Now And Then

 There's a guy who's making a career doing little films and also appearances about Florida. The funky and the fantastic. The grit, the goofiness, and the gators. The unbelievable and the unbearable (insects, heat, pollen, hurricanes, and so forth). The absurd and the abnormal. The ridiculous and the realities. 

He goes by the name of OMGitswicks and his Youtube channel can be found here. 
His tagline is "Only in Florida. Just glad I got it on my flip phone." 

In almost every video he shoots, he's holding some product from Publix, usually either from the deli or bakery. Oddly, he does not have any sort of monetary relationship with them. He damn well should though. And he is right- Publix is very Florida. Started here and spread from there. Not unlike pythons although not in that bad snaky way. 

Today when I was headed to Melissa's to get my hair cut, I got behind that truck you see at the top and OMGitswicks' words came to my mind. 
I am sure there are other states in which you might see a pick-up truck with a black tarp in the back being held down by a watermelon and a pineapple but still...
Florida keeps Floridaing for sure. 
To top the the drive off as a true Florida experience, I was late to the appointment because traffic was slowed from three lanes to one on the main highway into town. The reason for the lane blocks was that the signs directing people to the Tallahassee International (hahahahahahahahahaha!) Airport were being switched out to the signs directing people to the Bobby Bowden Tallahassee International Airport. 
Now, YOU may have never heard of Bobby Bowden but if you're from Tallahassee you know beyond doubt who the man was. He was the football coach for the Florida State Seminoles forever and was regarded as a saint, a savior, and the best good ol' boy this country has ever produced. I will say that there was never even a whiff of a scandal about him despite the fact that he was a major "in the name of Jesus" sort of guy which is usually a red flag. 
Seriously, he was revered. He died in 2021 at the age of 91 and his name shall ne'er be forgot. 
DeSantis just signed the legislation two days ago making the new name official and I suppose that it was never in doubt that it would pass if the signs are already made and being put up. 

It's been a Florida day. As I suppose all of mine are for the most part. 

It was good to see Melissa. No, it was GREAT to see Melissa. I got to catch up on a lot of what's going on in her world. I'm not going to name names or shame names or blame names but I will say that the constant news about one of her husband's relatives is hardly to be believed. 
This person BOUGHT a hospital somewhere in Central America (I think) for a doctor who cared for this person's husband before he died, and for whom this person developed a strong friendship with.
And that is just one example. 
Her own husband, a man I met through blogging is truly one of the best people in the world, along with Melissa. They were childhood sweethearts, they lost track of each other, re-met in their forties, and here they are, together again. He is the man Hank and Rachel chose to officiate at their wedding.
It's a love story, y'all. And when I say "love," I don't just mean they love each other. I mean they are loved by all who know them. 

And oh yeah, she cut my hair. She agreed that I had lost some but that she, too, thinks it's growing back and not so bad. 
Did I mention how sweet she is? 
So she just took off some inches and it is now shorter than it has been in, well, many, many decades. 

I hate pictures of my face. That thing that looks like a zit there? It's not. It's just a zit-looking red spot. The main thing is that I can still put my hair up which was of utmost importance. I remember one time when Gibson was a little boy and I had my hair down which made him uncomfortable. He kept looking at me as if I might morph into a monster any second. I put it up again and he looked at me and said, "Now you look like the real Mermer." He was so relieved. 

Just for fun and because I am rather astounded, I will show you a picture of me from between thirty-five and forty years ago, I think. Glen was showing August and Levon pictures of him from his basketball career and found it. 

I'm pretty sure that was taken at the Gibson Inn in Apalachicola. The astounding thing to me is that I had no idea whatsoever that I was a fairly good-looking woman. I mean, I knew I wasn't ugly although all women (and possibly some men) may feel ugly at times. But the thing is, we cannot and do no see ourselves as others see us. Because I am no longer the same woman in that picture in so many ways, I look at it quite differently than I did then when I probably hated it. 
I remember that shirt which was a beautiful blue silk blouse. And the skirt was a long, longtime favorite of mine. I bought it from Tweeds, a catalog-only company as far as I know. I had several pieces of clothing from them, including two dresses that my friends and I shared around as we did back then. The silver bracelets I still have. 
The hair? I do not. 
Glen put the picture up on the refrigerator and I asked Levon if he didn't think I was pretty back then and he answered, as only the smartest and best men will, "You are still pretty." 
He was parroting his Boppie but that is okay. 
And I think I should use the reaction I have to that picture now as a lesson- I do truly hate to have pictures taken of my face now but if by some miracle I live to be eighty, I will probably look back at that picture I took of me today and think, "You had no idea how good you looked then."
As the saying goes, we will never be younger than we are today. 

Tomorrow I am staying home. I SWEAR! I could get up at the ass-crack of dawn and go up to the lake with Glen to check out the new floor but that is simply not going to happen. He can take pictures and send them to me. 

I feel so very behind in all of my chores and need-to-do's around here. I haven't even kicked bamboo since Sunday and god knows that is a big mistake. The truth is is that I haven't been feeling the best and I'm not sure why but perhaps tomorrow I will wake up feeling clearheaded and strong and positive in every way! 
And of course pigs will be flying out of my butt. 

Oh, oh! 
My today's picture with the new iPhone camera which does not have a macro lens. 

These are the extremely tiny blooms of a succulent I have growing in front of the window in the laundry room. 
Here's a picture which shows them more in scale. 

I am figuring out how to do this. 

Love...Ms. Moon