back in Oregon with take-out dinner and in-home quarantine. 2022 was her first birthday celebrated solely in Florida and with a beach drumline into a colorful sunset – the birthday afterglow!