"As I was going up a stair
I met a man who wasn’t there.
He wasn’t there again today.
I wish that man would go away."
So it has been with Tropical Storm Fay. The storm was not here today. It moved east somewhere south of Naples (maybe 125 miles south of Sarasota), and has hung around south central Florida all day. That area is receiving a good soaking, good for the Everglades and for Lake Okeechobee.
Sarasota has been scarcely affected.
At 7:00 a.m. when I walked, there were lovely cooling breezes. They have hung around all day, but now they are much balmier.
Low clouds have been scudding across all day, but they have refused to release any rain.
Banks, schools and local government offices were closed all day in anticipation of a major storm.
The United States Post Office was open, and mail delivery was normal.
"Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds" (Unofficial USPS motto)
My friend Ben and I decided to go out for a late breakfast. He suggested “Toojays”
http://www.toojays.com
Toojys is a local Jewish type deli. It was a good choice.
We ordered corned beef hash with poached eggs, and scrambled eggs with smoked salmon. Then we divided the plates, each of us having a half of hash and a half of scrambled eggs.
This was the first “big” breakfast I’ve had since January ’08, when I started to eat more wisely. Boy – it was delicious.
Downtown Sarasota was deserted and so quiet. It reminded me of the “enforced godly” Sundays of an England of years ago when 99.9% of businesses were closed. It was a good quietness today.
Back at home I caught up with some ironing, and then wrote a brief Church paper on hospitality which has been on my mind for months. I’ve submitted it for publication.
Even though I am now retired, this day felt like a bonus day for inactivity, so much like the snow days in Massachusetts.
And I am glad that “Fay” never became a hurricane.
He wasn’t there again today.
I wish that man would go away."
So it has been with Tropical Storm Fay. The storm was not here today. It moved east somewhere south of Naples (maybe 125 miles south of Sarasota), and has hung around south central Florida all day. That area is receiving a good soaking, good for the Everglades and for Lake Okeechobee.
Sarasota has been scarcely affected.
At 7:00 a.m. when I walked, there were lovely cooling breezes. They have hung around all day, but now they are much balmier.
Low clouds have been scudding across all day, but they have refused to release any rain.
Banks, schools and local government offices were closed all day in anticipation of a major storm.
The United States Post Office was open, and mail delivery was normal.
"Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds" (Unofficial USPS motto)
My friend Ben and I decided to go out for a late breakfast. He suggested “Toojays”
http://www.toojays.com
Toojys is a local Jewish type deli. It was a good choice.
We ordered corned beef hash with poached eggs, and scrambled eggs with smoked salmon. Then we divided the plates, each of us having a half of hash and a half of scrambled eggs.
This was the first “big” breakfast I’ve had since January ’08, when I started to eat more wisely. Boy – it was delicious.
Downtown Sarasota was deserted and so quiet. It reminded me of the “enforced godly” Sundays of an England of years ago when 99.9% of businesses were closed. It was a good quietness today.
Back at home I caught up with some ironing, and then wrote a brief Church paper on hospitality which has been on my mind for months. I’ve submitted it for publication.
Even though I am now retired, this day felt like a bonus day for inactivity, so much like the snow days in Massachusetts.
And I am glad that “Fay” never became a hurricane.
Glad that it was nothing. So it is with forecasts in our post Katrina world. Deep sigh.
ReplyDeleteI used to spend a lot of time in the Tampa area and there is Toojay's there too. I know it- very good.
We are of course so overstimulated in our world (I say this as I try to read about a zillion blog posts and just wrote a guest post at someone else's blog...God have mercy!)
Stores closed on a Sunday, I remember that from my youth here.
Quiet days are good and necessary. We see what the aftermath of that kind of stimulation storm is, our world shows us that for certain.
Hmm... your piece on hospitality. I would love to read that when it is available.
Pax my new friend!