My cousin recently retired from teaching, but for so many years that is what she did. This cartoon reminded me of her, I sent it to her. It’s a gag cartoon by cartoonist Tyson Cole.

I laughed out loud when I saw it.

She lives for summer, although she swore to me that she loved teaching. But it seems that many teachers are thinking of summer all school year. When she saw the cartoon she responded that she still feels this way. Summer is over when she says it is over!

I used to print school newspapers and other things for schools, many moons ago, and I was the opposite. Since there was no business in the summer, I looked forward to the first day of school, when all the school printing business would start up again.

The first day was quiet for me, while the schools were all buzzing with new activity in anticipation of the new school year. I literally would go to the beach that day and have the whole beach to myself. It was a ritual for me.

My cousin, let’s call her “Ruthie,” loved summer so much that we called her “Summer Ruthie” in the summer because she was a different person. She loved mojitos and we called it “Mojito season,” too.

When she retired I had a t-shirt made for her – it said, “Retired Ruthie meets Summer Ruthie. What could possibly go wrong?”

So many summers in The Hamptons were Mojito days. I feel it all just writing this, at the end of summer, soon turning into fall.

I love Fall, I think it’s my favorite season. I love the cooler weather and going upstate New York pumpkin and apple picking, but after so many years of not liking summer, I like summer, now, too.

I guess when it’s Fall I crave summer and when it’s summer I crave Fall.

Until next time. . .

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Subscribe via email to my blog and cartoons here – the cartoons will arrive each Friday plus occasional short blog posts are sent during the week.

Subscribe via email to my blog and cartoons here – the cartoons will arrive each Friday plus occasional short blog posts are sent during the week.

It hit 100 degrees in Miami yesterday! Luckily, I didn’t feel it. I guess I was inside most of the day. But I did go out for coffee earlier in the morning, but I guess it wasn’t 100 yet. They say 1942 was the last year it hit 100 in Miami.

I always remember when I was a kid and I would go to the beach in the summer, I would see it never really went above 85 degrees. Sometimes 87, but never up to 90 degrees.

I watched the noon news then hit the beach, so I would see what the temp was, just out of curiosity.

I remember when I was in grade school, the teachers talked about global warming and climate change. It wasn’t a subject, but it was an issue taken very seriously. I guess after all these years, no one listened.

Fossil fuels are mainly to blame – oil, gas, coal and also deforestation. Non-stop building is not helping. Livestock is also an issue and industrial processes like manufacturing cement, steel and plastics.

It’s almost like going back to the stone age is the only solution.

Until next time. . .

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I saw this story on CBS Sunday morning today – it’s amazing.

Twenty-three-year-old Lovina Hershberger Zook is an ex-Amish social media influencer now! Lovina grew up in an Amish community and had never used a cell phone or computer or driven a car. But she left the faith, and her family, five years ago, and today shares stories and recipes of the Amish with her six million online followers. Check this out.

Until next time. . .

Subscribe via email to my blog and cartoons here – the cartoons will arrive each Friday plus occasional short blog posts are sent during the week.

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Subscribe via email to my blog and cartoons here – the cartoons will arrive each Friday plus occasional short blog posts are sent during the week.

From the coffee shop to art gallery with period pieces, and witch pranks, this week’s cartoons have it all!

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I love ancient Rome and ancient Egypt. I’ve used them often in my cartoons.

I know they say that many guys think of ancient Rome often; sometimes once a day, which I find strange, but perhaps I do, too.

One thing I have in common with ancient Romans is the food stalls, known as “thermopolia.” They were food stands out and about the city, including Pompeii, which they have found in the ruins, and other “suburbs,” places all around the area.

Most ancient Romans didn’t have kitchens, they ate every meal out -and therein lies what I have in common with them – I basically eat every meal out. I don’t necessarily sit down at restaurants, but I do that, but also I get something quick to eat and bring it home. I try to avoid fast food, but I’ll get something fast.

The termopolia were bars with round holes in them where ceramic jars or other bowls with fires were and food was spooned out into something from the jars. They were affordable meals. People ate there daily and hung out and chatted and drank wine. These were small businesses, cared for by the owners, you can see by the beautiful murals, or what’s left of them, how much care went into these places.

And they ate Mediterranean. Which I try to do today. I even eat farro, which is an ancient grain, which is funny because when people talk about farro, they always follow it with “the ancient grain.” You can see the cartoon above where I featured farro. If farro is so great, why did people only live to age 30 back then?

Along with farro, lentils, stews, meats, fish and vegetables were served. There was also cheese and nuts and dried fruits. Most wine was served which was mixed with water to dilute it.

Over 80 thermopolium were found in Pompeii, they were very common and a part of everyday life.

My thermoplium consists of Panera Bread, Sweetgreen, Chicken Kitchen, Whole Foods, Fresh Market, Sprouts, Cheesecake Factory, and lots of local restaurants when I do sit down at a table and eat.

Eat like a Roman – an ancient Roman.

Until next time. . .

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I woke up the other morning and looked out the back door and I saw a bunch of boats in the bay circulating behind our building.

I thought to myself about Mini Lobster Season, but that was the previous week. I’ve never seen boats congregate like that before. At one point, there were seven.

Even during the lobster mini season, I’ll see two or three spread out over a large area. Now they were all together, mixing and mingling. Almost like they do at a sandbar.

Hmm, what was going on?

At first it started with a couple of boats and I thought it might be developers sizing up our buildings, I know they are interested in the land to add another monster project. And then I saw one guy jump from one boat to another.

Then I thought, maybe it’s a movie crew and they are checking out the area, but then the two boats turned into three and then four and then seven.

They circled each other and then “parked” – they anchored and all faced the same direction almost as if they were getting ready to race.

I asked one of my neighbors what he thought of this, he didn’t know at first but then said, “It’s the painters.”

The painters? The building next door is being painted, they are the same painters that did our building a couple of years ago (the ones who washed my car), it’s been a couple of years now, they are still next door working, but are they now coming to work in boats?

Then I realized what it was. The painters were doing something with the docks and boat lifts – cleaning them? Painting them? So all the boat owners had to move their boats out for the morning.

It looked like one guy picked them up in another boat and brought them to shore, while they were anchored offshore for most of the morning.

By noon, all was quiet, the boats were back at their docks and the mystery was solved.

I see a lot of strange things out on the bay, living on the water is interesting, but this was one of the strangest things until I realized what it was. Then it turned out to be a boring thing. No excitement after all.

Until next time. . .

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Subscribe via email to my blog and cartoons here – the cartoons will arrive each Friday plus occasional short blog posts are sent during the week.

Subscribe via email to my blog and cartoons here – the cartoons will arrive each Friday plus occasional short blog posts are sent during the week.

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There’s an abundance of politeness going on around here – in Miami – that I’m not used to. People are nice in New York, so I am used to that, but in Miami, not so much, but in the past few days I’ve seen a lot of politeness.

I was at Panera Bread for lunch the other day – take out. And I came in and ordered at the place where you order your own stuff. As I walked to the pick up window, a girl that worked there asked if I needed any help. I told her I was waiting for my order.

Just then, a guy from behind the counter calls my name. I said, “It’s ready already? I just placed the order!” He laughed and said, “No, I just wanted to let you know we received your order and are working on it. Did you need anything else?”

Then, the girl who had asked me if I needed help, went table to table and refilled drinks for people. She would pick up their glasses and bring them to drink/soda machine and refill the glasses and return them to the tables. She did this with everyone who was sitting and eating. I never saw them do that before.

One of the managers who never said anything to me in the past, started talking to me, and it just felt weird, since this never was the way before. I guess they are hurting for business or something, and they went out of their way to be overly friendly.

Then at our condo building, three workers who came by for things were overly friendly, too. The elevator was broken, so the elevator guy came over to fix it, but before he came, the fire box guy came – the guy who attends to the fire alarm box, which is connected with the elevator.

I asked him if he was the elevator guy and he introduced himself and told me he was from the fire company and then explained what he was doing here. But he literally shook my hand and introduced himself.

When the elevator guy came, he introduced himself, shook my hand and I took him around the building to each floor to work on the elevator. He must have used the words, “please” and “thank you,” 100 times. He wanted me with him since the elevators open right into the units and he didn’t want to be in the units alone.

He would say, “Thank you for handing me the screwdriver,” “Thank you for helping me.” “Please would you hand me that thing over there?” And so on. He gave me his number and shook my hand coming and going and he was back twice and did all that politeness twice.

He told me how nice my apartment was, he liked it a lot. He complimented about the other units, too. He was very friendly as he muddled around in the elevator shaft.

After the elevator was fixed, we had a new neighbor moving in. When I came back from Panera, one of the moving men was at the elevator. He shook my hand, introduced himself as John, and made conversation.

The next day, the new neighbor moved in. I happened upon him early in the morning. We greeted each other, he extended his hand, introduced himself, we shook hands and that was a pleasant way to start the day.

I honestly don’t remember the last time there was this much politeness. I like it.

Till next time . . .

Subscribe via email to this blog here – and each time I publish, usually twice a week, you’ll receive it in your email.

Subscribe via email to my blog and cartoons here – the cartoons will arrive each Friday plus occasional short blog posts are sent during the week.

CLICK HERE FOR MY CARTOON WALL ART.
YOU CAN SUPPORT ME THAT WAY

Subscribe via email to my blog and cartoons here – the cartoons will arrive each Friday plus occasional short blog posts are sent during the week.

CLICK HERE FOR MY CARTOON WALL ART.
YOU CAN SUPPORT ME THAT WAY