Adventure in God’s Waiting Room part 2

I’m changing the name of these postings.  My wife suggested it and it occurred to me it would be a great name for a blog about life and adventure.  After all, aren’t we all in God’s waiting room?

Retirement Village or City of the Dead

Last night we were back at the Gulf watching an extended family light and launch the little hot air luminaries to the setting sun.  Buoyed by hot air the little miniature balloons were sent on a one-way trip into the Gulf.  

Launching?  Dreams, good byes, hopes or just having fun?

I’ve read of cultures that write the names of loved ones lost the previous year on them.  Or perhaps you just want to send your prayers, cares and wishes to the universe on the beginning of the new year , this might be a good start.  It sounds very solemn, peaceful and almost religious.

This extended family was just having fun, cousins talking to aunts and uncles, mothers and dads, sis and brother, all laughing and getting splashed by waves as they tried to launch each one.  I’m sure they were creating memories and drawing closer to each other.  Hmmm, maybe it was religious after all.

First Sunset of 2015.  What lies ahead?

The first sunset of the 2015 was underwhelming.  I had hoped for some insight to how the year would unfold, but Dame Fortune revealed nothing to me.  Maybe that is the message.  The year 2015 isn’t written and we each have chances to take and fortunes to dare!

Back at the retirement village, I’ve seen too many people to claim I’m staying in the city of the dead.  Still, it’s eerie to sit at the entrance to the floor and at 5 pm never see anyone.  The darkness closes in on you and all you can hear is the bubbling of the fountain below on the third floor.  Occasionally the automatic doors whoosh open, but you never hear footsteps.  Maybe the sensors see things mortals don’t.  It’s peaceful and a little spooky.

The residents pass me in the hall or notice me at the coffee/bagel breakfast bar and give me a curious look.  I’m too young they think (maybe, I could have made a fortune and hired a doctor to keep me young) to be a resident but they’re not sure.  Maybe I’m visiting and then again, well, who knows.  I’m sure they are thinking that youth is wasted on the young.

There’s a small pond outside and I enjoy feeding the birds.  There are common ducks (a few), and several orange faced Common Moorhens.  I’m sure , if it could, that bird would not choose to call itself that if anyone have consulted with it. 

The flock arrives for feeding!

There also several small white, long legged wading birds with a longish curved bill.  They.re not in the bird book I found.

The pond is also home to several large soft-shell turtles.  These guys must be the SEALs of  the turtle world.  All you see are two eyes and a nose above the water.  They approach the target under water, pause to check six, and gulp! the prize just disappears without a ripple.  Mission successful, one fed turtle.

Last night was movie night.  That’s not an experience to miss.  The movie was “Father of the Bride” with Spencer Tracy.  It was interesting to see how Hollywood saw or at least portrayed the upper middle class family in 1950.

Question?  Does anyone still wear a suit when eating dinner at home anymore?  Do you ladies still wear pearls to eat with the family?

It was also interesting to experience the movie with the old folks.  One woman thought the movie was too loud and when it was made softer, she wanted closed captions.  Everyone wants a different volume and didn’t hesitate to speak out, preventing anyone from hearing anything.  The collective wisdom of the audience decided that while a room temperature of 74 degrees was too cold, they could tough it out.  Several wondered where the popcorn was.

Me?  I had a beer.  I needed a second one.

Thinking about a Christmas or Birthday present for a retired parent or favorite aunt?  Let me suggest silk long underwear, electrically heated slippers and a megaphone. 

They would be useful for movie night.


Part One

Adventure in Gods Waiting Room

Any trip to Florida in the winter is an adventure.  Especially over the holidays when everyone is double nuts to enjoy every minute even if it kills them.

Where I-77 crosses from West Virginia into Virginia is the East River Mountain Tunnel.  Last year a rock slide on the Virginia side closed the north bound lane.  This year flashing signs warned the south bound tunnel was closed.  Cars were already backed up into a parking lot.  I could picture some tragic accident involving several cars which would close the tunnel while they checked the structural integrity of the mountain.  A process which could take 3 days  (it was the holidays after all) and would result in a parking lot reaching north to the Ohio river.

Fortunately we were in the right lane and could duck off at an exit which dumped us off where only God and our GPS knew where.  And they were not very expressive about it.

Between the tablet and the GPS (Thank God for technology!) we found ourselves driving up the side of the mountain in a fog and snow storm on route 598.  The route put us back on I-77 below the tunnel only to find the entrance closed by the state troopers.  Seems the interstate was closed while a construction crew moved a large overhead road sign about.   Closing the tunnel was a natural pinch point for this same operation.  At least there were no fatalities there.

So Close!  

We finally arrived at my father’s apartment.  We knocked on the door and it opened to be greeted by chemical warfare. Great clouds of BenGay and cat urine rolled out the door and damn near knocked us on our collative asses.

It was good to see my Dad.

One is my dad the other Santa. Take your best quess.

I finally convinced him to crack a window to let a little fresh air in.  No sooner had I done that then Lilly, his cat, rushed out of hiding and launched herself at the window ledge.  Prostrating herself with her nose out the screened opening I was afraid her whiskers would irreversibly lock in to the window screen.  My father claims Lilly likes to lay on the window ledge.  It is my contention that the cat is simply hoping for some stray air leakage around the window.

I cautioned my father not to apply any more liniment to his knees as the diners in the restaurant might not enjoy their food as much as they could in the aroma’s absence.  I also called Sharky’s and moved my reservation from inside to outside were the Gulf ocean breeze soon defeated the problem.

Sharky’s is one of the better seafood restaurants in this part of Florida.  People travel from great distances to come to Venice and one of their first stops is Sharky’s.  I had wonderful coconut shrimp and my wife is still talking about her grouper.   

My father had a hamburger.

Next year, God willing, I’m going to take him to McDonalds.

We returned to join the New Year’s party that was scheduled to run from 7:00 to 8:30.  Dad couldn’t wait.

The staff brought in at least 40 bottles of sparkling wine and made the mistake of opening them.  For retirees, these folks sure know how to pack away the booze.  By 8:00 you could only find the non-alcoholic sparking apple juice.  Nobody was drinking that!

The Baby 2014s
Or
Our collective (if we are lucky) future New Years.
(The rest of the empties are under the table)

We made it to midnight to see Taylor Swift outside in Times Square freezing her butt off.  She admitted her choice of a bare midriff outfit was a little too skimpy for New Year’s Eve in freezing weather.  Talented but not too bright.

Happy New Year to Everyone!


Part Two

Benchmade Blues

I really like Benchmade Knives, but as they say “to err is human…”

I think their HK Scorch (catalog 14975) is a super idea.  It’s one of the dual mode knives people are talking about.  I wrote about it here.

The HK Scorch made by Benchmade.  This one is self opening!

I recently got a Scorch that  opens itself.  It’s self-activating.

While this is a great thing with people, it’s a terrible thing with guns and knives.  I kept noticing the Scorch always seem partially opened when I had it on display.  I thought someone had examined it and left it in that condition.  What a surprise it was when I closed it and watched it pop open.  It’s going back.

I contacted Benchmade and they claim there is no general recall on the Scorch.  It was forcefully pointed out to me by the young lady I was talking to, that since it’s made in American, it can be repared in the great state of Oregon.  

I suggest you deal with an “authorized Benchmade dealer”. Just fill out the paperwork on the Benchmade website and get it done.

Nobody wants a self-activating knife in their pocket!

On the upside, one of my friends did some internet work and put together a chart to help date Benchmade knives as of Dec 2014.  It all focuses on the Benchmade butterfly.

 To 1999         Bali-song Butterfly with antenna
1999 to 2002 Benchmade Butterfly with antenna
2002 to 2004 Benchmade Butterfly with antenna and model number under butterfly
2004 to present   Benchmade Butterfly without antenna and model number under butterfly

Edging Around

The December meeting at WRCA was “Warther knife night”.  Perhaps the best known Warther is the patriarch, Mooney.  Known for both knife-making and his love of carving scale model steam-powered locomotives, Mooney created a little spot of knife heaven in Dover, Ohio. 

Each monthly WRCA meeting has a theme, but you can show off anything you want. 

The images of carving s have nothing to do with Warther, but the owner thought they were cool.

I knew Mooney made combat knives for WWII.  These knives are more works of art than combat ready knives. 

Warther women's tactical knife or watch the knife, my fingers never leave my hand!

He had his ideas of what a combat knife should do.  I’m not sure they fit current notions and perhaps not even WWII notions. 

Regardless of my opinion, Warther combat knives fetch extreme prices from collectors.

I was not aware that Mooney made reduced scale combat knives for women.  One of the club members showed what he claimed Mooney called a purse knife for women in the military service.  The knives had a slightly smaller handle and a thin, shorter, more stiletto shaped blade than the GI fighting ones. The sheath still had a loop to wear on your belt but no eazy way  to attach it to the inside of a purse

The blade and handle seem out of proportion to each other and the guard seemed over large.

The one showed was made for, if I remember correctly, Mooney’s oldest daughter because she asked for one.  She has since passed on, but knife resides with a cousin.

Warther kitchen and pocket knives are perhaps best known for the jewelling on the blade and the unique use of silver coins as bolsters and are quite collectable.  I know a number of people who have had custom knives made with a coin with special date on it. 

One of the guests showed off some very old 1950ish ivory-handled Warther knives.  He indicated our government is still trying to prevent the sale of ivory in the US.  He may own the knives, but he cannot sell them or leave them to a beneficiary in his will.  Since they were harvested from elephants 3-4 decades ago their sale and ownership will not harm a single elephant.

To prevent elephant poaching, our government would like to take the profit out of it.  By preventing the sale of any elephant ivory, even from those killed in the 1950s, they hope to dry up the market.  The irony is the same day WRCA met, NPR had a broadcast in which they explained ivory sales in China, driven by their expanding middle and upper classes, are going to though the roof.  Of course China has no problem saying one thing and doing something else.


Each meeting has a door prize and I won a nice Bear and Son trapper.  It was our 2010 club knife.  Bear and Son are out of Georgia and make their knives locally.  The stag is pretty, and for a friction folder it’s a very nice knife.

WRCA Club knife 2010

Reason 27 why I carry a pocket knife.
To eat your lunch with it.

At least I didn't have to run it down and kill it, cook it and then eat it!

England continues to ban pointy knives and has declared war on ordinary kitchen knives.

It’s had to make a snide remark about that.  Anything thing I could say would only subtract from the complete lunacy and make whole mess less of a surreal farce.  

Oh, wait I have one:  Thank God, I’m an American.

TDI VS TDI

The Ka-Bar TDI self defense knife made a big splash when it arrived on the scene.  Designed by John Benner to help LEOs cut themselves free should they or their gun be grabbed, it was a big hit with the civilian population as well. 

The original plain edge TDI self -defense knife  quite a little chamer!

It was designed to be held with the wrist in the neutral position to provide strong, powerful stabbing as well as strong, supported slashing.

The downside, such as it is, the small 2.5 inch blade.  While the TDI knife can be used for opening letters and shaving tinder and fir sticks, but the angled shape prevents it from functioning as an effective pry bar.  Admit it.  Prying things apart is the most common non-cutting function we subject a knife to.

Nice lines, deep finger grooves for grip and a great friction surface for your thumb

Rick Hinderer brings his experience as a fire fighter and EMT to this collaboration with John Benner.  The 3.5 inch blade is described as a modified tanto, but I consider it a wharncliffe blade.  Lets go head-to-head.

	Benner TDI	Hinderance
Steel	AUS 8A	1095 Cro-Van
RHC	57-59	56-58
Blade length	2.25 inches	3.5 inches
Overall length	5.5 inches	7.25 inches
Blade Type	Plain or full serrated	Plane
Sheath	Polymer	Polymer
Blade thickness	0.12 inch	0.19 inch
Price	$36.25	$111

I don’t like giving prices.  You can always find someone selling it for less.

Note the thumb release in upper right edge of sheath

The Hinderance is a heaver, thicker knife with lower Rockwell hardness as suits a pry bar application.  The 1095 Cro-Van steel appears to an upgraded 1095 steel.  A little chromium and vanadium is added to improve strength and edge cutting power.  I’d still wipe it down with oil every once in a while.  I can’t tell you about cutting, as the Hinderance isn’t mine, but it’s made by Ka-Bar so I’m sure it cuts just fine.

The original TDI knife could be drawn from the sheath as either saber or reverse grip because the knife was locked into its sheath by the shape of the knife.  The Hinderance (clever use of Rick’s name) requires a latch to be depressed.  This requires a saber or hammer grip.

TDI's logo on one side and Ricks's on the other

I really like the neutral wrist position of the Benner TDI.  Despite the slight curve of the Hinderance I have to cock my wrist to bring the blade parallel to the ground for stabbing.

The Hinderance is well designed and I like the massive thumb friction ridge just ahead of the handle, but despite the smaller size I think the Benner TDI has advantages over the Hinderance.

That doesn’t mean I won’t end up with a Hinderance.  I find its shape exciting and the blade lines attractive.

Columbia River Knife and Tool turned 20 this year.  They have produced interesting knives that tend to be over-engineered.  Frankly that’s a good thing as it makes for a more durable knife.  Their M16 folders have been copied by many companies as well as a target for knock-offs.  While not every design is a home run, they are batting better than .600. 

In addition to knives they make axes, backpacking spoons, multi-tools, sharpening systems and survival tools.  I recently bought from them a paracord survival bracelet charm. 

the little nubben on the bottom of the plastic housing pulls out and gives you a firestarter

The theory is most paracord bracelets give you at least 6 feet of paracord containing 7 strands.  So why not add a compass and mini-light or fire starter to that?

I am not convinced.  I remember wristband compasses that would become de-magnetized or attracted to the metal case of some watches.  Still I’m a sucker for these gadgets so I bought the compass/firestarter combination for my paracord bracelet. 

The housing slips over the bracelet and is locked in place with a little plastic screw.  This didn’t work too well for me, but as long as I have the bracelet on, it’s not going anywhere.  The fire starter has a 1 inch ferrocium rod and two little metal surfaces you can use to make a spark.  I’m not impressed, I had trouble getting nice fat sparks, but I’m not Bear Grylls either.  I need to practice.

The compass seems to be holding up and I’ll give it a trial next month out in the woods.  I’m also going to put a small stretch of duct tape around the ferrocium rod to make sure it doesn’t fall out.

Survival kits are popular.  Catalogs sell them and claim their kit is what the US Foreign Corp issues to overseas personnel or carried by the SEALs.  I don’t think that one I need in Africa or Central America is the one I need going to work.  My best survival kit could well be a credit card and 50 bucks in fives and tens. 

But I will say, if you’re going carry one I think you should design it for your applications. Breachbangclear is running a series on survival kits.  Ignore Redhead Fridays and Cheekweld Wednesdays if you want , but read the series.

knife club

Most of us belong to a knife club of some sort.  It may be local or a national organization like the Kershaw Collectors.  If you collect a specific type of knife or brand you will find a club that caters to your refined taste.

I’m a generalist and the best fit I could find was Western Reserve Cutlery Association.  We just had our November meeting and the topic was carving knives.   Before I go any further I’d like point out I’m this year’s vice-president, so I have a bit of a bias.

I will say the best part of the monthly topic is not the knives, but the personalized translation of the topic.  One member changed carving knives into carved knives and brought out a pile of knives carved out of wood.  Denny also a nice collection of pliers carved out of wood by Mooney Warther. 

You're right the knife at 12 o'clock is real, but the rest are wooden.

You can still find them on EBay.  They are rather simple, but Mooney used to sit and with nothing but a pre-cut length of bass wood (I think it was bass) and a carving knife make these pliers to the delight of visitors to his shop.

We’re also getting ready for our Knife Expo May 16 and 17 2015 at the Buckeye Event Center off of route 30 in Dalton, Ohio.  It’s a nice place.  I’ve been there for gun shows and have always been impressed with the clean facilities, wide aisles, large parking area and general professionalism of the staff.

Here’s a link to the form.  Just fill it out and mail it in.  We’ll do the rest.

If you’re a knife maker or dealer, you should attend this show.  An 8-foot table for two days with optional setup on Friday evening costs just $50.  I’ll be there with my knives.  If you’re a collector this is also the show for you.  It’s $5 to get in and the food service is worth the price of admittance.

Bridge Day 2014

Small landing zone

Bridge Day is always the third Saturday of October.  Don’t let that fixation on date fool you.  Every Bridge Day is unique in its own way.

Start with the river.  The New River is one of the oldest rivers in the world.  Yeah, it’s up there with the Finke and Rhine. The Nile is a youngster compared to the New.  It also runs south to north, so you should expect a few idiosyncrasies.  The water level is affected largely by the weather conditions in North Carolina and release rates at the Bluestone dam at the bottom of the state.

The weather has a big part of any Bridge Day.  Winds at the bridge are often different than at the landing zone.  The boundary between the wind conditions creates a zone of shear at tug the jumper one way and the chute another.  Sometimes this problem  is hardly noticeable, but other times it wrenches the jumpers sideways and threatens the stability of their chute.  Bridge days have been rainy, cold, sunny, as well as blue skies with white cottony clouds.

This year it was cloudy, cool, and misty with gusts of wind.  Yuck!  The river was high and fast running.  The high water made the landing zone tiny.  

Landing Zone (LZ)

The wind gusts made landings interesting, at least to the observers.  I’m sure it makes the jumpers very nervous, if not frightened.  None of which makes for a good Bridge Day.


How high was the water?  Here’s a photo of a Rock I often climb out onto to take pictures of water landings.  It’s a little island by itself.

High Water

During the briefing we were told that the water rescue people were anticipating difficulty in retrieving all the water landings because of the fast current and this may slow the jumping down.

Water rescue boats

I happened to notice the rescue knives carried by the water rescue teams.

Older Spydercos

That’s right; they are orange-handled Spyderco rescue knives.  That’s what the professionals use, but I’ve got tell you, most jumpers would rather lose an arm then have their rig cut up.  

Nothing like an early morning dip to wake up, or jumping off a bridge!

The water rescue guys did a great job, most of the time.  Rushing to get to a jumper still selecting his landing point, one boat got too close and a gust of wind, a spin of the boat’s steering wheel and a collusion of man and machine occurred.  It sounded like someone hit a bowling ball with an axe.  He went to the hospital.  I’m not sure if the aluminum hulled boat needed to have a dent pounded out or not.

Ambulances arrive, good thing, they are going to get used.

If events like Bridge Day could have themes, some would be “Drifting on Clouds” and “Splendor of the Leaves.”  This one would be “Wood.” 

There is a chute under those tree branches

The small landing zone also affected the support people at the LZ.  The ambulances were moved to a new location to make room, but not everyone picked up on that lesson.  At least not right away.

Jumper bounces off roof of  rescue vehicle parked in secondary handing zone

Help on the way

Learning:  Let's move the golf cart out of the landing zone!

The National Park Service is charged with preserving the uniqueness of each of our National Parks.  It’s not an easy job.  Ham-fisted clods, like myself want to walk off trail, climb down river beds, and in general disturb the pristine wonderfulness they preserve.  They aren’t entirely wrong about it.  But I’ve got to say, I can’t see any problem with chopping down one tree at the landing zone.  

That particular tree was quickly decorated by parachutes which still there when I left at the end of the day.  Several jumpers made attempts to tear that tree down limb by limb by landing on it.  Most got their chutes back, but other jumpers made a more permanent donation to its winter ornamentation.  It wasn’t the only tree catching jumpers.

First decoration --More to come!

Same tree as above but with a second decoration!

Not having enough soaring time, one jumper rented a plane and jumped with an American flag.  Very Cool!  It brought cheers from the crowd in the landing zone which quickly turned to a gasp when he got snagged by a tree.  The tree dropped him like a fashionista with last year’s shoes. Fortunately he was all right and we treated him to a free ride to the hospital.

Flying the flag, Bridge Day style

Rough landing, caught in a tree and dropped like a rock.

The trick was to land low on the beach and avoid the trees.  

Like this guy

Or just short of the beach

Some missed the beach by accident or design.  Others chose the softer and safer water landing.  In front of the landing zone an area or relatively calm water allowed jumpers to land and safely wait for boat pick-up.  But considering the air temp, I was wondering about hypothermia.  You can get hypothermia standing wet in the cold windy air after being pulled from the river.  There isn’t a shelter where wet jumpers can warm up or get out of wet clothes.  


Still quite a few people had nice rides and made the local birds jealous.  

Gliding in

It was a bad Bridge Day.  No sun, cold, high water, tricky winds, but still wonderful to watch.  Even a bad Bridge Day is better than day at home.

Sail On!

Post script:
I get asked about security.

It’s a complex subject.  The jumpers are profiled by police as are staff.  No question about it.  We all need picture IDs which we have to wear, jumpers get background checks, they and their packs are checked with sniffing dogs.  It’s never been explained what the police and dogs are looking for. While missing this year, in the last two previous years the FBI placed a 360 degree camera at the landing zone.  Beats the hell out of me what they were looking for.  The WV state police want to run fingerprints next year.  

None of these conditions apply to the vendors or visitors.

In the landing zone I saw WV state troopers, Park Service Police, US Marshals, local police and TSA and it was rumored the FBI had undercover agents present.  I’m not exactly sure who or what they expect to find.  I will say a police presence is welcome. One never knows what can happen in crowds and with over stimulated people.  I’m just not sure we need so many in the landing zone.

Rumors!

Few industries are rumor free.  The knife industry isn’t even close.  Here's a few I've picked up that have some credibility. 

Rick Hinderer is breaking ground for an improved, expanded facility.  A grinding company I know reports they see a multitude of Hinderer blades for grinding after heat treatment.  Perhaps Rick wants to keep it all in house.  I have seen at least one potential misfire.  But in all honesty, the question remains, was that a real ZT Hinderer or did a Chinese knock-off get picked up by the distributor?

Starting now and finished by January 2015 Zero Tolerance will drop their distributors in favor of factory direct to brick and mortar stores.  I hope I’m wrong.  Some people claim that this generates exclusivity and protects their stocking dealers from Internet sales.  Benchmade went this route several years ago and there are plenty of new Benchmade on EBay.  I think this causes them to just lose market shares.

Shadow Tech is working on a folder and hopes to have it ready by the 2015 SHOT show in January.  If not SHOT certainly by the Blade Show!  It almost seems a natural progression to start with a simpler fixed blade and then progress to the more complicated folder.  I suspect the market for folders is larger than that of fixed blades.  Most of us carry a folder every day, but the fixed blade makes our co-workers nervous.

Stag prices have increased and custom knife makers are already increasing prices.  It seems unfair, but they have to replace a consumable with a pricier version.  

Neither Here or There

I’m getting ready for another weekend of knife sales.  The Medina gun show doesn’t run over the summer months, chiefly, I suspect, because attendance in nice weather is too slim to be profitable.  Since I’m not attempting to make a living with it, that’s okay with me.  I like having my summer weekends. 

But the return of crappy weather signals a return to knife sales.  I ordered a few replacement items for things that have sold.  It’s very hard to stock inexpensive quality knives.  Knife prices are zooming upward and the influx of counterfeit knives is ruining the market.  But it isn’t always the counterfeit that’s hurting everyone.

I use to carry Kershaw’s Leek.  It’s a great knife, thin and sleek with an attractive blade.  They always sold too, but for the last couple of years Wal-Mart has been selling them.  Selling them cheap too, perhaps too cheap.  Wal-Mart has a reputation of shaving quality out of products to lower their price point.  Maybe they turned over a new leaf.  Maybe Kershaw only cares about profits today and well, tomorrow might be someone else’s problem.  In any case you can find the Leek at Wal-Mart.

So I don’t carry Leeks anymore.  Between online shoppers and Wal-Mart there is no market I can tap.

I read a number of blogs and people send me links and I’m amazed at what I must call stupid money items.  An everyday carry knife for thousand bucks?  An improved flash hider for an AR in the hundreds?  Flashlights that will light up a stadium for 90 minutes on high for 200 bucks?  Even my beloved Spydercos and Benchmades are beginning to come with a loan application.   It’s no surprise.  Costs are going up faster than disposable income.

The question I, and perhaps you, have is answer is, do I really need those items?  I’m not sure a $400 knife will serve me better than an $85 knife.  I know the wristwatch with build-in calculation for drop correction will not make me a better shooter and I seldom have the need to light up a stadium for even a minute.  I suspect  the answer will be found in careful use if a need/want/anticipated use table.

Last weekend was pretty nice so I escaped to the West Side Market in Cleveland.  That area is known as Ohio City and it’s beginning to thrive.  There are quite a few interesting store and activities there.

I’m a sucker for new and unusual vegetables or fruit so I bought a Pitaya or Dragon Fruit.  They are actually cactus fruit originally native to Mexico but also grown in East Asian and Southeast Asian countries such as Cambodia, Thailand, Taiwan, Malaysia, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Indonesia as well as Okinawa, Hawaii, Israel, northern Australia, southern China and in Cyprus.

I noticed too late that none of the vendors had prices listed.  I normally don’t pay silly money for fruit, but ….

Half a Dragon Fruit. It cuts easy.

It’s a strikingly good looking fruit, reddish rind with green tipped fleshy ends.  You eat it like a kiwi, cut it in half and scoop it out.  The flesh is white with little black seeds.  Again very impressive.  Taste is another matter.

Inside Dragon Fruit.  Just use a spoon to scoop it out.

Totally bland.  Well, there was a little resemblance, maybe a hint of something suggestive of kiwi.  But I’d skip it completely if I were you. 

I took my wife to see “Gone Girl.”  The audience was mostly women, but I wasn’t the only man there.  It’s a story about two sociopaths who marry.  The wife, Amy, is a much better sociopath.  Better doesn’t always equate to good.  I found it frightening as Amy exploits the tragic flaws in all of us.

What was more frightening was the responses of the women in the audience to Amy.  Amy’s plots resonated with many them and I found myself scrunching farther and farther down in my seat.  I never heard so many women give out a throaty, deep, almost subvocal “yeah” every time Amy’s well planned scheme digs the hole a little deeper under her husband and his sister.

This is the best image of the hole Amy dug for her husband, but I got to say, he jumped in.

I will say, it’s just coincidence that I’m trying out cold weather sleep gear in the garage this week or maybe for the rest of the year.  I have mentioned my unattached garage locks from the inside, haven’t I?