There was a charity, sort of picnic, sort of gathering in the park yesterday. It is adjacent to the fishing pier where I do my exercises and stretches. Our local live wire, Debbie, had come by urging us to attend. There was a small “band” – elderly never was-es, playing banjo and doing songs like “The Yellow Rose of Texas” and “She Wore a Yellow Ribbon” and omitting all the riffs that require real technique. It was plink, plank, plunk.

There was a “performance” – three little girls did a tap number gyrating with flowered hoops. I told Debbie that I could easily do their dance and she should have recruited me. There was a miniature steam engine for which the owner had put down tracks. It blew steam and smelled but was "tollable". I told Debbie she should have pony rides. I was serious.

I left these joys and walked to the pier where I had told Ed he could find me. He drove down and waited for me as I finished a few stretches. Then we found Debbie at the park building complex so she could see that Ed, too, was civic minded and had participated. She works so hard to promote these events. It is a shame to disappoint her. Although, Ed and I agreed, that we’d just as soon hand over a contribution and be spared the entertainment and mingling with people who need to be watered before they can have a conversation. We didn’t have refreshments. I have enough trouble counting calories without eating hot dogs before dinner.

Before Ed showed up and while I was elongating old muscles, I was listening to some fisher types doing the testosterone thing that goes on when you have a bunch of almost educated guys getting together. They were discussing OJ’s “remorse” in court that was televised recently. He was sentenced for up to 30 years for armed robbery in an attempt, he said, “just to get my stuff. I wasn’t going to hurt anybody.” He was pathetic. I found it in my heart to feel sorry for him. On the other hand, I do think he killed his wife and her friend and feel a lot sorrier for their families.

They wandered on to other subjects and one genius said they should line up all the illegals from the Mexican border to the White House, where a gallows would be set up and they would hang each and every one in turn. Another said, since so many football players of talent were serving time, that there should be a pro prison team. There was also the suggestion that, as in some movies about WWII, convicts should be given 9 weeks of basic training, flown to war zones and dropped out of airplanes. If they survived, they would be pardoned. And to think, none of these guys ran for office. We are truly missing their talents in high places.

During all this I refrained from kibitzing, a major feat of self control. Susil probably would have pounded them with a heavy handbag.

As I think I have mentioned, in many of my E mails to public people, news anchors, politicians and the like, I sign myself

xx, Teal
Living in the intellectual wasteland of SW Florida