Easy Day In Ocala

Ocala, Florida

Weather: low 72 degrees, high 90 degrees, partly cloudy, late afternoon shower

Both of us were tired after our trip to Lakeland yesterday to visit my sister Janie and her husband Wayne. In addition, it was almost midnight before I went to bed because I was watching the University of Florida give Louisiana State University a good old fashioned whipping in college football, 51 to 21. It was after 0700 hours this morning before we woke up. We would have probably slept longer if there hadn't been some motor homes leaving the campground at that time.

We stayed at home most of the day, and washed our laundry in preparation for leaving here on Tuesday. After lunch, I went over to a large flea market to see if there was anything we needed. Most of the stuff that was being sold was the typical junk from China. I did find a nice red pepper that I bought for $0.75 for Carolyn to use in cooking. One thing I noticed about the flea market was that only about half the stalls were being used. When I have visited the market in the past, all the stalls were rented. I don't know if the vacant stalls is because of the economy or not.

On the way home, I stopped at a roadside vendor who was selling boiled green peanuts. I was going to buy some, but apparently the vendor didn't really want to sell them, because she wanted $5.00 for a quart bag of peanuts. That's much more than I think they are worth.

When I returned from the market, we went over to Carolyn's mother's house to visit. We had a good visit, laughing a lot about past experiences and reminiscing about memories. Some of Carolyn's relatives were there, and they are all worried about the economy. Most of Carolyn's family works in construction or building related industries, and there is hardly any activity going on in those businesses.

Readers of the blog can probably figure out how I feel about the government getting involved in bailing out the banks and Wall Street. Over the past few years, we have seen so many instances and examples of people expecting someone else to make them whole when a loss occurs. Examples include the hurricanes of the recent past. While we have been here, we have talked to a lot of people who cannot understand how our government can give $700,000,000,000 or more to people who got themselves into the fix they are in through greed or failure to pay due diligence.

The folks I have talked to do not want handouts or a free ride. These people don't have 401-ks or own stock portfolios. All they want is the opportunity to make a decent living for their families. They are willing to relocate and start over if they have to. When will there be help for people like these? Answer: never, because these are people who go through life doing their best everyday, not causing any waves, just trying to get by.

More later, be safe.

Today's Town - Lady Lake, Florida: The Town Of Lakes And Sunshine

Not all who wander are lost.