Time to Think

Wednesday, January 21 - The Day After

I titled my entry today for several reasons. First of all, if you had the opportunity to watch the Inauguration proceedings yesterday, didn't you come away thinking that we have entered a new era in our history? I could feel the excitement, anticipation and hope of the millions upon millions of people watching and living this historic event. I have been watching and reading stories telling of how this country almost came to a standstill yesterday, so that every American could have the chance to watch history in the making.

We took the van to the dealer yesterday morning for its first oil change. We arrived at about 10AM and got checked in, then we sat in the waiting area, where there was a TV set up and it was tuned to the Inauguration (was there a TV that wasn't tuned to it?), with several customers sitting watching the proceedings. We joined them, since we were going to be there for at least 1 hour. Long story short, the van was ready just before noon, but by then, we knew that we couldn't leave at that point. In fact, when Barak Obama approached the podium to take the oath of office, I believe that everyone at the dealership was standing there watching - salesmen, mechanics, clerical workers - everyone. That's how important this moment was! Nobody left the room until President Obama finished his Inaugural Address. Watching the faces of the people there, I was struck by how intent we all were on hearing his every word, and THINKING about what he was saying.

Secondly, the title of todays entry deals with something I've been thinking about since we've been down here in Florida. We had talked about getting bored and, perhaps, doing some part-time work (whaaaaattt?). This came about last week while we were down in Stuart, FL, doing a bit of shopping (the ladies, not me - I'm just the chauffeur). We were in this small jewelry store, and they had a sign in the front window, reading "Help Wanted". Kathy saw that and exclaimed, "Hey, I could work here!". I had previously mentioned to her that I wouldn't mind working down the street from the park at QVC. Their Fulfillment center is located about a half mile down the road from our park. I picture myself as a customer service rep., answering the telephone and taking orders from all those women with nothing better to do than shop on-line. I was thinking that I could offer helpful tips to these women, you know, like "What the hell do you want that piece of crap for?", or, "Hey, ma'am, if you have that kind of money to waste, why not send some down to me?", or, "If you're lonely and just wanted to talk to someone, get a dog!". I think this could be a fun job, don't you? Imagine having a job where you could actually have fun and say anything you want without fear of being fired, 'cause honestly, I wouldn't care if I got fired from QVC. I figure that if I ever did go back to work, I would try to find a job where I could have F_U_N!

Finally, I'm thinking that I'm glad that I'm not up in New England right now. I've been seeing and hearing about how the weather has been really "newenglandy", with cold and snow. Brrrr!
However, we awoke this morning to one of the coldest mornings on record here on the Treasure Coast of Florida. It was a cool 34 degrees this morning when we stepped out for our morning walk. The sky was beautifully clear blue, and the sun was on the rise, though, so we knew that it would warm up today, eventually. For example, it is now 10:30AM and the temperature is up to 47 degrees, going, eventually, to a high in the upper 50's (not so warm here in Florida, but that would be considered a "heat wave" about now back home in New England, no?). Tomorrow, after a chilly start, the temps will reach the upper 60's, and we will be back to "normal" temps (70's - 80's) over the weekend. Nice!

Enjoy the rest of your week! Tomorrow we will head over to Tampa to have the repairs done on the motor home (damage from the blow-out last October in California, remember?), and to have the van set up for towing behind the coach.