The Nature of Things - Thurs., Aug. 25, 2016

Trees are being trimmed and taken down all around the RV park because they are diseased, rotted or have been struck by lightning. A small palm tree was taken out right next to our 5th wheel. That palm was the shade for our shower skylight. Now if we take a shower mid-morning, the sun beats in on us. Unfortunately, a large pecan tree in another section of the park had to be removed because it had been struck by lightning a few months ago.

In the past two weeks, nature had more rain in store for us as well. Nature provides the best watering system for the park which is now very green. The grass is luxuriant and our temperatures cooled from the low 100s to the low 80s earlier in the week. For August, those lows are a wonderful relief. Now the temps have crept back up to the 90s.

Since I haven't written for over a week, I've got some catching up to do!

First, happy birthday to my son, Michael Gmirkin, who turned 37 this week. He lives in the Portland, Oregon area and took a couple of days off from work to celebrate. In early August, he and some friends went to Las Vegas for the Star Trek Convention. They had a blast and all dressed in costumes. The convention consisted of workshops, entertainment, karaoke, guest speakers, a showing of the new "Star Trek Beyond" movie, banquet and lots more.

In other news, Bob is doing great. He had an appointment with his cardiologist this week who proclaimed him free from atrial fibrillation following his latest catheter ablation procedure. Plus Bob has had the tube removed from his neck and his neck incision is healing well. Bob has been cleared by his docs to start marathon training. Bob began his Honolulu Marathon training this past week and reports he is keeping up with his training group.


On Wednesday, August 17, Susan M. and I planned a 10k walk along Leon Creek. We signed in, got our walk instructions and proceeded to the trailhead. We walked 1/3 mile and encountered deep water over the trail. Well, we reasoned, the trail goes the opposite direction from the trialhead as well. We'll walk that direction. That didn't work so well, either. We came to a second portion of the trail that was flooded.

2nd flooded crossing

Yet again, we tried one more off-shoot trail only to find even more water in that direction. The current was flowing pretty strong in the area below. It's nice there was a bridge across the creek, but we couldn't get to it!

The third crossing we tried was the most flooded!

Sign says, "Do not cross when under water."

A City of San Antonio Parks & Rec Trail Steward was on the trail taking photos to do an assessment of how to improve the flow of water to keep it off the trails. He said a number of other trail stewards were all around San Antonio doing similar photos and studies. 

 We ended up walking only 4k. It was better than not walking at all.

Thursday through Saturday, I worked. Sunday, Susan, Bob and I wanted to walk but rain was again in the forecast. Instead, we met Susan at Wonderland Mall where she was enjoying a gyro lunch when we arrived. After she ate, we went to the Santikos Bijou theater to see "Anthropoid." The movie is a true story about a 1941 British top-secret mission, called Anthropoid, using Czech paratroopers to land in Czechoslovakia. They are to assassinate Hitler's third in command. With Czechoslovakia under lock down, the lads on the mission must plan the assassination by studying the best place and time to make it happen. I can sum up this movie in two words: disturbing and overkill (overkill both literally and figuratively). Unless you don't mind seeing graphic violence and gross mistreatment of citizens by the Nazis, stay away from this movie. All three of us left the theater deeply disturbed by what we had seen.

When I see a movie like this, it makes me wonder...we are quick to judge how long it took to stop the Nazis from the path of genocide they were on. How are people looking back at our current times going to judge the civilized nations of the world for not stopping the genocide, terrorism and brutality brought about by ISIS? Millions have been killed and people in parts of the world cannot live lives free of terror and fear. I think we, too, will be judged harshly.

After the movie, Bob and I went to brunch at an Indian restaurant behind the Wonderland Mall. The buffet was very good and we will go back.

Monday, Susan and I again planned to walk. We agreed we'd check the weather in the morning and make our decision. At 6:00 a.m. the forecast was for 50-55% chance of thunderstorms. I texted Susan and told her we had thunder and lightning at our place and I was going back to bed. We did not walk Monday either. It rained quite a bit so I was glad I opted for more sleep. Monday afternoon, I vacuumed and did eight loads of laundry.

After all the chores, I watched my Netflix selection which was "Belle," a movie based on a true story about an illegitimate mulatto who was the "daughter" of a British Admiral and a slave. Bob and I loved the movie. It blends history and a wonderful love story along with the societal norms of the 18th century. Her interactions with her "uncle," the Lord Chief Justice, help to abolish the slave trade based on the true trial of the the slave-ship Zong.

Both Susan and I had other plans Tuesday and Wednesday so no walking those days either.

Tuesday, I was able to go for 60-minute massage in the morning. I re-vacuumed Tuesday afternoon, then scrubbed the floors.

Wednesday, I had my mammogram (ouch) and I should see the results of that by next week. I have no family history of breast cancer, so hopefully it will be normal.

After the mammogram I met Bob for lunch at Olive Garden. We each had one of their Tuscan Duo lunch specials for $6.99/$7.99. I had the spaghetti bowl and unlimited salad. Bob had Grilled Chicken Piadina which is basically a chicken quesadilla with veggies in it. My spaghetti was served in a cereal bowl or small soup bowl, so it was a nice serving and I did not over-eat. Bob's serving was four slices and was just right for a light lunch.

When lunch was over, Bob went back to work. It was still 45 minutes until my hair appointment, so I shopped at Burlington Coat Factory where I found two cute tops and some skinny jeans, all for $42. My hair appointment was for cut and color. I'm still not sure if I like my inverted bob or not. I may go back to short hair. First I'm growing it out to where I think I'll like it and see at that time.

From the hairdresser, I headed to Costco to get my tires rotated. I found that 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday is a great time to get tire work done at Costco. I got the car in almost immediately. They estimated 1-1/2 hours, but the work was done in one hour!

I went home from Costco, changed clothes, and Bob and I headed out to Wolff Municipal Stadium to see the AA San Antonio Missions play the Frisco Rough Riders. The Missions were up 3 to 1 when we left in the 7th inning. The Missions ended up winning 4 to 3.

I have to go back to work to get some rest! Today, Thursday, was a very quiet day. August is our slowest month of the year. I keep expecting a flurry of phone calls to make reservations for Labor Day Weekend. Pretty soon travelers will realize Labor Day is only one week away!

Oh, today the Volksmarchers celebrated the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service with a 10k Volksmarch from Mission San Jose to Mission San Juan. At the end of the walk, the Volksmarch volunteers provided a Happy Birthday cake to walkers. They also took cake in to the park rangers in the visitor center at Mission San Jose. My friend, Susan, told me the rangers were really impressed. Since Mission San Jose is only 3/4 mile from Travelers World, Susan stopped by and gave me a piece of cake as well. She is so sweet. Thank you, Susan!


That's my summation of the nature of things for the past nine days. Thanks for stopping by. All comments are very much appreciated.

Here's a photo of the fur-kids.

Sunnie and Bowie