It is Sunday, September 20 and Fall begins in three days.  That means that the Christmas candy should be on the shelves any day now.  Today we remember the birthdays of Ferdinand (Jelly Roll) Morton, Anne Meara and Pia Lindstrom.  On this day in 1519 Magellan started his first circumnavigation of the world, in 1877 Chase National Bank opened in New York City and in 1985 Walt Disney World greeted its 200-millionth guest.  Slow holiday day this week.  In Laos it is Thanksgiving.

Just a few words regarding Walt Disney World.  It opened on October 1, 1971.  Just  11 days short of being open for 14 years they had over 200 million guests.  That is a lot of people and a good deal of income.  Is it too much to ask that they finally get an 800 number?  But I digress …

The lovely Elaine and I travelled to Disney World back in 1974.  We went by train because we could not afford both airlines tickets and a decent hotel.  Keep in mind that back then they did not have the variety of hotels that they have now.  We stayed in the Contemporary and it was great.  In those days, when you entered the park, you were given a coupon book that had tickets ranging from A to E.  The rides were categorized the same way.  

You had a good number of A tickets and could ride the Dumbo ride to your heart’s content.  There were slightly fewer B tickets, fewer C and so on until the end when you only got two E tickets.  Of course, the best rides were the E rides, so you had to make a choice as to which two you wanted to go on.  I believe they had additional ride tickets available, but the cost involved pints of blood and such.  It was quite an experience back then and continues to be one now.  There are a number of hotels and meal packages, special deals and you can still buy just about anything with some sort of mouse ears on it.  If you have never been, I recommend that you go.  It is truly a fun place to be.  Just don’t try to call them on their 800 number.  They do not have one!

Anyway, life in our new place continues.  We are adjusting, but it still feels like we are in a hotel and will be packing our luggage and heading home soon.  That feeling is fading as we realize that no one is coming in to make our bed, bring us clean towels and new little wrapped bars of soap.  Receiving our first utility bills is also a good indicator that we are, in fact, home.

I will tell you that I had a very disconcerting moment shortly after we moved in.  I was taking a shower in our walk-in glass shower stall.  At one point I turned and looked over to see myself, in all my naked glory (??) in the wall mirror across the room.  I realize that I am nowhere near buff or toned and I could stand to work on tightening up my physique.  But you have no idea what a shock it was to see this chubby, slightly sagging, naked old guy looking back at me from the mirror.  I decided that I had to do something about that right away.  So now, when I shower, I keep my eyes down so that I don’t have to see that anymore.  Problem solved!

We are working to get our routines back.  I have mapped out the distance so that we can do our daily walking.  That has become so much easier now that we do not live on a hill.  It used to be a real chore knowing that the first few minutes of our walk everyday was uphill.  Now it is all level and easier to get started.  I see some of the same people every day and, as the lovely Elaine pointed out, there are several types of people.  Some say hello or good morning as you pass, some just nod their head in your direction and some just look straight ahead and ignore you.

I am still trying to figure out the proper etiquette for the greetings.  Generally, because the community is not huge, the chances are that you will come across the same people at least twice during your walk.  The first time you see them you say hello or good morning.  What do you do when you see them again?  Do you just nod?  If you just nodded when you first saw them, do you ignore them now?  I think I should say something, but I am not sure what.  Maybe I should just warn them to be careful and make sure that they keep hydrated.  Or I could comment on how fast they are moving for an old person.  Another option would be to ask if they have a living will, just in case.  The lovely Elaine says I should just shut up.  I find that she says that a lot.  I wonder why?

For those of you who are wondering, we have not yet shed ourselves of the old house.  We are, hopefully, getting closer to wrapping that up, but nothing is easy when you are dealing with lawyers and town officials.  Suffice it to say that we are anxious to have this done so that we can stop supporting two houses.  I am relatively sure that the buyers are just as anxious so that they can get in and start making it their home.  I keep telling the lovely Elaine not to worry, that it will all be taken care of.  She keeps giving me the look.  Stay tuned for the next chapter of this continuing saga.

This week our fact tells us that platypuses can consume their own body weight in food in a 24 hour period.  Big deal!  There are several different holidays where I feel like I have done that in less than 24 hours and I am much bigger than your average platypus.

Be sure to wish all your Laotian friends a Happy Thanksgiving!