WWIT

WHAT WAS I THINKING????? If in the future you read a word on this blog about doing a gallery show, inundate me with No's!!! I woke up sweltering last night, and got to thinking about the emails I should have already sent, as well as the descriptions I should have already written. I tossed, and I turned. I tossed, and I turned. I went to the bathroom. I tossed, and I turned. I got up, and went to my computer.

Remembering the last time I foolishly did this gallery thing, I went to my handy search on gmail, finding the piece Matt wrote. I copied it almost verbatim and then put in all the email addresses and sent it at 12:30 this morning. Now if you've read this blog for any length of time you know full well that I am a Gold Medalist in the Olympic sport of sleeping. I haven't been up at 12:30 for who knows how long. That's what one of these events will do to me! I'd already asked Bruce to give me a 5:30 wake up call and he did. He asked, "are you going to the beach?", to which I replied, yes. I decided I needed it and got myself up and running.

Going to the beach in October, why yes, it is a marvelous time to do so. Last weeks giddiness has been replaced with miserable heat once again. Actually I do love to go to the beach in the fall because the sun is not quite so harsh and the water is still warm. I drove to New Smryna Beach the long way. If there is a long way to go somewhere, I will drive it, finding a way back that is even longer is a sure bet! Here's a little slideshow of my time there.

Driving there after making tea to go along with a breakfast sandwich, the weather was HOT and muggy. Once I got off the interstate (I told you I always take the longest route!), the rural parts were very foggy. The first one in the series didn't turn out so great but you get my drift. I've put a few descriptors on the photos if you are interested.

I took a novel with me that I managed to complete, although it fell into that same category as the previous one I didn't finish--ran completely out of steam. Since I had nothing else with me, I finished it, although it was unnecessary as I knew exactly what would happen. It got me thinking about how hard it must be to write really, really well. I was entirely spoiled by Olive Kittredge. The writing was superb, the characterization multi-layered, and the style impeccable. I can't expect that combination to come along too often I suppose, although I wish that weren't the case.

After my reading I waded into the ocean. You know how when only your legs, or lower trunk are in the water, how cold it feels? It's kind of strange how once you get your nerve up, and take the plunge, it is no longer cold, only refreshing. The waves were small, but I enjoyed them nonetheless. The nice thing was that the water was very clear with little or no seaweed. I only stayed on the beach for a little over two hours so as not to burn. And then of course there was the matter of nothing to read....

My experience with NSB is limited unlike lots of Orlando folks. I followed the signs ending up in their downtown, a street named Canal. After walking the few blocks and seeing what there was to see, I moved my car closer to the Little Drug Co. for lunch at the soda fountain which so reminded me of days long past spent at the Rexall behind our house when I was growing up in Orlando. Apparently 80 years ago this building housed a movie palace upstairs. The lunch counter has been around at least 50 years. There were several specials on the sidewalk sign board, including a Liverwurst sandwich! I suspect some readers have never even heard of such a thing and there's no reason to research it now. Suffice it to say it is some kind of gross lunch meat which I've had the good fortune never to have tried. When I talked to Bruce this evening I told him if we ever went there together he would die over their milkshakes. I watched the servers making them and they looked mighty appetizing. Actually I'm not too much of a fan, but Mr. Bruce loves them. Have I told you that he's lost ten pounds? Some of that is probably due to the stress of building The Capital Grille. Only two weeks to go now! Not only is it the largest restaurant he's ever built (15,000 sq. ft.), but obviously the most expensive. That's a big budget to manage not to mention the actual construction!

After getting home from my little day trip, I wrote the descriptions. Let's hope they are satisfied! Now it's time to place a little order and hit the sack--5:30 came early.