We had no idea the swing dance scene was so big here in the Tampa area, but so far we know of five weekly dances and have frequented two of them.

Friday night isn’t normally a Swing night for us, but this past Friday was the 11th Anniversary of the Swing Time group based out of the Gulfport Casino.

Ma and I got dressed up for the occasion, cause we really just need an occasion to get dressed up, and headed off to Gulfport.

(As always, our dog did all she could to help)

On their website, Swing Time advertised a Jack and Jill Dance Contest as part of the night’s festivities:

But since neither Mom nor I knew what a Jack and Jill contest was, we bypassed the opportunity to sign up as we came in.

As always, we had a wonderful time dancing with our favorite regulars, then a few songs before the competition was to begin, Sam – the organizer and dance instructor – walked up to me with a slip of paper asking, “Are you signed up for the contest?” Me: “No.” Him: “You should be” (or at least that is what I heard in my head). Me: “Ok.”

He wrote “Katy” on the paper and took off.

When it came time for the contest, Sam notified everyone that too few men had signed up to allow partners for all the female contestants, and he warned that girls would be entered on a first-come-first-serve basis.

Getting nervous about dancing in front of everyone, I figured I had a guaranteed way out assuming that I was among the last to sign up. Sam called out the first 11 girls and had them draw a random guy partner out of a pail of names. He then announced they were down to the last male and hence the last couple for the contest and my mental fingers were crossed it would not include me.

There was a silent, implied drumroll then, “Katy, come on up!”

Whether frozen in fear or deep in premonition, I didn’t move for a moment. As luck would have it, there was another Katy (or perhaps a Katie) in the line of girls (not that surprising a situation, really) who immediately stepped forward to claim the spot. Phew! I was saved by the ubiquity of Katys! (or Katies?)

Ready to turn and head back to my seat with a smile, I heard, “This one is for Katy P.” It took me a second, but then I thought, “Aw, crap. I’m Katy P.”

I stepped up to the pail and drew the remaining name. I couldn’t read the handwriting, but I saw the last male contestant standing alone and marveled at my luck. I had never met him, but had been watching him and his wife – an obviously close and talented pair – dance together all night long.

Given a couple minutes to warm up with our newly drawn dance partners, Vinnie took me through different steps and turns and a bit of  Charleston to get a feel for my ability. Next, everyone was lined up and had a thirty-second turn to impress the judges.

Had I the choice, I would have gone first to get it over with, but as we had been paired last, we had the final slot. Mostly we clapped along with the beat and cheered on the other contestants, but while one couple was dancing, Vinnie leaned over and asked, “Do you know how to walk out together?” making a circular sweeping motion with his foot. I’d done something like that before, so shrugged and said yes, but immediately tripped over his foot when he tested it out. He clarified the move with a demonstration, then we practiced it – all the in span of about ten seconds.

When our turn finally came around, my heart was almost beating hard enough to drown out the worries about tripping in front of everyone, but Vinnie led me out on the floor smoothly and we took off. I messed up a couple of times, but thankfully he had told me that your footwork didn’t need to be perfect as long as you were showy, and we were showy!

I have no idea what we looked like or exactly what we did – it’s all a blur for me – but I do remember lots of Charleston kicks and the lack of me falling or tripping, so here’s to Vinnie!

They announced the results would follow shortly then cranked up another song, open for all dancers. I danced that one and sat the next one out, then they announced third place, and the runners up – the pair of whom won free passes to future swing nights. Then for the $100 cash prize, they announced the winners:  ”Katy and Vinnie!”

Wait, what?

I looked up from the plastic cup of water I had been sipping and saw some eyes looking back at me, so I headed out the floor to meet up with Vinnie and accept our $50 each.

Apparently the next round of drinks will be on me…

As was the case after Grandma died, there’s much I’ve wanted to write, but none of it will come out.

I’m sitting next to his empty wheelchair in his room. Hospice came within a day of his death to retrieve their equipment, but everything else remains largely untouched, all arranged as it was before he died.

Eventually we’ll have to clear the room of his things. To incorporate it back into the house as a living space. But, as is always the case when someone is no longer in your life, everything of his bares memories.

I was out of town when he died; my last goodbye was rushed. He passed relatively suddenly though – hopefully with little pain – and, thankfully, my mom, her brother and my grandpa’s brother were all here for him.

If nothing else, I want to say how grateful I am to have had Grandpa in my daily life. To nurse him and converse with him. To hear him reminisce and tell (occasionally dirty) jokes. To watch Law & Order marathons and the Turner Classic Movie channel together. To sit with him as advocate, translator and entertainer at the doctor’s office or in the ER. To clean him, bathe him, turn him and feed him. To scratch his back and listen to him purr.

Caring for him was a huge burden and an immense joy; I’m lucky that, for a short time, this role was mine.

Grandpa: I love you. I miss you. I wish I had let you try my ice cream.

I find him and the neighbor conversing from opposite sides of the vine-covered fence, say hi and wonder what’s going on. Jim casually reaches down to move one of the vines, only it’s not a vine, but a rattle. And a tail. And, oh.

I think a few profanities then move closer and am introduced to a huge, apparently deceased eastern diamondback resting on top of the fence. I follow the tail up to the head, vised in the neighbor’s hand as a safety precaution. Just in case this gigantic snake isn’t quite completely dead.

The neighbor tells of how he found the snake in the field behind his house (the same field that borders my bf’s fence), hit it over the head and brought it back. Jim mentions a double fang and the neighbor pulls out his knife with his right hand while still clenching the snake’s head in his left and uses the blade to prod out the fangs.

Meanwhile, the snake’s body is slowly squirming in gentle undulations. Wait, isn’t Easter a day for resurrections? Perhaps I should step back a bit.

The neighbor planned to have the rattler stuffed, but held it out for us to see it’s full length. Jim took this picture and the last with his cell phone.

Personally, I’d never have the guts to purposefully get near a rattler, much less attack and retrieve one, and normally I’d say anyone who does is probably a bit off their rocker, but this guy was as calm as any person on a beautiful Easter Sunday afternoon and he obviously new how to safely handle a snake, dead or possibly alive. So hats off to him for making this Easter an exciting one!

Hope yours was just as fun!

She had to fly back to Texas before the rental period ended, so the accordion has stayed here in the house since, and on a few of those days when watching TV and doing laundry isn’t enough to pass the time, I’d pick it up and try to figure it out.

I played “Mary Had A Little Lamb” and “Jingle Bells” and even took a semi-successful crack at “San Antonio Rose” following an afternoon of having Patsy Cline stuck in my head. But, since it has to go back tomorrow, while waiting for Grandpa’s med-time to roll around this evening, I picked it up for one last round and worked out the melody – and some of the bass line chords – of “Oom-Pah-Pah” from Oliver! (with help from this guy).

Thankfully, Grandpa is nearly deaf, so me pumping out notes dug up from memory isn’t as painful for him as it would be for a healthy set of ears. Although I have no idea how or even if you can play the accordion quietly, Grandpa slept right through the whole practice session.

But I didn’t go completely without audience. Batman was there to help iron out the melody.

Grandma passed away almost a week after her 98th birthday. We all thought she’d live to be a hundred. But accidents happen and sometime they change everything.

After the doctors decided there was little they could do, she was discharged to my parents’ home to live out her last days. Thankfully all of her children were able to fly in to be with her, and for the last week of her life she was surrounded by her children and grandchildren. Few people are that lucky.

Since I returned from the funeral, I’ve been taking care of my grandpa and filling my mind and my spare time with a hodgepodge of hobbies: gardening and raising seedlings, trying to learn a song on an accordion, writing and mailing lots of letters. And when Woot offered up a $100 ice cream maker for $30, I took up ice cream making.

Prior to this, my one memory of making ice cream is me squatting in the breezeway of my grandma’s house, surrounded by the flow of extended family, squared off with an ice cream maker, staring in wonderment at the spin and the salts.

With Grandma gone, it’s important to keep those memories alive.

But I wish she were here to taste these homemade creations. I know she’d enjoy them.

So far my favorite is mint chocolate chip (Ingredients: heavy cream, whole milk, sugar, chopped dark chocolate, peppermint extract and green food coloring):

The runner up was last night’s creation. No name for it yet, but it’s a mix of cream, milk, soy milk , vanilla yogurt, lemon extract, honey and ginger:

Not nearly as creamy as the mint chocolate chip, but powerfully tasty and refreshing.

The other flavors tried turned out wonderfully, too: homemade vanilla, fresh strawberry, and sweet cinnamon (which tasted almost exactly like a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch and milk, without the crunch).

But honestly, I bought the ice cream maker with I one flavor in mind: Thai red curry.

Curries are made with coconut milk and many of them are slightly sweetened, so why not make one into an ice cream? But googling the idea brought up this website: 101 Frightening Ice Cream Flavors From Around the World.

Undeterred by curry ice cream’s association with the likes of raw horseflesh ice cream, pit viper ice cream and deep sea water ice cream, I made my simple batch with three components: coconut milk, sugar and red curry paste.

It came out a pretty, pastel orangish/red hue, and surprisingly, tasted just like red curry (minus the chunks of meat and veggies). But the chill is unsettling. Curry is served hot and spicy, and this tongue-toasting, brain-freezing treat messes with the mind. All I wanted to do was nuke it and slurp the resulting soup along with a mound of rice.

I haven’t made any curry ice cream since, but now the challenge is to find something to balance this gustatory experience. Curry ice cream can’t stand alone, but it’s still disturbingly delicious. Maybe if I add some shrimp, some spring onions…bamboo shoots…red and green bell peppers…

(Photo by Terry Hutt)

And here’s the full team in their recently-arrived team jerseys:

Photo by IDKW

It’s strange to watch him prep for this from afar. I wish there was more I could do to help, but there isn’t. So, instead – since it is also almost Father’s Day – I’ve been spending my time searching for a Father’s Day Gift to give him when we see him at the finish line in Maryland. The problem is narrowing down the selection and that’s where I’m hoping that you, the readers, can help me.

Dad’s a diverse guy. He’s a computer nerd, a cycling geek, a mechanic & handyman, an avid reader, an avid eater, a music lover, a scifi fan and myriad other things, so I’ve tried to find gifts that appeal to these qualities. The categories are as follows:

COMPUTERS/COMPUTING

Binary “Dad” Shirt

Though this is probably the most appropriate of all the gifts for Dad’s Day, it may also be the most (obscurely) clichéd.

xkcd Sudo Shirt

Not particularly relevant to the holiday at hand, but I think it would still make him chuckle. Next category.

CYCLING ACCESSORIES

Universal Gadget Wrist Charger

With as much as he is on the road, this might be an interesting accessory. He’s finally jumped on the cell phone bandwagon, but I don’t know if he uses it enough to warrant an on-the-go charger … but maybe we could rig it up to a charger for this:

Helmet Cam

For all the times he gets run off the road, or nearly run off the road by passing cars, documentation could come in handy.  Plus, we’d get to see what it looks like to pedal a bike really really really fast without having to actually do so.  While brings me to the couch category:

MULTIMEDIA

Star Trek Next Gen Movie Pack

Granted, it’s a low-risk move, but you can’t go wrong with Jean-Luc. “On screen.” They have the set in Blu-Ray, but seeing as my parents don’t own a Blu-Ray player and still have beloved VHS tapes that get regular use I think DVDs are the good, middle-of-the-road solution where entertainment technology is concerned. On the slightly more advanced side, there’s this:

Barnes & Nobles Nook eBook Reader

Dad reads through books like fire consumes paper, so something like this would save him the trouble of carrying all those Bible-sized Neil Stephenson books on the bicycle. But since the Nook looks a little pricey, I checked gifts on the other end of the spectrum, too – the free end.

Hits from the 80s

And who wouldn’t love adding another 80s mix CD to their collection?  Right.

FOOD

Exotic Jerky

So this looked like a nice gift a father might enjoy … Then I came across this:

Bacon Moon Pie

Can anything compare? Marshmallow, caramel, chocolate and BACON. Wow. Four BMPs ship in the US for $33, or nine for $116. Plus, the recipe comes in the box. Now that’s what I’m talking about. Teach a man to fish and he’ll feed on bacon moon pies for a lifetime. A shortened lifetime, but a lifetime nonetheless. But, what’s a life without a little spice?

Jug o’ Tabasco

If the bacon and chocolate aren’t enough to cause some celebratory Father’s Day heartburn, there’s always a Jug of Tabasco to aid the process. Imagine how many eggs this would top! How many nasal passages this could clear! They even offer personalized gallons. Can’t help but think that this would make a wonderful gift for someone… But, I have to admit, Dad might be better off with a gallon of this:

Cane Sweeeet Iced Tea

“Dad, I slaved all day over a hot stove buying this free iced tea. Don’t drink it all in one place. Oh, yeah, Happy Father’s Day.” Perhaps it’s a little half-hearted.  But staring at this gives me a craving for sweet tea. I wonder if they will only hand this out to fathers… “No really, my dad is right around the corner. He sent me here to pick one up. Um, and so did my other dad. Yes, I have two. And they both want a Father’s Day gallon of tea. No they can’t share. Because it’s what they got each other for Father’s Day. It’s in lieu of a card. Yeah, neither of them are crazy about cards. I got them ties.”

Ideally I’d get him a lifetime supply of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups (then regularly sneak a few), but in place of that I might try this:

Giant Peanut Butter Cup

Wouldn’t last a lifetime, but I could probably make him one on a quarterly basis for a few years. Supposedly, Reese’s already makes the World’s Largest Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, but it’s nothing Guinness would be interested in.

And the final category:

MISCELLANEOUS

Bendable Mr. Bill Figure

Actually, this should probably go under the Cycling Accessories category. I originally thought it would make for a good family joke – our first cat was named Mr. Bill (and my brother played Mr. Hand) – but on second thought, while riding across America it might be nice to have a companion who knows a thing or two about physical pain. The “Ohh nooooo!” would be appropriate on those long, steep downhill stretches too…

And that ends the list. Direct all comments and votes to me at ks.polk@gmail.com and if you know my dad and have a better suggestion, I welcome it!

But a close friend from the hometown (practically an adopted sister) visited this past week, and where she goes adventure is sure to follow. So, since she knows so well how to show Batman and me a good time, I thought I’d share some excerpts from our week:

Here’s a “Before” and “After” of a Black Widow we found on my back door:

I was way too nervous to get close to the Widow and certainly didn’t want to put Batman in peril. (Although – interesting side note – my ex-SO found a stunt double for Batman. I have a feeling the new little guy’ll have plenty of upcoming gigs.) Thanks for killing the Deadly Spider for me, Chica!

Now, onto the park:

Unfortunately, due to his perpetually flexed arms, Batman is cartwheel-challenged.

But, obviously D would make a great sidekick.

She’s got all the moves Tiny Plastic Batman can’t muster.

Plus she talked him into joining us for Ladies’ Night at the local bowling alley:

Unfortunately, none of us are that good at bowling, so we focused on messing around with the camera instead.

The Sepia-toned ones didn’t make the cut, but a some B&W’s ones came out neat.

And though negatives make terrible pictures, we both liked this one.

Due to the traditional low alley lighting, most of Batman’s pics didn’t come out well (the light of a flash tends to bring out his cheap, plastic nature), but that didn’t stop us from taking ten’s of photos of him.  We drew the attention of the management and some neighboring lady bowlers. All in all, a good night for Batman.

Earlier in the week, D joined me on an errand to the Bacchetta office and while we were there, Mike helped her take her first recumbent test ride.  Later, after a couple laps on my power-assisted recumbent with me hanging onto the back rack (parent-style) to help her balance, we figured she was ready for a real ride.

So the morning after bowling, we took off down the bike trail to visit the Bacchetta guys.  (As my Corsa is in California with my dad as he trains for RAAM – it’s his backup bike – I had to borrow a ride from a friend.  This Corsa (the black bike in the back) was provided courtesy of Jim Dibble. Thanks Jim! It’s a great ride!)

Mike was gone, so D didn’t get to show off her progress to him, but Jeremy, John and Mark visited with us and helped me work on convincing her to buy a recumbent and move to Florida. Afterward, to reinforce the brainwashing, we headed to check out the beautiful (not yet oil-soaked) beach:

Batman posed with the local pirate ship, then laid out to catch some rays.

After we had had enough sun, we packed up and were heading back to the car when a dragonfly landed on our beach bag.  Either he really likes green or he was just in desperate need of a lift down the beach. Either way, he stayed with us for quite a while.

Finally, we rounded the trip out with a trip to see Grandpa.

Grandpa certainly enjoyed his kiss goodbye and I enjoyed my wonderful week with this fun, encouraging, vibrant woman.  Now we both look forward to the next time D whirls into town to lift us out of our lives, if only temporarily.

]]> http://www.ifyouwerewondering.com/wordpress/2010/05/resurrection-visited/feed/ 1 http://www.ifyouwerewondering.com/wordpress/2010/04/join-us-on-a-journey-to-sign-and-lake/ http://www.ifyouwerewondering.com/wordpress/2010/04/join-us-on-a-journey-to-sign-and-lake/#comments Tue, 06 Apr 2010 21:08:37 +0000 admin http://www.ifyouwerewondering.com/wordpress/?p=1361 A major perk of the new house is that it’s located near a beautiful park with a lake.

The park is haven to a variety of species of water fowl (help me out if you know any of these):

"Duck" -Jim Dibble

And as with every other lake in Florida, this one has alligators.

Obviously it’s a bad idea to go swimming in this lake, considering the size and abundance of alligators.  Strangely enough, it’s only visibly prohibited in one place, with one sign … and trust me, the alligators I’ve seen roaming the lake don’t strike nearly as much fear into my heart as does this sign:

I’d hate to know the secrets hidden under these waters…

For this trip we don’t have any specific goal in mind, so I look forward to any suggestions you can send regarding points of interest, good places to stay or restaurants we shouldn’t miss.  If you think you might be in our area and would like to join us for a ride, contact me asap.  We’d love to have you come along, whether for a couple miles, a couple hours or a couple days!  Otherwise, send me your address if you’d like a postcard.