Happy Birthday to Jude Atticus Darnell

Jude Atticus Darnell , Jan 31, 2015 5:40 AM 8 lb 6 OZ

From birth to high school graduation seems ages when one is doing it.  But to parents, not so much. You sit and wonder how did that baby get this big and me not notice!  LOL

So here is to Great Grandson Jude Atticus, You are one year old but you will not remember it, HOWEVER Mom, Dad, and the grands will remember it all of your life.  To your chagrin at times.

 Jude and his dad Stephen

 Jude and his Grandpa Jack Jr

 Jude and his mama Jennifer and Dad Stephen

I apologize I do not have a picture up to date. WE're still in Florida. 

Happy First Birthday to Jude 
This is Jude and Jennifer his mama!

Nite Shipslog

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sample of cars 2015

The more things change, the more they remain the same!

In a post earlier in January I was talking about the big snow of '79 (?) when it was impossible to get off Columbia Pike into the Dorchester Apartments parking lot where we lived. So the car was left on the Pike, as far out of the main flow as possible and our cars were ticketed.

WELL, this is an excerpt for the news about the latest Blizzard in DC:
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The nation's capital knows all too well how to tap into taxpayers' wallets. And, nowhere was that more evident than during the aftermath of Winter Storm Jonas.

Since the blizzard began last Friday, the District of Columbia has issued $1,078,000 worth of parking tickets. That's right...
The city has slapped motorists with $65,600 in fines, too. More than 600 cars were towed during the city's snow emergency which expired Wednesday.

The tickets were shelled out to vehicles parked in the way of plows that were trying to clear streets from curb to curb. Any cars deemed to be hazards or barriers to snow removal were towed at the owner's expense to the tune of $100 plus a $25-per-day fee until they pick up their cars.

Update: D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser is voiding tickets handed out on Jan. 22, the first day of the storm.

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I ask myself, what is a citizen to do with their car?   Notice the Mayor has voided the tickets of Jan 22 but not 23/24/25.  That should solve the problem. With no more moving traffic that there was, why did the roads need to be cleared curb to curb?

The ticketing is decided by some government official.  WOW, we can refill the city coffers now, not caring if it is on the backs of the working public who had VERY LITTLE alternative!

To me it is a simple example of how Government officials seem to lose their sense of common sense when they get into a position of authority.  This in the SEAT of our NATIONAL GOVERNMENT.  The disease of greed seems to fester there.

       

The cool dude's snowplow!

I am smiling now during our presidential races.  Notice the promises?  DO you hear what I AM GOING TO DO WHEN ELECTED?
FREE EDUCATION, FREE ICE CREAM, FIX THE ECONOMY, STOP ALL WARS, END POVERTY.

It seems to be: Find out what THEY want and promise to give it to them. (you can ticket them later!)

Nite Shipslog

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Poor folk Snow plow..

Real rich folk's snow plow! A Rolls Royce

The daily Walk

Sherry and I make an attempt to stay in shape. One of the things we try to do daily is walk. We walk from 2 to 4 miles each day. We really  like to walk new places, but that is not always possible.  At the last park we had a great walking area. Walking  the whole park gave us 4 miles and worked out well.

(The view from our picture window (windshield) today)

This park is laid out around ponds, and canals. The walk around it is about 2.5 miles. So in search of a good place to walk to add to this walk we found a small beach area on the Gulf Coast.

 Florida hwy #44 dead ends a the Gulf of Mexico, this is what we found:

 This small beach  is what we found, not much activity today. 
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 Below is the 'Black Skimmer.' I had to look up the name, I don't remember seeing this coastal bird before. They sorta lined up at times in juxtaposition. like Military birds. (smile)

Florida has some beautiful Gulf shore beaches. Some of the prettiest are along the Panhandle.  There are some nice beaches up and down the Gulf coast but you have to search for them.

Here we found these interesting paths to walk:

At the end of the board walk above was a nice fishing pier.

They also have a boat launch area (Not much usage today) and in the distance, a Nuclear Power Plant it seems. I didn't know that.

But no matter how many times I see a Crane or an Egret (no matter the species) I am amazed at their patience and poise.

This is the West coast of Florida. Florida has nice beaches on both coasts. BUT when you see the Florida beaches along the Atlantic you see something completely different. The Atlantic beaches are plentiful with larger surf than the Gulf. What took my attention on my first visit to  Daytona Beach, as a teenager, was being  allowed to actually drive on the beach. I had never seen that in North Carolina.

Nite Shipslog

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 We saw this 40's Plymouth Coupe, on our way to the beach!

I drove this 1955 Chevy,  new in 1955, on Daytona Beach, I was 16 yrs old. It was my Brother in laws car. Dad had borrowed it to come to Florida.  I actually thought the Daytona stock car races were somehow held on the beach.

There is a sad feeling

When I hear of what I consider of a waste of a life or what I see as a 'thrill seeker' who bets their life on a challenge and loses, I get a sad feeling down inside.

Headlines a few days ago screamed 'Two dead while 'base jumping' from a bridge."
"Man falls to his death while attempting to scale a wall of a hotel in NYC."

It is something I do not understand. Betting a fortune, buying a lottery ticket, etc, I can understand. That is gambling 'things', but a life?  It can never be replaced if one bets and loses. Some bet, others watch. Some cheer, others cringe.

(Remember him?  We drove out to Idaho's Snake River Canyon to see where the attempt to jump it was made)
It is not just the poor or ignorant, but at times it is someone famous, wealthy or very talented.  I was fortunate to meet Bobby Allison  when I was a Roach Coach Driver and he drove for Gatorade. I was sick when his son Davey, also a very promising driver, and a one time winner at Daytona, was killed 'playing with his Helicopter'. Then there was John Denver and his experimental plane. 

I don't understand the 'rush' to run with the Bulls in Spain.

I am a thrill seeker, but not in such a way as to endanger my life.  But maybe that is the point, these other folk don't see it as gambling with their lives, they must 'know inside' that THEY WILL WIN!

I can remember as a kid wanting to be one of "Joey Chitwood's Hollywood Hell drivers." So I can understand the dream of being a 'show-off'. 

So I guess I am judging others thru my 'very wise (not)' eyes.  Of course no one sets out to kill themselves in the sort of actions I have described, if they knew for sure this would be the last time, THEY would not continue. It just seems some folk cheat death so many times, they take it too lightly.

Some folk take a warning, others ignore them.

I hope I am as wise as I think I am when it comes to protecting my own life.

Nite Shipslog

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The Tattoo!

Friend Lisa of :(http://lifeawayfromtheofficechair.blogspot.com/)  is too observant. She  pays attention to detail.  On one of the photo's I posted she noticed a tattoo on my upper left arm. 

An over abundance of Tattoos has been a problem for me thru the years. One of those started when I hired a young man many years ago. Back when only bikers, seemed to be covered in tat's. He was a big guy.  His ink was only on his arms. Todd is a teddy bear, but he had been pretty rough in his earlier years.  He worked for us for years, finally he has his own business. I  saw him the other day and had dinner with him.

(Me, Todd and son Mark.  Todd was down helping Mark on his latest house in Port Richey.)

Anyway, I could not send him on a job without first explaining to the customer, Todd is really a great guy.  Once I was building beside an empty acre  of nothing but weeds. The owner came over, and very nastily said, do not come over on this side of the line. I smiled and said, "No problem, and I didn't see one."

A week later I left Todd alone to direct a concrete truck pouring a footer. I didn't think to tell Todd about the lot. The front wheel of the truck went into the weeds about two feet and the owner  'cussed' Todd. Todd told me "I apologized, but it didn't seem to satisfy him."

I then apologized to Todd, for not informing him. Then I went to see the man. I offered to pay whatever damages he thought I had done, he said, "None, it is my land stay off it."

 I said, "Sir did you see the size of that young man?"

"I don't care, my hammer will bring him down to size."

I said, "Sir, you are very arrogant and ignorant, the kid would make you eat that hammer. He used to be an enforcer for the Hell's Angels, before he got religion."

I have judged folks for years about multitudes of tattoos.  It is not fair, it does not tell you their heart, but we older folk do that.

My tattoo?  It is a $5 single one, The Eagle Globe and Anchor and USMC below it. I was 17 and proud to be a Marine.  I wanted "Devil Dogs" on the other arm, but my Sherry has no sense of humor, so I never got another.  ha! Hey, I was 17 and cool, I was even too young to drink, so I was sober when I got the tattoo.

I wonder, do Tattoos scab up and itch like they did then? And how much do they cost?

Nite Shipslog

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The next book

I finally got back to my book.  This one should be a breeze, it is mostly about the Appalachian Trail. It gives me one BIG problem, I want to try again. It is amazing how much fun it is walking in the woods and having a destination most people would never think of.  It is really hard to imagine a person saying, I am going to take six months and walk from Georgia to Maine or vice versa.  To start with, the ones that can do it are between HS and college,  college and graduate work OR Old and retired. (We tried, but we did not do it in one year, it took several, old folks strain things, and must take a break to heal.  LOL)

                      (Sherry in the Smokys, about a mile north of New Found Gap)
The Hike takes Someone who can, and is willing to eat Ramein noodles and dried fruit for six months.  With an occasional binge of all he pizza you can eat.  After over 1800 miles I still like Ramein noodles, Sherry hates them.

I started this entry because as I write, I want to go back. Although I know (I think) I am too old to be traipsing around in the Mountains, woods and plains. BUT, but there is a guy from Shelby, NC who did do a thru hike at 80 years of age.  I told Sherry I think I will wait until I am 85 and try to set a new record.  She laughs and sorta rolls her eyes.

                             (The old man taking a pack-off break)
Any way, I am enjoying this book, I was hoping to do a 200 page book, but I don't think I am capable of that, it will probably be 375, not good.

                                    (Over looking God's Thumb Print, in Virginia)
Well, I sat here for 5 days waiting for some stirring of the writing juices, finally today I wrote a chapter, and I am hooked again

(Not all plans work out, this is supposed to be the best view on the Virginia trail, we hit clouds)

Nite Shipslog

PS: I have been asked, why Ramein noodles? The answer is simple, they are light!
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