by Mark Freedman
鈥淚s it hot enough fer ya?鈥 Yes, thank you. At least we can use that excuse when our brain melts down from the unseasonal pre-August cauldron. Unfortunately, the 鈥渓eaders鈥 of the two largest English-speaking nations can鈥檛 use that as an excuse for their year-round circus of incompetence. Basta!
Jayne and I recently moved from our 40 sq. meter New York studio apartment to a 168 sq. meter apartment in Sarasota, Florida. We overlook the Intracoastal Waterway and many square miles of trees. It鈥檚 summer in Florida, which means the average daily temperature usually averages out to 34.5C. Believe it or not, we read about the heat wave in France and are thrilled to be in a much cooler climate 鈥 with air conditioning wherever we go.
The people we鈥檝e met in our six story building are most warm and welcoming. It鈥檚 taken us over a week to finally unpack and see daylight past the hundred, plus, cardboard cartons. Daughter Abby, Steve and his son Nick, took respite from their home in Rio to fly to Colorado and bring the few things of value from our former Massachusetts house. That included Jayne鈥檚 little red 1994 sports car. As Jayne was making another trip to the waste disposal room to dispose of a bunch of cardboard boxes she was met by a couple of neighbor women and invited to join them at the pool. She enjoyed the brief respite from the drudgery, but was a bit taken aback when one of the women proudly suggested taking a dip in the heated pool! And the nearby whirlpool was heated to 40C. All five of us took a drive south of here to Venice beach to watch the sunset a few nights ago. The Gulf of Mexico water was as warm as our heated pool.
You鈥檇 also think that one would be quite laid back in Paradise, but it鈥檚 a totally different story on the roads; many people drive like they鈥檙e Grand Prix drivers, and one has to be very vigilant even on local roads. But those are just a few quirks. In all it鈥檚 been a mostly pleasant period of adjustment. Living among and having to unpack and stow away multitudes of those boxes occupied most of two weeks. The 鈥榢ids鈥 have been of great help in getting things sorted and put away, and we finally had a hanging pictures day. Our place is finally starting to feel like home once our art is up on the walls.
We haven鈥檛 been all work/no play. Jayne and I took in local theatre and this past Saturday night the five of us went to the Blue Rooster, a local stop on the music scene. We鈥檇 been there before, and the food is genuine Southern cooking 鈥 fried chicken done to perfection, mashed potatoes, greens, etc. Not on our usual diet but worth the splurge every so often. The music is generally top notch rhythm & blues, mainstream rock and jazz. We鈥檒l hit the classical music scene once the Sarasota Orchestra and Sarasota Opera are back in season.
Watched the Women鈥檚 World Cup finals, and an exciting game it was. Before that game we watched the semi-final, US vs. England. We transported ourselves to Menton during that game and could see ourselves with all the BA sports fans watching together, albeit with a somewhat different hope for the outcome. The US women really do play football at a very high level. Penalty kick aside, the Netherlands team proved to be almost their equal. Fun to watch, especially from Lyon. We kept scanning the stands to see if our former Astoria landlord, Salim, was present as he lives there, but nope.
Not much else to note. Naturally, years before the next presidential election we鈥檙e being inundated with more political BS than the law should allow. But we tend to tune it out and try to concentrate on the things that have real meaning 鈥 music, theatre and books. We miss you all very much and are thinking about getting to Menton ASAP! Our Jeep is parked next to a Maserati SUV, and when I get in the car all I can see is the Maserati dealer鈥檚 showroom from the window of the 100 bus as it winds its way into Monaco.
Ciao and have a most pleasant summer.