Well I've Never Been to Maine

Wifey just returned from a week long trip to Maine, where she and her best friend Edna were hosted by Jody in their beautiful lake house.

Jody and Bob are wonderful folks who live in our neighborhood. 've talked about them in the past. Bob was the town basketball star in his small village in Maine, who moved to Miami and became very successful lawyer. Jody was born and raised in Coral Gables.

Wifey and I admire them, because they have 5 amazingly terrific and accomplished kids, ranging from male model/ Law review federal law clerks to tv reporters to professional ballet dancers to medical students. The youngest, D2's friend and just starting college, started a local band which is the rave of the Palmetto High community.

Wifey adores Jody, and visited there 3 years ago.

Well, we were sitting on the porch yesterday, recounting her trip, and Wifey, known throughout the land as someone who abhors cold or even cool weather, now can't stand the heat. Ever since she, um, how does a husband say this delicately? --since she went through menopause -- she avoids going outside here in the summer. Wifey wants to get a summer rental next year in Maine!

I agreed right away -- EITHER Maine or North Carolina. I've never been to Maine, but I've been to Oklahoma --and I KNOW I'd love it there.

Jody goes up for the whole summer, and Bob visits frequently, as Jody hosts all of her kids and their friends, and HER friends --essentially running a free bed and breakfast.

I'd love doing the same.

Its funny --my family did the family goes to summer thing while Dad stays home to work before I was born. My mother used to rent a bungalow in Coney Island, and there were summer places in the Catskill Mountains.

I don't want to buy a place, but the idea of having use of one for a summer or two appeals to me. We've iscussed it with our Bassett Hound, and she's excited about chasing Northern Woodland Creatures.

D1 ought to be moving to a graduate school apartment next Summer, and D2 will be preparing to go off to college. Maybe some summer rental time in the woods of Maine or North Carolina) will be terrific for all of us.

So --we'll see. Maybe next year at this time, I'll be writing this drivel on a laptop overlooking a lake. Maybe instead of Lots of Lox, I'll be having my breakfast at the Early Bird Cafe (a favorite of Wifey's in Camden, Maine).

Let's see...