Skip to main content

Strawberry Fields Forever

'Ahhhhh.....Florida"
Winter in Florida is perfect regardless of how you enjoy it; this year has been exceptionally mild and the thermometer hit upper 80's today! Bessie and I love our rides through the orange groves and strawberry fields of Central Florida; today was no exception. The fragrance from the orange trees and strawberry plants is intoxicating; the back roads through the groves and fields are narrow and you are surrounded by the smell! I travel real slow, stopping frequently on the almost-deserted roads (except for the workers picking the fruit on certain days) and just sit there, Bessie idling, and me inhaling deeply....ahhhhhhhhh. After a couple hours of back roads and fruit smells, I decided it was time for lunch, and I headed back to Polk County. Since Sunday is my 'cheat day,' on my new food plan, I decide a burger and fries are in order - ok, ok, I didn't stop for strawberry shortcake even though I wanted to - so a little burger won't hurt! I'm sitting outside enjoying the burger and the sunshine when a women approaches me and says, 'is that Bloomington Indiana on your back?' And I'm thinking...what!? Then I realize she is talking about my T-shirt, Harley Davidson of course, and it is from the Bloomington Harley shop where I visited last summer. 'Yes, it is." "Oh , we are from Indiana and I was just curious." As it turns out, she is from MARION Indiana, my hometown! She and her husband are in Lakeland visiting friends who are also from Marion. They are all retired TEACHERS. We chatted about the old hometown - they are Breedloves and Coopers - and friends/acquaintances we have in common. The women taught at Kindle (sp?) Elementary, the two men taught at Eastbrook High School (and yes, they knew the Sroufe family!). They were MHS grads from 1963, so a little older than me. We had a nice chat.......its truly a small world and if you don't believe that, travel somewhere. I inevitably run into someone who knows someone who knows someone!
Location: Polk, FL, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Waning Light

  There are times I dread the waning light of day, That golden hour which precedes the night. The night brings sad memories. The night brings old terrors. The night brings lonely hours, Sleepless hours, Blackness filled with sorrow. The darkness carries the quiet, the quiet commands the truth. The night accentuates my aloneness; it echoes my fears. The darkness makes me yearn for my children and for my loved ones long gone. The night plays a melancholy tune in my head. The night makes me yearn for the light of day when everything is new once again.                                                                                                     ~ Author: Debi Tolbert Duggar   As a...
Post a Comment
Read more

My Hawaiian Vacay: the Big Island Hawai'i

The first rigorous challenge of the day? Finding coffee. The island doesn't exactly wake up when we do; the complimentary coffee in the room barely fills two micro cups and tastes like someone passed a coffee bean over hot water. Kona is just a little strip along the rocky coast with an assortment of shops and restaurants, so choices are limited. We head out for what turns into our first hike of the day...about a mile and a half until one little coffee shop opens. We sit across from the ocean, gulping our cup of rich Kona blend like the coffee addicts we are. The tour guide picks us up promptly at 715a; Wasabi Tours. If you only have one day to see the island, this is the way to do it. Only 12 tourists and our guide was Aileen, 24, adventuresome, and very knowledgable about her adopted home. She came to Hawai'i on a work exchange while in college then returned to live. She is a computer teacher at one of the elementary schools and part time tour guide. We started on the westwar...
Post a Comment
Read more

#Scattered_TheBox

     Bree sat silent in the passenger seat of Della’s Range Rover as they drove away from the city towards Bree’s farmhouse. Della respected her friends silence, glancing furtively towards Bree, checking for what? Della didn’t know; was there a protocol for ‘how to act when your friend is told she has a few months to live?’ Della wasn’t sure and at this moment her heart hurt as if it were being squeezed by a giant hand intent on crushing the organ in her chest.       Della met Bree Maxwell at the registrar’s office in 1974 at the University of Chicago. Just two long-haired hippie chicks in bell bottom denims and crop tops among thousands, struggling to look cool while simultaneously overwhelmed by the process of registering for classes. The two became fast friends and shortly thereafter they met Tish and Ann, also freshman. The foursome became inseparable and forged a bond that has endured four decades.         Bree is the...
Post a Comment
Read more