Florida Part I

I'm back! and WOW what a great vacation! We had a blast! Florida was beautiful, warm, and fun! Our flight went smoothly, no delays; our cab ride to the rental car agency was a bit of a nail-biter but we made it in one piece; and our accommodations were as advertised, absolutely awesome!

My favorite part of the flight was when the plane descended close enough to see the ocean waters against the white beach sand all along the coast. My excitement could hardly be contained! One of the first things that I noticed when I got off the plane was how bright it was! My spirits soared, cheered by the sun and the sight of green plants and those magnificent palm trees! Having come from a rather dismal New England (brown, grey and dull), it was a pure joy to see the flowers and plants flourishing in a well groomed landscape. This was not my first trip to Florida. I have done several vacations in the Sarasota/Bradenton area and I used to live in Bradenton and Jacksonville back in the mid-seventies. Each time I have returned to the state, I am in awe of the brilliance of the sun and vivid colors of the native fauna.

When we stepped out of the airport terminal to catch a taxi, the heat of the day (80 degrees) blasted us like we had walked into a huge clothes dryer. It felt great! The four of us crammed ourselves into a cab; and held on for dear life as the driver ( a gentleman of Caribbean descent) made his way down the Tamiami Trail to the rental car office. Three lanes of traffic, weaving in and out, let's just say the yellow lights were bleeding red. Did I get him to tell us his story? Of course I did! His wife and kids were in Philadelphia; he was going to join them as soon as he could. Philadelphia was a much better place for them because there the government had better welfare benefits, free health insurance, etc. I bit my tongue. Hard. He showed me a picture he had on his cell phone, of a motorized scooter he had bought for his son's birthday. He was quite proud of the purchase, looking at it several times during our trip. (Hence the bleeding yellow lights). It was a bit of a drive from the airport, but it saved us nearly $250 each by not renting the cars from the airport location.

It was an easy drive back up the Tamiami Trail to Fruitville Road, then east for about 10 miles until we pulled into the Sun N Fun Resort. We were early they said, nothing ready until two p.m. so we parked one of the cars and all headed out for a leisurely lunch at the local Bob Evans Restaurant!
I've run out of time so will have to write more later....

Linky Love

Take a moment to visit Jim over at Nobody Asked Me. He's posted a great video that you should see. Make sure you've got your Kleenex nearby. Hope and Joy. Powerful stuff.

Win Number 50!

Bruins 2, Senators 1
The Bruins hit 50 wins for the eighth time in franchise history and the first since the 1992-93 season; they reached 110 points for the first time since '82-83. And it's just two years since they missed the playoffs entirely. Milan Lucic and Marc Savard scored for Boston, which would clinch the best record in the East with its next victory or the Washington Capitals' next loss.
David Krejci, a 22-year-old forward who has 22 goals and 50 assists, was named the winner of the Bruins' Seventh Player award for going above and beyond the call of duty and exceed the expectations of Bruins fans. (Nice to see that young talent on our team!)

Sun and Fun!

My vacation this year, is unscheduled, unplanned; it has no itineraries, no time lines to adhere to, nothing but pure unadulterated leisure! My aunt and uncle live in Englewood so we will be spending some time hanging out with them. The rest of the time is open to fancy and whim. We've rented a couple of beautiful mobile homes in an RV park in Sarasota. The place is loaded with stuff to do, a huge lake to swim, boat and fish; mini golf course, tennis courts, horseshoes, fitness center, woodworking shop, stained glass window classes... you name it, there's something going on there at all times! The gorgeous beaches of Bradenton, Sarasota, Siesta Key are only a few miles away, and Florida has many museums, animal exhibits and water cruises to offer. I doubt we will be bored! However, we are dedicating this trip to relaxing and trying to de-stress ourselves, so you might just find me parked somewhere reading a book or two and sipping on a nice icy Pina Colada!
I'll have my camera, so hopefully will have some good pics for you when I get back!

Recognize this Guy?

Maybe you'd be more apt to if you saw him doing what he does best.....




That's right... The Sham Wow Guy! You've seen those annoying commercials haven't you?

Well.... apparently Vince was doing something he shouldn't have been doing....
like battering a hooker in his South Beach hotel room
Kind of a career ending move on his part....
Maybe he'll find a way to say his job drove him to it.


H/T to The Smoking Gun

It's Official!

I just finished my shift, and I don't have to be back to work until April 12th at 15:45! I leave for FLORIDA in four days and I do believe I might actually get in a post or two before I leave! YAHOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

A Public Service Note

This was in my work email today.... thought I'd pass it on to you.

How to Lock Your Car and Why
I locked my car --- as I walked away I heard my car door unlock I went back and locked my car again three times. I looked around and there were two guys sitting in a car in the fire lane next to the store. When I looked straight at them they did not unlock my car again.
How to lock your car safely -
While traveling, my son stopped at a roadside park. He came out to his car less than 4-5 minutes later and found someone had gotten into his car, and stolen his cell phone, laptop computer, GPS navigator briefcase.....you name it.....
He called the police and since there were no signs of his car being broken into - the police told him that there is a device that robbers are using now to clone your security code when you lock your doors on your car using your key-chain locking device.

They sit a distance away and watch for their next victim. They know you are going inside of the store, restaurant, or bathroom and have a few minutes to steal and run. The police officer said to manually lock your car door-by hitting the lock button inside the car, that way if there is someone sitting in a parking lot watching for their next victim it will not be you.
When you hit the lock button on your car upon exiting...it does not send the security code, but if you walk away and use the door lock on your key chain - it sends the code through the airwaves where it can be stolen. Something totally new to us...and real.
Be aware of this and please pass this note on...look how many times we all lock our doors with our remote...just to be sure we remembered to lock them....and bingo someone has our code...and whatever was in the car...can be stolen.
Snopes Approved. Please share with everyone you know... Good information!!!

Out Sick

I've stumbled out here to the computer just long enough to send my apologies for not responding to emails etc. I have a nasty case of strep throat and am headed back to bed. For now the cat has control.
A.

It's Not Spring Yet....

The Korean War Memorial in Hyannis on a cold day in early spring.

Veterans Beach was nearly deserted. The light of the sun from behind the clouds danced on the water.
Just around the corner at Kalmus Beach, the waves were choppy and the winds were blowing a steady gale.
Back at home, my indoor Azaleas and a hot cup of coffee took care of my Need for Spring Fever!

A Cabbie Tale

Where do I begin? There are so many stories that come to mind when I think of the years I spent as a cab dispatcher in a large mid-western city. For ten years, I worked with the most diverse group of people that you can imagine. From all walks of life, they were a mix of young and old, both men and women, multicultural and with varying degrees of education. Looking back, I realize how dealing with these people on a day to day basis, increased my ability to understand human nature. Or maybe I should say, I increased my ability to understand that I will never understand human nature?

When I am asked to tell one of those stories about back then, I always tell this story. It makes me laugh, even now when I think of it. The only problem is, unless you really, really "knew" Woody, the story might seem a bit callous. This is my first attempt at "documenting" the story, so perhaps I can elaborate enough on who Woody was, and why this particular story was and still is completely hysterical to those of us who knew him.

When I first started dispatching in 1985, Woody had already been with the company for a few years. He had a prosthetic leg, due to a motorcycle accident. I don't know how long ago the accident was, but he had been nicknamed Woody for as long as anyone could remember. He was in his mid 40's and he was newly divorced. His wife, I was told, had cheated on him with another cab owner. Woody had a reputation for being a trouble maker, malcontent and general (pardon the expression) jackass. He was a constant burr in my side, and harassed most of the other dispatchers. He accused us of cheating him out of good runs, and even when he did get a good run, he was always looking for a way to make you feel like you had done something wrong. He was an intimidator,impatient and condescending. This one particular evening Woody was driving cab. He liked working the west side of the city, it was were he lived, and where he was most familiar with the regular riders from that part of town. I don't remember where he picked up the fare, but he ended up taking them to the east side. The east side of the city was where the ships docked; and so sailors, merchant marines, refinery workers, and general riff raff populated the bars and clubs in that area. I was surprised when Woody actually made himself available for a call after he had dropped his passenger. He usually high-tailed it back to his side of town. Sure enough, it wasn't long before we got a call from the Ship N Shore Bar on Front Street. He grumbled, but he went. He hated bar calls; because it meant him getting out, going to the door and yelling "Cab" into a room full of loud music and noisy drunks. These type of calls were notoriously "No-Runs", either the caller had left by other means or wasn't watching for the cab. Woody, after waiting five minutes, called it a No Run and placed himself back in service. A minute later, the call came in from the Ship N Shore again. This time Woody didn't just grumble, he yelled over the radio. But he did go back to the door. I don't know what happened after that, I can just imagine what spewed from Woody's mouth when he got to the door. He had a nasty temper. When I got the call from the owner of the bar, that Woody was involved in a fight, I knew we had to get someone there quick. I gave the "Zone 30" over the radio which alerted all of the drivers that one of ours was in trouble. I then called the PD. I will never forget the report that the first cabbie on the scene gave me. "Get the Police! They've taken off his leg and they're beating him with it!"

Of course, the only thing that was hurt was his pride, which he recovered by the next day; and as much as we wished he would have learned his lesson from being such a bully, I don't think he ever did.



It took years before he and I got along. I don't know why, if it was him getting older, or wiser, but he did mellow out after a while. Sometimes he would come up to the dispatch office for a few minutes to hang out and drink coffee with me. It was then that I got to know how much of a prankster he was. He would wait for me to key the mike to dispatch a call, and then unceremoniously stomp down on his prosthetic leg creating the most gawd awful "hrrrrrrumpf " as the air escaped around the opening between his leg and the device. (In laymans terms, it sounded like a gigantic phart) Here I was, just about to start a dispatch, mike open and transmitting when all of a sudden..... "HRRRRUMPF" over the air! Needless to say, I almost threw him out the window.



Woody passed away several years ago, from a heart attack they said. I don't know if he was still driving cab for a living then, but I'd like to think that he was. He was certainly someone I will never forget. God Bless you Woody, you butthead.