May 19
Sheila Matthews, one of the Association Leadership Team based in New York, took me to the White Plains (HPN) airport this morning where I caught a prop commuter plane down to Dulles airport. On previous trips, the flight path had gone straight over New York City and offered some excellent views of all the landmarks. Now, probably because of September 11th, we flew west of the city, over New Jersey.
In Washington I didn't have time to phone my uncle as I had planned but went straight from one gate to the other. I heard my name paged and found that because the plane was full and I am a Premier Class flyer with United, they were moving me up to first class. It didn't mean anything, though, except a wider seat, since they still didn't serve a meal on the two-hour flight even for the people who pay so much more in that section.
My brother and his son Dalton were waiting for me in Orlando and drove us back to Cocoa Beach where we went out to eat before Dalton started studying with his brother Derek for his final exams in school starting tomorrow.
About midnight there was a lot of excitement as Derek noticed someone trying to break down a neighbor's front door. We called 911 and three police cars answered and caught a man inside the house.
May 20-21
My friend is currently in an institution in Daytona Beach, 75 miles north of Cocoa Beach, being treated for alcohol problems and depression. Because he is newly admitted to the facility, his privileges are very limited and I had a difficult time getting to see him. I tried calling ahead but wasn't getting a lot of results, so I drove to Daytona Beach on Monday, only to find that they don't have visiting on Mondays and I wasn't on the visiting list anyway. I was able to talk to some colleagues and friends of my friend, though, and got more background on what has been happening. And since I had time I went down to the famous Daytona Beach and took a few pictures of the nearly deserted beach with a really pounding surf.
Tuesday I tried some workarounds, making more phone calls, and there was a glimmer of hope, so I drove back to Daytona Beach. At first they said I couldn't visit because all visiting appointments must be made at least 24 hours in advance, but then they relented and let me visit for thirty minutes so the trip turned out to be successful. Back in Cocoa Beach, I found my nephew Dalton and Jason his friend working on a dune buggy that Dalton won in a contest.
May 22-24
Wednesday was the last day of school for the Cocoa Beach students so my nephew and one of his friends went out to breakfast together before heading to school for their last two exams. I borrowed their truck and went looking for some computer parts to upgrade their home computer which has several problems.
Thursday morning I drove my brother and one of his sons to the airport in Orlando so they could fly to our family home in Kentucky. The original plan had been for me to fly to Kentucky yesterday but I extended my time in Florida to leave on Friday when it looked like I would not be able to visit my friend until Wednesday or Thursday. After they left, I was alone in their house for the next twenty-four hours so I fed the fish, let out the dogs, filled their water bowls, and watched the manatees surfacing in the canal at their back door.
I also got a lot of work done. I continued my search for the computer parts and found just what I was looking for. The only problem was that when I installed the extra memory, the computer wouldn't boot. I fiddled with it for a couple hours and then decided to leave it till the next morning. Then I headed out to the matinee showing of Star Wars: The Attack of the Clones!
Friday morning I started off working on the computer again and finally got it to boot again, but only without the new memory I had bought. I'll have to think more on that one. Then I drove their car up to a long-term parking lot near the airport and left it there for them to use when they come back from Florida next week. My flights took me to Dulles Airport in Washington, DC, and then on to Louisville where my sister-in-law and her children met me at the airport. That evening all the brothers and sisters gathered at our Pewee Valley house for our first time together in several years. It was especially happy because our mother had just come home on Wednesday from the nursing home where she had been recovering from surgery.