My First Time

It's hard to see, but below is a picture of my first time.

I have to say, it was a great performance. Yes, there were a lot of white people involved. What of it?!

So, yeah. Christmas carolers (sp?) pleasantly surprised me, this chilly, Winter evening. They even had a near-Tiny Tim moment when they sent a tiny, blond girl to come over and give me piece of paper (advertising their church or something).

Too bad my camcorder wasn't still charged.

Anyway, it was a pure Christmas moment. Thanks for that, kind holiday strangers!

Duck Tales - Labor Day

Happy Labor Day!

This Labor Day, I was flying solo. After taking care of some stuff at home, I hopped on my bike (bicycle, not motorcycle) and biked to Sonic for a "Happy Hour" special discounted price on a (non-alcoholic, of course) cherry lime-aid beverage.

From there, I biked to the grocery store to buy some cheap bread to feed to ducks at a local lake. I put the bread in the sack I carry on my back while biking, then headed to and biked around the lake.

Because of the recent, semi-nearby hurricane(s), those of us in Tallahassee and surrounding areas have received a ton of rain. I read that local sewage systems were compromised due to the increased water flow. My nose can confirm this as I bike through certain areas. I believe the water treatment representative said that they usually deal with 17 million gallons per unit time, but recently it's been more like 41 millions gallons.

Even a week after the worst of the downpours stopped, about a week, ago, the lake area had overflows like the following:

(click picture to enlarge)

Below is a picture of what appears to be a street cave-in or sink hole or something (feel free to correct my terminology) - probably due to the flooding from last week.

(click to enlarge)

After biking around the lake, I chose a spot and took my back sack off. Immediately, before I could even open the sack, a group of ducks headed toward me. The more I handled the bread bag, the closer the ducks got. Around the time I got the bread out, the crowd of ducks around me was unbelievable. Take a look at the 40-something ducks that all but chased me around out there.

(click to enlarge)

It's true that I haven't fed the ducks in quite some time (well over a year) but I've done it often enough to know that they were much more aggressive this time than ever before. Eventually, people started crowding around watching these ducks follow me. There were so many ducks at different times that they were blocking the flow of automobile and human traffic through the area, so I'd have to herd them this way or that so that people could walk or drive through. I didn't even have to use the bread to accomplish this. If I walked somewhere, they were right behind me - adults and ducklings.

I walked about 50 - 70 yards in one direction to see how far they'd follow me and they hardly strayed - especially if I kept tossing bread. It was quite the spectacle. After I ran out of bread, I biked back to the store for more. At the height of the mallard craze, I know I had a good 60 or so ducks around me. It may have been more but I had a hard time taking pictures while feeding and avoiding them (and their waste).

Here's a pic to give you an idea of how much their ranks swelled:

(click to enlarge)

It may not seem like it but that really is a picture of almost 60 ducks. There were people walking by and pulling over, taking pix with their mobile phones, of me playing Pied Piper.

The duck response was so unusual that I wondered if the flood had affected their natural food supply. Some of us theorized about the reasons for their reaction, but who knows the real answer.

When I ran out of bread the second time, I biked back to the store (couldn't help myself) but I saw a police officer on the way. I asked if he knew if I should call the city, county, or whatever about the ducks. He said there's actually a local ordnance against feeding the ducks because they've become something of a logistical nuisance, if I understood him correctly.

So, that was good to know and it saved me the cost of another cheap bag of bread.

But it was really fun little Labor Day adventure. If nothing else, I was able to keep a couple of cool points as I initially attempted to flee without *looking* like I was fleeing from a bunch of ducks.

So that's my long Labor Day duck tale. I'm sure it wasn't as fun to read about as it was to experience but trust me... big fun.

Biking Shorts - Part 1

I thought I'd drop a couple of short posts about my primary mode of transportation, these days, and a little about how it's changed me.


I got a brand-new bicycle (just be)for Christmas. It was all shiny and unspoiled.
I took it back within a couple of weeks.

We saw a local thrift store advertising discounted bikes. That's where I found a 20-year-old "hoopty"*** of a bike with a steel frame and high handle bars. Love at first sight.
I took it home that day.

It's funny that shiny and new didn't offer what *I* needed. It didn't coast far enough or "handle" high enough for my comfort. I wasn't looking for a speed demon. I was looking for a nice, comfortable bike to cruise around the neighborhood, get a little exercise, and maybe save gas money, along with the Earth.

Higher handle bars were easier on my back. I wasn't worried about wind resistance. I was worried about bone-itis*.

So infatuated with my new ride was I that, when I packed for my Christmas trip to see the family, I packed the bike, too.


You ain't seen NUFFIN' 'til you done seent a grown-ass Black man riding high on a old-ass comfort bike, with a big o' basket on the back, and a big-ass grin on his face. I was happy as could be, riding alongside all the kids with their brand-new, shiny Christmas bikes.

It was just what I wanted and (with some adjustments) it fit me to a "T." I'm sure I looked some kinda "special" cheesing my way down the street, back and forth to class, and even to the store, on ol' Trusty Rusty, but I couldn't give a damn.

Yes, my bike's got "battle scars" but that's all right. I am (and my legs muscles, especially are) gettin' fit again**, so it's all good.

No complaints. Well, maybe one, but that's for another post.

Click below to skip to:
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4




* a lil nod to the Futurama fans out there.
** I ain't TRYIN' to get a juicy in my old age!
*** - Actually, it's got something of a beach cruiser body style. Not quite as dorky as this, but close enough. Dorkily comfortable.

Blood Transfusion - Christmas 2007

I haven't been active since before the holidays, but I've thought about you all regularly. It's been an interesting time.

I thought I'd ease back into the swing of things by starting from back then and working my way forward - probably one post at a time.

This Christmas, I planned to stay in town and earn some money so I can keep my head a bit higher above water. It didn't work out quite like I planned so, instead of saving travel money and earning extra, I spent money traveling to Granny's house.

I'm glad I did.

After this first semester (in years) and so much negativity in my life, I was in need of the familial fix:

• The closeness of too many people talking too loudly in too small a space. Playing spades and dominoes like there's no tomorrow.
• Sweet, spoiled, harmless, aging, little dogs getting in the way, sometimes losing their minds and chomping people's feet like hamburgers, kicking their feet when they're rubbed. I actually bought a dog whistle to shut'em up, but that met with mixed success. I'm not sure what to make of it.
• Babies crying, drooling, staggering like winos, getting their cheeks pinched by the usual suspect - me - while spitting utterances that actually resemble words in the English language! I can already feel the sorrow adults feel when a kid stops saying "fender" for "thunder," "Wimberdon" for "Wimbledon" and "shep pup" for "shut up."
• Seeing family members I haven't seen since they were 5 years old, now young adults... Or young adults, now older with streaks of gray... Or older people now good n OLD, with pieces falling off of them, every day. The reminder that I'm not completely alone in the world, despite how it sometimes feels, was right on-time.

It was a good reminder of what blood means to me and, sadly, how much more I could do to demonstrate that fact.

This "blood transfusion" was wonderful and is just what makes Christmas, a holiday that tends to lose a certain something as we get older... and get fewer (i.e. almost "no") presents, an absolute joy.


Besides, I also brought my new-to-me bicycle (more on this later) on the trip and dorkily rode it along-side all the young kids sporting their brand-new, X-mas bikes. That, plus one of the gifts to myself, which I'll post about later, made for quite a bit of fun.

And then, there's all the GPS'ing. More on that later, too, of course.


I hope yours went as well. Sorry I missed out.

Hit It and Quit It

This was some holiday break. So much happened, it's hard to know where to begin. I guess I'll just start with something random.

Let's begin with "traffic."

My mother and I were on our way to my little cousin's birthday party when we saw emergency vehicles in the distance. Obviously, we don't wish anything bad on anyone else, but we were really hoping it wasn't a member of our family. As we approached, we noticed that none of the cars were familiar, so we breathed a sigh of relief. Until...

I saw my aunt's forehead. And my uncle's face. Some other family members.

Damn.


Apparently, this three-car accident was caused by a driver who ran three successive traffic lights, crashed into a second car, sending two people to the hospital, and causing the second car to hit my aunt and uncle's car.

One car received a face-lift and the other a full about-face. Scary.

Luckily, my family was fine. The car they'd just purchased two days earlier? Not so much.

Frig.

To top it all off, the offending vehicle's male driver and female passenger grabbed their baby, exited the vehicle, and hauled the requisite amount of ass.

They left so quickly that they forgot their mobile phone.

I don't know what the hell kinda illegal crap caused them to drive so recklessly or leave the scene of an accident, but I'm almost afraid to find out.

Last I heard, the cops were still combing the surrounding area. Meanwhile, my aunt and uncle have parked their now no-longer-road-worthy vehicle.

Happy Day After Thanksgiving.

Pirates 3

My Memorial Day weekend was pretty decent. (Sadly, I must confess that I didn't give more than a moment's thought to true purpose of the holiday.) M'lady and I went to her folks' place for the weekend - eatin', watchin' movies, and gettin' beat-the-hell-up by her little sister in a fighting game called "Dead or Alive."

Oh yeah. We also went to see this guy*:

(Pic taken in the movie theater.)

While the movie did drag here and there, I was pretty pleased with it overall. I was just there to get entertained and it did that.

The acting above-average, the story was fairly engaging, but the storytelling left something to be desired. Since I'm only so invested in the franchise, this didn't bother me as much as it might have otherwise.

Low expectations, dontchuknow.

The story wasn't told with the new-comer (or a low- to mid-level fan) in-mind. Maybe that was because the flick was long enough (2hr 45min) without a recap. I dunno. But, as someone who's only seen the previous installments once each, I didn't always understand what was going on or who a character was.

I don't remember the first two chapters very well. It's hard to say if the latest placed worst or first. (M'lady prefers Part 2, by the way.)

Once again, we attended a pre-noon showing - this time in Jacksonville, Florida. Admission was $5 per person. Maybe, if I'd paid twice as much, I'd have walked out pissed. As it stands, it was a flick with a lot of fun, a few flaws, and a few touching moments.


Recommended?
Sure. Why not?!



* - Although I missed about 10 minutes of the flick when I had to leave to take a call. (Yes, my ringer was off.)

Mother's Day

This Mother's Day was pretty nice (if expensive).

I got my mom something she'd wanted for a while, but probably wouldn't get for herself, and an uncle and I took five or six moms out to dinner. It was a nice outing and I was especially glad it included one of the younger mothers in the family. Otherwise, I doubt she would've received any Mother's Day acknowledgment.

The only downside, really, was the fact that we couldn't do that for more family members. One doesn't want to have to pick and choose between family members, but we couldn't afford to take everyone. (I chose based on those who were around at the time we began finalizing the plan.)

It's a special day for mothers, so I hate the idea that there are mothers out there who didn't feel special - maybe because no one acknowledged them on that day or maybe because they spent the day worrying about or dealing with approaching forest fires in California, Georgia, or Florida.*




* - In our case, the closest fires are about 300 miles, away, from most of my family, but we could still smell it. At first, I thought someone left the oven on. Then I thought someone was burning leaves (which is a smell I associate with Pensacola). Eventually, I realized it was the forest fire(s)... which have resulted in a smoky haze in and around Tallahassee (100 miles away).