Having just spent last weekend at First Unity of St. Petersburg, we were happy to have a visit from Rev. Temple Hayes and her family to see The Villages. Not that St. Pete isn’t a cool place, because as Temple mentioned in her welcome at Sunday services, “To get to Heaven, you have to go through St. Peter… sburg.” Who knew? In any case, Temple, her partner Barbara (like me, from New Orleans, and of course, also highly sophisticated and debonair), and Temple’s Uncle Jim and Aunt Brenda, two thoroughly delightful and charming North Carolinians, visited The Villages for the day. Suzanne highjacked and hot-wired a six-seater mini-van (okay, maybe she had permission to borrow it from Gloria Quigley), and we toured “the Ville” in style. Our visitors were very impressed by Florida’s Friendliest Home Town, and we are hoping that Jim and Brenda decide to move south out of that terrible winter weather sooner rather than later. (Photo of stylish ladies L-R shows Barbara, Temple, Brenda and Suzanne). Also, readers would enjoy Temple Hayes new book, When Did You Die?: 8 Steps to Stop Dying Every Day and Start Waking Up. Click here for more info. 
Jim and I were definitely in the minority, but being Southern Gentlemen, we were on our best behavior. I can hardly count the number of times each of us said, “Yes, sir”.
We recently attended a birthday party for Lawyer Gail, seen here in a tres haute coutoure grass skirt. (It was a noteworthy event, because I got lei’ed… as did everyone else, but it wasn’t that kind of party!!!) It was a small, intimate affair, with only 64 guests. One good thing about lawyers: they know how to throw a party. I’m sure there are other good generic lawyerly qualities, but none come to mind at the moment. (From L-R: Sharon, Ty, Suzanne, Gail, Suzanne’s Lovely Mom Ruthie, and Joyce.)
A birthday party would not be complete without a cake, of course, and fortunately there was a yummy one at this party. Un-fortunately, for Joyce in particular, the cake in question had a blue icing that turned one’s teeth bright blue. I thought about blackmailing Joyce to suppress this image, but figured it would be more fun to circulate it widely… her new nickname, of course, is Little Miss Bluetooth!
My Lovely Bride approached me with a pair of scissors today, saying, “Ty, would you please take care of this Irish pennant on my sleeve?” I replied immediately, “Certainly, my dear, I’d be happy to help.” Those who have not served in the US Navy or US Marine Corps might wonder what that exchange implied… To sailors and Marines, an Irish pennant is a loose thread on a Navy or Marine uniform. The term relates to the lack of seamanlike appearance of ships from Ireland which docked in England centuries ago, with the bitter ends of ropes dangling untidyly all over the ship. A Boatswain’s Mate (AKA “the Bo’sun”) aboard a Royal Navy or US Navy warship would be quick to secure such flagrant examples of improper seamanship, which is also referred to by the term “at loose ends”.
We had dinner last night at a beautiful lake home in Hadley with a fascinating Canadian couple, Karen and Sandy Morrison. Sandy is a retired corporate executive, and Karen a former high level event coordinator who now creates the most amazing spiritual art out of gourds and cedar trees. Her decorated gourds have won first prize at several national competitions (we are fortunate to have one of her pieces on our dining room table) and her totem poles and other wood carvings decorate their homes here in The Villages and back in Canada. One of Karen’s small carvings, which Suzanne named Odin, provided spiritual inspiration for her recently, and will be traveling with us in the coach on our summer tour.
My only regret about our evening together was that Ottawa, their home town, has a pretty boring, non-controversial mayor, unlike the former mayor of Toronto, Rob Ford, whom I like to bring up in conversations with some Canadian friends from that fair city when they mock American politicians… he and Marion Barry, the oft-elected mayor and home-town felon of Washington, DC, have a lot in common, particularly corrupt politics and a propensity to smoke crack cocaine… great role models for young people. What planet do these clowns come from?
Suzanne had a Sanaya channeling session at Unity of The Villages on Sunday past, which was the last one she will host here until late July, when she will return to The Villages to spend time with Her Lovely Mom Ruthie. It was a powerful session, and many first-timers were spellbound (as was I) by her connection with Higher Consciousness.
Finally, the last subtitle has nothing to do with a height-challenged rock band or lady-sized handguns. Rather, it deals with a flower that bloomed on our lanai a few days ago. I think it was a Christmas camellia (Camellia sasanqua); it was very pretty, and had fallen off its stem, so I put it in a shallow bowl with water and then shot it… well, I used my faithful Nikon with macro lens and took a photo (called an “image” these days) of the pistils, the “female” sex organs of a flower. I enjoy getting into tiny subjects because they seem to me more pure and innocent than what I see in the news headlines, and they also provide a glimpse into another dimension, a delicate world without humans. (That can’t be all bad.) I am reminded of something I read recently: “God did an amazing job with the Universe and Nature; too bad he didn’t do a better job with Man.” I think a Woman said that; I would have used “Humanity” rather than “Man”, but in any case, you get the drift…