Month: July 2016

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, off twerk I go. OK after spending the last 1-2 years in deep thought I decided to end ‘recess’ and go back twerk. During this period of contemplation I tried to decide what I would do with my life. I really didn’t want the 8-5 so I thought I would be better off owning my own business. I believe I have come up with a number of good and profitable ideas that also would serve humanity. I believe I can even franchise the business opportunity to others with similar drive and ambition and even take it internationally. I really wanted to do something meaningful and that people would find of great value. Making some extra cocktail change was also a consideration. As I embark on this new endeavor I would really appreciate your patronage to my business(es).

The idea that took top honors stemmed from the fact that over the last 1-2 years living at or near the beach, I almost exclusively did not wear shoes. We were in a perpetual Flip Flop Zone! Flip Flops can be found most anywhere and any decent ones are not terribly cheap. It takes a bit of time to break in a new Flip Flop pair. Once broken in you never want to be without them. Like an old pair of jeans, they become part of you. They may look bad, may smell at times, but they are yours. Denise has said on multiple occasions, ‘those are disgusting, why don’t you throw them away’? NO WAY, until that devastating day when you are walking down a gravel road and BAMM! You have a Flip Flop blow out. Of course Denise says, ‘I told you to get rid of those’!  I then had to walk very painfully in gravel with my Flip Flop dragging behind. I am sure many of you have experienced this tragic event, a good and old friend on Flip Flop life support. This spawned my idea for a great business opportunity.

My business will be a Flip Flop repair shop. It can be an e-business as well as brick and mortar. My business will, for a nominal price, receive your hurting ‘old friends’. We will make them all better (repair), dust them off, treat with disinfectant, and then return them to you for many more days of wear. My company is called ‘Booty And The Beach’. To generate initial interest and business we will run a daily special of ‘free beer tomorrow’. It is a can’t lose opportunity. There are tons of Flip Flops for sale which tells you there must be Flip Flop blow outs happening hundreds and maybe thousands of times a day all over the world. For franchise information and applications visit www.bootyandthebeach.com. I am also accepting outside investors for the low entry price of $25K so get in while the getting is good. Contact us with all you Blow Out needs.

Another equally great idea, but hey I can only do so much at one time, is a water and chemical extraction process. I haven’t yet perfected the process yet (patent pending) but the general idea is to extract certain residual chemicals from drinking and waste water where they are free and then re-introduce those chemicals, concentrated, into new and sought after products. A few examples: in Florida, I would extract Oxycodone from the water. This should be an easy process since there are so many users with the population down here. I would then market new products like OxyTee or maybe a sports drink. Who needs that nasty tasting chamomile tee to calm them when they can have some low cost instant concentrated OxyTee. Also, with it in a sports drink, the athlete will feel less pain from their strenuous weekend activities.

In the Pacific Northwest, I would extract all kinds of good chemicals especially starting with caffeine. Who needs a $4-6 cup of coffee when this can be re-introduced very inexpensively in consumable products that people will love. The PNW also has lots of other great chemicals in their lakes and streams. How do you think they can put up with living in a cloud for 9 months of the year? The opportunities are endless. This idea takes a bit more development and engineering so I have decided to focus on the Flip Flop repair business. Overhead is much lower since duct tape, string, gorilla glue, and lysol are much less capital intensive. Get those Flip Flops repaired now! For add on sales I plan to offer Bikini repair services. This is a mobile service and the repair can be done right on the beach or at the pool at the time of need. Just download the Booty and the Beach mobile App from your favorite App store.

So really now, we have been back in the USA from Panama for just over a month. We are living for 3 more months in The Villages tormenting our parents. Later this year we plan on heading down the southeastern seaboard to find a long-term rental. So far our qualifications are walking distance to the beach, close to a major airport, close to major cruise terminal, easy access to the Keys and other Caribbean Islands. We continue to try and turn old dreams into today’s realities. That area will also be a great location for Booty and the Beast Flip Flop and Bikini repairs! Once settled, some of you are welcome to come and visit.

As always words, phrases, opinions, and comments are mine and mine only. Feel free to send a thought or comment and I will feel free to respond or ignore. Bye – headed to the pool!

RB

A few pictures to share

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This is my beach hat. I have had more comments about this hat than anything I can ever remember. Over the years this hat went through two different Dude Ranch Trips, many trips to the beach, a year at the ocean in Panama, etc… It is well over 10 years old and has traveled many miles. Mostly people say – cool hat, nice hat, I like your hat AND most say where did you get that hat? Well it is hand woven and made from paper. If anyone asks I will tell them that it was handmade by a native on an island in the Caribbean. That’s as close to an answer that folks will get. I like my hat and wear it everyday.

I have always enjoyed adventures, traveling, seeing and experiencing new things, places, food, and people. Well, sometimes maybe not all the people but at least enough to keep it interesting. I seem to get board and an itch for change if I am stationary for too long of a time. I have also come to avoid people if in groups of over about 8. No it is not a magic number but if there are more folks than that you are almost guaranteed that the interaction will be superficial at best, noisy with multiple conversations at once, and no one really paying attention. To me life is too short for these interactions. Ya, just me….

I have, of late, had people toss different labels out saying are you this… are you that…? Everyone always wants to put everyone in a box. Lately I had been labeled a Gringo and an Ex-Pat. One is just slang in Spanish/Latin countries for just about anyone, especially an American, who is not Hispanic or Latino. The other is short for Expatriate that is nothing more than a person who lives outside their native country. I have been guilty on both counts. I guess these labels fit.

On a more grand scale terms like Nomad, Wanderer, and Vagabond have surfaced. Hey just quit calling me names! You must be Racist! 🙂 Sticks and Stones… I guess the good side is these names do have more than 4 letters. I have been called worse. Well I began to wonder, do some of these labels describe me?

A nomad is always a part of a larger group that keeps traveling in search of stuff, mainly food and shelter. So, they have an aim in mind when they travel. Nah, I don’t see me as part of a larger group with a specific aim. A wanderer is someone who will travel without any motive to fulfill. Hmm…this shoe may come closer to fitting. I just like travel, adventure, and change. A vagabond is a person who travels without any destination or time period in mind. No, not me. I almost always have some broad plan and timetable. I do like some structure.

So doesn’t everyone like vacation and travel? These labels refer to more than just the travel of an average Joe (no offense meant Joe). Also vacationing and living somewhere are two very different things. Well for us, we have been quite different than average. I always thought of myself as ‘above’ average but others may have a different opinion. So where am I going with this? It might be good to first know where I (we) came from to know where I am going with this.

We both are originally from Ohio. I always felt Ohio was a good place to be ‘from’. It seems like; many people in Ohio never leave their hometown or have a desire to do so. I believe many Ohioans think they needed a passport to enter the next county (no r). It seemed in Ohio, if you really wanted a job you could eventually find something but the pay was usually just enough to get by on but never enough to leave. This ‘same old..same old..’ environment was quite stifling to me. During that time in Ohio, when old enough, I left for periods of time. I backpacked two different summers through Northern Europe, would often drive to DC and/or Florida just because and frequently would go to Cleveland or Pittsburg Airport and watch the big planes coming and going. Yes there were actually accessible observation decks to watch from. I proved that you don’t need much money to travel. I was just a farm boy saving nickels, dimes, and quarters.

We, yes now it is a ‘we’, left Ohio to live in Virginia for a while. From there we located to Georgia. After experiencing the humidity, mosquitoes and poison ivy we collected up our cotton and peaches and pushed on to Oklahoma (yes I sang the movie song to spell that). Being an Okie was a unique experience but it didn’t take long to get bored of buffalo and prairie dogs. Denise would say, the ‘Sooner’ we leave Oklahoma the better and the best view of Oklahoma is in the rearview mirror. Washington State was the next destination. These moves were largely due to work. Join the Army, travel to exotic lands, meet different and unusual people, and kill them. In those days when Uncle Sam spoke we listened, but there was a bit of choice involved also.

After 10 years in the Army we returned to Ohio. Our families were largely still there. We were gone for quite some time so it was good to become re-acquainted. Well after a couple years the time came and we were on the road again. Utah was next on the list. We spent a couple of years there and after a couple failed conversion attempts we returned to Washington State where we stayed for the longest period of time – 25 years. While in Washington I was able to go to Europe many times for work but also travel around the EU. We also, whenever we possibly could, headed to a beach. This was at times Hawaii as well as Florida. The beach always had a magical draw. That is where my heart feels at home.

After those years in Washington and as the nest began to empty we put our desires together. We always wanted to be at the beach, warm, and have adventure. After research and planning we put things in motion and ended up living right on a tropical beach in Panama. It is hard to explain what we experienced – amazing beauty, object poverty, wonderful simplicity, extreme satisfaction and extreme boredom, a few wonderful folks, and peace. Third world and First world clashes. To steal some words from a fellow traveller, who actually wrote about Costa Rica, this somewhat sums it up for me:

“I love Panama because shoes are always optional. Sunrises and sunsets set my sleep schedule. My neighbors are surfers and sloths (these are animals not individuals). I love Panama because I can drink chocolate for breakfast and call it healthy…It’s totally acceptable to live in a swimsuit, bikini or yoga pants. I love Panama because nature comes first and takes over if I forget. Days move slowly and transformation happens rapidly. Life expresses itself vibrantly. I love Panama because it’s normal to be weird. We can all be different and still live in harmony. I feel safe to be authentically me…Adios for now Panama, you’re forever in my heart.”

We are back in the USA, for now. We are in Florida. Our plans are to set up a ‘home-base’ most likely at the beach somewhere on the SE coast. We want quick and easy access to a major airport. From there we will plan and launch our next adventures. So what (que) am I (are we)? I guess ‘Wanderers’ fit best but remember ‘sticks and stones’!

Enjoy the few pictures and feel free to send questions, comments, or criticisms.

RB

After over a year without a car we had to get one.