A Ship Much Loved, HMS Bounty

She was the beautiful HMS Bounty, a replica of the 18th century English ship famous for the story of the abusive captain whose sailors took the ship away from him.  This replica was built from the same blueprints in 1960 and starred in Mutiny on the Bounty with Marlon Brando in 1962.

 

She was kept for many years as a tourist attraction in Tampa, Florida, and I visited her and walked all around the decks, and inside the captain's quarters where the signature windows were located.  I had never been on a sailing ship before.

 

Two days ago she sank off the coast of North Carolina in a hurricane.  Her captain was attempting to sail away from the coast and around massive Hurricane Sandy, which he thought would protect her from getting pounded at the docks.  But something went wrong with the pumps, as she took on water in the high waves.  Her crew abandoned ship; one member who was a distant relative of the original mutineer, could not be revived.  As of this writing her captain has not been found.

 

 

 

 

Nooz or Snooze?

Our Atlanta newspaper is fun to have every day, fun to pick up every morning from the end of the driveway and devour with coffee.  There are always topics of interest to spark nice conversations and get the day going well.

We had a subscription for several years.  It was affordable and the delivery was dependable.  It was a good value for the money.  So why on earth would someone want to end such a beneficial arrangement?

I'll tell you why, just as i have told the subscription solicitation department of the Atlanta paper every time they call, which is a mite tedious but i guess they enjoy hearing it:

The dear paper delivery person's car coming into the cul de sac at 4:00 a.m. wakes me up and all the dogs, old people, school kids, working folks and everything else that lives around here.  I hate being awakened like that and then trying to get back to sleep is nearly impossible.  The thought of all my neighbors being disturbed out of their precious rest just so we have a newspaper delivered takes away all my peace of mind and my enjoyment of the paper.

"We get the paper at the store," I say to the salespeople every time they call.  But their records only show that i used to be one of their subscribers; they never note my reason for stopping the paper. 

"What can we do to get you back, ma'm?  We have a GREAT DEAL for you! Three months of seven days a week, including Saturday and Sunday, that's the SUNDAY PAPER, for $10.  No?  Okay, if you will just re-up right now, WE will pay YOU $10! That's right!  We'll send the guy out with the cash right NOW!  You cannot afford to pass up this wonderful offer!  Why, we'll wash your car, sweep your porch, we'll bring in the mail, we'll bring you coffee and doughnuts, we have GOT to get your subscription, WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU??!!!....."

The MUSE!

This is a fantastic group of musicians who keep me company while i'm working - the music easily guides the mind into that creative focused oblivion which is the only way you can get any real work done!

Comedy in Real Life

Sometimes i tune in and yesterday while grocery shopping with Papacito i was fortunate to hear a hilarious exchange between a young mom and her nice young son.

This lady seemed to be enjoying herself, as her son and daughter followed her through the store.  She was keeping them up to date on how much longer they would be there, and what items on the list they still needed.

"Let's see, we got the vegetables and the chicken quarters..."

There was a moment, and then i heard him ask, with that questioning disbelief in his voice, "...chicken QUARTERS??!"  She just answered Yes, with no explanation.  Maybe she was waiting for the next question.

As we rounded the corner i just about lost all my good sense, i laughed so hard.  I had to explain the episode to Steve.  Then he nearly had to pick up his crazy laughing wife after he remarked, "What we need is chicken DOLLARS!"

LOOK, at the scenery we're driving through!  Nobody else in the car cares how pretty the countryside is.  The grandkid plays with her toys and gadgets or reads a book.  Her grandfather is usually asleep if he's riding in the car.

I can save my urge to share the scene.  I just look, by myself.

Enlarging Your Vocabulary!

The great writer and storyteller, Jeffrey Archer, has my attention this Fall of 2012.  The novels about Harry Clifton are great reading.

At one point he uses the word Codswallop to describe something being nonsense.

We need to be mindful of teaching schoolkids their adjectives, in our day and age.  Something more than just Amazing and Awesome, BS and Crap.

I think saying codswallop makes one sound much more intellectual than sinking to the word crap.

Take a Pill

So many people use the phrase, One Day At A Time. Take one day at a time. They don't want to be overwhelmed by your overwhelmedness.

Imagine Images

There are lots of electronic toys in active popular usage now that recent generations would not have understood no matter how many times they read about them.  I remember thinking just a few years ago, when I first heard talk of a cellular telephone with a built-in camera, that there would never be a reason for me to have a camera with my telephone!

Now I can't imagine not having my phone-cam within inches of my reach at all times!  Yesterday I was stopped in traffic on a street where the county fair is held every October.  Once a year busy traffic is interrupted so people can turn into the parking lot, and then walk across to get into the fair enclosure.

Instead of finding the delay irritating, I can reach for the phone camera and snap photos that otherwise I would never have had!