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sp19690, we never went to the Jersey shore or any other beaches besides Long Island beaches growing up . I miss just going on a whim . When the kids were young DH and I would pack a picnic dinner and take the kids after work on a whim if the weather was nice . When we were dating we drove out to the Hamptons to catch a glimpse of movie stars …..you just had to act like you belonged there and keep moving at a decent pace when you walked along the shoreline at the water ( not walk up close near the houses) on the private beaches 😂😂 and nobody would kick you off . We took the kids to see the snow on the beach too, went all seasons . And of course to see the waves after a hurricane
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Way SmithPoint was my favorite beach but we also went to long and short beach. I remember short beach had tons of horseshoe crabs. Never went to the Hamptons.
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sp19690, Smith Point is where we went most of the time as well . Do you remember the salt water taffy and the snack bar as kids ? When we took my kids, there was always a Mr. Softee ice cream truck in the parking lot .

Random thought , I miss Dairy Barn too . A drive through for milk , bread , eggs etc . Was great if I had a sick kid and DH was away for work . Just drive through with a sleeping kid in the car seat . But now can always have food delivered . They had the best ice cream sandwiches .
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I grew up in Bergen County (NJ) 1 mile from the NY state line (and could see the GW bridge from a high point in my town). In highschool, we had a tradition where after the prom we'd stay up all night then drive to the Jersey shore to spend the day baking on the beach (pre-sunscreen years) and working off hangovers (since the drinking age was 18 and DUI laws didn't exist yet). How did we ever make it to adulthood in one piece??
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My "home base" has always been within 10 miles of my parents' home (where my dad lived for over 80 years) although I have kept "working" homes and apartments in a variety of cities where I worked between 8 months and 6 years at a time. I particularly enjoyed my 4th floor studio apartment in Washington DC, two blocks from a metro stop on M street. We got a per diem and I found this B&B listing and negotiated a monthly rate that allowed me to leave my clothes and a sorta office (folding table, power strips, printer) in place when I took the plane home most weekends. Had mom and the nephews come up on my vacation; enjoyed pointing out to my coworkers the crime stats on my metro stops were better than their parking garage and I didn't get caught in traffic (most of them stayed in a hotel outside of DC and rented a car).

So I learned to drive and the kids (some of the kids are in their 40s now) did too in the TN hills. We have a few laughs about the snow weather transplants that run their mouth about us turning out or delaying the start of school because of a "little inch of snow" when they learn our "wet" snow on a surface that changes elevation and direction frequently is a different challenge than driving on 8 inches of powder on a flat surface. My favorite is the guy that planned to stop at the end of his driveway and slid across the street, ended up in a culvert in about 1/4 inch of our typical snow/ice mix.

BTW: Memphis is a different place than Johnson City; no mountains (just Mississippi delta flat land) and a Democratic party run big city with most of the problems that come with that. JC has more diversity in cuisine but not as much great barbecue and fresh seafood. We've had a lot of immigrant families settle here over the years and have some good Asian restuarants in addition to most of the chain places. The family favorites are a Mexican, a Japanese, and a Chinese restuarant; mostly home food is mostly cooked at home...
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TN, Geaton, Way and sp,

Sounds like you have great memories!

It’s funny that you mentioned a studio apartment.

One of the happiest times in my youth was when I was living in a studio apartment.

I wanted a change, a fresh start in a new place. I decided that I didn’t want to have to rely on a roommate in a larger apartment.

So, I rented a one room/kitchen/bathroom attic apartment, completely furnished in beautiful antiques.

I adored the deep claw foot tub! My apartment was on top of a fairly large home so it was a decent sized attic.

Cat,

I know right! I truly hope this is a relatively calm hurricane season for us.
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Anyone else finding this site to be very slow in loading content? It’s taking a long while before I can read or post anything.
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Yes, it's slow for me too. Hopefully that means they are implementing some updates.
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The oldest settlement in Alberta, Fort Chipewyan, north of us is being evacuated as I write due to the forest fires. It's bringing back memories/flashbacks of our evacuation in 2016. People are being flown out or boated out. I taught a class up there by videoconferencing for years as part of my job here and made trips up as part of the course and also for personal reasons. My ex had family in that community. I have many good memories of Fort Chip and the people there.

Fortunately we are good at evacs. Accommodation has been arranged here and in the town up the river where the boats will dock. Even pets will be cared for as much as possible. However I know it is hard leaving your home. I pray that they contain the fire so that the town isn't burnt down. It is of historical and cultural importance and started as a trading post in 1788 and it is for some the only homes they have ever known.

My heart goes out to them.
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golden: Here in Maryland we are seeing some haze from the fires, unbelievably.
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Golden,

How awful! We are good at evacuation too but for a different natural disaster, hurricanes.

Most places have to contend with something, fires, floods, tsunamis, hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes or volcanoes.

I would hate to see a historical part of town destroyed too.

New Orleans had to rebuild after Katrina. Some things cannot be replaced and it is truly sad.

Praying is about all you can do at this point. I certainly hope that the area isn’t destroyed by the fires.
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Llama, smoke from our 2016 fire went as far south as Texas I believe. There is the potential for a very large area to burn from this present fire.

Our fire started May 1 and was under control 2 months later, but continued to smoulder for over a year and covered about 1,500,000 acres. This one could be very large too.

Thanks need. I hope it isn't burnt either. The old church there was burnt down last year but they believe it may have been arson. Katrina did a huge amount of damage, I know.
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Golden,

I can’t imagine what that must be like. It has to be terrifying to watch everything literally going up in flames.

I worked with a woman who accidentally left a candle burning. Her cat knocked it over and her entire house burned to the ground. She was so upset about losing her home and her cat.

Fires spread so rapidly. She said that she would always make sure that she extinguished all candles before leaving for work. After going through what she did, I don’t know if I would ever have a desire to burn any more candles!

I burn candles when I soak in the tub. I have candles that have covers. I put the cover on immediately after my bath.
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Need, I actually didn't see much but smoke. Some people leaving their homes here drove through an inferno of burning houses and trees. It was a miracle no one was hurt.

I have driven along the highway with fire on either side but not out of control. .I drilled my children as they grew up that if there was fire and I or another adult wasn't there to head for the river
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Golden,

Absolutely a miracle!
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Prayers for you Golden, and the many people who have had to evacuate their homes.
I know it feels safer to try to stay in your home sometimes, rather than drive through fire. Or leave your home and get to the main street and you go nowhere, because it is bumper to bumper with smoke in the area.

It does bring back all those past fires, the minute you smell smoke, and have to be on alert for quite awhile.

It raises our cortisol levels for sure.

Any rain in your forecast?

The river is a good idea!
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Thx, send. Most of the houses in the 2016 fire were left intact, though a couple of subdivisions were essentially levelled. A few people did stay and were fine. I am not the least bit interested in staying in my house and being burnt. It would have been possible to stay and be safe.

My dd watched her dogs on someone's security cam. They were eventually rescued and returned to them but after the fire in town was out. She wasn't able to bring them with her.

It's not like a flood which covers all of an area. Some areas are burnt but one or a few houses may be OK. Other areas are OK but one house may be burnt.

Yes, it does raise emotions (and hormones) for sure. I know how the people in Fort Chip are feeling right now.

Bless God it rained last night here - not much but any is better than none.
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Golden ,

Sounds like a scary HE ** (double hockey sticks) . Is your condo in a less fire prone area ?

I hope this ends soon . Stay safe . 🙏🏻
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Way, thx. It is scary. As Need points out every area has their problems, but not all are as lethal. Where I grew up we had the occasional earthquake but nothing that damaged property.

In 2016 when I drove away from the house, bumper to bumper traffic for miles, I had no idea if, within a couple of days, my house would still be standing . I eventually found one of the oil sands work camps associated with a huge processing plant. Another evacuee there said "Oh the fire can't come here". I said "Sure it can." And it could have.

Fortunately the wind changed and it moved east away from us. I was one of the lucky ones to be flown out. My son here and his wife got through by highway. My dd and fam were in another camp and some of the last ones flown out. I couldn't breathe properly until l I knew they had landed in Edmonton safely. R was in Edmonton at the time and beside himself thinking of volunteering for fire fighting. NO!!! Oldest son J had us, all his family, up here. It was a strange and difficult time.

Yes, the condo is in a safer area, another one of my reasons for moving. Not that there aren't fires, but it is built up so you don't have the acres and acres of forest that is so flammable in dry seasons. We here and also Fort Chip are totally surrounded by forest. It will end once it rains and rains and rains.
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Reading everyone's stories about growing up makes me realize... I've lived (and still do)a pretty boring, sheltered life. 😁
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cat - I could use a little "boring". Nothing wrong with that. I used to say, "All I want is a little humdrum".
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Amen to having a little boring!

May we all be blessed with some.

Love you all! May The Lord bless and keep us all this day.
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🙂 i like learning from elderly people. i saw an interview recently, asking many elderly people what they advise:

--find something you're passionate about. try to make it your job. it would be great if you say, "i can’t believe i get paid to do this!"
--learn something new every day
--if someone comes at you, yells at you, or insults you, look the other way
--just be a good person. if you’re a good person, somehow everything works out to be good.
🙂
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I learned alot from my 'elderly' father. He was intelligent and a good person. I inherited his fix it skills but
unfortunately not the cooking or gardening. My sister loves cooking (not me) and flowers & plants don't stand a chance in my care. 😩
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I wish my life had been more boring and had less intrusive drama . It could have been better if I had learned to set boundaries before I was in my mid 50’s and losing my mind from caregiving for a narcissist . I have little to no contact now with most of my toxic family that my mother created .
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Getting ready to pay a "Stupid Tax", I will call it.
The rent bill comes with utilities detailed on the bill, and must be paid with the rent, in one check. Following up on the 2nd.

There is an error in the gas portion of the bill. Being charged for 235 cu. ft. instead of 212. The meter is not yet at 235!

After writing, called management who said this:

"I don't know what the meter reading has to do with the billing".

"I did not read your meter wrong".

And other fancy stuff to indicate nothing will be done to correct the bill.

Took a pill, took a nap.
Decided to pay the extortion rate.

Then will start a slow campaign to contact the agencies that monitor these things for seniors. The Weights & Measures Dept. The Gas Company. The CPUC. The Lord God Amighty, who is Jesus.

Not worth anyone's time for $39. Just do not underestimate those seniors!

But it was the Stupid that the manager said that got to me.
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I just binge watched a new documentary on Amazon Prime. There are crazy, stupid and insane people out there!!!
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Maybe I will buy the manager some flowers and Sees candy. Then get her some tickets to Disneyland.

A book on how to find a real job.

You know, offer a blessing instead?
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I just started watching 'Couples Therapy'. Intetersting.

Couple #1 Mr I deserve an awe inspiring amazing birthday party every year. Couple #2 Mrs I will call you with every thought I have & demand you pick up & listen everytime.

Sad the power just went out. Maybe four hours to fix. About to eat takeaway in the dark.

Feel your pain re stupid bills & utility companies MD..😪
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nothing to do with caregiving, just a funny typo i just made. i was explaining to a friend about the ancient greeks. and i wrote, "the ancient geeks believed in..."
🙂
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