[speaker001:] Well, good afternoon to you, Mary. First,
[speaker002:] And good,
[speaker001:] let me ask you, what's, what's the weather like up there to begin with?
[speaker002:] Well, well, today, uh, when I got up it was twenty-nine degrees.
[speaker001:] [LAUGHTER].
[speaker002:] [LAUGHTER] Yes, and it managed to get up to about fifty this afternoon but it's been cloudy, overcast and threatening rain all day.
[speaker001:] That sounds more like our winter weather down here.
[speaker002:] [LAUGHTER] And we've also had extremely strong winds, fifteen to twenty miles an hour,
[speaker001:] Um.
[speaker002:] for the day.
[speaker001:] Well, you know, I bet that's what we, that storm we had last night.
[speaker002:] Is that right?
[speaker001:] Oh, we had a frog strangler go sw-, sweeping through here, uh, yesterday and last night. And we're expecting another one tonight.
[speaker002:] Oh, really?
[speaker001:] Oh, I mean it was raining so hard you could swim down the street.
[speaker002:] [LAUGHTER] We had one of those two days ago.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] But not, uh, but, uh, no rain at all yesterday and, uh, no rain today.
[speaker001:] Well, it's probably on its way up there. It was heading north.
[speaker002:] Thanks a lot [LAUGHTER].
[speaker001:] [LAUGHTER].
[speaker002:] Cu-, couldn't you send us some nice weather?
[speaker001:] Well, it was nice today.
[speaker002:] Oh, was it?
[speaker001:] Uh, in between the thunder showers, yes.
[speaker002:] [LAUGHTER] Well, the, one thing's for sure we can always discuss the weather, how some ever we can't do very much to change it.
[speaker001:] Well, you know, what they say about the weather here in Texas?
[speaker002:] What's that?
[speaker001:] If you, if you don't like it, wait five minutes, it'll change.
[speaker002:] Oh, yes, well that's about the way our weather is here also.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh. W-,
[speaker002:] And I grew up in Saint Louis, and Saint Louis was much the same.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh. Well, tell me, uh, is, is it normally that cold up there in, in the Spring?
[speaker002:] No, it's not. This is, uh, about, uh, ten degrees cooler than usual. But about a week ago we were up to eighty and eighty-five degrees.
[speaker001:] You're kidding?
[speaker002:] No, no, it, uh, it fluctuates from one extreme to the other it seems.
[speaker001:] You, are you sure you didn't leave your refrigerator door open?
[speaker002:] [LAUGHTER] I'm sure I didn't. I was ready to turn on the air conditioning. It, no, it really was extremely warm. It only got down to about sixty-five in the evening.
[speaker001:] Um-hum.
[speaker002:] We had about three or four days of that, and then all of a sudden a cold front came down and, uh, temperatures dropped thirty degrees in a very short length of time. And, uh, it has gone down gradually each day. This morning it was twenty-nine, yesterday it was about thirty-two. Uh,
[speaker001:] Oh.
[speaker002:] cars were scraping, ice off their cars this morning if they've been sitting out all night. So it,
[speaker001:] Oh, Mother Macree.
[speaker002:] it really wasn't too, wasn't too pleasant [LAUGHTER].
[speaker001:] No, I should say not. Well, I, I, sincerely hope that you don't have that terrible storm we had.
[speaker002:] Oh, I hope,
[speaker001:] I hope,
[speaker002:] not.
[speaker001:] it doesn't reach you up there.
[speaker002:] Well, they are predicting rain and thunderstorms, and I wouldn't be a bit surprised by what we would not be getting the same weather you had.
[speaker001:] Well, I, let's hope it, well, i-, if it's the same as what we had, at least it'll be warmer.
[speaker002:] Uh, yeah. [LAUGHTER] Yes, warm rain, well, of course, by the time it gets up here it may ru-, run into a cold front coming down from Canada.
[speaker001:] Yeah, oh, boy, the, that, whew, that would be tear disastrous. If you,
[speaker002:] Yes.
[speaker001:] had that rain storm and freezing weather.
[speaker002:] Yes.
[speaker001:] Oh.
[speaker002:] We had, uh, a week ago they had golf ball size hail coming down in one part of the, uh, of the city of Dayton itself.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] And, uh, then we just had about an inch and a half or two inches of rain in less than an hour. It was just coming down by the bucketfulls and a great deal of lightning.
[speaker001:] Oh,
[speaker002:] So,
[speaker001:] yes.
[speaker002:] it, it wasn't, uh, it wasn't conditions to being out in it and I had just gotten home. We had a lot of tornado warnings also. And I had gotten home shortly before that, uh, the rain started. So, uh, I felt a little more secure that I was at home rather than having to be out driving in it.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh. Well, uh, I heard on the news this morning that, um, one of our local schools, uh, lost the roof of their gymnasium.
[speaker002:] Is that right?
[speaker001:] And they suspected may have been a tornado.
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] But, uh, uh, thank God for small favors, the, uh, uh, what do they call them? The, the, the marching band or something?
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] Uh, uh, had just quit rehearsal about a half hour before.
[speaker002:] Oh, they, that was, ca-, very, very fortunate for them because that could have really been disastrous.
[speaker001:] Oh, and how.
[speaker002:] Well, of course this is tornado season, uh, in to, uh, we have many tornadoes spawned in this area. And northern Indiana, now we're in the southwestern part of, uh, Ohio,
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] just forty miles north, due north of Cincinnati, and, uh, but, uh, northern Indiana, has many tornadoes come roaring across. And we get the backlash off of it, if not the part of the tornado itself.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] So, uh, we, you know, we get a lot of bad weather in this area. But of course you're supposed to be the sun belt, and I do know that you get some freezing weather down there on occasion.
[speaker001:] Oh, yeah. Well, during the winter, yes, we do. Uh, we've had, uh, well, [sigh] past four or five years, I guess, at least one day during the year when just everything would just close down because we'd have freezing rain.
[speaker002:] Um-hum.
[speaker001:] And, uh, of course people down here, they just don't know how to handle themselves and,
[speaker002:] Right. Yes, I was going to say that it does make a difference when you're not accustomed, to, uh,
[speaker001:] Well, uh,
[speaker002:] having to,
[speaker001:] not only that,
[speaker002:] drive in it.
[speaker001:] but, we're, we're ee-, don't have the equipment to handle it either.
[speaker002:] Right, right.
[speaker001:] Uh,
[speaker002:] And,
[speaker001:] they go out there, and the, well all you can do with, with, uh, freezing rain of course, is spr-, spread sand on the ice.
[speaker002:] Right.
[speaker001:] And, but, uh, you know, we don't even have vehicles that will do that.
[speaker002:] Um-hum.
[speaker001:] They, they have to get, uh, a truck of sand and, uh, uh, four or five laborers up there just spreading it by hand. *needs slash
[speaker002:] Right. Well, uh, well here what they do and I, I contend that it's certainly not the right thing to do, they spread salt. And of course the salt does melt the ice, but then what melts immediately freezes and becomes, uh, a perpetual problem.
[speaker001:] Well, and then to make matters worse, it destroys your vehicles too.
[speaker002:] Oh, it sure does do that.
[speaker001:] Yeah, they, well we, they do that down here too. They mix the salt in with the sand.
[speaker002:] Well, sand, and, uh, but I have learned to do, is, uh, now that I am alone, is, uh, to carry bags of salt in the trunk of my car. Um, not only in case I need it for that for traction but for additional weight,
[speaker001:] Yes.
[speaker002:] in the,
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] back of the car. And then of course kitty litter is also excellent for that. I don't know whether you've ever thought in terms of,
[speaker001:] Uh-huh. I've,
[speaker002:] that but,
[speaker001:] no, I'm
[speaker002:] yeah.
[speaker001:] a dog lover myself.
[speaker002:] Well [LAUGHTER].
[speaker001:] [LAUGHTER].
[speaker002:] Well, the dogs don't use litter. But kitty litter is excellent for, uh, getting under the wheels of cars and what have you and giving you traction.
[speaker001:] I guess it would be.
[speaker002:] Uh-huh. Yeah, it, uh, works out, uh, really quite well. Course I have, I have a dog also. My son brought me a little Lhasa Apso, uh, for my birthday last Thanksgiving.
[speaker001:] Oh.
[speaker002:] He brought him from Dallas. He,
[speaker001:] Oh, wasn't that nice of him?
[speaker002:] Yes, that, uh, he just thought I had been without a dog, uh, for three years. That was long enough.
[speaker001:] Uh,
[speaker002:] He, he had,
[speaker001:] I have, uh, a, a Chowperd myself.
[speaker002:] Oh, a what?
[speaker001:] A Chowperd.
[speaker002:] Now that one I'm not familiar with.
[speaker001:] Well, she's part Chow and part Shepherd.
[speaker002:] Uh, okay.
[speaker001:] [LAUGHTER].
[speaker002:] Okay, that makes sense then [LAUGHTER].
[speaker001:] Uh-huh. But she's the best,
[speaker002:] I believe,
[speaker001:] the best of both breeds.
[speaker002:] Yes, right, well, I've always had big dogs before. Never had a little dog before.
[speaker001:] Well, June,
[speaker002:] And,
[speaker001:] is medium sized.
[speaker002:] Yes well,
[speaker001:] But she is scared to death of thunder storms.
[speaker002:] Oh, well, I had a German shorthair that was frightened of storms. The minute it would begin to storm, he would just panic.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] And, uh, I had to push him down when he was fourteen, and two months later I had to put my yellow Lab down,
[speaker001:] Oh.
[speaker002:] because he had leukemia. And, uh, [sigh] then, uh, then there was no point in having all my acreage. I had four and a half acres with game preserve on three sides.
[speaker001:] Oh, that must be nice.
[speaker002:] Oh, well, it was great. I loved it. But then I didn't need all that anymore, so I finally sold that, and I'm in a fair size condo. And I have a nice size patio.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] And, uh, so this little dog has plenty of room to run.
[speaker001:] Well, good.
[speaker002:] Yeah, and he is a, a cutie and, uh, but I've never had a dog I had to keep taking to the groomer's to have groomed either [LAUGHTER].
[speaker001:] No, well,
[speaker002:] And it's,
[speaker001:] now, you know, it sounds like you ought to be in a condo down in Miami Beach somewhere.
[speaker002:] [LAUGHTER].
[speaker001:] Or better yet, down around Saint Petersburg, Florida.
[speaker002:] Is that right?
[speaker001:] Uh-huh. That's what I call home.
[speaker002:] Oh, is that right?
[speaker001:] I lived there for ten years.
[speaker002:] Oh, well I was there once way, way back in nineteen-sixty, I think for just a week's vacation.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] But, uh, I, that's about the only time I've been to Florida, except passing through on the way to someplace else.
[speaker001:] Yep.
[speaker002:] But, uh,
[speaker001:] Well, I lived there in the seventies.
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] And, uh, I, I love it. I have two sons still living down there.
[speaker002:] Um-hum. Well, uh, uh, most of my friends do spend a lot of time down in Florida. But, uh, I have just, that's just not been my thing. We used to always head west or head north. Now that I'm alone why, uh, I, uh, prefer to travel overseas if I'm going anywhere.
[speaker001:] Oh, uh-huh.
[speaker002:] And, uh, course there too you never know what the weather's going to be. When you,
[speaker001:] Well, that's,
[speaker002:] start getting over,
[speaker001:] that's
[speaker002:] to,
[speaker001:] why I was suggesting, uh, that Saint Petersburg is got, got to be the finest weather in the world.
[speaker002:] Oh, is that right?
[speaker001:] Oh, I, I loved it down there.
[speaker002:] Um.
[speaker001:] Course you could tell, always tell which were the, the na-, natives-
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] and which ones were the snowbirds.
[speaker002:] Oh, is that right?
[speaker001:] Yeah, the snowbirds were the,