clowns surf in failing fountains with bees doing pilates
Bees and pilates competed with surf, fountains and clowns as exciting topics this week. Things began a few years ago ,..
“I’ve always liked the sound of running water,” Nazy commented. And since we were at a fountain store, years of husband practice indicated that this was a pointed comment.
“Me too,” I correctly replied. “Yes, the sound reminds me of the water pump in my 1954 Studebaker,” I thought.
“I like this one,” Nazy said.
“Me too.” I replied, correctly. “It weighs a ton,” I thought accurately.
It turned out that the ‘free delivery’ portion of the purchase price provided for delivery to the bottom of our steep driveway.
“Luckily it’s too heavy to steal,” I thought as I search the web for a heavy equipment/crane company.
Once we got electricity routed to the right place, several big men wrestled the fountain into place. I filled the device with water turned on the pump and watched as gravity pulled the water straight down while simultaneously demonstrating that the fountain was not perpendicular to the ground. (This happened because the terrace was not flat.)
The initial configuration pumped the water from the basin below to the top where cascades of beautiful sounding water plopped directly on the ground — completely missing the basin. Several adjustments later, I got the water to flow properly, but the strong winds caused the downward cascading water to, eh, miss the basin. When we fixed that problem, everything finally worked for …
“… a couple of hours,” I explained. “Then it starts leaking or spilling or ..”
We called the fountain shop to ask for help. Their reply (“You bought it. It’s your problem&rdquo
was not helpful. We talked to ‘experts’ at the garden shop and immediately came to realize that the little we knew about fountains was far more than then nothing that they knew. I consulted the internet and tried adjustments to the pump’s flow. Nothing worked — until Nazy asked Luis, the gardener for his suggestions. He fixed it with a mesh that filtered debris before it got to the pump. Now it works…
“… at least until the water evaporates because of Global Warming,” I noted. “it reminds me of High School days with my Studebaker, which was old when I got it,” I thought.
“Didn’t that car explode on the New Jersey Turnpike?” Nazy asked.
“It was the Garden State Parkway,” I replied. “And just the engine exploded. Not the whole car.”
A couple of months ago, Melika invited Nazy and me to join her in a pilates exercise program, She was, in fact sharing her private lesson with us. Melika, of course, knew what she was doing and Nazy is flexible and strong. I, on the other hand, was rigid and immobile. But, over time, Nazy and I got better
“She probably parked her car in Alaska,” I thought before realizing that she was walking so slowly that it would take her several minutes to make it to the nearby handicap parking spot.
When she got back she paid with her debit card — after consulting an encyclopedia-sized notebook full of passwords. At this point she decided that her bags were two ‘cramped’ in the shopping cart, so she ‘dashed’ outside to get a bigger cart. She admonished the cashier to be ‘careful’ while he transferred her purchases.
I was grinding my teeth during this entire process.
“Thank you for your patience,” the cashier said as he scanned my single item.
‘Of course,” I replied. “You’re giving me far too much credit.” I thought.
The situation in the grocery store reflects the overall labor shortage in the USA. It’s gotten so bad…
“… that circuses can’t even find clowns.” I told Nazy.
“There is a clown shortage?” Nazy gasped.
“Yep. They all begun alternative careers as GOP legislators,” I replied.
“Or Governors,” Nazy concurred.
This week Tiger and Arrow did their most recent presentations on Bees (Arrow) and Telephones (Tiger). The bee talk was complemented by the installation of several new frames in the Adams Family bee hives and with the extraction of couple of frames to process for honey.
We enjoyed our visit with Shahrzad this week. We took walks by the ocean, shopped in the famers market, enjoyed playing with the grandchildren and marveled at the weather which was neither hot nor humid — an unfamiliar reality for Shahrzad, a resident of Washington DC.
Finally, this week, Tiger and Arrow went to surfing camp. They both did well and are looking forward to more lessons at…
“… the beach house,” Tiger proclaimed while we were driving home.
During an exhibition on the last day of class, the boys saw a shark, a seal and several dolphins.
We will be getting sand out of the car for the next several years.
Nazy and I are getting excited about our forthcoming trip to Alaska. And, in preparation, we found, eh Nazy found a couple of boxes of winterish clothing items — including hats, gloves and scarfs. If we add a few sweaters, we will be prepared.
“I’ve always liked the sound of running water,” Nazy commented. And since we were at a fountain store, years of husband practice indicated that this was a pointed comment.
“Me too,” I correctly replied. “Yes, the sound reminds me of the water pump in my 1954 Studebaker,” I thought.
“I like this one,” Nazy said.
“Me too.” I replied, correctly. “It weighs a ton,” I thought accurately.
It turned out that the ‘free delivery’ portion of the purchase price provided for delivery to the bottom of our steep driveway.
“Luckily it’s too heavy to steal,” I thought as I search the web for a heavy equipment/crane company.
Once we got electricity routed to the right place, several big men wrestled the fountain into place. I filled the device with water turned on the pump and watched as gravity pulled the water straight down while simultaneously demonstrating that the fountain was not perpendicular to the ground. (This happened because the terrace was not flat.)
The initial configuration pumped the water from the basin below to the top where cascades of beautiful sounding water plopped directly on the ground — completely missing the basin. Several adjustments later, I got the water to flow properly, but the strong winds caused the downward cascading water to, eh, miss the basin. When we fixed that problem, everything finally worked for …
“… a couple of hours,” I explained. “Then it starts leaking or spilling or ..”
We called the fountain shop to ask for help. Their reply (“You bought it. It’s your problem&rdquo
was not helpful. We talked to ‘experts’ at the garden shop and immediately came to realize that the little we knew about fountains was far more than then nothing that they knew. I consulted the internet and tried adjustments to the pump’s flow. Nothing worked — until Nazy asked Luis, the gardener for his suggestions. He fixed it with a mesh that filtered debris before it got to the pump. Now it works… “… at least until the water evaporates because of Global Warming,” I noted. “it reminds me of High School days with my Studebaker, which was old when I got it,” I thought.
“Didn’t that car explode on the New Jersey Turnpike?” Nazy asked.
“It was the Garden State Parkway,” I replied. “And just the engine exploded. Not the whole car.”
A couple of months ago, Melika invited Nazy and me to join her in a pilates exercise program, She was, in fact sharing her private lesson with us. Melika, of course, knew what she was doing and Nazy is flexible and strong. I, on the other hand, was rigid and immobile. But, over time, Nazy and I got better
I needed to resort to breathing techniques learned in the class to deal with a situation at the local supermarket. The checkout line was long and slow moving in an understaffed store with one cashier. I had slowly worked my way to ‘next’ unaware that I had enter The Twilight Zone.
The woman in front of me sorted the items in her shopping cart into 5 groups that she fed down the conveyer belt one group at a time. She told the cashier that the groups should go into separate bags. At one point she realized that she had made a mistake and she grabbed an already scanned item which she wanted to rescan but not pay for. Naturally this caused cashier confusion. When the items were scanned, she realized that the cashier had put groups two and three into the bags designated for three and two (respectively). Then she realized that she had forgotten her wallet — so she ambled out of the store to get it.
“She probably parked her car in Alaska,” I thought before realizing that she was walking so slowly that it would take her several minutes to make it to the nearby handicap parking spot.
When she got back she paid with her debit card — after consulting an encyclopedia-sized notebook full of passwords. At this point she decided that her bags were two ‘cramped’ in the shopping cart, so she ‘dashed’ outside to get a bigger cart. She admonished the cashier to be ‘careful’ while he transferred her purchases.
I was grinding my teeth during this entire process.
“Thank you for your patience,” the cashier said as he scanned my single item.
‘Of course,” I replied. “You’re giving me far too much credit.” I thought.
The situation in the grocery store reflects the overall labor shortage in the USA. It’s gotten so bad…
“… that circuses can’t even find clowns.” I told Nazy.
“There is a clown shortage?” Nazy gasped.
“Yep. They all begun alternative careers as GOP legislators,” I replied.
“Or Governors,” Nazy concurred.
This week Tiger and Arrow did their most recent presentations on Bees (Arrow) and Telephones (Tiger). The bee talk was complemented by the installation of several new frames in the Adams Family bee hives and with the extraction of couple of frames to process for honey.
We enjoyed our visit with Shahrzad this week. We took walks by the ocean, shopped in the famers market, enjoyed playing with the grandchildren and marveled at the weather which was neither hot nor humid — an unfamiliar reality for Shahrzad, a resident of Washington DC.
Finally, this week, Tiger and Arrow went to surfing camp. They both did well and are looking forward to more lessons at…
“… the beach house,” Tiger proclaimed while we were driving home.
During an exhibition on the last day of class, the boys saw a shark, a seal and several dolphins.
We will be getting sand out of the car for the next several years.
Nazy and I are getting excited about our forthcoming trip to Alaska. And, in preparation, we found, eh Nazy found a couple of boxes of winterish clothing items — including hats, gloves and scarfs. If we add a few sweaters, we will be prepared.
For last week's letter, please click here
Mitra reading to Leandra and Auriane
Azelle wearing gift from Shahrzad
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