Thank You, St. Anthony

Yes, I had a wonderful weekend in Warm Mineral Springs.


As the time approached for me to leave on Sunday evening, I began collecting my laundry and other belongings to load into my car. Rather, I should say, the Prius my brother lent me for the trip. But, before I went out I attempted to locate the key fob.


The fob is a magical square of plastic, circuitry and metal. As long as you have it about your person, it will operate the ignition and locking systems on the car. No need for a key. But, if you don’t have it, you are SOL.


As you have already figured out, I performed a fruitless search on Sunday evening. I reran the weekend over in my mind and thought that the most likely place that it might be was back over at the Springs. It being after the close of business, I figured that forces were conspiring to not let me leave that night, as I had forgotten about a burned out headlight. So, I settled in for another lovely evening and ran over in the morning.


We did not find it. So back to the house, to empty every bag and makeup pouch again. I looked in the bathroom and down in the coach, and under the couch. Nothing.


If you have ever lost something, you may have used the Prayer to St Anthony to locate the missing item. If not, you may want to take a moment to memorize this little appeal my friend said out load:

“St. Anthony, St. Anthony please come around. Something’s lost that cannot be found.”


Not 5 seconds later, I found the fob under the bed. (She had added the request that we find it in the next 10 seconds.)



It always seems to work for me. So, try it the next time things are not where you left them. Or, tell us about when it worked for you.

Two Wheels and Too Much Speed

It was a late Sunday morning, when the young man made a series of decisions that ultimately ended his life. The young man, Christian Holmes, died on an exit ramp from I-95 in Jupiter, FL.

He was riding on his beloved motorcycle heading south, towards his home in Broward County. Maybe, he was blowing off steam or he was anxious to get home to his fiancé or it was just the sunny weather. But he chose to exceed the speed limit by enough to catch the attention of the FHP.

The trooper attempted to overtake Christian. But rather than stop and get his ticket, he made another choice to outrun the law. For 12 miles it went in his favor. It only took 6 minutes to cover the distance according to Lt. Tim Frith, a Florida Highway Patrol spokesman. That’s about 120 miles per hour.

Then Mr. Holmes made his final decision. Who knows how things would have turned out had he taken the first exit, 87B. It is a long gently curved ramp down to the westbound lanes. But instead, he exited the highway by taking exit 87A. This ramp has such a sharp curve that circles back around to the east bound lanes, the posted speed limit is just 20 mph. His speed was so great he could not hold the curve and crashed into the metal guardrail.

He lost his life before the paramedics got there.

What decisions would you have made?

Anyone with information about this crash is asked to call Sgt. Kurt Hardley at (561) 357-4119

Warm Mineral Springs

I am on a visit to the West Coast (of Florida). I have come to spend some time with a good friend, who I only get to see 3 or 4 times a year. We talked, ate and spent hours floating in Warm Mineral Springs.

According to their website:
“Warm Mineral Springs is believed to be the “Original Fountain of Youth” sought by the Spanish explorer Ponce de Leon. Believers to the healing powers of Warm Mineral Springs say that the highly mineralized waters help ease back pain, gastrointestinal illnesses, various skin diseases, sinusitis and many other ailments.”

When you get there, the first thing you notice is the smell. The Springs water has more mineral content than any spring in the USA and third highest in the world! And, you can smell the sulfur. The old timers will tell you how the smell is not nearly as strong as it was 20 years ago. But, after a while, you don't notice the aroma anymore.

It is a picture out of old Florida with a vast lawn with palm trees and Spanish moss festooning the trees. Adirondack chairs circle the 1.4 acre water filled sinkhole (or cenote).



The amount of minerals in the water adds buoyancy, making it easy to walk around the perimeter in water up to your neck. One lap is about and eighth of a mile. But, if you pass under the rope boundary, the bottom falls away to 230 feet with an opening to the connecting the Floridian aquifer.

Swim noodles are the order of the day here. You float around, gaze at the beautiful blue sky, chat with other bathers. You hear the call of birds, drone of insects and conversations in other languages often with an eastern European accent. You float around passing through warm and cool spots in different areas of the pool with clumps of algae floating by. The passage of time goes unnoticed. Eventually you come out of the water. There is a great sense of relaxation and the feeling of aaaaah.

And, you will sleep like a log.

I'm off to bed now.

My Guilty Pleasure

I am fascinated with what I termed “newsette”. It is not the hard hitting news of economics and politics that can affect all of our lives. These stories may or may not influence me on a personal level depending on my choice to change or not. I thought that what I follow so closely needed a new term to describe it.

But, truth be told, I have become a tabloid news junkie. While I don’t buy the papers or magazines, thanks to CNN's TMZ and Headline News and the feeds from news outlets on twitter, I get notified of breaking stories and updates almost instantly.

And what kind of stories do I devour and research further on the web? They are the sensational, social and/or feel good items, like criminal behavior, hookups, breakups, and deaths. Sometimes it takes place on a personal level and sometimes it plays out in a court room. It is the news of the human condition that feeds the voyeur in me.

What is the siren’s call of what has been called "gutter press"?

1. Logic. I try to figure out the mystery or look for inconsistencies in the stories.

2. A superficial moral barometer. I observes how we treat each other and the dynamics of relationships. I then measure myself against the actions of others. Am I capable of treating others that way or taking that action? Is my answer a good thing?

3. Gossip. I love it, because I like to know things. Not to use over another to further an end. I just like to know every detail.

And, now I want to know what you think.

A New Resolve

My friend Marion, told me about the challenge of blogging everyday in the month of July.

Now, she has done pretty well, keeping up on her end. I love hearing about her family, including my two god daughters. As neither of them has attained double digit ages, they are changing fast. I can easily imagine myself as a fly in the wall observing their day and how they are growing. The pictures help, but it is her descriptions and commentary that bring them to life. I just wish they did not live 1043 miles away or I could be there myself.

But as for me... physical blogging and posting has not happened on my end. It does go on in my head several times a day. I ruminate on all kinds of things and run across lots of things I find fascinating. But, I have not slowed down enough to put fingers to keyboard, as it were.

But I am going to try to change that. Wish me luck.