I’ve received several questions about the e-mail that was sent out last Sunday. I will try to straighten out any misunderstandings.
The picture was actually Bill. He had a lot of hair on his back and one of the trilander contest judges gave him a jar of depilatory cream but he refused to use it. He said hair on his back made him feel more like a real man.
The other picture was actually me. I have a new digital camera and set it on a 10 second delay. I put it on a dining room chair on top of the dining room table and took a picture of myself after my shower. We (brother Bob and I) stretched the picture wider to make me look fatter. We had it wider than that but I looked ridiculous and thought I resembled former Michigan governor John Engler so we brought it back a little. Paid for by the committee to elect Jennifer Granholm governor
The water was being shut off today for a couple of hours and I had some errands to run so I left at 9:30. I ran the errands and went to the YMCA to lift (chest, shoulders and back-yesterday was biceps and triceps). There are three bridges to get you onto the island of Venice where our place is. I chose the wrong bridge and waited 10 minutes for a sailboat to go by with the drawbridge up.
I got to the corner of US-41 and Venice Ave to turn right and the light was red with no right turn on red allowed. The left turn arrows turned green and there were several cars from both directions in the turn lanes. The turn lane lights went to yellow and then red and the east west traffic had the green light. I expected a couple of cars to continue the turn by going through a yellow light. I counted nine cars in two lanes going through when the light was definitely red.
I went out to Wal-Mart to get a battery for my swim timer which is a couple of miles down US-41. A half a block before the traffic signal (which was green) the car in front of me slammed on its brakes. I slammed on mine and the guy behind me slammed on his and went into the median to avoid hitting me. Apparently the guy ahead of me thought the light might change and wanted to be prepared.
I did all my errands, lifted weights at the Y and came back onto the island over the South Bridge. There is construction along there and traffic moves slowly but the streets weren’t crowded so it was easy driving. I got to the corner where the Publix supermarket is and was in the left turn lane. The lady directly across from me was turning left into the Publix parking lot and had her turn signal on (strange but true). Behind her there were cars for nearly a block. I thought it was strange that all those cars were turning into Publix and there were none going straight. The car in front of me turned left and as I started to go also I saw cars pulling around the lady to come straight. I looked and she was in the center lane turning left and no one was in the left turn lane.
I decided to go to the outdoor market and buy some fresh asparagus and a tomato for dinner (with broiled salmon sprinkled with Cajun seasoning). I left the market and went over to the street that takes me to the condo. I was at a stop sign and it was a through street going the other way. A guy in a Gray Jeep Cherokee was stopped at the corner on the through street, was looking each way and looked confused. I could see that he wasn’t moving so I went, turned left, and watched him in my rear view mirror. Cars were going around him and I was at a stop sign two blocks away before I saw him finally turn right.
If you say “I’ve seen all those things”, so have I. But this was all in less than 20 minutes of driving.
Ernie Strong was a teacher and drivers education instructor for a lot of years. He and Barb will be down in Florida in January about an hour north of us. Ernie-can we get together and you can teach me all the dumb things drivers education students did all those years so I can fit in down here?
Just Jack
PS – I was so distraught I had to lay by the pool nearly two hours in the sun. It was in the upper 70s and I got so hot a couple of times I had to cool off in the pool.
