Dr Copa

I would imagine that a good profitable business to be involved in down in the grand old state of Texas would be a cleaning and restoration service, due to the amount of hurricanes and other extreme weather issues that go along with living where the climate is all about the massive amount of water in and surrounding such a large state.

My step-mother moved down to Texas years ago. I remember the first couple of years we were constantly watching the news and worried each time any extreme weather would hit anywhere around the part of Texas that she was now making her home. It was terrifying to think that she had moved somewhere that she really adored only for her to get hurt, or have her home destroyed or even worse lose her life. Many times we were not able to get through to her land line or her cell phone or through email attempts and we would become frantic calling each other and driving each other crazy with worry until one of us would hear from her. Some times it would take several days and it was agony.

She would always have some pretty amazing stories after things settled down about how people would band together to help each other board up their properties to prepare for these storms. I’ll never forget the first time she told me that the first thing that they would do was throw all the lawn chairs, pool accessories and other outdoor furniture into their pools to keep them from blowing away and possibly causing more damage in the process or even worse, hurt someone while flying around in the high winds. I thought that was a pretty cool idea, something that I never would have thought of, but it certainly makes sense if you think about it. Another good business for down that way would be a pool supplies company what with all of the pools that they have to enjoy almost all year round down that part of the country.

Winters here in New England are really hard on our numerous mailboxes. It almost seems as if the snow plows take great pleasure in hitting every single mailbox possible as they drive down the road. You can drive up and down almost all the roads in this town and not be able to find more than a dozen or so mail boxes that have not been dented or completely smashed, or at the very least, tilting precariously to one side. Even some of the commercial mailboxes are taking a beating lately.

I know that it is difficult for the plow drivers to pay close attention to where each mail box is, but I do think that the drivers could slow down just a little bit and try a little bit harder to avoid hitting them! The only ones that seem to be safe are the apartment mailboxes. I don’t know, but I’m beginning to suspect that the snow plow drivers all own stock in the companies that make our community mailboxes! So each one they demolish they are getting a kickback for the new ones that have to be bought to replace them!

I was surprised when I walked into my wife’s studio and saw her looking on the Internet at some London Apartments. She’s mentioned several times that she would love to visit London sometime because she has a lot of relatives there, but I never thought that she seriously thought we would be able to go anytime soon. I asked her “is there something you want to tell me?” and she laughed. “Just dreaming” she said.

But I noticed before she left that web page that she bookmarked it as a favorite to go back to at a future date. The waiting around for the insurance law suit to come to an end has certainly taken a toll on our life, caused no end of financial hardship in addition to the physical pain of the injuries caused. But it is nice to know that my wife still has a hopeful attitude of a reward waiting at the end of the tunnel. Maybe, just maybe we’ll be going to stay in those dream London Apartments before we get too old to travel overseas!

Since my wife and I moved here only a couple of years ago, I find that a lot of people that I talk to ask me for advice about moving.  This sure is a nomadic area!  Seems like every time I turn around people are moving in or out!  I guess that has a lot to do with the political nature of the area. 

Anyway, people ask me for my advice and opinion about moving a lot.  So I tell them “Before you move, go through everything you own and throw away, give away, or sell everything that you don’t want to have to pack, haul, and unpack.”  Then I tell them to try to collect as many good packing boxes that they can find from local stores.  Book stores and liquor stores and grocery stores are all good places to get good boxes.

Then I tell them to take a hard look at their budget and decide whether they can afford to hire a Movers. Compare prices and services between different Moving Companies because their prices and services vary quite a bit between companies.  Then I tell them that if their budget does not allow for hiring a moving company, and they have access to a lot of volunteer labor, renting and using a one-way truck rental service might be the answer for them. So far I’ve never had the need to use International Movers, but if my wife and I ever come into some serious money, then moving to a tropical island would be in our future; then we would become experts on that service!

One of the things that I enjoy about travelling is going to the different local Restaurants and Coffee Shops to mingle with the people that actually live in the area. I am a “people watcher” and often enjoy just sitting somewhere and watching the people go by. That’s a good thing, too because there are some days when I just don’t have the ability to go out and be really active doing the “tourist” thing that so many people get roped into doing.

And in this economy, sometimes my wife and I might enjoy a staycation where we don’t travel very far at all. Instead we might spend a night or two in local Hotels, just to sneak away and have some relaxation time just to ourselves. What better way to enjoy some time in an indoor heated swimming pool, or relax in a suite that has a two-person spa to enjoy. With such a hectic life at home, with so many people coming and going and pets running around, a relationship can sometimes be swept aside and lost in the hustle and bustle. Come to think of it, we’re overdue for such a treat!