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My cousins posted some images online. They were saying goodbye to their childhood home. It’s been part of their family since some of them have been born. Very sad. My uncle and aunt have passed and now it’s time for the house to pass on to another family.

There are so many memories associated with the house and the village they lived in. One thing I remember is the “delightful patio.” My aunt used to call her backyard patio the delightful patio, and I started calling it that, too. I remember so many things regarding the patio. So many happy memories.

One thing that stands out was one summer in the early 1990s. It was a weekday night and only she and I were there, about 6 pm. It was still light out. She was getting the bbq grill ready to make dinner and she mentioned that my uncle had just purchased a new video camera, but was having issues with it. She asked if I could look at it.

I was big into cameras back then, I had all sorts, including a video camera. So of course I agreed to look at it.

She told me it was upstairs on their dresser in their bedroom, so I ran upstairs and got it. I brought it down and went out back to the delightful patio and I started examining the camera as she started messing with the grill.

I was looking through the lens, trying out the zoom, but I wasn’t taping or filming, I was just looking through it and what I saw made me yell out, “Your hair is on fire!”

Embers from the grill got into her hair. It was smoking! It wasn’t on fire, but her hair was smoking.

She frantically started patting it out and we both bust out laughing, it was very funny at the moment, it still is as I think about it.

I said, “Too bad I wasn’t filming, we could have sent this in to “America’s Funniest Home Videos!” ‘

I’m sure we told everyone about the incident, but I remember that being a funny and special moment between the two of us. That was just one of over 1000 wonderful memories all out on the delightful patio.

One day I’ll post about their wonderful delightful neighborhood and of course the delightful house. All such wonderful, unforgettable, lifelong memories.

Till next time . . .

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I saw this old 1954 cartoon by A.E. Beard recently, and I didn’t get it at first, then I realized – that’s one of my past neighbors. Every time it was time to paint the building, he would say, “Why do we need to paint the building? The only people who will see it are the people in the water.”

We live on the bay, so he meant the people out in their boats, boards and kayaks would see the building and we wouldn’t since we are looking out at them, not at the building.

I explained to him it was to protect the building, not to show it off, although I guess it should look nice by being painted ever few years.

I think we have the building painted every seven years. We had it done recently.

My neighbor passed away last year, so he had no say in the job being done. We are also changing all the pavers out in the parking area, which he has been opposed to since I have known him. For over 20 years he stopped that job. Now it will be done. Some areas are sinking. It needs to be done!

We have had a lot of work done around here recently – lots of workers around. The painters were here for a couple of months, they even washed my car for me a few times. Before that, we had structural work done, due to the 40 year recertification rule, a Florida thing – they were here before the painters for a couple of months.

And now, for many months, the streets are being “repaired.” They are putting new drainage pipes in the streets, raising the streets and raising the sidewalks. Our cul-de-sac has been taken over since November and it is supposed to go on until June!

There is all sorts of big construction equipment blocking our paths daily. It’s a chore going in and out. But the workers try to be accommodating.

One of my neighbors said I was in and out too much. He said, “Why don’t you try and stay home during the day, like I do.” I should have told him I have things to do and people to see, but I just ignored him.

A funny thing about the whole street job is that I was gone a few weeks in the summer, and one of my neighbors was gone for almost two months. We both thought we were beating the system, by being gone while all the work was being done. Unfortunately, they started the job months later.

I do have to say that the guys doing the construction work about the building, the painters and these guys working on the streets are and were all polite and friendly. Overly friendly.

Just the other day, a cement truck sat by for a half hour or so just waiting to get by, while a neighbor down the street had his car washing company block the road with his big trailer set-up. I honked and made the car washers move. The cement truck guys just sat and waited patiently.

Till next time . . .

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