Crystal River

This is a fascinating video of a place about 10 miles north of my house. The manatees gather in this place when the weather gets cold. Definitely worth watching this awesome flick! Enjoy!

An Unlikely Pairing

I’m 24, it’s 1986 and this particular night I happened to be in  Colorado Spring’s most popular nightclub celebrating my recent divorce. I literally bumped into him. He was quick to introduce himself as Rip and we struck up a brief conversation. He said “My roommate is the manager here. He hired a couple of limos for the ZZ Top concert in Denver next weekend and a  few of us are going up for the show. I need a date and I’d like you it to be you. Beyond his cowboy boots and leather jacket this was a ”beautiful mess  of a man”.  This Rip guy was a  rugged, long-haired,  bearded construction worker dude with a nice smile. Just my type!  Problem was his leather jacket and cowboy boots had to go! I told him I’d think about the date and went directly to the lounge, found an old ticket stub in my purse and jotted down my name and number.  He was leaning against the bar. As I walked behind him I tucked the stub into his back pocket and kept walking.  I know, it didn’t take much convincing did it? Honest, I wasn’t usually that easy.

He phoned two day later and before I gave him my answer he told me this: “There may be some illegal activities going on in the limo so I just wanted to warn you.”  *Gulp!*  Illegal activities??  Listen,  I was always a good girl, the most I ever did up to this point was to sneak out night as a teenager and I was probably the only one to ever get caught on their first attempt!  Certainly nothing illegal though. Odds are, this may not end up well so this date would need some serious consideration.  Our conversation flowed that day as I found out that Rip had the gift of gab!  I could tell our differences were many but there was something about him I found irresistable. I couldn’t help thinking that he and I would make a most unlikely pairing. I could tell that he needed a girl like me to smooth out his rough edges. In retrospect, I think I needed his wild side to help me become wise to the world.  In the end and without much hesitation, I said I’d go but with one consolation, the illegal activities would be acceptable but leave the cowboy boots and leather jacket home. He agreed he would. 

 On the day of the concert he pulled up in his souped-up ‘79 Camaro blaring Black Sabbath. I laughed when he stepped out of the car wearing a ridiculous blue Hawaiian shirt and pink high-top cons. *Ah geez, these edges would take a lot of smoothing.*  I asked to see his driver’s license so I could take down his info and leave it for my roommate (ya never know).  He smiled as he reached into his back-pocket saying, “You can keep it ’til we get back.”  The limo ride was eventful as warned,  a lot of folks who worked at the bar showed up and he was right about the illegal activities as blue smoke filled the air and it began snowing heavily in the limo. For some reason this good girl didn’t mind much though. Rip was charming and talkative. He sensed my uneasiness and  he paid careful attention to my comfort level.  In spite of the many alcoholic beverages on-board that day, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Rip didn’t drink alcohol. This to me was confusing but an added perk to his enigmatic style.  

After the show and upon getting back to my apartment, I realized I didn’t have my keys and my room-mate had locked the place up tight. I was shocked at how quickly Rip gained  entry through a locked window!  Any rational person would have raised an eyebrow to this but at this point I was already in love and nothing much else mattered. We talked some more, I gave his license back and he left. In the end, it was a great night.   The only thing I could think of now was, when can I see him again and how many dates until I tell him about my son?

*In three months time my friend will be having a Halloween party. Will I be able to convince Rip to go as a genie wearing gold pointy shoes and a turban? The answer is in the photo in my sidebar.

This post is a response to Elemental, My Dear’s Valentine’s challenge. Click the Love is…image above to see other bloggers who have responded. 

Lynn On LOVE

 

We are different is so many ways 

Lynn: Why not? ♥ Rip: Why?
Lynn: Loves eating out  ♥ Rip: Hates eating out 
Lynn: All about The Arts ♥ Rip: All about the News
Lynn: Country-girl from Alabama ♥ Rip: City-boy from Jersey 
Lynn: People are inherently good ♥ Rip: People are inherently evil

But there are a few ways in which we are completely compatible:

Simply, we are cut from the same moral fiber, we both agree and are  passionate in our political views and finally, we both have adventurous spirits and a desire to learn about other cultures. What more do you really need in a relationship? Oh yeah the sex!  I have chosen to rethink this topic because as Rip said this morning in his best mafioso accent, “It would be a terrible tragedy if a very heavy object somehow landed on your fingers making it painful thus impossible to type ~for which I would not be responsible!” (true, he really said this)

More on love~ Rip and I once vacationed in France where we took a train up through Belgium and into Amsterdam. This song will always remind me of that trip.

 

With his altruistic ideas, John Lennon is the epitome of the hippie spirit and was way ahead of his time in social awareness. In fact, I’m not sure some people are even ready for his idealistic views of the world even today. Regardless as to how you feel about this man, John Lennon lived what he truly believed. You’ve just got to respect that in a person. I think it was a unique and admirable love John and Yoko shared. You can see it in this video with rarely seen clips of their lives. Throughout the years since he died, I have gained a deep respect for Yoko. She seems to have moved on with her life in such a dignified way in spite of the horrible way his life ended.

Elemental, My Dear has challenged her readers to do a Valentine’s Day post this week. She is then linking to it via her most awesome blog.  I’m thinking the next few posts I do before Valentine’s Day will be straight from my heart and possibly reveal a little something more about us here at Trippin’ with Rip!

♥Thank you Judy, Carol, Cheryle and Ellen for our Christmas gift cards. I love you all.

A friendly game of Monopoly…

Get ready for the unveiling of  the most played game in the world, Monopoly. The 75th anniversary version, Monopoly Revolution won’t be available until next fall but you can see it’s debut at the Toy Fair in NY in mid- February.

In this version, players will rotate around the circular Monopoly board, the pewter player pieces will be replaced with translucent multicolored obelisks and Monopoly money will be a thing of the past as the game goes paperless with a credit card system. According to Hasbro the circular board was a concept in the original 1935 patent. Since then, Hasbro estimates that 750 million people have played the game which is licensed in 103 countries and printed in 37 different languages. 

However, there is a downside to this newest version.  Players like me who love to be the banker will no longer be able to steal from the kitty when fellow-players aren’t paying attention. D’oh!

via The Awesomer

It all starts with a friendly game of  Monopoly…

PEZ Animation

Written and directed by PES