Forsaken Homestead

An Unwelcome Return to Cold Weather

This isn't a "story" as such, but a chronological account of an unfortunate trip. It's more like a journal entry for myself to capture the detailed memories in case I ever want to write it up properly.

Background

Back in 2021 I had a prostate biopsy followed by an MRI to check if I had prostate cancer. Fortunately I was clean. From that point on I saw my urologist every year. I would get my PSA level checked, I'd come in, he'd stick his finger up my butt, he'd say I'm fine, and I'd go home.

In 2025 my regular urologist had retired and I started seeing their LPN. He was a really nice guy. My PSA was right around where it always was, but out of an abundance of caution he suggested I get it checked again in the fall. If it was still normal then I would be on my way, but if it were elevated then we'd address it. I thought that was overkill, and I almost skipped it, but I decided it was worth a trip to the nearby lab to get jabbed and keep an eye on it. Well couldn't you know, it had gone up. My LPN suggested that I get it checked again in another month to see if it had come back down again. The thing was I would be down in my winter place in Fort Lauderdale by then.

Again I almost blew it off, but I decided this isn't the kind of thing you want to ignore. It was a bit of a trick to find a lab down there that was nearby and took my insurance. I hadn't established any healthcare network down there at all. But I was able to find a place and they drew my blood. I expected it to go back down to where it had been, but it had gone up. A lot. Like a somewhat alarming amount. I was now well out of the normal range.

My LPN suggested I get another MRI to see if anything was going on down there. He further suggested that I have it done back up north at the same facility I'd had it done in 2021, and evaluated by the same pathologist who evaluated it in 2021, so that it would be a clean comparison. I agreed to that, in no small part because I still hadn't established a healthcare network in Florida. I wasn't even sure where to begin finding a facility. It wouldn't be that big of a deal to hop on a flight back home.

It took quite a while before I was even contacted about the MRI appointment, and when I was they had to schedule it like a couple months into the future. That put it in early February. I wasn't too keen on that because it's the coldest, most bleak time of winter. I asked the LPN if since there was already quite a delay if we couldn't just put it off another couple months when I'd be back up north anyway. He said this isn't the kind of thing you want to delay, and advised that I make the trip. I sucked it up and bought my plane tickets.

Thursday February 5, 2026

I knew it would be cold back up north. The problem was I didn't have any cold weather gear to wear. I don't keep any such stuff down in my Florida residence because I don't really need it. I didn't schedule this MRI until after I was already down here, so I had no need to plan on having cold weather gear on hand. The best I could do was put on a pair of UnderArmor leggings as long johns, and wore a hoodie with a fleece over it. All I had was sneakers to wear on my feet. I also only had one glove because I had lost the other one a year before when I flew out to see my parents.

Friends in Fort Lauderdale agreed to take care of my dog while I was gone. I could have brought her with me, but it would have created an added expense, and it stresses her out being cooped up in the travel cage the whole time. The same friends agreed to take me to the airport and pick me up when I got back. I always want to get to the airport extra early just so I have plenty of contingency time if I need it. My friend arrived right on time to pick me up.

He drove a Tesla and he utilized the self-driving mode. I found it to be quite a marvel. But when we got to the exit for the airport it just kept going. My friend said it knew where it was going, it was just taking an alternate route with less traffic. I was skeptical, but had no choice but to just ride along. Well the damn contraption took us on this fakakta route all over kingdom come on every access road in and around the airport, and it didn't seem to be getting us any closer to the terminals. I think it was taking us to the air traffic control tower. When we went past yet another sign indicating that the terminals were in a direction other than where we were going I insisted that my friend take control and start following the signs. Fortunately I had plenty of time so I wasn't worried, but I was annoyed. He reluctantly complied. We still had to meander all over the place but there were signs so we kept going. Finally we came up a ramp that took us to the concourse in front of the terminals. I had driven past that ramp every other time I came to the airport and not really noticed it except to vaguely wonder where it came from. But at least now things were back on track.

I got out of the car and I damn near left my phone in it. I'd had it out trying to see on the map where the hell we were as we drove all around the airport roads, and I neglected to put it back in my pocket until I turned to close the car door and saw it lying on the seat. I would have been fucked because I had finally adopted the practice of checking in online the night before and having faith that it would work out having a boarding pass on my phone in the form of a QR code, and that I wouldn't lose it and that my phone battery wouldn't die, and that I wouldn't leave it in the car when I got dropped off. I wouldn't have been able to call him and tell him to come back with my phone. I wouldn't even have been able to order up an Uber to take me back home again. But fortunately that disaster was averted.

I had to look at my poor dog's soulful eyes as I got out of the car and walked away. But the rest of the trip went fine. I had a direct flight from Fort Lauderdale to Syracuse, so there was no stress of missing a connection. But the plane was on time anyway. There were no issues on the flight, and we landed early.

Even though I was going home I had to arrange a rental car. All my cars were put away for the winter, and it was a tall order to ask a friend to come all the way to get me and then all the way back to drop me off four days later. So I decided to just rent a car to use while I was there. It was actually the biggest expense of the trip. The plane tickets were dirt cheap.

As we approached the airport I looked out the window to check the conditions. While I wasn't looking forward to the cold temperatures, I was more concerned about snow. I knew there had been a lot of snow that season, particularly in Syracuse, and I didn't want to have to deal with snow-covered roads in an unfamiliar car. But to my relief I saw exposed pavement on all the roads I saw as we flew over the outlying area.

As soon as we touched down and deplaned I went straight to the rental car counter. It was a reasonably short wait. There were no issues with my reservation. My biggest worry was that the insurance I bought ahead of time would be bogus and I'd have to buy it all over again at the counter, but I was delighted to find that was not the case. The insurance I got was the same as what they offered, just done through AAA. I thought I was good to go, but now there would be a delay while they "waited for someone to bring the keys up." I was a little annoyed. I was like, I'll just walk out there and get the keys. But I figured it was an excuse for something else. I didn't take it out on the poor desk clerk. It wasn't her fault. She said it would be 20-25 minutes. I actually set a timer on my phone to see how close they got.

I was going to just sit there and wait but I decided it would satisfy my attention deficit disorder better if I got up and walked around. I was going to just do laps from one end of the terminal to the other, but when I got to the mid-point I noticed that there was an aviation history museum tucked in under the escalators that go up to the security checkpoint. It's amazing the things you notice when you're not rushing to make a flight. The museum was a great way to kill some time. It wasn't the most earth-shattering exhibit, but it was some cool stuff to look at.

When the time was drawing down I returned to the car rental desk. When the time was actually up I loitered right around the desk menacingly. The one thing I wanted to avoid was having to wait in line again. Car rental lines move notoriously slowly. But just a minute or two later some guy at the next desk over called out my name. I came over to get my key and chatted him up a bit. I asked what was up with having to "wait for the keys." He confessed that it was because they were short-staffed and it took longer to get the cars prepped and ready for the next customer. I gave him the space to vent about how some customers are less patient with the wait than others. He observed that people departing Syracuse for a warm climate are always in a great mood, but people returning to Syracuse from a warm climate are always cross and irritable. He said he'd seen it over and over again.

When I left the terminal building I got my first blast of cold weather. It wasn't even that cold. It was in the mid-20's. But to my thin blood it felt cold, exacerbated by the fact that I didn't have on the proper cold weather attire. I went out to my car and oriented myself. These modern cars always confuse me. It took me forever to get used to push-button start. I was afraid that the automatic transmission shift lever might be inscrutable. I don't know why modern car manufacturers have to make such a simple control so complicated. Fortunately this one was straight forward. I was surprised at how easy it was to connect my phone, but I still couldn't get it to play over the speakers. I looked high and low for a volume control, but I couldn't find it anywhere. I finally gave up and just played my phone on speaker and set it in the cup holder.

I was really hungry. I had intended to hit up one of the fast food joints in near proximity to the airport, but I decided to go to the mall on my way out of town. There was a Chinese food spot in the food court that gave huge proportions. Normally I park in the underground garage, but I decided to park in the entrance where the Karmel Korn stand was. I wanted to get a box for dessert. That was a delicacy I could only get at the Destiny mall. One time I was disappointed to find it closed when I came out of a movie, so I figured I would go straight there and inquire before heading up for dinner. I'm glad I did because they were closing in like 15 minutes. I ordered up my small box of plain Karmel Korn. They have an option where they leave the box open so that you can get a little extra. I always opted for that because I was going to dig in right away, but in this case I had to carry it with me up to the food court. I held the box in one hand and put the other one over the top of the box so I didn't lose any kernels. It was tricky holding it while I walked away from the Chinese food joint with my meal. It did indeed fill me up. The only problem is they give you flimsy little plastic fork which is entirely ineffectual in shoveling rice and chicken into my mouth. Once dinner was over I walked around eating my Karmel Korn. It really is good stuff.

Once back in the car I tried again to figure out why I could connect my phone to the car but that it wouldn't play. Try as I might I could not find a volume control anywhere. I looked all over the dashboard, and navigated every option on the touch screen menu system. The volume control just didn't exist on this car. I finally gave up and went back to playing my phone on speaker.

Back on the road it was an easy drive down I81 to the Cortland exit. I contemplated stopping at a grocery store to stock up on some food, but I decided to blow it off until the next day. I did however stop in the Walmart to get the enema that I had forgotten I would need until I read the MRI instructions. When I stepped out of the car I was hit with a blast of cold, but by now I was conditioned to it. It was a little amazing that I was wearing the same clothes that had me freezing in 40 degree temps in Florida, but now that I was in the teens I just dealt with it. I walked up and down the pharmacy aisles but could not find the enema. I wasn't in the mood to ask for help. That was just a little too embarrassing. I would go to Kinney's the next day. I was anxious to get to my house.

It was nostalgic driving the last couple of miles to my house even though I had only been gone a couple months a this point. When I got there I was aghast to find that my driveway was totally clogged with snow. I had spoken to my next-door neighbors not long before. They said there was some snow, but nothing too major. Well I guess more had blown in, because there was too much to drive through. The worst was at the mouth of the driveway right by the road. That was typical. Not only do the snowplows leave an extra big bank of snow along the side of the road, but it freezes extra hard compared to the soft snow that lies undisturbed beyond. I could have tried to blast through that to see if I could get in the driveway. I had done that before, but it means getting a running start, and comes with a heightened risk that you could get stuck, maybe with half of your car still sticking out into the road. I would have maybe attempted it with my own car, but not with the rental. It wasn't that late, but it was dark out, and I didn't want to be out there with a shovel trying to get it unstuck. Instead I parked it at my across-the-street neighbors. They were all plowed out and had plenty of extra space, so I was pretty sure I wouldn't be in their way. It looked like there was a light on so I was going to go knock on their door, but I elected not to disturb them.

I grabbed my bag, locked the car, and headed across the street. Mind you I was in sneakers. I had to tromp through the snowbank at the mouth of the driveway, and then through all the rest of the snow on my long driveway, some of which was knee-deep, and then through more deep snow in my yard as I made my way to the back door of my house. I really wish my neighbors had warned me that there was so much snow on the ground. Not that I would have been able to do anything differently, but it would have been nice to have been emotionally prepared.

I dropped my bag on the back porch, but I then had to walk across the yard to the barn to where I had a house key hidden. I was afraid the barn door would be frozen shut, but I was able to get it open without issue. I had to use the light on my phone to find my way upstairs and retrieve the key from its hiding spot. I walked back to the house, utilizing the same footsteps I had already left in the deep snow so as to minimize the amount of snow I got in my sneakers. It was already a lost cause, but I still had to try.

When I got the back door unlocked and went inside I was surprised at how warm it was inside the house. I kept the heat on super-low, so I expected it to be above freezing but not by much. It was almost as warm as I kept it when I was actually there. I turned on some lights around the house and turned on other sources of heat to get it up to living temperatures. I immediately called my across-the-street neighbors to ask if it was okay to leave my rental car there overnight. They said they noticed that someone had parked there and walked into my house. They weren't expecting me to be there so they wondered who it might be. It was reassuring to know they kept an eye on the place. The said the car was fine where it was and not to worry about it.

The next thing was to turn on the water. I shut off the well water pump and drained the pipes before I left for Florida. Part of me wanted to just leave it off while I was there, but I had to take a leak so I decided to turn it on and get the toilet functioning. I went down to the basement and flicked on the breaker. Whenever I did that I had to fiddle with the pressure switch to get it to turn the pump on and till the pressure tank. It was a little bit of voodoo I had to go through each time. I did my fiddling, but the pump wouldn't come on. Finally the fiddle lever got stuck. That had never happened before. So it looked like I was going to have to go without water after all. I found a bucket to piss in, and grabbed some bottled water from the closet.

I went upstairs and settled into my recliner. I couldn't watch TV because I had the internet paused for the winter. I affixed my phone to a tripod I used for photography and set it up next to the recliner. I watched a little TV before I went to bed. I turned on the electric blanket ahead of time so that it would be nice and warm when I climbed in. The only thing I liked about cold weather was being all cozy under the covers in a cold bedroom. I went to bed around the normal time.

Friday February 6, 2026

My MRI was that day back up in Syracuse, but not until 2PM. My plan for the morning was to get to the DMV to register the Volvo C30 that I had shipped up from Florida so that I could take it pleasure driving all day Saturday. That plan was out the window. The car was behind the barn, and there was way too much snow on the ground to be able to get it out, and even if I did the road conditions would not make for very pleasurable driving.

While I was getting myself together that morning the propane delivery guy came. I always wondered how they would deal with it if my driveway were impassable. He stayed down on the road and trudged the hose all the way through my snow-covered yard. That was pretty good of him. But if he had come just another hour later my driveway would (presumably) be clear.

I did however decide to take the time to brush the snow off the car and start it up, just to make sure that the battery wasn't dead etc. And to hear the engine run again. I was very fond of that car. I bundled up and headed outside. Fortunately I had all my winter gear there at the house, so I could dress appropriately. The best was wearing winter boots so I didn't need to tromp through all that snow in my sneakers. It was in the mid-20's, which was a manageable temperature.

Brushing the snow off the Volvo was a pain because there was so much of it, but at least it wasn't all frozen in place. It came off pretty easily. There was just a lot of it. The engine started right up. It strained just a bit because the battery was a little weak, but it did fire up. But while I was at it I somehow turned on the rear wiper, which was a catastrophe because the blade was frozen solid to the glass and it wound up busting the whole wiper arm up. Well there's a repair I'll have to deal with come spring...

I could have left my rental car across the street the whole time I was there, but since I had time to kill I decided to see if I could clear out the driveway. At the very least I could get out there with a shovel to clear the mouth of the driveway and park just inside it, but I decided to see if I could get my snow blower running. It would save me from having to shovel all that heavy, hard, frozen snow on the roadside snowbank, and maybe I would be able to clear out the full driveway so I could have the car up by the house.

I had parked the snow blower 2 full years earlier when I first started wintering in Florida. I expected never to have to use it ever again. I'm glad that I didn't get rid of it. But I knew it would be a trick getting it started. I was afraid it would be blocked in by the John Deere. That would basically be dispositive. Getting that started and out of the way would be a lot of trouble.

I got out to the back garage where the snow blower was and was happy to see that it was only blocked in by the push mower and garden hose coil. I got them out of the way easily. But getting the snow blower started would not be easy. I checked the tank and there was a little gas in it. That was actually bad news. Modern gas turns bad quickly. This had been in there for at least 2 years. I was afraid it had clogged up the carburetor.

Fortunately the snow blower had an electric start, and fortunately I had an extension cord already out there that I used to plug in the battery maintainers for the John Deere and the Kei Truck that also lived in that garage. I plugged the snow blower in and cranked and cranked and cranked and it would not start. This was not a surprise. I cranked it a little longer just to see if I could get lucky, but it wouldn't start.

I had one thing I could try. I could pull the spark plug and squirt some starter fluid directly into the cylinder. That might or might not work, but it was worth a try. I just had to tromp back to the barn to get my socket wrench to unscrew the spark plug. I now have all my tools very well organized, so it was easy to grab the wrench and an extension. I tried to guess what size socket I needed and grabbed a range of them. I tromped all the way back to the back garage and found that all the sockets I grabbed were too small. I tromped back to the barn and grabbed another range of bigger sockets. I tromped back to the back garage. Mind you it's damn inconvenient tromping through snow. You can't see the uneven surface underneath, and you create additional uneven surfaces as you compress the snow. You slip and slide all over the fucking place. It was annoying. What was even more annoying was that all of these sockets were too small too.

I trudged back inside the barn I grabbed ANOTHER range of sockets, hoping this time I finally had the right size. I tromped back to the snow blower and lo and behold one of the sockets I brought this time did fit. I got the spark plug out easily. I sprayed a liberal amount of starter fluid into the cylinder and replaced the spark plug. I cranked it over and it started right up. This was expected. But I figured that as soon as the starter fluid burned off that it would stall out. I was astonished that it didn't! The thing kept on running! I never thought I could be that lucky. There was just enough gas in the gas can I kept by the John Deere to fill the tiny little tank on the snow blower. I pulled it out of the garage, got it pointed in the right direction, gut the auger spinning, and I was off.

I blew a path up to the driveway. The next thing was to clear a path to the back door, and from the back door out to the barn. This was technically a higher priority than the rental car because I needed to get in and out of the house, and getting back and forth to the barn was also critical path. But as soon as I had that done I continued out to the road because the next objective was to get it cleared up by the road and just enough inside the driveway that I could park my rental car in there. I was actually surprised how well the snow blower was operating. It was hard work, but not as hard as shoveling by hand, and it wasn't long before I had the mouth of the driveway clear.

I also cleared the space for the rental car before I did anything else, but things were going so well I decided to do a wholesale clearing of the full driveway. The biggest trick of that was seeing under all that snow exactly where the driveway was. It brought back memories of trying to do this all those winters before. I did it well enough. I ran out of gas just before I finished. I searched the barn for my small gas can but couldn't find it. It turned out to be in the back garage where I had started out. I came back up to the driveway and got the tank topped off. I had to use the pull start up there, but since the engine was warm it started right away.

There wasn't much more work to finish the whole driveway, but as soon as I got back to work the auger got jammed with a rock. I had to go back to the barn and get my pry bar and hammer. At lease I was experienced in dealing with such eventualities. I got it cleared up quickly and was back to work. When I was finally done I pulled the blower off to the side in the path to the house and went across the street to get the rental car. I never knew how close I had come to actually clearing the driveway until I went through it once in a car. I could always approximate the location of the driveway more accurately from behind the wheel. The car came in and around well enough. I left it by the road and touched up some spots.

Once that was done I figured why not clear out the back driveway to the back garage and all the way behind the barn. There wouldn't be time to get to the DMV, but if I could just get it out and take it up and down the road it would do it well. So I blew my way back down to the back garage. But just as I turned the corner to head up to the barn the snow blower stalled out the moment I reengaged the auger. It was the strangest thing. I thought maybe the auger got jammed again, although the symptoms didn't really suggest that, and I quickly confirmed it was not the issue. Fortunately I was back by the extension cord so I could plug it in and use the electric start to try to get it going again, but it just wouldn't start. I had no idea what was up, but at least it waited until I was done with the primary work before it conked out. I decided to put it away and forget about it. I didn't need to get the Volvo out anyway, let alone get that back driveway cleared, so it was no big whoop. Who knew how many more years it would be until I needed the snow blower again. Hopefully never, but that was what I thought the first time. I would just have to cross my fingers that whatever was going wrong fixed itself in the meantime.

As I went back to the house I was sure I smelled propane around the tank. Once inside I collected myself. I was all sweaty. Snow blowing is more labor than you might think. It's not just walking behind the machine. You need to manhandle it and force it to your bidding the whole time. I would have taken a shower but there was still no water. I called the propane people to report the propane smell and asked if the delivery guy could come back and check it. After that I changed my clothes and went out to buy the enema. I didn't need any food because I had to fast until my MRI anyway. I walked back out to the car and off I went. I was still unable to figure out how to get my phone to play on the car sound system.

It was actually a nice day. The temps were hovering in the 20s and the sun was shining. The roads were reasonably clear, so it was an easy drive up to Dryden to the Kinney's. I tried my best to find the enema myself but I just never know where they are. I think they intentionally obfuscate the location so that you have to go through the embarrassment of asking where the enemas are. Fortunately I was at an age where I didn't give a fuck anymore. I asked some young woman where they were, and while she had to scratch her head just a bit, she brought me there. It's like two boxes wide on the bottom shelf where you would just never see it. I bought the single pack, but went with the extra-volume option just in case.

When I pulled back in the driveway I took the opportunity to get my mail from Sharon. I pulled out all of Jose's mail and set it aside. Now that I had my propane receipts I did the data entry to see what kind of consumption there was while I had been away, and I was aghast to find that the previous month I had used more than double the previous worse case. I called the propane people back first to find out if the guy had come back, and also to make the case there must be a leak because of how damn much propane had been used while I wasn't even there. The lady said that the guy did come back and didn't smell anything (thanks for letting me know), and assure me that it had been so damn cold that everyone had been burning like double what they usually burned. I let her placate me, but said that if this level of use continued that I would be back in touch.

My plan was to stop by the lab on the way out of town to get my creatinine checked so I could avoid having to do it down in Florida. I would also take the opportunity to do the enema so I wouldn't have to shit in a bucket while I was in my house. When I got to the first traffic light on the way to the lab I found that it was out. People were having a hard time grasping the concept that they should treat it like a 4-way stop. I thought it rather odd that the light was out in the first place. I got to the next light a block down the road and it was out too. This was not a good sign. Also the traffic was struggling even more to figure out how everyone should get through. I kind of had to muscle my way in.

I got to the lab and sure enough the power was out. That precluded me from getting my blood drawn. However they did let me use the bathroom. I didn't tell them it was to flush out my rectum. When I stepped inside I was reminded that it would be pitch black in there. There were no windows, and with the power out I could have developed film in there. I used the light on my phone, but I had to hold that with one hand and the enema bottle in the other and try to get it in my butthole without hurting myself. It was not pleasant. I was able to do it, but then I had a rectum full of water that didn't want to squirt back out. I had to wait until it started coming out of its own accord. I figured the nurses were wondering why I had been in there so long. But once again I benefitted from my age-related don't-give-a-fuck attitude.

I finally figured all the fluid had come out that was going to. I pulled my pants back up and went back out. Just then the lights came back on. I asked if they could do my blood now, but they said the internet wasn't back and they couldn't process me until they were connected. It was still too early to head to Syracuse so I asked if I could wait, and they said sure. A few minutes later they were connected again and could pull my blood.

By the time they were done it was more or less time to get on the road. Before I left the parking lot I was determined to get my phone playing on the car stereo system or die trying. I had a long drive ahead of me and I wanted to listen to my podcasts properly. I went through everything again. There was no volume control anywhere in the whole damn car. But I FINALLY found it as being the surround of the on/off switch. It was very well hidden. As soon as I spun it the sound came up and all was well. I was able to head out.

I was quickly on 81 north and had an uneventful drive. There was supposed to be snow at some point in the day, but it hadn't started yet. It was just a bit of a trick finding the facility. I thought it was to the right of 81 up by SU, but it was actually to the left. The good news was that it was less than a block over so it wound up being easy to find. I was a bit dismayed by the ticket gate on the way in, but I would worry about that later. I parked and went in.

The front desk asked if I knew where I was going and I said no. They asked what I was there for and when I said MRI they told me where to go. I went inside and the desk staff was very friendly. They gave me some paperwork to fill out. It was when I started going through it that I was reminded they were going to pump me full of contrast through an I.V. I had forgotten that too. How could I have forgotten so much from having had the exact same MRI only 5 years earlier. I got it all filled out and had to wait quite a while, but I had been pretty early, so it wasn't a surprise.

Finally they brought me into the back room. I had to strip down and use the locker and key like in a bathhouse. I was in 2 gowns, one front to back and the other back to front so I was like totally covered. I then waited for quite a bit longer again. There was inane TV playing that I had to listen to. It was some HGTV beach house selection program that I was totally not interested in. Finally they brought me in.

As they laid me on the table they asked what kind of music I wanted to hear. I told them I didn't want any music. They reacted like I said I didn't want to breathe. I said okay I guess adult alternative. Then she asked me if I wanted current. That made me afraid that I might be stuck listening to Pearl Jam the whole time I was trapped inside the machine, so I stuck to my guns and said no music at all.

When they finally wheeled me inside the MRI machine I was actually fully relaxed for the first time this whole trip. Some people say they get claustrophobic inside MRI machines, but I just closed my eyes. I listened to the sounds the machine was making. It was kind of like its own music. When they switched from one configuration to another the sounds would change. At one point it was like listening to Kraftwerk. I counted out a 24:4 time signature.

It wasn't until they were almost done that they finally squirted the contrast in. I figured it had been in there the whole time, but they came on the speaker and warned me that it might feel cold. It did. I could feel this cold fluid filling up the vein in my arm. I don't know if it was psychosomatic that I could feel it spreading out around the rest of my body, but that was what it felt like. I didn't like it. I felt polluted. The good news was that it was the final act. When they were done they pulled me back out, yanked the I.V. and let me get dressed.

Back out in the car I had to call Rick G. I had tentative plans to stop by his place on the way home for a hot tub, but he had morphed that into dinner at a local joint. I was hungry, but I wanted something right away. I was also a bit dismayed that it had started snowing. It looked to be a light, granular snow that would not be a big deal, but it was just one more thing to worry about. I didn't want to be trapped at the mercy of the wait staff as we had to wait for them to take our order, wait for the food, and wait for them to bring us the bill. I called Mark M. had already bailed on dinner, so I felt pretty comfortable bailing as well. Rick and said that I was sorry but I was going to skip dinner and just go right home. He was very understanding.

However I was really hungry from not having eaten all day. I decided I would get a Jreck's sub. I searched for where to find one, and all of a sudden my phone was all wonky about displaying the directions. I think it was because it was now connected to the car. But after a bit I realized I knew exactly where the Jreck's was. I had been there many times after the bathhouse and other times. But I bungled the drive there. I got off 81 too early and had to drive on South Saline St for a couple miles, hampered the whole way by stop lights and traffic. But finally I got there. That same cute(ish) boy who had been working there since the bathhouse first opened was still working there. I felt sorry for someone who was still working at the same sub shop after more than a decade. But at least the sandwich was good. I wolfed the whole thing down.

I got right back on 81 and headed home. The snow was indeed inconsequential, but I was still glad I skipped the sit-down dinner. On the way I decided I would hit Homer Mens & Boys on the way back to get the gloves to have back in Florida. I got off at Tully so I could take US11 into Homer which would take me directly to the store. I had time to kill anyway. Which was good because it did take a little extra long that way. There was some traffic right in Tully, but fortunately when I got on US11 South there was no one in front of me. From that point on it was kind of a nice drive, although it did go on longer than I thought it would.

I got to the store and went right to the women's gloves section. I wanted the same kind of snug-fitting, stretchy weave gloves like the one I lost. The attendant came over thinking I was in the wrong section until I told him I was specifically looking for women's gloves because I like the snug fit. Unfortunately they didn't have any that were like the ones I was replacing. And they didn't really have a range of sizes. I wound up getting something that wasn't really what I wanted, but as I walked past the men's gloves I could see they were all more than I wanted, so I was content enough to make due. I browsed around a bit to see if there was any other cold weather gear I might want in Florida but there really wasn't. I paid for my gloves and left.

On the way home I went into Walmart again. I bought a frozen pizza for dinner that night, and a pack of beef bologna and a loaf of bread for food the next day. I knew that would tide me over. I never get tired of beef bologna sandwiches any time of day. When I came back in the house I heard a strange noise. The water was running! When I had been fiddling around that morning I had left the bathroom sink faucet on, not to mention the well pump breaker. The pressure switch must have loosened up at some point while I was out. I was a little dismayed that the water had been running for who-knows how long, but at least I had water in the house again. I went around and turned everything on so that pipes could bleed and all the black crud would come gushing out. I debated on whether to turn up the hot water heater, but in the end I decided I would. By morning it would be nice and hot and I could take a nice hot shower in my own home. I didn't do much the rest of the night except watch TV on my little phone and enjoy the frozen pizza.

Saturday February 7, 2026

I didn't want to get out of my warm bed the next morning again, but at least this time I knew I had a hot shower waiting for me. I got up and dashed right to the shower, and it was as glorious as I expected it to be. Once I was done I got dressed and had a breakfast of a beef bologna sandwich, which hit she spot. I turned the water heater back down rather than have it up to temp during this arctic blast. I figured I'd skip my hot shower the next morning.

My goal that morning was to get to Tractor Supply and buy a propane heater rig I could UPS down to Florida to use when it got cold down there. I had to bundle up again before I went out. It was cold that morning, like 1 degree. But I could deal. However when I went outside I discovered that it was very windy. That was not so easy to deal with. The wind chill wasn't the problem, it was the blowing and drifting snow. It had largely covered up all the snow blowing I had done the day before. I wasn't going to do that all again because it was damn cold, and I didn't even know if the snow blower would start again. I got the car started and was able to power through the snow drifts. I don't know if the vehicle was 4WD, but I expect it was. It was technically an SUV after all. I also had to power through the new snowbanks up by the road. That was a trick only in that I needed my momentum and there was no way to know if anyone was coming or not. I inched up and saw it was clear, and was able to slug my way out.

That was all well and good, but the road conditions sucked. Snow had blown all over them making everything slippery, and the wind was affecting the stability of the vehicle. If I had been in my own car I would have been a little more comfortable, but the last thing I wanted to do was to wreck the rental car. I was also out of practice. This had previously been business-as-usual for winter driving, but now it was positively harrowing. As soon as I was out there I wanted to just turn around and go back home, but I pressed on. I inched up to Sweetland Rd and navigated the turn. I was behind someone who was actually going even more slowly than I wanted to, but I was content to be cautious. We got up to Rt13 which would be a trick to get up and around the uphill intersection while dealing with the traffic coming at us from both directions at 55MPH. Even after the guy in front of me got up and out I had to wait a little longer, but when it was clear as the eye could see in both directions I got up and out myself. I think this SUV was 4WD. It was handling the conditions not bad.

I still felt like I should be back home where it was safe. It just felt like venturing out we like an expedition at the South Pole. I was surprised to see so many other people out like it was nothing. In addition to the blowing snow and slippery conditions, it was arctic cold. But once again I had to remind myself that to these people this is just normal winter conditions. People were going about their daily lives like it was nothing. When I got to Tractor Supply I gingerly navigated the entrance, still paranoid that I would spin out and wreck the rental car. But it was no big deal. I pulled in and parked along with the other customers

Once inside the store I had a pretty bad time trying to find the propane heaters. I was pretty sure this was where I had gotten mine, but it was like they didn't exist anymore. I went all around the store. It wasn't until I got back up to the front that I saw where they were sold. Just like the electric heaters back in Oakland Park, this store was sold out of them too leaving nothing but empty racks. Even though these cold temperatures were pretty standard there in the north country, it was extra cold, and people were snatching them up here too. They had like one left, but it was a size way too big, and too expensive, so I didn't bother. At least I wouldn't need to deal with finding the right hose attachment and getting to the UPS store before it closed.

I white-knuckled my way back to my house, essentially taking the long way back through Cortlandville rather than back up Rt13. I had plans to see Jose after lunch. I had been looking forward to seeing him, and I knew he wanted to see me too, but the way the conditions were I just totally didn't want to drive all the way into town, through town, and out to where his apartment was. I figured there was just no way. But as I got closer and closer to my house I convinced myself that the conditions really weren't that bad, and only a couple years earlier I would have driven through all of this without giving it a thought. By the time I got back to my house I decided I'd risk it. I had nothing else to do all day anyway.

After I had another beef bologna sandwich I confirmed with Jose that the parking spots at his complex had been plowed. I thought he would not want to go out and check, but he actually shot some video to send me so I could see for myself. I let him know I was on my way, but warned him I would turn around if the conditions got bad. I grabbed his mail and my hair clippers and bundled up for another trip through the cold. When I tried to drive away I was now stuck in the snow in the driveway. I tried and tried to rock my way out, but I couldn't get through the drifted snow. But this didn't deter me because I would need to get out sooner or later to get my flight the next day, so I grabbed the shovel off the back porch and dug my way out. It wasn't a big deal. This kind of inconvenience was now becoming almost nostalgic for me.

I got the car out and got on my way. The conditions had actually ameliorated since my morning drive. It wasn't bad at all. But just after I got past NYSEG the snow picked up. It wasn't exactly white-out, at least not the totally blind lake-effect white-outs I'd had to survive in my youth. But visibility was dramatically impaired. I was ready to turn around at the Triphammer exit, but I was able to get out my phone and check the radar. It was just a slim band that I would pass through quickly. I drove past the Triphammer exit, and by the time I was coming down into town it was clear again. And down in the Ithaca microclimate the roads were practically clear.

I navigated my way through downtown and out to Jose's complex. I walked up the steps to his door. After knocking I let myself in. There he was in all his glory. He had been looking a little ragged in his FB reels, but his hair was cut nicely and he had shaved down to a VanDyke beard and mustache. He actually looked rather dapper. His teeth were gray, but other than that he was looking good. We had a joyous reunion and caught up. It was kind of typical Jose where it was part joyous, part comfortable, and part contentious. But it was nice.

After we had gotten all caught up he tried trimming my hair with the clippers I brought in an attempt to fix the botched skin-fade that I had perpetrated on myself. He made it somewhat less worse, but there was really no fixing it. After we did that I asked if he would be willing to do a FaceTime with my older gentleman friend David, to whom I was constantly talking about him. He agreed. I didn't even think that David would pick up, but he did. We started out with Jose over my shoulder. It was a nice chat. It kept feeling like we were about to wrap things up but it kept going. Eventually we switched so that Jose held the phone and I was over his shoulder. I was so close to the nape of his neck I had to keep fighting the urge to nuzzle him. The call went well, except that David made an inexplicable and untoward reference to Jose's pubic hair, and asked him if he knew that I considered him to be the most attractive person I'd ever seen. That was a little awkward, and Jose would say later that he felt a little uncomfortable.

After the call Jose and I continued talking. Sooner or later the conversation came around to the fact that he still didn't have a job and that I was not going to lend any financial assistance until he did. That got us contentious again, but we kind of had to talk it out. Jose was resolute in his recollection that I had said all he had to do was to be taking the right steps, which he claimed he was with the union welding job he had applied for, but I said the deal was he had to be actually working. His biggest contention was that his dog Max had to suffer along with him. I conceded that Max was an innocent bystander in the drama, and I offered to buy him a big bag of food if Jose came with me to the store. Jose readily agreed. We got bundled up and headed out. Max had to stay home so that he didn't get his hair all over my rental car. We made a quick trip to Wegmans. By the drive back Jose was starting to get sentimental because he knew that I would go straight home and not come back in the apartment. When I dropped him off and he was saying his goodbyes, he said, "I hope you live forever, Toaph." That caught me a little by surprise. He was always very gracious and told me how much he loved me, but this was a new one. I wondered if maybe it was because he knew I was in town to get an MRI to see if I had prostate cancer that it reminded him I might not always be there. At any rate, it was a different kind of sentiment, and one I welcomed.

The drive home was uneventful. The conditions were now pretty normal, even though it was still arctic cold. I stopped back into Walmart for another frozen pizza for dinner that night. When I got to the house I parked up my the road so there was no chance I could get stuck in the driveway again. That had now become my main concern. If I missed my flight the next day I'd be stuck until the next Thursday. There wasn't much more do to that night except watch more TV on my phone.

Sunday February 8, 2026

This morning it was actually -2 degrees. I couldn't even take a hot shower because I had turned down the water heater the night before. In fact I had a mild frozen pipe situation. The cold water in the mud sink was clogged, as was the hot water for the tub. It was an odd combination. I brought my propane heater down there to get things thawed. It took a little while, but eventually those did open up. Interestingly just as soon as they did, the whole system seemed to fail. It was like I couldn't get the pressure tank to pressurize. I didn't want to deal with it on a frigid Sunday morning so I just shut it off again and drained all the pipes. I would have to do that sooner or later that day. I would just have to go back to drinking bottled water and peeing in the bucket.

I just wanted to leave but my flight wasn't until 6:00 that night. One chore I had to kill some time was to check on all the battery tenders on my cars. I had noticed the other day that some of them weren't functioning. It was really cold to have to get out there and do that, but I had nothing else to do anyway. Most of the chargers were okay. One, I think the Traction Avant, had simply come unclipped from the battery. The ID19 charger was dead. It was another one of the old ones that were always failing. I had one more hanging up so I used that and it was good. The Westfalia and the 1800ES weren't charging. I traced it to a bad power strip. I had to grab the power strip from the kitchen I used for the sewing machine and then it worked fine. The other problem was the Kei Truck. The John Deere was charging fine, but not the truck. It was another one of the old chargers that were always failing. I could have just left it, but I had time to kill, so I got in the rental car and drove in to the Advance Auto. Their chargers were a little pricey, but I bit the bullet and got one. I hooked it back up and the chore was complete. The last thing I wanted to do was to resecure the barn garage door stay that had come undone. I brought the step ladder out back, and had to bring an old-fashioned screw driver because I didn't want to have to run an extension cord back there to use for my drill. I had to dig the piece of wood out of the snow, and it was a little precarious up there on the step ladder, but I got it secured again.

So now all my chores were done. I had another beef bologna sandwich and made up a couple others for the trip. That conveniently used up the last of the bologna. It was still early but I decided there was no point in sitting around my cold house, and I'd just head up to Syracuse early. I got all my shit packed back up, including the laundry list of things I wanted to bring back down to Florida with me. I had dumped some pizza crusts and other food waste into my pee bucket. My last task before I headed out was to dump it out back. It was the last thing I did in boots before I had to put my sneakers back on for the trip south. I debated whether to even lock the house back up again, but in the end I decided I would. I had to take the key back up to the pool table in the barn.

I fired up the rental car and headed out. I decided to take the scenic route to kill time. I could finally do the Otisco Lake drive like I had intended to do in the Volvo C30. I drove up 281, but when I turned off onto Otisco Lake Road in Preble I found that it was totally snow covered. It wasn't patchy like the roads back in Cortland and Ithaca. This was fully covered. I continued around the bend, but quickly decided there was nothing pleasurable about this. I was not going to drive all the way up to Rt20 on these snow covered roads. So I turned around in someone's driveway and headed back. I got on I81 at the Preble exit and took that the rest of the way. It was totally clear.

When I got to Syracuse it was still totally too early to go to the airport. I went to the Carousel Mall to kill time. I thought at least it would be warm in there but it was quite cold. I didn't even really have anything to do in there. I went to BK and got a Rodeo Double Cheeseburger. I wasn't even in the mood for Karmel Korn. I just walked the length of the mall on the second floor and then all the way back on the first. I watched a little go-kart racing. But it didn't take long before I bored of all that and decided to just be early to the airport.

I got back on I81 north. Now one of the wheels was totally out of balance. I knew that some snow and crap had accumulated on one side of the rim, but it was so bad I didn't want to drive highway speeds anymore. I got off at 7th North Street. I had to fill the tank anyway. I half wondered if I should run the car through the carwash it had gotten so dirty and crappy in the winter conditions, but I didn't recall anything about that in the contract. I drove up past my old Bennett Funding office on my way to Mattydale where I would take S. Bay Rd to the airport entrance. Unfortunately I kind of forgot the way and wound up way west of there. I was glad I noticed when I crossed Taft Rd or I would have kept going further out of my way. But I took Taft Rd back to Sweetheart Corners and then onto S. Bay Rd and to the airport. It was a breeze dropping off the rental car.

I was really liking the online checkin process so I didn't have to deal with the counter. The security area was almost abandoned. It always seems to be inversely-proportional to the amount of time you have. The tighter your schedule the longer the delay. But since I was early of course I could whisk through. As I was getting up to the gray bins some woman was behind me. She had the body of a butterball turkey and a voice like a Harley Davidson motor with rocks in the crank case. She also had an oxygen generator slung over her shoulder with the little plastic tube under her nose. She was talking to no one in particular as she stated that this was her first time flying in a decade, and complaining about everything. There was some delay in getting through the x-ray machines and we all stood there waiting for the line to start moving again. She acted terribly put upon by this.

I finally got through security and went straight to my gate. It wouldn't be as long of a wait as I thought. But I went to check the Flighty app and it said the flight would be delayed. I would have to p ay for the premium version to get anymore details, but it apparently would only be delayed by like 20min. Since it was a direct flight I wasn't concerned. My only care was for Steven to pick me up once I landed. I didn't want him to have to wait an inordinate amount of time. In the waiting area there was some woman speaking loudly into her phone. I decided that since there was so much time I would just walk up to an empty gate and wait there. I did so, but then there was another woman within earshot speaking loudly into her phone, so I just went back to where I was originally. I put on my antique iPod and listened to music. I noticed that the butterball lady was waiting in our area. It made me wonder why she was in such a hurry to get through security considering she was as early as I was.

I was in text communication with Steven and he knew that I would be delayed. He got my flight information so he could track it remotely. Finally our plane arrived and everyone started filing out. It always amazes me how very long it takes for everyone to get off the plane. When we finally started boarding the attendant called the early boarding people, but like then never made another announcement and it looked like everyone was boarding. It didn't really matter to me since I didn't need an overhead bin. But it was still a little annoying. When I finally got around to the end of the line I think I did hear her say that they were boarding all zones.

As I walked up the aisle inside the plane I saw the butterball lady in the aisle seat several rows up. I figured it would be just my luck that I wound up setting next to her (me being stuck in the middle seat). I did my best to count rows to see where I was, and as I got closer and closer I realized that I was one row behind her. I couldn't believe my luck. These things never went my way when I traveled. But JUST as I got up to her row she said, "Oops I'm in the wrong seat." Of course she was in my row. I stopped her before she sat down so that I could get into the middle seat first. After I sat down and as she was getting settled she dropped her oxygen machine on the floor. I figured great now it's going to fail half way through the flight and we'll have to divert to another airport.

Once everyone was seated we still had to wait to go through de-icing before we could take off, which was like another half-hour delay. I was still only worried about Steven picking me up. But I was also anxious to get this trip behind me. Finally we were up in the air. Having the butterball lady beside me was not as intrusive as I feared, but there was an odd smell coming from her that I couldn't identify. It was kind of like a fine leather saddle that was on a horse with b.o. It didn't overpower me, but I kept getting the occasional whiff all flight long.

Finally we were on our final approach, and eventually on the ground. I texted Steven who said he was in the cell phone lot. Once I was curbside I should tell him where I was and he'd come get me. I went directly out the first door and said I was by the Allegiant sign. He said he'd head right over. I then proceeded to check every car that came along for a white Tesla. It was rather crowded down there, but I did my best to stand in an open slot so that no one could come in and block me out. I finally did see a white Tesla that stopped a little up from me. I stepped up to it but couldn't see inside the tinted windows. Finally the guy rolled the window down and it was not Steven. I kept waiting and then he texted me saying he was at the Allegiant sign, where was I? I said I was at the Allegiant sign too, and there was no sign of him. But then he said he was in departures. I was like how retarded is that, I'm at arrivals because I just arrived. But he insisted I come up and meet him there. I was rather cursing him out in my head the whole time because like who the fuck picks up an arrival on the departure level, but as soon as I got up there I realized there was like 1/100th the traffic and it is actually a pretty clever hack. I got in the car to find that Claudio was driving and Steven was in the passenger seat so I got in the back. Bailey was very happy to see me, but she spent the rest of the drive on Steven's lap, making me a little jealous. We chatted for the drive home. Talking with Steve is kind of like conversational dodgeball, which was a little bothersome, but I was just happy they stayed out this late to pick me up in the first place. When I got back to my trailer and stepped in I noticed how much it smells like DampRid. I had apparently become nose-blind to it and never noticed, but now that I had been away I could totally smell it. Weird.

Index