Happy Birthday, Bodo!

This isn't your mother's Wonderland

I suppose that should have been a given with Tim Burton directing the latest version of Lewis Carroll's classic "Alice in Wonderland."

Edgy, at least for what should be a kids movie.

I don't know how many little kids I'd let watch this without some reassuring supervision.

But, it's a visual feast that any adult will appreciate.

Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter and Helena Bonham Carter as the Queen of Hearts are particularly eye-grabbing.

This makes up for the rather ho-hum adaptation.

The only truly disappointing part of this film was the ending, which leaves the female protagonist becoming a merchant.

That's right, a merchant. Exciting, no?

Bottom line: Worth watching, especially if you know someone named Alice who you can tease about it later . . .

No football today?!?

I think this is the closest that yours truly has ever been to PTSD.

With the recent losses of both my beloved Gators and the Apopka Blue Darters, and given the pathetic nature of the Bucs this season, I just didn't know what I would do with all my spare time this weekend.

Forutnately, my little sister came to the rescue with this snapshot of her son's flag football game up in South Carolina.

Not quite the same as watching an SEC gridiron battle on cable TV, but I'll settle for anything at this point.

And, given the scouting reports of Junior Simmons' fierce running game, methinks Tebow's records may fall in about 15 years. Ye Noles fans should also be quaking in your collective boots!

Happy Birthday, Alice!

Wish you lived closer to home so we could see you blow out the candles on your cake today!

I'm sure you'll do something wild and crazy to mark the occasion, so make sure to take/forward pictures!

How sweet it is!

The Magic's big victory over King James and the Cavs tonight (103-90) brought back a flood of memories from the last time Orlando seized the Eastern Conference championship and headed to the NBA finals.

That was way back in 1995. You know, when dinosaurs roamed the earth and Shaquille O'Neal, Penny Hardaway, and Nick Anderson were on the Magic roster.

I remember that night very well, not so much for the game itself but for the raucous celebration that ensued immediately after the final buzzer.

I was driving my first real new car, a 1994 Chevy Cavalier. (How ironic is that, by the way?!)

I had my kid sister riding shot gun, and my cousin in the back seat, and we were doing Chinese fire drills at every red light on Orange Avenue until OPD told us they were going to start issuing tickets to any car they caught going thru the same intersection more than 3 times. (Fascists!)

Anyway, I remember we were honking my horn so much, and so hard, that the center of my steering wheel eventually popped-off in my hand . . . and, I was so deliriously happy that I didn't care until the next day.

Oh, how times have changed.

Tonight's victory will be celebrated more simply and quietly, with a couple o' phone calls and some cherry cider.

But, at least ye 4-wheeled transportation device in my driveway is safe from rowdies.

And, let's hope LA doesn't do to us what Houston did back in the day . . .

GO MAGIC!

Ye Palmetto State

So, after a later-than-I-would've-liked start to the day, I-95 did eventually carry us out of North Carolina this morning.

For ye socks who have never enjoyed that experience, you're missing out on several thousand entertaining Billboards by Pedro along the way.

Bypassing all the tourist schlock, I figured a stop at the South Carolina Welcome Center was in order.

I though--rather foolishly, as it turned out--that someone there might be able to give us some suggestions as to where would be a good place to kill a few hours since ye rendezvous in Mount Pleasant wasn't scheduled until late afternoon. You know, maybe a town within easy driving distance of 95 or 26 that had some historic site, some decent restaurants to choose from, etc.

The recommendation: "Well, um, I 'thank' they's a Shoney's in Dillon . . . they's got a buffet . . . it's only $4.95!"

I do not have a poker face, which evidently led to the second recommendation: "Maybe, you'd like Florence better?"

Florence, for ye socks unfamiliar with this little corner of . . . well . . . South Carolina, is a fairly decent sized town. There weren't any of those brown and white signs one usually sees along the roadway to point out interesting historic sites. But, it was full of a bunch of national chain restaurants, hotels, and gas stations. Just great, because we don't have any of those in Orlando . . .

So, lunch was had at the Cracker Barrel. (Chicken and rice for me, thank you, followed up with a chocolate cobbler.) Not altogether the unique traveling experience I was looking for, but it did fill the void and carry me thru to this afternoon's rendezvous.

Spending the night here east of ye olde Cooper River at my sister's place, chillin' with the Simmons clan. I'll try to get a few pictures posted. If not here, then on facebook.

Happy Trails!

It's been so nice having my sister and her family come home to Orlando, even if only for one week.

Today, though, they hit the road on their way back up to South Carolina.

Safe journey, Simmons clan!

Come back soon and often, and try to avoid all the crazy holiday travelers on the interstate!

The Magic Kingdom will never be the same

Not after these two mousketeers get a hold of it!

According to my spies, their parents are having a pretty good time, too.

Mom has ridden Space Mountain 7 times since the gates opened, and is back in line for another go-round.

And, Dad is riding the bumper cars at Test Track to hone his driving skills for the trip back up I-4.

Fun times in this little corner of heaven today . . .

Educated atop a former toxic gas depot . . .

I learned this disturbing little piece of information today about Chickasaw Elementary School east of Orlando, where yours truly (and his favorite sibling) attended classes from 1979 to 1981.

The Army Corps of Engineer's office up in Jacksonville announced today that the campus was once used by the nearby Orlando Army Airfield as a "toxic gas and decontamination yard." And, they are going to spend some $1.4 million of our bitterly-forfeited tax dollars to screen the site for any residual contamination and debris.

It seems back during the Second World War "the greatest generation" was running hither and yon in what was then inhospitable swampland, learning how to combat mustard gas and other chemicals the dastardly fascists might send their way in the midst of battle.

Don't ask me why the corps is only getting around to checking the site out for public safety some sixty plus years after the war's end . . .

The real question is whether I (and the aforementioned favorite sibling) may now blame our years at Chickasaw for all foibles past, present and future . . .

Totally off the wall

Ok, recent posts have been a tad on the serious side lately, so here's some random items to mix it up a bit.

No rhyme or reason to any of this. Just some stuff I had jotted down over the last couple of days that I thought ye socks might find at least mildly interesting or amusing:

1. http://www.publicprofiler.org/worldnames Type in your surname and see how popular it is.

2. http://www.simpsonizeme.com Have your best head shot ready to upload and generate a Simpsons cartoon version.

3. http://www.yearbookyourself.com Again, have a good head shot ready to upload. This time around, you're going to generate what your yearbook photo would have looked like if you went to high school in the 1950s, 60s, 70s, 80s, etc.

4. The siding contractor began work on the back of the house yesterday. Keep your eyes peeled for some digipics by the weekend.

5. Happy Birthday greetings to my little sister.

Shout out to my Bodo!

Well, I FINALLY got a hold of my baby sister on the phone today, after repeated failed efforts and much consternation.

Anyway, I had fun talking with her.

But, she did TRY to give me a hard time about my delinquent postings here in the dryer.

She should have known better.

I mean, after all, her little blog hasn't been updated since JUNE 19th!!

And, I have access to a virtual library of embarassing old photos of her teenage years.

The one posted here is fairly tame (NYC, 1989), but she should be forewarned that I've got some real doozies in my arsenal!

Hopefully optimistic

That's how I'd characterize my overall mood today.

The day started off with my usual breakfast place, but actually got to meet a new face. (Hey, that rhymes!) Anyway, I am hopeful the new contact will generate some more business around here.

I am also hopefull about the Mike Huckabee campaign. The numbers are looking pretty good up in South Carolina, and today's national poll actually has him slightly ahead. It's going to be tight, but I look forward to seeing the results tomorrow. Reminder to self: call your sister, and get out the Mount Pleasant vote.

But, what has me looking forward to this weekend more than anything is this pending cold front all the prognosticators are talking about on the cable weather channel. That will make for some good football-watching weather . . . another note to self: remember to go get chilli fixin's!

I hope all ye socks out there are fighting pessimism, too! Have a good weekend!

Not-so-black Friday

The day after Turkey Day, and we're all still recovering from the feast my sister prepared last night.

We had turkey, mashed potatoes, carrot soufle, and some zucchini casserole she made from a magazine recipe. Oh, and Keith made some Easley dressing (not stuffing!), and Mrs. Smith made THREE pies: minced meat, pecan, and pumpkin.

Yes, we are all bloated this morning.

But, mostly we're all just grateful that Alice didn't follow-thru on her threat of dragging us all out of bed during the wee hours of the morning to participate in all the Black Friday shenanigans in thriving downtown Mount Pleasant.

If left up to her, we'd have been at Kohl's at 4 AM!!

Road trippin'

Well, socks, I need to ask for your prayers today, as I'm heading on a road trip up to my sister's house in South Carolina for the long Thanksgiving weekend.



I don't usually hit the highway for the holidays, so not quite sure what I'm getting myself into . . .



Anyway, my postings here may be somewhat sporadic until I return to civilization.



So, if you don't hear from me for a couple of days, enjoy your time off, eat lots of turkey, and join me in cheering for the Gators on Saturday!

Another year older, definitely . . .

another year wiser?!?

Now, that's debatable!!

I wish you didn't live so far away from home . . . mostly so I could Bogart a piece of birthday cake.

Oh, but if you're buying it from Publix instead of baking it, remember to wear your car key on that shoe string around your neck!!

Road trippin'

Wow, I can't believe it's already been a week since I was getting ready to go on the big Labor Day road trip up to South Carolina.

I also can't believe it's taken me this long to post one of the pictures we took while we were there.

That's my mom, sister, nephew, and niece, in case you were wondering.

Nothing quite so exciting planned for this weekend. The road trip just leads HOME this afternoon. And, that's a good feeling, too!

Hope all you socks out there have a good weekend yourselves.

Cheers!

Thanks, Cousin Patricia!

Happy Labor Day to all the socks out there.

I'm still up here in South Carolina visiting my sister and her kids, but will be back in the fun and sun that is Central Florida later today.

In the mean time, my cousin Patricia Rivero sent me this really cool family photo she scanned over the holiday weekend.

That's my great-great grandmother Lola Blakesley Morgan (1872-1954), otherwise known as "Mammy," wife of the ORIGINAL William Swinney Morgan. The four girls are their daughters Agnes, Laura, Lola, and Isabel.

Turning a negative into a positive

So, I'm up in Charleston visiting my sister and the niblings, and our big "adventure" for the day was SUPPOSED to be a trip up to the neighborhood Publix.

I know, I know, how DO we pack so much excitement into a single day?!

Anyway, after all the shopping was done (and, you socks who know me well, know how much I like shopping) we got out to the car to discover my sister had lost her keys!

That was the bad news.

The good news was her friend Eric also happened to be shopping at the same store at the same time.

So, he was able to run my sister back to her house to get another set of keys. And, in the mean time, I got to take the niblings to a kid-friendly restaurant in the shopping center.

We had a blast!

So much so, we almost forgot about the lost key situation until my sister returned.

Then, to top it all off, we decided to check with the grocery store "lost and found" one more time before we headed back home. And, lo and behold! Someone had returned the keys!

Anyway, what could have been a frustrating situation actually turned out to be a lot of fun.

I love it when that happens!

Wardrobe Malfunction?

I don't know if this qualifies for that category, but the old clothes washer finally died.

You socks who know me well, know how fashion-conscious I am. So, this mechanical break-down is really going to cramp my style.

Oh, well, if some resolution is not achieved by Friday, I guess I'll just pack up all my stinky laundry and bring it with me when I go visit my sister for the holiday weekend.

Get ready, Sister! Love me, love my laundry!!

Shout Outs to . . .

1. Patty B - best wishes on the big move to Illinois. I expect pictures soon!

2. Lisa T - praying y'all get that house sold soon and that the car problems get resolved.

3. My sister - hope Morgan's staph infection clears-up quickly. Sounds gross.

4. Amigo's - so glad you're in business. But, I don't understand how you can sell enchiladas so cheaply . . .