Hello again: I know it’s been quite a while since my last blog. So just to update you Mr. and Mrs. B celebrated an amazing Thanksgiving with the “B”lings and some friends. It is so great to share the holidays with people you love and cherish. I need to backtrack to the week before Thanksgiving as Mr. and Mrs. Band their dear friends Mr. and Mrs. W. traveled to Eastern Europe to visit Prague and Budapest. The joy of retirement affords me and Mrs. B the opportunity to travel, eat and shop our way through many unique places we’ve never been to before. Needless to say, that’s exactly what we did do and we enjoyed every minute of it. So far so good! On the return flight home, we flew from Budapest to Munich and Munich to Newark, New Jersey, Mrs. B (a Floridian since the age of 7) was so excited to see snow falling from the sky. Little did we know that her utter excitement would turn to disappointment and frustration when we sat on the plane for two hours before the pilot announced that the flight was cancelled. The storm had blanketed the entire northeast and no flights were arriving and leaving. Mrs. B was not happy. While Mr. B slept on a golf cart, Mrs. B stood in the customer service line for six hours. By luck, we received two boarding passes for a flight to West Palm; however, while walking to the gate, I noticed that flight was cancelled. Sixty-five hours later we ended up in Jacksonville and had to get a hotel room and a return flight from Jacksonville to Fort Lauderdale on our own! WHAT AN ORDEAL!
We persevered and made it home just in time for me to MISS the Miami Book Festival. Since I had just ordered books for the all-day event where 20,000 attend a day and registered for the booth, let’s just say, I was a just a little disappointed. After all, this would have been my first real book festival. Here’s where the “Lemonade out of Lemons” thing comes into play. To be honest, I never thought about the possibility of becoming a published author or becoming the next Dr. Seuss.
But, just like Mr. B the character, we would both do the right thing. The right thing is to give back to the community, give free public readings and donate some of the books to deserving children. I have contacted JAFCO and Joe DiMaggio’s Children’s Hospital to read and give free books to children in need. If any of you know of a worthy cause where I can do the same, then please contact me on Face Book. I will be happy to try to grant those wishes. Until then, let’s all raise our glasses of lemonade, toast our random acts of kindness and a healthy and happy 2019!