buckle-up

“But I have a suspicion that in the age of AI, real writing, and particularly creative writing made by humans and read by humans, as an act of human connection, is going to become more important, not less.” Anna Founder, Incoming Professor of Practice in Creative Writing, Sydney University “So I saw that there is nothing better for a person to enjoy their work, because that is their lot” Ecclesiastes 3:22 Fresh from a January Caribbean cruise on Princess aboard their latest vessel, Sun Princes of the new Sphere-class cruise ships, we headed back to sea on yet another Princess cruise ship. This time, it was the Enchanted Princess, sister ship to Majestic Princess of the Royal-class cruise ships, a ship we liked very much when, a few years back, we sailed the Pacific from Los Angeles to Sydney. Sailing west to east was a first, having done an east to west crossing on a Windstar sailboat back in 2003. I have sailed on 15 Princess cruises, accumulating 108 days at sea, dating ...

  Oh very young, what will you leave us this time You're only dancin' on this earth for a short while And though your dreams may toss and turn you now They will vanish away like your dad’s best jeans. Cat Stevens What designated the month of this March, for me, was how it marked the passage of another major milestone. I’m not telling, mind you, but it was a significant milestone. It represented a time for introspection. A time to think long and hard about whereto, now? The watches represent a mild indulgence on my part but each one tells a story about which, more will follow later in this post. As for the opening lyrics, it was way back in June1974, sitting in the old Hordern Pavilion within what was then the Sydney Showground that I attended my first concert; Cat Stevens. Not too rebellious for the times and safe to say, well before the times when anthem concerts would prevail. Oh, very young was more than appropriate for those times as I had little inclination as to wh...

There are snobs and then there are wine snobs. Fortunately, neither Margo or myself falls into either category but throwing up a photo like this to capture an important time for us both seemed to be the right thing to do. It’s a season that includes our wedding anniversary, Margo’s birthday and then my own. Enjoying a Penfolds Grange that had lost a little of its “body,” slightly watered down through the years, accompanying Margo’s cooked chicken – with the wine, there was no need for sides – a 1996 vintage bottled in 1997, mind you, and the year 1997 was the year we became engaged.  Around this time of year, we like to plan an escape from the chilly temperatures of the Florida panhandle. When we witnessed the thermometer dropping below temperatures being registered at our old address in Colorado, it was cause for considerable head-scratching. What were we thinking? Familiar as we were with Florida’s Keys, we thought these would be what we would encounter in the panhandle but no, n...

Simply stated, we are back home in Florida but only after having driven 4500 miles. A return trip to Colorado via Ohio. A mix of business – clients and yes, accountants and bookkeepers – kept us on the road at a time when weather is always a consideration. This time of year, given it is winter, it’s best to expect the unexpected. That’s exactly what happened to us midway through our journey. For those not familiar with our geography here on the Atlantic side of the country, the trip to Ohio was a straight shot north up major interstate highways whereas the second leg, our journey took us due west on another Interstate – Interstate 70. Maybe we should make this the sole theme of a future blog posting as we have now traversed its almost 2,200 miles from central Utah all the way to Maryland. After taking care of business in Colorado, it was then a simple journey back down through Kentucky and Tennessee.  Christmas and the New Year are always an exciting time for Margo and me. This i...

It’s raining! How hard can it rain? Walkways are awash and the pool is full to the brim. More than once have we resorted to stretching out the blue tube, the “blue snake” as we call it, and switching to backwash. There is a drain separating the pool area from the covered and, as best as we have seen to date, protected, lanai. Winter has descended and reminded us that we live well above the line separating tropical Southern Florida from the subtropical Florida Panhandle. Yes, it just gets colder when you drive north. We did not realize, or put much thought into, any of this when we built our house, the lanai and the pool and spa (under a “birdcage”) in the Panhandle. For comparisons sake, and for the benefit of my Australian family, the latitude of Panama City Beach is 30.22 North whereas Sydney is 33.8 South (and Brisbane, 27.47 S placing Panama City Beach and Coffs Harbor, NSW, Australia at 30.29 S equidistant from the equator. And we know how much it rains at Coffs, let alone further...