Monday Mood: Contemplative

A shock last Friday evening, word that Sweet Bear's other brother died. Very much unexpected, he was 79.  He had not been feeling well, and told his girlfriend he was going to bed early and if he wasn't feeling better soon he would see his doctor.  She checked on him the next morning and he was dead on the floor of his bedroom. He was very private about his health, evasive in answering questions, so we really don't know what all might have been going on. 

What does this make me contemplate? 

How many more years do we have? 

A reminder that for most of us our life expectancy, is longer than our good health expectancy (by two or three years on average.)  So have fun while you are well enough to do so. 

I booked airline tickets to return from next springs great adventure the other day.  Airline tickets across the pond are expensive next May, and one way tickets are more expensive than round trip tickets (we are taking another cruise across the Atlantic.) After due consideration, and despite my feeling that I was spending needlessly, I booked Saga Class, aka business class / first class on Icelandair.  Bottom line was spending probably an extra $1,000 over the back of the bus (economy, coach, aka steerage.) I felt guilty about it, then a couple of days later we are reminded that we are not going to live forever, and when you are dead the extra few dollars don't make a difference. You are dead just the same.  

Another short trip for a funeral is coming soon. 

 

The Sunday Five: Public Transportation

1: Is there local public bus service available where you live? 

2: Is there subway (underground) train service where you live? 

3: Is there taxi service available where you live? 

4: Can you walk to grocery shopping from where you live? 

5: When was the last time you used public transportation? 

My Answers: 

1: Is there local public bus service available where you live? Yes, but I almost never use it. 

2: Is there subway (underground) train service where you live? 10 minute walk away. 

3: Is there taxi service available where you live? Yes, good service. 

4: Can you walk to grocery shopping from where you live? There are two specialty markets that are walkable. Not really the kind of a general grocery store I would like to be near. 

5: When was the last time you used public transportation?  Yesterday. 

Please share your answers in the comments. 

The Saturday Morning Post: Adventures in Flying: All of this and I still fly?

It was a short flight, Lansing, Michigan to Detroit, less than 100 miles in a small jet.  I had been in Lansing for a couple of days facilitating meetings at a dysfunctional organization. I recommended that the CEO delegate a bunch of work, and trust people to do good work. She had a great staff.  Instead she resigned. 

Back to the airport. We boarded for the 20 minute flight to Detroit, and the Captain came over the speakers with the dreaded, we have a problem and we are going to deplane while the mechanics take a look at it.  20 minutes later the Captain comes into the terminal and makes an announcement.  "The plane is sitting on the ground with all the wheels firmly on the ground, but the indicator lights say one of the landing gear is up. It is a bad switch. With the right part and a screwdriver it will be fixed in two minutes.  The part is in Detroit.  We have two choices, we can sit here for two-hours while someone drives the part over from Detroit, or we can lock the gear down, put in the locking pins so the gear can't go up and fly to Detroit, in about 40 minutes.  We can't go over 10,000 feet, or over 150 miles per hour and it will be noisier than usual, but the plane is going to Detroit for the repair. If you want to ride along follow me to the plane, if not, Delta will have another plane here in three or four hours." 

About half of the seats were empty on the flight to Detroit.  I made my connection and was home on time.  

100 Tips to Slightly Improve Your Travel Experience: #29 Money

 

"Don't leave home without it!" money that is.  Today credit / debit cards are almost universally accepted. Some business are cash free, accepting card payments only. So obviously credit or debit cards are the starting point for travel money.  Visa and Mastercard are the two most widely accepted.  American Express is a little less common.  Discover and others are less useful. 

I always have some cash with me, when I leave home or travel.  It is rare, but card networks can fail, or the power can go out.  Some merchants have a minimum transaction amount for cards, and paying cash can prevent needing to buy an unwanted candy bar to meet the minimum. An unwanted candy bar, as sad as an unwanted puppy.   

When I travel internationally I like to arrive with a little local currency.  For the Euro zone, England, and a couple of others I always hang onto left over cash when I return home, and it serves me well on the next trip.  ATM or cash machines in most airports and other points of arrival will also supply cash, though sometimes they charge a higher fee than machines at a bank in town.  My rule of thumb is I would like enough cash to take a taxi to the hotel, and have lunch when I step on shore.  

The Thursday Ramble: Toys

There is an old saying, that "he who dies with the most toys wins." My favorite toy, has four wheels and a top that folds up and disappears under the "boot" cover. 

My father had a list of a dozen reasons why a convertible was a bad idea. He could get quite adamant about how stupid an open top car was.  They leak, they cost more, they are noisier, they have no back seat room, they have no trunk space, and there are lots of moving parts that are sooner or later going to cause problems.  All valid points. 

When I was a teenager, a friend of mine had an MG-A, and open top British sports car that he and his father had completely rebuilt.  It had a rain cover for the passenger compartment, and no top to close.  I rode with him in it a couple of times, it was thrilling.  Then in my early 20's I had an affair with a lovely person who had an MG-B, in British Racing Green.  She let me drive it, with the top down, the radio turned up, and the wind in our hair (and I had hair back then.)  I fell in love with the idea of a convertible (cabriolet.) 

And my fathers tirade rang in my ears, and I looked past them to sensible four door sedans, and five door hatchbacks.  I have owned a lot of reliable but not thrilling cars, and a hand full of really nice cars. Only one, a Cadillac ever drew a real compliment from my father.  

And yet the desire for an open top never faded.  A sunroof, helped, but is not the same.  A few months after my father died, I had my reliable sensible little Mazda in for service, and I wandered around the dealers lot while I waited. They had a BMW convertible they had taken in trade, I looked at the price, and thought about the balance in my account and the light went on, that I could own what I dreamed about.  

I looked for 2 or 3 weeks, and came across the little white VW Eos. The top disappears at the touch of a button, it is comfortable enough.  It was a few years old with not very many miles on it. I bought it for a price I could pay cash for as a toy. I kept the sensible car and figured I would play with the toy for a couple of years and keep the sensible car.  Two years later, I sold the sensible car and kept the toy.  

Within reason, allow yourself toys, things that make you happy.  When the top goes down, the smile comes up. Same for me, as the man driving the Ferrari I parked next to the other afternoon at the bookstore.  

My World of Wonders aka The Wednesday Ws October 23, 2024

Where have I been this week? Out and about, the Hirshorn, Mt. Vernon, the Swamp, Huntley Meadows, Long Bridge,  I am trying to get out for a walk and see the wonders in my back yard. 

What have I been up to in the Kitchen? Steaks, chicken soup, an amazing apple tart, some nice salads, three pints of sweet pickled golden beets. 

What have I done for myself and others?  Vaccines - COVID, flu, and RSV.  The condo had an onsite clinic for residents. 

Who have a talked to this week?  My Sweet Bear,  . . . it has been a quiet week at home. 

How have We been feeling?  We have both had a nasty cough. We are feeling better, it has been a long week. 

What have I been watching?  Lots of Youtube.  Escape to Rural France, DownieLive, Tokyo Lens, The Pethericks, Glen and Friends, Brian's Life in France, and others.  

What am I reading? A Walk Around the Block - detailed explanations of the things we walk by every week and never really understand. When that one is finished I need to go back to the library again. 

When did I grimace and have to excercise great self control this week?  A political comment, by someone I have called an a$$hole in the past, and who continues to prove it. 

What have I been looking at? The family tree of my great-great-great grandfather, tracing his ancestry from 1794 back.  Back in the 1970s a foundation hired a genealogist to trace his ancestry, the oldest entry is from 1584. My grandmother had a framed copy, that went to my father, and is now here, hanging over my desk. 

Who deserves a big thank you this week?  The condo staff and volunteers who organized the vaccine clinic. It was fast and easy, and just a short walk to the community center. 

 

Travel Tuesday: Why the Air Force Museum - the Presidential Collection

One of the biggest reasons I wanted to see the Air Force Museum in Dayton was the Presidential collection, they have three presidential aircraft on display.  Starting with a plane that was customized for Roosevelt (with a wheelchair lift), one from Truman, and then the 707 that brought JFK home from Dallas, and took Nixon to China.  The planes are open, with a narrow glass corridor down through the middle, you can stand where Johnson took the oath of office. Sometime in the next decade or so, a 747 will join the collection.  I might go back for that.