Saturday, July 30, 2022

Was I Ever Hell On Wheels?


There is Dr. Pansaloony, the Noble Son of Violet. Or, some hen, but most definitely raised by Violet. I look at that comb and waddle and those tail feathers and that drape he's growing there and I am 99.9% certain he's rooster. He's still got those fluffy thighs. I think we may have two hens in the quartet. Not certain. They all have huge feet but possibly that's just a teenager thing. 

Another hot day with no rain here in Lloyd. It's 95 degrees right now at almost-six o'clock. Glen and I both worked in the garden today and neither one of us tolerated it for long. It's ridiculous working out there in the full sun. I get to the point where I start to feel a little nauseas and that's when I know I have to come in and cool off. Jessie and Vergil are on their way back with the boys and Lily told Jessie in a text today that they need to turn around and go back to North Carolina because it's too damn hot here. And that, by the way, we'd all be following them up there and moving in with them. Although it has gotten hot up on Black Mountain this summer, it's still going to be a hell of a shock for them to come back to Tallahassee. 

After Mr. Moon and I both came back into the house I asked him if he wanted to go to the river to cool off. "It's either that or take a shower," I told him. We debated the issue a bit. On the one hand, it's Saturday which means there would be a crowd down there and also I needed to get laundry off the line and make hamburger buns but on the other hand- well, the river. 

So we went to the river. 

It was crowded. We put our chairs in the shade and were close enough to the next group over that I could easily eavesdrop which as we all know, is one of my favorite things to do. The best line I heard was from a woman who said, "When I was in my fifties I was hell on wheels!" 
And I bet she was. I can't even remember my fifties. 

We followed our routine which is to set up the chairs and then immediately get in the water. It was as cold as ever but because of all the people it wasn't as clear and pretty as it usually is. There was a guy who kept yelling at his kids "Don't go over there! It's too deep! You come back here! You get back here right now!" 
Etc. 
I heard a mom say to her child, "Here, you can have a piece of chocolate if you'll just shut up!" 
A Florida Wildlife guy was checking a boat for violations at the dock and many, many water craft of various types were being launched and returning to land. A kid was riding a bike in the parking lot and a Jefferson County sheriff almost hit him pulling out of his space. One guy was grilling hot dogs behind his car in the parking lot on a tiny grill. It was a lot. As Mr. Moon and I were standing in the water taking it all in I said, "Human beings can fuck anything up." 
Even as I said it, I was under no delusions that I wasn't one of those humans myself. 
But we stayed long enough for two lovely dive-ins and once again, it worked its magic and we came home in a good mood. I still feel cooler and my skin feels softer although it also smells a little river-fishy. 
So what? 

You know how I said the other day that I am having great waves of flashbacks of memories of being in other places? One of the main ones I'm having is of being in Vero Beach, staying at the beach with my mother, grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins. We did this for many years, meeting up there semi-regularly, even long after Granny and Granddaddy died. The last time we did it, Jessie had been born and was generally in a sling on my hip so that was about 1990. It was always so much fun and we stayed at the same two places every time. For the earliest years, we stayed at Sea Cove Cottages which I have spoken of before. 



They were of course torn down eventually to make way for giant, ugly condos and so we all met at a place called The Aquarius Motel which I think is still there but under a different name. There was a shuffle board court and outdoor grills and kitchenettes and it was always so much fun. I keep thinking of those times. 
On my birthday, my cousin Susie posted a picture on FB that I think I've posted here before but will post again. 


Suzie on the left, holding my brother Chuck, my mother holding Russell, and me holding our cat whose name I do not remember. This was in Winter Haven, probably around 1970 or '71 and even though the picture wasn't taken in Vero, it brought back those beach trips even more strongly. 
I yearn to go back. 
Maybe we will. Go spend a few days in Vero and then head up to Roseland and spend a few days there. Why not? We're sort of, kind of, maybe retired. 

Well, enough of that! 

Off to make supper. 

Love...Ms. Moon

28 comments:

  1. Lovely memorurs. Yes why not go back and check it out? And tell us how it went.

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    1. I've been to Vero (and of course Roseland!) many times as an adult. But not for quite some years. It is time to go back.

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  2. Oh yes, I believe Vero Beach is in the cards somewhere....... my goodness, you were a mere young teen in this pic! And Steve is going to love the retro post card of the Sea Cove Cottages! LOL! I love your trips to the river.....and what all you can hear from the people around you.....if you really listen (which you love to do). Amazing, isn't it?
    Susan M

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    1. and yes, I agree that Dr Pansaloony is most defintely a rooster! Susan M

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    2. I can't NOT eavesdrop! What is more interesting than other people's stories? Even the blandest of them have elements of the saga in them. I think Steve's seen those postcard pictures before. I hope he's having a smooth-flying trip!

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  3. A dip in the river sounds more cooling than a shower somehow. Maybe because you can stand in the water.

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    1. And of course also because I do not set my shower at the "ice water" function!

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  4. How lovely to have a river so close. How dare others encroach. I guess the river fishy is the same as the ocean salty.
    Surely the 70s were only a few years ago?

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    1. They were! I swear! The seventies were yesterday.

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  5. Those fifties and sixties motels, before TravelLodge (or whatever they were called) were perfect. My show buddy and I stayed in "mom and pop" motels as often as we could.

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    1. My granny used to call them "auto courts." Which is what they started out as, I think. I, too, love mom and pop motels but I will tell you that I've stayed at a few that were rather, um, unsavory.

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  6. Was the overheard woman who claimed she was "hell on wheels" disabled and confined to a wheelchair? As for the old colour photo - perhaps from The Aquarius Motel - it seems as though it was taken in another age - The Age of Aquarius when you were such a pretty sixteen year old.

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    1. No. The lady seemed fine, just older. I think she may have been bemoaning her left-behind youth and energy. The photos are of the Sea Cove Cottages. No longer there, so sadly. They were not new in the very early sixties- I can tell you that.

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  7. We had a camper van for around 15 years when our kids were growing up and went out "discovering" pretty much every weekend - fishing, swimming, hiking in the summer and skiing in the winter. One summer we were camping on the west coast of France and the family behind us had a little girl about four years old. All we heard from dad all day was "Anais, don't do that, Anais, eat your food, Anais sit down, Anais stand up"! I looked over at my oldest son and said "do you have any idea what that kid's name is" and straightfaced as hell he answered "nah, haven't got a clue"!

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    1. Haha! Great story. And I'm glad I was not Anais.

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  8. Summer memories growing up. My parents built a beach house in Sea Isle on the west end of Galveston Island when I was about 13 and there we spent weekends and summers until my parents moved in and turned it into their home with all kinds of new rules about sand and wet bathing suits and whatall.

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    1. Summers were magical for us, weren't they? I hope they are for my grandchildren.
      And beach houses are meant to be sandy and have wet towels and bathing suits strewn about!

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  9. Great memories! How nostalgic seeing those Bahamas beds! So glad you had a lovely birthday.
    Xoxo
    Barbara

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    1. I swear- I can remember how those beds felt and smelled.

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  10. Florida was/is exotic to me. I've never been but hope to make it one day. I think I've told you I have a cousin who lives in Florida now, so who knows?

    We also drove to Vancouver Island to visit and stay with family when I was a kid, who knows what we did before I turned eight and moved to Alberta. Nothing as exotic as Florida and the ocean off Vancouver Island is way too damn cold to swim in.

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    1. You know, even though I've lived in Florida for most of my life, I still love being a tourist in the state. It IS a pretty exotic place in many ways. There surely isn't as much kitsch as there used to be. Disney took care of that, the bastards. But the natural parts of it can be glorious. You should definitely visit your sister. Where does she live?

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  11. Replies
    1. Yes? I have a friend who calls me Marie de Luna.

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  12. try again. Loved your bit on Vero BEach. We used to spend every Christmas with my snowbird Grandparents at Shamrock Village!

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    1. Okay. I've just looked up Shamrock Village. Was that in Ft. Pierce?

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    2. I had an aunt and uncle who lived in Ft. Pierce. I have never been to Florida and, of course, most of those relatives are gone now.

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    3. yep, Fort Pierce. Any my name isn't Beverly (that is my Mother); I'm Jenny

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  13. When you're retired you can do anything you want, including taking a nap in the middle of the day. Or maybe that's just me.

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Tell me, sweeties. Tell me what you think.