Lake Forest: a change of view; immortality; a dog’s dog; THE HUNT FOR THE WILDERPEOPLE; cured

 

As you can see from the above, we are no longer in Hilton Head, Toto.

I flew from Hilton Head to Charlotte on Thursday. Carol  flew to Charlotte from the opposite direction.  We met up there and spent three pleasant days with her family celebrating her father’s 95th birthday.  Happy birthday again, Fred.  And flew on to Chicago yesterday.

We landed around noon.  On the approach over Lake Michigan we saw ice floes out in the middle of the lake.  The official water temperature is 33F.  That was also the air temperature when we landed.  I am surprised by how I have forgotten so quickly what real winter is and I have lived through many.  There are a couple of inches of frozen snow on the ground, but the streets and sidewalks are clear.  Today it is only 21F/-6C and sunny.  I bundled up in my winter parka, gloves, ski cap and walked across the parking lot to mail a card for Carol at the Post Office and was fine.  The gloves and the ski cap will make it to Hilton Head.  The parka definitely will not.

From the February 5 entries in THE ASSASSIN’S CLOAK comes this from Jean Cocteau about immortality and writing.

Here we have a photo of my friends, Michael and Layne’s, dog, Rusty who is enjoying Mexico where all three are voyaging in their van, serendipitously named GANNET 2.  Michael and Layne, who sailed from California to Key West a couple of decades ago and who are otherwise sensible people, prefer in their retirement to travel by road.  There is no accounting for tastes.  I have some shady friends, but you being among them know that.

You can follow their travels at:

https://conchscooter.blogspot.com/

I do.

From Pat in Australia came a recommendation for the New Zealand film, THE HUNT FOR THE WILDERPEOPLE.  

Here is a link to a just review by Roger Ebert.

https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/hunt-for-the-wilderpeople-2016

I agree with him that the film shouldn’t work.  I automatically tune out and turn off at the words ‘coming of age’.  I came of age a long long time ago and have sympathy for those who haven’t and perhaps never will, but their trials do not interest me.  I also agree with him that against the odds this movie does work.  Carol and I watched last night and throughly enjoyed it.  Thanks, Pat.

Of Australia, you may have read that the country is about to open to vaccinated foreign visitors.  So is New Zealand on a different schedule.  However by the middle of the year there will again be destinations on the other side of the Pacific for visiting sailors.  I know several whose boats and plans have been stuck on the east side of the Pacific for two years.

In an article about New Zealand reopening I came across an almost unbelievable statement.  New Zealand has had 10 COVID deaths per 1,000,000 population.  I accept that the United States could not have shut down as drastically as has New Zealand, even if the population were willing.  I trust that New Zealanders will not be insulted when I say NZ is not essential to the world economy and the US is.  Actually this is one of New Zealand’s greatest advantages.  However if the US had the same COVID mortality rate as New Zealand, we would have suffered 3,300 COVID deaths, not 900,000 and counting.  

This is so startling that I’ve done the math a couple of times and it seems correct.  If I’m wrong, please correct me.

I would like to declare myself cured of whatever virus invaded me.  The proof may come this afternoon when I try to do my standard workout for the first time in three weeks.  If I can breathe well enough to get through the first 80 push-ups, I’ll be good.

——-

2PM.  I just did my full workout without difficulty in a respectable time of 17:03.  I am cured.