Gimme Peace!!

Ever wonder why you feel completely worn out by the time Saturday rolls around? Tough week at work? Getting old? I say none of the above; blame it on the city! What with the trash truck, recycling truck, yard debris claw and the street-sweeper all butting into our lives during the wee hours of Friday and Saturday morning, no wonder we feel wrecked by the weekend!

Experiments on humans found that REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep deprivation leads to poor performance on a variety of recall tests and logical tasks. REM sleep often occurs early in the morning, just before waking up. Just about the time the claw shows up on Churchill Road. I believe that all of this has lead to a loss of productivity of a large number of Palm Beach County residents, and therefore a reduction in our tax base.

Of course, things improve over the summer months when we all have our windows closed and A/C on. My savior is a big ‘ol wall unit producing a constant white-noise drone right over my head. That wall unit is probably the only reason I’ve survived this long (13 years) with all the ruckus of the city trucks. But there’s no denying the fact that our peace is being disturbed by the very forces which are in place to protect the peace – our government. Yet a Palm Beach County ordinance prohibits vessels or vehicles from exceeding 90 dB(A) at a distance of 50 feet. (For reference a blender produces about 90 decibels, an emergency vehicle about 110. I would venture to guess that any of the city maintenance trucks can out-do a good blender.) So why do we suffer? Guess I’ll have to ask Lois. Will keep you posted...

-Barry-

BREAKING NEWS: MYSTERIOUS TRUCK LEAVES MESS

Big black plumes of smoke wafted westward very early Saturday on Churchill Road, leaving fuming neighbors and a mess on the east end of the 300 block of Churchill Road.
"A truck left a pile of dirt this high," said Barry, lifting her hand to shoulder level. "You could see the cloud of smoke drifting toward Dixie Highway."
After a more than a little convincing from neighbors, the truck driver plucked up some of the slop he dumped about 2 a.m. Resourceful as always, Barry used some on-hand materials and made a sandwich sign to alert the public of a toxic waste site that the day before was the road in front of her house.
Calls to the city of West Palm Beach brought no results.
"The worst part is it happened the day before the big concert," lamented Barry, referring to tonight's sold out encore performance of the Fat Bastards. "Where are people gonna park?"

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT

Someday, Noah's gonna pick up that pesky 7-10 split.
But in the meantime, the slender southpaw sharpens his game at the Tropical Verdes Lanes off Belvedere Road. On a recent Saturday, Noah rolled six games, with a top score of 86.
"I practice at home so I can be good," said the Boca Raton-born bowler. To learn the finer points of the pin game, the Churchill Road resident records pro bowling on Tivo, watching stars such as his favorite, Gary Dickerson.
Typically modest, the 4-year-old said his best game was 65. His biggest fan, his father Tom, quickly corrected Noah and said the high score was 116.
One of Noah's favorite shots is the tricky 3-6-10. Despite his 45-pound frame, Noah says he has made the shot, known as a toughie in the bowling biz.
"Yeah, I can pick that one up sometimes," Noah said, setting up mini pins in his living room for practice. "But I've never picked up the 7-10."

STEPPIN' OUT ON CHURCHILL ROAD

Sure, Liverpool's got the Beatles. And New Jersey can brag about Sinatra and the Boss. Boston's got Aerosmith, the J. Geils Band and Bonnie Raitt.
But Churchill Road's got 'em all beat with the Fat Bastards -- and they will be playing to another expected overflow crowd March 11th at 8 p.m. at the Churchill Fillmore East. (Otherwise known as Jeff's house). The concert is free, and guests are welcome to bring appetizers and drinks.
"We do great versions of such blues classics as Statesboro Blues and Hootchie Kootchie Man. Classic rockers such as Werewolves of London and Brown Sugar," growled Jeff in his best Muddy Waters impression. Jeff, the harp player and vocalist, said "you never know what we'll play."
The band is named after a Seattle-based wine, which can be purchased at fine wine stores such as Publix. Why is a classic rock n' roll/blues band named after a wine? That's a story only Jeff or one of the other band members can tell -- or make up.
Like any fine wine, the band is a little different with every performance. The previous three Fat Bastard concerts featured different members, from the great music cities of New York City, San Francisco, Sarasota and Philadelphia.
Band members are Jeff's lifelong pals, visiting Churchill Road for a golf tournament. So don't be surprised if one of the guitarists starts playing slide with a putter during a torchy version of Stormy Monday.
Dancing in the living room and crooning to the moon were some of the antics from the spill-over crowds at the recent Fat Bastard concerts.
Song requests, Jeff said with a wink, are accepted -- backstage.

News from Churchill West

Alert neighbors will remember Jewelee, Scott and little Sabrina of the 500 block of Churchill Road from the first annual Winston Churchill birthday party. Jewelee, who we often see walking with her baby daughter, is a flight attendant. Scott is a firefighter. They pass along lots of good news:

We are all doing great. Sabrina is growing like a weed and now has 4 teeth, which she loves to show off with her big grin. She has big news to be smiling about....we all do....she is going to be a big sister (September 21st is the estimated due date). I am still going to be flying for a few more months, probably until June. Scott has been extra busy with the fire department trying to pick up any extra shifts that he can.

We are abandoning our vanity on March 17th at Brogue's Irish Pub in Lake Worth. We will be participating in an event called St Baldricks. It is a HEAD SHAVING event to raise money for childhood cancer....yes...we are going bald! The link below will take you directly to my 'before photo' and donation page. You can also find Scott's page in there with his soon to be released 'before' photo. I have not yet met my goal of raising $2000, so if you (or anyone/everyone you know) would like to make a donation you can click on that link. I have been trying to get everyone I know involved and have had fun getting absolute strangers on a plane to pitch in as little as $2, after all every little bit helps! If you guys don't already have plans, please try to come down to Lake Worth to watch the event...it is a lot of fun!

(Click here to see Jewelee's before photo)

That is probably all the news in our world, hope this finds you all doing great! Keep in Touch when you can....and feel free to mention St Baldrick's in the Blog ...might be good to warn the neighbors of the upcoming baldness on the street...lol.

Take Care...

Jewelee, Scott & Sabrina Landis