More Odds and Ends

This is the second time I'm changing my usual format for a few tidbits that I find interesting and hope you do too.


To start with, I recently wrote that as a recovering workaholic, I love the peace and tranquility of walking the beach. The sound of the waves hitting the shore and lapping at my legs is so refreshing. The cares of the world seem so far away. Especially when the beach isn't too crowded although it is nice when there are a few lovelies in their bikinis to check out. Hey, what can I say, I'm a guy after all and a little eye candy is always nice.


Anyway, got to do that for four days last week when we visited St. Simons Island off the coast of Georgia. We got a place right on the beach and it was so relaxing. And there is just enough history and quaint shops and good restaurants to add to the ambience.


And close by there is an island called Jekyll when the tycoons and robber barons of the past like the Rockefellers and the Vanderbilts built "cottages'' on the private island where nobody but the owners, guests and workers were allowed. Of course, the cottages were 9,000 square feet and up built in the 1900s. You can now go on a tour and visit them.


Another interesting feature was going on a shrimp boat where they put their nets in three times to drag up shrimp. Along with them came all sorts of other fish, including baby sharks a foot and a half long that they would let you you hold and pose for photos. And then they boiled a huge pot of shrimp that they caught that morning and you could eat all you wanted. So, naturally, I gorged myself. Delcious.


So it was a fun time. Good to get away and take time out to smell the roses and not have a care in the world.

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Walking sticks


In one of the "cottages," they had a walking stick on the couch. About an quarter to half inch round and I immediately thought of the uses it could be put to. You couldn't touch it there, but lo and behold, they were selling them in the gift shop. A bit pricey at $50, but I picked it up and slapped my other hand with it and I thought it could deliver some very enticing blows. Too bad walking sticks went out of style. LOL.
And then there's a restaurant called Spankys with a deck outside. Wouldn't it be nice for two spankos to have dinner and then go out to the deck where she is bent over the railing and he delivers a few quick smacks before anybody notices. A good dessert. A spanking at Spankys. How appropriate.
Then one of the gift shops had a plaque with a saying something like, "The beatings will continue until the attitude changes.'' The effect was spoiled with a picture of something of a pirate skeleton on the top. Just a cane would have been more appropriate. What a nice touch for a spankos' bedroom!!!!

Mad Men

Just wanted to alert you that Mad Men will start a new season Sunday night on AMC. If you are too young to remember the 1960s, this show captures that time perfectly in a story about a New York ad agency. And if you were in New York in the 1960s, as I was, it will bring back memories of the way things used to be. Things have changed for the better from the days when sexism and racism were almost considered normal and everybody smoked.

It is worth watching along with Rescue Me (about New York city firefighters post 9/11) and Friday Night Lights (a family drama against the backdropf high school football in Texas), which are currently in new seasons. And if you haven't seen them, the DVDs of all three shows are worth watching.

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Chelsea's Wedding

I clicked on to AOL this morning and they had 14 questions about Chelsea Clinton's wedding. Not that Chelsea has answered any of them. She has given no interviews, but The New York Times has already done two stories on the wedding despite her attempt to stay out of the limelight. The wedding is next Saturday and t he guests haven't been told yet where the wedding is, just that it is within driving distance of New York City. And the guests -- 400 to 500 -- don'tt include many of the Clinton's power pals. The top criteria was to have a personal connection with the bride and/or groom. Chelsea has grown up in a fish bowl, but certainly has conducted herself with grace and dignity. I guess I'm adding to the gossip by posting this, but I think she has done a great job of keeping her wedding from becoming a media circus. In our celebrity driven culture, she has avoided the spotlight and the tabloids. I doubt she will selling wedding photos to People Magazine.

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Weddings

Speaking of weddings, I read a story about a woman who had been a bridesmaid 29 times and was finally getting married herself at age 39. Can you imagine having 29 dresses you had worn just once? It said the average American woman is a bridesmaid five times.

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Word Verification

I'm curioius if anyone who doesn't have word verification has had any problems. I don't have it on my blog and have no problems. It seems like word verification is just an unnecessary step when you try to post comments. But then maybe bloggers use it because they have had problems.

If you've read all the way to the bottom, I hope you found these thoughts interesting. Anyway, I enjoyed the vacation, but it is good to be back and checking out the blogs again. And thanks for reading.

FD