Fish

I was reading this morning on my blog fiends site about her on again off again affair with Tilapia. Basically she ate Tilapia because if didn't taste like fish until she read the horrid conditions that most Tilapia grow in. They are bottom feeders. Now she is no longer a Tilapia eater.

I love fish. I expect fish to taste like fish. I avoid tasteless fish like Tilapia and Mahi which are everyone's fish of the day because they are tasteless.

Any taste in the above mentioned fish is derived form blackening, a sauce, or frying. Otherwise one is eating white bulk.

Thursday I met my match. My friend insisted we go to a sushi bar for lunch. I like these places fine but I don't particularly like eating with sticks and I am never sure what I am eating so I try it all. Somewhere in the mix I swear I ate some slightly bad carp. I belched strong fish the rest of the day and into the evening.

Ideally I like salt water fish but make exception for fresh water trout and crappy. Salmon ranks high for me. I can it it daily but tuna moves down the scale. I prefer salmon over tuna by a long shot.

I like most fish you can catch in the surf here in NC, yes even spots and croakers.

But I draw the line at bottom fish like catfish and grouper. I prefer caught in the wild to farm raised. I love most any crustacean or shellfish or fish with no skeleton like squid.

And finally give me shrimp and oysters and scallops until I drop.

I'll Shut Up

It is no secret that I hate winter.

Just yesterday my friend Ty openly declared he hated long shadows. His voice held fear and panic of pending doom. I knew what he was talking about.

On the other hand I have dear friends that love the cold and darkness of winter. Just now they are seemingly coming to life.

They are all excited about Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, snow or driving to the mountains to see snow, skiing, open fires and whatever cold lovers do during this period of depression and gloom.

As a child I loved this stuff too. Somewhere the darkness began to effect my mood and the cold started hurting my skin and bones.

I have learned to cope. I stay mentally on vacation on an island.

This year I promise not to gripe about what I can't change.

I'm Alive

I was reminded tongue in cheek but with a lot of truth from an old childhood friend named "Bunny" that we should be thankful every morning just because we wake up. I tend to take life and health for granted sometimes.

This morning Gigi asked me to take Peaches outside to do her business. It was dark and close to freezing.

We went out into the yard and I noticed Peaches seemed to be on a mission. She was headed toward the barn.

In her younger days this would have been a 10 second burst of running but today is was a deliberate and determined amble. She paused once but never stumbled.

We got up there and were met by Haley and Millie the cat. The horses seemed curious.

I looked up and the stars were brillient and the sun slowly began to fade the stars. The air was cold on my skin and cold as I drew it into my lungs. For just a moment I felt very alive and thankful that I was alive.

Peaches turned toward the house and slowly walked back.

Gigi was waiting worried as to why it was talking us so long.

Thanks Peaches.

Festivals

We don't have any festivals and I miss that. In places like St Croix they will celebrate most anything at the drop of a hat and once in place it becomes an annual event.

This is unabated celebration too. Not the reserve "trying to teach Muffy a culture lesson" but open smiles, dancing, drinking, food and music. Alway music.

It is all rather orderly and is over in a few hours.

People of all cultures and ages pour into the streets and celebrate such island heritage as St Patrick's' day, or Christmas Morning Jouvert, or most any holiday like Labor Day Jouvert, Jump Up three times a year, Feast if the Three Kings, whatever.

We used to have celebrations based on history but what few we had were forcefully swept under the mat because one or more groups became offended.

Sad...we should make up something new but I doubt we have the heart to celebrate openly and meaningfully like the islanders do.

My Thursday

Yesterday I drove north to visit a client who lives almost on top of the Eastern Continental divide. I like standing on a Continental Divide...one side and the water flows to the Gulf of Mexico, the other side and water flows to the Atlantic Ocean.

I used to have a great affection for the Appalachian Mountains but now they depress me. The weather was typical for the mountains, cold, very foggy and rain.

I lived in the Appalachian Mountains back in the 1970's for five years and got a belly full of cold rain, heavy snow, and sub zero temperatures. I never caught on the to charm of having frozen hair, slick streets, dry skin, dark days, shrunken scrotum, ice and snow everywhere, skin numbing cold, and high frigid winds that so many other people seem to enjoy.

I drove up early afternoon, ears popping with the elevation change and drove into a think fog bank. So thick was the fog I honestly relied mosty on my GPS to get me to the final destination. But that too is part of the charm of mountain driving.

We met at his home, talked, visited and did our business. Then it was time to see his chickens.

This guy started chicken farming about the time I did but never looked back. Now he has about 200 hens and 1 rooster that he is baby sitting. Egg production has dropped from the dark and cold days but soon a 60 watt bulb will fool the chickens into egg production when he get electricity up to the chicken house.

Thrilling Thursday

It is suddenly winter here. It is mostly dark all day with rain and it is in the 40's. This is classic Carolina winter.

I came home and slipped into my Homer Simpson pajama bottoms that I bought at Kmart in St Croix and threw on my sweat shirt that says St Croix Cane Bay. This or some variation will be my winter household garb until the spring thaw sometime near The Masters.

Gigi already had on layers of clothes and reported the horses were in a "pissy mood". They hate nasty weather.

Earlier I had stopped by the club for some social intercourse and a pint of two of OMB. I decided to pick up supper too since it was already dark.

So we ate supper and caught up on the events of the day.

The evenings now I find that my PC is my constant companion for entertainment. I write some web html, mess around with google maps, do some work at a leisurely pace, read a lot of news, and scan Facebook.

One thing I discovered is Google maps street view has caught up to the entrance to my neighborhood. Soon old Google will ride down to the Wreggie compound and witness my home and horses for the world to see.

Hump Day Edition

On Monday I installed my new car stereo into my pickup. Earlier in the day I asked my lovely assistant if she would splice the rats nest of wires on the wiring harness for me. She did and it worked perfectly.

The install went fine which really supprised me. I expected something to break, burn, rattle or something to go wrong but it didn't.

This is a major sound improvement for me. Fearing the worse I delayed new speakers but ordered them yesterday. I should have the system complete by the weekend.

The Bluetooth paired up with my iPhone and now calls come in over the stereo. I'm still trying to figure out all the buttons.

My oldest dog Peaches is definitely approaching the sunset of her full life. Her kidneys are failing. She spent last night at the vet hospital on fluids and catheter trying to flush and restart her kidneys.

We are not going to put her through a lot of medical stuff. We just want her to be comfortable for as long as possible.

The Good Life

We had a good time tailgating yesterday. I have my part down to a system now and it works rather well.

I now bring a three divided commercial chaffing dish to the event so my first task is to boil a gallon of water. This give me time to set up the two gas grills and or any other device like the fryer.

Yesterday I opted for jambalaya with sausage as the mystery third item. Then we had the usual brats, and bubba burgers. Once all this is cooked I can toss it into the chaffing dish where it will stay warm and moist and I can clean up.

I also bring a collection of hot sauces including several homemade ones my nephew makes and an assortment of Miss Anna's hot sauce from St Croix.

It turns out Miss Anna's is having a contest on Facebook about their sauce and how we use it. All I needed to do is submit a picture of us using the sauce and I might have a shot at winning cases of the stuff.

So yesterday I found these three hot and slightly buzzed women to model my collection of Miss Anna's hot sauce.

Think I have a chance?

Birth Mark

On my right knee is a oh so familiar birthmark. It is about the size of a pill and is tan in color.

Yesterday I looked at it for the first time in years and noticed it was about gone or either faded in the the blotchy universe of my skin.

When I was a child I was so self conscience of it that I refused to wear shorts. Even as a teenager I rarely wore shorts because of this mindset.

One day in the early 1980's I went to an island, wore shorts and flip flops and the rest is history. The birthmark lost it's hold on my life.

Then I thought how perfect my child body was except for this blemish. Now, as my body transforms into a troll I don't much care what anyone see's.

I'm not sure were I was going with this post but it is said now. What was so important is no longer even considered.

With All Due Respect Mr. President.....

The Nobel Prize Tongue-in-cheek award yesterday to president Obama has made us the laughing stock of the world. A least Jimmy Carter was a sweet old fool that tried to bring about peace. The awarding of the prize to Yasser Arafat was equally laughable as yesterday's announcement.

Read the European and Asian papers and you'l see a general disgust for the US and our worship of our new president. No one respects us anymore.

Can the Cy Young award and the Heisman Trophy be next for Mr. Obama?

I hope Mr. President that you have a legacy of peace and prosperity but accepting the award now is foolhearty.

King of the Road

Avionics means "aviation electronics". I love the word and I have personally adapted the meaning to include car electronics.

This morning I overhauled and updated the avionics in my 2000 Ford pickup.

In one unit I got a hidden CD player (old school) AM and FM and HD radio with Bluetooth, a usb port and auxiliary input port. This will completely merge my iPhone and iTunes with my car. Calls will come in hands free with the ID on the LCD screen. Music I hear on HD radio can be tagged for later purchase. Trapster speed traps and live police warnings will come in via Bluetooth.

All for $159 delivered with all installation kits and harnesses for my truck.

I opted not to get the GPS. I already have the add on GPS and like to tinker with the works too much to have it built in.

Just for this moment I am on top of technology. Gone is the old cassette player.

Style, Be Careful Where You Land

"I like that boom boom pow

Them chickens jackin' my style

They try copy my swagger

I'm on that next shit now"

My style is somewhere between President Dwight Eisenhower and The Black Eyed Peas. We all tend to gravitate to some comfortable place in our past.

My father in law I swear is so 1930's ... right out of a gangster movie.

A lot of my friend stopped developing stylistically in the 1970's.

Personally I was hung up in the 1980's until boredom made me change my music and style habits for a new style.

But then there is noting sadder than seeing a 53 year old white Man belting out the lyrics to Right Round by Flo-rida and enjoying it. That just isn't right.

So, my style is changing and modifyiny to a new place. I don't think I can survive another 30 years on the same AC/DC.

Where are you?

Pointed Shoes II

I have expressed my strong dislike of the pointed shoes women are wearing.

First I guess the pointed shoe reminds me of the Wicked Witch of the West from the Wizard of Oz. That was not a good look.

Second, I am a foot guy....not in a creepy freaky way. I think most feet are pretty and sexy just like other parts of women. Ball them up to a point...not so sexy.

Let me tell you what I saw last week...I almost did a flip. There was a woman who had her feet done with that French finish....you know where the exposed nail is painted white. She had on pointed shoes with an open toe. The big toe and second toes were exposed with the French Nails and I swear it looked like a cloven hoof on a she devil. Not a good look.

I hope I don't have to get used to cloven hooves on women. I swear I'll start wearing chicken feet.

I am Fast

I do things fast. I don't know why but I do. Most everything I do is with speed and power.

One of those things that is most noticeable is walking. I walk up to the point of a cantor.

When I was in St Croix a month ago I was walking toward the taxi stand in downtown Christiansted. The taxi driver asked if I need a cab. Then he said, "You walk strong man."

I laughed and thought how accurate that description was.

A Couple of Things I don't Like

I really don't like it when someone assumes the worse or get pissed about something that doesn't deserve the anger. Example:

"Dooflachy gave us a piece of cake."

Asshole response "It must be about to go bad otherwise she would have kept it".

No dipshit...she was just being nice.

Or..."I took Cooter Brown home last night...he had a few too many".

Asshole response "Cooter is a damn drunk....he deserves a DWI".

No...no one needed to die at the hands of Cooter...I was just being nice.

Or on another topic when I go to a grocery store and no one is paying attention. Customers just aimlessly wondering up isles plugging up lanes.

"Hey...this is my life too....get out of my way!"

This may be your entertainment for the week but for me it's just a beer run.

And finally I hate using a card machine at checkout. Why did customers have to get involved with a transaction? They are all different and require my undivided attention for 30 seconds which is hard for me to concentrate that long.

"Sir...the machine is waiting for a response."

"Yes 38.76 is correct!"

Let's do it like we do in a restaurant...I hand you the card and do do the checkout...okay? I don't need a nonpaying job.

The Judy Bill

My sister told me years ago that she believed everyone should have free home heating. Now that the government in charge has the mind set in that direction ...why not?

It makes sense. The poor struggle while fat cats sweat with their thermostats turned up to 75 degrees.

People die without antiquate home heating in the winter.

The feds could take control of the public utility system and "reduce costs". This mean no more greenhouse gases and the world could turn colder again. They would rebuild the grid and reduce costs.

Then they could allot heat based on family members and square feet in one's home. The thermostats would be controlled centrally to make sure everyone complies and no one get too much or too little heat.

People with larger home would be required to heat only certain spaces that they occupy. Central control could enforce that too.

People in warmer climates would be required to buy home heating or face a fine.

No one would go without adequate home heating and no one would die or get sick from no home heat. Pipes would no longer burst under the government plan saving even more money.

The federal workers would be on a different heat plan.

There would be no public alternative except a fire barrel.

It is cruel not to push this through.

Judy also thinks clean underwear should be free too but lets get this government run home heating bill passed first.

Women...I love Them

I really like women...a lot. Heck I married one.

But the more I am around them the more I conclude that they can be as unpredictable as a bear. Logic takes a back seat to feelings.

Logic is universal and feelings are personal.

In a woman's world the vale to their feelings is transparent. One must simply gaze upon their countenance to see the obvious.

Men of course only see flesh and blood and a confused human that is no longer acting normal within one or two standard deviations of what is usually the range or normal behavior.

I know you must be thinking that there are some issues in the Wreggie household now for me to be writing this. No....it is not the case.

But I can feel a crack in the force that usually precedes the "how could you not have known" syndrome.

There is no way known to man to head it off. I must let the system form (feelings) like a tropical storm and deal with the consequences and cleanup.

Hopefully the system will downgrade and move off to sea.

I'm Proud

I'm proud of some hometown boys that were on Letterman last night. They are from Concord, NC just up the road from my home in Midland.

Enjoy.

Cool Weather Is Here

We are in a temperature flux now. It is cool at night, warm during the day and the humidity is very low.

I'm not fooled...winter is coming and I am panicked.

Most people love this weather. It is hot in the sun and cold in the shade. It is refreshing yet so dry it hurts my skin and it is very breezy so my lips crack.

Yesterday I bought a 2MM wet suit shorty. I will stop living in denial that the waters in the Caribbean are chilly in February. I used to get by just knowing how cold it was back in Charlotte in February but now I'll admit what the locals have been telling me. It is cold down there in the winter compared to summer.

Last February my BIL and I screamed through our snorkels until we got used to the cool water.

This year I will arrive in comfort with my wet suit. I'll now be in great shape with my new "aqua man" hand fins and rash socks. I'll slip old "yellow boys" over the mix.