Recently, after three long months apart, I moved my wife, our dog, Brewster, and all our worldly possessions from Naples to Navarre. To save money, I rented a large truck in Naples and hired a company to do the work of loading it. They sent over three men: two to carry our stuff to the truck, and a third, whom I called The Puzzle Man, to figured out how to fit it all on the truck. I’d like to say that they were careful, but I would be lying.
Great news! It seems that Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow on Groundhog day and we are in for an early spring! This week’s temperatures agree with his forecast. According to weather.com our highs in the 60s will continue right through the next 10 days or so with a few days getting into the 70s. The only downside to the beautiful temperatures is they will mostly be without sunshine – overcast days continue, with chances of rain.
Navarre has always been a destination for its inhabitants. From its first homestead to today’s families and visitors, people have come to Navarre to put their feet up and settle down.
We all saw Chicago Bears kicker Cody Parkey miss a 43-yard field goal attempt in the closing seconds of a 16-15 wild-card round playoff loss to the Philadelphia Eagles two weeks ago at Soldier Field.
“You’re going to enjoy it!” a voice called out as I walked into a local restaurant for lunch. I turned expecting to see an employee, the owner perhaps, but this unsolicited review came from another diner, doggie-bag in hand, getting up to leave. “So, what do you recommend?” I asked. He recommended something I’d never order. “Thanks!” I replied. I did not know that this brief exchange had breached some social-etiquette firewall; this stranger walked over to my booth and sat down. “I hope you don’t mind,” he said. “It’s fine,” I replied neutrally. He began to pour out his life’s story.
We have exciting changes coming soon to the digital paid subscription version of Navarre Press. We have a conference call tomorrow with the developers. This an example of how we are always fighting for our subscribers/readers and end-users of Navarre Press. We don’t just settle for good enough, we always want to get better. If you aren’t growing – you are going backwards. And, when you know you can do better, you don’t settle for less. That is why “Excellence is our ordinary” is a core value at Navarre Press.
My husband and I have owned property on Navarre Beach for several years, we rent our condo to tourist during a part of the season. We are very careful to explain to our guest dogs are not allowed on Navarre Beach. However, while in Navarre for several weeks over the holidays, we saw at least five dogs and owners walking on the beach every day. Other owners in our complex have discussed the increase, this year especially, and we are posting signs in our building’s common areas and beach walk over. I’ve seen signs at most of the public walk over areas.
Approximately 230,000 Veterans live in the Gulf Coast Veterans Health Care System three-state catchment area (south Mississippi, south Alabama, and the Florida Panhandle.). Of that amount, 104,000 Veterans are enrolled for care at VA, with about 71,000 actively receiving VA care. Suicide prevention experts claim that of the 20 Veterans a day that are committing suicide each day, 14 of them are not getting their care from VA.
Who doesn’t love auto-correct on their smartphones? OK, nobody loves auto-correct. I have friends who think I’m a moron because of auto-corrected texts I’ve sent. My relationship with Apple’s “Siri” is better. I can ask Siri a question and get a spoken answer. I ask Siri to take me to a destination and I get step-by-step, verbal directions. However, ours is not a trouble-free relationship. Recently, I asked Siri to take me to a destination. Traffic was heavy, so I drove along in the center lane. At the absolute last minute, Siri said, “Turn left.” No warning. No, “I’m sorry, I must have dozed off.” I missed my turn and had to fight through traffic to recover; Smart phone indeed!
