Posted in Life, memories

My first grade broken ankle

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Daily writing prompt
Have you ever broken a bone?
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I don’t have a lot of memories from first grade, but I do remember breaking my ankle at the end of that school year.

Some friends and I were playing on a swing set that included a two person glider. For some reason I put my right foot down as the glider came back, making my foot twist backwards at a painful angle. I hobbled home and my mom, a nurse, looked at the swelling, wasn’t too concerned, and had me put some ice on it.

I went to school the next day and hobbled around as the pain got worse and worse. When I got home, it was more swollen than the day before, so my mom took me to the doctor. This was 1964, so the family doctor was your one stop shop for medical care. The doctor took an x-ray, saw the fracture, and wrapped my ankle up in a heavy plaster cast. For the next four weeks, I hopped around school on crutches as the ankle healed.

Finally, the four weeks were up, and it was time to remove the cast. The doctor used a special circular saw designed to cut only the cast and not the skin beneath. Once he took it off, I remember my right leg floated up as if it were weightless. But just for a moment. Then I was back to normal, assured that an ankle with a healed fracture was stronger than one without.

I found one picture from my dad’s old slides of me in the cast. Looks like I’m having a good time!

Posted in neighbor

A river runs through it

Posted on by William Douthwaite

I’ve been walking by this house every Sunday morning for the past year, watching the river flow from the irrigation system out into the street, filling up the neighbors’ drainage swales.

Along with you, I’ve wondered, “Does anyone live there?” Answer: no. A German woman who used to wander up and down the street in her housecoat died a couple of years ago. I haven’t seen anyone go in or out since then. I haven’t ever seen a car in the driveway, either. But someone cuts the lawn.

Aren’t the neighbors concerned about the weekly flood that runs past their house? Some have called city code enforcement for lesser things. Why not this? It’s never bothered me enough to call.

This woman’s twin sister still lives a few houses up the street. She never drives by? She’s never noticed the water?

I’m assuming they have a well. I could be wrong, but I doubt anyone who pay for city water to run down the street. It’s not cheap.

So it’s a mystery. It has become part of the landscape, along with gaudy lawn ornaments, security system signs, and flags of various nationalities.

Posted in Life

Get the h*** out of here!

Posted on by William Douthwaite

The big dog (Willow the Great Dane) and witnessed a David and Goliath moment on our morning walk yesterday.

All the noise came from a mockingbird (I think) who was annoyed at the red-tailed hawk sitting on top of a utility pole, minding his own business. She squawked, swooped, and circled the hawk as he (or she) sat and scanned the ground for a snake or something else to eat. Like an annoying mosquito, she buzzed his head again and again until he finally gave in, screeched, and flew away. For good measure, the annoying bird gave chase for a few seconds and then flew off.

Maybe the mocking bird was protecting a nest. Maybe it was a territorial thing. Maybe she was picking a fight. Who knows. I found it fascinating that the smaller bird chased off the bird of prey.

We like to root for the underdog, don’t we? There’s something appealing about the long shot. We cheer when the powerful go down. We want Rocky to win.

Oops. I still shop on Amazon. I still go to Walmart. I want to support small, local businesses but succumb to lower prices and free one day shipping. Ugh.

Today, the little guy won. Tomorrow? Who knows.

Posted in Home improvement

Tear it down and start over

Posted on by William Douthwaite

“Did they put the pool in first? I’ve never seen that before.”

“And look, there’s an AC air handler and a paver driveway.”

“Wait a minute. this is where that house was. You know, the one torn up by the tornado.”

I went back through my dog walking photos and found these crazy pics from last fall, when a tornado spun off from some strong thunderstorms last fall. No one was in the yellow house when the twister tore the roof off. It sat there roofless for six months before anything happened.

And then suddenly, one day, it was gone. At a time where lots are cleared and new homes go up every week, this is an unusual sight. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a block home demolished in preparation for new construction. I’ll bet it’s expensive to demo a home, remove the debris, and start over. There was one house around the block that was destroyed in a fire. But they rebuilt it after stripping it down to the block and foundation. Construction is supposed to withstand 150 mph hurricane winds. Clearly you don’t want to mess with a tornado.

I didn’t see any permits, so I don’t know what’s going to happen next. I suppose you would feel secure living in the next house built here. After all, what are the odds of the same home in Florida being hit by a second tornado?

Posted in grandparenting, Life

Mother’s Day preparation

Posted on by William Douthwaite

I spent some time with my nine- and five-year-old grandsons yesterday while my daughter took my wife out for an early Mother’s Day brunch. When they show up at my house, the boys typically chase the dogs around, climb and swing on the play fort, and exercise with all the garage gym equipment. Yesterday the older rode his long board up and down the street while the younger did a few odd jobs to earn a few quarters. But then it was time for the main attraction.

One of my grandfatherly tasks was to get them working on Mother’s Day cards. I printed out a few card templates I found online, got out our bucket of crayons, and announced it was time to get to work.

To my surprise, they dove into the project with passion. They took their time carefully coloring the cards rather than hurried scribbling. Each was proud of his work, showing off color combinations and attention to detail. I enjoyed watching the “I love my mom!” side of the boys that is usually hidden behind a young man’s “What can I climb?” “How can I annoy my brother?” and (while hanging upside down from something) “Look what I can do!”

The five-year-old was filled with pride as he wrote his message inside the card, along with a bonus picture. The older thought, “I need to get her a present.” Boys definitely need a dad, but they sure love their moms!

I got a whole hour of focused worked out of them before they started asking about lunch. That’s impressive.

Posted in Life

“It’s almost the weekend.”

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Dawn McDonald on Unsplash

Out of the corner of my eye I saw a nip hit the already full trash can next to the gas pump. It was a small bottle of E & J brandy, rather than the popular Fireball or Smirnoff. On the other side of the pump, a young man was lying in the bed of a pickup truck while another filled it with gas.

A voice said, “Good evening, sir.”

“‘Evening.”

I thought he then said, “It’s almost the weekend.” It was a Wednesday evening so I said, “Yup, hump day.”

He was very hard to understand and I thought he repeated, “It’s almost the weekend.” He must have seen the puzzled look on my face and spoke slower, but still slurring his words. After a third try, I finally figured out he was trying to say, “It’s almost Mother’s Day weekend.”

Unsure where the discussion was headed, I said, “My mom died about nineteen years ago.”

“I wish I could talk with you. Mine died a week ago.”

“That must be hard.”

“I was right there with her. A massive heart attack. I’m not sure what to do.”

I said, “I guess you’re not looking forward to this weekend.”

He went on, “Nope. But she was a good Christian woman.”

“It’s sad, but at least you know she’s with the Lord.”

He reached out his hand to shake mine and said, “God bless you, man.”

“God bless.”

And that was it. The pump clicked off and I closed the gas cap. As I drove away I saw three others standing outside the pickup truck. I didn’t catch the license plate, so I don’t know if they were local or passing through Daytona Beach.

Most people at the gas pump do their thing and drive off. Occasionally I’ll have a random conversation. The culture of convenience stores is interesting, including huge cups of coffee, tiny bottles of booze, and plenty of scratch off lottery tickets.

Posted in gratitude

They gave him a plaque.

Posted on by William Douthwaite

The thought was nice. They wanted to show their appreciation for nearly two decades of faithful volunteer service.

So they gave him a plaque.

Who came up with the idea of giving a plaque? The history of plaques is interesting. They date back to the fourteenth century to commemorate important people who served the Benin empire (modern day Nigeria). Memorial plaques were set in church walls and tombs in the Middle ages. Modern day plaques often mark places of historical events and remember those who died in military service. Your name might appear on an “employee of the month” plaque. Or as of your class in high school.

Chances are you’ve received a plaque for an accomplishment, for perfect attendance, volunteer service, or a generous donation. Did you hang yours on a wall? I’ve been in offices where plaques and framed certificates covered the walls. But I’ve also seen plaques piled in boxes along with old trophies at a yard sale.

I received a plaque for being a board member of a service organization in New England. I didn’t do much more than attend some meetings. But this thank you plaque was affixed to a wooden framed clock that sat on my bookshelf for many years. I positioned it so I could glance at it during meetings in my office rather than rudely looking at my watch. I appreciated that plaque.

My daughter received a plaque for a summer internship at a small concert venue where she went above and beyond expectations. On the back of the plaque was a lifetime admission ticket. Now that’s a great plaque!

I guess I’m not a huge fan of plaques. A note with a bottle of something or a gift card can express gratitude, too.

Posted in recycling

A swimsuit from recycled plastic

Posted on by William Douthwaite

Most of the recycling bins out on the curb this morning were chock full of empty water bottles.

On the one hand, that’s a good thing. It beats having all of them sitting in landfills for who knows how long. And it means that people are drinking a lot of water, which is healthy.

On the other hand, we have good tap water in our community. Unless you’re stocking up for a hurricane or you need to pack some drinks for a trip, how much bottled water do you really need to buy to drink at home? Is it really better than what comes from your faucet at home?

And, the bathing suit I just bought from Fair Harbor clothing is made from recycled water bottles and a little bit of spandex. Now you might think such swimwear would be a little uncomfortable. I don’t know how they do it, but the fabric is soft, feels great, and dries quickly.

So far, I’ve only bought the one suit made from twelve plastic bottles. But they also make shorts, pants, t-shirts, polos, and hoodies. I had a coupon and am getting a rebate for my first purchase. Since it’s pricey, I wait and see if they send me discount codes to buy more stuff.

Posted in zoo

I hope the animals got a raise

Posted on by William Douthwaite

Either the zookeepers union got what they wanted or all the animals got a nice raise, because a trip to the zoo has become expensive.

We frequent the Jacksonville (Florida) zoo. It’s the best one within driving distance, even though it takes us over an hour to get there. A membership there used to be a great deal. I think we paid $140 for an annual family membership which included two named adults and four unnamed grandchildren. Two trips with a could of kids and it paid for itself. Now it’s $75 per adult and $60 per named child.

If you visit the zoo more than three times a year, the membership will be worth it since admission is $29.95 for adults and $24.95 for children. That’s if you buy them online at least a day ahead of time. Add $5 for tickets purchased day of your visit.

Oh, and that doesn’t include the train, the carousel, feeding giraffes a piece of lettuce, and a movie in the 4D theater. Everyone must pay a flat $10 extra for total experience tickets, which includes all of those things. Even members. And you cannot purchase any of those things separately. And I can’t imagine telling the grandkids, “No, you can’t ride the train or the carousel.” That’s pretty much what they want to do at the zoo.

Kona shaved ice trucks are strategically positioned around the park. Moms and dads can get a $10 beer or wine to go along with a $14 burger. A cup of ice cream tastes great, but sets you back $9. And of course, you exit the zoo through the gift shop. I know, these aren’t Disney prices, but if you aren’t careful, you could spend $100 per person.

The last time we went was disappointing. The much promoted tiger cubs had the day off. All the animals from the Americas (bear, coyote, eagle, etc.) were off site while their habitats were bring rebuilt. The stingrays were on sabbatical.

Having said all that, I still love going to the zoo. We bring our lunch and some drinks. We know how to bypass the gift shop. The elephants and giraffes are more than happy to pose for pictures. It’s all good.