Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Check is in the Mail

Last week the very hot weather in California had some high breaking hot days. Luckily the surf was also breaking and three days were spent at the beach surfing and riding my (new to me) beach cruiser I had rescued from the creek. Lots of things go into the creek by our house beside golf balls and shopping carts. There are always scooters and bikes that get thrown in. Today I recovered a brand new basket ball while walking the dog. Maybe it was a LA Lakers fan saying his last farewell to the almost year around basketball playoffs. The found beach cruiser only needed a little straightening and mud removal, then the bars were shorten three inches on each side, a different seat (my butt is not that large) installed, some orange grips and several leftover stickers were added. When in doubt always add decals and they also can cover a board ding in an emergency. A couple of weeks ago a Hobie Henry Ford long board left my house to ride in the back of a very nice 56 Chevy 2 door wagon in exchange for some Franklin's. I had completely forgot the ding under the In and Out decal so I threw in a leash to finish the deal.

While in the water last week the dog was left to guard our belongings and protect but she failed as some small decals were applied to my decal-less van by our favorite rack builder Frank of Surf Works. The dog usually sleeps or watches the rabbits and squirrels out the window waiting patiently until she can get out and chase them. The dog has several friends that will stop by the van and take her out for a walk when she is on guard duty. Frank is one of her buddies so she probably helped him paste the decals on the van. Later to balance the added weight of the decals a Save Trestles sign was put in the starboard porthole to prevent heeling when blasting down PCH.

Saturday my departure off to the boat was delayed until Craig the mailman made his stop to discuss surfing San O but my interest was for the check in the mail. Of course the promised item didn't appear and my UPS shipment of an outboard bought on EBay wasn't expected on Saturday but it is probably stuck in the same black hole as the insurance check. Funny the insurance company keeps calling me for a "Customer Satisfaction Survey" and today a survey was in the mail. They do know how to survey but they have no idea what happen to the missing check or how to track it.


When we went out sailing Sunday it was foggy but you could see enough to navigate the channel and of course as the sun rose higher the fog was supposed to burn off. Apparently the sun was stuck in a black hole as almost four hours went by before we could see anything. Going out we came upon a trail of flowers floating in the harbor. My first mate surmised that somebody must be showing their respect for a lost one and since we were lost in the fog we never did see the source. Today, Wednesday, celebrates seven days the insurance check and the UPS shipment have spent together in the black hole and in Craig's postal deliver today there was a envelope marked "Free-Pre-Paid Cremation! DETAILS INSIDE" Now there must be some connection between the floating flowers in the fog Sunday and the Trident Mailer in the mailbox. The Trident's return address is Rapid City, South Dakota and that is a long way from any ocean. To me a classical Viking funeral with lots of flames and fire works sound like a lot more fun than just scattering ashes but how to do it when you sail single handed most of the time may be somewhat difficult to carry out. As that may take a lot of planning and thinking the idea may have to wait. Maybe the Trident Society knows how to do a Viking Farewell. I will note that question on their enclosed self-paid reply card and return it to them for suggestions.
Previous Word of the Day
finca

a ranch or large farm in a Spanish-speaking country, esp. a plantation in tropical Spanish America.
[Origin: 1905–10; <> income from a property > the property itself), deriv. of OSp fincar to remain, stative deriv. of fincar (Sp hincar) to drive in, fix, sink (a nail), alter. of ficar

"After forty days, when the child is fully integrated into the community, the routine of going down to the fincas begins. From when I was very tiny, my mother used to take me down to the finca, wrapped in a shawl on her back."

FIRST VISIT TO THE FINCA. LIFE IN THE FINCA (Chapter IV) I, Rigoberta Menchu AN INDIAN WOMAN IN GUATEMALA (Winner of the 1992 Nobel Peace Prize)

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