“Mesa! Always on time!” a woman crowed down at me from the deck of a twin-masted luxury schooner emblazoned with the words ‘The Constellation’ visible clearly in the first warm rays of morning. On deck, a half dozen deck hands were prepping the shop for launch. “Good morning, Captain,” I said. Lally and the others pause … Continue reading Skill, Luck, and Terrible Ideas (pt. 9)
Captain Helias dragged Cayn by the arm until he walked on his own, however once his arm was free, he began to hang back immediately. “I’m supposed to remain with the humans,” Cayn insisted, “until the King sends Celia for me. ” “We’re not going far." Helias stopped midway down the corridor in a spot … Continue reading The Dragon King’s Medic (pt. 7)
Captain Helias had been present at the crowded Lord's Meeting when Dragon King Vanentin excused himself from the stately room in the same breath as his ruling, resulting in a tumultuous stir among the attending lords and nobles. Vanentin's sudden exit alarmed Helias. Where are you going? Something's happened. He straightened from where he leaned … Continue reading The Dragon King’s Medic (pt. 5)
The strong scent of operating-room grade disinfectants didn't faze Mario Zikmund as he followed the last of the chatting medical assistants through the darkened office, shutting off the remaining lights and closing doors as he went. I love closing on Fridays. As the office manager, it was his duty to balance the needs of the … Continue reading The Dragon King’s Medic (pt. 1)
I spent a little time this afternoon going through old word documents to delete, move, and rename things in order to make my files easier to navigate. More specifically, I scrolled through for files the titles of which gave no helpful clue as to what could possibly be inside, and then took care of those. … Continue reading A Surprise Among the Scraps
Anton bought a boat. It's a shark of a slope, less than 20 feet long with a single mast, built in the 90's. It came with a new outboard engine which had been only used for about 6 total hours by a previous owner who didn't have time to sail due to health reasons. Meet … Continue reading Maiden Voyage
Anton and I had originally wanted to go to Weeki Wachee Springs State Park and kayak downriver and then back, but we learned that the park might be busy that time of year because it had a water park and about the fee per person to use the kayak launch. So we took the vaguely … Continue reading Rogers Park Kayak Launch
Anton and I took a short breather and went to Little Manatee State Park, just south of Tampa. Blue skies. Mild morning temperatures. Hallmark Florida springtime. Notes: Duckweed. Anton took a course where he had to go hiking and find identify plant types for assignments. He's super proud of being able to spot duckweed anywhere … Continue reading Little Manatee River State Park
To help our nieces and nephews get out of the house for a bit (in a safe way), Anton and I took my sister and her kids to a Myakka River State Park. He and I each have a family annual entrance pass to the Florida State Parks (meaning our pass gets us in as … Continue reading Gone for a Hike
For "Jeepy" was a Jolly Good Fellow My first car when I was 18 was a black 1994 Jeep Grand Cherokee Sport. A boxy little thing with more rust than paint, which was so bad that we joked it was a grey-and-rust colored Jeep instead of black. My brother Anton and I swapped cars when … Continue reading Small Adventures Here and There
Duri Rolvsson 