Christmas List

Wow. It's December 1st already. Hard to believe 2011 is one month away from ending. Christmas is right around the corner and I was thinking back the other day to when I was a kid and how excited I was when the Christmas catalogs would arrive in the mail. You remember them, unless your a lot younger then I am. Sears and JCPennys were the big ones. Those things would arrive in November I believe and I would spend hours looking over each item on each page in the toy section towards the back, trying to decide if and what item deserved to be on my Christmas list. I would usually write that list up. Then erase items I had wrote and penciled in something else until the sheet of paper was a blur of erased pencil marks. I would tear that one up and start fresh. The finished paper had to look professional, I couldn't take a chance on turning in a sloppy Christmas list to Santa and then later on my parents. I put more effort into that wish list then I did most homework assignments at the time. I tried to have the right balance of things that weren't too big and extravagant and things I thought would be fun to have. But what if I were to write a Christmas list today? As a 44 year old male, what items would I want on that list. Here's a few things that I thought would be nice.

-A new tube of Preparation H that comes in a commemorative 2011 Christmas tin

-A new pair of 4.00X magnifying reading glasses so I could WRITE my Christmas list and then proof read it.

-A stylish new pair of orthopedic shoes that's designed to alleviate pain from falling arches.

-A Atari gaming system (that was a annual wish list item when I was a kid and I never got one and I'm still traumatized by that)

-A gift card from Hess for a months worth of free gas. I know, WAY to expensive to ask for but this is a "wish" list, right?

-A new President with conservative valves in 2012.

-One of those miracle dumb looking exercise gadgets that will change my 2 liter abs to six pack ones with just 5 minutes of use per day.

-A risque pair of new flannel pajama for nights when the mood is right with that special someone.

-A brand new Hybrid gas sipping car would be nice. It would certainly eliminate the need for the Hess gas card. Maybe I could jazz it up with some custom painted pinstripes, a air scoop on the hood and a great stereo system.

-One of those new fancy Blu-ray DVD players would be nice. First though I would have to make sure it would be compatible with my 18 year old 27 inch Magnavox.

-Speaking of DVD's, the complete second season of Hee Haw would be nice. That was the season Grandpa Jones moved to Kornfield County from neighboring Hillbilly Hollow and Junior Sample was introduced.

Of course, this is a early list. Items on here are subject to change as Christmas approaches. Keep checking back for my revised list.

Dad

Most of my friends that read this know that I recently lost my Dad. He had just celebrated his 79th birthday on Nov 2nd. He left this world on Nov 11th in the wee hours of the morning. My dad had been ill for about two years and just grew weary and tired of his fight. And what a fight he put up. He had emergency surgery almost two years ago to the day. Back then, no doctor gave him a chance to ever leave the hospital. He was to sick, to ill to recover. But he did. Doctors and nurses were amazed. He was a strong man. And that's the way I remember him. When I was a little boy I thought nothing was impossible for my dad. He could fix anything. He knew everything. When I would have a bad dream in the middle of the night I would go in his and mom's room and try to quietly climb into bed with them. I remember thinking how nothing could harm me as I was laying against his back. As I grew up I remember thinking that dad was to hard on me, making me work around the farm. The list of chores got longer as I got older and I was envious of my friends who lived in town that didn't have the chores that I did. Thank you dad for making me get up and get to it. My dad loved people and always had a smile for and a story to tell someone. He could and would strike up a conversation with anyone, anywhere. We never ate in a restaurant without dad harassing the help. I would feel so bad for the poor waitresses who ended up with our table. Dad did it all in good nature of course and by the end of the meal most of the women were laughing right along with him and us. Most of them would. I do remember a few that looked like they were about ready to explode and I would whisper to him that he better back off a little cause the poor woman's top was about to blow. Dad loved to travel and him and my mom did a lot of it. First they did it with my three older siblings, then 10 years later it was me and my younger sister Kimberly's turn. Dad had a slide in camper and we took more trips in that thing then we can remember. We always seemed to squeeze in a trip to Florida during the summer while me and my sis were out of school and me and Kim would always beg for a day at Disney. I have fond memories of being at the Magic Kingdom with my parents and Kim. Dad worked hard and made us work hard to but he always made sure we had time together to play as well. He instilled a strong work ethic in all 5 of his children and he always provided for us, placing our needs above his own. He and my mother were married for 57 years. 57 years! Sadly, that's a rarity now a days. He loved his wife and my mother with a passion. But above all of this, my dad loved his lord and savior. He never hesitated to tell whoever he could about Gods love for us and he sending his one and only son down here from heaven to die for us so that we could spend eternity with him. Many lives were touched by dads kindness and his testimony of Gods love for us. One of the things that used to really amaze me about dad was his ability to forgive. Long ago, my dads parents were brutally murdered by someone who lived down the road from them. They all knew the person that did it and that person is still serving his sentence in jail. I remember talking about it with dad several years back and I asked dad how could he deal with the trauma of what that man did to his parents. He just simply said he had come to forgive the guy for what he did. I didn't understand then how anyone could forgive someone of something like that but I understand it now. If we hold hatred and anger in our hearts and don't forgive then it destroys us from the inside out. Plus Jesus tells us that if he is to forgive us then we must likewise forgive. I now understand what dad meant. We don't have to like it or say it was okay what that person did, we just have to release it and let it go. I get it now Dad. Dad was at home when he passed away. My sister Kimberly and my niece Rachel Cartwright were there that night and they were awakened by dad coughing and gasping. He told them that his time was almost up and the fight was about over. Kimberly told him that it was okay and he should just go and join his mother who was waiting for him in heaven. They asked him if they could pray with him and dad said yes and about thirty seconds later he smiled and he was gone. Gone only from this world though. We know he is with his mom and dad and his two brothers and two sisters who had gone on before him. His faith was unshakable and he's receiving his rewards. He ran the race and he finished it in full stride. I only hope I can turn out to be half the man he was. I love you Dad and you are missed dearly but I'll see you again one day. And what a glorious day that will be.

HHN 2011

Some pictures of Lorenzo, Emily and myself at Halloween Horror Nights 2011. Emily's first time attending. Can't believe how their growing up!

October

It's October. Summer is over and fighting its demise but its a futile effort. The days are getting shorter. Darkness is coming sooner and earlier. Leaves are giving us their last farewell of show and color before they wither away and drop off having fulfilled their obligation for the season. We start to put away those T-shirts and shorts and bring out the pants and sweaters. Hopefully, they still fit and we can squeeze one more season out of them. The warm, balmy nights and sunny days are replaced with chilly evenings and cool fall days. October is a month of transition. We call it fall but anything can happen. A string of warm days when we are teased and reminded of the summer that just ended or a cold snap when we are reminded of what awaits us right around the corner. Our thoughts turn to pumpkins and cornstalks and mums and scarecrows to decorate our yards. If your a football fan your in your glory as both the college and professional seasons are in full stride. The season is early and every fan hopes for a championship for his or her team. Fall festivals abound, every town has one. Our busy lives are a little less hectic. Things start to slow down and we can catch our breath. Kids are back in school, at least back on some kind of schedule. Our jobs slow down and we can finally start to get caught up on the things we have been putting off due to the fast pace of summer and trying to cram all we can into those glorious months when we are all together and we are carefree. The full moon for this month occurs on the 12th. Make sure you go out to look at it and see if it isn't a little bigger and brighter then normal. The fall full moons seem to blaze with a orange glow that makes even the darkest hour of the night seem like dusk. Soon our kids will start to think about costumes and candy and trick or treating. Who will they be this year? We would always decorate the house up for trick or treat night to give those kids that ventured up for candy a good scare and to make them earn that treat. I always tried to carve a few jack o lanterns with my kids around Halloween time when they were young. I was the one who always had to scoop out the "guts". No way would they touch something that gross but I always let them do the cutting and the carving. "Be careful," I would warn. "Don't slice your finger open with that knife" and they never did. Hopefully, they'll remember how and will carve one this year and when they get older they can show their kids how to carve one. Then THEY will have to clean the thing out and they will remember whining to me how gross it is and they'll laugh to themselves and tell their kids not to be so silly. This is what October means to me.

No Friday Nite Video ;(

Folks the first Friday Nite Video I did on this blog was last September. I've been doing one every Friday night since then. It's been fun and I've shared a lot of my favorite groups and songs but after a year I think it's time for a change. I'm gonna start doing more of what I love doing and that's sharing my memories and writing stories. Keep stopping by and I'll keep writing. Love to you all!

~Ren~

Friday Nite Video (Willie Nelson)

The rain theme continues here at FNV. Tonight I thought I would feature a music legend, Mr Willie Nelson. What hasn't Willie done? He's a accomplished songwriter and performer. He's been in some movies. I could ramble on and on about all that he has done over the life of his career. The part I like about Willie is he's rough and ragged. He doesn't fit into that "star" mode. He's a rebel, a outlaw of sorts. He's fought with the IRS. He makes no bones about the fact he likes to smoke pot ( I don't agree with that or condone it but he doesn't back down). He throws a huge 4th of July bash every year at his ranch in Austin Texas and opens it up to whoever wants to come. He found early success writing songs that other people became famous for including Crazy sung by Patsy Cline. He released his first album in 1962 and is still performing today. Is he country, folk, rock or what? I'm not sure but I know you can't put old Willie in just one category. He's a little bit of all of them. Here is Willie with Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain, tonight's wet video. Enjoy!

Friday Nite Video (Oran "Juice" Jones)

Hey all. It's Friday Nite. Remember last week when I was talking about the rainy season in Florida and how I thought it would be fun to do some video's dealing with rain? Well I guess that couldn't have come at a better time. Right after that Irene traveled up the east coast and millions of people experienced rain. Sadly, thousands of homes were flooded and destroyed because of her rains and winds. My thoughts and prayers go out to those people affected by the storm. Since last week I've thought of so many different songs that deal and talk about rain. There are obvious ones. Famous ones. Not so famous ones. On MY blog I like to highlight the songs that make you say oh yeah, I remember that. Such is the case with tonight's video. Remember Oran "Juice" Jones song The Rain? It was a song about this guy (Juice) following his girl one night and discovering that she is cheating on him. The last part of the song sees Juice confronting her and dissing her while she just sits there taking it all in. She knows shes "Stone Cold Busted" Not to much to tell about Juice. He signed with OBR records, the released The Rain in 1986. It was a big hit. His follow up song was not. After that Juice said bye bye to the recording business. But in 1986 everyone was singing along to The Rain. So here it is in all it's soaking wet glory. Enjoy!

The Beach

I love the beach. If you've been reading this blog for awhile you probably know that. I've talked about it several times. I did a Friday Nite Video that featured a beach. I've made fun of personal adds that ALWAYS list long walks on the beach as a favorite activity. Last week Elizabeth and I went to the beach in the evening with plans to put out a blanket and just relax there for awhile during the night. That outing lasted about ten minutes. We arrived there at dusk. Unrolled the blanket and sat down. We were surprised that there were several other people around us, apparently with the same idea we had. We breathed in the fresh, salty air. We admired the stars above. The sound of the waves crashing on the shore. Then the mosquitoes attacked. Not just one or two, a whole platoon. Biting our legs, arms, necks, our feet. Even biting through Elizabeth's jeans. We gathered up the blanket and high tailed it out of there. So much for our beach adventure. My love for the beach goes way back. My mom used to take me and my sister Kimberly there every summer. My aunt would rent a house every summer for a couple weeks in Fenwick Island, Delaware, I think is the beach where they would always stay. We would usually go for a day or two while they were there to spend the day with them. My cousin Carol, who Kim and I were always close with, would be there. We would have a great time, every time. But, I never went out in the water to far. Why? Because I saw the movie Jaws when I was a kid. Really! I saw that movie when it came out and to this day I can NEVER go very far out in the water. I want to be able to quickly make it to shore if I have to. Somewhere between waist and shoulder is plenty deep enough for me. Even when I'm out in that depth of water I'm constantly scanning the water ahead and around me. I can imagine a giant fin or a huge gaping mouth with razor sharp teeth with shreds of human flesh hanging from them behind every wave that's coming toward me. I'll swim around and I'll enjoy it but I'm always looking. I try to swim where there are several other people swimming in case there is a great white lurking. At least if there's other people around me I have a chance the shark might get one of them instead of me. It's even more comforting if there's a person way out in the water swimming around. You just know monster shark will go after that person because it will require less of a effort on its part. I saw Jaws when it was released way back in 1975. I was eight years old in 75 and for some reason my older brother Greg decided it would be a good idea to take me to see this movie so he and his newlywed wife Hope put me in the back seat of whatever car he had at that time and took his young, innocent brother (me) to see one of the most terrifying movies out at that time. We saw it at the old Sussex West Drive-In which used to be right on route 13 outside of Laurel. My brother Greg and his wife Hope had just gotten married that same year so what was the point to taking little old me to the Drive-In theater of all places if it wasn't just to scare me witless. They should have been making out in that car instead of worrying about what I was doing or thinking. Well, they succeeded in scaring the pants off of me. I remember several parts of the movie where I would duck down in the floor of the car, to scared to watch. Greg would laugh at me and tell me to get up and watch! I would with my eyes as big as saucers. Every time that music would start, my stomach would tighten. I knew someone was going to be eaten. Why would my brother do that to me you wonder? Last year I posted a story called Scary Movies where I talked about my two brothers loving to terrorize me. They took delight in seeing me scared senseless. My other brother Kirk made me watch Psycho one night with him and to this day I get nervous showering when I'm alone. Any strange noise makes me tense up and listen to see if I hear anything else. I can imagine Norman Bates slowly making his way to me in the shower, dressed in his mothers finest. My brothers took delight in it. Sensory overload for a eight year old boy. Now, as a 44 year old adult I can still see that giant shark swimming around the beach, looking for fresh victims. Doesn't matter if I'm at one of Delaware's beaches or one here in Florida, I'm on the lookout for Jaws! I remember when my kids were younger and Jaws was coming on TV and I told them ya both have to watch this movie about this giant fish. It's terrifying! They watched the first half a hour or so then got bored with it. They didn't find it scary. They didn't get nervous when that creepy, slow building music would start up. They were soon begging to go outside and play. Today they can go to the beach and swim and laugh and carry on without a thought to what might be lurking beneath the surface. But for me, being a eight year old boy back in 1975 who watched Jaws, I know what could be down below. Watching, waiting, hungry and ready to eat! Coming up out of the water to get that guy who's floating along on the raft or boogie board. Surging up from the bottom to grab that girl from below that's way to far out. That's why I'm going to stay close to the shore thank you!

Friday Nite Video (The Eurythmics)

Well, we're in the rainy season here in Florida. Kinda ties into the August dog days of summer thing I was talking
about a few posts ago. Typical day here, wake up to a muggy 78 degrees. By 9:00 am its 85. Noon its stifling. Around 2:00 the scorched atmosphere can't take it anymore and the sky darkens and the flood rains start to fall. So that got me thinking how many old skool videos could I come up with that talks about rain? I recently did one by New Edition while it was pouring outside. But now that it's raining about everyday here now I wanna see how many I can come up with. The New Edition song was Can You Stand The Rain and it was a great song. But I can think of several more good ones that have to do with rain. So lets see how long we can keep this rain concept up. I'll post them as I think of them here on Friday Nights and if you think of any email me and I'll try to post it and you can even get the credit. We can get going until we run out of ideas or the rainy season ends. Remember too, its gotta be somewhat "old skool". Sound fun? Okay then, lets start it off with a duo that I never really liked. The Eurythmics. This duo formed in 1980, broke up in 1990. They had several releases that made it into the top 40 but I never really cared much for them. Annie Lennox had her buzz cut hair dyed orange half the time and David Stewart was just plain weird looking. Still, they did have a cool song about rain! So starting off our rainy season here on FNV is The Eurythmics from 1983 with their song Here Comes The Rain Again. Enjoy!

Carnivals

I took Emily to Old Town in Kissimmee when she was here over the summer to visit Fun Spot. For those of you that's not familiar with Fun Spot or Old Town for that matter, they sit side by side off of 192 in Kissimmee. Fun Spot features go kart tracks and it's really like a big carnival. They have the go karts, which the kids and I love, but they also have the traditional carnival style rides as well. Pay one price and get the all you can ride unlimited armband or pay for individual tickets if you just want to do one ride. What is it about these places that makes us adults pull out our wallets and spend money like it really does grow on trees. I like to think that I'm pretty conservative with my spending but get me somewhere like Fun Spot and suddenly I'm a bigger spender then a congressional democrat. Please, nothing less then the unlimited, all day and night, go-carts AND rides armband for me and my kids! 37.00 dollars each? Chump change to be able to let my daughter (and son Lorenzo when he's here) ride till she's sick and tired of riding. We ride the go-karts and yes, we do break the rules every time we ride. We bump, we crash, we spin each other out, we try to put each other into the wall. We crash into the innocents riders that just so happen to get in our way while we are trying to get in front of each other so that we don't lose that particular race. We make the attendants blow their whistles and point at us while hurling some threats at us. We bump whoever is in front of us as we come into the station at the end of the race. We laugh and get off and then run to get back in line. After we get tired of the go karts we will walk the midway and do some of the old classics. The tilt a whirl. The bobsleds, yes, we do want to go faster. And surprise! Now we get to do it in reverse! I remember riding that ride when I was a kid. The songs then were songs that I grew up with. The songs now I don't recognize. I think one of them was Lady Gaga, maybe. As it gets dark the place takes on a life of its own. Lights flashing and sirens screaming for attention, competing with the laughs and shrieks of kids. The skill games with all the giant stuffed animals that no one ever seems to win. The air is heavy with that unmistakable smell of a carnival. Part machinery, part food. The food smells coming from the booths that are frying hamburgers and hot dogs and cheese steaks and french fries. Sausages and onions. Delectable desserts such as funnel cakes, cotton candy, candy apples, caramel popcorn and the list goes on and on. Your kid wants something? No problem. Pull out wallet, purchase item. We eat til we're about to puke and rightly should! But it's not the rides we're paying for or the food or the games or the cheap souvenirs. We're buying the experience. We are paying top dollar for the memories that we are making. We're buying time together that nothing will ever be able to erase. A long way further down the road of life we will look back at our time together and we won't remember what it cost. What we will remember is that we were together. Dad was there. Emily and Lorenzo were so young. We rode those rides and ate all that food and we laughed and we laughed! Remember when Dad crashed his go kart into the wall when he was trying to past Emily or when Lorenzo got spun around and that other kid hit him head on and his phone went flying? THAT'S what we are buying at the carnival. And those things are eternal.

Friday Nite Video (TNT)

Hey all. You've heard of glam metal? Those bands where all the guys wore heavy makeup and had the big hair? Of course, you know the ones I'm talking about. There was one after another in the 80's and the music was secondary to the looks in some cases. Tonight's band would be better called glam/sham metal. Who would that be? I'm talking about that Norwegian band TNT. Remember them? Exactly. I first heard these guys back in the old PK video store in Laurel, Delaware. I also happened to work at PK Video for a year or so at nights to supplement me and the ex's income when she decided to wanted to go back to school. Anyway, PK had this promotional video that we were supposed to play on the big TV that they used to show new release movies on. It was a promotional video for several new release movies and albums by various performers. TNT happened to be one of the bands that was on that video and I had to watch and listen to this tape for like a week straight. The TNT song was Everyone's a Star and it was a great song. The lead singer could really belt out the lyrics and the band jammed along. I decided hey, I need to buy this tape, these guys are really good. The album must really rock. I remember I had a hard time finding the tape and had to look several different places before I did. After I finally found a store that carried it and I listened to it I discovered why it was so hard to find. It sucked! Really bad. Everyone's a Star was the first song and it was good but the others were sooooo bad that they cancelled out anything good that I felt for Everyone's a Star. I ended up throwing that piece of garbage in the trash and I wanted to puke whenever I had to listen to the 15 seconds of the song that was on the promotional tape at work. That was back in 1987. Today, 24 years later I can hear the song and laugh. These guys sure fooled me. Listen up and see what you think. Enjoy! (if you can haha)

The Dog Days

I gotta confess, my blogging has been slacking here lately. Why? We're in the dog days of August. Who ever came up with that expression? What kind of dog did they have in mind? Most dogs lay around most of the day anyway if they were implying that it was hot and that's all we wanted to do. Most dogs I've been around do that year round, hot or cold. It's certainly what I've been wanting to do. My routine is get up, go to work, baste and sweat at work, come home and strip, get shower and lay under the ceiling fan. Like a dog would do I guess haha. When it's this hot I find myself not wanting to do much of anything. If I do it's definitely gotta be indoors. The beach is nice but it's gotta be early or late in the evening. In fact, I have plans for this Saturday with Elizabeth to go to Cocoa Beach in the evening and swim in the Atlantic Ocean while the sun sets. We might even take one of those long walks on the beach afterwards that every person in a personal add claims to love. Ive never taken a nighttime swim in the ocean but I'm looking forward to my first! I'll let you all know how that goes. Ive got several good stories in mind, I just gotta get the energy to put them on here. Right now we're in the dog days of summer and it's hot!

Friday Nite Video (Sam Cooke)

I was at work the other day sitting with some of my friends/co-workers and the topic turned to old music verses the music out today. We all agreed that most of the stuff out there today that was posing as music really wasn't. One of the friends said she used to love to go to "Old Skool Music" parties where, of course, Old Skool Music was played throughout the night. Me, being the youngest at the table, suddenly perked up and took interest in the conversation. After all, I have been doing a old skool video every Friday night on my blog since I started this thing. What is old skool for me? Well, just scroll back through my archive and you'll see. It's what I feature on here each week. 80's rap. 80's rock and roll. 80's pop. Pretty much anything from that decade. That's what my 40'ish mind comes up with. But here was this group of friends who all happened to be a little older then me starting to reminisce about THEIR old skool groups and singers. People like Sam Cooke, Marvin Gaye, Gladys Knight and the Pips, James Brown, The Spinners, Smoky Robinson. I thought, Wow! For my slighter older friends, Old Skool was music that I had never really thought of or even considered. MY old skool stuff was probably trash to them. Kinda like when I tell my kids about a popular group or song from back in my day and they roll their eyes and say yeah dad, whatever. Then I thought, who will be THEIR old skool performers when THEY grow up? Lady Gaga? Kesha? Britney Spears? Kinda frightening if you really think about it. And when that's old skool THEIR kids will look at them and roll their eyes and say yeah mom or yeah dad, whatever! Anyway, I looked up some of the songs of some of these artists and I gotta say this one I found by Sam Cooke was one of the best. He had a amazing voice and most of his live performance videos were pretty grainy and hard to hear so I just used this one that only shows a picture of him but it captures his voice perfectly. Close your eyes when you listen and you can feel that era of music coming out through his voice. From 1965 and no, I wasn't born yet, its (Somebody) Ease My Troublin' Mind by the late Sam Cooke. Enjoy!

Friday Nite Video (New Edition)

How many boy bands were there during the 80's and 90's? Several. Tonight's group was the first. New Edition. AND they were probably the most talented of all of them. Their sound was a funk/R &B mix. The boys met up and joined together all the way back in 1978. Wow, Can you believe that? The boys played at various talent shows and events around the Boston area which was where they all were from. The boys soon caught the eye of a Boston area manager who quickly signed on with the guys and it was that manager that suggested the name New Edition, meaning these boys were a new edition of The Jackson Five. With their new manager getting them more and more exposure, soon the group entered a talent show that was going to award a recording contract to the lucky winner. New Edition came in second and missed out on the prize but another recording agent was there and offered the boys a recording contract and the very next day New Edition was in the studio working on their soon to be released debut album. Candy Girl was recorded in 1982 and released in 1983 and the boys were riding high. Candy Girl did very well and saw several songs on there do very well also. After that followed the usual bickering and fighting that comes with success and money. Soon New Edition had a brand new management team and had signed another recording contract. 1984 would see the release of their next album, New Edition. New Edition did even better in sales then Candy Girl did. Their third album, All For Love, came out the following year in 1985. Later on in 85 New Edition had had enough of trouble maker Bobby Brown and forced him out of the band. Bobby went on to launch a solo career and whup up on Whitney Houston. Soon after that the boy's hired Johnny Gill and started to work on their fifth album while releasing a song here and there for various TV shows and even appeared in the movie Krush Groove. Finally in 1988, the boys released Heart Break and it was by far the bands most success album. The songs were more adult in sound and style and produced five hit singles. Tonight's video is one of those songs. Soooo, before there was New Kids On The Block, Backstreet Boys or 'N Sync, there was New Edition. THEY had talent. From 1988, its Can You Stand The Rain by a more mature and grown up New Edition. Enjoy!

Last Call

I thought of this story the other morning as I was showering for work. The moral of it? I don't know but I thought it would make a neat story.
"Last call," Joe, the big, thick shouldered bartender said to the last patrons still gathered at the Starlight bar and lounge. Merely saying it was enough. No need to shout, everyone could hear him just fine. It was a Wednesday night. Not crowded like it could get on the weekends. Tonight at closing time it was only the people who needed to be here. Needed the comfort of being with other people. Needed the comfort that the alcohol could bring. Needing to forget things that troubled them. Larry Martin was spending more and more time here at the Starlight. He sought comfort in the gin and tonics he downed on the nights he was here. Only the alcohol could numb him to the guilt and the pain he felt everyday. "One more Joe," Larry told his friend. "Come on Larry, don't you think you've had enough?" "Yes, I have and one more won't hurt" replied Larry. "Okay then, you got it" answered Joe. Larry WAS spending more and more time here at the bar across the street from where he lived. He had moved into a small apartment after the divorce and the Starlight was a short five, six minute walk tops. No driving involved. Walk over, stagger back. It was a routine Larry was getting familiar with. Every day, every night going over the same thoughts in his head. The guilt, the shame and the pain. The mistake that had cost him everything. Larry had it all at one time. A beautiful wife, a nice home with a two car garage and a swimming pool. Now, it was all gone. His wife had left after finding him with another woman. Her and her lawyer had taken everything from him. How could he have been so weak and stupid? He didn't even have any feelings for the other woman. She was just a new neighbor who had moved in across the street and she had paid a lot of attention to Larry from the beginning and Larry noticed. He also noticed her. She stared at him whenever he was outside washing the car or mowing the lawn. She was beautiful, no doubt but Larry was happily married. He should have known better when she knocked on the door that one day when his wife had left to go run errands in town and she introduced herself as Gina and then how she had moved closer to him and suddenly Larry felt that rush of desire start to stir inside of him. And why o why didn't he push her away when she reached out to embrace him and instead he took her in his arms and soon they were kissing and exploring each other with their hands as their kisses became more intense and passionate. "Do you want me Larry," Gina asked. "Oh yes, I want you," Larry answered in between kisses. Larry knew what he was doing was wrong but he couldn't stop. Somehow they ended up upstairs in his bedroom. On the bed he shared with his wife. Completely caught up in the moment, oblivious to their surroundings. So much so that Larry never even heard Carol come in the house and walk up the stairs and into the bedroom. Only when Carol started screaming for him to get out did Larry come to his senses and with horror realize what he was doing but by then it was to late. Carol filed for divorce soon after that and now this was the new Larry Martin. Living in a tiny apartment, having lost all that was dear to him, spending more and more time here in this place, getting comfort from his pain and guilt. So yes, he would have one more. Last call was also when the other patrons sized up the remaining customers at the bar and decided who they would hit up before Joe started chasing them all out for the night. Most of the people here knew each other but there were always a few new faces in the mix. Others here hurting, trying to forget about mistakes from their past, seeking comfort anyway they could find it. In a glass or a bottle or with someone. No one wanted to go home alone and last call also meant last chance. But Larry had no interest in going home with anyone. His hurt was to fresh, to painful. The gin was his friend, nothing else mattered to him. As the last drinks were being served and the people started coupling up, Larry noticed her sitting across the bar all alone, by herself. She had striking features and she caught Larry completely off guard. And she was looking at Larry. "Where did that woman come from?" wondered Larry to himself. He had been here since 9, sitting in the same spot, the same seat all night since he arrived. Had not seen her until now. Something about the woman seemed to capture Larry. He couldn't take his eyes off of her. And she was smiling at him! "Hey Joe," whispered Larry to his buddy Joe. "How long has that woman been here?" "She came in about a half hour ago," answered Joe. "I asked her what she wanted and she ordered a glass of chardonnay and said she was supposed to be meeting someone here. I wondered who that could be a 1:20 in the morning but hey, who am I to question her. Besides, shes a good looking dame, don't you think?" " Yes, she sure is" replied Larry. He had a heck of a buzz going from the gin but Larry could feel the woman's eyes going beyond just looking at him. They were piercing into him. Looking and seeing into his very being. Reading him almost. And there was something strangely familiar about the women. Larry couldn't help feeling like he knew this woman but he was quite sure he had never seen this person before. She had such striking features that Larry most certainly would have remembered her. "Hey Joe, wish me luck. I'm going to go introduce myself to her" Larry said to Joe. "Yeah, okay. Good luck but be careful, you've had a lot to drink my friend." "I'm fine" whispered back Larry. Slowly and steadily Larry stood up. Joe was right, he HAD had a lot to drink. "Don't mess this up Larry" he thought to himself. As Larry approached the woman she watched him intently as he made his way to her from the other end of the bar. "Hi there, my names Larry Martin. Mind if I sit here?" "Hi Larry, no I don't mind, please do. I've been watching you since I arrived here tonight. Your very handsome and you remind me of someone I once knew. My name is Sabina. Its a pleasure to meet you." And then Sabina offered her hand to Larry. Not so he could shake it but instead she offered it in a way that relayed that Larry was to take it, embrace it, feel it. Larry did and strangely enough, he raised it up to his mouth where he then kissed it. And when he did Larry felt a stirring inside of him that he had not felt in sometime. As Larry stared at the woman he felt carried away from the bar where they sat. They people and the noises around him faded out to where it was just him and Sabina. Was it the alcohol? Maybe. He certainly had consumed enough of it. But it wasn't. Larry felt very small, very insignificant next to this woman. Her presence overpowered him. Larry tried to clear his throat. "Uhh, my place is right across the street. Would you like to see it? We can have another drink there if you would like but I'm afraid I don't have any wine. Only the strong stuff." "I'd like that Larry," said Sabina in a very raspy, seductive voice. "But you never did get your last gin and tonic Larry. I saw you order it after the bartender announced it was last call but you made your way over here before he could serve you. Don't you still want it?" she asked Larry. "That's weird, how did she know what I was drinking, thought Larry to himself. "Maybe she asked Joe. Maybe she was going to buy me one" Larry thought to himself. "No, I'm quite fine without it" he answered her. Larry quickly paid his bill and escorted Sabina out the door and across the road. Normally, this was a very busy highway but at 2 in the morning there was not a car in sight. Four minutes later Larry was fumbling in his pockets for his keys to his apartment. Fumbling because Sabina was all over him, kissing him and pulling his face into her own. Finally, Larry got his hands on his keys and was able to unlock the door to his apartment. Going inside and shutting the door behind him only caused Sabina to kiss him with more abandonment. As they kissed and groped at each other they made there way into Larry's bedroom. Falling on the bed, Larry and Sabina ripped at each others clothes. Soon Sabina had Larry's shirt off. Larry returned the favor to Sabina only tearing it off instead of taking it off. Other articles followed and soon they were completely lost in the moment. Larry felt that familiar feeling of passion and desire return. At that moment he was out of control, no longer in control but powerless to the desires of this woman. And this woman seemed to desire a lot. She kissed Larry all over his body, starting with his lips and going down along his neck and then his chest. Larry was powerless to stop her as she climbed on top of him and took him. It had been so long since Larry had been with anyone like this. It had been Gina, the old neighbor to be exact. The moment when Larry had lost everything that had mattered to him. As Sabina continued to be on top of Larry she flattened herself across his chest and began licking and kissing his left ear. "Do you want me Larry?" whispered Sabina in Larry's ear. Larry's heart seemed to stop. Was it possible? And Larry suddenly knew that it was. This was her. He just knew it. That's why she seemed so familiar sitting in the Starlight. She didn't look like Gina the old neighbor but it was her, he was sure of it. He grabbed the back of her hair and tried to pull her head away from him but she fought him. He tried to push her away from him, off of him but he couldn't. Then terror started to rise in him as Sabina started to laugh, only it was a laugh like he had never heard before. Not a laugh like you would hear that would be a response to something funny but a laugh that said I WON! A scream started to form in Larry's throat but he couldn't release it. Fear had closed off his throat, making it difficult to breath. Plus his heart was about to explode out of his chest. Finally, the thing on top of him pulled away from the side of his head and raised up and looked at him. Then Larry knew true terror, true horror. This thing on him wasn't Sabina or Gina or any other woman for that matter. It's face was old, wrinkled, ancient. It's eyes burned like two red coals. The smooth skin was gone, replaced by what could only be described as a hard, dark shell. And then Larry understood. This was death. Death had taken him inside of her/it. Death had come to the Starlight looking for him, waiting to meet him there. And he had invited it to come home with him. "Last Call Larry" the thing said to him as it opened it's mouth to reveal teeth that resembled razors and bore down on him. And Larry Martin was no more.

Friday Nite Video (Grand Master Flash)

Almost all rappers today owe something to Joseph Saddler. Who's that? He's the guy otherwise known as Grandmaster Flash. G.F is the innovator of much of rap musics techniques and sounds. He started out DJ'ing in the 70's and hit it big in 1977 when he formed the group Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. Grandmaster was responsible for developing the scratching technique and other record spinning tricks. They coined the word 'hip hop'. They started freestyle battles where they made other rappers look silly. They released their first single in 1979 called Superrappin. Their next release was a 7 minute soundtrack of Grandmaster tearing up a turntable called The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel. After that the group added and contributed to several other artists songs. But their biggest hit came in 1982 when they released The Message. The Message showed off their strong rapping skills and sealed their legacy as rap pioneers. They went on to release a few more songs after that and even appeared in a movie but like most groups who find success they were soon fighting and bickering about which direction to go and the group parted ways. They all went separate ways and found success in other ventures and they all even did a reunion tour ( isn't that something that is required of aging broken up bands?) In 2007 the group was inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, becoming the first hip hop band to earn that distinction. So see, it's not just my opinion that they were great. A whole lot of others thought so too. From 1982, its G.F and the Furious Five and The Message. Enjoy!

Friday Nite Video (Van Halen)

Alrighty folks. Time to talk about one of my favorite bands of the 80's. Van Halen. One of the greatest hard rock bands EVER if you ask me. I loved V.H back in the day. They had a sound that was all their own. They rocked out. Eddie Van Halen could absolutely shred a guitar to pieces. I loved them. I drew their logo on everything. I knew all the words to their songs. Hard, cutting edge music. V.H started all the way back in 1972 by brothers Alex and Eddie Van Halen. Two years later they added Michael Anthony for the bass and David Lee Roth as their lead singer. They released their first album in 1978 simply titled Van Halen and it was a big success, containing several now classic V.H songs. Then came Van Halen II and several more album releases after that. But with success comes troubles. Tensions started growing between Roth and Eddie as Roth's in your face antics started frustrating Eddie and the other band members. Each one of them had different ideas for which direction the band should go. Their album 1984 would be their last release before either David Lee left or was fired from the band, depending on who you asked. 1984 also was a album that featured a change of sound for the group as more synthesizers and keyboards were used. Several songs on that album hit the top ten also. I remember I didn't care for the new sound at first but it did grow on you after awhile. After Roth left V.H soon hired on vocalist Sammy Hager and the big debate began. Were you a Roth led V.H fan or were you a Sammy "Van Hager" fan. Me? I was and am Roth all the way. I loved his onstage antics and early V. H music. I personally couldn't stand what the band became with Hager singing and I never had any interest in their music that they made with him. For me, V.H sucked after Diamond Dave left. Recently, the band reunited with Roth and Eddies son replaced Anthony on bass and did a tour. I didn't see them but it was a success and they supposedly have a new album that is soon to be released. We will see I guess. The video I'm showing tonight is from their album 1984 and it became the anthem song from that album. Yes, it features Roth as the lead singer, no Sammy Hager on here from me! It has keyboards AND a great Eddie guitar solo. It's a great song from a great band. From 1984, here's Jump from Van Halen. Enjoy!

Friday Nite Video (Whodini)

I really loved me some Whodini back in the day. When I had my car and I was in high school you can best believe the rap pounding out of the speakers was from a select few rappers and one of them was the group Whodini. These guys were smooth, funky and COOL!! Whodini was made up of three rappers named Jalil, Ecstasy and turntable mixer Grandmaster Dee. Like their lyrics said they were Born and raised in the streets of Brooklyn, there's three of us and we're all good looking. Well, I don't know about the good looking part but they could throw it down. They had a hit list a mile long that included the two big hits of their first self titled album Haunted House of Rock and Magic's Wand. Their second album, Escape was released in 1984 and it kicked butt! Hits from it included Friends, Five Minutes of Funk and Freaks Come Out at Night. If I was riding around town there was a pretty good chance a Whodini song was blasting out of my pioneer stereo system, rattling the windows with the booming bass. But for me, their best album was their third one titled Back in Black. I remember the day I went to the mall to buy that cassette (remember, this is old skool video) and I opened it up and put it in to listen to on the way home. Wow! I had three friends with me and we were all blown away. Every song on that tape was good! No filler songs on that album. It started off with the song Funky Beat which was killer and just built up from there. When that tape ended we were all speechless. We had just heard one of the best rap albums up to that point and to this day I remember all the words to all those songs. Whodini put a couple more albums out after that and they were good but nothing like Escape and Back in Black. Those two albums remain high on my list as best rap albums ever. So what song to feature tonight. I wanted to do about six different ones but I finally chose the calmer, more laid back song One Love from Back in Black. Why? I think its as reverent today as it was back then. We're all looking for that "One Love" and some of us have found it and some of us are still looking. The three guys are all rapping about one's they thought were their One Loves but for one reason or another they weren't. Then they all share some advice on finding yours and how to keep them. Its light hearted, its got a great beat and its Whodini! Also notice in the beginning of the video when the three of them are on the balcony and the New York skyline is behind them. Look beyond the guys and you'll see the twin towers looming in the background. From 1986 and from the group that always kicked butt its One Love from Whodini. Yeah, now that Whodini's inside the joint! Enjoy!

Innocence

When do we cross that threshold where we are innocent and trusting and we believe everything anyone tells us? That time when we're young and everything is right in the world and there is no such thing as a bad person who wants to hurt anyone. The time when we are invincible and nothing can hurt or harm us. Life is just starting and we can do anything we want and have a lifetime to decide People don't lie and everyone is someone who can be trusted? Everyone is a friend whether we have meet them or not. That time when we are young growing up and all we know is that world where we live and everything outside of that world is so different then what we know. Our parents are our guardians, always there to protect us. If we have a bad dream in the middle of the night we can always go get in bed with them and we are safe from anything or any monster. Our dad's are the hardest workers in the world and our moms can do anything. When we don't feel good she can make it better just by sitting by our bed and caressing us. The way she wraps us up and puts that pillow under our head is medicine in its self. There is a Santa Claus and magic is real and we will always be a kid and never get older and turn into a grownup. All the people in our grade at school are people we have known forever and will always know and we will be friends forever. Even growing up won't change that. We can go outside and play and we can become that imaginary hero who steps in to save the day. Aunts and Uncles will be there forever and never change. They do things different then our family does things but that's okay. We love them and they love us. All is well with the world and we are full of innocence and nothing will ever change that.

Congratulations!

Congratulations to my nephew Spencer Hill and Shelia Mason. Spencer proposed to Shelia on the 4th of July after watching the fireworks at the Magic Kingdom on the beach at Disney's Polynesian Resort. Best of luck to the two of them!

Maude and Earl

Me and my sister Kimberly Mascheri were recently reminiscing about the old Johnny's and Sammy's restaurant in Salisbury, MD when Kimberly brought up remembering a man and woman duo who always used to perform there named Maude and Earl. I have no recollection of them what so ever but this is how I imagine they would be....


Maude Jacobs was up up the little corner stage, off towards the front and side of the dimly light restaurant. She was finishing up her and her husband Earls second set of the night. She was ending this particular set with a song from one of her favorite blues singers, Miss Billie Holiday. The song was Yesterdays and Maude was bringing it home with a big ending, belting it out about the yesterdays of past. Earl was making the baby grand drive home the sadness of the yesterdays that his wife was reminiscing about, running his long agile fingers along the ivory keys, making the piano come to life and express a sadness to match the vocals of the song. Earl could do that. He had always had the talent to make a piano come to life. To come to life and almost speak and cry out and hit that sentimental spot everyone has but never seemed to visit much anymore. Things were a lot different now in 1979. No one appreciated good music anymore. Now, it was disco, pop and Lord only knows what else. There was that terrible time from the 60's when music stopped being music and the whole world seemed to go to hell. Music that sang about defiance and in your face anti this and anti that. That's when morals and respect for others had gone right out the window to join the singers and songs of yesterday. No one was interested in the entertainers from Maude and Earls time. Back when everybody was listening to the blues and the crooners and the big swing bands of yesterday. Back when the music was MUSIC and not the garbage out today. Still, Maude and Earl persevered. Performing was all they had known and even today with both of them into their 70's they continued to pay tribute to their hero's of yesterday. Maude's being Ella Fitzgerald, Rosemary Clooney, and Sarah Vaughan. She also did a pretty good impression of Bill Holiday and absolutely loved the performers heart and soul and the way she poured herself into all of her songs. Earl liked the old Nat King Cole songs and even had a eerie resemblance to the long gone star. Same tight, thick head of hair. Same dark skin color. And Earl did a pretty good darn impression of him as well. Earls repertoire also included hits from Alan Dale, Bob Manning, Vic Damone and the lovable old Blue Eyes himself Frank Sinatra. Most of their idols of yesterday were backed by a big orchestra but these days it was just Earl and his baby grand. Earl and Maude had been doing this act now for fifty years. They had met in their hometown of Chicago way back in the late 20's when they were both pursuing musical careers , Earl playing the piano on weekdays in speakeasys, the weekends being reserved for the "good bands" when they were the most busiest and Maude singing at charity events and social get togethers, also performing for free and mostly on evenings after working a shift at the garment factory where she worked. Earl was a laborer by day but they had one goal in common, to be entertainers and performers and work the big clubs and venues on the weekends, not just fill ins for the middle of the week. The two of them meet at a audition for a last minute attempt to put a opening act together for the great Buddy Clark after his regular band had to cancel after several members had gotten ill with a flu virus and were ordered to bed rest until recovery. Maude had caught Earls eye and gotten up the nerve to talk to her after the audition (which neither one made the cut) and asked her to dinner. She went and a year latter they were married. The two of them both shared the same dream and they worked their tails off practicing and blending their styles together. Soon, they were performing in supper clubs around Chicago (on the weekends at that) and their name began spreading around the city. Throughout the thirties and forties Maude and Earl continued to perform and opened for many of the big stars of the day in huge venues that held a thousand people, some of them even more. They became friends with those same stars and popped champagne bottles and toasted their success with them after shows. The mood of the country was tense and somber during the early forties as the country went to war and when it ended in 1945 America was ready to celebrate and Maude and Earl helped them do just that. But alas, all good thing must end and when the 50's rolled around the big band sound started it's slow death. Suddenly, the country was wanting to hear a new king of music, they called it rock and roll. Elvis Presley sealed the deal on this new type of music but before him there was The Treniers (more doo-wop then rock and roll), Les Paul and Mary Ford, The Clovers and Lloyd Price. Maude and Earl forged on and still had work but it wasn't anywhere like the heyday of the 30's and 40's. Then came the 60's and that was a decade they didn't like to look back on. The Vietnam war was going on and the youth revolted against anyone or anything of authority. Music ceased to exist for awhile as these hippie, drug using bums who dared call themselves musicians became popular and sang about things that interested no one except other hippies. It was a sad decade for music and Earl and Maude had even considered hanging it up and retiring from the business. They had saved up a very nice sum of money from the golden years and didn't really need to be doing anything but they loved the music and they loved the spotlight. They hung in there and performed at mostly golden memories concerts, playing to a audience mostly their age who, like them, loved the music of yesterday and the performers of it as well. Their music had become nostalgia music. They even left their beloved city of Chicago and traveled up and down the east coast, renting a apartment here and there, staying in one place until they had exhausted the clubs or places that would hire them to do a few shows. Their venues then mostly consisted of civic organization celebrations like at the local VFW or the Lions Club or the Chamber of Commerce get togethers. These groups would usually have a cocktail hour and Maude and Earl would be payed to set up and play during these social hours, singing their songs of yesterday softly so that the people heard them but could still carry on a conversation with their friends. Their latest stop and place they called home was where they were now, Salisbury MD. They had been here for the last six years and they really loved this place. The people were nice, the living was at a relaxed pace and they had found work at one of the nicer restaurants in town, Johnny's and Sammy's. The owners of the restaurant were fans of the big band era and had promised them a job performing on the weekends there as long as they wanted to. Their schedule at the restaurant was performing on Friday and Saturday nights, three sets on each of the nights. They appeared in the more upscale side of the restaurant, the adults only Alpine Room, where patrons could dine on Johnny and Sammy's famous Veal Steak or any of the other fabulous selections from the menu and have a couple drinks afterwards and listen to Maude and Earl performing the great songs of yesterday, songs mostly forgotten here in 1979 with disco and the other junk being played today. Here in the Alpine Room diners could relax and be transported back to a magical era when music was just that, music. No screaming vocals, no blaring music that caused your head to hurt. Maude and Earl were both in their 70's now and they did talk of retiring from the business every now and then but why? They were healthy and they were doing what they loved to do. A two night a week schedule was certainly easy enough and they supplemented their time performing at various events around town and in surrounding ones as well. The regular diners at Johnny's and Sammy's had come to expect to see them on the weekends performing and why stop now and disappoint them. They had became a staple to the restaurant. The marquee out front announcing that they would be performing there this weekend hadn't been changed in three years. And it wasn't like the restaurant was going to be closing anytime soon. The locals loved the place and they loved Maude and Earl. As long as they kept coming they would keep performing there and taking those diners back to a era where the crooners and divas ruled and the big band sound was king. All good things do come to a end but this one's end was far away and they were going to enjoy every minute of it while it was here.

Friday Nite Video (The System)

It's bad when your considered a one hit wonder band when your really not one. Like the group on here tonight, The System. Who? Exactly! Actually, these guys were pretty popular with the club music scene and they did have a few more releases then your normal one hit wonder band. They formed in 1982 and in 1983 they released their first album. There were several songs from the album that were popular and the one release You Are In My System actually was a radio played R&B hit. Other achievements along the way included appearing in the the 1984 movie Beat Street and singing the song Baptize The Beat. Later that year they did a song for the Beverly Hills Cop movie. The following year they did a song for a Miami Vice episode. Their big one hit was from their fourth album that shared the name of their big hit Don't Disturb This Groove. That song/album came out in 1987 and after the followup album the System shook hands and said goodbye. Check out singer Mic Murphy's big, tall box hair! And what's up with the motel setting for the video? Anyway, it's a great song and its from a group that you could maybe call a one hit and a few proud achievements band. From 1987, it's The System and Don't Disturb This Groove. Enjoy!

Friday Nite Video (SOS Band)

The S.O.S band. Loved this band back in the day. They released several songs throughout the 80's. I loved them all. The S.O.S band was soulful. Their vocals were silky smooth. They combined disco with R&B and created a unique sound. They formed way back in 1977 in Atlanta, GA. Their first hit came in 1980 with Take Your Time, Do It Right. After that it was one hit after another up until 1987 when lead vocalist Mary Davis left the group to try her hand at a solo career. Mary was replaced but the band was never able to recapture what Mary's vocals brought to the group. But then in 1994 Mary returned to her band and they continue to tour and play to this day. Here's my favorite song by them. From 1983, its Tell Me If You Still Care by the Sounds Of Success band (that's what the S.O.S stands for)

Summer in Florida

It's hot. Really hot here in normally warm Florida. And the official start of summer isn't until June 21st. Everyone talks about Florida in the summer and how miserable it is. And guess what? Their right! Imagine walking into a giant oven that's preheated to 300 and that's bout the way it feels. Summertime in Florida means when you have something to do outside then you get up and you go out early, usually before ten to do whatever it is you have to do. Anytime much after that and you start running the risk of having heatstroke. 100 percent humidity insures that your clothing will be drenched with sweat in a few minutes. But we Floridians are a tough bunch when it comes to heat. It can be 110 out and we can't let on to fellow Floridians that we think it's hot. We always have to wait for whoever we are with to say it first, like it would be perceived as a weakness for us sun loving people. Put ten of us together and we can be outside and we can talk about sports, politics, whats going on around town and other topics of conversation and when the first person mentions something about how hot it is then we all chime in. Yeah, its pretty dang hot. We just can't be the first to say it. If there's a northerner in the bunch or around us we will NEVER admit it. Hot? This isn't even close to being hot! We still have ten or fifteen degrees to go before its hot! That northerner will have sweat pouring out of every pore on their body and literally be melting before our very eyes but we can't let on like its hot. I get a kick out of being at my job at Disney and you see these red faced guests panting and chugging along. When they ask "How do you stand this heat", we always answer with "what heat"? This is nothing. You should have been here last week. It was hot then. Yes, its mean but we delight in it. Why? Because we like to brag to all of those northern friends and family in the wintertime whens it 10 degrees and there's 2 feet of snow on the ground up there about how we are laying around in our shorts thinking about going and jumping in the pool. We always have to add during the conversation what OUR current temperature is and yes there is a almost a perverted joy we get when we do that. Northern friends post pictures taken outside their homes on Facebook after a big snowstorm and complain that the forecast is for another six to eight inches in the next 24 hours and then we comment with some kind of sentence designed to inflict even more despair and agony on them. Posts like "Wow, and I just got back from the beach". Or "Just finished cutting the grass and dumb me, I took off my shirt and now I have a bad sunburn". Or the real mean one of "And I was just thinking about turning on the A/C". We are a cruel bunch of people down here. But let me let you non Floridians in on a little secret. It gets hot here in the summer. Really hot. And we pay a big price for calling Florida home in the summertime. We are acclimated somewhat and we can probably take a little more heat then non Floridians but we get hot just like everyone else. And we do pay a price for living here in the summertime. When we are outside here in the summer we are always on the lookout for a shady spot to stand under or somewhere else to get out of the sun. If we don't we better have some sunscreen on cause we will get burnt! We get up and get out early to get our chores done and then we search out the A/C till the sun goes down. Darkness provides some relief but you dare not go outside in it or you'll be eaten alive by mosquitoes that look like their more in the horsefly family then the mosquito family. Six bites from these guys and you will get light headed from the loss of blood. Then there's the forest fires that always start up around mid May or so right as we wind down from our dry season. Every year somebody will toss out a cigarette butt and it will roll onto the dry, thirsty grass and ignite a patch of said grass and before you know it you have a 40,000 acre wildfire burning out of control. That fire starts other fires and the process just keeps repeating itself until half of the states woodlands and scrubs are burnt or burning. You can smell the smoke, sometime you see the smoke if there's one burning nearby, which there almost always is. A few weeks ago they had one burning right outside of Disney's property up by the Magic Kingdom and for a week solid the smoke would start rolling in and the guests would ask "Whats burning" and "Should we be concerned"? "No", we would answer. Just a raging, burning wildfire. And they all have the same distinct smokey smell. It's like nothing you've never smelled before but once you do there's no denying what it is. They all get extinguished here very shortly as we enter the rainy season. And calling it the rainy season is a mild way of putting it. When one hears "the rainy season" you would tend to think of a time of the year when it would rain off and on every few days or so. Steady, ground soaking rains that lasted throughout the season of rain. Right? Well friends that's far from it. Typical day here during the rainy season is like this. Sun comes up. By 9 am it's 80 degrees. Noontime it's 90. Humidity is at 100 percent. Suns blazing down, withering anything dumb enough to be out under it. Around 2ish the sky starts getting dark. Dark turns to ugly, scary looking black. Then the sky explodes as the upper air currents coming in from over the atlantic ocean and the gulf of mexico collide and if your outside you better seek shelter. All that humidity that's been building over the course of the day comes pouring out of the heavens in the form of raindrops so big and falling so fast that they actually hurt when their falling on you. Loud thunder rips and echos and the sky comes to life with some of the most amazing lightning bolts your ever seen. Witness one of these storms and you'll know why central Florida is called the lightning capital of the world. At night the weather forecasters will tell you about the days storms we have had and they actually count the number of lightning strikes per storm and the numbers are always in the thousands. A bad one averages 14,000 to 20,000 strikes per storm. I remember when I moved here in June of 2000, right before the start of the rainy season. When it did start I was completely blown away by the force and the intensity of these storms. I remember thinking to myself this isn't normal weather. At least not any I was used to. Once a few years back I got caught outside in one of these storms as I was going into work. I worked at the Magic Kingdom and we had to park a half mile or so it seemed from where we were to report. Anyway, I was almost there when a storm popped up and the winds and the rain and the thunder and lightning started. I had my umbrella because I knew by the storm clouds that it was coming, I was just hoping to beat it. I didn't. I opened my umbrella and tried to shield myself from the onslaught of rain but I was losing the battle. Suddenly, I felt the hairs on my neck and body stand off straight and I felt a funny feeling in the air. The next instant a lightning bolt struck somewhere very close by me and I literally felt the ground shake. I heard the electricity travel through my umbrella and I took off running, scared out of my mind. I ran and jumped onto one of the parked Disney buses and as soon as I got on there my umbrella just fell apart into pieces. The electrical surge had actually blew it apart. Thankfully it had a wooden handle and I saved that handle for a reminder of what had happened. From that day forward I gained a whole lot of respect for lightning and what it can do. But anyway. that's a typical rainy day here in Florida. It will blow, bang, beat, rain buckets and then after about thirty minutes its over. Usually the sun is back out soon after it stops and it's just as hot and then even more humid then before. So you see friends, yes we love to brag in the winter when we're here and your there. But make no mistake about it, we pay our price in the summertime.