The Golden Years

You can just see the head or hump of the camel.

When you are staying for a week in Florida in an over-55 complex, there are many rules to adhere to, especially if you have children who are under 16. Children are not allowed in the pools before 10 a.m. or between the hours of 2 to 4 p.m. Children under 14 are not allowed in the pool without supervision. There is no jumping, splashing, rough play in the pools. In fact, there is no nothing in the pools – there is a whole list. And the old people will glare at you when you walk in or when you reach your hand through the ‘security’ fence to undo the gate instead of swiping the pass card.

But if you are creative, you can find a way to have a little fun in an over-55 community. You can be like Daniel, and puff your swim shirt up like a Portuguese Man-o-War and float on your back by the old people – working hard to get a reaction. (I think he received a startled look or two.) Or you can secretly race the old lady swimming laps back and forth and again try to get a reaction. You can also imagine what it would be like to bomb off the side of the pool into a cadre of old people, complete with floatable noodles under their arms and dry hair, your giant cannonball cascading water all over and spoiling the serenity. Ahhhhh, this is the life. Except until your 16 you can’t use the pool tables either.

In an aside, our elderly neighbor told us about hoop snakes in Appalacia. These snakes nip onto their tails and roll down the hills. She told us this tale as if she found it completely believable.

Unrelated thoughts

I returned home and realized that our house sitter/my good friend had been staring at my bra all week, hanging prominently off the knob of my dresser. Sorry to spoil the view Nan.

After waking at 3:00 a.m. for our flight home, I was in near hysterics on the leg from Atlanta to Providence when I saw a woman in front of me stroking a large, wooden camel that rested in her lap. At first I thought this was a Chihuahua but it was too large. She put the camel away at one point but brought it out again for the landing.

Books to read: City of Thieves (must) and The Devil In the White City (not finished yet but awesome). These are both non-fiction but read like novels – the best of both worlds.

I can’t think of anything else that’s funny because that camel is overpowering.