07.03.26 Oh, what a very hot, but glorious day...

     For it being 1,000 degrees out today I'd say it was a good day. Theresa and I were operating on all cylinders. I went to bed last night at 130 am, more on that later, and was up at 5 am and outside watering the trees and lawn and then got right into landscaping. Here's just a few other things we accomplished today in this misery,

- Trimmed the hedges, weeded the beds, weed-wacked nice lines around the beds and grass. Tomorrow's my last trip with the dump body to the recycling center so today was the day to load it up with brush

- Theresa took the Ford Escape into Trenton where it got new rotors, pads, and the tires rotated- now shes safe for the move

-  Removed the batteries from the boat and staged them along with some old air conditioners and metal for the scrap guys, then helped them load up when they got to the house

- Got the fire suppression equipment ready for the guy from Pennsyltucky who answered the ad for the free gas from the boat. 

- And why would I need that? I estimated about 30 gallons of ethanol free Stabil-ed fuel in the original metal gas tank in the boat. It must have been two years old, or more. He didn't care. So he shows up with a small handheld battery powered transfer pump and a few gas cans. "I don't think you have enough cans there bud?". "That's okay I'll put the rest in the tank, I ran my truck down to empty". So between the batteries and gas at 8 pounds per gallon I've taken off some weight off for the tow down to South Carolina.

  - So the first pump didn't work so he had to make a run to Tractor Supply. While he was gone I sealed the deal on a motorcycle (my neighbors) that we had soaking on Facebook Marketplace for a day or so. 

- So when the guy came back and started to empty the tank I wasn't sure if he would get flown to the St. Barnabas or Crozer-Chester Burn Center, but off to siphoning he went. And he got just about every drop out of the tank. A win-win all the way around. Now it's ready for a tank replacment.

- Then it was waiting around for the building inspector from town to come and clear a permit we had hanging from the fall when we installed the wood stove. When he got here, he was here for literally five minutes, "Looks great, I'll clear the permit"

- Theresa then had to do a pedicure run as I waited for the big appointment of the day, the well water treatment company. Well they came at 1230 and left at 4. One guy broke his ass, in the heat, in the dungeon, installing the most beautiful UV filter/water softener/something else system you 

could imagine. No more Brita or Berkey filters in this house. It's now direct from the tap over here. No more coliform or PFOA or PFAS. Water sample taken. We're good to go. Check.

- Then it was a road trip to West Marine in Bensalem where I hoped the Gods of a store's Going Out of Business Sale would be on my side. Yesterday we went there and purchased tie-downs to keep the boat on the trailer during the ride. The second stop tomorrow will be down to the trailer place for wheel and axle service and new lights all the way around. But, I bought the 2 foot transom tie downs when I needed 4. 

     And our winning streak keeps going as the young woman at the register remembered me and said, "Just go and swap them out, quickly". Game. Set. Match.

- And lastly buy a flats skiff. That's all. Wait what? Well those special pills I slip into Theresa's coffee each morning must have kicked in. No, seriously, why does this woman continue to support my insanity? With this, I even have to say to myself, enough is enough.

     It was about 1130 pm last night when I was lying in bed trying to absorb all that old-ass air conditioner could pump out. I was tossing and turning. My mind was racing, as it does every night, and most of the days. I thought about how much sense buying that skiff down in Savannah made. But I didn't just need to convince Theresa, but myself as well. Who could I ask? Who's a skiff guy that I know?

    So like Santa who sprang out of bed I did the same at 1245 am. Ian Devlin- that's my guy. So I fired off a Message and this morning he got back to me. He green-lighted it from every angle. That was good enough for me. And Theresa was down with it. God I love her.

    So I reached out to the seller, a college-aged kid, who wasn't using it as much as he wanted to. And with him going back to college in a month or so he felt it was the right time. He went through everything, like I would, the Good, the Better, and the Best. There wasn't much negative to say except some scratches along the hull from those skinny water oyster bed outings. So he accepted my offer to send him a $1,000 via Venmo and he'll hold it until we go down for the closing on July 17th. We didn’t even getting around to doing the transaction, “You’re good, it’s yours”. It was that easy. 

    And the 15 footer? Well Ian says it's perfect for that flood and ebb tide game they play down in the Lowcountry. It's perfect for just me, me and Theresa to cruise in, and for me and a bud or client to do the pole and fly fish thing. A 17 or 18 is good for a guide and two anglers, but this will be a "great boat" to learn how to pole and all of those skinny sight fishing areas I won't be able to get to on foot. 

And truth be told, with all the alligator talk lately, and the recent death of a young lady in Florida, I was worried that my wading around the Lowcountry wouldn't be the smartest or safest thing. I had nightmares of being stuck up on my Martha's Vineyard ladder on a flood tide with an alligator circling below me. 

So get ready my friends. Come down and visit. Come hang at the Shrimp Shack. And get ready to stand on the bow and let's go find some tailing redfish. 

07.02.26 If you didn't know....and why is this speaking to me?

     Trenton, New Jersey today....98 degrees. Bluffton, South Carolina....89 degrees. Driving around in the comfort of a 2020 Ford Escape- to escape the heat, registered 101. It's pretty brutal out there. Had to throw an old ass air conditioner I found in the attic in the bedroom window just to knock down the flames that were about to erupt. I feel bad for the homeless, those in public housing, and the elderly. And we haven't seen the electrical grids start popping yet. 

Weather extremes are deadly. Stay cool. Stay safe. Stay hydrated. And check on someone you know or someone that looks like they're not well. Today's gonna be a bitch. 

     And then in the, "Why is this speaking to me?", category. Don't I need a polable skiff down there in the Lowcountry? Well I've been snooping around Facebook Marketplace in the Hilton Head/Savannah area. If Jim's boat is going to take a while to get back to fighting shape then maybe I need something in the meantime?

From the ad, 

2011 Bulls Bay 15'1" POLING SKIFF

Originally called the "DGB" or Damn Good Bait, the hull design was then sold to Dragonfly Boat Works and sells tricked out like this one for $40k new now.

All aluminum poling platform and grab bar designed an installed by Dark Arc Marine. 

2013 Yamaha 40 hp tiller with approx 150 hours. All services complete to include lower unit oil, fresh oil change, integrated engine gauges through the Garmin GPS.

- Lithium trolling motor battery

- Minn Kota 24v iPilot w/spot lock

- Tan Yeti with cushion

- Carbon fiber push pole

- Carbon fiber tiller extender

- Trailers in good shape

- Garmin GPS with saltwater maps

Only reason I am selling is because I don't use the boat enough and it's in too good of shape not to use. 

     How perfect would that be? Listed for $14,000. Question is, at 15'1"- does a skiff need to be longer? Looks perfect for me and a guy or gal and not to hard to pole. I must be mental. 

     And of course it would be perfect for those romantic sunset rides with me and Theresa sitting next to each other in those fold down seats. Maybe that'll be the ticket I'll need for permission. First the Shrimp Shack, now a flats skiff, talk about going to the well big time. Stay tuned. I got a good feeling about this one.

07.01.26 "Lynn, I used to do this all the time...."

     Each morning my neighbor and I look out to see who's up first. It's usually around 4-5 am. It's kind of like a game. She's 80, and I'm 58. We both have some things in common. One, she grew up in the house we're selling, we're both selling our houses now at the same time, both are independent and just plain workers, and we think alike. 

     So at 7 am I saw her out fiddling around in her yard. She was out picking weeds and branches in her yard getting ready for some drone and exterior photos getting done today for her upcoming listing. As we stood there we looked at the house and our eyes were drawn to the trees growing out of one of her chimneys. When I started to mention it she just said, "No". She knew where I was going. 

     How hard could it be? Dangerous, "C'mon Lynn". I was a fire Captain of a ladder company in the Newark Fire Department. I do, well did, ladders and roofs. When she asked, "Yeah, when was the last time you did that ?", I should have let that clicked in. Well, it had been a little bit, like 20 + years ago. 

     But then I thought back to the days of when I was young and spry-er. I don't have a fear of heights, and ladders are no problem, and roofs, no worries. When I decided to post this I thought of a screen grab from a video I had seen from way back in the old VHS tape recorder days. In those days guys would chase, or buff, fires and then put out videos for sale. In one of them there was a fire I had caught back around 1994 or 1995. So I found the image below. 

     I had just come in for my first of two 14 hour night shifts at the Rescue 1 firehouse on Mulberry Street in downtown Newark. I was young, the city was jumping as far as fire duty back then, and I was looking to go to fires for the next two nights. But as soon as I walked into the kitchen the guys spoke those horrible words, "Colin, you're next on detail, next door, Truck 1". Those words just take all of the wind out of your sails. It'll mean I'll be laying in bed for the next two nights listening to my boys going to fires and car accidents and trauma calls. 

     But as soon as I put my gear on the 100 foot ladder truck next door the bells started to dance. It was a full box and it was just a few blocks away. Rescue 1 pulled out of quarters from next door and my Captain radioed, "Rescue 1 to quarters we have heavy smoke in the area". And as we followed them down the block he followed that up with, "Rescue 1 to quarters we have a working fire". Now, there's nothing better then getting detailed and not missing work, and on this one we were first due. 

     While the engine companies put the fire out from the inside myself and Captain Billy Burkhardt went up to vent the roof. But first we had to vent the cupola, the peaked part of the roof that covered the bump-out on one corner of the building. This one was covered with slate so there was no where for the fire, heat, and smoke to vent from, so we had to do it off the ladder. I went up first with the Captain just a few rungs behind. 

     Usually you start from the highest point first but there was no way to get a purchase between the slates so I had to start at the bottom and start pulling, and with that came smoke, heat, and fire. A little wind blowing from the Ironbound section of the city put me square in the path of the venting fire, and in a quick swoosh, I paid for it. So let's just say I took a beating from the guys in the kitchen after the fire as I sat there with no eyebrows, no lashes, and singed hair around where my helmet sat on my head. 

     I've seen a lot of AI or ChatGPT work done lately of photos getting cleaned up so I thought I'd do the same with the video screen grab. While it's not exact, and more of a computer-based interpretation of the original image, it does do a good job cleaning it up. Surely it's not journalism in any way shape or form but it'll be good for the Grandkid's to see one day. You know, back when I was a contender. 

     So as I came up with a plan in my head I verbalized it to Lynn. Throw a couple of ladders, use the dormers as contact points, and hope the copper rain gutter catches me if I slide down. What could happen? So I went and got my ladders and clippers to make short work of the foliage coming from her chimney. 

     Lynn was outwardly opposed, but deep down inside I know she was all about it, maybe. She did go and call Theresa to explain what I was about to do and asked her to come over for moral 

support. She couldn't bear to watch this alone as it all went down. Maybe she was thinking she'd need help picking my lifeless body out of the brush at the ground floor level. But up I went.

     They stood and watched as I navigated my way along the rain gutter to where the dormer met the higher roof. I can say this, I might have been off on my roof pitch estimation from the ground. This was more of a 8 on 12 pitch which is more on the steeper side.

     And the problem with that pitch is you can't walk the peak as your feet wouldn't be able to "bend" down on each side of the roof safely. So I had to get down and shimmy the 15 feet from where I got up on the peak over to the chimney, that with a small ladder in tow to get up on top of the masonry where the trees were rooted. 

     It was then I thought about my time in the trauma center at Capital Health. How many times did I say to myself, "What was this guy thinking?". Roofs and ladders and old men shouldn't go together. Now I'm not exactly old, and guys my age still are firemen and ironworkers and roofers, but the big difference is their bodies have muscle memory. They do this everyday. Let's just say I do not. So doing a split like Mary Lou Retton in the 1984 Olympics across the peak of a pitched roof isn't part of my everyday range of motion. 

     As I shimmied I thought of a guy I saw wheeled into the ED during this past springs rotation. He was 43 and he fell, out of his pick-up truck, and shattered his femur, the strongest bone in our body. What would I look like down on the ground after bouncing off the gutter and lower roof?

ChatGPT for the win

     I finally got to the chimney and it was too high to just easily trim the trees. The ladder wouldn't work because the rung, if I balanced it on the peak, would be unsupported on each side due to the pitch of the roof on either side. But I was here, I had an audience, who had little to some faith 

watching my every move, and failure was not an option. So I some how got my builtt-like-a-horse-frame up vertical and up on the peak where on my tippy toes I was able to find the brush with the 

clippers blindsided. By then my hips were killing me, my legs, because I was wearing shorts, were chaffed from the old asphalt shingles, and my heart rate was about 150. But I got it done, now I had to get down safely, and I had to turn around, well, forget that. So I shimmied backwards.

     Once down on that big solid copper rain gutter I hit the windows with some Windex before getting down to solid ground. "See Lynn, I told you, no big deal". I was thankful it was over and that Jesus was covering me with his blood, and I didn't spill any of mine. 

     Have you ever heard of the poor women who deliver 10+ pound babies vaginally? It's never good. If they're not "Tore up from the floor up", then they suffer from pelvic fractures during the delivery. This usually happens when gestational diabetes is missed and the infant grows way bigger then it should. Well, after this I felt like I popped out a 20-pounder. 

     So when I got home I took 600 of Ibuprofen and sat down, "Theresa, for just a few minutes". Well that turned into a 2 hour coma. Needless to say I've realized I'm not that guy anymore and it 

only takes a second, and a misstep, to kill, either myself, or our plans for the future. Next time I'll leave it to the young kids or the professionals. But it was fun for a quick minute.

06.30.26 Lowcountry weather on the way...and really guys?

 

     "It gets really hot down there". "It's not the heat it's the humidity". This are things, well warnings, we've heard from people about moving down South. Well, we've been there during July and august for the past four years and it gets hot, and humid, but it's been just as brutal up here in New Jersey.

     So it looks like we're in for a beatdown this week. Feel like temps over 100 which is just perfect for working on and in this big old house without air conditioning. It'll be a good lung-training exercise in oxygenation in preparation for the Lowcountry heat. We're T-minus 17 days from closing and two weeks before the movers come and take our stuff down south. 

     We've signed up with Piece of Cake moving to handle the heavy work. Even paying someone else to move is a pain. Packing stuff correctly, and even trying estimate what and how much is going is maddening. Plus there's a two-parter, a stop her at the house and then over to the storage unit. In the end they quoted us $3,700, which to me seems fair. Theresa's brother owns a moving company and gave us the thumbs up with the company and their plan. 

     And then in the "C,mon guys" category of Facebook Marketplace stupidity comes the latest. My plan is to tow down the Cape Fishermen and leave it at The Shrimp Shack. It's basically the shell of a boat as I sold off the engine two years ago. But inside is about 30 gallons of ethanol free and treated gas. 

     I posted it and of course there was confusion, well there shouldn't have been. Did they really think I was selling the boat and trailer for $1, or if you read the description, for free? Needless to say the listing blew up.

      So I had to respond back and then edit the listing, and they still didn't read it and the offers to "Come and get it now" kept coming in. 

     I do have a guy who got it right and plans to come and pump it out. If it's 30 gallons that an easy $100+ bucks of savings. Plus, it's 250 pounds less I'll have to tow down. When I do the fuel tank replacement it would have had to pumped out already so it's a step in the right direction. 

     Tomorrow I'll be heading down to New Egypt to a trailer place to have them inspect the Suburban before they order a new tow bar. Then after goes in I'll take the trailer down there for an axle/wheel inspection and lube and have the lights all redone. I still haven't transferred the title and registration from Jim and PA over to me yet, so add an appointment at the DMV to the list.  

And of course the lawn needs to mowed, again, today and the growing buck-wild hedges and weeds need to be tamed. I can't wait to pay the $298 a month HOA fees and have all of our landscaping done and access to the pools, gyms, restaurants, golf courses, theatre, and activities that are covered under the monthly fee. 

     We're one real estate transaction done with four more to go. By July 25th it will all be over, hopefully, if this all doesn't kill me first. 

06.29.26 Gator drama at Sun City Hilton Head...

 

     Well I guess I'm going from the land where foxes eat our chickens and deer eat our flowers and bounce off our cars to alligators hanging in the neighborhood and moving under the cover of darkness. I guess no matter where you go there's always someone that has something to complain about when it comes to wildlife. 

     But at times these gators can be aggressive and attack humans. In August of last year an 84 year-old man was attacked while out spreading mulch in his backyard in Sun City. In listening to the report it seems like his wife may have saved his life. I can tell you if that happened to me and Theresa was near....well...I'm a goner. 

     In August of 2022 a woman was attacked by an alligator while gardening in her backyard in Sun City. First responders found the gator guarding her dead body in the lagoon where he dragged her back to.

The woman was 88 years old so I don't know if it's an August thing or an 80's thing, either way it must be a thing. There were similar attacks in 2021 and 2019, but those didn't result in fatalities. 

    Wouldn't it just be me who would wind up posting, if it didn't kill me, that I was attacked by an alligator down in South Carolina?. Interestingly Sun City allows fishing in the lakes that are inside the bubble. I thought it might be a good place to air out some casts in between trips to the marsh looking for redfish. I hate to say it, but it's almost like I'm destined to be a victim. But I'm going prepared.

     During one of our estate sales someone wanted to buy my machete. I had purchased it to help clear the brush in the back forty of the yard that gets overgrown. Just as I was about to seal the deal for the sale I thought of Sun City...and the gators, and figured it would be useful to protect myself or Luke, who might appear to be a chicken nugget on a string for a waiting large reptile. It'll be kept at the front door for those late night tinkles and walks around the new neighborhood.

     And in recent Sun City, maybe alligator news, a post was made about a missing dog that occurred last evening at 18 Clairborne Court. Winnie is a very small and friendly Yorkshire Terrier. 

     I won't speculate as to what may have happened to Winnie but I have a sinking feeling. Winnie's house backs up to one of those alligator loving lagoons at Sun City. Not good. I hope the best for them. 

     Needless to say we are ready to put on our South Carolina caps on and get busy living our new life. The closing can't come fast enough but there's still work to be done. There's always more stuff around that needs to be packed then it looks. There's still a clean bill of health that is needed from the town to complete the sale. And one more appointment with the well water contractor who has to install two systems to meet or exceed New Jersey's and Hopewell's safe drinking water standards. 

     People have asked, "Are you retiring?", and the answer is "No". While we would like to we're too young and haven't done the right thing as far as financial planning, but I attribute that to life, and divorces, and blended families, getting in the way. That or we're just irresponsible financially, or a little of both. So we've secured some jobs down there, in what else, healthcare and nursing. 

     Theresa's all set with a gig at Medical Services of America which has an office within a short distance of the house. The folks at Low Country Technical College nearly jumped through the phone when I circled back from my visit with them in January. Both jobs are pretty much connected by property lines to Sun City.

     While I would prefer a thoughtless job of picking up garbage or sticks, or something back in fishing, like working for the local oyster house, Bluffton Oyster Company, setting up a little something-something in nursing just makes sense for now. We've laid out the rules already with our potential future employers. We'll be reverse sunbirds, summering in Cape May with the rest of the time in Sun City. And then there will be the traveling. Coming back to Jersey and Florida to see the kids, my siblings, and parents. Maybe a trip or two to the Adirondacks to see my sister, and maybe even yearly jaunts to Ireland. So we told them weekends are out, Monday's not so good, Thursdays and Fridays iffy, and Tuesdays and Wednesday's maybe. They were like, "Okay, when can you start?". Perfect.

     Or maybe I'll get a job with an alligator removal company with a sub-station in Sun City. I can do patrols, respond to attacks, and gather them up like Steve Irwin of The Crocodile Hunter fame used to do. Can't you just picture me on the back of a 15 footer with my hands wrapped around

the powerful jaws of an alligator? Okay, better yet, maybe I'll just stick to nursing. Down in Sun City the jury is split on what to do with these prehistoric creatures and it's funny when someone posts like they did on the top of the page. Basically they get called "Karens" and then are eviscerated. Below is just one response; 

I guess alligator lives matter down in the Lowcountry.