3/17/2012 Yard Sale Day

We were up early this morning! Today, Trade Winds, our side of the park, is having a Craft Sale. This is a good day to also have a yard sale because of the traffic generated. The thing is, even though the Craft Sale doesn’t start until eight, the yard sale shopper start much earlier.

So, at o’dark thirty Bob and I were setting up the tables and putting our things that we want to get rid of out for the bargain shoppers.

It was still dark outswide when I took this picture. Take note our solar light is still on.

At quarter to seven we had our first customer. He didn’t buy anything. He looked at our Garmin GPS that we had for sale for $15.00. The GPS works, its been updated but cannot take anymore updates. We thought fifteen bucks was certainly a fair price. The man offered me two. WHAT? WHAT???? Two bucks? Are you kidding me? NO! I told him no that it was too early in the day and I know it will go for fifteen. Within the hour it did.

We really priced things to go. Look at the table on the right above. See that blue thing? Directly behind that you see a can with a red cap. That can was some kind of lubricant and had some kind device to get the lubricant into tight spaces attached to the can with some clear wrapping, I think Bob said he paid six or seven bucks for this can of stuff. What Bob didn’t tell me was that he set the can down there for a minute to do something else. I sold it. For a dollar. Oh well.

By ten thirty the majority of things belonged to someone else now. By eleven I had the table knocked down and what was left I put into a Rubbermaid tub. These things will be taken to the card room, put on a table with a sign that says FREE. Of course after the sale we found twenty more things we should have put out for sale. Isn’t that always the way?

3/16/2012 The Countdown Has Started

The countdown to hitting the road has started, in earnest.

Our work mornings have been very nice weather-wise. High 60’s and sunny.

We’ve been passing this one site on the Mission Bell side that has a really nice lawn.

It wasn’t until just recently that I took notice of the sign, or maybe the sign was just put up, I don’t know.

The small print says… April Fools.

After work today I got busy pricing all the things that we have for the yard sale we are participating in tomorrow.

3/14/2012 How We Spend Our Days

After work today, Bob came in and told me that quite a crowd was gathering up the street and asked if I knew what was going on. I didn’t but picked up the camera and went to find out.

Sure enough, a crowd was gathering.

“Fun Days” are happening in the park last week (preliminaries) and this one. It is somewhat like Quail Run’s Senior Olympic Week. Somewhat. The participation doesn’t seem to be nearly as great and there was very little hype. If it wasn’t for todays event the whole thing would have passed and we wouldn’t have known.

So what is this crowd gathered for?

TOILET BOWL RACES!

This man seems to be saying, “Not so fast!”

Audrey is all smiles.

“A little to the left Mike.”

“Left Mike. Your other left!”

“Come on Canada, we can win this!”

“Go to the left, more, more, more!”

“Left! I said MORE LEFT!”

Casualties left in their wake….

Luther was fine.

The real tragedy was his beer didn’t make it.

Another collision. And where did they get the blue and green toilets?

So you see, get a couple colorful toilets, rolling carts to put them on, a piece of material for a blindfold and you’ve got one knee slapping afternoon.

3/13/2012 W I D E L O A D !

It’s a workday for us and we noticed a crowd gathering on one of the streets on the Mission Bell side of the park. Curious, we set the golf cart’s course for that area, We found the crowd gathered to watch a park model be readied for moving. Well, we’ve had quite a few older park model be removed from the park in the past week or two so Bob and I didn’t think much of it and went on with our day.

Each time we rode past that area the crowd seem to get bigger. What could the attraction be? Bob turned the cart in that direction since our day was now done and we could get a really good look and maybe figure this out.

Well, we soon realized why everyone so fascinated. We even ran home as quick as we could to get the camera. I’m sure I could have gotten pictures from any of the 20 or so people who were clicking away like crazy. None of us could believe our eyes.

This first picture was when they finally figured out how to get through the gate. I’ll just let the pictures tell the story.

There was an addition built onto the park model so they moved that too! How is this even street legal? I mean obviously it isn’t but do they expect to get away with this?

It’s taking up both lanes and the oncoming cars will have to drive on the shoulder.

I hope it doesn’t have to make any right hand turns! How would one even maneuver a right hand turn?

3/11/2012 Tacky Dance

This evening there was something called a Tacky Dance here in the park. We didn’t go to the dance but I did slip in for a few minutes to take pictures since I had no idea what a tacky dance even was.

It seems as though it’s a dance where you wear the craziest, nuttiest, most mismatching outfit you can put together. Some of them were doozies!

And that my friends, is a Tacky Dance.

3/9/2012 ‘Bama, Me and Mexico

At nine o’clock this morning Cynthia, hereafter known as Bama, picked me up and we took off for Mexico. We were going medicine shopping.

First thing Bama says when I get in her Jeep was, “Where’s your camera? Aren’t you taking your camera?” “No”, I replied, “It’s raining and I don’t want to be bothered.” What a mistake that was! Of course she didn’t take hers either.

An hour later we parked in the parking lot on the US side. After a visit to the ladies room, which was just beautiful by the way and that was totally unexpected. How often can you say that about a public bathroom? We then walked the bridge across the Rio Grande River, paid our quarter and entered into Mexico. The actual border is in the middle of the river but they don’t get you for the quarter until you’ve walked over. No one checked our passports, we just walked right in. Welcome to Progresso, Mexico!

The rain had let up but it was still overcast and windy. Once we got into town the wind was buffeted and it was actually pleasant. Still, we were glad we were dressed for the chilly weather.

Lots and lots, hundreds and hundreds, probably even thousands cross into Mexico every week to take advantage of prescription free medications and much lower prices than here in the States.

So we get into the first block and I’m just kickin’ myself for not bringing my camera. I saw a hundred scenes I would have liked to photograph.

I have never seen so many pharmacies and dentists offices all in one place. Storefronts downstairs and dentists up and let’s not forget to throw in an optometrist here and there.

When you make your way towards the first pharmacy to start price/expiration date shopping you are bombarded with teeth cleaning offers, the cheapest prices for prescriptions and flyers for Lasik procedures at the local eye doctors. And this was just from the storefronts. The street vendors were much more aggressive. “Lady, you want necklace, cheap price today!” “Lady, you want earrings, cheap price just for you.” “Lady, you want bracelet, I can put any name you want on it, take me two minutes.” Of course they start their prices out high and when you say no the price falls quickly. When you start to walk away it falls dramatically.

So Bama and I walked from pharmacy to pharmacy, gathering prices, checking expiration dates before making our purchase. I had gotten prices for one of Bob’s medications at the first two pharmacies we came to and the price was very low and thinking like the Queen of Cheap, I’m in discount heaven! The third pharmacy I went to the same medication was priced higher and I scoffed at the clerk and said, “No thanks, its cheaper down the street.” He asked me what the expiration date was down the street. He knew by my expression that I didn’t have a clue because I hadn’t asked. He explained that the prices were so low because the expiration was, in all likelihood, right around the corner. He showed that his product had an expiration of June 2013 AND it was still cheaper than our co-pay with our prescription plan. I didn’t buy right away but I now knew to ask about that all important date.

Now Bama and I didn’t have blinders on to what the town had to offer besides dentist offices and pharmacies. We strolled through little shops and checked out the street vendors wares. Bootleg DVD’s, present day ones no less, were being hawked on every corner for a buck.

We went into one store and I could have spent a fortune on decorations for the inside and outside of our park model in Arizona.

There were aisles of hand blown glass pitchers and drinking glasses, martini glasses and margarita glasses. Beautiful colors and so darn reasonable.

Embroidered T-shirts that in the States would sell for a minimum of $20.00 were marked from $8 to $10. Surprisingly, they were quality T’s and I did get one of those.

We decided to take a break and slipped into a pastry shop that had tables and chairs for the patrons and entertainment to boot. We gave our order at the counter, paid for it and then were given a basket to put the pastry in that we chose from the open racks. If you wanted coffee or tea or in my case, a Coke, it was brought to you. Walking in the aisles was a three piece mariachi band. We thoroughly enjoyed the music and the pastries which while very large compared to a portion you would get here in the states, well, they were kind of bland and heavy. I had a sugar covered donut and it wasn’t light and airy like a Dunkin’ Donuts donut but was rather dense and heavy. Of course the sugar was sweet but the donut itself was pretty much tasteless. But we ate them!

Back on the streets, after our break from price checking, we started gathering more information so that we could make smart purchases. Now understand that this medicine is for popular, if that’s the right word to use, medications prescribed. Blood pressure medicine, an array of the cillins, hormone medications, thyroid medications, depression meds and the list goes on. Let’s not forget Viagra! They must sell a ton of that stuff here because every shop had a big sign, Buy Your VIAGRA Here! What you CAN’T get over the counter are controlled medications. No OxyContin or drugs of that type are traded over the counter in exchange for your Visa or MasterCard.

Back to the Texas Pharmacy as that is where we found the best prices and expiration dates were far enough out that the meds would be used in time. We each bought a three month supply of the meds we needed. I probably would have just gone along for the ride had two of Bob’s prescriptions not expire this month and with the VA Clinic here in the Valley being such a joke to deal with….well, it just worked to get his meds this way.

Having bought all we were going to it was time to head back across the border.

About a block before the border crossing I had the urge to go. That Coke I had an hour earlier was ready to move on. I asked Bama to keep an eye out for a bathroom. A few doors down there was one and I was glad to see it!

We went in and while it was clean (enough) it was nowhere nearly as pretty as the one we visited on the States side prior to crossing into Mexico. Aesthetics aside, I had to go!

I stepped into the stall and was immediately aware of just how small the area was. I stood in place and could barely turn around, I opened the door and asked Bama to take my purse and three bags I was carrying. I stepped backwards, shut and locked the door, hiked up my jacket, oh, how do I put this delicately….oh heck, I’ll just say it, I pulled own my pants and assumed the stance. Ladies, I’m sure you’re all aware of what I mean when I say assume the stance. Men, ask your wives. So I, ahem, took care of business and soon found there was no toilet paper in my stall. OH NO! I called out to Bama to find me some. There wasn’t any in the first stall she tried but did find some in the second. I was a happy camper as my thighs would have never lasted long enough to drip dry. Business all done I stood a little straighter and pulled up my pants. What the…..??????? Oh Em Gee!!! My pants were soaked! I looked around and noticed for the first time that this public toilet had a LID! WHO puts a lid on a public toilet? AND WHY WAS IT DOWN???? Oh, I can’t believe this. I peed on the toilet lid and it ran down into my pants which were around my ankles. Do you have any idea how uncomfortable that is??? I mean really, do you have any idea?

Bama knew something wasn’t right and I opened the door to peek out at her only to find that the room was now holding ladies who had to go and they wanted MY stall. I quietly told Bama what had happened and being the good friend she is she promptly laughed out loud. I’m not exactly seeing the humor here.

There was nothing I could do but pull them up and keep them up. I can’t believe this happened to me! Bama assured me that my jacket was long enough to cover the back of me and we headed to the border. The ladies waiting for my stall? Bama just told them to find another one that they would not want to use the one I did.

We’re in line and Bama just couldn’t get this grin off her face every time she looked at me. She was totally enjoying this. As we got closer she pointed out a ladies room (if I had only walked one more block!) and suggested that maybe they have a hand dryer in there and I could dry my pants. Hey, I’ll try anything. I let the people behind us know that I would be back and that Bama was holding my place in line. Off I ran waddled off to the Ladies room and was glad to find it was empty. Hand dryer? YES! I pushed the button and turned around and held my pants as best I could and back up to the blast of air. I went through a couple of rounds of pushing the button and knew I had to get back to get in line. If I was any drier than when I went in, I wasn’t feeling it.

We crossed back into America with no problems and I laid my jacket out on her seat and gingerly lowered myself onto it. Oh yuck! I was afraid this was gonna be a long ride back to Mission and I wasn’t wrong!

Needless to say a shower and dry clothes were in order as soon as I walked through the door.

Bama and I decided that we’re going back to Mexico again to get more medicine on a sunny day and we’re taking our cameras and I’m NOT DRINKING ANY COKE!

3/5-3/8/2012 I Don’t Ever Want to Hear the Words

…..DROUGHT and TEXAS in the same sentence again. NEVER! Trust me, after this winter there is no drought in the Rio Grande Valley. I’ve said this before and I say it again!

It’s being said that this is the strangest year for weather. Places that get snow measured in feet only got flurries. Other areas where the average high for February is in the low 40’s are having days in the mid 70’s.

These four days we’re back at work. Our days are overcast and cloudy, chilly, some rain. Oh, this is not what we thought it was going to be. Of course on our days off, the next four, you guessed it, periods of rain. Its like my life is consumed by thinking about water falling from the sky! We have got to move on, that’s all there is to it.

I’ve gotten some things in email that I want to share with you.

With a feline's normal aversion to water, it is surprising that a cat would enjoy being on a small boat, off shore with his owners, particularly hanging around the boat's edge where he could easily fall into the ocean. In this case, however, the cat's natural curiosity wins out as he has "discovered" dolphins alongside the boat, something he's never seen before. The cat is so fascinated with the playful creatures that he invites them to join in his favorite kissing game - and they do! They are just as curious and fascinated as the cat. You can see this remarkable video HERE

On the outskirts of a small town, there was a big, old pecan tree just inside the cemetery fence. One day, two boys filled up a bucketful of nuts and sat down by the tree, out of sight, and began dividing the nuts.

'One for you, one for me, one for you, one for me,' said one boy. Several dropped and rolled down toward the fence.

Another boy came riding along the road on his bicycle. As he passed, he thought he heard voices from inside the cemetery. He slowed down to investigate. Sure enough, he heard, 'One for you, one for me, one for you, one for me...'

He just knew what it was. He jumped back on his bike and rode off. Just around the bend he met an old man with a cane, hobbling along. 'Come here quick,' said the boy, 'you won't believe what I heard! Satan and the Lord are down at the cemetery dividing up the souls!'

The man said, 'Beat it kid, can't you see it's hard for me to walk.' When the boy insisted though, the man hobbled slowly to the cemetery.

Standing by the fence they heard, 'One for you, one for me. One for you, one for me.'

The old man whispered, 'Boy, you've been tellin' me the truth. Let's see if we can see the Lord...?

Shaking with fear, they peered through the fence, yet were still unable to see anything. The old man and the boy gripped the wrought iron bars of the fence tighter and tighter as they tried to get a glimpse of the Lord.

At last they heard, 'One for you, one for me. That's all. Now let's go get those nuts by the fence and we'll be done...!

They say the old man had the lead for a good half-mile before the kid on the bike passed him.

BAGPIPER AT A FUNERAL

As a bagpiper, I play many gigs. Recently I was asked by a Funeral director to play at a graveside service for a homeless man. He had no family or friends, so the service was to be at a pauper's' cemetery in the back country.

As I was not familiar with the backwoods, I got lost and being a typical man, I didn't stop for directions.

I finally arrived an hour late and saw the funeral guy had evidently gone and the hearse was nowhere in sight. There were only the diggers and crew left and they were eating lunch.

I felt badly and apologized to the men for being late. I went to the side of the grave and looked down and the vault lid was already in place. I didn't know what else to do, so I started to play.

The workers put down their lunches and began to gather around. I played out my heart and soul for this man with no family and friends. I played like I've never played before for this homeless man. And as I played 'Amazing Grace,' the workers began to weep. They wept, I wept, we all wept together. When I finished I packed up my bagpipes and started for my car. Though my head hung low, my heart was full.

As I opened the door to my car, I heard one of the workers say, "I never seen nothin' like that before and I've been putting in septic
tanks for twenty years."

And on that note I’ll close this.