Somewhere in the last couple years I lost the capable, brave person I used to be. Maybe because everything went wrong and I couldn’t fix any of it, I lost my confidence and nerve. Maybe it’s just a part of finally healing my battered life, but I am happy to be welcoming her back:
Example 1: The furnace in the Goose stopped working. (I have a space heater and it’s not all that cold, so it was not a crisis.) I suspected the thermostat. I started to call the RV repairman, an expensive proposition, as I would have had to pay his mileage plus service call. For heaven’s sake, I replaced the thermostat in my house in Arizona! I should be able to do this. I pried the face plate off the thermostat. Two AA batteries, whose lives should have ended in 2009, were just under the faceplate. I replaced the batteries and I have heat again.
Example 2: We had the first theft in the park in ten years—someone swiped the flat screen out of the clubhouse. A camper donated an old television, but no remote, which meant there was no way to access a menu to use the DVD and VCR. I bought a universal remote, but two male work campers informed me that none of the codes for ILO, the brand name, worked. I was online and ordering a new television when I decided before I spent the money I would try it. Fifteen minutes later the remote was programmed and working and I could switch the input to DVD and VCR. Watch out world—I am back!
The nearest movie theater is in Crystal River, 60 miles away, so I started movie night in the park. I pre-order new releases from Amazon for less than $20, and we gather in the clubhouse with a cozy fire going and sip wine and munch popcorn. We watched The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Argo, The Descendants, We Bought a Zoo, and The Life of Pi. Tonight there were 17 people, the biggest crowd so far. Next week is Hitchcock and hopefully the week after that is Lincoln. Next I want speakers for the television and a popcorn machine.
My ankle split open again with another ulcer. The usual treatments were not working, so I went to see a physician’s assistant in Williston, about 45 minutes away. He confirmed my self-diagnosis of venous stasis ulcers, took a picture of the ulcer, prescribed silvedene cream and antibiotics, and scheduled another appointment in two weeks. This is the way medical treatment should be—the cost is $100 for the first visit, $50 every visit after that except for follow-ups at $25, no insurance involved. The pharmacy at Winn-Dixie doesn’t charge for generic antibiotics and the cream was only $8. I have two refills on the cream. These ulcers take a l-o-n-g time to heal, so there’s no real change yet, but I don’t have as much nerve pain (the type that radiates up my leg) at night.
I don’t know what to do about Simon. It’s been six months since I "rescued" him downtown and I still cannot touch him. He sleeps on the dash, eats heartily, uses the litter box, and ignores Gracie and me. If I reach towards him he snarls and raises a paw to strike. If I persist he scratches and bites. I add Feral Cat Rehab (thank you Jackson Galaxy) to his food, and infuse the air with Feliway Comfort Zone. I have tried cat toys. He is still hostile. Sometimes I think if I could trap him again I would return him to downtown Cedar Key to fend for himself.
The winter was mild and the park is still full. I’m sure the bad weather in the rest of the country is partially responsible—people keep extending their stay in the sunshine. I’m busy planting flowers, aiming for everything to be at peak for the Annual Fine Arts Festival April 13th and 14th.
There is almost always music in the air . Right now I can hear someone playing piano in the clubhouse; hymns I think, From a site on the canal a harmonica wails. In a tent near the water a fiddler and guitarist are harmonizing, preparing for the Friday and Saturday night bluegrass jams in the clubhouse. This is the soundtrack of my life.
