The Board serves the residents of our community. Our services should continue without interruption. Our contracted service providers should be paid . The lawyers fees can either be renegotiated or payment delayed. The lawyers will understand. They are aware of our financial status.

The Twilight Years

Let me define fun....fun is working at what I want, when I want, where I want , how I want and doing the work without time limits or financial reimbursement considerations. It is total immersion and concentration on the project in front of me. Oh, if only , this could continue indefinitely! Economic considerations and the possibility of outliving my resources nag at me to find work with financial remuneration.
What am I doing that can add to my financial stability to support myself ?? Every day, I work on improving the landscaping of my home, I plan, research and cook healthy meals. I research on the computer . I attend meetings. I drive to appointments. I schedule my time wisely . I look at the year as a whole, break it down to monthly , weekly and daily goals. I monitor my finances and look for ways to reduce my spending. I look for ways to increase my assets. I watch tv. go to the pool, exercise, eat right, walk, network, make and maintain friendships and relationships, look at options for the future....look for a companion to share my life, dreams, organize more efficiently, maintain my home, get needed repairs house and car and me, read for information , for amusement, investigate new hobbies , new topics, pray, thank God for all my blessings, face reality of my actions, keep my house clean. eat, sleep, pee, poop, take my meds, run my home. run my life.

Is Trailer Estates a Democracy?

You have not fully lived until you attend the board meetings of an over 55 community. You have to listen to our leaders expound on topics that a primary aged child knows: how to run a club, running in the red, quibbling over garbage pick up, paring down the budget, increasing property values, bringing in new revenue to pay off legal fees that can go on without an end in sight, and losing our status as a government back to a trailer park . Ramifications...yet people vote on values that are different than mine: who is nice, don't rock the boat, don't look outside the community at current practices, do not research options...they would talk about past victories than acknowledge what is happening in the present and preparing for the possible scenerios in the future. We are not talking about the options, we are not aware of the ramifications and how other communities have settled their disputes and how they would do it differently We are paying lawyer fees to reinvent the wheel instead of using modern phone, email, google, research , at a high level. Some do not understand how any of this works. Some cannot use modern technology. Are we using modern technology in the park?
Y es, I broke some conventional rules tonight. I do not like the limits they have set. their adherence to petty rules when their are principles at stake that are ignored. The resident should have been allowed to ask his question. If the moderator had kept his mind on the task at hand, all candidates would have responded to the same question. and no one would have been singled out. the written papers said to ask one question per sheet yet someone asked a zillion and why paper questions should have precedence over oral...it is because people do not speak for themselves. They hide behind their names...they didn't even stand up so we could identify them. The candidate who was not present ...we don't have a picture of him, a time and a place where he can speak to a group when he arrives in town

Does our office manage receive training to keep up with the demands of her job...does clerk stuff...does not have computer nor literary skills ./ Living in TE is like living in a factory town, a small town, a farm town, a country town vs a city town where there are laws and conventions that are more able to be accounted for than in a isolated little back water town with shadowy figures and pitfalls and moats.

I need to walk away and protect myself and my interests and make sure I can support myself in the lifestyle I want for me. I could just as well paint my nails tonight, and go looking for a rich old man to seduce than to think I can change the mindset of TE. What else can I do besides get involved in the political sphere of my community? Plenty. How best can I serve my interests so I stay strong in mind and body , so I can serve in some capacity in an environment of mutual respect.

Aging As Art

There is an art and a science to aging. As we age, we are creating a work of art...a little Dali, Picasso, Monet, Rubens, and Manet , perhaps, a smidge of Kandisky. As the Great Masters studied forms, colors, lightening my favorite subject is people! Adding one's twist, one's unique perspective to the new work of art in progress, you see the new work emerge.The glory of God shines in all of us whether translucently, opaquely or under layers and layers of paint. It is up to each of us to create himself as a work of art. Let your light shine through , let your spirit move through you and take notice of the works of art in your life.

Turn Up The Air Conditioning

I have "a trick or treat "date for Halloween with an old flame. We went together last spring, traveled this summer apart from each other. We have cooled off since infatuation has worn off and reverted back to friendship.
But for awhile there, we were star struck lovers. One evening, we were going to attend a church discussion group. I told him we shouldn't sit next to each other because we sizzled and sent out sparks, when we were around each other. When I arrived, there were no seats available for me on either side of him. We nodded in recognition of each other and I scurried past him to sit at the end of the table. His neighbor offered her place to me and I smiled and shook my head no. Too late, she was already out of her seat and now so I certainly could not graciously refuse her offer. I barely sat down, when a woman panted she was so warm and asked for the air conditioning to be turned on. My friend and I struggled to maintain our composure and not imitate hyenas. We sat without moving during the rest of the discussion.

Where you live does matter. I was born in Chicago and loved growing up there. it was a wonderful city to learn about life and tasting the riches that big city had to offer. Snow, sleet, icy roads were offset by ice skating and taking public transportation or walking to high school. Summers were spent on North Avenue and Oak Street Beaches. Even living in Tennessee for twenty three years did not erode my memories of those wonderful days at the beach nor the treachery of the winters. A few years back, beaches came back into my life when my son and his wife moved to Virginia Area and all those great beaches reaching down to South Carolina. I admit I was a wee bit jealous of their proximity to sand and water and the clear horizon at the beaches. Oldest daughter and her husband moved to the Virgin Islands and lovely beaches combined with hills stirred my again. Visits to Florida left me dreaming, doodling, drawing and during one visit to Florida, I bought a home. My very own home near wondrous gulf beaches. I wake up every morning with a song on my lips ...I love this place. I love my life. I am elated to live out my dream.

July2nd to January 17th has been another trying time in my life. I moved to a new city, a new state, a new home and it has been one long lonely time. Of course, there have been some good times. Thank goodness for small blessings. Many new experiences earned like gold smelted in a fire. So, tonight, I say thank you for my home, friends, family, food, clothes, fun times and determination not to quit. I keep going. I keep stepping out on faith. That is all I have to say.