There are times in your life when you wish you were doing something else. Sitting for the SATs, sitting in a dentist’s examination chair, sitting for a lecture from your angry wife, and sitting in a busy airport with the other hurricane refugees, are all such times. Now, however, I’m sitting in the back of a small noisy jet, next to a small noisy child. The fact that this child is my…
Hurricane/Tropical Storm Frances is still making its presence felt in Dunedin, Florida. Despite a whole heck of a lot of rain and some gusty wind, we’ve gotten off light. The electricity has been out at my in-law’s place. Power has been intermittent at my parent’s house. Yet, we’ve had power throughout the storm. The storm has left our property relatively untouched, other…
The bike is back, baby! They say that one day of exercise is better than none, and we’ll be testing that theory this week, or so it seems. What began as a week filled with promise is slowly degenerating into this summer’s pattern: when it’s not raining there’s something that needs to be done with a car. Yesterday? Lower back pain induced by hurricane preparations. Today?
Riding a bicycle to work during the rainy season in Florida is like rolling the dice and betting on a number between one and twelve. Here’s my summer forecast: there’s a 100% chance that I’m going to get awfully wet. There are two ways to accomplish this feat of aquatic proportions. One, engage your body’s temperature regulation system; or two, ride home in an afternoon…
There are two kinds of Floridians: native born and transplants. There are two kinds of transplants: those that don’t mind the summers and those that do. There are two kinds of people who mind the summer weather: those that complain about it and those that don’t. I’m a transplant that doesn’t like the summer weather and is outspoken on the matter.
Coming in to work this…
The highs are in the 70’s, the lows are in the 50’s – it must be Christmas in Florida! I’m dreaming of an evergreen Christmas. In Florida, fall is when you trip on the stairs. Winter is the name of a meteorologist on the local news. Cold is what you get as a result of a viral infection.
And yet, it’s my favorite time of year. The only problem is that there are only…
Another first is upon us! We, the members of the Florida Kauffman Family Household (version 2.2**), are intimately familiar with the warm air blowing in the summer phenomenon. Having air conditioning in Florida is like having a public defender when you are falsely accused of a crime and you’re dead broke; you know you need it but you wouldn’t trust it any further than you could carry…
Last week I walked from my car to the office as a bit of cool air hit me in the face and brushed my bare skin. I was tempted to say chill, but I quickly recovered. It is 09/in Florida after all. Even I feel silly saying that 75 is chilly. Another sign has parked invisibly over our heads – a stalled frontal weather system. No one in Florida talks about weather “fronts” until after…
While I’m in no hurry to end Beth’s summer vacation, I can’t wait for the season to change. In Florida, the season changes sometime around Halloween. About one quarter of the leaves fall off the oak tree out front, so we don’t get the full fall treatment. But the temperatures do cool off a bit. By then football season is in full swing, followed by basketball and hockey…