Musings & Thoughts for Saturday, November 4, 2023, or: Weekend Update, Part the First

Late Morning, Saturday, November 4, 2023, Lithia, Florida

Hi, everyone, and welcome to another installment of Weekend Update in A Certain Point of View, Too. It’s a beautiful, cool but sunny day here in the Tampa Bay area on this first Saturday of November 2023.  Per my PC’s Weather app, the temperature is 73°F/23°C under sunny skies, and the local forecast calls for sunny skies and a high of 81°F/27°C. (In contrast, my future place of residence, Madison, NH is experiencing 54°F/12° C under mostly cloudy conditions, and the high will be 55°F/12.7°C with rainy conditions.)

Although M-Day (M, of course, stands for Moving) is December 12, 2023, we already started the process of packing my things. Yesterday we corralled 50-60 of my books – most of them history books – and put them in moving boxes from Home Depot. Today we’ll gather some more books for The Great Boxing.

I have not been in a “state of denial” since I made my decision to go from the Sunshine State to the Live Free or Die state. I was hoping to move somewhere close to where I am now, but the one “sure thing” on the table was not so sure after all, and Florida being Florida, there are no slots in the waiting list for Section Eight, and subsidized rentals take forever to get because demand is high and supply is low.

(Pro tip: Avoid retiring in Florida unless you have a huge nest egg. States with no state income tax seem like a perfect place to live, but the trade-off is a mediocre state government and higher property taxes to make up the revenue shortfall.)

That having been said, the start of the packing process does make M-Day seem “more real” even though I don’t have a “Maybe this is just a bad dream” mentality about it.

On Writing & Storytelling

Despite the whole “I’m Moving Out in December” thing, I’m still working on Reunion: Coda in the hopes that I’ll have it ready before I leave. I know, I know; it seems rather unlikely, but if I can finish the epistolary chapter by the end of this week, and if I can write Chapters 13 and 14 by Thanksgiving 2023, there is a possibility – however slim – that I might achieve this goal.

It’s ambitious, I know, but yesterday I managed to squeeze out 1,024 words and six or so simulated emails between Jim and Maddie, who are currently separated from each other because she’s in London recording an album with the New York Philharmonic, and he’s in NYC, teaching an Introduction to World War II course at Columbia University.

Per a suggestion from my filmmaking friend and partner in crime, Juan Carlos Hernandez, I had Jim and Maddie start a new thread where they have a playful exchange of…limericks. (The “have them switch up the tone and have them do something fun” was Juan’s idea; the limericks part was mine.)

Wanna see? Okay…here’s a small selection of emails from the new thread:

Subject: Let’s play a game

From: JimWWII99@yahoo.com

To: MaddieMusica*97@hotmail.com

Date: Sunday, March 5, 2000 11:30 AM EST

Hi Maddie,

I hope you’re having a restful afternoon in London. I just finished grading the papers and quizzes for my class. It was a lot of work, but I managed to get it done. Now I have some free time, and I was thinking of you.

I know you’re probably still tired from jet lag (have you tried taking chamomile tea or lavender oil?), but I thought it would be fun to play a game with you. A game of limericks, to be precise. You know, those funny five-line poems that rhyme and have a certain rhythm. I’m sure you’re familiar with them, being a musician and all.

The idea is simple: we take turns writing limericks based on each other’s professions. You write limericks about famous generals of WWII, and I write limericks about composers. The goal is to make each other laugh or at least smile. What do you say? Are you up for the challenge?

I’ll start with an easy one, about Mozart. Here goes:

There once was a composer named Mozart

Who had a prodigious talent for art

He wrote symphonies and operas galore

But he also liked to party and score

And he died young, leaving behind a broken heart

How did I do? Your turn now. Write me a limerick about Eisenhower, or any other general you like. I can’t wait to read it.

Love,

Jim

Subject: Re: Let’s play a game

From: MaddieMusica*97@hotmail.com

To: JimWWII99@yahoo.com

Date: Sunday, March 5, 2000 4:40 PM GMT

Hi Jim,

What a lovely surprise to find your email in my inbox. I’m so glad you finished your grading and have some time to relax. And what a fun game you proposed. I love limericks, they’re so witty and clever.

You did a great job with your Mozart limerick. It made me chuckle. Poor Mozart, he was such a genius, but also such a rascal. I wonder what he would think of your poem.

Alright, here’s my attempt at a limerick about Eisenhower. I hope you like it.

There once was a general named Ike

Who led the Allies to victory with a strike

He planned D-Day with skill and care

And landed on Normandy with a flare

But he also had a mistress, who was quite a dyke

Did I make you laugh? Or at least raise an eyebrow? I hope so. Now it’s your turn again. How about a limerick about Beethoven? I’m sure you can come up with something good.

Love,

Maddie

In Closing

Well, folks, that’s all the news that fit to print, so I’ll close for now. I’ve got a rest break to take, and I have some books to take out of my room, so, until next time, stay safe, stay healthy, and I’ll catch you on the sunny side of things.