Monday &c


First, foremost and forever for Fire Controlman First Class Gary Rehm, hero of USS Fitzgerald, who according to the article below, made twenty trips into the flooding crew berthing compartment to rescue shipmates before himself being caught below when the watertight hatch was secured to save the ship, leaving him trapped to drown with six other sailors. Rehm has proved himself the best that we can be. This story keeps growing, and I'm feeling that it will never leave my heart. The story confounds understanding, maybe it takes a destroyer sailor to hurt so. Said before, I've slept many nights snuggled up against the cool skin of the ship, lulled to sleep by the sound of the ocean rushing by a fraction of an inch away, knowing every man on the bridge, and with total confidence that I was safe, never the least thought of risk. It was Trust, unconditional Trust. I never thought about it at the time, but looking back nearly sixty years, it defined Trust. Someone or someones betrayed shipmates in a way that is beyond comprehension. The facts will out, cause will be fixed, cause and blame, there may be courts martial, shame, punishment, and ruin, but such failure to keep faith with Trust defies understanding and, even to a pastor and clumsy theologian, is beyond forgiveness. 

http://nypost.com/2017/06/24/uss-fitzgerald-tragedy-still-makes-no-sense/



Overcast this morning, still dark predawn, with beautiful lightning in clouds off the Gulf coast and southwest of 7H. 

We love condo living, 7H life is ding nigh perfect and ten-year-old Harbour Village is beautifully kept, nicely maintained. Quite cheap compared to owing a house. For example, at one point, after Hurricane Ivan I think it was, my homeowner insurance policy was canceled and my new policy-in-desperation premium was ten thousand dollars; here, same nephew, my policy is four hundred. Of course, now we're only insuring contents, inside. Utilities a hundred compared to three hundred at the Old Place. At six hundred monthly, HOA fee covers the outside and many other things including maintenance and reserve. It may be a relatively pricey HOA fee, but frankly it’s damn cheap rent. 

In recent months the side of Harbour Village that faces the park was painted, the first time it needed painting in ten years. For some weeks we’d been looking forward to their renovating the lobbies and elevators, and that began last week with our, South Lobby, first. What was originally announced as to take 8:30 to 4:30 Monday stretched out all week and more as unexpected issues were uncovered and corrected, still not all finished. Presumably they won’t start the West Lobby until ours is done, but mox nix mir.

The inconvenience, minor, was that lobby and elevators were closed and residents in our South and the middle tower had to either walk over and around to the West Lobby and elevators or take the stairs. Going down, I walked stairs, then partway up. It was a welcome opportunity of being forced to experience the stairs, with the exercise which, having learned and found it beneficial, I pledge myself to continue, although I overdid it Sunday afternoon after my long pastoral nap. An alternate, as I say, was to walk the, well what the hell, it’s a couple of blocks which wasn’t a chore, but being outside and seven floors up was unnerving to not a heights person. We’ve been here two and a half years and I’m accustomed to the short and enclosed seventh floor walkway between elevator and 7H, but walking longer distance in the open in both height and high wind was discomfiting. 

I’ll be glad when the project is finished. It’s being done beautifully, worth the minor inconvenience that kept us mindful of our good fortune to be in the South Lobby wing, garage access inside instead of West Tower and Lobby having to walk outside all weather to get to the underground garage; and the stairwell exercise both down and up is a good health lesson. 

My only sadness is that reportedly some residents have been ugly, rude, quite vocally unpleasant about being inconvenienced. Oh my, is life so tough? Whine, whine, whine. To hell with the lot, they can stuff it.

Sunday afternoon after my nap we sat out on 7H porch, one with a glass of wine, one with V8 and Absolut, watching sky blacken with clouds and storms approach and pass through. Linda watched mullet jump while I exchanged communications with Kristen. After the storm, we watched frantic thrashing of, judging by the fins and no rolling, three sizable sharks supping on mullet just below 7H. 

Life Is Good. Too good to last forever. 


DThos+ in +Time+