Author: searcyf@mac.com

21 January 2025

It’s currently snowing in New Orleans and snow is scheduled for northern Florida. The only time I saw snow here in South Florida was in 1985 and it was only a few flakes. I have seen ice form on puddles down here and we have had some frost in the past. We continue with rain today with highs in the mid-70’s. Then we drop down in temperature as the front passes.

One of the more oxymoronic things (I thought) down here are snow ski shops. There are several in Fort Lauderdale. Finally it dawned on me that the shops are for people who go to Vail, Sun Valley, Heaven, etc. Apparently there’s big business in catering to the Jetset crowd down here.

I shouldn’t be surprised. Fort Lauderdale has a Rolls Royce dealership and the number of luxury yachts can overwhelm you. There’s big money down here – I just don’t have any of it.

I am getting lazier and lazier with this rain. I use it as an excuse not to get outside and either walk or do yard work. There are a few odd jobs in the house that always need attention but otherwise I read and nap. Wait, isn’t that what you are supposed to do when retired?

Yesterday, I gave permission for my doctor’s office and some national office to monitor my glucose levels via my continuous glucose monitor. Big brother really is watching me. I think the main thing is when my high glucose alarm goes off, they’ll call me and ask if I’m OK. In reality, it means I’ll watch more carefully what I eat – of sweets. My doctor said it will revolutionize diabetes. It probably will because we diabetics will become more careful.

Yesterday was my cousin Charles’ 88th birthday. Congratulations! He seems to be recovering from his radiation treatments. He now passes Albert Eldridge Searcy as the longest lived member of the Searcy family (I think). Granddaddy (1880-1967) lived to be 87 and my Dad lived to be 86 (1913-1999). Here’s to many more years for Charles and his wife Minnie Jean!

In February, I’ll make the last payment on my HELOC loan from Bright Star Credit Union. That means I have no mortgage and no outstanding loans. I hope that continues until I’m 6 feet under. I remember the satisfaction when I paid off the last student loan. The process of paying off the final amount of the HELOC is a little convoluted but it basically means an extra $600 in my checking account. These days, that means I might be able to fill up the Jeep with diesel one time.

Otherwise, a typical, slow day in South Florida. The weather is gonna change. I knew I shouldn’t have gotten rid of those snowshoes.

Stay tuned!

20 January 2025

It’s Inauguration Day and Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. I won’t watch the inauguration. I’ve seen one or two in my 76 years (TV only) and they are pretty much the same. The only difference this time is it is in the Rotunda of the Capitol due to inclement weather.

There will be speeches on Martin Luther King, Jr. day but it’s hard to listen to them if you’ve ever heard MLK speechify. I remember watching his “I Have Dream” speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

I was at Ole Miss and watched when he addressed the garbage men who were striking in Memphis when he gave his “I’ve Been to the Mountain Top” speech. Both sent chills down my spine but the one in Memphis led me to believe he knew his time on earth was short. He was assassinated the next day.

Great speeches are hard to beat. These two by MLK are some of the best I’ve heard. Winston Churchill rallied the British people with his “Fight Them on the Beaches….” speech. William Jennings Bryan electrified the Democratic National Convention with his “Cross of Gold” speech in such a way they nominated him for President even though he wasn’t running. And he did it without a sound system.

I confess to never hearing Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. A little before my time. However, we had to learn the speech and say it in front of the class. That probably sounds a little strange to Southerners like me whose state didn’t celebrate Lincoln’s birthday for years after the Civil War. To this day I can still recall portions of the address.

I do remember hearing John F. Kennedy’s Presidential address where he asked “Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.” Quite the challenge that.

When MLK was assassinated, I watched Bobby Kennedy calm a crowd with one of the most moving and personal speeches. He related how he had lost a brother. It so moved the crowd, they disbanded in an orderly fashion.

Spoken words have a great deal of power – both for good and for bad. I don’t speak German – it’s a difficult language for me – but you don’t have to when you watch speeches by Adolf Hitler and how they captured the crowds in the Reichstag and at Nuremberg.

An old childhood saying is “Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me.” That is not true. Words can and do hurt. As a kid, I was on the receiving end of many hurtful words and it colors the way you live your life.

I admit to using hurtful words myself. In anger, all reasoning goes out the window. However, I’m slow to anger so I tend to be very measured in my words to others. I’m not always successful, but I do try.

It’s a rainy day.

That gave me an excuse not to walk this morning, be lazy with breakfast and the crossword puzzles, and get this blog written. I’ll probably order some groceries today and maybe pick up a prescription or two but otherwise vegetate. The rain gods have decreed!

Stay tuned!

19 January 2025

It was another lazy start to the day. I was abed until 8 am this morning, forewent the walk and instead ate two breakfasts back to back. No accounting for my laziness other than it’s Sunday. I’ve been told it’s a day of rest.

I did manage to clean out the pump filter and skim the pool. When I do skim the pool with the long pole and net, I continually feel like I am going to fall in. Several times I’ve just caught myself. Good thing my watch is waterproof. When I do get unbalanced, I tend to fall forward these days.

Today is warm (82°F) partly cloudy and windy. I would gloat over the rest of the country but we are due another cold front on Monday. What we need most of all is some rain which is rare this time of year.

Last night I tried a new approach with black beans and rice for dinner. I don’t know why I never thought of it before but a web site clued me in. In this case, I sautéed the onions and garlic and then added rice to brown a little bit. I then added chicken stock (or you could use vegetable stock) and put the lid on the skillet and let the rice cook. You roughly estimate one part rice to two parts chicken stock. Once the liquid has been absorbed, add a can of black beans, heat through, then season with salt and pepper. It really turned out well. I think I’ll try that with other kinds of beans: pinto, red, cannellini.

The most excitement today is making out the grocery list and checking it twice. It seems I’m pretty much down to fruit, cereal, milk for the cereal and a few onions.

I’ve decided to experiment with single person meals from CookUnity. I hate wasting food which I do if I cook for myself. This place is going to provide me 8 vegetarian meals for $60 as a one time offering. I want to see what they are like, if they are edible, and if so, I might continue to order from them – with higher prices, of course. Maybe it’ll cut down on my grocery bill and food waste. I’ll let you know how the experiment goes.

Stay tuned!

18 January 2025

While on my walk along Riverland Road yesterday (1.5 miles) I received a call from Vanessa from Eye Surgeons and Consultants. She had some price quotes for me.

For laser surgery with mono-focal lenses the price was $2500 for each eye. That price includes what medicare will pay (lenses). The price for laser surgery with pan-focal lenses was $5000 for each eye.

The one thing that bothers me with my looking into pan-focal lenses is their statements that say something to the effect that the goal is to try to eliminate the need for glasses, not that the pan-locals would eliminate the need for glasses. There are also reports that night driving is still a problem with pan-focals.

There are numerous types of mono-focal lenses from which to choose as well as multi-focal lenses. All provide something different from the others. I’ll dither a while more.

Last night I watched a movie on Netflix – Notting Hill with Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts. When this first came out, I was in library school at Florida State and all my fellow students raved over the movie because it was about a bookstore, albeit a fairly unsuccessful one.

The movie was OK. Julia Roberts was beautiful and Hugh Grant played Hugh Grant – stuttering, shy, bumbling. I’m glad I finally saw the movie and can now say I have but I don’t get why people are so enamored in it.

Bookstores seem to be on the way out. It’s hard to compete with Amazon prices and BookBub prices. Don’t get me wrong but I love bookstores. I just typically shop online these days.

I really don’t support Jeff Bezos of Amazon as far as his riches, his politics, or anything else but it’s hard to beat the convenience. For years I would not eat grapes because of Cesar Chavez’ boycotts for farm workers.

The idea of buying “American made” is really difficult, particularly in cars where the car may be made in America but most of the parts are foreign. Even computer chips are made in China for Apple.

I support boycotts in principle but it is really hard to be consistent and up-to-date on which ones to boycott. I still will not eat at Chick Filet because of their anti-gay attitudes. I believe the company has the right to their philosophy but I also have the right not to partake.

I can safely say I don’t support Elon Musk but then, I couldn’t afford a Tesla if I wanted one. That’s a simple one but some other choices are a lot more difficult to unwind or take.

Today is wash day and change the bed linen day. It’s also the day to dispose of hazardous waste material in Fort Lauderdale. I have a few items but I’m not sure it’s worth the trip or the time in line. They tend to be efficient once they work the kinks out so I may still make it later today.

Otherwise, I’m lazy. I didn’t get out of bed until 8 this morning and I haven’t done a walk. Hey, it’s the weekend. Us retired people need down time from our busy weekly schedule.

Stay tuned!

17 January 2025

Lunch at Mister 01 was very nice.

It’s located at the intersection of 4th St. and 4th Ave. How often do you get to write that? We shared a massive salad and a margarita pizza. Both were delicious.

I noticed something attached to a street light that looked like an anemometer. I asked the waiter about it and told him at first I thought it was a wind device to produce electricity (and cancer). He opined it was to scare off parrots which had become a pest. The place is condo canyon and it’s always shady in that area which attracts parrots. The condo across the way, before it was fully occupied, did not have screens on the dryer vents and the parrots made nests in them. Imagine showing the condo and hearing parrot screeches through the dryer.

A very vivid dream waked me at 4:30 am. I was back at Ole Miss as a work study student in the periodicals department. Mrs. Bernice Johnson was the head of periodicals and she could scare the hell out of you. She brooked no nonsense from any of her student workers. She also felt she was there to serve the students who were doing research.

For some reason, she had me doing a photosynthesis experiment in my dream. No idea why but you would say yes ma’am or no ma’am, not ask why. I will never forget the day a student was called in for taking a periodical out of the library. We knew who it was because you had to show student ID to check out periodicals for use in the library. The stacks were closed so there was no student access.

Mrs. Johnson put the student through hell – very politely and very much in control. Finally the student asked her why she was talking so loud. Mrs. Johnson upped it a notch and said she was not doing any such thing. I bet that student never tried to take a periodical out of the library again.

Once, she took me with her and her assistant down into the bowels of the library to a loading dock. I never knew the Ole Miss library even had a loading dock. Mrs. Johnson shocked me when both she and the assistant lit up cigarettes. I didn’t know she smoked. The assistant accidentally burned a hole in Mrs. Johnson’s blouse and the assistant said “Bernice, I’m so sorry!” That was the first time I knew her first name. It was always yes Mrs. Johnson or no Mrs. Johnson.

The entire north wing of the library was periodicals. I used to be student librarian at Morton High School under Mrs. Aycock – she even looked the role. Morton High may have had 2 or 3 thousand books. Ole Miss probably subscribed to 4 thousand periodicals from all over the world. I have no idea how many books the place had.

Before you left your shift at Ole Miss, you spent the last 30 minutes of your time straightening up the periodicals reading room. This entailed putting into order the various indices: Reader’s Guide, Great Speeches, etc. Woe be unto you if you didn’t do a good job.

The worst part was accessing old newspapers for students. Many were on microfilm or microfiche but there were many that had been bound together into large tomes. The old newspaper room was in the basement and to say it was dusty is a gross under exaggeration. You would sneeze for days. Some of those bound tomes weight at least 40 lbs.

Periodically (no pun intended) magazines and newspapers were gathered to be sent to the bindery. This was always a big process and Mrs. Johnson could be a little more short tempered on those days. However, she always made time for students.

We typically had two work study students at the desk to cover student requests but if we got overwhelmed (when some professor assigned some research) she always pitched in to go find whatever the student needed.

Years after graduating, I noticed she was still at the periodicals section, got in contact with her and asked if she remembered me. She did. She even remembered writing a letter of recommendation for me years ago.

My experiences as a student worker in periodicals was invaluable. I knew how to find things other students didn’t. I was exposed to a world of periodicals that I never knew existed. It spurred me, later in life, to get a masters in Library and Information Science at Florida State. I never pursued a career as a librarian but I used the knowledge to help my students in the sciences.

Later, I became the Chief Archivist at Stonewall Library and Archives and used my experience at Ole Miss and Florida State to bring some order to the collection. I still love periodicals. It’s an exciting world of adventure reading things from all over the world.

Wonder what my next dream will be? Stay tuned!

16 January 2025

Movie night got off to a rough start with Mrs. Miniver. I couldn’t get the disc to load and after repeated tries, we settled on Summer Lovers staring a very young Daryl Hannah and and equally young Peter Gallager who end up on vacation in Santorini (the film came out in 1982). Michael (Peter Gallager) has a roving eye and eventually he ties up with Lina (Valerie Quuennessen). Cathy (Daryl Hannah) finds out and eventually they end up as a threeseome.

After a riotous birthday party for Lina where a gallon of olive oil is involved, Cathy’s Mother and Aunt appear to find the ménage à trois. One memorable scene is where the Mother and Aunt are checking into a hotel and two girls are checking out and the desk clerk asks if one of the girls douched. The other girl explains that’s what is meant by shower.

It’s a cute romcom threeseome with some angst but everything turns out well in the end. I’ve always heard about the donkeys taking you up to the top of the volcanic caldera and they showed that in the movie.

Since seeing that movie, I’ve always wanted to go to Santorini and actually rent the place the thruple did.

What I forgot was how much nudity there is in the movie full frontal for both men and women. Of course, virtually everyone in the movie was a tourist and in gorgeous shape. Daryl Hannah and Peter Gallager weren’t bad either and if you want to indulge yourself, you can see both totally neckid.

I didn’t walk today. I have lunch with Barbara and Joel. We plan to go to Mister 01 at Fat Village. That will be a new experience for me. We wanted to sit outside but there’s a distinct possibility for rain today – we need it.

After that, I suspect I’ll read a little, nap a little, and eat a little.

Stay tuned!

15 January 2025

We’re halfway through January, can December be far behind?

I walked 1.5 miles today. On the route there is a house hidden by dense vegetation in a state of disrepair. It’s been that way since I moved here 30 years ago. Today there were signs someone is renovating the place. For years it was like a spooky old haunted house that you walked by. It’ll be interesting to see what the outcome of the renovation is.

I did a light cleaning of the house today: vacuum floors, cleaned the bathroom, emptied garbage, mopped the kitchen, etc. It won’t take too long to get it dirty again.

I’ve got a call in to Eye Surgeons of Hollywood to talk costs of cataract surgery. My impression is that these people only do panoptic lenses with laser. I’m still up in the air as to whether to go with Monofocal or Multifocal lenses. There are pros and cons to both and it’s basically whoever you talk to last that determines these things because they are so confusing.

One friend told me that it cost her $1500/eye with laser and multifocal lenses many years ago. A web site suggested $5000/eye. Apparently India leads the world in developing lenses and many American companies produce their lenses in India. Maybe a trip to India would be cheaper if I got the lenses and surgery there.

I started to swim laps in the pool this afternoon but after putting my foot in the water, I decided I would wait a while – until May. Actually, I’ll try again sooner when the outside air temperature is a little warmer.

Slowly, I am getting my stamina back. I’ve pretty much gotten the strength back in my hands. My legs look like toothpicks in a maypop. My weight is constant but my waist is not. It keeps increasing. Maybe it’s due to those Klondike Bars I keep eating.

I still need to call Viet Nam Vets for a pickup and I still need to get rid of 90 books. Patience was never a virtue for me.

Stay tuned!

14 January 2025

Today, I’m just lazy. It’s an overcast day with hints of rain.

I have plenty of energy, I just don’t want to do anything. There’s an unlimited amount of stuff I could do but will put off until another day. Slacker 101.

I slept until 8:30 am and went through my morning routine with the exception of the walk. I just wasn’t into it today.

Dylan Revette posted a photo of the Morton Depot on the Group “Old Family and Friends and Memories from Morton, Mississippi on Facebook.

My family has a long history with this depot. Mother told me that Papaw had some big position with the depot (I inherited his pocket watch/railroad watch which I gave to Louis). My brother Archie tells me we would sometimes catch a passenger train to somewhere from the depot.

My cousin Jimmie (or Jo) has a photo showing her Dad and her Dad’s best friend as little boys seeing troops off for WWI. Her Dad built a miniature railroad at Papaw’s place with tracks and everything.

Mom and Dad moved to a house just across the street from the depot (not good memories) and I loved watching the trains come and go through the depot. By then, passenger trains were no longer running through the town.

Archie and I and Mom were driven to Meridian by Grandfather Hollie to catch the train at the Meridian depot – much fancier – to go see Daddy at Havre de Grace, Md before we moved there.

I remember Archie and I putting coins on the rails in order for the train to flatten them (Mother was very tolerant of our idiocy back then). We would rush in front of the train to put the coins on. If you didn’t put them on just before the train came, the vibrations would knock them off the rails. Somehow, we survived childhood. I would not take bets on doing so again.

Back then, the trains were coal burning with thick black smoke coming out of their stack with a distinct aroma (I won’t say odor). My first time at Coal Fired Pizza, I was taken back in time to smell the coal from their oven. By the way, their pizza is pretty good.

As a very young kid, I learned to say “Choo Choo” every time I saw a train. Dad bought me and Archie a Lionel model train that you could put a pill-like structure in the smokestack and add a drop of water and you could get smoke to come out. The headlight of the engine worked. There were three rails to the track instead of two.

Later, as an adult, I got into the smaller gauge trains and kept that going for a while until it got too much for my frequent moves and I gave it to my nephew David.

To this day, I love train rides. I took the train from radio school in New York to Atlanta. I’ve ridden the City of New Orleans from Jackson to New Orleans at least twice. I remember getting on the train in Jackson, Mississippi as a kid and being amazed at the expansiveness of the waiting room, which in retrospect, wasn’t that large.

The renovated Hotel King Edward looks remarkably like the original hotel. Mother, at one time, worked as a waitress in their dining room. The hotel was perfectly sited directly across from the Jackson depot. All you had to do was walk across the street to the hotel.

Notice everyone called it the King Edward Hotel even though the name was Hotel King Edward. At one time, it was the most exclusive hotel in Jackson.

You might deduce from today’s blog I am somewhat of a railroad enthusiast. I still enjoy riding on trains. My one big goal is to eventually ride on the Rocky Mountaineer. …then there are other train trips I could take.

Stay tuned!

13 January 2025

I feel great! No idea why, but I’m going with it. I was awake at 4:30 am and got out of bed at 5, made coffee, had cereal, did the internet stuff, walked 1.45 miles, came back for my second breakfast and coffee. It’s like I felt I could do anything.

I started my walk before daylight with the temp at 56°F. It was nippy. I bundled up and by the time I finished my walk, I was unbundling. I did notice that whenever I got near the New River that I would get little areas of warmth coming off the water. That was a strange feeling.

After clearing the dishwasher and making my bed, I decided to start to tackle the unholy mess of my heliconias.

I hate the look of the dead leaves and unless you really keep up with it, it’ll get like this in a hurry.

I started in with my trusty knife and the yard waste bin. I had to stop, not because I was tired, but I soon filled the yard waste bin. I figure I’ll fill it up twice more before this looks decent.

I hope you can tell I did clean them out a little. After this bunch, there’s another on the side of the house that needs attention.

I needed to drop off a box at a FedEx drop off. It was a continuous glucose monitor that came loose when I fell. Abbott Labs wanted to analyze the monitor and perhaps see why it quit working. Duh, it fell off.

From the drop off, I headed to Wilson and Holley’s to drop off their Christmas present. Santa was a little late this year. Before I could leave, Wilson came out and we had a long talk about insurance, tree trimming, sprinkler pumps, and pretty much anything that came to our mind. It was good seeing him. Hopefully we’ll all go out for happy hour soon.

From there I dropped $600+ for pool supplies: alkalinity plus, calcium hardness, multi-tabs, and a new pool filter. I won’t have to see them for a while. They were kind enough to give me 10% discounts on every item.

As I headed home, I stopped for diesel. I don’t like to let it get below half full. The price was $3.69/gallon which is a little higher than the last time I filled up.

In summation, I spent a lot of money (pool supplies and diesel) and got my two excursions done (FedEx and Wilson) and lugged all the pool supplies onto the back patio storage bin.

I’m not going to take a chance and overdo it more than I have already so it’s nap time. Stay tuned!

12 January 2025

Oops! I originally typed 2024 instead of 2025. It’ll take a while.

It was another luxuriating day. I was awake at 5 am and got out of bed around 7:30. Fresh sheets on a bed is a real luxury. I change sheets weekly. I know some change monthly. I had a roommate at Florida State who didn’t change his for the entire summer session (3 months).

John and I went to lunch at Rendez-vous. It’s a French bakery and bistro on Oakland Park Blvd. Two of the waiters were obviously French speaking and I suspect more of their personnel were multilingual. The food has always been good here. I had their ham and cheese crepe or should I say Jamón et fromage crêpe? It was delicious. John had eggs Benedict.

The coffee was outstanding. I asked about it and apparently it is an Italian coffee, mild roast but prepared the French way. I’m dubious about the last part. I didn’t see any French presses, just the normal cafe coffee urns. In any case, I liked the coffee.

John managed another BOGO for the min-Bundt cakes.

This one is Reese’s Chocolate Peanut Butter. It was a dollar more than the other mini-Bundts because this is apparently a promotion. I thought promotions were cheaper.

I’m getting things together for a Viet Nam Veterans pick up. I’ve got lots of tee shirts, regular shirts, pants, jackets and a massive roll of bubble wrap. I also have 90 books to donate. I understand Broward County libraries no longer accept books but the Wilton Manors library (private) does. I’ll also call around to the Stonewall Library and see if they still accept donations. Most of the books are like new and have either never been read or read only once.

January means it is time to think about taxes since you get forms from whatever income you have. I’ve already received the Florida Retirement System form and all I’m waiting for is the Social Security form and the form for my savings account from which the interest is so small, it never counts. The one other form is for my HELOC which will be nonexistent next year. I generally get my forms into my tax accountant by the end of January and usually get a check back from the IRS sometime in March.

I could easily do my taxes now but I got used to the CPA doing them when my taxes were more complicated. I just send him the forms and his questionnaire and he takes care of everything and e-files it for me. I pay him $300 and if there is ever an issue, he will deal with the IRS with me. It makes my life easier.

It’s that time of year that South Florida is warmer than any other part of the country. That results in Snow Birds arriving and adding to the local economy. It also means traffic is worse, getting reservations are more difficult and you have to watch out for anyone with a Quebec license plate since they drive like the French. Otherwise, life is good.

Stay tuned!