Author: James Feiszli

MusikHaus, Uncategorized

Time After Time

 

 

If you don’t know this exquisite song by Cyndi Lauper, it was released in 1984 and speaks to no matter how much time passes, the singer will always love the person they’re singing to. One of the best renditions was done by Eva Cassidy (Time After Time – YouTube). Michelle arranged an acapella version of it for my fiftieth birthday which was performed by both Dakota Voices and the (now-defunct) SDSMT Master Chorale – more on that later.

 

Right now, the song speaks to us because we have made the decision to leave this home which was supposed to be our “forever” home.

 

 

When Category 4 Hurricane Idalia came into the Gulf of Mexico this August we again watched the water rise in the canal behind our house. We packed up, prepped the house for flooding, and waited anxiously for high tide to pass. Another two feet higher and the water would have again been into our garage and pool. Yet, even before Idalia, we had expressed to each other how this house no longer felt the same. It had become much like our last home in Rapid City – a bookmark holding our place until the next major event. While we made 4112 Wildflower a beautiful place –so much that it sold within 18 hours of being placed on the market (See left, Zillow is still using the photos from when we lived there), it was always a placeholder for the future. 13480 Marquette was supposed to be our last home, a place for us to grow old and be happy. In 2022, Hurricane Ian changed all of that.

While Michelle has always been open about the trauma she retains from Ian, I had suppressed it. It was not until last week that I experienced my PTSD moment. I was searching for the manuscripts of music from my career – transcribed arrangements, published editions, reference pages about Isaac, many vocal and brass arrangements. They had been in a plastic tote, categorized and labelled: music for brass choir, music for vocal ensemble, music relating to decades of Isaac research – most of it in my handwriting prior to digital music notation.

I frantically searched through everything in my office closet. I searched the attic and every other closet in the house, becoming more and more agitated. Michelle did her best to calm me down, but I was devastated that the material was missing. Finally, after several hours, Michelle (my resident mental health counselor) explained that it had been exactly one year since we came back into the house and began to assess the losses. One of those losses was that tote. OMG. I had blocked out the fact that much of my life had been erased which caused me to experience the same sense of loss TWICE!

It was a defining moment. We had created our dream home in Florida, but now recognized on the anniversary of Ian that we had to let it go and begin again. We love this home and feel terrible about leaving it. But:

  • Climate change is real. The storms will continue to become stronger and more frequent. We were lucky for four years. But, we very easily could have gotten hit again this year (and still might … hurricane season doesn’t end until November 30th) ).
  • We would not be living at this address had I not been hell-bent on having a boat and being able to access the Gulf. Four blocks further away from the river than us, homes were not flooded. However, EVERYBODY lost power for at least three weeks while Florida Power and Light repaired downed power lines and such. That’s not as devastating as being flooded but is still an issue that will not go away.
  • We cannot ignore the fact that we are getting older. At some point, we will not be able to continue as we are now. We’re sure we could not handle another flooding in this house. The yardwork in the endless Florida summer is becoming a chore rather than a pleasure. Michelle’s two hours of daily driving is very wearing. So, we need to find another forever home.

You may be asking, “What if Michelle changes jobs?” About that. After stepping down from team leader to clinician and taking a lengthy leave of absence to spend as much time in Rapid City as possible prior to Jennifer’s passing, Michelle came back to the Florida Civil Commitment Center (FCCC) unsure of what her status would be. Michelle had been doing double-duty, acting as team leader for TWO teams, supervising a total of 12 clinicians and had stepped down from that to spend time with family. During her leave of absence, they finally hired another team leader for the other team of 6 clinicians. She was immediately reinstated as a team leader for the other group, supervising 6 clinicians and one clinical assistant. So, her job duties were reduced for about a minute. Three weeks later, the Clinical Director came to inform her the FCCC Executive Management Group had chosen her to fill the newly opened Assistant Clinical Director position, and would she be interested? Short story: She went through the cursory hiring process and is now in charge of 5 team leaders, 14 clinical therapists, 5 clinical assistants, 4 recreation therapists, the vocational specialist, and the education specialist; all of whom serve nearly 600 residents. Her boss, the Clinical Director, handles the legal and political aspects of the FCCC and Michelle oversees the in-the-trenches clinical work. In five years, she has moved into one of the four top administrative roles in her facility. So, that answers the question that began this paragraph. She is unlikely to cease her work at the FCCC anytime soon.

 

Enter Babcock Ranch. Babcock Ranch is an area of immense size, encompassing both Charlotte and Lee Counties. The Google map image to the right gives one an idea of the enormity of the whole Babcock system. Michelle’s icon is where we presently live. Approximately ninety percent of Babcock Ranch’s total land will always remain undeveloped as a nature preserve, including more than half of the area owned by the community developers. The following bullet points are from the community’s PR flyers:

  • More than 90% of development is located on previous pasture, farm, and mined land.
  • The town layout utilizes best water management practices and filter marshes for water quality, setting a new standard for watershed protection, flood control and demand reduction.
  • All landscaping uses native trees and plants and 100% use of reclaimed water for irrigation.

It gets better:

  • Babcock Ranch is the nation’s first town utilizing on-site solar generation facilities to produce more clean, renewable energy than it consumes. State of the art solar facilities supply the town and the broader region with clean, renewable, integrated power.
  • Two 75-megawatt Solar Energy Centers with battery storage make Babcock the largest solar/storage project operating in the U.S.
  • Solar panels on commercial rooftops throughout the community further expand generating capacity. Even the exercise machines in the fitness centers are hooked to the grid to generate electricity as people exercise!

Babcock is a self-sufficient town with grocery stores, hardware stores, doctors, rehabilitation, and veterinary clinics. It has its own school system, police force, and each community has its own community center with tennis and pickle ball courts, swimming pools, and clubhouses. When Ian came through, Babcock went on as if nothing had happened. No electrical outages, no flooding. Business as usual.

Michelle and I decided to investigate what it would take to get a home in Babcock. We discovered that a 55+ community was just starting up and so went to visit the model homes that the builder had opened. Being among the first to visit, we were able to select a prime lot for a two-car garage home. We called Stacey Bohannan, the realtor with whom we have worked since coming to Fort Myers. The question was whether our house might sell for enough to build at Babcock without too much backsliding financially. Turns out, she firmly believes that we can pull the whole thing off. Gulf access homes are still greatly desired – indeed nearly everyone on our block and the surrounding streets have simply restored their homes and don’t seem to share our fear of being flooded again.

We took the plunge. We must look to the future and so signed a contract to begin building a new home. At Babcock, we’ll be within walking distance of the 55+ clubhouse. All lawn care is provided by the community (HOA fees will be offset by the fact we won’t have to carry flood insurance anymore). Medical facilities are onsite, geared toward the 55+ crowd. This location will eliminate 20-25 minutes of Michelle’s drive each way. Jim is further from Total Wine but there is another store in Port Charlotte that will be the same distance, so there are options.

It’s frightening and exciting. A whole lot of balls in the air are being juggled. I am again spending all my spare time getting this house ready to be placed on the market. Stacey’s target date is January 1st. If history is any indication and the house sells for our asking price quickly, we may then need to move to temporary lodgings until our new house is finished. So, once again, we are living in uncertain times. Sheesh. Pray for us poor fools.

So the headlines are Michelle’s promotion and our impending and somewhat insane move. In other news we have the following:

 

 

Our wonderful 14-year-old tomcat, Dusty, began visibly declining rapidly in September and was diagnosed with cancer. Rachel Francis (now 26 years old) discovered him under a snow shovel on her way home from West Middle School in sixth grade, a little abandoned stray covered in frostbite and ear mites. He grew into a 22 lb. monster who was the gentlest lover of a cat. After moving to Florida, Dusty developed diabetes but with two injections of insulin daily, it was being managed. Meanwhile cancer crept up on him. He was fine until suddenly he stopped moving, looking painful every time he had to eat or drink. It was a very sad but right decision to have him euthanized to end his suffering. Cancer sucks. It was so sudden. Everyone here is still missing him. Tiger and Loki have suddenly become best friends. Taco has become more of a recluse because Dusty was her big brother. It’s a big emptiness.

 

 

The boat is sold. Michelle is not an avid boater and has little time to just relax at home. Loki hates the water. He thinks water is OK for drinking and not much else. I can get him into the wading shelf of the pool by throwing his ball in it, but if it goes beyond that shallow area, Loki will whine and stare at it. Get on the dock? No way. Boating by myself has gotten old. So, good-bye to the SeaRay. Our neighbors across the street are snowbirds and wanted a boat to tool around in down here, so they took it off our hands (sniffle).

I had my annual review at Total Wine. Guess they’re gonna keep me. Hey, a $.25/hour raise! That’s about an extra $1.50 a day. Gotta love American corporate greed. I support the UAW, just so you know. At least I got to take home a free $100 bottle of wine (2018 Levendi Stagecoach vineyard Cabernet) and a free $100 bottle of spirits (25 year old Barrowman blended Scotch). Glad we don’t need my salary to eat.

Finally, to tie it all together, doing a Google search a few weeks ago, the SDSMT music department popped up. Intrigued, I began to read what was happening. It turns out that there is no longer a Master Chorale at SDSMT. Instead, there is an ensemble named “The Singing Engineers”. Hmm. OK.

Besides the fact that said name seems to disenfranchise the many science majors at the institution, the most interesting part is that the description of this music ensemble remains the same as that of the former Master Chorale. The official SDSMT website describes the “Singing Engineers” thusly:

The Singing Engineers is South Dakota Mines premiere vocal ensemble. An award-winning group, all members must be outstanding vocal musicians and in either University Choir or Concert Choir. The choir performs everything from Gregorian chant to vocal pop music, and makes appearances at professional music conferences, alumni chapter events, and prestigious venues in the US and in Europe.

Let’s forget for a moment that I was the author of those words probably ten-twelve years ago. More outrageous, it can be safely stated that no vocal ensemble named “The Singing Engineers” ever won an award, ever sang Gregorian chant, ever appeared at any professional music conference, or in Europe. This is false advertising at its most egregious.

The problem is, like my tote of music manuscripts, a great history has been erased. The work of hundreds of SDSMT students who were proud of being part of something unique has disappeared. The Master Chorale represented SDSMT in Anaheim, California in 1986 as an example of non-music-major vocal ensembles at the national convention of the National Association for Music Education (NAfME -then called the Music Educators National Conference). The SDSMT Master Chorale sang at numerous state conventions of both the American Choral Directors Association and NAfME. The Master Chorale won awards at international competitions in Ireland and Germany. Wow, as I typed this, Sting’s “King of Pain” came on my Pandora feed. Coincidence? The Master Chorale sang an arrangement of that piece at the Association of Irish Musical Societies gala concert in 2006. There is no “Singing Engineers” listed on that program nor is that name printed on the trophies that the ensemble won at that competition.  And, right after that, Coldplay’s “Fix You” began playing. Master Chorale arranged that and sang it as well. It is painful that the legacy of these SDSMT students has simply disappeared, just like my music manuscripts.

It also appears that the Interdisciplinary Sciences degree at SDSMT is now defunct. When I was Humanities Department chair, there were 22 fulltime and parttime faculty just in Humanities. Social Sciences had about 12-15 faculty members. The IS program was one of the largest programs on campus under the leadership of the late Dean Bryson. What a loss. Why not just close it all down and let Black Hills State do all the non-science and engineering courses at the University Center? End of rant.

 

 

Glad I’m retired. Total Wine has pressed me about being a manager. Sorry, I’m out. I like dogs, gardening, and a few people. Hope you are all well and happy. Michelle and I are. Even while addressing our new challenges. Looking at our pool lights in the evening and having a nightcap. Be well.

MusikHaus, Uncategorized

Here we go again? Nah…

Checking in as OK in Fort Myers with Hurricane Idalia.

OK, much PTSD here in southwest Florida as Idalia comes up the west coast where everyone is still recovering from Ian last September. Michelle and I are not exempt from these panicky feelings. Thankfully, the local TV stations have recognized this angst in the populace and done a remarkable job of 1) suspending normal broadcasting to replace it with 24-7 hurricane coverage, 2) gone to great lengths to explain what the National Hurricane Center means with their steady updates, and 3) assure the southwest Florida region that this storm is NOT our storm even while giving us steady warnings about what to expect.

 

 

We approached this storm as if it might be Ian. 1) Do we need prepare for high winds and heavy rain? 2) Do we need to evacuate? 3) Will we get flooded again?

It was a good exercise in emergency planning. I booked a pet-friendly hotel for two nights. We readied pet carriers and supplies – all three cats have medical issues including diabetes, thyroid medication, and special dietary needs, not to mention litter boxes, etc. Dogs are easier. “Are we going for a ride? Yey!!!” “Do I get to sleep in the same room as you? Yey!!!” “Do I get to go for walk and smell new things? Yey!!!” “Is there food? Yey!!!”

Then we monitored the storm and waited for the 11:00pm update on Monday night. When it became apparent that Idalia would remain west of us, we cancelled the hotel and began to prep the house.

 

 

 

So, today I cleared the lanai. All tall plants went against the house. Boat plug was pulled in preparation for tons of rain. Sprinkler system turned off for same reason. Boat lashed to boat lift. Boat lift lashed to dock pilings. Lanai furniture moved up against the house. Precious things moved indoors. I am running the washer and dryer constantly, so everything is clean in case the electricity goes out.

 

About 2:00pm the first waves of the storm hit. Grey skies, rain, wind. More worrisome is the possibility of tornadoes. As I write this, there are already reports of funnel clouds south of us in Marco Island.

The other worry is the storm surge, as always. This storm is not producing much surge, but it (naturally) comes on top of the August full moon, which brings the highest tides of the year. So tonight (Tuesday night-Wednesday morning) about 3:00-4:00am will bring the highest water. That is Michelle’s and my biggest fear. We are constantly assured by the newscasters that we have nothing to fear, but this photo shows the current status. Taken at 2:45pm, high tide is at 3:30.

So what happens at 4:00am Wednesday with both the highest tide and the highest storm surge? No sleeping tonight. All authorities tell us not to worry, but they aren’t watching the water creep up on our dock!

In other News

After Hurricane Ian, during Jennifer’s illness; Michelle had been a “show up when I can” employee at the Florida Civil Commitment Center. As a team leader, she was responsible for other clinicians and, in actuality, had been running TWO teams in the absence of an appointment for her original replacement.

Not surprisingly, she was somewhat apprehensive when she returned after six months of part-time (although totally understandable) work. “Are they going to still want me here?” “Do they consider me reliable?”

Evidently, they missed her.

Shortly upon returning, she was asked to consider becoming the Assistant Clinical Director – one of the top four administrators for the entire facility. She was previously in charge of four other clinicians. Now she is in charge of all clinical work in addition to several other areas of the facility. It is a huge step forward in her career and a great compliment to her work. Here is the announcement of her appointment:

Michelle Feiszli has accepted the role of Assistant Clinical Director. Ms. Feiszli has been a valued member of the Clinical Department and FCCC team since 2018, bringing with her years of relevant experience and clinical expertise. Throughout her time at FCCC, she has impressed in her roles as a clinical therapist across multiple treatment tracks, as a member of the assessment team, and in leadership roles with the Conventional and Corrective Thinking teams. Ms. Feiszli’s dedication to her work and our mission at FCCC are evident in all that she does and has earned her the respect of her supervisees, her peers, and administration.

On behalf of the Clinical Department, we are grateful for Ms. Feiszli’s passion for sound, competent, and ethical clinical practice. In addition to her years of accomplishments as a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, Ms. Feiszli was recently accepted into the National Association of Forensic Counselors and is quickly on her way to earning recognition as a Qualified Supervisors for Mental Health Counselors in the state of Florida. Her innate clinical and supervisory abilities, coupled with her drive to continue her studies of innovative research and clinical practice, are appreciated and respected by her supervisees and her peers, who often speak to the degree of support and confidence her clinical advice and guidance provide.

Please join me in extending appreciation for Ms. Feiszli’s commitment to our mission and congratulations on this deserved accomplishment. 

Michelle continues to amaze and achieve as she develops in her chosen career path. So proud of her.

And me? I plug along. During my recent annual evaluation I was graded as “exceeds expectations” in every category. Cool. I got to choose to take home a $100 bottle of wine (2016 Levendi Stagecoach) and a $100 bottle of spirits (25yr. Barrowman’s blended Scotch). 

I was recently asked to step in on short notice (24 hours!) and teach a course on Old World Wines at the Naples Total Wine store. We explored Italy, France, Germany, Austria, Spain, and Portugal over four hours. I was able to throw in a lot of history and culture in the process. It was fun to be in front of a classroom again – especially one in which the students (wine-loving adults) were all eager to learn about the subject matter. Evidently I did OK, since the store manager told me to let him know my availability for future possibilities. Meanwhile the Port Charlotte spirits manager is also asking me if I want to do some classes up in Port Charlotte.  Bourbon, Scotch, Gin, etc.,

So, we muddle on, hoping to survive the 2023 hurricane season with no loss. We’re happy, healthy, and hopeful that our life here will continue to be blessed with good friends, good fortune, and good health. Hope everyone reading this is blessed with the same.

Lanai view
Choralis Constantinus, MusikHaus

gang aft agley

A month ago, Michelle and I were about to board a flight in Tampa to Zurich to celebrate my 70th birthday in Konstanz, Germany by attending a concert which featured some of my Heinrich Isaac editions; and attending some celebratory parties hosted by my friends in Konstanz.

We were to leave on Friday. We packed on Thursday, preparing to drop the dog off at boarding Friday morning and head to Tampa for the direct flight to Zurich.

That evening we received a phone call from a family friend, who also happened to be the doctor for whom Jennifer (Michelle’s sister who had been battling pancreatic cancer) had worked for over 25 years; and whose two daughters had also taken voice lessons from Michelle.

He informed us that Jennifer was unlikely to survive the weekend. This, despite the fact that Michelle had just been back to Rapid City the weekend prior and spent quality time with Jennifer – shopping, touring the Black Hills, laughing and enjoying time together. In the intervening few days, Jennifer became ill and (due to chemo, etc.) had succumbed quite quickly to this infection and was now in hospice.

We looked at each other and said, “Well, I guess our plans have to change.”

We quickly booked one-way tickets to Rapid City, South Dakota. One-way? Because we had no idea when we would be returning.

Gott sei Dank, we had the foresight to book fully refundable tickets to Zurich when we bought them. Swissair came through with no problems and refunded the entire amount, which gave us the funds needed for the Rapid City flight and then some.

We left from Fort Myers for Rapid City Friday morning and arrived there that afternoon.

Long story short, Jennifer was barely responsive when we got to see her. Michelle spent the next three nights by her bedside along with Jennifer’s daughter, mother, with me and her father spelling them for a few hours. She passed away in the early minutes of Monday morning, surrounded by family and friends. 

The next week was spent with funeral arrangements and family matters. The funeral was well-attended, and I was happy to see some people I had not seen in a long while. 

Jennifer

I returned to Fort Myers after the funeral, while Michelle remained in Rapid City to help her parents and niece and attend the burial at the Black Hills national cemetery. I needed to retrieve Loki from boarding and relieve our neighbor from having to feed and medicate our cat menagerie.

In Fort Myers, we are still trying to pick up the pieces from hurricane Ian last year. Said cat-sitting neighbor is still waiting to have his roof fully repaired. Other neighbors are still living in campers in their driveways. All of this: Jennifer’s passing, the remembrance of my own brother’s death – who would have been 74 on the 5th of July this year, and the acknowledgement of my own 70th birthday; have made Michelle and I more aware that, regardless of plans, life happens.

On the plus side, we wrote our last check for the restoration of the house. The last pocket door has been installed! Now I just need to go over the entire house and fix the sloppy work that was done by various contractors. The yard is slowly getting back to normal and there is still some repainting to do on the exterior of the house. But we are, by far, way ahead of most of the neighbors, some of whom are still waiting for new roofs or pool cages.

We have decided that it is impossible to recreate or restore the lost Konstanz trip. I will never again turn 70. That concert will never again take place. Yes, as someone said to me “Germany will always be there.” but that moment and experience cannot take place again.

Instead, we have decided to focus on the here and now. We moved to Florida to enjoy the sun, the warmth, and to be together. We have not experienced that fully due to a variety of reasons. There is a great joy in being here in this oasis that we have worked so hard to create. The title photo above was taken today as I wrote these words.

We have learned a great deal in the last year. Some of those lessons include:

  • In crisis, listen to others, but trust your gut and make the decisions you feel are best for you. 
  • When something needs to be done, “There’s a YouTube video for that!” 
  • Do what you want to do now, don’t put it off. Don’t be stupid about money, but don’t deprive yourself either. 
  • Live life!

BTW, if you’re wondering what the title of this blog is about, I am again reminded of my dear departed sister-in-law, who left us with this memorable quote:

Google that shit.

MusikHaus

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

It’s been five months since my last post. Michelle and I have spent the intervening time – in addition to the seemingly endless task of putting our property back together – in a serious evaluation of our priorities and life choices. Several factors have been at the forefront of these deliberations:

 

Hurricane Ian made an indelible impact on the way we think about our lives. We are still recovering from the destruction and changes forced upon us by this natural disaster. We are aware that nothing is certain, and that life is short.

We lost an immense amount of money from the hurricane – having to pay an exorbitant tax bill because of our withdrawals from retirement (thanks, congress, for doing NOTHING to help victims out, unlike other natural disasters in the past like Irma, etc.). Despite that, we are not destitute and have made some conscious decisions to change how we live our lives. 

 

 

Michelle’s younger sister Jennifer is fighting stage four cancer. Jennifer has been a primary element in our introspection. Her refusal to submit to despair and her courage to live her life has inspired both of us. Jennifer and her daughter Elizabeth came to visit us in early March. Despite her illness, she is determined to live her best life. We spent five days visiting Busch Gardens, swimming with manatees, playing in the Atlantic Ocean, visiting the devastation on Fort Myers Beach, and eating some great meals. We are fortunate to have such a great role model – even though she is younger than both of us.

I turn seventy years old in seventeen days. Paul Simon’s Old Friends line “How terribly strange to be seventy” keeps running through my head. The clock is ticking.

Michelle’s job, while personally very satisfying to her, has proven to be (much like my SDSMT position was) two jobs for the price of one and she has worked to the point of burnout. I recognize the symptoms, thanks to my own experience.

We have not, as we envisioned when we created this resort home, taken advantage of living here. The boat sits on the lift unused. The pool and spa do not see human visitors. The many beaches, historic sites, and fantastic restaurants are not visited on a regular basis in our convertible. We have become conscious that there will not always be a tomorrow. 

So, we have resolved make some major changes in how we approach living. From this point, we will do whatever is possible to make each day special.

Revel in the sunsets, sunrises, and beautiful weather.
Flora and fauna always amaze. Lizards, egrets, manatees, dolphins, and even alligators and feral hogs are always cool to see. The Seussian plants are amazing as well.

We have the means to do what we wish. Rather than being fearful of the future, we are going to spend money on important things.

On June 9th, we leave for Konstanz, Germany (meine zweite Heimat) to celebrate my seventieth birthday – twenty years after doing the same thing for my fiftieth birthday. Markus Utz and his ensemble cantissimo are presenting a concert on my birthday with some of the Heinrich Isaac editions that I created for them: über Grenzen… – ensemble cantissimo (ensemble-cantissimo.ch). I had expressed my desire to Michelle about visiting Konstanz again before much more time passed and when we learned about über Grenzen, Michelle said, “We have to go.” I responded that we could not afford it. She came right back at me and said, “What’s it worth”? Long story short, we’re going. Yeah, refundable tickets because of Jennifer’s situation, dog boarding, cat sitting, blah, blah, blah. We’re doing it anyway. No more putting off because of “what if …?”  The best part? We can fly non-stop from Tampa to Zurich (love living here).

Shortly after that decision (less than five days later), Michelle left for Rapid City to visit her sister. Well, United Airlines screwed up the flights and she ended up back in Fort Myers after spending two days in Houston trying to get to Rapid City to see Jennifer. She flew home extremely upset. I made her a vodka tonic, and we went into the pool to float. I asked, “How important is it to see your sister?”. She realized that we were having the same discussion about Rapid City that we’d had about Konstanz earlier. So, out of the pool we went, booked a new flight to Rapid, and she left the next day for four nights.

Michelle has decided to step away from her position as a team leader at the Florida Civil Commitment Center. She needs down time rather than going from one tense situation to another. She is sad about leaving her position, but has realized that for the time being, this is what must happen. She will continue to work at FCCC part-time to facilitate two groups, so she will not give up all of it. She needs time to visit Rapid City whenever needed and is going again to Rapid City 1-5 June to see Jennifer. She has many opportunities to work in telehealth and can be licensed in states other than Florida and still work from home.

The last piece to getting our home back to normal was restoring my walk in shower and the tile surrounding Michelle’s freestanding tub. The original contractor had proven to be less than reliable or meticulous, so we went out to find a tile specialist. Best decision. BUT, as he assessed the job, he informed us that the shower had not been done well originally and so we decided to rip the whole thing out and start over. What the hell, just another dollar sign. But the results are amazing.

Pentatonix is coming to Tampa in August. We’re going. Bought the tickets. Next door neighbor is the general manager of the Marriot hotel downtown here in Fort Myers. He got us cheap(er) rooms at the Marriot Riverwalk in Tampa for two nights. No more putting things off. We’re going to live and love our lives here.

Best thing about all this is that we have neighbors who will take care of cats and house, and security cameras that record anything outside and inside.

In summary:

  • We love Florida, cannot envision living elsewhere. The current political issues unsettle us, but we hope the pendulum will change soon.
  • The insurance money has all arrived. The settlements are fair. We lost a huge amount of money on the camper and pickup and our retirement funds have suffered because of it. We have sold the boat. OK, I know…. But we have enjoyed it for five years and the current situation is that we don’t use it. Why not let someone else enjoy it?
  • My part-time job has little impact on our real life, but I am having fun at it. They seem to think that I am a good part of their team. It’s nice to be appreciated.

We are working to get back to who we are and why we came here. Stay tuned. As always, we are here if you wish to contact us. We welcome your calls, emails, and visits.