‘pa pa pa pa’

Happy Saturday. I’m back after a glorious week in Florida, thanks George and Sandy.

It’s not much of a secret that I do enjoy the ‘occasional’ coffee. But the question is, how did I start drinking it black? Here is your answer. It was during my school years living in a rental unit on the third floor of a house in Grand Rapids, Michigan. There I drank coffee, but with a hefty dose of milk or cream.

I like to think that I was busy, but as a matter of fact, I was lazy. Too lazy to hike down to the main floor kitchen and the refrigerator for a shot of milk. Initially I disliked the pure black stuff. By day three I tolerated it. By day five I preferred it black. So there:

‘pa pa pa pa’ – ‘pa pa pa pa’ were the noise George and I were making sitting while drinking a Cuban Coffee at Gloria Estefan’s (Miami Sound Machine) hotel by Miami Beach. Sandy too was there, with a smile which I couldn’t decipher as embarrassment or tolerance. ‘Pa pa pa pa’ I continued as George yelled “incoming!” in his best Vietnam vet voice (he was the first to spot the helicopter flying along the shore).

The guy sitting at a nearby table smiled broadly, stood up, and in a thick Yorkshire accent said; “oh you Yanks”. Soon his wife joined and for a solid hour we conversed on an array of subjects. Among which was the fact that they were taking the new ‘Icon’, a behemoth 10,000-passenger cruise ship – it’s as long as an aircraft carrier.

He’d started the discussion because of our inane “pa pa pa pa” sounds and his love for aviation. During the visit he made me promise I’d have a listen to a production titled; “13-minutes to the Moon” – which he loved; it’s a beautifully made BBC program series. I am listening to the audio podcast on my daily walks, and I AM TOTALLY HOOKED!

Magical organization – Sandy is a master planner and organizer. This past week, while our cousin Guillaume visited from Lisieux France, it was Sandy who organized the stay.

To give him a feel of American ways and culture she organized a cookout complete with hamburgers, hotdogs, beer, and some wine for good luck. It was a blast.

George and I took Guillaume to the Edison & Ford Winter Estates museum in Fort Meyers. Most impressive.

I can’t forget a stunning lunch at Miami Beach’s iconic Joe’s Stone Crabs. Seldom have I ever been to more of a restaurant than Joe’s for service, style, and quality – what a delight!

I already mentioned that Sandy is a master organizer. One of her ‘home runs’ was the “Bobby’s Hike Bike” walking culture and eating tour of Little Havana. Three hours in length we saw it all.

The history of the Cuban ‘invasion’ as the Castro dictatorship took hold. The eternal flame monument honoring those lost with the disastrous “Bay of Pigs” invasion. Cuban food and the ambiance of a number of little known pubs and restaurants.

The ‘Domino Park’ – starting in the 1960s it’s the nation’s only designated park for domino playing and is a cultural oasis (oh, by the way, you must be over 55 to play and for fun only – no gambling).

A Mimosa haven (should be ‘heaven’), and the A to Z steps used to manufacture a cigar (takes about a year) at the iconic Mr. Cigar.

There was a patio dinner on South Miami beach. This was a time when the lights came on and the sights and sounds of the place came to life. I had purchased a cigar while at Mr. Cigar’s and enjoyed it afterwards while strolling along Ocean Drive doing people watching and taking in the blocks-long array of Art Deco buildings framed by the stunning steel and glass skyline.

I hope that the memories Guillaume took back to France were as great as mine. Thank you George and Sandy!

Just a FYI, flying out of the little Punta Gorda airport north of Fort Meyers is a breeze – especially since Allegiant is the only scheduled airline using the place.

Just a short history lesson – During all of WWII there was only a single time that King George VI awarded a George Cross, one of the highest honors for civilian bravery, to an entire nation.

Strategically located, the Nazi war machine bombarded the small island of Malta every single day for just about a year. The population never surrendered and kept themselves sheltered by going underground and in caves. Eventually the Allies curtailed the Luftwaffe thereby allowing the Maltese to start rebuilding their capital city of Valletta and the 10,000 destroyed homes.

This little history blurb is for your edification since I do love history.

Gladys the Gorilla – broke her arm. Here is how the Cincinnati Zoo managed the situation:

Now back home, arriving just in time to help celebrate Jason’s birthday. Yesterday I even had the time to check in on Dave, my ‘homey’.

Monday morning Marcia will have her wrist taken care of as an outpatient. It’s amazing how speedily this procedure will be performed – with hope that the recovery will happen just as promptly.

And yes, thoughts and prayers for Thelma and her comfort during recovery and in her new ‘digs’.

Next Saturday it’ll be the Flying Pig 5k for me. Then on Sunday it’ll be volunteer duties at the full ‘Pig’. Seems like all that is enough so that I might just want to take a nap as a precursor.

May Peace prevail! Shalom.

Dirk

BONUS POINTS:

23 states joined in signing on to the brief of California Attorney General Rob Bonta. The brief lauds past efforts of these states to combat “harmful content” on the Internet and to protect the public from “misleading information” – which one of these is NOT on this Anti free speech list?

1) Utah
2) Michigan
3) Rhode Island
4) Hawaii
5) Arizona
6) Nevada
7) Illinois