Where is my left foot?

Ten years ago today Susan, Adele, and myself moved to Hollywood, Florida from Athens, GA. In tow were Rosie and Mack the dogs, and Ivan the cat, and a 1986 Peugeot station wagon. Sadly, all of the previous sentence have since passed on, but we have gained Henry in the meantime to balance the scales. I have lived here longer than any other place I have ever lived, by far. My childhood was speckled with move after move, and my adult life was similar, until now. I like it here, with its mix of beauty and sleaze (The city motto is “Hollywood, Florida: They Couldn’t Get The Stain Out”), and warm tropical breezes suit me fine. My reading of “The Prehistory of South Florida” tells me how ephemeral it all is, but whilst floating downstream it certainly passes for a great place to be with wife and family.

I completed another two-day teaching gig yesterday, instructing two young ladies from an architectural firm in an overview of Adobe Illustrator. They found, as I have, that it has a lot to offer, and that two days is not really enough to even get started. They also found ashes floating out of their ears after two days, as did the instructor. High marks were given, and I will see them again for InDesign training in a month. The aspect of Illustrator that vexes most beginners is that it requires learning a manual skill set of movements and key combinations to work effectively, which is not required as much in other applications.

I spotted these DVDs on the shelf at the Hollywood Public Library (actually, I spotted ONE), and checked it out. It was the last disc of the first season, and when Susan and I sat down to watch it, we both became fascinated, and hooked. Every night now features a Nero Wolfe episode from the 2001-2002 series, a total of 27 episodes in all. They are set in the late 1950s, the acting from the small and talented cast of characters is terrific (like a repertory theater group, the same actor plays a different character in each episode, save the static characters), and the stories are complex and engaging. We are hooked!