Crazy Larry's Excellent Adventures

Palm Springs is nestled in the Coachealla Valley, surrounded by mountains that look like they're close enough to hit with a baseball, and truly is an oasis in the middle of the desert. I hadn't seen green grass since early November. New Mexico, southern Arizona, and large swaths of southern California are baked sand and rock with the occasional stunted tree or bush. Now I'm surrounded by lush green lawns, flower beds, colorful hedges, palm and shade trees are everywhere, some streets are even lined with orange and lemon trees covered in fruit. Beth's apartment is gorgeous, with 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, a private balcony, it's own laundry facilities, and the living/dining room alone is bigger than any apartment I have ever lived in. I have my own room, a bed that isn't a bunk and comes complete with a teddy bear, my own bathroom that isn't overflowing with someone else's crap, a toilet that doesn't sound like an airliner taking off, the grocery and liquor store is a five minute walk away, the list goes on. It's a Mexican style adobe building with a clay tile roof in a gated community that has a heated 15 meter salt water pool, fully equipped exercise room, gas barbecues, hot tub, a car wash bay.......

I spent my first morning shopping and running errands, including getting a key copied at the hardware store. After the kid had 2 different blanks fly out of the jaws while he was trying to make a copy I stepped in and explained the proper technique. I had owned the exact same machine for 20 years. I went on to coach him through the cutting process, and when it was done realized the owner was standing behind me. "Who are you?" he asked with a smile on his face. "A retired hardware store owner" I replied. We wound up going for coffee as he questioned me about my store and how I had managed to retire so young. "I decided early on that I would get out while still young enough to enjoy myself, and that I was prepared to do whatever it took to make that happen. After that, it was just hard work." He insisted on not charging me for the key.

When Beth had first issued her invitation she had insisted on the recuperative vale of spending a couple of weeks convalescing about her pool. I put that to the test this afternoon. I had the place all to myself when I arrived, nobody else used the pool while I pounded out 100 lengths for a total distance of a kilometer and a half, and I was all alone as I lounged in the sun reading my book afterwards. It felt like my own private pool.

Beth may need to call the sheriff to get me out of here.