Florida Update on Day One Plus One

The Temperature was not 68 degrees today. It was more in the 50's the weatherman told me early this evening. The sun felt good. We didn't get out to pick grapefruit. Too much unpacking to do. The predicted weather looks good. Maybe a couple more days of 50's, swinging into the 60's and then -Ta Da!- 70's beginning this weekend. Perfect! Down into the 40's/50's at night. Not bad.

The tourists on Siesta Key beach are not amused, says the newscaster. The lifeguard at Crescent Beach is tired of scraping frost off his windshield each morning before he drives to the beach for a day of lifeguarding. No one is in the water.

A bare-chested, barrel-chested older man was interviewed by a local, native Floridian. When asked if he was going into the water he replied, "I'm not crazy, I'm just nuts." He wants to go home with a tan, so he's not wearing a shirt. He's determined to get some color before his vacation ends, he says. Another woman from Norway was on the beach with her husband and kids. It looked like the kids could care less about the temperature. They were having fun, but their mother hoped for more-warm weather, hot sun.

There was the chimp attack on a volunteer at a Primate Sanctuary some where around here. The volunteer took full responsibility for not following protocol, appeared on TV with her bites and scratches, wrapped in bandages. The Chimps are O.K. The volunteer is going to heal and return to volunteer. Happy ending.

Then, the report of the fellow who was put to death by the State of Florida tonight. He murdered a woman, a wildlife refuge officer, about 25 years ago. Just before he was killed by lethal injection he made a statement to the woman's family. He said he was sorry for what happened, even though he couldn't remember all of what happened. This was the first time he had showed any remorse the TV reporter said. Although, The Pope tried to intervene, saying the man sought redemption, had found God, etc. It was reported he beat the woman many times with a flashlight, took her gun and shot her, execution-style. She was in her twenties and in the wrong place at the wrong time without backup, I guess. Tragic all around.

Enough of this. You readers can read all this elsewhere. Time to reduce the e-mails from 750 to ?

And, begin to read Canadian Meds by John Moynihan and Pals by Carl Ring, among other selections.

Reviews to follow, if I can just make time to do a little reading. :-) FAN, signing OFF.