25 March 2024
A minor miracle occurred today. You’ll have to wait a little while to read about it. I started my morning around 6 am, had my first breakfast and headed out for a 1.4 mile walk. I still have rubbery legs after each walk but I think I’m getting stronger.
One thing I began to notice is how many Seminole chickee huts are going up in the neighborhood. They probably provide some very nice shade in backyards where there is none. Usually some outfit from the Seminole tribe comes out and builds them in two days. The trick, of course, is to weave the palm fronds tight enough to shed water.
What a lot of people don’t know is those palm fronds are perfect habitats for scorpions. You generally won’t see them during the day but if you take a black light out there at night (UV lamp) and shine up into the fronds, you can tell if you have scorpions because they will glow in the dark from the black light – like the old posters you used to hang on your walls.
The one in the photo is the newest in the neighborhood. I counted three additional ones on my walk this morning: 1 new, 2 old. Seems to be a trend. One website suggested the cost to build one was $100-$150 per square foot. I think they are more trouble than they are worth because the poles in the ground rot out and you’ll need to replace the thatch periodically.
During the walk, I noticed some spiral ginger in bloom at a neighbor’s yard. This is the genus Costus or which is not a true ginger (Genus Zingiber). The red spike is a series of bracts from which the flowers emerge.
It’s a pretty ornamental but it spreads rapidly by rhizomes. It shouldn’t be confused with Saussurea costus which is used in herbal medicine.
After the walk, I picked up a friend from a medical appointment and then we headed to have a late breakfast or early lunch. I had eggs over easy and he had a club sandwich. After I dropped him at his place, the minor miracle occurred.
I drove out to Hollywood Chrysler Jeep and met with Neama. She acted like she had never seen me before but when she started looking into her computer, her memory was refreshed. She printed out some paper and walked over to the parts department. When she returned, she said the parts were in to complete the job on my Jeep. See! Minor miracle! I’m sure those parts have been in for quite a while and they just did not call me.
Anyway, I scheduled Wednesday at 8:45 am to take it in to complete the work. She said it’ll take two days. No, they will not spring for a rental. She did not reiterate and I failed to ask if it still was under warranty but I’m sure it is. When I got home, there was an email for a 90,000 mile maintenance for $534.61. I assume she will try to get that done the day I take the Jeep in but I will refuse. I’ll take it to another Jeep dealer before I let them do anything other than finish their work. I think the two days was for the sensor and all the other stuff she wants to do on the Jeep.
I’ll believe the situation will be resolved when I get my cold hands on the steering wheel and drive my Jeep off their lot for the final time.
Tomorrow is physical therapy at 11:50 am.
Stay tuned!
