Blessings

In case you don’t recognize it, Dear Readers, this is the Colony Hotel in Delray Beach, Florida.

TBF and I just got back from our annual January pilgrimage to Florida.  (Except for last year. Covid was raging and we hadn’t had been vaccinated yet and we didn’t want to dice with death.)

We go in January because, by then, even if the weather in sunny Florida isn’t  beachcomber warm, it sure beats looking at this all day.

Note the color of the sky.  Gray.  This is what gets me down the most.  The need to turn on electric lights all day, every Chicago winter day.  After years of living in Aspen, the relentless lack of blue skies and sunshine has me completely defeated by January.

I miss this.

Hence down south we go.  And in a little over two-ish hours, we can be here.

(Yeah, yeah.  I see the clouds.  Still, it sure ain’t snowing.)

Do you remember this?

Depressing, huh? And after skipping last year, we were more than ready to hit the beach again.

Sad Side Bar:  This poster reminds that beautiful, beautiful Yvette Mimieux recently passed away.  How I loved her.

When I was a kid, my very first crush was on tv’s Dr. Kildare- handsome Richard Chamberlain.  I never missed a show- or my chance to swoon over my pre-teen heart throb.

There was an episode called “Tiger, Tiger, Burning Bright” in which Yvette played a gorgeous surfer chick with epilepsy.  These two blonde beauties soon fell for each other. My twelve year old heart burned with jealousy.

Of course, the Doc forbade her from surfing again.

But carpe diem Yvette ignored my idol’s good medical advice and surfed again anyway.  She drowned.  He was devastated.

I was glad.

Twelve year old puppy love isn’t pretty.

But this was not the end for this made-in-photogenic-heaven duo.  Some Hollywood big shot decided that these two fabulous-looking people were destined for bigger screens.

They were soon paired up again in a movie called Joy in the Morning.

It was a lovely little bagatelle.  But then came this.

Light in the Piazza.

She was favolosa as the beautiful but mentally-challenged Clara.  (And they filmed it in my spiritual home town- Florence- the jewel box of Italy.)

Sigh.  Rest in peace, you lovely creature.  I will always love you.

…Back to the story at hand.

As we were racing around the Colony hotel room, throwing off our winter attire and chomping at the bit to get out in some of the sunshine, I noticed that our toilet was leaking a little from the flush valve gasket.

It wasn’t a big deal but there was a little hang tag in the bath room that gave guests instructions about where to put used towels versus clean ones, maid service- you know stuff like that.

It also asked to report any leaks. This is an old, I mean, historic, hotel, after all.

They actually had this on display in the lobby hallway.

(When was the last time you saw one of those?)

As we ran by the front desk, I casually mentioned to the desk clerk that our toilet was leaking.

He assured me that it would be taken care of.

When we got back to our room several hours later, the toilet was fine. But that’s not all.

Look what I found waiting for me on the chest of drawers.

I was floored. In all my years of traveling- from the lousiest flea bag to the poshest hotel- NEVER had I received a note from a maintenance person.

And such a kind note.  He really went that extra mile.  In these depressing times, his thoughtfulness restored some of my faith in humanity.

Thank you, Dustin Rosa.  You made mine a blessed day.

And now my friends, on behalf of Dustin and myself, I wish you all

A very BLESSED DAY!

Yours in gratitude,

Ellen