23 November 2020
As the pandemic grows, there is continuing conflicting information as to the number of cases, deaths, and positivity rate in the state of Florida. The official state of Florida site reports 6,435 new cases on November 21 while the New York Times reports 8,409 for the same date. Interestingly, the state of Florida site reports cases as influenza-like and covid-like cases. It seems they are trying to have their cake and eat it too by classifying a significant number of cases as non-Covid. The consensus is building that Governor Ron DeSantis has done a very poor job of dealing with the crisis.
Both the Sun-Sentinel and the Miami Herald had articles about a local spot in Fort Lauderdale called The Wharf on Las Olas Blvd. It opened back up two days ago and was immediately cited three times in one day for violations. Photos show the place packed to the gills with young people and very few masks. Two days later and the business has closed again with no date for re-opening. We still don’t have a state-wide mask mandate.
I’ve been trying to keep up my physical routine but between rain storms and a very sore right biceps tendon, I haven’t done too well. This morning was a beautiful morning with temperatures in the low 70’s and very low humidity. I got my morning walk in, yoga stretches done, and my short routine in the pool completed. I didn’t want to push for the long set for the pool because I overdid it a few days ago and I’ve learned in my old age to listen to my body telling me how stupid I am.
On my last post, I mentioned the Zoom birthday dinner. It went really well considering there were 15 participants all trying to talk at the same time. The catered food was pretty good and the company was excellent. I hope Maureen enjoyed her 80th remote birthday party.
Also on my last post, I provided some insight into my Dad’s trip with friends to Miami and Miami Beach. In this post, I would like to show some photos of him on maneuvers with his company.
I’ll be honest and say I’m not sure where or when these were taken. None of the photos had a date and I can only assume (1) the maneuvers were part of an exercise from Camp Blanding or (2) war games from Fort Bragg while he was stationed there prior to being shipped off to Korea or (3) something totally different from the first two. My educated guess is these were maneuvers/war games during his time at Camp Blanding. In any case, the games/maneuvers were in South Carolina and the photos show some typical army life while in the field.
Archie and I grew up as army brats. Dad was stationed at Fort Rucker, Alabama, Fort Benning, Georgia, Fort Bragg, North Carolina and Havre de Grace, Maryland at Aberdeen Proving Grounds. All are still in existence. I used to drive past Fort Rucker on my trips home from Florida to visit my parents.
I’m not sure where this memory comes from – Fort Rucker or Fort Benning but I remember riding in the car with Mom, Dad and Archie and seeing what I thought were gigantic snakes hanging from road signs. Apparently, when troops were on maneuvers and they came across a diamondback rattlesnake, they killed it and hung it off of base signs. Even though I was small, I realized these were really big snakes.
Apparently, my memory is not too far off. The Smithsonian states “The eastern diamondback rattlesnake is North America’s longest and heaviest venomous snake. Their average length is 0.8 to 1.8 meters (3 to 6 feet), but some adults can be as long as 2.4 meters (8 feet). Diamondbacks are bulky snakes with large heads that average 4.5 kilograms (10 pounds).”
I remember the snakes would be hung from the signs with the head on one side of the sign and the tail on the other. Their head and tails would almost touch the ground. I also remember the signs as being pretty high off the ground. The body was extremely thick, like weight-lifter biceps thick. You almost never saw the head because that was cut off.
The reason for this is the soy they produced has historically been organic and properly fermented. 91% of soy grown in the United States is GMO (genetically modified organism). generico cialis on line http://deeprootsmag.org/category/departments/sky-above-earth-below/ viagra without prescription Erectile Dysfunction prevents men from achieving erection and as a male, you have to be informed about it in order to cope with it. The most advanced of all is the Pro package, which includes four rubber straps, two replacement pads and http://deeprootsmag.org/2012/09/07/going-mobile/ viagra in italy cohesive gauze. Young men face erectile dysfunction moreover because of the unhealthy eating habits, least available time for looking after tadalafil 20mg cipla the body condition of self and hormone disturbances.Archie and I enjoyed life as military brats, particularly since Dad was an officer and we got to partake of the officer clubs on the bases. Dad taught Archie and I how to fish at Fort Bragg. We lived not far from a lake with a pier into the water. Dad had a minnow net and we’d bait the net with bread. Once we pulled up enough minnows, Dad showed us how to hook the minnow to keep it alive and wiggling to tempt the larger fish. I caught my first bass on that lake. It wasn’t that big but it was large enough to eat for dinner that night.
Either at Fort Rucker, Fort Benning or Fort Bragg, Dad was talking on a telephone (landline) in his military office when a bolt of lightning hit the telephone pole outside. Lightning traveled down the line, into the building. It knocked Dad across the room. Ever since then I’ve never talked on a landline during a thunderstorm. It was a vivid lesson. Archie and I still talk about that to this day. Apparently we were both there when it happened.
In one of those forts had a pool at the officers’ club. Mother would go sit with friends and have cigarettes and cocktails and I would head to the kiddie pool with my seahorse float. The float had a seahorse head but it had a ring where you stepped through and held on to.
One day, I begged her to let me go in the “big kids” pool and she reluctantly agreed. It eventually got to where I no longer had to beg. However, one day almost ended me. I was in the big pool with my float and a kid much larger jumped in close enough to me to turn me upside down in the float. The kid didn’t even realize he had done it and had not done it maliciously. I couldn’t get out because my legs were trapped within the float. I was drowning.
Fortunately, the pool was so old and so leaky, the army had to put a fire hose into the pool to keep it filled. Upside down, I grabbed the firehouse and pulled myself upright. Mother spilled her cocktail and she saw me go under and made it to me by the time I came above the water sputtering and crying. She always made the statement that the lifeguard “hasn’t seen you to this day.” Apparently, the lifeguard had a bevy of girls around him at the time.
At Aberdeen Proving Grounds in Havre de Grace, Dad was apparently some big shot. He came out of WWII as a Captain and he was getting ready to be sent to Korea. Aberdeen is where the army tries out all sorts of new weapons, particularly cannons.
I remember being on a reviewing stand with him at night with a bunch of military brass everywhere. Dad was told to commence firing. All he did was flip his lighted cigarette out into the air and when it hit the ground all hell broke loose. You could feel the concussions even though we were no where near the artillery. The night sky lit up and explosion after explosion went off for about 15 minutes. Everyone on the reviewing stand was probably pretty much deaf by that point in time, including me.
With all the military background, it’s interesting I ended up in the U.S. Coast Guard. The only reason for that was Aunt Sister. She lived in an upstairs apartment and she and Uncle Shep rented out the downstairs. As it turned out, he was a Coast Guard recruiter in Jackson. She put him on to me.
I fully believe that if I had enlisted in the army instead Coast Guard, I would not be here. I would have been sent to Viet Nam and I have no illusions I would have returned except in a coffin.
The song recommendation is Irving Berlin’s “Oh, How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning!” I remember seeing Berlin perform this song in the 1942 Warner Bros. musical This Is the Army. It’s the soundtrack to the above movie. Berlin had a very interesting singing voice.
Stay tuned and stay safe!
