Barbados and Missed Opportunies

LL - There was a time when you could have traveled anywhere you wanted, as I do.

One of the places I travel to regularly is Barbados. The West Indies and also Bermuda are on our doorstep, of course, relatively speaking. So, I thought you might like to see this gallery...

 I set this one up

These are just a few to give you a 'flavor'. The one with the barrels is a rum shop! Can't miss out on that, can we.

We are in Barbados next month for a stay. I think you would have died for it. The beaches, the people and you would have loved Oistins. Gets pretty lively of an evening.

I sometimes chuckle to myself about the remark you made back in 2003, that you thought I was American from our emails. I guess I am now although not by birth of course. What you didn't know then was that I had spent a long time here, off and on, from the early to mid sixties onward. I fell in love with this Country a long time ago, then in 2006 I fell in love with my wife. Yes, I loved you.. once... but not in the same way as I do my wife.

Here's another little lady I love and a Red Sox fan, too, ...my second granddaughter:

REMOVED by ME
Great little lady isn't she. I'll return with another blog sometime soon, but things to do and lunch to eat :))

Pain makes you stronger. Heartache makes you wiser

LL

Trips to Germany remind me somewhat of a flight timetable I found on my laptop in 2005. The explanation from you was, 'I was just looking'. You must have thought I was born yesterday, at the time! Or, most likely, you had forgotten it was there. We'll be in Germany later this year with Dieter and his wife including a visit to the opera. Guess FM was there on 'business'. Enjoy the bubbles alone?

You once spoke of boredom...or, as you spelled it, 'boredum'. Dumb, now that's a good word for you...

Far from it being me that was boring - it was you that I found boring. You had no dream, no ambition and a very narrow idea of how to enjoy life. I guess you still have.

Those weekends of eating out and shopping were so very humdrum.You said you thought we were more or less settled after I left. The answer to that is that I wasn't. I found the life we were sharing then, unexciting, rather like the one you are still leading with your rather large partner.

You are aware that my life took off after you disappeared from the scene. That is an understatement, of course. 

Most of my life pre-you was pretty good. We ( my late wife and I) traveled widely, we were in love with each other from 21 until her untimely death, we have two great children and we enjoyed the finer things in life. Ash and I are still doing that, having lost our respective spouses to the same cause - cancer.

I am semi-retired (not fully, just can't stop doing some deals - gives me a buzz) like to fly our plane, sail in the Gulf and in the Med, enjoy our various homes, the great weather across the year and most of all our large family. None of which is boring.

Ash is still quite young and young at heart - just over 10 years younger than you...us tycoons...always choose the younger ones to flaunt on our yachts;-) She keeps me young and we certainly don't spend the week apart and just have weekends together shopping, drinking and eating as you and your man do. Now...that is boring.

But then she is my wife - a position you could have once filled with all it would have brought with it. You once said that if things didn't 'work out ' with him you would come back. Did you really think I would have entertained that...love or not?

I understand you are off to the Canaries next month - again! PDC that's boring! There are so many other better places in the World...or is it a question of money? I read about the 'cut backs' in his household.

Let me whet your appetite with what you could have been doing with me, apart from living here, the rest of this year. Not necessarily in the order that we will visit:

Barbados - April
Europe May thru July/August
That will include:

UK various places including Sandbanks, London of course (new home in Belgravia), some other places and probably Keswick and the Lakes. Love that bread from Booths! They do sourdough almost as good as back home.

Paris, Carcassonne, Spain - Marbella, Denia, Valencia and Barcelona - Italy (my greatest love and Ash's - Venice, Rome and Sorrento among others.

Then onto Skyros.

Germany with Dieter and Anders (Norwegian) in August.

Back to the UK 

October and November in Dubai, Australia, via Singapore - back to the States in time for Thanksgiving :)

Visits to NH (family and friends in Mass.), Oregon, San Diego (West Coast home), South Carolina etc are a given, of course, as are other destinations within the States - business and pleasure. I bet you wonder where I get the energy from ;)...given the eight years that have passed since you last met me. Thing is apart from those years, I am exactly the same physically as you have seen from past photos.

Back to the title of this blog. Two sentences that are certainly very true. You struck me down when I was very low through bereavement and inflicted substantial pain. But as you said yourself, I am strong and I recovered...if anything stronger for the experience. I agree with the second sentence, but I don't think it applies in my case. I was already fairly shrewd, but the experience did break  my heart...at the time.

But then along came this lady  - my wife and I've never looked back...except to flaunt for your edification. You have probably learned a lesson but too late in life - methinks. Here she is...Liz's dog by the way

I have some galleries of other photos for you...but they can wait...the pool calls...you have a nice day ma'am

Snow and New Lives

I have resurrected an old post from November 18 2013 for you LL.

In the meantime here are a few photos from NH. The snow is now a distant memory down here in Florida where it's now 80F. I hear you are getting frosts over there in the north. Here's a few of the NH snow from last month and January

  I didn't qualify!

I have been laughing inwardly off and on for the last 10 years. Do you recall saying something about a boring life? Well for one thing it sure as hell wasn't mine...was it. So it must have been yours.

I hear PDC calls next month. We will be in San Diego and a few other locations in California part of that month and then toward the end, in Lake Oswego near Portland, Oregon. Come May we head for Europe, on our annual sojourn to our homes there. 

Meanwhile your eating and drinking fest in PDC will be well and truly over. Same places, same work, same soccer....same, same, same....and same weekends. Do you truly believe you made the right choice now? Maybe you might like to discuss things - you know where I am if you wish to write. I will behave myself...promise...and I never ever break mine. 

Thought you might like to see my granddaughter #2, now 5 months old, Evie, so here's a peek:

Ciao :)

Responses

I guess you can't respond to my blogs, or comments, for a number of reasons. 

FM 'wouldn't like it', to quote you from way back, you are too scared to, it is possibly illegal (you brought that on yourself - but I wouldn't instigate anything against you), I am married, but perhaps most of all it would remind you of a very foolish decision you made and the stupid acts you undertook.

I for one would quite happily open up a correspondence in a quite benign and friendly manner...mainly because life is too short and time and life have moved on greatly - for me, if not for you.

You always said to me that you wanted an exciting life, that you wanted to travel and of course wanted your 'man' to be fit. From where I'm sitting (lounging to be precise) I don't think you have achieved any of those aims.

From over here it seems that you are in a rut and have resigned yourself to be 'comfortable' with that, because you have no realistic alternative.

Let's deal with exciting - what is there that is exciting about your life? When did you last see a show in London or on Broadway? I've seen six in London and two on Broadway in the last 12 months. 

Travel -Where have you been apart from Spain and a couple of other trips plus one here in my backyard (you couldn't get that right either - chose the wrong month weather wise)? I don't need to mention where I've been - I'm sure you 'follow' what I allow you to.

Fit man - Well I don't have to explain that one to you!! Must be 18 stone plus. Me...a mere 12 1/2...and fit, in all ways.

Finally, your life seems to be full of food, shopping when the pay check arrives, drink and football. If that's not working class I don't what is. Is that your life? If it is then I feel sorry for you. Fridays are special.... I bet they are, the rest of the week most certainly isn't. Typed yesterday - in Tampa now.

Remember this? Many moons ago wasn't it....

How about this lady - now a grandmother? Still in touch and good friends. Some people are good like that - you...well there I'm speechless. You are........the worst and in some ways one of the better women I have met. Contradiction, I know...but that's life, full of them.

This one reflects on my good fortune and ...a close shave:

After you went AWOL and did the dirty:

I like that one above - often think of you when I read it!

As to the one below, well that refers to Ash.....of course