March 1, 2002, Friday- the start of another month. Spring time? Worked on Steve's taxes, helped Rob over the phone with his taxes. Waiting for Mom's paperwork. Tax season will soon be finished. Yeah!
Happy hour and temple following. Attendance down at both functions….must be people leaving now that February is finished.
Got a call from Steve….arrived safe and sound in Dubai after some 24 hours in transit. Hope he can function tomorrow.
March 2, 2002, Saturday- call from Debi this morning, minus 22 degrees coming past Copper Mountain. Brutal, even Phil said it was cold.
Worked on the web photos this morning, then ran errands winding up at the "Club" for lunch….hot dogs at Costco.
Dinner at Hank and Linda's….great grilled lamb chops from Costco. Stories galore….
March 3, 2002, Sunday- a day off from the normal. Joined Hank and Linda for an outdoor lunch at Stan's, a watering hole out in Goodland, about 10 miles to the east. This eclectic place draws everything from the motorcycle class to the Mercedes. Many dress the part with those baseball hats that have the hair outside ranging from pony tails to full wigs. Add some raunchy t-shirts, and, well, you get the picture.
Following lunch we headed to the Temple for the last event in the cultural movie series. This film, "Lost Luggage", is one of the most moving that we've seen in a long time. It's strong, insightful and educational, highlighting the differences with Jewish mainstream, the Hasidic, and anti-Semitism.
Afterwards, over to Bimini's for dinner with Irv, Beth, Carol, Dick, Hank and Linda. We each added potential films for next year's events. Our suggestion was the movie Kadosh, Kadosh.
Worked on the web page at night and got February up and running.
March 4, 2002, Monday- stretched the muscles this morning with a few buckets of golf balls. Had to remember how to hit them straight after being off the links for so-long, but we're trying to get into shape for tomorrow's round.
Played with the computer a little trying to set up the CD read/write drive to handle backups. Discovered that the CD's that we had purchased, the rewriteable ones, can't be used for music or played in car stereos. So, returned them for the write only CD's which can be used both for data backup and for music.
Dinner with Peter and his mom Arleen. Good to catch up with Peter on the Vail happenings, and see Arleen again.
March 5, 2002, Tuesday- after yesterdays cold and wind, this morning was a continuation of the same. Walked around the park with Sue and Hobbes, and temps were in the low 60's, not too bad, but the wind was unrelenting. People were actually wearing gloves.
Fortunately, by the time we met Bob and Elaine for a round of golf at the La Playa course, the temps were in the upper 60's and the wind somewhat reduced. Reduced only somewhat because on the first 3 holes I think I lost 6 balls. Narrow landing areas, lots of water on both sides and wind blowing. I thought I would have to call the clubhouse to bring out a few dozen more balls. Fortunately, my game got together, and things got a lot better. On one hole my drive went about 225, enormous for me, and on a par 5 my drive went 247 yards, an all-time record for me. Even reached the green on the 520 yard hole in 3 and got a par. The next hole, a 410 yard par 4, birdie. Couldn't believe how things were going. The rest of the round had its ups and downs, but those 2 holes made the day perfect.
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Dinner with Bob and Elaine at their clubhouse, Pasta Night, had quality and quantity unsurpassed.
March 6, 2002, Wednesday- had the Jeep over at 7:30 for an oil change. After that did a bunch of stops at Home Depot, Office Max, and car stuff. Got home and then returned with Susan to many of the same stops and more. Toured about 5 light / lamp stores for a floor lamp to provide Susan with extra direct reading light. First store, found a so-so lamp, and purchased it. Tomorrow we can return it because we found a better lamp at the Expo store. Finally got home at 6:30. what a day of starting and stopping and starting again.
March 7, 2002, Thursday- loaded an older program of Adobe Photoshop onto the new Dell. Immediately got problems of lack of virtual memory. Couldn't print or open my files. Couldn't uninstall the program. Found out that the Dell hotline works well. Go me through the problems and up and running again.
Got a call from Debi tonight that her engine seized up on her car. Just had it in for service yesterday. Not good. Looks like the timing belt went south and the cam shaft, valves and pistons went every-which-way but around. Don't know if Audi will help or not since her extended warrantee expired 3 weeks ago and the timing belt, which isn't scheduled for replacement for another 23,000 miles, shredded.
Dancing felt like I had 2 left feet. Some fancy cha cha steps and I was tripping over my big feet. Pulled a good one. Left with what I thought was my jacket. Got home to hang it up and realized it was someone else's. I drove back to the clubhouse to drop off the jacket to it's rightful owner, but everyone had left. Dropped the jacket on a chair. Came home and learned that Dick was looking for his jacket. Sue directed him to the clubhouse.
March 8, 2002, Friday. Walking Hobbes this morning passed Dick's coach and his wife said that by the time they returned to the clubhouse, maybe 2 minutes later, the door was locked (the security folks had closed it down and went home). Inside the jacket were their car and house keys. Fortunately they had an emergency key for the coach, got their extra car keys, and retrieved their car. Boy did I feel badly!
This afternoon we visited the local dermatologist. Zapped a few spots off of me and some from Susan. Good for another year!
Poor Debi, still waiting to hear on her car, but the girl that was to pick her up and take her to work this morning, forgot to pick her up. When her friend got to work and checked her voice mail, she got back into her car and picked up Debi. So, instead of being in before 8, it was almost 10 before she could get her projects underway.
Services at Marco had a full house. The guest speaker, a rabbi from Israel, held the audience spellbound on his topic of terrorism and the mid-east. We went from horror and despair to hope and seeing light at the end of the tunnel, back and forth. An incredible speaker.
March 9, 2002, Saturday-after a leisurely stroll around the park and a late breakfast, we headed towards Marco Island, but before we got out of the park, Sue and Joe were leaving for their new condo and wanted to show it off. Wow….it was great. Two apartments per floor, three directions of views. Top notch. Good luck with the new home.
Finally arrived at the art show on Marco and found some yard art for the landscaping, and a new brimmed hat to keep the sun off my head, ears, nose and neck….thank you Dr. Dermatologist!
Checked out our cell phone bill on the web. As a bonus we get 1000 free nights and weekend minutes. The bill showed 999 minutes used. Now how is that for planning? (or is it dumb luck?)
March 10, 2002, Sunday- a morning haircut so I can be recognized, and a full wash for Hobbes. We let him soak in his wading pool…it really does a great job as a presoak for his less then clean areas. Now he looks marvelous.
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To let him dry we returned to Marco Island to the art's fair and later for lunch along 5th Avenue in old Naples. By the end of the day, he was socially acceptable…dry and smelling fresh.
Stopped off at a tuxedo shop in the Coastland Mall to get measured for Steve and Becky's wedding. It's a good thing we did it at a tux place since the industry standard uses different measurements then a regular tailor. One more thing off the list!
March 11, 2002, Monday- worked with the Association's CPA to finalize the tax return, and review tax aspects of our rental and entertainment program. Educational to say the least. More expenses for the lot owners to ponder.
Worked with our personal financial advisors today and are trying to check out our short and long term future plans. Adjusting our prior financial plans to reflect current depreciated portfolio values and corrected future social security amounts. Plugged in some future home purchase and kids wedding plans, and things are not as rosy as they looked two years ago. C'est la vie, we may be back working for a while.
Cards at Beth and Irv's with Carol and Dick. Learned to play hand and foot, a takeoff from Canasta. Lots of fun.
March 12, 2002, Tuesday- finished the Pelican tax return today….ready for mailing. Cleaned house and right on time, Jack and Rickie arrived at 1. Lunch outside on the patio was perfect. A two hour walk along tiger tail beach followed. Sunny and in the low 80's..doesn't get better. Fresh salmon on the grill and drinks, and the stories of our friendship dating back to 1952…continued well into the evening.
During our nighttime walk around the park, we bumped into Gary and Sheila. Gary and Rickie grew up in the same town, Elizabeth, NJ. For a half an hour or more, the common names were a flowing.
March 13, 2002, Wednesday- during our morning walk with Hobbes, we bumped into John, Hobbes' favorite. John, always loaded with treats, spoils our puppy. John's family still runs his Wisconsin ice cream company. As we mentioned our favorite Publix flavor, Moose Tracks…he said, oh yes, that's one of ours. We sell them the basics, but they don't use Madagascar vanilla. He still uses it at $200 per gallon. It hurts he says, to pour 5 gallons, $1000 into their 500 gallon vats.
It was a great day today with Jack and Rickie. Loaded up the car and did something that we've not done in years. First we picked up a few beach umbrellas, then off to the Naples beach next to the famous pier. Imagine 4 hours on the beach. Well, our stomachs came into play so first we stopped off at Wynn's and got some wraps, egg rolls and knishes "to go". On the beach it was perfect with a light breeze, lots of sun outside of the umbrella, and a chance to catch up on more stories of our misspent youth. Stories of our high school fraternity brought tears to our eyes. Then on to college days.
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Long talks with Rickie about her music teaching next year while Jack is into his retirement. Talks with Jack as to his text book publishing. And the beat goes on.
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A tour of the Port Royal area mansions brought open mouth gazes to their faces. Understandable, seeing mile after mile of homes in the 5 to 10 million dollar ranges. Dinner at the Old Marco Inn with well prepared fish capped a great tour day.
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Good news from Steve…called this evening….returned safely from Dubai, 30 hours enroute. For Debi, still no news on her engine work being paid for by Audi.
March 14, 2002, Thursday- after a leisurely breakfast we started across route 41 into the everglades. First stop, Fakahatchee strand. A half mile boardwalk through the strand, past the fig strangled trees and on to the birds and alligators.
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Next tour event to Everglade City and then onto the deeper everglades. A stop at the Clyde Butcher photography studio provided a glimpse of what makes his naturalist black and white shots so spectacular.
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Lunch finally at the Calahospa Indian Reservation restaurant, and then on to seeing Mom. Dinner at the Chinese restaurant and then back across the Alligator arriving home at 10 PM, a long day but worth the efforts.
March 15, 2002, Friday- our tour started northward at the Expo store….viewing the things that aren't readily available in Carbondale, IL. This place is always an eye opener.
Next, over to Clam Pass Beach. After finally finding a parking space, and taking the ¾ of a mile jitney ride, and a light lunch overlooking the water, we hit the beach for a few hours. The highlight (?) was during our walk along the beach when I noticed four men in dark suits and black shoes walking along the water. Who was nestled in between the "suits", guys with ear pieces and talking watches, George Bush Senior and we think, one of his daughter-in-laws. Maybe Jeb's wife.
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Call from Debi…no word from Audi. Out of pocket for her $3000. Told her to protest to the GM since the service guys told her to keep trying to start the car, when had she left it, the damage may have only been a $700 timing belt.
Dinner was at Charley's Crab…nice meal outside on the deck overlooking the big and I mean big, boats. The first one docked was only 106' long.
March 16, 2002, Saturday- all good things must come to an end. Sad to see Jack and Rickie head back home today.
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Headed out to the antique car show in Old Naples. Dozens and dozens of magnificent vehicles. The star performer was a 1935 Duzenberg originally owned by Gary Cooper. In 1947 two Rolls Royce's were fabricated, and one of them was on display. Some cute little cars….Nash Ambassadors imported from England, 1956 T-Birds, model T's and A's. perfect day for the show….mid 80's and no rain or clouds.
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Returned home to finish Steve's taxes. Debi and Mom's to go.
March 17, 2002, Sunday- finished Debi's tax and then tackled Mom's. Finished the first and made a good dent on Mom's.
Pulled up the jacks and tucked in the awnings. Started the motor and took the coach for a spin today, the first time since the January rally in Tampa.
Joined Carol and Dick and Beth and Irv for some cards after a BBQ dinner. More laughs as we practiced how to play hand and foot, a takeoff of Canasta.
Poor Debi. She and Craig reached an understanding that they weren't moving forward and decided to go their separate ways. Even when you know it's the right thing, it still hurts. We feel her pain.
March 18, 2002, Monday- a frustrating day. Tried to help Irv set up his CD RW backup procedures. He was transferring each file manually onto the CD drive. Our new computer has an easy program to handle this function. Set it up once and each week just plop in a blank CD and you're done. Even checked it to make sure the data was readable.
Added the program to his computer, set up his data backup, did a backup and we were done. Then, for good measure we tried to read the CD from the "Windows Explorer" program. Nothing recognized. Beth then said that we needed to format the disk. Well, maybe they bought unformatted disks. So, Beth formats the disk and we are on our way. Now when we get to the last backup step, "record", we get a blocking message that the F drive is blocked by another program. Couldn't find the other program. Pits! Felt badly about leaving them hanging. Fortunately they have a real computer (I hope) person coming tomorrow morning.
March 19, 2002, Tuesday- attended a board meeting today and presented the tax findings from last week's meetings. Fortunately they didn't shoot the messenger. Lots more sales tax to be collected.
Then, downloaded the drivers for our old printer onto the Fujitsu that we're setting up for Mom. Couldn't get it to run the printer and this machine can't read CD-Roms. We're between a rock and a hard place
Then I couldn't open the Turbo Tax program on the Dell so I reloaded the software. Now the downloaded State tax that I paid for is lost. They will sell me another download. Fortunately I had finished Debi and Steve's returns and mailed the hard copy.
Finally the bright part of the day… drinks with Judy and Dick…out first get together since they arrived in January, and they are leaving this week. Things just got away.
Chatted with Steve today…he had a great time with Brad and Ben in Whistler. Skied from the start to finish each day.
March 20, 2002, Wednesday- joined Irv on his boat for a glorious day on the water. Side adventure was to try to catch some fish. Main trip was to see the sights, Marco Island, Hideaway Beach, Coconut Island, 10,000 Islands, and points around. Sunshine and calm waters, mid 80's perfect day to catch some fresh air. Susan caught a "sheep head fish" and Irv caught some catfish and some lady fish, all throw backs. I caught some real estate and lost my line. Oh well!
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Dinner with Irv and Beth at Pelican Bend….great sautéed grouper.
Computer guy came to their house and figured out the problem with the software I installed on their computer. They had a different Roxio program that conflicted with the Roxio program that I added. Solution will be to remove both and install with a Roxio program that does both functions.
March 21, 2002, Thursday- funny how things come and go. Last night we were looking over the mail and saw a stock distribution from one of our life insurance companies. They switched from a mutual company to a stock company. It was 10,000 shares. Looked up on the net and saw that it closed at $31.25. It didn't make sense but it sure sounded good at 11:30 at night. In the light of the morning I saw it was not 10,000 shares but 10.0000 shares. Oh well, $312.50 is better then nothing.
Walked around the park today with Hobbes and Susan and said so long to many of our friends that are leaving this week, heading north. (Naturally, since you can't go south from here.)
Did our Passover shopping and a Costco run noting how many parking spaces there now are in the parking lots. Tourists must be leaving in droves.
Worked on our revised budgets. Tightening the belts and eliminating some things….will be a challenge to meet our current targets.
March 22, 2002, Friday- early walk around the park ended up with a late finish…more folks to chat with and wish safe travels for the summer months.
We'd been having problems with the new Dell computer's screen, similar to the Gateway problems that plagued us twice…horizontal lines across the screen. I called Dell on Wednesday night and, as scheduled, our in-home repairman came at 10:30 this morning. Technician was a nice young man from the Philippines. College graduate in computer sciences…no work there other then low paying, menial positions. Wife and two kids back home. In the US since January. Felt sorry for him. Interesting to watch how they are trained. The top lid of the tool kit had a raised grid pattern, and each screw or small part came off, it went, in order, into a divided section. No looking for parts….the pattern for replacement was perfect. In 30 minutes I had a new screen and ribbon connection.
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Only 20 people at happy hour in the club house. Season winding down. At services, only 100 folks in attendance. Kind of nice getting to know the "hard core" members.
March 23, 2002, Saturday- read in the paper today a story about the funeral business and the 3 institutes in Florida that teach the profession. The derivation of the word "undertaker", which precedes mortician, which precedes the politically correct funeral director, comes from the time when furniture makers built the coffins. Often the furniture makers were asked to help with the other funeral arrangements, from which comes their undertaking the rest of the preparations.
Dinner with Bob and Elaine at our place….nice and relaxing.
Debi heard from Audi on her engine repair. They will pay for the parts, $1700 and she is to pay $1300 for labor. Better then nothing. Now she is after the dealership GM to pay for the difference between a timing belt repair, $700, and the $1300 labor bill since the service manager told her to continue to try to start car when she should have just waited for a tow truck.
March 24, 2002, Sunday- David, Paula and Jordan are visiting Duke and UVA for Jordan's law school. His grades and LSAT performance are rewarding a job well done with many acceptances and some scholarships. Good work!
Toured the Naples art fair today where many talented artists had their works' displayed. Many people and many sales.
Found some great invitations for the Rehearsal Dinner for Becky and Steve.
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Watched the end of the Player's Championship. Who would have thunk it that the 203rd ranked player in the world could win the tournament with an eagle on 16, a birdie on 17 and a salvaged par on 18.
Tonight the Academy Awards gave out their Oscars. Touch of more humor then usual with appropriate recognition to the way the world has changed.
March 25, 2002, Monday- washed Hobbes- touchup as needed, and it was needed. Then appointed to a new subcommittee at Pelican…the water committee, and 5 minutes later had to rush to a meeting with the sewer meter people. Then finance committee work with Pat, followed by our getting rehearsal dinner invitations for Becky and Steve. Cute stock that we can run through the computer.
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March 26, 2002, Tuesday- Susan had some urinary tract infections overnight so we got an appointment with the gynecologist at 1, so that we could get a prescription for an antibiotic. Lots of running around. Fortunately Susan feels well.
This evening we joined some 20 other couples for an end of season BBQ at the clubhouse. BYO food and booze, shared salads and other dishes.
March 27, 2002, Wednesday- Happy Passover to all. More tragedy in Israel at a hotel Seder. Where does it end? The light is getting dimmer and not brighter for "Next year in Jerusalem- in peace".
Attended the JCMI temple Seder. Almost 200 people in attendance. Great service. Homemade haggadah….but quality job. First time that we didn't have the old English style tongue twister language. Very readable and very to the point.
Funny story of an elderly couple sitting at our table, Ann and Ed. In 1985 Ed was trying to get Ann to stop smoking, and as a bribe, promised her anything she wanted. Her choice….a new Rolls Royce. From 200 miles away a new Rolls comes into the garage. The loved the car for the prestige. Every valet spot…the car was always waiting. But, they couldn't wait to get rid of it after 2 years. Biggest pieces of mechanical junk. So, they got a Jaguar and found out that it was a bigger piece of mechanical trash. The pits! Finally got rid of that and she got a Ford 150 pickup with a fancy roll bar with lights on top. That 1991 vehicle, with 16000 miles, starts and runs every time. Go figure.
The rabbi mentioned that Passover is the oldest continuously celebrated religious service in the religious world. Pretty neat!
March 28, 2002, Thursday- for a change of pace we headed to the beach for a walk. A few minutes along the surf and my old "water" sandals decided to come apart. So we continued without the cushion provided. Afterwards over to the discount mall for a replacement pair.
This week we remembered dance class and got to say goodbye to a number of our friends, but by the time we left class, my feet were a disaster. Not from the dance steps, from the swelling and pain of walking on the beach. By the time we got back to the coach, I was a painful hobbler. Not fun. I was even forced to pop a prednisone.
March 29, 2002, Friday- surgery day today for Susan, a D&C at the Naples Day Surgery Center. All went well. Total time about 3.5 to 4 hours. Actual surgery time, 6 minutes. Cost, before discounts for insurance about $5000. Now something is definitely wrong with these numbers. Fortunately Sue is in great shape with a heart rate of something between 48 and 50 and blood pressure of 106 over 64. Not bad at all!
Good news is that everything is fine.
We had a dripping faucet at the vanity so I stopped at a big hardware store and asked for whatever I needed to stop the drips on a Moen fixture. The salesman says usually people bring in the whole thing and he replaces the washer in the store. I said sell me the washers and if they don't look like they will work, I'll bring back the kit and the fixture. Little did I know that I'd have to remove the entire fixture because this didn't have any washers, just a cartridge that I couldn't remove. So, back 10 miles to the store, leaving Susan at home without running water (no shut off valves in a motor home). After struggling, the man removes the cartridges, checks his stock, and, naturally, he is out.
So, over to Home Depot. They don't have the exact replacements, but they do have one that seems to fit and lock on the handle. Back to the coach, reinstall the fixture and water supply lines, insert the cartridges and everything fits, except the faucets don't shut off. Blood pressure at the boiling point. Reinstall the old parts and will wait until tomorrow to find the right pieces.
Spent a few hours, or at least several phone calls, with Debi as she is negotiating her new car purchase. The difference in money for payments will come from her tax refund….one of the few benefits of home ownership. Good luck Debi!
March 30, 2002, Saturday- I don't know if Susan got up on the wrong side of the bed, or just jumped in with both feet, but the carpet was flooded on her side of the bed. Not a good sign anytime, and certainly not the wakeup call for a Saturday.
Got the flashlight out and looked under the sink and all the work I did was tight and dry. Hum….got the screw driver out and removed an inspection panel by the hot water heater and saw a spray of water coming from a brass fitting. Tried to tighten it, but no luck. Turned off the water and got a few dozen towels. Borrowed a 12" fan from the Pelican staff, and got 2 more from K-Mart up the street. Sop up and drying time.
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Remove the leaking part and noticed a crack running the length of the fitting. Drove to Home Depot and returned yesterday's parts, but they didn't have any brass backflow fittings. Over to Johnson Supply. Saturday….closed. Over to True Value, no part but they did have the faucet cartridges. Called another store from their place and they have one in stock. Double back to town and they really didn't have anything close. Over to another supply house, but it's Saturday. Not good.
Fortunately I picked up a piece of threaded pipe that will span the opening and permit up to function until we get the correct part on Monday. All went back together and we're drying out.
We were invited by Sue and Lew, a few coaches down, for a shrimp boil. A bigger or better dinner couldn't be had. Pounds of shrimp, sausage, corn and potatoes boiled at the proper intervals and served on a big table, enjoyed by 10 lucky neighbors. Small world, Lew grew up on the next town up from me, North Bergen, NJ, and has a similar, warped sense of humor.
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Mach 31, 2002, Sunday- Happy Easter to all! Even though more then half of the spaces here are now vacant, some 140 people attended an Easter Sunday Brunch at the clubhouse. Too much food for us….so instead we did a 15 mile bike ride around this park and Fiddlers' Green development. It felt good to stretch our legs.
Dinner at the clubhouse….a semi pot luck time to use up all supplies that have built up in their refrigerator. Last function of the season.
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