So, last week driving Mustang Sal on Main Street through Royal Oak, this middle-aged guy on a Yamaha motorcycle pulled up next to me at a red light. “Nice car,” he said. I was flattered and rather pleased that he hadn’t called me ma’am. Or sir, for that matter. For the record, it’s happened. At Kroger, Costco, McDonald’s drive-thrus. Whatever. Darn N-95 masks. Plus, I had just gotten a haircut and was wearing a black baseball cap with a silver pony embroidered above “MUSTANG” in red letters. Looking like a brother from another mother, I turned my head, smiled and asked if he owned a classic car. He said that he…
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Perk-ulated?
The COVID-19 hits just keep on coming. Now a shot in the arm may not only get you a million bucks, but also a seat at the movies. Or a table inside a restaurant. Even a workout among other so-called elites who have the sense to be fully vaccinated. Rather than resort to mandates, which apparently violate the right to remain healthy, this new idea is to incentivize the unvaccinated with perks to get them inoculated. Money, food, fitness. That sort of thing. I’m OK with that. As I told an anti-vaxxer the other day: “If you aren’t vaccinated, you can’t hug me. There’s a consequence.” Not that it would matter to some.…
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Dog and pony show
Madison and Max are two dogs of very different breeds and backgrounds. Although they’ve never met, the lucky canines have one thing in common: They both attended classic car shows this past weekend. It’s not uncommon to see dogs walking their humans at these outdoor events. In fact, at one car show over the weekend, I actually heard a spectator say it was “like being at a dog show with some cars on display.” Funny. And that’s where we were Saturday – at the Fifth Annual Main Street Memories “Wheels on the Waterfront” in beautiful downtown Port Huron, Michigan. Billed as “the fastest-growing car show in the area,” the popular event…
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Soundtrack of summer
Last night, Major League Baseball’s 91st All-Star Game was played at Coors Field in Denver. The annual Midsummer Classic was canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We watched most of the game on Fox Sports. But it also appeared on Fox Deportes (Spanish), the Fox NOW app, foxsports.com, MLB.TV, ESPN radio and live-streamed on fuboTV. Best pre-game story: The 27-year-old phenom Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels, who can pitch, play outfield and bat designated hitter. No wonder they call him “Sho-time.” Second-best pre-game story: In his fourth all-star start, former Detroit Tigers ace Max Scherzer, now with the Washington Nationals, can’t hit his weight. But he…
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Shot outta luck?
“I am not throwin’ away my shotI am not throwin’ away my shotHey yo, I’m just like my countryI’m young, scrappy and hungryAnd I’m not throwin’ away my shot” From the song “My Shot” in “Hamilton,” the 2015 American musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda Shot to Win. Vax a Million. All in for the Win. Sounds like a trio of quarter slot machines in a Sin City casino. But no, they’re all names of lottery-style raffles to make more Americans get vaccinated against COVID-19. As vaccination rates continue to fall, several states have spent millions on lottery prizes to encourage holdouts to get their shot. Just when you think you’ve heard it all, now we’re going…
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Old bags
Amazing what you find going through your old golf bag after not playing since 2017. You know you haven’t played golf in awhile if your visor says Nancy Lopez. Or if you found an airline bag tag that says “Eastern.” I’d like to, but I’m afraid I can’t blame this multi-year links lapse entirely on the pandemic. Yesterday, I went downstairs and schlepped my golf clubs out of the basement. What I found was mostly dust and cobwebs. Also a formerly pristine white FootJoy glove reeking of mildew, two crumbled Kleenex packs, old Band-Aids and a bottle of suntan lotion that expired when Barack Obama was president. Underneath all of that ick, there…
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Boondocking
We bought our Winnebago motorhome in 2017. After RVing for about four years, we no longer consider ourselves newbies. We’re still “glampers,” who instead of tents prefer sleeping under the stars on an indoor bed in a locked Sprinter van. But we’re willing to get our disposable gloves dirty, and now we can set up camp pretty quickly – connect to electric, water, sewer and even cable TV – without incident. As in, without running over a 6-inch white sewage lid that becomes a projectile weapon. Or breaking RV Rule No. 1 (“No drive-thrus”) because “10-foot clearance limit” actually means that. And not all trees are tall. Either of those…
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Remembrance
It’s Memorial Day, the last Monday in May when we honor those who have died while serving in the U.S. military. The women and men who gave the ultimate sacrifice for their country – and our freedom. There is nothing more noble. You probably know that wearing a single red poppy is a Memorial Day tradition of remembrance that began after World War I ended. Every year around this time, you’ve likely been offered one held together with green wire from a military veteran while waiting at a traffic light. Maybe you even donated something to show support of our troops. During the Great War, as World War I came…
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Hard to get
At a recent Costco senior hour visit, we saw actual Clorox brand sanitizers on sale. A six-pack of lemon and fresh scented wipes. We didn’t really need them, but you never know. We might. Nearing the halfway point into 2021, the shortages of 2020 have already seeped into this year. We’re experiencing new shortages of some items, continued scarcities of others and rising prices. Blame it on a combination of factors, including the global pandemic, severe winter storms and a recent pipeline hacking cyberattack that caused massive disruptions to U.S. supply chains. I’m talking about such products as cars, lumber, chlorine and ketchup. Since we’re not planning to buy a car,…
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Social butterflies
After more than a year, our social calendar is no longer devoid of activities other than birthday reminders. We have done more things socially in the last two weeks than in the past 14 months. A birthday gathering, a dance recital, lunch and dinner out. That’s crazy talk! It all started with a friendly lunch inside an actual restaurant. I must admit, I was a little nervous at first. Call it “social butterflies.” I even kept my mask on while sitting at the table. Until coffee was served, that is. Then it was fine. Our server was masked, as were the other employees. Mask-wearers don’t bother me. They provide a sense of…
