Author: mikeljohnston1 (Page 63 of 267)

Yesterday was qualifying for the Indianapolis 500, bringing back many memories from years past. I could almost hear the words of Tom Carnegie, long time track announcer who passed ten years ago, “it’s a new track record!” Scott Dixon set a new mark for the pole position at 234.046 mph. I watched on TV from a thousand miles away, closer than the last fifteen years, having not been to the track in 20 years. We’ll celebrate this year with a race party this Sunday, treating our neighbors to the experience that was once a regular part of our lives. 

My interest in racing anymore is Conor Daly, son of Indianapolis friends. His father Derek was a Speedway celebrity back when I was involved in the sport in the mid-1980s. His mother and I worked together at WIBC radio, the voice of the 500. I last saw them in Portland when the race came to town in September of 2018. Conor led 40 laps of last year’s Indy 500 after finally securing a steady ride. He’ll start in the middle of the pack this year. I saw him from a distance at last year’s St. Pete Grand Prix. 

We’ll decorate with race flags, black & white checkered tablecloths, and memorabilia. Then we’ll all gather around the TV to sing “Back Home Again in Indiana” and wait for the “start your engines” command. Sarah Fisher will drive the pace car and the rest of the day will be a blur of brunch and booze. I’ll probably talk about my checkered past!

Another Saturday has gone and come like the snap of two fingers. While time moves fast, I move too slow. The neighborhood is quiet, as many have vacated for the summer to return to their second homes. Thankfully, this is the only one we have left to care for. I’m once again at my computer desk searching for words when life isn’t very busy. I watched Slow Horses yesterday, an Apple TV spy series written by Will Smith. I found this description: “Most of the agents on the team are happy with their jobs and don’t seem to be very ambitious. This also makes them less-than-ideal people, which is why they’re called “slow horses,” which is what they are. The show’s title is what the main group of washed-up agents are called.” We also started the series, The Offer, on Paramount Plus. 

I’m reminded of these song lyrics:

I’m not sure there’s a slow bone in my body. I rush through life, seemingly anxious to get it over with. I’m not good about smelling the roses or savoring my meals. According to my wife, I also do a half-ass job on any tasks I preform. She claims that I do them poorly so she won’t be tempted to ask me to do them the next time. Maybe she’s right – what’s the rush?

I started the day with Gatorade and M&Ms after a shortened run due to thunderstorms. It was nice not to have to deal with the heat but you could cut the humidity with a knife.  The dog park will be muddy and tap class has been cancelled so my wife will be restless. As a result, it looks like we’ll be doing some gardening with the overcast skies to protect us from the brutal sun. I’ve started a load of laundry while I write at my desk this morning. There isn’t a single thing on my Friday calendar.

We spent a fun afternoon with our neighbors yesterday to celebrate a 70th birthday. It was a surprise luncheon, although this can be a risky danger to us septuagenarians. We got a free meal out of the deal, despite only having been friends for less than a year. Made in Italy in downtown Venice served the courses and drinks that took a good three hours. I was glad for a quiet evening at home afterwards. These social occasions have a tendency to wear me out.

Tally was reluctant to go outside as I got her up this morning, and tended to hang unusually close to me as the storm passed over. She pawed me for attention and eventually curled up in the safety of my office chair. As soon as I left to run, she scampered back into the bedroom to be near my wife – her best friend. I happened to catch a dry window as I made my way around the block and did not get wet despite the overhead rumblings. I thought of the song by Imagine Dragons, even though I was more likely to spot an alligator!

I remember the Bookmobile as a kid, a portable library that would come to the neighborhood encouraging kids to read. We have our own library here at the resort center where we live, although I’ve yet to visit it. It’s one of many perks that I don’t take advantage of using. We also have concerts, food vendors, classes, entertainment venues, swimming pools, fitness facilities, fire pits, dog parks, grills, and courts. Today, the blood mobile is coming for a visit and next week it’s what I like to call the cancer bus. I do take advantage of these services. Some people probably never do leave the neighborhood. However, we have a 70th birthday party to attend this afternoon that is in downtown Venice, about 15 miles away. 

Today once again feels like it should be a weekend, but it’s only Thursday. I do remember four-day Thanksgiving weekends that started on Thursday, but they were filled with many family obligations. Four-day weekends were always quite special, but now in retirement we have seven-day weekends leading into other seven-day weekends. The days run together and go by quickly. We even needed a vacation to get away from the daily routine that we naturally fall into. We only know that another week starts when we take out the trash on Sunday nights. 

I’m donating double platelets this morning, a small sacrifice to make. They are tiny cells in your blood that form clots and stop bleeding. We need them to fight cancer, traumatic diseases, and traumatic injuries. I’ll have to wait 112 days before I can do it again, but the mobile center that comes to our neighborhood makes it easy and convenient. In this case, it’s part of the Suncoast Blood Drive, and no vampires are involved. “I vant to suck your blood!”

I was in agreement with my wife on deciding to cancel our Viking Alaska/Japan cruise. It was still over 90 days away, so we would retrieve most of the money spent on this elaborate adventure. It just didn’t seem to fit in our current money-saving mode. I could certainly find a less expensive way to get to my 49th out of 50 state bucket list goal. Plus, after the recent experiences of several acquaintances who either couldn’t go on a cruise because of exposure to Covid or tested positive aboard and had to spend their time in quarantine on the lower deck, it was starting to look like a pricy gamble. Staying home suddenly seemed like a good idea!

We contacted our travel agent and explained the situation. It would certainly be a costly hassle for her to change all the plans. Her reply after consulting with Viking officials was “yes, we could cancel but we would have to forego $3500 in travel insurance plus a $100 each cancellation fee.” It seems reasonable enough until they told us that we would also have to give up over $7,000 in vouchers that we had earned from previous Covid cruise cancellations. For some reason, “they could not be reapplied.” Bottom line, we’ve decided to go and take our chances. Over $10k seemed like a lot to give up! Staying home was not an option, so Alaska here we come!

We also next need to rent a car for a month to accommodate our drive up to Northern Michigan in July. Both of our vehicles have too many miles and not enough leg room to make that journey, especially after transporting them here to Florida. We’ve considered selling one of them to either get a golf cart or simply operate with just one car, most likely my wife’s precious Lexus. We would save on license fees, maintenance, and insurance, but would have to schedule around each of our usage needs. It would not result in any gas savings because the Solara does not use premium fuel like the Lexus, even though the idea of scaling back to one car was a reaction to the increase in gas prices.

I usually drive only to go to the Chiropractor, as is the case today, or some other doctor appointment. I’ve also been picking up my grandson at school but that commitment will stop in a few weeks with summer vacation. My wife uses her car for shopping and various classes. We drive together whenever possible. If we get rid of a car and don’t get a golf cart right away, we would have the option of either walking or taking a bike. It would most likely be my ticket to just staying home or at least confined to the neighborhood. As my grandson just mentioned, “Grandpa, should you even be driving?” This was just after I mistakenly pulled into the oncoming turn lane. Maybe, he’s right – I should just stay home!