01.20.26 And so it begins...

     If you're family, well more my Mom, is like ours then you know. There's something about a Mom's love that's different than one a day gives. And Mom's love, just love, when their kids were young. And there's no better way to celebrate Motherhood and witnessing as their kid hits all the milestones in life than saving...everything. It's a bitter-edged sword. While discovering all those things that have been tucked away it usually means boxes upon boxes of "stuff" that takes up visual and physical space. All you have to do is take a venture down into the basement or attic for proof. 

     I've, mostly for the good, am a chip of my Mom's own block as I have tons of "firsts" from my kids early lives. And one thing that is a super positive, is after you've lost one, finding these keepsakes can really be a beautiful albeit emotional, experience. 

     But then the question is what do you do with it all? For me, a lot of this stuff has made the journey from Red Bank, to Verona, to West Orange, back to Red Bank, to Middletown, to Ocean Township, to Deal, back to Red Bank, before settling in in Titusville. That some trip, and a lot of heavy lifting. Over the years I've added my own keepsakes, from days in the firehouse, a billion pictures of houses, celebrations, and vacations. Throw in that another bunch, like a ton, of bins of old Lionel Trains, and I could star in a re-make of Sanford & Son. 

      During an edit of my dresser, well not my dresser, but one of those wooden dresser storage valets, I found some things I've been holding onto. They've been around for 57 years now. They're my first curls and my first tooth, which my Mom harvested around my first birthday. 

     So the big question is what to do with them? These days kids want....NOTHING. And if they did want something it wouldn't be my firsts. I called my Mom and filled her in on my discovery. It's funny, when you're the oldest, you take on the role of gatekeeper of family keepsakes. So in the end I let the First Tooth go but kept the My First Curl because it was personalized. 

Imagine I'm worrying about two items that are a little more than a quarter in size. Yeah, how am doing? 

01.19.26 If you're looking for a boat in mint condition...

     Winter isn't only a good time to tie flies it's also a great time to buy a boat. Boat owners are either buying up or selling out. Also, like in fly fishing, it's show season, and the New York and Atlantic City shows are in January and February respectively. 

     When I saw Jersey guy Joe Nicosia had listed his boat I told him I'd put it up on the blog just in case someone here was in the market for a new ride. I'm not a boat expert, but I can tell you Joe is mentally-meticulous and clean, just look at his fly tying table when you see him at Edison this upcoming weekend. 

     What he's selling is his 2021 Layton Bay Backwater 16'. It's the perfect boat for someone wanting to fish the rivers and bays with a shot out front on good weather days. I'm sure Joe has pushed the limit and has taken it out a bit further off the beach. 

Here's the particulars;

     I've seen the boat out on the water and, most importantly, tucked away inside Joe's garage. This is a garage kept boat since it was delivered, and that's big. Theresa and I stopped by 

to drop off a push pole for the boat on our way down to Cape May in May of 2024. So if you're looking for a boat, but not a big boat, that can fish you inside and out front, without the big boat feeling and problems then start to do the numbers and figure out how you're going to ask your better half if and when you can buy it. Joe has it listed on The Hull Truth for another look, HERE.

     The current asking price is $29,900. I saw a reply on THT where a guy said he's building the same boat now with Layton and it's running just over $40,000. 

     And what does $30,000 get these days? Not much. In my planning on the move south I've been thinking, "Do I really need a pick-up anymore?". There's plenty of anglers that tow boats with vehicles other then pick-ups and my HOA fees will take care of the yard work, but then there's always those Yard Sales, oh wait I'm done with those, forever. 

     During my solo tour of Bluffton I stopped by the local Chevy dealer. It's been a while since I looked at a new vehicle and the $55 - $78,000 price tags threw me for a loop. One thing I can say you can't find just a new pick-up anymore, long gone are the days of a bench front seat, plastic floor coverings, and rims that come in less then 20 inches. 

     When I came home I looked up Chevy Tahoe's. I'm figuring I could tow with that since I don't need the bed in the back. Want a used 2018, an eight year old vehicle, with 58,000 miles on it? Well that'll run near $29,000?. "It's just been broken in....", yeah, no thanks. That would come out to $480 per month for 72 months, that's six years, at a rate of 12.58%, with $8,995 down. With a 700 + credit score. Six years from now would be 2032...... and the odometer would surely be over 125,000 miles, in which it would then be "broken in", if not broken. 

     You can find Joe on Facebook or message him off THT, or drop me an email and I'll get him in touch with you. It's a great boat, and it's time for you to be back on the water, before you die. 

01.18.26 Back from the Lowcountry...

     Sometimes trips wind up giving you more than just a pause from everyday life. Heading to any destination during their busy season can bring the best weather, the best fishing, the best restaurants, the best experience, and with that the busiest of crowds. We've now been down to the Hilton Head area three times over the last four years. We took 2025 off due to Tara's wedding and our trip to Ireland. Thankfully, Theresa found a deal with her timeshare putting us at the Barony Beach Resort for $400 for the week, and chose to celebrate her 60th alone with me down there. 

     It was no doubt different weatherize when we got off the plane in Savannah last Friday with temps hitting the high 70's, but that was short lived. The cold spell that hit from 

Maine down to Florida in the coming week had us bundled up with first light temps in the high 20's. So in our travels down there we've experienced the Africa-like temps of their summers and now they're dead of winter Northeast type of winter. Being there off season limited us as far as 

activities like the beach, pool, and dining, but gave us the opportunity to explore the area some more, and the possibility of confirming in our minds where we just might wind up. 

      While it was intended to be a vacation it really became a working trip, both physically and mentally. We didn't "do" Hilton Head and the Lowcountry but used our time to do a lot of exploring of the various towns and communities in and around Hilton Head. We didn't eat out a 

lot and most meals were of the fast food and take out variety. For the meals we did sit down for it was usually at one of the restaurants they had in the respective communities we visited. The 

first two days we were camped inside Latitude Margaritaville where we had our heads and hearts set as that being our go-to place. We did several open houses through the last weekend and came away with the feeling that that place was for us. And for each small roadtrip we took I was always stopping to scout out the water and the various boat ramps that would hopefully see my boat trailered down to.

     Out travels took us to Savannah, Beaufort, Bluffton, Hilton Head which was our base camp, and to Savannah. Theresa has a handful of friends already down there so she was able to visit them while I tagged along. The trip to Charlestown took us to the city center and the parking for the restaurant we were going to was $35. I told her there was a firehouse right near there so I popped in and asked if I could park in the back. In the end I wind up having a beer with the ladies before retreating to the firehouse for a hang in the kitchen for a couple of hours. And with each stop and interaction we had we always asked questions to increase our knowledge of the area and people's opinions of places to move to. 

     During a few of those conversations we were advised on things to consider before a move down south, which included being "sure" on Latitude Margairtaville. A friend of Theresa's friend lives in Sun City, a place we had dismissed, and invited us over for another look. I thought to myself, "Okay, I'll go, but we already know", being nice, but really thinking it was just a waste of time. But after being there, and rethinking out position, we came out with the lucky realization that Sun City was for us. Game. Set. Match. And so it began. 

     Sun City is a large, almost town like, 55 and over community located in Bluffton, well most of it, splitting Jasper and Beaufort Counties. It's broken up into four neighborhoods, or time of existence, the South Side, the North side, Riverbend, and the new and under construction West Side. Homes there vary in size and price, with the most affordable, but oldest, in the South, and the newest in the West, where they're higher in price. The thing that this trip did for me was confirm that moving isn't as much as a buying a home, but buying a lifestyle. One that's just not for me, but for Theresa as well. In the back of my mind I always keep the possibility of me checking out before she does, and what will she be left with and where. 

     That friend of a friend signed us in at the gatehouse and we had a two-day pass. We checked out the Town Center, the three golf courses, gyms, and amenities centers, and ate at two of their restaurants. We stopped people and asked questions, a lot of them. Yes, it's a 55 and over community, and a lot of these folks have been there since the jump, which puts them around 80' ish. But, that's also means those people are aging out and moving on to greener pastures, if you get what I mean, and new blood is moving in. We saw plenty of people in our age bracket, and the ones that were older were far more active and in better shape then we are anyways. 

     We hooked up with a realtor that we had sat with at Sun City in 2023. Even though we told her we're at least a year away she gave us the full tour which started with a stop at the new build sales office. And then we were off. Sun City can be a bit overwhelming with the various neighborhoods and models to choose from, but we liked what we saw. 

     If we moved, or when we move, we are looking at about a 1% real estate tax rate coupled with a $3,000 a year HOA fee, which covers everything from the amenities to the landscaping. That would come out to about $6,000 a year, far less than the near $20,000 real estate taxes alone we are staring down in New Jersey. If that alone didn't rattle my brain then the house choices did. 

     Too small? Too close? Privacy? Those HOA rules? All things to consider, but we'd be buying a lifestyle, not a custom built home on a large wooded lot. No basements, most no stairs, perfect for that post-stroke living. No more leaking, flooding, drafty, grass cutting, snow shoveling, New Jersey living? Sign us up. Now nothing is perfect, and the grass isn't always greener, well it is down there, but the consensus when asking many about the regrets of relocating down there, "We should have done it sooner", adding, "It's hard to find good pizza and bagels." But we found good bagels, and it's just outside the gates of Sun City. 

     Last year a couple from New Jersey opened Nosh New York Bagels. They're made everyday in New York and flown down to the Lowcountry and cooked onsite. The only 

negative was they don't sell those containers of white milk that I like to enjoy with a scooped out and toasted bagel. But once down there I can bring my own and save a couple of bucks at checkout. 

     And then the question is what would we do down there? How many ceramic crafts and exercise classes can you take? Would we take up golf or pickle ball? Moving down there would probably mean we'd still have to work but how many people hang up their work belts at 58 and 60 respectively? I could, and would love to, learn that fishery and start guiding again. Sitting in Sun City, where 278 and 170 meet, means I have a straight shot to the waters around Hilton Head and Beaufort, depending on which way you turn. And both put you on Port Royal Sound and out into the inshore waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Or we could put our multi-state nursing licenses to work. 

     While there we did some job searches and Theresa applied for a job and I stopped into the two colleges which are literally attached by border to Sun City. I met with the Dean of the Nursing program at Low Country Community College and she asked when I could start. The other is the University of South Carolina Beaufort- Bluffton Campus, which has a baccalaureate degree nursing program. I could walk through the woods or take our golf cart to work. That surely beats that commute I had to Essex County College, or even my current gig at Capital Health in Trenton. 

     So we left Hilton Head with a plan, one that we communicated with our real estate agent, "We'll see you in 2027". But then after some talking to each other, and a conversation with my Dad, "Why wait?". And that twisted up my head yet again. Yes, why wait. The only thing we physically have as a life changing anchor is the house, a place where we lay our head and have our worth tied into. And then of course we have our hoarding disorder stuff, and lots of that, but truth be told, anyone who's up there in age and has lived in a place for a bit, has too much stuff as well.

     While looking at Zillow can be like looking at a picture at yourself with all kinds of filters added on, the price of real estate just always seems to go up. I have to laugh at Zillow's 

$968,800 estimate, but anything remotely close to that would be a big win for us. How nice would it be to live without a mortgage and car and school loans, and of course those oil deliveries, each month? Over at Redfin they have a more realistic range of our home's worth  

coming in between $771,000 and $933,000. But getting ourselves and this big old home ready is going to be a huge undertaking, and that would be in time for a spring 2027 move. And what about an early summer 2026 move? Well probably delusional. But really what has to be done? First, get rid of it, all of it. They say when you move down there, "If you have to store it you don't need it". And what's funny is how many storage places there are located around 55 and over places from New Jersey down to Florida. My parents just downsized and they to have a selection of storage units they need to rid themselves of. 

     So yesterday it began. The start of a new chapter that may take 12 weeks or 12 months to write. We made a pile and dropped it off at the local church thrift store, picked up a bunch of those yellow and black bins from Home Depot, and then started with the what and what doesn't go down with us. 

     So as I wrap this post up I look out at a second round of snow falling here in Titusville. Yesterday's firing up the snow blower was fun but today it'll be a drag. And looking at the picture above I ask, if that's me to the left do I want to be working on the house and blowing snow in my Golden Years? And really how many years do we have left, and good ones at that? I remember the conversation between Andy Dufrense (Tim Robbins) and Ellis "Red" Redding (Morgan 

Freeman), in the 1994 movie, The Shawshank Redemption. (Yes, that came out 32 years ago). When Andy said to Red, "It comes down to a simple choice, really. Get busy living or get busy dying". Well now I have to get busy shoveling before getting busy packing. 

01.16.25 That stopped me in my tracks…

    While Theresa enjoyed some time in our room at Barony Beach Resort I took time to take a drive and scout out the neighborhood around Sun City in Bluffton. As I drove around I turned into the local Cracker Barrel and was stopped in my tracks when I saw the above. It was a beautiful Jones Brothers Cape Fisherman sitting there in all its glory. I got out and took a look before heading back to my truck to just sit and stare. That could be me and my boat one day.

     Of course it’ll take some planning, and money, for me to get my sled looking like the one above. In my Jones Brothers dreams I would drive my boat down to Donnie Jones in Moorehead, North Carolina and have them return it to its original glory like when Jim Matson purchased it new in 1996.

     Since I purchased the boat it has sat in my yard more then it’s been on the water. Yes, it’s seen the Delaware River and the waters in and around the New York Bight but it’s sat underused just waiting for her time to be deconstructed and rebuilt from the hull up.

     Over those years I’ve washed her up and have shown her some love but what it needs is an overhaul rather then some boat soap. I started the process by removing and selling the radar and motor, which was an older 175 HPDI, and one that most boat mechanics don’t want a part of. 

     One major issue with these old Jones Brothers is the construction using wood and metal gas tanks. I’ve learned that around 2006 they made changes to more sustainable construction.

       It was in November of 2019 when I sold my Cape Fisherman, HERE. She was a fine boat pretty much exactly as when it was made in 1998. I added a new trailer over the 

years to complete the perfect package. I sold that boat because I was opening my private practice and knew that one day I’d have to address the tank issue. Coupled with that was our move to Titusville following Ryan’s passing thinking I wouldn’t get much use of it out there. While most say the happiest days of boat ownership are the day you buy and then sell I have always regretted my decision.  

      While I prefer to fly fish with waders on there’s no doubt that having a boat can allow for more opportunities to be on the fish, and that’s no where more evident in and around the Jersey Shore these days. I’m looking at the fishery in South Carolina and a boat is a must. Fishing flood and low tides in and around those estuaries on foot can be near impossible, and dangerous at times. So, if our move to South Carolina is a go then making plans to arrive down there with a rebuilt boat will be part of the equation.

     I have several friends who are Jones Brothers owners, both old and new. Some have used third parties to do the work on them but I would prefer to send it back to the Jones Brothers factory if possible, and affordable. Part of that may be stripping the boat down to it’s bare bones and putting it on a new tandem axle Load Rite trailer for her ride to whatever shop will do the work. That’ll also include repowering her with a new Yamaha 150 hp 4-stroke. 

 

     So as I tucked in my truck out of the brisk South Carolina weather and pictured that being my boat, which Theresa describes as my ongoing boat envy, I could see this becoming a reality. This persons boat is towed by a newer van, and the idea of tooling around Sun City in my current 

half-handmade truck isn’t part of my dream. There would have to be a new ride in front of my new boat of course. Now I just have to make it all happen.

01.15.26 Kinda sums it up for me…

 

     It seems like every five years or so these days our country experiences some kind of upheaval. It’s either related to politics, race, sex, the environment, or immigration. If you allow yourself to become stuck in the quagmire of social media and or legitimate, or what they say fake news, you can become obsessed or possessed with it all if you allow it. And in these times most people, to me the smart ones, just keep their thoughts and opinions to themselves, or risk losing so-called friends and family members.

     When I saw the above picture it made me think. It’s easy to say you don’t care about country or world events if it doesn’t directly affect you, and some may point out thats the easy way out of life, almost cowardly. But is it? My thinking is just because it’s out there happening or reported on the airwaves doesn’t mean someone has to have an opinion or take a side.

     In life nothing is as important then something that is happening to us directly at the moment. Illness, injury, or death is a prime example. I remember the day I came out of St. James Church in Red Bank at the end of Ryan’s church service. It was a beautiful day and people were just milling about along Broad Street. I remember saying to myself, “God, the world doesn’t pause when I’m experiencing one of the worst times of my life”. Needless to say some of those people were thinking more of shopping or heading to Elsie’s for a sub as I stood there going through burying a child post suicide. How could I expect them to stop their day and put themselves in my shoes, head, or heart?

     We all get thrown into the cauldron of life. If you’ve escaped it to now know that your time in the hot water is coming. Yes there’s stressors and life’s ups and downs but I’m taking about the big ones. I can tell you this, when it happens it’s your experience, your story, your time. It could be a news worthy event or just something that affects you and yours. And while you will get the love and support from a few, or many, basically you’ll have to suck it up and deal with it alone. And in a short while everyone else’s life will go on, while you are left with the broken pieces and maybe a broken life.

     Thats not to say, like with the 24- hour news cycle we live with now, that you can’t have sympathy and empathy for others going through some big time shit right now, but you don’t have to own it, and move on it. And one of the biggest takeaways I see these days is the need to pick one side of every event, opinion, or comment someone else has or makes, especially if it doesn’t directly involve you or me. But for some empaths out there they can’t help themselves. Those people choose to put more energy into strangers than the ones closest to them, including family.

     Looking at fish pictures while people are fighting behind you? Of course if I was there I would have my sleeves rolled up trying to maintain some kind of peace. But I can tell you I wouldn’t go looking for it either. I always liked the saying, “Stay in your lane”, although sometimes I just can’t resist, and that doesn’t usually go well nor do anything positive if I say or do something outside my lane.

     So can one just live in their own world these days? I think we used to and depending on where and how you live you can, you just have to find that space and place. One of the problems I have these days is keeping up with the fast-paced world we live in. From trying to figure out how to pay with things from my phone, to technology and all things electronic, to rapid fire invasions of information from everything outside what I see before me, like from social media and the news, to now all things fake, like from ChatGPT or AI. One sure example is nursing, where feeding the computer has become more important then feeding your patient, or what I call computer focused care over patient focused care.

      As we look, and are hopefully close to packing up in New Jersey and heading south, I question if I’m either truly running away or running to something. Of course the grass is always greener on the other side, but from many people we’ve talked to it is. While not perfect, it is a tad greener, and of course warmer.

     I had to laugh when people we’ ve talked to down here in Bluffton, South Carolina, describe Sun City as, “The Bubble”. They call it that because everything they need in their life is just about within a golf carts drive. Golf, the gym, walking paths, pools, grocery stores, Walmart, and the sex toys, even lakes for fishing, and of course their friends are all inside that make believe cover that insulates the lucky residents from the outside world. They only leave to go to places not golf cart assessible or to the beach or a place to eat, or the big now, medical appointments.

     Thats not to say The Bubble protects them from all things going on on the outside. Of course there’s social media and the news thats piped in to keep them connected and twisted up if they choose to engage. But there is something to be said for the insulation, and protection, that a gated 55 and over style of living offers people who buy inside. And we think we’re ready to buy in. 

      I’m ready to leave the reality, if you will, of the New Jersey living I’ve done for now 58 years. I’m sick of the traffic, specifically New Jersey traffic, the high cost of living and the taxes, the drama of changing towns, and the excess wastes of government spending. I really don’t know how middle class people can afford to retire in New Jersey. And I’m not talking about those whose benefit from old family money or inheritance. 

      So while I wonder what leaving The Bubble each morning to go and find my Jones Brothers to go fishing would look like we’re 100% all in. I’m ready for a change, and really ready for a change in fishing. I’m really a one trick pony striped bass fly fishermen, well two if you include my average trout fishing skills. With all the drama and changes with the striped bass I’m ready to find some new fish to bother, and the Lowcountry is calling. Now we have to make it happen.

      The good thing is if I don’t leave The Bubble to go fishing I can take our golf cart over to the community center and belly up to the table with the 80 year olds and try my hand at ceramics or mongjong. I’m ready. I surrender.

01.14.26 Might have found my new local fly shop…

 

     No not-a-fishing-trip would be complete without a visit to the local fly shop. When I first came to Hilton Head a few years back I stopped by Southern Drawl Outfitters to purchase a few flies and get some help with some walk and wade sight fishing spots. While they were helpful by pointing me in the right direction the 150 degree temps and flood tides at the wrong time helped me keep the redfish skunk alive.

     Theresa and I stopped in and had a great conversation with the guy manning the shop and a local angler about Lowcountry fishing, and more importantly, their opinions on where we should relocate to. That had came down to either Latitude’s Margaritaville, which if we were ready we would have bought in already, or DelMarr’s Sun City, which we were out on, but are now almost all in with.

     New in 2025 shop owner Graham Cotter twisted up my head when he said, “Why would you move to the Lowcountry and buy a place that looks like Florida?”, speaking on Margaritaville. That made some really good sense and kind of rattled Theresa’s and my brains up a bit. So off to Sun City we went, again.

     It’s nice to see a local fly shop still in existence. You find them more in world class fishy places especially those that are a big tourist destination. But I am sure those shops still are faced with the challenges competing with the internet and today’s less than loyal customers. I saw this firsthand at The Fly Hatch when people would come in to browse, try things on, ask questions, and then go home and order on-line. 

     I talked to the guys about being a fly fisherman who’s number one fish is striped bass, to which they said, “Oh you’re gonna love redfish then”. And they added to that talking about their tarpon, jacks, cobia, and triple tail fishery, with seatrout, sheepshead, and sharks mixed in. Part of my plan will of course be bringing down my Jones Brothers 19’10 Cape Fishermen which should serve me well in and around Port Royal Sound.

      Before I left I picked up a Southern Drawl t-shirt with one reason being so I am reminded of the fishery down here while I’m back home, for the next year, in New Jersey. As far as fishing goes, they said it’s tough wade fishing this time of year. It’s a low tide fishery and better from a skiff then while on foot. We have one day left so if I’m going to wet a line it’ll be tomorrow, thats if we don’t have more driving around and house hunting to do. 

01.13.26 What in the South Carolina f&$k?…

     

 So we’re down here in Hilton Head. One of the stops we made was to the local WalMart to pick up some essentials for the week. For me that included some new razors.

     I don’t know about you guys out there but the razor dilemma and debacle has been going on in my life for decades. Part of my razor life is and has included the use of disposable razors, and those can be hit or miss. I can remember digging through the garbage can in the bathroom at the firehouse because my Captain told me my scruff was to scruffy. Either that or the Chief was coming down for a visit and I needed to represent.

     Over the years when I didn’t rely on disposables it’s been the endless game of buying a new razor that comes with a replacement set of blades. What that leaves me is using it down to the bone, both blade and face wise, because I didn’t  have a new set of blades to click into. And at times shaving was flat out painful no matter how much soap and shaving cream I lathered on my stubble.

     Several times Theresa has come home from Costco with a 100 blade pack only to have to return it because she thought I had such and such a brand or model. Mach 3, Sensor 3, Extreme 3, Sensor 2, Fusion 5 just to name a few. 

     Like we see in fly fishing products and companies there’s some smaller companies out there trying to break into the huge shaving market. Companies like Dollar Shave Club, Athena Club (for women), and Harry’s, which is where this post originated from. They’re subscription based so new blades are delivered on a regular basis.

     So I’m walking around the WalMart pharmacy section looking for the razors. I’m not sure if it’s a thing but the razors, not including the disposable packs, were all locked up behind a glass display in the center of one of the aisles. So long story short, I found the Harry’s brand there. Boxes and boxes of handle sets and replacement blades. One color, charcoal, was being discontinued and was on sale for $2.50, with the blade packs coming in at $4.50.

      So, yes, I’m thrifty, or cheap, so I went and found the Walmart employee and tried to explain to her in English what I needed. She came and opened the case and I cleaned them out. Over the next two days I stopped at other Walmarts and cleaned them out as well. I’ll be able to shave cleanly until I’m 100 years old.

     But, here’s our story, well mine because by Walmart #3 Theresa had given up on the chase. But as I looked for that security case, like a kid at an Easter egg hunt, I came across one with a security camera sticking out of the top of it.

      As soon as I glanced inside looking for those Harry’s boxes my mind got twisted up like a pretzel for a second…..”Wait, that’s a vibrator?”. “Thats a cock ring?”.

 “Astroglide?” “Plan B pills”. Then I saw the huge, no pun intended, selection of condoms. Then next to them was 

“The Stroker”. “The Bendy Vibe” and “The Sucker”. And thats when I literally said out loud, “What in the South Carolina f$&k is going on down here?”. I can only imagine similar reactions caught on that camera which sat just above the glass case and my head.

     But then there was one product that stood out which had a “medical” kind of use attached to it. It was “The Plus One”, 

which was labeled as a “Weighted Kegal Excicisor”. In nursing we teach women to do kegal exercises to strengthen their pelvic floor muscles to reduce the occurrences of stress incontinence. Yeah, right.  

     So this was all a bit shocking to me as most of these type of items are usually found in adult stores. You know the ones that have the windows covered over with all types of warnings plastered by the front door. The last time I went to an adult store, was, well last month. It was when I was down 

in Florida visiting my Mom and had to find an adult coloring book for a tricky tray gift that I needed for our employee Christmas party. Let’s just say I saw similar items that were in the Walmart secured case displayed openly at that store.

      So I guess I wonder why there’s a difference between what we find at adult stores and a place like Walmart. Why are products kept out of eyeshot in one place and just behind the glass in another? Cigarettes and condoms used to be kept behind the cash register, now they’re locked up and under the watchful eye of a security camera. 

     So needless to say I can tell you that you can go to Walmart- at least in South Carolina - for all your family planning and sexual pleasure needs. You no longer have to reluctantly park in the back of an adult store and hide your face as you open the door to the den of inequity. 

      I guess times have changed, or maybe it’s just a southern thing. Needless to say I can’t wait to get back to New Jersey to check and see if the same things are offered at our local Walmart. Hopefully they’ll still be blowing out those Harry’s charcoal handle razors.

01.11.26 Bob Weir dead at 78…

     I’ve been a Grateful Dead fan since 1987. That’s nearly 40 years. I saw my first show at Giants Stadium in 1989.

 I was lucky to have seen them many times before Gerry Garcia died in 1995. Those were some great shows during some of the best times of my life.

     But I was a Bobby guy. While Gerry was the heart and soul of the band, for me, the shows were always better for me if Weir was on, which depended heavily if Gerry was having a good night or not.

       After Gerry died the band came back under several titles with various frontman taking the spot on stage where Gerry once stood. While it would never replace the original Grateful Dead, for me it was pretty close at times, from the tailgating, to the vendors on Shakedown, which included those 

best ever grilled cheese sandwiches, to the music and vibe while inside.

     Over the last 10 years Dead & Company had become a family affair. I took Theresa and Lauren to their respective first shows while Erin went with her Mom, Michelle. The girls would go on to travel with Michelle to see the band at Playin’ in The Sand in Mexico, the Sphere in Las Vegas, and the last official show somewhere where I can’t remember. 

          So what a long strange trip it’s been. The Dead, and Bob Weir, have been with me, like fly fishing, since I was 20 years old and through all the thick and thins in my life. The show will go on in my head and heart with good times and fond memories.

     In a March 2025 interview with Rolling Stone Weir said,

 “ I look forward to dying. I tend to think of death as the last and best reward for a life well-lived.”

RIP Bob Weir. Dead at 78. Jan 10 2026