What Else Is Going On?

Besides our kids visiting from out of state, what else is going on in our world? Well, let me bring you up to date.

In yesterday’s blog I told you that I got my second shingles vaccine at the VA clinic in Daytona Beach on Thursday. Except for some redness and a bit of a sore arm at the injection site, everything seemed okay. But just as after my second Moderna vaccine for COVID-19, about 3:30 in the morning I woke up with chills and my teeth chattering and felt like I was freezing to death. There was no fever or anything like that, and after piling more blankets on me it finally let up after a couple of hours. I had no reaction at all with both the first COVID and shingles shots, but the second time around kicked my butt with both of them.

A while back I told you that I had ordered a new Ford F-150 Lariat. At first I was told I could possibly expect it in late June, then the salesman, who is a very good guy, said we were probably looking at a July or August delivery date. But the news has had a lot of stories about shortages of computer chips and Ford having thousands of trucks sitting waiting to be shipped because they can’t get the chips for them. Apparently the chips were made at one place, which had a fire just before the pandemic set in, and they’re not back to full operation yet and nobody seems to know when they will be. I talked to the salesman again and he said I was looking at late October at the earliest, and possibly after the first of the year. I’m not going to wait that long for a 2021 model truck, so I canceled the order.

Years ago I had several Dodge Power Wagons and I always liked them. Jesse Bolton, our neighbor across the street, has a very nice Dodge Ram Laramie. I took a ride in it with him and was impressed with everything about the truck, so I went to the local Dodge dealership in New Smyrna Beach. According to them, they are not as affected by the chip shortage as Ford is. I don’t know why not, maybe they use a different chip. Terry was a little hesitant because she had a bad experience with a couple of Dodge trucks back in the 70s or 80s, but once she drove the new Laramie, she was sold.

So I placed an order for a 2022 Laramie outfitted just the way I want it. Production doesn’t start with the 2022 models until mid-July, but they tell me I can expect a delivery date in September. I’m all right with waiting that long for a 2022 model, but not longer than that for a previous year’s model.

For a while now Terry has talked about getting Fitbits for the two of us but we didn’t really know what models we needed or anything like that. As it turned out, both of our kids and our daughter-in-law wear Fitbits, and after picking their brains, Terry ordered each of us a Fitbit Charge 4 from Amazon. They came the other day and we’re getting used to them.

Let’s be honest, I don’t think I’m ever actually going to get fit, but they do come in handy to monitor our sleep. I never seem to sleep well and it’s interesting to see how much is deep sleep, how much is REM sleep, light sleep, and awake time. It also monitors my heart rate, so I guess if I look down and don’t have a pulse I will stick my finger in a light socket and shock myself back to life.

Speaking of fitness and all that, I had a routine check-up with my civilian doctor yesterday, and for an old fat guy I’m not doing too bad. My sugar, cholesterol and all those other levels that they check are all in good ranges, and some have come down since my last visit.

I felt so good about being so healthy that when we left there, we went to Dairy Queen and I got us both a Blizzard. Then we drove to the beach and spent some time watching the surf and the people playing in the water. And I admit that I may have accidentally noticed two or three, or a couple of dozen, young ladies in skimpy swimsuits. But it really was by accident, I swear. Who says old guys don’t know how to live?

And finally, here’s a chuckle to start your day from the collection of funny signs we see in our travels and that our readers share with us. Is this on World Naked Gardening Day or all the time?

Thought For The Day – Your thoughts are suggestions, not orders. You decide which ones to follow.