ROLLING THUNDER SUMMER

 

Here in Florida summer doesn't end until November, and even then, not always! After long months of heat and humidity a cold spell is more than welcome.

This summer it rained nearly every day. That's a good thing! I love rain cool, it's a pleasant relief, plus frequent showers are a deterrent to hurricanes later in the season. With a dry summer, nature is more inclined to send a hurricane in the fall.   

Unfortunately, climate change has made everything worse and less predictable. Catastrophic weather has become more prevalent than anything I've seen previously during my lifetime!

Summer was filled with an abundance of scary lightning and resounding thunder that was nearly earsplitting. Frequently it sounded as if a bomb was exploding directly over my house, often with crashes nearby!  Sometimes with little or no rain ensuing. These electrical storms are truly terrifying as well as dangerous! I've heard strikes that made my house shake!

Just two streets over, a home was hit by lightning and caught fire! This occurred in a neighborhood in which I am familiar. My friend Irene (now deceased) lived there and I used to visit often.

A decade ago, a home in THIS neighborhood was struck by lightning and went up in flames! The damage was so severe that the house had to be leveled and rebuilt. I recall neighbors taking up a collection for the family. I donated $10.

When I hear those terrible lightning crashes outside I shudder because I live in a high two-story, wood-frame bull's-eye!

I'll never forget that 4th of July weekend when my cable box was hit. I was without phone, internet, & TV for several days due to the holiday. The repairman brought the burned-up box inside to show me and said that I was lucky. He was astounded my house didn't catch fire!

Knock-on-wood!

FOREVER ALIVE IN MY MEMORIES

 

My friend, Irene Bates Dunjohn, a member of the greatest generation led an extraordinary life. She was an accomplished and remarkable woman who passed from this earth last February.

A memorial service was scheduled for September 16. Afterward her ashes were to be sent to their final resting place at Arlington National Cemetery. Irene's stepdaughters were flying over from the United Kingdom to attend.

Unfortunately due to the high rate of Covid cases here in Florida the service had to be cancelled. But anyone blessed enough to have had Irene in their lives will treasure her memory for a lifetime.

I met Irene at a luncheon shortly after my father's death. We both arrived early and seated ourselves at different tables, alone. The host put us together.

Irene was hearing impaired as was my father although not to that extent.

My dad was deaf as the proverbial post, but refused to get a hearing aid. I was literally forced to scream the words whenever I spoke to him. And still, he could barely make out a word I said! My natural speaking voice became blaring!

When I met Irene, I was one of the few people she could actually understand. This is how we first clicked and bonded.

Irene and I quickly became close friends and went places together enjoying a variety of activities. However I needed to do a balancing act in public. It required speaking loud enough for Irene to understand, yet quietly so as not to disturb others.

This was not always possible and sometimes proved embarrassing.

One time in particular at a restaurant I was complaining about those male enhancement ads that were constantly popping up in my email. "Can't they see that Dianne is a feminine name?" I said. "And I don't own that particular organ. They needn't tell me how to enlarge my penis!"

"Your what?" Irene asked curiously.

"My penis!" I shouted back. --Every head in the restaurant turned and stared at me. My complexion probably turned every shade of red imaginable.

We both laughed about it afterward.

In retrospect, Irene was a genuine stormy weather friend! She was there for me always and me for her. We were an integral part of each other's lives until she moved back to the U.K. to get married. I was happy for her, yet sad at the same time.

I've always felt that true family are the ones we choose to have in our lives, rather than those forced upon us by blood or marriage. 

After the death of her second husband Kenneth, Irene moved back to Vero Beach. By this time, sadly, age was taking its toll.

A talented writer, Irene long had an idea for a novel with characters loosely based on experiences during her younger years in New York City. However Irene didn't write fiction, so she asked me to ghostwrite it.

Our novel is titled:  SEED OF DECEIT and forever links us together of which I am proud!

LABOR DAY, WHAT'S WHITE OR RIGHT

 

My mother (a transplanted northerner) used to laugh at the rule of no white attire after Labor Day. "Don't they know about winter whites?" she'd say.

I would laugh for a different reason. As someone raised in Florida I've known many a summer, fall, winter, & spring all to blur into one season. The weather remains hot and humid here well into winter months, plus summer seems to arrive earlier every year now and remain longer thanks to climate change.

Labor Day always brings forth memories of new classes along with new school clothes. Strict rules were applied to what a student could or could not wear. Seeing neighborhood kids as they head off to class it's clear this has lapsed! School should never be that casual.

One change I applaud is that designers no longer have the dictatorial power over our wardrobes they once had. Time was, when they declared hemlines 3 inches above or below the knee, or anywhere in-between that's what you were forced to accept. No other choices were available! -- This sucked!!!

I've always felt that hemlines should be determined by the weather and not designers. Ditto for styles, this should be up to the wearer only. (Of course I'm talking about adults here!) However there are plenty who have no idea how to put an outfit together and others who just lack good judgment.

What's with all these shredded clothes? Why would anyone with a functioning brain deliberately want to look like that!

And men in particular dress as if they've just given up, period!

As long as an outfit is clean and neat, wrinkle-free with no holes it's fit to be worn in public. But unless you're performing on a stage it should never be too revealing.

Now I am a strong believer in the old saying, "If you've got it, be proud and flaunt it!" However there's a time and place for everything. And there's a big difference between tease and sleaze. There's a better saying to live by: "An outfit should be tight enough to show you're a woman, but loose enough to show you're also a lady."

Unfortunately, today being a lady has fallen out of fashion. Looking over the styles marketed for teenage girls nearly everything is skin-tight with plunging necklines and backs; tops are low-cut with bare midriffs and shorts display half the derriere.

Had those been around during my teens I would never have been allowed out of the house! All of that would have been considered call-girl attire.

Nowadays I'm a senior citizen and home most of the time due to Covid. I keep my air-conditioner set at 80 degrees to save money and my blinds are drawn. I am free to dress for comfort or wear nothing at all. Sometimes in the privacy of your own home it's best to be naked. This is Florida after all!