Smooth Ride?

Have you noticed the condition of the roads and streets in SW Florida? More specifically, Naples, FL? Unless you are a part timer here, you don't know how good you have it. You need to spend a spring experiencing the patchwork roads in snow towns up north.

A visit to any town, and I could pick on lots of them, but my recent experience with Cedar Rapids, Iowa, makes me wonder what the cost is to the drivers and their cars.

I realize that poor CR, has just had the flood of the century, but lots of my experiences there, were well before the flood. The roads are worse than a patchwork quilt, with each patch, of varying sizes, at different levels. Obviously the road crews work very hard to fill in the holes made by the seemingly never ending winter, with its freeze/thaw cycle, and the rains of spring. But filling in a hole, so that it makes a speed bump seems like they are not accomplishing much.

When you have aluminum rims and you hit a pothole filled with rain water. and your tire goes flat because it bent your rim, you are happy to have them filled, no matter how bumpy.

The temperature in this area is very hot in the summertime. If you have ever noticed the effect that the heat has on things you leave outdoors, for an extended period, then you have an idea of why I am surprised that the roads are not in the same shape as Cedar Rapids. But apparently the heat is no match for the effect that freezing and thawing has on asphalt and concrete. So count your blessings.

You will certainly see a pothole covered here, and occasionally some cracks in the pavement, but the repair seems to be made by a former Zamboni driver, rather than a moto-cross track designer. It is actually flat to the road, and hardly noticeable.

I am certain we have some road issues in Naples, but not like the rest of the country. Type the following phrase into your 'web browser' "Fix our roads, " and you will find over 50,000 sites with that phrase. Reading the first few pages assures me that poor Cedar Rapids is not the only city with a pothole problem. While visiting CR recently, I noticed they were working on the roads, but they will never be what we have in Naples. We are lucky, compared to 50,000 other locations in the world. Maybe we should find something else that does need fixing.  I am sure I will hear something from you!

Go Fish!

I met with a new client today in the Southwest Florida fishing business.  He said that the fishing is so good now that everyone in the 'business' will look forward to a wonderful 'season' in SW Florida. That's good news for the people who visit us in the winter.   For those fishing enthusiasts, the mix of weather, currents, wind, Mother Nature and perhaps oil in the deep water west of us, has filled our waters with fish. Bottom fishing in the Gulf has seen people catching their limit of Grouper and Red Snapper.

We have so many varieties of fish in the Gulf, Lakes and Bays surrounding us, that there is literally every type of fishing you could want. I like Gulf fishing as it requires less skill, which describes my fishing prowness. Lack of talent. If you go out on a Gulf charter, they provide everything for your day or half day. When you go, make sure you select a boat that does the kind of fishing you want. Call and ask, and if they don't have what you want, I am sure they will refer you to another who does.

The cost of a commercial fishing trip is determined by how many people are on your boat.  There are 'party' boats which are larger and carry lots of people.  These cost less and the assistance is not as personal but it is still good fishing.  These are a favorite of some friends of mine,  but they fish a lot,  and know how. It is not my type of fishing.  A Charter boat will cost you a hundred dollars per person, more or less depending if there are others sharing the day with you.  But the fishing is personalized and the assistance is very good and personal to your style.  If you think of the cost as a per hour fee,  and you end up with dinner at the end of the day,   then it is well worth it.  Don't forget to tip your captain if he finds fish for you.

On a Charter boat, always tell your boat captain what you want to accomplish. It will determine where they take you and the type of tackle needed. On a party boat, you will fish, when and where they stop.

The first time I went out on a charter boat, I did not know what to tell him. I was totally unfamiliar with the protocol. Luckily my son caught a good sized Red Snapper and whatever it was I caught, the captain had not seen before. We did not keep anything that day, We were merely out to enjoy the Gulf, and inadvertinly feed the Dolphins with most everything we caught and threw back.


The next time we went out, I told the captain we just wanted to catch fish and keep a few larger ones for dinner. He put out some trolling lines and before long we had as much as we wanted. Lots of Mackeral & Bonita. It was a good day on the water, and a good evening of fish fried and broiled for friends. The next time out, I told the captain I wanted to catch a Snapper or a Grouper, if time permitting I wanted to try for a Goliath Grouper. We caught some small Snapper and Grouper that day, but never got a bite from a Goliath.

I have also been backwater fishing in the rivers and canals upon which our area is surrounded. This is totally different fishing, but for some who might have a fear of deep water, this might be a way to still enjoy the sport. The back waters are teaming with all varieties of fish, and it is not necessary to go very far to find them.

We have sun, sand and surf in SW Florida, but we also have fish, and lots of people who make their living helping you catch them. Spend a day with them on the water, and you will be hooked, along with your dinner.

Good Luck.

Fifty Percent Discount

I went to a sale the other day at a golf store, that was going out of business. I had seen the signs advertising it for a few weeks. But I waited until the sale percentage discount on their signs showed 50% - 70% off. I hoped I would get lucky with a size that might save me some money. Waiting was a mistake.

In the words of Abraham Lincoln, " “Things may come to those who wait...but only the things left by those who hustle.” The leftover, picked over, lucky sizes were those that I could not use. Plenty of size 32 pants and XXL & XXXL shirts. I was greedy, rather than satisfied to get a reasonable sale price, I wanted a steal. I did not consider that there would be others who were satisfied to get a small bargain, and the good merchandise.

It seems to me that some of us might approach other things in our lives the same way. We wait for the big profit, the larger discount, the lower purchase price, or the higher sale price, and as a result, we lose out. I suggest that you be satisfied with a good deal, and stop waiting on the 'best.' You may not get anything like me!

Prepare to lose your valuables

Sounds like a dumb thing to do, but how many of us really know what's in our wallet (or purse.) ? I had a box of keepsakes that I had been throwing things into for many years. It had a small coin collection that my mother had given to my son, when he was too young, and not ready to maintain it, so I kept it for him and planned to give it to him as a long lost gift. I also had a wind-up collectible car that my dad had given to me in 1952. The items were not that valuable to anyone but me. They certainly had more value to me, than the person who broke into the garage and stole them. Once they were gone, they again had value to me, but I could not remember all of the things in the box. That bothered me the most.

This feeling is described in a poem by William Shakespeare,

" For it so falls out
That what we have we prize not to the worth
Whiles we enjoy it, but being lack'd and lost,
Why, then we rack the value; then we find
The virtue that possession would not show us
Whiles it was ours. "

You may have such a treasure box, or not. But whatever you have of any value to you or your insurance company, I suggest you start treating it that way now, instead of longing for its return or guessing at its contents after you lose it.

With this same thought, I suggest that while sitting on the couch, listening to music or the news or weather on television, that you dump the contents of your wallet or purse in your lap, and make a list or copy of its contents. The first thing is to place the your license, credit/debit cards, gas cards, and all those other things which you haven't looked at in years on a photocopier, or a scanner. Make sure to copy both sides as you need the customer service number on the back of the cards to report them stolen. When we lose our wallet, our first thought should be to cancel the cards right away. The easiest and quickest way is to call the service number and give them the stolen card number. If the only place to find that is on the card.....well now you have it. By the way, don't keep the list in your wallet. Store it in a safe place at home.

Remember to file a police report. It's unlikely you will get your stuff back, but it is important to the credit card and insurance people.

While sorting through your valuables, try to simplify your life by eliminating some of the stuff you do not need to carry around on a daily basis. Never keep things that cannot be replaced. That is what safes and safe deposit boxes are for.

I think this is part of my boy scout training. "Be prepared.!" Are you?

Florida Panthers

If you live in Florida, then you know we have a cat like creature that we hear about, but rarely see. That's because the current population is less than one hundred. You will regularly see on the news or hear about another being killed by a car. The automobile is their biggest threat.

The highway department actually created underpasses to allow them to cross roads and interstate highways, without getting hit, but apparently the cats cannot read, or there are not enough signs to direct them.

Florida panthers are shy and try very hard to avoid people. They do not seem to be dangerous to humans, as there are no documented cases of a Florida panther attacking a person. The chances of you being killed by a panther are far less than your chance of "becoming a victim of lightning or death by bee-sting.

One of my friends sent me the attached picture, that his friend took with a cell phone, while out hunting.

So as you can see , they do exist. I saw one slinking into a large palmetto stand at a golf course recently. It was darker, almost black, but certainly a panther, not a bobcat.  It had a long tail,  but it was probably very muddy, rather than actually that color. I immediately turned the golf cart in its direction, then, realized what I was doing, and thought better of it. I did not want to be on the Panther Net website as the first human getting eaten by a panther.

They are interesting creatures, and seem to be surviving despite our urban sprawl. If you want to donate or learn more about them then visit the following websites.
http://www.floridapanthernet.org/ or,
http://www.nps.gov/ever/naturescience/floridapanther.htm or,
http://www.panthersociety.org/index.html

Continuous Compression CPR

I used to travel by air regularly as a company owner.I spent a lot of time in airports and once, in the early 1980's, I was in Chicago's O'Hare Airport, waiting for a flight. As the line moved forward, at the gate, I noticed a man laying on the carpet, behind the gate attendant, and what was worse, everyone was ignoring him.

I asked the gate attendant what was wrong with the man on the floor. She said that he appears to have had a heart attack. I asked, "why aren't you helping him?" She said, "Paramedics had been called and they will help him." I did not know how to perform CPR. Unfortunately, as with most people, we relied on a few other brave souls.

Within a few minutes, one of these brave souls noticed the man and began preparing him for CPR. He asked if anyone had a "bag." In the early 80's, there was fear, that contact with another person's blood could give you Aids. The drug industry had created some products that you could use to protect yourself while giving another person mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. ("Bag"). The problem was, no one had a "bag." So a woman removed her slip, and handed it to him. He immediately began CPR, which included chest compressions followed by a breath into the man's mouth. The first time he did that, the slip showed a perfect circle of blood where his mouth had been.
The man saw that, hesitated, and then restarted the process until the paramedics arrived. Brave soul.  I left Chicago that day, wondering if the heart attack victim had survived, and if the brave soul had gotten Aids.

With Continuous Compression CPR, we now all have a new tool, that we can use, without training and without fear of killing ourselves to save someone else's life.

More than 300 000 persons die of sudden cardiac arrest each year. Someone in cardiac arrest has very little chance of survival unless you, the bystander, take immediate action to sustain them until the paramedics arrive.

Cardiac arrest is a condition in which the heart abruptly stops pumping blood, for whatever reason. The heart goes from a regular heartbeat to a random twitching, called ventricular fibrillation. When the heart is twitching blood is not moving through the body, so the patient passes out.

Do not waste time trying to find a pulse. Address the person in a loud voice. If there is no response, shake the person to check if they are unconscious. If there is no response, assess the breathing: Is it normal or abnormal? Abnormal breathing means either no breathing at all or intermittent gasping. If you witness a person suddenly collapse for no apparent reason and that person is unresponsive and not breathing normally, you should assume this as cardiac arrest.

Call 911, and then immediately start chest compressions and continue until the paramedics arrive.  When you leave, you will know that the victim certainly had a better chance of surviving, and the person helping, would certainly also survive.

Here's a nice outing - Give Blood

Every few months I give blood. It is an easy way to help someone without even knowing them. It is a nice outing for you and your spouse, or a friend. It will only take an hour out of your life and it might just save someone else's.

You can donate blood if you are 17 or older, weigh at least 110 pounds and are in good health. If you are taking prescription medications, it doesn’t necessarily disqualify you. Call ahead and ask if you are concerned. It takes less than an hour to donate blood, from the time you arrive to the time you leave.

• Follow your usual diet and meal schedule before coming to donate.

• You’ll need photo identification and they will ask you medical history questions.

• You get a mini-physical. They measure your blood pressure, pulse, temperature and red blood cell level.

• Once you have registered and your eligibility determined, they will take a quart of your blood. It’s a simple procedure that lasts approximately five to seven minutes. Resume regular activities afterward.
• You may return in eight weeks to donate again.

The people who take your blood are always nice. They make it fun, and they , of course, have to endure all the 'blood' jokes. "take it all, I will be a quart low after this, why is his blood blue, how come you smile when you stick me with that needle? " I cannot imagine how many times they hear the same jokes in an eight hour shift.

The people who give blood seem to be as nice. Why not, they get free orange juice, a very comfortable chair, a nice environment and other victims close by sharing the same experience.

One final thing, it does not matter what blood type you are. I thought they didn't need my A positive blood, because they could get it anywhere. But the nurse taking my blood said that more people had my type, so naturally more was needed. You don't need rare blood to help, just red blood and a big smile.