Author: Bill

I left you last night talking about our very successful club meeting. The meeting ended and folks starting heading out. I gathered up all my paperwork and my bride and we headed back to the condo for a much needed night’s sleep.

We didn’t actually get to sleep in – but did manage that good nights sleep. We got up and had our usual routine, when my Queen found out that it was Debbie’s birthday (Debbie from Blues) Angie decided we needed to get her a cake. See that’s why guys have wives… we don’t normally think of that kind of stuff. She said she wanted to run to the store for a cake and a couple of things, so off she went while I stayed here and worked on the Points for the meeting last night [hence, my title, Points Officer] Angie showed up just about the time I was finishing up, so I hauled in most of the ($300 worth of) a couple of things and tried to stay out of the way while she put the stuff away. We lounged for a bit before we decided to head up to Blues to give Miss Deb her cake and ‘have a drink or two‘. I really got to stop saying that. I think from now I’m gonna start saying we’re going up to get hammered and close the bar down…. that way if we leave early – it’s kind of bragging rights….. right ? 😉

We gave Debbie her cake and joined the whole bar in a rousing rendition of happy birthday and had that drink or two. A pretty festive atmosphere that night and before we knew it – Tim was calling last call. Dammit Emmit~! Probably the only smart thing I done, was before the evening got going, I ordered [and inhaled] one of the specials for the day… A Meatball sub sammich. Had lots of provolone cheese and that cheese they used on pizza ((brain fart)), some parmesan and lots of marinara sauce. Smack my a$$ and call me Judy, was that ever a good sammich~! Even my Queen got and ate one – and we both said when we got there, we were not hungry….. but it probably saved us from getting completely goofy that night. We shut Blues down – gave Deb a final happy birthday wish and headed back to the condo once again to crash.

After a pitiful nights sleep for me ( I just couldn’t get my brain to turn off) I got up and after a delicious breakfast spent the bulk of the day on here working on spreadsheets and other such fun stuff. Looking forward to hopefully a much better nights sleep tonight and a calm day tomorrow. We have a big weekend ahead of us. A thank you dinner for volunteer work we did at the Triathlon on Saturday and I am a rescue diver for a swim meet in Frederiksted on Sunday – so once the swimmers are safe – I’ll get to finish my tank of air diving the pier~! So hopefully some fun pictures for you. I’m gonna put up some I have taken this past week. I know I have been slacking on current pictures….. and it really irks me, I didn’t get a picture of the meatball sub~! Hopefully they’ll have them again soon.

Good night Ya’ll – – – – Thankx for stopping in~!

I left you yesterday pulling out of my less than wonderful experience at our local Home Depot…… for those of you that wonder…. yes – I bitch to the Home Depot main head quarters…. LOUD and clear…… ditto with the McDonalds we frequent….. does it do any good you ask ? OH HELL no….. but I feel slightly better doing it. Anyhow….. I pulled up to the intersection to get away from Home Depot to be greeted by a pile up on the main highway…. and sat there for almost 30 minutes, before the officer working the scene finally figured out that the traffic light at that intersection was doing a HELLVA lot better job at handling traffic than he was…… so he finally stood back and let folks navigate their way out of that mess…….. Good Grief……… With material on board I needed for my next project at Blues….. I happily stopped at our watering hole to drop off my supplies. Of course I had to have a drink and be sociable….. after all, the Bloody Mary and the Red Eye I had at the meeting had done worn off……..(a Red Eye is equal parts of beer and tomato juice….. don’t knock until you’ve tried it~!) So I got supplies unloaded and sat down and ordered a Vodka & Cranberry…. my latest drink, weirdly, Crown & Coke just ain’t doin’ it any more…… I pile drived 2 of those drinks and using better judgement (I do that every once in a while) I headed back to the condo to my Queen. We had our first official meeting of CRABBS (our dive club) with the new board that night – of which I am an officer. My Queen and I were both starving, so we agreed to get there early enough to get us something to eat. We got there, got our food and actually got to enjoy it just as people started showing up for the meeting. I had put a new sign-in process in place and was trying to implement it….. alas~ It didn’t go as smooth as I was hoping…… but it was a hoot for everybody as I tried to make it work….. through the chaos that ensued, I finally got everybody signed in and the meeting commenced. We had a good set of speakers detailing their trip through Africa with pictures and videos and every body was having a good time. After the presentation, it was my turn to speak…… which I did…. loudly and proudly. Being mostly deaf in one ear and having trouble hearing out of the other — I tend to speak loudly….. as it turns out – I was the hit of the evening – as I was apparently the only one, people could actually understand. We had a record turn out of 58+ people in attendance. I am working on a PA system for the next meeting so the rest of them weenies can be heard 😉 I had one guy stop me and tell me, he was happy to finally hear a ‘Command Voice’ for a change [obviously a Veteran]…. it made me feel good. The rest of the meeting went well and I believe we (the new board) are a hit. I’m really looking forward to the rest of the year with the club.

Well Dammit Emmit~! I’m already over my limit and didn’t even get to today…… so once again — I’m out…… see you all tomorrow. (Happy Birthday Deb~!!!)

Good Night Ya’ll – – – – -Thankx for stopping in~!

Rolled out this morning to that gorgeous view we have almost every single morning of a gorgeous beach, palm trees and brilliant sunshine against that deep blue sky. There were some clouds looming off in the far distance – but did not pose any immediate threat. We went out for our morning smokes and came in to lounge while we perused the news and all the drama that is Face Book. We had just got good and into it – when a text came in asking a question about a meeting I was supposed to be at, in like 10 minutes. HUH ? Meeting ? What meeting ? It took several texts to finally understand, that somehow in my infinite wisdom – I had failed to put a meeting on my calendar. Yes folks, I have become that busy now that I must schedule my stuff on a calendar……. 0H~ALRIGHT ! I’m that damn old/stupid that I have to start writing stuff down so I’ll remember it. Picky, picky, picky~! Any how……. I was sitting in my ‘comfies’ at the computer at about 3 minutes until 09:00 – when it became clear that I was supposed to be at a meeting halfway across the island at 09:00. DAMMIT EMMIT~! I quickly jumped into my traveling clothes and was out the door. My Queen opted to stay home, since she was still not feeling quite like herself. Thankfully, traffic was reasonably light and I pulled into the parking lot of the meeting site at 09:25. Seems like I wasn’t the only one that ‘missed the memo’ as there was only 3 other people there and two of them were eating breakfast, so I felt less bad about being late. I ordered a Bloody Mary and we launched into the meeting. Tried as I might, the meeting kept taking these swerves off track – but I would diligently bring it back. With that being said – I now have several more duties assigned to me and in a mere 2 and half hours later we wrapped the meeting up~! Good God Gertie what a way to start a morning……………

I can tell you right now – I’m probably not gonna get through this day within my word limit – but I’ll see if I can break out a Readers Digest version…… I left the meeting and headed back across island to our local Home Depot store. You really need to experience this place in person to appreciate it. This store is the epitome of a Clusterf**k. I’m sorry for that expression – but it is a military expression and the only that comes anywhere close to adequately expressing how that store is operated. What should have been a 20 minute visit to the store turned into well over an hour…….. “Patience Grasshopper…… breathe in through the nose – out through the mouth” Maybe I do need a Valium prescription. How I got out of there without throat punching somebody is beyond my comprehension….. but I did~ Only to leave the parking lot and pull up to a traffic accident on the main road that had traffic snarled and backed up in both directions a mile or better each way……. Lord give me strength……

Well Hells Bells….. already past my limit 🙁 but I’m tired and it’s late…so I’m gonna cut out here and leave you with more best of 2018

Good Night Ya’ll . . . . . . . Thankx for stopping in~!

I see where I had well over 150 readers again on yesterdays blog~~! Yay~!! I had to clear out all the spam before getting to that information – just happy my SPAM filter catches it before it gets on my pages. It’s nice knowing I have that many friends and family keeping up with our adventures here. Granted we are off to a slow start with this new year…. but it’ll pick up. I personally intend to do a lot more diving this year… which means lots more underwater pictures for you all. The dive club I belong to promises to be a lot more active and since I am an officer on the board of the club – that is something that will help occupy my time as well as being Treasurer for the Fish With A Vet organization. I also have some more work up at Blues I want to get done for Jim & Deb, so hopefully stay just busy enough to keep me from getting ‘rock fever’. For those unfamiliar with that term…. it is when you realize you are stuck on a very small island and you start getting a bit claustrophobic….. I don’t get so much claustrophobic as I do getting bored of the same old thing….. So we’ll see – I feel good about this year on the island. I think knowing we will be heading back to the ‘land of plenty‘ at least two times this year is helping~~

Another gorgeous day on the island to wake up to….. I noticed my Bride was opting out on several smoke breaks….. it took some pressing, but I finally got her to admit that she had a scratchy throat and she wasn’t feeling quite up to snuff. I guess she has managed to pick up some kind of bug 🙁 I kept her on the couch most of the day with regular applications of aspirin and lots of liquid while we watched movies. Watched several, most of them stupid….. last one was noteworthy. It was called 21 and starred Kevin Spacey. Very entertaining…. I think you’d like it.

Never did get the call I was waiting on from our realtor, but she did say she was expecting a really crazy today — so hopefully we can get together sometime in the next day or so to discuss our options in case our Landlord doesn’t renew our lease. So with that — I’m calling it a night on here….. more 2018 pix~~

Good night Ya’ll . . . . . . Thankx for stopping in~!

Woke up this morning to more normal weather – gorgeous blue skies, the wind has laid back down to normal…… just a beautiful day to wake up to. Having got my morning stuff done – I sat down and started looking at what we need to be doing in the next couple of months. Our lease is up 1 April – and I’m not 100% convinced our landlord is going to renew our lease. If that indeed is the case – We will have our work cut out for us finding another place to live (that is somewhere close to our budget) I reached out to our realtor and have been chatting with her to discuss options. Hopefully get to meet up with her for more information tomorrow. Keep your fingers crossed for us~!

Rest of the day was spent on odds and ends. We finished up the Frasier series. We started in on the JAG series now. Someone said I should check it out. We are about 5 episodes in and so far I’m on the fence….. The acting leaves a LOT to be desired and there are so many inaccuracies concerning the military part, I’m not sure how much more I can stand. I am terrible about picking things out in a movie that are inaccurate or just plain ole wrong….. and that show is loaded with them…. but we’ll see~ 😉

As I am writing this…. I am getting pinged by what I thought was a friend on Face Book Private Messenger. The conversation just didn’t sound like the way my friend would talk – so I asked a question I knew my friend would know – and they failed miserably, so it’s got to be some kind of scam (they were wanting me to make a ‘donation’). I’m all for donating to good causes – but when I think I am being scammed – I get pissed…. really pissed. So please, for those of you reading this, that are also on FB – be aware — there are some real $hitwads out there~!! It has also got me riled enough…. I’ve lost my train of thought – so I’m gonna wrap this up here and put up some more of the best of 2018 pictures. Hopefully I’ll get back on track tomorrow……

Good Night Ya’ll . . . . . . Thankx for stopping in~!

I was just regaling to my bride the fact – that 43 years ago — almost to the hour, that I rolled into Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio Texas. Boy what a life changing event that was~! My Brother [Roy] had told <warned> me that the first thing that will go through your head when that bus comes to a stop is: “What the **** did I get myself into” He was not wrong, for I had just arrived at USAF Basic Training. ‘The fastest 6 weeks of your life’. Wow….. a long time and a million memories ago. When I think of the many turns my life took because of that one decision – it is mind bending. At the time, I was on track to working my way through a single term in the Air Force and returning to my little town, to become an Indiana State Trooper. I had completed all the pre-requites and all I had to do was complete a stint in the USAF Law Enforcement Squadron – to be able to walk right into the Academy. In a blink of the proverbial eye and what seems like another 100000 decisions and I wound up in Civil Engineering, married, 4 Daughters, now 8+ grand babies and living in the U.S. Virgin islands after a half of year of island hopping. You cannot make this kind of stuff up~! Regrets ? I’ve had a few – but then again, too few to mention….. 😉 ((nod to Frank)) Would I change my past if I could ? There is one for the ages….. but hell no – give up not having my Queen, the 4 gorgeous Daughters that I have…… and my Grand Daughters and Grand sons???? Ain’t no friggin way~! Would I have done some things differently ??? Yeah – probably…. but you are getting into 20/20 hindsight there – and that’s not fair……

Wow – not sure where that came from either – but now you have a tiny bit of insight to me – whether you wanted it or not….. today was a mostly quiet day. I was supposed to make a couple of dives today – but that got quickly blown out of the water [so to speak]…… my Bride did some running today while I stayed at the house and caught up on paper work and odds & ends that needed done. A nice change of pace from her sitting here for a half a day while I am out running. She finally made it back and we had drinks and watched Frasier…… Both hungry – I was going to get me a pizza and she wanted a Philly Cheese steak sammich…. The only pizza I could get delivered was gonna be $ 58.00 and unless it was going to be delivered hot and fresh from Turoni’s – there was no way in hell I was putting out that much for a pizza. I ordered Fish & Chips and a burger in case the Fish & Chips sucked. As expected, the Fish & Chips was horrible…. sadly, the burger wasn’t much better. Guess I should have just grilled my own…… and my pizza itch….. still itches.

Good night Ya’ll – – – – – Thankx for stopping in~!

Woke up to our normal gorgeous blue sky this morning…… the wind is finally starting to lay down and our weather seems to be returning more to normal. A lazy day, with a small breakfast and taking it easy. I did manage to get up to the post office to mail out my music trivia prize and other items that needed mailed. For those of you that don’t do Face Book – I have a small music trivia game that I put up almost every night (if I haven’t been out at an event or drank too much and just too tired) A dear friend suggested I ‘track’ winners – which I started doing. It’s added another level to the game – I think it’s made it a tad more interesting. I have enough people vying to get the answer – that I put up some changes in it once in a while to give everybody a fair shot. I’ll put it up really early sometimes, or really late, I’ll make it music from the 40’s or 50’s for the more seasoned players and some from the 70’s for the ‘kids’ in the group. I have trickled into the 80’s a couple of times but it’s rare, as I believe most music after the 70’s….. suck~~ 😉 I cover most genre’s to help keep it even. I heard multiple hints about a prize for the most correct answers – and I followed up with that – hence getting the ‘prize’ in the mail today. There was a surprise also went out in the mail today – but I can’t elaborate on it yet, or else it will ruin the surprise….. more on that one after the surprise arrives~~ 😉 Rules to the contest are simple – guess the title of the song….. and you must say the title of the song (not just the next line of it) – it’s on the honor system…. if you cheat and look it up (and if you don’t know it you should look it up and listen to it – you just might like it) please keep it to yourself so others have the chance to try and get it. I go for the occasional stumper…. songs I don’t think anyone will know unless their minds have that unusual path mine takes once in a while. SO FAR – all songs listed, are in my brain and I know them by memory [although sometimes I copy and paste them just to cut down on typing]….. I had a Son-in-Law call BS on that once…… so I told him to ‘try me’…… He tried for about a half an hour. With over 170 songs used already (no repeats)…. I believe I still have a ways to go before I run out of the music in the jukebox that is my brain….

Wow – didn’t plan on that little spiel – I guess I felt like it needed said….. so if you haven’t joined in yet – give it a shot….. there may be a prize in it for you.

Good Night Ya’ll – – – – Thankx for stopping in~!

Woke up to a solid gray sky this morning and intermittent rain showers. A rare day here where we never saw the sun. I think that is only like the second or third day like that since we have been here. It made for a good day to do a lot more of nothing, than eat, watch the boob tube and take smoke breaks. I didn’t take down the Palm lights, much to my brides delight. I really do need to get them down though. I think the salt and the sand is getting to them as they are starting to dim in certain places. One of the daily threats of anything exposed to the salt and sand. Especially only about 50′ from the water, so I’ll probably have to take them down tomorrow before they all burn completely up. I know Angie would like them up all year – but afraid that is one request I’m not going to be able to fulfill for my Queen. I’d have to replace and rehang them about once every month and that is just not in the budget……..

I’m gonna leave it at this — more pix from the past year……..

Good night Ya’ll . . . . . . Thankx for stopping in~!

Well I sat up last night after my Queen went to bed, watching Frasier and awaiting the new year. Remember, we are the first to see it here living on the island that has the most Eastern Point of the U.S. on it. A universe difference from Bonaire where we spent New Years last year. We had both went to bed early last year and was shaken from our slumber by explosions and celebrating. As it neared Midnight here – I walked out onto the beach and looked in the direction of the area I figured would have some kind of fireworks. As I stood there and listened to the waves crashing in on the beach – there was nary an indication of any kind of fireworks — by sight or sound. Slightly dismayed I stood out there and finished my cigarette listening to the surf and pondering the difference in the way the 2 islands celebrated. Not sure why, guess I figured being part of the U.S. – I automatically assumed there would be plenty of fireworks…… guess that’s why you should never ass-u-me anything~! Content there was nothing to see or hear — I came back in and finally went to bed, content in the knowledge, I indeed did welcome in the New Year.

We both rolled out this morning to a gorgeous blue sky and 78°. Wind was still blowing a little harder than usual, but it felt good. We both caught up on our morning routine and enjoyed a nice quiet start to our day. Angie made us a small breakfast and the rest of the day was spent lounging….. really a pretty nice way to start a new year off. Rest of the week looks to maybe be a tad busier as places open back up for the week, but we’ll see. Gonna sign off for now, with more of my favorite shots from last year.

Good night Ya’ll- – – – Thankx for stopping in~!

Wow….. what a year~! A year ago today, we were living in another country, albeit, another beautiful Caribbean island (Bonaire). 50 weeks later and we now have taken up full residency on yet another beautiful island (St. Croix USVI). We have a permanent place, a vehicle, belong to a couple different clubs and organizations and many, many new friends. It has been quite a year. SO many new things to learn – and learn we did. Sometimes the hard way, but they were all learning experiences. I dare say we still have much, much more to learn. We are learning as we go, and taking the good with the bad. Some of it easier to take than some of the other…… Weather….. a gorgeous 81° yearly average. Beautiful sunshine most of the year….. rain showers rarely ever last more than about 20 minutes. Beaches every where – some not post card quality beaches – but warm, swimmable beaches year round. Warm tropical water that contain some of the prettiest blues and greens you can imagine – and that water is filled with thousands of beautiful creatures to look at should you decide to take a peek under the surface~! Palm trees, beautiful greenery and amazing colorful plants everywhere. Mostly friendly people and wonderful food to be had. Hundreds of places to explore cultural points of interest if your are into that. Some notable landmarks (Buck Island, Point Udall, Frederiksted Pier to name a couple)

There are some not so enjoyable things to leading this life – that have to be addressed if you are considering this type lifestyle. Probably the biggest and hardest one [for us] – is not having immediate family around. Sure they come to visit, but it’s not the same, knowing you can’t just jump in the truck and drive for a little bit to see them. Especially around the holidays and special occasions. Running to the store for [pretty much anything] fresh, especially meat – a good steak for example. What I have come to expect as a 5 star restaurant….. won’t find them here. Customer service as pretty much anyone wants or expects – damn sure won’t find it here. Having anything that has metal on it, not being rusted -nope~! “Crawly” type things — even if you can get an exterminator to show up on a regular basis, you might as well get used to them~~ Most stuff is completely different than what you will find back in the “States”. Is it worth it, to leave family, friends, and the comfortable life (that you’re more used to than you than you’ll probably ever realize) ? Really good question.

I regret not one second for what we have did the past year and a half since we retired. Will we be here forever ? Doubtful – but not ready to leave yet. I promise you, you will not adapt to this kind of lifestyle quickly…. so we’ll be here at least another year ‘checking it out’. Besides – this looks to be the perfect home base, to start checking out some of the other islands out this direction. (Lesser Antilles) Provided we can afford to do it 😉

So – I hope you all have enjoyed my ramblings…… I’m gonna do my best to keep them up as long as there is an interest, along with as many pictures as I can get. (They are helping to replace a fading memory) I wish each and every one of you and your families a safe and healthy Happy New Year.

Good Night Ya’ll – – – – Thankx for stopping in….. I’ll see you next year~!