Mouse or Man?

LL - Or should it be JT...jewelry thief 



Of mice and men - John Steinbeck, probably not a book you have read. It's subject matter is irrelevant in the context of this blog. 

Men - you have had a few in your life. The present one is the probably the least fit and the shortest. Plenty 'of meat on his bones', to use a phrase you liked to use...and then some.. Judging by recent images, he's more Michelin Man or, over here, Pillsbury Doughboy - this version:

No neck, short puffy arms and the torso - well you live with it so will know it...intimately....Not what I thought you would end up with, but I'm not surprised either. Some comments in the reasonably recent past on his commentaries

'His squeaky nasally weegie accent utterly beeling.....'     'That guy is a grade A fud'

Not exactly glowing...and the book....maybe a few English and grammar lessons wouldn't go amiss.

My point, to return to the first sentence, is that some men are mice...and others are men. When did he serve his country, either in action or 'passively' in an Intelligence role? His wealth and the security he offers, if any - is that enough for you? No marriage...no ring (noted)...perhaps no real commitment? A 'partnership' of convenience is the most likely answer. Any man worth his salt would have done the decent thing.

Is a black German car 12 years old the best he can do - manual as well? It's a wonder he can get out of it with anything approaching ease or grace! 

Compare with a 12 1/2 stone man of some considerable wealth, new cars (plural), quite a few homes and who served his country for over 15 years. Who travels widely, doesn't 'work' as such and who married the woman in his life. He is the real man.

You were never good at decision making because you are too impulsive...and it's your impulses that have left you where you are. Not that much of a life is it...

Just more musings from the 'pen' of your favorite author....:)

Ciao...from the sunny and beautiful island of Barbados. Have an ........interesting New Year.

Chilly or Chilli

Well LL, I see it's pretty chilly over there. Here (today Tuesday 9 December) it's in the high 70's, that's around 25C for you. It's our winter so temperatures will drop to the high 60's F shortly. Having said that, this is the place to spend winter wouldn't you say....and you had the chance, albeit 9 years ago now. Must seem like a lifetime to you. I know it does for me and my wife, some of the best years of my life in fact.

So each Friday you head north as you have done nearly every week for 9 plus years. Then, generally, but not always, there's a chilli at the end of it. Not that it looks appetizing. There you go though, the man you recommended a salmon, tomato and prawn dish to once has moved onto much higher culinary skills and heights. You might have enjoyed them too but you decided otherwise.

Has it never occurred to you that FM is unlikely to make it to a full eight decades - I guess it probably has given his size - he will encounter some quite severe health problems in the next 10 years, I am guessing. You must be satisfied or reconciled to that thought. You have always lived your life for the moment rather than look forward. Or, you have looked forward and closed your mind to it. If you had taken just a few chances in life you wouldn't be where you are now. You haven't really moved on at all from when I knew you and you still spend the weekdays apart. Certainly, you haven't married again but then you refused me which was probably the biggest mistake of your life...and you've made a few. More than most, in fact. I guess I only made one and you know what that was.

So, PDC for you next.....again, and again and again. Seems your horizons never stretched beyond Spain, whereas mine encompass the whole world. You could have been on that journey to far horizons and discovered so much. Maybe a lot about yourself in the process, but you decided to remain a small town girl with little ambition beyond your roots. I guess it comes from those very roots and the environment they created around you. That is, you really don't know any different. But, it could have been different except you never had the courage....or the commitment. 

Lines of communication are still open but I doubt you have the courage to make the 'call' so to speak. We are flying ourselves and the family to our place in Barbados for, and over, Christmas so social media will be 'off' for a while. You would be so surprised to learn of all the detail of my life over the last 9 plus year, I'm sure. There's never been a dull moment and I reckon I have traveled further and to more places than I did in the Navy. Talking of which, there's a reunion in London in January so we and some friends/old navy guys and family will be over.

I think that will do for now, but as always here are a few photos for you. The first was taken earlier this year in Cambridge - yes, we still get back there. After all it's where we met and lived for a while until I gained my US residency and citizenship.

The second is Fort Lauderdale - we have recently spent a weekend there. This last weekend was on Sanibel at the cottage, a short drive from Naples as you know....

The last few are from a balloon trip we took whilst in Australia in the hinterland west of Brisbane. So here you go: