Christmas Eve

Posted on by Thor

On Christmas Eve, we all sat in my sister Pat Boehme‘s living room in Punta Gorda sipping wine and watching TV. Terry multi-tasked on her iPhone, while Pat and Mike Napolitano watched Wheel of Fortune. There was a recent controversy with this show when a  holiday-themed puzzle that featured a line from the Christmas Carol
“The 12 Days of Christmas,” was solved correctly by contestant Renee as
“Seven Swans A-Swimming.” She gave something of a lazy answer, however, and failed to clearly
enunciate the “G” at the end of the phrase, saying “Seven Swans
A-Swimmin’”. (Her clues were the letters “SE_EN S_ _NS A-S_ _MM _NG” —
note the “G” was revealed on the board, so she knew it was there.) But The Powers That Be behind the wheel buzzed Renee’s answer and deemed it incorrect. The puzzling ruling has created an uproar on the Internet with many viewers claiming that it was unfair.

The news was about some ex-convict who set fire to his mothers home and then he ambushed first responder firemen, killing two of them before he shot himself.  This is why I don’t watch the news if I can help it. When the sketch was done, I watched the Frank Capra classic, “It’s a Wonderful Life”. That film always gets me. Christmas Day Pat prepared an amazing Turkey Dinner with all the trimmings. Pat and I drove over to visit her son, David Boehme who lives in a trailer park a few miles away. He has just graduated college and has started the daunting task of trying to find a job. Pat gave me a cute little “Charlie Brown Christmas Tree” but unfortunately the single red ornament broke on the drive home.

Punta Gorda Christmas

Posted on by Thor

Terry and I drove to my sister’s home in Punta Gorda on Christmas Eve. The roads through the center of the state were quiet. We drove through large orange groves and past large juicing factories. 16 wheel trucks were loaded to overflowing with oranges. Some of the fruit actually rolled down the pyramid peaks and down to the street gutters when the trucks hit rough pavement. My sister Pat Boehme and her boyfriend Mike Napalitano had a beautifully decorated artificial tree in their living room. On Christmas Day, Pat gave me a Charlie Brown Christmas Tree. It was basically an artificial twig mounted on two planks and one red Christmas bulb.

On the day after Christmas, Pat and Terry wanted to go shopping in downtown Punta Gorda. Our first stop was Pat’s Chiropractor’s office. This large Community Christmas Tree was right across the street. I sat on a public bench and started sketching. Some of those ornaments were the size of basketballs. After Pat’s adjustment, she and Terry drove to a railroad station antiques store. I had sketched the railroad station before so I stayed behind studying the Christmas Tree and sketching as fast as I could. I figured when they were done shopping, my sketch would be done. Some guy exiting the chiropractors office looked over my shoulder and said, “You certainly found a wonderful way to relax this holiday.” I was anything but relaxed.

Thanksgiving

Posted on by Thor

For Thanksgiving, Terry and I drove down to Port Charlotte to visit my sister Pat Boehme. The two hour drive was surprisingly care free. Terry slept most of the way down as I drove. We were surprised we didn’t hit traffic around Disney or near Tampa. Zorro, our umbrella cockatoo, made the trip as well, hanging upside down from the bars in his travel cage most of the way. When we arrived, Pat told us that the turkey was ready. She had prepared a delicious traditional feast. I love those crunchy bits she puts on top of the green beans. After several servings of turkey and stuffing, we all started to slow down.

I did dishes while Mike Napolitano showed Terry some of the new plants in the backyard. Then we all retired to the living room. Mike watched football games on TV. Terry reclined on the couch opposite me and drifted off in a tryptophan induced sleep. Zorro was happy as he could be perched on her knee.

The road Pat and Mike live on is going to soon be expanded with a traffic circle added to the corner they live on. When all the construction is done, their little slice of tropical paradise will have been decimated. Most of their side and front yard will be gone and the drainage ditch will be right next to the house like a medieval mote. They are afraid that the homes foundation might be compromised. They had hoped the town or county might buy the property so they could afford to move, but no offer has been made. An Orlando lawyer is now involved on the case.

Thanksgiving at the Moose Lodge

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Terry and I drove south to Port Charlotte to have Thanksgiving with my sister Pat Boehme and Mike Napalitano. Rather than spend all day cooking, Mike bought tickets to have dinner at the Moose Lodge. We drove to Moose Lodge 2121. Above the entry “LOOM” was printed which stands for the Loyal Order Of the Moose. Mike explained that there is a hierarchy of these Lodges. Lowest in the pecking order are the Order of the Eagles. Apparently if you are an Eagle, you are slumming it. Next up the totem is the Order of the Moose which is middle class in nature. He said, “If you are an Elk, well you are a snob.” We got a table and a volunteer waitress quickly took our tickets. I believe the tickets cost $7. Only a Moose member could pay for drinks so Mike ordered us each a soda from the bar. As soon as I got back with Mike from the bar, the food arrived. Each plate had heaping portions of traditional Thanksgiving Turkey, stuffing, string beans, mashed potatoes, and sweet potatoes. The food was delicious although the meat was a bit too salty. The advantage to having dinner at the Lodge was that there was no temptation to have seconds. The amount of food was just enough. A waiter stopped by our table to pick up the plates saying, “Well you kids certainly cleaned your plates. When you get to be my age, everyone is a kid.”

In a corner of the room there were Moose antlers above a Coke machine. A small stuffed bird was perched on the antlers. There were several large bingo boards on the walls. You could tell they took bingo very seriously here. I think Terry and I were the youngest people in the room which was kind of refreshing. For desert we all had pumpkin pie and Terry ordered apple pie. When we finished I asked to be left behind to finish a sketch. An old couple sat down right in front of me and they anchored my sketch. They waited for the longest time for their food. I turns out their tickets had been put in the wrong pile and the waitress thought they had already been served. Their misfortune was my blessing since they modeled for me much longer than they otherwise would have.

I called my sister so she could pick me up once my sketch was finished. I sat on a bench in front of the Lodge waiting for her. Many people leaving the Lodge needed canes. One woman said, “Too much food in 24 hours, I am glad they had a take out box.”