...and to help the race a little more - this was yesterday's Miss Mermaid...
Poor Miss mermaid... I'd really love to meet her - whoever she is LOL!
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Dear Miss Mermaid is back on island and has repossessed the laptop computer from the kitties, who were merrily playing games and watching silly cat videos, learning new tricks. They also seemed to have gained a lot of weight in my absence, no doubt pestering their caretaker to overfeed them!
I was loudly greeted, and one cat sat down and talked nearly an hour straight, telling me everything they did searching for me. My bed was full of cats and purring and it felt wonderful to be back in my lair.
Even today, as I type, I have a cat at my feet and one on the desk and one sleeping close by. I feel so flattered!
As for the weather, well yesterday was gloomy and rainy, but today, while overcast, promises to be sunny later on. The temperature at sea level, seems to be stuck at 84 degrees. The Sahara dust is still lingering. No storms on the horizon. We do have a tropical wave to the west and to the east, but nothing much to report on either one as a threat to us.
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I wish Richard Reid was never born. He is the idiot who tried to fly with a bomb in his shoe over 8 years ago. Since then, anyone who flies, must have their shoes removed and inspected for possible bombs. The floors are filthy and parading around barefoot on the crappy carpet, made me wonder what diseases, parasites or fungi I might pick up. Indeed, I was ill for much of my trip, sad to say and even now, still feel terribly weak.
Flying as a mermaid is a terrible hardship, I was constantly singled out for intensive searching. Those security guards sure do like to pat me down, and it's very frustrating and humiliating. I can't imagine what I do wrong to trigger this every time I fly!
Yes, I was searched and briefly accused of carrying a bomb into a US Embassy in Barbados 29 years ago, but was found immediately innocent. I was allowed in the Embassy without being searched because I was considered an honored guest at the time and was expected and on a special list. I had arrived at the appointed time, after shopping around town and was carrying several bags. I was to have lunch with some dignitaries. I was admitted, and no one searched me or checked my bags. I had just sat down in the office of my friend, pleased that I had found the place on my own after walking all over town.
Unknown to me, shortly after I entered, the Embassy received a bomb threat, so suddenly a platoon of armed Marines appeared, began ripping up my shopping bags and contents, plus thoroughly dissecting my purse and contents, as well as intensively searching my body. Lunch was canceled and I was escorted out of the Embassy, in spite of my innocence. Later, my friends apologized profusely and explained it was all a matter of security. I laughed it off at the time. But I wonder if that terrible incident is noted somewhere, in spite of my guiltlessness.
Before this trip I read the latest TSA rules but each airport seems to interpret them differently. I was yelled at, for not knowing the latest and greatest rules and regs of that particular airport. I tried to smile and shake it off.
I rented a car for a few days, when my friend's car broke down, I was just trying to help out. I had NO idea the nationally franchised car rental agency would give me a car with out-of-date paper tags. I was pulled over by two cop cars, with loud sirens and numerous blue lights, guns drawn and quite honestly, it freaked me out! I had NO idea what I had done wrong. The cop screamed in my face "DO YOU KNOW WHY I PULLED YOU OVER?" and I was terrified speechless. He yelled at me to produce my license and registration. I produced the license, but the car rental papers were tossed in the back seat and I couldn't reach them. Finally he let me out of the car to retrieve them and then he told me to park the car and tell the rental company to come get it. They put away their guns and drove off, leaving a shaken mermaid behind with no cell phone to call the rental car agency.
Do you know how HARD it is to find a pay phone these days? I ended up booking a motel room around the corner, just so I could make phone calls and remain off the roads. It took the car agency over 9 hours to sort out the problem and get me into a car that had legal tags at 1:30am. They failed to understand why I felt so inconvenienced.
Well, I had friends to stay with for free, so booking a pricey motel that happened to be in the neighborhood of where I was pulled over, was not in my agenda, nor was the terrifying way the cops treated me. While the car rental agency has no control over the rude cops, they do have control over their cars and it seems to me, they shouldn't be renting out cars with old tags. In my case, paper tags that had a date written in large ink, clearly stating the tags had expired a month ago.
Since I had tossed my meager luggage in the backseat and not the trunk, I never thought to notice the tags. I only had 2 outfits with me, as I was hoping to catch some bargain sales on clothes and return home with a full suitcase.
This was just one of the craziest trips I have ever taken. I did manage to sneak in some fun, do a tad bit of shopping and see old friends and attend for a few days, an annual private event, that I helped start, back in the dark ages. It is still held every year, in the mountains by the river, by invitation only, and the once weekend only event has expanded to a week long affair of rustic camping, partying, swimming, hiking, cooking out, and general cavorting. Once a day someone has to make the ten mile trip to fetch more ice to keep the coolers of food happy. At night, weather permitting, a bon fire and fireworks are set off.
One year, ages ago, I stayed up late, yacking with a friend by the river side, away from the sleeping campers. We returned to the campsite where we were sharing a tent, when we felt a lump in the bedding. It was a 200 or 500 pack of fire crackers (I forget which, but it was ALOT!) and it was about 2 or 3am. All the other campers were sleeping soundly or snoring loudly. Everyone was under the impression that all fireworks had been used up evening. This was before anyone had produced babies and children, so it was an all adult party with a few pets thrown in the mix.
My friend and I, feeling very foolish and quite naughty, tossed the fire crackers into the dying embers of the fire, then hid back inside our tent. Suddenly the flame shot up about 30-40 feet in the air and the hundreds of firecrackers went off in loud rapid succession. We laughed ourselves silly as naked campers exited their tents in great haste, running around in circles, unsure what to do, one had the presence of mind to fetch a bucket of water from the river, while others ran for cover in the forest. When the guy with the bucket of water returned, the firecrackers were already exhausted.
The next morning, we pretended to have slept through the entire noisy event and acted like our friends were crazy to make up such a story.
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It's a miracle I made it back home this week but , I did manage to sneak back into the BVI (shhhhhhhhhh) with my coveted Yellow Grits and Vidalia Onions. Vidalia onions are the sweetest onions you will ever find, they are not hot nor sharp. They are soft and shaped like a mashed globe. Indeed, they are the best raw onion to be had. They can only be grown in the special soil and methods in and around Vidalia Georgia and are protected under numerous laws against would be forgers.
Every year their entire production is sold out, you can place orders for 2010 onions, but you are unlikely to get any 2009 Vidalia onions except at some of the super markets who previously contracted to buy them. Even so, the further you live from Vidalia, the harder they are to obtain.
If you ever see Vidalia Salad Dressing or Vidalia Relish, grab it, for a tasty treat you won't soon forget.
