Florida Wildlife Corridor - What Better Way to Celebrate Earth Day 2013!

The early history of Florida focuses on the discovery of springs associated with renewing properties. Then in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the hydrology was altered to “transform wasteland into gold,” as developers said. Only recently, little-by-little, have most of the public come to recognize the value of this unique ecosystem.





This month, numerous PBS affiliates are airing a documentary on the Florida Wildlife Corridor that chronicles the 2012 100-day, 1,000-mile trek by four individuals (conservationist Mallory Lykes Dimmitt, photojournalist Carlton Ward Jr., cinematographer Elam Stoltzfus and bear biologist Joe Guthrie, map taken from the website), which shows migration paths (and obstacles) of wildlife.



Loop Road, Big Cypress Swamp

The project has numerous goals, which include the creation of habitat and migration paths (basically, wildlife greenways to enable passage under highways and the linking of conservation areas), protection of the flow of water (Everglades and wetlands) and education of the public through experiences that enable individuals to connect with nature.




Deer, Gainesville Rails Trails

For all of us on Earth Day, we should take to heart the words of the Florida Wildlife Corridor participants, to protect these spaces for “solitude and sanctuary,” critical to the existence of the wildlife and water flow of our unique ecosystem in this state of more than 19-million residents.


Mangroves, Melbourne causeway

Thought for Earth Day. . . .Imagine what it would be like to be wildlife, trying to get from your neighborhood to the nearest source of water.

Please Hold for the Next Available Representative. . . .

By changing to a better phone plan, my payments changed from billing to prepay. Then an unknown charge showed up on my debit card. Given other family member had had $800 of gas charged at a WAWA station in Orlando and a hotel in London, I assumed this was a fraudulent charge so canceled the debit card, which meant my autopay accounts had to be changed.


After nearly three weeks, my TMobile account (on autopay) kept texting me that I didn’t have sufficient funds to make a call. Customer service folks could not identify the source of problem, but they said, “Thank you for choosing TMobile” and transferred me to another department with a message, “Please hold for the next available representative.”





It was difficult to get a response that applied to my situation so I returned to the store. After two visits, the in-store personnel was on the verge of despair because they too had called customer service on my behalf and only received “scripted” responses.
“This plan seems to be tainted. I think you may have to cancel it and get a new TMobile plan,” they admitted.

Or go with another provider, I thought.

I was given one more phone number to call. The dispute verification department identified the problem. The charge I assumed was fraudulent was actually a valid charge. VESTA TMobile? How hard would it be for TMobile to inform me my charges would show up like this on my bank statement? I already get countless useless text messages from the company.


With all the running around, I learned about a problem that lurks within TMobile. Its in-store representatives have very little authority—in fact, they cannot resolve many of the account issues. And yet, when we customers have problems, we’d rather get things resolved in-person then via phone, where we get put on hold for the next available representative.

What are your experiences with cell phone customer service?

Corkscrews . . . A coming anachronism?

Years ago, I always ensured I had one of those winged (double-handled) corkscrews in the house just in case I had to open the wine. Later, I graduated to the double-hinged corkscrew, used by waiters or sommeliers.

But now, an increasing number of bottles come with screw caps. A 2010 article in the Wall Street Journal cites a report by Nomacorc LLC (a manufacturer of synthetic corks), which estimates 20 percent of wines use synthetic, 11 percent have screw tops and the remainder, cork. These days, it has nothing to do with price or quality, given that Château Margaux and others are investigating ways to seal wines.




Wine had been sealed with corks since the 17th century. The manufacture of bottles (cylinder bottles were molded whereas the onion-shaped earlier bottles were hand blown) enabled storage in bottles (rather than casks) and shipping. Improved corks to prevent leakage led to the need for corkscrews.

Corkscrews worked fine on corks but not so well on synthetics. But why the growth of synthetics and screw tops since the late 1990s? Most articles point to the problem of corked wine (a moldy smell) from cork taint.

Is consumer acceptance of synthetics and screw tops based on snobbery or taste? It’s more impressive to wield a corkscrew than to unscrew a top, but studies show consumers can't distinguish a difference in taste.

Research underway at the University of California (Davis) focuses on the effectiveness of wine closures for various wines. Those results will be published this summer.


Admittedly, now that I have finally mastered the art of uncorking a bottle, I am disappointed not to be able to flaunt this skill. But then I think back on those trips when we pulled out a bottle and glasses only to find no one remembered the corkscrew.

Easter - Getting in Shape?

Easter Monday. Holiday items such as grass, egg coloring kits, chocolates bunnies and candy bird eggs are 50 percent off (“while they last”) today at the drugstore. No Peeps were left, but surprising, Lindt and Cadbury bunnies were!

And where were the local Easter egg hunts? Yesterday, I biked through many parts of Melbourne and down to the beach, thinking I would see at least one egg hunt in a city park , near the beach or at least in a yard. No egg hunts, and not even many kids were out. When my kids were growing up, we always attended several egg hunts. . . .

Snoopy as the Easter beagle. . . . Part of the TV tradition.


So what’s going on in the world of Easter egg hunts? Did the bunny sleep through the holiday? Or, if you follow Charlie Brown, did the Easter Beagle forget to lay out eggs or did Woodstock hoard them all? Did an Easter Grinch—Seuss style--steal them?


Or is the emphasis on getting in shape? After all, this year’s theme of the Easter egg roll at the White House , part of the campaign against childhood obesity, is "Be Healthy, Be Active, Be You!"


Anna's painted eggs (you can tell she is an artist).



So readers, did you indulge in candies, go to an egg hunt or see an Easter bunny?

Four Chairs

Another season of lawn chairs at Target. . . . .I return, convinced it’s just a question of fitting the chairs over the passenger seat. . . .

But once in the store with my shopping cart, I find it enough of a struggle just to get four chairs through checkout (the legs took down a credit card swipe machine, a rack of magazines and breath mints). I arrive at the pedestrian crossing in the parking lot, but now the chairs begin to fall and the cart goes into a death spin.



Pickups go by, their drivers somewhat irritated that I chose the crosswalk for shopping cart drama. No one offers to help. Finally, I arrive at the Mustang. Don’t bother with the trunk. It’s barely holds groceries. I try the passenger side—seat reclining, all the way forward. There is no way these chairs will go in the car.

Within 15 minutes, I am at customer service with my receipt in hand. What, an exchange already? Yes. The chairs don’t fit in my trunk, and the store does not deliver. Do you want us to hold them for you? No!

Six weeks later, my sister plans a visit in her van. Cargo van, did you say? She offers to meet me at Target but tells me not to get there too early. She’s still on I-95.

The Target checkout line is moving slowly. Once again, the chairs are in a precarious balance in the cart. I don’t want them to fall on the turbulent children behind me or the lady from Norway in front. The cashier seems oblivious to my plight and wants to welcome the foreigner to American soil. Please, no small talk now. Because the chairs will take out your swipe machine and breath mints and possibly the foreign lady too.

The Demise of the Close--Not Just Yet

Taken from Gallica, the photo shows Peiresc's signature in a letter from the 1630s.



In an article in Slate, End Email Signoffs, the author questions the closings of emails, especially things like warm, kind or fond regards.

For many of us, the use and type of close depends on the circumstances (formal v. informal) or tone. Business or job letters, exchanges with a state or federal agency (where email is a matter of public record) need a close (“sincerely” works great). In informal exchanges, I’ll use “all the best” to avoid an abrupt tone that implies I am far too busy to be bothered with courtesy.

I have personal reasons for some closings. My tango friends sign as “tango hugs,” which translates we can’t wait to see one another at the next milonga. One friend and I sign our emails exchanges as “your friend and fan,” shorthand for our years as colleagues and continued encouragement in creative ventures. My family and I use the “xoxo.” My kids don’t.


I devoted most of my research to a study of a 17th-century natural philosopher, Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc, known for his extensive use of letters to spread the new science. He often signed his lengthy missives with a short close--“your humble servant.” Admittedly, I will lament the loss of historical documents. . . . .But I digress.

The trend favoring a shorter close has impacted even the French. For years I struggled to perfect the “Veilllez-agréer, Monsieur, l’expression de mes sentiments distingués” to learn that now it has been replaced by “cordialement” in formal settings or “amicalement” or “A+” for friends, if anything at all.


Although the author of the article proposes ending email signoffs “forever,” I’m not ready to relinquish it altogether. At least, not yet.


How do you sign your emails?

Project House or House Projects - LIKE, COMMENT. . .

Some young FB friends just posted they bought a project house. Do I press LIKE? Do I comment, "Been there, done that”? Projects mean longer days and rooms in perpetual disarray and unpleasant surprises. A feeling of accomplishment? At what price?




I have lived in a house without water or electricity (not by choice), painted interiors and exteriors, and I have broken water pipes and cut cables (by accident).




Recently, I decided to hire a contractor for some projects The contract stipulated the worksite would be cleaned at the end of each day and that the work would be completed by a specified date. Ah, no buckets, no brushes, no cement mixers and shoves around the yard. Day 1, no one came. Day 2, they left a trailer, blocking my garage. Day 3, they stayed just long enough to leave a mess. Day 3, I am starting to have second thoughts.

In the meantime, my kids are involved in major house projects. Refinishing wood floors (they ended by calling in the pros), painting. . . . some plaster, electricity, lots of challenges. They told me they are tired of living out of boxes for extended periods. They never want to see another bucket of paint, hear the pounding of hammers or the grinding of sanders. They are coming to visit for vacation.

My small worksite has been completed in time for their visit. Well, almost. The guest bathroom is still in a state of disarray. These small projects that I no longer see—the layers of contact paper on the shelves and the patched hole in the wall where the plumber repaired a leaky shower. Today, I finished those projects with a slight feeling of accomplishment.




Maybe the young FB friends will have that same feeling. LIKE!