590 posts 4/22/2012 5:36 pm
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My latest Big Adventure!
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./[fontface=comic sans ms]
Can't seem to get my mind off of you
Back here at home there's nothin' to do
Now that I'm away
I wish I'd stayed
Tomorrow's a day of mine
that you won't be in
When you looked at me I should've run
But I thought it was just for fun
I see I was wrong
And I'm not so strong
I should've known all along
that time would tell you
A week without you
Thought I'd forget
Two weeks without you and I
Still haven't gotten over you yet
Vacation
All I ever wanted
Vacation
Had to get away
Vacation
Meant to be spent alone
A week without you
Thought I'd forget
Two weeks without you and I
Still haven't gotten over you yet
I traveled down to florida for a week. I had planned to go down there and spend a week at some point this year. My girlfriend called me up, and told me her niece was admitted to the 's hospital in Tampa, for a lung infection. They had to insert a tube into her lung. I understand that 's hospital in one of the best in the country. My girlfriend Barb, not the one I took to the Van Halen show, this is the other one, was telling me about this, and I suggested we go down so she could be with her niece. It was only supposed to be for a day or two and I thought we would spend most of our time at the hospital while there? She is originally from that area in Florida, but has not returned back in about twenty years. Most of her family, Mother and Father and brothers and sisters still live there. She has a sister that lives up here, in the north east from time to time. So, she actually has family in both areas. I didn't have time to plan an itinerary or make plane or hotel reservations. Because we left so quickly, I didn't really have time to do anything I normally do in preparation for a trip of this magnitude. I just grabbed my back pack with my computers and phones and a small carry on bag I packed some under ware and a few pair of socks. I figured if I needed anything else, I'd just buy it down there. My girlfriend didn't have luggage so I picked her up a suitcase at Target. We did all of this very quickly, it was probably less then twenty four hours from the time that I suggested the trip, to sitting on the plane at take off. I love to travel, I don't care where I go.  Usually, it's to a cool place like Florida or California or Hawaii! I just love getting on jet at the airport and going somewhere. I should actually work for an airline because I love to travel so much? I went on line first to purchase tickets. The prices were unbelievably high, even for me!  I know what a plane ticket should cost, but that was too God damn much for two round trip tickets! So, for some reason, I didn't buy them there. I figured I could get a better deal at the airport. I don't know how I knew that, it was just a hunch, and I was right! Because I bought the tickets there, I was able to save five hundred dollars off the cost. I could have saved more if I made advance reservations, but I didn't have the luxury of time. We had to be down in Tampa immediately, because of her sick niece was in surgery that day. Now, about my girlfriend. She has a Queen complex, and expects a certain standard to be met when ever she's doing something, especially traveling. I always wondered where she got that attitude from? Now that I've seen the environment and area she grew up in, I have a better understanding. The place we eventually ended up at, was her home town. It's a luxury vacation resort for the rich! As we were riding around, she kept pointing out land marks she used to frequent when she was growing up. For instance, we passed some place and she would say, " oh there's the yacht club, my family belongs to "! I looked at her and said, " Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize you had such a terribly deprived childhood "! She would just look at me, like," what's your problem "? I would just shake my head and say," if you have to ask, you wouldn't understand ". Anyway, I hadn't traveled anywhere lately, but I had been hearing stories about how cumbersome and expensive traveling by air has become. It's all freaking true!  First of all, I'll give you some valuable insight and advice, in case you haven't traveled this way in a while, and are planning to do it soon. As long as you have lots and lots of money, you won't have any problem! No situation I encountered, while in my travels, couldn't be overcome with a large amount of cash! If you don't have a lot of disposable income and are planning to travel like this, you can expect a very hard road indeed! They have ways and means to extract money out of you, I never would have thought of. You have to pay for virtually everything all along the journey. And that's on top of paying a fortune for the tickets! Like I said, I could have done it cheaper if I planned ahead, but even so, the airlines nickle and dime you to death, and to add insult to injury, they make you take your clothes off in public too. Twenty five bucks just to check your bag! That's per bag! So, my girlfriend Barb, hasn't been on a jet in a long time and she was really nervous about the take off. Which is strange, because she insisted I give her the window seat. In my case I love everything about a flight, especially the take off! I was also equally excited about the prospect of leaving Philadelphia and the entire Northeast area. If you lived here, you would understand why! We had a non stop flight, which is really the only way to go. Lay overs suck. I just want to get there and be done with it. Fortunately, the flight went by quickly and before we knew it, we were in Tampa! I've been to Florida many times and the as usual, the first thing that hits me, when I arrive, is the air. It's always this warm tropical breeze and it's wonderful. After you've been up north, breathing the toxic, radiation, and land fill fumes of this area, you really appreciate the smell of the tropic sea breeze! After we picked up our bags at the baggage claim. I figured we should acquire some wheels? That would make traveling around there much easier.
I go over to the rent a car area. And it was at this point, I realized the other aspect of traveling I enjoy so much " foreigners " or " fereigners " as G.W. used to refer to them. I could tell a foreign person, from a a domestic brand just by the way they were dressed. For instance, all the foreign people I met, were dressed in really cool, exotic, unusual clothing, and sometimes had matching cool hair cuts too. Like they'd have their hair long on one side and a crew cut on the other side. And all the Americans, looked like they bought their clothes at Walmart, because they did! But, it's not just the attire that sets them apart. They have a totally different attitude, demeanor and behavior then the stupid americans. And we're supposed to be the greatest country in the world?! That may be true, but we're definitely not the coolest. I'll give you an example. Virtually, every foreign person I encountered, interacted with me, in a way that I've never known a stranger from my own country to behave, unless they were trying to sell me something. I realized right away, to monitor my behavior around them, because they pick up on things about you or your mood very quickly and react to you. Americans, are more reserved and stand offish with each other. Even if they know each other. But God damn, those french, germans, russians and english will come right up to you and start talking to you like they've known you all your life and start giving you advice and tell you personal shit about themselves and everything!  There also very touchy feely! That took some time to get used to. As, an American, you know if someone tries to touch you, he must be a serial killer! But, if you adopt a more European attitude, you'd understand that's just how they are and it's part of their culture! They don't mean anything ill towards you, about it, it's just how they are, and they don't realize that going up to someone and grabbing their junk is not considered proper decorum in a civilized industrial society! LOL! It wasn't quite that bad, but almost. Anyway, Deter ( a german guy and his nordic princess ) was standing in front of me in line. When I came up to the desk, he was right next to me at the next agent. I asked for a mustang, they told me they were out but offered me a challenger. I said okay, but when they called to confirm it, it was taken. I later learned Deter had got it. Which was fine with me, because I figured he probably can't drive a big old American gas guzzler, like we can, back in Deutschland. So, they offered me an Infinity G37 instead. That turned out to be the correct choice. As soon as I saw it, I fell in love! This car is a true bat mobile. It has all these cool features and buttons to press, and it was actually learning process just to operate. Guys love this kind shit. We love having a toy with all kinds of gadgets and gizmo's on it. Also, it had a lot of power under the hood, at least four hundred horses! I'm not a religious person, but I think I got down on my knees in the parking lot, and said, " thank you Lord, for giving me this beautiful car "! As soon as I got out of the airport, I put the pedal to the metal and burned up the highway! So, I asked Barb " where she wanted to stay "? That's when she suggested her home town Saint Petersburg. It was only about ten or twenty miles away from the 's hospital, so we went there. As soon as I arrived there we headed up the main strip. We stopped at a few hotels, and everyone of them was full! We hit a few more and then found one with a vacancy. Again, I later realized it was the right choice. I was only planning to stay for the night and get another room the next day. But, as soon as I saw our room, I realized that this was going to be our home for the duration of our stay. It was really cool as well. It was like a small apartment, with a living, dining room, and full kitchen. I thought, " No, I don't think we could do better then this place "? It also turned out to be strategically located for everything else in the area we would be doing. So, like I said, I lucked out again with the choice I made. After we unpacked and moved in, I also realized I wasn't going to feel like packing up again to move, until we were leaving. So, the next day I went down to the front desk and told them I would be keeping it for a while. There was a wedding or some sort of event going on, and there were a lot of drunk people running around doing crazy shit around the hotel. It didn't bother me, I thought it was cool! After that, I took a walk, the hotel is right on the beach. As soon as I walked out on the sand, I fell in love again. This beach was beautiful! Everything was perfect! The water, the air, the breeze and sand. I walked out and waded into the surf. I still hadn't fully adjusted to the climate and conditions for this area yet. I realized this when a woman approached me and asked me for the time. She said, " you're the only person on the beach wearing a watch "! Yeah, I learned to forget about that stuff after a while too. My girlfriend had a hard time adjusting. She likes to sleep in late. But in this environment, you really don't want to miss any part of the day. It's truly paradise! I went back to the room or suite we had and tried to roust her from her slumber but she made a comment about " emasculating me " if I didn't let her sleep, so I quietly backed out of the room and went down to the pool and jacuzzi! After indulging myself in aquatic activities I went back to the room and took a shower. By now the Queen had awoken and graced me with an audience. She was in the kitchen making coffee. I suggested, " we go out for breakfast ". She said " she needed to get a few things at the store ". I realize I needed to do some shopping too, so I agreed. After breakfast, we stopped at one of these surf stores that everything you need for life at the beach. We each bought new wardrobes for the occasion. By this time, the flight had cost me an arm and a leg, even with the discount. The car and hotel were costing me another arm and a leg. I was to realize, later, that I hadn't even begun to spend money on this trip yet! After we went back to the room and cut the tags off our new threads. We got dressed in our new clothes, so we looked like we belonged there, and not like a couple of oddly dressed tourist from up north. We went to the hospital to visit her niece. He father was there, he had been with her since she was admitted and was staying on a couch in the room there. Ironically, he lives in my neighborhood! He only lives a few blocks from where I do. He was talking about things in our area that are familiar to me. It was weird because I had only just met him, but it was like we knew each other because we live so close to one another. Go figure? So after the visit at the hospital, we went back to the hotel. I looked at the brochure for things we could do in the area. I found a pirate cruise, so we did that one day. The next day, her sisters came over and we all went out to dinner at a really cool local restaurant. It had all kinds of torches and palm trees surrounding it. After dinner, they all came back to our place. I appreciated having the living room at that point. It was just like it would have been if they came over to visit us back at home up here. After a few days of this really easy relaxing life style I started to feel rejuvenated and much more at ease again. Everything there plays into it, from the people to the environment, to the beach and just the whole place in general. I can't imagine someone walking around pissed off and angry down there. There's just not a lot to be upset about. But there is a dark side. As a person from the north, I recognize this every time I travel down south. There is still a sort of institutionalized racism down there. That Travon Martin shooting that happened recently, is just the tip of the iceberg for what goes on down there. Like I said, when you come from the north, you recognize it immediately, the difference in demeanor and attitudes for black people, compared to white that live down there. And I'm sure the people that live there, probably aren't even aware of it, or that there is a problem? When I went to Hawaii, they have something called and " orientation " for the tourist to indoctrinate them into the island life style. They should have something like that for people of color that visit the south. First of all, I want to say, I'm appalled by this behavior and can't believe it still goes on in this day and age. The racism I'm referring to, is not the old style, where it was blatant and obvious. It's much more subtle, but it's still every bit as lethal and dangerous as the old kind. Every morning, I would walk through the hotel complex through the pools and hall ways to get to the beach. On my travels, I would encounter black people who worked as cleaners and maintenance people on the staff. Every time they saw me approaching, they would defer to me and my path. If there was a door or gate there, they would hold it open for me till I passed through. While they were doing that, they would stand to the side making sure they were clearly out of my path, and they would look down, silently, so they wouldn't make eye contact with me and wait till I passed by them. They did everything except say, " yes, Massa ", when I went by. Other times, if it was a couple of them grouped together, talking amongst themselves, as soon as they saw me, they would quickly become silent and try to look busy doing something. It was like I was their boss and checking up on them to make sure they're not "<b> dogging </font></b>it "! I always felt terrible. But, I couldn't say anything. If I tried, it would only have made things worse. When they saw me, all they see is a rich white man, and they know what that meant in relation to them and their circumstances. If there was some sort of dispute between me and one of them, I would prevail, and they know it! Just look at the attitude of the police in the that Travon shooting. A white man kills an unarmed black male. And the police just said, more or less, " well, you did what you had to do. What's everybody so upset about "? The first night we were there, we heard a commotion going on outside our door. I looked out the window and saw some black woman going off at her boyfriend who was still standing on the balcony on my level. I could tell they weren't from around there, because of their accents. I knew they were from the north as well. The woman was going off like typical angry black women do. She was saying, " I'm not playing with you ". But she said it more like, " I ain't playin wit choo "! Her boyfriend wasn't saying much of anything. He would just make some neutral comment like " okay, or all right " every once in while. This went on for a while till the woman got tired of yelling and walked away. I knew what her boyfriend was thinking. He was praying she would shut the fuck up before some one called the police. Because I think he understood, the last thing in the world, a person of color in the south wants, is to become the object of interest of the white southern police force! They know what ever happens, it's not going to go well for them. And that's the state of race relations in the modern south today. Another thing that bugged me. There are a lot of rich retired millionaires living down there. The problem is, they drive these expensive, top of the line, sports cars. These cars can do two hundred miles an hour easily, without even breaking a sweat. And these old geezers cruise around in them, at twenty five miles an hour. I was behind one of them, and I naively thought, he was going to step on the gas at some point instead of just letting it cruise in drive. He wasn't, so I passed him. Fortunately, the Infinity is a fast fucking car. As soon as I punched the gas pedal, it took off like a rocket pushing me back into the seat like it had a nitro fuel injection system installed. Barb starts bitching at me because I made her spill her drink when the G's kicked in! Ain't physics a bitch! That old geezer could have easily overtaken me with that suped up vette he had there. But I don't think he's ever had it out of first gear. Another thing, Barb likes to shop! She wants just about everything. And she expects me to provide it! I know what you're thinking, " why don't I just say no "?! Wow, I never thought of that. Just say no, uh? Well, here is the problem with that. If I say " no " to her, she'll make my life hell! I know what you're probably thinking again. " It sounds like she's making it hell now "? That's true, she is. She makes my life a " living " hell. But, if I say " no " to her, she'll make it a " fucking " hell! There is a difference. I can tolerate a " living " hell, because after all this time, I'm used to it. But, as most men know, no one can tolerate a " fucking " hell! So, that's what that's about. Her excuse is, " they don't have stuff like this where we live, so I have to buy it while I'm here ". One morning at breakfast, I noticed the dress she had on. It had some sort of metal thread sown into it, and made look like a glittering gold design inlayed into the material. I said, " hey, that looks cool "! Then she replies, " I know, that's why I bought six of them "! I looked at her and said, " Six "?! She said, " yeah, aren't they great "?! I just rolled my eyes and prayed for this ordeal to be over soon. And don't even ask me about all the fucking shoes she bought!
After a couple of days, it was our departure date. We were both having such a good time. We decided to stay a few more days. I called the airline and had my departure flight move back. The bartender at the Cabana bar in the hotel, suggested we check out a bar on the beach a few hotels down the beach. We went there one night, and then I had a new place to add to my daily routine. It was really cool. It was an open building right on the beach. One wall was open, towards the beach. They had great rock and roll bands playing there every night. In that place, you had, the beach, surf, booze, beautiful women and rock and roll! I was in heaven! I never wanted to leave! Not only that, the band they had playing there, were doing the exact same songs I used to do in the clubs up here years ago. The guitarist even had a guitar exactly like mine! He was using a Les Paul, and it was even the same color as mine. I thought of bringing one of my axes but then thought it would be too much of a hassle. And I didn't know there would be a place for me to use it down there. I'm left handed so I have to use my own guitars when I perform. But I could have got up and did their entire show, without even rehearsing or anything. I've never played any of those songs in my videos because I didn't think they were interesting enough for a performance. But, seeing the crowds reaction. I realized, if I wanted to, I could just move down there and play the bars every night with just the songs I know! They did all the standards from the seventies, eighties, and nineties. I requested some Van Halen! They played " you really got me " but without the " Eruption " solo in the beginning. The guy that was playing in this band, was good, but I realized I was better! I also realized, if this crowd was going nuts over this lame shit, if I had gotten up and started playing, they would have went berserk! LOL! Well, it's always nice to know where you stand with things. The day before we left, went visited Busch Gardens. That's where I got the pictures of all the animals. That place was beautiful and a wonderful experience as well! Barbs niece was discharged early from the hospital and she will be fine, I'm told. That was a relief and good news to hear. Finally, we had to leave our tropical paradise. And believe me, it was hard. Even though I loved the place, I was still kind of looking forward to going home. There is only so much sun and fun you can tolerate and then you're ready to go back to the shitty real world back home! While boarding the return flight, I encountered a man from England who was a Manchester football fan. He was arguing, and being combative with every person he encountered during the boarding process. He had a beautiful blonde wife and two beautiful little twin girls. I felt sorry for them! Finally we arrived back in " Filth a delphia "! Ah, the smell of toxic waste, made me realize I was home again! amp; Then I had to fight the fucked up roads and highways and the equally messed up traffic and drivers until I finally arrived home again! That was basically my whole trip! There you have it!
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