HURRICANE HELENE HAS CAUSED A BIG PROBLEM AT AUNT JEAN'S SUNNYSIDE VILLAGE

 SEEN IN OUR PARK THIS MORNING

I heard the first burst of gunfire at 7:28 this morning followed by a second volley 14 minutes later.  Another volley of shotguns at 7:52 and more after that.  All those volleys of gunfire lasted about two or three seconds apiece so I knew there had to be close to half a dozen shooters.  And then, with the patio door open, I heard the distant distressful sounds of terrified Canada Geese:((  I will say no more!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

AT LEAST THESE TWO CANADA GEESE ALONG THE SHORES OF LAKE HURON ESCAPED THE SHOOT-OUT THIS MORNING

After a short drive around the south end of our Park, Pheebs and I headed off to Goderich under cloudy skies.  We hadn't gone far before we had the windshield wipers going.  Fifteen minutes later we were in Goderich under big bright sunshiny skies.  Coffee to go at McD's and down to the harbor we went for a look see.  Following that, it was off to Walmart to drop off one prescription and pick up one.  Half an hour later we were home under cloudy skies again.  By the end of the day the sun was shining in a big blue sky.   

THE CARGO VESSEL PUNA AT GODERICH'S GRAIN TERMINAL

 THERE'S A LOT OF GIZMOS UP THERE

 A RELAXING SUNDAY MORNING OUT AT ROTARY COVE

 A BICYCLING BEACHCOMBER

 OKAY, THREE APPLES FOR YOU AND ONE FOR ME, RIGHT??

Talking to Aunt Jean last night she said the hurricane didn't have much effect where she was as it passed by quickly.  Wind and rain and that was about it.  But, she said it was the storm surge that did most of the damage to Sarasota.  And, it was that storm surge that has in a roundabout way caused an unexpected problem at Aunt Jean's Sunnyside Village.   West of downtown Sarasota north of Lido Key near St. Armands Circle stands an 18-story building on the causeway overlooking Sarasota Bay called the Plymouth Harbor Retirement Community  The first floor of this facility houses many Alzheimer's and Dementia patients.  Plymouth Harbor has an understanding with Jean's Sunnyside Village that whenever a hurricane threatens, the first-floor patients and staff at Plymouth Harbor, as a safety precaution, are bussed to Sunnyside.  When the hurricane has passed they are bussed back.  However, hurricane Helene's storm surge was so high it flooded out the whole first floor at Plymouth Harber.  So now, all those patients from there who are now at Sunnyside cannot go back.  To say it has created a HUGE problem at Sunnyside Village would be putting it mildly.  Jean didn't know how many people were there but a lot of changes have had to be made to accommodate everyone.  Hallways closed off. etc.  There's a lotta extra staff working a lot of overtime, a lot of inconveniences and crowding, and a lot of stress for everyone.  And, Jean hasn't heard of any solutions to the problem so far.  I'll be talking to Aunt Jean on our regular Friday night time so maybe some things will have been resolved by then.

Al's Music Box::)) Mr. Lonely is a song co-written and recorded by American singer Bobby Vinton, backed by Robert Mersey and his Orchestra.  Vinton began writing the song in the late 1950s, while serving in the Army.  The lyrics describe a soldier who is sent overseas and has no communication with his home. The singer laments his condition and wishes for someone to talk with.  The single of Vinton's recording was released just as the Vietnam War was escalating and many soldiers were experiencing a similar situation.  Vinton's version was noted for his emotional sobbing during the second verse.  Although he turned out to be Epic Records' best-selling artist of the 1960s, the record company initially did not display confidence in Vinton. This 1962 song was included on his first vocal album, Roses Are Red, but it was not released as a single at that time. Vinton wanted it to be the followup to his first hit, "Roses Are Red," but Epic's executives chose the very similar "Rain Rain Go Away" instead, giving "Mr. Lonely" to Buddy Greco, whom they were grooming as their next big superstar.  After Vinton heard Greco's version on the radio, the executives confessed to him that they felt he was more of a musician and songwriter than a singer. However, in the following months, Vinton's continued success as a vocalist made them reconsider their position.  Many months later, when Epic gave Vinton the choice of which song should be the twelfth and final selection for his greatest-hits album, he chose "Mr. Lonely".  Following its inclusion on the album, many radio disc jockeys started to play the track—particularly those who remembered Buddy Greco's version and how Vinton had been prevented from releasing it as a single.  With the song's newfound popularity came a rise in demand for Vinton's version to be released as a single. "Mr. Lonely" became one of Vinton's signature songs and a favorite with servicemen around the world. Epic subsequently built an entire album release around "Mr. Lonely" when it became a hit as a single.

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A man, his wife, and his son from waaaay out in the mountains go to the "big city" to a major hotel. When they get into the lobby, they are directed to the front desk to check in. While the wife is takin' care of "the paper work," the man is looking all around at the amazing things they have. One that catches his eyes is a recess in the wall with a crack down the middle. Just then, an elderly woman walks up, pushes a button next to the recess, and the wall opens up to a small room! She walks in and the wall closes, while lights above the secret doors flash along the top. They begin flashing in the other direction, and moments later the wall opens up and a shapely young lady, vougly dressed, sachays out, walking by the man and his son whos eyes and dropped jaws follow her by.  The man looks back at the doors in the wall. "Boooyyy", says the man to his son... "Go get your mother!"

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- Buckwheat of the Little Rascals fame grew up, became a Muslim, and changed his name. He now goes by Kareem of Wheat.

- “The other day I held the door open for a clown. I thought it was a nice jester.”

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- Men are like fine wine...
They all start out like grapes, and it's our job to stomp on them and keep them in the dark until they mature into something you'd like to have dinner with.

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A little girl was watching her parents dress for a party. As her dad donned his tuxedo she warned, "Daddy, you shouldn’t wear that suit.”  “And why not, darling?” he asked.  “You know that it always gives you a headache the next morning.”

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AND THIS TIME WITH A STERN SCOLDING TOO

 A FARMER'S LANE LEADS TO HIS FIELDS

Overnight winds brought in a slightly more Autumn-like cooler weather front.  But not cool enough to have Pheebs passenger side window up.  In fact, driving along slowly on the country roads we had the Moon roof open.  A really nice 'feeling good' Saturday morning.

 PHEEBS AND I STOPPED HERE FOR A LEG STRETCH

 HARVESTING BEANS CAN BE A DUSTY JOB

 WHEN THE FARMER FINISHES HIS BEAN FIELD THIS MACHINE IS POISED TO  WORK UP THE FIELD AND BEGIN PLANTING THE NEXT CROP

 'BEANS BEANS THE MUSICAL FRUIT'

 ANOTHER COMBINE WORKING ON THE BEAN HARVEST

 THESE FARM LADS ARE UP TO SOMETHING BUT I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS

 A RELAXING SATURDAY MORNING

 LEADING A HORSE BACK TO THE BARN

A quiet afternoon with a little bit of puttering.  I noticed two larger frogs in our recently refurbished pond and I have no doubt they are two of the gang I carried down to the Park's pond earlier in the week.  Of those two I have already caught one and returned the little muggins back to the Park's pond again.  And this time with a stern scolding too.  

WE TOOK A DRIVE PAST A JUNKYARD

With temperatures on the rise again and the air feeling sticky, Pheebs and I didn't venture out for an afternoon walk.  Instead, I settled into my sunroom recliner with my fan blowing on me and opened my Kindle book.   Dr. Mark Pickstik's book, 'Soul Proof' was getting a little too heavy for me so I decided to once again switch to something liter-fair and entertaining.  I chose author Louisa May Alcott's 'Little Men'.  I was looking for an author with a similar writing style to Lucy Maude Montgomery.

DUTCH FARMS IN THE AREA ARE GENERALLY VERY WELL-KEPT

 THIS MORNING'S STIFF EAST WIND CAN BE SEEN FLUFFING UP THOSE BIG TREES

I will be talking to Aunt Jean tonight so in tomorrow's post, I will have her thoughts and adventures with Hurricane Helene a few days ago.     

Al's Music Box:)) The Boy From New York City is a song originally recorded by the American soul group The Ad Libs, released in 1964 as their first single. The song was produced by Jerry Leiver and Mike Stollererry and peaked at No. 8 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart week of February 27, 1965. Though the group continued to record other singles, they never repeated the chart success of "The Boy from New York City".   According to Artie Butler, the track was recorded at A&R Studios in New York, in three separate sessions. The first session was to lay down the rhythm section, then the next session was for the lead and backup vocals, with the last session being just for the horns.

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A Pastor goes to the dentist for a set of false teeth. The first Sunday after he gets his new teeth, he talks for only eight minutes.  The second Sunday, he talks for only ten minutes.  The following Sunday, he talks for 2 hours and 48 minutes.  The congregation had to mob him to get him down from the pulpit and they asked him what happened.  The Pastor explains the first Sunday his gums hurt so bad he couldn't talk for more than 8 minutes.  The second Sunday his gums hurt too much to talk for more than 10 minutes.  But, the third Sunday, he put his wife's teeth in by mistake and he couldn't shut up...

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- Why can't towels tell jokes?  Because they have a dry sense of humor.

- I made a new 'to-do' list today but I can't remember who is to do it.

McNally was taking his first plane ride, flying over the Rocky Mountains. The stewardess handed him a piece of chewing gum. "It's to keep your ears from popping at high altitudes," she explains.  When the plane landed McNally rushed up to her. "Miss," he said, "I'm meetin' me wife right away. How do I get the gum out of me ears?"
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MY FAVORITE TIME OF YEAR IS WELL UPON US

SO NICE TO HEAR THE SOUND OF OUR LITTLE WATERFALL IN THE FROG POND AGAIN

Another fine late September morning for Pheebs and I to take a little cruise down around the south end of our Park.  Kelly had errands to run in Goderich so we soon had the car back home.  

IN ANOTHER FEW WEEKS THIS HARDWOOD FOREST IN OUR PARK WILL BE A BLAZE OF COLOR

Nothing much going on today.  Cleaned all the old grass out of the lawn mower, took the blade off and sharpened it.  With that done I put the mower away for the winter.  Painted the top of an outside wooden table.  We have a lean-to at the end of our wood shed so figured it was time to get in there and get that all cleaned up and organized for winter.  The carport's storage area was also needing some attention before the colder weather sets in. Pine needles are beginning to fall so it won't be long and I will be raking up wheelbarrow loads of them.  No matter, my favorite time of year is well upon us and for that, I am grateful and have no complaints......Aunt Jean and I have temporarily switched our Friday night phone calls to Saturday night so I'll be talking to her then about the hurricane.  Jean couldn't be in a safer location surrounded by a more competent staff than at Sunnyside Village in Sarasota Florida.  Had there been a problem we would have heard about it.  Jean has weathered many Florida hurricanes in the last six decades and I know she would have taken this one with another grain of salt as well. 

 HAD I BEEN SNORKELING IN OUR FRONT YARD POND THIS AFTERNOON IT WOULD HAVE LOOKED LIKE THIS

USING A SLOWER SHUTTER SPEED I WAS ABLE TO BLUR THE WATER

Al's Music Box:)) Rocket Man by the Bluegrass band 'Iron Horse' is a cover of a song written by Bernie Taupin and English musician Elton John.  The song was inspired by Ray Bradbury's short story "The Rocket Man" in The Illustrated Man, about a professional astronaut whose work keeps him away from his anguished family for months at a time. The song describes a Mars-bound astronaut's mixed feelings at leaving Earth to do his job. Rosenthal's account goes on to relate that the notion of astronauts no longer being perceived as heroes, but in fact as an "everyday occupation", led Taupin to the song's opening lines: "She packed my bags last night, pre-flight. Zero hour: 9 a.m. And I'm gonna be high as a kite by then."  The first stanza of "Rocket Man" was thought of by Bernie Taupin while he was on the motorway heading to his parent's home; he had to "repeat it to himself for two hours," which was "unfortunate", but in later interviews, he said that since it gave him a hit, it was all worthwhile................. Iron Horse is a bluegrass band from Killen Alabama, U.S. They are known for performing and recording bluegrass cover versions of rock songs, particularly their bluegrass treatments of heavy metal songs popularized by Metallica.  

GROANER'S CORNER:(( Mary and Jane are old friends. They have both been married to their husbands for a long time; Mary is upset because she thinks her husband doesn't find her attractive anymore.  "As I get older he doesn't bother to look at me!" Mary cries.  "I'm so sorry for you, as I get older my husband says I get more beautiful every day" replies Jane.  "Yes, but your husband's an antique dealer!"

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Do you know why New Yorkers are always so depressed?

Because the light at the end of the tunnel is New Jersey.

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You might be a redneck if...

- You think you are an entrepreneur because of the "Dirt for Sale" sign in the front yard.
- You're still scalping tickets after the concert is over.
- You don't think Jeff's jokes are funny.
- Your house has a kickstand.
- You drive around a parking lot for fun.
- Your girlfriend has ever called YOUR parents "Ma and Pa".
- You have to duct tape your gloves on.
- You've ever pruned your trees with a shotgun.
- Someone says they spotted Bigfoot and you go buy tickets to the tractor pull.
- You think that Marlboro is a cologne.

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