Elf On The Shelf Farewell for 2025

 Elf on the shelf relaxing after a busy Christmas season.
 See you next year!!!!

Memories

EPCOT Dive Quest.
Quite a few years back.

The Magic Band was rated Undersea safe.

 
No photo shop or AI. I’m on the wet side of the window. My Granddaughter on the dry side in  warm climate controlled safety.
Little did I realize how I was rocking the “Baby Shark” Hairdo.

Reposted from a while back on Medium

The kids leaving on the Disney Dream Saturday. Ft Lauderdale 5 days West Caribbean.

Am I jealous? You bet I am. Does it matter? Not even a little bit in the scheme of things.

Rainy Day Sunday

 Raining. All day. We need it. Still gloomy tho.

The kid front row right, describes my mood exactly!

Could be worse I suppose!!

Got The Slows

Woke up.

Drove to Richmond Hill.

At at Breakfast Buffet.

Ate too much, So what else is new.

Went to Walmart.

Went to Publix.

Went to a second Publix. Stupid Reason Not Worth Explaining.

Came home.

Sitting in chair.

Nap time coming.

PS There will be no bicycling today. None. Nada. Zip. This past month, I road 39 out of 40 days. Total of 644 miles. Goes past dedication into obsession mode. I am 71 years old. Time for a break

That my friends is all.

Saturday October 4th, 2025

Stay Safe.

Tis The Season... Soon

Remember Me?? I’ve been relaxing since Christmas Eve catching some rays and thinking about next season.

I'll be back soon!!!!

Stay cool out there and be nice to each other- 

Elf on the shelf 

Dear Diary

 I’m having an Uncle Fester kind of day. 

Stay Thirsty My Friends!

That Was The Week That Was

 Many years ago, there was a TV show "That Was The Week That Was" Self explanatory me thinks. It was always funny. Or almost always funny. But that term describes this past week. Indeed.

I am afraid we are just getting started too. I hope not. But I'm not seeing a lessening of the hatred. Not at all.

Anyway, Have a great weekend. Stay safe. Stay healthy.  

No it's not.

I am craving Hot Dogs. So I've got that anyway.

Dear Diary

 Wednesday. One of those days where I feel very sorry for myself. Where I feel broke. And old. And all those other reasons that we as human beings find to feel sorry for ourselves about. Looking at pictures from years past. Fun to do. But today, it doesn't help.

A better day. A long time ago.

 The only thing I retain.

I think I still have the hat.

 In a closet somewhere.

This picture is not helping.

The current state of the country/world, Just makes it more depressing. I miss Florida. 

fin 

Never Quit

Ok the emotions are here, the fire is lit, now our job is to not let this just die down in a month or so. This has to truly be a turning point. Satan is counting on us doing what we always do, get all worked up and then it fades away. NOT THIS TIME!!!! 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ God help us. We won’t be able to do this without His help. I don’t understand why He allowed this … but His book says His ways are not our ways . Ok We CANNOT CANNOT CANNOT let this event pass away Please!!

Wednesday

Back then, I never did this. And I pretty much never learned to keep my mouth shut! 

“Life can be tough when you’re as thick headed as I am” -Blogger Grandpa…

Fin 

Dear Diary

In keeping with my personal goal to write something everyday, and, knowing that some days are just like this, I’m just going to just add this run on, going no where sentence , hoping that the discerning reader will see how the mind of a 71 year old Grandpa works, and sometimes doesn’t work.  There I’ve done it. I’ve written  one absolutely true  sentence. Although I doubt that the late Mr. Hemingway would agree that this is what he was talking  about. But this is my Blog. 

With apologies to E Hemingway

I hit the publish button!!

Fin

Thought For The Day

 Blogging is hard work*** Make no mistake about that. Even mini Blogs like my Dear Diary version takes some investment in time, thought, imagination and at some point you just have to sit at the computer and ... well... create something. Even when you're not in the mood. Like today for instance.

 

Id rather take a nap!

 "All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence that you know.”
 -Ernest Hemingway

***"Blogging is hard work" Grandpap's one true sentence. Everything else flows from this.

Journaling vs Blogging

 Journal, Blog, Diary? Are they not all the same? Just in a slightly different version?

Well, I cheated and asked AI about this:

"Journal vs Blog. The main difference is that journaling is a private, personal practice for self-reflection and processing thoughts and emotions, while blogging is a public, interactive platform designed to share content with an audience. Journal entries are for personal use, untangling ideas, and candid honesty, whereas blog posts are crafted for readers, often with a specific theme, and can be edited or updated over time"

"Think of your journal as your private workshop where you untangle thoughts, and your blog as a polished storefront where you present refined ideas to the public. While they are distinct, a journal can serve as a foundation for blog content, providing ideas and clarity for your public posts. "

Ok, so I journal in my head. Constantly thinking about things to write (Blog) about. After 71 years, I have so many memories stuffed in my head. Some good, many bad, but all of them worth recalling. And maybe sharing. 

So my goal is to write about these things that happened.  I'm trying now but so far after a couple or 3 paragraphs, I'm done. So I keep it short. I do not have a true grasp of English, sentence structure, vocabulary, I still have real trouble deciding whether I need a comma or a semi-colon. So as Dirty Harry once said : "a man's got to know his limitations" . I know mine and I play in the kiddie pool of  writing. Bottom line I ain't a writer.

 Still, I love doing this. Lately all day I'm thinking what can I write next? What would Hemingway or F Scott Fitzgerald do? They both drank to excess and they both wrote wonderful books full of wonderful ideas. Maybe I outta start drinking again. Ha Ha I know that's not the answer. But like Hemingway once said: Isn't it pretty to think so? Yeah I agree. It is.

I'm done here for now. I am ashamed that I actually asked AI for help. I swore I wouldn't.

It appears my hypocrisy
 knows no bounds

The Way We Were

  Flagler Hotel St. Augustine Florida circa 1890's

Notice on right side of picture: lock and doorknob.

Was that the key to the past?

Who knows. Who knew.

Was she thinking or imagining how people would be watching her sitting there in the Courtyard of Henry Flagler's Beautiful Gilded Age Hotel in 100 years?

Or maybe she just wanted a snickers bar... but she knew they hadn't been invented. Oh Snap!!!!

Sabrett Hot Dogs

 Dear Diary:

9:30 in the morning and I’m sitting here craving Sabrett hot dogs with spicy mustard and sauerkraut. 2 of them actually. On steamed buns. Oh and add a knish to that with spicy mustard. And they have to come from a sidewalk cart in Manhattan. 

If you haven’t had these things, then you just haven’t lived. Sorry but true. 

As I said, my blog content consists of things that come to mind. And these gourmet items have come to mind this morning. 

School Memories

 Recently, I wrote about my first day in the Navy. Just a short synopsis of what I remember. Interesting experience reliving it in my mind after a half century. 

So I'm going to switch gears on the memory trip.

Allow me to think back to a different period in my life.  I want to comment on my elementary school education Or, anyone's education for that matter. Social Media although it is responsible for so many bad things today does have a plus side. I am able to stay in touch with people I haven't seen since 8th grade. Where they ended up, the details of their lives. It's truly amazing thinking about those people, during those years, and what the school experience meant.

Ok so I am a product of the second half of the 20th century. Society was so different back then. And I cannot help but wonder about the true value of those school years. Do I sound crazy? Irresponsible? I don't mean to be but looking at who we all were in school as kids and who we became. There is very little correlation between someone who was  a "troublemaker" or a poor student (read stupid) and what these people became as adults.. A half century later, who you were in elementary school had very little to do with who you ended up as an adult. Not even close in many cases. So then what was it all about, what was the purpose? We spent years going through that  schooling "process", there had to be a goal there. To mold the individual into a "proper" member of society?  People I know today turned out on the whole to be much better than how I remember them back then. A's B' C' and even F's. failed to predict how a given young person would turn out as an adult. I would even go so far as to say it was mostly a waste of time. Seriously!  The entire school process was badly flawed. I interact with people today  who were "troublemakers" in school and they are Doctors, Lawyers, Accountants. I even went to HS with a guy who was a total loser. And today, He is a federal judge. He didn't pick that up in grammar or high school. 

In summary I'm not just describing a few kids here. Most of my peers and most of what we learned about life back then was wrong. And useless as far as actually navigating adult life. That sounds so negative I realize. But, I'm just calling it as I see it. As I said, Social media is a wonderful tool to stay in touch with others throughout life. And I'm going through a period of looking back and taking stock. The good,  the bad. and all the "stuff" in between.

 What say you then? 

Comments are welcome. 

Be safe.

Labor Day

Labor Day 2025 is now in the can as they say. Hope everyone had a great one. 

Summers officially over now. We in the south know better but the official words are it’s over. 

Get your last splashes in before the snow flies

Before the quest began

The beginning: 

Bob reported to enlist in the US Navy on a hot Monday morning. He traveled to an armed forces enlistment center where they do this kind of thing . Newark New Jersey July 31, 1972. Cocky, scared, acting tough like the 80 or so  other new recruits who had chosen that day to enlist. They were all so full of it. Bob had just graduated high school in  Jersey. Turned 18 3 months earlier. He pretended to know it all, while knowing nothing. They flew the new gang of Navy larva to Chicago for basic training. The day which had started early morning, found them herded through the terminal building at Ohare. It was after 11pm. Waiting busses whisked the new Navy “boots” to the Recruit Training Center at Great Lakes. The first shock of many to come , they shut the gates behind the busses. This was real now.

 It was after midnight before they stopped yelling and screaming at Bob and his fellow life travelers. And he fell asleep in a bunk that was too small , too thin and really was a terrible end to the first day. 

Bob did not realize at the time but that first day in so many ways was the first day of his young innocent life. Many days, months and years were to follow. But this was the beginning. It was a beginning like many beginnings and then it passed and it was no longer a beginning. It became  real life.

Bob … A month before the quest began 

Fin 

Dear Diary

 Bizaro world. Grandpa style.

The Doctor Will See You Now!!!

So he thinks he is a doctor?

This photo was taken at Henry Flagler's hotel in St Augustine Florida circa 1900ish? A very bored young woman of means, bored to tears. Ho hum!!! The only thing that interests me in her photo, what was that on her head? Was that supposed to be a hat? How stylish they were. Turn of the 20th century upper class bored tourists in Florida. With Janky hats. And serious attitudes. 

Labor Day 2025

  Labor Day 2025 will occur on Monday, September 1. Labor Day pays tribute to the contributions and achievements of American workers and is traditionally observed on the first Monday in September. It was created by the labor movement in the late 19th century and became a federal holiday in 1894. Labor Day weekend also symbolizes the end of summer for many Americans and is celebrated with parties, street parades and athletic events.

First Labor Day Parade 1882

 Wikipedia link with all the info on the day:

Wikipedia Labor Day

Whatever your knowledge or interest is in Labor Day, it is a long weekend. The last of the summer 2025. Enjoy!!!