Carwash

My wife is a typical "girl car owner". That means the car has to be spic and span clean and always, or at least as much as possible protected from the elements. It is totally useless to tell her that too many car washes are not beneficial to a car's surface. This would be a total waste of time.

Oil changes are to be made at exactly at 3,000-mile intervals, regardless of what the owner handbook says. We bought tarpaulin to cover the cars in case of snow. So, the other day when snow was forecasted one car immediately was covered. I really don't know what this does but hey, I am just a pretty face!

When the car is taken to a wash, she is giving very particular instructions to the staff on what is needed to be done. Oh, she also always asks for all kinds of vaxes to be applied. When I had my own cars in the past, I did take them to be w1ashed but never ever asked for vax. And they did survive many happy years. So, I don't know what the was vax is doing, except costs more money.

In our area there are carwashes that give you frequent wash cards. After ten visits they give one for free. Also, most carwashes do provide oil changes that most of the time cost less than what the dealers charge. These also include in the frequent programs, oh after an oil change one can get a free wash. A good wash cost at least $20, plus tips. Any given time there are at least three or four people working on the car. They prepare it, vacuum the inside, then it goes thru the various machines where the different waxes are added and at the end about four men hand dry the car inside and out. 

They work fast because this is a conveyor belt type operation where cars are coming out of the wash nonstop, and they have to be cleaned and dried pretty quickly. We like this one particular place. Service is good and fast. I personally don't mind a real dirty car. To me that car has a certain charm, but my wife looks at it differently. Yea, what do women know?  

Snow

The weather people must be very satisfied with themselves. They forecasted snow from Thursday night into Friday. And boy, they were lucky. We did get a lot of snow. For Friday the City was buried under some serious snow blanket. It did look good at the start of the day but then it started to melt and became slushy. Melting and freezing slush are not a good combination, but we have no choice. This is winter.

There is a very interesting situation that prevails when it snows. People, mainly ones living in the outer suburbs scare very easily and do not go to work. They use every excuse, like trains are not running, the roads are not passable, their driveways are snowed in etc. to stay home. And most of the time these excuses work. If this day happen to fall on a Friday, I bet half the workforce stays home. I am saying this from experience. This was the way it happened in my office. 

Now interestingly, as the day goes by these people find ways to come up for air, to go out. Their streets get cleaned, the driveways get dug out and life will go on like nothing happened. They will go out to the stores and do shopping.

Curiously they will get upset and angry if they find their stores closed, or merchandise lacking due to the weather. They will not accept that other people whose purpose in life is to "serve" them might also have the same traveling difficulties as they do. Don't do as I do. Do as I expect you to do. Is their slogan.

I can not go to the train station in my Mercedes, but I expect the supermarket clerk to get to the store on his bicycle. This is their thinking. Nice, ha?

A little background. At one time I worked as a construction manager at a construction site in upstate New York. Wasn't too far from home, I used to drive there every day. I think it was in 1981 or '82. One winter we had some real heavy snow. I did get a company car to drive to and from work which I parked on the street at home. In one winter, there was a very heavy snow crippling the streets. My street was totally blocked by the deep snow making me unable to use the company car. So, I stayed home for about two days.

But my car was kept in the building garage and that garage opened to a main road that was cleaned pretty early. Next day that I was home I decided to go to skiing, which I did without any problems. When I told them at the office, they questioned that how come I could go skiing but was not able to come to work. I explained that my car was in the garage and the company car was in the blocked street. Lame explanation but they bought it.

Jan 6

Today is January 6, 2021. This is the one-year anniversary of the Washington demonstration when some elements attacked the Capitol. It was a major thing to watch and to see the results of such an action. First and foremost, it was wrong that things deteriorated to such event. To demonstrate, to show unhappiness with things is a right of every American. To become violent about it is not. But then every demonstration has participants who are professional troublemakers, who seek to create chaos and confusion.

I am sure that no matter what people demonstrating about, one can find the same individuals present just for the sake of creating chaos.

But this event had a different outcome. First, the demonstrators achieved nothing. Second, they behaved like an unruly mob, attacking police, breaking and entering and vandalizing things. They posed for stupid photographs and behaved childishly.

Now, the politicians got into the picture. First, they were running scared for their lives. They were afraid getting caught by this mob. Actually, only the democratic politicians were scared. Nancy and her pals. They were afraid that they might get the same treatment Marie Antoinette got from the people of France when she said if there was no bread then let them eat cake.

Now, the democratic establishment is up in arms trying to put the blame on Trump and conducting a witch-hunt against the demonstrators. A tv commentator noted today that very interestingly when a few years ago a democratic sympathizer shot a republican lawmaker on a playground there was no such an outcry as there is one now. Is this democracy or autocracy? 

Biden made a lame speech today about the January 6 events. He wanted to sound strong and determined but instead he sounded week and confusing. He said this was not the American way to act. What is? Cheating at the polls, bringing a crooked family into power? Is that the American way?

The world is no longer taking America seriously. They are laughing at us. The Us is losing its allies and its influences. Nobody believes its promises. The Ugly American is raising its head again. 

Trip 3

It doesn't cost any money to be friendly. That is a fact. I can not understand why some people are unfriendly, and continuously grouchy. I am not talking about myself! I am talking about people we came across while we were in Florida.

Maids, who clean our rooms and really only see the dirty and disgusting side of the visitors are going out of their ways to be helpful and friendly. I know that is the basics of the hospitality industry, but when you are the maid, day in and day out you are just the maid. I have a favorite motto: if you are not the lead dog, the view never changes!

I had the chance to talk or ask people around the resort and found each and every one to be friendly, including the visitors. Try that in New York. Unfriendly and curt. They would rather push you under the subway than give you the time of day. I have the tendency to talk to people in the elevators or in the parking lots and I never came across anybody with an unfriendly attitude. Maybe the weather contributes to this. Constant sunshine, bright and pleasant days make pleasant people.

So, our vacation lasted a few, action filled days, then it was time for the marathon trip home. I can not say it was a breeze. We left around 11 am and drove relentlessly until we got home which was around 3 am next day. In many places we hit unexplainable traffic that reduced our progress to stop and go but we prevailed and made it home ok.

In my personal opinion this is not a pleasant trip. It is long and tiring. My wife is used to it because she made this trip more times than I but it is still long. I used to drive to the south, Florida or Georgia but we always stopped for the night. Actually, for Florida we used to stop for two nights. But with Robin with us, stopping at a motel is not that easy. And since Robin is an essential part of the family, leaving him home is not an option.

Still, now that we are back in dreary New York we are ok, I am ok, and the trip is now a memory (until the next time).

Trip 2

While we werde in the tropics, we had the opportunity to visit a very good, dear friend and his wife. It was very good to see them. They live in Florida, not exactly in the area we frequently visit. I know him from almost the day I left Hungary, and fortunately we never lost contact. He is a very good friend, and I am sorry we don't live closer to each other.

Interestingly, he lived most of his life here in the Northeast but moved to Florida some years ago. Growing up and living in this northern climate he had to get used to the no winter seasons. I guess man can get used to anything as long as they have to. But now, he is a real Floridian with the permanent tan. He has a nice sailboat, a beautiful house, loving wife. In short, he is living the life of Riley.

My only regret is that he is there and I'm in cold and dreary New York. But it was very good to see them!

After the visit, on the way back to our place of stay, we drove through some back roads and were able to see beautiful countrysides with cows in the fields. Miles and miles, acres after acres of country. The road was almost empty with no traffic at all. I never imagined such environment in Florida. But I guess they have to grow things somewhere.

Here is an observation. We drove about 3,300 miles and with the exception of an overturned 18-wheeler we saw no traffic accidents at all in spite of the general 75 miles per hour speed limits. Here in New York, as soon as we got on our nearby parkway there was a car that smashed against the sidewall while another car was stuck on the middle divider. I guess they were racing and lost control. Idiots! __________________________________________________________________________________

Speaking of luck. Yesreday, Tuesday there was a very bad snowstorm south of New York City. Here they were in total panic about it, but nothing happened, just cold. But down in Virginia it was terrible. I saw on the news that I-95 road vas shut down for about 50 miles between Richmond and Washington with cars and truck stuck on the road. 

This is the same road we came up on. And I complained about slow moving traffic. How about not moving all night traffic? I do believe somebody was looking out for us by delaying this storm!

Trip 1

To drive to Florida is a phenomenon ride. It took us 18 hours and a lots of gas. We crossed nine states, lots of tolls, and got into a lot of traffic. It took 18 hours because of the traffic. From Virginia to the Georgia state line traffic was moving extremely slowly, sometimes crawling or totally stopping. Such a thing is a phenomenon without reasonable explanation. When traffic eventually started there were no traces of any reasons why the slowdowns occurred. There were no accidents or restricting road constructions.

For us I-95 is the best road to drive on. It has a general speed limit of 70 miles per hour and under normal conditions driving should be easy. But no such luck this time. Because of the slow movements we lost about two hours from our projected arrival time. But we made up this time loss by getting up a little earlier the next day!

My wife, her son and Abigail visited Epcot Center and had a great time. Because Robin came with us, and the resort had a no pet policy he was smuggled in and could not be left home alone, so I stayed home to pet sit. I didn't mind, because I was really not too interested in the Disney parks. They, on the other hand had a great time. The weather was perfect, in the 80s and mom and two of her kids were together.

Abigail made out like a bandit. She also visited Animal Kingdom with her sister who also lives in Florida.

We were in Orlando. The Disney capital in Florida. People, people everywhere. And they say there is no money. The admission to these parks is forbiddingly expensive. For a family of four it is a fortune. Disney is shamelessly expensive! Disney aims their ads to children, using them to bully the parents to take them to these parks. Tickets to a Disney Broadway show in Manhattan start at over $150 each. And for that one sits up, up in the top.

But people are coming in droves. If they are willing to spend, why change?   

2022

It is early January 2022. Good wishes are never late or early or out of sync. They are always appropriate. So, because of this very wise thinking, I wish everybody a Very Happy, Healthy and Lucky New Year!!!!

The problem of taking a hiatus is that one (I, mostly) can get used to have no obligations, not to do anything. Going back to commitments is not as easy as it sounds. The thing is that I am lazy. I love to do nothing. I worked enough in my life and have nothing to do, at this age is not terribly bad. But with the new year there will be issues, new problems and hopefully new resolutions. 

I hope and wish for good health and good luck for all!

Back to my hiatus. I took a few days off because this was my Christmas vacation. Abogail's college is closed until the end of January, a lot of businesses closed for the time between Xmas and New Year, so I figured why not me?

My wife decided that because this time was her son's 30th birthday, we would properly celebrate it. That meant going to Florida and be there for a few days. It was a nice trip. Tiring but nice. Tiring, because we drove from New York to Florida without stopping, except for gas. 18 hours in a car creates more togetherness than one really craves for. This was not the first time we made this trip but each time it is just as hard. Since I don't drive any longer, my poor wife had to do all the driving. Fortunately, she likes long distance trips she performed admirably.

On the way down we left at 5am, we got to our destination around 1am the next daydegrees,. On the way back we left 11am and got home around 3:30am the next day. Long, long trips. Going South we left in 40 degrees Fahrenheit and arrived in 84 degrees, Going home was the reverse, leaving from 84 degrees and getting into 40 degrees. Very interesting. I love palm trees and when I saw the first palm tree, I was very happy. Conversely, I was sad to leave sight of the last one on the way up north.  

I will write about my observations about our recent trip next time.