Jack got up at the crack of dawn this morning. Me, well we all know that unless I have a kidney stone my big ole' butt doesn't know what 8:00 am looks like. If Tanner and Sydney were the type of dogs that needed out early in the morning I'm sure I'd get up to help Jack with them. But they are not. They get up with me and go straight to the sofa and fall back to sleep. They eat breakfast around 10:30 or 11:00 and again go back to bed. So, this morning Jack hurried us along so we could get our bike ride in before the Super Bowl started. If it ever takes me 6hrs. to go 15 miles on my bike I hope that someone, anyone who loves me or remotely likes me will put me out of my freaking misery. BUT not one to argue on Super Bowl Sunday together we fed the dogs, walked the dogs, made some lunch and was on our way by 11:00. This time we started in Floral City and went East about 7.5 miles. We both shot some pictures along the way. The picture of the turtle's butt is mine. I chased him in to his cave. He moved pretty darn fast I must say.
HOWEVER, before we started on the trail we stopped at a bike shop in Floral City. My little bike computer was speaking Chinese to me so we stopped to see if it could be fixed. The shop owner was busy but his wife assured us as soon as her husband got a minute he'd look at it. "If you have anything to do, please go do it and come back in 1/2 hour or so." Ha! Do we have anything to do?????? Our bike and bar runs have been non existent this year so we thought we'd go across the street to the little neighborhood bar. Met Laura (pic to follow) and had a couple of cold beers.
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| Laura, the bartender. Having a huge Super Bowl Party tonight. |
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| Jack is cutting down on his drinking.....as promised. He only had two beers. |
Thinking we'd given the bike shop owner enough time, we finish our beer (ok, well our 3rd beer) and head back across the street. As the Good Lord is my witness I saw this, this THING and swore that I would never, ever, ever have another beer. I knew that I had crossed that line.
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| I was petting this cute huge animal and realized I perhaps should ask if it was a dog I was petting. Jack nor I have ever seen a dog so huge. As you can tell by this pic, if this dog were to stand on his hind legs he would tower over me and anyone else in the place. |
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| Please enlarge this photo so you can truly understand the size of this dog. |
After the swearing off of beer and a slight doubt of whether or not we were being punk'd. we finally headed out on a new leg of the trail. Does anyone reading this remember our little bike ride episode last year in Chillicothe, Ohio? A little worrisome to say the least. Today, while we didn't run in to teenage thugs we did witness some questionable situations. A homeless man sleeping on newspapers along the trail. However, on our return trip he was smoking some weed with some other guy so I suppose at that time he didn't give a crap that he was sleeping on newspaper. That Southern Baptist Church, which sat across a two lane highway from the trail but who's screaming and talking in tongue sermon reached our ears. Brought back some really nutty memories for me. My grandmother, looking back now, could not find a "church home" where she felt comfortable. She drug me to so many backwoods, dirt road, screaming in the isles, tent revivals back in the 60's I'm hard pressed to understand my conviction to God today. Geez!! I was scared shitless back then. I knew for sure God was going to blind me, make me lame or stinking just ignore me my whole life. I needed Valium when I was 8 years old thanks to my Grandmother. If I knew then what I know now I think I would have just told her to sit her ass down in the pew cause God didn't discriminate. He was everywhere. But we all know had I said that to my grandmother I would today be sucking food through a straw. On the way up the trail I saw some of the congregation standing outside waiting for the service to begin. Big, big, burly men of all colors. None of whom I'd want to meet in an alley. On the way back the service had begun and that's when I heard that too familiar Southern Baptist scare the crap out of kids in the church service. Geez!! Grown ups! Sucked to be those kids.
We chased some turtles (pics to follow)who, by the way, could freaking out run me. I kid you not! Of course Jack Miller kept telling me there were snakes everywhere so I walked with caution. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
Saw some really, really old trees, some beautiful horse farms and some other crap I don't remember....And the reason I do not remember is because we stopped for lunch along the path. Got off our bikes and with tired butts sat upon a bench provided by Rails to Trails. I had made a few wraps for lunch and handed off Jack one and took one for myself. This is where I peed my pants and almost choked on my chicken breast wrap. Thank you very much, Jack Miller.
For those of you who only know Jack Miller as an adult........well, trust me. Like the rest of us he was once a child, an adolescence and a teenager. He was a tough little cookie, hanging out with Willy, his childhood friend, delivering newspapers to bars, taverns and other questionable places when he was just a small kid in Pennsylvania. He learned about life like most of us....older kids and school buses. Anyhow, when he moved to Muncie, Indiana with his family he moved in to a whole new world. Willy was a nice kid. They were best friends; different colors but neither saw color back in the 50's. Muncie, Indiana was known for racial tension back in the 60's but since Jack and Willy had been best friends Jack didn't understand the issue everyone was having. Flash forward. Jack goes to middle school. Everyday for the first few days of seventh grade Jack and his little white buddies were shaken down for their lunch money by Lieutenant Anderson and Raymond Means. Jack would weigh the situation; starve or get beaten up.....starve or get beaten up???? I must say that Jack wasn't shaken down by kids his age. He was shaken down by classmates who, as Jack says, were held back more than once and needed to shave two times a day. This is when I peed my pants. I could picture my honey getting "shaken down" for his lunch money and I laughed so hard I almost choked on our lunch. I could not quit laughing. But then, but then when he said he finally had enough and chose getting beaten up over starving I totally lost it. One day at lunch in downtown Muncie one of these guys fired a gun into the side of an old building over the head of Jack and a friend. He darn near crapped his pants. But guess what? He was able to eat lunch after that and until high school was never bothered again. You all have to admit this picture is funny. And to hear him tell it well, after 3 beers this was the funniest thing I've heard in a long time. I met Jack in high school. So I know by then he didn't take too much shit from anyone. As I said in the 60's there was a lot of racial tension. Jack is in no way racist but regardless of color he just will not lay down for anyone if he believes he is right about something. I remember when I lived in Chillicothe and Muncie Central made National News. One of their home education classes baked pot in their brownies.....Made 60 Minutes too, Guess who's class did that? My parents were totally freaked out when I started dating a Muncie Central pot baking, leather coat wearing, James Dean sun glass wearing, motorcycle riding hellion on wheels. But then they got to know him.
What happened to Lieutenant Anderson & Raymond Means? Who the heck knows? Probably some gazillionaires somewhere. Or in prison...
We had an absolutely wonderful day. Ended up buying Cinnamon rolls at this place:
The best darn Cinnamon rolls I've ever had. The cat, though, Whisper, laying in the drive kind of gave me the itchy creeps. It was as if he hadn't moved from that spot for months until we came along. I love animals; just not stinky, matty, dirty ones wanting to caress my legs. ohooooohhhhhhhhhhh!!! Can you say thank God for Wipes?
We are looking for a winter home. We think perhaps we found the perfect one. With Jack's woodworking skills it'll be as good as new in 12 or 14 years. Tell us what you think?
You just have to have some imagination....I see cute little gingham curtains, a little paint...maybe inside plumbing. It'll be perfect!
Here is where I chased the turtle in to his little cave. I guess I just had a mean streak today. Chasing innocent little turtles and running from cats. What's next? Kicking Tanner out of bed?
Some other misc pics.....
Enjoy
