It’s been two months since my last post so I feel compelled to report that any any information you’ve seen about my demise is incorrect. I was going to say “it’s a lie” but that just sounded a bit harsh in my head. I’m actually fine. Diane isn’t totally sure about that but I think I’m OK.

I’m currently sitting next to my favorite wife, staring through a double pane, rain-splattered window at the stormy Pacific Ocean. Sounds a bit dreary, doesn’t it, but it’s really not. The ocean is Diane’s Happy Place, rain or shine. And, since today is her last day of her 75th year here on earth, she gets to do whatever she wants. Yes, today is her birthday, but it isn’t official until 8:08 pm so she’s going to lounge peacefully in the waning hours of #75. She’ll probably be amazed that I remember the minute she was born because she’s pretty sure I’m losing my mind. But, 8:08 was the hull number of the first ship I was assigned to – USS Dennis J. Buckley DD-808.

Next on the today’s list is lunch at Norma’s in downtown Seaside. We’re staying at the Tides, an airbnb studio condo. We’ve passed by it many times on our trips to the ocean so it wasn’t a surprise find. It’s been here a long time. Yesterday when we arrived it was revealed to us that although it’s evident many upgrades have been done to our unit, none of them included the addition of a refrigerator large enough to hold enough food for multiple days. It’s a tiny little thing suitable for a dorm room and it doesn’t have a freezer. Also, when we could not get any hot water from the taps we learned from the office that it was “luck of the draw” (his words) about who got the hot water first. We were told that the folks in the room next to us got it first by filling their tub for the ir child to play in. Made me go “hmmmm” a couple of times. After waiting an hour or so, and running the hot water tap for about 5 minutes, we had hot water.

When we first took our seats in front of our assigned windows there were quite a few folks out walking their dogs. All of them were chasing balls thrown by their humans. It was fun to watch. By “quite a few” I really mean 7 or 8 and none of them were close to each other, avoiding the chance of someone picking up the wrong ball..

Also on the beach, some with dogs, were joggers. I’ve never been one of those so I find it hard to relate to the joy of running. I’m OK being a slug, just sitting here watching them trot up and down the beach in the rain. We’ll enjoy part of that thrill when we leave our room and face the rain on our walk to the car. Diane was happy to learn that I brought my raincoat without being reminded.

The past couple of months have been eventful which is part of the reason why I’ve been idle. The other part is because I couldn’t seem to conjure up enough motivation to sit down and do this.

I know there is a lot to share, but none of it is readily available at this moment, so I’m quitting and will do some studying before starting a new post.

Cheers to you all.