Ride Pony Ride

It’s been a long time since I’ve had my Mustang out of the garage. In fact, believe it or not, it still has less than 1,500 miles on it since I bought it new in November of 2018, and that includes a 25-mile trip each way down to Titusville and back yesterday.

It’s not that I don’t like driving it. Actually, I love driving it. The turbocharged four-cylinder engine puts out 310 horsepower, and it has a performance package that makes it handle like a true sports car. And this is coming from a guy who has owned a couple of Corvettes, a 280Z, and a Porsche, and driven everything from a Jaguar to a Maserati.

I didn’t buy the car to be a daily driver, and I wanted to keep the miles low to keep it as pristine as possible. But then a friend pointed out to me that I’m going to be 69 in a couple of weeks, and eventually I won’t be around, and whoever gets it after me is going to drive the hell out of it, so I might as well do it. I think that was good advice.

Terry had an appointment at Kutryb Eye Institute in Titusville yesterday, and we decided to take the Mustang down. To be honest, it’s not her favorite vehicle because it sits too low for her taste. She likes pickup trucks and SUVs and things that sit up higher and give her more visibility. But she was a good sport about it, and we had a nice trip.

Since only patients were allowed in the building, I waited outside in the car with the engine running and the seat coolers and AC on, reading a book and listening to the radio. When Terry was done with her appointment, we went to the Titusville Antique Mall and spent a couple of hours browsing there. It’s always fun to see the so-called antiques that we grew up with. I guess that’s because we’re now officially antiques, too, isn’t it?

The store has a strict policy on face masks and nobody is allowed inside without one. I was talking to one of the employees and she said that every once in a while, they get some fool that wants to argue with them about that, but they stand their ground and tell them they’re welcome to come back another time. Good for them! I like seeing a business refuse to give in to someone who is too dense to take common-sense precautions in the face of a pandemic.

When we left the antique mall, we went to Dixie Crossroads, one of our favorite seafood restaurants. We were disappointed that they were out of the royal red shrimp that is their trademark, but we both ordered a shellfish combo that included broiled boat run shrimp, rock shrimp, and scallops. And of course, we enjoy the free deep-fried corn fritters covered in powdered sugar that they serve with every meal. It was all delicious, as always. I did not know until I was writing this blog that the restaurant has the recipes for several of their specialties posted online, including the corn fritters.

On the way home, we stopped at Tractor Supply so Terry could pick up a wire tomato cage, and while we were there, I found a nice Carhartt T-shirt I liked. Then it was back home, where we caught up on e-mail and then relaxed in front of the TV for a while. A nice end to a nice day spent together.

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. This one sounds like a rather personal problem to me.

Thought For The Day – Don’t wait until you’re on your deathbed to tell people how you feel about them. You could be too weak to raise your middle finger by then.