Minnesota Summer Evenings Are Great

Last August I went to Minnesota for a family reunion. One of the unexpected pleasures was the weather. It was nice and cool at night, and I was able to sleep with the doors and windows open. It felt so good to get away from Florida heat. I briefly considered finding an apartment in Minneapolis to spend summers and become a snowbird. What clipped my wings, so to speak, were two main factors. One is the dogs. My wife and I refuse to put our dogs, aka “the kids”, in the belly of a plane to transport them up north and that leaves the option of driving back and forth and that’s not gonna happen. I feel our days of “road tripping” are over. It’s one thing to drive for a couple of hours and a totally different thing to drive for 2 or 3 days. So, like it or lump it, we are in Florida; the land of two seasons. Hot and hotter. But as we say in Florida, “It must be Fall, the license plates are changing color”.

In October I’m taking a river cruise down the Mississippi River. All throughout schooling I’ve heard how the Mississippi played such an important part in our history. From the Westward expansion to being one of the dividing lines for slavery and the subject of many books. We all remember reading Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn back in high school English, which were all set on the Mississippi River. I’ve seen the river a couple of times in my life but never spent any time on or near it. For 16 days I’m going on a cruise down the river which should be both fun and educational. (Remember, a day is not wasted if you learn something new.)

Still working on book eight. I thought it was close to being done but I’ve decided to make a viewpoint change. The story is still the same, just how it’s being told will change. Hope this blog finds you all well and in good spirits. I’ll write some more after I return from the river trip and tell you all about it.