The leaves are finally fully dropped.
And in about a month new buds will on the trees and one warm day they will be on full display for the Spring and Summer.
I was noticing the way the sunlight was highlighting the edges of the palm fronds and took a couple of tries at capturing it but it really did not work well.
Habits for a new year in a democracy
January 6, 2021
~a column by Colleen O’Brien
In a college course on American history, I was given the opportunity to memorize and recite before the class the Preamble to the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, or the Gettysburg Address. I chose the shortest, in typically freshman behavior, but I’ve been reading them since, reminders during times of greed or war or civil unrest that we’ve endured a lot, that there probably will be, always, a lot to endure, that enduring is what humans know how to do, and that we can indeed keep the principles within these three documents working.
I came to love these three famous writings – never so much as during these last four years – understanding at some late date that in each rereading I was polishing my commitment to democracy, that form of government that best honors a sense of decency toward everybody so we can all live in dignity.
The Preamble to the Constitution of the United States of America
We the people of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, ensure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
[the second line of] The Declaration of Independence
“…We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness….
Or the Gettysburg Address, written and read by President Abraham Lincoln in the middle of the Civil War of the 19th century, on Nov. 19, 1863, that relates to this civil war of words of the 21st century, and which reads in part:
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal….
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure… It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced.
It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion— that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain— that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom… and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
Stirring language — simple, compassionate, hopeful . . . and possible. I read them again and again, I memorize them, I whisper them to myself as I walk in the park and say them aloud when I sweep the floor. The words and thoughts sink into me, make me better, more thoughtful, more aware that it’s not up to somebody else, it’s up to me, in this new year.
Most of you are very aware of where I stand on the despicable man who has occupied the Whitehouse for the past 4 years. He deserves everything that comes his way for the rest of his life. He owns it. Many of you are going to fall on the wrong side of history and I have known that in my gut for 4 miserable years as I watched him manipulate so many. When in your presence I will not speak of it. That is my gift to you as a friend.
These 4 fellows were getting ready to tee off. Trophy Gardens and Winter Ranch share a golf course and if you are a resident of either resort golf is free. This is a very nice amenity and one that helped us decide to make Trophy Gardens our wintertime home.
The sky in this photo looks ominous but nary a drop of rain comes out of it. We would all welcome it if it did because it has been far too dry here this fall and winter. And for those of you who golf on a regular basis and have to fight crowds, that does not happen here. There is always a time and a place to enjoy a game.
New arrivals are asked to self-isolate for 5 days but you can do that on the golf course!
Sally K. a friend of mine here in the park, purchased a bag of seashells at a garage sale and the object below was in the bag of shells. I have done some investigating in Google Images and as near as I can tell it is a dinosaur egg. I have never seen anything like it before. It is slightly larger than a tennis ball and fits nicely in the palm of your hand.
Regardless of the mobility and other restrictions, the time does seem to fly. When I was young, an older lady told me that time goes much faster the older you get and I have lived long enough to know she was spot on! This same smart lady also told me that if you are going to do something new and adventurous you most likely will not do it if you are over 65. Mary Nebola is no longer with us but I always enjoyed her company. Mary was a "Winter Texan" and drove to the RGV by herself each fall. She said she tried to travel with others but could never find someone who was on the same schedule as she was. And once you do the trip alone the next time is not so intimidating. My friend Colleen told me that after the passing of her husband she was a bit afraid of going alone but then decided to take it one town at a time, and once you reached the town you would venture on to the next one and soon you had arrived at your destination.
But I digress...We arrived here early in November and now we are in a whole different year!
Our weather has been moderate this season. It is very, very dry. I have had trouble gathering enough rainwater to water the two plants I brought with me from Iowa. They occasionally have to get a drink from the Alamo Texas water plant. They say it tastes funny.
Our life here pretty much revolves around the pool hall, the grocery store, and playing cribbage, dirty board, or FastTrack with our in-park friends. Yes, I would very much like to see our friends outside the park but there is no covid within the park and we feel safe as long as we stay vigilant. We have registered for the vaccine and hope to get an email soon that they are ready to inject us. We hope to have both doses of the vaccine before returning to Iowa in April.
There is one of the women who I play pool with who has received the first dose of vaccine. She has asthma and was recently hospitalized with an attack of it. The hospital called her and told her she was eligible to get the vaccine if she came right away and so she did. Both she and her husband got their first one. I asked her if she reacted at all to it and she said her arm was quite sore but no worse than a flu shot and she had a bit of a fever the next day but it didn't last long. Her husband had no reaction at all.
So it is time to get on with my day. Till next time...
We played pool. My partner and I were pretty evenly matched on skill but we played well and had fun. Butch and his partner had 6 wins out of 7 games.
Here is the excerpt from the official word on it. :
Wow, these weeks are sure going fast. Another fun time in our pool hall today. We had 16 players (eight teams). Each team played seven games. Winning six of their games played were Butch Brooker and Bev McEnaney. Three of the teams won four of their games and they are Sally Keleher & Dave Page, Janet Yeley & Keny Patrick, and Donna Hanke & Jim Weeks. The sign-up sheet is up for the coming Sunday the 10th of January. The start time is at 1:00 p.m. Come join in on the fun...
The two women who have been his partners for the past two weeks are apparently impressed with his pool playing skill. Today those two women were playing at the table beside me and I kept hearing "Butch says to do this and Butch says to do that". It amused me. He is lined up to give lessons tomorrow. I must admit he is good at it. I think I have had something to do with that, wink, wink!
We glided right over this but also on Saturday Butch woke up with a pain in his chest and remembering the blood clot he had after his prostate surgery he thought it was worth a trip to ER. They have these freestanding ER's down here that are connected to the same system he was in for his leg surgery...I think. At any rate, after an ultrasound, it was determined to be a gallbladder issue. Perhaps too much Margarita. Anyway, it turned out to be not serious. But I did forget to mention it because shortly after we returned home is when Mando called wanting to deliver the refrigerator.
We were surprised with a call yesterday from Mando telling us our RV fridge had arrived from Dallas and they would be here to install it in about an hour. It was two to three days early! Mando's business involves his family and we were very impressed with their efficiency. They arrived at about 3:00 pm and by 5:00 they were finished with the transfer. It was an amazing thing to watch! Great care was taken at each step and each person knew their role. It is so satisfying to see people work like that! Especially when it is your stuff they are working on.
We had a "guy" we called on when we were in the other park but he no longer comes to the valley so we had been searching for someone we could count on and feel comfortable with and it looks like we have found him. Mando was recommended by our friend Alex. Isn't it amazing when the right things happen and it all falls into place?
So today we will be getting our food back into close proximity making meal prep much easier. A big "THANK YOU" goes to all the folks who helped us out on this endeavor.
Another part of this was the reinstallation of the additional fan we use in the RV Fridge. Here is one that is similar on Amazon. In our opinion, it is well worth the money. It makes our RV refrigerator as good as any residential one we have ever had. Ice cream stays frozen and it increases the life of produce extremely well.
