Harris & Co. went to dinner the other night and met some new friends. The guys separated to talk about, well, whatever guys talk about, and the ladies gathered for chick talk. One was new to town so restaurant recommendations came up.
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I am probably the only person left in Highlands County without a smart phone, or perhaps (I hope Mr. Harris is reading this, hint, hint) the only one in the 15-45 age group.
As this new year rolls on, I've been reflecting on a lot of things. Many of you are doing the same, so I couldn't help but write down some of the more intriguing things you have been teaching me.
It was a tough week and weekend plans got scrambled, so what to do? "Let's go to the mall," my teen requested. "OK, why not?" I agreed, since we had nothing to do (how rare) and all day to do it.
Some of you out there probably share a similar trait with Mr. Harris. He has a holiday birthday. While he wasn't born on Christmas, he arrived right in the middle of the week between Christmas and New Year's. Apparently this is not a good thing.
Several days before Christmas and all through the town, the people are rushing, rushing around.
"Oh great," I muttered, opening the mail and finding yet another company I shop with was going online to serve me better. The pretty advertising circular encouraged me to register online or call them to link my current rewards card. Since this particular rewards card has been, well, rather rewarding, I decided to make the effort despite my misgivings.
Hopefully by the time this column publishes I will have finally adjusted to the time change. It's been several weeks, so honestly it should be better by now, right? Daylight savings time is a novel idea, but apparently the folks behind this energy-saving, sleep-depriving, brain-confusing movement did not own cats as pets.
Today is Thanksgiving and regardless of whether you are celebrating or not, the day brings all sorts of memories to mind. Whether they are joyous or sad, we can’t help but reminisce over the past or make comparisons with how it used to be.
As I opened my yogurt, there it was. Licking the pink dairy product from the packaging, I could read the suggestion. "Save lids to save lives," it nagged me. Shaking my head, I started to toss the lid but hesitated. I could save them, wash them and drop them in the mail. It really wouldn't be that much of an inconvenience — or would it?
Money is tight for pretty much everyone right now. It seems that everybody is looking for a way to save a few bucks wherever they can. Harris & Co. is no exception. We are living on, gasp, a budget, no matter how much everyone hates it.
Summer's coming to a close and I'll bet none of you are wearing sunblock anymore. Chances are most never slather or spray it on, even during the summer time. Harris & Co. is pretty good about using sun protection during beach or extended fishing trips, but usually because I nag until they do.
When Mr. Harris returned from grocery shopping the other afternoon, he showed me something that came as a surprise to both of us. Apparently Ritz crackers are only available in football shapes right now. This is something we've been noticing a lot lately.
Harris & Co. includes friends, family and acquaintances of all ages. Since the main core of the crew includes teenagers, we've had the opportunity to get to know some really incredible kids. A lot of them are more together than some of our adult friends! It's astonishing to me that these teens already know exactly what they want to do, where they need to go to make it happen and have plans to succeed at such a tender age.
Planning ahead keeps life running smoothly, but sometimes all the planning just doesn't matter. Life isn't meant to run smoothly. I mean, it just can't be based on the experiences of Harris & Co. Just this past week, several perfect examples of well thought out plans have gone awry.
My husband received it as a gift when he was a sophomore in high school. Some may remember that back in those days, an alarm clock-radio was a big deal. I still remember getting mine for Christmas and how exciting it was to wake to current Top 40 hits on my favorite FM radio station instead of an annoying beeping or alarm bells.
My high school-aged friends often share their daily drama and sometimes wistfully add they can't wait until everyone grows up and stops acting like this.
I called some retired friends the other day, but they couldn't talk because they were headed to dinner ─ at 4 in the afternoon! "Dinner?" I gasped. "It's not even 4 p.m. yet!" She sheepishly laughed and muttered something about eating breakfast at 10 and dinner at 4 nowadays. We used to joke about people dining so early! After all, most of us are still at work at that time.
The color on the paint chip was "New Grass Green." Bright, bold and fresh, just like the short stalks of rye grass sometimes planted during our winter season.
It had been 16 minutes but the cursing was light so it couldn't be too bad. I had discreetly turned off the timer before the final minute expired, hoping to prevent additional stress. He hadn't noticed yet, but certainly he would soon realize it had been longer than five minutes.
We were night fishing at Sebastian Inlet. It was just the girls as Mr. Harris was sulking around the campfire feeding mosquitoes or soaking up air conditioning in the RV. We didn't know or care because we were busy trying to land the big one.
My quads whined all the way up the hill. I was struggling and he was climbing with no problem. I figured I was in much better condition than this. "You OK, back there?" he hollered. "Yeah, my legs are just tired from running," I offered with a big smile. "Keep on, I'll catch up!"
The breeze blowing off the lake was simply marvelous, and the twilight sky was bathed in ribbons of pink, purple and blue. Water lapping against the pier settled my tired nerves and the slow paddling of a turtle offered something to focus on. "Ah," I sighed. It was simply perfect. Well, maybe not perfect.
By DOROTHY L. HARRIS
Well, I finally did it. I had it on my calendar for Monday. Not this past Monday, but a Monday several months ago. Back then I didn't really need to do it right away and I knew I would procrastinate, so I put it way ahead on my calendar to give myself ample time to get around to it.
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