11:00pm Christmas Night, December 25, 2008
\nI had a really good Christmas Day.\u00a0 I don\u2019t do anything commercial for the holidays, so I escape the flurry of decorating, gift shopping, and card sending and it all stays pretty peaceful.\u00a0 I did a dawn patrol surf check at the boardwalk in Indialantic this morning, then came back to dry off and have some hot and sour soup for breakfast.\u00a0 Afterward, I took a walk through Turkey Creek Sanctuary, and then headed toward downtown Melbourne to watch the manatees off riverwalk park for awhile.<\/p>\n
My friends Jimmie and Susan drove by and had their kayaks with them, on their way down toward Melbourne Beach.\u00a0 They saw me and pulled over and I followed them down and went out on the Indian River with them for a couple of hours.\u00a0 It was very calm, there was no one else on the water and it was pretty foggy and misty.\u00a0 It was very ethereal.<\/p>\n
I much prefer a kayak over a canoe, it feels much safer and more easy to balance.\u00a0 I like hearing the paddles hit the water and the sounds of the hull as it makes its way along the river.\u00a0 The birds were just getting active and beginning their dances.\u00a0 The sun was making its way heavenward, but it was overcast and only occasionally breaking through the clouds.\u00a0 We weren\u2019t doing much speaking, just taking in all the nature sounds around us.\u00a0 It was very magical and the perfect way to spend a Christmas morning.<\/p>\n
We went back in and I got in my car and left the two of them for their own adventure.\u00a0 I headed south toward Sebastian Beach Inlet and there were some waves happening by this time, and a half dozen surfers out there catching them.\u00a0 There were a few dozen people on the pier, it was very misty and drizzly and approaching from the bridge you could see the entire pier covered with salt spray.\u00a0 The park itself was almost empty.<\/p>\n
Driving south along AIA toward the Wabasso causeway, typically cars line the highway left and right as people park to walk the public access trails to the beach.\u00a0 Today it was empty, it was like old time AIA, before it got real touristy.<\/p>\n
I had the windows down and was listening to Fred Migliore\u2019s FM Odyssey on 89.5 FM WFIT and he was doing his live show, always a treat to hear Fred on a day off when I\u2019m just cruising and relaxing.\u00a0 It makes it feel more like a holiday.\u00a0 He\u2019s got a great archive of shows you can listen to online; he has done some good, good interviews with interesting and talented musicians, singers and songwriters.\u00a0 Fred gets it.\u00a0 He gets it that our words make a difference to the people who hear them.<\/p>\n
As I drove north on US1 toward home, once again all the streets looked freshly washed and sparkling, and there were very few cars on the road.\u00a0 As I drove high over each causeway and alongside the river, I could see very few boats out on the water, and no tents pitched on the barrier islands.\u00a0 It was a nice drive, I had fun and actually got some work done also.<\/p>\n
Back at home, my brother Jerry had set up the software for my new Horizons Magazine Newsletter, and gave me the instructions to begin using it.\u00a0 At last count he had 1659 email addresses on my main list and 291 on my drumming list.\u00a0 Once it is set up, I will send an email out to everyone asking if they\u2019d like to be on the list to receive the newsletter.\u00a0 And the newsletter isn\u2019t going to be a bunch of marketing solicitations either.\u00a0 It will be good, useful and free stuff that will enhance your life and\/or your income (without selling you something).<\/p>\n
Publicists send me advance trailers of upcoming movies and dvds and I will include free links to these in the newsletter.\u00a0 The same with various freebies like e-books from new authors.\u00a0 Sure, they will also try to sell you something somewhere on their site, but each newsletter will have several free, useful items.\u00a0 Do as I do and learn to navigate through the useful information on a page while ignoring the ads thrown all over the place.\u00a0 But I promise, the newsletter is going to be more of a resource for free info than a marketing pitch once a month.<\/p>\n
I have lots of friends who have newsletters and many of them are blatant pitches for their latest products or workshops.\u00a0 Which is fine, send me one or two a year but not monthly.\u00a0 I know their feelings are not hurt when I unsubscribe even though we are friends.\u00a0 It\u2019s a matter of I support them in the work they do, however I am not their target market, so I don\u2019t need the sales pitch.\u00a0 Just to let you know, it won\u2019t be that kind of newsletter.<\/p>\n
Tonight\u2019s dinner was a vegetable fried rice, using fresh scallions, zucchini and corn.\u00a0 A side salad was of fresh tomato chunks mixed with red onion, about 30 fresh basil leaves and capers, with lemon juice, pepper and salt.\u00a0 That salad I also like to have with a breakfast egg sometimes, with sliced avocado added.<\/p>\n