Prayers; Clouds; Incivility; Country Night; Orbs? Turbulence!

As Hurricane Sandy rolls ashore and affects the entire east coast and interior as far as the Great Lakes, our prayers are with everyone in the storm’s path. We are particularly thinking of our good friend Elizabeth Magee, who departed The Villages on Saturday to visit with her family in New Jersey.

On the way out the door the other night, I barely caught the last rays of sunlight on this band of clouds. I wish I had been out a few minutes earlier for even more color, but even these subdued colors impressed me...  

Suzanne was in Belk, a local department store the other day, and witnessed an appalling lack of courtesy by one of the other customers. While talking on her cell phone the entire time, this woman walked up to the checkout clerk and handed her a garment, signed the credit card receipt, and left, without saying a single word to the astounded lady behind the register. Suzanne could hardly believe her eyes, but said some kind words to the poor clerk, who said that it was the worst case of incivility she had yet suffered.

Corvette Chick decided to forgo a 90 mph car ride to the grocery for a bike ride, and while we were out, she had a nagging problem with her derailleur (okay, no wise comments... it’s the shifter on the bike’s rear wheel, not the French word for Suzanne’s “bum”). We dropped in to Village Cycles, and while we were waiting, asked Steve Agronick, one of the sales staff, about his bike. He rides a 12 lb carbon bike that costs as much as a small car. He smiled and said, “Well, I won a race this weekend.” Not just any race... Steve is the new Florida Road Race State Champion in his age group. 

It was a 40 mile race, and he hit a top speed of 50 mph (yes, fifty!) with an average speed of 23 mph. What really amazed us is that Steve was racing in the 70+ age group! The guy looks like he’s 55 or so, and has zero body fat and a resting pulse rate of 43. He is also a past National and International Champion mountain biker. (Doctors must hate to see him coming, because if there were more people like Steve, the medical profession would lose a lot of business.) The first photo shows Steve with his champion’s jersey; in the second, he is holding photos of his time trial race, complete with aero helmet and wheels. Well done, Steve!   

While Suzanne was at her weekly flute choir practice, the puppies and I went for a w-a-l-k in t-o-w-n last night, and marched to the sound of music...  For the information of those not living here, The Villages arranges live musical entertainment almost every night of the year in each of its three town centers. We had the good fortune last night to hear a country singer named Carol Ann singing in Sumter Landing’s Market Square. I really enjoyed her singing, especially Drop on By and Quarter Past One. Carol Ann sings in each of the squares once a month, and more frequently in Katie Belle’s, the most popular club in The Villages. If you have the chance, catch her at one of those locations. She is a terrific performer.  

At the risk of displaying my ignorance about the subject of “orbs”, I will provide the following photo with a few words, then ask for comments on why it may have happened... I was taking a telephoto shot of the moon with my Nikon D70s single lens reflex digital camera with a Nikkor AF 70-210mm telephoto lens on a tripod. No flash was used on the four shots I made at different lens lengths from 70 out to 210 mm. The first is a 70mm shot, and a very distinct green circle, or “orb”, can be seen. 

The second is a 210 mm photo, and shows a less distinct orb in a different position.There were no clouds anywhere near the moon. I checked my lens and there was no dust on the inside or outside lens face.  Any thoughts? 

I almost forgot one of the funniest stories from Suzanne’s trip back home on the airplane. She is very sensitive to turbulence, and was sitting next to a very prim and proper black lady reading her Bible. The plane took a heavy lurch, dropping a bit of altitude, and My Lovely Bride gasped and had to bite her lower lip to catch an escaping "sailor word". She quickly regained her composure, and said sweetly to the lady, “I’m sorry, but if we hit more turbulence, I may not be able to control what comes out of my mouth.  It just happens.” The lady laughed heartily and said she would understand...