Scavengers
Day two of trip three to Florida. After nine out of ten days of rain in New Jersey I finally got soaked here at the car rental place. I broke down and bought an umbrella. The flight was as pleasant as could be for sitting in the middle seat. I had the rare pleasure of conversing with both of my seatmates and the attendants were impeccably professional. I was not pulled out of line for inspection, most likely because I didn't have my usual one-way ticket. Other than this trip, I've been pulled out of line every time, even when flying with Granny. Be warned.
The guy at the rental place was almost good at his job. They must have had a few extra cars yesterday, because he gave me the upgrade pitch. When all was said and done, I accepted the 'Town Car', for an additional hundred bucks for the two weeks. The last full-size car I had was a Dodge Intrepid, which bit the bone, and didn't impress Grandma in the least, so I caved pretty easily.
Trouble was that the 'Town Car' was a 'Town and Country' mini-van, which I found out by trudging in the up-tempo downpour to slot D3. I wound up with a Caddy, nach.
Bro and I last week went on a reconnoitering mission to New Jersey's finest assisted living facilities. We took pictures with the Elph, and signed the docs to get Granny in at any time during the month of July, which puts a recognizable ending in sight to my disjointed trip east. We also took one step closer to building Granny's final smoking den. The architect has sent the revised layout, and once we approve, we'll talk numbers. I'm still a day or two out from spending the time to figure out how to post pictures here, but, soon my pretties.
Jackass Dept: Some Jackass over this past weekend stole the big glass tabletop from the wicker set out in the screen room. Geesh! I rule out kids in this case, mainly because this is a fifty-five and over park, but also because of the scavenger-like nature of many of the adults here. The mobile units here are mainly winter homes for people that can't handle the winter any more, and sell more easily if they are ready to move in to, i.e., furnished. That, combined with the senior heavy population, make for many estate and garage sales.
The furnishings here in Granny's place are such a mish-mash of styles and age that it almost pains the eye. Stains on seat cushions, wobbly legs, rickety table tops, and four different piles, colors and designs in the carpet alone complete the effect. The lighting fixtures and decorations are even more dissonant. Remember those hanging lamps from the seventies? The ones with chains that the electrical wires snaked up through and the colored glass? Add a Home Depot Labor Day Sale ceiling fan (with lights), a crappy brass chandelier (again, on a chain, probably original equipment), and wall fixtures you might find on either side of the entrance to a NYC police precinct and you've got the kitchen-dining room set-up. Oh, and an exposed twenty-four inch fluorescent tube over the sink. This is a selling point.
Now we've got a wicker table and chair set without a tabletop. Criminy. My only consolation is that whoever took the damn thing probably has the taste of an aspiring third world dictator with the budget of one of his subjects. Maybe it's time for a nice shiny NRA sticker prominently displayed on the mailbox.
