Monthly Archives: February 2014

20

Feb. ’14

Thanks Terry!!

It’s been a while again since I’ve last written something on this blog.  I have a couple of things to write on and I am hoping I have enough room to do it.  Having enough room on this free blog, with the amount of stuff in my head that want to get out, is a challenge in itself but I try.  As it is said…”nothing is free”, at least very little is free.  Here at Imperial Plaza, there is so much that is free that I use a calendar to keep track and it stays full with a lot of things that I cannot attend or it’s featured at the same time something else is featured.

I have met so many people here at Imperial Plaza that have said either they can’t (although the Imperial Plaza Staff bend over backwards to ensure people having movement problems can attend everything) or they don’t have the funds (although there is so much free stuff I miss over half because of time or it is the same time as another free event).  A guy made me a little angry the other day by saying no one told him.  I just asked him if he could read.  There are fliers and posters and word of mouth.  Fliers are even bought to the apartment and all a resident have to do is go to the door and retrieve the flier and read it.

Thursday we went on a road trip for lunch at the Virginia Diner via the Jamestown Ferry.  The trip was wonderful, the food was great and the company was very good.  We all expected a bad weather day but even the weather was good.  A little windy and only occasional sun but all in all it was still a great trip.  I’ve always said, if things are going too good, watch out.

We were on the way back to Imperial Plaza on I95 North.  Terry was driving along smoothly, just passing over route 10 in Chester, approaching route 288 when a rear tire on the right side blew with a load “BANG”.  Ted and I were sitting over the tire and it scared the XXXX out of us.  Terry was cool and didn’t panic. With the bus rumbling on, he slowly and safely guided us to the side of the interstate.  Ron and Terry got off the bus in order to inspect the damage.

Ron got back on the bus, informed us about the damage, which a bus was coming for us and not to worry.  It took a little over an hour for the other bus to reach us.  The way I was counting it was inside ninety minutes, from flat to heading back.  My hat is off to Terry for handling the bus so well and staying with it while we drove off.  Then he drove us R.O.M.E.O.s (Retired Old Men Eating Out) on our once a month eating out the next evening.  Again……THANKS TERRY!!!!

Posted by . Categories: Imperial Plaza. Tags: , , , . Leave a comment

14

Feb. ’14

My Week

What a week this has been.  Last week Gypsy was postponed to this week because of snow and snow threatened to cancel it for this week.  I kept a close eye on the weather forecast and the timing for it all.  After talking to Ron, here at Imperial Plaza, he assured me he would postpone if the weather would strike before we get there or while we were there.  We were lucky, the snow hit while we were on our way back on Interstate 95, just a few miles north of Hanover.  When we got back to Imperial Plaza, the snow was coming down.  It looked beautiful.

Gypsy was a wonderful performance and the meal was simply great.  It has been a while since I last went to a dinner theater.  I have never been to Riverside Dinner Theater and it was great.  I will return as soon as I can but I have so much going on, here at Imperial Plaza, that I don’t know when that will be.  I’ll try to make it sooner than later, if possible.

I mentioned I was entering a book contest and I was to mail in the first part, well, I mailed it in.  Keep your fingers crossed for me and wish me “Good Luck” in making it to become a finalist.  In the meantime, I must write the rest of the book because if I become a finalist I will have a very short turnaround time to get the rest of the book to them.  The first part was only 5,000 words and the rest must be at least 20,000 words or more therefore I will have to get a head start.  That can’t be done overnight and edit too.

Today is Valentine’s Day and my wife and I went to the Valentine’s Day luncheon in the Richmond Room.  There were quite a few people there and the place looked beautiful.  I was impressed.  The meal was great, as always and the music was good.  Two women, that played the harp, were there.  I remember going with Imperial Plaza, last December, to a performance where the Harp school performed with the entire classes of harps, including the smallest kids.  It was great and I would like to see them again.

There was a lady at our table talking about how the residents go to an event an hour or more ahead of time and when the door open they will go in, get a table and then reserve all the seats for the friends who will come later.  A lady, at our table, was doing that and the people never arrived.  Personally, I don’t think that is fair but I am at a lost on how this should be stopped.  Maybe someone, brighter than me, have an idea.

Well, I’m at the end and I hope you have enjoyed my rambling on (or is it venting) but until the next time, stay warm, stay safe and I’ll see ya.

Posted by . Categories: Imperial Plaza. Tags: , , , , . Leave a comment

08

Feb. ’14

This and That

It’s been a long time since I went on a long bus trip with Imperial Plaza, the beginning of last fall, to be exact.  That was when we went to the mountains for lunch.  That was nice because the food was good, we stopped to buy apples fresh off the tree and we stopped at a store owned by the Amish.  This time we went to Jamestown Museum and had a guided tour through the Black Culture section for Black History Month.

After the tour we all milled around the souvenir shop in which a few went in and a few of us stayed by the front door.  The museum had let three women use a power scooter to get around the museum faster.  One of them decided to drive through the shop instead of walking.  While I was talking with one of the men, by the front door, the lady decided to go up an aisle to the rear of the shop, tried to make a sharp turn and knocked down a stand of glassware.  That was the same woman who slowly walks through Dogwood’s basement parking, down the middle of the vehicle travel lane into the outside parking lot and slowly down the middle of the parking lot to Boxwood.  Vehicles coming down the street or not.

We went to a restaurant in Yorktown, looking out onto the water.  It was nice, upper class and had really good food.  We all sat at one long table and had good banter among all of us.  Then the subject turned to fishing between Ron, two women and I.  I showed my phone pictures of coolers of fish caught off Cheatum Coast Guard Station’s quarter mile long pier.  I love fishing there, especially when I have my son-in-law with me.

Now I must be a semi-hermit.   By that I mean that most of my time will be spent in the apartment because I am at the end of my project and must finish.  I am entering a writing contest and the first part is due next week.  If I am selected as a finalist, forty thousand more words are due by the end of March.  Wish me luck!  I love writing and have a couple more contests to enter and a short time to do it.  However, there are a few more trips to go on.

As usual, most of the bad storms are missing us.  Don’t get me wrong, I like it, but, I don’t want us to be like the west coast and be bone dry.  All eyes are on these storms and, as long as we get lite storms, we should be okay until this summer.  Another thing real quick, I was happy to see the really cold temperatures because it will help control the bugs during our warm season.

Leave a comment or contact me and let me know what to write or something like that.  SEE YA!

PASS IT ON!!!!!

Posted by . Categories: AAH-RETIREMENT. Leave a comment

06

Feb. ’14

Tail Gating

Sorry that I have not written anything in the past week and a half.  I have been to New York for a funeral, the omnipresent “Honey Do” list and out with Imperial Plaza.  The Plaza always has something going on although most of the tenants do not attend.  Those of us that do attend have a great time and, as always, look forward to more.  According to Ron, there is more coming (I just have to look at my personal calendar and see all the things I have signed up for this month) especially when warmer, nicer weather get here.

New York City’s traffic was crazy.  I know what you are saying, it’s always crazy.  Well, last week was New York’s crazy traffic, The Super Bowl traffic and Chinese New Year traffic.  Parking was not to be had.  A person damn near had to call a tow truck to tow a vehicle out of the way in order for you to park.  Other than that, it was not bad at all.  In fact, I got out of New York a day ahead of a snow storm.  That was luck.  I’ve always said that if it was not for bad luck I wouldn’t have any luck.

There was a Super Bowl party (Tail Gating) in the auditorium and I was helping to set it up.  It was fun to actually do this but then I noticed how the people were acting (I kept my mouth shut).  The people started to arrive forty five minutes early, we had to close the door and I was the guard to keep them out.  We had six tables set up and when I sat at a table a lady told me she was saving the other seats for her friends.  I have been to a lot of functions and this is REALLY getting out of hand.  I then sat at another table and was told the same thing but I refused to move.

Now, that was not too bad.  Have you seen how a kid will act when they are really hungry and someone say “Let’s Eat”?  Well, that’s how these people acted.  The table where I sat was near the front of the line for the food table and when the announcement came to get the food, three ladies at my table jumped up and almost knocked over two other ladies that were rushing to the tables.

Later one small featured woman came back to the table with her food, which was overflowing the plate, and sat down to eat.  I was wondering where she was going to put that large amount of food.  Then I noticed people going to the table a second time before others had been once, including me.  All of this has been an eye opener and I also saw who I can and cannot be friends with.  In the meantime, comment and pass the address to others about this blog.  Until next time, SO LONG!

Posted by . Categories: AAH-RETIREMENT. Tags: , , , . Leave a comment