Jet Ski Nationals on the beach this weekend

paid the longrooffan a visit Saturday after work.....lots of noise coming thru the front door of the Taj Mahal as we sit and enjoy good company....race week is a short distance away and I ignore it as just part of the environment....the Rolex series as been practicing and I hear it from work everyday....so loud engine noises are drowned out in my daily life.....later I came to learn that the Jet Ski Nationals were taking place on our very own beach....after getting home I quickly fired up the old 2A and placed a call back to the longrooffan and inquired as to his availability to join me on a short drive down the beach.....picked him up and off we were.....once again he FAILED in the photo department....guess this will be a Memorex moment as we have it committed to memory.....couple of passes down the beach and a short viewing of the activities of the event and the decison was obvious....there were way too many skiers to concentrate on a conclusive winner......then the ever present Beach Patrol drove by and offered to trade vehicles....his brand new F-150 4x4 for my old trusty Jeep.....maybe last week....the heated seats in the 2A don't work so good....had to decline his offer as the longroooffan was in a hurry to get back to the Taj Mahal.
which leads me to today's adventure.....the kid's sister and I took off for the ocal recreational center to shoot some hoops before the daily football games began....
about an hour and a half into the forced exercise ( I watched as she played in a pickup game ) I was off to enjoy the first of two televised football games......
swung by the longroof's place first for a quick cold pop and walked into what could be called a 'federal disaster zone...seems the longrooffan decided it was time to 'shake things up abit' and clean house.....I am sure there is a blog in this for him and I won't go much further here.....other than to say that there wasn't much room in his place for one person....much less two.......made a quick exit....ok, maybe not so quick, two beers and a smoke....but man that place kept getting smaller and smaller as long as I stayed there.....exited via the 'World's Most Famous Beach' and saw some of the most extreme jet ski operators ever...
and the sungoddess thought I went to extremes......a couple of reverese flips.....several barrel rolls.....more ten to twenty foot launches off breakers.....
and the sounds could be associated more with the circle track 4 miles west than with the more common place watercraft normally navigating the waterways of the greater Halifax Basin....
all and all a great weekend Celebrating Life....

the hurricane is coming..the hurricane is coming..the hurricane is coming..

Well, it's that time of year again...the television stations are all geared up and smelling the ratings climb due to their outstanding ability to cover the impending damage from the storm....if you listen to the #7 and the #13 stations, the world we live in is going to be altered forever....oh the carnage, the destruction, the (fill in your own line here).....of course don't forget that crazy idiot from the weather channel that is 'out in the storm telling us what it is like so we won't come out in it'...what the hell is this guy thinking..??..there is a hurricane out there blowing sustained winds around 60 miles per hour.....what in the world makes this guy think I want to go out in it..??...oh wait, it's ratings time again ....the smell of salt in the air...the sound of the surf crashing against the shore...the site of tree limbs in your yard...your neighbor's tree limbs in your yard....your tree limbs in your neighbor's yard....the gentle hum of a 12 hp Honda motor that you know is the reason your refrigerator is running....the look of relief when your wife opens the refrigerator door and the little light comes on.....man I can't tell you what a stress release that little light bulb is....the cough and spit of that same motor that tells you it is time to get your butt up and run out in the rain and re-fuel your generator.....the sound of fathers throughout the neighborhood cussing and kicking things in the garage because the chain saw won't start....man I hope I remembered to have the chains sharpened.....where is that chain saw.....I used a couple of years ago and put it where..??...it was right here just the other day....oh yea, it's in the attic with the fans and the, what I call the charlieconditioner....this is commonly known throughout out the world as a window air conditioner, but damn it worked so well during hurricane charlie....damn near froze us out of the bedroom....
got all the lawn furniture off the back porch, the trash cans are in too, the plants on the front porch will have to ride this out for now....the shutters are uncovered for future immediate need..
never know, this storm might prove to justify all the hype....all the time the phone has been ringing from co-workers and friends....are you prepared..??...need anything..??...got your generator running..??...you know I'm coming to your house if it gets bad.....don't worry about work, I'll be there.... if you need to go, remember that family comes first.....seems air conditioning is a fantastic friendship equalizer....the kids started school today and already got a vacation...two hurricane days off....now what do we do with them for two days..??...checked with Jon-Jon and he is set....haven't had a chance to check with Bob yet, but hell he has a virtual fortress down in Tampa Bay...self start generator that cools the important stuff first....beer frig, pool lights, tiki hut fan, and the pool warmer in case the water temp drops below 78 F.....oh wait, a weather update is coming through....it's going to rain and it will be windy.....okay it's over now...
seems like nobody is getting overly upset about this storm, even the kid told me not to worry.... just going to get some rain and wind....hell he could work for the TV stations forecasting the weather...
oh well....time to close....
as Chris said in his email tonight....
...put some rocks in your pockets....the wind is fixin to blow